I am a selfish person. Ask my husband, my mom, my best friend and they will agree. I am not afraid to say or do whatever it takes to get what I want. Having a child has broken me of this a bit, but when it comes to certain things, like triathlons, Angela always comes first. This weekend I felt something different than I ever have before.
I worked closely with several women this summer helping them prepare for yesterday's race. Some were completely new to triathlon, some were doing their first Olympic distance and some were seasoned veterans. I have coached them on all different aspects- swimming, transitions, speedwork, what to wear, etc- you name it, I did it! Yesterday, despite the fact I raced, was completely about them. Here is what I experienced....
Claudia finished her race psyched about her swim improvement. She had worked so hard on the open water aspect and her excitement over her time drop was clear.
Ellie was scared as shi* (her exact words, I believe) about the race, which I had convinced her to do. I finished about the same time as her and all she kept saying was "I can't believe I did it. I am so happy."
Mendy just could not stop smiling. She might always be that way but pretty sure the smile was a little bigger when she was done with the race. Despite a moment of panic during the swim she powered through and had a fantastic time. And we already know how she is going to drop 7 minutes next year ;)
Piper got her personal best. She had a positive attitude all day, despite the rainy run and was as excited as Piper gets about anything when the race was done.
Tyllie rocked it! She was nervous about the Olympic Distance but had a great showing. I will never forget the look on her face when I cheered for her while she was WALKING out of the swim. Priceless ;)
Elisabeth had very specific time goals that she blew away. She wanted top 25% and got in the top 19%. She worked so hard this summer and had a GENUINELY huge smile when she was done.
Jodi dropped 18 minutes on her sprint race. With a new bike and the right swim and run training, she was a rockstar.
I have coached many people before but something about these individuals and the time we all spent together really hit me hard. I felt truly invested and cared markedly more about their experience than mine. That is a big change for me that even my husband noticed and commented on. He said he was proud of me :)
So ladies, I want to say congrats and thank you. I will never forget yesterday- the sun, the rain, the energy, the smiles and the laughter. I have the best job in the world thanks to you.
XOXO
-Coach A www.sparkmultisport.com
PS- Part 2 to come tomorrow- official race review
No comments:
Post a Comment