What Is Online Coaching?
Hey all! It's been a while since I have specifically talked about my coaching business so I thought I would re-introduce myself and talk about what online coaching looks like.
I began to see the world of runners through a different lens. Some were spot on and others were in this cycle of injury, hitting plateaus or trying out these workouts that maybe they found online but really didn't have a point. It isn't in my personality to hop onto someone's post and offer my unsolicited advice so that's when...enter Fischer Coaching! I wanted to offer a way to help adult runners become the best versions of themselves through running. I wanted to focus on providing structured plans that go through proper Periodization to keep athletes running so that they can get faster and stay healthy. So I started my own business!
In my business I do offer consulting, training plans and monthly coaching. Each of those look a little different but in this blog I am going to specifically talk about what monthly coaching looks like.
Coaching is an investment in your health and fitness. It's a way to either get started with the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing or a way to take your current running and turn it up a notch. Online plans are great resources but a coach will explain why your plan is structured a certain way and can reconfigure your plan to fit your lifestyle.
A coach can also provide an extra set of eyes to your situation. Maybe you do know a lot about running and maybe you are even a coach yourself, but regardless, it is really hard to follow your own advice or look at your training with a reasonable and objective eye.
You don't have to be training for a BQ or the Olympic trials to hire a coach. There is no specific speed or distance that is required to benefit from hiring a coach. Whether you run 7 minute miles or 15 minute miles, you can benefit from a coach.
2. You have to be signed up for a marathon to hire a coach.
No, no and no! In fact, it's almost better to start with a coach when you have no races on the schedule so you can work on just building a base fitness. You can hire a coach for a specific race (and it doesn't have to be a marathon) but it is NOT required.
3. You have to run 7 days a week
The amount of days that you will run will depend on how much you currently run, what your goals are and your injury status. A brand new runner would start around 3 days a week and a veteran runner would be around 6 days. Again, every individual is different and that would be directly reflected in your plan. I will say that I am not a big fan of "run streaking" and I fully support taking days off and listening to your body.
4. You will automatically PR if you hire a coach
A lot of people hire a coach because they want to get faster however there are no shortcuts to training and we can't just bypass things like injury or stress. If you have a nagging injury, took three years off of running, or have an insanely busy and stressful lifestyle we can't just ignore those things. As a coach I would evaluate your situation and see how we can make the best of it which may or may not lead to a PR.
First I will send you an in-depth questionnaire. I need to know your background in sports/running, your current running status, injuries, availability, work schedule, stress, sleep, and I will even ask about your period (if you're a female)! This may seem a little invasive but I assure you that all information you provide will be confidential. In order to make a plan to best fit your life I need to know a lot about your life!
After you fill out the questionnaire I will set-up a time for a phone call to clear up any questions I have, get to know you a little better and talk about what your goals are. It is extremely important to me that I be transparent with you about what the process will look like and what kinds of goals are attainable within a short time frame and long time frame. For example, if you want to qualify for the Boston Marathon that is a great goal. Maybe you even ran a marathon 3 years ago and were 5 minutes off a qualifying time, but if your running hasn't been consistent and you are starting from scratch then a BQ might not be a realistic expectation in 18 weeks. In this instantaneous world that we live in we are so used to everything being instant but the cold hard truth is that there are no shortcuts to training.
Once we get your goals established then I will send you a monthly overview of running, a training log and a strength training plan (see pictures below). All of this will be included in your very own Google Folder that you will be yours to keep and have access to even if you stop coaching. Your monthly overview will be a general road map for the month so you can see where things are headed and what's coming up. The training log will be a detailed description of workouts and includes a place for you to record your miles and details of how it went. The strength training plan will include exercises that build up strength and durability so that you can run stronger for longer. Each exercise includes a video so you can do the exercise properly. Exercises will include only equipment that you have available so don't worry if you don't have a gym membership because exercises can be modified to fit your needs. If you are a female then your plan will also be structured around your period to maximize training adaptations at various times of the month when your hormones are changing.
Once your folder is set-up then you will be ready to run! The last step is that we figure out a time for a weekly phone call or online Google chat. Whether you choose phone call or chat, this needs to be a relatively uninterrupted time that we can go through your week, talk about successes, talk about things to work on and then look ahead at the next week. This will be our main contact time throughout the week but I will also be available via text message or email throughout the week in case you have questions or want to share an awesome workout!
Some things that I specifically specialize in are mindset (positive self-talk is important!!), breathing exercises, strength training for endurance athletes and women's health in endurance athletes. I am constantly learning, reading and attending conferences and love to share the most up-to-date research that I come across with my athletes!
Who are you and what is Fischer Coaching?
My name is Nicki and I have been coaching and teaching since 2014. I started out working with high school cross country and track athletes as a way to get involved in the school I was teaching at in order to get to know the students better. I had run in high school and college but never was able to stay consistent and build a healthy relationship with the sport. I was a pretty good runner but my heart just wasn't in it so I kept this on-again off-again relationship going until my Junior year of college when I just stopped. While working with high school athletes I saw the opportunity to help them build a healthy relationship and develop a passion for the sport; something that I missed out on at that time of my life. I also continued my own running journey while working athletes and really transformed running from a hobby to a lifestyle during this time. I immersed myself in the sport learning as much as I possibly could along the way. I started out with conferences, clinics and networking and then went on to take a USATF Level 1 certification class. In December 2018 I traveled to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida where I took a 5 day course, met some coaches from across the nation, and became USATF Level 2 certified coach specific to endurance training.I began to see the world of runners through a different lens. Some were spot on and others were in this cycle of injury, hitting plateaus or trying out these workouts that maybe they found online but really didn't have a point. It isn't in my personality to hop onto someone's post and offer my unsolicited advice so that's when...enter Fischer Coaching! I wanted to offer a way to help adult runners become the best versions of themselves through running. I wanted to focus on providing structured plans that go through proper Periodization to keep athletes running so that they can get faster and stay healthy. So I started my own business!
In my business I do offer consulting, training plans and monthly coaching. Each of those look a little different but in this blog I am going to specifically talk about what monthly coaching looks like.
Why would I hire a coach?
Coaching is an investment in your health and fitness. It's a way to either get started with the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing or a way to take your current running and turn it up a notch. Online plans are great resources but a coach will explain why your plan is structured a certain way and can reconfigure your plan to fit your lifestyle.
A coach can also provide an extra set of eyes to your situation. Maybe you do know a lot about running and maybe you are even a coach yourself, but regardless, it is really hard to follow your own advice or look at your training with a reasonable and objective eye.
Coaching Myths
1. Only "fast" runners have coachesYou don't have to be training for a BQ or the Olympic trials to hire a coach. There is no specific speed or distance that is required to benefit from hiring a coach. Whether you run 7 minute miles or 15 minute miles, you can benefit from a coach.
2. You have to be signed up for a marathon to hire a coach.
No, no and no! In fact, it's almost better to start with a coach when you have no races on the schedule so you can work on just building a base fitness. You can hire a coach for a specific race (and it doesn't have to be a marathon) but it is NOT required.
3. You have to run 7 days a week
The amount of days that you will run will depend on how much you currently run, what your goals are and your injury status. A brand new runner would start around 3 days a week and a veteran runner would be around 6 days. Again, every individual is different and that would be directly reflected in your plan. I will say that I am not a big fan of "run streaking" and I fully support taking days off and listening to your body.
4. You will automatically PR if you hire a coach
A lot of people hire a coach because they want to get faster however there are no shortcuts to training and we can't just bypass things like injury or stress. If you have a nagging injury, took three years off of running, or have an insanely busy and stressful lifestyle we can't just ignore those things. As a coach I would evaluate your situation and see how we can make the best of it which may or may not lead to a PR.
What does coaching look like?
First I will send you an in-depth questionnaire. I need to know your background in sports/running, your current running status, injuries, availability, work schedule, stress, sleep, and I will even ask about your period (if you're a female)! This may seem a little invasive but I assure you that all information you provide will be confidential. In order to make a plan to best fit your life I need to know a lot about your life!
After you fill out the questionnaire I will set-up a time for a phone call to clear up any questions I have, get to know you a little better and talk about what your goals are. It is extremely important to me that I be transparent with you about what the process will look like and what kinds of goals are attainable within a short time frame and long time frame. For example, if you want to qualify for the Boston Marathon that is a great goal. Maybe you even ran a marathon 3 years ago and were 5 minutes off a qualifying time, but if your running hasn't been consistent and you are starting from scratch then a BQ might not be a realistic expectation in 18 weeks. In this instantaneous world that we live in we are so used to everything being instant but the cold hard truth is that there are no shortcuts to training.
Once we get your goals established then I will send you a monthly overview of running, a training log and a strength training plan (see pictures below). All of this will be included in your very own Google Folder that you will be yours to keep and have access to even if you stop coaching. Your monthly overview will be a general road map for the month so you can see where things are headed and what's coming up. The training log will be a detailed description of workouts and includes a place for you to record your miles and details of how it went. The strength training plan will include exercises that build up strength and durability so that you can run stronger for longer. Each exercise includes a video so you can do the exercise properly. Exercises will include only equipment that you have available so don't worry if you don't have a gym membership because exercises can be modified to fit your needs. If you are a female then your plan will also be structured around your period to maximize training adaptations at various times of the month when your hormones are changing.
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| Training Log |
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| Sample Monthly Overview |
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| Sample Strength Training (Each link is to a video) |
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| Athlete's Google Folder |
Once your folder is set-up then you will be ready to run! The last step is that we figure out a time for a weekly phone call or online Google chat. Whether you choose phone call or chat, this needs to be a relatively uninterrupted time that we can go through your week, talk about successes, talk about things to work on and then look ahead at the next week. This will be our main contact time throughout the week but I will also be available via text message or email throughout the week in case you have questions or want to share an awesome workout!
Some things that I specifically specialize in are mindset (positive self-talk is important!!), breathing exercises, strength training for endurance athletes and women's health in endurance athletes. I am constantly learning, reading and attending conferences and love to share the most up-to-date research that I come across with my athletes!
If you have any questions you can email me at coach.n.fischer@gmail.com or visit www.runwithcoachfischer.com for more information.
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