I offer limited slots for athletes needing my premium coaching services. For 2009, I will limit this number to five (5) athletes beginning in October of 2008. Priority will be given to current TomTroutCoaching athletes wishing to continue with me in 2009.

Premium Coaching Plan
$30/week + a 1 time fee of $100 for a goal setting and planning session

Plans include a comprehensive training plan and goal setting session with race planning and strategy dialogue. An unlimited number of questions and dialogue/feedback on your training/racing
progress is also included along with a subscription to Trainingpeaks.com. Trainingpeaks.com is the main form of communication between me and the athlete I coach. I will post your daily and weekly workouts along with comments at this site. This site also gives you the opportunity to record your workouts, record your race results, record nutrition information from your diet, and post general comments about how you felt during the course of the week.

I am also available to meet on a limited basis with my athletes at the pool in Byron Center to give feedback on form and efficiency in the water. I will also hold periodic “training days”, where I will invite “Team Trout” athletes to participate in a special group workout involving swimming, biking, running….or all three sports. Feel free to contact me via e-mail with questions at tom@tomtroutcoaching.com

This month I am trying a new running strategy inspired by my good friend Dan Socie of M2Sport Creative. I plan on running every day for the next 35 days alternating between long and short runs and tapering the long run down in 10 day cycles. The long run begins at 1 hour, 20 minutes and tapers to only 20 minutes by day 10. These “long” runs or hard days are sandwiched by moderate 30 minute runs with strides and some hills. On average, each 7 day week totals 40 miles, which is just about right for my adventure race coming up on December 3rd. The trekking portion of this race is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 miles - depending on one’s route.

The whole concept of every day running is sound, provided that you take specific steps to prevent injury. This schedule is not recommended for individuals who do not have a decent base consisting of at least 4-5 days of consistent running for several weeks. Stretching and fluid intake are key elements to following this plan, as is spending some time in the other two disciplines…..especially swimming. After 35 days of running, I believe I will emerge as a “runner” again. Not only does the consistency help with overall fitness, it helps with improved biomechanics (when practicing strides and form drills on the easy days), efficiency, and developing a “feel” for running.

For novice runners, I would recommend swimming or cycling on the “long” days to start, then gradually adding a day of running every 3-4 weeks. Within 8-12 weeks, most athletes should be able handle running every day for a month.

I would also highly recommend doing something similar in swimming and cycling. “Total immersion” in a given sport can have a profound effect on one’s biomechanics, efficency, and desire to improve. The key to improvement, however, is practicing proper biomechanics. If you attempt a schedule like this, be sure to get some feedback from a coach who can tell you what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. You certainly do not want to have to unlearn poor form. It’s always much easier to “program” your muscles to make movements properly to maximize efficiency.

In honor of gourging myself with tasty bird on November 24, I plan on doing something a bit on the side of crazy on the day before Thanksgiving this year. I’m calling it “Trout’s Pre-Turkey Day 10K…..SWIM”. This will be the first continuous swim of this length that I have ever done. Totaling over 6 miles, this will be an adventure in submersion unlike anything I have experienced in my history as a triathlete. I have recruited some of my friends to join me in this self-inflicted pain.

The pool is open for 3 hours in the morning (5 a.m. - 8 a.m.), so we have a cutoff time as well. The plan is to offer a variety of distances to swimmers with a little less experience in the water….or for those who are simply not as foolish as I. We’ll offer a 5k torturefest, an 8k torturefest, and the granddaddy of them all….the 10k torturefest. All of this will be in good fun, and I’ll plan on rewarding each swimmer’s efforts with a small token of recognition for accomplishing the “beast”…..probably a can of “Popeye” spinach or something!

In order to keep everyone together and to hydrate properly throughout the swim, we plan on swimming 20 x 500 swims…..starting a new 500 every 9 minutes. I believe Gatorade and CarboPro will be the choice drinks that morning.

Upon finishing, some of the “crazies” may join me for a 10k run and then maybe breakfast. One thing is for sure though…we will all sleep well that night. It should also be mentioned, that not one of us will feel guilty about going back for “seconds” on Thanksgiving Day!