Manchester Marathon Week 2: Trust your run coach

Week 2 got me thinking ‘why I like having a coach and also why I need to trust the coach.’

For years I never had a run coach, ever. Why would I need one? I wasn’t even part of a run club. They feel a bit like a cult – everyone wearing the club vest and high fiving each other.

I like running on my own terms – when I want.

I had that mindset about most things in life. Everything was on my terms, why would you ask for help? Surely that was a sign of weakness – admitting you weren’t good enough by yourself.

How wrong was I. Thank goodness life is for learning.

I would just run, never really following any plan until I signed up to an event, then would google ‘Half marathon or marathon training plan’. Once I found a plan, linked to the time I thought I could achieve, I would slowly tinker with it. Moving runs about to suit my life, to the point I wasn’t really following a structured plan anymore.

In 2019 I started to feel I had reached my half marathon limit again, and I was picking up more injuries. I introduced some fast interval stuff and started chasing down my 5km time.

It all felt a bit made up. Doing whatever I wanted.

And while I was achieving faster times there was no reason to question it.

I ran my fastest time that year at the Dublin half marathon. I hr 37 minutes.

Then in the Autumn I went for it at the Edinburgh half marathon and for the first time in a long time I went backwards. No Personal Best. It was a bit of a wake up. I had picked up an injury before Edinburgh and made it worse by running that half then my third, and last, marathon in Chester.  

I quickly went from experiencing a massive runners high at Dublin to a massive low after Edinburgh. Then the injury meant I didn’t run for 4 weeks. It hurt and for the first time I was scared maybe this was it. It was my first proper injury and I didn’t know if I would get back to running – sounds dramatic now, but it was how I felt at the time. Once I did recover I realised how precious your body and health is. I wanted to run for years to come and knew something had to change.

I knew I could run faster but felt a bit stuck. I was picking up more injuries and my training felt half arsed. Thankfully I slowly woke up to the idea of asking for help.

A run coach still wasn’t on my radar though.

At the end of 2019, I went to speak to a PT about some strength and conditioning work to counter the injuries and bring more strength to my legs. I thought that would be the secret. Stronger muscles equals faster times. After speaking with the PT I found out she was also a run coach, providing tailored plans. I checked her times and saw she had ran a 3hr 10min marathon time. Girl crush incoming! I signed up to her running programme and started on twice weekly PT sessions. We went on to train together and I ran a 1hr 36min half marathon in London just before the first lockdown in 2020. The runners high was replaced with relief. Relief I was back on track – moving forward and feeling in control of my running again.

That was when I realised asking for help isn’t a weakness but the secret to getting better.

What do I love about a run coach?

They do the hard work, so you don’t need to. All you need to do is open the running plan on the day and execute whatever they have added. Easy. I run five times a week. Each run is different and tailored to my event goal, my previous times and my lifestyle. I don’t need to think about anything else other than tying my shoelaces and running into the wind.

They are there when doubt creeps in. They have been there, done it and got the tee-shirt. So, no matter how ridiculous your thoughts are, they make you see sense of it. They are there when you pick up niggles and need to decide whether to skip a run, or change it up. They provide perspective and those comforting words when you are on the verge of a meltdown – usually the nearer you are to race day.

They keep you accountable. I don’t know what it is but knowing they will know if you have run or not, or if you have hit your pace keeps you motivated and on point. No one wants to disappoint their run coach – even if the disappointment is just a thought in your head. My run coach has never once said “Jacquelyn, I am disappointed” but the fear is there to keep you on your toes.

They push you, test you and believe in you more than you do. Each week I look at my programme and always spot one thing I don’t think is manageable. The plan will push you - it takes commitment and drive. Progress and Personal Bests need to be earned. They make you earn it through the training programme - by doing hard stuff.

What is important to know about having a run coach?

You need to trust them. Note to Jacquelyn.

On my Tuesday run I was having a full blown tantrum. My legs were tired. It was windy and I had to run a progression run. Annoyingly I was running too fast. If that is even a thing. I decided the rest of the runs for the week were going to be impossible to achieve – I still had a 8km, 16km and a 19km. Arghhh. Talk about living in the future. I counted up the runs for the week and decided my new run coach was pushing me too hard. And I decided I was going home to text him to tell him this. What a drama. All this because I had tired legs on one run.

When I go home I checked a previous marathon training programme and compared the mileage to my current plan. They were both expecting 60km from me. I soon changed my tune and reminded myself:

I am training for a marathon,

Some sessions will be hard,

My body will be tired but it is being conditioned to run 42km at a pace to achieve my goal,

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

And importantly this is week 2 of week 16. Stop living in the future. Run each session each week and before you know it you will be across the finish line. And if stuff happens between now and then, you adjust.

Week 2 finished on 61km and my body felt great – don’t let one tantrum ruin your whole week. Acknowledge it, reset your narrative and go again.

What does week 3 involve? Well it looks like I have a 5km time trial incoming on Saturday and I am excited!! We go again!