FRC

🌡️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon – Extra Episode: Smart Heat Training Strategies

Training through summer heat requires more than just pushing harder.

Sometimes the smartest training decision is knowing when to adjust.

One strategy we use with athletes during extreme heat is the split long run.

The goal?

Get the aerobic benefit of the long run without creating unnecessary fatigue that impacts the next several days of training.

Here is how we approach it:

🏃 Start outside
Complete the first half (or slightly more) of the run outdoors to practice effort management, hydration, and heat exposure.

🌡️ Know when the heat becomes too much
When heart rate begins climbing quickly, effort becomes unrealistic, and the cost of continuing outside outweighs the benefit, it may be time to adjust.

🏠 Transition inside
Move the remaining miles to a treadmill and finish the workout in a controlled environment.

The key is planning ahead:

✅ Have treadmill access
✅ Have it set up and ready
✅ Make the transition quickly

This allows you to continue building aerobic fitness without creating excessive heat stress that can lead to:

❌ Days of poor recovery
❌ Lower-quality future workouts
❌ Increased risk of heat-related illness

Heat training can be valuable.

But the goal is not to prove how much discomfort you can tolerate.

The goal is to maximize the training your body can absorb.

These are the types of practical, evidence-based decisions we discuss throughout the Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon series and inside the FRC Performance Forum.

👉 Take our Training Gaps Assessment:
https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 Email [email protected] for more information about the FRC Performance Forum.

Value Statement:
“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

🥪🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 5 – Building Marathon Mileage Safely

One of the biggest mistakes marathon runners make isn’t running too little...

It’s building their long runs too quickly.

Today’s video is based on one of our favorite recent studies:

📚 Long Run Progression and Running-Related Injury Risk: A Cohort Study of Recreational Runners
Published: 2025
Authors: Rasmus Ø. Nielsen and colleagues
📄 Full Text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12421110/
PMCID: PMC12421110

One of the key findings introduced what many are calling the “new 10% rule.”

Rather than focusing on increasing your weekly mileage by no more than 10%, the study found that runners who increased their longest run by more than 10% compared to their longest run over the previous 30 days experienced a higher risk of running-related injury.

That doesn’t mean every increase over 10% causes an injury.

It does mean that large jumps in long-run distance should be approached with caution, especially when preparing for a marathon.

The goal isn’t simply to run farther.

The goal is to build fitness in a way your body can successfully adapt to.

We have a full FRC Study Breakdown of this paper saved in our highlights if you’d like to dive deeper into the research.

This is also the type of evidence-based discussion we’ll be having in our new FRC Performance Forum, where we’ll break down current research and help runners understand how to apply it to their own training.

👉 Take our Training Gaps Assessment:
https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 Email [email protected] for more information about the FRC Performance Forum.

Value Statement:
Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.

Follow Freedom Running Club
📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

Cross country season is getting closer! 🏃‍♂️🌳

Our latest Freedom Running Club VO₂ max session challenged athletes with:
✅ 2 Critical Velocity Miles
✅ 2 VO₂ Max 800s
✅ Completed on Shell Trail to better simulate the footing and demands of cross country racing.

This group included both high school and collegiate athletes preparing for a strong XC season by developing aerobic power, improving speed endurance, and adapting to race-specific terrain.

Every workout has a purpose. We don’t just train hard—we train smart.

Think your training could be more effective? Take our FREE Training Gaps Assessment to identify areas that may be holding you back:
🔗 https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

Interested in learning more about the FRC Performance Forum? Email [email protected] for more information.

Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.

📱 Follow us:
Instagram/Facebook: freedom running club
TikTok/YouTube:
Strava: Freedom Running Club

🥪🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 4 – What Should a Week of 5K/10K Training Look Like?

One of the most common questions we get is:

“What should my weekly training actually look like?”

The answer depends on your experience, goals, injury history, and current fitness, so these are general guidelines rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.

If you’re preparing for a race like the PB&J 5K or 10K, these are the three key runs we’d prioritize for most runners:

🏃 1️⃣ Long Run
Build your aerobic base, improve endurance, and increase your ability to handle training over time.

⚡ 2️⃣ One Fast Aerobic Workout
This could be a tempo/lactic threshold runs or VO₂ max/aerobic power session depending on where you are in your training.

😌 3️⃣ Recovery Run
Keep the effort easy. These runs promote recovery while adding valuable aerobic volume.

From there, if you’re running more days each week, we’d typically add:

➡️ Additional easy aerobic runs
➡️ Additional fast aerobic (runs when appropriate)
➡️ Strides or hill sprints/Fly 30s to maintain speed and running economy (when appropriate)

🏋️ Cross training can be an excellent way to continue building fitness while reducing impact, and rest days remain an important part of the process. Recovery isn’t taking time off from training—it’s part of the training.

The biggest takeaway?

Don’t worry about copying someone else’s week.

Build a schedule that matches your experience, fitness, recovery, and goals. The best training plan isn’t the one with the most miles—it’s the one you can consistently complete while staying healthy.

Want to see where your training could improve?

👉 Take our Training Gaps Assessment:
https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 [email protected] to learn more about the FRC Performance Forum.

Value Statement:
Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.

Follow Freedom Running Club
📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎵 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 3 – What Actually Drives Marathon Success
When it comes to marathon performance, most runners focus on one question:
“How many miles should I be running?”
But the research suggests the answer is more complex than a single number.
A key study helps frame this discussion:
📚 Training Volume and Training Frequency Changes Associated with Boston Marathon Race Performance
Published in 2025 (authors listed in PubMed Central record)
Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12441744/
PMC ID: PMC12441744
This study examined training patterns in Boston Marathon participants and their relationship to race performance, specifically looking at changes in:
• Weekly training volume (mileage)
• Training frequency (number of runs per week)
• Distribution of training sessions (easy runs, quality sessions, and recovery work)
Key Takeaway
Successful marathon performance was not just linked to higher mileage alone, but to how athletes structured their training across the week and how consistently they were able to absorb and progress training over time.

The Bigger Picture
There is no single “perfect mileage number” that guarantees success.

-Apply for coaching: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a
-Email: [email protected] for more information about the FRC Performance Forum
“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”
IG/Facebook: freedom running club
TikTok/YouTube: 
Strava: Freedom Running Club

🚀 Progress you can measure

Our latest FRC VO₂ Max Test Day brought together high school and collegiate athletes preparing for cross country season. Each athlete completed a 1.5-mile test to evaluate fitness gains since their last assessment and reset training paces for the next phase of training.

📈 Results:
✅ Average improvement of 38 seconds per mile
✅ One athlete completed their first VO₂ Max test of the summer
✅ Training paces updated based on current fitness—not guesswork

Testing isn’t about proving how fit you are—it’s about making sure every workout has a purpose.

Think your training has gaps? Find out where you can improve:
🔗 https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 [email protected] for information about the FRC Performance Forum.

Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.