rebuiltpt
Running coach/PT posting practical plans (10–12 week chunks), easy vs. hard days, and endurance-building systems.
Ease Into Sprints to Boost Distance Running Safely
Sprints can be very beneficial for distance runners. But you still need to ease into this type of training. Muscle and tendon forces are REALLY high during sprinting. If you haven’t attempted it in years, you run the risk of pushing into injury. Don’t just try to replicate some sprint workout from TikTok.
Progressive Overload, Not Rush, Heals Injured Tendons
Most injured runners I meet do a pretty good job at the initial phase of calming down their tendon injury. They do things like relative rest, avoiding irritating activities and letting the tendon settle down. What they usually mess up...
Positive Splits only Work on Downhill, Wind‑assisted, Short Races
When race planning, I can’t think of a reason why I’d recommend attempting positive splits instead of even or negative splits outside of a few scenarios: 1. Course profile is downhill in first half, uphill in 2nd half. 2. Heavy...
Stop Running When Pain Persists Beyond 48 Hours
“How much pain is too much pain to keep running?” If you’re asking this question, a short break of a few days might be needed. But here are the criteria I use. If these signs are present I recommend a break...
Don’t Bank Time Early; It Costs You Later
Here’s your reminder that you can’t bank time in a marathon. Pushing early to gain time almost always ends up poorly the last 10k.
Light Running During Rehab Won’t Delay Recovery
"Why continue running while rehabbing an injury, won't that make it worse?" Usually no. It only makes things worse if you keep training as if nothing happened. With most running injuries, we're looking at a period of 6-12 weeks of rehab. Maintaining...
Consistent Structure Boosts Volume, the True Performance Driver
I’ve seen a lot recently about how running volume isn’t as important as weekly structure or progressive overload. But both of these factors ultimately lead to improved volume which is a key driver of success in running performance. Nearly every...
Plan Your Race Pace Around Elevation, Not Just Goal
We’re at the point in the year where a lot of runners are approaching a big race. A few weeks out I think it’s good to have a general race plan, with the expectation that things may change depending on...
Run More, Not Just Better Technique, to Boost Speed
Amen to this. But somehow this message often gets convoluted into “you need to practice your running technique to get better at running” rather than “you need to put in more running volume to run faster ”. Running more increases...
Track Multiple Pain Metrics for Real Rehab Progress
When rehabbing a running injury, don’t just track pain as a yes/no result to measure progress. We need to track things like: - Pre-run pain - How long could you run before pain? - Pain intensity during the run - Pain...
Recovery Needs Vary; One‑size Workout Schedule Increases Injuries
Some runners can handle a big run/workout every 3-4 days, while others need 5-7 days to recover between big effoets. We can’t just assume everyone can do a workout on Wednesday/Saturday each week. IMO this is part of the reason...
Adapt Your Run Plan, Not Just Follow Rigidly
Not following a training plan can create a situation where a runner progresses too aggressively and lead to injury. But so can strictly following a training plan. It’s common for runners to follow a plan, start to feel aches/pains, but...
Tailor Taper Length to Fatigue, Not a Fixed Rule
When tapering for a race, it’s important to take into account accumulated fatigue. Don’t just do a 3 week taper because it’s “standard”. The purpose of a taper is to reduce accumulated fatigue from a tough training block. A high...
Gradual Long-Run Build Ensures Sustainable Marathon Success
I like using a conservative progression for long runs during marathon training. Here’s a year-long progression of a runner who ran very well in year 2 as a marathoner. We include periods of building, sustaining, back off, then building again....
Build a Solid Base Before a 16‑week Marathon Plan
Most online marathon plans are too short, and progress too quickly. If your marathon training block is truly only 16 weeks, I think you should be entering that plan with a solid base already. This generally means: - Being able to...