10 replies to this topic

[Don Juan]

A recent New York Times article extolling the virtues of a coach or trainer and worth a read:

http://www.nytimes.c...html?ref=health

"Exercise physiologists and coaches say most people who want to run, swim, cycle or row faster or improve in almost any sport do not appreciate what can be accomplished with training nor how to do it......

There are training programs everywhere — in magazines, books, on the Internet. But eventually, exercise physiologists say, most people need guidance from a group with experienced coaches, like the one Mr. Gordon joined, or from personal coaches. "

It's certainly more fun, and occasionally more painful, running with other people.

[FrankieP]

After muddling along by myself for over a year I've recently acquired a coach. It's certainly reassuring to know I'm now being guided by experience rather than guesswork! With a marathon and a bunch of good races approaching I can little afford lost time due to injury, and of course would like to do as well as possible.

[TrackRunner]

14 minutes for 3klm, 2 yrs  ago and now sub 9 minutes, withouta coach i would have given up years ago

Edited by LOVE22RUN, 22 June 2009 - 01:04 PM.

[400mSprintersAreSexiest]

I concur.

As a lone sprinter / middle distance runner in Mackay, it is very, very difficult trainig by one's self, especially as a 800m athlete.  Sadly Mackay does not have a senior or even Masters athletics club (but does have a strong road runners)

Psychologically (even though I now do Masters), having someone, anyone, just there would be of great benefit.  I find when doing 800m TT's, and hard 600m reps (even longer 1k and 1500m reps) I just lose it when I start to feel the pinch.  Having someone,even to assist in pacing would be of benefit.

Interestingly when I do aerobic runs, it is the opposite i.e. I can run strongly for times over 30mins when running on the road etc, doing Mona Fartlek sessions etc.  Seems track sessions are my bug bear.

[southy]

I am a coach myself of a full squad, yet I am happy to pay another coach to coach me. I really appreciate the guidance and advice, as well as the technique work, the benefit of having a sounding board, and just having someone outside myself to give me feedback. I get individualised workouts and seldom have someone else doing the same session as me, but I enjoy having other people around me at the track working on their sessions. It really is more than worth the price. Of course, you have to find a coach that you respect and get on with, and a good supportive squad to train with. My coach and I have a good partnership.

[Davo83]

Yeah, i agree. I found the slow long runs and occasional sprint easy when getting back into shape and building a base but once you are at that stage; where you are trying to get to the next level, then running with a group and or coach really helps.
Brutal hill sprints or any general speedwork i really struggle unless in a group, and its great trying to catch the faster runners.

cheers

Dave

[southy]

The other issue is that some days after work I am tired and feeling brain dead. If left to do it all by myself, I am sure my training would suffer. But when I get out to squad training, there are others there. Some of us usually warm up together and then get started on our sessions. Just having someone else to get started on the warm up with, others there to chat with, and  'kindred souls' there just seems to help so much to get me going and lift my spirits. It certainly helps to make training more enjoyable than being out there on my own.
If something isn't going well, there are others, especially the coach to chat too. Also if there is something going on with my technique, he knows me well enough that he usually picks up on it straight away and provides feedback. If I am trying to train with an injury,he will usually pick up on that too, whereas I would try to deny it and push through and perhaps end up in worse shape. If he says stop, I will. Many days, I would train too hard whereas I will listen & stop when he says that's enough.  I trust his judgement. Sometimes he knows me better than I know myself.
Contrary to what a lot of people think, you do not have to be an elite athlete to recieve coaching. I have people approach me and ask if I coach 'nonelite athletes', almost apologetically. Sure, why not? Recreational athletes have just as much right to recieve coaching to help them achieve their goals as anyone else does. Everyone has the right to their pursuit of happiness. Just because you are not elite does not make you any less worthy of assistance than anyone else.

[0adrock0]

Hey all.  Apologies for reviving a dying thread but this is somthing that I have been thinking about for a while.

I have had a bad run with my knees lately and am trying to do some strengthening to get on top of it.  Once I get my fitness back up to a respectable level I would like to do a bit more than my own self-coaching, given that I really have no idea what Im doing.

So my question is, what are your suggestions for getting some training on fitness, running technique and strength (with a particular emphasis on injury prevention) for a beginner.  My major aim would be to improve technique and to work my way up to some competitive times for middle distance runs.

There are a number of athletics clubs in my area (Bayside Melbourne - St Kilda) which could be good or perhaps there are some good personalised or small group options out there?

All suggestions welcome!

[HillsAths1]

This topic seems to keep on coming and going.

Adrock, I suggest that you follow the advice given and join a club or get a trainer to help you with your fitness.

There are many around, a good starting point is the Australian Track and field coaches website which lists coaches by postcode as well as by discipline.

[Chelli]

400mSprintersAreSexiest, on Jun 22 2009, 10:22 PM, said:

I concur.

As a lone sprinter / middle distance runner in Mackay, it is very, very difficult trainig by one's self, especially as a 800m athlete.  Sadly Mackay does not have a senior or even Masters athletics club (but does have a strong road runners)

Psychologically (even though I now do Masters), having someone, anyone, just there would be of great benefit.  I find when doing 800m TT's, and hard 600m reps (even longer 1k and 1500m reps) I just lose it when I start to feel the pinch.  Having someone,even to assist in pacing would be of benefit.

Interestingly when I do aerobic runs, it is the opposite i.e. I can run strongly for times over 30mins when running on the road etc, doing Mona Fartlek sessions etc.  Seems track sessions are my bug bear.

Hi I have a similar problem I am a keen 10km runner who has trouble running quicker than 34 mins for 10 kilometres. I find my biggest weakness is speed on the track or lack of it over the shorter middle distances yet have really good top end speed. I believe I would be able to run closer to 31 minutes over 10 kilometres if I could improve or turn my focus to running quicker times over 800m, 1500m, 3000m. I haven't had the opportunitity to run on the track or do interclub since my late teens due to my career as a sailor. I believe my shorter distances need to improve before I can make great gains over the longer distances.  I believe if I turned my focus to speed on the track in the summer and working on different weaknesses like 300m - 400m speed intervals  to improve my 800-1500m runs and 600-800 to improve my 1500m-3000m races I could then have this higher running speed to eventually run faster over 10km when I upped the milege. This would result because it would take less effort to run my 34 minute due to greater muscle recruitment at the same oxygen uptake levels and therefore my running times would improve and would improve my running economy.

I find it funny how most joggers or road racers just don't know how to improve their running times to their full potential and believe that long runs are always the most beneficial to improve race times over 5 kilometres. It works for about 8-12 weeks but then dimishing returns happen due Vo2max and anaerobic threshold stabilising and weight loss is also diminished. For experienced athletes generally long runs only improve fatigue resistance and improves to race over a length of time without hitting the wall.  But for a person or athlete to ever reach true athletic running potential is to train all fibre types to their full potential. So I would take Seb Coe's advice and train for 2 cycles a year 1 for cross country the other for the track and then this way an athlete or person can see there true potential and see what distances they are best suited to.

[Davo83]

Chelli, on Sep 11 2009, 09:27 PM, said:

I find it funny how most joggers or road racers just don't know how to improve their running times to their full potential and believe that long runs are always the most beneficial to improve race times over 5 kilometres. It works for about 8-12 weeks but then dimishing returns happen due Vo2max and anaerobic threshold stabilising and weight loss is also diminished. For experienced athletes generally long runs only improve fatigue resistance and improves to race over a length of time without hitting the wall.  But for a person or athlete to ever reach true athletic running potential is to train all fibre types to their full potential. So I would take Seb Coe's advice and train for 2 cycles a year 1 for cross country the other for the track and then this way an athlete or person can see there true potential and see what distances they are best suited to.

Great post Chelli - totally agree. I understand that people will only do things that they enjoy which is fair enough, but if your base is built and your focused on PB's then some short/sharp speedwork should be a mandatory staple of everyones program, irrespective of distance.

I am presuming/generalising that the main reasons people discard the speedwork is toll on the body, lack of enjoyment ?????