Episode 34 - Optimize Your Runs and Prevent Injury with Strength and Consistency

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Alison introduces the concept of understanding running from both a physiological and practical perspective, using her own recent personal experiences as a foundation. She shares a story about a painful injury she sustained while commemorating her late daughter’s birthday, which kept her from running and pushed her back into therapy. This experience led her to reflect on how runners often respond to stress or setbacks by overdoing it—leaning into productivity rather than rest. She emphasizes the importance of balance and introduces the concept of training “dials” rather than “switches,” where variables like volume, sleep, nutrition, and life stress should be carefully adjusted rather than ignored or maxed out. The overall message so far is about tuning your training intelligently to stay within your body’s window of tolerance and avoid burnout or injury. Alison highlights the importance of joy in running, noting that reducing pressure can often lead to better performance and deeper fulfillment. She closes by introducing changes to her Women’s Running Academy, now structured to offer foundational strength training followed by adaptable programming that supports consistent, injury-free progress for women runners.

Key Takeaways:

• Balance Your “Training Dials: Instead of viewing training components like volume or strength as all-or-nothing, Alison encourages runners to see them as adjustable dials. By tweaking rather than maxing out each element (volume, fueling, sleep, stress, strength), runners can find a more sustainable and effective rhythm.
• Strength Training Should Be Strategic, Not Sporadic: Strength training isn’t something to turn off when running volume increases. Instead, it should be consistently present—scaled up or down strategically to support long-term performance and injury prevention.
• Consistency Over Intensity: Long-term progress and injury prevention come from consistently tuning and maintaining each dial, rather than going all-in during certain seasons and burning out. This approach helps break the cycle of starting over after injuries or setbacks.
  
  

Time Stamps:

[00:00] - Introduction to “Dials”

[05:14] - Volume as a Key Dial

[09:32] - Fueling, Stress, and Recovery

[14:56] - Joy in Running + The Team Race Story

[19:12] - Strength Training as a Strategic Dial

[24:21] - Women’s Running Academy Update + Membership Details

Resources Mentioned:

• Women’s Running Academy Membership: Smart, run supportive strength training for female runners. 

Quotes:

• "Sometimes when we ease off the gas, when we take some of the pressure away, when you turn some of the dials down, it actually makes room for joy."
• "Strength training isn't an on and off switch. Remember, we turn it down but not off so that there's this nice balance of the two that are constantly supporting each other over time."

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