Monday, September 13, 2010

I am a coach.....


Okay not really.... I still have to pass the test and do more but I feel like I could be one!  Okay so all the details of day 1 are great but don't have the details of day 2 or day 3....all in my head :)

Synopsis is it was awesome!  I loved all of it....some was too beginning and some was too advanced and some was just right- kind of like the 3 Bears.  The specifics on swim.bike.run were really informative.   We are swimmers, bikers or runners we are triathletes and remembering that is key.  How we swim, bike or run is different in some ways to those who do 1 sport.

My favorite part was the periodization and case studies.  It was fun working on plans for athletes training for a sprint or 70.3 and reading about their extenuating circumstances- or their limiters. There is so much more than the training plan- it's called LIFE.  Elites are able to swim,bike, run train when optimal and rest in between to maximize workouts.  The rest of us are juggling work, kids, life etc.  One presenter made a comparison between an Elite and an Age Grouper.  On a given Sunday his Elite does a long run, followed by a recovery nap and later a recovery swim etc.  The age grouper does the run at 6am and then throws down food, showers and jumps in the car to attend a soccer game, birthday  party and then plan dinner for the family. I was really expecting my photo on that slide....seriously!


So Friday night we had class until 8, had a quick dinner and I was in bed by 9:30.  I had a 90 minute run to do the next AM and asked a local where to run. She gave me a great route and when I asked it if would be safe running alone- she said sure as long at it was light. I asked if she runs there and she said yes, but she packs.  I say excuse me...."yeah, I am ex- military and I like to run with my gun."  Uh....okay I'm thinking not such a good idea.  At 5:30 it was dark and I was happy to suffer on the treadmill vs worrying about getting license and learning how to shoot a gun and then figure out where to carry it when I am running.  My pockets are just not that big!

So Saturday we were done at 5 and my room mate is a New Orleans virgin. She wants to see the French Quarter. So after a nap and some downtime we head out to my old stomping grounds.  See in college, we used to head to New Orleans at 2am when the bars closed in Baton Rouge- how we are still alive and never hurt anyone else is frankly a miracle.  The French Quarter is disgusting.....90 degrees, hot, humid and smells like a sewer.... At 7:30 it was already filled with lots of drunk people and so many are young college kids. Ole Miss was playing Tulane at 8 so they were out partying.....I felt soooo old- I was worried about them all, were they driving, what were they doing to their bodies- OMG and then it occurred to me I could be there mothers and then I realized in 2 years JD could be down there.  For the record- no school in Louisiana is an option for my kids.


On the way to the Gumbo Pot we had to get a frozen daiquiri- this is what New Orleans is famous for, well that and Hurricanes.  They sell daiquiris every 20 feet in Slurpee like machines and since there is no open container law you just buy one and keep walking.  These are soooo dangerous.  They taste like a Slurpee but let me tell you there are more than that.  Awesome dinner- grilled catfish on spinach and collard greens and I was satiated and ready for bed!

Home by 10....and blissfully asleep as the French Quarter raged on.   Sunday was a 1/2 day and were were out of there.

1 comment:

  1. LOL...I'm living in New Orleans now. Too bad I just realized you were there. Could have shown you the more "athletic and normal" side of the city. The Quarter is awful! Congrats on becoming a coach!

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