Push! Breaking barriers

Don’t you ever wonder why professional athletes need coaches? After all, these are the elite in any sport, at the top of their game, and, certainly, very knowledgeable in what it takes to succeed. By this point, they should certainly know what they are doing. It has been my observation that coaches are usually much older than their charges, they rarely look very fit themselves, and, with some exceptions, they have never achieved the level of accomplishment of the athletes they coach. What gives?

Based on personal experience, I believe coaches are there to provide two things: strategy and motivation. Because of past athletic performance and/or coaching experience, coaches know what it takes to prepare an athlete. They can prevent an athlete from over- or under-training, from training incorrectly, and/or from injuring themselves. As to motivation, coaches have a degree of motivational power and authority over athletes that meets or exceeds just about anyone else. What an athlete wants is to compete, a coach can keep him or her from doing so. Just ask any athlete who “rides the bench” in their sport, how much a coach can motivate them to do whatever they must to get out on the playing field. 

A coach is there to make you do more than you would do on your own. He will push you to continually improve your performance. A good coach will make sure that when the day comes for you to compete, whether against other athletes, against a clock, or simply against your own past performance, you will be ready. The last time I had a coach was in college, playing soccer. I remember how much I wanted to impress him in practice in order to get playing time on the field. Over the course of two years, he made me a better soccer player than I had ever been, or could have become on my own. Everyone needs a coach now and then.

It has now been nearly two months working with a coach, Karl Reicken, at the National Training Center. Karl is definitely pushing me. I know I would not be working as hard if I didn’t have a game plan to follow. His monthly training schedule is my road map. Having someone who has done what I am seeking to do (Karl has finished the Florida Ironman) and who has an advanced degree in exercise physiology is reassuring.

Florida Ironman Training Log:

This was a good week. I had to overcome some obstacles to get in all of my training sessions- not feeling well on Friday and doing a tough run in the afternoon, rain washing out my bike ride on Saturday which put me on the trainer for 3 hours. I also had a PR in my swim- first swim ever of 2925 yards. Had some mild URI symptoms on Friday and Saturdy and weird sternal chest pain Sunday (as a paranoid physician, of course I worry that this is my heart but, realistically, it is just almost certainly just musculoskeletal)

Week’s Training Summary:

Mon. 3/18- Swim, ~2000 yds, drill sets, approx. 45 min (no Garmin)
                   Bike (trainer), intervals, 30 min total time
Tue. 3/19- Rest day (seminar so no NTC swim or strength training
Wed. 3/20- Run, intervals, 4.32 mi total at 8:53 min/mi, total time 38:20 min
Thu. 3/21- Swim, 2925 yds (PR), 2:23 min /100 yds, total time 1:09 hrs
Fri. 3/22- Run, 5 miles, 9:41 min/mi, total time 48:25 min at cadence of 90 spm*
Sat. 3/23- Bike (trainer), 38 miles, 12.5 mph ave., total time 3:01:16 hrs**

*first 3 mi at cadence of 90 spm. 4th mile walk/run, very tired at end, nauseated after
** Some sniffles and scratchy throat