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Anyone
who has run for more than a few years and has made an effort to achieve
more than simple fitness goals, knows that a set of tables describing a
sure fire method to faster racing or formulas that are designed to yield
proper training efforts just don't quite deliver the goods. No matter how
hard we try to fit individuals into a "system," each runner is
an amalgam of such variable characteristics that no one fits perfectly.
Even the heart rate monitor, always held in such great esteem, will record
data that still needs to be filtered through the informed knowledge of both
the athlete and coach. The information a monitor records can be ambiguous
at best. A runner must understand the nuances of their own heart's characteristics.
Additionally,
the athlete must be able to interpret the effects of cardiac drift and
the vagaries of specific and systemic fatigue. The former will give a
low heart rate reading even though the effort seems to indicate a higher
reading, while systemic fatigue will cause the heart rate to rise dramatically
even though the pace of the workout seems very slow. The art of digesting
information, evaluating the data in terms of specific individuals and
then prescribing workouts that safely advance the athlete's fitness is
the job description of a coach.
Nothing
can replace the experience, knowledge, and intuition of a coach, not even
if it appears in computer format. Coaching is an art and at present there
is no machine, book, or system that can adequately replace the human mind
in negotiating the numerous pitfalls of training or in developing individual
programs that allow for human variability. Nevertheless, excellent coaching
must combine science and experience with the equally important human skills:
communication, empathy, creativity, and ability to motivate.
Certainly,
coaching encompasses formulas, conversions, tables and objective data
but at its base level coaching is really about "shades" of training,
subtle adjustments, variable conditions, and patient development. This
book is about those fundamental ideas and concepts that are the beginnings
of excellent coaching. We hope to identify and explain the process of
coaching and present a philosophy that any runner can use to improve his/her
program. Athletes we have coached will be profiled to illustrate how we
applied our philosophy and principles.
While,
as coaches, we occasionally get credit for the Olympic qualifier or even
an Olympic participant, our satisfaction resides more often with a life-changing
discovery of running and fitness. Consequently, the chapters of this book
will draw upon our experiences in coaching both the elite athlete and
the recreational runner. We hope to provide an illustration of the roadmap
used to deliver "life-changing" fitness and competitive success.
The basic principles are essentially applicable for both with the only
differences being matters of degree and the intensity of focus.
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