Running Coach

[wvjules]

I need one. How do I find one?

I have a half in May then nothing again until October. I want to use summer to do some 5Ks, 10Ks, etc and really work on my running basics. I know this should have been done before my first half but better late than never, right?

What does one look for in a coach? Have you ever used one? Were they worth it?

 

[FireDancer]

The first place I would check is my local running store. Even if they don't have a particular coach in mind they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Being close to DC I'd also check out the DC Road Runners and see if they have any recommendations.

 

[wvjules]

I emailed the president of a local running club to see if he could point me in the right direction. Hopefully he will be able to help me. My Dsney time was 3:42 I'm hoping for less than 3:00 for the Baltimore in October. I think knocking off 42 minutes is too hefty of a goal to go it alone. lol Of course at least 15 minutes of my Disney time was waiting in line for the bathrooms. Next time I'll know not to stop at the first 5 porta-potties and try to hold it for a while.

In 3 weeks is the Frederick Half. I'm hoping for 3:25. *crossing fingers* Slowly, but surely, I'll get there. Ha..literally.

 

[FFigawi]

Some things to look for when deciding to get a coach:

- Does their personality fit well with yours?
- Do they have a philosophy and program that has shown results for runners similar to you in ability?
- Can they tailor their program for you?
- How much do they charge?
- Is their program more intense than you are currently comfortable with? Can you adapt?
- Are you willing to do all the workouts expected of you?

Of course, paying a coach is not the only option out there. As Frank said, many local running clubs have volunteer coaches that organize workouts for their members.

 

[johde]

I would say a "sub 3" is not out of the question. I went from a 3:30 to a 3:07 from May to October between my first 2 half marathons. If I remember right, you use some sort of run/walk method. Assuming you do, and you plan on continuing with it, you will want a coach that is not averse to run/walk/run. There are some running purists out there that don't like

What kind of training plan are you doing for the half in 3 weeks? For the October race, you might want to look at one of Galloway's "goal time" plans. You might need to customize them a little for your particular goal time.

I combined his 2:45 goal plan in "book on running" with Bingahm/Hadfields MFM plan, and a little bit of my own thinking for my half marathon April 3rd and did a 2:51. Doing the speedwork, really seemed to help. My speedwork goal was actually slower than I normally run, but instead of only running for 1 minute I was running for 3-6 min with minimal (if any) walk breaks. My running speed for 1 minute went from a 12:00 mile to an 11:00 mile between my October to April races. I also cut my walk breaks from 2 minutes to 1 minute.

 

[stampingoddess]

The first place I would check is my local running store. Even if they don't have a particular coach in mind they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Being close to DC I'd also check out the DC Road Runners and see if they have any recommendations.

This is how I found my current coach. I emailed out local Fleet Feet store looking for a race walking coach and was put into touch with a great training group, lead by experienced race walkers, and have been greatful ever since. Even better, this group is FREE!

 

[FireDancer]

I emailed the president of a local running club to see if he could point me in the right direction. Hopefully he will be able to help me. My Dsney time was 3:42 I'm hoping for less than 3:00 for the Baltimore in October. I think knocking off 42 minutes is too hefty of a goal to go it alone. lol Of course at least 15 minutes of my Disney time was waiting in line for the bathrooms. Next time I'll know not to stop at the first 5 porta-potties and try to hold it for a while.

In 3 weeks is the Frederick Half. I'm hoping for 3:25. *crossing fingers* Slowly, but surely, I'll get there. Ha..literally.

Knocking that much time off might be possible. It really depends on how close to your limit you were when you ran the 3:42. If you were able to pinpoint mistakes either in training or in the race (like the port-a-potty thing) you might be able to knock a good chunk of time off. If you ran pretty close to your limit and didn't lose a lot of time through under-training or race day errors it might be a bridge too far for now.

I was able to knock 28 minutes off of my full time in 14 months because I made some big mistakes both in training for my first full and on race day. Knocking that much time off just on improved fitness in that amount of time would probably be a bit hard.

Good luck finding a coach and getting your time to wherever you'd like it to be.

 

[fashionista311]

Knocking that much time off might be possible. It really depends on how close to your limit you were when you ran the 3:42. If you were able to pinpoint mistakes either in training or in the race (like the port-a-potty thing) you might be able to knock a good chunk of time off. If you ran pretty close to your limit and didn't lose a lot of time through under-training or race day errors it might be a bridge too far for now.

I was able to knock 28 minutes off of my full time in 14 months because I made some big mistakes both in training for my first full and on race day. Knocking that much time off just on improved fitness in that amount of time would probably be a bit hard.

Good luck finding a coach and getting your time to wherever you'd like it to be.

off topic, but would love to hear some of your mistakes and how you corrected them- I think I made some pretty bad mistakes and would love to hear some advice. I'm too far out from my full to predict a finish time, but if you average my HM times from this year and take that and double it - there's a 54 minute difference from my HM to marathon time. I know it's hard to use HM as a marathon predictor - but I think I can do better this year if I can figure it out all.

On the topic for running coaches - I would start by joining a group like others have said. Also, it really helps to learn to be self-aware - you can correct SO much just by trying to self-correct your form. Not that I advocate treadmill running for 100 percent of the time, but I think there is something to be said for running in front of a mirror every so often, so you can see what you are doing. Also, I'm a firm believer in "miles make magic" If you can safely/smartly gradually increase your mileage, I think you can see great gains. I know it has worked for me - the higher I seem to bring my mileage, the stronger race results I seem to get. Good luck!

 

[FireDancer]

off topic, but would love to hear some of your mistakes and how you corrected them- I think I made some pretty bad mistakes and would love to hear some advice. I'm too far out from my full to predict a finish time, but if you average my HM times from this year and take that and double it - there's a 54 minute difference from my HM to marathon time. I know it's hard to use HM as a marathon predictor - but I think I can do better this year if I can figure it out all.

In training my biggest mistake was concentrating too much on my long run each week and not on total miles. I did way too few miles leading up to the race and I felt it in my legs for the last ten.

On race day I made two big errors. First I didn't eat nearly enough pre-race and then I went out too fast. I was good for the first three or so but then I let the adrenalin kick in and was running my half marathon race pace which just tired me out. I might have been able to adjust and keep going at a decent speed but the lack of base miles combined with the speed of my first half was a bad combination. Running with a Garmin of course also helped for full #2.

 

[fashionista311]

In training my biggest mistake was concentrating too much on my long run each week and not on total miles. I did way too few miles leading up to the race and I felt it in my legs for the last ten.

On race day I made two big errors. First I didn't eat nearly enough pre-race and then I went out too fast. I was good for the first three or so but then I let the adrenalin kick in and was running my half marathon race pace which just tired me out. I might have been able to adjust and keep going at a decent speed but the lack of base miles combined with the speed of my first half was a bad combination. Running with a Garmin of course also helped for full #2.

Thanks! I know a huge part of my problem was a knee injury that started bugging me at mile 8 and really didn't let up the whole way. The injury also forced me to downgrade some of my long runs and weekly mileage, and I'm sure that didn't do me any favors either.

What I'm really struggling with is trying to figure out what my marathon pace should BE compared to a half marathon pace. I also seem to bonk pretty badly in long runs (even in training), but I think it's a combination of some nutrition tweaking and just building more endurance.

Anyways...I don't mean to hijack the thread with my own issues. Sorry!!

 

[wvjules]

I got a reply from the president of the running club. They have scheduled runs and Monday's are called "relaxed Mondays" and they use the Chir running. He said

"If you came out on Monday nights, I'm sure I could help you. There's dozens of training programs to choose from. That's the easy part. But finding someone that can analyze what you're doing and teach you how to be more efficient, takes a personal approach that most personal trainers know little about. If you came out on Monday evenings I'm sure I could help you. The one requirement is that you lose your ego. How fast you are in relation to whomever else is present is irrelevent. I will help anyone that wants to learn, but you can't worry about keeping up with everyone else. Most of us can't keep up when we start. The ones that stick are the ones that find it a challenge and not an embarassment. "

I emailed him back and told him I would be joining them in May after the half. I dont' want to change anything 3 weeks before the half so I'm waiting.

Frank, I know I didn't push myself enough during Disney. I finished and felt like I could have gone further.I need someone to 'push' me but not be all in my face, kwim? The lack of pushing myself and the potty issues I'm pretty confident that I could have finished in 3:20-3:25. I'll bet I walked 90%. (My hands were all swollen and I was kinda freaked out about that too.) I made sure to run through the castle and at the finish. But I did meet my goal - finishing.

I have all summer to work on my basics, do speed work, and greatly improve before I jump in to training for the Baltimore half.

 

[johde]

In training my biggest mistake was concentrating too much on my long run each week and not on total miles. I did way too few miles leading up to the race and I felt it in my legs for the last ten.

As I've compared training plans, there seems to be a huge divide in this area. Galloway tends to go for a low mileage approach. Where all of your quality workouts are on the weekend. During the week you do 30-45 minute maintenance runs. By the end of the program your on a 3 week rotation of Long Run, Speedwork, cutback week for your weekend run. On the other side, he recommends long runs of up to 26-29 miles for Full Marathons (14-19 for half marathons). His goal time marathon plan on rundisney has 4 runs of 20+ miles.

Most other programs focus more on total milage running more during the week and capping at 20 miles or so for the long run. It's tough to say which strategy is better. For people not taking walk breaks, I think Galloway could be problematic. I'm guessing a longer midweek run is in order.

 

[cloudnut220]

wvjules, thanks for asking this question! I've had the same question. I've checked into local running groups, and they all seem to run faster than me (I'm in the 9-10 minute mile range for LRs). I also have an added problem of not being the same place every weekend (sometimes I'm in MD, sometimes DE).