Welcome And Meet Elizabeth Claw

SPEAKER_03 0:00

So you're thinking about running, but not sure how to take the first step? My name is Brian Patterson, and I'm here to help. Welcome to Brian's RomPod. Well, welcome back to Brian's RomPod, and it's me, your host, Brian Patterson, and today I've got a fantastic guest for you, someone who really embodies with what consistent smart training can achieve over time. I'm joined by Elizabeth Claw, a 3R14 marathoner and the author of the book Boston Bound. Elizabeth's journeys into running didn't start at elite level, far from it. What makes her story so compelling is how she's built her success step by step, learning, adapting, and refining her approach along the way. She's also built a very strong following online by sharing that journey, openly giving runners real insight into what it takes to improve. In this episode, we're going to dive into how she got started, how her training evolved over the years, and what she's learned from chasing big goals like qualifying from Boston Marathon and how she's connected with so many runners through her experiences. So whether it's you're just starting out or looking to get take your running to the next level, and there's plenty more to take from this one. So let's get into it and welcome uh Elizabeth to the podcast.

Books, Dance And Finding Fitness

SPEAKER_03 1:36

So good afternoon, Elizabeth. Is that right? Yeah, I know we do. So got but bought them in and hide them from the street. So um like I do with uh most of my guests, Elizabeth, is that um I just wanted to know what your experience was like um in sort of in high school, because I know from the US in terms of in terms of running and exercise, I mean, were you a natural um sort of athlete or were you very much into your books?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

I would say I was more into my books as a as a high schooler. I was on the dance team though. So I did start dance lessons at a very young age. I did dance and dance and gymnastics.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

And then I was on the high school dance team, and uh that brought me a lot of joy. But I was also very much into reading and studying as well.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

And then sort of what how did that transition? Did you, were you, uh did you did you go on to college? And you know, did you sort of start thinking about taking up running at that stage?

SPEAKER_01 2:45

So in college, I was your stereotypical lazy college student. I was not very active at all. Uh, there was uh actually a gym literally right across from my dorm, which offered aerobics classes, which was to be similar to dance. And then right after, directly after I graduated college, I joined a gym for the sole purpose of doing aerobics classes because I love to dance so much. And in fact, I even said when I joined, is there a way that I could join just for the classes? I don't really care about any of the other equipment. And they said, no, you have to just have a full membership.

Learning To Love The Treadmill

SPEAKER_01 3:22

And being um, you know, a poor 21-year-old right out of college, not a lot of money. I wanted to get my money's worth out of this gym. So I took my uh step aerobics, which was to me like very much like dancing uh back in the early 2000s. I took my two step aerobics classes a week. And then to get the most out of my membership, I started um running on a treadmill, which is not something I ever had done before or I was ever interested in. But I knew that it would be just really good for my health and fitness to start being more active. And so I just started running on the treadmill twice a week. And I actually determined that I really enjoyed that. And that's kind of how I got into it when I for the first time I got on to go back to your question, am I a natural? I think I I tried to run a mile and I could. It took me like 10 minutes to do it. And um, and then the next time I got on, I'm like, well, let's see if I could run a little bit farther, and then the next time a little bit faster. And so that's really how it started. And I think what I liked about it, um, aside from just the act of knowing it was healthy for my body, was that every time I got on the treadmill, it was like a new challenge. Can I go farther? Can I go faster? And I loved that feeling of pushing myself. And that that sensation, um, that sort of adrenaline rush is what really what kept me doing it.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

So I know the treadmill is a bit like you either love it or you hate it sort of thing. Um so you didn't mind it then, I take it. So you you preferred your your kind of experience, first experience to running was was the treadmill rather than just sort of going outside.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yeah, it would never occur to me to go outside because you know, usually the weather would not be ideal or it would be dark, and the treadmill was this nice controlled environment. Uh and also back in the day we did not have iPhones or even iPods. And I was my music. I had this big disc man. And so the only way I could have my music was to have like this disc van on a treadmill. And you know, maybe if we'd had the technology, like I think if it was today and we had all the like the Strava and the iPhone and everything it could do, if I had all of that accessible to me, I might have just started outside. But given the time that it was, it was really the best option for me. I didn't even consider actually going outside for I I hate to say it, but like the first three or four years of running, I was strictly a treadmill runner. I did not run any races. I was just a uh a gym rat, for lack of a better term.

SPEAKER_03 5:59

How could you, I don't know. Sometimes I can I kind of uh as I said, you know, again, my relationship, I can like it or I hate it. Do you have any tips for beginners? You know, I know we'll be coming on to this a bit later on, but initially, do you do you have any tips for beginners as to how we can make the treadmill more interesting?

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah, I think that the treadmill, I mean, the treadmills nowadays you can make it interesting by there's you can watch TV, you could listen to a podcast, there's interactive treadmills where you can like run on a certain route. Lots of like boredom killers. But then also I think aside from that, just knowing that it part of the reason I think people don't like the treadmill is that it's just if you're if you're just starting out, it's hard, it's uncomfortable, it doesn't feel natural. But just know that the more you do it, the more it will start to feel natural. So just stick it out, stay with it, and it will start to feel better the better that you are at it.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

Do you find, um, because I know looking on your Instagram, you do track work, you mix things up. Obviously, you're you're running outside. Um, do you find that the treadmill is is kind of a very different sort of beast in terms of running compared to running outside?

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Absolutely. And I made my way off the treadmill in like 2006 era, and so now I'm only on the treadmill if the weather is absolutely horrible or if there's some extenuating circumstance. And now I actually find it much harder to run on a treadmill than outside. And I find that it is very different, but it's it's also very effective. You're still going through the motions, you're getting your heart rate in the zones that it needs to be. And you're still you're still actually doing it. But I think that it is very different in terms of you're not experiencing the environment around you. You're running on a constant surface, you're not getting the ups and the downs. Yes, that's true. Yeah, or the Cambridge Road or whatever. Um, so it is a very different experience, but I I think it's a definitely a valid training tool if you if you need it or if circumstances are mandatory.

SPEAKER_03 8:04

It's good for sort of feeling the the pace in terms of and also maybe playing around with speed, you know, doing speed, you know, intervals, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Yeah, for sure.

First Races And Marathon Momentum

SPEAKER_03 8:15

So moving on, when did it start to become sort of serious? When did you sort of like catch the bug, as it were?

SPEAKER_01 8:25

I I would say I caught the bug almost immediately after I did my first road race in 2005. I did a I went to my college reunion. There was a two-mile race that I did just for fun, but I ended up winning that and I loved that feeling. And so um then I progressed to my local 10K. I didn't even know what a 10K was. Someone was like, you should run a 10K. I've been running. Now keep in mind, I've been running for like five years. I did not know what a 10K was. That's how isolated I had been on the treadmill. So I I signed up for this 10K and I and I ended up really loving it and doing well. And so then from there, I thought, well, if I could do a 10K, I could do a half marathon. Um, so I I tried that and absolutely loved it. And then one of my friends very shortly after said that she was going to do a marathon. So I figured, well, why not? Why not do that as well? So then um, about a year later, I found myself doing a full marathon and and loving that. And then from then on, I just continued running marathons for the next one.

SPEAKER_03 9:29

Were there any injuries, pacing mistakes? Were there any sort of what any rookie errors that you came across in those early days?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Many rookie errors, you know, I actually wouldn't say not so much in the pacing because I was so intimidated by it that I would just start insanely slow. Like I did not want to blow up. So I I would always start, but I would say yes, injuries. I had, you know, um a few stress fractures back in my late 20s to early 30s. I had some knee issues as well. Yeah. And then just normal things like IT band syndrome.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

But I I would say nothing really major aside from like uh a few stress fractures in my shin in the early days.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

Right. Okay. And did you, I mean, well, we might as well sort of come on to that. Is that did you find what was the support like in terms of were you kind of always hungry for getting more knowledge? Because obviously you've you've discovered this new drug, as it were. I don't know what one would want what how one else could call it sort of thing. Um were you thirsty for the knowledge of another you know what other people were doing?

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Very much so. And as I said earlier, I loved reading. I'm a book nerd, so I bought uh several books on marathon running and read all of them. Um would also read articles online, and then I was part of some online running communities like Runner's World at the time had a really active running community that I would that I'd participate in, and then just local runners also discussing with them what they would do. So really it was a combination of all of that. There was not much social media at the time. So um so really came from books and then online communities.

SPEAKER_03 11:13

All right. Okay.

Coaching, Mileage And A Big Breakthrough

SPEAKER_03 11:15

And what was your situation like with TAME in terms of um starting from as a as a beginner and then sort of transitioning to someone who was, well, not intermediate, but becoming more experienced with running. What was that, what was your your training format like at the time? Maybe I mean you've moved on for let's say going on the treadmill and let's say maybe doing an extra five minutes or an extra mile or whatever. So now you're becoming more experienced. What was that like? And um, you know, what kind of things were you doing?

SPEAKER_01 11:51

I think I got to a point where my marathons, I I kind of plateaued. There was only so much I could do just on my own. And so then I started following I wasn't actually following a training plan. I would just run like five days a week and I would do a long run on the weekends. And then that would that would just be how I trained. But I would say the transition really came when I started to look at actual training plans like the advanced marathon training plan. Um, and then ultimately hired a coach. And coach, you know, by the time I I got to the coach, I had already run um like a I think my marathon PR at the time was 343. So I'd made significant progress.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

And um that's pretty impressive. Thank you. Um yeah, and I think my 5k was in like the 22 something. So it's like, okay, I'm I'm plateauing it like in the 340, like the upper three mid to upper 340s for my marathon. And then I um I started working with coach Andrew Lemoncello, yeah, who was um from the McMillan um family of running coaches. Yeah. And as soon as I started working with this coach, I made a huge leap. And I went from my PR, my marathon PR, I think was 343. And then my next one was, I think, a 335. Yeah. And then from 335 all the way down to 321.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

Wow. So was there one thing that he was telling you that was like a a like a switch?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I think really what he did was he thoughtfully built my mileage up. Up until then, I didn't really know how to get above like 55 miles a week without getting injured. So I didn't know how to, I didn't know how to really structure it. And up until that coach, I would say, okay, I'd have these, I had self-imposed rules. My self-imposed rules were um you could only run five days a week. After you can only have your tempo run, it should never be longer than four miles. Your interval session should only be this. So I just had these rules in my limitations, I guess self-imposed. I don't know where I got them from. But he helped me like break through that, um, going from running five days a week to six days a week, ultimately to seven days a week, going from like 55 miles a week to 75 miles a week, and all without injury, because he the way he built me up gradually over time was was really, really smart.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

All right. Okay.

Strength Training Without Getting Hurt

SPEAKER_03 14:18

And was that include did that include um strength training as part of the um as part of your regime?

SPEAKER_01 14:25

It actually, when I first started getting faster, it did not. And he didn't offer what he's called it. And I, with all the running and a full-time job and a commute, I just didn't have the time or frankly the interest to do strength training. I had done strength training a lot in my 20s, and then it just kind of fell off.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

And he's like, and he told me that, you know, the hill sprints will actually make your legs really strong, which they did.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Um, but I didn't sort of resume strength training until my, I want to say early 40s, when I started just reading how much that really does matter. And also with COVID happening around that time, I went from having to go into an office every day to working from home. So I had a little bit more time without that commute to fit in strength training.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

So, okay, well, let's touch on that subject in terms of the strength training, in terms of, let's say, my audience who are who are beginners. What sort of exercises do you would you recommend initially?

SPEAKER_01 15:22

If someone is brand new to strength training, I would say start very easy because it's actually it's actually easy to injure yourself strength training. Some of my more significant injuries of late have been from strength training, and which is ironic because it's supposed to prevent it. So I would start with I would start with almost body weight exercises, things like um, like planks and and deep core exercises, maybe doing some squats, squats and lunges, excuse me, with squats and lunges while holding some dumbbells, maybe holding like eight to ten pound dumbbells, nothing heavy, even though heavy lifting is great, you just don't want to start there because there's a lot of no, you don't, no, you don't.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

I agree. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

And upper body too, as well, things with dumbbells and or simple things just as push-ups. And I think my advice to beginners is it can just seem hard to approach because there's so many different exercises out there. But really, it doesn't really matter. Just pick something, pick something that's manageable. Whatever you'll stick to and be consistent with is much better than not doing anything at all.

SPEAKER_03 16:27

Yeah. Because it's it's not just the benefit for your running, but also for everyday life anyway, and also for, you know, for yourself in the future, you know, doing that, you know, it especially for women, osteoporosis and having, you know, stronger muscles is um sorry, uh stronger muscles can can help, you know, just on a fun daily functional basis.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Yeah. And even if you feel like, you know, I felt, oh, my legs are really strong. I can run fast, I can run up hills, doesn't mean that your body's used to the weightlifting motion. So even if you are physically strong, doesn't it doesn't mean your body is necessarily used to a certain type of exercise. So that's why you might not be able to like deadlift a certain amount of weight right away. It's not because you don't have the strength, but you haven't learned the muscle memory.

Using Data Without Obsessing

SPEAKER_03 17:16

Do you think that the um uh in terms of is it easy to just to jump ahead a little bit? Is that is it easy for let's say beginners to sort of like, you know, get caught up with the data? Um, because I know now I know when you started running, then we didn't have the Stravas and uh a lot of the other online platforms and we didn't have social media then. So um so uh i is it, you know, if you're getting into running, there's just so much there in terms and what you can, you know, you can sort of layer life on online sort of thing. Do you think it's best just to holding that back and then just sort of like approaching approach runner from a sort of natural standpoint?

SPEAKER_01 18:00

I do. I think that there's just too much data out there that's easy to get confused and obsess over. I I think it's it's good to track how many miles you ran and your pace, but not to get obsessive over your pace and start to learn how to pace things by feel. I think heart rate data is really interesting if you want to sort of understand what your different training zones are. I think that's useful. But also at the same time, some people, some beginners, they get caught uh very caught up on what their heart rate is. And if the heart rate gets too high, then they'll get discouraged and they won't run. So I would say first and foremost, get out there and do something once you've established it. Then you can sort of start looking at like heart rate and and things like that. But I mean, data's good to hold you accountable if you say every week I want to have a goal of running 12 miles a week. If if you write it down and keep track of that, that will help you be accountable.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's that's that's true. I mean, I know I used to get sort of head up on sort of heart rate data and all that kind of thing. But the thing is there's so many factors that affect your heart rate, you know, from the environment to, I don't know, how you slept the following, you know, the previous night and that kind of thing. So um there's so many factors. So it's you it's hard to sort of like, you know, have sort of hard, fast rules in terms of right, I'm gonna be in this zone and that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Yeah, you can't be in. I'm like a recovering perfectionist. So if you are by nature a perfectionist, you can really easily get hung up on heart rate. I don't even look at like I have a heart rate monitor.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

So that when I'm done with my run, I can see what it was. But while I'm running, I don't look at I don't have it to stay. There's no way for me to see it while while I run.

SPEAKER_03 19:42

Yeah.

How Elizabeth Tracks Runs Now

SPEAKER_03 19:43

Do you tend if you were to look at your watch, would you more be looking at your pace way, pace?

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Um I would yeah, if I'm looking at my watch, I'm just curious how far I've gone and what my habits.

SPEAKER_03 19:55

Yeah.