The majority of runners training for ultra marathon events lasting 4 hours or longer have no trouble getting in miles or long runs.  This is the most intuitive and specific training that usually occurs.  But many runners will take this to the extreme, running too long and too easy, thinking this will provide drastic improvements in their race performance.  Long training runs are important, but what tends to be missing from ultra runners training repertoire is attacking the neuromuscular…

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Starting to sort out some of the things I learned at Leadville. One thing I learned...when you think you're done, you're not. I learned there really is, I believe, a well inside each of us that doesn't dry up. We, or I guess i should say I was afraid that I would dig deep and come up empty handed. What if there was nothing there to draw from. That fear has caused me at times to avoid pushing myself to the point where I might need to draw upon that well. What would happen if I came up empty… Continue

 

Dear Running with Eric Tribe -

I’m writing with exciting news about a project I’ve been working on for the last year and a half.

You guys all know my philosophy that the best runners are the best athletes. To that end, my training has always been about more than miles - I teach that ultimate running is training, technique and proper nutrition, resulting in an all-around athlete who is a natural runner.

However,…

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I have two other blogs that I write at the moment and it seems like they have all been focused, in one way or another, on the idea of the Mental Game...the thing that keeps you motivated and can shoot you down the fastest, the creature that lives in your head...we all know how it goes.

 

There's always this moment of bliss for me when I start something new, before the accomplishments/goals/expectations can hit..when I'm just doing something that I've never done before and I'm…

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I have executed well over a thousand one-on-one training sessions with runners of all abilites. Seeing good and bad, it has become very evident to me that the number one culprit in biomechanical and gait disfunction, IT band issues, knee pain, and over all lack of run stability is a poor firing glut meduis. This is your smaller glut muscle that is located to the side of your gluts. This is a very important muscle for runners because it helps your lateral stability when on one foot,… Continue

One of the easiest and most powerful forms of performance enhancement is visualization.  We have all heard of visualization and have probably at some point watched Olympic skiers preparing for their run down the hill doing visualization.  Their head is bobbing back and forth, going in crazy circles, all with their eyes closed.  They are visualizing every corner, bump, turn, and “seeing” exactly how they want to perform.

 

This is not often talked about in endurance sports and I…

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I believe an effective “peak” in fitness first starts with a well thought out training plan and more importantly, a prioritized race schedule.  This all sets the stage for the peak process, making your run fitness as race specific as possible. Peaking is a mysterious art and for many reasons, it is just not easy to achieve one’s highest possible level of performance on the day of a major goal race or peak part of the season, despite all the effort and care that goes into planning and…

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Touring around the country with Chris McDougall helping promote the Born To Run paperback was great fun.  Every stop was unique and it was wonderful to meet so many passionate runners.  I would often close my speech by telling the audience how cool it was that someone (Chris) who came in last,…

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I tell my athletes, everyone has negative thoughts; it is what we do with the negative thoughts that separate the elite thinkers from the average thinkers in sport.  This is important to understand.  We all have negative thoughts, no one is immune.  The first step is to understand this and realize avoidance is not the target.  And, when we do have these thoughts it doesn’t mean we are not mentally strong.  The mentally strong have trained and perfected how to respond to challenging times,…

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Great podcast interview with Eric and the guys at www.ultrarunnerpodcast.com

 

http://www.ultrarunnerpodcast.com/ultrarunnerpodcast.com/Podcast/Entries/2011/9/8_Eric_Orton_Interview.html