HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Tomorrow is 2025 and I hope that you are ready for a good year! My plan for next week, the first email of the new year, is that it will be driven by YOU. Take just one minute and respond to one or both of the questions below and I will share it in the next edition and first email of 2025.

ASK ME ANYTHING
Anything! You can ask about training, strength, fueling, race ideas, existential questions or life advice and I will try my best to get you answers or find someone who can. I won't publish your name, so let me have it. 

REPORT IN!
I try to find interesting stories to share, give insights when I have them and share some science. Like it? Remember a particular article that changed your mind? Have a comment about anything I sent? This is the time to hit reply and let me know. I won't publish your name, so bring it on! This is also time to clear you inbox of junk, so if this email is no longer making you happy, reply and write UNSUBSCRIBE. 

NORWAY PREP SKI
As I mentioned in my last email, I am prepping for a trip to Norway the first week of January to learn artic expedition skills. In an attempt to have a big day out on skis, my better half Brian and I took on a big ski day knowing it was potentially going to get windy and really snowy as a test of gear. We made it seven out of the seven and a half hours of skiing with gentle snow, then dumping snow but stayed warm and cozy until the last 30 minutes which woke me up to just how fast things can change. We thought we were 5 minutes from the car so didn't change out of our completely soaked mittens and after 20 minutes of sloooowww skiing in a full white out, and snow that felt like concrete, by the time we got to the car I couldn't unhook my own pack and my fingers were so cold that even in the car, I couldn't get new gloves on my hands were so frozen. We blasted the heat in the car and warmed up BUT I now have a new nightmare of setting up a tent in a blizzard with cold hands and having to warm myself up from wet and frozen. I may not sleep again until after this trip. Oh, did I mention I slashed a fun little cut on my nose trying to wipe my snot with mittens that had razor sharp icicles. I really do love this stuff, what is my problem?

DON'T RUN AFTER...
I am generally a pro run kind of coach. I believe in rest days but well-structured training doesn't mean they have to be weekly if you are the kind of athlete who does better with daily workouts. HOWEVER, I do not advocate running after a flu or COVID shot. Your body is working on something for 24 hours, take that time and chill, even if you aren't having a bad reaction. Run later. After giving blood, it takes about 48 hours to replenish what is lost so I recommend one day off after donation and then coming back with an easier run before starting back to tougher workouts. If you wake up and have a swollen lymph node, once again, your body is fighting something, this could be the sign to check in with a doc or take a day to wait and see what happens. And finally, even if coach has a run on the plan and you wake up hating running, hating runners, hating people or hating life, this is likely a sign that a rest day is in order and you need a little rest. Come back to run healthy another day. 

STAYING STRONG
Strength Training for Runners video from the archives. Don't skip strength training. OR better yet, go to the gym! Here is a favorite spot in North Portland, Prism Moves. No live class this week. 

SHORT STUFF

• Exposure is a video featuring women from Europe and the Middle East taking on an expedition to the North Pole coming into the project with little to no experience. Pulling sleds, moving sea ice and group dynamics, this is a good one! 
• The High Route by the Ginger Runner is worth a watch. Kaytlyn Gerbin and Jenny Abegg run the North Cascades High Route in an astounding time. I have linked to this before but this is a new release with new material. 
• Female competitors on the Pro Pickleball Tour earned $269,000 on average. For comparison, the average salary for a player in the National Women’s Soccer League in 2023 was around $60,000 per year, and almost $120,000 in the WNBA. Mind blown. 

HI all!
Merry and happy! Since Christmas and New Year are on Wednesdays this year, it means no Strength Training for Runners for two weeks. BUT actually, class is cancelled for four weeks. I will be leaving January 6 for a course in Norway.  It is billed as "training for those thinking about a ski expedition in arctic regions" and I am curious to see if this is going to be for me. I will be practicing not dying in the very cold Norwegian winter while skiing around pulling stuff and camping out. Highlights will include a full 6 hours of daylight, sleeping in a negative 40 degree sleeping bag and snacks that might break my teeth but hopefully I will learn some new skills and more importantly, something about myself. I will either find a new way to use my endurance and start dreaming of an expedition to Greenland, or I will let you know which gear I will be selling! 

In the lead up to my trip I will share things I am excited about and things keeping me awake. This week in the excited column we have the idea of being out at night getting to see the stars and maybe even the northern lights. And keeping me up at night is the thought of getting out of my sleeping bag to pee in the middle of the night. I have a funnel and a bottle but I also have fear of getting things wet that should be dry and will not be practicing much pre-trip. Praying for steady hands and mild dehydration. 

If you want to keep the Wednesday strength training going this week, you can do this recording any day, just get it in!  

BE SPECIFIC
Are you feeling the pull of new year's resolutions? While you may think they are dumb, you may also want to make some. You know two things can be true at once! So, if you are going to make resolutions or are just testing out some new habits, here is one tip for helping make a new habit sticky. MAKE IT SPECIFIC. 
If I say I want to work out more, or run faster that is just too general, how much more is more, what does faster mean? What workouts will I do, when? Get really specific in WHAT you are trying to accomplish and in HOW you will do it. 

• NOT SPECIFIC: I want to run faster.
• SPECIFIC, YAY: I want to run faster so I will add in hill strides once per week on my Tuesday group run since, I know many of the group are also looking to up their game and will join me. 

Notice the new habit, strides during a run is on top of an already established habit. Another way to make a habit sticky. Go ahead, make a resolution, just be specific. 

TOP 20 WOMEN'S SPORTS STORIES THIS YEAR
Here is a compilation of the top 20 women's sports stories this year. From skiing world cup victories and record setting LGPA payouts, to the first ever women's Red Bull Rampage and Sifan Hassan's amazing Olympic runs to Ilona Maher being the queen of everything to Katie Schide winning Western States and UTMB and a women finishing the Barkley for the first time ever, go Jasmin, it was an awesome year. They forgot Sunny Stroer finishing the 1,000 mile Iditarod on skis but otherwise, this list LIFTED me up and made my cheeks hurt from smiling. 

HOLIDAY ENERGY
For anyone needing a little holiday energy, here are some feel good stories, no matter what you are celebrating right now. 

• I didn't realize the world needed Sandra Clause until I saw her. Sandra, Santa's younger transgender sister needs to be in malls everywhere. Sandra doesn’t expect anyone to sit on her lap, no scary beard and says the naughty and nice list is a lie. 
• Apparently, the Yiddish definition of latke is "little oily thing" so why not sub out the potatoes and try this version with ramen noodles! Can't think of a much oilier thing that would be a real crowd pleaser. The world of recipe creation is amazing. 
• Three dishes I promise you haven't thought of for Winter Solstice. 

Happy trails!

Hi all,
Is there anything in life that works as easily, as inexpensively and as effectively as hair conditioner? If you have short hair this may be lost on you, but those of you with long hair know, you come out of the ocean and can't even get your hands through, but then you wash, condition and a comb goes right through. What is this magic potion and can we get a conditioner in other areas of our lives? 

I have been doing some deep shower thinking about what is conditioner for our life. I thought maybe I can figure it out and let everyone know, HEY EVERYONE, WE HAVE AN EASY FIX, RIGHT THIS WAY. Then I looked up how conditioner works. Well, it is something about positively charged surfactants and negatively charged hair ions and sealing of cuticles and I realized, it only seems easy because it happens quickly to my eyes. Just like it seems easy for some people to get in hard workouts or how it seems easy for some people to eat all million grams of protein we should be getting each day. You are likely doing something that other people think seems so easy for you. 

I hope you can all pour on some life conditioner right now and get through dark workouts, family drama or anything that feels tough. 

If you need an escape on Wednesday night, you know you have one! Join us for Strength Training for Runners, 5pm Pacific. You will need weights, mini bands and 30 minutes! 

EVENINGNESS
The article, "Late-night tendencies linked to slower marathon times" from the Journal of Sleep Research reports connections between marathon runners’ circadian preferences and race performance. "Runners with an evening-oriented circadian preference, or “eveningness,” were found to have slower marathon completion times compared to their morning-oriented counterparts." The study asked 936 runners from the 2016 London Marathon if they identify as morning or evening types, with responses ranging from “definitely morning” to “definitely evening.”  "The data showed a linear trend, with increasing eveningness linked to progressively slower completion times. This difference was not trivial—runners with a “definitely morning” preference finished approximately 13.9 minutes faster than “definitely evening” runners."  While it seems that these preferences can be modified, it is important to remember that this is one or many factors in performance. 

JUMP ROPE
Most of my coached athletes are jumping rope (or jumping an imaginary rope!) Usually just 6 minutes or so, pre-run as a warm up. This Physical Therapist just posted about why he is jumping and recommends it for masters athletes. Jumping rope will stave off the decline in calf power and help keep injuries away. Also, it is fun. 

MAPLE SYRUP
Maple syrup isn't just for pancakes. If you are having a hard time stomaching gels and other performance fuels but want to take in high carbs during your long runs, maple syrup is worth a try. Athletes with sensitive stomachs are using syrup as a way to cut down on ingredients and it is pretty cheap if you buy a home sized container and put it in soft flasks. If you prefer you can also get maple syrup in gel sized packs that are not only good for racing but for taking backpacking. 

Hi all!
I am home in Bend and the soul crushing heat of Indonesia has been replaced by appropriately cold weather. YES, I can sleep again! And exercise outside! I am not one to skip a run but I skipped all of them in the 1,000% humidity. Excited to get back to work in all the ways, writing coaching plans, getting in runs and cross-country skiing. 

I have had way too much time in transit and scrolled through half the internet in the airport and noticed posts about diet plans that were all numbers based like the 2/2/2 method or the 100/50 method and realized we are being bombarded with so much junk, not just new ways to feel bad about our bodies! Junk diet ideas, junk gifts, junk expectations on our time. I hop you can both enjoy the cookies and keep up healthy habits. When I looked up 100/50 method, I found everything from eating meals that are 100 calories (NOPE, NOT ENOUGH Y'ALL) to reducing calories by 100 every week to paying 100 dollars and dying a little inside. It was a wasteland. Don't let all the incoming junk dim your light. Shine! 

In unrelated news, Strength Training for Runners on Wednesday nights is live to your screen at 5pm Pacific. This will get you shining! 

PODCASTS SO WHITE
Women's Running Stories has been posting numbers illustrating their findings from the essay "(White) Feminism In Trail Running: How Antisexism Work In Trail Running Predominantly Benefits White Women," Women of color filled 18 guest spots during a year-long period on the eight podcasts included in the summary. For context, this is out of a total of 432 guest spots. This illustrates how little diversity there is on the trails and how the representation in media is even smaller. Do you know women doing incredible things that aren't currently being represented? You can suggest women of color to your favorite podcasts and help create demand for more diverse stories. The more people can see themselves in sport, the more likely they are to do it. 

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT DELAY CARBS
Here is an easy to read summary of the paper, “Delaying post-exercise carbohydrate intake impairs next-day exercise capacity but not muscle glycogen or molecular responses.” For the quick and dirty: replenish glycogen stores within 30 min to an hour with 1-1.5g of carbs and 20-30g of protein. 

FITNESS TRENDS
Strava announced the release of its annual Year In Sport: Trend Report, which identifies the trends that shaped the global active landscape in 2024. In summary the trends include more connection, more rest and more weights and all three of those make me very happy. Specifics include: 

• A 59% increase in running club participation globally in 2024
• Runners training for marathons added more rest and active recovery days into their schedule than in previous years
• Weight training was the fastest-growing sport type among women in 2024 with a 25% growth in uploads. 

Greetings one more time from Indonesia where I have hiked, walked and eaten my way through the most amazing villages on the island of Flores. Today we attempted a hike up Mount Inerie, the highest volcano on the island. The trail gains 3,500 feet in about 2 miles, steep! We knew two things about the climb, one was that it was an obvious trail, always directly up and the other was at the first drop of rain, get your butt down. Well, the trail wasn't as obvious as we had been told, despite using digital mapping, so we spent an hour going a harrowing quarter mile up some scree that will haunt my dreams. Then after righting the ship and finding the actual trail again, it started to rain. Since the trail is basically a deep cut down the hill any rain means potential for flooding and the rains here right now are pre-monsoon level as the rainy season is coming, so there is no messing around. Some days you climb the mountain, some days you turn around and live to see another day. The rain started and we got soaked but we got ourselves down in before it really unleashed. We drowned our sorrows in spicy noodles watching the rain and the lesson I didn't think I would take away from this experience is, HOT DAMN OUR HOME TRAILS ARE AWESOME. Take some time to thank people who do trail work or sign up to do some yourself. The public lands we use for recreation have trails that switchback! Trails that drain! Trails that are signed! We have trails that are steep and others that are great for running or for taking your parents or young kids. It is cyber-Tuesday, not sure how I feel about that, but if you participate, consider a donation to keep the trails you love, the kind of trails you love! 

STRENGTH TRAINING VIDEO LINK
One more week without live Strength Training for Runners on Wednesday night, but HERE is a class from the archives for you. Put it on the calendar so you don't miss a week and grab your weights!  

AN INJURY STORY
I thought this injury story from writer, coach and ultrarunner, Sarah Lavender Smith was well done, important to share and may resonate. "I’m full of remorse, not only for the injury but for how I masked the underlying problem... And remorse for trying to fast-track the comeback during the past three weeks. Why must I fast-track everything? I’m not feeling sorry for myself—I’m feeling pissed at myself."

6:38 PACE
The women's record for the 50-mile distance has stood since 1991. November 9th that record was broken by runner Courtney Olsen clicking off 6:38 pace for 5 hours and 31 minutes. YOWSERS. 
"In the end, all I suffered was a slight haunting of the calf, a toe explosion, and peeing myself. I’d say that’s a damn near perfect execution." -Courtney Olsen on her 50-mile world record run at Tunnel Hill. 

READ UP
Need some new reading material? Outside Magazine recommends some books for adventurers that may be what you are looking for. I put the book, Small Game by Blair Braverman on my list. A novel about a survival show, yes please! 

Happy trails,
Dana