Looking back and looking ahead

Sunday, June 23, 2013 · Mike Davis

Yesterday I ran with my wife and friend (and client) out at the Pease Tradeport. We ran 8 miles that consisted of 6 on the road and 2 on a trail. If you are in that area check out the trail; it's great 2 mile loop that is perfect for running. Okay so the bugs can be a little bothersome but other than that it is great for those that want to change up your muscle usage or just enjoy getting off the road. The weather was fairly warm but we hydrated and were well prepared. As I said besides my wife, I also ran with a friend of ours who has been a client for nearly a year now. In that year Jaime has accomplished some amazing things that would not have seemed possible prior to that. She has always had the heart of a runner but prior to July 24th of 2012 Jaime had battled multiple injuries and been unable to sustain regular running. Since we started working together Jaime has run Reach the Beach Relay, a half marathon and most recently a 10K. In between she has logged regular miles and gotten stronger! I am so pleased with Jaime's success that I asked her if she would be willing to write a testimony of sorts that I can share on my website. She happily agreed so in the near future be sure to look for this story of Jaime's journey. I have no doubt it will be inspiring and one that many might be able to relate too. This past week received this text: Drumroll please..... "I saw my doctor today and my numbers look so good, he's cutting back on my blood pressure medication!!! Woo hooo! Thank you again, Mike! I couldn't have made these health changes without you!" My response: Congratulations! You did all the work! Her response: "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you coming up with a plan that I could handle and that would work for me. An you keep me from getting derailed when I encounter a barrier. So yes I did the physical work, but we both know there's more it than that when it comes to successful running and fitness!! Thanks again!!" Okay, I couldn't have made up this text if I had wanted to. My clients sincere gratitude for what she has accomplished was truly amazing! Her description of my personal training plans, my approach and the results were better than I would describe for advertising purposes. I don't set out to help people get off of medications or to even lose weight, but by personalizing training plans and coaching people, I firmly believe that good things will happen. Earlier in the week I was out at the track with Ashley where we continued to work on pace by feel. As I have talked about my goal for Ashley is help her feel a percentage of her max pace. After running a max pace 1200, I told her to scale it back to 70 percent of that max effort, but I didn't tell her what her max effort 1200 was nor what the pace would be for 70 percent of that effort. I wanted her to totally focus on feeling and I would only tell her as she went by me at the 400 meter point if she needed to adjust my some percentage. I'm not even sure I told her after! Anyhow, her max pace was 4:30 for 1200 meters and my guess was that 70 percent effort was 5:10. Her four times went like this: 1- 5:03, 2- 5:10, 3- 5:04 and her final 1200 was 5:08. I could not have been more excited or pleased, she had no idea what time she was gunning for yet she felt her way to being nearly perfect! Getting Ashley to depend on knowing the effort she is running with will help tremendously with her running efficiency and help when we strategize her marathon. She is definitely a fast learner and never ceases to amaze me! The week ahead bring the start of a new 10K training group that will be intended to help people get faster. Not necessarily fast by some standards, but relative to each runners current pace. This is something different for team training but I am looking forward to the new challenge. I am working on a plan that will challenge my skills but will be fun to create. This training will have a lot of track workouts included so it should be a great experience for many that have never trained on a track. I will also be working with my wife so that will be great! My daughter Jennifer sent me a draft copy of our firs NFLR Newsletter that should be hitting the email boxes soon and it looks fantastic! The plan is to write a newsletter that comes out bi-weekly with information that benefits runners of all levels. Jennifer has worked hard to create a good looking, informative and beneficial newsletter that we believe will bring another dimension to NFLR. Make sure you look for it and subscribe! Jennifer is also headed to RRCA coaching certification in July and I am so excited about having another certified running coach at NFLR! With her love for working with people and the certification she will be perfect for NFLR. Soon we will be offering personal training plan packages for those that just need a good personal training plan to guide them. Many start out with me as their personal coach but for various reasons they are ready to train on their own, a personal training plan designed "just for them", is the perfect way of staying on the path. Wow, lots happening at NFLR! Hope you have a great week, I am here if you need some help. Time to fill up my coffee cup once again. Remember I like my coffee black!