Coached or not be coached?

When I started running, I kept track of my own training mileage. Looking back, they were really short runs. Total weekly of less than 30km run and 100km bike. This was back in August 2008, couple of months after my first OSIM triathlon race. The distance kept fluctuating. Some weeks more, some weeks very low and sometimes none at all. It was a no wonder that when I got into the race calender for 2009, I was still not ready for the races that I signed up for.

The wake up call was when I did an almost 6hour marathon during the Sundown in May 2009.  With IMWA 2009 looming in less than 6 months, I knew I would be in trouble if I carried on with my own training. First of all, I was hardly reading enough about ironman racing. Then, as I spoke to people around, most were also training by reading up the necessary journals. Not many had experience with coaches. Nor serious enough to engage one.

I contemplated signing up with Mark Allen online but found that the costs was just too high. Fortunately, I asked Matt who told me that Enrico has an online coach who charged reasonably. Without hesitating, I was in contact with Craig Holland and things just got rolling from there.

I found getting a coach really helpful for many reasons. Endurance sport was one area I had no experience in. Racing an OD was manageable but 70.3 and above really required more knowledge and definite training programmes. Of course, in the eventuality of racing well as well as keeping myself injury free. Hitting the right nutrition was also a completely new science to myself. How would I have known that I have to keep myself carbed up during a race when I thought it was just hitting the miles during training sessions?

Getting Coach to go through the training, I was basically feeding on his knowledge in ironman races. With every session, there was an intent. After 2-3 weeks of long distance, the sessions decrease in stress level, for the body to recover for the next big session. End of the day, I got a coach because I did not only want to complete the race, but also to complete the races well. After all, the cost of racing overseas does not come cheap. I should make it count, should I not? Perhaps typically Singaporean mentality? But I will rather see it as I want to know how much I can achieve with this aging body of mine. I really would like to see how much I can push myself through and achieve what I would not think have been possible in my lifetime in the past. Kona for one, the double, triple and deca ironman in future perhaps?

You will never know until you try. Every race there are new learning outcomes. I am waiting for Japan to come. I know I have done my level best with the available time to be ready for the race, despite losing these 2 weeks to reservist. One thing is for sure, for every race that I go, my target got higher. I have a target for IMWA 2010 and despite having done that once before, I am not letting that one experience dictate how I train. On the contrary, I will be training even harder after IMJ 2010. There will be no long break for me. I want to do even much better.

Frankly, I think I have lied to myself. The target of 5 ironman may just be a myth. Oh dear... I know you are reading this, my dear Wife. Afraid, there is more to come...