Background: In my early 30s I had trained for and completed a handful of triathlons ranging from short, sprint distances to one half-ironman. While triathlon does include running, I never enjoyed the run nor progressed in my running ability. I essentially viewed running as a necessary evil. I started running in 2014 after a 3-year hiatus from any sort of endurance sports with the objective of running a marathon that year. I began working with Peter in the spring of 2016 with the hopes of improving speed and running my first 50K.
Biggest running challenge: I have two: juggling life and “AADD” or Athletic Attention Deficit Disorder. On the scheduling front, I juggle family (including a young daughter with her own extracurricular activities), work and volunteering. On the “AADD” front, I have a hard time focusing on any one physical activity for any length of time and prefer to have a lot of variety.
Run on Dirt approach: Peter tackled both of my challenges. From a scheduling standpoint, he pays close attention to my family & work restrictions and then formulates workouts that can be easily accommodated both geographically (access to/from work, home, etc,) and from a time of day perspective. In tackling my need for variety, he provides variability with terrain, accessible trails, speed vs. hills, distance, etc. He sends me on trails that I had previously viewed as too difficult for my ability level to gain experience and to provide the opportunity for me to concur my own self-imposed hurdles. For racing, he outlines race-day strategies to focus attention and effort with the aim of conquering physical and mental barriers.
Results: My running ability has expanded considerably since working with Peter – both distance and speed. In 2016, after working with Peter, I have completed two 50Ks and significantly improved my race times, achieving PRs across the board for everything from 10Ks and half marathons to full marathons and 50Ks. While I’ll spare you the details of all of the races, I’ll highlight my CIM (California International Marathon) results from 2014 -2016:
4:38:59 in 2014
4:17:29 in 2015
3:58:32 in 2016
(a 40+ minute improvement over 2014 and 19 minute improvement over 2015!)
In 2017, I plan to work with Peter again to improve my 50K results and qualify for the Boston Marathon during CIM (a 3:45:00 marathon).