Why face to face time is “Essential”
The reason catch all coaching (on line, impersonal) is not what we do is simple…well really it’s very complex but the governing principles are simple. Online coaches don’t know you!
The dictionary defines a coach as; verb, teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports;
I like this definition especially “teach and supervise.” I and fellow coaches Nick and Jen are ardent in the fact that to truly coach we must know the person we are coaching. There is just no way around it. Simply said If I don’t know you how can I advise you?
I have had several people over the years approach me and ask “can you just write something out for a race?” “I don’t need all the rest of it.” My answer is always the same, “that’s not what I do.”
Everyone needs somebody to hold them accountable. I am no exception. When I get deep into a training secession, fatigue can creep in so slowly, at close range the effects of over training can be missed. The result can be catastrophic. How do I combat this? I rely on “my coach” and training partners. They are the ones who know me best and the people who I have the most Face to face time with. They will let me know when I’m starting to get that far away look. We rely on each other to help identify personality changes or anything that might send up a red flag to the state of our well being. Once detected we start the process of climbing out of the hole and identifying what that dug the hole in the first place.
Below is an actual email between Nick and I about a recent decline in performance I was having (overtraining). This is the same processwe go through for everyone.
Hey Steve,
I’ve been looking over your data a bit and I think I found an area of your training that probably cooked you. From April 6th – April 26th you increased the run intensity big time because you asked me to give you some workouts to get you cranking by White Lake. At the same time we went to the mountains two weekends in a row and crushed it. There is A LOT of intensity mixed with volume there. Could be another reason why you were a bit stale at White Lake. After WL we started to do the 80 mile bike w/ tempo + 20-30 min run @ tempo off the bike. I think you were still in a hole and these workouts that mixed “long” with “hard” are probably not a good idea. The weekend after that we went back to the mountains and tried to do the loop of truth twice in a row and again we mixed long with hard. During this period you were also trying to cut weight and I think you may have missed something in the fueling chain before your workouts. I think you were on the road to over trained when we were in the mountains in May. After you took a bit of down time you were back in action. Here are some things that I noticed:
* “Trying” to cut weight while training big and intensely is NOT recommended. This is the fast track to cooking yourself within 3 weeks. If you can’t be precise and do an amazing job of fueling for your workouts then you should just go with your current weight and be strong…..turn the fat into muscle. It doesn’t do you any good to lose the weight and then be weak. Your workouts suffer and your attitude suffers. Lose it in the off-season instead of gaining it in the off-season.
* Mixing endurance with intensity in the same workout is a risky idea. I think it takes too much of a recovery toll. You’ve been saying it all throughout the tour that those guys aren’t working but 20 mins or so a day. When we go to the mountains we push nearly every climb and then come back the next day and try it all over again. I’m starting to rethink this. When going hard on the bike……keep the duration shorter (~under 40 miles)…….when going long (~over 60 miles) keep the intensity to base levels. When going long and hard in the same workout you lose too much fluid and too many calories and put your muscles under too much stress because of those two factors.
* You are stronger now on the bike than you have been over the past two months. I’m weaker now than I have been. I need a break and then a re-base period. You just need to keep yourself from smoking yourself.
* Your weekly sequence doesn’t have enough recovery in mind. Your Mondays and Fridays are your only recovery days. That means you are either putting in big volume or intensity or both on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday coupled with a big weekend.
Be very careful in this heat not to train on low fluids and/or low glycogen stores your likelihood of overtraining is higher because you are putting undo stress on the body.
After just 3 weeks of rest you are already in a good spot. Keep your heart rate low (base) for a few more weeks and you should be ready to rip it up at Kona.
Okay, that’s it for now.
-Nick
Get to know your coach and then we can get to know you better. Call, email and ask us to work out with you…It’s all in your plan.