Lately I’ve received quite a few questions on my decision to get a coach for training and the process I took to find the right one. Thus, I thought I’d share my rationale on why I chose to get a coach. Tomorrow, I’ll share some tips on how to weed through the masses of self-proclaimed “coaches” to find the right fit.
This is my coach, Paul Kinney. Sorry Paul, I stole this photo from your Facebook page.
First and foremost, my life isn’t typical and this is largely because of my job. Allow me to preface this and say that I love what I do, but my job doesn’t keep the typical 9-5 hours. When you work in the world of digital, you are on 24 hours. Plus, I work in San Francisco and live in the East Bay, and it takes me an hour and 15 minutes to get work…each way. I don’t even want to calculate how much of my life is spent commuting. Regardless, it’s easy to see why my time is limited and everything that I do must be intentional to get the most out of my day.
Second, taking the gigantic jump from running marathons to completing an Ironman means taking on two brand news sports, both of which I knew nothing about. I know I needed someone who would not only tolerate, but welcome, my newbie questions, and take me under their wing on this brand new adventure. I will be the first to admit that I have no idea what I’m doing and I don’t have the time to aimlessly keep trying until I figure it out on my own. Having a coach who doesn’t mind how many times I call or email him is of utmost importance.
Third, Ironman is no joke. I think being naïve about what Ironman really entails has actually been beneficial because I don’t totally freak myself out, but I do know that tackling an Ironman is risky. This isn’t something that I can make a haphazard 16 week plan for and even if I don’t train well, I can still push through to the end. No, not at all. If I don’t train strategically, I can seriously get injured, collapse, or get myself in some very scary situations. I knew that I needed someone to guide me down a very strategic path in order to finish smartly, safely and to hold me accountable.
Fourth, groups. I can’t even begin to tell you how much more I enjoy my long workouts when it’s with other people. Not only is it actually more enjoyable, but you push yourself in a way that you never would alone and the time passes much faster. My coach leads multiple group workouts throughout the week and while I’m only able to make one right now, it still makes all the difference.
Fifth, accountability. I have to record every workout that I do on my online Workout Log and my coach looks at every single detail and comment. Knowing that someone is on the other side monitoring what I do is enough motivation in and of itself to not want to skip anything.
And finally, guidance. I’m the type of person who welcomes feedback – the good and the bad. I need someone there to tell me if I’m doing things incorrectly, if I should be changing things, or just a little feedback about how I’m on the right track. Having a coach brings peace of mind in that I’m not alone in this huge endeavor and that feedback in never more than an email away.
There’s a quick look into some of the top reasons why I got a coach, but tell me, do you have a coach? Would you ever get one? Why or why not?
Next up…tips for finding a coach that works for you! Happy running!
Great post! This is EXACTLY why I got a coach! I’m sure you could do your own research and make it through, but you wouldn’t have the guidance and experience of someone showing you how to do it the right way. Looks like you found the right coach/group for you!
Considering I’m still a little new to running have ran my first half a few weeks ago, I don’t think a coach is the cards for me right now. However, I am really interested in doing marathons and eventually triathlons so who knows what the future will bring!
GOod choice on getting a coach!! If I ever decided to do something demanding as an Iron man,(which I won’t) I am already scared to death with the SPrint tri ai am about to do. I would defiantely get a coach!
Great post. If I ever take on a huge distance like that I think I would definitely get a coach and I could totally see why it would be super beneficial. That is NUTS about your commute every day. Now I would really like to see a post about HOW you fit in your training with that commute plus a busy job!
I agree with your points! I don’t have a coach right now but I have one lined up for my fall marathon. I’m excited to see what improvements I can make with some more structured training. Plus it will give me someone to obsess about my running to that can provide some valuable feedback.
I completely agree with your points. I’ve had a running coach for…a year and half now? Something like that. I got her because I wanted to get better/faster without driving myself crazy or injuring myself. It has been wonderful to have guidance and coaching. I’m not even training for a marathon right now and I still have her as she never steered me wrong. My new goals are for shorter distances, which I think I can train with gusto like the marathon for — even though it’s not a serious as a marathon or IRONMAN (!!!), I still enjoy the process of training and doing so intelligently.
Plus, I was new to running and having her experience has been so valuable.
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I totally agree with all your points on why you got a coach! It definitely seems like the best idea for you based on all those factors! Especially the time constraint one! I never considered getting a coach for the Ironman mostly for money reasons but also because I’m lucky to be training with 3 friends and also be a member of the local tri club which has a lot of group workouts. I”m also kind of a control freak and I love to research triathlon so I enjoyed putting together my own plan and I like that I can switch it up how I please. However, I think if I ever really wanted to get serious about Ironman and ever try to qualify for Kona, I’d get a coach because I”m pretty sure my training plan could be better but I really think that it will get me to the finish line. My blog alone keeps me accountable and it also helps that I sleep in the same bed as my training partner so if he gets up to swim, I have to too.
Hey Paige: I just wanted to say how excited I am that you have Paul as a coach. You obviously know this by now, but you couldn’t have picked a better guy. My husband and I have known Paul for just about forever (okay, maybe 12 years) and we just think the world of him!
Also, about the open water swimming…you will get there. Just be patient with it. It initially completely freaked me out and I even had a mini freak out at the beginning of Ironman. But then I actually stood up in the water, let a bunch of people swim by me as my heart rate settled down, gör back to swimming and exceeded my expectations by almost 10 minutes. You are tough and strong and I bet that by the big day you will have a similar experience.
i hired a coach for the exact same reasons as you! totally worth the money, although i will add that for what i get it is way more reasonable that i thought it would be. mine coaches group workouts as well and having the company is great! oh, and i use the same website to log my workouts!