how2coaching

I’ve been writing the blog for just over two months and I thought it was about time to reflect on its progress and explain what it is really about.  In truth, the name how2coaching does not reflect the blog’s purpose because it’s not really an advertisement for coaching services with a ‘you must do this’ philosophy.  In fact, I ended up with the name because all of the ones that I wanted were already taken and so I plucked how2coaching from nowhere in order to open the account and post the first article to get the ball rolling and I’ve just stuck with it.

I suppose the blog has been guided by the responses of the people that have been reading it which have reaffirmed the decisions I’ve made with regards to racing and training for 2013 and on wards   I became that obsessed with the details of training and nutrition that my performances got worse, not better, and racing became a chore.  I wanted to get back the days when I was itching to race, when I went flat out in the chain gang, and when I was not counting calories.

Just to clarify, I am not saying that power meters or structured training is not the best way to maximize your performance, or that high volume training is waste of time, but that all of these things combined did not suit me.  I got too involved, it ruined my enjoyment of group rides and I dreaded any high intensity or threshold work because I was usually too fatigued to ride fast.

Dropping the high volume, the constant fatigue, has been the biggest factor in me believing that this experiment will be worthwhile.  I’ve done some hard training, but not having to back it up with extra rides just to meet mileage targets has lead me to a good level of fitness, one that unlike last year I am not worried about what is going to happen when the flag drops.

I suppose if, and only if, I perform well this year then I can say that simplifying your training is the way forward.  Then the how2 title would be more applicable.