Hi Everyone….

Yesterday an athlete emailed me and asked me what I think about, and what I’m trying to achieve, when integrating STRIDES into my runs.  That’s really a great question, so beyond what i’ve already shared, I thought I would provide a bit more information….I hope its helpful.

I think of strides as “form accelerations.” They’re not only great for increasing leg speed and “waking up” our nervous system, they are also a great way to routinely practice good running form.  What are the mental cues you can use to make these more effective, and improve form, including hip mobility, functional strength, and ultimately stride length?  Let’s take it from the top down….

* Great running always comes back to good posture, so I’ll remind myself to run TALL and try to lengthen my body through my spine.

* An important part of good posture is ensuring I don’t collapse at the waist, so pushing THROUGH the hips (drive those hips forward!) also lengthens my spine and makes me taller, as well as opens my chest and allows me to get that knee farther out in front of my body with each stride.

* While I’m lengthening my spine and running taller, I want to be sure not to hunch my shoulders and create tension. Great running is relaxed and efficient. So, as you extend the spine and run taller, PUSH YOUR SHOULDERS down and keep the elbows back.  Lengthening the spine and relaxing the shoulders down feels great! I become instantly more relaxed and more efficient.

* Part of the benefit of doing strides, is that it allows me to create a better LINK or “connection” between my trunk and my legs/hips.  That’s where the elbow drive/knee drive exercise from Runner-CORE, came from - my desire to create an exercise that improved the motor control and cross linking. So, as I relax those shoulders down, I’ll keep my elbows back and begin to create better linkage between my REAR ELBOW DRIVE and my FORWARD KNEE / HIP DRIVE!

This is a great feeling when you lock it in!  Pushing through the hips and driving them forward becomes even more powerful when you coordinate it WITH a rear drive of your elbows. Remember to keep those arms relatively tight to your body and have a compact angle at the elbow. A short lever arm here makes for more efficient movement.

* I’ve mentioned the hips numerous times, but again, as I loosen up and start to run faster, I definitely continue to focus on pushing through the hips. This lengthens my stride naturally (increasing the length of swing) and improves my posture. Both of these increase the pre-tension/pre-loading of the ham/quad complex, creating a more powerful hip-extension and push off when the foot comes down in contact with the ground.

* While I’m pushing through the hips and driving my knee, I want to be sure NOT to OVER-stride, so I consciously focus on putting my FOOT DOWN SOONER. Yes, the more I can drive the knee, the sooner I want to put down my foot. What results is landing right under my hips, better posture, and more effective hip extension, driven from the strength and power of my glutes!

* The entire time I’m doing strides, I’m really paying attention to how much NOISE I am making when my foot hits the ground, as well as how horizontal my movement is. Less noise is better (more effective deceleration/force reduction - less energy leakage) of course, as is more horizontal (not vertical) movement (swimming well is the same thing!)

* As I push back and extend the hip, I want to be sure I feel myself push through the toes. While I’m not consciously aware of this every moment that I run, I find when I focus on it for a few seconds, I really lock it in, and its better and more effective throughout the run, all of which increases my speed via a naturally longer stride, at the same or less effort.

* As I warm up and feel better, I will play around with stride rate, mixing a faster stride and shorter stride length with a longer, bounding type stride, that comes directly from me over emphasizing hip rotation/drive, and toe push off, and hip extension.  I’m looking to make the movements MORE DYNAMIC, because when I do, I’m actively improving my mobility through the hips, and my functional strength as well.

* Lastly, as I go through all of these mental exercises, I notice that I need to sometimes go back to the beginning and remember to relax the shoulders and breathe deeply through my belly….starting the process all over again!

* If you haven’t noticed, one other thing is happening: I’m having a LOT OF FUN playing around with my run form and enjoying every minute of experimentation and learning how my body reacts to these subtle changes!

These kinds of mental exercises are what keep my training fresh and interesting, and keep me coming back for more!  Try it! Have fun! Be great!

Thanks for reading….
Al

The Badwater Ultramarathon has the reputation as perhaps THE most difficult running race in the world. It is a race I have always been fascinated with, because of the extreme conditions and extraordinary distance. It’s a race that I have always wondered if I could possibly finish.

This is how the Badwater race website and race director Chris Kostman, describe this extreme 135-mile ultramarathon run:

“The start line is at Badwater, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280’ (85m) below sea level. The race finishes at Mt. Whitney Portal at 8360′ (2533m). The Badwater course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 13,000’ (3962m) of cumulative vertical ascent and 4,700’ (1433m) of cumulative descent. Whitney Portal is the trailhead to the Mt. Whitney summit, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Competitors travel through places and landmarks including Mushroom Rock, Furnace Creek, Salt Creek, Devil’s Cornfield, Devil’s Golf Course, Stovepipe Wells, Keeler and Lone Pine.”

My fascination with this race led me finally, to deciding to learn MORE about it — the conditions, the competitors, the extreme environment. I want to know what makes a Badwater runner “tick,” and I want to learn how each deals with the extreme mental and physical challenges that an event like this presents.  And yes, I am hoping, someday, to have the opportunity to attempt it. I tell the folks I coach (and my kids) to HOLD ON to their dreams and go after them, so I have to practice what I preach, right?

The BEST way to learn more about this race, is to GO THERE for the race, and be a member of a SUPPORT crew.  Each runner in the race has his own support crew of 3 to 4 people, that drive along the course and help by providing food, fuel, hydration, ice, and just about anything else the runner needs during their attempt.

Through a nice stroke of luck (getting onto a support crew for such a small field of runners is very difficult to do, actually - limited opportunities!), I was able to get on to the support crew for a very accomplished runner from Italy, Roberto Aldovini. This is Roberto’s first attempt at Badwater, but make no mistake, he has many other very impressive ultramarathon finishes on his race resume!

I asked Roberto if he would let me “interview” him for the blog, so that I (and you) could get to know him a bit better and also, to allow us to see a little bit more deeply inside the preparation and mindset of a Badwater runner.

I hope you enjoy it!

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Coach Al: Roberto, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Roberto: I’m 37, born the 18 April 1972. I live in Bornato, small town of the north of Italy (just to give you an idea I’m 60 Miles from Milano) and this give me the opportunity to train on mountains and do a lot of trails. I’m not marry but sooner or later I will. I’m an attorney. I have always played basketball and I did a lot of GYM in the past. I discovered the running and the ultramarathon in particular just recently and it changed my life ( I mean that it steals many of my free-time but instead of making my life more empty it makes my life full, richer: I appreciate more every single moment and every single pleasure of life - like having a beer with friends).

Due to my work, I had to train during the lunch time and often in night. The Saturday is my favorite moment because I can wake up, made my breakfast and then going on the mountain to run in the sun or in the snow until evening. They are very beautiful place and I feel in complete harmony with the nature.

Coach Al: When I first began to learn more about you and your running, I became aware that you had finished what is one of THE most difficult and challenging ultramarathon events in the world in 2008, the Spartathlon, in a very impressive time of 35 hours.

Can you tell me, besides your 2008 Spartathlon finish, what are your most proud athletic achievements to this point in time?

Roberto: “In 2007 I arrived 16 at Nove Colli Running (www.novecollirunning.it),  that is a race of 202 km with 4000 m. of climbing. It is held in Italy, in May. This made me very proud because it was the second race of my life and we were in 88 runners and just 28 arrived at the end. I never suffered so much as I suffered during this race because I was not trained enough and I did not have enough experience to face a race like this. I finished it thanks to the support of my girlfriend that follow me by car. The Nove Colli is a very very difficult race, you have a time limit of 30 hours. It is also a beautiful race. I hope to been able to finish it under the 25 hour in 2010.

Then in December 2007 I arrived 7 at Boa Vista Ultramarathon (www.boavistaultramarathon.com): this is a race of 150 km non stop in the desert. it is held on the Boa Vista island, near Capo Verde, Africa. One of the most beautiful race in the world.

In April 2008 I arrived 10 in a 24hour, that was held in Bergamo (Italy). This was my first 24hour and I can say that this kind of race are mentally very challenging.

Finally, this February I finished the Susitna 100 miles in Alaska. I did not made a good result (42 hours) but I was very happy in any case because when I arrived at Anchorage I discovered that all my baggage were lost, consequently I had to run with some items that I bought in Anchorage and without all my technical gears that I brought from Italy. I suffered cold during and I had difficulties with the sleds that brooked off in the middle of the race. In any case I have never seen place more beautiful of the Alaska. I’m totally in love with it. I also met one of our crew member during this race: Carole, we arrived together.”

Coach Al: Roberto, can you tell me why you want to run Badwater?  What drives you inside to want to come to the most inhospitable and desolate place on earth to challenge yourself in such a grueling event?

Roberto: “I decided to compete in Badwater in October 2006. I never heard about this race before but at that time I was reading Ultramarathonman by Dean Karnazes. When I red about this race and its peculiarities I was impressed and, more over, terrified by it. I was so scared by this race that I decided that I would have compete in it (I do not like to live with some fears….or better, I have many fears so I tried to win them everytime that I can). I run the Nove Colli and the Spartathlon because I wanted to gain enough “points” to be accept in Badwater.”

Coach Al: What does your “average” Badwater training week look like, e.g. how many runs per week, the length of those runs, etc?

Roberto: “This is my typical training week (heavily dependent upon my work):

- Monday: I rest and I do 1 h. of GYM during lunch-time
- Tuesday: I run 30 Minutes during the lunch time and I do 20 minutes of GYM then I run 1.30 - 2.00 hours in the evening
- Wednesday: I run run 30 Minutes during the lunch time and I do 20 minutes of GYM then I run 1.30 - 2.00 hours in the evening dressed in heavy “coat” in order to simulate the heat
- Thursday: I run 30 Minutes during the lunch time and I do 20 minutes of GYM then I run 1.30 - 2.00 hours in the evening and after the run I do 45 minutes of sauna.
- Friday: I do 1 hour of GYM and in the evening I do 45 minutes of sauna
- Saturday: I run from 6 to 9 hours (it depend on how much time I have) and I do this running in the mountains
- Sunday: I run more or less 30 km. very slow

**Coach Al note: I had to laugh when I read that Roberto’s one day of “rest” is only 1 hour of working out in the gym! - Yikes! Resets the bar a little bit, doesn’t it?

Coach Al: Roberto, what kind of supplemental or cross training, if any, do you do, in addition to running?  For example, cycling, strength training, swimming, stretching or flexibility training, yoga or pilates?

Roberto: “I did mention my supplementary training earlier as the GYM and the sauna. I know that the GYM is not exactly the better training for a runner, but before I stared to run 3 years ago I used to go to Gym everyday and I cannot loose this vice.”

**Coach Al Note: those of you who know me and read this blog KNOW I BELIEVE that “gym” work and strength training IS VERY IMPORTANT for any runner, Badwater or not, to run well and stay injury free! Roberto’s on the right track, in my humble opinion.

Coach Al: What will be the length of your longest long run in preparation for the race? And how many weeks out from the race will you do that longest run?

Roberto: “80 km on the mountain, 6 weeks before the race. Then I will reduce 10 km every week. My last run will be about 30 km a week before the race.”

Coach Al: Roberto, how are you preparing for the specific environmental conditions of the race? It will be very very hot, to say the least.

Roberto: “I made saunas of 45 minutes 2 times per week (I hope to arrive to 3 time per week) and I run 1 day per week in winter dressing.”

Coach Al: An event of this magnitude not only requires great physical preparation, but also mental. How are you preparing mentally for the challenges of the race, both in terms of daily preparation and for race-day preparation?

Roberto: “I’m reading everything I can read on this race. I try to figure all the pain I will have to face and I try to focus on it particularly when I’m running on Saturdays or when I’m in sauna.

I try to figure how should it be to arrive at the end of this race, what kind of sensation would be to be able to say “well, I have done the most difficult race in the world”. This particular thought gives me the strength to go on.  Another stimulating point is that nobody believes that I can do it.

My only fear is that I spend many words speaking about my mental and physical preparation and it might happen that I do not succeed in finish it.

Anyway, I’m very motivated and I’m training hard (despite my work) and I’m trying to lose weight (I started in April from 84 kg. and now I’m 80 Kg).

Coach Al: Thanks Roberto!  I am very much looking forward to meeting you out west in July, and to helping you in any way I can, to ensure you are successful! I’m sure everyone reading also wishes you the very best of luck!

Hi everyone…

I know its been a while since I’ve blogged, but it isn’t because I’ve been sitting around eating bon-bons and watching TV! I’ve been busy, busy, which is awesome when you do what I do…

For instance, last night I had the pleasure and extreme honor of meeting a group of “Team Training New England” mentor coaches at a track in West Hartford, CT.

This was a group of “leader” coaches who are working under the guidance of TTNE head coaches, Lynne Tapper and Janice Cohen.

Janice and Lynne invited me to come and spend some time with these coaches, sharing some of my coaching and training experience and passing on a few tips.  We talked about all facets of running and triathlon including strength training and core training, keeping our pelvis neutral with the right kind of flexibility training, trusting our intuition when determining how “hard” we should go on any particular training day, among many other topics.

We also reviewed a few warm up and functional strength exercises and just generally had a WONDERFUL time sharing a little of ourselves with each other.

As is often the case, I went there hoping to give the coaches something that would be of value to them, and I left having received so much more than I could ever give! How so?

I was so inspired by this great group! They were motivated and excited to learn, and each has faced so many challenges and obstacles on their path of self discovery and growth! They all embody the GREATEST that we have in this great sport! I was truly honored to be there…

If you are in New England, and are interested in doing your first or second triathlon, or just want to be a part of a wonderful group of athletes and people, then check them out!

Lynne and Janice know their stuff - they are among the best coaches I have met in this sport. They give so much of themselves. Without people and coaches like this in our sport, it wouldn’t be what it is, that is for sure.

Congrats ladies! You are doing great things. Keep it up…

For more information on Team Training New England, go here: http://teamtrainingne.com/

I’ve been thinking a lot about these four “P’s” for a while.  They’re Patience, Persistence, Purpose, and Path. These words just came to me, without thinking hard about it, they just seemed like the right words..

This ‘thinking’ has been largely about and because of the people I coach, and those I meet in clinics and workshops.  It is about the JOURNEY of becoming better and faster, and attempting and hoping that it will all seem and feel easier.

Training over the long term, is not linear.  You get better in spurts, and in between, there’s a lot of heartache and even, at times, desperation.

It takes a long time to get good. Nothing worth achieving will ever happen quickly, or ‘overnight.’ All cliches, I know - but in this information age we live in, with coaches and “experts” and books and podcasts popping up every single minute of the day, all around us, I would say it is pretty easy for the average person to get sucked into thinking that it CAN be easier and it CAN happen faster….

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Patience, Persistence, Purpose, Path.

If you will stay with me for a few minutes here, and let me share a personal story…actually, this is my history….I hope to make your visit worthwhile!

Back in 1983, encouraged by some friends who were runners, I ran the Boston Marathon as a “scab” - a back-of-the-packer. In those days, you needed to run 2:50 to qualify in men’s open, so naturally there were LOTS of runners at the back who ran the race without an official number.

I finished that day in about 4 hours, absolutely thrilled that I ran the entire way.   Check out the picture, taken with my two friends Kirk and Ken, as we waited anxiously for the noontime start. That “1983″ number was a fake that someone - I have no idea who, passed out to all of the scabs….

That day, I was so excited to be out there on the famous Boston course, that once I finished I set my sights on one thing, and one thing only, qualifying for that race - being able to attach a real number to my chest and run it as an official runner. Qualifying for this race became my singular PURPOSE as a runner.

I made a decision that some might think kind of extreme, but for me, it just felt right and seemed like the right thing to do. I decided…. that I wouldn’t run another marathon again, UNTIL I was ready to give qualifying a realistic shot.

As it turned out, I didn’t run another marathon for nearly 4 years.  My first “official” marathon, was in the fall of 1986 at Marine Corp.

Yes…my commitment to the PURPOSE that was so deep (almost unbelievably so) in my heart, led me to taking nearly 4 years between my 26.2mile races.

(During those years, I was running, training, experimenting, rehabbing from every injury a runner can have, discovering I didn’t do very well with high mileage, learning, learning, learning, and eventually experimenting with some of the things that are now in Runner-CORE)

I finished that first marathon in 1986 in 3:01:20, and for the first time, I really discovered what the WALL was - because I hit it HARD, very hard, at mile 23.

Because of my deep desire to get into Boston (qualifying had “dropped” to 3 hours for men’s open), I wrote a letter to the BAA asking them - no, BEGGING them - for entry into the following spring’s race, simply because I had started the race behind 14,000 runners.

Done.  My first Boston came in the spring of 1987. I had made it.

Once I raced Boston as an official runner, it became clear to me that my true PURPOSE at that point was to see how fast I could run the marathon distance. Given everything God had given to me, what was my true potential?

Given this challenge I hit myself with, what would be my PATH?

It was simple: learn everything I possibly could, and try to figure out how to get better and perhaps, run faster than I had imagined possible.

1988 Boston Marathon

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I kept knocking on doors and breaking down barriers, but they never went down quickly or easily! Never.

First it was to break 19min for 5k, then it was to break 30min for 5miles, and then I took some stabs at the half marathon and 20k distances, always trying something new in training, some new exercises, mixing workouts, and asking questions of everyone I knew.  Going back to Boston every year, and breaking 3 hours, but not quite yet having the race I had hoped for.

Finding my PATH.

Finally, in 1992, I had the marathon I had dreamed about. The race truly flowed for me from start to finish - and I ended finishing in 2:39:37, a personal best and far and away, faster than I had ever envisioned I would be capable of.

In the end, it became clear that the reason for my success was that, between the fall of 1986 and the spring of 1992, I had but one singular PURPOSE with my running, and I apparently had the PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE to achieve what was close to my ultimate potential.

I trained with an unbelievable focus (ask my family, they  had to live with me - not always easy!)…

…taking FIVE YEARS of day in - day out training, lots of discomfort and hard work, and a never-ending desire to learn as much as I possibly could, all to improve by a mere 22 minutes…

5 years of non-stop, day in- day out, focus.

For 22minutes.

In this information age we live in, it is easy to forget that it takes a great deal of PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE to have breakthroughs in our sport.

It takes the willingness to realize our best possible achievements will never happen overnight.

We need a PURPOSE that we are passionate about, to truly reach our own best performance potential.  We need to find a PATH - and not stray from that path unless it is clearly not working.

Whatever you focus on - that is what you will bring into reality. If you are focused on finding a different way, and mixing and mashing different philosophies into your training, going by the seat of your pants along the way, then that is what you will create more of. Following a well written training plan for 12 weeks isn’t enough. Do that 10x over, and you may then finally begin to see your potential come through.

If you think it will help - when you are getting impatient and wondering if you can do it, or if it is worth it, or if you have it in you - remember my history….

5 years - 22minutes.

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Was it worth it?

I can only tell you that my finish that day in 1992 at Boston, changed my life forever.

I was empowered with the idea that this kid who barely could run a mile in high school was now one of the better runners in the world’s most famous marathon. The 2nd Connecticut finisher that day! Yikes. I have very little talent and am truly, no better than any of you, that is for sure.

That experience gave me the belief in myself that empowered me to overcome my fear of the water and qualify for the Ironman World Championships in 2000.

And then the belief that the things I had learned about myself, and about training, would in some way perhaps be valuable to others, and I should choose a PATH of becoming a coach, so that I could share this and help empower other people…

I would not be writing this today, if not for those 5 years and 22 minutes. Its that simple.

Stay the PATH.

Believe in yourself.

Have a PURPOSE.

Don’t give up.

Be PERSISTENT.

They call it the grind for a reason. Be PATIENT.

Nothing worth achieving happens overnight or quickly…

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All the best of luck to YOU, and to those runners toeing the line this coming Patriots Day…

I’ve had the good fortune of speaking to a group of newbie runners recently as part of the “No Boundaries 5k” training program hosted by the folks at Fleet Feet Hartford, and I’ve also been coaching a group of high school age cyclists who are members of the Mystic Velo Junior cycling team, as they prepare for their upcoming season of racing. These are anxious and exciting times for both of these groups to be sure, as they look forward to an exciting journey that will be both challenging and rewarding, this year and beyond!

Whenever I’m working with novice or young athletes, I’m reminded that in sports like running or cycling, that can seem so complicated at times, it is so easy to look beyond the fundamentals (such as basic skill development, basic workout execution, and most of all, keeping it fun!), to things like expensive or fancy equipment, lactate threshold or VO2 max, and perhaps even “breakthrough” workouts or training sessions that carry a certain aura or “WOW” factor with them…

While there is value in those other things to be sure, the reality is that it’s the seemingly insignificant little things that we do every day, the basics and fundamentals, which truly lead us to our greatest successes. Those little daily “challenges” that we all face give us the opportunity to build true resiliency and strength. The bigger challenges that follow as we forge ahead, give us the opportunity to make valuable use of that resiliency and strength.

Success in endurance sport, be it running, cycling, swimming, or multisport, comes down to small, simple efforts, repeated over and over again, that give us the ability to undertake the bigger, more complicated efforts. Making the most of every moment puts you in a position to achieve the very best with each day. Despite our years of experience or lack of it, or the number of ironman finishes or double centuries on our resume, we can NEVER ever forget this!

In his book, “The Nuts and Bolts of Psychology for Swimmers,” Dr. Keith Bell talks about making the most of every opportunity we have by relating it to a favorite food of mine: popcorn!
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He says: “I recommend you think of training as a jar full of unpopped popcorn where each kernel represents one repetition, a practice drill, or a complete (workout) day’s practice. Your best chance (your ultimate goal) is to have a jar full of popcorn. But if you remove only one kernel it probably will have no effect on your chances of future success. Certainly, there would be no visibly noticeable difference. And it doesn’t really matter which kernel you remove. Remove one. Replace it. Remove another. The jar always appears just as full. Even if you take one out, leave it out, and remove another, it is difficult to notice any difference in the level of the popcorn in the jar, especially from a distance. If you continued to remove kernels from the jar and threw them away, the removal of each one still would be hard to notice. Only as they started to add up, would the difference become clearly noticeable. But then it would be too late. You can’t put them back in the jar if you already have thrown them away. If you wanted to reach your goal (a full jar of popcorn), you would hardly choose to throw the whole bunch away at once. But throwing them away one at a time makes it hard to see any effect at all. So, the next time you find yourself faced with a decision to get after a drill or coast (or skip a session without a really good reason), just say “popcorn” to yourself. You’ll know what it means. Then, use that signal to make that opportunity count.”
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By doing your very best every day to pay attention to the seemingly insignificant details, you will discover and develop ways in which to positively and successfully influence the big picture - your long term dreams and goals that may seem so far off, as you sit here right now.

By making sure that the mundane and tedious tasks are taken care of, you open the door to the opportunity for some exciting, impressive and spectacular results in the near and distant future.

Meaningful achievements on any level are always composed of many, many smaller achievements. In a very real way, that simple fact is what makes true, substantial success, however you define it, available to anyone including you!

You know that in every moment of your daily life there is some small detail you can attend to, some small challenge that you can embrace. At first your gut may tell you that it isn’t that important. Stop and think, and remember the popcorn.

Start today, to make a habit of always giving whatever you can with whatever you have available to you at that moment, in a sincere and honest way, and I believe that you will be closer to the point where you can truly achieve whatever you wish for.

Of course, any discussion about dedication and achievement has to, on some level, come down to one word: SACRIFICE.

I don’t know who originally said this, but it is worth repeating and reading twice through:

Most people’s dreams don’t match their perception of the reality of what it will take to get there.

What does it take? Sacrifice.

My definition of sacrifice is to forfeit one thing for another thing considered to be of greater value. So the questions for us become, what do we value the most...and what are we willing to sacrifice to get there?

The answers to those two are worth some consideration, don’t you think??

I had the supreme pleasure of presenting another of my RUN EASIER-RUN FASTER workshops yesterday at Fleet Feet-Hartford. As I always do, I had a ton of fun sharing some of what I have learned as a runner and coach over the last 25+ years.

Its kind of funny actually…and I always have to laugh at myself…..on the morning of the day of a workshop or clinic, I still get really anxious, pumped up!…little butterflies that mix it up inside my stomach too. I’m excited to have the opportunity to do these events, and love em! and I always look forward to meeting new people who want to learn, and yes, I get a ‘little’ nervous too, but even more, I get really excited….I am always really excited about teaching, sharing, and most of all, seeing the “light” go on in the eyes of the athletes when things begin to click…

Here’s a few photos taken by my superb assistant for the day, Renee Kleinmann, who also coaches and leads a variety of running programs at Fleet Feet, and does a SUPER job….

Here I am showing video of some elite runners in slow-motion, and discussing the difference between force REDUCtion, and force PRODUCtion....and the 'stability that happens between the two...

The workshops are a combination of lecture and hand’s on practice.  The active portions are a mix of warm-up hip mobility exercises, functional and core strength, and stretching and flexibility training and practice.  What is key, of course, is that after the lecture portions, the runners know first hand exactly WHY they need to give time and attention to these other important elements of smart training. Running well is a lot more than putting in the miles, as we all know…

I spent a portion of the program discussing the connection between FORM and STRENGTH, which is an important key to being able to run faster over any distance. That is, if we can train to apply more force to the ground, and then learn to convert that force into power more quickly, the result is shorter ground contact time and a longer stride, naturally!

I’m going keep on presenting these workshops and will be developing some different programs that cater to certain ability levels, and to certain elements of run training.  I’ve got another of these programs coming up in early March in Mystic. Join me if you can, and are interested in learning more about what makes a great runner…

Here I am describing one of the exercises we will do using the Stability Ball...

Much of the content of the clinic reflects my philosophy of quality over quantity, and most importantly, the idea that improved core and functional strength, along with improved elasticity and mobility, is the BEST path to improving form, not the other way around!  In other words, get stronger and more mobile, improve your run specific coordination, and then watch your form improve as your speed improves!  That is the foundation and basis of my program Runner-CORE, also!

I love the motto emblazoned on all of the Fleet Feet Hartford hi-tech shirts: LIVE FIT! Love it!

See you on the roads!

On the heels of a very nice and sincere post about some training plans I wrote that some really nice runners used and had some success, the time has finally come for me to get this blog off the ground and in the air!  I’m ready to rock! 

First, if I have raised your curiosity a bit, go to the fitness-for-mommies weblog and read it HERE.

I think these ladies are really onto something! Not about using MY plan per se, but about using A plan, period!

And yes, many…of the athletes (swimmer or biker or runner) that I meet and greet and talk with on a routine basis…..the single factor that very often limits there success is a lack of direction - the lack of a “plan of attack.”

The actual training plan - who wrote it or where it came from is honestly less important than the fact that it IS a plan!

So many athletes are doing the same workouts, the same way, day after day, week after week, and not approaching their training progressively and smartly, and yet expecting different and better results…

If you want to improve, stay injury free, and increase the chance that you will be at your peak fitness and readiness for your most important race or event, then GET A PLAN!  Of course, ideally you will use a plan that is written by someone who’s philosophy you agree with. Do your research, ask questions, and by all means, trust your intuition…

As it relates to this post, I told these ladies that I really appreciated that they took the time to post their feelings about the plan. In a very real way, their words really made me smile!

When I wrote those plans, and even beforehand, when I sat (and sit) here, and ask questions of myself, and read and experiment and try new things and seek a BETTER WAY to train and to improve, I do it for one reason, and that is to see others, LIKE YOU out there reading this, have success in your chosen and most important events, and enhance your life and empower yourselves in so many ways, through that success.  These two ladies, in a very real way, have done more for me through their success and their words of appreciation, than I ever could do for them!  You see, this is why I coach! Their words, feelings, and expression of sincere appreciation and respect, is MORE THAN I could ever ask, and it IS why I do what I do….

Onward and upward…

Make it a great day!

Welcome to my blog.

Bear with my while I learn my way around, but I’m excited to be here and be able to share and interact with you, my friend, reader and fellow athlete.

Coach Al Lyman