Do your feet sound loud when you run?

If every step feels heavy, jarring, or harder than it should, the issue may not be your fitness. It may be the way your foot is landing.

In this episode, Coach Chris and Coach Maya explain overstriding in simple, beginner-friendly language: why landing too far in front of your body creates a braking effect, why that can make running feel harder, and how small changes can help you run more smoothly.

You’ll learn:

• Why loud footsteps can be useful feedback
• How overstriding creates invisible braking forces
• Why your knees and shins may absorb more impact than necessary
• Why the “180 cadence rule” is misleading for beginners
• How shorter, quicker steps can help reduce braking without running faster

Start Here:
Download our free 14-week Half Marathon Training Plan and learn how to train smarter while reducing your risk of common running injuries:
https://halfmarathontrainingplan.com/start

Related Resources

• How to Avoid Shin Splints
• Beginner Running Gear Checklist

This has been a production of the Half Marathon Training Plan Podcast. Visit HalfMarathonTrainingPlan.com for science-based training guidance, injury prevention articles, and beginner-friendly half marathon coaching.

Why does Achilles pain keep coming back, even after taking time off?

For many runners, the cycle is frustratingly familiar: your Achilles starts hurting, you rest until it feels better, then the pain returns as soon as you start running again.

In this episode, Coach Chris and Coach Maya explain what the latest sports medicine research says about Achilles tendinopathy, tendon loading, calf strength, recovery, and how to safely return to running without restarting the injury cycle.

You'll learn:

• Why rest alone often isn't enough
• How tendons adapt differently than muscles
• The role of progressive loading in recovery
• When walking helps—and when it doesn't
• The 24-hour rule for monitoring your progress
• Common myths that keep runners stuck in the injury cycle

Read the complete science-based article:
Achilles Pain in Runners: What Actually Works

Start Here:
Download our free 14-week Half Marathon Training Plan and learn how to train smarter while reducing your risk of injury:
https://halfmarathontrainingplan.com/start

Related Resources

• How to Avoid Shin Splints
• Heavy Legs While Running: Causes & Fixes
• Electrolytes for Runners

This has been a production of the Half Marathon Training Plan Podcast. Visit HalfMarathonTrainingPlan.com for more evidence-based training guides, injury prevention articles, and beginner-friendly half marathon coaching.

Why do some runs suddenly feel terrible… even when your training hasn’t changed?

Your legs feel heavy. Your pace falls apart. Your heart rate is unusually high. And suddenly you start wondering if you lost all your fitness overnight.

In reality, most bad runs are not caused by lost fitness at all. They are caused by accumulated stress your body has not fully recovered from yet.

In this episode, Coach Chris and Coach Maya break down the hidden factors that quietly make running feel harder than it should:

• Poor sleep and nervous system fatigue
• Life stress and recovery debt
• Heat and dehydration
• Chronic under-fueling
• Why your brain sometimes forces your body into “low power mode”

This episode is designed to help runners stop panicking during rough training weeks and better understand how recovery, stress, and adaptation actually work.

Start Here: The Injury-Proof Running System
Download our free 14-week training plan and learn how to build endurance without burnout or injury:
halfmarathontrainingplan.com/start

Related Articles:

• Heavy Legs While Running: Causes & Fixes
• Electrolytes for Runners

This has been a production of the Half Marathon Training Plan Podcast. Visit HalfMarathonTrainingPlan.com for more science-based training guidance.