Final Surge Podcast

This week we bring you a "Best Of" episode with Dr. Stephen Seiler and our discussion on polarized training.

Welcome to episode 89 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we welcome 2x defending NCAA XC Champ Coach Mike Smith to the show. Mike has a unique background working for years alongside Jack Daniels before going into college coaching. We talk to Mike about his coaching philosophies. Please remember to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes and share it on Twitter or Facebook.   How did you start running? Played a lot of sports when youth How did you move from running at Georgetown to Coaching? After college tried running some longer distances Taught school for a few years then moved to Flagstaff to try training for a marathon  Moved to Flagstaff and lived there for 6-years Was there any coaching between when you left college and the head coaching job at Georgetown? Worked with Dr. Jack Daniels and learned sports science Coached some athletes with Daniels and some club coaching When Georgetown opened up it seemed like a natural fit What was it like working with Dr. Daniles At first,

Welcome to episode 88 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we welcome Olympian runner Ruben Sanca. Ruben ran for Cabo Verde in the 2011 World Championships in the marathon and the 2012 Olympics in the 5k. Ruben won 2017 New England Grand Prix Road Racing title and was elected U.S.A. Track & Field New England Male Runner of the Year. We talk to Ruben about how he came to American at age 12, his running career and about his newer company, The Lowell Running Company. Ruben can you start out telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got started running? Born in Cabo Verde Came to the US at 12 and in middle school teacher asked who wanted to sign up for cross country Ran in HS and recruited to run at U Mass Lowell So you came to the US at the age of 12. I don’t know a lot about Cabo Verde besides it’s off the coast of West Africa. Did you speak English? Tell us what it was like for a 12-year-old to come here? Dual citizenship From tiny island  We came here for health reasons and education Was har

Welcome to episode 87 of the Final Surge podcast where today we welcome Dr. Justin Ross to the show. Justin specializes in sports performance and has a practice called Mind-Body Health in Denver Colorado. Dr. Ross combined his love for endurance sports with his love for psychology to put together a practice that helps his patients perform their best on race day. We talk about getting ready for the big race and why the mind game is so important to perform your best. Dr. Ross see's patients both in person and online. Feel free to connect to him about what you may be struggling with.   I know you got started later in life in endurance sports and not in high school like many of our guests, can you tell us how you got your start? First marathon when 29 Got me hooked on running and triathlons What are you doing now? Raced a few 70.3 triathlons Just raced 8th marathon which has been the focus of the last three years You are a psychologist now a specializing in sports performance. Was there a moment, something sp

Welcome to episode 86 of the Final Surge podcast with our guest Olympian turned coach Tim Broe. If you were a running fan in the early 2000's you probably remember Tim as one of the few bright spots in US Distance running scene. Tim is now a professional coach with the Saucony Freedom Track Club. We talk to Tim about his early days in running, his Olympic experience and the devastating injury that ended his career to early. We then talk about his latest experience with the Freedom Track Club. If you enjoy this episode please rate us on iTunes and follow us on Twitter  @FinalSurge. How did you get your start in athletics? Started running in middle school, got dragged into it As a 7th grader ran 5:45 and kept improving Won a state title as a junior in high school Ran under legendary Michigan coach Ron Warhurst as a professional right? Ran at Alabama, they offered me a scholarship 12-time All American, but didn't take it serious enough until last year After senior year worked at a local shoe store and trained

Welcome to Episode 85 of the final surge podcast where today we have the pleasure of bringing you one of the best young track runners in the country Jess Tonn. Jess is fresh off her sub 32 10k win at the Payton Jordan. We talk to Jess about her running career to date including her stellar high school career where she qualified for 4 Foot Locker’s, her running career a Sanford and how it has been making the transition to running with the Brooks Beast team. We talk to her about the amazing coaches she has been blessed to have so far and how that has helped her in her own coaching career with RunDoyen. Jess’ energy is contagious and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it. Tell us how you got started running when you were younger Started when was 12 Mother worked in the athletic department at ASU so did many sports Tried many sports like soccer, running came naturally PE teacher recommended after-school running program Joined youth team for USATF  Ran at Xavier in Phoenix for high school

Welcome to episode 84 of the Final Surge podcast with our guest Steve Fleck. Steve is an athlete turned announcer and you will hear him at many events including Ironman Triathlons, Rock 'N Roll Marathons and streaming online covering track meets.  We talk to Steve about how he got involved in announcing after his athletic days were over and what it is like behind the scenes at these big events. Make sure you follow Steve on Twitter @SteveFleck and follow us @FinalSurge.   How did you get your start in athletics? Distance running in 70's in high school Triathlon's in early to mid 80's Cycling now How did you make the transition to announcing at events? Volunteered at Ironman Canada with Steve King calling out names and with promos 4-5 years ago started to do it full-time 30-35 events a year across North America Do you do mostly triathlons or is it a mixture of events? Do all three running, cycling, and triathlons Runner's Space streaming As a high school coach, I go to several cross country and track mee

Welcome to episode 83 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome new professional runner Sam Parsons. Sam is a runner with Adidas and the new Tinman Elite running team in Boulder Colorado. In this episode, you will hear the enthusiasm Sam has for running and the running profession. We talk about Sam's high school days, his transition to running at NC State and what it is like running for Tinman, Tom Schwartz who he calls the mad genius of running. The Tinman Elite crew uses Final Surge as a training platform and it is great to hear the enthusiasm Sam and his teammates have for the sport. We dive into how the mental part of running is so important to Sam and how his training has changed under Tinman.   How did you get your start in running? Multi-sport athlete Soccer, Swim, Lacrosse  Watched sister run Soccer coach encouraged him to run cross country for conditioning Ran Nike Cross Nationals as a Senior After high school, you ran at NC State. What was a harder transition, transitioning from high school to c

Welcome to episode 82 of the Final Surge podcast with our guest this week Zach Cole. Zach has built a new website called HopDash.com which is helping connect runners to running locations and groups. It is a great way to find a group to run with when you travel, or maybe just to discover new running areas in your city.    You launched a new site called hop dash.com and I want to dig into it, but before we do that we like to introduce our listeners to our guests find out a little about who you are, if you could tell our listeners how you got started with running? College basketball player Started running with a morning group after college Continued to train  Joined track team You talk about how you started running with a few groups, HopDash your new site is about running with groups, so can you give us a background on the site? Discover running groups in your city or places you visit Traveled a lot and always looking for running clubs could join for a workout Running is more exciting when you can connect wit

Welcome to episode 81 of the Final Surge podcast where today we welcome back Neely Spence Gracey to the podcast to talk about Boston. Boston is less than a week away and we talk to Neely about what a first-time runner should consider when heading to Boston and we take a look at some of the top names on the men's and women's race. We even get Neely to predict the winners of both races. Neely uses the Final Surge platform in her coaching, if you are interested in getting coached by Neely head over to NeelyRuns.com.   You were the top American Women at Boston in 2016, you want to explain why you are not running this year? Pregnant  Due August 4th Boy How will the weather affect the race? It can change the morning of the race, so be prepared for it to change last minute If it is a little rainy like they are predicting, are those good conditions for a good fast race? Personally, I would like it The wind will be a bigger factor What should first-time runners know about the course? Look up Boston Marathon Pre

Welcome to episode 80 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome medical doctor Josh Emdur to the show. Josh has an interesting practice, he works for SteadyMD which changes the way the people interact with their primary care physician. Imagine, instead of calling your primary care doctor for an appointment you texted them and shortly thereafter you were talking to your doctor via a video chat. Dr. Emdur's practice does just that and he specializes in working with runners. You can find him at SteadyMD.com/running. Josh is doing some interesting thing around medicine for runners If you could tell us how you got started as a runner? 8 years ago as became a parent Played soccer, lacrosse was always a better runner than a player As a physician and parent in Boulder turned to running Ran Rock n Roll marathon in San Diego in 2011 and set sights on Boston Wasn't until he hired a coach that he had his big breakthrough What was it working with a coach that really changed things? Had qualified for Boston, but never

Welcome to episode 79 of the Final Surge Podcast. Today we dive deep into training with coach and author Mario Fraioli. We spend a half hour talking nothing but the 5k. We dive into how to race a 5 and how you structure your training for that race. If you are interested in coahing for the 5k you can reach out to Mario on his website MarioFraioli.com or check out our training plans at Finalsurge.com.   We have a special training episode today where we are going to talk about 5k training. But before we do that I want to spend 2 minutes catching up. We had you on last year, people can learn more about you from episode 27. I think most of our listeners know about your Morning Shakeout Tuesday newsletter, but recently you added the shakeout podcast. I loved your recent episode with Shalane. What made you decide a podcast was where you wanted to go next? Growing medium Way to dig deeper 5k Training/Racing The 5k is unique because it is the shortest race most non-elite winners will do. It’s also my favorite race d

This is a replay best of episode of the podcast where we go back to  Episode 39 of the Final Surge Podcast and our talk with Team MPI head coach and co-founder Mark Sortino. Mark is a USA Triathlon Level III Coach, a certified USAT Race Director, and is the head coach of Team USA Paratriathlon. In addition to coaching, Mark is a 16-time Ironman finisher. Welcome to Episode 39 of the Final Surge Podcast where we talk to head coach and co-founder of TeamMPI, Mark Sortino. Mark is a Level III Triathlon coach and has been featured in publications such as USA Triathlon Magazine and Triathlete Magazine, and was a featured coach in Endurance Films TriMinds series. Team MPI has triathlon training plans available on Final Surge from the sprint distance through the Ironman.   How did you get your start in endurance athletics? How did you make the transition into triathlons? What lead to you starting Team MPI? Can you tell us about your group? How many coaches do you currently have on staff at Team MPI? You mentioned th

Welcome to episode 77 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome professional runner Kellyn Taylor and her coach Ben Rosario. Kellyn is coming off her top 10 finish at the New York City Marathon last November is one of the many amazing Americans in the Boston Marathon in April. We talk to Kellyn and her coach about the training to date and what to expect in Boston.  They share with us what the workouts look like, what Boston specific work they are doing and get into details about the hills and why they chose Boston for the spring marathon. Make sure you check out Ben's 10-weeks to Boston Blog and follow Kellyn online.   How did you get started in running? Ran in middle school High School moved to running all year and became state champion Went to a Jr College then Witchita State You ran a great race at NYC, at what point did you decide Boston was going to be your next race? After NYC decided was not going to do a spring marathon Changed mind shortly after How is your training going, where are you with it

Welcome to episode 77 of the Final Surge podcast where we talk to coach Steve Palladino on Power meters for runners. Back in episode 61 we addressed power with Jim Vance, today we take another look at it and dive deeper into the numbers and success stories. If you want to get even more information make sure you check out Steve's power Facebook group which you can find in the show notes.    Can you tell us about your background and how you got involved in running Ran in middle/high school (4:27 mile) Ran in Jr College then U California David Post-collegiate ran 2:16 at Boston in 1979 and ran for Adidas Then became podiatrist  Started running again late 30's In 40's started competitive cycling and was an early adapter to power meters for bikes A lot of questions still on power for running, why are you such a fan of running with power? Power is an output, closest measure of what is going on metabolically to produce our movement Power will show similar effort on track, on roads or even on a dirt hilly trail Ca

Welcome to episode 76 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome Chi Running founder Danny Dreyer. Danny is a competitive ultra runner who found a better way to move when he started doing Tai Chi. Danny wrote the book Chi Running which is hugely successful and we talk about his journey into Chi Running. Final Surge has started offering Chi Running Plans and you can check them out under our training plans section at FinalSurge.com    How did you get started in running? Grew Up in Boulder and started in 1971 Decided to do an ultra, trained over 3 years Ran man ultra races Moved to San Fran started learning Tai Chi What was it you learned about Tai Chi that you decided this could help with running Moved with body around central axis Arms and legs got in sync with each other  Watched those who passed during races and they had relaxed forward leans Move from center If you were speaking to everyday runners what the biggest difference is between what they are doing and Chi Running, what would it be? You lose s

Welcome to episode 75 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome back Dr. Jay Dicharry. Jay is the author of a must-have book for any coach, Anatomy for Runners. Jay has a follow-up book he has just released called Running Rewired. We have all heard of the book Born to Run, but are we born to run or is it something that we adapt to over time. Jay discusses that as well as how deliberate practice can make you more efficient. Make sure you check out Jay's book Running Rewired which you can find on his website An Athlete's Body.   We had you on episode 49 of the Final Surge podcast so welcome back. On episode 49 we talked a lot about your book must own book Anatomy For Runners. You have a new book out called Running Rewired. I am more of a wi-fi guy so what do you mean about runners getting rewired? Get past running requires amazing flexibility or strength  How your nervous system impacts how you move If someone read your book Anatomy for Runners, why should they read this too, what would they get Running Rew

Welcome to episode 74 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome back Hoka NAZ Elite Coach Ben Rosario who talks about what he has planned for the Boston Marathon. Ben has two elite runners, Kellyn Taylor and Scott Smith who will be competing in Boston. We are just over 10-weeks out from Boston and Ben is offering three new training plans that are specific to the Boston Marathon. These three plans are tailored to the level of runner you are. In addition to the training plans Ben will have a weekly blog post which talks about exactly how to execute the training plans for the upcoming week. Make sure you check out his plans on FinalSurge.com/10weekstoboston and follow along with his professional athletes as they prepare for the unique course that is Boston.  You have two runners joining the great American field at the 2018 Boston Marathon, want to talk about them? Kellyn Taylor off a top 10 finish in New York City Scott Smith coming off a 2:12 PR in Frankfurt With Boston you never know what the weather will

Welcome to episode 73 of the Final Surge Podcast. We have had some great runners on this podcast. Neely Spence Gracey, Nick Willis, Nick Symmonds, Dathan Ritzehein, Kim Conley and more, but maybe none has had a bigger influence on the running scene, especially the American running scene like today's guest. Today we welcome American mile record holder, Alan Webb. Alan retired from running in 2014 and has not been seen much around the running community since then, but that is about to change. Alan is part of a group starting a new coaching service called RunDoyen. We talk to Alan about the goals of the business and how you or anyone else can get personalized coaching from him and other professional runners. We also spend a little time talking about his training and the state of American middle distance running. Please remember to share this podcast on social media.    Before we get to some questions about your career, let’s find out what you have been up to for the last three years. How is the truck repair busi

Welcome to episode 72 of the Final Surge podcast where today we welcome runner and coach Jacob Puzey. Jacob and I have a great conversation about his early running career and how those experiences and the coaches he worked with influenced who he is today and how he coaches. Jacob was the top Canadian male in Boston in 2017, is the 2016 and 2017 Canadian Road 50K National Champion and has a great coaching resume. Jacob's business Peak Run Performance is teaming up with Final Surge in the coming weeks to offer new coaching services in several languages, so watch out for that.     Could you give our listeners your background on how you started running back in the day? Middle school basketball player Did not come naturally had to work at it 10th grade started running year round How did the high school career and running career after high school go? Qualified for Oregon XC State Meet as a senior Tough Oregon high school area Ran against a lot of future D1 college runners Ran for a Junior College who was defendi