Andrew Colley: Build Your Best Base Now 04/22/2020

Andrew Colley: Build Your Best Base Now

 


If you watched the 2020 U.S.A. Olympic Marathon trials in Atlanta
on February 29th, you may have noticed one of the men running
with long, flowing. fabulous locks of hair trailing behind him.
Or blowing into his face depending on the strong winds that day.
And you may have thought: “Who is that guy?”


This week’s interview is with professional runner Andrew
Colley.  Andrew runs at On ZAP Endurance in Blowing Rock, NC
where Runners Connect hosts running retreats every fall. 
Andrew is in the top tier of American distance runners and holds
some incredible personal records, like 2:12 in the marathon, 1:02
in the half, and 13:40 in the 5k.  This guy is super fast
and incredibly talented.


 


We dive into what kinds of things he and the other men and women
at ZAP are doing that helps them be so successful in endurance
running.  Is it just talent? Is it the shoes? Is it the
food? And what is the team doing right now with the calendar
wiped clean of races?


 


In short, Coach Claire asked Andrew how he could help us become
better runners and he absolutely delivered.  We talked about
both mental and physical training tips, a little bit about
nutrition, and more.


 


What is refreshing is that professional runners might not be so
different from us after all.  Sure, it's their job to run
for a living, but we can use similar techniques and habits to get
the most out of our running too.  And it sounds like there
are a few things Andrew thinks elites can learn from us as well!
Questions Andrew is asked:

 


2:08 How is everyone at ZAP handling the current quarantine
situation?


3:12 How do you plan for long-term goals without any upcoming
races to plan for?


4:36 How has your training changed, especially the hard to easy
ratio?


5:34 How would you explain ‘strides’ to a brand new runner?


7:26 Your last race was the Olympic Marathon Trials in February
where you came to the starting line with a 2:12 PR.  It
sounds like it wasn't your day. Can you tell us a bit about what
happened?


9:19 Is this an injury you’ve had before or a new one?


10:45 What kind of company is ON?


11:04 I reached out to our audience on Facebook and asked them
what kinds of topics they'd like to learn about and I think this
one from Pete Fenn is great to ask you:  "Do you have any
tips or ideas for how to be able to really ‘go for it’ in the
midst of races of any distances, to get over the intense feeling
that you just don’t have any more gears to go up to?"


13:09 Do you practice mental training outside of running?


14:37 Is it as important to visualize negative race circumstances
as much as positive outcomes?


15:54 One thing that I caution my athletes about is:, while we
can learn a lot from elite runners such as yourself, we shouldn't
train like elites for many reasons.  Do you agree with that?


18:17 How much slower, by minutes, is your easy run pace than
your marathon pace?


19:27 What do you do for recovery and what’s the most important?


22:32 What is the nutrition philosophy at ZAP?


25:08 How do you approach nutrient-timing?


25:47 What is your favorite indoor workout?


27:02 What’s next for you with the calendar being pretty empty?


28:38 What advice would you give yourself back when you started
running?


29:29 What is the best gift running has given you?


30:30 How can people connect with you?
Quotes by Andrew:

 


“The last thing you want to do is get yourself ready for a hard
effort when there isn’t going to be one. So, it’s just about
getting that base and keeping a mindfulness that there is purpose
behind that base and that it will serve you in the long-term,
even if that’s 6-10 months from now.”


 


“You’re not running top speed for that whole stride, but you get
up to it and you touch it. Whereas when you’re finishing the
stride, you should be at that speed. It should make you feel like
you’re fast.”


 


“Recovery is not the ABSENCE of training; it IS training in
itself.”


 


“I like to warm up into my runs, whether that’s doing drills or
doing the first couple minutes walking. I like to get the body
into running mode. I count that as part of recovery because it is
easier on your body.”


 


“To look on the positive note: there are no races in the future,
so if I have to miss time I guess this is the best time to be
missing.”


 


“There’s been several times in my career when I’ve just seen the
race happen in my head and when the race comes, it’s not
surprising. It’s more of a habitual reaction because you’ve been
there before.”







Take a Listen on Your Next Run


 


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Mentioned in this podcast: 

Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community


RunnersConnect Facebook page


Andrew’s ZAP Athlete Bio


ON ZAP Fitness


ON Shoes


 


Follow Andrew on:


 


Instagram


Twitter


Andrew’s Website


 







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