Back in his racing days, he was an exceptional cyclist and athlete. Please click here to see some of the things he has accomplished. As some of the local athletes know, he leads some serious workouts. Although he no longer races, he could probably still kick most of our butts in any race.
I met Pete at one of his coached outdoor cycling workouts in 2004. By the end of the season, the results of those once-a-week workouts were undeniable. Having built a good relationship with him, I knew I could work well with him.
A few thoughts:
Do you have a good rapport with your coach?
I think this is the first question to ask. I believe you need to have a good working relationship with your coach. If you don't, it won't work. We actually had some minor disagreements here and there, but for the most part we were on the same page. Here's a short anecdote over one disagreement.
As we were putting together the season, I told him I did not want to do any half IMs. He wanted me to do two. We discussed a bit, but he ultimately told me that if I did not do at least one, he would not coach me. So I said okay, I'll do one. Well as you may know I ended up doing two half IMs leading up to IM WI and have since told him that he was absolutely right.
Do you need someone to provide you with workouts?
Some people do, some people don't. If I had to do it on my own I could have pieced something together from a collection of free plans, my own experience, and the wisdom of other training partners. So I was looking for someone who was going to do more than give me weekly workouts. With my input, Pete developed a training plan from scratch tailored to me. We were flexible to the point that I was able to add a half IM and some long workouts at the end of the season without the fear of deviating from a plan. Through working with him, I learned a ton about planning. Everything from establishing a macrocycle for the season to modifying my workouts. We both went in to this with the same approach: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
On a side note, I actually started an analysis of my race and training. As some of you may have seen, I tend to buck conventional wisdom. So I am not surprised at some of my findings. I doubt I will publish these notes, but I will leave you with this tidbit: Number of brick workouts - 0.
What is your coach's background?
I am a novice cyclist so I wanted to work on that area. For a coach, I wanted someone who had a strong cycling background. I actually rode with Pete a few times during the summer just to focus on cycling form and technique. Pete also has a background in strength training which was also a good fit for me, as I was not afraid of the weight room. So did the results of being in the weight room four times a week pay off?
What are some other benefits you hope to get out of your coach?
Let's take a quick look back at a few seasons.
2003 - "A" race was a marathon in May. Six weeks prior to the race, my knee and ITB decided to flare up. Pulled out of the race, rehabbed all summer and did not run again till August. Probable cause of injury - poor base training.
2004 - "A" race was a marathon in October. The majority of the season went well. After an awesome 30k race, I stacked on a speed workout on Tuesday and tried to do another long run the following weekend before tapering. My legs revolted and I ended up with fasciitis in the calves. Just several days before the race, I decided to suck up the pain and race anyways. Probable cause of injury - overuse.
2005 - "A" race was a fall marathon. I never got on track. I was trying to adjust to orthotics and actually suffered through some shin splints. On top of that my immune system seemed to be overwhelmed by my allergies. I was constantly sick or dealing with minor leg discomfort. Canceled any thought of an A race and just trained and raced for the sake of it. But being fat and out of shape took all the fun out of it. Probable cause of injury - dumb luck.
2006 - "A" race was IM Wisconsin. Well we know how that went. But let's see: sprint tri a week after an IM leads to foot pain. And is it any coincidence that I am sick right now. Probable cause of injury - lack of common sense.
So you see I tend to get myself onto the DL some how and that was a big reason I wanted a coach this year. That was an underlying theme the whole year: Keep me healthy so that I could toe the line in Madison. By the way, Pete disapproved of my race the week after IM and once again he was right.
Could I have done Ironman this year without Pete? Honestly, probably not. I probably would have done too much somewhere and limped into the race, or perhaps even worse.
My coach will be going on this adventure on Saturday. I have a previous engagement or else I would join him for some of this fun.
But I will have a Foster's oil can in honor of my coach. Pete, thanks for a great season.
11 comments:
Great post. I think this convinced me that I need to get a coach, since I suffered a bad hip stress fracture injury by stupidly overtraining during my base buildup for the 2006 Chicago Marathon. This was back in May - and I'm still recovering from my injury because I kept reaggravating it. Knowing how to recover from injury is important too, and I obviously don't. My running season (including the marathon) went down the tubes. :(
Anyway, you gave some good food for thought. I need a coach to take me to the next level, and more importantly to train smarter and hopefully stay uninjured.
Al- great post and a great read for anyone thinking about getting a coach..you bring up some excellent points there. Your coach definitely has a very solid resume!
Sorry to hear you are sick...I've finally gotten over the post-IM blahs myself and sputtering back to regular workouts...
Great post. I hired Angela for the same reason. I train too much and too hard if I don't have someone telling me how to do it right. Ended this season with knee pain. I have confidence she'll keep me healthy for the next one!
Jodi
Your cocah has an impressive bio, I wish he lived closer to me, I would hire him as my coach. But I think getting to know the coach before you hire him is a great thought. Thanks for your insight.
I am too stubborn and hard-headed for a coach. I could follow a coaching PLAN but don't want to actually have to check in with a coach. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to workouts, and tend to do too much, too hard also. Glad he "worked" for you- maybe will consider if I ever get back into this seriously!
I am too stubborn and hard-headed for a coach. I could follow a coaching PLAN but don't want to actually have to check in with a coach. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to workouts, and tend to do too much, too hard also. Glad he "worked" for you- maybe will consider if I ever get back into this seriously!
Al,
U done no brick workouts?
Interesting. For me, right now after numerous brick workout plus races, i am very confident of running off the bike. So perhaps this is more mental than physical??
Thanks for your coach experience. My partial worry of a coach is that i am restricted by his training schedule. I do however do want to know my zones and know when to dial back and when to push. Usually the former than latter.
Great post on what good coaching can do!
0 bricks, huh? Man, those are my favorite, actually! :)
I think you and I both share some hard-headed-ness (nice made up word there) on the same things! ha ha
The blue moon pumpkin ale is good stuff!
just had to stop by and say Go Tigers! (ducking)
Wow. You've done a lot of races. Anyway, I would have a hard time with a coach telling me what to do like that, primarily b/c I know my body and myself better than anyone. I had some advice on when to do an IM. Basically, he told me not to wait too long. I felt like this advice would have been better directed at someone else. Because I tend to overdo it anyway. It's like telling an alcoholic to drink. Anyway, I would feel really strongly about a coach insisting on doing certain races. But that's my personality, not yours.
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