What Any Successful Training Program Should Have

I had the impression that most people had a great time today. Thanks to everyone who came out. So that you know who your staff is and what they are all about, in this post I want to outline 3 things that make a successful training program:

1. Autonomy--the choice was made by you and not by somebody else.
2. Competence--you know what you are doing, or are at least becoming better at it.
3. Relatedness--the activity connects you in some way to other people.

The first one is on you. We've also scheduled a class on MOTIVATION and MENTAL PREPARATION, which we expect to provide to you closer to race day. For the second item, the trainers will provide the tools to you within the context of this run club. We will set you up for success. And the third is something that we all hope to accomplish with our weekly training, and even perhaps throughout the week, which is building a social club of running enthusiasts, if you will. Your staff hopes to provide ALL these three things for you in order to help achieve your personal running goals for this 2007 Long Beach Half-Marathon.

Often the problem with any training program is that workouts mimic not play but work. For example, we hoist heavy things like suffering shoreman, we row imaginary boats like slaves in a ship's steerage, and we walk endless steps to nowhere. Is it any wonder we're not having a good time? The bottom line is that you really need to understand why you want to do this. And if you don't really want to exercise at all, latch onto an outcome you DO want, such as more energy, better health, or a faster 5k. But beyond understanding your motives, I believe the most important key is just to reconnect with your own natural instinct to play! :)

See you next week!