Wednesday morning coffee and chat

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning! Been a few days since I have sat down and chatted. I am back in Pinehurst North Carolina chatting with you from my screen porch. There is actually a little chill out this morning and it feels awesome! We have had a couple days of relief from the heat and humidity however, the temps will once again rise tomorrow. I arrived back in Pinehurst yesterday in the morning which great as it left me some time to get out and get in a nice interval workout. The temperatures were in the mid-80s so it certainly was not perfect however, it was doable. With Reach the Beach only a few weeks out, I will have to push through whatever Mother Nature puts in front of me. I am confident at the idea of running 6 to 7 miles and now I need to increase that distance to near as 9 miles as possible. It is not whether I can run my legs but, how challenging (miserable) it will be? I have been coaching for quite a few years now and it is safe to say that I have evolved my philosophy considerably. Back when I was a running group leader I was really just that. I pretty much led and encouraged a group of runners from 3 miles to 13.1 over 13 weeks. After that first training group or maybe while it was going on, I decided that I needed to become much more knowledgeable about the technical aspects of running. My first running book was “Daniels Running,” by Jack Daniels and from that book I began developing my coaching philosophy. While many books followed “Daniels Running,” I strongly felt that Mr. Daniels had the right approach for successful and healthy running. It was not long I became a disciple of Daniels that Kathy and I attended the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) coaching certification course and low and behold, they based their training plan development on Mr. Daniels. That certainly made it a little easier on me and they even gave us a copy of “Daniels Running!” While the RRCA certification course was helpful in many ways, the fact that it was only a 2 day course limited just how much it would actually benefit my goal to be a “running coach.” Do not get me wrong, the course is a great first step for wannabe running coaches but, there is so much more to learn if you want to truly help runners of all levels achieve success. It is nice to have a certificate that states that I am a “certified running coach” but, that was just the beginning and thankfully my thirst for knowledge has developed me to become the science based “running coach” I am today. “Science based” may sound very impersonal however, if you have been around an NFLR coach you know we are anything but impersonal. “Science based” only means that we train runners based on proven knowledge and not necessarily the traditional methods. With running and exercise so much more mainstream now, there is more focus placed on the methodology by the science community. Whether it be studies, human kinetics or understanding physiology better, we now have a much better grasp of how to “intelligently train” our runners. Over the coming weeks I will chat about various topics that are better understood today than even as recent as 5 years ago. NFLR is certainly at the forefront of training and we will continue to evolve as we learn of new studies and other fact based findings. Our ability at NFLR to combine a wonderful running experience with an “intelligent approach,” I believe separates us from running clubs and other running coaches. Hopefully in the weeks and months ahead we can help many runners learn better approaches to healthy and fun running! Have a great week and see you on the roads! God Bless! Mike