ATC: Mindless vs. Mindful Running, Ironman Taper, Deep Thoughts on Stress and Overtraining, and More

Want to join the EP crew for Ragnar SoCal April 1-2, 2016? Email us now for details! Lucho's swimming again? Say what? What's "head-banging" have to do with training? Run analysis for loyal EP fan Van Dieu!- Overcoming being a "plodder"- Now activating the pelvis/hips, stabilizing core and upper body, driving forward using hamstrings/glutes- Problem: 'new' run style feels grossly exaggerated, much higher heart rate and foreign- Question: Run slower to stay at MAF or allow for higher HR to adopt new form??- watch the video of old vs new form. Examples of an Ironman tapering schedule: Traditional-ish:4th to 5th week out, cut run mileage first3rd week out, cut the bike, cut run more2nd week out, cut the swim, cut bike/run moreRace week: low volume, bouts of intensity & rest!Also:-strength maintenance (no weights)-cut the fat, cut the volume-add intensity-week before about 90min bike, 10ish mile run-and IT DEPENDS!!! OR: Lucho’s 5-week reverse taper:5th week: severe drop, cut more than 50% volume4th week: will likely feel crappy, 50% ish of peak volume3rd week: build back volume2nd week: volumeRace week: scale enough to be ready for the race More on adding intensity (i.e. threshold intervals) during Ironman taper Mental stress vs. physical stress. Is there any way of differentiating between low HRV scores caused by mental stress and those caused by training? Tawnee's mention of her recent open and honest blog post. - Thoughts on this article on Ryan Hall’s recent struggles & his mention of low T- More importantly, why we should leave Ryan Hall and his racing alone...- More on overtraining and athletes who come on strong but then aren't able to keep up with top results- OTS in ultrarunners reported in Outside Online- Can you get away with big volume if it's mostly MAF/zone 2, and mix in just a little intensity? Or can even that be too much?