You would think that being in New York City, this incredibly giant city I might add, that it would be a piece of cake to find a personal trainer that meets my very specific needs. Guess again.

This has mainly been my view at the gym — the treadmill when I haven’t been able to run outside. The weights and other stuff are on the other side of the gym. I don’t venture over there.

OK, admittedly my initial search has been somewhat limited. In particular to my gym. My gym is across the street from my office. It’s open 24 hours and I can go there during lunch and after work, my preferable hours. I have met with three different personal trainers from there — all of them have biceps bigger than my thighs and I don’t have scrawny thighs.

So far, all three have had a problem grasping my needs as a runner who needs to add strength training to help prevent recurring overuse injuries. I’ll give them a bit of a break here. I don’t think they often get people coming in with the knowledge of what specific areas that need work and a limit on the number of days and when during the day those workouts can take place (strength training cannot take place before a run only after).

There was one guy who shares a last name with me (no relation). I had hopes that we would be able to bond over that and somehow he would just get me. But alas (that’s a word we do not use often enough), after I went through my list he stood there in silence and just blinked. Our last name deserves so much better than that.

So now I am leaving the confines of my gym and seeking a personal trainer who gets me and my quirky recurring overuse running issues. I’ve got one IT band issue that only happens when it is below 50 degrees outside. See, that’s a bit quirky.

My new personal trainer should first and foremost not cancel an appointment just because it’s raining. Yup, that happened yesterday. I’m a runner. I run in all weather including snow, hurricanes (Irene not Sandy), and tornado warnings (I did not know about the warning while I was running). I think you can show up to an initial meeting that is going to be indoors on a rainy day.

I want you to challenge and push me. I have been playing sports since I was six years old. I know how to take direction and I never whine or complain. I may curse you under my breath from time to time but I look at that as a way of knowing we’re on the right track. But I don’t really want you to yell at me. I was bullied as a kid, I’ve got some issues about the yelling. If you’re good you can challenge me without the yelling.

I want this to be a partnership, after all it is my body and I’ll be putting in the hard work. Just as much as I want you to listen to me and my initial needs I want you to explain why we’re doing what we’re doing. I have a basic idea of why we work on certain areas but I want details. I’m a nerd, humor me.

I need you to be invested in my progress and not just another source of income. You will become a part of my little world and I want you to be excited about my accomplishments. If I get a new PR in race you will be a part of that (see the partnership thing above).

While I don’t always let my slightly neurotic side show, it does make an appearance from time to time. Right now it’s mainly about switching marathon training plans, the main reason why I know I need to focus on my strength training.  So yeah, you’ll hear a lot about that. Just reassure me that I’m not going to die and I’ll be good for the next 48 hours or so.

Now, who’s up for that challenge?