How do you put into words what it is like to have someone literally put their lifetime dream into your hands?
I met Bethany on new years day 2016. We were out for our annual new years day bike ride and she decided to join along. The ride is about 45 miles and we stuck together for most of it. She started telling me about her excitement of signing up for Ironman AZ 2016 and how it had been a long term goal for her for many years. I asked her if she had a plan and how she was going to go about her training and she literally said she had none other then the fact that she is a mother and it would have to be as minimal as possible because of her obligations to her family. I was like ok... well if you need a coach I would be happy to help you. She jumped on it. She said absolutely and I promise to do whatever you say if you can help me get to that finish line.
Bethany lived up to that promise in every possible way. Coaching is more then just writing a training plan for someone and sending it out every month. There is communication between the athlete and the coach that needs to take place on a regular basis to be able to adjust and adapt the training to the athletes specific needs. In Bethany's case the first thing we had to work on was her aerobic engine. She was a great marathoner but had no efficiency on the bike. Not that she wasn't fast (she was) but her body was just not being efficient at processing the energy. We got her a VO2 max test and then I had to tell her the hardest thing you have to tell an athlete to do... slow down. She did. I watched her on many rides letting her friends all go by her while she stayed in the back keeping her heart rate in her "long zone". I had to remind her a few times to back off and she listened and slowed down. This is when I knew that she trusted and respected me as her coach. The plan was to make the improvement in her aerobic efficiency and then re-test her in 3 months to implement her new zones into her training for Ironman. Holy cow if you could get an A+ on a VO2 max test she did! She nailed it! She had made herself a fat burning efficient machine! After that it was just getting her used to her new zones and slowly building up her volume. This is what we needed to happen for her to have her best possible race on Ironman.
As we started to increase her volume and work loads she did everything right. She called me when she was tired, she called me when she felt good, she called me with nutrition questions, she called me when she thought she should be doing more, she called me... She allowed me to take the reins and steer her in the direction she needed to go. Sometimes as an athlete it is hard to gauge what is going on in your training and your own body, this is when it is essential to have your coach evaluate and adjust as needed.
Please don't take me wrong here. I am certainly not taking full credit for her amazing accomplishment. SHE did all the work. SHE stayed focused and driven and did everything she needed to do to be ready for this race. As a coach you can't wave a magic wand and give that to your athlete. They have to have their own purpose and drive to get themselves through all the tough times. SHE did that.
As I reflect on this journey I was able to take with Bethany I am overwhelmed with emotions. First is gratitude. Gratitude that she allowed ME to be part of her journey. Honor. Honored that she thought I was the right person to coach her through her first Ironman. Pride. Unbelievably proud of what we accomplished together and her end results. A friend of ours Bev has been saying all year "keep the most important thing the most important thing". That is what we did together.
Here are her race results:
Dawn! I cried reading this!!!! Im just so glad I met you and YES, I trust you completely!
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