I look upon the coach - rider relationship as a team. We work together to improve your performance. I do not provide generic training schedules. On a communication level, I work with riders in a way which I feel is best suited to their temperament. You are individuals and I will treat you as such.
Having a coach will not in itself make you fast. If you do not follow the schedule you cannot expect to improve. I do expect feedback from you in order to help me monitor your progress and ensure that your training is as productive as possible.
I refer to the key elements that will make you a more "complete" rider as pieces of a jigsaw, these include:
Nutrition
Hydration
Motivation
Mental Strength
Pacing
Warm up and down
Visualisation
Race selection
Good communication with the coach
Appropriate training schedule
Tactics
Equipment
Determination
Concentration
Self Belief
Goal setting
I would add recovery to that list. This encompasses many different elements in itself. I believe recovery starts when you get on your bike by having the correct and sufficient fluid and nutrition. If you don't then you will get home from your ride more fatigued than you should have (perhaps having bonked or dehydrated) and this will delay your recovery. What else is recovery? It also encompasses massage, rest, sleep, stretching and nutrition in terms of what you consume just after your ride and daily nutrition.
You should enjoy your cycling and be motivated by your goals. It is possible to keep a balance with other aspects of your life and achieve your cycling goals if they are realistic. I coach dedicated riders who know when and how to let their hair down yet follow the training schedule and achieve great results. I believe a good lifestyle balance is important to help keep things in perspective.
It is not essential that you ride for 10-12 hours a week. I work with riders who have busy lifestyles, with family and heavy work commitments, who train on a basis of 4 hours a week. I make sure that those 4 hours achieve the maximum benefit for the rider. Some riders find that turbo work is more convenient, others prefer to get out on the MTB tracks or the road. I find it best that the schedule is balanced and I work with you to find the best way of achieving this so that it fits in with your other commitments.
If you are prepared to commit to the schedule and work on improving the other 'pieces of the jigsaw' mentioned above, you should be on the road (or track) to success.
