JEN MURPHY

In September 2017, I reached out to Robin about coaching for Cyclocross. I was frustrated, felt like I had hit a wall, and I wasn’t sure how to get any better in the sport I loved. I knew I had reached the point where I could commit to training, but honestly wasn’t 100 % sure exactly what I was getting myself into. I did a mini life-audit to see what I was spending my money on, and made some changes. I ditched cable, had my company pick up my cell phone, and paid off my car – all of which freed up funds to pay for coaching. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Last season, I had all top 10 finishes in my cyclocross races, including many podiums. I have enough voluntary points to cat up as well.

Mission accomplished, right?

What I didn’t quite expect was everything else I would get into as a result of coaching. It ended up not just being a 3-month CX season commitment. I continued working with Robin. I expanded my horizons from training with HR to training with power pretty quickly. As a Scientist, this was inevitable as I love analyzing data. I fundamentally changed the way I was eating and lost a lot of weight while also feeling amazing. I bought a smart trainer so I could train with power over the winter. I got into crit racing, continued dabbling in mountain bike racing and fat bike racing. I even went on Robin’s trip to Mallorca, fell in love with climbing (well, over in Spain at least!) and am now signed up for the Mt. Washington Auto Road Hill Climb – which claims to be the “Toughest Hill Climb in the World”. Mount Washington is an event I said I would never do while my friends were racing it a few years ago. Another thing I learned from coaching is “never say never”!

Meanwhile, I have been on the board of the She Rides Seacoast group in NH, a local non-profit I helped found in 2015 with a goal of encouraging women of all abilities to ride. We have many group rides and clinics – anything from teaching skills to nutrition to shifting and everything in between. Helping women improve their confidence & riding has been something I enjoy greatly, put a lot of my energy into and find very rewarding. So, when Robin brought up the idea of coaching, I let the idea sink and eventually realized how it seemed a natural progression. I’m very excited to help others not only achieve their goals, but also find they can accomplish way more than they think they can.

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