with Coach Corey Turnbull
If you stand still and listen at any finish line, or scroll through your strava feed you’ll hear and see all sorts of reasons people feel they did not meet their goal.
Bad weather. Illness. Work stress. Family obligations. Injury. Bad coaching. Poor race day execution. Life.
And sure, sometimes those things do play a role. But more often than we like to admit, the real culprit isn’t out there, it’s inside. It’s not the circumstances. It’s the lack of honesty.
Ok Ok, let’s be clear, I am not calling people liars. A liar is someone who intentionally misrepresents the truth. In this case, I am referring to a deeper personal level of truth that may be hidden behind a personal blindspot. It happens!
Before training even begins, I ask athletes a few key questions.
1. How much time can you really commit each week?
A true response goes a long way when building a plan. If a coach thinks they have seven days to work with, but you end up averaging three or four, things go sour quickly. Not only are you undertrained, but we could also be opening the door to injury from trying to “make up” for missed work. It’s not about judgment—it’s about reality.
2. Does your available time align with your goal?
If you’re training for a marathon but only have 2 – 3 days a week, let’s talk about whether that’s realistic or if there’s a better-suited goal that fits your life right now. This isn’t about lowering the bar. It’s about setting you up for success, not frustration or burnout. Remember: this is supposed to be fun.
3. Can you be consistent?
Are you able to hit 90–95% of the workouts over a cycle? You’ll miss one or two here and there, that’s life. But consistency is where the magic happens. If the answer is no, let’s find a path you can stick with. One that supports your life, not competes with it.
4. Do you really want to achieve this goal—or do you just like the idea of it?
Two years ago, I was sure I wanted to get back into full-distance (Iron) triathlon. The truth? I liked the thought of it more than the reality. I liked the image, the idea, the finish line in my head but I didn’t want to commit to the training required. I realised this after I restarted my training. That kind of honesty saved me a lot of frustration. So, for now at least, that chapter’s closed and my time, energy, and focus are better spent on other priorities, like my family. That doesn’t make it a failure. It makes it real.
Most of the excuses we give have a root system.
They might look like external causes of injury, missed workouts, overtraining or burnout but when you dig a little deeper, and you’ll often find that they trace back to one thing: The failure to be honest.
Honest about needing a break.
Honest about trying to do too much.
Honest about not really wanting this goal as much as you said you did.
Honest about the fact that life is pulling in other directions, and you need to shift expectations.
And that’s okay. Honesty doesn’t mean quitting. It means clarity.
It means we adjust before things break. It means we train smarter, not harder. It means we stop wasting time chasing someone else’s version of success.
What does honesty look like in practice?
- It’s acknowledging that we might have a blind spot when it comes to ourselves and our training.
- It looks like saying, “I just don’t have the bandwidth right now.”
- Or, “I need to train for health, not performance.”
- Or even, “I thought I wanted this, but maybe I don’t.”
It also looks like saying, “Yes I want this. And I’m ready to do the work.”
Either answer is valid. Both require courage.
As a coach, I try to create space for that kind of honesty from day one. Because the goal isn’t just to hit a pace or finish a race. The real win is learning to know yourself better through the process.
And it starts with a single question: Am I being honest with myself?
Corey Turnbull is a coach with Team RunRun. To learn more about him or to work with him, check out his coach profile.