2 hrs 11 min
Tommy Rivers Puzey, Motivations, Aspirations, Training, Durability, Injury Prevention, Run Commuting, Diet, and more The Art and Science of Running
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- Fitness
In episode 11 of the Art and Science of Running Podcast we visit with Tommy Rivers Puzey. Tommy is a husband, father, accomplished marathoner, trail and ultra runner, iFit Trainer, anthropologist, linguist, doctor of physical therapy and licensed massage therapist who works on some of the best endurance athletes in the world when they are training in his hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona.
What motivates Tommy to get out the door and run?
“Trying to keep my own mental and physical health in check. Movement outside helps me keep my own emotional health.”
“The first biggest motivator is to get my head on straight before the rest of the day starts.”
“There are few people whose company I enjoy as much as the voices in my own head.”
“More than anything, I’m motivated by fear of not reaching my potential.”
What was it like growing up in the Puzey home?
“We always knew that we were loved, but there was always an expectation to excel.”
What motivated Tommy to pursue the academic tracks that he pursued?
“Our dad taught us from a young age that you can either work with your hands or you can work with your mind. If you choose to work with your mind, you have to go to college and if you want to go to college I’m not going to pay for it so you either have to be a scholar or an athlete or both.”
“We knew that if we wanted to work with our minds that we needed to go to college so we tried to become the best students and athletes that we could be so that we could pay for college.”
“Waste of any kind is sinful. Waste of food, waste of time, waste of opportunity. Waste of potential is the very worst form of waste.”
“Anthropology class felt like Sunday dinner with our family. It just felt like home being in the anthropology department and that’s what Jake was studying so that’s what I did.”
When did athletics come into the picture?
“Our recreation as kids was simply being outside in the rural southwest.”
“You learn to run as kids and then you are told to stop and then eventually listen. Whether it’s for church, or school, or the pool. We learned to run as kids and we just never stopped.”
Tommy has had success on the trails and the roads. Some find the transition back and forth difficult.
How does he specifically target specific types of running races?
“I start my weeks from the back to the front. . . People have these preconceived notions that you are either a trail runner or a road runner. One of the first things I learned about when I first started studying human physiology is Wolff’s Law. Wolff’s Law essentially says that bones will strengthen themselves. The fibres of the bones will align themselves specifically in response to the stresses that are placed upon them. If you stress a tissue or blood or tendon a little bit those tissues will make adaptations and become what they are being trained to become. If you stress it too much without adequate recovery you will get injured.”
Tommy’ weekly training schedule:
* Five days a week Tommy does what he calls the Vuelta del Taco Run which is 10 miles from his home on a dirt mountain road to a href="https://www.deltaco.
In episode 11 of the Art and Science of Running Podcast we visit with Tommy Rivers Puzey. Tommy is a husband, father, accomplished marathoner, trail and ultra runner, iFit Trainer, anthropologist, linguist, doctor of physical therapy and licensed massage therapist who works on some of the best endurance athletes in the world when they are training in his hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona.
What motivates Tommy to get out the door and run?
“Trying to keep my own mental and physical health in check. Movement outside helps me keep my own emotional health.”
“The first biggest motivator is to get my head on straight before the rest of the day starts.”
“There are few people whose company I enjoy as much as the voices in my own head.”
“More than anything, I’m motivated by fear of not reaching my potential.”
What was it like growing up in the Puzey home?
“We always knew that we were loved, but there was always an expectation to excel.”
What motivated Tommy to pursue the academic tracks that he pursued?
“Our dad taught us from a young age that you can either work with your hands or you can work with your mind. If you choose to work with your mind, you have to go to college and if you want to go to college I’m not going to pay for it so you either have to be a scholar or an athlete or both.”
“We knew that if we wanted to work with our minds that we needed to go to college so we tried to become the best students and athletes that we could be so that we could pay for college.”
“Waste of any kind is sinful. Waste of food, waste of time, waste of opportunity. Waste of potential is the very worst form of waste.”
“Anthropology class felt like Sunday dinner with our family. It just felt like home being in the anthropology department and that’s what Jake was studying so that’s what I did.”
When did athletics come into the picture?
“Our recreation as kids was simply being outside in the rural southwest.”
“You learn to run as kids and then you are told to stop and then eventually listen. Whether it’s for church, or school, or the pool. We learned to run as kids and we just never stopped.”
Tommy has had success on the trails and the roads. Some find the transition back and forth difficult.
How does he specifically target specific types of running races?
“I start my weeks from the back to the front. . . People have these preconceived notions that you are either a trail runner or a road runner. One of the first things I learned about when I first started studying human physiology is Wolff’s Law. Wolff’s Law essentially says that bones will strengthen themselves. The fibres of the bones will align themselves specifically in response to the stresses that are placed upon them. If you stress a tissue or blood or tendon a little bit those tissues will make adaptations and become what they are being trained to become. If you stress it too much without adequate recovery you will get injured.”
Tommy’ weekly training schedule:
* Five days a week Tommy does what he calls the Vuelta del Taco Run which is 10 miles from his home on a dirt mountain road to a href="https://www.deltaco.
2 hrs 11 min