the morning shakeout | issue 489

Focusing your mind for racing, struggles and solutions from Molly Seidel, giving yourself space to think, and a lot more.

Springtime running along the East River Greenway in New York City last Friday.

Good morning! We’re in the thick of the spring racing season, and nearly every weekend—from a couple weeks ago all the way through the end of April—is chock-full of competitions across a wide range of distances, disciplines, and terrain. It’s one of the busiest times of the year for me as a coach and nearly every day I’m working with my athletes to set and shift mindsets as we prepare to race. The concept of "getting our head in the right place" is something I’m super passionate about and I was thrilled to talk about it recently with sports and performance psychologist Stu Holliday for this episode of The Focused Mind podcast. We dove deep on the differences between training and racing mentality, as well as how that mentality needs to evolve as we get closer to race day. Additionally, we explored some practical strategies for maintaining focus, dealing with setbacks, and staying adaptable when things catch us off-guard. I may be biased but I think it’s a good listen if you’ve got a race coming up and are actively trying to elevate your mental game. Please share your thoughts with me by replying to this email or leaving a comment below this post.

OK, I’ve got a lot more good stuff to share with you this week. Let’s get right to it.

Quick Splits

— Thank you to Raziq Rauf and his excellent Running Sucks newsletter for sharing this story of Dora Atim, a Nike running coach and London-based creator of Ultra Black Running, a “trail running community designed to amplify and empower Black Women and Non-Binary people.” I’m not sure I would have heard about Dora and what she's doing otherwise. So what is she doing exactly? Creating community and opportunities for black women and non-binary people in trail running, which, as Rauf notes in his piece, hasn’t been an easy task. Established norms often stand in the way of progress, but Atim’s advocacy is a powerful example of how persistence can lead to change. Her work not only challenges stereotypes but also fosters a sense of belonging and representation in a space where, historically, many have felt excluded. “I’m building new ways to connect with people and connect them to the outdoors,” she explains. “It's such a beautiful position to be in because I have access to a lot of resources and when you have a lot of access to resources, the thing is to share it, build a tightly-knit community and try to flourish in every way possible.”

— One of my main goals with this newsletter over the past 10 years has been to share useful information about training, recovery, nutrition, and related topics that’s grounded in science, experience, history, and practice. The internet is littered with plenty of bullsh*t about the best this and that, the latest and greatest workout or supplement, and/or folks intentionally trying to over-complicate stuff in an effort to sell you on their solution. This is not an accident and it can be easy to get caught up in the chaos and confusion. Luckily for everyone my friends Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg recently put out this guide on how to separate hype from reality and it’s a banger worth sharing with everyone in your orbit. “The history of strength, endurance, and interval training is a kind of natural selection,” they write. “What works stays, while the crazy ideas that don’t move the needle are abandoned. And that’s precisely what so many online fitness influencers don’t know.”

— The Fast People podcast, hosted by veteran journalist Sarah Lorge Butler, is only a few episodes old at this point but the quality of both the guests and the conversations are top notch. Molly Seidel is the most recent guest and I enjoyed this candid 30-ish minute chat about what she’s been up to of late. The 2021 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon has taken the past year or so to get both her body and mind back to a better place. As such, she’s been quiet on both the racing and social media scenes, but, as she explained in this episode, creating that separation and space has helped her focus on what truly matters for her well-being as an athlete and as a person navigating a messy world. Seidel confirmed that she’s currently unsponsored, which, for the moment, is a relief. She’s also been spending a lot of time working on getting stronger in the gym and smoothing out her movement patterns, lifting three times a week while running less mileage and not doing big workouts. “I feel like right now so much of it too is I’m used to crushing myself in workouts,” she explains, “so I feel like I’m trying to keep it within a realm of, ‘OK, we’ve got the mileage down, let’s add on small workouts now and build it up piece by piece,’ rather than what I’ve done in the past, which is ‘OK, we’re feeling marginally good, let’s destroy ourselves.’” This is a great listen with takeaways for athletes at all levels of the sport. Whether you’re an Olympian like Seidel, or an amateur competitor like most everyone else, a lot of the struggles (e.g. falling into the comparison trap, becoming too singularly focused on a pursuit, falling into old injury patterns) and solutions (e.g. taking extended social media breaks, having friends and hobbies outside of running, switching up your training approach, etc.) that she describes are the same.

— A few weeks ago I came across this article from the Harvard Business Review on how to give yourself more space to think, and it’s got some pretty good advice for the busy brains amongst us. We’re wired (or have been rewired) to go, go, go. But taking the time to pause every once in a while so you can think, process, or even just relax for a minute can go a long way toward staying present, grounded, and balanced. A few years ago I started scheduling 15 to 60 minute breaks into my days and it’s made all the difference for me. Otherwise, there’s always someone to talk to, something to do, or another box to check, and it feels like a neverending game of Whac-a-Mole. “Pausing can seem like a luxury — but it’s not,” Megan Reitz and John Higgins write. “It’s a different, critical kind of work, one that allows us to attend to one another and the world around us.”

— I remember getting “hooked” (pun totally intended) on Blues Traveler as a young kid when the album Four dropped in 1994. John Popper’s voice, along with his harmonica solos, were unlike anything I’d ever heard before. The songs were catchy as hell and it was hard not to sing along in the car, or kitchen, whenever “Hook” or “Run Around” came on the radio. (Hell, I still do this over 30 years later when either of these tunes pops up on one of my playlists.) So, you can imagine my delight when YouTube recently served me up this recent live performance of “Hook” that’s just wonderful. Popper sounds, and looks, as good as ever at the age of 67. 12/10 recommend playing it at full blast. (Bonus: Here’s “Hook” and “Run Around” live from 1996—both incredible performances.)

— From the archives (Issue 384, 2 years ago this week): One of my favorite newsletters that I subscribe to and read religiously is Brady Holmer’s Physiologically Speaking (formerly Physiology Friday). I don’t know Brady personally but he’s a runner and sports scientist who does a great job breaking down studies on physiology, health, nutrition, and related topics for scientifically challenged idiots like me. Occasionally he self reflects and/or goes on a good rant, which is what he did yesterday when he made the case against trying to optimize everything. I nodded my head in agreement while reading it, partly because sometimes my reliance on routines causes me to miss out on living in the moment, but also because as a coach, I’ve butted heads with some of my athletes who fall into the trap of trying to over-optimize seemingly every aspect of their life. We are human beings, not programmable robots. Structure and routine are necessary elements to a sustainable, productive, and enjoyable life, but too many rules and uncompromising rigidity will get you into trouble when things don’t go your way. “The ability to optimize everything, however, doesn’t mean that we should,” Holmer writes. “Just as being rigid in one’s ethics and hard work is important, so is being flexible and adaptable. In fact, if you possess neither flexibility nor adaptability, you’re far from optimized. The world favors those who can adapt to changing circumstances. After all, isn’t the idea of biohacking to make us more resilient? It seems to be doing the opposite.”

— My longtime partners at Precision Fuel and Hydration just put out this series of five videos covering the fundamentals of race nutrition for a marathon and it’s got everything you need to know, whether you’re a seasoned veteran trying to trim a few minutes off your personal best, or a newbie just trying to avoid the cutoff time. I was fortunate to play a role in its creation and share some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the years as both an athlete and a coach. We cover it all: knowing your numbers and actually hitting your numbers, refining your strategy in training, starting fueled and hydrated, and executing your strategy on race day. If you’ve got a spring marathon coming up and still need to get your nutrition plan dialed, get out your notebook and give these a watch. (And if you’re interested in trying PF&H products for yourself, check out this link and save 15% off your first order.)

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A big thank you to Tracksmith for supporting my work in 2025. My favorite new shoe of the year so far is their recently released Eliot Racer, which combines a carbon plate with a soft yet supportive drop-in midsole for a fast, responsive, and stylish ride. (Men’s sizes here, women’s sizes here.) I’ve been running in it for a few weeks now and it was good to go out of the box for a tempo run: an accommodating upper for my fat forefoot, a midsole combination that provides awesome comfort and pop underfoot, and a sleek aesthetic that stands out amongst a class of shoes that often looks overbuilt. Every detail was thoughtfully considered. If you pick up a pair of Eliot Racers, or buy anything on Tracksmith.com between now and the end of May for that matter, use the code “MarioSpring” for $20 off an order of $100 or more. (Note: the code is good for one use between now and the end of May.)

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Workout of the Week: Crazy 8s

It’s hard to go wrong with 800m repeats. Do them fast enough and you’ll stay pretty sharp; do enough of them and the strength gains will take you a long way. An example of a pretty standard session many coaches will assign their athletes consists of six reps at 5K pace with 2 to 2-1/2 minutes recovery in between, or maybe 10 reps at 10K pace with two minutes recovery between the two-lap intervals—you get the idea. These workouts will help you build the specific strength you need for race day, practice getting your pacing down, and improve your overall efficiency. Every once in a while, however, I like to throw my athletes a curveball and have them switch gears halfway through, running the final 400m 4-5 seconds faster than the first. Learn why (and how) right here.

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The bottom line. 

“Things won are done. Joy’s soul lies in the doing.”

— Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida

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That’s it for Issue 489. If it made you smile, think for a second, or reflect upon something you hadn’t considered, and you know someone else who might like to do the same, please forward this email to a friend (or five!) and encourage them to subscribe at this link so that it lands in their inbox next Tuesday.

Thanks for reading,

Mario