One year un-coached

It was about 1 year ago that I moved from being a coached triathlete. I realized that the old “crap in/crap out” saying was catching up on me. I wasn’t able to get all the bang I wanted from my buck, basically because I didnt have the time to fit in the workouts. The result was that I still had a swim squad which I go and a run squad that I aim to go as much as I can. I play around in the middle filling spaces here and there according to what events are up and coming.

After a year, there’s a few pro’s and cons that I’d like to share:

The half empty version:

There’s a perception of loss. May be top-end run speed, or race ability or something. I guess this is caused by the big void of not having a programme that comes to you. You are the programme and have to keep on your toes otherwise there’s plenty of room for distraction.

There’s the less social-more business side of training too. But that’s easily overcome.

The half full view:

There’s a bit of extra money for doing other stuff. Like buying kit, or going to the gym or doing more events or coffee.

There’s a lot of learning to be done. Finding out what and how and when different stages of a periodised training should be fitting in my world.

There’s the satisfaction of a good outcome. Each race finish takes a new meaning. I am as proud as an athlete as I am as a coach. Double brownie points!.

 

Results so far have been good. two PBs and a smooth switch to ultra running, all injury free.

 

The bummer of it all is that this is soooooooooo particular to each individual that I would not advise anyone to do it or not to do it because I know for sure that it would come and haunt me. But if you’re out thinking you might give it a try, all I can say is go for it. There’s plenty of pride to be had by being your own master.

 

Happy training for the wet week coming!