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PODCAST

Running to the Castle

A podcast for slow, back-of-the-pack, or injury-prone runDisney runners on a journey to running magical miles.Join me, Dr. Ali, as I share the secrets I"ve gathered as a runner, Doctor of Physical Therapy and coach.You"ll learn the exact ways I get my clients to the castle strong without feeling broken or held together with KT tape as they cross the finish line.Dr. Ali and this podcast are lovers of runDisney and are not affiliated with runDisney.

sports running

All Episodes

29:24

RTTC #257 I'm Not Hungry on My Long Run Do I Need Fuel?

Running to the Castle ·

2026/10/06

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali tackles one of the most common fueling mistakes she sees: waiting for hunger to tell you it's time to eat. She breaks down why carbohydrates are your body's go-to energy source and why slow and back-of-the-pack runners should be fueling on every single run, no matter how short. Dr. Ali also explains why fueling should be based on time on your feet instead of miles, and shares her own simple system for fueling from the very

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14:11

RTTC #256 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/29

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali explains why she pulled out of her proof of time 10K during race week. A few weeks earlier she hurt her back and she uses her PT background to walk through her symptoms and the simple test she used to tell her doctor it wasn't a muscle problem. She's honest about what she's missing out on... the chance to prove she dropped from a 13 minute mile to a 10 minute mile and to submit a faster proof of time to runDisney. She

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34:42

RTTC #255 Do You Need to Get Faster or Is Something...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/24

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down why more speed workouts aren't always the answer when you feel like you're not getting faster. She explores how race day nerves, run-walk strategy, and summer heat can all hold back your pace, even when your training is right on track. You'll also learn how to check whether you're truly improving with standardized pace testing instead of trusting how a run feels. If you run at the back of the pack and

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25:33

RTTC #254 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/22

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali explains what the taper really is and why the right amount of pulling back changes with your race distance. She uses a Merida bow and arrow analogy to show why doing too much and doing too little can both keep you from a strong race day. She covers what to stop the moment your peak long run is done, and why "more is better" rarely applies here. She also shares how an unexpected back flare-up reshaped her own taper, and how

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19:08

RTTC #253 Do You Need to Run More Than 3 Days to...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/17

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali tackles a debate that keeps resurfacing on social media... whether 3 days of running a week is actually enough to train for a marathon. She breaks down why she builds her training plans from research and science rather than chasing every other coach's opinion, and why time on your feet matters more than mileage for runners at 13 to 16+ minute paces. Dr. Ali makes the case for consistency and injury prevention over pushing to

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21:34

RTTC #252 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week 19

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/15

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali walks through hitting peak week of her Proof of Time 10K training... and what happened when her body had other plans. She breaks down the 5 phases of a successful running journey (build, train, taper, race, and recovery) and explains why "the hay is in the barn" once peak week is done. She also talks about how she handled an unexpected setback in the final days before taper, and why she made the call to adjust rather than

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39:12

RTTC #251 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Weeks...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/08

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali combines two weeks of Proof of Time Half Marathon training into one honest, "it just didn't happen" kind of episode. Week 17 got wiped out by travel... a trip to Massachusetts to visit family and meet her new niece, a flight delay, a Wi-Fi outage, and a pile of laundry that pushed her only workout, a long run, two days late. Week 18 started rocky too, but the week turned around fast: a speed workout testing new run-walk

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25:45

RTTC #250 Why Am I Still Not Getting Faster?

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/03

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down the five warning signs that tell her a runDisney runner's speed workouts simply aren't built for them...even after months or years of consistent training. This episode is specifically for the 13-16+ minute per mile, run/walk crowd who keep hitting a wall: speed workouts written in distance instead of time, workouts that call for race paces you haven't actually established yet, strides tacked onto the end of

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28:03

RTTC #E249 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Weeks...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/09/01

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali catches up on three weeks of Proof of Time half marathon training that didn't go according to plan: a low blood pressure week that forced a full stop, a "just get movement in" recovery week complete with Garmin mishaps and a very unimpressed Levi, and a comeback week featuring a whimsical treadmill run and a tempo run along Boston's Charles River. She talks through how she made real-time decisions about safety,

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18:25

RTTC #250 Overcome the Dragon The runDisney Ramps

Running to the Castle ·

2026/08/27

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali digs into why hill training is one of the most underrated ways to get faster for runDisney races...and how to actually "overcome the dragon," the nickname one of her Stronger Faster Finisher runners gave to the toughest incline on course. She breaks down the exact 45-minute hill workout she prescribes, including incline targets, sprint pacing, and why two minutes of recovery matters more than runners think. Dr. Ali also

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21:53

RTC #248 How to Master the Progression Run to Build...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/08/18

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down the progression run... one of her four go-to speed workouts for runDisney runners using run/walk intervals. She explains why this pyramid-style workout (starting steady, building to a peak pace, then coming back down) trains your body to hold faster paces for longer, no track distances required. Dr. Ali also shows how the same pacing pattern maps onto race day itself... starting easy, building speed, and giving yourself a

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32:23

RTTC #246 Stop Guessing Your Paces How to Find Your...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/08/13

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down why so many back-of-the-pack runners get stuck in what she calls the "gray zone"... running just hard enough to feel exhausted but never fast enough to actually get faster. She walks through her full pace testing protocol for finding your true easy, moderate, and hard paces, plus the conditions that make your results repeatable from test to test. You'll learn why average pace is misleading, how often to

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37:32

RTTC #245 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week 13

Running to the Castle ·

2026/08/11

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali recaps a rare 100%-completion week of Proof of Time half marathon training, hitting every cardio and strength workout on the plan. She breaks down a tough 10K race pace tempo run, an early-morning cross-training walk with Levi, and a strength day where she pushed to a full 45-minute session. The heart of the episode is her run-only experiment: testing what happens when she runs straight through instead of using run-walk intervals, and

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20:55

RTTC #244 6 Signs You're on Your Way Out of Corral G...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/08/06

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down six signs that show a slow, back-of-the-pack runDisney runner is making real progress toward leaving Corral G behind. She explains why structured speed workouts, dialed-in easy run pacing, and knowing your long run time down to the minute matter more than corral placement alone, and introduces the "gray zone" concept that keeps so many runners stuck at the same pace. Dr. Ali is candid that a great race is

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33:20

RTTC #243 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week 12

Running to the Castle ·

2026/08/04

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali shares Week 12 of her Proof of Time half marathon training journey, digging into what it really takes to hit and hold race pace when your body (and the Las Vegas summer heat) is fighting back. She explores the experiment of adjusting run/walk intervals versus running straight through, and why testing her own training methods matters before recommending them to clients. She also gets honest about missing a long run for reasons that

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22:09

RTTC #242 How to Run Faster in the Summer Heat

Running to the Castle ·

2026/07/30

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down why your paces feel so much harder — and slower — when the temperatures climb, using heart rate zones to show exactly what's happening inside your body. She walks through a simple self-experiment comparing your warm-up heart rate on a comfortable day versus a scorching one, and explains why your heart can't tell the difference between beating fast from sprinting and beating fast from heat stress. Dr. Ali shares

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22:04

RTTC #241 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week 11

Running to the Castle ·

2026/07/28

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali walks through week 11 of her Proof of Time training block, including how she's adapting her workouts to brutal Las Vegas summer heat. She shares the mental strategies she leaned on to push through a tough race-pace speed workout, plus what she learned about pace testing on an unfamiliar treadmill. Ali also talks through her decision to take a long run outside instead of on the treadmill, and offers an honest reflection on why

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31:20

RTTC #240 How to Handle the Long Run When All You...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/07/23

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down the true purpose of the long run and why it has nothing to do with getting faster. She explains the "pink, gray, and green" pace spectrum, why zone two heart rate training can be misleading, and how to use pace testing to find your ideal easy pace. Dr. Ali also shares why changing only one variable at a time (distance OR speed, never both) is the key to avoiding burnout and injury, and what to listen to (and what

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44:32

RTTC #239 Proof of Time Half Marathon Training Week 10

Running to the Castle ·

2026/07/21

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali walks through a week that got hijacked by a home repair headache and a rough holiday weekend, and shares how she still managed to hit the bare minimum without losing sight of her training goals. She breaks down the key difference between a "just finish" goal and a "fast" goal, and how knowing which one is yours should shape what you cut when life gets in the way. She also shares real, in-the-moment lessons from her

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20:57

RTTC #238 How Long Should Cross Training Be for Slow...

Running to the Castle ·

2026/07/16

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Running to the Castle, Dr. Ali breaks down how cross training fits into a slow runDisney runner's training plan and why it's different from strength training. She explains the 5 phases of a running journey and the 6 pillars of balanced training, then answers a listener question about the ideal length and frequency of cross training sessions. Dr. Ali also shares practical ways to fit cross training into a busy schedule, even when time is tight. It's a

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257 results

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