How to manage running plateaus?
In February I had the opportunity to chat live with another fitness instructor about running. Specifically, how athletes can manage running training plateaus with Pilates. Have you ever had any of the following questions?
What do you do when hitting a training plateaus?
Why don’t I have the energy to finish or to up my pace when running?
How can I train for pace without getting injured?
Then this interview is for YOU. You can find the interview transcribed below or listen to the full audio HERE
Let me know in the comments below what other questions you have in regards to running + Pilates.
Laura: Hey how you doing? I’m excited to be here chatting with you!
Riki: I know likewise! So we are both Pilates instructors and we met through Agency which is run by Lesley Logan and her business Profitable Pilates. We [Laura and I] found each other because I am going to be working with a group of runners and you had posted something about your own experience as an athlete and hitting performance plateaus, dealing with injuries...and that peaked my interest. Do you want to give an introduction of who you are, what you do, where you are and who you work with?
Laura: Yes! I am so thankful for you. The piece that you are talking about- I was changing up my “about me” and you had given me some feedback on it and I really appreciated that. A little about me, my name is Laura and I have been teaching human movement since 2012. I have a degree in Neuroscience & Physiology. I am a Pilates Instructor, Personal Trainer and Nutrition coach. Before all of that jazz I grew up playing sports my entire life originally with soccer and then I got recruited in high school to join the cross country team. It was actually a really funny story- I was in P.E. as a freshman and ran a mile faster than all the boys and my P.E. teacher said “You need to join the cross country team”
Riki: Do you know the same thing happened to my half sister, I don’t have the running gene, and the same thing happened to her. She had no clue that she was that fast and then one day in gym class they were like you need to be on the team! I had the same experience with my family.
Laura: I grew up playing sports so I had a natural inclination to go into running. I do prefer and I excelled in shorter distances. More recently, last year I ran my first half marathon. I really have a connection with runners I think just because of my own history with sports and the injuries that I ran into because of sports. So I want to focus mostly on working with athletes, helping them to prevent injuries, helping them to recover from injuries. I remember how difficult it was for me to overcome not only the physical hurdle but also the mental hurdle that comes with overcoming injuries.
Riki: So can you just place, in that timeline where or how you first came to Pilates?
Laura: I originally learned about Pilates… I had heard it whispered to me my senior year of HS. My cross country coach told me he thought it would be a great way to supplement my running. At that time I was being a typical stubborn high schooler. I was like I don’t know what that is and I don’t want to do it. I don’t have time for it. So I kind of just blew it off. Then it wasn’t until senior year of college that I ran into it again. My 3rd year of college I had an MCL tear playing rugby. I spent a lot of time in the athletic training room which then led me to change my career choice to wanting to become a Physical Therapist. When I started getting clinical hours for applying to DPT school, that’s when I got introduced to Pilates again. I learned how it could help in a rehabilitative setting and it piqued my curiosity enough to try out a class and I fell in love with it right away and in less than 6 months I was getting certified.
Riki: That’s amazing. I think a lot of us that are Pilates instructors have that experience where we come to it and we’re like what is this? I don’t really know.. I’m not really sure… and then it’s like wow I feel amazing, my energy is amazing and then we dive in. Ok so back to performance: Did Pilates play a role in pushing past a performance plateaus. Not injuries necessarily. Let’s just say you were working towards a goal, training for a race and let’s just say you hit a wall- you don’t have the energy to finish a run or you don’t have the energy to finish the workout in front of you.
Laura: The things that I can speak to specifically in regards to my half marathon training… So I ended up tearing my hip labrum maybe from playing rugby, maybe from running. There isn’t a definitive moment that I can pinpoint to it. BUT I know before that defining moment I had been trying to run a half marathon multiple times and I couldn’t do the training program for one reason or another: My body kept breaking down, the timing wasn’t right, things kept getting in the way etc. But then in 2020 I ended up completing a half marathon and that was POST hip surgery.
Riki: Wow
Laura: I was really adamant about including Pilates into my training program. Mostly because Pilates was the thing that helped me recover from my hip labrum tear repair and I knew how vital it was going to be in keeping that longevity in my body. So keeping me from feeling achy in the hip that had gotten repaired, keeping me strong in my core, keeping me healthy for the amount of mileage that I was going to be putting on and what I thought was SO interesting- I considered myself “healthier” in my late teens/early twenties when I had tried running a half marathon before. My body felt so good training for this half marathon. The only difference between now and then is the addition of Pilates into my routine.
Pick up listening to the rest of the interview HERE at the 7:45 mark. For more tips and tricks about fitness subscribe to my newsletter for all my content in one easy to find place. As a bonus you’ll receive my Happy Back pamphlet which includes 4 stretches to incorporate in your daily routine to minimize back pain. Request it below:
