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.

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.

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!!!

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 8^th, 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 6^th 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 27^th, 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?