Quick Splits
— I’ve really been enjoying the Science of Sport Podcast with professor Ross Tucker and sports journalist Mike Finch of late. If you're interested in dissecting the whole Vaporfly/shoe tech/performance/fairness debate, listen in to the most recent episode, “The Shoe That Broke Running,” which also includes some commentary from biomechanist and top ultrarunner Geoff Burns (whose work I linked to last week and the week before). It’s an incredibly comprehensive and insightful conversation. One of the topics they briefly discussed that I’m interested in learning more about is what longterm effect does regular training and racing in Vaporflys (and similarly constructed shoes from other brands) have on performance, biomechanics, injury rates, etc. There hasn’t been a whole lot of research done on this yet but my hypothesis is that there’s a profound effect on all of the aforementioned areas (and probably some that I’m not thinking of right now) based on what I’ve experienced and observed.
+ Yesterday, the IAAF technological committee had a conference call to discuss whether or not the Vaporfly and similar super shoes should be banned from competition. And while I don’t have the results of said call as of this writing, Sean Ingle of The Guardian doesn’t think they’re going to do squat about them. “I have news for the athletes and agents who have approached the IAAF, athletics’ governing body, urging it to ban the shoes,” Ingle writes. “It is not going to happen. In fact do not be surprised if the arms race in shoe technology soon goes nuclear.” I, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if things go this way given the layers and levels of bureaucracy that exist within the sport. That said, I don’t think it should go this way: A “no-holds-barred” (with the exception of motors) approach to footwear technology will undoubtedly get out of hand really fast. Most every other sport that I can think of has clear regulations and guidelines pertaining to key pieces of equipment—running shoes shouldn’t be any different. (And to the naysayers: regulation wouldn’t discourage innovation. I think regulation, like any other constraint in life, can actually help encourage it.)
— Parker Stinson was amongst a number of American men who had themselves a day at the Chicago Marathon a couple weeks back. Here’s what his training looked like three weeks out from his 2:10:53 eleventh-place finish. I appreciated the honesty of Stinson’s entries and the detail he went into for each run and workout. Biggest takeaways (reminders, really): 1. Marathon training fancy need not be fancy to be effective; 2. Train your stomach as much as you train your legs and lungs; 3. The goal of training isn’t to feel amazing on race day—it’s to equip you with the tools to still run well if you’re not feeling that great.
— Enjoyed Shalane Flanagan’s “exit interview” with Chris Chavez of Sports Illustrated, particularly the part where she talks her primary responsibility as a coach. “The number one thing in coaching is showing up and caring,” Flanagan told Chavez. “If people feel that you care, it really has so much power.” As I often tell aspiring coaches who come to me for advice about who or what they should study, what certifications they should obtain, which clinics or conferences they should attend, etc.: You’ve got to know your sh*t but it’s more important that you give a sh*t. Your athletes won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
— This recent episode of The Rich Roll Podcast with obstacle racing champion, ultrarunning badass, and all-around awesome human being Amelia Boone is worth two hours of your time. Boone, who I’ve had on my own show twice now (most recently on Episode 76 in early September), goes deeper into her struggle with disordered eating than in any other conversation I’ve heard take part in to date. They also discuss the difference between an eating disorder and disordered eating, childhood trauma’s effect on easting disorders, shame spirals, gratitude, building a strong foundation for longterm recovery, and a lot more. “Disorder thrives in shame,” she explains. “The disorder thrives in holding it close and not being open about it. But at the same time you also worry about how everyone else is going to view you now, now that they know this, and are they going to tread you differently. It is very much something that has been this difficult dance to kind of figure out.”
— Claire Shorenstein, a registered dietician and nutritionist, recently had me as a guest on Episode 12 of the Eat For Endurance Podcast, where we discussed how I got into running, my past struggles with disordered eating, how my relationship with food and nutrition has evolved over time, and how I balance my own training with coaching, writing and podcasting. You can find the episode wherever you listen to podcasts or stream it at this handy link.
— Pete Julian’s first (and as of this writing, only) Instagram post was an interesting one. Julian, who was Alberto Salazar’s right-hand man with the Nike Oregon Project, will continue to coach the athletes he was working with in the now defunct group, although his new squad doesn’t have a name yet. They won’t be called the Oregon Project (the team was officially shut down a couple weeks ago), however, and it doesn’t seem as any of Salazar’s direct reports will be a part of Julian’s newly distinct entourage. So why the post? And why “disband” the Oregon Project if not much has changed except the name of the team? A couple reasons: 1. The group was always Salazar’s baby and since it will be quite some time before he holds a stopwatch again, Nike did away with it. 2. Marketing. The Oregon Project will forever have a massive stain on it, no matter what efforts are taken to clean up its image. And while Julian and his athletes will always be looked at suspiciously because of their association with Salazar’s shady operation, it will be a lot easier to market the group—and attract new athletes moving forward—with a new name and some separation, even if it’s mostly nominal.
— My wife and I saw Mumford and Sons play live last month in San Francisco and the acoustic version of the song Beloved, a tune that’s as beautiful as it is sad, has been playing on repeat in our house, car, and heads ever since. It’s a song about loss, love, and looking ahead, and I recommend giving the lyrics a listen regardless of your preferred genre of music.
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