Good morning Trailers!

I went for an easy 5 miler on the trails. I walked the hills so I could keep my legs fresh for my race tomorrow. It was a nice morning to be going easy in the mountains.

QOTD: Have you, or would you use a running coach if it would improve your performance?

I was interested in hiring a coach early on. My pacer at my first 100 is a running coach that works with a lot of fast trail runners, so asked his opinion when we were late into my race. He advised against it, so I never really gave it much thought after that. Sometimes I regret that decision.

Five miles yesterday through the woods. I was going to run 10 on the roads, but on my way to the start, I just didn't have the stomach for it ("it" being the road). I decided to run 7 on the trails around the house, but then I became more interested in staking up my tomato plants. I ended up running 5, two of which were with my youngest who ran through the woods in Crocs (her second best pair of running shoes). My 8 year old ran one mile with us, and she did fine, walking a little bit. That youngest one, though, ran quick, smooth, and effortlessly. She told her mom, "I just kept telling myself, 'I can keep up; I can keep up'". I let her take the lead on the second loop through that section, and she just floated across roots, logs, uphill, downhill, etc. She pointed out places to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes for her sister. She'll be 7 next week. I'll run 5 or so tonight by myself.

QOTD: I have thought about this from time to time. I might would do that if I had more time to devote to running. I run a lot (but not enough), and running is a big part of my life. My main purpose for running is the sheer enjoyment of the outdoors; I don't need a coach for that.

We're supposed to get heavy rain today and I'm due for a rest day anyway.

QOTD: Yes, I used a coach to prepare for my first ultra last September. Moving up from middle distance I had no idea what I was doing and didn't feel confident in relying on what I could get from books and the Internet. While expensive I thought it was well worth the money. He helped me through tough patches in training when I was really discouraged and from what I could tell, really did personalize the training based on my background and how I was responding to the workouts. I was overjoyed with the final results at my goal race.

Easy 5.5 on the roads this morning.  10k trail race tomorrow - looking forward to it.

QOTD:  interesting question, I've been thinking about this lately.  I think I could benefit from some coaching - advice on running form, training plans, workouts, technical trail running skills, etc.  How would you go about finding one, particularly one with some trail expertise?  If anyone has used a coach, any thoughts on the merits between in person vs. online/distance coaching?

 

Lace: I thought you had a coaching gig, or was that a thing of the past?

 

Yeah, I do some coaching but I'm pretty picky about clients and I don't like to have more than 2 or 3 at a time. It's not a very fun job.

morning!

I'm resting today, which is timed well with the downpours we're getting right now.

So excited to run Dirty German 25k this weekend! Who will I see out there?? Muppy, wcrunner, jbyram2, anyone else? I've got the IPA's!

QOTD: I hadn't considered a coach until I recently set my goal of BQ'ing. If I don't see my marathon time drop significantly on my own over the next year, I might hire one.

Planning a couple hours at the state park tonight. I have an evening g off from grandma duties and I intend on taking full advantage.

Qotd: I am too slow and too old to be competitive.. and I m OK with that. I am grateful for every day I'm able to run at any pace or distance.

Couch: sounds like you need to see a doc!

took the day off today and got in a nice 5 miler w/ DD, still slow and the heel still hurts, but slowly but surely I think I'm healing

qotd: it would be fun, but have more pressing uses for my $ like......... pic of my new bike on the way to work