Changing of the Guard

When I attended Info Night a couple of weeks ago, I was introduced to Coach Bob - a relatively no-nonsense kind of guy who promised to train us well for upcoming races.

Coach Bob, a "real life" swim coach and Team In Training triathlon coach, fell into the TNT run coach position after interest in the triathlon program lagged.

Honestly, I was excited about training with him - especially when he talked about training "above" the level of the race course. (Although I'm "just" as mentor and not training for a specific event, undoubtedly I'll get a lot of the benefits that the team gets during training.)

A few days later, I got a text from Coach Jack telling me that there had been a change. The tri team was big enough to stay in New Hampshire, so TNT needed another Manchester coach. (Big teams - a good problem to have!)

They found one in Geno.

You may recall Geno as one who offered me countless tidbits of advice and support during my marathon training. (Remember, I wrote about him as a Second Coach, here.) Knowing his background and attitude, Jack and I had suggested he contact TNT about getting involved.

I have confidence that Geno will train the team well - will believe in us and push us to places we didn't think we could go. He brings to the table a list of running history - including 50- and 100-mile runs - and, above all, a level of enthusiasm and support that will be key to helping the team cross the finish line.

And I'm pretty sure they'll cross with smiles.

I'll close this post as I have in the past, with some words of wisdom from Geno. He shared these in the first email from the team last week - and they're very similar to the advice he gave me during my marathon training. (In fact, the first one is printed out and posted on my bulletin board as a reminder.)

1) The body will do whatever the mind tells it to.

2) Water is to the muscles like oil is to an engine.

3) It doesn't matter if you run or walk. The distance is still the same. The important thing is to reach your goal.

4) LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

Looking forward to getting to know my teammates more - all 18+ of them - along with the reconnecting with some of the mentors I already know. It's gonna be a great season.

And it starts Saturday! Bring it.