I often joke that I will always choose the difficult option when given the chance. Maybe it’s the great American pastime of excess and exceptionalism. Maybe it’s my little runner brain conflating challenge with progress. Maybe I am just a masochist. When the banality of the corporate world started to suffocate me, I decided that no, a promotion would not test me sufficiently. I had to monetize my passion for running by launching a company. But what to sell? I was already coaching runners on the side, but that felt too easy.

It took me almost two years to launch my first collection of apparel. By that time, Great Day had also become a run coaching and content creation service. My brand new business was technically profitable, so who could complain? My anxiety rose, my sleep suffered, and the confidence I once felt in running waned…but isn’t that the price of starting a business?

The number one request I received from customers was for “the perfect pair of shorts.” I obliged by finding the perfect manufacturer and sourcing the perfect luxury fabrics from Italy. However, production costs became too high, forcing negotiations. I tried pivoting to lower-cost Asian manufacturers only for them to fail quality tests. Finally, facing a $15,000 investment, I realized I'd be stuck with the inventory for at least a year. I just couldn’t do it. My eyes filled with tears as I realized it was the end. I had failed.

Now that I am out of apparel, I can tell you that there is no such thing as the “perfect” anything. It’s all about preference and maybe some strong marketing. Similarly, there's no magic formula for small business success when it comes to sleep deprivation or stress levels. Whatever KPIs I had been following were clearly bullshit. It was time to take a new approach. It was time for the easy road.

Since focusing solely on coaching, things have come easily. I love the science of writing plans and I love the art of guiding athletes. I get to discover new training methods, test them on myself, and then apply them to my athletes. After reviewing my athletes’ performances from the fall racing cycle, it started to click. It feels easy because I’m naturally good at it and I love it deeply. There are still undesirable aspects, of course, but I will gladly pay that small toll.

Funnily enough, the detour on the easy road hasn’t been easy. Somewhere along the way, discomfort became my comfort zone. I now need to be more reliant on my intuition. I've stopped trying to profit from every idea and started writing for pleasure (thanks for being here). I’ve been knee-deep in scientific research on endurance sports because that’s simply where my interests lie. It’s hard to quantify, but I’m fairly certain I’ve already become a better coach. And a happier one, at that.

Coach's Training Journal (2/10-2/16

Upcoming races: NYC Half, Jersey City Half, Big Sur Marathon
Goals: 1:16:xx half marathon

Running - 75 miles
Lifting - 2 hours
Cross-Training - 30 minutes
Stretching & Foam Rolling - 20 minutes
Heat Adaptation - 40 minutes

Workout of the week:
1 mile @ HMP [2 min easy] + 5x .5 mile @ 10k [90s easy] + 1 mile @ HMP [2 min easy]

The focus this week is on speed endurance. I struggle mentally with the in-between paces (Ie. not too fast, not too slow), so I’m developing trust in myself to sustain these paces.

I knew that February was going to be the make-or-break block this training cycle. If things go particularly well, I’ll change the Jersey City Half to a marathon and really see what I’m made out of. If I can make it through this cold, I can make it through anything!