It’s Not You, It’s Me…
If you have followed Gordo’s personal blog, you would know two things; he is having his third child and he is in the process of simplifying his life. Focus on the simplify part. As in Sue got simplified!
At the beginning of the season, Gordo let me know that he was reducing his coaching load and that it may be perfectly timed for me to find a new teacher/coach by the end of the year.
After we achieved my goal of securing a slot to Kona, Gordo had the Dear Sue conversation with me. You know, we have all been there and it goes something like this:
- It’s not you, it’s me…
- We achieved so much together…
- I have changed…
- You need someone else…
Either way you read it, I got dumped. Fired. Let go.
I have gone through all the stages of an end; anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Throw in some pretty significant fatigue and the loss of endorphins during the deep unload and it was a recipe for disaster. Except it wasn’t.
Gordo is doing what he needs to do best to prepare his family as they go from man-to-man defense and enter zone defense. My parenting experience has taught me that having more than one child does not just require double or triple the effort. It requires exponential effort. I get it.
I also understand that Gordo has been a coach and a mentor to me as a coach. It IS time to learn from someone else and although a middle of the season transition is not ideal, the break between two Ironman’s in one year is a reasonable time.
Breaking up is hard and I can’t thank him enough for treating me as a student and being a phenomenal coach. After three years, he helped me achieve my dream. He also introduced me to a phenomenal team at Endurance Corner. Many of us have never met in person, but the support and guidance I have received has been incredible.
Where do I go from here? Well, that is for my next post…