PR's are Personal, Your Training Should Be Too.
PR’s are personal-
That’s why your coaching and your team should be personal too.
I don’t care if you are part of P-dot or Band Aid Patch or Egoless or RoadFest or PA Racing Crew or whatever the heck you want to call yourself, if it doesn’t feel personal, it’s all wrong.
This past weekend, I felt so fortunate to be able to watch AP Racing Athletes head back to the race course, spend time together, and celebrate together. Our coaching staff and I were yelling at the computer screen, so happy, so nervous, and so relieved that our athletes got to race. It was a privilege to be able to train our athletes and watch them compete and every day, I try to treat it as such.
I saw folks take on new challenges, conquer some inner demons, set PR’s, and spend quality time together. I saw happiness and greatness everywhere I looked. Greatness in kinship, in accomplishment, in common shared experiences.
A FEW HIGHILIGHTS FROM AP RACING’S WEEKEND OF RACING:
A NEW ULTRA MARATHONER: First 50k Race by Justin Heckman where he told a joke every mile to whoever would listen. That guy is always smiling.
1st PLACE FOR LA REINA: At IM Galveston, A 1st Place AG finish, 2nd out of the water overall(including pro’s), and a constant smile by Tania Hernandez.
PR’s ARE FREE: A PR by more than 10 minutes by Jason Key on a bike that only had one wheel- his hub was literally falling off during the race.
2nd Place Success: A pair of 2nd place finishes by Ean Sexton in the 18-24 AG and David Jones in the 55-59 AG.
Putting it all on the Line: Great racing by Ty Valdez, Scott Kadous and Patricia Grajeda-Babb… all of whom are ready getting for some big things in the coming weeks.
A Fast Duo: The fastest husband and wife duo with Eva Kim and Kevin Kim.
Welcome to the Sub 5 Club: And last but not least, a monster congrats to my boy, who had a goal in mind for the past 6 months, worked hard every day thinking about his goal, and broke 5 minutes in the mile with a time of 4:56.
Whether you are winning your AG, crossing the line with your wife/husband or breaking 5 minutes in the mile, everyone’s PR’s are personal and every PR deserves attention and nurturing .
That’s why at AP Racing we believe in a few key things:
1- Coaching is personal, period.
Whether it is a custom training plan or a 1:1 coach, nothing is just ‘off the shelf’. We spend hours customizing training for every single one of our athletes. If your coach isn’t doing it, you need to re-evalute what’s going on. This was a conscious decision when we started to coach less athletes but provide better service. The type of coaching I would want and it has made all of the difference in the world for our athletes and for us. We are truly vested in all of our athletes success on and off the race course.
2- Coaching is relationships, period.
Your coach should care about your well being on and off the race course. Your coach should care about your success. At every level, coaching is not about the coach, it is about the athlete. How you coach changes based on the athlete. The athlete does not have to conform to you(they might need to listen though), the coach has to know what works for the athlete in terms of the mental approach, communication approach and the training approach. If you are an athlete, find the right relationship and then worry about the X’s and O’s.
3- Coaching and Racing is better with others, period.
Having a team behind you makes all of the difference in the world. Having a team of athletes training and going through some of the same things as you feels great and a great sense of belonging. At #APRACING, we are family and when one of our athletes succeed, we all succeed.