Lot's of Chat!

Wednesday, August 31, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning! I am sitting on our screen porch, sipping coffee and enjoying watching the cardinals have breakfast at our birdfeeder. And also watching our obsessive dog Roy scout for squirrels perched from the back of a chair.

Yesterday I decided to change up my running route and run in place while I did my intervals. The workout was a success as I increased the duration of the intervals but, the treadmill got increasingly screechy as my sweat poured onto the rubber treading. My entire body was socked from the humidity as well as my usual excessive sweating and the treadmill was quite drenched. I know, not a pretty sight to envision but, that is the reality of getting it done amidst less than ideal conditions. While I appeared to have jumped in the ocean, I actually felt great and was pleased with the challenging workout. It is great to be a runner!

Last Wednesday just before getting ready for their run the No Finish Line Running, White Mountain Miler’s Half Marathon training group took a few minutes for photo ops with the Dover New Hampshire Mounted Police. I am a huge fan of the Dover Mounted Police and horses in general so when I saw the pictures posted on Facebook of our large NFLR group and the Mounted Police, I was really excited. I only wish I could have been there to be a part of it! Our groups are so much fun and always looking for opportunities for more fun! NFLR certainly keeps running as it should be; healthy, progressive and fun. Getting people to a goal is fantastic but if it is not enjoyable then NFLR has failed at our ultimate goal of creating a lifetime lifestyle.

As I continue studying running from both a practical and educational (books), I am a little conflicted. I have chatted often about coaching from an intelligent standpoint, using science based information, however, while there is now factual data that debunks and validates various methods of training; there is still a bit of a mystery in the best process (periodization). There are many methods used to prepare a runner for a particular event and yet each one has shortcomings. Jack Daniels, who we base much of our NFLR coaching on is considered the foremost when it comes to science based structured training and even his methods have a flaw. That flaw being that there is not physiological based information that runners will perform to a desired level based on a particular training method process. No doubt many coaches will claim their methods are a sure thing however, there is no factual data that supports the various periodization’s (methods) that are even used by Olympic trained athletes. Various training methods are popular and are successful in that they improve overall running but, none are able to actually attach a finite result to a particular workout.

Who cares?

On the whole we help all runners become stronger and improve their running and in some cases we help many become runners. Understanding what works best for runners is important and NFLR will always be evolving as we learn more both from our experience and what current information is available. What makes us unique to most is that we treat every runner as an individual and do not treat every runner the same. This enables us to develop individual training based on the runner and their need and goals. In all honesty training an individual for optimal improvement takes 2 to 3 years and it is often frustrating for both us and the runner when we are trying to optimize training over a shorter period. Individual runners need a processed based periodization program that covers all aspects of strong healthy running. Shortcutting that time often leads to frustration and quite possibly injury.

With our group training we obviously do not have the luxury of training a group for a long enough period of time that we can spend as much time on each facet of periodization as we like. However, we are very careful to make sure our training groups are not compromised. Meaning, if we are training for a half marathon and we only have 12 to 14 weeks, we require that runners have a base of 6 miles. Holding to this policy enables us to train properly and gives the runner the best possible chance of success. In the past I have worked with beginner groups that a runner could barely run 3 miles and had only 12 weeks to get to 13.1. This was so frustrating to me and eventually became frustrating to the runner. When established “No Finish Line Running,” I was determined that we would never compromise healthy training.

While there is not a 100 percent perfect training methodology, we at NFLR continue to develop the best methods of periodization possible base on our vast experience and studying current science. We will not follow traditional training just because but, instead we will evolve as we experience or discover through new information.

Hope you found this insightful and a little interesting. It is always about the runner with NFLR!

Have a great day and see you on the road!

God Bless!

Mike