Deena Kastor is an American long-distance runner and 8-time national cross country champion. She was the holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, she won the bronze medal in the women's marathon. She ran collegiately for the University of Arkansas, coached by Joe Vigil and Terrence Mahon, and post-collegiately coached by husband Andrew Kastor. Kastor has earned two silver medals in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and holds U.S. records in the women's road 10 mile, 15K, and 8K. She formerly held the women's marathon, half marathon, 10,000m, and road 5K records. Kastor has won multiple awards, including the Jesse Owens Award, USATF Runner of the Year (2001, 2003, 2004, and 2008), and C.C. Jackson Award. She has been inducted into the New York, National, and Southern California Jewish Sports Halls of Fame.
Add sprints at the end of easy days once a week. Do 8x474 seconds with 1 minute recovery every other week to reach your goal. Transcript: "Greg, it is awesome that you keep putting lofty goals out there. If you want to break five minutes in the mile, start off by adding some sprints at the end of easy days once a week. Then, every other week, try this workout, eight times 474 seconds with one minute recovery. As soon as you can do this, you can reach your goal. Good luck."
Sleep is the best way to recover, but an easy run can help flush out lactic acid and other build-up in muscles. Transcript: "Hi, Daniel, I've heard the term active recovery quite often and don't tend to believe in it too much. I think recovery the best. Recovery happens in sleeping because your cortisol levels, go down that stress hormone and your human growth hormone naturally increases. So sleep is a Surefire way to make sure that you're recovering well and anything active, should be taxing and Energy System, that's important. And so an easy run. Some may consider it a recovery run, is really an aerobic run and a chance to get your metabolism up to flush out some of the lactic acid and other things that build up in our muscles when we're working out hard. So everything has a purpose, but sleep is the ultimate recovery."
To avoid boredom when running, itโs important to have some tools in your pocket before you head out and run like a to-do list or questions to ask. Itโs also important to mix up your terrain, sightsee along the way, charge hills and pick up the pace to stay engaged in the run. Transcript: "Boredom really. Oh my gosh. I think it's important to have some tools in your pocket before you head out and run whether that's a to-do list. Something to troubleshoot thinking of a question to ask here on the any questions app and and let that fill your time, the more tools you have in your pocket, the more engaged you're going to be on a run so if you start to find that, you don't really have anything to think about, maybe it's important to start. Having fun with the terrain mixing up where you're running and really sightseeing along the way charging Hills picking up the pace until you hit the next tree or stoplight, have fun with it. Be engaged in the run and and in doing that it's going to keep you excited. Keep you in the sport longer and hopefully keep you boredom free."
Pain is temporary, but results are forever. Keep pushing towards your goals and the reward will be worth it. Transcript: "Hi Lane, what a great question and I think my answer might be different on any given day, but I was recently at a race and someone was holding a sign on the side of the road that said pain is temporary online results there forever. And it really made me continue my run thinking that sometimes we can't be in the presence present. Sometimes, we have to look forward to what our goals are and what we're trying to accomplish and at any given moment, if it takes us out of that discomfort and into a place, Ice that gets us toward that celebration. So it really hit home to me and I think about it often both in training and in racing that giving it my best and getting through those tough patches are what makes that finish line and getting to those results. So rewarding"
Talent is innate, but it is character building and intrinsic motivation that will make an athlete truly blossom. Transcript: "What a great question and I've, particularly had a pretty big struggle with the word talent because from a very young age, I was told that I was talented in the sport of running and from age 11 on through my youth running years and into high school and college, I relied on that talent but the talent didn't really teach me anything, it wasn't until I was a post Collegiate athlete, trying to decide whether to open up a bakery or see how Far I could get in this great sport that I finally hunkered down and had the work ethic that really built the character traits within me in such a short amount of time. So I believe that that Talent is just innate within some people, but it's the character building that really is the gem that sport has to offer. So shoving, that Talent aside, and really seeing how the choices you make And the and the intrinsic motivation that you can create for yourself really allows you to Blossom as an athlete. It's a lot of times not about succeeding in getting to a goal as far as time or distance are placed but really about how you can keep evolving and getting better as a human being and that is really the value that sport has to give us"
Runner's high is a feeling of euphoria experienced when your mind and body are operating at 100%. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it feels like you can run forever without tiring. Transcript: "Michael, what a great question. I've been running for 38 years and can count on my two hands. The time I have felt the runner's high and really me. I csikszentmihalyi is the psychologist that coined the term flow or runner's high and it is when your mind and body are operating at 100%. It doesn't happen very often. But when it does you feel like you can run hard Forever Without tiring. It is such a euphoric feeling. That's not to discredit the thousands of other experiences that have you feel the endorphins and the good Rush that running has to give. So keep chasing that high."