my coaching philosophy

My background has always been focused in the endurance side of running. It’s where my strengths lie and also where my running philosophy stems from. In saying that I have done events from 800m right up to Marathons so I have a depth of knowledge that can serve most distances that people want to PB in. With all that being said, what are my beliefs and coaching philosophies when it comes to running?

 

I believe that a coach should be open, honest and transparent about where they are coming from, what the athlete should expect & what the coach can bring to their training. So let’s dive into it.

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Coaching Style -

 

I am very much from the democratic school of coaching. This means that I am open & looking for athlete feedback as much as possible. I believe that the coach & athlete must work together to achieve the goal of the training plan. In the past I have come from being coached in this style & I believe the more contribution that is had between the coach and athlete, the better. I believe that when a coach has absolute power (autocratic style), this can often lead to frustration, confusion & ultimately disappointment in the whole process.

 

A coach should have a lot of skills but I believe 3 are key when it comes to their coaching style in order to be successful - Communication, Planning & Education. 

 

• Communication, being able to deliver the plan but also to listen to their athlete’s feedback is key. 

• Planning the schedule from week to week, month to month is vital & building in flex/being adaptable is also necessary as we don’t live in a perfect world.

• Education is key. Athlete’s must know & understand why they are doing a particular workout & its benefits etc

 

Training Focus - 

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I believe that in order to be successful, my athletes must undertake a multifaceted approach to training. This is basically a fancy way of saying that we try to leave no stone unturned. In running there are multiple ways of approaching training & multiple workouts & training types that can be used.

 

My training is multifaceted in that at various points throughout the training plan, most if not all of these training types will be used & maintained. All have benefits & all generate stimuluses that the body can adapt to. These include - 

 

• Aerobic conditioning (base training, fartlek, hills)

• Endurance training (Tempo, Threshold, Intervals)

• Speed Training (Reps, strides)

 

We will work from general fitness to specific fitness hitting all the training zones, working all the aerobic/anaerobic areas of fitness to get you ready and primed to reach your goal. 

 

When working with athletes, we look ahead to the end goal, what are we trying to achieve? We look at the event they are training for & work out what needs to be done in order for them to succeed. We work backwards from the event to the present time & come up with a comprehensive plan with built in flex each week. The goal is to give the athlete the best chance to succeed & be satisfied with the whole process.

 

While also looking to the event ahead,  I will gather info from my athletes based on their historical races, previous injuries & previous training in order to build a plan that can negate the risk of injury for the most part but to also incorporate familiar workouts & training that is suited to them based on what type of runner they are.

 

Base training - 

 

In saying all of the above, 1 thing that I see as a must-do, no matter the event, is the undertaking of a base training program/aerobic conditioning program. This is usually the first few weeks of any program I undertake with an athlete. I am very fond of the Lydiard school of coaching which promotes maximising the aerobic capacity of the athlete before jumping into specific training for their event. Running is an aerobic sport for 95%+ of people & although there is some anaerobic training in my plans, maximising your aerobic condition is paramount to me. The more we improve this aspect of your fitness, the easier you will be able to handle the specific training in the program & the greater chance of success you will have when it comes to your goal race.

 

A typical training program overview may look like this  - F.A.S.T. 

 

Phase 1 - Foundation

1. Steady aerobic training

2. Increasing weekly mileage

3. Use of strides

4. Establishing weekly run schedule (consistency)

5. Hill training

6. Progression runs

7. Fartlek 

8. Tempo (latter half of this phase)

9. Long Run

 

Phase 2 - Adaptation

1. Maintaining mileage to lowering as intensity increases

2. Higher End Tempo

3. Threshold training

4. Progress Long run

5. Aerobic Endurance (intervals)

6. Speed Endurance

7. Blend training

8. Strides

9. Hill circuits

 

Phase 3 -  Specific

1. Mileage lowered slightly

2. Specific Event Interval training

3. Specific Speed (reps/race pace speed)

4. Maintenance workouts (aerobic conditioning)

5. Strides

6. Threshold training

7. Increased intensity of adaptation phase

 

Phase 4 - Taper

1. Maintenance

2. Specific speed (race pace)

3. Specific Endurance (aerobic conditioning)

4. Strides

5. Rest

 

A summary of how a typical training program goes is as below:

 

We will go through the 4 phases as explained, spending more time in the first phase to build our conditioning, about an equal amount of time in the adaptation & specific phases eventually reaching the taper phase which is the shortest phase.

 

As you can see from the overlay, we will increase mileage throughout the foundation/conditioning phases, taking our time to reach our peak mileage at the end of this phase and into the adaptation phase. We will maintain it here and then slightly decrease the mileage as this phase continues into the specific phase. I believe that we shouldn't decrease it dramatically but keep an overall maintenance viewpoint on mileage.

 

With intensity we will gradually increase this like mileage, however we will continue to increase the intensity as we progress through the phases until we reach the specific phase when we should be hitting race pace workouts and coming into peaking shape. We will then maintain this through the taper and into the goal race.

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