Learning to Deal with the Heat
My initial reason for trying to find an on-line coach/consultant was that I was having a hard time adjusting to hot temperatures and I couldn't seem to maintain my body chemistry balance in hot temps no matter what I tried. Considering I live in an area that is very hot for a good portion of the year, this was a fairly significant problem. While scanning the various options I noticed that Lisa is based in Idaho yet had won at Badwater and Marathon des Sables. This indicated to me she knew something about transitioning to very hot weather.
Fine-Tuning a Heat Training Formula with Lisa
After contacting her and telling her what I wanted to work on, she conducted a full interview and made a number of suggestions. We worked through what was successful and what didn't work. We ultimately fine-tuned a formula that has consistently helped me to hold up training and racing in hot weather. This improvement in performance was significant; I could do a 30-mile training run on a 100-degree day without being covered in salt and feeling the need to guzzle a gallon of Coke afterwards. The recovery time post-run was also greatly improved as without the usual brain-fry, I was able to quickly bounce back from the training run without being a zombie for the rest of the day/night.
Dealing with an Injury
In addition to the fluids/electrolyte experiments, I was also signed on with Coach Lisa's training schedule. Just prior to starting, I experienced a fairly severe ankle sprain and I had Western States coming up in one month. Lisa formulated a plan to keep me in 100-mile shape while at the same time taking care of the ankle. I still had problems on race day, but I was able to get to the finish line so that was quite an accomplishment for me considering I had been thinking I would have to drop out of the race.
Results
Throughout the summer I followed her training program and capped everything off with a strong Fall 100 in the Grand Tetons. (editor’s note: Bill won the race!) I really felt the benefits of her training late in that race.
Lisa’s Personal Touch
The idea of an online coach may sound sterile and conjure images of bland, impersonal e-mails filled with mileage schedules, but with Coach Lisa nothing could be further from the truth. I always had the feeling that the achievement of my goals was of monumental importance to her and the fire she displayed in her own racing career dominates every communication with her. In my opinion, she is a natural coach and anyone who follows her training philosophy will become a better athlete and love the process. |