HI all,
Every week I get The Growth Equation newsletter (highly recommend), and this week they shared the most succinct definition of mental toughness I’ve seen: “Mental toughness is learning to focus on what you can control.”
If you’re a runner in the rain soaked PNW, you’re already practicing this. You lace up after a rough workday instead of bailing. You head out for a long run even when it is dumping sideways rain. You choose to show up, even when the weather or your mood doesn’t.
And as we head into Thanksgiving, many of us will get an extra opportunity to practice mental toughness.
Make a two-column list.
Controllables: your effort, your attitude, showing up.
Not controllable: the weather, other people's reactions to your training/job/veganism, family dynamics
Give that second column zero mental space. Bring your focus back to what’s yours to manage. It works for running, and honestly, it works for just about everything.

JOIN ME FOR STRENGTH
Will I see you Wednesday night for Strength Training for Runners? It is live, to your screen at 5pm Pacific time. You can't control how your grandmother insists you have some of that Jello thing she makes, but you can come to the interaction feeling high on squats! Information here.

REAL SPORTS THINGS

• Love pants and a spirit of freedom? Thank bikes for that. 
• Just learned there is a Kettlebell Juggling World Association. There was even a world championship in London this year. Please, if you are going to try this, start with soft small things. 
• There are ebike racing world championships. I read that one wrong and thought it was with electric bikes, but it is E like Esports. There are riders on stationary trainers, big screens and spectators, like watching a video game but with someone's legs powering the game. 

 
FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE
Need new headphones? Here are reviews so you can buy smart. Please be safe and wear bone conducting headphones so you can hear traffic and on trails or use just one ear bud so you can hear people approach. 

GO BEYOND
If you have run a Go Beyond race you will know Todd and Renee, race directors from Portland, OR. Now everyone knows them with this article in IRunFar. 

Hi all,
This week one of my athletes asked during strength training whether bench presses are actually helpful for running. I immediately said, nope and then explained why we should do them anyway.

When you start focusing on a new lift (or anything new), you’re almost guaranteed to make progress in that area. That’s especially valuable for aging runners who may not be hitting new PRs anymore. Seeing improvement builds confidence and reminds you of what you’re capable of. That confidence does translate back into your running.

Plus, maintaining strength as you age isn’t optional if you want to keep picking up heavy things. Run happy knowing that your future self will be a fully self-sufficient cat lady, because kitty litter bags are no joke.

And, for the record, upper-body exercises of all kinds help runners by supporting good posture, maintaining form, and powering a strong arm swing. But let’s be honest, the cat-lady explanation is way more fun. 
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JOIN ME FOR STRENGTH
Live strength training is FUN! For real, it is fun, no need to leave the house and you can get it done in just 30 minutes. Get started now so you can emerge in spring without regret. Information here. See you Wednesday night, live to your screen, let's go! 

STAGE RACING
If you are working on choosing your next big adventure and are considering a multi-day stage race, say YES! A stage race is a super fun way to see a place, to have a few days to focus on nothing but running and snacking and to be outside whatever your normal day to day is like. Considerations for training and prep are in this article here. I have coached athletes for stage races like this one in the Pyrenees and have run them myself including this one in Morocco. But there are closer ones with this 3-day stage race in Canada, the Golden Ultra, open for registration now, and this one in Oakridge, OR with 60k over three days, why not try it out. If you are interested, GET IN TOUCH and let's chat training! 

OTHER ADVENTURE IDEAS
"Adventure doesn't care about logic." Here is a new way to see Iceland. 

DANCE BUT GET TO BED ON TIME
Who says you can't have a dance party and get home in time for bed for your morning long run? This group's tagline is "Dance party for ladies with sh*t to do in the morning" and while I don't want to go to a dance party, even if it ends early, much respect for the concept and this event is coach approved. 

FITNESS BANK
Do you get in 10,000 steps a day? This bank wants to track you and pay you for your steps. The more steps you take, the more interest you make in your savings account. There has to be a catch here, but the savings account rate seems pretty good. 

Hi all,

I am back from two weeks in Mexico, where we said yes to everything. Yes to rare mezcals, yes to fiery chiles, yes to every kind of chocolate and yes to that “mountain bike” ride that turned out to be entirely on pavement, with endless hills. Thank you for saving my life orange Fanta.
The shift from ocean views and marigold-draped villages to the glow of my computer screen has been abrupt. But like the transition to shorter, darker days, I know I’ll adjust. This time of year, it’s easy to stop saying yes, to retreat under the covers instead. And while I fully support a season of wintering with less work, fewer workouts and less hustle, I don’t want to wake up in spring wishing I had been a little more ready for adventure.
One thing I am excited about being back home is hearing the banjo again. Brian started learning last year, but between summer travels and a new job, his practice faded. Recently, though, a coach challenged him to do one thing for just five minutes a day. And the banjo music returned. No waiting for the perfect time, no excuses about being too busy, just five minutes. If he keeps this up until spring, he’ll have 650 minutes more banjo practice than if he’d waited for ideal conditions and skipped weeks at a time.
So during this season of slowing down, what’s one thing you could spend a few minutes a day saying yes to, so that, come spring, you’ll be 650 minutes closer to your next adventure?
JOIN ME FOR STRENGTH
Live strength training is back! Yes, you can join for five minutes or just come for the whole thirty minutes and do what you can. Information here, see you Wednesday night, live to your screen, let's go! 

100 WOMEN
This may be the coolest account I was not following but now that I know about it, I am obsessed. 100 Women, from the BBC is "putting women at the front and center of news stories." This woman lifting is a favorite. 

JUMP
Plyometrics are exercises that involve jumping, very little ground time and almost no equipment. There are loads of reasons for runners to do them besides the fact that jumping around is just good fun. If you want to add plyometrics to your routine here is a list WITH VIDEOS that is so long, you could do one a day for the next month and there would still be more. 

RUNNING SHORTS

• Switchback-cutting charges cleared by presidential pardon. Didn't see that one coming. 
• Times were smoking fast at the Tunnel Hill 100 and 50 mile races. New world records set in the women's 50-mile (5:18:57) and100-mile (12:37:04) distances. 
• Those fast times are just NOT NORMAL, thanks to folks like the Slow AF Run Club for reminding us that running is for all of us! 

I have been in Oaxaca, Mexico to witness and celebrate Day of The Dead, Dia de los Muertos, and while this is not my personal heritage, I have been so taken with this holiday. I love the beauty of the alters created for loved ones whose souls come back to be with their families made with photos, favorite foods and flowers. I love that there is conversation around death that isn't only grief filled but joy filled enough to have city wide parades, a carnival set up at the cemetery and bands playing late into the night. I am not sure my loved ones who have departed were here with me in Oaxaca, but I sure hope they are. 

I will still be away for Strength Training for Runners live class this week, so celebrate without me and see you again on Wednesday, Nov 12. 

STRENGTH
One more week away from the garage gym and live class with you. But please don't skip strength. Here is a body weight workout from the archives you can do anytime. See you live on Wednesday next week. Put it on your calendar. 

NYC
The New York City Marathon was last weekend and had an astounding 59,226 total finishers. It was an awesome photo finish by the first male runners. The female winner was Helen Obiri and the video of her winning is a split screen with her parents cheering her in and it is a JOY!  But the video of the last finisher was incredibly moving and made me realize that they kept the finish line open for many hours past the official cut off and allow runners who want to finish to complete the route on the sidewalk. Amazing. 

CARBS
If you are a pre-race bagel eater, yay, carbs. But if you have coached with me you may know for many of you, I encourage the swap of bagel to Kings Hawaiian bread, the soft fluffy oh so carb filled easy to eat rolls in the orange packaging. AND now the endorsement comes from a nutritionist I trust (and you should follow, let's normalize chowing down a whole bag of rolls carb loading pre-endurance events!) A bagel can be tough to eat and dry where you can smash a piece of Hawaiian bread into the size of a marble and keep going! Try it next race. 

SOUNDS LIKE MORE THAN RUNNING
If you need some content to bring to your runs that is more than running, here is a podcast that I have been enjoying to help me talk about more than just running (but I still come back to a lot of running. Can't stop, won't stop!) Twenty Thousand Hertz is "the stories behind the most iconic and fascinating sounds." Stories like, there is an actual guy who made the sound of the Yahoo yodel, how we got the sound of Jeopardy and how they mix Saturday Night Live on the spot.