Ahhh coaching. Before I was an endurance athlete, I had a few coaches – soccer coaches and tennis coaches. Coaching for endurance athletes has always been big, but with ever improving technology and research, it keeps getting better.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t had a lot of coaching in my cycling career. I’ve had a couple, and I only worked with them for 3 months each. I thought that maybe coaching wasn’t for me. I learned a great deal from those coaches, but I’m more of a do it yourself type of gal. I’ve worked really hard to research and educate myself on periodization, sports physiology, nutrition, metabolic processes, etc. Most of the pro women I race against have a coach. There is a misconception that if you’re a pro, you don’t need a coach because you already know a lot. However, the benefits of having a coach, especially at the pro level is to give you new ideas, give you one less thing to worry about, to have someone watch out for you… or ultimately, save you from yourself.
Most endurance athletes that would consider a coach are likely one of two things: a little lazy, or very ambitious. The lazy athlete would need a coach because the coach would hold them accountable for their workouts, and help them work towards something they otherwise weren’t sure they could accomplish on their own. The ambitious? They need a coach to tell them to STOP, REST, RIDE LESS, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. That’s very hard to swallow for people who absolutely love what they do.
I’ve learned about overtraining over the years. It seemed leading up to 2009, my overtraining was progressively worse each year culminating with anemia and a very mediocre season for most of the year. It was then that I tried my first coach who had to sit me down and tell me to back off.
In June of this year, I started working with Jason Hilmire at FasCat Coaching in Boulder. Jason had been a friend of mine and riding buddy for a couple years. The hardest thing about having a coach is the TRUST part. They are in charge. If you don’t listen, it’s pointless to have a coach and sometimes listening to them is the hardest thing to do. I’ve been really happy so far and have had more wins this year than any other year. Coincidence? I think not!
