Coach Coachy McCoach.

One thing that many notable athletes have in common is a great coach/trainer behind them.

• Tom Brady has Bill Belichick.
• Rocky Balboa had Mickey.
• And “Daniel-san” had Mr. Miyagi.

Yeah, I know the last two are movie references. Still works.

Basically, any athlete (real or fictional) can benefit from the wise words of a good coach, someone who can identify your shortcomings and give you advice to help you become better at what you do.

I wholeheartedly agree. And that is why after seven years of running, I’ve finally decided to hire an individual running coach.

While I’ve certainly improved since the first day I laced up my running shoes back in the fall of 2008, I feel I’ve kind of plateaued on my own in the last few years and some outside help might be just what I need to keep getting better and stay motivated.

Oops. Wrong kind of Coach.

I know I’ve mentioned running coaches I’ve had over the years… most notably Scott Boliver and J.C. Fernandez. Both of them were great coaches (and more importantly great guys) and I will forever be thankful to what they taught me, as well as their friendship.

The only caveat is both were coaches for all of us at T2 (which means I shared them with about 100 other runners). Also, a lot of their advice was geared more for first time marathoners and less experienced runners. Now, I’ll never be an expert or top-tier runner, but I do know the running ropes and after 56 half and full marathons, my “novice” days are definitely behind me.

My new running coach, James Hawthorn, will also be the T2 coach this season, but the difference is he also does personal and individual runner training. So, I’ve hired him as well for his e-coaching program. I’ll get a personalized weekly running schedule (tailored to my specific needs) along with constant feedback. I see fartleks, hills and intervals in my future.

Bring on those darn Cobra Kai!

And he’s also going to help me re-work my gym workout for my non-running days. It’s the best of both worlds in that I’ll get the benefits of a proper e-coach and I’ll also see him every Saturday for live updates. As added bonuses, I get a better rate because I’m a T2 runner and he’s going to donate part of my monthly fees to my T2 charity fund. Win win.

James will be coaching me over the next six months for the 2017 Los Angeles Marathon and I’ve told him that I’m ready to do whatever is necessary to shoot for a marathon PR. I’m excited to see how this goes.

I wonder if he’ll also teach me how to catch a fly with chopsticks.

Wax on, wax off… and Run on!