No Limits Endurance Coaching

How to Implement Strength Training Using Periodization

Be strategic by using periodization to organize phases of your strength training.

~By Coach Lindsay Leigh

Strength training supports our performance and reduces injury risk. Given how important this is for endurance athletes need strength training, we’ll cover some best practices for implementing a periodized strength training routine throughout your season.

Phase 1: Adapt

Before…

Hit the Dirt! 8 Tips To Start Trail Running

One thing that COVID has not been able to cancel is access to the great outdoors, and that has many athletes taking to the trails for the first time. Beyond COVID, however, trail running and ultrarunning has been steadily growing in popularity.

We’ll help you transition smoothly to being dirt runner with these 8 tips.

Gauge effort using rate of perceived exertion or heart rate.

Given the…

Boost your immunity with food

By Coach Lindsay Leigh

What we eat, and don’t eat, can greatly affect our immune system, which is more important than ever right now.

Those who eat more fruits and vegetables appear to have a lower risk of getting an upper respiratory track infections (Watzl et al. 1999).

Even adding just one extra serving a day, like an apple, can help! Cruciferous vegetables in particular, including…

3 Tips for Mindful Eating

By Coach Lindsay Leigh

It’s easy to turn to food for comfort when we’re bored, anxious, and stressed. Comfort food is an easy drug.

While we should never focus our eating on restriction and deprivation, we want to ensure that the foods we eat take care of our health and feed our body with nutrient-dense foods, which can help boost our immunity!

Below are a 3 tips to stay on track with…

Try new foods and recipes!

By Coach Lindsay Zemba Leigh

One of the top reasons people fall off healthy eating is because of boredom. And now that we eating out less or not at all, it’s very easy to get bored with the same “go to” meals or foods day in and day out.

So, let’s set the goal of eating a greater variety of foods, and starting the practice of trying a new recipe and/or new food every week to help avoid…

Making Good Nutrition Habits

by Coach Lindsay Zemba Leigh

Unhealthy habits. We all have them.

Do you ever find yourself snacking at night when you’re not hungry? Or immediately reaching for sweets after dinner even though you’re full? Or turning towards sugary snacks for a mid-day pick up? Or going all day with not much to eat and being ravenous by dinner?

Part of healthier eating requires that we make new habits…

What goes into a day of healthy eating?

By Coach Lindsay Zemba Leigh

I thought I’d share what I typically eat in a day to provide you with some healthy and simple meal and snack ideas. I’m definitely not perfect, and am continuing to build variety and new ideas into my plant based eating. I don’t count calories and I don’t deprive myself, so some days I eat more than this depending on my training or how hungry I am.

Here’s a…

Costs and Benefits of Fasted Training

By Coach Lindsay Zemba Leigh

Athletes sometimes ask me about fasted workouts, and I continue to see articles about it in running and triathlon magazines. So, it will be helpful to offer our thoughts on the topic.

What are fasted/glycogen depleted workouts? Typically done in the morning after having a long night time fast, the athlete does their workout without eating anything beforehand,…

Sleep and Weight Loss

by Coach Lindsay Leigh

What does sleep have to do with weight loss, you ask? Well, a lot actually! And, more than one-third of Americans are not getting enough.

When you’re low on sleep you may be more likely to reach for food for a pick up, crave junk food, have less impulse control, or skip your workout. Additionally, sleep is the #1 recovery tool for athletes – so we can diminish our…

Tips for Healthy Treats

by Coach Lindsay Zemba Leigh

Healthy eating doesn’t mean depriving yourself of treats.

Food is meant to be enjoyed and pleasurable. A healthy balanced diet can include your favorite treats in moderation. When you have your favorite treat, enjoy it seated in a relaxed environment, eating slowly, savoring every bite.

You can also find healthier ways to satisfy your sweet tooth. Here are a…

13 Hacks for the Triathlete Parent

~ By Coach Lindsay Leigh

I am far from the perfect mom or perfect triathlete or perfect coach. Many days I feel like I’m failing at one or all three. But I’ve managed to race soon to be 6 ironmans since having kids (12 total), as well as train for and race a 50 and 100 miler.

This is funny to me now, because before having kids I remember saying, “I have to get these Ironmans out of my…

We're starting the year with giving and gratitude by sponsoring a #NoLimitsGratitudeChallenge throughout the month of January.

Get ready for the #NoLimitsGratitudeChallenge starting January 1!

The winter holiday season is such a great time for showing our gratitude, embracing a joyful spirit, and giving back to our communities. We don’t want the giving & gratitude season to end!

So, we’re starting the year with giving and gratitude by sponsoring a #NoLimitsGratitudeChallenge throughout the month of January.

Show us your…

12 Tips to Make Sure You are “A” Race Ready

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ~Benjamin Franklin

  As your key “A” race of the season draws closer, are you taking all the steps – big and small – to make sure you are setting yourself up for success? While not all things can be anticipated and prepared for, there are many race day items that can be anticipated. We offer some of our top tips to get your body, mind and gear…

Get Sh*t Done: 2018 General Smallwood Triathlon Race Report

[This post is race report by our athlete Jen Miller on her experience at the General Smallwood Triathlon (Olympic Distance), held on May 19, 2018. Thanks, Jen, for allowing us to post it here!]

New Year.

New Age Group.

New Coach.

New expectations?

With Joe’s support (😘), this is this year I decided to do an Ironman.  I’m turning 40 and thought, geez, I’m not getting any younger; let’s do this. …

Boston Marathon in a Rowboat

G, L, C & me for the traditional finish before the Finish line picture. [Jill is in the center of the picture; pink jacket.] Kudos to the dude with the epic photo bomb![This post is a reprint of the 2018 Boston Marathon race report from our athlete Jill Pescatore. You can see the original post here. Thanks, Jill, for allowing us to repost here!]

~by Jill Pescatore

Running the Boston Marathon is…

As Hard as 1, 2, 3: Road Speed Work Sets

If you want to race fast, you need to run fast.

But, not all of us can (or want) to get to a track to do our speed work. When running on the road, measuring exact distances can be tricky, especially when satellites don’t want to cooperate.

This workout helps you adapt your speed work for running on the road by using time-based sets.

In this workout, we feature a ladder-style build in duration.…

Gritty, Cheerful, Supportive Ultrarunners: Umstead 100 Race Report

Thumbs up! The 100 mile distance has intrigued me for years. I only had to decide when the right time would be to toe the line. Up until the start of the 2018 Umstead 100, and even during some moments of the race, I could not quite wrap my head around running 100 miles. Biking 100 miles seems hard enough! But, any concerns I may have had about the uncertainty of the distance were outweighed by my…