The truth is I have always said I would never coach triathletes because they are a tough crowd in the sense that they fall victim to feeling as if they need to go HARDER, go LONGER, or RACE during training.
My philosophy is if you have someone coach you, you need to trust the process. However the coach needs to understand that it is the “athlete’s story “ and not the coach’s story that the coach is building.
As a coach you get the details about your athlete. Time commitment, support from home (does it exist?), goals, current fitness level, strengths and weaknesses, prior injuries, background in the three disciplines, emotional status and of course the athletes “WHY”.
Annette and I did a casual interview whilst beach walking with Baci. Annette asked me why I should coach her… HMMMM, because you want a coach, I know you , I know your strengths, I understand your goals as an athlete, and what it is to be doing triathlons as an older, wiser athlete. I know the course in Canada, I know about and have treated your previous injuries and what that means with regards to programming you and I know how supportive and committed Allan is in this process. Most importantly, the program will be what you want and need to get you to where you want to be for the race.
So begins our journey of “Two Old Girls”!
Annette, this is your race , your journey, your story to create and tell. I am here to guide and facilitate – but all of it is negotiable.
Parting thought – the pressure you feel as an athlete is always self generated – it comes from within. We all need to learn to cope with this pressure and understand that it is something we can control. Your village will support you and want to see you perform in accordance with your story, they do not judge.