My Trainer.

One person who I haven’t yet mentioned (except in passing), but who I owe so much to, is my trainer Liberdy.  http://nolafit.com/pages/detail/19/5/Liberdy-Welsh  Finding a trainer that is right for you is something that is very important; you need someone who you feel comfortable with but who is also going to push and challenge you.  Most important, you need someone who isn’t going to let you get lazy or sloppy or take your excused when you feel tired and ornery.  Your trainer needs to get to know you and understand where you want to go fitness wise, always keeping in mind where you are now and keeping you on a clear and direct path or how you want to get where you want to go.  If you aren’t a morning person, it likely isn’t the best idea to hire a trainer that can only meet with you before 5:30 a.m. any day of the week.  (I am sure that you get the point.)  Let’s face it; you don’t automatically become friends with everyone you meet so why would you think that the first trainer you meet is automatically going to be the right fit for you?

Different trainers have different specialties.  Some are more focused on weights and strength training whereas others more focused on cardio training and others more on lifestyle training.  Liberdy and I haven’t always worked together.  I was initially working with someone else --- who is an amazing trainer --- truly.  It just wasn’t the right fit; she was more focused on strength training and I wanted to train for half-marathons and outdoor activities that I could enjoy like skiing, hiking, etc.  She could also only meet in the mornings three days a week; anyone who knows me well knows that isn’t the best thing for me.  I also needed someone that could change things up more, as I was starting to plateau, and could teach me different ways to train in relation to cardio.  I also needed someone who knew what it was like to run (or try to run and train for) a half-marathon.  Liberdy turned out to be the perfect person, and I sensed it the first time we spoke to set up our initial appointment.  You see, Liberdy understood where I wanted to go because she had been there.  She played team sports through high school and college (some of the same ones that I did); she competed in half-marathons, marathons, and triathlons.  She liked to ski and hike in the mountains and take part in crazy things like mud runs.  It was a match made in heaven.

She promised that she was going to challenge me and she promised that she would have me ready to run a half-marathon on May 29 if I did my part.  What I was most intrigued by, though, is that she told me that she was going to train me for a healthy lifestyle; this meant that she was going to constantly change up my work outs so that my body never really got used to anything.  I was going to do things that I never would have imagined --- whether it be boxing, military drills, pull ups, push ups (real ones, not the ones on my knees), interval training, and core work in ways I never imagined.  She stressed that part of getting to where I wanted to go was not only putting time in at the gym, but putting time in doing things I liked to do --- whether that was hiking and running in Runyon Canyon when I was in Los Angeles, running in the snow in Toronto, Wisconsin, and Illinois, playing tennis, and just being outside.  It meant eating healthy, but also enjoying food, because I do live in New Orleans. 

Several months later and I couldn’t be more pleased with Liberdy.  She has remained positive and upbeat (and made sure that I did the same) when I have been plagued by Achilles issues.  She has focused on achievements, no matter how small they may seem, when the weight hasn’t come off as quickly (I have lost a tremendous amount of weight in the last 10 months, which I can’t forget.  I have less to lose now, so it is going to be slower).  She has made me realize how strong I really am, which is something that I don’t think I ever realized before.  She has provided me with practical tools so that I can fit exercise and training into my life every day even if I can’t get to the gym, which has turned out to be invaluable while I am traveling, in trial, or stuck at the office. 

When she has pushed me to my limit, she knows it, because she has taken the time to get to know me.  Likewise, she knows when I have more to give for the same reason.  She is the only person I know who has pushed me to the point of throwing up, only to have me feel energized by that.  (And for the record, she was never trying to make me throw up.)  She gets excited when I tell her about my stupid realizations about how far I have come or about how I ran my intervals a little faster than normal, and I write them down when they happen so that I don’t forget to tell her.

I owe a lot to Liberdy because it in, in large part, because of her that I am taking on this “adventure” of the Chicago Marathon.  She has gotten me to the place where, even though I realize I still have a ways to go, where I realize that that this is something that I can do if I put my mind to it.  Plus, I know that she will be there every step of the way helping me get ready for it.