by Kent B.

It’s easy to look at others and see them finishing Ironmans and think that won’t ever be me…I felt that way.  I finished four IM 70.3 races and still had doubt that I could do a full Ironman.  I needed to find my why and find my who—and I found both.

It’s not easy to put my why into words—but once I found it, I could see it clearly.  The who was a bit more challenging.  There are so many options for guidance—ready made plans, AI plans, virtual coaches, in person coaches, etc.  It seemed overwhelming at first.  When I talked to Coach Joe of Experience Triathlon Coaching Services, and he understood why I wanted to complete an Ironman and communicated his vision for how we could work together, I saw a fit. I found my who!

We were a team.  He set the workouts; I did them.  We both won.  Then I got hurt during a bike accident, and everything changed.  I couldn’t do the workouts as we planned, and I needed not only a coach but also a cheerleader.  I needed someone who met me where I was and didn’t judge.  He checked in on my progress and adjusted the workouts to keep me challenged without pushing too hard.  He told me the most important thing was to let my body heal so that, once it was healed, I could get back to more challenging workouts.  That was tough to hear because I was used to pushing through pain to keep going.

He told me the race was doable because I was putting in the effort to rest and heal my body, and I needed a rested, healed body to complete the race.  He was right.  As I got closer to the race, I felt stronger, and that gave me confidence.  Sure, I was still nervous; I had lost several weeks of training.  But that didn’t matter—as long as I kept on our plan, I had a path to finish the race.

I also had a great team of fellow Experience Triathlon athletes alongside me who encouraged me during the process.  I got to know them and shared my successes and challenges as they shared theirs.  We supported each other as we all worked toward our goals.  On race day, we congratulated each other on the work we had completed, encouraged each other to have a great and safe race, and thanked each other for being positive influences in this little piece of our lives.  And we won together.

Coach Joe knows the power of team—he preaches it at every group ride and event.  He shouts out recent successes, he welcomes new folks to the team, he encourages folks to get to know each other.  He knows the importance of team to individual success.  That’s part of Joe’s secret sauce—you get great coaching but also the benefit of other like-minded athletes who want to succeed together.  When combined, you can be unstoppable.  I am unstoppable.  I am an Ironman.