Are You Coachable?

Runners heading out together on an early morning run, changing running form through consistent practice

When it comes to changing running form, I see the same story play out again and again.

Someone comes to me injured. Or slow. Or they just don’t enjoy running anymore. We spend some time together and I show them a different way to move: the POSE Method. Land under your body. Let gravity do the work. Pull the foot up instead of pushing off.

They light up. “This is great.” “This feels amazing.” A lot of the time they’re faster right there on the spot, with less effort.

Then they leave. They go back to their lives, their schedules, their usual routes and their old habits. And somewhere in the next few weeks, changing running form stops feeling exciting and starts feeling hard. A little uncomfortable. A little awkward. And they slide right back into the way they used to run.

Every time I watch that happen, the same question goes through my mind:

Are you coachable? And how much do you really want it?

Why Changing Running Form Feels Great, Then Gets Hard

In a clinic, everything is set up for success. You’ve got a coach watching you, cues in your ear, drills fresh in your mind, and the energy of a group around you. Your attention is 100% on your movement.

Real life doesn’t work that way. You’re running at 6 a.m. half awake. You’re thinking about work. You’re chatting with a friend. The moment your attention drifts, your body goes back to what it’s done for years, because that’s what it knows.

Your old running form isn’t a choice you make every step. It’s a habit built over thousands of miles. Changing running form doesn’t happen in an afternoon. The new habit replaces the old one through repetition, over weeks and months, especially on the days you’d rather not bother.

New Movement Means New Soreness

This is the part that catches people off guard. When you start changing running form, you use muscles in new ways. Most commonly, your calves, Achilles and feet are asked to do more than they’re used to.

So you feel it. Tight calves. Sore feet. Muscles talking to you that never said a word before. And a lot of runners take that as a sign the new way is wrong.

It usually isn’t. It’s a sign the new way is new. Your body is adapting to changing running form, the same way it would to any new training.

A quick but important note: General muscle soreness that fades in a day or two is normal adaptation. Sharp pain, pain that gets worse as you run, or pain that sticks around is not. Back off and get it checked. The answer is almost always to build up gradually: short doses of the new form, mixed into your runs, growing over time. Not to quit.

My Story: I Didn’t Have a Choice

Here’s what made it different for me.

When I changed my running, I had severe knee pain. Going back to my old way of running meant going back to that pain. I didn’t have an alternative. Either I learned to run differently, or I stopped running.

And I wasn’t willing to stop running.

So the pain and my desire to keep running made the decision for me. I stuck with it through the awkward phase, the sore calves, and the runs where it felt like I was thinking about every single step.

Then, months later, something interesting happened. Every once in a while I’d try running the old way just to see what it felt like. It felt weird. Clunky. Terrible, honestly. The thing that once felt natural now felt completely wrong.

That’s when I knew the change was permanent. The new way had become my way.

The goal of changing running form isn’t to force yourself to run differently forever. It’s to stick with it long enough that the old way starts to feel strange.

So, Are You Coachable?

Most runners don’t have a knee screaming at them every step to keep them honest. That’s a good thing, but it means the motivation has to come from somewhere else. It has to come from you.

Being coachable when changing running form isn’t about being talented or fast. Here’s what it actually looks like:

  • You’re willing to feel awkward. Changing running form will feel unnatural before it feels natural. That’s the process, not a problem.
  • You don’t judge it on one run. One bad run doesn’t mean changing running form isn’t working. Look at weeks, not days.
  • You slow down to speed up. You might run shorter or easier for a while so the new movement can settle in.
  • You practice on purpose. A few minutes of drills before a run will change your form faster than miles of running on autopilot.
  • You ask for feedback. You can’t see yourself run. Video, a coach’s eye or a quick check-in catches things you’ll never feel.
  • You know your “why.” Running injury-free for years? Finishing a race? Enjoying it again? Hold onto that when it gets uncomfortable.

How Much Do You Want It?

This is the real question. Not “is the POSE Method right for me?” You felt it. You already know.

The question is whether you want it enough to keep showing up when it’s not new and exciting anymore. Whether you’ll keep at it through the sore calves and the runs where your old form sneaks back in.

If you do, I’d bet on this: one day you’ll try the old way, and it’ll feel weird. And you’ll smile, because you’ll know you did the work.

Runners training together in the Free To Run 9-week running program in Austin

You Don’t Have to Do It Alone

The hardest part of changing running form is the stretch after the clinic, when you’re on your own. That’s exactly why I built the 9-Week Program: a full clinic followed by nine weeks of coached training, with a weekly Form Lab and group run, so you have structure, accountability, and someone in your corner through the awkward phase.

Prefer one-on-one? I’ll work with you directly on your form, your goals and your schedule.

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Coaching runners since 2009 · 500+ runners coached · Austin, TX and across Texas