“Do you work with athletes like me?”
I get that question regularly. Runners and skiers and outdoors-enthusiasts of all sorts worry that there is a special quality necessary to be able to work with a coach- and they worry that they don’t have it.
Well today, I wanted to introduce you to some of the athletes I work with through my personal coaching program. You don’t need any “special” quality to work with a coach (although I think all my athletes are special.) Today, meet three of my lovely athletes: Julia, Robert, and Rose. You’ll also see each of these athletes, and a few more, featured on my Instagram over the next few weeks, so tune in there if you’d like to learn more about this great group.
First up: Julia, 23, is a Boston-based runner, who balances training and racing with navigating the business world. One of her upcoming goals is to qualify for the Boston Marathon!
Julia and I began working together shortly before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring of 2020. Julia says, “Working with Carly throughout the spring of 2020 when the pandemic first hit really provided some consistency that we all needed in our lives!” I couldn’t agree more. Some athletes worry that they need to have competitive goals to work with a coach, but often, the value of consistent, productive training provides the boost we need.
In our work together, Julia and I emphasize patience, and the ability to be flexible about training; something I encourage all my athletes to practice.
“Some people go to church, I go outdoors,” says Robert, 54, of Cambridge, MA. Indeed, Robert brings a devout enthusiasm to all things endurance. Robert is a cyclist and Nordic skier, and we have been working together for about a year and a half. Since Robert is relatively new to skiing, I have had the pleasure of watching his technique and efficiency progress in leaps and bounds!
Although much of our work together is remote, as is true for all my athletes, we have placed an emphasis on technique improvement through video analysis, ski-specific strength and mobility in our weekly Zoom classes, and the occasional in-person training session. I often suggest that Robert follow his young son around on skis; kids have a fearlessness that we adults tend to lose!
Robert says that his goal is to “grow old active and, if lucky, faster than I deserve to be.”
Well said, Robert!
Rose, 47, and I met through Nordic skiing together with our local club in Vermont. Rose began working with me in a one-on-one coaching program very recently, after being a regular at weekly remote movement classes for over a year.
Rose recently returned to Nordic skiing competitively after a long break from the sport. While she also enthusiastically enjoys cycling and running, Rose says of skiing, “I can be out for hours just zipping around in winter wonderland and it never feels like a chore or exercise, it feels like fun.”
Rose is training with a focus on regional ski racing. “Does age have to mean all we do is get slower?” she jokes. Of course not, and Rose is proving it, consistently meeting and exceeding the goals she sets for herself.
As a coach, I love to see my athletes getting stronger, faster, and crushing their personal bests. But the most rewarding thing for me is being a part of the personal transformation that happens in my athletes lives as they delve ever deeper into their relationship with their sports.
“Carly helped me believe in myself again,” Rose writes, making me blush. “Meeting her and working with her has been transformational to my sense of self. It has given me the confidence and desire to re-engage in a deeply buried passion and part of me that I had let go fallow.”
How lucky am I to work with such a great crew.
If you want to learn more about Rose, Robert, and Julia, or meet more of the fabulous folks I get to work with, keep an eye on Instagram over the next few weeks as I’ll be featuring more stories there.
Ready to explore your athletic goals with a coach?
carlyoutside.com 