Long time no blog folks! For those of you that have followed the blog from the inception, thank you! For those of you that are new, welcome! If you didn’t know, Run With Gina was featured in Runner’s World Online last week. Wow, what an honor and a humbling experience! I know that my runners and I have a mutual respect, built from mutually beneficial relationships. I am always flattered when they say kind things to me or hear what they have told others. The Runner’s World story, a human-interest story, apparently resonated with lot of people and they ALL reached out.
I was shocked to receive messages from all over the world, praising me for the work I have done. Quite honestly, I lost track of the kind words from complete strangers. However, there was something even more shocking. I was completely blown away with the stories people wrote me in their emails, desperate for help and the number of runners that are 3-5 weeks away from their race and sidelined by injury. Yikes, panic button pushed! Although these runners are not my clients, runners, or come on now, “customers”, I do feel obligated to help those that are in panic, because I was thrown a bone by being selected to be written about in an online publication with millions of readers all over the world. Those that reported being injured with 3-6 weeks to go until their marathon had a common denominator. What is that you ask? Too much too soon with both distance and intensity, too little miles during the week to support the long run, or too many miles per week. Training errors! The Run With Gina way is to deliver the least amount of intensity and load to achieve the desired result. Don’t get me wrong, not all my runners remain non-injured. The majority that have gotten injured, I know for fact that I have pushed for low miles and more rest days when not training for a race, but people want more. Runners want more. More is not better when training or when trying to maintain. I know I have also had to fight for what I believed was best for my runner when he or she resisted having lighter mile weeks. News flash, running breaks you down, rest and recovery practices build you up. I think why some of the runners that wrote me are injured is because they think marathon training HAS to include long runs over 20 miles. Has to have speed work. Has to have tempo runs. Has to run six days a week. Has to do a weekend long run even when not training for a race. Has to cross train, so they think going to group fitness classes instead of running is just as good as running. Think stretching is the answer to “tight muscles”. Been told custom orthotics will solve all their problems. There is a lot of black and white thought patterns out there and no shades of grey. The messages have left me with the realization that Run With Gina in some ways is a paradigm shift. Not all of my runners do speed work. Not all of my runners do tempo work. I would prefer nobody spends their entire Saturday morning running, because someone told them they had to run 22-miles to prepare for a marathon. I have fought hard for my paradigm shift with a lot of people, because their beliefs have been etched in their brain by some other program, book, magazine, or self-defined running guru/coach. Can anyone give me the definition of “coach”? The proof is in the pudding with those that have suspended their beliefs when they come to me. Call it Kool Aid, call it chance, call it whatever you want, but I know it to be science…the laws of biomechanics, exercise physiology, AND yes, exercise psychology. Ladies and gentlemen welcome some shades of grey in your life! If you didn’t see the Runner’s World article, here is the link, https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a28622308/runner-turned-injury-into-coaching-business/ If you reached out to me and haven’t heard back, it is because I had to move those with immediate needs to the front of the line. If you heard back from me and now are waiting for another response from me, standby! I still need to prioritize all the men and women that have helped build Run With Gina from the beginning. Fight ON! Coach Gina
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