Ch-ch changes

I made a tough decision this week.  I will, for some undisclosed period of time, self coach.  For those who think I'm copying Ryan Hall with this move, I assure you I am not.  While he is getting help from God, and that appears to be working well for him, I am doing just the opposite and getting my help from Dog.  Her name is Coach T, and I think she is highly qualified for the job.  She knows how to use a whistle and a stopwatch.  She works for treats and has lots of spots.  I'm not sure what more an athlete could ask for.

Coach T

All kidding aside, the timing for this decision coincided with my six month anniversary with Focus n' Fly.  I had initially paid for my first six months, treating it as an evaluation period.  If you've followed my blog over that time period, you know that there has not been much to evaluate in terms of training. I started out broken and haven't been able to stay fixed.  One of my main reasons for switching up my program was to be able to train with other runners.  Because I have been injured on and off, that has not happened.  I have learned a lot from Coach Tom--some very valuable lessons that will indeed make me a stronger runner.  However, when faced with the decision to invest another chunk of change without a good feeling about whether training with others or training at all is probable, I decided to look to Dog for help.  

I realized as the deadline for renewing my membership loomed, that I was putting way too much pressure on myself.  I was taking myself too seriously.  I tend to see myself more as a hard working runner that happens to be able to pull off some fast marathon times rather than an "elite runner".  I think a lot of this pressure stemmed from the fact that I was spending a lot of money on coaching.  In some warped way, I felt that I needed to get my money's worth and that was affecting my judgment.  When I think about what really matters to me, I realize that first and foremost I just want to run.  I have to get back to it, and I have to get back to a place where I enjoy it.

In reading through my own recent blog posts, I recognized that, somewhere along the line, I lost confidence in my own good judgment.  I reflected on my success leading up to Chicago.  It was no fluke that I improved enough over a six year period to qualify for the Trials.  While I credit good coaching and a solid training plan for a lot of that success, I hadn't realized before how much responsibility I had for my own training and health.  Over the last three years, Coach Nicole advised me, but I made the decisions. Before that, it was pretty much all me.  Those decisions led me to six years of (nearly) injury-free training. On top of that, in the three years leading up to Chicago, I completed all but one scheduled workout.  That's like hundreds of workouts, and it's not like my training was easy either. I did this by knowing myself and listening to my body.  Nicole told me that over and over, reminding me that I knew my body well and should listen to it.

Being the analytical type that I am, I have enjoyed looking through all of the running books I own and ordering new ones to see what type of a program I might follow next. I am not foreclosing on the prospect of having a coach in the future, but for now Coach T is cheap and I think being fully responsible for my own training is a good way for me to get my mojo back.  I know a number of self-coached running superstars that give me faith that it can work.  As far as I know, they don't have anyone like Coach T on their side, so I think I will have a distinct advantage.

As for my running plan: I ran 37 miles last week and have 40 planned for this week including strides and a mild progression run this weekend.  I'm back to fitting in some cross training and have added back into my program some of the strength work I was used to, like the Rock Circuit which I did this morning and realized I kind of missed.  I think my runner's body is used to and thrives on variety.  It certainly kept me strong for 3 years, so I'm going back to the stuff I know worked.

Coach T told me to go out and ride my bicycle for as long as I wanted on Sunday.  It was fun to set out without an agenda and just ride.  I rode 20 miles to Coffee Republic in Folsom, had coffee and apple pie, and rode 20 miles back home.   It was lovely.

Hey!  Get your ass to work!

That Coach T is a hard ass.