#AskAway with Coach MK and Coach Sarah! | Running by Heart Rate Questions Answered

Runner, Interrupted is ready to launch! Click here to be added to the beta testing list! 

 

Congratulations to Maintain participant Tamara Paton, who shall heretofore be referred to as "IronTam" for finishing the Barrelman Half Ironman today!

 

ReBuild

 

1. So how many more weeks is Uranus in retrograde? Asking for a friend. ;) More life happening in September than expected and I haven’t run more than twice this month, and haven’t been keeping up with walking much in the last week. But I managed work travel, got a raise and am replacing both cars at once. Am I still winning at life? Ann from Tx

• #choosethecheetos
• Remember that you’re paying for the tether.

 

Maintain

 

1. Does anyone else suddenly want to eat ALL. THE. THINGS. during the taper? or is it just me? (I'm fine during the regular schedule)

• Coach Sarah: UM YES.
• Metabolic change = YAY!

 

2. Saturdays are getting busy around here. Can I flip-flop the Friday and Saturday runs or do I need to do more schedule re-arranging than that? I have Fridays off so they are great for long runs.

• YES THIS IS FINE!

 

3. If I want to swap out a run for a bike ride, is the heart rate cap the same? I think I heard somewhere that it should be 8-10 beats lower because you don't have to support your own weight?

• What matters is being safe - technically yes but we’re not that worried about a firm 130 cap as opposed to 140. Safe and careful as possible!

 

4. My last run was August 24, and I’ve walked a handful of times since then. For the next few days, pain management is the priority, then surgery on Wednesday (laparoscopic cystectomy), recovery, and reintroduction to running. What would be the best plan for me to follow in October? Will runner interrupted be up then? I’m still hoping that the Kiawah HM can still happen for me in December. ❤️and thanks.

• Let’s plan to be in RI and only take up more work when we are certain we are ready for more work - remember that you are NOT behind in any way

 

5. I “YOLO’d” a Ragnar Sunset race yesterday. It was two loops of 4.75 miles. I did okay but I was hot and I realized how important it is for me to maintain my long runs each week, as the past few weeks I cut them shorter due to time constraints. My question is: can you please remind me of all of the good recovery things I should be doing this week? Of course there will be foam-rolling and Avocado toast, but other tips/reminders would be appreciated too. Thanks!

• HYDRATION!

 

6. Sorry in advance for how long this is probably going to be! Is tomorrow (monday 9/23) the right time for the optional EAT in Tenacious if my race is 10/5? or did I miss the right time for it (last monday)? Also, I had a glorious 4 hour long run yesterday, and no matter what happens on race day, yesterday's LR will forever live in my memory as perfection. I'm not a bit sore today, but everything was stiff and tired yesterday by the time 4 hours had passed. to complete the distance on race day I will be staring down 2+ more hours on those tired achy muscles...any encouragement/mantras you can offer to make that seem less daunting would be SOOOO appreciated!

• Part 1 - YES
• Part 2 - I’m SO AWESOME!

 

Coach MK and Coach Sarah livestream question and answer sessions each week on the Fitness Protection Program Facebook Page, The Fitness Protection Program YouTube Channel, and Twitch, simultaneously. Join us! They are a lot of fun and super informative, and anyone may ask follow-up questions during the live broadcast.