Training Consultation | 2:19 Marathoner Tips

Are you seeking training consultation and does getting on a call with a fitness expert work? One of the best recommendations I can share is to invest in yourself. I have paid for online mentorship several times over the years. In fact, getting feedback from a fitness professional can make the difference you have been seeking in your training and racing. My goal has always been to share the tips and strategies I was taught by 3 of the world's top distance running coaches. I credit their expertise and knowledge in helping me earn a 2008 USA Track and Field Olympic Trials “A” standard time in the marathon.

You are more than welcome to visit the about page if you'd like to learn more about my running background. Training consultation works because you are able to discuss specific questions with an expert. Also, if the professional you are talking with cares, he will ensure that you get more than you were asking for in that 1 hour time frame. Training consultation calls can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours in length.

What is a Workout Consultation?

A training consultation call usually is conducted by a fitness coach, exercise physiologist or personal trainer. The end goal of the consultation calls I conduct with my clients is to help them reach their goals. More importantly, find out what their short and long-term goals are and offer steps to achieve them. I take the training consultation calls I have very seriously. Of course, I know they are investing their hard earned income to talk with me. So, I want to ensure I offer as much feedback and support that I possibly can.

I have specialized in athlete consulting since 1992. I bring over 30 years of expertise in middle to long distance running to my clients. In addition, understand the complexities of getting into great fitness, racing shape and overcoming obstacles. I created rundreamachieve.com, our sister site, in 2011, to help runners and nutritiongeeks.co, in 2019. So, my end goal has always to give back to the sport that has given so much to me.

What Does a Personal Training Consultation Consist Of?

The most important component of my consultation calls is to get to know the athlete. I want to find out what is driving them toward success. In addition, what challenges are they facing which may be causing them not to perform at the level they are dreaming about. More importantly, sharing tactics and strategies that I am certain can help them get past any issues they are facing. Pace sustainment problems are one of the biggest issues I see with many runners.

In addition, hydration imbalances among other problems. My goal as a fitness consultant is to help the client correct these issues. Most importantly, to help them set a new personal best in their chosen event. My training consultation calls often times are just talking one-on-one with the athlete.

I have had some clients who just wanted to talk and vent about their past training/racing history. Athletes seek mentorship from runners that have done what they are seeking to do. I, too, have paid for consultation from top level fitness experts in order to become a better runner myself.

What Personal Training Clients Should Ask?

My initial goal is to get to know the clients I work with. I like to ask them about their fitness history, races they have run, times they currently have obtained and long-term goals. In addition, I also like to ask if they have any medical history that I should be aware of if they are seeking have me as their coach. Of course, it is important for me as an online coach to be aware of these things. I always advise athletes that want to work with me to always consult with a Physician before starting any training program.

Athletes have to be smart with their training and their health should always come first. I also like to hear from the client about what their aims are. What are their short-term goals and long-term vision. Most importantly, is to find out what has been causing them problems with their fitness, racing and pace sustainment. The majority of runners are going after specific times. So, I want to get more details from them on what they feel is causing them not to hold goal race pace throughout their races.

What is a Health and Fitness Client Consultation?

A health and wellness training consultation is really a clients' way of getting top-level advice from a fitness expert. In addition, get additional feedback on how to set up their training the proper way. A lot of times athletes are guessing at what workouts to do without knowing the why behind those workouts. A common mistake I see with many runners is they are running too slow, too often. In addition, too fast on easy days. I always recommend using a heart rate monitor to counter this problem.

I regularly use the Garmin 245. It helps me to stay in the correct heart rate zones so that I am not overtraining. There are many runners trying to rush their fitness in the time span of a few weeks. It takes between 3 to 4 weeks for the body to adapt to any stress load being placed on it. So, my training consultation calls emphasize delayed gratification. I would rather the athlete focus on a longer build-up than a shorter one. Again, the end goal is to help the athlete obtain a new personal best or achieve their specific, personal fitness goal.

Training Tools

Training Plans

I created training plans for athletes that are seeking to run faster from the mile up to the 50k distance. The time frame for these plans range from 8 to 24 weeks. So, you can choose a plan that best fits your work schedule. I know there are many athletes who don't have 20 to 24 weeks to prepare for a race. So, you may want to choose an 8 to 16 week plan. Of course, I always advise athletes to focus on a longer training build up, if possible.

The reason for this is that you will not be rushing your overall fitness. Remember, it takes about 4 weeks for the body to adapt to any stress load being placed upon it. So, a longer build up will allow sufficient time for your body to adapt to the stresses you are placing on it. I have also set new personal bests when training between 16 to 24 weeks.

Running Courses

I didn't see enough resources online regarding running courses. So, decided to create them in order to help more athletes around the world to set new personal bests. The running course are much more in-depth than training plans. Training plans are a quick method to follow a legitimate strategy to get results. The running courses are more of a deep-dive into the mechanics of daily, weekly and monthly training.

I cover specific topics that serious runners aiming to drop significant time need to know. In addition, go much more in-depth on strategies, tactics and the “why” of each workout that you will be doing. I, too, invested in running courses by world-class coaches over the years. So, wanted to focus on creating my own to share what I have been taught the past 3 decades from some of the world's top distance coaching experts.

Monthly Coaching

I also coach month to month for athletes that want to work with me on an ongoing basis. The monthly coaching services on our sister site, rundreamachieve.com, is a great option for serious runners. I utilize the VDOT.02 coaching platform and we used Dr. Jack Daniel's VDOT scoring system.

We take your current personal bests and base training paces off of your VDOT scores. Also, as you get fitter and drop time you can input that in our monthly coaching platform and your paces will also update.

Yes, it is an investment. That being said, working with a professional athlete, consultant and coach can help take you to the next level in your training and racing. Athletes who work with me monthly have access to me 24-7 as well. I do my very best to always be readily available to answer questions and concerns.

In addition, jump on zoom calls whenever the athlete needs to talk with me one-on-one. Lastly, there are also other resources available on rundreamachieve.com you may be interested in. Click on any of the green buttons on this post to learn more.

Closing Thoughts

I hope that this post has been helpful to you in what you may expect with a training consultation call with me. Make sure to subscribe to the RunDreamAchieve YouTube channel. I create new training and racing videos there each week to help runners such as yourself get to the next level in their fitness. One last piece of advice and that is to start visualizing yourself running the time you are aiming for.

The vast majority of runners only focus on physical preparation and bypass mental training. The world-class runners I have trained and lived with focus on both. So, start taking 10 minutes daily and devoting that time to seeing yourself performing at the level you are dreaming about. The best time to do this is when you first get up in the morning or when you go to bed at night. You have to prepare the mind just like you prepare the body for that golden moment.