You’ve got your Winter/Spring season mapped out. Your official 16-week plan starts in February. Right now you’re sharpening speed, building power on hills, layering in tempo, and keeping volume intentionally controlled. It’s a smart setup. Exactly what a well-designed build should look like. But there’s a hidden trap here, one that I see runners fall into every single year. It's around the 3–6 week mark, the little signs show up: A tug in your calf. A tight quad. A cranky, achy shin. A hip...

Yeah, it really can be that simple. I was on a summer cross country training trip with my team and it was all about running. And eating pasta. We did 2-a-days: one run in the morning and usually another workout in the evening: biking, running, or...this one, evening we went over to a friend's house whose mom was a personal trainer. She had everything laid out besides some neatly arranged yoga mats. And look, I was jazzed. I've always loved strength training. I love the intensity of it, how my...

“Anyone else dealing with this weird hip flexor tightness? Not sharp pain, just ...uncomfortable.” “My hip always seem to lock up after speed sessions. It’s not an injury (I think?) but it’s definitely messing with my stride.” “Three weeks out from race day and this hip tightness is making me nervous. Do I stretch more or rest?” If you’re like these runners, you’ve probably noticed the same thing creeping in: that deep, stubborn hip flexor tightness that shows up when your long runs get...