The first person that made me cry this weekend wasn’t even one of my official athletes. He is one of my favorite athletes because he goes against so many of the stereotypes we have from people that have hurt our feelings. I met him at an event once and never saw him again and he took off at the front of the pack. Then next time we were at an event together, he made a point to say hi. And again. And again. We’ve shared space and shared stories and he truly appreciates my company, guidance and passion for our community. His friendship is my reminder to keep showing up. “Also, thank you so much for all of the advice! It’s no coincidence that I could set my PR today after following your suggestions 😊” I didn’t ask for that thanks and receiving it set off the weekend waterworks. Especially when he went on to PR on the second day also and give me a public shout out.
Coaching isn’t just picking a training plan and arbitrarily assigning it to athletes. It’s knowing what their real lives look like and building around that. There’s so much TRUST in hiring a coach. These athletes trusted me to get them from their Day 1 to Race Day. They listened when I told them to slow down, hydrate, fuel and rest. They challenged themselves when I assigned workouts outside of their comfort zones and when technology didn’t work. They exemplified so much of what we teach as coaches. Your coach doesn’t need to be able to do what you want to do, in order to get you there. But they have to have the vision, education and heart and you have to be willing to trust it.
I say all the time that Coaching is like Mothering to me in so many ways. One of my favorite young athletes calls me Coach Mom, because I’ve been watching out for her since the day we met. When moms go to the playground, we don’t just watch out for our own children, we watch out for every single child within our vicinity (ask me about the lost child I rescued in the parking lot a few weeks ago…) It’s the same for me with coaching. I’m not just watching my athletes. I’m watching every athlete within my sphere of influence. We make safety announcements for our run group. We watch for athletes limping or looking destressed. I’m always available for athletes to ask questions and I don’t attach my VenMo link to the answer because I care about helping everyone enjoy the sport. When peripheral athletes come back and tell me my advice helped them, I’m grateful. One that they listened and two that it worked.
On race day, we celebrate every athlete. The ones we know and the ones we don’t. We cheer for and encourage everyone around us. After I finished my 10K with Blake, I went back out to watch for my athletes to finish. I found a perfect space, in the finish chute and had so much fun cheering everyone home. You see the runners high and we saw the lows. People with injuries from the course, ice packs, limping through and supported by friends. Mostly you see determination. The realization that they did it. The tears. The final thanks to on high. It’s an amazing experience that reminds me why we’re all out there. For that day, we’re all connected. We’re athletes trying to prove what we can do. Whether facing the 5k, 10k or Half Marathon, we may have vastly different goals but we cross the same start and finish line and we conquer the demons, negativity and inner mean voices, to get it done!
I was out there to watch the final steps of the athletes I’ve coached this season and the friends that I’ve trained beside. This was probably one of the most emotional race weekends I’ve had since my very first half marathon. To line up with all of the anticipation of the work we’ve all done. To juggle the questions and wonder if I gave them all of the right workouts, advice and guidance. “Was there one more reminder I could have sent or one more thing I forgot to share?”
The sales person in me would say that I paced two athletes to course PR’s this weekend. But the proud friend and coach says, I chose to run with two athletes that I adore. When we hit the start line, we had no set goal other than to have fun and enjoy the miles. Both days, we crossed the start line with friends and wished them well when they set out in front of us, happy to catch them at the finish line.
Saturday, Coach Michelle helped me encourage, push and play. Our 3rd year running this race together with very different party paced goals. I focused on keeping my own heartrate in the green zone and together we focused on having fun and finding new intervals to keep us all moving. Some athletes like timed intervals, many of us like land marks. Coach Michelle called out, “we’re running to the next light…or the next stop sign… the mile marker,” and we kept moving. At the final push I tried to make Jordan race me. I have my suspicions for those extra 22 seconds on the race clock but we’ll keep that between friends, lol. I was proud to share those miles with friends and be the person to give Jordan the finisher medal.
Sunday was much the same. It’s ok to line up with your current PR in mind but not 100 % sure you’re going to chase it down. In our matching rainbow skirts, we lined up in a corral that would give us space to move and we pushed through each interval. We enjoyed the cheers from others that enjoyed our skirts, caught up, danced to the music of the bands and counted down the miles. Friends shouted us out as they passed and we had fun appreciating the other skirts, costumes, signs and landmarks on the route. In the final miles, I worked hard to wear my coaching visor and encourage Blake to her limit. There’s a fine line between pushing an athlete and putting too much pressure on them and we danced with it all the way until I challenged her to race me to the finish line. As I look back at my own heart rate charts, I know we worked out there and I’m darn proud of what we did (even with a slower mile 4 so that I could consume my CarbsFuel.) Every race is an opportunity to learn, if you take it. I’m pretty sure we learned a lot this weekend.
To soak in the successes of our Team and friends is the greatest honor. To see the all of the hard work come to fruition live and in living color is one of the greatest blessings. To hug Lisa and meet her mom and share in the celebration of her finish… Often in life, we don’t get to see the results of our hard work so clearly. Two weekends in a row, I’ve had the honor to see what community, training, planning, support and dedication look like on full display. This is an honor I do not take lightly and will continue to share with every athlete that is willing to take the leap!
When I say, “I have athlete openings,” this is the honor and burden I carry in my heart. I know that I can help athletes achieve their goals. From walking their first mile to racing their Ultra Marathons, I’m here for you and I want to help you get there!
Positive Results by Sabrina 
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