STARTING FROM SCRATCH
WITH NATOSHA ROGERS
photo credit: @primetimeactionfoto
LISTEN
This episode of the A to Z Running Podcast we had the privilege of interviewing 2x U.S. Champion Natosha Rogers about starting from scratch. Natosha gives both practical and inspirational take aways.
Stick around for the world of running segment as well, where we discuss recent news from the Berlin Marathon, marathon fueling, and a glimpse at a pro marathoner’s training plans.
INTRO
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- Follow and Subscribe (on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform)
- Thank you to Chelsea of Mae’s Menu for improving my runner’s bread! You’ve heard me mention the amazing recipes developed with runners in mind that you can find at maesmenu.com. So many great recipes and I was honored that Chelsea was willing to develop and perfect my recipe! Healthy Cinnamon Apple Bread Recipe
- Sponsor: Rooftree Health(Sidenote: You CAN travel with the massage gun in your carry on while flying.)
- Relieves muscle pain, soreness, and stiffness
- Promotes blood circulation
- Improves range of motion
- Accelerates warm up and recovery
Main Topic: Starting from Scratch
Multiple time US Champion Natosha Rogers knows what it’s like to start again from scratch. Rogers has been generous in sharing about her running career with a couple major restarts. Because we wanted to get at the very specific topic of restarting, we don’t get to all of Natosha’s amazing story. To hear more of her life and sport, I recommend listening to her conversation with her sister on the podcast ReeFlex.
About our Guest: Natosha Rogers
Briefly, Natosha is the 2012 NCAA 10,000m champion. That same season, Natosha was the US Olympic Trials runner-up despite a fall during the race. Because she was just shy of the world standard, Natosha did not compete at the Olympic Games. Instead of pursuing an immediate career in running, Natosha spent her final college semester studying abroad before signing her first pro contract. In 2017 Natosha rose again to one of the best in the country with a win at the USATF Half marathon Championships and two other road racing championship podium finishes that year. In early 2018, her world was rocked when she hurt her knee and had a surgery go wrong and had to withdraw from the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Spain.
This is where Natosha had to start from scratch. You will hear more in the interview. But when she returned to running she joined Hansons Brooks Distance Project rising yet again to the top of US distance running as the runner up at the 15k championships and the 2020 USA Cross Country Champion.
In this episode we discuss with Natosha the return physically, rediscovery of identity, and the return to the sport of running.
Follow Natosha:
Instagram: @natosha_rogers
YouTube: Natosha Rogers
World of Running
Berlin Marathon (as reported by Letsrun.com)
- First marathon majors of 2021
- Recall the Ethiopia’s Kenesia Bekele had announced he would be attempting Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:39 world record (note: Bekele ran 2:01:41 only two years ago, so this wasn’t surprising)
- Men’s race was definitely honest:
- “hit halfway in 60:48 — the fastest first half split ever in a marathon” (only 3 men were on at the half)
- For further context, they were 14:22 at 5k and 28:47 at 10k
- Became a “last man standing” race after that
- Winner: Ethiopia’s Guye Adola in 2:05:45
- Slowest win since 2009 at Berlin
- Conditions maybe a factor (60 degrees, 80% humidity)
- Adola is relatively fresh to the majors scene still (only his second notable performance)
- Bekele still finished 3rd
- Women’s race also opened up quickly:
- At half, only 4 women were in the race
- By 35k, Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase was all alone… and in her debut marathon
- She eventually went on to win her debut in 2:20:09
- Side note… what do retired champs do? Apparently keep running
Shalane Flanagan, though no longer a professional runner, still runs marathons and plans to run several of the majors in a row this fall.
- Goal us under 3 hours for each one, but apparently she was feeling good because she ran Berlin in 2:38
- See how she feels next week in London!
2. Marathon nutrition (from womensrunning.com)
- Not a lot of surprises in the article
- Good reminders about how to plan the amounts of things your body needs (based on things like size, volume of sweating, etc.)
- What’s missing? Don’t miss ongoing research around fueling based on how things absorb as well – if we only think about amounts and basic things like electrolytes and carbs, we’re missing some serious space for optimization.
- Need a more compelling read on these things? Worth checking out Stacy Sim’s ROAR
3. A glimpse at a pro’s marathon training (from Podium Runner)
- Always interesting to see precise details about a pro’s marathon training (this is one of the reasons we love Ryan Hall’s book)
- Jared Ward (2016 Olympic Marathon 6th place)
- Example of a week of training 7 weeks before the 2021 NYC marathon
- What would we expect to see during this period of training? More aggression and intensity balanced with strong volume
- Our reaction: pushing too hard with intensity for marathon training is a big risk in offsetting the balance as well as delaying recovery/quality sessions
And if you need training or coaching support, check us out at atozrunning.com/coaching
KEEP LISTENING
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