I’ve had the privilege of being under Coach Fabian’s guidance for the past one and a half years. Though the time spent working with him was fleeting, he has shaped me as an athlete and a person. The first time I met Coach Fabian was at the 2017 ASTC Subic Bay Triathlon Asian Cup. It was my first time representing Singapore at an overseas race, so it’s not surprising that I was a lost and extremely nervous newbie. Though I was not his athlete then, and coach was there of his own accord, he took me under his wing and went out of his way to make sure that I was alright. From the littlest things like helping me carry my bags, to ensuring that I had food (my vegetarianism is troublesome at times), getting me to the race briefing and race site on time, giving me advice, and even convincing a race official to get rid of a time penalty that I had unknowingly incurred, he helped make my first overseas race such a positive experience.
My next encounter with coach was at the Palembang Triathlon Asian Championships where we stayed on for an ASTC developmental camp. There, I was coached by him for the very first time, and over the week, realised what a dedicated coach he is. During the camp, I experienced his (at that point in time) insanely difficult, but effective strength and conditioning protocol, a painful track workout, and learnt about the demands of ITU racing. In addition to a bag full of recovery tools and food (none of which were for himself), coach had also brought dry needles, which he used to treat us- sore or injured athletes- in his free time. Through a couple of long runs along hot and dusty roads, coach helped me to rediscover my love for running- something that had gotten a little lost along the way. It was not long after returning from the camp that I made the best decision to join FWCC.
Fluid is how I would describe my training program that coach painstakingly devises and alters, as I am free to voice my concerns, ask for rest days, and rearrange sessions. Coach emphasises the importance of communication, such that on days when I am tired for instance, targets can be shifted, or workouts altered. I am never forced to do something beyond my capabilities. That being said, coach constantly pushes me outside of my comfort zone when it comes to training. Since training under him, I have completed seemingly impossible workouts, grown mentally tougher, and become a little hungrier (for results… and yes coach, broccoli too). What’s more, my definition of a short run continues to get longer.
During my time with coach, I have been exposed to racing in the Asian circuit, set new personal bests, underwent an overseas training camp at altitude, stood on some podiums, and more, all while still having a life outside of training. He has supported me wholeheartedly through all my endeavours, including my decision to drop out of junior college to train full-time, an impromptu pursuit of a diving license, weekly volunteer commitments, and even my desire to fly halfway across the world to shadow a wildlife veterinarian. Rather than demand that I return to training immediately after overseas races, I am encouraged to extend my trips to unwind and experience foreign cultures.
I am grateful that coach gives me room to not only make decisions, but mistakes. An example is how I picked my own races for 2018. Eventually, I came to the realisation that so much back-to-back racing was disruptive to training and tiring me out, which led to a discussion on how we could incorporate a proper block of training into my program. On another occasion, coach intentionally did not brief me on how to run a 5000m track race. Though I was a little overambitious, killed myself at the start of the race, and finished with a slow time, I learnt much more than I would have, had coach told me exactly what to do. Over the months, I have lost count of the number of times that I’ve beaten myself up or cried over a bad workout or an injury. Somehow during these meltdowns, coach seems to know exactly what to say to boost my confidence. Coach Fabian’s belief in my abilities drives me to demand more from myself, and his stories about his journey as an athlete continue to inspire me beyond measure.
In short, Coach Fabian is intuitive, passionate, so generous, amazing at what he does, and like a second dad to me. Without him, I am certain that I would not have made the progress I have to date, nor had the dreams that he gives me the confidence to believe are within reach.
