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Coeur d’Alene Marathon: keep your head down, push through

May 30, 2017 by Brent

Coeur d'Alene Marathon

What do you do when everything goes wrong early in a race? I faced that question Sunday at the Coeur d’Alene Marathon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. My plan fell apart immediately, and I was forced to fight multiple mental battles starting in the first few miles. I learned a lot about mental toughness, however, which led […]

Filed Under: Race reports Tagged With: BQ, Coeur d'Alene, Coeur d'Alene Marathon, fitness, goals, heat running, long run, marathon, marathon training, motivation, patience, race, race plan, race report, race weekend, run, runner, running, training, training plan

Elephants, fleas, futility, and self limitation

March 24, 2017 by Brent

self limitation

Imagine you are chained to the ground with no power to break free. You are a captive, held in place by an immovable object. How long would you struggle before accepting your fate? I can’t remember the first time I heard the story of elephant training, but I was reminded of it this past week […]

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: Boston Marathon, BQ, fitness, futility, goals, life, long run, marathon, marathon training, motivation, negativity, patience, perseverance, race, run, runner, running, self doubt, self limitation, Shreveport, tempo, training, training plan

Joyful running is all about loving the daily process

March 7, 2017 by Brent

joyful running

As I worked on a talk for our 10K and 5K training group last week, I thought a lot about how running affects my mind. The talk focused on training your brain to run and why mental toughness is important. I can pull so many examples from my own experiences. So many times I struggled […]

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: Boston Marathon, BQ, fitness, goals, long run, marathon, marathon training, motivation, negativity, patience, run, runner, running, San Diego, training, training plan, workouts

Wrapping up 2016 with a PR in the San Diego Holiday Half Marathon

December 19, 2016 by Brent

San Diego Holiday Half Marathon

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or so the radio stations in every store I enter tell me. So why not finish 2016 with one more PR? Sunday brought just that, as I set a new PR at the San Diego Holiday Half Marathon. It wasn’t expected, which is the best kind of personal […]

Filed Under: Race reports Tagged With: fitness, goals, Holiday Half Marathon, long run, marathon, marathon training, motivation, patience, race, race plan, race report, run, runner, running, San Diego, San Diego Holiday Half Marathon, Shreveport, training, training plan, workouts

Taper madness is real, and it’s terrifying

December 17, 2016 by Brent

taper madness

Typically, I don’t taper. I hate the mental craziness that comes along, the taper madness. I have read many blog posts from athletes tapering. Those stories normally curse the weeks directly preceding a big race. Taper madness, triggered by inactivity following weeks of intense training, includes wild food cravings, outbursts of misdirected frustration, and sometimes the […]

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: Boston Marathon, BQ, fitness, goals, long run, marathon, marathon training, motivation, patience, plan, race, race plan, run, runner, running, San Diego, taper, taper madness, track, track work, training, training plan, workouts

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About me

Brent Shirley My name is Brent Shirley, and I'm a stay-at-home dad with experience writing and selling running shoes. Married to a surgeon (she's much smarter than me). Certified RRCA running coach and 11 time Boston Marathon qualifier (2015-25, although I missed the cut in 2015-16). 50 sub 4 finisher.

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