Title: Is the coach a master(s)?
Tags: coaching running Masters
Blog Entry: I've got a buddy named Dennis. Great guy. He has been racing triathlons and running races for a long time. He is in his 60s now and I saw him at a race on July 4th. We started talking about training and racing as a master and how that is different from our younger days. We also talked about how important it is to choose a coach who understands the nuances in coaching as that athlete gets further into Masters status. As we've said here many times before, you can still do very satisfying training long after conventional wisdom says you can't. But it has to be done intelligently and with proper rest and recovery. And sometimes that is best achieved with the help of someone who has been through this and understands the difference between training at 20, 40, 60 and beyond. There are many coaches out there who are perfectly capable of training athletes older than themselves. That goes without saying. But I think it helps to be coached by someone who has been there -- someone who understands not only in concept but in experience, how different it is to meet the demands of training as the years go by. For example, I run with a group of high school cross country runners in the summer. Back just three years ago, I could train five days a week with them, then go and run with my own clients several of those days and race on the weekends. I started back with the group two weeks ago. I was very tired that first week. And while part of that is the fitness difference between now and that summer of 05, more of it had to do with my body just coming back a little more slowly from hard efforts. The second week was better. As my fitness and speed continued to improve and running tempo work with them wasn't as taxing as the week before. But I know I need to be very tuned in to my body and how I am feeling. I ran with them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, but took Thursday on my own to recover, as I had a race July 4th and wanted to hit it hard. I feel firsthand how training is different from only three years ago. It's subtle but it's there and I need to listen and respect the messages I get. And frankly the difference in how I have to go about things from 5 and 10 years ago is not subtle at all but quite different. So when you are shopping for a coach, do your homework. Find out if this individual has worked with Masters athletes. If he or she is a Master athlete, find out how much experience they have not only racing and training themselves, but also coaching other Masters athletes and what ages they have worked with. Ask for references and talk with people the coach has trained who fall into your specific age group. It is always helpful to get firsthand information from another athlete that coach has worked with. Your body will thank you.
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