My First Coaching Session & Reconnecting with the Joy of Running

• 0 • 13.1 Training, My Running, Running

I had my first coaching session with Jake Maulin of TriJake Fitness!  I can already tell that this is going to be a shift in my running mentality that I desperately need.

I’ve been overwhelmed by training plans in the past that expected me to run tempo runs at a specific pace, target a certain number of miles for long runs, and do intervals on a set schedule rather than running faster when I feel like it.  There’s something to be said for having very specific goals, but using charts to look up training paces based on my best 5k time just didn’t work that well for me last summer.  I dreaded many of my runs, because they felt too hard to complete and I’d come home feeling like a failure because I couldn’t achieve a target pace predicted on some chart.  It took some of the joy out of running.

outrunjoy

Jake’s recommendation, before even learning how much I struggled with these hyper-specific training plans, was to spend my six weeks in Maine establishing a running base by reconnecting with the joy of running.  People run more, work harder, and enjoy it more when they’re running because they love it, not because their training plan told them to.  That’s one reason I like fartlek’s so much, because it’s the freedom to run fast for a small portion of your run, for as long as you feel like it, and then recover until you feel like doing it again.  It’s fun.  It’s joyful.  It makes you want to do more.

Jake recommended that I have a general goal of running longer once a week (based on time running, not mileage accomplished), do some hill sprints on 40% grade hills where I run all out for 20 seconds and repeat 7 or 8 times once or twice a week, and replace my timed tempo run with a 30-45 minute run that feels “comfortably difficult”, based on feel, not pace.

He gave me a strength training workout that I can do with no added equipment, that’s easy to remember, that I can do twice a week on days that I’m not running.

Some other recommendations he had: Regularly run a minute barefoot, take a quick break, and repeat about 4 times.  Barefoot running can really help work on running form.

He took the time (after our session was technically over) to teach me a little bit about running form and evaluate my running (I’m not a heel-striker, yay for me :).

Jake even recommended (after some confessions on my part about how I use my Garmin) that I ditch the GPS watch for most of my runs, build up my running based on our discussion, and then check back in on my progress using the Garmin 3 or 4 weeks in.  So I get to run for half an hour here, an hour there.  Run to the Limington rapids and then back.  Yes, realize that running faster will make you faster, but get in touch with your effort and stop worrying so much about numbers.  Numbers can be progress reports, instead of set prescriptions for how far or fast you have to run on any given day.

Did I come out of the session with some very specific strategies to work on my speed, and answers to a lot of my training questions?  Absolutely, more than I can fit into one blog post.

But the most important feeling I left with was an excitement to reconnect with my joy in running, and to recognize that by doing so, I will actually improve faster.  I feel like I left with permission to seek out scenic routes in Maine to make running more pleasurable and beautiful.  To go for a two hour run, and not worry about how many miles that ends up being on a given day based on how I’m feeling – it’s still training my body to be out there on my feet doing aerobic exercise for two hours.  To run fast when I feel like running fast, or ditch a run for no other reason than “I’m tired”.  I left with permission to listen to my inner runner, and the belief that when I do that and make running more fun, I will end up running more, and pushing harder for the sheer fun of it, rather than out of fear or obligation to meet a set time on a sheet of paper.

I love the thought that I can still train hard, do fartleks, run long, strength train, and be serious about improving without feeling like every time I run it’s a timed race.  This could just be the best of everything.

We’ll see how it goes!

If you’re interested in learning more about Jake, he has a lot of free videos online as well as a blog.  One of my favorite blog posts of his is “Am I running too much?”  It shows a little of his philosophy about figuring out what’s right for you, and following your heart and listening to your body instead of looking up rules in a book.

Agenda & questions for my meeting with my running coach

• 0 • 13.1 Training, My Running, Running

I’m about to change and head out the door to meet with my new running coach, Jake!  To make the most of this 60 minute session, I’ve typed up an agenda with my goals, past history, and some questions I have right off the bat.  I’ll let you know how it goes!!!

consistency

Kelly’s Half Marathon Coaching Session

 

Nutrition: eats a whole foods, plant-based diet with very few refined sugars or refined carbohydrates

Goal: To run 9:30 pace for the Chilly Half Marathon on November 8th, 2015

Current Fitness Status: Ran two half marathons and was in decent shape in Fall of 2014.  Over the winter, was running about 10 miles per week with 2-3 spin classes a month.  Got sick with a cough / bronchitis and haven’t run for the past 6 weeks.

Experience: This will be my 6th half marathon.  Half Marathon PR is 10:01 pace in November of 2014.  5k PR is 8:58 pace on January 1, 2015.  Best timed mile was 7:45 in August of 2014.

Goal for this session: Would like to come up with a game plan for this summer.  Will be up in Maine until July 27th, and will have a babysitter so that I can run 3 mornings a week, possibly 4.  Hoping to come up with a plan for gaining a solid foundation for starting a more specific 12 week half marathon training plan beginning in August, when I will be 3 months and 1 week away from the Chilly half marathon.

Future coaching: Interested in the possibility of some e-mail coaching while I’m up in Maine.  Also plan to set up coaching when I return in August for an individualized half marathon training plan.

 

Current questions:

    • How helpful is biking / low impact cross training – would I be better of spending my time running if I can only train 3-4 times a week this summer?
    • Would it be better to work on building up my distance again, or increasing my speed, first?  I could work up to running 10 miles at a slow pace, or I could take longer to build up to 10 mile runs and run closer to my target pace.  Which would be better?
    • I’ve used the FIRST plan which has three key workouts a week, but always found it too challenging to complete all of them in a given week.  Should I try the FIRST plan with slower paces?
    • How do I figure out what my target pace should be for my summer runs, since it’s been 6 weeks without running?  Should I build up to 10 miles a week and then do a timed run to gauge current fitness level?
    • What are the best strength training exercises for runners that don’t require fancy equipment, and how often should I be doing them?
    • Should I do an interval, tempo, and long run workout this summer, or just build up my mileage and do more targeted workouts when I return in August and start a 12 week training plan?
    • If I planned to do an interval, tempo and long run in a given week and had to skip one, which one should I drop, or should that depend on which ones I did well in previous weeks?

Back to running! Goals and Old Fashioneds

• 2 • 13.1 Training, My Running

  

She’s back.

My 5 weeks of coughing is finally over, and I went for a slow but AMAZING three mile run yesterday.  Then I celebrated with an evening cocktail I’ve been looking forward to.  One of my best friends from college posted an article on Facebook about Proof cocktail syrups, hand-made in Decatur, GA not too far from my beloved Emory University.  I ordered one online immediately, not even realizing my friend knows the bartender who helped create the Proof line of syrups.  The Pecan syrup smells sweetly of orange and takes the labor out of making an Old Fashioned.  Paired with Basil Hayden’s, it was a fast road to aromatic deliciousness.

My legs can tell I went for a run yesterday, and it’s the best feeling in the world.

I’m so excited to be back to exercising, nothing makes me feel better… I’m just in such a great mood after I run!

In other exciting news, I have big plans for my sixth half marathon this fall.  I’m signed up for the Chilly Half Marathon in Newton again, and I’m targeting an aggressive pace improvement because I got an inspirational e-mail from Tony saying he’s training this summer with 9:30s as his race goal for November.  Running the race the past two years with him earned me half marathon PRs both times, and I’m willing to bet this year will be no different.  I lost him at mile 10 last year, hoping to keep up with him until the finish line this time.

9:30s would knock 30 seconds per mile off my time last year.  It’s an aggressive, but exciting, goal.  What I realized is that I need to work smart if I’m going to make it… so I’ve hired a coach. Yup.  You read that right.  So far I’m just signed up for an initial consultation of 60 minutes to go over strategies, ask all my questions, and get a tailored plan for the next eight weeks until I get back to MA from our time in Maine.  Then I’m going to consider meeting with him again, and possibly seeing him on a weekly or biweekly basis, or doing e-mail consultations.

I’m excited about the prospect of having someone who can answer all the questions that come up during training, like “this run was awful, do I just keep going or repeat the workout?”  “Should I run longer first, or faster first?”  “I can only run three days this week, my schedule is crazy, which workout do I drop?” etc.  Answering these questions with help could make the difference between meeting and missing this challenging goal.  I also like buying services rather than buying material things with my personal spending money.  I’m less likely to splurge on a pair of shoes or a bag I don’t need, because I just spent money hiring a local fitness expert.  Less waste, less manufacturing of things in China, more support for a local business, and a great source of information and encouragement for me.

Here’s to the good life 🙂

Thoughts on running pace

• 4 • My Running

For a long time, whenever I talked to other runners, I felt this urge to insert my pace into the conversation so they would know how “slow” I run before deciding whether or not to continue to converse with me as an equal.  It was an odd symptom of insecurity, a legacy from my early months of running, when I felt fraudulent and embarrassed to even be caught in my running gear.

I’m trying to stop doing this.  Besides, there’s nothing worse than having someone sheepishly admit to being a “super slow” runner and then finding out they run a minute faster per mile than you do, and are only embarrassed when they talk to your husband.  No one needs that.  What is fast for you has to do with your age, experience, time running, and tolerance for dry heaving.  It’s a pretty personal thing, and doesn’t matter at a cocktail party unless you’re on the lookout for a running buddy.

I’ve been thinking about pace often, lately.  I’ve been coughing for over a month, now, and can’t sleep through the night without getting up for cough syrup, let alone exercise.  I feel like my running self is slipping away.  I wonder, when I start running again, how long it will take me until I can run my former 5k pace.  How long will it take me to run 10 miles again?  Why do I care so much?

I firmly believe that you can love running and be a runner at any pace.  I also know from personal experience the joys of working hard to improve your pace and seeing that work pay off.  Pace can be a wonderful motivator.  Your pace is related to how dedicated, hard-working, and experienced you are as a runner (though there are plenty of other factors).  It IS something to be proud of.

But running as hard as you can for a set distance is a pretty similar experience.  I remember my first 5k in under 30 minutes, and it was harder than my first 5k in under 28.  I ran faster in my sub-28 minute race, but did not push as close to the edge of my pain threshold.

With training and experience, the same amount of pain gets you further, faster.  But we’re still all lining up at the start line intending (usually) to push ourselves as hard as we can, just with different results.

That means that when I’m able to start running again, I can still do exactly what I did before.  I can go out and push myself 4 hours a week running, and an hour a week in spin class.  I just won’t get as far in half an hour as I used to.

But if I truly love running, that shouldn’t matter as much as just getting out there and feeling my heart pound and my sweat roll.  If I have to walk, I can walk.  I’ll be outside.  I’ll be working as hard as I can.  It will feel good.

Besides… I have five months until Chilly.  I can rest until my cough is gone, ramp up for a bit, and then rise like a phoenix out of the ashes and try to stick with Tony for 11 miles instead of 10 this year.  Not that pace matters.  Nope.

 

Running Update – Don’t Run While Sick

• 8 • My Running

I haven’t been posting as regularly as I do… because I haven’t been running.  I came down with a persistent cough in April, and have now been sick for over a month.  I felt a little better, and was only taking cough syrup at night, and not during the day also, so I decided to participate in a favorite local 5k on Sunday.

It took me 36 minutes to run the 3.1 miles.  My last 5k in January I finished in 27:49, and this particular course I did in less than 30 minutes last year pushing the double jogging stroller.  Needless to say this was not even close to what I expected.  I then went home and slept two hours before lunch, and three hours after lunch.  Thank goodness my in-laws were in town!  Greg, who has also been sick but is more recovered than I am, ran his slowest 5k by several minutes.

wonderrunresults

A trip to the doctor’s office yesterday earned me a prescription for antibiotics, an inhaler, and a stern directive not to run until I haven’t coughed for several days.

My doctor thinks based on my changing symptoms that I actually got two or three different viruses, not recovering in between them.  (Ahh, the joys of preschool kids bringing everything home.)  She recommended a little more sleep, and a little less overscheduling – a tall order given my new volunteer position (I’ll be co-president of the local mother’s forum next year, and it’s been wonderful but busy preparing volunteers for the transition!).

I’m reminding myself that this too, shall pass.

Not running means I have a little more time in my week, which is helpful.

I won’t be able to run the 10k I’d signed up for at the end of May, but at least I wasn’t training for a half marathon this spring.

It’ll be an opportunity to start fresh once this lingering cough gives way – which will hopefully be soon, now that I have an inhaler and antibiotics helping it move along.

So let me remind myself, once again, NOT TO RUN WHEN I HAVE A COUGH.  Even if it’s been a month and I’m going stir crazy.  Maybe ESPECIALLY if I’ve been sick for a month.

I should read my own blog: http://www.iamrunningthis.com/should-you-run-while-youre-sick/

Hope your running is going better – stay well!