My favorite training coach of all-time is Steve Weller. We met in 2007 (I checked through emails to confirm) when he did some coaching for my cycling team, North East Bicycling Club. I was (and remained) a beginner back-of-the-pack racer, but I loved the feelings of speed and effort amidst the sounds of my breath and the spinning of the wheels on pavement. Steve and I worked together for several years during and after my days of racing.
I’ve had a lot of coaches and training and instruction in a lot of sports, but Steve stands out as the best. Why? He combines keen analytical intelligence with deep empathy, humor and a sense of perspective about training and competition. And he genuinely loves both the sports of cycling (road, cross, MTB) and the people who participate in them.
In case you’re wondering, I’m writing this because I’m still on his email list and he sent something today that I just loved and had to share with all of you.
Steve wrote in this post about a how he came across the phrase “a more dangerous animal”. And then he said this:
As you push through hard workouts and suffer to hang with the fast group, remember – you are doing this work to become a more dangerous animal.
I cannot tell you how much this tickles and pleases and motivates me. Some thoughts:
Do I want to become a more dangerous animal? Can I?
What keener capacities, what kinds of prowess do I want to cultivate?
In my new proposed powerful state, to whom/what do I want to present a danger?
- The social status quo?
- Our current national power structure?
- The patriarchy?
- Oppressive institutions?
- Maybe my own complacency and timidity about change?
And, of course, there’s deciding which animal to embody/channel/aim for. Here are some suggestions, but please feel free to add your own ideas in the comments.
I know it’s midweek, but give yourself a moment to think about this. Rowr! Grrrr! Hissssss! Buzzzzz!
