A couple of weeks a go I dedicated a blog to ‘my team’,
talked about my family, my sponsors and all my friends who even without knowing
it they have pushed me through the hard times in training. I have been meaning
to follow up that one post with one more person, that no, I did not forget at
the time but I just though he deserved his own post… my coach.
This is going to be my fourth season doing triathlons and
third working with Jeremy (Sipos). Once hubby and I got bitten by the triathlon
bug we knew we wanted to be as efficient with our training as possible. We ‘shopped’
around among some of the local and remote coaches and instantly decided on
Jeremy.
I have to say that having an athletic background and always
with a coach’s support I never thought I would be able to find a better fit
than my former swim coach Paulus Willdeboer. Little did I know how much I had
changed on the last 20 years of my life and how my coaching needs were sooo
different than during my swimming years.
We met Jeremy and started working with him a month or so
later (October 2009). I could right away tell this relationship was one to last.
Sami and I are both pretty self-motivated, we know we want to do well and we
know that it takes dedication, determination and HARD work (yes, I didn’t
capitalized that work by accident). For those that know Jeremy it can’t come as
a surprise to you that he meets all of those three as an athlete, but you
probably don’t know that he also meets those as a coach. Jeremy has not only
taken us to a level that I don’t think me or Sami ever thought we would be able
to compete at but he has proved to us that he is in for the long run like we
are.
I am not going to lie and say that I always like him, the
last 3-4 weeks of a hard block, when volume picks up, you hurt all over and
just want to REST his emails are not always welcome with a smile J. But I know ‘coach knows
best’, I can’t help but smile as I type this as I can picture my daughter Nora singing
to the soundtrack of the movie Tangle where they say ‘mother likes best’, I
like to change the wording and sing it ‘coach knows best’.
Turning 39 has come with some up and downs (can’t wait to
see what the 40s bring!!), I don’t get sick very often nor do I get injured,
but on the last couple of months I had some ‘minor’ injuries and a couple of
colds. Luckily I have been able to keep up with the training, and other than
back in January when I was for 3-4 days when I couldn’t run or ride due to a
knee injury I have been able to ‘keep moving’ through all the little bumps.
It always amazes me when I see people spending X amount of
$$ on a coach and then doing their own thing. I wouldn’t go as far as saying
that I would trust Jeremy with my kids (although my kids LOVE Mr Jeremy and Mrs
Elaine), but I can tell you that whatever he asks me to do I will do it. I
think Sami and I have been very lucky to find him and his coaching style couldn’t
be more fitting to us.
Usually at the end of my race reports I like to thank the
family, Jeremy and all those I feel I owe it to, but so that I don’t have to
write (or for you read) the same thing over and over I will just say it here,
thank you Jeremy!
As I mentally prepare for Sunday’s race I know how I should
race coming race day, like I told Jeremy at one point last year ‘think of it as
I am your puppet and you the puppet master’. I know exactly what the plan is… pacing
pacing pacing. Trust me when I say that word will be embedded on my head all
day Sunday and hopefully everything will come together.
Race week butterflies or ‘butterfly kisses’ like my kids
like to call it have started, I am pumped and excited to race and can’t wait to
see everybody out on the course. Oh and by the way, for those that ‘feel sorry’
about themselves for getting older, think twice, me and my 40 year old+ peeps
will be getting in the water the very first female amateur wave which is definitely
a first for me!! (sorry John F and Haley!!!!!).
Hope everybody has a great week and safe travels to all our
friends travelling to New Orleans, see you on the course!!!
Happy training!
Carmen.
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