This week, I announced that I’ll be attempting to break the World Record for a Half Marathon Run on a Treadmill to raise money for STRIVE’s charitable projects (see link or video below). We’ve already seen a huge response from friends, family, as well as the general media. On Wednesday, I did an “A.M.A.” (Ask Me Anything) Interview on Reddit.com. An AMA is a special kind of interview in which the users generate the questions, with the more popular questions being “upvoted” to the top for the interviewee to answer.
Below, I’ve copied some of the most interesting questions from the AMA for those who don’t want to scroll through all 185 comments! It was a ton of fun and great to be interviewed by people who really understood the world of running. Hope you enjoy!
(For the entire, original interview, answers and questions are archived here)
User Irate_Rater: Hey Tyler, how did you progress so significantly over time, coming from a 20+ min 5k and becoming an elite runner? Also, if you can remember, what was your HS 5K PR?
Good luck on your WR attempt!
Ty: Great question to start with! I ran in high school, but honestly only because I needed athletic credit to graduate. I was really into music and writing and never though of myself as an athlete. I ran in the 20-22 minute range for my first few years, but never ran outside of the 10 weeks or so of XC season per year and was probably running at most 10-20 miles per week. In short, it wasn’t a super high priority.
Then, we got a new cross country coach my senior year and we really connected. I had always been under the impression that running was something you were either good at or not; it never really occurred to me that running more would make me faster. It sounds crazy in retrospect, but that’s the truth. And Jon (who is now coaching me again as a pro) really convinced me that training will make you better.
And so, I started to train. That fall of my senior year of HS (which would have been 2007), I went from 20’xx to 19’xx to ~18’20 by the end of the season. I think it was actually really luck that I was in a very weak league, because by the time I was running 18 minutes, I was actually doing very well in races. I loved the feeling of improvement and competition – especially not knowing any better and thinking I was really good all of a sudden 😉
I think the two big things that first season were (a) simply caring more – making running a higher priority and putting more into workouts and races and (b) actually running more. I probably only ran 30-40 miles per week, but the fact that I was running consistently and with more drive and focus was apparently enough to bring my time down to the point where I was hooked. After that, there was no going back!
User Zebano: Wow how did you move from 20min+ 5ks into being a much faster runner? Was there a particular breakthrough or just being more serious about your training? I can’t imagine you were running for a college at that speed.
Ty: So, I graduated from HS with an 18 minute 5k PR, but I had caught “the bug” of running and it wasn’t going away. For a lot of reasons, I decided to take a year off before going to college and improved drasitically that year. I spent most of the time in Quito, Ecuador (where I also currently live and train) and worked in a hospital there (I had thoughts of being pre-med). I also spent a lot of time training, still under the long distance tutelage of my HS coach, Jon.
We gradually built up my mileage that year and between consistent increase in volume and the benefits of training at altitude for the first time, I saw big results. I brought my 5k time down from 18 minutes to 15’49 (track) that year. Suddenly, running in the NCAA seemed pretty feasible.
I had already committed to attend Skidmore College – a small liberal arts school in upstate NY. Skidmore didn’t have an NCAA running team, and so I spent another year training essentially on my own and under Jon’s watchful eye. It was tough but extremely valuable in that I learned to push myself on my own and developed a great relationship with Jon. By the end of my freshman year, I was running about 32’20 in 10k and 15’30 in 5k (and maybe 70-85 miles per week) and I had decided to transfer (partly because of running and also partly because I had decided to study engineering).
And so, I ended up at Tufts University in Boston, MA. I was able to run on the team there (Div. 3) and get a great engineering education (I majored in mechanical engineering and astrophysics).
Even through college, I kept consistently increasing my training volume and intensity, peaking at 100 miles per week as a sophomore, 120 as a junior and 140 as a senior. My times continued improving as well, running 31’30 (soph), 30’22/14’53 (jr), and 30’30/14’40 (and 1’07 half marathon) as a senior.
Overall, the biggest things that led to long-term improvement were:
- Consistency in (increase of) training. A steady increase of volume and intensity of workouts over 5+ years. Not getting injured is key.
- Focus on long-term development. Always thinking about training to maximize long-term benefit, not quick success.
- Making running a higher priority. With greater training comes greater responsibility – this can be sleeping more, eating right, more work on drills, strength, etc. Doing all the “little things.”
TL;DR: Don’t get injured. Keep running more. Listen to your body. Focus on the long term. Do the little things.
User Dakisking: As a 20+ 5k runner in HS, what is your time progression from then to current day? Also, what was your training like?
Ty: Check out the above responses for a more wordy description 🙂
In terms of the numbers, here’s what I’ve got from my running logs:
2006: 20-25 minute 5k (10 weeks per year, 10-15 miles per week)
2007: 18’2x 5k (began running seriously in the fall, 30-40MPW)
2008: 15’49 5k (year-round consistent training, 40-60MPW)
2009: 15’45 5k, 34’50 10k, 1’20 HM (60-80MPW)
2010: 15’37 5k, 32’24 10k, 1’13 HM (80-105MPW – fresh/Soph)
2011: 15’10 5k, 31’39 10k, 1’10 HM (90-110MPW – soph/jr.)
2012: 14’53 5k, 30’22 10k (100-120MPW – Jr/sr)
2013: 14’40 5k, 29’48 10k, 1’05 HM (100-140MPW -sr/fall pro)
2014: Marathon Debut (peak ~150-165 MPW)
User Jackamoxc: What is your advice for a high school runner that wants to drop major time off their 5k, as you obviously did.
Ty: Hi Jack! The biggest thing that helped me is consistency. Running year round – even if you only run cross country – will help develop your aerobic system enormously. Particularly for XC, running over the summer is extremely important. Your first race might be in September, but the season really starts in June/July.
For me training at altitude also had a huge impact (from 18’xx to 15’49 as an 18 year old). If you’re in HS, you should check out STRIVE. It’s a great opportunity to train at altitude, travel abroad, and do some awesome service work. Feel free to message me with any questions about the programs (I’ll be leading trips in Peru this summer, by the way!)
User MrTacoMan: Any insight on how to combat getting impossibly bored on a treadmill? I live in a major city with terrible weather so I often get stuck having to do miles on the treadmill and insight here would be very helpful.
Ty: For me, there isn’t a great answer. I do almost all of my running outside and I’m lucky in that I currently live within visible sight of the equator and it’s almost always pleasant outside.
The few times I do run on treadmills are (a) when I’m visiting friends family in New England during winter and it’s too brutal outside and (b) if I want to do a faster workout at a very specific pace that I’m not super familiar with.
For (a), if it’s 0F outside and there’s 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground, I will sometimes run inside on a treadmill as opposed to traipsing through the slush for 12 miles. Honestly, the best thing I’ve found to keep myself from getting horribly bored is to watch a movie or episodes of a TV show. This kind of goes against my general principal of enjoying running and focusing on your run, but treadmills are tough and sometimes you’ve just gotta get through those 90 minutes… Podcasts are also good – someone mentioned “This American Life” which is one of my favorites. “Freakanomics” has a good one too. Also “Stuff You Should Know” if you’re into nerdy science/history stuff.
Oh one more thing for easy runs – COVER THE DIALS. There is nothing worse than watching every 1/100th of a mile click by. It makes it seem so much worse. If you’re just doing an easy run, set your pace, cover the screen/dials with a paper or towel or something, and try to avoid looking at your watch every 30 seconds 🙂
For (b), faster running, I find it much easier. If I have to actually focus on my workout (i.e. I’m running hard) I find it much harder to get bored and zone out.
User: Unthused: Would your training for this WR attempt differ much from any other race? I.e. anything specifically suited for treadmill running. I personally go crazy after more than a few miles on one, I can’t imagine spending an hour+.
Ty: Hi Unthused! My training will not differ very much from my original plan. I had originally marked out an early March half marathon to run during my buildup, and this event essentially takes the place of that run. I’ll get back to Boston the week of the event and will run on the treadmill a few times to get the feel of the machine, but for the most part my training will still be geared towards the marathon in April.
That being said, in prep for the marathon, I have done a lot of training which is also very beneficial to the half – lots of volume, long tempo runs, and some longer intervals at high volume at ~half marathon pace (i.e. 10x mile @4’58). I feel pretty confident and very excited going into the event!
User JuicyJa: Hey Ty, Good luck on your HM. A lot of runners advocate a raw/vegan diet. Any opinion on that? Also, what does your typical day’s diet look like?
Ty: Hey Juicyja, Great question! I guess I am actually in the minority of runners, as I USED to be a vegetarian until about freshman year of college (when I started running more seriously) and then did start eating meat. The reasoning for me was that I was suffering from anemia and it was recommended by my MD as the quickest and easiest solution.
To be honest, I don’t have a ton of scientific knowledge on the vegan/vegetarian vs. omnivore diet. I know there’s a ton out there, but I also recognize it as a very young and fairly polarizing field of science. I try to read as much as I can on nutrition, but I also try to accept that I don’t know that much (and I don’t believe any one source out there has all the answers).
There’s a great quote from a coach that I read recently (maybe Mark Wetmore?) who said something along the lines of “eat like you’re poor.” And that kind of sums up my diet well. Living in Ecuador, I have access to a lot of very cheap (and fairly nutritious) foods at local markets and that’s usually where I do all my shopping. My normal day might look something like this:
Pre morning run: Black coffee
Post morning run: yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal
Lunch: Egg sandwich with cilantro, onion, srirahca (yes – I had my girlfriend smuggle down 4 bottles from the US when she came to visit)
Post afternoon run: homemade smoothie (yogurt and fresh fruit)
Dinner: Lentils, brown rice, quinoa, fresh veggies, and some lean meat (white meat chicken or beef usually).
Treats would include some animal crackers, the occasional ice cream, or some pretzel m&ms – when my US supplier brings them down 😉
User Xenoplastic: I once looked up locations with stable temperatures and high altitude. I was surprised to see Ecuador at the equator provided amazingly stable temperatures and high altitude. I questioned it as a training location due primarily to how foreign the sport might be in the region. Kenya may be below the living standards of the USA, but it’s not uncommon to see people running around there, so you’d fit in pretty well as a runner. What’s it like in Ecuador? Do you get funny looks when training? Do you feel like you fit in?
Ty: Hi Xenoplastic! Really good question. If you are looking to be surrounded by a huge running culture, there’s nowhere like Iten, Kenya. That’s that. (And if you’re a high school or college student, but sure to check out STRIVE-Kenya for a way to spend some time training and doing service work there!)
When I first came to Ecuador in 2008, nobody ran at all. I did all my running in a park in the city and hardly ever saw anybody out jogging. There were no road races. I got a lot of whistles and cat-calls (though, I did get a lot of those in Boston as well…)
So, I was really surprised when I came back here in the fall of 2012 and found that Ecuador had a bit of a running boom going on. Where I live (Quito) there are road races almost every weekend, there’s tons of people running in the parks, they shut down the main thoroughfare of the city once a week for runners and cyclists. It seems like the culture has really shifted.
That being said, it’s still no Iten. I have done some training with some very good guys (28′ 10k/2’15 marathoners), but you don’t walk down the street and see legions of 2’10 guys just out for a jog.
Outside of Quito, I still get a lot of hoots and cat-calls. I go down to sea level about once a week for a bigger workout and it’s a very working-class town that has clearly not been reached by the running boom. I get a lot of weird looks, especially if I’m running in short-shorts 🙂
User Fran: You must have an iron will to be able to take on a WR treadmill HM attempt. Any tips on developing mental focus and determination as it relates to running and racing?
Ty: Hi Fran! Thanks for your comment!
So, I actually did a fundraising run similar to this last year in which I was running 5 minutes/mile for as long as possible (and then fans were allowed to guess at the final time with a donation!) You can check out the recap from that event here. So, I do have some experience with these very long hard runs on treadmills.
That being said, it certainly takes a long time to be able to run these very hard solo efforts. For me personally, I was lucky in that I spent the first few years of my training essentially on my own (both in Ecuador and as a freshman at Skidmore College). Running alone quickly forces one to develop this kind of will to which you’re referring. I distinctly remember doing long runs and track workouts on my own in the upstate-NY winter. It was rough. But it also trained my mind as much as my body.
There’s a great quote from Haile Gebreselassie – one of my personal heroes. He’s now a business mogul and political icon as well as still running 60-flat for half marathon at close to 40 year old. He said something like “I always tell young athletes the same thing, ‘Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running.’ This is discipline. You have to do it.”
I think that running on my own all those years taught me really well to quiet down that little voice in my head that’s always there – especially during a huge week of volume when my friends might want to go out or if I just feel totally exhausted from a hard workout. That voice is always there and says “Hey.. ya know… you could just… stay here, not go run. Watch a movie. Relax. Hang out with your girlfriend.”
But, to me, consistency is so vital that I know never to listen to that voice. The will to go out there and run twice every day, rain or shine, comes from the absolute desire to be at my best on race day. And I guess that get to the second part of your question which is closely tied to the first. My confidence in racing COMES FROM confidence in my preparation. I know that I haven’t cut any corners, slacked off, nothing. I’ve put 100% into my training and preparation and I know that that will translate into my races.
Bill Aris – the coach of the famed Fayetville-Manlius girls HS (a cross country power house) – is known for his mantra “The process is the goal.” I adopted this myself because it forces you to focus on perfecting your training, where you have much more control, as opposed to the race. If you perfect the process, the results will follow. I truly believe this.
So, (TL;DR) I know there’s no room for me NOT to give my all during training (sorry for the double negative) because that’s what I rely on to know that I’ll be ready to race when the day comes.
User Nuskita: Go Ty!! Can you tell us a bit more about the projects STRIVE works on, especially about the community center in Peru? Like how the project got started, what you guys have done so far and where the project is going. Is running going to be a part of the center?
Ty: Hi Nuskita!
Great question and glad to hear someone ask about our service work! A big part of why I’m running this event is to raise funds and awareness of these amazing projects, so I’m happy to talk about it here!
STRIVE is a program I started working for back in college that offers community service trips specifically catered to high school student athletes (particularly runners). We work in the same locations each year (Pisaq, Peru and Iten, Kenya) and so we have developed a long-term relationship with each town.
In Kenya, STRIVE has worked with the town of Iten since 2010. Groups of STRIVE students have built multiple classrooms, led classes, and tutored with a program called KENSAP – which brings gifted Kenyan youth to US for university study.
The Community Center in Peru is a project that was started in the summer of 2013. The project started as an empty garage, which a group of STRIVE students worked to covert into a functional, educational space. Our hope is to offer free educational resources (English and tutoring) as well as youth-empowerment through athletics (clubs, after school activities, etc. You can read all about it here. And can support online here!
User PonchedeBurro: How is it being a professional runner? Do you still enjoy running or is it more work which has to be done?
Ty: Hi PonchedeBurro!
Great question! First, being a professional runner is very much a choice that I made because I wanted to do it. Are there times where it feels like a job and I have to drag myself out of bed? You bet. But for the most part, I’m doing what I want to be doing most right now.
I think the biggest difference that I see now as opposed to college running (which, especially in Div 1, is very close to professional running) is that there aren’t really any excuses to back off. In college, you always have classes and tests and friends going out to parties to distract you, but as a professional, there is simply a lot less going on. I do some work for STRIVE which is mostly done online – answering emails, publicity, writing content, managing social media, etc. And so this fits very well into my lifestyle. I basically only run and recover, and that work first nicely in with the recovery time, since I can do it from bed in my pajamas 🙂
With that comes – in my opinion – the ability to train at a higher level. The intensity of your train workload must be proportional to the amount of recovery you can take. If you’re up until 2am in the engineering lab doing problem sets every night (a problem I had to deal with more than I’d like to admit during college), it’s just hard to run 20 miles a day without getting hurt. If you want to run a ton of mileage and really big workouts, you need to attack your RECOVERY with that same intensity as the workout. I did a 45km run at 6-minute pace at altitude a few weeks ago, but I slept for probably 14 hours that day and then only ran about 25 miles in the next 3 days.
User Pascalosti: When you run all out what is usually your brick wall that stops you? ( muscle fatigue, lack of oxygen, mind)
Ty: I think it can be a combination of things. Usually if there’s a real brick wall (i.e. something I CAN’T push though), it’s going to be physiogical, not mental. Running out of O2 is a big issue, especially training at over 9000ft. Last month, I set out to do my first 40km long run here in Quito (at 9300ft) and hit an enormous brick wall at about 20-25km (after some faster running in the first half). After talking with my coach, this was likely a combination of problems with altitude (oxygen debt) and fueling (carbohydrate debt).
In the marathon you’re constantly on the red line of using up your fuel stores (both in training and racing). The problem I found was that at altitude, trying to run a kind of uptempo pace for a long time was burning fuel WAY faster than it would at sea level. Thus, I found myself dead in the water halfway through the workout, whereas the next week I did a similar workout at sea level and managed the whole thing fine.
So, for more, problems of the mind I can usually push through. I’ve had enough bad races and workouts to know how quickly things can change (in either direction), so I try not to focus on how I’m feeling at one specific instant. If I feel tired 2 miles into a 10k, I don’t freak out because I have 4 miles to go, but I try to just get through that rough patch and hope/know it’ll get better. Honestly, that is really tough to do though and can take years (and I still don’t have it perfect – I still fall into negative feedback loops sometimes…)
TL;DR – the mind you can train. If you run out of fuel/oxygen, that’s a different story 🙂
User Runnerbro: Hey Tyler! I’m a STRIVEr currently dealing with injuries and was wondering if you have dealt with injures before. If so, what helped you to get back to running more quickly? Icing, stretching, strengthening, etc. Thanks!
Ty: Hey Runnerbro! Glad to hear some STRIVErs are on here too!
Injuries can be really tough. There’s a great passage in “Once a Runner” that begins “…” Very true.
Physically, there’s no one answer I can give you. All injuries are different and the rehab you should be doing depends entirely on your injury. In terms of specific things like whether you should be icing or heating, strengthening or resting, etc. should go to your coach or trainer.
I don’t have many set-in-stone rules, but one of them is: if you can’t run without limping, don’t run. While it might be torture to rest or sit on the bike for an hour while your friends are outside, running with a limp will almost always do more harm than good. You’re likely to make your injury worse or (sometimes even worse) injure something else by over-compensating your stride.
I missed a whole season of cross country because I sprained my back moving furniture into my apartment and then wouldn’t take any time off and continued to run with a limp for a few weeks until I developed a nagging calve injury which had me sidelined for the whole season.
In terms of mentally dealing with an injury – sheesh, you could write a book about it! That season of XC that I was hurt, honestly, it was really tough. Having a team definitely makes it better – you have people around you who are like your brothers and sisters and really care about how you’re doing, how you’re recovery is going, etc. Having a great coach that cares about you and really wants you to get better is also huge.
But at least in college, it’s really hard because being on a team becomes such a huge part of your identity. So, hanging out with all your friends or just sitting at dinner and hearing about the workout that they all just crushed can be really tough. You want to be happy for them, but at the same time, you just want more than anything to be out there.
If I have one suggestion, it’s to really attack your recovery. If you have PT to do, do it. As much as you can. If you can bike, get some good movies on your phone/laptop and get out there as much as you can. I always found that the more I felt like I was being proactive about my recovery, the more optimistic I felt.
If you really can’t do anything – try to distract yourself. Find another hobby. Play music. Join a club at school. Delve into your school work. Just don’t fester and obsess over how you can’t run. It’ll just make you more miserable.
In the long run, just know that you will get better. You will run again. And you will improve.
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