The Currency of Credibility

Because of the nature of my practice at the Wound Clinic, I spend alot of time chitchatting with my patients. We mostly talk about their health and families, but many of them (Bless their hearts!) really enjoy hearing about my training and racing. They're always surprised to hear that I have a coach. Alot of them are amused that I would spend that much time and money on a hobbie. Most of them are curious as to why I need someone to tell me how to workout and be healthy if I'm a doctor. I tell them,"Just because I'm a doctor doesn't mean I have clue or any meaningful experience in training and racing a triathlon successfully." They usually don't believe me at first, but are slowly convinced when I tell them that most doctors have at best incomplete knowledge and almost no experience with sports nutrition, exercise physiology, or the psychology of motivating people.

I really mean that!--especially the last item. I think my patients do what I tell them to (or lie about it) because I have M.D. after my name, a wall of diplomas to prove it, and wear a white coat. I'm not saying that they shouldn't (they really SHOULD). My education and experience certainly warrant credibility for general surgery issues. However, trust is a different issue.

That being said, I must say that I find my coach, Mary, utter credible; and I trust her. She has alot personal experience and knowledge of triathlon training and competion. She also knows the limits of her experience and knowledge, isn't afraid or embarrassed to point it out, and will seek out answers outside those limits. Before the eyerolling starts, this is not a shameless plug for Train-This! and I'm not getting a free month of training for this rant. I think we should all examine why it is that we have a coach, why it is that we find that coach credible, whether we trust this coach, and the real reasons for our compliance (or non-compliance) with training recommendations.

Obviously, someone who has more experience and knowledge about the pursuit of our goals is good resource to have. However, faster splits are not always the result of more experience or knowledge. No duh! you may say but I find that alot of athletes don't want to hear what you have to say unless or until you can run, bike, swim, or race faster than they can. I take Mary's advice not because she can hand me my ass in a triathlon. There are legions of fellow triathletes who consistantly show me what's up at the races. However, I suspect that a majority of them couldn't give me a reasonable and intelligent explanation for the way they train. I take Mary's advice because it's reasonable, intelligent, and makes sense to me. Because of that, I think I'm pretty compliant with the training plan that she lays out for me.
No matter how smart or experienced or fast a coach/mentor is if you don't trust them you won't stick to their plan. In medicine, I think that faith in treatment is essential for the success of treatment. In triathlon, I think you really must believe that what you are doing (training, nutrition, timing of races) is going to give you the results you want (within reason, of course). Faith and belief are not quantifiable (I could really use a faith-o-meter for my run!), which therefore puts it in the part of coaching that is art (vs. science).
Okay, end the attack of the paratheses.
For many reasons, I know I could never coach myself in triathlon. When I can't make a leap of logic for a certain training recommendation or when I can't think of a good reason but I just don't wanna! wahwahwah!, I do what Coach tells me anyway because I trust her. Her guidance has help me reach my triathlon goals for all 3 seasons I've been with her. Again, I'm not getting an extra recovery week for this!
I think it's a good idea to really understand why we don't want to do something and why we eventually do or don't do it. Is it because we all like to do what we're good at more than practice at something that makes us feel slow or awkward? Is it because coach sounds like mom/dad/drill sargent/my least favorite teacher in grade school and no one's gonna tell me what to do? Is it because coach sounds like mom/dad/my favorite teacher in grade school and I wanna be good kid? Or is it because yeah, it makes sense and we should HFTU and git'er done?

Okay, Mary...a complimentary pair of Train-this underwear would be great ;)