For years I’ve been a “self-made” runner, no official training, just lacing up my shoes and logging miles. My motto from the beginning was “just run” with the mindset that speed, endurance, and everything else would just fall into place.

I’ve seen mild success with some gains over the years, and I’ve slowly chipped away at my race times catching a PR now and again. For the most part I try to just enjoy the run, but lately I’ve noticed my relaxed approach is starting to unravel.

The Problem

This past year my PRs are getting a little bit harder to chase, and I’ve noticed my endurance just isn’t holding up as well as I hoped. My goal of running a half marathon under 2 hours is slowly getting away from me and I’m not sure where to turn.

I go to the gym and I know I should work on strength training but I’m not sure WHAT I should be doing or trying to incorporate into my routine. Everything I read on the internet is kind of confusing and slightly misleading, so rather than risk injury, I just bypass the strength training and stick with running.

My problem is there are hundreds of available training plans and approaches online, where does one start?! I’ve dabbled in some freebie plans and sort of saw results, but I think a lot of it was chalked up to just running more. My problem is I need some solid guidance.

The Solution

My friend and fellow BibRavePro Janell is a VDOT02 certified run coach (you can find her at RunCanvas.com), she saw my plight and offered her services to take me on and see about breaking my sub 2-hour half marathon goal!

I’ve seen Janell’s posts about helping others reach their goals on social media. So, when the opportunity presented itself to train with Janell, I jumped at the chance.

I’m excited to see what’s ahead and what having a real trainer will do for my overall speed, endurance, and how I will improve as a runner!

Stick with me and watch my progress here on my blog and Instagram!