“Coach said: “Do you know why we aren’t doing a tempo run today? When you do a tempo run, guess what you do? You get locked into the same form that I don’t want you to run in right now. You’re training for a 5km and a 1500m. When you’re training for those races, I want you on your toes. I want you feeling good, I want your chest up, I want your arms back. If I give you ten four minute reps, you’re going to rest and you’re going to attack going into each one of those reps. You’re going to get in that stride that I want you to be in today. If I give you a 6-mile tempo run, you’re going to lock into 5 minute (mile) pace, get on your heels, hunch over by the end of it and you’re going to look like s**t. You’re going to feel great because you did that last mile in 4:55, but it’s not going to be accomplishing what I want you to accomplish today. You’re going to be firing a totally different muscle group that I want you to be firing today.” At that moment, I realised that I just needed to shut up and trust him.” Sam Parsons is a professional distance runner for Tinman Elite and Adidas. Sam was involved in the creation of Tinman Elite in 2017 and has played a pivotal role in the development of the team. Today he is looked up to as a leader of Tinman Elite as well as the Creative Director. Sam represented Germany at the 2019 World athletics Championships in the 5000m and has personal best times of 13:22 for the 5000m, 7:44 for the 3000m and 3:37 for the 1500m. In this interview recorded from the home of Tinman Elite in Boulder (USA), Sam shares in-depth stories about how Tinman Elite was created, training stories, racing tales and much more. Sam is best followed on Instagram @par_sam_sons Tinman Elite is best followed on Instagram: @tinmanelite To learn more about Tinman Elite visit: www.tinmanelite.com — — — Learn more about becoming a Sweat Elite subscriber here (if your podcast player doesn’t allow links – visit www.sweatelite.co/subscribe-now/. Join thousands of athletes and coaches from around the world reading the 450+ articles. Subscribers now also receive free training advice from the coaches at Sweat Elite. As a Sweat Elite Subscriber, you can send in any questions you may have about training and we’d be happy to help. Subscribing to Sweat Elite is just $1/week and you can cancel anytime. Also, thank you to those who have rated the Sweat Elite podcast 5 stars! If you have enjoyed listening to our podcast, we would appreciate your rating on your preferred podcast player. –