I can totally understand anyone skepticism when it comes to being an online running coach. For pretty much all of history, coaching has been a thing that was largely handled as and up close, in-person thing done in a social environment. A kind of had to be, and normal, rational thinking would dictate that it would still have to be. Just because this sounds like a foreign idea, this doesn’t mean that you are incapable of understanding the technology, or that you aren’t clever. I am in the tech business, and it would not have occurred to me until the necessity of this pandemic, that the technology that we have allows for a more synchronous, independent form of coaching and training for things like running.
So, let’s start by addressing that elephant in the room. Yes, this pandemic has hastened the adoption of digital alternatives for a lot of things, such as telecommuting for work and school, having most of our food, groceries and retail needs handled by deliveries, and all of our social interactions being mostly limited to online platforms.
These changes are permanent, I want to make it clear. Even when it’s safe to go out again, people have gotten used to the convenience of things being delivered to them for a very minor extra fee, nobody wants to return to their cubicle or their school, the only thing that will change is people will want to gain go to restaurants, and hang out in person.
But, we shouldn’t let this pandemic stop us from staying in shape and pursuing our passions, as long as there is a safe way to pursue this passions. As a matter fact, given how stressful things are due to the losses of lives more than anything else, the financial implications, and yes just the general stress of the status quo being shaken, we need our passions more than ever. So, let me tell you how online running coaching works. It’s actually pretty simple, but very clever.
Finally, a use for smart phones!
Not being that much of an in-person social butterfly myself, I have done most of my remote communications through the Internet for probably 25 years now. Thus, I never personally had that much use for my smart phone, aside from being an audiobook player, portal to watch YouTube when waiting for appointments, or the like. I know a lot of people that feel the same way, and you made to a degree feel that way as well.
Well, here’s an excellent use for your smart phone! All you need is a decent data reception on your phone, and the same for your athletes, a social platform like discord or zoom, or a dedicated coaching app if you want, and an affordable set of smart watches it can read heart rate, caloric count and so forth.
With this technology, you can all record your runs, and the biometric data that comes with them. As a coach, you can give them input on how to perform better, training they need to do to get better performance out of the runs, and even arrange for virtual races by comparing biometric data and times over the same distances.
Not only is online running coach like this safer during this pandemic, but it also has an added benefit that I think will probably motivate you to pursue being an online running coach even into the future. What is that? Well, you no longer have to worry about getting all of your athletes on the same schedule, for training all of that, when they have such busy lives!