Yay for 3 day weekends!
This morning I met some fast swimmers down at the beach and we ventured out into the salt water machine machine we call The Ocean. It's been pretty windy on the islands lately and there was a little swell that came in this weekend so that combination of factors made for an interesting (but fun!) swim. My challenge was that I was the slowest one in my little group and my fear of being left behind (by myself in the deep blue sea!) was quite real. The result was that I worked very hard to hang on to the feet in front of me and I learned that, guess what? I can swim with those fast guys when I *really* want to. :)
Scott brought Moana down to the beach to play today too. I haven't had her in the ocean all that much lately because it just hasn't been warm enough... but today was pretty sunny and warm so we had fun playing in the water. My little fishy daughter... I'm so proud.
On the drive home my challenging goal was to keep her awake. I learned last week that a 5 minute nap in the car does indeed replace the 2.5 hour nap in the crib so I wasn't going to make that mistake again today. But tickling her from the front seat while also trying to drive only works for so long. What she needed was a new and interesting toy to play with. I dug around in my car and found an old brake lever from my bike* and boy did that do the trick! She was enthralled with it the whole way home and is now sleeping peacefully in her crib.
So the taper weekend went remarkably well. I nailed my workouts, best case scenario style, and managed not to over do it by adding in anything extra. You know, as good as I feel right now, I'm one of those athletes who actually hates taper. Not shocking, given how much I enjoy training... But the taper is almost over and on Saturday I'll be able to let loose. Lol. I feel like a caged animal.
I dropped my bike off today at ITB where the nice folks from TriBike Transport will fly it over to Kona for me. It costs a bit extra to do it that way, but when you're traveling with a toddler and a car seat and a stroller, well, it's worth it. Actually, the very best part of using a service like this is that as soon as the race is over, when you're just exhausted and don't think you can take one more step, you just hand your sticky dirty bike over to the people at the TBT tent and go home to shower. That, even without The Toddler Factor, is a reason to use this service.
*The brake lever was removed from my bike last week (along with most of the other moving parts) by the mechanics at ITB. They are apparently not very impressed by my bike maintenance skills which made it necessary to replace just about everything that can possibly be replaced on a TT bike. I like to think that the 3000+ miles I've ridden this year have something to do with that, but they swore it was my lack of maintenance. Whatever. My bike feels brand spanking new right now and that's all that matters.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Par-tay!
One of the best things to do with a 19 month old on a Saturday afternoon is to take her to a party. Or "Par-tay!" as Moana would say. She loves parties. And we do too since they keep her completely entertained and wear her out all at the same time.
The party today was in an awesome backyard at a friend's house and there were going to be plenty of other kids for M to play with. Perfect. So she woke up from her nap and I asked her if she wanted to go to a party? "YES!" Of course.
Now that she goes to day care sometimes she has much better social skills and really likes playing with other kids. Check out how she nails Conner with the ball. Friendly, no?
In good news, it doesn't appear that Moana is going to be a softball player.
I don't know that I've ever seen such a friendly cat? Moana saw this cat as soon as we arrived and kept repeating, "kitty cat" all afternoon. So it was good that we saw it one more time before it was time to leave. Meow.
The party today was in an awesome backyard at a friend's house and there were going to be plenty of other kids for M to play with. Perfect. So she woke up from her nap and I asked her if she wanted to go to a party? "YES!" Of course.
Now that she goes to day care sometimes she has much better social skills and really likes playing with other kids. Check out how she nails Conner with the ball. Friendly, no?
In good news, it doesn't appear that Moana is going to be a softball player.
I don't know that I've ever seen such a friendly cat? Moana saw this cat as soon as we arrived and kept repeating, "kitty cat" all afternoon. So it was good that we saw it one more time before it was time to leave. Meow.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Trained And Ready
Today I had a key brick on my schedule and I wanted it to include one more opportunity to do a sustained 20+ minute climbing effort on the bike. It's relatively flat around my house so for me that means either riding about 95 miles, or putting my bike in my car and driving to my friend Jenny's house where I can do the loop including the climb in less than two hours. Obviously, I chose the latter option.
As I was driving to the ride start, I found myself feeling exceedingly anxious. Anxious mostly about how the workout was going to go. I really wanted it to go well. I guess I just wanted the confidence of knowing that my training is on track... that my taper is on track... I guess I was looking at this workout as an indicator of how my race might go at Honu next week. I know how long it takes me to climb Pineapple Hill on a good day (and on a bad day, lol!) And I know how long it takes me to do the brick run loop from Jenny's house too... I've been doing this particular brick about once a month for the last few months so it's kind of an indicator workout for me. Hence, the nerves.
But I mean, it's not like today was the race or anything. I mean, shoot, who knows how the race will go? I think I am ready. I mean, I know I am ready. As ready as I've ever been for a 1/2 IM anyway. I've trained a ton and I think I've been pretty smart and calculated about when to go hard vs when to go easy vs when to rest. I've definitely pushed my limits lately but I have not fallen off any cliffs while at it... In a nutshell, my training the last few months has gone almost perfectly. I know some people have a genetic talent that allows them to train for like a week and then pop off a stellar 70.3 and still kick everybody's ass, but, um, I am not one of those people. I have to work very hard for every minute of every race and with me there's no faking it. I either did the training and will race well, or I didn't do the training and it'll be obvious with my finish time. So I think that's where my nerves came into play today. I mean shoot, I've done ALL THIS WORK and I just want it to pay off on race day, you know??
I spent the first 30ish minutes of the ride today trying to convince myself to relax and just enjoy the fact that I was out on my bike. My heart rate seemed very low... like 10 beats lower than normal. Hmmm. I felt fine though so figured it was what it was. The good news is that as soon as I started the climb, it popped right up tho where I wanted it and then I kept the effort right at threshold all the way to the top. It was hard, but not like fall over and die hard... exactly what I wanted the effort to be today. And my time to the top was right on par with how fast I can do the climb on a good day with a headwind (like today). With a tailwind I've gone almost 2 minutes faster but that was a good tailwind... ;)
Anyway, I felt solid on the ride and then got off to go run. I've really been working on my run lately so to feel so stellar today was just great. I ran a good bit faster than I ever have on this loop and just felt like a rock star. I was not killing myself (telling myself, "Remember Michelle, today is NOT your race!") but just felt solid and like I could have kept going all day.
Phew. That was totally what I needed today. I mean, it's just amazing how easy it is to start questioning everything when you are tapering. Did I do enough? Am I ready? Of course I am. Logically I know that but somehow still question myself everyday. I'm ready to just go race right now and show myself what I can do but instead I have 9 more days to worry about it. Argh.
As I was driving to the ride start, I found myself feeling exceedingly anxious. Anxious mostly about how the workout was going to go. I really wanted it to go well. I guess I just wanted the confidence of knowing that my training is on track... that my taper is on track... I guess I was looking at this workout as an indicator of how my race might go at Honu next week. I know how long it takes me to climb Pineapple Hill on a good day (and on a bad day, lol!) And I know how long it takes me to do the brick run loop from Jenny's house too... I've been doing this particular brick about once a month for the last few months so it's kind of an indicator workout for me. Hence, the nerves.
But I mean, it's not like today was the race or anything. I mean, shoot, who knows how the race will go? I think I am ready. I mean, I know I am ready. As ready as I've ever been for a 1/2 IM anyway. I've trained a ton and I think I've been pretty smart and calculated about when to go hard vs when to go easy vs when to rest. I've definitely pushed my limits lately but I have not fallen off any cliffs while at it... In a nutshell, my training the last few months has gone almost perfectly. I know some people have a genetic talent that allows them to train for like a week and then pop off a stellar 70.3 and still kick everybody's ass, but, um, I am not one of those people. I have to work very hard for every minute of every race and with me there's no faking it. I either did the training and will race well, or I didn't do the training and it'll be obvious with my finish time. So I think that's where my nerves came into play today. I mean shoot, I've done ALL THIS WORK and I just want it to pay off on race day, you know??
I spent the first 30ish minutes of the ride today trying to convince myself to relax and just enjoy the fact that I was out on my bike. My heart rate seemed very low... like 10 beats lower than normal. Hmmm. I felt fine though so figured it was what it was. The good news is that as soon as I started the climb, it popped right up tho where I wanted it and then I kept the effort right at threshold all the way to the top. It was hard, but not like fall over and die hard... exactly what I wanted the effort to be today. And my time to the top was right on par with how fast I can do the climb on a good day with a headwind (like today). With a tailwind I've gone almost 2 minutes faster but that was a good tailwind... ;)
Anyway, I felt solid on the ride and then got off to go run. I've really been working on my run lately so to feel so stellar today was just great. I ran a good bit faster than I ever have on this loop and just felt like a rock star. I was not killing myself (telling myself, "Remember Michelle, today is NOT your race!") but just felt solid and like I could have kept going all day.
Phew. That was totally what I needed today. I mean, it's just amazing how easy it is to start questioning everything when you are tapering. Did I do enough? Am I ready? Of course I am. Logically I know that but somehow still question myself everyday. I'm ready to just go race right now and show myself what I can do but instead I have 9 more days to worry about it. Argh.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Newbies
So I'm faced with a new challenge that is quite exciting...
You know, you gotta love Facebook for the way it connects you with old friends. I've found a bunch of my old teammates from my high school swim team and it's been fun catching up with them and seeing pictures of their families, etc. I don't think a ton of them are terribly interested in the things I post about my training and racing, but apparently a couple of them actually are.
So the other day I got an email from one of my old high school teammates and he tells me that he and his wife are completely out of shape but have been inspired and are ready to change their lives. How are they going to do it? They're going to do a sprint triathlon! And they want my help. He asks if I'm ready to take on the challenge of helping them get ready for it... Um, YES!
But truthfully, this is a whole new challenge for me. Taking someone from couch potato to sprint triathlon is a much different ballgame than taking someone who has a basic understanding of training to the next competitive level. I mean, I got an email today that said, "Last time I rode a bike I was 12 and it had a basket and flowers..."
Ok then. Let's get started!
I find myself thinking hard about how to help them get started... how to develop a plan that will challenge them without hurting them... how to integrate some swim/bike/run into their lives without overwhelming them since they are not (yet, anyway!) training obsessed like so many of us... This is going to take some careful thought and planning and a lot of feedback from both of them about how things are going (since they are in Kentucky).
It takes me back to my first race... oh my... 15 years ago! It was 1995. I was 21 years old. I had my bike for a few weeks and had ridden it a couple of times but was still scared of my aero bars. The swim was in a cold lake and I scrambled to buy a wetsuit online that arrived the day before the race. Looking back, I should have just suffered through the swim without one because they gave away a prize of a new wetsuit to the first male and female out of the water without one, but honestly, the water was 59 degrees and had I done the swim without one it might have been my last triathlon ever. If my memory serves me right, I had a good swim, a decent bike, and a horribly hard 5K run. The course was so hilly... it seemed like the hills would never end! I was so glad to be done running that I don't even remember being especially happy at the finish line. But I think I got 3rd on my age group and, um, I was hooked. ;)
So I'll have to call on some of those memories to train my old teammate and his wife this summer... It'll be a new challenge for me, but I'm up for it... and I can't wait to see their finish pictures from their race in August!
You know, you gotta love Facebook for the way it connects you with old friends. I've found a bunch of my old teammates from my high school swim team and it's been fun catching up with them and seeing pictures of their families, etc. I don't think a ton of them are terribly interested in the things I post about my training and racing, but apparently a couple of them actually are.
So the other day I got an email from one of my old high school teammates and he tells me that he and his wife are completely out of shape but have been inspired and are ready to change their lives. How are they going to do it? They're going to do a sprint triathlon! And they want my help. He asks if I'm ready to take on the challenge of helping them get ready for it... Um, YES!
But truthfully, this is a whole new challenge for me. Taking someone from couch potato to sprint triathlon is a much different ballgame than taking someone who has a basic understanding of training to the next competitive level. I mean, I got an email today that said, "Last time I rode a bike I was 12 and it had a basket and flowers..."
Ok then. Let's get started!
I find myself thinking hard about how to help them get started... how to develop a plan that will challenge them without hurting them... how to integrate some swim/bike/run into their lives without overwhelming them since they are not (yet, anyway!) training obsessed like so many of us... This is going to take some careful thought and planning and a lot of feedback from both of them about how things are going (since they are in Kentucky).
It takes me back to my first race... oh my... 15 years ago! It was 1995. I was 21 years old. I had my bike for a few weeks and had ridden it a couple of times but was still scared of my aero bars. The swim was in a cold lake and I scrambled to buy a wetsuit online that arrived the day before the race. Looking back, I should have just suffered through the swim without one because they gave away a prize of a new wetsuit to the first male and female out of the water without one, but honestly, the water was 59 degrees and had I done the swim without one it might have been my last triathlon ever. If my memory serves me right, I had a good swim, a decent bike, and a horribly hard 5K run. The course was so hilly... it seemed like the hills would never end! I was so glad to be done running that I don't even remember being especially happy at the finish line. But I think I got 3rd on my age group and, um, I was hooked. ;)
So I'll have to call on some of those memories to train my old teammate and his wife this summer... It'll be a new challenge for me, but I'm up for it... and I can't wait to see their finish pictures from their race in August!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Our New Training Partners
Lately there have been a couple of old guys showing up at the pool in the mornings... (I'm sure they will laugh if they happen to be reading this that I am calling them old- to us they are old. Like 50ish I'm guessing? They think Nalani and I are puppies... Lol.) Anyway, both these guys are ex-collegiate swimmers who happen to be rather out of shape at the moment, but even when ex-collegiate swimmers are out of shape, they are still faster than everyone else around them.
They have been sort of making fun of Nalani and me for working so hard in the pool and doing such 'long' workouts. Which is funny, because we haven't hardly gone over 3000M lately- but these guys just swim like 2000M easy and then get out and call it a day. Anyway, they are hysterical guys who have a great sense of humor and are fun to joke around with.
So this morning they ask about our set... What are we doing? They want to know... I tell them they wouldn't be able to handle it. Ha! Try us, they say...
So I tell 'em the set (a bunch of 100's, some moderate, some very hard, none easy) and we get started. Mark is immediately asking for more rest on what I consider to be quite a roomy interval already. Ha! No rest for the weary, Mark. 5 seconds. Let's GO! They are crushing Nalani and me to the wall every time but they are panting like I've never heard swimmers pant...
Half way through the set Brett busts out, "I haven't done a set this hard in 10 years!" Ha! I laugh. Nalani and I worked this hard last Friday. I start watching the piano fall on Brett's back and mark him as my target for the second half of the set. I pull up next to Brett and start feeling solid as I'm finally warmed up and ready to go hard. The four of us are swimming side by side in the middle of a long course pool with no lane lines and are creating a tsumani that runs all the little old ladies out of the water.
Last one fast one... all out sprint! Here we go... I think I'm gonna crush Brett on this one because he's just been getting slower and slower as the set progresses... but suddenly his ex-collegiate swimming genes come out of hiding and the guy is flying through the water. Seriously. He must have put 10 seconds on me in the last 100. I couldn't even get a draft he was so far ahead! Where did that come from??? Years and years of crazy hard collegiate training- that's where that came from. This guy is a complete bad ass. It also tells you a little something about the role our brains play in causing fatigue way before it is actually physically necessary for us to slow down.
At the end of the set Brett scolded the lifeguard for not guarding his life... he said the lifeguard should not let him do sh*t like that. Lol.
So we had an absolute blast this morning swimming with those guys. They made us laugh. They lightened up the workout. They made us raise the bar for ourselves. And they are coming back on Wednesday for more. :) Funny how I don't mind these guys swimming with us... not even for a second... maybe because they are just funny swimmers (not dorky triathletes, right, Angela? Ha!) and because they actually make our workout better by joining in. And I think it's good for Nalani to have people to push her in the water because I cannot do that anymore- she is so fast... We are both stoked about our new training partners. :)
They have been sort of making fun of Nalani and me for working so hard in the pool and doing such 'long' workouts. Which is funny, because we haven't hardly gone over 3000M lately- but these guys just swim like 2000M easy and then get out and call it a day. Anyway, they are hysterical guys who have a great sense of humor and are fun to joke around with.
So this morning they ask about our set... What are we doing? They want to know... I tell them they wouldn't be able to handle it. Ha! Try us, they say...
So I tell 'em the set (a bunch of 100's, some moderate, some very hard, none easy) and we get started. Mark is immediately asking for more rest on what I consider to be quite a roomy interval already. Ha! No rest for the weary, Mark. 5 seconds. Let's GO! They are crushing Nalani and me to the wall every time but they are panting like I've never heard swimmers pant...
Half way through the set Brett busts out, "I haven't done a set this hard in 10 years!" Ha! I laugh. Nalani and I worked this hard last Friday. I start watching the piano fall on Brett's back and mark him as my target for the second half of the set. I pull up next to Brett and start feeling solid as I'm finally warmed up and ready to go hard. The four of us are swimming side by side in the middle of a long course pool with no lane lines and are creating a tsumani that runs all the little old ladies out of the water.
Last one fast one... all out sprint! Here we go... I think I'm gonna crush Brett on this one because he's just been getting slower and slower as the set progresses... but suddenly his ex-collegiate swimming genes come out of hiding and the guy is flying through the water. Seriously. He must have put 10 seconds on me in the last 100. I couldn't even get a draft he was so far ahead! Where did that come from??? Years and years of crazy hard collegiate training- that's where that came from. This guy is a complete bad ass. It also tells you a little something about the role our brains play in causing fatigue way before it is actually physically necessary for us to slow down.
At the end of the set Brett scolded the lifeguard for not guarding his life... he said the lifeguard should not let him do sh*t like that. Lol.
So we had an absolute blast this morning swimming with those guys. They made us laugh. They lightened up the workout. They made us raise the bar for ourselves. And they are coming back on Wednesday for more. :) Funny how I don't mind these guys swimming with us... not even for a second... maybe because they are just funny swimmers (not dorky triathletes, right, Angela? Ha!) and because they actually make our workout better by joining in. And I think it's good for Nalani to have people to push her in the water because I cannot do that anymore- she is so fast... We are both stoked about our new training partners. :)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Fairly Active On The Weekends...
We had some fun house guests this weekend.... Scott's aunt and uncle came to visit from San Diego and stayed with us last night. Moana had a ball with them and of course loved all the extra attention. It was almost as good as a visit from grandma! :)
Anyway, it was the first time I'd met his aunt and uncle so of course our conversations involved a lot of 'get to know you' talk... They asked lots of questions about my training and racing of course, which is always an interesting subject for those who are not exactly familiar with the sport. Yesterday the conversation went something like this:
"You biked how far this morning?"
"And then you went running? After you already rode your bike??"
It's funny because these workouts we do on Saturday morning are just completely normal for us, but when I say them out loud, to people who don't know the sport, I almost feel ridiculous. At one point this morning I was chatting with his aunt and said something about how we are 'fairly active on the weekends...' She was like, Um, I would say so. Lol.
I did not tell them how far I was running today. Maybe some things are just better kept to ourselves... But I can tell you guys, right? You guys understand. That's why you read this blog, right? So how's this... 14+ hilly miles... I felt average... just plugging along doin' my thang... checked my watch for my split at the turn around and saw I was there about a minute faster than ever before... cool... ran home solidly... never felt like I was pushing it but hit my watch at the end to see a negative split and a total time that was a full 3 minutes faster than I've ever done this run before. Now THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! Sweet. :))
2 weeks til Honu.
Anyway, it was the first time I'd met his aunt and uncle so of course our conversations involved a lot of 'get to know you' talk... They asked lots of questions about my training and racing of course, which is always an interesting subject for those who are not exactly familiar with the sport. Yesterday the conversation went something like this:
"You biked how far this morning?"
"And then you went running? After you already rode your bike??"
It's funny because these workouts we do on Saturday morning are just completely normal for us, but when I say them out loud, to people who don't know the sport, I almost feel ridiculous. At one point this morning I was chatting with his aunt and said something about how we are 'fairly active on the weekends...' She was like, Um, I would say so. Lol.
I did not tell them how far I was running today. Maybe some things are just better kept to ourselves... But I can tell you guys, right? You guys understand. That's why you read this blog, right? So how's this... 14+ hilly miles... I felt average... just plugging along doin' my thang... checked my watch for my split at the turn around and saw I was there about a minute faster than ever before... cool... ran home solidly... never felt like I was pushing it but hit my watch at the end to see a negative split and a total time that was a full 3 minutes faster than I've ever done this run before. Now THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! Sweet. :))
2 weeks til Honu.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Good Thing I Didn't Try To Be A Nurse
Forgive me, I'm going to take a moment here to toot my own horn. ;)
On Sunday morning before the race, I was walking down to the swim start and heard Nalani's mom call to me... she wished me luck and we chatted for a few minutes... and during those few minutes she completely managed to make my day. You see, she told me about how happy Nalani has been... how dedicated to her training she is... how much she is enjoying it and wants to succeed not only for herself but for me... I have been coaching Nalani since December and in that time she's made some major improvements in all three sports and it's just really fun to watch. I think in my heart I knew all those things that Nalani's mom was telling me, but to hear the compliments from her was really quite the highlight of my day. I don't think I mentioned this on my race report blog, but Nalani placed 5th OA on Sunday, 1st in her very competitive age group.
The following day, Monday, I spent a good bit of time on the phone with another one of my athletes who had a serious bike crash earlier in the season. She'd been entered in IMCDA and even though she had complete reconstructive surgery on her shoulder because of a grade 5 separation 5 weeks ago, she was still hoping to be able to race in Idaho. She felt very discouraged because so many people were calling her crazy and telling her she couldn't do it... the fact of the matter is that she could do it, if she wanted to... the conflict was that she didn't just want to go finish... she's done that before. This time she wanted a Kona spot. It was a delicate balance on my part, trying to be supportive while also being realistic at the same time... we finally came to the conclusion that she will be better off this year if she re-thinks her goals... so that's what we're going to do. It sucks for her, because she has the talent and the drive and the will and the dedication to really give it a shot, but she's gonna have to wait until she's all 100% healed up so she can train the way she needs to to reach her goals. Before we hung up the phone on Monday night, she told me how much she appreciates being able to talk to me... that she always feels so much better after we get off the phone... that in fact, her boyfriend and her roommates tell her to call me when she's getting down on herself because they have seen her spirits lift after our conversations. Man, that makes me feel good to hear that.
And then yesterday another athlete called in a complete panic ('A' races are coming up soon... 'tis the season for panic!)... 20 minutes later I had talked her down off the ledge and when she was able to breathe again she reiterated some of the same things I'd been hearing from my other athletes over the last few days... that she always feels so much better after talking to me.
So I've been coaching for 6 months now and it appears I am a good fit for the job. :) I have a couple of new athletes coming on board now too which is exciting... I think I may have to cap myself off soon though so I make sure I can still manage everyone appropriately while also starting that Coffees Of Hawaii sales job next week. I'm gonna be a busy mama!
Horn tooting over. Now you know what I'm NOT good at? Being overly empathetic to my husband when he's got a staff infection in his knee and it hurts to walk. I know he really is in pain, but let's be real here. While cleaning up after himself is clearly completely out of the question, somehow he can muster up the energy to get himself the ice cream out of the freezer... I guess I can't help but think that if he were a woman, he would still manage to figure out how to take care of himself and his child even though his knee hurts. Why are women so much better at this kind of thing? Phew. Good thing I didn't try to be a nurse. That is most definitely not my calling. Sorry, Scott.
On Sunday morning before the race, I was walking down to the swim start and heard Nalani's mom call to me... she wished me luck and we chatted for a few minutes... and during those few minutes she completely managed to make my day. You see, she told me about how happy Nalani has been... how dedicated to her training she is... how much she is enjoying it and wants to succeed not only for herself but for me... I have been coaching Nalani since December and in that time she's made some major improvements in all three sports and it's just really fun to watch. I think in my heart I knew all those things that Nalani's mom was telling me, but to hear the compliments from her was really quite the highlight of my day. I don't think I mentioned this on my race report blog, but Nalani placed 5th OA on Sunday, 1st in her very competitive age group.
The following day, Monday, I spent a good bit of time on the phone with another one of my athletes who had a serious bike crash earlier in the season. She'd been entered in IMCDA and even though she had complete reconstructive surgery on her shoulder because of a grade 5 separation 5 weeks ago, she was still hoping to be able to race in Idaho. She felt very discouraged because so many people were calling her crazy and telling her she couldn't do it... the fact of the matter is that she could do it, if she wanted to... the conflict was that she didn't just want to go finish... she's done that before. This time she wanted a Kona spot. It was a delicate balance on my part, trying to be supportive while also being realistic at the same time... we finally came to the conclusion that she will be better off this year if she re-thinks her goals... so that's what we're going to do. It sucks for her, because she has the talent and the drive and the will and the dedication to really give it a shot, but she's gonna have to wait until she's all 100% healed up so she can train the way she needs to to reach her goals. Before we hung up the phone on Monday night, she told me how much she appreciates being able to talk to me... that she always feels so much better after we get off the phone... that in fact, her boyfriend and her roommates tell her to call me when she's getting down on herself because they have seen her spirits lift after our conversations. Man, that makes me feel good to hear that.
And then yesterday another athlete called in a complete panic ('A' races are coming up soon... 'tis the season for panic!)... 20 minutes later I had talked her down off the ledge and when she was able to breathe again she reiterated some of the same things I'd been hearing from my other athletes over the last few days... that she always feels so much better after talking to me.
So I've been coaching for 6 months now and it appears I am a good fit for the job. :) I have a couple of new athletes coming on board now too which is exciting... I think I may have to cap myself off soon though so I make sure I can still manage everyone appropriately while also starting that Coffees Of Hawaii sales job next week. I'm gonna be a busy mama!
Horn tooting over. Now you know what I'm NOT good at? Being overly empathetic to my husband when he's got a staff infection in his knee and it hurts to walk. I know he really is in pain, but let's be real here. While cleaning up after himself is clearly completely out of the question, somehow he can muster up the energy to get himself the ice cream out of the freezer... I guess I can't help but think that if he were a woman, he would still manage to figure out how to take care of himself and his child even though his knee hurts. Why are women so much better at this kind of thing? Phew. Good thing I didn't try to be a nurse. That is most definitely not my calling. Sorry, Scott.
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