The single most important and rewarding thing for a coach is to see the athletes improve. The improvements come in many ways: refined technique, more endurance, better recovery, improved economy and efficiency and faster times! And then there are the other improvements that occur on a deeper level; a personal change that reflects confidence, stability, humility, determination and so many more.
As you all go through this process, each one at your own pace, you may not realize the huge difference from when you started this journey, to where you are now. If I could show you the "old" you and you could compare it with the "new" you...then you'll know what I'm talking about.
One of the most powerful aspects of training with a group, is the support and the chance to share this transformation with people who are going through the same process as you are.
There is a small detail, that can turn this extremely positive environment into a burden and consequently make it negative...if you let it!
It is when you start comparing yourself with others, especially when you feel you are not doing as good as the rest. This feeling can demotivate you and can lead to a high level of frustration. The interesting thing is that more often then not, many compare themselves with others on things they do worse, but rarely do so with things they do better.
It is very important to understand, that each one is unique and that each one reacts and adapts differently . There are too many factors to consider: body dimension, muscle fibers, flexibility, strength, ability, coordination, body awareness, experience, level of fitness, genetics, childhood, etc, etc,...even personality!
This has to be a competition with you and you only!
How others do is outside of your control!
The goal for you and for us, is to make you a better, stronger, faster athlete, regardless of what others do or how others respond.
Your plan is designed with that goal in mind...specifically for you!
During all these years of coaching, I've seen that many athletes who improve the most from the beginning, get more impatient with progress and get more frustrated, even when their improvement is huge and exceeds their initial expectations.
The rate of improvement is not linear. At the beginning it is easy to make big progress, but it gets harder as you get faster. That is why at a higher level the training gets more complicated and more detailed and each aspect has to be taken in consideration. It is easier to improve a marathon time by one hour from 5:30 to 4:30, then it is to improve 5 minutes from 3:00 to 2:55.
When you let us do our part as coaches and you do your part as athlete, improvement is eminent! ...just be patient!
When in doubt...ask the coach!