I Hired a Coach - now you can get $25 off CoachUp.com

I need a coach to help me with my running form.  I can keep working on this myself, but it is going to take me forever.  Even walking I seem to have a blister or something next to my big toe.  The forums I read have no running coaches posted nearby, so I took to the internet to locate a coach.  I found a site call CoachUp.com 

How it works:  You submit a coaching request with what you are looking for.  They ask your location, availability and a few other basic questions and then they email your request to their list of coaches.  The coaches are required to respond within 24 hours.  Use referral code danal1-10-t gets you $25 off your first coaching session through them.  I recommend you book just one session to see how things go and then book a package deal, if things work out. 

I got 4 responses within 12 hours.  They all were qualified to assist me, and I ended up choosing Drew based upon his thoughtful response telling me less about himself (they all have bios I can read) and more about what he would do to help me.  First steps he would video tape me running and analysis my form.   His location is close to me, and his price was reasonable at $69 per hour.  One of the guys wanted $159 for an hour 1-on-1 session.  The lowest was $53. 

Walking into the gym they ask you to remove your shoes before stepping on the floor.  It looked like everyone else has dedicated gym shoes, but I did the session in my socks.  Though I did mention in my request for services that I was a barefoot runner or at least working towards running barefoot.

First Drew had me do some squats and took videos, then I jogged on the treadmill for a bit while he took more video.  Drew then pointed out my problems and talked about form and function.  Of course I have no clue if he knows what he is talking about, but it sounded good and lined up with what I had been reading online.  (Like you can believe everything you read online.)  We spent the remainder of the session doing foam rolling, stretches and some exercises.  He gave me just one area to concentrate on when running, for me I need to push the knees out slightly.  He's now working on my homework and a package pricing.  I feel it was definitely worth it. 

Unfortunately there is no quick fix and it will take a while.   But the areas he has me working on should carry over into the problems I'm having with some of my mobility in gymnasticbodies exercise routine.