While training for Philly (both times) I was with a coach I found originally really liked, but as time went on I saw the coach's true colors. Over time I found this coach to be negative and inflexible. (Tho there was little I could do as I paid this coach a great deal of money). This coach is highly regarded, but just had different coaching methods than methods that work for me, I guess. I do not need a coach to coddle me, but I do need a coach who will support me and listen to me when I need him/her. During my 1st attempt at Philly in 2014, when I initially fractured my pelvis and hip, my coach was great....until the injury. When I got injured it became more of a business-an injured runner was a runner who could be looked over as he/she didn't need coaching....tho that's exactly what I needed.
As I've blogged, my injury was extremely hard for me to handle. My non-athlete friends couldn't understand my frustration, depression, etc. and my coach was unsympathetic..again, this may be the type of coaching style this coach chose, more of a tough love approach, but that isn't how I work.
I found when I tried to approach my coach about my injury and my frustration of being on the DL my coach simply one upped me and regaled me with stories of injuries that were far worse than mine. I think it was at that point I realized my coach would not be of assistance unless I was a healthy athlete who was "actually" training for something.
Being that I had already paid my coach a great deal of money I continued. When I finally got healthy enough to run Philly in 2015 my coach wasn't much better. The coach was not receptive to emails or texts about training questions, plans for how the race would be executed, or to answer questions to help calm my nerves about my healing injury. My coach simply didn't have time for me....even tho that was exactly part of the reason I hired a coach.
Part of my coach's job was to provide me with a weekly training plan that could be altered based on health, life events (i.e. a wedding on a day when a 20 mile run scheduled, etc), etc., but being that my coach was not responding to emails about my progress of my recovery the training plan didn't always meet my physical capabilities. When I was persistent my coach would respond and the responses were short in both length and manner. The negativity from my coach had me completely discouraged, dreading every training run, and just hating running. I finally took my training into my own hands. I allowed my coach to send me the weekly plans and I made alterations because I knew my body best and because my coach didn't have my best interests at hand. I consulted my sports medicine/chiro/pt hero and together we took on the final leg of my training together. I will NEVER be able to thank him for the invaluable support he gave me when my coach had me broken. I ran my race using the negativity from my coach as power to do the best race I could. Turning my coaches negativity into strength, thinking with each step "my coach said I'd never finish this race" and there I was getting a PR and being 6 min and 15 seconds from my goal. Even tho I didn't get my goal, I couldn't have been happier. I also believe that once that race was done I knew I was 100% free and clear of the toxic attitude my coach.
My coach was out, but my goal was not yet met.....
I took some time off of running to heal and finally came back and started training on my own. I knew it wasn't doing well and I knew I needed someone to keep me on track and focused so I had to find a new coach. I was training at the track and got to talking to a couple about marathons and my needing a coach it just so happened she knew a guy...(everyone "knows a guy" ha ha) I took his name and did some googling. His name led to his Facebook page which showed he and I had mutual friends so I asked my friends and both said this was a fabulous, kind, funny coach who was an incredible runner and was coached by incredible coaches, himself. I called him up, told him my goal and my history. He told me about his coaching style and said I should come to one of his coaching sessions to see what I thought.
I showed up for a 6am track workout and was instantly met with warm welcomes from the coach and everyone in the group. The workout was hard and I was in last place in every run, but I was energized and LOVED it.
As the weeks went by I found myself looking forward to the Tuesday and Friday 6am workouts. I even started doing the Wednesday 5:30am workouts! I was consistently the last person finishing, but I didn't care. I truly realized (like they say in yoga) this is a journey and we are all on a journey and are in different places. Some people have been doing these workouts for years....I was a month or so in. Each week I felt stronger and faster. I used to dread speed and tempo workouts, but the positive coaching and great group of runners made these runs enjoyable. When my old coach sent me a training week that had 2X800, 2X600, 2X400, 2X300, 2X200 I'd want to quit after the 1st 800...sometimes because I'd go too hard and kill myself on the 1st 800 and think it was impossible to finish the rest and part because it's awful running sprints on your own. As I was in school and as I am at work, I find I'm the same in running-I work better in groups. Having the others in the group running with me helps pace me as well as motivate me. I can't bail on a workout when everyone else is sticking with it. I also love that my coach runs with us; he's not just standing there barking splits at us. On those hot July days when we could cut the humidity with a knife he understood the struggle because was right there with us.
Not only are the group runs great, but my weekly plans are manageable. My coach is realistic. He realizes we are not professional runners and we have lives. He absolutely expects we will do the workouts, but he's flexible and lets us move things around a bit to suit our lives. Also, when he sends the weekly plan he (like I do with parent teacher conferences) starts with telling me what I did well the previous week, adds in a focus for the current week, and finishes with something positive. This is so helpful for me (and I'm sure others would agree) as marathon training is HARD and time consuming and, at times, seems endless so tiny words of praise give you that extra boost in confidence. These comments are also easy to do when he see me running 2 or 3 times a week...I saw my old coach MAYBE 3 times in 28 weeks (unless I wanted to pay an extra $100 or $150 for a private track workout).
I tell anyone who runs how great my coach is and try to convince them they should be coached by him. Apparently not everyone has a goal of a BQ! :)
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