Tag Archive | running coach

Was It A Waste?

Nov8

I’ve been talking about the marathon a lot.   I probably will continue to talk about it a lot.  In a recent conversation,  I was asked since I didn’t reach my goal if I thought having a Coach was a waste.   I’ve got to say emphatically NO.    I’m sure that we have all heard that expression, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.”    The same is true with having a Coach.    A Coach will guide you, prepare you, and get you were you need to go but it is up to the runner to take the final step.

Here is why I think that not only was it not a waste that it got me to the finish line.

My Coach has prepared me.   She gave me the tools that I needed to not only get to the starting line, but haul my behind to the finish line. Did not always take the tools given, but they were there for me.  That is on me and not her.

Training was hard.   Training on some days was much more intense than I wanted.  Training was never a walk in the park, but that wasn’t what I wanted either.   You can only get out of something what you put into it.   I also know that due to my life, I did not do everything that I needed to do to be ready for a 4:30 marathon.    If I had followed the plan, I’m sure I would have gotten there.   Besides she is a Coach not a miracle worker!

Here is the thing, I and I don’t like the way this will sound because I don’t think of it as a failure.   I blew the 4:30.   She gave me everything I needed in training and even for the day of the marathon to get me there.   She was upfront and honest about the fact that 4:30 was pushing it for this race.   That being said, she gave me the paces, encouragement, and tools to use.   I just  let myself be carried away till I ran right into the wall.

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This is the wall.

This is the face of someone trying to pull her shit together and get it done.

This is the face of someone who knows that she needs to keep moving and not give up.

I think if I hadn’t been working with my coach, I would not have known how to push through this wall.   She gave me the tools that I needed to push through, keep moving, and squeak in under 5:00.      Yes, I am also a stubborn mule who doesn’t give up easily.   That is true.   That being said,  all of the training, hard runs, and insight gave me what I needed to dig deep and know what to do.

Preparation.

No it may not have been pretty, but I kept going.

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I walked when I needed to.

Yes, I kept smiling because I’m in the NYCM!

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I ran when I could

and most of all

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I crossed the finish line!!!

And life is meant to teach us lessons.   I have no regrets, but I did learn the lesson of listening to my Coach.

Just because something does not work out the way you wanted or expected, does not mean it is a failure.    Failure is never trying in the first place:)

Friday Five – 5 Reasons to have a Running Coach

May29

Friday Five Link-up with by Eat, Pray, Run DC,   Mar on the Run, and You Signed Up for What?

Today’s Theme is a Free Friday.

I went with 5 Things I Like about Having a Running Coach.

For those that have been here, you might remember that I recently started with a Running Coach.    Yes, I still feel funny saying it and somehow I even felt a little bit of a fraud like who am I to have a Running Coach.   Then I remind myself that I’m me and that not only can I have one, but so can anyone.   She is my running personal trainer and I deserve one.

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1.   I no longer need to spend countless hours trolling to find the right plan to follow and then let wondering if it is the right one for me.   Caolan sends me a plan customized for me and my goals.   It is not a one stop shopping plan.  It’s a what does Christine need to do plan.

2.   I am learning.   Yes, I’ve read books, blogs, and talked to other runners before but somehow this is different.   Since I’ve been working with her I feel like I have learned so much.   If there is something in my plan that I don’t understand why she wants me to do it a certain way all I have to do is ask.    She then explains her reasoning, what she is looking for me to get out of it, and why she thinks its an important part of my training.

Case in point – Monday’s are the days that I normally do my long runs.   On the schedule for next week, she wants me to do my 9 miles with no fuel making sure to have my recovery drink ASAP when done.   This seemed strange to me, so I asked.   She then explained that ” Doing long runs at an aerobic pace without fuel forces your body to rely on fat for fuel rather than (limited) glycogen. This only works at an aerobic pace where you can actually rely on fat. At faster paces we must use glycogen (which is why races and tempos must be with fuel).”   She also suggested it is good for mental training and some other stuff.  Her explanation made sense to me and maybe it’s a good thing to try to tap into my fat as I do have some to spare:)

**edited to add that she further explained this is not done for weight loss but that it does encourage fat metabolism which most of us can tap into.

3.   I don’t have to think anymore about “What I should do today?”   I already know.   It’s actually helps me plan out my week and is a real time saver too:)

4.   It’s keeping me on target while training smarter not harder.    The first thing she had me do is slow down my everyday aerobic runs as I was running them close to a minute too fast.   I used to do most of my runs at a 10:20 pace or faster.    She has slowed me down to at least as she calls it a 11+ and many and 11++.    My post half recovery run was done at an 11+++ which was lovely.   So now most of my runs are at and 11:20 pace.    You wouldn’t think a minute makes that much of a difference, but it does.

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5.  It is giving me confidence as I gear up to start my MCM training that I will be able to meet my goal.   Caolan knows my goal is to finish MCM strong.   I’m not going in this to be fast and in our conversations we are thinking possibly a 4:30ish time or that’s what she thinks.   That is 15 minutes faster than Philly, but I must remind myself that I jumped into Philly last minute without a lot of “real” marathon training.  I will trust her and the process and see where it takes me.    More important to me though is to run the whole race unless a planned walk is built into it.   I walked at the end of Philly (unplanned) and for some reason it bugs me.   I know that MCM ends on a hill or there is a hill very close to the end.   I want to go into this with the confidence that when I get there I will still be running.

Have you ever had a Running Coach?

Lastly,

I wrote about this is my Blog Post Dreaming The Dream Until I can’t Dream It Anymore.   I’m not your typical runner.   I don’t have the runner’s body (what ever that is).   I wasn’t athletic ever, but I’ve become a runner along the way.  I have a passion for it.   I have a need for it.   I love to share it.   So I think to myself, why couldn’t I win to be on the cover of Runner’s World.   Wouldn’t it be cool if just your average running mom made the cover?    So, please vote for me here.