kaburns1214 Mentor Group 2011 Part 2 - CLOSED (Page 45)

Hey Kelly,

Can you relist the group list so I can put it on my hope page for quick reference. I think some joined late and I missed them.  Thanks

It ranks up there with "swimming" 4min per 100.

I actually tried to do a 2:00 50yd lap and I felt like I was simply floating along.

Went into the tri talk forum, which I rarely do, and popped into a PED thread.  The amount of misinformation and just bad knowledge about these substances and who uses them amazes me.

You're running with your brother this weekend or something, correct????  Make em' CRY!!!!!!

That's the plan.  I'm so bad, but if you can't torture your little brother who can you torture?

I'd take my Dad along too, but he's smarter than that.

My upcoming race are obviously a little different to you all given im in the off-season over here, but i still have a few things on the cards (my dates are in aussie format :

1. Kathmandu Urban Adventure Race 4/6/11 (Can't friken wait!)

2. Perth Women's Classic (Run) 3/7/11

3. 2011 Bunbury Womens Fun Run (Run) 31/7/11

4. City to Surf (Run) 28/8/11

5. Tri season starts Oct yay!

Plus i have a few orienteering events as well over the next few months but am still working out which ones i can get too.

if he sponsors he'll KQ in less time.   Give WTC $100,000 and he can probably run it in a tutu - 20' miles, cant be.

here is my race schedule

6/5  Rev3 HIM

6/18 Pat Griskus Oly

7/24 Amica sprint (tentative)

8/15  Park City Oly

9/11 Vineyard Warrior Oly

toss in New Haven Road Race (20k) on Labor Day, a ride and maybe a marathon (Hartford or Cape Cod), just dont know yet if i want to do another mary this year.  My "A" race is Park City, flat and fast.  Rudy and I shall duel in Martha's Vineyard and then feast on grilled clams, lobster and blueberry and peach pie.

Keeping it simple this year race wise.

May 22nd   Beast of East Half Steelman (done!)

June 26th   Ridges Resort 5k swim

July 4th      Peachtree RR 10k

July 10th    Chattanooga Oly

Sept. 11th  IMWI

Nov. 24th    Atlanta Half Marathon (formerly Thanksgiving Half and a tradition every year!)

The only thing I might change up is the Olympic on July 10th.  It's the same day as a century ride in Roswell, GA.  I missed it last year with Chattanooga and I really want to do the bike ride.  But, my favorite race is Chattanooga.  Still deciding.

Spring Lake 5miler May 28 (one year anniversary of my cancer surgery!!!!)

NJ State Sprint Tri  - July 23

August 21/22 - Livestrong Bike/Run

September 23-24 - Ragnar Relay

November - considering the Philadelphia HM

I would love to put another Tri in there somewhere!

Which Ragnar are you doing?

We're finally getting spring weather here.  I think its been a tough spring for lots of people.  Hopefully the snow is just a joke.

I am banned for life from the Peachtree 10K.  I had a seeded number several years ago and couldn't run so I sold it.  The ATC did not look kindly on that (my bad, I know, but I was in law school and very poor).

I also love the Half Marathon, great course and usually really good weather.

Hope all the storms in GA haven't hit you hard.

I'm curious, is the urban adventure race like an obstacle course?  How does it work?

Here's the list:

kaburns1214 (Kelly)

uhcoog (Scott)

rizer22 (Jeff)

abqtj (Steve)

DDVMM (Michele)

Artist (Terry)

Carrie639 (Carrie)

Grilled Monkey (Frances)

pbrown70 (Bruce)

jarvy01 (Jen)

jsklarz (Jeff)

CubeFarmGopher (Shaun)

Bryancd (Bryan)

Karen26.2 (Karen)

I think its tough to be a coach (and there's a joke that there are more triathlon coaches than actual triathletes).  I know USAT offers the Level 1 certification, but I don't think that's all the prep you need to be a coach (its a start -- but I also think its more of a money maker than a true training program). 

Questions for everyone -- Do you think having a coach valuable?  What do you look for in a coach?  If you have a coach, why?  If you don't why?

Yes, ATC does not like that.  But, you could always buy someone else's # off of Craigs List and run again, they wouldn't know it was you. Ha!

The Thanksgiving Half was always my favorite half.  My husband, son & one dog would always drop me at the start, grab themselves breakfast, and then drive to the finish along the course.  I'd see them along the way.  One year my dog jumped out the window and tried to run along side me.  Poor girl was bummed when I had to put her back in the car.

But it's no longer point to point.  It starts and finishes at the Braves Stadium.  Not as fun...

Storms have been fine around where we are.  Finally cooled off last night with some rain.

I think a coach is certainly a valuable component of triathlon training; however the value of a coach compared to the cost is something that wildly varies.  In general, a coach provides value over a stock, or even customized, training plan because they (are assumed to) bring a certain level of knowledge and responsiveness to training.  A coach is able to adjust a program based on an athlete's response to the training load, whereas the athlete is responsible for making any judgement calls when using a non-coached plan.

That being said, I think there are a number of coaches who don't have the appropriate background or experience to justify the costs they charge.  For instance, there is a certain member of BT who is a USAT Level 1 coach without substantive experience or background in physiology or sports performance, yet charges upwards of $300 per month for coaching services.  By comparison, QT2 charges roughly the same amount and has a significant baseline that is required before being put in front of clients.

In 2006, after a year of training consistently, I enrolled in the mentor program at my tri club and was paired up with the club's President.  During an early discussion with him, he asked if I was more interested in having a mentor or a coach.  He was an experienced triathlete, and a registered nurse, who was just starting out with a few select clients, offered to develop a custom program every 2 weeks, and would join me on the long rides, for $100/mo.

He served as my coach for the next 2 years, until I decided to take a break from triathlon, and remains a good friend.

If you want to be a coach, and have it become a self-sustaining financial benefit, you need to start small, grow slowly, and let the successes of your athletes be your primary recruiting tool.  I've seen people with well-paying jobs decide they no longer enjoy working in an office, so they get a personal training and USAT certifications and, without first building a business first, quit their job.  While it may seem better to work for yourself, without a client base to ensure a steady income, the stress quickly takes its toll and, it seems, that the coaching suffers because you become focused on getting more clients instead of devoting your time to managing your current ones.

I do not have a coach.  Never have had one.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to have one, someone that can push me harder because I know I don't on my own.  And someone to be accountable to, but I think I'm pretty hard on myself if I miss key workouts so it doesn't happen very often.

If I had extra money sitting around, I would consider trying one.  And I'd probably use someone that I know from around here just because for me it would be extremely important that our personalities clicked.

I know several people that do use coaches.  It seems that they are so restricted in what they can and cannot do - such as switch up workouts on the fly, go do a group ride for fun, sign up for a race not in "their plan" (oh my!), it seems like more of a hassle.  Not all are like that, but when I hear "let me check with the coach first", or "I can't because I have this blah blah blah workout I have to do" I am thankful that I have a lot of flexibility and can do what I want to do.

I realize everyone has different goals, and how you get to them is up to you.  If that works for them, great.  But that's not for me.  I'm mostly in this to have fun and really only compete against myself.  And burn calories so I can eat more!

I will never be super fast, but I'm ok with that.  (Just want to get a little bit faster!)

I have played many sports throughout my life and have had good and bad coaches.  Triathlon is the only sport i have participated in where "coaches" work remotely and rarely see their athletes.  I cannot imagine this.  If i was a coach i would never accept a client who i could not watch train regularly.  Unless a coach is standing there watching you, the benefit of coaching is lost.  What you are getting is a person who is creating a custom plan based on statistics.  the human eye and brain watching the athelete are more importnat than readings off a power meter or heart rates.  I coach little league, i cannot imagine emailing hitting instructions and a practice plan after watching the kids take BP. Thus, while I would love to have a coach to push me, establish a good training plan and guide me, i would never subscribe to remote training. 

Happy friday!

bike intervals done.  back to the Doctor this PM to check out the eye. a little work in between, then little league tonight.

Rev3 in 10 days, yikes!

For all the Conn. people in our group a few friends are doing a preride of the rev3 HIm course on Sunday, wheels up 6:30 from parking lot accross from Quassy.  Donuts are on me.