November Goals: Getting a Running Coach

Wow this year is flying! November already, and after the fun and fireworks of Halloween and Bonfire Night the shops are now full of mince pies and tinsel. Stay tuned in the run up to Christmas for my favourite gifts for runners and fitness fanatics, and some tips for exercising during the winter months...

But lets not get carried away!

November's Goals revolve around getting back into running. After Ealing Half Marathon I've been making the most of my Edgecycle membership and just doing the odd parkrun. The start of this month however marked 16 weeks until Brighton Half Marathon, my next running challenge! This is a great amount of time for me to build up my distance again slowly and introduce some speed work. I would love to aim for a 2:30 half in February but this will involve focused sessions, particularly looking at getting quicker...

To that end meet Beatrice, my new running coach!

Beatrice Schaer is a Running Coach & Sports Massage Therapist & Osteomyologist, who runs regular running workshops focusing on technique, as well as helping people to train for events more efficiently and avoiding injury. She's also an avid runner herself, and has won several duathlons- a great inspirational lady!

Anyway, she has kindly designed me a bespoke training plan for Brighton, based on 3 runs per week- 1 long run, 1 tempo run, and 1 interval or hills session. I will also be complementing these with 1 Yoga class per week, and 1 cross-training session- she recommended a "running boot camp" style workout, so next week I'll be giving my local BMF (British Military Fitness) a try, review to follow!

You can see the twist in my upper body here!

I went along to one of her Running Technique Workshops on Saturday 1st November in Battersea Park- there were 4 of us looking for guidance, so we got great one-to-one attention and personal advice, and I came away with lots of tips to put into practise!

As well as suggestions on warm-up drills, and a Yoga inspired cool-down, Beatrice watched us all run and gave specific feedback, including things we could work on.

For me personally, this comes down to 2 main points...

2. Leg lift
In order to get quicker this is important, as well as for good form. This is helped by warm up drills, such as high knees, as well as specific quick feet drills, ie. lift the legs and drive feet back into the ground as quick as you can for 30 seconds. Repeat. 

Need to work on my leg lift!

I've been trying to implement these things and think more about technique on my runs so far, so we shall see if there's any improvement!

As far as Interval and Hill sessions go, I've never done any before, so am a little nervous- I tend to be a bit afraid of pushing myself to my limits in case I break (or throw up), but I'm excited to give it a go.

Bea is also conveniently based in Croydon, and has a regular local running group called Be Cool Running, which I'm hoping to make it along to at some point! It's always good to run with people who are a little faster than you, to push you!

If you're interested in learning more, Bea's next Running Technique Workshop is on the 22nd November, sign up here!

Have you ever worked with a running coach? Do you know of any "bad habits" you have in your running form? Any tips for running intervals or hills on the roads? 

Beki x