I first met Steve at the gym in the beginning of December 2013. It all started when we got chatting about running, core workouts and other fitness-related topics.
Later on, he inquired about training with me. More specifically, he wanted to improve his running times. He committed to 10 training sessions, which is roughly 10 weeks, as he wanted to meet me once a week.
Since he was already in good shape when he started, I told him to continue his lifting program the was he has been doing it. Clearly, he was enjoying it, so all I had to do was work with him on his running speed.
Here are 3 things that helped him improve his running:
First, I added intervals and 1km repeats to his program. When we did those, I had him running faster than what he was used to.
Second, I had him doing faster tempo runs (between 3km and 7km) at his desired 10k race pace or, preferably, faster.
Third, I told him to keep on doing his longer runs on his own, but just a little bit faster than what he was doing.
About 5 weeks into our training program, Steve decided to run a 10k race. I said it was a great opportunity for him to get a personal best because I believed he would.
Above: Steve at a race.
I was THRILLED to get a text from him telling me that he achieved a personal best of 42:41 in the 10k and that he enjoyed the run. He also said that his previous personal best in the 10k was 46:46 and it felt challenging to run at that pace.
I was extremely happy to learn that not only is he running faster, but he is also finding it easier.
Shortly thereafter, he had an almost 20 minute improvement in his half marathon time. He started out with a half marathon personal best of 2:05:36 and ended up with a personal best of 1:46:29.
Here is what Steve had to say about working with me:
“After 10 sessions with Yana, I improved my 10k time from a painful 46:46 down to an enjoyable 42:41 – All while continuing a fairly intense lifting program. I also improved my half marathon time from 2:05:36 down to 1:46:29. On top of getting much faster in a short amount of time, her style of training made me so much more resilient and strong in my races as well as training. She’s awesome!”
I’m very proud of his accomplishments as a runner. He was great to work with and I know that he will succeed in whatever he puts his mind to.