Confessions of a coach-13

Confessions of a Coach-13
Well no mental or physical breakdowns this week. :) Just a pure loss of desire! - LOL - I've been burning the candle at both ends and in the middle. Even when I'm resting on my couch at home, my mind never takes a break. In fact, the only time I'm free is when I'm running! I need to remember that. As far as the training goes - I'm following it. For some time now, my eating habits have been nothing be healthy. Even though I'm eating healthier, I'm also a few pounds heavier - and NO it's not muscle! My pants are a little tighter now, which really drives me crazy. :( But I've been given some hope. There's a book floating around our group that everyone is reading, entitled "Born to Run". I highly recommend it. Basically, it's a wildly adventurous story about author, Christopher McDougall's journey into Mexico's Copper Canyon, which started with him asking one simple question, "Why does my foot hurt"? That question leads him on a quest to find the whereabouts of a hidden tribe called "Tarahumara", to meet these native super athletes and participate in the greatest race in the world. Although they are called the Tarahumara tribe, their real name is "Raramuri" which translates into "The Running People". The book has captured me, had me laughing, crying, and has lit a fire inside me! Ok, it's crazy, there is not a training or diet plan to follow. However, just by reading the book, all I have been craving and eating is beans and rice, corn tortillas, and more vegetables. I'm even eating Chia Seeds! Also, I'm falling in love with the "idea" of hitting the trails, not worrying about a pace or distance, just running until I can't run anymore - and then run a little more! I can see an "Ultra Trail Race" in my future. I'm telling you that these Ultra Trail runners are CRAZY! So, after January, I'm going to sign up for an Ultra Trail Run, where I can just run free!

Confessions of a coach-Round 12

Well let's see, I've been averaging around 44 miles a week for a few months, I've gained about 7 lbs, and I finished 6 minutes slower on my last 15k race. Woo-Hoo, Boston Here I Come. LOL Don't even try to tell me the weight gain is muscle! I signed up for this journey, wanting to challenge myself. I want to become a better coach and to experience being trained by an outstanding teacher. Wow, it's no wonder that I can relate to "Rocky Balboa", because I just seem to be taking more of a beating than I planned on! But hey, I'm sure getting the challenge I was looking for. I'm feeling a little defeated with training. The "Labor Day 15k", gave me a fairly good mental beating. I really was hoping/needing a good result. I wanted to see something tangible from my hard training. I had done everything right, from fueling myself like a runner to resting/tapering. I did my part to run a good race. I was prepared physically. So, what happened?
Explanation: I could not let go of my expectations.
Translation: I couldn't get out of my head.
I went against well given advise - including my own - I wore "The Garmin". In a race "The Garmin" is like "Darth Vader" to me. It zaps the force right out of me! I was obsessed with it. Instead of just running to what my body could do and pushing from there, I was running for what "The Garmin" was flashing as my pace on the screen..."7:53, 8:05, 8:23, 8:10, 7:45; 8:53 - no not a 9:00 minute pace, noooo". I couldn't stop looking at the damn thing.
Analysis: The answer was real clear - it wasn't the heat, not enough sleep, injury or any other reason I could come up with to have a bad race....It was my head!
I wasn't mentally strong enough to ignore my thoughts and just run! I'll spare you the self defending thoughts I had during my long 9.3 miles, but the last one I had - before Novle and Ursula caught up with me and took my "Garmin" away was, "I've gained weight, I'm fat, and that's why I'm not hitting my pace". When I was sharing with Trace, about my race, he was shocked that "The Garmin" didn't end up in the lake. Well it would have, but Novle took it from me. The Lake might be a better place for it. :) When I write, I'm hoping to share my joys, struggles, and solutions. Truth be told, I'm a little lost on this one. A few things I'm real clear on: My head got the best of me, it didn't have anything to do with my ability to perform or my training. Also, I don't won't to get so locked into "The Garmn" that I lose the joy of running or the challenge of this experience. I'm not sure if these are actually solutions, but they sure got me to acceptance and to laughter. First, my friend Trace said, "I'm glad you got that one out of the way, now you can just run." I was actually tearing up as I posted my sad experience on my face book wall, "How I couldn't get out of my head".
My little sister reply back immediately with:
>" Not to worry sister, it happens to the best of us. My head holds me > back too. No wait, that's my ASS, disregard everything-everything i just > said...."
I'm still laughing at that! I don't know how to explain it, but her post was my solution!

Confessions of a Coach-11

Confessions of a Coach - 11
Lately, I've been wondering how many mental/physical bottoms can I hit! I believe the number must be right around a dozen or so! Just think, I only have 16+ weeks to go! By the time this is all over, I'm going to end up in "Marathon Rehab"! Come the first of the year, you will need to "Lock me up". The last few 18 milers haven't been that big of a deal for me to run. Mentally, I'm fairly good up to 16-17 and then I start getting a little edgy. Physically, I'm okay up to 16.5 and then... "I'm ready for this to be over", but still feeling strong enough to finish. I nailed the last 18 miler. I felt good and even raced a beer bellied - out of shape - old man toward the end. Let me tell you, he was hot on my trail, and we were hitting a 7:15 pace for over half a mile. I'm thinking, "Holy cow, this old fart is not giving up and he was about to take me", when he finally stopped. Thank goodness! I wasn't going to make it much further. However, I was pleased that I had a kick left in me at mile 17. Anyway, after my race with Mr. Beer Belly, I was done..."Check - please".
There are several parts of my recovery routine that I didn't do. I got lazy and paid for it. I normally keep myself moving. Take care of some shopping, eat good, drink chocolate milk and then rest. It seems to help my body to keep moving for a couple of hours before I hit the bed for a nap. This time, I stayed at Starbucks for to long, grabbed a slice of pizza, and headed home for my nap. Not Good. Still trying to reward myself for a hard workout, I was going out to a movie. But Tara called and asked me to fill in for her hubby. A night of bowling and junk food. My foot was killing me. By Sunday Morning, I felt like junk - if that makes sense. In the last 24 hours, after my long run, that's all I had put in my body! My body was very fatigued and I just wanted to lay in bed all day. But I had made plans with my grandbabies and to go for a short run. Going into Monday morning, I was ready to retire from running! All because, I got off my routine!
It's interesting just how important sticking to routines are - routines that work for you. Especially when you are training hard. Sometimes I take for granted the impact running can have on my body. I found a routine that allowed my body to recover and then for some crazy reason, I tried a shortcut. There are no shortcuts for running. It's the one thing I Love and Hate about running. I love the fact that what you get out of running is exactly what you put into it. No quick fix for resting, fueling or recovery! I also hate that very same fact. I skimped on fueling properly, resting adequately (late night with grandbabies) and it cost me.
However, I did make an appointment with Dr. Novle Rogers, Soft Tissue chiropractic. It was time to get the pain resolved! Now don't quote me on any of this, but it turns out that the muscle running alongside my tibia bone became displaced - or something like that. :) Yeah, not a big injury though. You should know, I'm still blaming "El Scorcho" for this! He also suggested, I take off a few days from running. I was "So Happy" to rest for a few days - under doctor's orders. :) I know that sounds bad, but with all this training, I just wanted a break! That will give me some time to get back to my recovery routine - a routine that works for me. Take care of yourselves - it pays off! 'Till next time...Gotta run!