Minute 1: Identify your weaknesses to grow as a runner

They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and so are our bodies. That may sound a bit pessimistic, like we’re defined by our low points, but we actually think quite the opposite. Runners who take the time to identify and correct their errors are the ones who grow the most, and if you want proof of that, just read this excellent iRunFar piece: “Leaning Into Weakness: Rekindling a Growth Mindset.” Author Bryon Powell has battled for decades with a bad achilles tendon. It was beginning to look like his running journey was over, but he began focusing much of his training on the problematic area, doing rehabilitating exercises like eccentric heel drops. Slowly but surely, his achilles grew stronger, and through his shift in attention, he began to identify several other issues in his lower body. By stretching, developing mobility, and doing speed work, Bryon was able to fix problems in his calves and hamstrings as well, and now, he’s the fastest he’s been in years. Runners can think of their weak points as low hanging fruit when it comes to improvement. A little extra attention can go a long way, and that’s why it’s a good idea to keep “Working on Your Weak Areas.” Most runners struggle with one of these major areas: rest, strength, nutrition, mindset, or consistency, but this article can help you determine where you’re coming up short and what to do about it.

#AchillesHealing

Eight Sleep's Pod 4 Ultra: The New Standard in Sleep

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How SMM improved their sleep and recovery

At this point, most serious athletes have heard all about Eight Sleep. Their buzz-worthy sleep technology, called the Pod, automatically cools down or warms up each side of your bed – and in turn, improves your sleep quality dramatically. Athletes, business titans, and celebrities all swear by the Pod. And now, so does Six Minute Mile. 

On Wednesday, Eight Sleep launched its newest generation of the Pod: Pod 4 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. Clinical studies have proven the new Pod gives you up to one hour more of quality sleep every night. 

Pod 4 Ultra can cool down each side of the bed to 20°F below room temperature, keeping you and your partner cool, based on personal preferences.  The Pod 4 features an adjustable Base that fits between your mattress and your bed frame. And for those snore-heavy nights? The Pod can detect your snoring and automatically lift your head by a few degrees to improve airflow and stop your or your partner’s snoring

You can leave your wearables on the nightstand. Its integrated and imperceptible sensors track your sleep time, sleep phases, HRV, and heart rate with 99% tracking accuracy.

It's no secret that every athlete (and human) is the best version of themselves after a great night's sleep. Since getting our Pod Ultra 4 sent to Six Minute Mile HQ our review team has felt refreshed and energized every morning. It’s not just a feeling, after just one week of sleeping in the Pod Ultra your cardiovascular health can improve as much as it would after 12 weeks of strength training. 

Learn more about the pod here and use code SMM to get $350 off Pod 4 Ultra.

Minute 2: Why does Japan have such a low obesity rate?

Trying to eat healthy in the modern world is hard. There’s a fast food joint on every corner and grocery aisles are packed with ultra-processed snacks. As a result, America’s obesity rate has climbed to 43%, and many other wealthy nations aren’t far behind. It's no wonder that new weight loss drugs like Ozempic are selling out all across the globe, but not every country is trending this way. One journalist traveled to Japan on a quest to discover why, and you can read his findings in: “The Land That Doesn’t Need Ozempic.” Japan’s national obesity rate is a mere 4.5%, and Johann Hari says it could be because of their practices around cooking and eating, starting with food preparation. In Western cuisine, it’s all about adding flavor; a butter baste here and a pinch of salt there. Japanese cuisine, on the other hand, attempts to draw out the inherent flavor of ingredients using as few additives as possible. Then, there’s the concept of “Hara hachi bu,” which encourages people to stop eating when they feel about 80% full. That gives your brain time to catch up to your stomach and prevent overeating. These behaviors are part of the reason why pockets of Japan are considered “blue zones,” or areas with abnormally long life expectancy. How you eat matters, but so does what you eat, and that’s why you should familiarize yourself with: “The Okinawa Diet: Eating and Living to 100.” According to research, a traditional Okinawan diet is 96% plant-based, and it’s believed the high ratio of nutrients per calorie found in vegetables is key to their longevity-boosting properties.

#LessIsMore

Have you caught up on "The Gist" yet?

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These next few months are the busiest time of year for sports fans. With nightly doses of basketball, hockey, and baseball, sprinkled with a dash of tennis, golf, and Olympic trials, it's difficult to keep up with the pack on what is going on. After a long day of writing minutes, testing gear, and getting a run under our belt, the Six Minute Mile staff barely makes it to the half of most games.

That's why Six Minute Mile staff subscribes to TheGIST Sports and reads every issue.  The GIST’s a free 4x-weekly email newsletter that is a must-have tool for staying in the loop on all of the sports happening.  The GIST isn't just producing the sports industry's best email newsletter, but they're also shifting up the male-dominated lens that fans see sports through. The GIST ensures that they cover the men's and women's games with the same level of passion and intricate detail. With the Olympics around the corner, the GIST will be our go-to for ensuring we are getting total coverage of Team USA.

Stay on top of all the action and subscribe to their free 4x-weekly newsletter.

Minute 3: Find the perfect gift for a runner mom

Mother’s day is just around the corner, and if you’ve got a runner-mother that still needs some love, we’ve got you covered with the “The SMM Mother's Day Gift Guide - 2024.” Included on our list is a bag of magnesium salts, which are like Epsom salts but better. Epsom salts have been used for hundreds of years to support relaxation and recovery, but magnesium salts are believed to have even greater bioavailability, according to: “Magnesium flakes vs. Epsom salts.” Also on our list is the Jabra Elite 8 Active wireless headphones, which Rebecca Trachsel reviewed on our site here. Spoiler alert: she graded them an ‘A’ thanks to their build quality, noise cancellation, and ease of use. The last gift we’ll highlight is a kettlebell, which we had to mention after coming across this article: “A trainer reveals the "one exercise you’re not doing to improve your core strength.” The exercise in question is a single-arm kettlebell front rack squat, and unlike a typical back squat, it puts a greater load on your core as you prevent yourself from leaning forward. If strength is your goal but you don’t want to invest in a squat rack, barbell, and plates, then a kettlebell is the way to go. We hope you find the right gift, and to all the moms reading this right now, we’re wishing you a happy Mother’s Day!

#GiftsYouCanLift

Minute 4: Shoe Review: New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v8 ($150)

If you are like most of our running buddies, you probably use running shoes for more than just running. We wear ours for coffee shop trips, yard work and dog walking duties. Our friend and shoe reviewer, Brian Metzler, poses an excellent question in his new review today: If you could pack just one pair of shoes for a long weekend trip, what would you pack? For Brian, the answer is a pair of the just-released New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v8 shoes. He explains why these kicks exude mountain town cred, look good at a casual dinner, and still perform well on the roads or trails. A few highlights from Brian’s review are below, but you can read the full details on our website. 

Very few shoes can truly do everything very well, but I packed a pair of Hierro v8s for a recent weekend in San Diego because they serve up a good blend of comfort, style, performance, and versatility. During my whirlwind trip, I ran on roads, ran on trails, and even ran a little bit on a beach. Plus I wore them traveling on the airplane and to a taco restaurant in Old Town. OK, truth be told, I also packed a cheap pair of flip flops for everything else, but the point is that I got a lot of mileage – literally and figuratively – out of one pair of shoes. That’s not to diminish the Hierro v8 as a trail running shoe, but instead to underscore how much I like it.

What’s New: The Hierro v8 has been updated with improvements to enhance its performance and to lower its carbon footprint. The soft and squishy Fresh Foam X midsole is slightly thicker than the previous version and the heel-toe offset has been lowered from 8mm to 6mm in this edition, optimizing the plush, cushy feel and lessening the slope angle for easier transitions through the gait cycle. Plus, the new Fresh Foam X midsole compound of the Hiero v8 is made from approximately 40% bio-based materials, while the outsole is a version of Vibram’s new Eco-Step Natural Outsole made from 90% petroleum-free ingredients.

Why It’s Great: This shoe is great because it’s versatile. It’s like a road running shoe that’s built for the trails, but it’s also just a very well-built trail runner. If you’re familiar with New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 road running shoes, the Hierro v8 has the same soft, cushy and comfortable characteristics, only with the addition of an exceptionally grippy outsole. It has a durable, breathable upper for running in warm weather, and a reinforced toe box for moderately rugged trails, but it’s still lightweight and agile enough to run uninhibited on mild terrain and over sections of paved or concrete surfaces when necessary. 

On one 8-mile jaunt in San Diego, I ran from Powerhouse Beach in Del Mar to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and back – covering sections of dirt and gravel trails, concrete bike paths, paved roads, and, of course, lots of  sand – and I couldn’t have been more pleased with my choice of shoes and the well-rounded versatility they provided. I probably won’t wear them for super rugged mountain trails – because there isn’t enough sidewall or underfoot protection for that – but I know I could take them up and down one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in a pinch if they happen to be the only shoes I have in my truck.

Brian goes much deeper into why he really likes the versatile New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v8 in his full review. You can check it out on our website here.
#HierroWorship

Minute 5: Quick Intervals

• If you were convinced to pick up a pair of the Jabra Elite Active 8 headphones based on Rebecca Trachsel’s review, why not take them for a test drive with a new song recommendation from Coach Trax herself. Here is her take: Today's song is "Do It For You" by Little Monarch. I don't have a lot of disco music on my running playlists and for no good reason, to be honest. The genre itself is pretty legendary. And this song is an absolute funk fest. Led by singer-songwriter Casey Kalmenson, the band has been around for a while but is reintroducing itself with this new release; their first in about a year. I stumbled upon this band back in March of 2023 when I found and shared their song “Tangerine”. Also worth a listen. But this? This is totally different. This one makes me want to put on my skates and hit the roller rink. (And, yes, I used to do this with my friends.) I can't get enough of this single but I do hope we get more from Little Monarch like this in the near future. In the meantime, I'll try to track down a roller rink. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music. #TurnItUp

• One of the most common pieces of advice for runners who are just beginning or returning from a layoff is to slow down. The importance of doing zone 2 running to build an aerobic base can’t be overstated, but of course that doesn’t mean you should ignore speed work entirely. If you want to know why all runners have the need for speed, as well as how to train it safely, check out: “Why Running Slower Isn’t Always the Answer.”

• If you’re suffering from a headache, the last thing you probably want to do is push yourself with a workout. We totally understand the aversion, but when your read this latest research, you might change your mind. That’s because some types of headaches can actually be resolved via exercise – the key is knowing what kinds. To answer that, read: “Quick Question: If I Have a Headache, Will Working Out Make Me Feel Better or Worse?”

• We picked up a new sponsor recently, the sleep technology company Eight Sleep. We had heard good things about them for years, but as part of our deal, they let us test drive one of their sleep pods. Oh my hecking goodness! We knew their sleep pod was loved by their customers, and now we understand why. We had envisioned something like a cross between an electric blanket and a fancy mattress cover, but this goes way beyond that. The entire set-up weighs about 25 pounds and feels as if BMW engineers built this thing. It is packed with technology and an innovative system that can circulate both cool and hot water beneath your body as you sleep. This has been proven to enhance sleep quality as Eight Sleep warms you in the winter and cools you in the summer. We are only three nights into our test drive, but so far Mrs. Six Minute Mile and I are both enjoying how we can customize our own side of the bed. Stay tuned for more feedback on our sleep metrics as we dive deeper into our test. In the meantime, you can learn more about the company here. 

Minute 6: Daily Inspiration

You don’t become a groundbreaking runner without a groundbreaking mindset. Courtney Dauwalter is living proof of that, as she’s stood at the top of ultrarunning competition for nearly a decade. She credits much of her success to her relationship with the “Pain Cave,” a visualization technique she uses during a challenging run to overcome adversity. You can read about how it works in: “Inside the Pain Cave,” but if you want to take things a step further, you should check out this clip we found from Courtney explaining how her relationship with the Pain Cave has changed over time. Rather than dreading it, Courtney actively welcomes the experience, and she says the shift in her narrative has made the technique more powerful than ever.