Running is becoming more popular than ever. There's increasing evidence to disprove the age old adage that "running is bad for your knees" and showing that it can actually be GOOD for your knees as well as other joints. As long as it's done correctly.
Keep reading to find out why it's worth your while hiring a running coach to work with you...
Accountability
The most obvious reason you might decide to hire a coach is to give yourself some accountability for your training.
As with any profession, your coach has worked hard to get where they are so their services do come with a price. Once you've committed to this and handed over the money, you're more likely to keep up with your training.
It's not like a gym membership where you pay your money and you never hear from them again until the next payment is due. A good coach will keep in touch with you to see how your training is going, whether the plan is working for you and make adjustments if necessary.
Technique Analysis
As we mentioned in the introduction, running, done correctly, is good for you.
When you work with a coach on a one-to-one basis they should be constantly checking your technique to be sure you aren't likely to injure yourself.
You didn't think there was an incorrect way to run? Injuries can be caused by poor posture, over-striding, overtraining, poor footwear.. these are all things your coach is trained to spot and work with you to correct.
Even if you have a perfect technique, a coach can work with you to improve and get a PB at your next race. And speaking of races, you might need a trainining plan...
Plans
And guess what? Your coach will write one of those for you too!
There are plenty of free online training plans out there, I'll give you that. They may work for you, but when you work with a coach, you should be getting a training plan that is tailored to YOU. It should take into account where you are now, where you have been previously, what your goals are, and what time you have available to training.
As mentioned above, you should also be able to have some follow-up contact with your coach to ensure the plan is working for you.
If you have a purchased a plan only from a coach, if nothing else, it will provide you with peace of mind about what level your training should be at, and what distances you should be covering at any given time.
Do you know what else a training plan should take into consideration? Injuries. Past or present.
Returning from injury
Hiring a coach when you're returning from injury is a really good thing to do. They can help you with rehab and give you guidance in your return to running to ensure you don't go back so hard you set back your healing. As someone who has suffered from a broken leg, I know from first hand experience how vital this is!
And finally...
Never be afraid to hire a coach to get you started. When they are working with you it is (or should be!) all about YOU and YOUR running and goals. Never about theirs
So whether you are looking to get started, would like your technique reviewed, need a training plan or just want someone to run with, why don't you check out my site and see how I can help YOU.
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