Big thanks to Academy member and coaching client Dipti Pandya for sharing why she decided to work with a MTA Coach and what she loves about it! She writes,

“In the past, I always had plans for signing up for coaching to get me through a race (first half marathon, first marathon, etc).

Now after being a runner for 3 years, I decided to sign up with Coach Athena as more of a long term commitment.

I realized that the coach athlete relationship takes a long time to develop. Of course, coaching is still great for a couple months for a single race, but I know it would serve me better to stick with a coach over many training cycles to really maximize the benefit.

I have lots of big running goals that I know will take years to accomplish. I wanted to work with someone who is knowledgeable, passionate, and who I can relate to.

What do you enjoy about working with Coach Athena?

I knew Coach Athena fit those criteria. As a post menopausal woman herself, an extremely accomplished athlete, an expert in exercise physiology and sports nutrition and someone who takes a holistic approach to training, I knew her guidance would be a huge asset to my training and would fit my personality and lifestyle.

Coach Athena

I know that the benefits and gains I will see in my training from working with her will come over months and years not days and weeks, so I feel more relaxed and not pressured to accomplish everything at once.

• I love the variety of things she has me doing to make me a well-balanced athlete. Her strength program is awesome.
• She really listens to my opinions and thoughts to work out a plan that is best for me, adding and adjusting accordingly. I’m super excited to see how training with her will pay off over the next year.
• It’s great to know that I have her on my side, cheering me on and supporting me along in this journey.
• I love running long and piling up the miles, so running marathons are perfect for me.

Current Goals . . .

Now I’m focusing on marathons in different states . . . hoping for 2 a year for now.

In addition, I want to get faster. I’m hoping as we progress in my training and add in speed work again, I will be able to sign up for more short races in the future and work towards some more speed goals.”

Dipti Pandya is a radiologist who lives with her husband and two kids in New Jersey. Listen to our podcast interview with her on MTA podcast episode 373 where she shares the setbacks she faced during her training for her first marathon, including a cancer diagnosis, how she finds time to train, and what it was like to cross the finish line of her first marathon.