Looking back at 2012 and looking forward to 2013!

Sunday, December 30, 2012 · Mike Davis

2012 has been a great year for No Finish Line Running! Business has been consistently busy as well as challenging, a new website was developed and provides a great platform for the future and new opportunities are presenting themselves for 2013! What a great year for NFLR! I also got to work with a number of runners both individually and groups, both are enjoyable for me and both help me grow as a coach. I also got to work with my wife with one group and that was a good experience. As I said I had some great challenges this year and while most were successful and one was not so much. I worked with a runner for a good part of the year in preparation for a marathon and despite my efforts the end result wasn’t what we would have wanted. There are many variables in the world of marathon training and there’s not a lot of room for deviation. Between a few setbacks and some deviations the training didn’t go as I would have liked and in the end; training is the key to success or lack thereof. I learned from it and moving forward my approach will be different and somewhat more demanding. I feel responsible for my runners and this one was no different so the failure was definitely on me. Being upfront with my prospective client is critical and when they have a challenging goal, I will insure that they understand the commitment that is required. While I will not forget my failures ever; I certainly have enjoyed the successes stories. Seeing one of my runners run healthier than she has ever run is something I am most proud of. Taking credit would be easy, I write the training plan, I monitor the daily progress and I tweak the training as needed; however, the real credit goes to the client that is disciplined and committed. Without these attributes no training plan, no matter how good will be successful. I work monthly, weekly and even daily to make and update a personal training plan, whether it be for a 5K training or a marathon training, but in the end it comes down to the individual to execute their personal training plan. I now more than ever track each client’s progress and analyze their training and this enables me too continuously make changes to their personal training plan. Again the client has to get involved and maintain their log so I have all the detailed information needed to best serve the athlete. My ability to successfully train someone continues to improve with experience and the addition of valuable tools. Speaking of tools, 2012 brought a newly designed website! The new www.nofinishlinerunning.com was built by Doug MacKinnon, with technical input from Katie Mack and design assistance from my daughter Jennifer (Davis) Miller. The works of these three people helped to design and build a website that will provide NFLR a platform from which to grow with. The many ways we can serve runners locally and even globally is limitless. What you see today is a great start, but only a start and the website will continue to evolve as we move forward. My heartfelt thanks go out to these 3 people as it has taken months of hard work and much time to get www.nofinishlinerunning.com up and running. If you have any ideas or thoughts, please let us know! Personally 2012 was a challenging year for me and my running. I am so busy with coaching that my own running has been inconsistent. Hopefully in 2013 I will find a way to balance my running with my commitment to my clients. Most definitely my clients come first, but I need to plan out my schedule better so that I am able to get my miles in. After meeting with the owner of Runners Alley, I have committed to 2 possibly 3 training groups. This will add to my challenging schedule, but with some effort I should be able to make it all work. Locally, I will be everywhere in the running community and that’s where I like being. I am not sure what races are in my plans for 2013, I would like to run at least one half marathon and have once again committed to “Reach the Beach”. Outside of those goals and commitments I will have to give some thought to my schedule desires. So 2013 is less than 36 hours away and I could not be more excited about it! I am working on another avenue for NFLR that I think could be huge! It seems as if doors continue to open that bring great possibilities for NFLR. I am excited about working with new runners as well as experienced ones. I am also thrilled that it’s not all about running as I am helping people with strength training and overall fitness as well. 2013 will be a great year, I turn 50 and I am fit and extremely blessed! My wife is growing as a running coach and she brings great balance to my life. Together we enjoy the running community and value the friendships that we have made. As we move into a new year, I hope that you are thinking about your running and overall fitness. NFLR is here to help you and we can design the perfect training plan for you. Take some time to set your fitness goals for 2013 and then drop us an email or call and we will set up a free consultation. Maybe you just need a personal training plan to follow; we can help you there. Let 2013 be your best year of running and fitness, I know it will be mine! No matter where you are, near or far, may you and your family have a wonderful new year and may God bless all of you! mike