Confessions of a coach part 4:"

Confessions of a coach part 4:"I'm starting to feel like a real athlete...well this week anyway!" That's what I wrote last week. Well, not this week. I can't even call my mistakes this last week Rookie mistakes. Rookie mistakes are just simply not knowing any better. Mine are what we call insanity! I've made the same mistakes over and over again. I preach and preach about the importance of getting the right shoes and replacing your shoes in a timely manner-right! You always hear me saying..."Shoes are the Number one reason for injuries. You must take care of your feet!" The whole time I'm telling you this, my shoes are about 5 to 6 months old! I never buy two pairs at a time - like the pro's tell you and like I tell you as well. I never remember to write down the date I buy them and I always end up paying the price! Here is one of my Golden Rules, do what say, not what I do! I started having some foot problems-duh! I let Matt pace my tempo runs (never let Matt pace you, unless you are ready to run 7:30 per mile pace). Anyway, that's when I realized the problem. Oh, it's about time for some new shoes. A few days later, Bryan and I were about five miles into a 13 mile run when I decided to stop and change the way I tie my old shoes-duh-duh. The result was foot cramps for the rest of the day. The only smart thing I did do was not to run on Monday. I wanted to make sure I was right about needing new shoes! (duh-duh & duh!)OK, let's move on to the next one. Monday night was Bryan's Birthday party. Along with running and Starbucks, hanging out with friends ranks right up there as one of my favorite things to do. I like being one of the last people to leave a party! I sat there until 11 pm, knowing I had to be up at 5 AM to run. Not just for a run, but for Speed Work. Also, I knew that once I got home, I would not be able to resist uploading pictures from the party to my social network sites! 5 AM came really fast! I was suppose to do 6-800's...but, I was running short on time, so I didn't properly warm up with a mile or two before doing my Speed Work. I wouldn't let any of my Runwell Runners do any type of workout without first doing a 1 mile + warm up. Go out the first couple of miles Easy- warm up, then pick up the pace and run harder. My warm up was more like a quarter mile. It was almost enough to wake up my legs and get them mad at me. It turned out to be a morning of mental and physical abuse! I'm amazed at how many self defeating thoughts you can have in under 4 minutes. Well, my Coach got 6-800's out of me, with one at my target time, the rest was, well, I did six! Okay!I'm not going to mention, that while at the party, how I tried to convince Coach Phelan that since I was doing my 800's at the lake, that it would not be 800 meters but more like a 1/2 mile and that my goal time should a little longer-right!?! When Coach Phelan didn't answer and called Bryan over to witness what I had said, then I knew I must be asking a blonde question. It turns out that 800 meters, 880 yards, and a 1/2 mile are in-fact the same distance. So, let's forget I asked that one.So this week, I failed at - resting, training schedule, and speed work. But Hey, I did fuel my body properly all week. Except for Monday and Wednesday, but that doesn't count because they were both Birthday Runs! My training to get B-Qualified is going to be a roller coaster ride. It's weird because it seems I'm much smarter as a Coach than when I am being coached. You runners have to keep up with a lot in order to perform well. So my tips for this week are "What NOT to do", and I'm sure you can figure out what they are from my confessions.