I think I outdid myself this week.

Sometimes I just can't help it.

I get an idea from you all and my PT brain goes "LETS FIX EVERYTHIGN!"

(ya know, I'm gonna leave that typo there. Just to emphasize the chaos inside my brain.)

Now don't get me wrong: I love the satisfying feeling of crushing a high mileage week. In another life time before chronic illness really set it, I would routinely run 50-55 mile weeks.

And I remember in that ramp up stage...

Things could get kind of creaky. And achy.

I also remember struggling with hard workouts on the back end of the those weeks. Why Thursday was tempo day, I don't know, but I really didn't like Thursdays.

Not because I didn't like the tempo work, but because I didn't feel strong enough to handle it.

My legs were tired and felt gunky. I was always reaching for that next gear to match the pace I was chasing and I just couldn't.

Until...

I got smart. And now I'm sharing those "Secrets" with you.

I wanted to make you a strength circuit this week that would help bridge that gap to the 50 mile week. (yes, this still applies to you even if you're not aiming for that fancy number.)

But I wanted to give you a home-friendly, lower body strength circuit that hit your quads and hamstrings with a side of spicy plyos.

• Because as mileage increases, your quads particularly get fatigued and like to dump load into your patellar and quad tendons (hello knee niggles).
• And quite frankly, I added hamstrings because we forget about them. Which is a tragedy, because they're our secret to speed. Don't worry; I've added a twist to the hamstring exercise so you also "wake up" your glutes and get them involved too.

But I wanted to give you a strength circuit that could help you chase whatever your high mileage looks like. Maybe that's 20 to 30 miles. Maybe that's 40 to 50. Doesn't really matter.

Because your body only knows time and load. It doesn't really care about arbitrary units of measurement.

So looping back to "I love the satisfying feeling of crushing a high mileage week...", I wanted to be incredibly clear on something and the running fit fam newsletter felt like the best place to say it.

You do not have to run 50+ mile weeks to be a real runner. This does NOT have to be your goal ever if you don't want it to be. You don't have to chase high, crazy numbers if it doesn't make you happy.

But what I do want you to do....

is take care of that amazing body that does carry you mile after mile. Because regardless of how far or fast you run, stronger legs will always give you stronger miles.

Cool, cool, enough rambling for now.

Be sure to go check out that strength circuit if you ARE planning on chasing higher mileage anytime this year because the winning combo of BOTH plyo + 2 strength super sets will leave you feeling like the incredible hulk if he was a gazelle instead of a jolly green giant.

Until next time...

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit

P.S. if you've got 50+ mpw up ahead and you DON'T want to fall apart, have to stop, and potentially lose your running fitness, you're going to want to check out this MEGA lower body strength circuit I made for base building runners.

Looking for MORE ways to work together?

• ​RUNNING RESCUE CALL: Save your run and your race. Work directly with me 1-on-1 at the first sign of an ache, niggle, or repeat running injury. We'll deep dive into the why behind your injury and create a personalized exercise program that gets you out of pain, keeps you running, and helps prepare you for race day!
• Grab my NEWEST FREE Strength resources for runners: The Calf & Achilles Cure Toolkit, made for marathoners sidelined by stiff, painful achilles and tight, injury-prone calves who want to protect their training cycle and show up to the starting line strong, pain-free, and ready to race.
• ​STRONGER FEET WORKSHOP: Losing the battle to plantar fasciitis, posterior tib pain, or reoccurring Achilles tendonitis? Not with this workshop ;)

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