CoachesBC

Triathlon is an amazing sport and I've been looking for a fresh way to tap into it. The card above arrived unexpectedly via email earlier today, and it got me thinking.

A few months ago - long before Ironman Canada moved to Whistler - I started to pull together the following site: http://coachtriathletetim.blogspot.ca

Then I tapped several friends who are coaches in Canada, the US and Australia for their advice to help determine whether it was a path for me. And I've mostly been thinking how to move forward.

While I'm keen to coach, I'm as keen to remain an athlete and a competitor. In Penticton in August, I completed my tenth Ironman and it renewed my love for the sport.

I love being a triathlete and that's one reason why I began the coaching certification process a few years ago.

I'm still keen to be certified - I think there is value in being recognized as such but it takes time and there are competing interests.

Among the competing interests: life and my own athletic targets.

I also have chosen to give back to the sport in writing a book - Sub Nine: History's Fastest Ironwomen - and in writing several dozen articles for triathlon magazines, and websites, in Canada and the US. I continue to write for Triathlon Magazine Canada and ironman.com.

What draws me to coaching is a desire to motivate others.

Of course with Whistler set to host IMC for the next five years starting in 2013, there's been a surge of interest here in Squamish and I've found myself trying to talk more than a few friends into signing up.

Perhaps there's a future for me in coaching after all.