On the left is one dedicated individual and athlete and friend I take great pleasure in working with. I have had the pleasure of coaching Mary for about 14 months now and during that time have seen her come a long way as an athlete.
I first met Mary at my twice weekly triathlon specific swim workout at
Samena in Bellevue. Very soon it was clear to me that Mary had a great work ethic and consistency to her training. When she asked me to coach her over a year ago I jumped at the chance. To give you some idea of just how far Mary progressed during the first six months of our relationship here is the outcome from three of her FTP tests during the Winter (all done on a CT in a controlled environment):
Test 1 October 27th 2007 - AVG Watts for 10 Mile TT = 157 (FTP 149)
Test 2 January 26th 2008 - AVG Watts for 10 Mile TT = 178 (FTP 169)
Test 3 March 8th 2008 - AVG Watts for 1o Mile TT = 192 (FTP 182)
This represents a 22% improvement in Mary's FTP power off the back of a good triathlon season and a relatively small amount of weekly cycling volume (come on this was a Seattle Winter). I was more impressed with these test results as Mary was already a very competent well trained athlete whose cycling had always been her strength.
Mary showed gains in her swim and run also but I believe the gains made in her riding had a notable impact on her triathlon performances. Boise 70.3 was the first test of the year in the build towards IMCDA (Mary's A race). There was no taper to speak of going into this race and with the race on June 1st she was going into it with minimal open water swim training and a little rusty as this was the first triathlon of the year.
The outcome was a podium finish, PR and all round confidence building race going into the seasons A race IMCDA. To finish 4th in her AG at a 70.3 series event in her first triathlon of the season and to register a PR was better than we anticipated. Mary raced smart, executed to perfection and her new found bike fitness allowed her to run strong.
Mary did her first Ironman in 2006 (IMAZ) and finished in a respectable 14:36:31. She then waited a year before tackling IMCDA in 2007, a big improvement she finished in 13:46:46 taking 50 minutes off her previous time on arguably a more challenging course (I say arguably because the wind and heat in AZ can make CDA seem like a walk in the park if they decide to not co-operate). I knew Mary was ready for a good race at this years event and believed in her ability to PR. Her AG is a tough one F45-49 but so be it, it is what it is.
Going into the 2008 race Mary's preparation had been flawless. No periods of forced down time, no injuries, no illnesses and some very good breakthrough workouts accomplished including the great race at Boise. I knew there was nothing more Mary nor I could do as race day approached. Simply put she was ready! Solid swim, excellent (maybe too excellent) ride and an okay run saw Mary PR by 42:30, a huge margin. The whole process of getting Mary ready, reading her training feedback and marveling at her consistency and ability to apply herself was a joy.
Mary went on to post another Half Ironman PR at Troika in August and is now focusing on her run. What does 2009 hold? A new AG and an overseas IM (Brasil) will present more opportunity for someone as dedicated and strong as Mary is. My job as her coach is an easy one with such a coachable athlete.
Bring on 2009 and watch out Brasil.
My new logo, what do you think? I love it and want to thank Job Hall for all his hard work and for putting up with me during the design process. I also want to thank all my athletes (and my wonderful wife) for their input. I was so impressed by all the well thought out feedback and comments I received from you all.
