When athletes go from being self-coached to hiring a coach, the transition can be a bit overwhelming. And while we coaches really try not to change EVERYTHING all at once, we do have training methodologies which require the athlete to get used to new ideas, concepts & strategies. Athletes can often feel like their worlds are being turned upside down. It can feel a bit like…”Help…my coach is making changes!” The biggest adjustments that most athletes need to make are:
- Training at easier heart rates
- Training at harder heart rates
- Taking rest days
- Doing bigger volume training days
- Drinking more water
- Eating more food
Chuck Chiu has done a fabulous job of adjusting to being coached. We’ve definitely done some things differently than he might have expected, but he accepted the process, asked lots of great questions to have better understanding (which improved his buy-in) & then buckled down & did what he needed to do. Way to go, Chuck! I’m very proud of you!
In Chuck’s own words:
“When I embarked on this Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz journey, I knew it would not be a walk in the park. I knew that I could bike & I could run (with a bear chasing me!) so I thought it would be nice to pick up a new skill. I decided to learn to swim more efficiently so as NOT to look like a wounded fish flapping around!
But what I didn’t realize is that triathlon is not 3 individual sports, but a combined swim/bike/run endurance sporting event. In order to not blow up, you have to be as efficient as possible in each discipline as well as properly fuel & hydrate along the way!
Part of learning to be more efficient has been trusting the process & actually take ‘rest days’. This idea of ‘resting’ was a novel concept to me. After all, I am training for an Ironman, right?! Suffice to say, I was ‘caught’ several times by Coach Michelle for either…
- Adding additional workouts when I should have been recovering.
- Or completely disregarding my heart rate zones & going way too hard.
Overall, these last 10 months have been an incredible journey of learning & self-discovery. And, with my 1st 70.3 race just around the corner, I ‘think’ I am finally ready to jump into the ocean & swim with the sharks!!!”
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