Coach

Way back in 2011, I decided to get serious about running and wanted to start working toward something. I like plans. More specifically, I like planning. I get loads of energy and satisfaction from discovering a passion and jumping into hours of research, reading, and discussion. Running is a goldmine of research possibilities. Do I race or not? Gear? Hydration? Nutrition? Age? Crosstraining? Road? Trail? Fast? Slow? Barefoot? Stability? Solo? Group? A million decisions, explorations, opportunities to succeed and opportunities to flounder. Loving it all, I dove in, head feet first.

I found out I knew nothing. I could run three miles but after that I was just a blank pad of paper without a working pencil. I couldn't make decisions because I didn't know what the questions were. Books and podcasts were swell, but I needed a living, breathing, running-centric brain who knew stuff and could get to know my stuff. I wanted a coach.

Yassine at Western States 100

Give me something and someone to work my ass off for and it drives my focus and determination 150%. When I asked the kickass ultrarunner Yassine Diboun if he'd coach me to my first half, I fully expected him to say no. Why would he want to coach a beginning old lady runner for a low-distance road race? But I'd heard him interviewed on a podcast and thought he sounded kind, and funny, and smart, and I was hopeful and a little naive. Yassine and I worked together for five months until my race, where I came in under goal and super happy, knowing that he had helped me develop a life passion; running had become a defining part of me. It's simple, really. Yassine asked me to work hard and he believed in me. I felt like I could do anything.

Fast forward a year. I've run exactly 1,542 miles in that year, many on road but with a distinct preference for trails. I have four races-- a 5k, one road half, one trail half, and one full marathon--to boast about (well, maybe not that 5k), and a running partner without whom I'd be toast (more on her later). Two weeks have passed since my marathon, during which I've mapped out my 2013 plan. I'm totally excited and happy to say that Yassine is coaching me again, this time to my first ultra. I'm a whole different runner than I was last year, and I can't wait to see what the two of us will accomplish this time around. What I know for sure is that I'll work hard, and my coach will believe in me.