Signing Up With a Running Coach
Signing up with a running coach is something I’ve been considering for a while. My performance at Bridgwater half marathon was what made my mind up to go for it. So as of last week I am now a part of Priority Running, working with head coach Simon Prior.
Why do I need a running coach?
As part of a running club you would think the need for a running coach would be unnecessary. However, since returning from my injury, there is a lack of structure at the Burnham Harriers. This is not a criticism and it’s certainly no ones fault but it is what it is.
There are some very experienced runners within the club, most of whom are capable of putting on sessions. For whatever reason, this doesn’t happen. I can’t stress enough that my signing up with Simon is not a slight on the club who have been nothing but welcoming, supportive and helpful since I’ve been a member.
For me personally, given my age, what I want to achieve in the future and where I currently am with my fitness has left me needing more than the club can currently offer. I will obviously remain a fully fledged Harrier but it’s time to focus on me and my running.
This is where having a running coach comes in. Simon is in a position to address my running form, analyse my weakness, teach me new techniques and generally help with my fitness.
Analysing my running form
Having injured myself during my one and only time following a plan it’s also great to have a bespoke plan. A plan tailored to my needs, accommodating my shift work and my current fitness levels.
With that being said, lets have a look at how my first week with Simon went. Before he gave me my plan we did a fitness test of sorts that required me to do alternating 400m laps at half marathon and 10k pace until I reached my lactate threshold. This also gave Simon the opportunity to analyse my form.
My first week on plan
Sunday – was a rest day, partly due to Saturday nights work with Simon but also because I worked a night shift.
Monday – was my first involvement in one of the groups that Simon runs, another perk of having a running coach. The session started with half a mile warm up, working on some drills and then intervals. The intervals were 4x 1k with 2mins recovery between each one. It felt great to be back doing intervals. As hard as they are, they really work your fitness and it was another reality check of where I’m at. The group themselves were a great bunch too which is an added bonus.
Oddly happy after an interval session
Tuesday – was an easy recovery run. I’m glad there wasn’t anything more for this this day as I was in Bristol all day. I’m up there doing a training course for work every Tuesday for the next 5 weeks now.
Wednesday – required a 1hr30 long run. I kept the pace similar to a run I did a few weeks ago and paced it almost perfectly to hit 11 miles in 1hr 30.59. It’s long runs that will build my endurance back up so I’m looking forward to upping the distance as we move forward.
Thursday – was gym day. Thankfully, despite Simon having his own strength and conditioning program, he is happy for me to continue working with Matt at CrossFit Wyvern. My session with Matt was a tough one. I used a SkiErg and a PowerTec for the first time and then we did a 20min AMRAP. The AMRAP consisted of 10x dumbbell burpee deadlifts, 15x pull ups, 20x push ups, 25x sit ups and finished with a 400m run. I almost got to the end of 3 rounds but it was a killer!
Friday – was a much needed rest day. I literally did nothing all day apart from my obligatory dad duties.
Saturday – was more intervals but of the hill variety. I was tasked with 12x shallow hill repeats which I did over a railway bridge. Believe it or not, it was the first time I’d ever done a proper hill repeat session and also the first time I’d used the interval workout on my watch. Despite the elevation not being great, I can tell already this kind of work will pay off.
Done in after hill repeats
So that was my first full week. I’m currently waiting to see what my plan is for this week but I did an easy 40 mins this afternoon (Sunday).
Moving forward
The goal is to have me in better shape for Burnham half marathon in 3 weeks but before that I have Bristol half. This is another area where it’s useful to have a running coach. Normally I would just go for it at Bristol but I’m not allowed to do that which is of course the sensible option.
I won’t do a blog post about every training week but as having a running coach is new to me, I will keep you all up to date with how it goes. In the mean time, I’m excited to see where this all takes me.
