Welcome!
Hello, and welcome! I’m thrilled to join you on your running journey, and I want to ensure our communication is seamless. You can reach out to me anytime via email at willbaldwinok@gmail.com or by text at 580-371-7443.
The Power of Feedback: Elevating Your Training Plan
Effective communication is a cornerstone of our coach-athlete relationship, and your feedback plays a vital role in tailoring your training experience.
I encourage every athlete to leave a brief note after each run or activity. Whether it’s a quick reflection on how you felt, any signs of injuries or soreness, or suggestions on adjusting the workout schedule, these details are invaluable. Your insights help me craft a personalized, high-quality training plan that aligns with your fitness level, goals, and needs.
I also have an optional weekly feedback form to hear more from athletes about how they are feeling about training, so I can serve them better. It will often be floating around on your calendar as well. https://forms.gle/2w5BrmYzaecEAN8GA
Schedule a Call for In-Depth Discussions
For more in-depth discussions, especially before and after important races, please consider scheduling a call through this link https://calendly.com/willbaldwin/30. It’s an excellent opportunity to go over in depth any questions might have accumulated during your training. Whether it’s choosing the right pair of shoes, refining your fueling strategy, or planning your race calendar, we can go over anything!
If calls aren’t your preference or when life is hectic, feel free to compile your questions in an email or text and I’ll respond to all of them in great detail. I love answering questions for my athletes, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Flexibility in Your Training Plan
I understand that life is dynamic, and schedules may need adjustments. If the weather or unforeseen circumstances affect your training day, don’t hesitate to move workouts within a day. You can make these changes on your end, or I can assist you. However, it’s advisable not to shift workouts more than one day forward or backward. If you completely miss a session, the default is to just skip it and return to what’s next on the schedule. We can always discuss modification options if needed. Whenever in doubt, reach out.
Flexibility also applies to the pace ranges given as well as the time totals given for runs. Our bodies are complex, dynamic, biological structures. That won’t be able to run the exact paces we want every workout. Be flexible and adapt the paces when it feels right to do so. It is perfectly okay and normal to be slightly off of the pace for a given workout. Many runs are given in ‘time’ over ‘miles’. When we’re feeling great it’s perfectly okay to add 5-10 minutes on to the end of a run and vice versa on the days it’s not going so well.
The Training Calendar
I write training schedules on a Monday to Sunday schedule, so if your calendar lets you choose the start of the week go with Monday (instead of Sunday).
Super important: Please put any relevant information directly onto the training calendar. Once you have signed up for a race or decided that you’re going to do an event, immediately put it on the calendar. If you have any planned time off, vacations you won’t be able to run on, travel days, etc, anything that impacts the training schedule, please put it on the calendar ASAP.
Harnessing the Power of GPS: A Game Changer in Training
A GPS watch is a gamechanger and almost a necessity to effectively track your training. Garmin has been the industry standard for a long time but we can absolutely still work with any other GPS device such as a Coros or an Apple Watch. If you have a Garmin, connect it to the coaching platform through Garmin Connect (not strava). When connected to our platform we’re able to sync the workouts directly to the watch! Also if you have a Garmin and are looking for more GPS accuracy switch your GPS setting to GPS + GLONASS for the best results.
Starting Slow: The Secret to Successful Runs
One of the most crucial training tips I can give is to begin your runs and workouts at a slower pace. This is especially true for the warm-ups before workouts and the first few miles of an easy run. Your first mile should be one of your slowest, setting the tone for a sustainable and effective session.
Bring a Friend Along!
Training is more fun with a friend or loved one. If you refer someone who signs up for monthly coaching, you’ll both get a month FREE. Make sure they let me know you sent them.
I’ll begin looking over your last little bit of training, but would love to get on a short call this week or next so I can start planning out our training roadmap for the next few weeks. I love to chat on a call within the first month to go over any questions and make sure you feel 100% about everything we’re doing! Glad you have you aboard!
– Will
