Fly like a Butterfly

So I am off to Geneva NY for Musselman 70.3 today and I am looking forward to a great weekend of fun, friendship and finishing another race.  It has been a stressful week, I have been stressing about IMMT during this taper week, stressing about my training, stressing about work and stressing about life stuff.  It was the perfect storm this week of emotions, I should have had a warning label over my head.

I have been lucky enough to have had a great coach for the 2 years, I would not be where I am today without her help.  She is a great coach and a great athlete but recently it started to go wrong, it was not working for me.  Yesterday I ended our relationship, it was hard, it did not go well but as soon as I did it, I knew it was the right thing to do. I believe people come into our lives for a reason and she entered my life at the time I needed her too, to help me get started on this journey, to believe in myself and to believe anything is possible.  

I am lucky enough to have 2 wonderful sons and as a parent I knew my job was to teach my boys, to help them grow into strong, independent and respectful men.  I knew if I did my job right, one day they would leave and go on to a successful life on their own.  I guess my coaching relationship was a bit like this.  My coach taught me what to do, she taught me to do it well and to believe in myself.  As I grew as an athlete, I wanted more independence and a chance to explore more on my own.  I was turning from a caterpillar into a butterfly and I wanted to test out my wings and fly.  

So as much as this week was hard, it was also rewarding, this week I became the butterfly and it would not have been possible without the help of my coach, to whom I will always be grateful.  I may fail, fall and falter but I will get there because I believe, finally, in myself.