Testimonials from the 2019 Marine Corps Weekend! 


"The Runcoach plan is hard and has a lot of volume compared to others. Many people said the mileage I was running was crazy, especially not having a time goal.

 I have pushed my son in one other marathon with 2 others. I knew how difficult it would be, on this course and with one less teammate, with my son being heavier and who knew the rain and wind that would ensue.

 Runcoach prepared me for it all. I did commit myself to it 100%. I did not miss one workout the whole 18 weeks...it's changed me and my running forever!"

- Kathy

"I want to thank you and your team for everything that you did for my success in the completing my first Marathon. I couldn't have done it without you and your team. All and all I faired very well considering weather conditions yesterday.

I'm a little sore but I expected that for being the longest run in my life 8 miles longer than ever ran.
Also thank you for the last minute tips for running in the rain."

- Donnie

"Hi Coach,

Race weekend was awesome!

I successfully completed my first Marathon and my dream Marathon the MCM. I feel great for the accomplishment!!!

Recovery is going well. Thanks for all the support!!"
- Karen

I'm a little sore but I expected that for being the longest run in my life. This has been the most motivating training program yet."

- Betsy

Stephanie took 32 minutes off her Marathon time in one year.   She followed her Runcoach plan and paces religiously, stayed consistent and took it one step at a time to her Boston Qualifier for 2020!

• 
  Major milestone:
  Taking 32 minutes off my marathon time in one year and Boston Qualifying for 2020!
  
  
  
• What is the secret to your success?
  Consistency. I hear people say that they aren't "athletic" enough to run long distances. And honestly, neither am I. But with consistency and regularly putting one foot in front of the other your small gains will grow to become huge achievements. Also, friends that share your same crazy passion. Without my local running club I'm not sure I would have achieved what I did. Company on long runs and people to keep you accountable is worth its weight in gold.
• 
  
  What is the biggest obstacle to reaching your goals and how do you get over it?
  Summer in Texas. That's a joke . . . kind of. Summer in Texas is quite brutal, but it makes you strong. The true obstacle, for myself at least, was and has been feelings of doubt. Why aren't my long runs as easy as what I perceive other's to be? Why didn't I hit each one of my intervals at the pace prescribed? Why does everyone seem to run so effortlessly and my legs feel like lead? Then I remember, these are my PERCEPTIONS. My perceptions are not reality. Every run is not going to be perfect. This is the real world and there will be good days and bad days. And at the end of the day, as long as I gave it my best effort, I'm still making progress. So there is a lot of come to Jesus conversations with myself and being conscious of the times that I'm being too hard on myself.
• 
  
  What is the most rewarding part of training?
  Looking back and seeing all of the progress that you've made. And realizing just how many people have supported you along the way and are happy for you. The running community is a phenomenal one, a place of camaraderie and where lifelong friendships are made and for ounce of energy I have given it, it has rewarded me 10 fold.
• 
  
  What advice would you give to other members of the Runcoach community?
  Trust the plan. It works. And be consistent. Don't skip workouts and don't skip long runs. Adjust dates and times, but get out there and do the work. The progress may seem slow when you're in the thick of it, but it is happening and you will make huge strides when you compare the beginning and end!
• 
  
  Anything else you would like to share?
  Running provides an individual goal. It is not dependent on coworkers, your boss, a team. It is all about what you put into it and what you want to get out of it. It's the most amazing sport with an amazing community. Take advantage of all it has to offer. I have made life long friends, run in foreign countries, and proven to myself there is nothing I can't accomplish when I put my mind to it and am consistent. Everyone has this same potential in running - to be a little better at something every day. And there just aren't that many things in life that provide you with that feeling.
• 
  
  What feedback would you offer on the Runcoach experience?
  I ran two marathons years and years ago. With zero desire to run another. I was talked into running Marine Corps and through the marathon came upon Run Coach. Since that time I took my marathon from a 4:10:00 to a 3:38:00. In my running club many people use many plans, and most of them involve determining paces and running according to 5k, 10k, half marathon pace. It's all too much math and too much thinking for someone like me. Run Coach does it all for you and I cannot say enough times how perfectly it fits my schedule and personality. The progress is real and I'm so excited to see what new accomplishments await me in the future!

• As a newcomer to the sport of running, Miriam finds an abundance of enjoyment on the trails and roads. She's 20 kg (44 lbs) lighter and minutes faster than when she started. Read about this University Mathematics Lecturer's "accidental" start and now long-term relationship with running! 
  
  
  What is the secret to your success?
  
• Though sometimes it is hard to get up and go out running, I know that it's worth making effort and start training. And indeed, after the first 10-20 minutes, it feels just great! Also, I try to follow the training schedule, and, in particular, to do workouts according to the schedule. In fact, till recently (i.e. till I joined Runcoach raining program) I just skipped workouts since they did not sound much fun to me. Now I have realized combining different kind of runs (easy, workouts, long urban runs and trails) is a right strategy and that it works for me.
  
  
• What is the biggest obstacle to reaching your goals and how do you get over it?
  
  It is always hard to start doing workout, but I remind myself that it will help me to enjoy the types of runs which I really like, such as long urban and trail runs. After 15 minutes of training, it starts to feel good.
  
  
• What is the most rewarding part of training?
  
  I am lucky to live in Jerusalem, very close to good and beautiful trails, and also challenging urban routes. For me, the best treats are trail runs in the Jerusalem Mountains, with incredible flora and fauna. Also, running on Saturdays and holidays in Jerusalem, when it so quiet, peaceful and almost no traffic. This as close to paradise as I can imagine.
  
  
  
  
• What advice would you give to other members of the Runcoach community?
  
  Do not give up when it feels not fun. If you approach a difficult stage in your run, say "start a long uphill part, try to smile and think that the life is beautiful. Smiles really help in uphill runs" I have checked it experimentally. 
  
  
• Anything else you would like to share?
  
  Having training program which is created by computer system is great, but all of us have our individual circumstances (say, stormy weather, illness or injury,  other race events) and also our own tastes and preferences. So it is good to take a computer program as some general direction, and to adjust it to your exact needs. In this matter, communication with "real" coach has a great value, and personally I gained a lot from it!
  
  
• What feedback would you offer on the Runcoach experience?
  
  It definitely helps to feel that the Runcoach team values the achievements and encourages moving towards further goals (which includes a help finding proper future goals). I would suggest to increase flexibility in calendar.  Ability for the runner to move future activities one-two days before or after the planned date. Also, it would be good to have a possibility to create a training program which includes trail runs, with respective assignments in terms of timing and running type in different stages of the trail. Though, creating such computer program is a very sophisticated task or just impossible, and perhaps one should just apply his/her own intuition and experience and, of course, consult "real" coaches.

• Joe is a former linebacker and lineman, who found his running legs in the past year. Through personal and family motivation, he lost 30 pounds, and recenly completed an incredible half marathon at the 2019 Houston Aramco Half Marathon.  Read about Joe's journey to fitness,  and how he found a way to quite the voice that wants to stay in the "comfort zone" below. 
  
  
  Major milestone:
• After an 18 year fitness hiatus, my daughter asked if I could wear a 'skinny suit' at her wedding last year. Being far from 'skinny,' I began a fitness and diet regimen. I got to my goal by the wedding, then decided to keep going and run the Houston Half Marathon. I finished in 2:10, which was awesome for me.
• 
  
  What is the secret to your success?
  
  I signed up to use RunCoach since the last time I ran a half marathon, I trained for it by myself, and it was very tough. The guided workouts and increase in speed and tempo work, along with the rest and cross training days worked wonders! I felt so great running this half.
• 
  
  What is the biggest obstacle to reaching your goals and how do you get over it?
  
  Laziness, pure and simple. Finding the energy to start. My family and I had a crazy couple of years and I felt no desire to try and get fit. When my daughter handed me a goal, that's what got me moving.
• 
  What is the most rewarding part of training?
  
  Just to be able to say at 57, I did it. And I was pretty proud of my time. I'm a former linebacker and lineman from high school football in Texas, I'm not the typical runner type. But, after losing some 30 pounds, it became much easier as the fitness returned.
• What advice would you give to other members of the Runcoach community?
  
  Watch the Little Voice in your head, that's very loud. It showed up a lot, especially towards the end. "Stay in bed. It's too cold." etc. I found 1,000 excuses to not get up and train, but no good reason, so begrudgingly, I moaned and pouted, and hit the road...grateful in the end that I did.
• 
  
  Anything else you would like to share?
  The coaching response was awesome when I had a question. Thank you again. I truly think I would not have been able to do it without the help of RunCoach.
• What feedback would you offer on the Runcoach experience?
  I always found it amusing when the coach in the app, monitoring my pace, would say "that last mile was a little spicey..." I found myself pushing to get that response occasionally. Thanks again.

Jacquie recently ran an incredible sub 3 hour marathon at the 2018 California International Marathon. She accomplished this feat, while working a demanding full-time job, and fulfilling duties as a mom of three. This super woman shares tips to her success below. 

Major milestone: Completed sub 3:00 marathon


What is the secret to your success? Making the time to be consistent in training. And coffee.


What is the biggest obstacle to reaching your goals and how do you get over it? As a full-time working mom of three, finding time, consistently, to prioritize me and get my workouts done was, and is, a huge obstacle. In taking those 45, 90, or more, minutes, I initially felt some guilt over what I wasn't doing that was still on my day's list. But, after a few weeks I actually felt better every day having taken the time for myself to reach a goal allowed me to look forward to that "me" time.


What is the most rewarding part of training? Other than that daily dose of endorphins, reaching new intermediate milestones week to week or month to month!


What advice would you give to other members of the Runcoach community? Stick with it - getting started on any given workout is the hardest part, so just suit up, get out there and let yourself go.

Anything else you would like to share?  Alright, so I "found time" for myself to train, but what about all the other stuff in life that needed to get done? Let's be clear, some of the unimportant stuff just didn't, and additionally I had to get comfortable with the fact that it would get done later or in a different way (did the third grade class really need homemade cupcakes, or would those store-bought ones do just fine?).



• What feedback would you offer on the Runcoach experience? The Runcoach app made for my training and success. Having an overview of the week by email each week provides that look ahead to enable planning on when you'll squeeze your workout in. That alone would not be enough for me - having prompts through the app DURING each workout, especially speed and threshold workouts was critical and made tracking the workouts easy (albeit those speed workouts were hard!).

Congratulations to all those who have completed their goal virtual races over the last few weekends!  Whether you are basking in the afterglow of a milestone reached, or still awaiting the joy of the finish line, it is important to consider the crucial training period of recovery.

Previously on the blog, we’ve covered a variety of topics related to recovery that are worth a quick read or re-read.  These include:

• General tips for recovery from finish line to the next mountaintop
• Comparison of cross training options
• How to recycle mentally and set a new goal
• Are compression socks for you?
• The importance of sleep (yes, even AFTER the race)
• How frequently should you run marathons?

Throughout each of these, the main thread is the message is to take recovery seriously.  One of the ways runcoach differs from template training plans or social training groups that focus solely on the one goal race is the inclusion of a recovery cycle into your plan.  As runners ourselves, we know that running is an ongoing pursuit for many, marked brightly with the signposts of big goals along the way, but more importantly, something we enjoy doing every day.

When you take recovery seriously you can enjoy your daily running without the inconveince of the world of injury or illness.  

I know "recovery" doesn't win medals, or get the awe from your friends the way a hard workout or race does. Think of it this way, if you don't recover forget about the next finish line, a new start line maybe further away than you'd like.