Training With Tony

Coaching One-On-One

I headed out on the Highline trail this morning with the plan to run alone because their are few others on the team that have the same goals as i do. I passed a small group of teammates that I didn’t know; we’ve combined the Central Denver group of runners that I train with, and the South Denver group too. One of their coaches, Tony, asked if he could join me for the day and I was happy to pick up a partner for the 15 miles along the trail. Long-distance running must be one of the finest ways to get to know a person quickly. Our conversation ranged from the personal to the political as we ran along. And of course we talked about running. Tony recently moved to Colorado with his family from the Boston area where he’d grown up. He’s been running for years, has finished some twenty or so marathons and owned a running shop in a city near Boston. I asked him about strategies for running my marathon and how to qualify for Boston (a race he’s run several times). He gave me some tips on pacing and the mental side of running too. This is another benefit of being on the team. The day went by quickly and the run felt good. My knees that had been aching at various times in pat weeks felt fine today. I’m taking this as a sign that my muscles are strengthening in the right way to keep my posture as healthy as possible and limit the strain on my joints. I hope there’ll be more opportunity to run with Tony in the future.