Coach? No Coach?

I can do anything myself! Right?
I am a confident guy!  No coach needed!  Right?

Well, Tiger Woods has a coach.....
Lebron has a coach.....
Lance Armstrong has a coach....

Could a coach know something about endurance bike races that I dont?  Lets see, how many true endurance events have I raced?
Firecracker 50 on July 4, 2009, oh crap, that was a DNF cause of the time cutoff.  and I went with the wrong equipment and slightly overweight for the competition.
12 Hours of the Canal Loop 2009, I rode 66 miles but Bonked on the next to last 11 mile loop and just pushed my body through the last 13 or so miles.  So, fitness and nutrition were out of wack as I should have road longer and Bonking (hitting the wall) is something you do not want to have happen on race day.
Lets just stop there.  I guess maybe someone to outline a way to build my endurance and help with nutrition and make me accountable might not be such a bad thing.  After all, Lance has a coach.

So, I googled it.  The one thing that seems to overlap in all endurance sports is Training Peaks software.  Everyone seems to be tied into this, especially those crazy triatheletes.  Speaking of those guys, my friend Tracy who just finished IRONMAN AZ, used Training Peaks as well which I did not know until I asked him if he had heard of it.  After hacking around their website, I searched for Training Peaks affiliated coaches and Mr. Andy Gibbs (AG Coaching) of your hometown (if you live in Edwardsville) bike shop the Cylery is a Training Peaks coach.  After a thorough investingation and interview, POW he's hired....

I had a meeting with him this past Friday and he explained the software to me and went over the baseline testing I will do (lactate threshold and stuff).  More to come on this stuff when I understand it more...oh wait, I know all this stuff, I dont need a coach.....Right....



Go Big or Stay Home