Self coaching is for the birds

I started self coaching back in December. I built a training plan to peak for the Atomicman duathlon in April. I based the program I built from a triathlon book by Matt Fitzgerald. While on this self made plan I was doing WAY to much hill & speed work & not enough zone 2 & 3. I ended up over trained & got sick the weekend of the Atomicman. I pushed myself so hard that I ruined my 1st A race of the 2010 season, which happens on occasion for all endurance triathletes. A peak & a taper is a balancing act.

My self made training plan not only ruined my Atomicman duathlon, it also ruined my Jay Benson triathlon. I was very excited about competing in the 2010 Jay Benson triathlon. It's the biggest & most popular race in NM- although I suspect the Elephant Man Oly tri & the Cochati Oly tri will soon surpass the Jay Benson's popularity & draw of local elite triathletes. I ended up missing my PR by 2 minutes & missing my goal of 1 hour or below by 5 minutes.

Since the Atomicman I've been struggling mightily with my running & cycling. After talking to a buddy who was a professional cyclist & knows about such things, I found out that I am struggling now because my base deteriorated from a lack of zone 2 training. So now instead of peaking again for the Santa Fe triathlon in July I'm going to have to spend an extra couple months rebuilding my zone 2 fitness. I'll still do the Santa Fe tri, but it'll be a C race & I'm not expecting to race very well. My next A race will now be the Patriot triathlon in Rio Rancho in September.

The poor racing & training I've been experiencing the last month triggered me falling off the diet wagon for awhile. I went from 187 back up to 192 pounds. Thankfully I'm back to eating healthy. I should be back down to 187 by early June, just in time for the Gallup triathlon.

I knew from past experience I didn't like self coaching. With this heart breaking experience I've realized I dislike it & am worse at it than I even remembered. I'm trying to work out some things financially so that I can get myself a coach again. If I had it my way I'd get coach Pete Alfino back. He was AMAZING, but since he's as good as he is, he's about 3X more $ than I could afford. Barring getting the mad scientist coach Pete Alfino back I'd like to hire coach Julia Rossi. I've heard nothing but good things about her. She has a degree in sports something-or-another, her coaching philosophy is very similar to Petes, plus she's a phenomenal triathlete herself.

My wife realizes how important having a coach is to me, so we're trying to put our heads together to see if we can work the $ thing out. It's a serious struggle because my wife is a stay at home Mom who I'm putting through school, & we have 3 kids, all living off my one income.

If we are unable to figure it out then we've agreed I'm going to go for a promotion at work- something I've been avoiding for all I'm worth the last 15 years. We'd use the pay raise to hire Julia Rossi as my coach.

Until my wife & I can make some money magically appear from our finances or I get promoted I'm going to do the best I can figuring out my training plan on my own.

This weekend I'm competing in the Dog House Sprint triathlon in Lubbock TX. I love this race. It's well put on, organized, a VERY FUN course, great awards, etc. I'm not expecting a very good performance, but will enjoy the experience regardless of how I perform. At the end of this race they have a photographer taking pictures of triathletes running across the finish line. The last couple times I've competed in this race I got a picture as I ran across the finish line carrying my daughter. This year my son is old enough that I'll be getting our 1st picture of he & I crossing a finish line together. I'm really excited about that. I'll post the picture as soon as I get it.

Thanks for tuning in.