Episode 83 Sam Parsons

Welcome to episode 83 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome new professional runner Sam Parsons. Sam is a runner with Adidas and the new Tinman Elite running team in Boulder Colorado. In this episode, you will hear the enthusiasm Sam has for running and the running profession. We talk about Sam's high school days, his transition to running at NC State and what it is like running for Tinman, Tom Schwartz who he calls the mad genius of running. The Tinman Elite crew uses Final Surge as a training platform and it is great to hear the enthusiasm Sam and his teammates have for the sport. We dive into how the mental part of running is so important to Sam and how his training has changed under Tinman. How did you get your start in running? Multi-sport athlete Soccer, Swim, Lacrosse Watched sister run Soccer coach encouraged him to run cross country for conditioning Ran Nike Cross Nationals as a Senior After high school, you ran at NC State. What was a harder transition, transitioning from high school to college or college to the professional ranks? Transition to college was harder Burn out is high because of greater impact on the body Wasnt ready for demands on the body You mentioned one of the harder parts of jumping from high school to college was the milage demands, what were you running in high school? High School we had good workouts but the next day was an easy 30-minute recovery run, in college it was a 12-mile recovery run NC State is a development school with a 2-4 year plan What about the mental aspect, how has the mental part of running and competing changed as you have grown? Need to train the mind to be ready to close a race out Mind needs to tell yourself you will win and are unstoppable Need to stay positive How do you think you changed to become a more serious runner? Too many late nights As a professional need to take care of your self with sleep and eating right Many of us follow professional runners on Instagram and see runs in absolutely stunning locations, then naps, and free shoes… What has the transition to a professional runner been like? Never want to look back and think should've, could've, would've Boulder is a great place to be at You are running for Adidas now, how did that relationship develop? Started as an intern for Adidas tennis Would finish work and head down to the running department Fell in love with the company when worked for them Ran into Drew Hunter when he was racing there Reached out to Tom Schwartz You did the BAA mile where you got 5th and then recently ran the mile at Drake's. You ran a lot of 5-10ks on the track in college so is this miler thing just part of the training season you are in or what are your plans? Tom recognized I should run sub-4 If I want to be a great 5-10k runner I need to close in 55 seconds Need more speed work for long-term Working on developing speed Let's talk a little bit about training. You are now training with Tinman, Tom Schwartz. We have had him on the podcast in the past and this past January I had the privilege of getting to spend a little time with him while at a clinic. What has been the biggest change in your training? Tom is a mad genius He loves hills We run a lot slower now, easy days are now 7:30 pace Always wants us ready for workouts We don't taper, always ready to race Don't work on one system, work on speed and strength in workouts Tinman is known for his CV efforts. How do you define CV effort, what pace is that for you? Critical Velocity Pace you can hit and feel comfortable, K's a CV are about 2:55 or maybe 5:00 pace on longer runs Training is not hard, but easy workouts We did 8x600 last week with rest of 1:14, that exact Very rarely do we go hard to the well in a workout One of our loyal Twitter follers MacBane, a Twitter follower wants to know How do you have fun on race day? Smile Eat that cookie, enjoy it Opportunity to put on a show Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Unbroken and Beyond Jogging Current trainers you are wearing? - Adidas Solar Boost Favorite race? - 5k Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Tripple Berry Smoothie Your favorite workout - Mile Repeats and Long Run Resources Podcast with Tinman Sam on Twitter Sam on Instagram Tinman Elite on Instagram