Could Hiring a Running Coach Take Your Performance to The Next Level?
When I started running, more than 10 years ago, my focus was stress management and looking after my health-both mentally and physically. My initial ‘stress management technique’, soon became my passion and an integral part of my routine.
As a new runner I made plenty of mistakes, simply because I wasn’t aware of the ‘science of running’. I started researching the benefits of heart rate and perceived effort. I was very eager to learn more about the sport and the techniques that I could adopt to enhance my running ability and performance. I wanted to turn unstructured training into structured, more purposeful training- it was at this point, that I decided to hire a running coach.
In 2016, I committed to running my first marathon. In preparation, I needed some expertise to get me to the starting line in reasonable shape. Rob, my first coach's philosophy was based on heart rate training. I chose to train with Rob as my sister had previously trained with him, and I was impressed with his runner's success rates. I believed that I could also achieve personal success. A coaching approach offers a training plan that is designed specifically to the personal goals, needs and abilities of the runner. From my experience, it brought my performance to the next level.
During this time, I learned that a coach wears many hats, from being a supporter, therapist, mentor, to teacher, friend to ass-kicker when I needed that extra bit of encouragement or self-belief. The expertise I learned from being coached was priceless, it has served me well over many thousands of miles.
Support
Now that I am a running coach, I am intuitively aware of the importance of supporting my runners through every workout. Without effective support, runners are not equipped to reach their peak performance. A runner's success is largely based upon effective training plans that enhance their health and lifestyle; this idea underpins my coaching philosophy of combining people's busy schedules with their running goals. My philosophy is to train don’t strain.
Expertise & Confidence
My personalized running plans are not just prescribed. Instead, they are plans describing the benefits of the workout and why the workout is important at that specific time- aligning to achieve peak performance.
I start by:
Building an enormous aerobic basic – This is lots of running at a very easy pace. This is the most important and takes the longest to establish. However, once established, aerobic ability is fundamental to all the training programs and the biggest determining factor in performance and recovery.
Hill Phase. These are a specific training phase that introduces hill strides and bounds, which develop strength and flexibility.
Anaerobic Phase – This phase introduces speed. I help you to feel “comfortable with being uncomfortable” while training efficiently without the risk of injury, fatigue, or overtraining.
Integration phase – This is the fun phase - It is the bridge to peak performance. It combines the Aerobic conditioning and the Anaerobic conditioning which will enable you to cover your goal distance smoothly. We introduce pacing skills, by introducing time trills and races to simulate your goal race- this gives you an opportunity to ‘dress rehearse’ for the main event.
And lastly the Taper phase – at this stage I will use the taper phase to make sure you are fully replenished, fully recovered and ready to smash your goal performance.
This proven formula is why hiring a running coach will take your performance to the next level.
If you are interested in achieving your running potential or if you would like to learn more about my coaching service. Get in touch @ coach.run2thetop@gmail.com or complete the contact form.
