Thresholds

When was the last time you went beyond your threshold?

I say this because I think it’s easy to forget.

After running the marathon I knew I was going to need something to keep myself stimulated, mentally and physically. So, two days after running the London marathon- YES, TWO DAYS- I decided it was a good time to start training for a sub 20 5km.

I think some context is needed here. While my marathon training wasn’t perfect. It was good. Running the marathon was ok, save for an unexpected injury about 15 miles in that took around 5 miles to run off. Aside from that, the whole experience was relatively enjoyable. Hard, but fun.

I did not take this approach when trying the sub20 5km. Instead, I think I disrespected the shorter distance and expected the progress to be much faster than it was. When it wasn’t what I’d hoped, I became disillusioned, frustrated and eventually stopped chasing the goal altogether, falling out of love with running in the process.

It got me thinking about my coaching style. Pre-Covid I had a S2 team where literally everything we did turned to Gold. We swept competitions, taking GC and overall performance awards. The athletes and I were on the same wavelength and this manifested itself into awesome routines, high difficulty and fun choreography (which I did not do- those who know, know).

Then Covid hit.

When we returned things weren’t the same. I wasn’t the same. The athletes had experienced horrible things over the year or so interval only to return to a dictator coach who was coaching the team they were, not the team they’d become. I was the problem and, thankfully, one of the senior athletes reached out and said ‘woah Rob, things need a switch up’. She was right. I was sucking the joy from their experience. I'd become so fixated on the outcome and former glory that I didn’t give the journey the respect it deserved.

Which is basically what I did to myself when I was training for the sub20 5km. While I ‘got it’ when we had the crisis talks, I really understood it when it was me who was suffering.

I’m so glad I was called out for the way I was coaching because it meant I could go back to basics and evolve my style. I hate to think what would’ve happened had I not. It’s not a perfect system and I still need to check myself on occasion but I am getting more from seeing things from my athletes perspectives rather than my own.

Now, I’m running just because I like running, not because I have a goal that I’m going to flog myself to death with. Instead, I’m just going to love it and if the desire to push myself that way returns, then I’ll get back to it- just with less of an iron fist.

Adapting is hard. Sometimes we coach teams where their enjoyment comes from the desire to be their absolute best; sometimes the enjoyment is about just about having fun with friends; and sometimes it’s a mixture of both. None of these are easy to coach BUT when we coach it’s not about us, regardless of how much we think is riding on the outcomes.

Being called out by an athlete is a hard lesson to swallow; it fills you with humiliation and shame. Even now I cringe. But it’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me.

It’s swings and roundabouts, of course. There’ll be athletes that love being coached by you, others that could take or leave you, and others who would straight up prefer being coached by someone else. The most important thing is that we try to meet them where they are, not where our ego tells them they should be.

Thank you for reading.