I noticed in the "Which plan do you use" thread, that a lot of people mentioned their coaches. How did you find your coach? Is it pricy?
I feel I am significantly underperforming because I don't have a good idea of how much to push myself. I definitely can (have the ability to) run faster, but I just am not really sure how to do it. I know I've limited myself because of the way I breathe, because when I remind myself to breathe faster, I can suddenly run faster without tiring. I know there have been other threads that beat the breathing horse to death, but i actually have to remind myself to breathe faster as I end up running, breathing like I'm sitting in my chair at work, and then getting out of breath until I remember..."oh yeah, I'm running and should breathe faster."
I usually have plenty left at the end of my runs and can go faster if I remind myself. I usually am not sore afterwards either and haven't been injured/had major pain. I feel I am in a rut in my training and don't know how to go faster. I can't really run more unless I learn to go faster (like a normal speed of 12 mm, not some really fast pace). I feel like I just learned how to go slow and don't know how to change that.
How do I find a reasonably priced coach?
I don't have 'a coach' per se, but I periodically sign up for coached sessions with my local running club.
The cost is very reasonable IMO- $50 for ten sessions.
We meet once a week and usually do some sort of interval workout-- 8x400m or 6x600m or 3x1000m or something like that. The club is divided into 2 groups-- roughly those who can run faster than 8:00 pace for 5K and those who run slower than 8:00 pace for 5K, so you don't have the people running 18:00 5Ks doing the same workout as those doing 28:00 5Ks.
A lot of people in my club go year-round, and find it very helpful.
So that would be my advice to you-- try to find out if there are any running clubs in your area that offer something like this for all levels. Often LRSes will also have some sort of reasonably priced group training program, or will at least know where you can find it.
That said, there are a lot of ways to get faster. You don't need to start by pushing your easy runs, you can start by doing strides at the end of 1-2 runs a week, or start working in a fartlek workout once a week. From there you can move into a program of slightly more structured speedwork-- 6x30 seconds fast can become 6x 1 minute fast can become 6x 2 minutes fast. When you just need to push yourself for *slightly* longer than you did last week, you might surprise yourself what kind of pace you can hold on to when it's just for a couple minutes.
Try asking your local running store, any local running clubs, fitness centers, etc if they know of anyone. You can find online resources as well with a google search.
Another resource: http://www.rrca.org/find-a-coach/ depending on where you live you may find a few local options you can contact. I can personally vouch for one or two there.
I got mine from my local running store. I'm not enterily happy, but then, I'm not a very good student either... Mine isn't very expensive for what he's done so far for me.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Go figure
I wonder how many coaches you would be happy with? You seem like quite the independent, treadmill running Boston qualifier.
Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn
He was upset that I was going to Bermuda to run a marathon. The nerve. :-) He said I should have told him about it earlier... Not my fault... we had to wait to see if we could take the time off work and we booked last minute. I'm serious about my running, but he's even more serious than I am. I do not like the pressure and the lack of freedom. I have to tell him lies, sometimes.
Clearly the sign of a functional coach/athlete relationship I've read some of your comments about him before. I think you need a mediator.
For a reasonably priced local running group with some coaching, see if there is a USA Fit program near you (usafit.com).
They aren't year round programs, but they are a good way to meet some local runners and get some coaching, usually geared toward a 1/2 marathon or marathon near your location.
I think the first question is whether you would benefit from a coach.
If you are an absolute, rank beginner, a coach can be useful to guide you along the right path to getting started. Once you get a few months under your belt though, you'll benefit just from continuing to increase the mileage while adding in a hard workout at least once each week. Truthfully, I don't know how much a coach can help from that point until you reach the point where your improvements begin to plateau. That's probably going to be around the 18 month mark. From that point, a coach can help but you have to be damned honest about what you want. Do you want to perform your best at a particular distance? Then you need to sacrifice all other goals in that endeavor.
Just as an example, let's say you want to run your best possible marathon given the amount of running you can fit into your life. That goal will restrict other activities. You will likely limit yourself to two marathons per year. If world class athletes can't run more than two all out marathons each year, neither can you. Your performance in shorter races may suffer because you are doing a lot of longer workouts and not many short, fast workouts. You will have to select your races throughout the year based not on whether you want to run them but based on how they fit into your marathon plan.
Perhaps running your best marathon isn't your goal. Perhaps you want to be decent, if not stellar, at all distances. I fall into that category. Perhaps you want to run a whole lot of races and you are willing to let your performance take the hit because you enjoy racing. You have to be brutally honest with both yourself and your coach because whatever choice you make will require you to sacrifice other goals.
At any rate, if I were coaching someone, one of the first questions I'd ask them is what they want to accomplish. Then, I'd find out if they are willing to sacrifice other things in order to accomplish that goal. If not, they need to reassess their goals.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Thanks, y'all. I hadn't heard of USAFit. Did you do that one, Craig? I know you're in my neck of the woods. A friend just did their HM in Sugarland this past weekend. I do think I need to check out local clubs. My problem with that is that I sort of live in 2 places, but I'm sure I can work that out.
LTH, thanks for mentioning goals. I do have some, both long term ones and short term ones. I feel like I'm kind of stagnant and stuck right now and don't know what to do differently. I'll try speeding up parts of runs and maybe that will help some. I just always seem to settle back into my same old comfortable 13:30 per mile for 5-6 miles. It's good and I'm much thinner and healthier (heart rate dropped from 80-85 1.5 years ago to 58-60 now). I'm probably quickly closing in on your 18 months of walking/running, just about a year of mostly running.
Goals would be run 5 miles in an hour. My current best is 1:03 but it's usually more like 1:08. Run 6 miles in 1:15. That's currently around 1:20-1:25. I want to run more miles, but my pace limits me because of training time. I run 1+ hours 4 days per week and am trying to do 5 days, but various life events (a wedding this weekend, a trip for my daughter's dive meet last, and driving between my 2 places) have gotten in my way.
Sort of long term goal is HM in 2:30. Eventually (2-3 years away), run a marathon. I can't begin to marathon train until I am a little faster. I feel like a lot of it is a lack of confidence and an inability because of this to push myself even a little. I'm comfortable and stuck...not in an awful place, but stuck. I need to push just a little more. Should I just go out and try a 12 pace for a while and see what happens? I guess I'm just scared. Heck, I shouldn't be scared...it's not like it's going to kill me...just maybe tire me out! What a wimp I am!!!
an amazing likeness
There are some very good coaches (for all levels) here on RA. They just don't announce it in their message posts. A quick post in the general running forum may get you a few private messages. Or not.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
I think the first question is whether you would benefit from a coach. If you are an absolute, rank beginner, a coach can be useful to guide you along the right path to getting started. Once you get a few months under your belt though, you'll benefit just from continuing to increase the mileage while adding in a hard workout at least once each week. Truthfully, I don't know how much a coach can help from that point until you reach the point where your improvements begin to plateau. That's probably going to be around the 18 month mark. From that point, a coach can help but you have to be damned honest about what you want. Do you want to perform your best at a particular distance? Then you need to sacrifice all other goals in that endeavor. Just as an example, let's say you want to run your best possible marathon given the amount of running you can fit into your life. That goal will restrict other activities. You will likely limit yourself to two marathons per year. If world class athletes can't run more than two all out marathons each year, neither can you. Your performance in shorter races may suffer because you are doing a lot of longer workouts and not many short, fast workouts. You will have to select your races throughout the year based not on whether you want to run them but based on how they fit into your marathon plan. Perhaps running your best marathon isn't your goal. Perhaps you want to be decent, if not stellar, at all distances. I fall into that category. Perhaps you want to run a whole lot of races and you are willing to let your performance take the hit because you enjoy racing. You have to be brutally honest with both yourself and your coach because whatever choice you make will require you to sacrifice other goals. At any rate, if I were coaching someone, one of the first questions I'd ask them is what they want to accomplish. Then, I'd find out if they are willing to sacrifice other things in order to accomplish that goal. If not, they need to reassess their goals.
This is a good post. I do some coaching, from running a beginner 5K class every spring at the local community center to a few one-on-one gigs I've done with folks running 1/2 marathons and marathons. The first thing I do with an individual is sit down with them for at least 30-60 minutes to understand where they are in their running "career". Based on that we'll talk about their goals and what is realistic and what it may take to achieve them. That includes what training will be involved and how their personal life comes into play as far as family needs, work, etc. and how that may impact some of the things we want to do.
delicate flower
DW hired me a well qualified coach for my second marathon (college roommate of DW who is now a certified coach and coach of a college track team). Cost $200 total for a FM for me and HM for DW (that's on hold though). The coach was more of a consultant, as the coaching was all done over e-mail (she lives in Colorado and I'm in Connecticut). It was a 21 week plan and I learned a ton about what goes into a well balanced marathon training program. I was a noob coming off my first marathon and wanted to train right. I learn by doing, so the constant feedback was just what I needed. I improved by 18 minutes over my first marathon, going from 4:16 to 3:58. I basically followed the same plan for my third marathon, only with more miles.
<3
Should I just go out and try a 12 pace for a while and see what happens? I guess I'm just scared. Heck, I shouldn't be scared...it's not like it's going to kill me...just maybe tire me out! What a wimp I am!!!
The best way to introduce some faster running is to introduce it in small amounts. I'm going to repeat/expand on my earlier post a bit-- if 12:00 is a fast pace for you, try running for just 30 seconds at 12:00 pace. Jog for 2 minutes and try that again. Work up to 6 or 8 30 second repeats. Now you're running for 4:00 'fast' during a 1 hr workout. (This shouldn't be every workout, start with once a week. If 12:00 isn't the right pace for you, go by feel-- it should feel somewhat difficult, especially towards the end, but you should be able to complete the workout). Do that for a few weeks and then bump up the intensity a bit-- not by running faster, but by running longer. Instead of 8 30 second repeats, do 4 1 minute repeats. Now you're running the same amount of time 'fast', but you're holding the pace for a minute instead of 30 seconds.
For the next couple weeks, build up the number of repeats from 4 to 8. Now you're running for 8 minutes 'fast' in a 1-hr workout. This pace, whatever it is, is probably starting to seem a bit easier, and you might be running your normal, easy runs a little bit faster too.
Then, switch it up again, to 2-minute repeats. Start with 4, and build to 8. Now you're running for 16 minutes 'fast' in a 1-hr workout. Even though you're only going for 2 minutes at a time, you're building your endurance by not walking between repeats, and now you're running fast for nearly half the duration of a 5-K. Run a race, and you'll probably be able to extend the speed you have over those intervals for much of the race, if not the whole thing.
Meaghan, thanks so much for the detailed explanation. I actually never really understood what everyone was talking about with repeats, etc. This makes a lot of sense! It's really the same way I went from walking to running. This just takes me from running to running a little faster. I swear I'm not as dense as I sound, but I just never really thought of it this way!
Y'all have all given me such great advice. I would have no clue about running without this board!