NFLR running clients

Wednesday, October 09, 2013 · Mike Davis

Good morning and thanks for having coffee with me. Getting up this morning was difficult and finding my way to my workout will be will be equally a challenge. With a large group of clients to work with, training groups and back at my job at the unit, I have to really stretch my day to work on the NFLR website. All of that often cuts into my sleep and some mornings I feel the results. Because the runners are our focus I never shortcut time for them personally and independent of them. During an average week I probably spend 1 to 4 hours working for each NFLR client, whether it be studying their daily training updates, researching various issues/ new training techniques, or meeting with them. I would like to think we are unique in our approach to working with runners as we spend more time behind the scenes helping each runner succeed. Understanding the different needs for each runner is critical so that we aren't treating them all with the same strategy. Yes that might reduce our workload but ultimately the success of the runner is determined by their individual needs. So sleep sometimes falls victim to video, study books and even NFLR team sessions where we are discussing a client. This week brought a new client to NFLR and another opportunity to work with us to work with a new dynamic. Kristen gave birth to her first child around 2 months ago and while she was somewhat of an active runner in the past, she is back to zero and ready to train under our guidance. The new dynamic for us is that we haven't worked with a woman that just came off giving birth. Maybe it's not a big deal and may end up having no relevance to Kristen's training, but until that's clear we will actively seek out information from our library of resources that give us some insight into those woman that go through child birth and the possible effects. No doubt Kristen's body has changed after giving birth and how she felt running prior may not be how she will feels post birth. Having never given birth to a baby I surely do not have first hand experience, but our goal is to insure her way forward is healthy and smart. When I encounter runners that have experienced running in the past they usually want to just start logging in the miles and build up. While that may work for some runners, I strongly feel that many factors need to be considered in developing a good training plan and in Kristen's case one of those factors is giving birth. I love new clients because it gives us an opportunity to find unique. Treating new runners (like Kristen) as total individuals means we get to consider a set of whole new dynamics. Out of that we learn a great deal while helping each individual succeed. Most runners are unique in their circumstances, physical make up and definitely mental make up. Those unique qualities mean that we need to have a unique approach to training each runner. "One size fits all" training plans or strategy is definitely not what you will find at NFLR, but instead we get to know each runner and break down not only their running, but also look at every factor that will effect their running success. Understanding all factors helps us to design a good training plan and look out for certain flags that will impede training. Such things as knowing the other spouses job and work hours might seem a little much but at some point those factors may affect the clients running schedule. Over a period of 6 months many factors come into play and it's critical that we are prepared to help our clients manage as many factors as possible. Not always easy, but understanding the individual upfront is critical to long term success. Well my coffee is almost gone and what's left is pretty cold so that means it's time to workout. Hope your Wednesday is a good one! mike