217. How to be better at racing

[00:00:00] You're listening to episode 218 of the Marathon Running Podcast. In this episode, we're going to talk about how to become a better racer. This is the Marathon Running Podcast by Letty and Ryan from WE GOT THE RUNS. Join us in

[00:00:20] our running community for weekly content that is motivational, educational and inspirational. Let the Marathon Running Podcast take you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. Hey, runners and welcome to the Marathon Running Podcast. My name is Letty.

[00:00:41] My name is Ryan. And we do our weekly podcast on all things running. Thank you so much for tuning in again. And if you're new, welcome. Our podcast is weekly on all things running.

[00:00:51] Like I said, we have expert interviews that talk about training, nutrition, etc. And today we have a running coach on who talks to us about becoming a better racer. So this episode should be very good.

[00:01:04] So Ryan, how have you been? We are currently separated by the Atlantic Ocean. I'm in Germany, you're in the United States. How is it going over there? It's going. I'm working mostly and

[00:01:14] then doing some things around the house trying to take care of the work that needs to be done while the kids and the wife are gone. Did you say wives? Maybe, accidentally.

[00:01:26] So for those of you that don't know Letty was born in Germany and lived there until she was 16, she was a German citizen for most of her life and just got dual citizens. Our kids are dual

[00:01:37] citizens and we want them to be able to intermingle between both cultures or go back and forth as much as they want. And we're hoping that it's going to be a good opportunity for

[00:01:46] them in the future. But to do so, we also want to make sure they know the language and the culture. So we're trying to get them to spend some time there. And for you, it gives you an opportunity

[00:01:56] to run in a new place and escape from the Florida heat. Although I do like the heat. I know it's been hot over there. Florida gets super hot in the summer. The weather here

[00:02:06] is a lot more mild and we just don't have that same humidity. So, you know, that's that's something that's definitely different. And you have hills? Yes, we have hills. It's not as flat as Florida. So give and take in every place you go. But what doesn't kill you

[00:02:20] makes you stronger, which, you know, loops us back to our topic today. Today we're going to talk about how to become a better racer, how to become better at racing. And for that, I invited

[00:02:31] coach Erica Weitz on she's a running coach and an Olympic trial runner, meaning that she does have a lot of experience in racing. If you follow her on Instagram, you can see that

[00:02:42] she raises quite a lot, five Ks, 10 Ks and the marathon. So she was a perfect guest to do a deep dive into this topic with. I met Erica. She did have a lot of like very good energy.

[00:02:56] She seemed really cool. And she's pretty fast too, right? Yeah, she's really fast. I mean, fast enough to run in the Olympic trials, which that's super fast for most of us. She's got to be doing something right. Exactly. And you know,

[00:03:09] we're going to hop into the topics of mindset with her because obviously that's half the battle. If you're training, we're talking about all sorts of things such as the psychology of the runner, race day focus, mental resilience. We talk about race day routines, pacing routines, I mean,

[00:03:28] strategies, fueling, all kinds of race tactics and how to overcome challenges on your race day. Sounds like something you don't want to miss. So you want to get into it? Sure. So without any further ado, we're now going to play our conversation with coach Erica White.

[00:03:46] All right. So I'm back on here with Erica White's running coach, Extraordinaire. Thank you so much for coming back onto my show. Ooh, thanks, Leti. Appreciate it. I'm excited. Me too. And you are the perfect person for this podcast because we're going to talk about

[00:04:01] how to be a better racer. And so to start this topic, I want you to maybe talk about yourself a little bit and tell us about your racing history because you didn't just race any

[00:04:13] marathons. You also partake in the Olympic trials. Yeah, that's right. Oh my gosh, I've learned so much from racing throughout the years. I was actually just thinking about it on my run this morning. I was like, I've been racing like, I guess, competitively for like 24 years straight.

[00:04:30] But yeah, I would say I didn't learn how to really race until 2015. That's like five years after college. Man, there's so many different points that we can talk about today. So I'm excited to

[00:04:41] get into it. It's a big topic to talk about, right? So let's organize it a little bit into mindset, race day preparation, racing tactics, post-race, you know, those kind of takeaways. So if we start talking about the racing mindset, there is a lot to it. So obviously,

[00:05:01] there's a training mindset and then there's a racing mindset. So how does the mindset shift from training to racing? And what are your tips for that? Yeah, yeah. So when you're training, sometimes you're not going, I mean, you might be going all out, but you're like kind of

[00:05:20] breaking it up a little bit usually with like some jogs or intervals in between if you're doing like a speed workout. So when it comes to the race, you know, you're kind of giving it,

[00:05:30] you're all for an extended period of time. So a good way to, like, good way is to kind of visualize. Visualization is really important. So maybe before practice, you visualize like how how's this workout going to go? Like imagine yourself successfully completing the workout.

[00:05:53] And then, you know, most likely if you do that, you're more likely to have a good workout. And then you can practice that visualization. So also practicing it before a race. So I hadn't,

[00:06:06] I had a race where I imagined myself winning it. It was a marathon, the Napa Valley marathon. And I was like, I just imagine myself like crossing the line with my hands in the air

[00:06:16] and kind of imagine like all the feelings that you're going to feel when you do well. I like pictured it in my head for weeks and weeks before the race and actually ended up, it ended up happening. So it's really, visualization is really powerful.

[00:06:33] Also like if you set a good goal for the race, you're going to have that in your head. That's going to help you to, you know, stay focused in your training, which is going to help you in the race. But basically, yeah, when switching from training to racing,

[00:06:48] I think if you kind of treat a lot of your maybe speed workouts like a race, that'll kind of get you ready for that race. If you treat every day like a race,

[00:06:59] you might drive yourself crazy. That's why we have like easy runs because then you can kind of relax those easy runs, you can talk, talk to people, you know, let your legs recover.

[00:07:09] But a good way to get into that racing zone, I think would be like maybe treat, treat a practice like a race or sometimes I'll give my athletes like a mile time trial

[00:07:17] in the first few weeks of training. So then they get like a little bit more into that race mindset. Another thing you could do kind of similarly is remember like the hard things that you've overcome,

[00:07:29] whether it's in running or not in running. But just remember like at time when you overcame something really challenging and kind of think about that and how you maybe succeeded in it and think like, okay, if I did this, I can absolutely do this, the speed workout here.

[00:07:46] So that's one thing you could do. So Erica, when you are in a race, how do you overcome the voices in your head that say, you'll be fine anyway, you know, you've got it. How do you stay in the game?

[00:07:59] Oh yeah, that's good. Well, usually I'll just try to, there's little things you can say to yourself in your head like, I'll say she believed she could so she did. And that's just like,

[00:08:15] okay, I'm gonna do this. Sometimes, yeah, I mean, if you're like winning a race and you're like, I'm gonna win no problem. I always think if I'm in the lead or something, let's say for example,

[00:08:28] I'm like someone has to be on my back. Like if I back off for a second, somebody's gonna catch me. And then even like, and if it's like a really big race, there's going to be a lot of women

[00:08:39] in front of me. But I'm like, I don't even want a guy to pass me because so that's like one thing you can think of. If they do, you can go with them. And also, like I've been in a situation

[00:08:52] when I ran my best marathon, I remember I hit like mile 22 and I was like, oh my gosh, even if I ran like eight minute miles for my last four miles, I'm still gonna qualify for the Olympic trials,

[00:09:02] which was a crazy thought. I was like, how's this even possible? But I'm like, but for me, I think if I slow down a little bit, then I'm going to keep slowing down.

[00:09:11] So if I can push it a little bit more, then I think that my body, that momentum is going to keep me going and flowing. And I think like that in workouts also. So I think that's why

[00:09:23] I end up thinking like that in a race. So the way you practice is going to translate over into a race. So in a workout, I actually did a workout with my friend the other day, we took turns alternating

[00:09:35] like who was leading. And we kind of, it's funny because we're usually kind of different fitness levels, we're trained for different events. But she we were kind of, we could kind of meet in

[00:09:45] the middle of where our fitness was. And she actually helped me to like slow down to like the pace I'm supposed to go to on some of the repeats. And then I kind of maybe push her a

[00:09:58] little bit on some of those where she maybe didn't want to push it as much because it was crazy hot out. So that's another thing is like, you know, maybe grab somebody that can like

[00:10:08] you could do a workout with because the goal is really just to hit a pace. And with long workouts, it's like, you just want to focus on hitting that pace. But yeah, I think like sometimes it's good to

[00:10:22] think someone's always on your back no matter what. And also think about like maybe what place you want to finish in like, even though you're not racing against guys, you don't want to kind

[00:10:32] of beat you either. So if you're a girl, so you're like, okay, maybe, you know, I just got to keep moving, keep moving. Yeah, I've been in some races where I knew they were right on my back.

[00:10:44] And that's like really scary thought. So yeah, just whether they're on your back or not, just think someone's on your back and you're going to push harder. Wow, I like that. Never heard that one before. And I love it. I'm gonna

[00:10:57] try to try to think that way. I also like your tip about trying to finish in a certain placing because if you're not going to win the race, it's kind of hard, you know, to to gauge

[00:11:09] that like you're just running the marathon year and wave C, D whatever E. And there's so many people behind and in front of you already. So that's kind of hard. Yeah, yeah, that's true.

[00:11:21] I know some people listen to music when they run. I don't do that when I'm racing. But, you know, if you do listen to music and you like to do that, then you can always put on like a really

[00:11:32] pumping song and make sure that happens towards the middle end of the race where it gets hard. So what is your reasoning for not running with music? If you know the effect of music

[00:11:43] can be, you know, totally pumping you up? I'm just curious. Yeah, well, I do actually when I'm running with podcasts on like a lot of my easy runs, then I can get some knowledge while I'm

[00:11:53] running. And like it makes me, you know, sometimes I still run with nothing so I can like meditate. But when I'm racing, I don't want to have anything extra on me. Excuse me, like I've even raced

[00:12:04] with sunglasses only once just because I didn't want to have that extra thing. And I know like it's good to wear a visor. I do that when I'm training. But not for like hard workouts

[00:12:13] or when I'm racing, because I just don't want to have anything extra on me that I have to think about or worry about really. I can see that. I can see that yet. You know, the marathon is so

[00:12:23] long that sometimes I mean, unless you're running one of the majors or that has a ton of support, you'll find yourself in areas that are completely quiet. So that that music, I don't know, but

[00:12:34] I'm intrigued by it and I'm going to try to run a race without any kind of music too, just to see how, you know, you can get into the race better like that. Yeah. Do you train with music also? Like when you're doing speed workouts and stuff?

[00:12:50] Yeah, speed workout I put on like salsa, like, you know, fast, fast speed stuff. And when he runs, it's always podcast because I feel like it helps you slow down. Oh yeah. Yeah, that's right. Okay. Interesting. Yeah, I definitely listen to a lot more than

[00:13:04] I ever used to. I used to never do any like any like easy runs, even with any type of music or podcast. But now I'm like, you know, with all these solo runs, because I do a lot of solo runs,

[00:13:17] and they're so long and like to distract myself from the heat and everything. Sometimes it's nice to it's nice to have something in there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. All right. So about

[00:13:27] mental resilience a little bit more. So what are your routines that you would do on race day to get you into that mindset? How strict are you with yourself? How disciplined are you with that?

[00:13:41] Yeah. So I have a good like routine that that I try to follow. And I also give my athletes like a pretty similar type of routine. I do think that I have not, I think I can do better with

[00:13:53] my warm up routine. Because it's challenging sometimes at a race, because a lot of races that I do that are local, I am trying to get my athletes together to like do a team warm up,

[00:14:04] even though we're all kind of different levels. And then some people might show up later than others. And then you try to focus on yourself too. So I'm like, okay, it's time to if it's a race

[00:14:13] that I'm serious about, I'm gonna watch us pretty much every race. I got to focus on myself. But you know, they can I want to try to guide them also. So basically my this is like my

[00:14:25] staple routine. And it doesn't always happen exactly like this, but this is what I try to do. So I'll go for like usually sometimes this is like a bonus warm up, I'll do like a bonus like

[00:14:39] 10 minute like run walk, which is very rare that this happens. But if it does happen, we're like a very slow trot. And then I'll get some foam rolling in, like I have a foam

[00:14:48] rolling routine that I like to do and a quick mobility routine that I like to do. And if I don't get that bonus run in, I'll still do the foam rolling mobility at home. And then after

[00:14:59] that I'll go for like my real warm up, which is usually like about two, two and a half miles, maybe even three miles. Because the longer you run, the longer you have to warm up for

[00:15:09] the longer you've been running, your body just takes longer to warm up, I think. So yeah, usually for my athletes, I recommend like 10 to 15 minute warm ups. And they'll usually do the same length of a warm up that they would do before

[00:15:20] like a speed workout. So this whole warm up is like what I do before almost every run and definitely every speed workout. So then that way I'm used to it. And then so after I do my like, you know, two, two and a half mile easy run,

[00:15:35] then I'll come back and I'll change my shoes into my racing shoes. And then at this point, it's probably like 20 to 30 minutes ish before the race starts. And then I'll get my drills

[00:15:46] in like I do a series of drills. And then, you know, I'll take my gel 20 minutes before the race, even if it's 5k 10k, what race it is. And then I'll get my strides. And then I'll try to finish

[00:15:58] the strides like five minutes before the race starts. So then that way, like, you know, a little bit cool down and focus on ready to go. And usually do like four strides that are about

[00:16:10] 170 to 100 meters long. And I'll take like a little break in between where I just like stand walk a little bit. And then I'm ready to race. I like it. I feel like just having that totally regimented routine ready for you is something that already alerts your brain,

[00:16:28] your everything that you're going into race mode. So that's probably super helpful. I also want to mention, you know, you've coached me one time before I got a broken leg, not related

[00:16:39] to whatever you prescribed me. But I remember you had a skips, B skips and all that stuff. You had me doing that before every run. And I felt like it made such a big difference in

[00:16:50] how serious I was taking the run, and also the mobility because you know, I run super early five o'clock in the morning. And when we don't do that, you're just kind of trotting and everything

[00:17:00] is still kind of stiff and achy at my old age. But with that, it just kind of got me more into even the training. So I think I think we're onto something here. Yeah, definitely. Because I'm telling you before I had this like mobility foam rolling routine before

[00:17:16] my run, I would it would take me like five to six miles just to warm up. And like, yeah, that's a long time. And so usually you're not going to warm up that long before a race unless you're

[00:17:28] training for like a marathon, which I have done like 10, five to 10 mile warm ups before race when I was marathon training. So it's more focused on the marathon and the, you know,

[00:17:37] but now I really think it gets the legs moving. And even if it's something like a simple as a lunge warm up, where you do like 50 lunges on total before your run, it sounds like a lot,

[00:17:49] but it only takes like five minutes. So yeah, just getting like a little something in makes a big, big difference. Yeah, no, I like it. All right, so let's talk about some other

[00:18:00] pre race things that you can do to get into the racing mindset. Maybe you can talk to us about some other routines that you have. Yeah, so like before a race. So I kind of gave you like my

[00:18:14] like a summary of like my warm up routine. Using the restroom is always part of the routine too. I think I forgot to mention that. Oh yeah, yeah. If the race is like it depends on the race too.

[00:18:26] So if it's anything up to like a half marathon, I'll try to get to the race maybe in an hour and a half, like probably an hour and a half before the race starts. That way have a half

[00:18:38] hour till like scope out the scene, figure out where I'm going to put everything, excuse me, use the restroom and like, you know, gather my stuff together before actually start the warm up. Now I've made the mistake in the past, like when I was in high school,

[00:18:53] I should think I made almost every mistake you possibly make. So it should be a pro by now is I used to warm up for too long. I would literally jog for an hour straight before my runs in high

[00:19:05] school. No one on my team would do that either. So I don't know what I was thinking. The coach wasn't keeping good tabs of me at the time, I don't think. But I would just jog

[00:19:15] for a straight up hour and then I get myself extra nervous doing that too. And then I would also use to make the mistake like high school indoor track, I remember my first year of high school,

[00:19:29] I would stretch for like two hours straight. I'll never forget that I would use the restroom 30 times, like just out of nervousness for like in a two or three hour period. Yeah, thankfully,

[00:19:40] I don't do that anymore. So I also don't you don't want to warm up too, like too far in advance before the race either. So sometimes I won't even start the actual running jogging part until

[00:19:51] like 45 minutes before the race starts. And yeah, it's funny because when I made those mistakes in high school, I also had a race around that same year, like first year high school, where I had a

[00:20:01] soccer game, like half a soccer game before the race. And I literally did quick stretches in the car, drove straight from the soccer game to the race, got out and raced and I run my best 800 that

[00:20:14] so then I realized like all you need is like a quick efficient warm up, it's better than a long drawn out warm up. So yeah, it's important to kind of get that routine down. And like I give

[00:20:25] a good routine to my athletes and try to give them the same routine before your speed workout as they would have before the race. So then that way there's no surprises they know to expect. Also,

[00:20:36] as far as like nutrition before the race, that's another part of the routine. So like, I guess I can walk you through like when I wake up in the morning, like before the race,

[00:20:45] I think carboloading is a thing. Like some people say it's a myth, like, but it's not, it's not like exactly how everyone thinks it is. Like for me, carboloading is for two weeks before

[00:20:57] the race, you're eating a little bit more carbs than you normally would for each meal. So it's not like you're eating a ton of carbs like the night before, just incorporating a little bit. So

[00:21:07] I would actually when I run my best marathon, and I always think about like what did I do before I run my best races, I actually would measure it out to make sure I was getting enough.

[00:21:17] Because there were times when maybe I wasn't getting enough before that. And that really helped. So I want to make sure that I got like a cup and a half to two cups of like good carbohydrates,

[00:21:29] which is usually rice or like rice noodle pasta or oats with each meal. And so, and that's along with like good protein, veggies, you know. And so I'd make sure that I get like a

[00:21:44] little bit more with each meal, and then also focus on getting like at least two different or two of the same electrolytes each day, which could be like two packets of element tea,

[00:21:56] a new element tea, two noons, at least. And then so yeah, the day before or like, I guess so that's like it's like steady carb loading, which is just having a little bit more with each meal

[00:22:09] two weeks before the race. It makes a big difference. And then the day before the race, I would say the week of the race, I'll try not to have anything like two fibrous. So like the starchy vegetables, I would probably hold off on those like broccoli cauliflower. I

[00:22:25] love that stuff, Brussels sprouts asparagus. I would I love that, but I would stick to like stick to cook veggies and maybe like sauteed spinach, mushroom, zucchini, yellow squash, things like that. And then I move from like brown rice to white rice the week of just to avoid

[00:22:42] like extra extra fiber. And then I'd focus on like having probably like chicken or fish with my protein or eggs. And then the night before the race, the day before lunch, I would say

[00:22:55] is like the most important meal. So that would be like my bigger meal when maybe sometimes dinner might be a lot of people's bigger meals. So I have like the lunch today before a bigger

[00:23:05] meal and then like a salad dinner, but nothing like too heavy, maybe slightly lighter than the lunch the night before for my dinner be like 530 or 6pm. And yeah, so that's like kind of my

[00:23:20] routine in the morning of the race. I would do my breakfast like three and a half hours before three, three and a half hours. Like I would have if I normally have a half cup of oats,

[00:23:31] I would have like a cup of oats and maybe like two rice cakes or something. Everyone's different. I can't eat bread unfortunately, or like bagels or toast or anything like that because my gluten

[00:23:41] intolerance and that was always like that. So yeah, so you got to find what works for you. I know so many people do bagels and bread. I'm so jealous of them. And that's like nice,

[00:23:53] easily digestible if it is for you then go for it. If you normally do toast, maybe a bagel has more substance because one bagel equals like six slices of bread. So I'll do like three and a half hours

[00:24:04] before the breakfast and then I'll have like a shot of espresso maybe and then and I would drink sip on some hydration and usually noon because it's light but still has like those

[00:24:13] electrolytes in it and then like an hour and a half before the race I would have like excuse me, I would start sipping on scratch nutrition which has carbs and electrolytes. You could do like tail wind. I haven't done that but that has even more carbs.

[00:24:29] And then 20 minutes before the race I have my gel like always and then you know sip on like alternating between noon and scratch like leading up to the race. I love it. Thanks for elaborating on that.

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[00:26:50] And you know, to shift back to mindset just real quick, how do you feel during that when you are ready for race day? Are you like one of those people that like I did my training,

[00:26:59] this is my celebration, I'm going to get it? Or how do you handle your nerves? Because you were just talking about like how before when you're in your earlier days of racing, you were really nervous

[00:27:09] once the bathroom all the time. Like how have you been able to manage that? Yeah, well the last couple years has been different than before that. But I would say like 2015 was that year that I started being able to handle my nerves better. And basically

[00:27:26] I know like I trained, I did everything I can do in training. I did my training right, I showed up every day, that's really important because consistency is like the most important

[00:27:36] thing when it comes to running. So that mentally prepares me, I'm like I know I did everything I need to do. As far as like recovery goes, you know learned a lot of different recovery

[00:27:46] techniques over the years. But like as long as I did my mobility, my foam rolling, like after my runs especially and before a little bit, but especially after that I know I recovered well. I know I trained well. So yeah, knowing that gives me that confidence to know

[00:28:05] like I got this race Epsom salt baths before my best marathon. I took Epsom salt baths like every night for a month. And that just helps the muscle like relieve the muscles and everything.

[00:28:16] I'm like, I know I did this. I hydrated well. I, you know, I didn't put it really much bad in my body. And so that gives me the confidence to know I can do it. And I would say

[00:28:34] I would say so there's races where like I know I got this. I did everything I could do. I'm going to do it. But then I had a couple races like last year where I just I couldn't

[00:28:46] figure out how to get back where I was for a little bit. And you know, I was kind of like an off year and actually put off a couple marathons where I didn't didn't race them. And then I got

[00:28:57] to like marathons where I was like, I'm not putting off another marathon. I'm just going to do it. And I knew I wasn't really like I wasn't mentally prepared. But I did I knew I could

[00:29:07] get anxious like I had in the past, but there was no reason to. So that's where I just kind of had to take the pressure off myself. And that's happened several times and I actually ended up surprising

[00:29:17] myself some of those times and actually doing better than I thought I would. So I would say if you know you did everything you could do in training to prepare yourself for the race,

[00:29:26] then be confident and know you're going to do your best. Like the race is just showcasing all the hard work you put in. But if you are running a race where like, you know, you're not really

[00:29:37] prepared, you didn't you weren't able to for some reason put in what it takes to get there. Or maybe you did try but just wasn't as successful. Then just take that pressure off yourself and

[00:29:49] just have fun in the race because who knows you might actually do well. So that's happened before and then there's the times where you know I didn't do so well. But I told myself I was

[00:29:59] going to take the pressure off so I can't beat yourself up. And then at the end of the day, if you're not like racing for your living to make money and that it's fun, you got to have fun with it.

[00:30:11] I love this answer. It reminds me I had CJ Albertson on the podcast a couple weeks ago and he was kind of saying the same thing when it comes to racing that at the time you're racing,

[00:30:22] you know where you are. So with running, it's hard to do the whole fake it till you make it right because your performance, even if you have the strongest mindset if you're like,

[00:30:31] okay, this is where I'm at. You can't think yourself to be a sub three hour runner. You have to put in the work and your numbers have to show that there's a relationship to it. So

[00:30:40] I love that answer. You know where you are. But let's talk about race, state tactics and overcoming challenges because even if you've had the best training cycle, there will sometimes be challenges and situations where you have to deal with the unexpected. So how do you handle

[00:31:01] unforeseen circumstances like bad weather or crams? And how should your what do you tell your athletes to do? Yeah, that's good. Yeah, I would say like there's like a couple things you can

[00:31:12] do as far as like how the climate is going to be and as far as fueling goes would be to practice in all weather. So you know, if you're training all year round, you're probably

[00:31:22] going to experience all different types of weather. I know last night I hosted my run group and started like pouring insane rain lightning and thunder right here in the run. And so like we're still

[00:31:34] running and like you got this we can do this. But then they came a point where like the lightning excuse me was very close. So it's like, All right, we're going in. We're going to

[00:31:44] do boot camp instead. So always make sure like, you know, you don't want to risk your life out there. But if you're training in all different types of weather, you'll be prepared for

[00:31:53] any type of weather that could come. And just know like everyone else is going through the same type of weather that you are in the race. So yeah, so you can do it. There was a race,

[00:32:04] I ran the Napa Valley marathon, I was talking about that one because I love it. And it started hailing in the last two miles. And I knew the girl like I was in first place,

[00:32:13] the girl behind me was only 40 seconds behind me. Or like, I think the lead biker was like, she's 200 meters behind you. And I'm like, this is dangerously close. And then I knew that she was from like the Midwest where the weather's probably way worse overall. And I'm

[00:32:28] like, All right, this lady can probably handle this kind of weather. She, you know, maybe she's more used to it. I got to push harder. And so that's where like, you know,

[00:32:39] you just push through the hail and, you know, just you just have to be strong. And then envision maybe somebody who who's really strong or like David Goggins or someone pretend that you're him or Steve pre-fontaine. Sometimes I'll try to think of them like when I'm running.

[00:32:53] And I'm like, they toughed it out, we can tough it out too. So like, yeah, you can battle through any kind of climate. And even if your time, you know, isn't like

[00:33:04] the best of the best because of that, at least you know, you gave it your all and you'll probably end up finishing ahead of where you thought you would. And then also for like, for like fueling hydration, all that. So cramps, muscle cramps and things like that happen.

[00:33:20] But if you practice your fueling and your hydration to the best of your ability, then I think you can overcome, you know, as best you can any kind of obstacle that you're going to face

[00:33:31] in the race. And like, if you want to get really exact and you want to make sure like everything goes 100%, right? You could always track like if you have a really good workout, maybe put down

[00:33:44] like what did you eat before that workout that helped or what did you take during the run that, you know, helped you. Or if you have like really bad gastro issues, like what did you eat

[00:33:54] before then or would you take maybe what mistakes did you make? So you don't make those in a race. That's really, really important. So yeah, I think if you, if you prepare really well,

[00:34:04] then you'll be ready for any kind of conditions. But you got to cut yourself some slack sometimes and, you know, things don't go exactly as well. I think it all comes down to like giving it

[00:34:14] the best that you can and, you know, giving it your all, keeping good form. That's important too. Like, you know, focusing on when we get tired or tight, sometimes our shoulders crouch in.

[00:34:27] So just like relax the shoulders. So your posture stays good. If you can try to keep as, you know, as stable, controlled form as you possibly can, then you're going to give yourself the best chance of finishing as strong as you can. Then also staying positive, like

[00:34:45] I remember being in races and I think I mentioned this in another podcast with you where like my hamstrings were really tight during the race, like when I ran my best marathon.

[00:34:54] But I was like thinking about what was going right that was, you know, what was going well instead of what was going wrong. So like, even though my hamstrings were tight, I could still move fast. I was like, my ankles feel good, my feet feel good,

[00:35:07] my knees don't hurt. Like, like these things feel good. So I can keep going. And then if you also have like, let's say some tight muscles or during the race, just think like,

[00:35:18] okay, this is a sign that you're pushing hard and you're giving it your all. So this is a good thing. And yeah, just like practicing that mental positivity is really helpful in practice that'll translate to the race. And then hang out with good positive people like Letty,

[00:35:33] who lift you up, don't hang out with the negative people because it's not worth it. Life's too short for that. But if you if you like constantly fill your mind with positive things, then you're going

[00:35:45] to always do that when you when you need to. And then just like remember all the hard workouts you've done to remember, like think about the hardest workout you've done. Another thing

[00:35:55] I like to do is like think about accomplishments. So when I'm even racing now, and I'm like, feel like I'm not as fast as I was, just remember you did run that fast time so you could push through

[00:36:06] this and do the best you can. And then you'll be successful. I love this. There's so much in these tips. Yeah, I mean, I guess, you know, it's kind of like you said at the very beginning

[00:36:19] when you were saying everybody has to deal with the same thing. I love that because look at Deslinden right when she won the Boston marathon. That wasn't a fast time relatively

[00:36:27] speaking for her at all. But everybody was dealing with the same weather and she was the one that worked the hardest through it. So I love all these tips. Thank you so much. All right, so

[00:36:40] being a good racer, I guess this podcast topic is how to be a better racer, but that also means being better at race etiquette. So what are some key points when it comes to proper race

[00:36:52] etiquette for good sportsmanship? Yeah, yeah. So you want to make sure like, even though you're out there to run your best and perform the best of your ability, reach your goals, you want to make

[00:37:04] sure that you're still being respectful of other people on the course. So it's not worth getting your best time at the expense of other people like elbowing them out of the way or

[00:37:14] anything like that. So yeah, like there's been times in a race where I'm trying to get around a term, but I got people all around me. It's like, oh, I want to get past them, but oh,

[00:37:25] it's okay. Calm down. Just let them go and then you'll get them on the next straight away. So it's more challenging and probably track races than is in road races because everyone's

[00:37:35] so close to each other. But yeah, like even for like when you're in practice on a track or something, if you're trying to get by someone, you know, just kind of let them

[00:37:47] know in advance, like you might have to shout it out a little bit. So then that way you don't crash into them or you know, that way it doesn't compromise your workout. But yeah, just make

[00:37:56] sure you never you're never doing something at the expense of someone else. So be courteous, be kind. A lot of runners are really nice. Luckily. But yeah, if you know someone's sometimes we like to get on the starting line and get up in the front. But like,

[00:38:15] I know for big races, if I know I'm not going to like win first place. There's gonna be guys in front of me or maybe some women. It depends on the race really. But maybe just let them start in

[00:38:27] front of you because otherwise you might get trampled. But yeah, there's a lot of things to remember just the number one is remember to be kind, courteous and respectful. Yes. And for somebody like you that frequently wins races, talk to me about, you know, the

[00:38:47] competitiveness amongst the people in the lead pack. For example, we've seen like Connor Monts and Clayton Young basically trained together and then race the Olympic trial marathon and then Clayton Young who had been training and said afterwards that Connor Monts had been pulling

[00:39:06] him even though he felt stronger. He let Connor Monts win and so talk about that a little bit and also how do you feel if you're racing and somebody ends up beating you but then you shake

[00:39:20] hands and everything is back to good. Talk about that a little bit. Oh yeah, that's a challenging one. Because you want to like, you always want to win, you know, but you also want to root

[00:39:34] for your friends also. So I would say like if someone's going to beat me, like they, I better have given it my all and they're just probably in better shape than me at this point

[00:39:43] and that's okay. You know, the race goes to who works harder and that's usually going to show up by who finishes first. I've been in like races where I was really close with my friends

[00:39:55] in the race and you know, and I'd run next to them for a little bit maybe they've run ahead of me, maybe run ahead of them and it's a tough situation because you definitely don't want

[00:40:06] to be like nasty or about the right thing but I've actually given like people my friends water in races and they've given me water and that's been really nice. So it's cool to have that come

[00:40:16] rather. There's been so many races I can pick up where I've been like really close to my good friends and then I just say like me the best woman win and you know, you just congratulate

[00:40:26] them. If you beat them, then you know always congratulate them if they beat you and it's like you're still congratulating them but you want to make sure that use that as fuel for the fire

[00:40:36] because I think when it comes down to it even though we want we want to support our friends, we want to be there for them or athletes or teammates but we also like want to do our best

[00:40:45] and like deep down we really want to win but it's all about doing it in a modest, courteous way and just not being cocky about it either you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:40:58] You don't want to get too cocky because even if you win a race like you beat someone by second or a couple seconds like it doesn't necessarily mean you're the better runner. They

[00:41:11] could come back the next race and crush you but I've also been in the situation where like I got beat by a second at the finish line and that's really challenging.

[00:41:22] That's a tough thing to swallow and I like will think about it at night and I'm like no but now you just got to use that as fuel. And remember that you don't want to feel that feeling again so yeah, I think friendly competition

[00:41:37] is the best like seriously like if someone's going to beat me it's going to be my friend that's great but I think it's always good to have friendly competition because you end up

[00:41:47] pushing each other and then you both end up becoming faster than you would have if the other person wasn't there so I think it's really healthy. So I love those tips and I guess let me

[00:41:57] ask you that last question. To be a better racer you obviously want to be able to live from experience so how do you go about analyzing your race after the race to help

[00:42:09] you prepare for next time? Oh yeah so yeah usually like I'll go on to like Garmin, I do with my coach or you know look at kind of like my paces for each mile or each half mile.

[00:42:24] I actually like to have my watch split every half mile but have a lot of my athletes do that too so then that way I know where I'm at for the half mile so if I need to like you know

[00:42:35] if I need to speed if I'm going a little quick I can like ease up a tiny bit or if I'm going a little slow I know to pick it up so I can round out the mile. So I'll look at like each my half

[00:42:45] mile splits and see like how they look. If it's a marathon it's totally different than a 5k because usually for a marathon I'll try to go out like a little bit easier the first 5k and then

[00:42:55] work into it and there's a lot more splits to look at in a marathon versus 5k or anything in between but yeah basically kind of look at I can look at where my heart rate was it might differ

[00:43:07] depending on the weather, how I felt. Usually it should be pretty steady not like too crazy high but yeah just kind of look at the statistics and the pace thing and see what I could have done

[00:43:23] better for next time but then also another thing is like recovery after a race that's a big thing a lot of people forget about because when you're done with the race people are talking to

[00:43:33] friends there's an after party there's tents up and everything so you want to make sure that you're like cooling down that's really important and then also getting like those mobility exercises in after your race even more important than before the race almost because that's how

[00:43:49] you recover for the next day. So yeah I kind of want to look at that too like did I warm up did I cool down did I do my drills that needed to do how are the splits how are the paces

[00:44:00] what did my heart rate look like was it even was it was it elevated and then I could see maybe some tips and look at what I can do better for next time. I love it thank you so much Erika

[00:44:13] and you know I'm gonna have to put all this into notes but yeah no thank you so much this is a lot of information and hopefully we can all implement that into our future race tactics so

[00:44:24] we can be a better racer on so many levels. Yeah thanks Liddy I hope so hope I could help someone out and you know think of these little tips on when you run your next race so you can be faster than

[00:44:36] ever. Yes and if they want to coach with you perhaps you can tell us how they can get in touch with you and see what you're all about. Yeah for sure so you can check out my website

[00:44:47] it's exclusive-endurance.com you can also check me out on Instagram you can send me a message it's at exclusive Erika with two E's in the middle and then you can also find me on Facebook

[00:45:01] Erika White's W E I T Z or my team page at Team Exclusive Endurance so there's so many ways to get in touch and you'll find my email on the website too which is erica at exclusive-endurance.com Perfect thank you so much thanks Liddy.

[00:45:23] Thank you Erika for speaking with us I appreciate your insight I hope everybody took notes and if they didn't then they are free to reach out to you I'm going to link your contact information

[00:45:36] in our show notes and they can also find you on social media such as Instagram etc. Hopefully you get some good tidbits out of the episode as always we try to get you guys some

[00:45:48] good information let us know what you think and what you want here and Liddy how's the YouTube channel going? The YouTube channel is going great still still making episodes as

[00:45:58] as much or little as I can with my hands full over here but it's been a lot of fun so if you guys haven't gotten enough offers yet then go to YouTube and type into the search bar

[00:46:09] at Running Podcast and that's where you'll find us we appreciate anyone that subscribes and leaves us likes and comments because that'll help us grow. Yeah please if you guys watch a YouTube channel then

[00:46:23] comment on it and let us know what you like. Yes and if you have topic suggestions we're always open to listening to those as well so with that have a great week of running. Thanks for tuning in for more information and marathon running news please head to

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