In case you were not aware, Fred Rogers was brilliant
I have had a number of coaches over the years both for running and triathlon. The best ones, in my opinion, understand the wisdom of Mr. Rogers above. They understand YOUR goals, acknowledge your limitations, expect you to do the best you can with what you have, help you reach your goals and celebrate with you when you do.
I have been fortunate enough to participate in both individual and group coaching that met those needs and only rarely found myself with a coach or group that did not gel for me. So this is blog to all those groups and coaches that have helped me reach my goals happily. These groups and individuals worked best for me for a number of reasons.
Panther
My first coach (after I decided that having your wife coach you is a good idea for only so long) was Phil Carmical, aka, Panther in Austin, Texas. I was a member or associate member of several of his groups in Austin. And when I moved to Rhode Island to take a job we stayed in touch. While I was there, he coached me via e-mail to a successful first half marathon, and my only marathon.
This is one of Panther's groups after a local Austin 10k (we ALL PR'd...Panther is in the white hat in the middle)
Celebrating my PR that day
There are many things I could say about Panther. He was patient with me and believed in me. He was also honest when he wasn't sure why something was happening...and informative when he was sure.
Best of all he celebrated all of us....fast and slow (and I was by far the slowest) and made me feel part of the group, even when I was living far away.
He coached me through the Green Bay Marathon in 2009. The time cut off was 7 hours and my only goal was to finish before they took the finish line down. I completed in 6:43:48. When he announced it to the group (which he did with all of the athletes) he said that I had beat my goal by over 15 minutes. That meant a lot to me...because he understood my goal and could celebrate it with the group despite the fact that compared to many of them it was very modest.
The other amazing thing about Panther's groups is how they gelled socially...in fact a number of meetings and marriages came out of his various groups.
Tough Cookies
After I moved back to Austin from Rhode Island, I was at loose ends. I struggled with being so slow. Glenda and I went out to cheer for the 3M Half Marathon and as we watched runners pass, she pointed out many of them in Tough Cookie gear. Some were fast, and some were back of the packers...and there were plenty in between. We had both heard of the group...a women's only triathlon, cycling and run training group. We had even done some of the races they put on. She turned to me and said, "you know...you might like that group." And a few weeks later I joined them.
There were advantages to being part of a women's only group. There is a different vibe in such a group. It is generally very supportive (not that many co-ed groups I have been part of aren't), and maybe even more important, there is discussion about things that are specific to female athletes that sometimes get short shrift in other places.
They were also good at celebrating their athletes in both formal and informal ways (as you can see below). We always waited and cheered each other in at events, as well.
There were a number of ways to participate in Tough Cookies and a number of ways to access the coaching. You could train for a specific race or event (which many did) or you could pay a fee and have access to a variety of weekly workouts, which was the option I took. This allowed me to "drop in" and work on the basics, I did many track workouts, some pool and open water swims, some bike rides. I even signed up for a bike workshop, where I learned a lot about gearing, cadence and riding hills...among other things.
The Tough Cookie motto is "Tough Cookies Never Crumble" and to this day, I tell myself that I'm a tough cookie and I won't crumble when things get tough.
Some Tough Cookies gathered before a race
I appreciated the TCs and they appreciated us, posting this shortly before we moved to Wisconsin
In March 2014, just days before we moved, I received the Tough Cookie of the Month Award, for the progress I had made...Tzatzil LeMair, TC founder presented me with the certificate at a TC social gathering
Jeff Galloway
December 2014 Glenda and I were in St. Louis to do the Hot Chocolate race and pick up another state. We had moved to Madison in March, and I hadn't not really been training with any coach or group on a regular basis. I was still running and training, but kind of on my own. I was laying in the hotel room, playing around on my iPad...looking up something about the kind of walk/run training I had found that the man who is credited with the walk/run method actually took on online coaching clients, and he was not unreasonably expensive. I had always been annoyed that people wanted me to phase into running the whole distance (whatever the distance was) and I alway developed outrageous aches and pains when I ran more than a certain interval at a time. So why not go to the guy who was sure not to push that particular path and will instead help me make the most of what I am best able to do. I signed up the same day.
That spur of the moment decision was one of the best I ever made. Jeff was very human even at a distance. He got to know me as a person, he didn't just write a plan. He celebrated, commiserated and encouraged no matter what was happening. He enjoyed the photos, I sent. He liked our costumes. He recognized me the first time he ever met me in person, and greeted me with enthusiasm every time we crossed paths, often remembering exactly what we had discussed in our last few e-mails. He is not only a former Olympian and great runner in his own right. He is a good coach and an outstanding human being. I was sad to leave him when I decided to train seriously for triathlon (but a coordinated effort seemed to make sense). I still catch him up from time to time and will be back in Atlanta in December to run in his signature race series.
At our most recent meeting last January
Prairie Athletic Club Triathlon Team and Fleet Feet Running Club Madison/Sun Prairie
I start talking about these two groups together, because we came involved with them at about the same time. At first we were generally social members of both. Doing drop in bikes and runs, cheering others at races, and generally getting to know people. As time went on we got more involved in coached groups and workouts with both...and both Glenda and I still both claim "dual citizenship." Of the two, I had my first seriously coached experiences with Fleet Feet, and I am currently being more seriously coached through the Tri Team.
Fleet Feet
I first joined a group at Fleet Feet known as No Boundaries or NoBo. Generally speaking this group is promoted as one that is intended for people who want to run their first 5k...but in reading further I found it was also good for those starting over, or those who just needed someone to run with. So I joined. Since NoBo I have done 2 sessions of Force of Orange (FOO) and two of Winter Warrior. And I will be doing the summer SpeedPlay in June and July for the third year in a row. Glenda has also done FOO training, as well as serving as a pacer. Every group was very welcoming, the coaches were very friendly and helpful...and I have met some of my best local friends in these groups.
Glenda and I gained a reputation at Fleet Feet where our costumed shenanigans are loved and celebrated. This outfit was at our goal race, and we called it "Force of Oranges"
Tri Team
The Prairie Athletic Club Tri Team started for me as a social group. It connected me to the triathlon community in the Madison area, provided a few workouts and a lot of new friends and relay partners. And this is a team that truly cheers each other, so that was a bonus. It wasn't until recently that I decided to take advantage of the paid coaching option. There is a team of coaches and while you have a coach of your own, there are others to turn to as well for questions, etc. The whole thing has been a growth experience...from expanding my abilities on the bike and swim...and continuing to run, to learning that sometimes it is important to make hard choices. It took a little while to connect well with a coach, and though I had some frustration and made some changes...I'd recommend any of the coaching team to someone who wanted coaching. I'd also encourage anyone searching for coaching to find a really good fit, and know that sometimes that takes a little while to know. I'll know for sure how well the training has worked when I race this summer...but I do know I'm stronger, and maybe more importantly, more consistent that I have been in years. And that accountability that leads to consistency may be the best reason of all to pay for coaching.
Me, left, with two of my teammates before we ran a relay together
