Over the years, I’ve interviewed a variety of coaches, athletes and health experts on The Extramilest Show. Here are a few quotes that have stuck with me, and I hope they’ll inspire you too:
“Whilst you’re making that hot drink, could you do 10 squads, 10 lunges on each foot and 10 calf raises. If you do that every day for a week or month, your legs are going to be pretty strong, you’ll adapt very very quickly.” – Dr Rangan Chatterjee (Extramilest Show #90 is launching tomorrow Nov 23rd – one of my favorite podcast shows I’ve ever recorded)
I know many runners struggle with implementing consistent strength training. Cutting down the task into small, manageable habits on a regular basis starts adding up over time.
“My training is day-to-day, so deciding how I feel to guide how hard I push the gas pedal down. So every morning, I’ll just check in with all of my systems, obviously my legs and my feet and my body, but also, where’s my head at, where are my emotions at, where’s my stress at, how is just everything feeling, and then help that kind of guide what I do for the training that day.”
– Courtney Dauwalter on Extramilest Show #88
Instead of sticking to a strict training schedule every day, Courtney has found a lot of benefits from adjusting her training on a daily basis. It has helped keep her excited and with minimal injuries.
“If you do one hard session and then after a few days after you do the same session and after a few days the same session then the body will say okay my stability will be at another level. 30, 40, 50 hard sessions during the year, that’s what makes adaptations, it’s not one hard session.”
– Kilian Jornet on Extramilest Show #51
Sometimes I see runners kill themselves with grueling workouts that are very hard on the body and mind. I’ve been there myself too in the past. It’s not the 1 workout that will make you a stronger, faster runner. It’s the consistent gradual adaptations over time that set you up for success long term.
“One thing I try to tell myself at that tough point of the race is, maybe this is what doing well feels like, and try very hard not to judge the effort of the race during the race. Like, we’re gonna be in a bad place mentally, leave that there’s plenty of time to analyze the numbers later, don’t do that, just focus on the task at hand and keep pushing.” – Julianne Dickerson on Extramilest Show #29
Being able to stay calm and controlled can make or break your race. Learning to embrace discomfort, knowing it’s temporary. It’s a fine balance with knowing when you can push and when you are causing damage. We don’t want to kill ourselves in a race, but we don’t want to be too soft either to reach our personal best.
These quotes are a reminder that growth – whether in running or life – comes from mindset, adaptation, and staying present.
Now, I need your wisdom.
I’m running a 30-second survey to learn more about what inspires and motivates you. It’s only 2 questions, and it’ll help me create better emails, podcasts, and videos.
And as a thank you, one lucky participant will win a $200 PATH projects gift card!
I’ll announce the winner in my next email.
Thanks so much for being part of this community.
Cheers,
Floris Gierman
P.S. I’d love to hear what resonates with you most – be sure to take the survey and let me know! Click here to enter. (I’m giving away a $200 PATH projects gift card)
