I have limits, people....

This was my first season as a coach on the run team and it really was a great experience. I met some really nice people, made some new friends, and I felt like I was able to make a difference for a lot of people who were training for a marathon for their first time. But as many coaches warned me, there is always that one participant who seemingly will go out of his or her way to drive you crazy, and this season his name was Seth. Seth is in his late 40's, never participated in an athletic event in his life, yet thought he knew everything. Any advise or direction he was given by the coaches, he would disregard it or simply do the opposite. When we told him to slow down, he sped up. When we told him to stretch, he walked away. When we told him to take a fuel belt with him on his 18 mile run at Portola Valley, he relied on the waterstops and ended up with heat stroke and was taken away on an ambulance. NOT coincidentally he strained his IT band the same day and it was his/my nemesis for the rest of the season. I would tell him to rest it, he would run Rancho. I would tell him to roll it, he would sit in a hot bath and aggravate it more. Clearly you can see where I am going with this.

Last Saturday I arrive in my hotel room in San Diego the day before the marathon and I kick off my shoes and step out on the balcony. My room was on the third floor and below the balcony was the quad area of grass and the swimming pool. A lot of smaller TnT teams were in meeting in groups near the pool and I was watching the coaches work their crowds when I noticed a familiar face from the distance leaving the pool area wrapped in a towel, it was Seth.

"Seth, what's up?" I call down....

"Not much, I just did 20 minutes in the pool" He replies.

"Thought you'd go for a swim the day before your race, huh???" I ask.

"Yup..." He answers...

"That's great. When this is all over, I am going to strangle you...." I proclaim.

"Ha ha! Just do it at the victory party, I don't want to miss my race." He laughs.

"Sure thing Seth, you %#$@^@&*&! jerk" (I said this under my breath...)