For the past several months, I’ve entertained the notion of hiring a running coach. During the research process, I’ve tested the waters with several running groups and slowly discovered what I was looking for. This week, I finally settled on a decision—Hudson Training Systems in Boulder, CO. For those of you that don’t know about this group, it’s pretty dang solid. Some of the top athletes in the country train in this group under renowned coach Brad Hudson.
When I first discovered this powerhouse, I was instantly intrigued, but knew I wasn’t a shoe-end when it came to joining. I danced around the idea for months—teetering back and forth between thinking, “yeah, I can do this” and “what in the hell am I thinking?”
After the Denver Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon, I took a plunge and decided to contact Brad. What was the worst that could happen? After a short conversation about my goals and PR’s, he, without hesitation, said that he’d coach me. One day later, I received my training regimen for the next week. Woah, I thought. This is really happening!
Yesterday was my first track session with the group. The whole day, I tossed in my seat wondering what it would be like. Every scenario crossed my mind. What if I’m the slowest one? What if I get lost? What if nobody is there? The thoughts go on.
Now, let me get this straight. I know I am a good athlete and I deeply believe in my ability. But it’s exhilaratingly nerve-wracking to stack yourself up against people who are exponentially more advanced than you—especially in your passion. Whether you’re an artist, musician, teacher, scientist, writer, entrepreneur, runner, or whatever, it takes a degree of courage to voluntarily become the “the weakest link” in your strongest area. But let’s face it: we’re all the “weakest link” at some point in our lives. Here are a few thoughts that I’ve been focusing on to help me.
Be confident. Or at least act confident: Sometimes I’m confident and not confident at the same time. Is that abnormal? Anyways, one piece of advice (again, from Gretchen Rubin) is to act the way you want to feel. In other words, act confident even if you have doubts. Don’t casually undermine yourself in conversation (i.e. “oh, I’m not very good. I’m just trying this out”), or sell yourself short before you even start. This is something I’m trying to consciously work on. But I know I’m not the only one, because I hear people do it all the time.
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