Having searched years for a truly successful fitness routine, I kept finding my performance peaking or plateauing . Whether I was exercising alone, at local gyms, or with personal trainers, something was holding me back. I was often cast as a body type, or told I was just a big guy. I felt as though I was being fed excuses for why I wasn’t successful instead of being motivated to really make progress with my athletic goals.
Formula ended this trend. Not only was the support and motivation incredible, I found myself treated the same as world class athletes and weekend worriers alike. I never considered myself a runner, or someone who enjoyed group classes, but found myself addicted to not only the results I was having, but the community and new friends I had found.
Ann works on the all important mental aspect of running as well. Phrases like “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” and “stay relaxed up top” have a way of getting rooted in your mind so that you can pull them out later during hard runs and races. Just last November, for instance, I PR’d in a 5k after five years of running 5k’s. What makes Ann’s approach even more effective is that she is both an accomplished coach and runner. She really knows what she is talking about when she creates a custom training plan, which includes a weekly pattern of easy miles, quality workouts, long runs, and time for recovery.
The combo of the training plan and the classes did wonders for my running performance. My long run pace improved by over one minute per mile faster. Hilly routes that used to fill me with dread became easier and more manageable. Running friends commented on my pace and my improving performance. I’ll never be fast but I certainly got faster and stronger.
“That is when the light came on and I reached out to Ann as I knew she not only would be a great motivator, supporter, and running buddy, I felt that I had the flexibility to try something new and mix up my training a bit. I not only had Ann beside me in my early morning workouts at the track and around Charlottesville, I added another element into my training and incorporated a couple fitness classes a week at Formula.”
Emily provided a non-judgmental space to discuss both my goals and my obstacles, and the plan I came up with to achieve a better balance is effective, yet easy to work into my daily routine. No matter what your personal goals might be, I would highly recommend working with her and seeing how health coaching can give you the tools to feel your best both physically and mentally!
The 10-miler was the first time in 3-years that I have stepped on a starting line and felt good about my fitness. There have been many factors that led to that . . . The Charlottesville community as a whole has just been so conducive to fitness and running. This is a super active community that is full of people who have welcomed me and helped me get back into the swing of things.
Pat’s instructions called for me to hit 40 seconds per 200 during the hard intervals in the first set, take four minutes rest, then resume and aim for 38-40 seconds on the hard intervals. The first set I was dead on the pace, knocking out between 39-41 seconds per lap on every hard 200. After the break I came back and hit 36 seconds and change on the first interval. Blazing. A little too blazing. That extra two seconds per 200 had me breathing much heavier and feeling “that feeling” in my obliques.
For me, running and fitness has been my greatest passion in life. When I was 9 years old, my babysitter took me to my first road race in an effort to wear me out . . . I remember sprinting off the line when the gun fired and running out of steam two miles in. The first thing I asked my babysitter (Mrs. April) when I regained my composure was if we could come back next week and run it again. I was hooked.
Some people refuse to believe me when I tell them I used to smoke a pack of Camel Lights a day. By the time I relocated back to Central Virginia from New York I’d managed to kick the habit and replace it with running, so the people that met me upon my return have only known me as a non-smoker. Over that time running has become increasingly central to my life and central to my identity, to the point that it seems incredible to some that I could have ever been an occasional smoker, never mind a habitual one.
As I was improving my strength and endurance, their guidance in the classes made me realize that I also needed to work on my form and my focus. Within one month I was participating in up to 5 classes each week. 4 months later I feel like I've gone back to the person I was years ago, when running and exercise made me feel confident, fit, and energized rather than exhausted and unhealthy.
I was sure that there was another level I could get to if I could dial my nutrition in further. So I decided, in the interest of science, to put myself through a pair of hard workouts on the Woodway; the first I would do having eaten “whatever I wanted” the night before, and the second having followed a day of dietary prescriptions from Ann.
When last we left our young hero, Ken was jogging around Central Park before the dawn and gearing up to run a 5K in Richmond. He’d been training with Ann for six weeks; according to her it takes three weeks for a true bump in fitness, so he’d banked enough time and training to go up a couple of levels.
It only took a few steps on the Woodway to convince me that it was not your ordinary treadmill. It is nice to be able to do speed work in a controlled and predictable environment . . . I was impressed that the Woodway provides a much gentler impact than any other medium I have run on, including my preferred surface, dirt. That seems particularly beneficial when ramping up the speed.
I know what it takes help someone get fit, I understand what is necessary to work towards that end in a manner that will minimize the risk of injury, and I believe in the model we have established to provide an ideal balance of cardiovascular work with a functional strength foundation that leads to overall fitness. While I have stepped away from the collegiate setting, I will always be a coach and I look forward to working with all those aspiring to better themselves - young or old, elite or novice.
