Have You Considered Hiring a Coach?
Guest blog by Ryan Stran
True or false: the best way to improve your running is to simply run more? FALSE! While running more may or may not be a small part of developing run fitness, there is a lot more to the bigger picture. Having an experienced and knowledgeable coach can prevent years of plateaued PR’s, nagging pains and injuries, and a coach can take all the guesswork out for you!
Here are 6 mistakes people tend to make because they don’t have a coach.
1. Lacking Consistency – you’ve heard it before, “consistency is key.” It sounds like a cliché but it’s as true as true can be. Consistency over weeks, months, and years is the secret to running success! Running 4 days a week at controlled efforts is far better than running 7 days a week for a month and getting injured for 2 weeks! A coach will help you find the right program to keep you consistently logging miles.
2. Training too much – More is not always better. In fact, more is sometimes a lot worse! Too much running leads to injury and burnout. A good coach will know when it’s time to turn the volume up or down.
3. Not training enough – It’s easy to get comfortable. Comfort is nice! But nothing changes in the good ol’ comfort zone. Sometimes you need to push it. Having a coach will make you realize you are far more capable of doing hard things than you thought.
4. Lacking Variety – You need slow runs. You need long runs. You need tempo runs. You need sprints. You need mobility. You need strength. You need nutrition. You need cross training. You didn’t know you were so needy, did you? Having variety of training sessions not only improves your running as a whole, it also keeps things interesting and prevents injury!
5. Goals aren’t JUST for hockey players – Setting goals is SO important for runners. Having strategically planned races is another key to setting yourself up for success. There’s this fancy thing called “periodization” where you focus on different blocks of training in your buildup to important races. Having a coach will teach you how and when to focus on form, do hill reps, work your threshold, and prepare to race!
6. Trying to figure it all out on your own – If you see yourself as a student of the sport and want to really progress, having a coach is like having a teacher. They know things. You don’t have to read 10 books to find out 10 different “Perfect Training Plans”. You need a training plan tailored to YOU! Your coach is your go-to person for all things running. If they don’t know the answer, they should be able to find it for you or at least come up with something clever!
Whether you are new to the sport, 20 years in, or somewhere in between, having a coach can fast forward your progress by years. If running is important to you but so is your spouse, your kids, your job, and other real life things, take the guesswork and stress away and consider finding a run coach. It can REALLY make a difference.
If you still have questions about hiring a running coach, we can help! Call or come into the store where our shoe experts are ready to provide the high-quality customer service you expect from a Top 50 Running Store in America.
