Monday, April 30, 2012

Running with the Pink Horses

Megan (right) celebrating a goal by her cousin Katie (left)
This has been an interesting block of training leading up to the Quad Rock 50.  I began coaching my daughter's U9 soccer team (The Pink Horses) in March, which coincided with the 7 week window I'd planned to ramp up my training.

As a first time coach, I wanted everything to flow smoothly.  Of course, I've been humbled by the process and understand now that my expectations of working with twelve 9-year-old girls must include some bumpy waters.  Coaching has been a rewarding, but somewhat stressful experience for me.  The amount of planning and coordination is immense.  Most of the time I feel completely inadequate for the task.  Combine that with the fatigue of training and other demands of life, and it's a recipe for burnout.  Thankfully, I'm surviving just fine and wouldn't change a thing.  We've had some highs and lows, which sounds a lot like running  The highs have been pretty darn special as each of the girls have such fun and unique personalities and leading them on this journey has been a privilege.

With Quad Rock now less than two weeks away, I'm ready to roll. I've accomplished everything I planned for my training with a nice mix of vertical, hiking, long runs, night runs, high mileage.  About 95% of my miles have been on trail.  Sleep has surely been sacrificed, but I hope to recover a bit in that department now that I'm tapering.

Quad Rock will be a beast of a race, but that's exactly what I feel ready for.

2 comments:

  1. You have a great approach to things. You could always sit back and let someone else fill the need (of a coach, etc.), but find a way to do it all. Your training looks stout! Good luck @ QR.

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  2. Thanks Chris. This coaching experience has gotten me thinking a lot about how one dimensional running can make me. Yes, I work, spend time with family and friends, and have other responsibilities - but when your hobby takes up so much of your free time, there's little margin to absorb any other activity. I'm all about being passionate with running, but I don't want it to be the only thing I'm passionate about. The challenge comes with finding the time to add other dimensions to your life....like taking up photography! For those that don't know, Chris is a phenomenal and budding photographer.

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