It has been about a year since the idea of starting a triathlon coaching business was born. When I embarked on this journey I had no idea that it (or I for that matter) would be where it is today. As I went into the final week of tapering for Ironman Arizona I had a little extra time on my hands from the reduced volume in training and found myself reflecting on how fortunate I felt that I was in this position. And then the pre-race nerves set in and the endless questions arose about the preparation for me and my athletes, all the ‘what if’s’ that could happen, did I forget to’s, etc…Was I about to panic? After taking a deep breathe and replaying the season, surprisingly no I was not. In fact, I could not think of one thing to fear going into this race (for myself or my athletes). In year’s past, I would be ripping people’s heads off about this time because I had myself so wrapped around the race and its end result. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to do well and wanted my athlete’s to do even better but I was very much at peace about what was done to this point to prepare everyone for this race. Now all we needed to do was go out and execute!
To back track a bit, when I started this venture a year ago I had no idea that I would have 4 paying clients let alone 4 paying clients racing Ironman Arizona with me. These athletes solicited my knowledge and guidance and entrusted me to get them to the start line and ultimately to the finish line. But on race day, it was really up to them to take it the last 140.6 miles. If feels a lot like sending your kids off to college (not that I know what that feels like...yet). But I know what my parents have told me. You raise them, guide them and shape them, and hope that the lessons you have taught and the hard work that they have done will carry them through on their next journey in life. Well, as a coach I feel a lot like a parent sending my kids off to College. There is a lot of pressure from that standpoint and I was trying my best to control it. At the end of the day, I had no doubt that they were prepared to the best of their ability and I had no doubt that they had listened and knew the strategies and tactics that I had laid out for them. I had no doubt that they would be the best they can be on what will no doubt be a very tough day. Was I worried for them? Yeah sure. As a coach you become more vested in your athlete’s success then your own. Again, just like you would never want to see your kids struggle or fail, the same goes here. But I had to just let go of it and trust that all would go according to plan.
The days leading up to the race were all about the final prep and relaxing with friends and family albeit wrapped in compression tights and socks. Combine that with a few beers chilling by the pool and you would think the freak show just rolled into town. I stayed relaxed by trying to make sure everyone else was relaxed. The time seemed to fly by in a heartbeat and surprisingly everyone appeared to be very relaxed, fresh and anxious to go. My almost lackadaisical approach left me in some what of a last minute panic as I found myself putting my gear together at the last minute. This was so unlike me and yet I loved the feeling of just going with the flow. My mantra was “it will be what it will be”.
Race morning I was able to catch everyone before we made the plunge into the cold murky water of Tempe Town Lake. There were anxious nervous smiles on everyone’s face. The smile indicated they were prepared; the anxious and nervous tone was nothing more then them dealing with the thought of the unknown. As soon as the gun blows, all that goes away. The rest of the day went by in a blur. I was able to see everyone out on the course at various parts of the day. All seemed to be doing fine despite dealing with their own bit of adversity at that moment. Some struggled with the swim, others with the bike and almost everyone at certain points during the run.
At the end of the day, of the 5 of us that raced Arizona; all made it across the finish line. The No DNF Coaching mission and philosophy was working. And for 4 of the 5 it was the fastest they had ever gone in an Ironman. One of them even had a PR of 1 hour and 25 minutes!!!! Finishing and going fast. Hmmmm...a novel concept. And for the one that did not PR, it was a personal best bike split which no doubt reflected that athlete’s form from the hard dedicated training he went out and did. All were awesome within the constraints they had to work from.
There is no such thing as a perfect race. But in this case I felt that all were nearly perfect in how they dealt with the challenges and went through the day. Some surprised me with their results, others impressed me with their ability to overcome adversity, and one even humbled me with their post race enthusiasm. I am impressed with every single one of them for to many reasons to name here and felt proud to have been able to be apart of their journey.
This was truly a perfect end to something that is just beginning.
To back track a bit, when I started this venture a year ago I had no idea that I would have 4 paying clients let alone 4 paying clients racing Ironman Arizona with me. These athletes solicited my knowledge and guidance and entrusted me to get them to the start line and ultimately to the finish line. But on race day, it was really up to them to take it the last 140.6 miles. If feels a lot like sending your kids off to college (not that I know what that feels like...yet). But I know what my parents have told me. You raise them, guide them and shape them, and hope that the lessons you have taught and the hard work that they have done will carry them through on their next journey in life. Well, as a coach I feel a lot like a parent sending my kids off to College. There is a lot of pressure from that standpoint and I was trying my best to control it. At the end of the day, I had no doubt that they were prepared to the best of their ability and I had no doubt that they had listened and knew the strategies and tactics that I had laid out for them. I had no doubt that they would be the best they can be on what will no doubt be a very tough day. Was I worried for them? Yeah sure. As a coach you become more vested in your athlete’s success then your own. Again, just like you would never want to see your kids struggle or fail, the same goes here. But I had to just let go of it and trust that all would go according to plan.
The days leading up to the race were all about the final prep and relaxing with friends and family albeit wrapped in compression tights and socks. Combine that with a few beers chilling by the pool and you would think the freak show just rolled into town. I stayed relaxed by trying to make sure everyone else was relaxed. The time seemed to fly by in a heartbeat and surprisingly everyone appeared to be very relaxed, fresh and anxious to go. My almost lackadaisical approach left me in some what of a last minute panic as I found myself putting my gear together at the last minute. This was so unlike me and yet I loved the feeling of just going with the flow. My mantra was “it will be what it will be”.
Race morning I was able to catch everyone before we made the plunge into the cold murky water of Tempe Town Lake. There were anxious nervous smiles on everyone’s face. The smile indicated they were prepared; the anxious and nervous tone was nothing more then them dealing with the thought of the unknown. As soon as the gun blows, all that goes away. The rest of the day went by in a blur. I was able to see everyone out on the course at various parts of the day. All seemed to be doing fine despite dealing with their own bit of adversity at that moment. Some struggled with the swim, others with the bike and almost everyone at certain points during the run.
At the end of the day, of the 5 of us that raced Arizona; all made it across the finish line. The No DNF Coaching mission and philosophy was working. And for 4 of the 5 it was the fastest they had ever gone in an Ironman. One of them even had a PR of 1 hour and 25 minutes!!!! Finishing and going fast. Hmmmm...a novel concept. And for the one that did not PR, it was a personal best bike split which no doubt reflected that athlete’s form from the hard dedicated training he went out and did. All were awesome within the constraints they had to work from.
There is no such thing as a perfect race. But in this case I felt that all were nearly perfect in how they dealt with the challenges and went through the day. Some surprised me with their results, others impressed me with their ability to overcome adversity, and one even humbled me with their post race enthusiasm. I am impressed with every single one of them for to many reasons to name here and felt proud to have been able to be apart of their journey.
This was truly a perfect end to something that is just beginning.
