Tayte Pollmann’s Tuesday Trail Tip – Share Your Goals With A Coach

Tayte Pollmann’s Tuesday Trail Tips series of articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. Tayte lost a staring contest with a mountain goat in the French Pyrenees. 

For this week’s trail running tip I’d like to share what I’ve learned from my recent decision to work with Coach David Roche. David is an accomplished mountain & trail runner and was the 2014 USATF Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year. He now coaches all types of runners through his coaching service, Some Work All Play (SWAP). I’m grateful to have the opportunity to know David and I look forward to working with him to improve my training.

A pair of mountain goats in the Pyrenees.

Since my graduation from the University of Portland this past Spring, I had been coaching myself. But in these past few weeks working with David, I’m reminded why it’s so great to have a coach. In particular, I realize that working to achieve my goals with a coach is a lot better feeling than working to achieve my goals alone. For example, it’s a goal of mine to have a great race at this month’s Speedgoat 50K in Utah.

Now that David is my coach, I’m able to talk with someone invested in this same goal and we can work together and discuss how my training is going to help me race well. Under David’s plan for me, I now run many fast hill repeats and strides to improve my neuromuscular efficiency and power output. This change to my routine allows me to clearly see how my training leads me to achieve my goals. I run fast hill repeats and strides which will help me on the fast climbs of the Speedgoat course.

Overall, whatever your goals are, it’s great to be able to share them with someone who is willing to help you train everyday to bring you closer to those goals.

Coach David Roche at the 2017 Trail World Championships in Italy.

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