Running Coach Greg McMillan on Training "Your Way, Better"

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Episode Summary: We explore some of the powerful coaching techniques and mindset strategies world-class running coach Greg McMillan uses to help his athletes achieve breakthrough performances. What stands out about Coach McMillan’s philosophy is how it truly caters to the individual. And for someone who coaches thousands of runners, both elite and recreational, he clearly has a process that’s working. What we think you’ll love most about this episode is the idea of being flexible with your training. Not doing exactly what’s written down on your training plan is probably the hardest thing for runners, but it’s this small change - the ability to adapt your training based on how you feel each day - that can help you experience the biggest gains in performance. "That's what the thinking training is about. I need to have strategies to deal with this lizard brain. If it starts to get fired up, I've got to have something pull me back into what I know is my optimal mindset.”

Episode Notes:

(2:36) What defines success? Training programs for Chicago and Boston marathons…

(6:39) Process goals are an effective measure…

(10:36) Methods for remote mindset training…

(14:52) Greg’s running history…

(18:10) “It's not that you have to be a certain way. You just need to be your way, better.”

(21:01) “How can you manipulate the training and the racing to minimize the weaknesses and amplify the strengths? So over time, year after year, those become less and less of a weakness.”

(22:27) Process goals and growing out of failures…

(27:46) The most important running lesson…

(31:37) “If you can just stack successful week after successful week, that's where that fitness comes.”

(34:01) The optimal versus the maximal…

(35:10) Who showed up today?

(40:21) The big breakthrough for a lot of runners…

(45:22) Free speed and other simple concepts…

(55:11) A coach’s last bit of advice...

References:

McMillan Running - homepage

Running Nirvana: 50 Lessons to Elevate Your Running - Amazon

You (Only Faster) - Amazon