Hello, who are you and what sports/fitness routine do you play?

Hi! My name is Alyssa Lombardi and I am a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist. I have been involved in sports all my life and have been at every level from beginner to college stand out and conference champion and this is how I did it. I started out playing soccer as a young child and loved it, but found myself loving the running part of it the most. When I got to high school, I did both soccer and Track but I had a clear love for running. Even though I had a love for running, I wasn’t always the best. I started out running 2-3 miles at a time around 12 minutes per mile during practice, but I always raced pretty fast. I got down to running 5:15 for the mile and under 19 for a 5k. What I did to get these times down drastically was run…Not only did I run but I did it in specific ways. I then decided I wanted to quit soccer and just focus on running so that is what I did. I got to college and I focused only on running. I started out my freshmen year one of the slowest ones on the team barely being able to keep up with the team on practice runs.

To run fast, you need to have a plan and the plan needs to have race specific workouts in it. So for a week of running, I would have 1 long run 2 fast workouts at least 2-3 easy days and 1 off day. This is the best way to get yourself faster the quickest. Another thing I did was I incorporated strength training into my training. I do 2-3 full body lifting sessions a week. Lifting helps you from 1. Getting injured and 2 makes you faster. Lifted makes you stronger because the stronger you are, the harder you can push off the ground which will make you run faster. If you are a distance runner, this will help you as well because the stronger you are the less energy it will take you to push yourself forward which will make you use up less energy.

Fast forward to my senior year and I'm one of the best on the team. This was all hard work. There is no magic potion or easy fix to be fast, its all about your hard work and giving yourself time to get there. Because of my love for running and health, I decided I would study Exercise Science in college. I wanted to be able to help people get better with their running just like I did but also help people recover from there injuries.

How do you get ready to train for your sport/how do you train?

Referring back to question 1, I do 1 long run 2 fast workouts 2-3 easy days and 1 day off. I also do 2-3 full body lifting sessions a week. I do a long run each week to keep my endurance up. I do 2 fast workouts a week to work on my speed and all the rest are recovery runs to keep putting mile on for the week but not to burn myself out or to get to tired for the next workout or long run. I add lifting into my training to help myself not get injured but to also keep myself strong and fast. This is an easy thing to add into your training to see improvements quickly but to also add variety in. The more variety you add into your plan, the less likely you are to burn out or to get mental and physical fatigue.

After a workout/game, how do you recover your body? What do you do to get your body in shape? What type of diet do you eat? 

Recovery is such an important thing for me. I give myself many days rest before and after a big race so that my legs and mind are fresh. Before a big race, I give myself the day off. I want to make sure that my legs are not tired when I step onto the starting line.

How did I get myself into shape? It took time. Results don't happen in 1 day. It takes time, lots of miles, and practice to get yourself to your goals. Does getting to your goals mean that you need to run 10 miles a day? NO. It means you need to train smart and specific to what your goal is. Your diet is also a huge part of training. If you are not eating enough, your body does not and will not have enough energy for it to use for you to run. I try to eat as healthy as I can, keeping my diet very balanced with protein fruits and veggies. 

How do you prevent injuries when you’re training? What type of stretches do you normally do? What’s your routine looking like?

To prevent injuries, I do many things such a lifting slowly, increasing miles, and giving myself lots of rest. The only way to get stronger is to give yourself a good hard workout but then to rest after that. If you keep beating yourself down, day after day you are just going to get worse and worse. You need to allow yourself to rest and recover before you can give yourself a hard workout again. My stretching routine is dynamic stretching before running and static stretching after. You never want to hold a stretch for more than 5 seconds before running. Studies have shown that static stretching before running has been shown to decrease your performance. I always stick with stretches than have movement for I run such as leg swings.

If there is someone wanting to get to your level, what type of advice would you give them?

I have been at every level so I know how it feels to want to be at a specific spot and not being there yet. The most important thing is time and dedication. Giving yourself adequate time to reach your goals and to not give up when it takes a while to get there. Each person will progress at a different speed so knowing that time is your friend a working with it will really be beneficial to you.

How do you structure your day now? What projects are you busy with?

My schedule is pretty normal. I work 7-4 and then I run after work. I keep myself on the same schedule everyday because the body loves repetition and likes when you keep the schedule the same. It also is built into my schedule just like work is. I know that I cannot skip work because it is in my schedule so it is the same with running. It is set in my schedule so I cannot miss a workout.

How has your journey on social media been? Future plans?

For me, social media started as my own journal. I graduated college and was no longer on a team, and wanted to track my progress with pictures and caption them with how I felt or any thoughts I had. For the first 2 years, I didn’t tell anyone I had a fitness profile. I felt a little embarrassed by it. But, as time went on, I saw I was connecting with more people so I thought I might as well use my growing platform to help people just like I wanted to from the beginning. From then, I started posting more educational posts. Each post I have is a different topic and I address any question people have. I have found that many people have learned a lot from my posts so my small social media page that I was keeping a secret now has turned into a page where I help runners succeed and hit goals they never thought they would.

Knowing what you know now, what do you wish you could tell yourself 10 years ago?

If I could go back and tell my 16 year old self something, I would tell her to not give up. I would tell her that in 10 years, you are going to be this runner who you look up to now. A runner who runs 5:15 for the mile. A runner who runs under 19 minutes for a 5k. But, also an educated successful female in a male dominated field. I would tell her to keep going along your journey because you will eventually get there and when you are there you will be helping people in your spot to get to and reach their running goals.

How can our audience find you online? 

Instagram: @alyssa_runfit

If you want to follow me along my journey, you can follow me on Instagram at alyssa_runfit. I post everything and anything educational about running and health and fitness, and I am sure if you took the time to read my posts you will learn a lot and get yourself to your goals faster than you think!

Alyssa Lombardi is a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist.

Link to Alyssa Lombardi's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssa_runfit/