The Runners Hotline Coaching Philosophy (Part 1)

We have a certain way of looking at the training process. Certain principles

The First Principle is understanding the condition you are, right now, accepting that this is your condition and looking, honestly at how much you can improve for your next key race. Then how much you can improve over the next few years. It’s about being ok with where you are because this acceptance means you are not putting any energy in your current condition: regardless of whether it is good or bad.

The Second Principle is that we are always creating ourselves. If I am a 3:30 marathoner and want to be a 3:00 marathoner, I have to create the training and self image of being a 3:00 marathoner. What will I look like and feel like when I have made the changes I need to make to run so much faster? We will use psychological tools to help us become the person we want to be. At the same time, in terms of training, we need to start where we are (the first principle) and move towards our new goals.

This brings us to The Third Principle is that we need to create data points to see if we are on our way to achieve. For example, if you are preparing for a marathon and 6 weeks out, you run a half marathon in 1:31, you know that you aren’t ready for 3:00 but you are ready for 3:10. That is what the training will be set for. The data says 3:10. Let’s achieve that goal then move to 3:00 in the future.

In terms of the datapoints, they come from races and time trials (simulated races). We may have you, early in the program do a 5k race or a 2 mile time trial. With these “data points” we can set the training for the condition you are currently in. So, if you finish a 5k in 20:00, that is equivalent 3:12 and, again, that is where the training will be set. The bottom line is the datapoints allow us to set training targets because you have to train for the condition you are in, not for the condition you want to be in. As you get faster, your training will also get faster.