Behind my scenes at QT2

By 9am the other day I had communicated with most of my QT2 colleagues. All completely different topics, coaching, coffee, webinar reviews, interviews. We regularly send emails, texts, Hey Tells to each other. We tweet each other our recovery watts. They are my voice of reason, of guidance, of humor. I will get a Hey Tell with an alien voice just repeating one of my Facebook posts. Then I will get a text picture of a salad. Doug  sent me an email just asking me how my day was. Molly sent one wondering where she was as she’s wandering around Florida.

I was in a meeting unrelated to triathlon not too long ago when a Hey Tell came through out of the blue that just automatically played. Picture a chipmunk voice saying “Screw winter club? Seriously?”

Seriously.

Which reminds me I should stop agreeing with Wheeler that he’s fat. It is after all National Eating Disorders week and I should be supporting him, not mocking him.

Wheeler is in the middle. Look how "fat" (of course we are kidding. Or are we?)

Had you asked me what I thought it would be like on this coaching team six months ago…. I would have never believed it. They are supportive without needing to know the intimate details. They keep it light when it gets heavy. They keep my feet on the ground. They are on me when I am off. They help me stay on track and on time and have taught me the importance of details and at the same time the importance of the long term view for our athletes and our vision as a coaching team.

I think back to that initial email I sent Jesse back in 2009….. and I think…. wow that email really did change my life.

I won the lotto with this group. That’s for freaking sure. To say I am grateful is a gross understatement.

I think that outsiders look at QT2 and think we have a universal approach to how we coach athletes and nobody gets to drink coffee. We don’t do much to change that perception…. and I think it’s because people will think what they will instead of really asking to find out. Sure we have certain protocols that we follow, sure we have certain things we do. But we don’t do it for everyone, and what works for one person doesn’t always work for another. What we do though….. is prescribe training programs that reflect the individuality of the athletes we coach both physically and emotionally.

And we have the experience to back it up to be honest with you. It’s evident in our team’s results.

BFF!

It’s hard to think long term. Most athletes think that long term thinking is the next 6 weeks. At QT2 long term is 2-3 years… and maybe even longer. Patience is something that we learn, not something that  be taught. We have to experience highs and lows as athletes and as coaches. We step back and look at the big picture of all of it. How it fits life, how it fits our athletes, how it fits logistics.

That’s what we spend a lot of our time doing here. I spend a great deal of time studying  training logs, looking at every Garmin file, interpreting the comments (Go to hell Eggers is common) and utilizing the resources I have in terms of data, history, my colleagues and mentors in fitting each puzzle piece into the big picture. I read every word my athletes write and I sit back and think about what it truly means. A frustrated run due to being slow or an elation in a victory….. how does that fit into our big picture.

I feel like there is so much behind the scenes work that no one gets to see.

I rely on this coaching team a lot. I have probably the most talented group of coaches a phone call away who are all eager and willing and elated to jump in, take a look, give an opinion…. come up with an idea. It’s the coolest thing I have ever been part of. We bounce stuff off each other daily and most of us don’t live within 3 hours of one another. You’d think we are all neighbors with the way we communicate.

And no…. I don’t think I will ever get over the bit of star struck-ness I feel when I see “Cait Snow” in my inbox! Actually….. anytime I see any of my colleagues names in there I feel a little bit starstruck (except Wheeler).  They are all truly amazing and I am so honored to be a part of this crew. I can’t thank Jesse enough for the invite to be a part of this. I can repay him by being the best I can possibly be.

I'm in the middle! Three pictures of Wheeler today? I must be ill.

I love my role here at QT2. I absolutely love it. I love what we are about, what we promote, and what we produce. I have become part of something really freaking awesome and trust me I remind myself every single day of it. I love who I work with, I adore who I coach.

Meeting of the QT2 Minds.......

Today I feel like the luckiest kid in the world. for a lot of reasons, a huge part of that is this group of people I have become so connected with. So thanks team, and thanks Jesse for bringing me on board. It was a no brainer of a decision for me…. when this group invites you in…… you go. And hold on, you’ll learn a ton along the way!

I need to go take my temperature now. And who just texted me that picture of the middle finger? CHARLIE!