First Run with a Coach

I set up an arrangement with the guy that owns one of our local running stores to help coach me to improve my form, gait, speed, etc. We met this morning at 6:15 and he spent about 40 minutes with me. He helped a great deal with my breathing, hand and arm movements, and with my gait. I don't remember all the medical terms that he was referring to with me gait, but I was basically striking my right foot so my heel was inside and I was planting my foot toward the outside. In doing this I also was swinging my right heel behind me extremely to the left. We concentrated on working towards a more neutral heel strike with that foot and improved it greatly before I had to leave. I didn't turn my watch on for this session but I figure that we must have done close to 1.5 miles.

Probably the most significant difference that I noticed was in my breathing. We started out the session doing a short very easy jog that when we stopped it had me winded. In seeing that how winded I was he had me try to regulate my breathing more and it was amazing how much better I felt in just paying attention to how I was breathing.

This was my first session and I felt I made big strides (pun intended) with what he was showing me and I"m looking forward to more from him later.