Wanted

When I started thinking about doing the Ironman, the first thing I did was hunt down a coach. I didn't hire the person because I was waiting until I actually started the training. And now that I'm not going to do the Ironman, I'm not going to hire the coach.

That kinda bums me out as I was looking forward to working with somebody as an individual athlete and seeing how far I could push myself under the tutelage of someone else.

For years I've had some BIG running goals--goals which I still haven't achieved. Since 2006 I have been following the same marathon training plan. And although it served me well for two marathons, I've grown to not like it and don't want to follow it anymore. To me, it's just numbers on a page that I can pick and choose which ones I'm going to do. As I'm sure I'm not far from reaching my peak in running, I'm looking to achieve those BIG goals.

And I want to hire a coach to help me.

Today I did some Googling and came up with very little in terms of either coaches in the Columbus area that work one-on-one or online coaches specifically for running. I did find one and filled out their questionnaire and the return e-mail said they didn't work with triathletes (I thought I made it clear in the questionnaire that I was not going to continue with my Ironman dream) and "swimming and biking are at odds with becoming better as a runner." I could not disagree more. The year 2005 was the year I trained for several triathlons and that was also the year I set a lot of PRs.

Needless to say, I'm not interested in hiring that person.

So, here's where I need your help Internet. Do you know of any coaches? Are you a coach yourself? Do you know of any resources that would help me find a qualified 1/2 marathon / marathon coach? If you can help, please leave me a comment or send me an e-mail: meredith@meredithgordon.com

Thanks in advance!