By Liz Fancher
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| Liz Fancher & Dave Webster at The Dirty Half |
A few years ago, my “speedy runner guy” husband Dave Webster
joined TPG – the Tuesday Performance Running Group. Every Tuesday evening, he spent an hour doing
“speed work” or “running hills” with a group of dedicated runners. He ran in Drake Park, on Overturf Butte and
at the track. In the winter, he’d run
after dark in Farewell Bend Park!
About half a year later, my husband asked me to join him at
TPG workouts. I told him “I am not a speed
demon runner. My body does not have a
single fast-twitch muscle.” I thought:
“Why would I want to humiliate myself by running with a group of speed demon
runners in the cold and dark?”
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I agreed to try running with TPG once in a while. I thought I would hate it but that it would
be “good for me.” Once I went, I discovered
that I really like TPG. I enjoy
challenging myself. I like running with
a group of nice runners. I like running
with the TPG group every week. The time flies by.
Over the last few years, I’ve continued running with
TPG. Here is what TPG has taught me:
·
I am stronger than I think.
·
I run faster when I run with a group.
·
It is OK to be one of the slowest runners.
·
Running with faster runners encourages me to
push harder and to run faster.
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| Coach Max |
Here is what TPG has done for me:
·
I’ve taken 10 minutes off my half marathon time
in the period of one year.
·
I can run races at a steady pace, without
crashing.
·
I can pick up my pace at the end of a run or a
race.
·
I’ve started to enjoy racing.
·
I feel uplifted after most workouts.
·
Best of all, I can tell folks that Max King
coaches my running group. This makes
folks think I run fast!
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TPG
is filled with a lot of nice, supportive people. Kari Strang even brought cupcakes to TPG to
celebrate my birthday! TPG allows me the
fun of cheering for other TPG runners at our regular workouts and races. I’ve enjoyed following the progress and
successes of other TPG runners over the years.
Max King is a great coach.
He is a thoughtful, intelligent man who offers interesting, varied and
“do-able” workouts. He offers a “short”
workout and a “long” workout so you can pick the one that works for you. So, if you are interested in running stronger
and a bit faster come join us on Tuesday.
TPG is free so what do you have to lose? The Tuesday Performance Group meets every Tuesday at 5:30. Locations vary, for more information email max@footzonebend.com.
Stay informed and hear from local runners at the FootZone Blog.
2 comments:
I will add that you get to meet other like minded people. For my wife and I it was a good way to socialize and meet other runners in the Bend area when we moved to town 6 months ago. Now we feel like we've been part of this group forever even though it's only been a few months. It's sometimes hard to get yourself out of the door when it's cold/rain/both and TPG is a good way to do it because you know you won't be the only one out there suffering/having fun :)
Thanks for the feedback Sylvain.
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