Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!
There is a difference between training with a team and just racing for a team— when you combine them both, the results can be astounding!
Let’s back up to last January... After running my first sub-3 hour marathon, I started training with a coach to help realize my potential. I got more than a coach, I got a community! My coach holds organized practices twice weekly. I live just under an hour away from the park we practice in, so I make an effort to attend on weekends whenever possible. Admittedly, some of the workouts look so hard on paper, that I never think I will be able to hit the paces alone—this makes the drive worth it! I surprise myself with how at ease I feel when working with a group to achieve our fitness goals together, verses working alone.
When working with a coach and a team, you have more than just yourself holding you accountable. I update my coach on every single rep of every single workout—whether I’m running solo or with the team. Knowing that I will be sharing my results with my coach, makes me work that much harder. I want to send a positive message to my coach post workout, I don’t want to make up excuses for a lackluster workout. Running a great workout is a very positive experience for me and it is nice to have someone to share that with who truly understands the physical and mental capacity it takes to complete each workout. I’m sure we’ve all tried to share in the joy of a great workout with our family, just for the split details to fly over their head in boredom!
The teamwork extends beyond my team. The USATF-NJ network of runners is my BIG team. It doesn’t matter what uniform we race in, we will all work together to see each other succeed. I may race for Leonia Track Club, but Shore AC welcomes me to their long runs with open arms. The Racefaster guys don’t think twice when I ask them to join me for a crazy workout or tempo long run. I do some of my local training runs with a few of the GSTC masters guys when our schedules align. And, although non-USATF, I love to join my Clinton-based team BC-AC for weekend group runs and local races. I am lucky to have so many great people who will join me for a run.
I’m very thankful that I made the decision to train with a coach a year ago. Under the leadership of Coach Hector Matos and the support of the Leonia Track Club I broke almost every single one of my PRs in 2018 with times I never dreamed imaginable and achieved a lifetime high PLP of 83.98%. I’m looking forward to the spring 2019 racing season!
For more information on Coach Matos and the Leonia Track Club, please visit http://leoniatrackclub.com/.