Alex Giraudineau – Washington DC Running Coach
From: $90.00 / month and a $19.00 sign-up fee
Need an individualized plan with a high attention to communication? Reach out to me. Beginner or high-level, everyone is welcome.
Description
Washington, DC running coach Alex Giraudineau works with intermediate to advanced runners looking to take their running to the next level with personalized plans, high touch communication, and variety in order to keep training fun and productive. Alex also offers in-person sessions near Ashburn, VA. Reach out below to get started!
LEVELS: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
TYPES: Road, Track
DISTANCES: 5k/10k/Half Marathon, Marathon
TRAINING PLATFORM: Final Surge
TRAINING PLAN: Individual, customized training plan
COMMUNICATION: Unlimited email, unlimited phone, unlimited text
RESPONSE TIME: Within 24 hours
LOCATION: Ashburn, VA
IN-PERSON SESSIONS: Yes, meet within 15 miles of Ashburn, VA for workouts, pacing workouts, chats about race strategy, injury, and strength training, or running tests and analysis. Reach out to Alex for more information.
SPECIALTIES
My specialties are intermediate and advanced runners who run between 5k and half marathon distances. I also work with beginners but I have less experience with it.
My bigger specialties, especially if the person can do a few in-person sessions, are post-injury training and running analysis. I have a Masters degree in biomechanical analysis with a specialty in running. Furthermore I am a personal trainer/sport scientist specialized in running (strength training, VO2 max, gait analysis, etc).
PHILOSOPHY
My philosophy as a coach is to be in communication with my athletes to understand their needs and abilities. Everyone is unique so everyone has to have their personalized workout. In addition, life is not a flat path, there are unique events which arrive every day. So the template created at the beginning of a training plan can evolve with time: because of pain, or a new schedule, or because the last session was too hard, etc.
However, I am a coach who will push you to get out of your comfort zone, because if you want to progress, you need to push yourself.
Finally, from my running and coaching experience, a runner’s volume/intensity will change based on the period and the micro cycle. I am not a fan of having the same amount of miles every single week because there is no adaptation and you increase your risk of injuries.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
I have been coaching since 2016. The majority of my coaching was in a track club with kids from 8 to 16 years old. The goal was to develop their track and cross country skills. Then in total every year, I coached 5 different people for specific events: 3 of them ran a 10k and half marathon; one of them ran an ultra trail distance (120km); and one of them was a national biathlon athlete who I helped with her off-season conditioning.
Depending on the goal of each person, I built coaching plans for their goal event, or I built a plan through the year and adjusted the plans for them to arrive in peak shape for their races. The best accomplishment of coaching was when one of my beginner athletes dropped his 10k time from 47min to 41min in 8 months of preparation. Before starting, he was injured and was not able to run, so we created an all-around program to make him stronger and healthier.
Then, during my D2 school program at university, I assisted my coach in understanding and improving our training plan because of experience training in Europe and adjusting for those differences.
ABOUT ME
Running is hard and I love it but I always try to have fun and not be too serious during training. I was totally different before and tried to focus, think about my session, do it correctly, etc but it killed me mentally. So by having fun, from the beginning of the race/workout, it make things even more easy and enjoyable.
It’s not because you’re having fun that you can’t take your workout seriously. So during a workout I always try to make people laugh or think about other things. At a XC race I lost my shoes stuck inside the mud. A lot of people could be mad or want to drop off, me I just took my shoes in my hand and said to my teammates “You should try running without shoes, it’s more fun.”
I also love travel and meet new people/culture. I just left my home country of France to come to the US and run different races, to meet and have fun with new people (and try to win at the same time). It’s so enjoyable to discover new cultures, that’s why I use races for that.
BIG INFLUENCES
The biggest influence of my coaching style is Volodalen, which individualizes every single athlete workout/rehab by how the athlete moves/thinks etc. I try a lot of different coach types: a lot of volume, a lot of quality work, based on heart rate, based on Maximal aerobic speed etc.
With these different experiences on myself and with coaching friends, I have my own style of workouts based on periodization. Some microcycle will have more volume and less intensity, and then the opposite. Then to avoid boredom, I try to have variety in my sessions: sometimes based on your HR, some times base on race pace, sometimes based on Maximal aerobic speed, sometimes based on feeling ,etc.
The goal is to develop what we need to, but to avoid doing the same thing over and over again (because it’s boring). That’s also helpful during a race because you will learn to know yourself based on how you feel.
RACING HISTORY
I have run since I was 8 years old. During my teenager years I was at a high level of competition where I was on a “state team” (the equivalent in France). I participated in 10 national championship: by team, on the track, road, or XC.
I finished 2nd at my High school national championships in the 1500m, 2nd with my team at the U16 national XC championships, and 3rd with my team at the U23 Track National championships.
In college in France, I finished 4th at the National championships in steeplechase and 7th in the 5000m.
Afterwards, I continued training and competing during the end of my bachelor’s and my master’s programs in Exercise and Sports Science.
I just beat my half marathon best in Tampa on February 5th in 1:11:07. This last race means a lot to me because after 2 years of injuries while training with another coach, I decided to train myself and I am returning to my best level.
Even if it’s a hard period – never give up, analyze and find the solution.
CERTIFICATIONS
- Certified as a Motor preferences expert (Switzerland)
- Master’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science with a specialization in Biomechanical analysis and performance (and my thesis was in running)
- I worked in a stretch company so I was certified stretch specialist there
PRs
- 800m: 2min00 (2023) (Track meet in Tampa)
- 1500m: 4min02 (2017) (France track meet Romans/Isère)
- 3000m: 8min47 (2023 Tampa)/ 8min42 (Time trial in 2022)
- 5000m: 15min12 (2020, Lausanne track meet)
- 10k: 31min30 (Lausanne time trial, 2021) or 32min37 (Reston, 02/04/2024) on an official race
- Half marathon: 1h11min07 (Tampa Gasparilla, 02/25/2024)
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
- 2nd in High School National Championships on the 1500m
- 2nd by team at the U16 National Championships in XC
- 3rd by team at the National Track Championships
- 15x qualifier for the National Championships in France
- D2 athlete in USA college
CONTACT ALEX
Finding a coach who is a great fit for you is really important. We encourage you to email your coach prior to signing up so you can connect, communicate, and ensure a good athlete/coach fit.
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