Post Ranch Inn to Marriott Wardman Park... reality set's in

lobby

Post Vineman John and I spent 2 glorious nights at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur.  All I can say is it was stunningly beautiful, relaxing and amazing.    We rolled  in around 6pm and immediately  were offered wine or champagne and I said yes.  Attendant says to both, yes.  Another long day in the car AND post race, yes.

amazing inside and out 

my kind of tree house

Simple check in they load you into the car and drove us to our tree house.

  The driver did a 2nd glance when we loaded in the Battlestar  ( we had recovery rolling to do)

battlestar

We changed and headed to a delicious dinner with more amazing views .... truly stunning and promptly went to bed.

Our Tuesday was so productive....

slept in, went for a "run", breakfast, nap, walk, nap, massage, dinner... it was about as ideal as we could hope for.  I had enough sun at Vineman  and John was engrossed in a book so we did not partake in much.

Truly it was a 100% vacation day.

We rolled out in the dark, so sad to miss breakfast and a few more hours of doing nothing adventure, for the last 7 hours in the car.

Reality hit about LA when my email was blowing up and I knew it was all coming to end.

After the homecoming of the century from Roo and Mako and a few tail wags from Zen it was game on. Unpack, walk dogs, shower and put on real clothes for a 4pm meeting and dinner with a client.

My real other job, from coaching, is working for HPN Global.  For those that have no idea what I do when I am not coaching, swimming, biking, running or walking the dogs... here it goes.   HPN Global is a global meeting services company.  We offer an solution to companies and associations who plan meetings and events.   Offering a streamlined process in securing a venue while saving your organization time and money, leveraging the business we do.  Still confused...X company needs to find a hotel for X meeting in 2016 and they want to check New Orleans, SF, Chicago and Orlando.  How does X person do that...

Option is a laborious process on their own by sending out the RFP (request for proposal) to each hotel, following up for a reply, compiling responses, setting up visits to the hotel and then negotiating the contract.   This process is time consuming and the only leverage they have to negotiate is X companies business.

Working with me at HPN Global.  1 phone call and I send out the RFP electronically via our proprietary web based  RFP sysetm to 1,5 or 20 hotels.  I collect the replies in 24-48 hours, compile in an  excel spread sheet that gives details on rates/dates/addional costs for each hotel.  Wait it gets better....if you need sites set up  - I set up the entire trip once you give me your dates-- including transfers,meals etc.  Post sites we work together to negotiate the contract.  Using pre- negotiated contracts we save time and money and I leverage the $100+ miillion HPN Global does in revenue to save the client money.   I work on behalf of the client.  Its a great parnership and a win-win for all.  Payment? Hotels pay a commission on room revenue so not cost to my clients. And a question I frequently get is "don't the hotels raise room rates to  cover commission?"  Absolutely not.  We represent too much business for them to risk alienating a company like ours.  I can guarantee you 90% of the time I can negotiate a better rate than my clients can on their own.  And for the other 10% I will guarantee the same rate they can get on their, but they still have save 10X hours in the process. And generally I can get more concessions.  It really is a win- win !  

So with that.... you know what I do with my other time.

Wednesday night was back to reality and Thursday was more time with my client.

Friday I jumped on a red-eye ( bad decision) to DC to help another client.   Oh boy..... 5 hour flight means 3 hours sleep and arrived in DC and ready to work at 7am.  It was a 12 + hour day on my feet helping with a clients meeting- working registration, running errands etc.  The highlight of the trip was escorting one of the key note speakers- George Takei over from his hotel.  He was so friendly and chatty.

I collapsed at 7:30 and woke up still exhausted at 6am for another 12 hour day.   But my clients were putting in 15+ hour days for 5 days running.   I don't know how they do it  and I have the utmost respect for their efforts.   While tiring it was extremely productive. Seeing the meeting in action allows me to do more pre-screening for the next one!  It's all good.

I did not train 1 minute over the weekend, my feet are swollen and I am tired...

Life happens, as I tell my athletes.  Today is a wash as well- up at 4:30, delayed flight that is now being diverted to LA due to fog, so no idea when we will land in SD.

I truly enjoy my job....just sometimes it is overwhelming!    

Vineman 70.3 (my) race report

Vineman 70.3 !  If you want a generic (not about me) recap of the Vineman Course, check this out this blog.  If you want to read about my race, continue. If you don't want to read about my race, than why are you on MY blog.

I call it panic training, but I would guess my diligent coach Mike Ricci would probably call it strategic coaching.   Let's be real, 7 weeks ago, Vineman 70.3 was looking like an Aquabike.  But I started running, 10 minutes at a time, and we slowly began to build.  Once I hit the 1 hour mark I knew I could participate in Vineman.  It was really only 14 days out that I did some volume runs and they were SLOW.  Some runs said "see how you feel"  Okay so I did them by easy effort and they were so slow I freaked out and ran hard to nail it, But who was I kidding, I LOST a lot in 11 weeks.

LOVE Cervelo, Betty Designs, Nytro, Enve

Going into Vineman I had zero pain in my shin - it  is 100%!  So good there... In the big scheme that is all that counts until I run slowly off the bike and I was pissed.  So I had a few or maybe 2 solid runs.  And let's face it I am NOT a runner. For me to run well OTB the planets need to align and it needs to be a full moon.  So.... the plan was

Swim 27
Bike 2:40
Run 1:50

drumrolll..

Swim 27.06
Bike 2:39:32 with goal power spot on
Run- FAIL  1:52 XX

Temps were not predicted to be really hot but I still did the Osmos pre load Sat night and race am. 1600mg sodium

Breakfast: 250c whole wheat bagel with espresso almond butter and honey and 250 calories gatorade endurance + 1 monster cup STRONG french press coffee with coconut milk

Julie and Liz ready to rock- just missing Monica 

15 min pre- swim: Salted carmel gu.

Swim- sleeveless wetsuit and awesome mirrored Roka goggles.  Swam hard and stayed focused- only yelled 3 times at the idiots  my fellow racers who decided to stand up and walk in front of me.   Did not take the line to the bridge- I followed the buoys which go in and out- swim distance on my fancy new Garmin 910xt was 1.3 miles- dang it!

Still clocked fasted amateur swim time.  Transition was muddy, I refuse to bring a towel to a triathlon - ever-  but I wished I had one Sunday.

Ok confession time - to the nice female racked next to me, I did wipe off the mud and rocks on your towel.  It was a giant beach towel so I hope you did not mind, plus you had a bin of water and luggage with I am not sure what.   On my bike, clipped in and riding up the hill yelling for the 2nd time in the race  get the F out of the way politely asking the people walking up the hills to move a smidgen to the right so I could please pass.

Bike: plan was to ride a bit harder than I have before. Rode 5 watts higher AP and felt awesome. The last 6 miles I was riding + 10 watts aero and totally comfortable.   New fueling plan was ALL liquids- I was guzzling gatorade endurance the entire ride and it went down fine. For those who care- pee'd 3 times on the bike.  I was ready to rock the run, but did not have the miles in me.

T2 - hello LONG run .3 miles with your bike. Luckily I left my shoes on the bike and was able to  run along.

I was feeling awesome at this time.  Chugged 12 oz water and another salted carmel gu.  YUM.  really  it was good.

Run. 1st mile was epic! holding back feeling good,  mile 2-4 were good and than the 6 weeks of running showed it's ugly head.  I was not dying per se, I just did not have another gear.   The Garmin was lying to me, okay telling me the truth and around the Vineyard at La Crema (which is one of my favorite Chardonnay's BTW) I was shouting grumbling obscenities at how slow I was going,  Maybe the Garmin is broken, I was so hopeful I asked a guy running with me, hey what pace are you running. He replies and I say F.  

Okay so now I pull out my running mantras
1- be happy you CAN run !
2- You are capable of more than you realize
3- why do I suck at running . I want to be a gazelle- I hate that girl that just ran by me
4- Smile - its hard to be grumpy when everything hurts-  BET ME :)

Jen Sloan- love this girl. We met 10 years
ago at Vineman- she was winning her AG than
and still winning today -with an 18 mo old!  

I then I take it 1 mile at a time.

Around mile 8 I see the love of my life John and my rockstar daughter Riley- I am re-energized for 11 seconds  a while and start counting down.   It was not pretty, it was slow and I got spanked by 1st place. BUT I know, I know be happy.... I did happily accept my award and am thankful to have held onto 2nd place.  You cannot expect race day miracles at 48.   I get it I get it but I don't to like it .

1 - swim was good
2- bike was good
3- run was what I deserved

Fueling:
500 calories breakfast- see above
100 c pre swim
Bike: 120 oz gatorade endurance  -720 calories.  8 salt stick + tabs
Run: 1 gu out of transition. Every aid station 1 cup gatorade and 1 cup water and as much water as I could pour over me.

Post race rocked.. award with my No1 daughter Riley who came up from Santa Cruz to support and cheer!    Dinner at our place with Elaine, Tony, Liz, Gunnar, Riley, Chuck and Jen and Annecy- really the best part of this sport is the people we meet and the fun we have and wine we drink  post race.

Vineman was not an A race it was a gift... up next
Santa Barbara long course and Ironman Tahoe- I have work to do

I hate the thank you speeches but I would not be where I am without the "village" that supports me.  My #1 fan and love - John!  Mike Ricci- my coach who puts up with a lot - let just leave it at that)  Groove Tri, Nytro Multsport, SmithOptics, Enve Wheels, Cervelo  Roka and Betty Designs

Ironman Lake Tahoe Recon on the way to Vineman 70.3.

So on the way to Vineman 70.3 ( well not on the way) ,but you get the idea, we headed to Lake Tahoe to do some reconnaissance for Ironman which is 9/22.

Add caption

We are staying at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village which is a sensational hotel.  Not an ideal spot for Ironman but if you are
coming to Lake Tahoe in the summer - this is where you want to be.

Lake Tahoe sunset

If I was not racing Vineman I would be our riding and running the course but I AM racing!  Which is great news considering I was not running 6 weeks ago.  It has been a big 4 weeks build of cramming systematic training to get me ready to run 13.1 miles.  90% of the time I think my coach is the best, but I have to say this last week I had a few occasions to really dislike what I saw in Training Peaks and thus cursed his name a lot. And he has let me know he is not looking to win a popularity contest so there.  In any case, I it done. One day, one workout at  time.  The last tough day with 1x20 and 2x10 bike intervals I lobbed out an email complaining how tired I was, sluggish and grumpy. No reply- I got it - out the door I went and overshot the 1st interval and fell short on the other 2.  UGH oh well- and pulled of the run off the bike and it was taper time.  I will admit the twice last week I found myself splayed on the tile floor looking up at Roo and Mako.  If they had bubbles above their heads  "what's wrong with mom?"  "don't know?"  " she smells good."  " lets start licking her alot and see what happens"  When I dove in the pool and swam underwater for a bit I popped up to a very concerned Roo- ready to dive in to the rescue.

So the recon was done mostly in the car.  

Swim- not done in the car.  Stunning lake, great temperature and clear as can me.  Cannot wait for 2.4 in this beautiful spot.

Bike-  Wow is all I can say.  Again the scenery is beautiful, my kind of race.  And guess what is is hilly, really hilly, but doable climbs and a reasonable course.   Taking out the climb to Alpine Meadows is huge.  I would not say it is now easy but it is doable. I see double GWL's,  GWL/Mt Laguna rides- really my favorite kind of training.  There is a lot of climbing late it the race so training needs to accommodate that.  So adding Honey Springs and later climbs in rides - to be climbing on tired legs.   KP's EPIC ride which includes a ride to Dudelys and then out the S2 and up banner grade.  Good stuff- will be fun!    I've had a few people ask road bike vs TT.  TT without question- the descents are fast and not technical so a TT bike will prevail here and on the rollers you can stay aero.   Road quality is good and they re working on a lot of the roads now, so smooth surfaces.

Run-  T2 and the finish are at Squaw Valley.  This will be my 3rd Ironman finishing at an Olympic Village ( Lake Placid, Whistler and Tahoe)  It's definitely motivating.  The run is not flat - gee what a shocker!   And the finish is a gradual 2 mile uphill finish.   Most of the run is on the river trail which is nice.

Altitude- there is some, a lot actually, 6200-7200ft.   Do I notice it ? yes.  Here is my theory - not many people live here in Tahoe so most of us are at the same disadvantage  - suck it up!   I plan to get here 7 days early- I know I know it takes 21-30 days to acclimate but I am not a pro and not looking to live in Tahoe alone for a month.

Thinking about the course I am excited, scared, nervous, anxious.... pretty much Ironman!

Today I ran from T2 and did an out and back to "test" the hill- not bad and it was a nice run  John came along and then decided to keep running.... 26+ miles later he finished.  Gotta love a guy who randomly does a marathon at altitude.    

Dip in the lake post run

San Diego County Fair 5k

I despise the Fair... in fact I have been once.  It goes in the same category as Disneyland etc.... but this is not about that- is about the fact I went to the Fair this AM ( to run a 5K)

Yes so the good news on the non injury front is I have zero pain!  zero.... so the green light to ramp back up. This was my first week of running with some efforts.  Garmin is on, pace is slow, but that is okay well not really but I am pretending to be patient.  Last week coach messages me "can you find a 5K?"  Oh boy...  yes.

Of the few I found, this on made the most sense.  1- close by 2- affordable 3- Saturday (ideal day)  So I signed us up for the SD County Fair 5K.

Turns out it was a freakin blast.... pace was not a blast, it was well slow, but a benchmark. John beat me and I am really pissed and I am happy he had a good race.

Race started at 8, we arrived at 7:30- parking was a cluster.  It was as if Tempo and Zen were in charge (aka not the sharpest tools in shed)  But we got in and parked and lined up.

The start was through the gates the horses run through - it was awesome!  Off we go down the straightaway on the track just like the horses in my brain anyway.  From there we ran through the entire Fair - infield, garden section, aisles of alarming food, rides, carnie games, hot tubs, back on the track, beer garden and finish.  Course was a bit short 2.9 miles.  Really low key.... no chips, no awards, just run!

#vineman training 100 degrees in Ramona 

We loved it-  we got 2 free Fair tickets and free Miller Light- neither of which we used. We were in the car by 8:30 headed to Leslie's for breakfast and then an 80 mile ride!  Hills, heat, tempo efforts....

Fun days....living the dream- 

Tempo and Zen go to Fiesta Island

Zen (aka Newton)

Tempo (Leslie's lab) and Zen (my lab) are sweet, happy and well dumb labs. We love them dearly and often make fun of their brain(less) power.

We often refer to not so smart people as Tempo and Zen.

So my coach (kinds sounds like I am comparing him to Temp and Zen - but I am not) who I trust wholeheartedly and do everything he says generally, told me to "get used to power tests"  Once a month- like it or not.   Well for me it is not, but well I do what he says most of the time anyway.  

Temp (aka Einstein) 

So when TCSD posted a monthly TT I thought aha, better than doing this mind numbing, killer  awesome test alone, why not do it with company.  So I emailed Leslie and said "lets do a TT"

Seemed like a great idea on paper...and even like  it might be fun.... until the day approached and I was tired.  But I loaded up my bike and stuff and picked up Les and out she rolls with her aero helmet and race wheels. Duh.....its a TT, maybe that would have been a good idea.  Oh well-  race wheels on Yakima roof rack, no go.  Rear wheel off, training wheel on, car packed and we sit in the awesome I5 traffic for 45 minutes.

Arrive and Fiesta Island- don't you just love that name.  When I see Fiesta Island I see a barren round island over a landfill and think of suffering in circles. Lot's of F words come to mind and none of them are anything like a fiesta.

I digress, instead of parking where we normally do, we drove around the island- who drives around Fiesta, what the hell ?  So we decided it was course recon. Go Tempo and Zen

We unload and I'm not really sure what transpired but Les' hands were black and her bike was too were completely covered in grease, but she is prepared  with hand soap  and a bottle of raspberry seltzer water.  "here zen, pour this water on my hands"  " okay tempo"  raspberry seltzer spewing all over like it was champagne on a podium.  We are now standing in raspberry seltzer mud.   20 minutes or an hour later we get ready to roll and Les' wheel will not turn, as in it does not fit.  Seriously, it fit before we put it on the rack.

This is what I did NOT look like 

Hey Tempo call to bike shop.  We can see the mechanics laughing at these dumb triathletes... says undo the skewer and pull the wheel out a bit. Um okay, as if it may fall out?  Yes. than tighten it up.  Okay Tempo do it. What's the worst thing that can happen, wheel falls off and you fall down.  Still wanna do this?  yes.  OK.

As we are warming up tooling along chatting as if we have not seen each other in a month  I remember I am supposed to be doing 30 sec pick ups- all out to "get ready"  Off I go and I glance down to see how high my watts are and they are at an amazing 0.  Yes 0 watts, crap, no power for the power test. No worries, reset "find my power meter"  and yeah we have watts.  On we go. Next pick up is even better holding 550 watts. Yes me and Lance!
Next pick up is 0.  Now I am realizing that there is a small  or a 100%  chance my battery is dead.  I suggest to my athletes that they carry an extra battery in their tool kit for such matters.  Wish I listened to me.

So we check in, line up and Les and are next to each other, ready to race.  We are laughing hysterically at so many stupid things I am afraid we will miss the "epic" start.   Every 30 seconds 2 people go off and we are next.  Ready, set, go!  and Les's wheel locks up.... Ok see ya.

3 x 4 mile loops  all out.  I drop in aero and go.  Settle in look down and see 0. Okay this is for "fun" .... I have to say it is better than doing it alone or even with 1 person - at least you have people to try and pass or guys in skin suits and a disc blowing by you at 27mph.

Here is how it went down... 1st loop is good, feeling strong and having fun- so glad I am doing this.   2nd loop starts as " i can do this, just hang on and then in an instant I am like holy crap I am not even 1/2 way, I may just die"  I am watching HR, since I don't have power, and am trying to keep it up.  OK 2nd loop done, yeah, 2/3 of the way, awesome, crap there is no way I can do another lap.  What is that noise, wait it is me, what kind of noise is that coming from my lungs... geez who is making this island longer, when will I finish, wait here comes a car, can I draft off the car?   Is that cheating? yes but the dang car is afraid to pass me so he is drafting off me, is he sucking me back, is that why I am going slower?, I can't do this I might die, arg my HR is dropping, no, pedal harder... hey I see the finish line. That was fun :)

It was fun to "race" sort of and all said and done glad we did it.  Rolled back the raspberry seltzer mud pit to "Joe" in the 1990 explorer, high, combing his ratted hair asking if we heard about the wiener dog killed in Coronado.

Off we go, dropped Les off and gave her my wheel as well as her's..... home at last.

How to train 20+ hours a week and manage 2 jobs

• First your job must be somewhat flexible in the hours you need to be accessible, on the phone, present 
• You must be willing to work at 4am and 11pm (if you are riding your bike for 3-5 hours in the middle of the day) you have to "pay the piper"  There is still work to be done, so making the time is critical.  Having a spouse that understands you will work many evenings is really helpful. As is not owning a TV. 
• iPhone is mandatory, maybe a droid will work, but I know an iPhone definitely works

• set special ring tones for urgent calls - this way I never miss an important call and don't get off my bike for a solicitation call. This changes for me, depending on the project or who I need to speak with. So I am constantly changing based on the day or the project. 
• VIP email.  Again I make the key people VIP so when I check my phone and see 81 emails I don't need to scroll through them all, I just look at VIP and reply as needed 
• Siri  read my email (  thank you Jen)  this is new to me - but yesterday I put in  headphone and asked Siri to please read emails and away she went.  
• Flexibility - sometimes a workout has to move if an urgent call comes up 
• Apps- I have office and adobe on my phone to review docs if necessary
• Laptop in the car if out for a while, in case I need to edit, review or do more than the iPhone can handle.  Either pop in a Sbux or use my personal hot spot to log on and go.  

In some ways I am working all the time but with really generous breaks!   I don't mind working weekends or nights to have the schedule I do.

Flexible schedules also allow for more travel!

Yes this does not work if you are required to be in an office, but we create our own work environment.
When people say I am "lucky" to have such flexible hours - I say yes, but luck was  small part of it.  I left the corporate world 9 years ago to become a contract employee and build my own business with HPN Global.  I prospected, lived on a limited budge, dug and built a business on my own time. And 4 years ago I started coaching.  So both my businesses are self created and self owned.  I wanted a flexible lifestyle and with that benefits are huge!  

You are in control of how you live your life!!  

This weeks adventure

Definitely in a sweet spot right now.... logged 2 hours 20 min of running last week.  No garmin too afraid to see the pace but I am feeling less like a baby giraffe.  Fluidity is coming back and form feels decent.

En route to Boulder with a stop in Denver for some real work and than some solid training at a D3 Multisport camp.   Boulder is easy for me, as my sister lives there with a sweet guest apartment. So I can move in, work, train and be in a new environment.   I have a lot going on with my other job so there will be a lot of early morning calls, working on the phone but I can make it work. It's what I love about HPN Global - I can work from any where and can set my own hours- as long as I am willing get up at 4 and work into the evening, I can get it done.  Coaching is the same I can do it from anywhere and at any time.  Reviewing workouts in the evening or early morning, updating scheudles etc can be done at any time.

I am very nervous really excited to run with my coach this week so he can asses my run form.  Okay to be totally honest I am worried, I am very insecure about my running, even when I am in top shape, so to be not in shape is scary.  It's funny when someone watches me swim or ride  I am not worried.  When I receive feedback I embrace it and put the the changes to work.  Running, where I need the most feedback, I fear it.  I think this is because when I get the bike and swim feedback, I can put it into action fairly easily, where as the running I feel I try and try and still the form is not right.  Ugh :)

Not really sure what this is but well just
seemed appropriate

Human nature is to work our our strengths because it is fun and easy.  Why do  most triathletes swim the least, it is their weakest discipline (and many will argue the shortest and Ironman is not won in the swim.  True but it can be lost.)  Lost as in if you are going for a podium slot if you come out too far back you cannot make it up, if you are going for a PR and are not in good swim shape the 2.4 mile swim will tank you- use up too much energy that you will be looking for at mile 20 on the run )

In any case....the run.  Front and center for me.

It's funny I was a runner for years, prior to finding triathlon.  I was not self conscious I just ran and was happy with what I did until I became obsessive and started the cycle of injury"   I was never a great runner so I did not get hung up on it.   Now it is my run that is holding me from achieving the next level in triathlon.

Right now it is physical as I am building back but a big part of it I know is mental.  So along with build back my run and using the data to show what I can run off the bike, I have some mental skills to work on.  We always have something to work on and that is what I love about sports in general but triathlon especially as there are many "opportunities".  So many goals to set.  My short term goals are getting to run 1 hour, long term goals are back to the mile repeats really I did not just say that.   In all seriousness those painful, f'ing  repeats started to build my run confidence.

I've had a few people ask me why/how I got "so hurt", 11 weeks not running hurt.  And even why did I let my coach do that. When an athlete gets hurt it is their fault 100%- even if the the coach said suck it up, run through the pain-  it is still your responsibility to listen to your body.  That little voice or that loud screaming voice that says, this is too much, I don't feel right- is one you MUST listen to.

As a coach there is NO way I can tell how you are feeling, I can use metrics to see that you maybe tired, on the edge but I cannot tell from TP if you are feeling a twinge or something that is not right.  You as the athlete need to say "im tired, x does not feel right"  And then we dial it back  A few of my athletes that are really pushing it now are seeing this and getting it. They are saying "im baked and worried about the weekend"  "totally flat in the water, feeling run down"  "hr would not raise"  "hungry all the time and not sleeping well"   With this feedback we take  day off or change an interval bike to a spin and ofen  2 days later they are crushing 7+ hour days.  This is the $$$ if they had forced that wed or thur workout, we risk injury or a sub optional long day.

So back to me, this is all about me, right.   Why/how did I get injured.  No one issue

1- ran San Dieguito 1/2 in Newtons- epic error.  Calves were seriously worked - as in I could not really walk worked.  Did not get this worked out immediately and calves were compromised.

2- new bike fit and my saddle was tilted down a bit which put extra pressure on my calves when biking.  When I was riding aero and working had I was using my tibilais anterior muscles which was a new sensation. More stress on the calf/shin.

3- solid running block.  I was on the edge and I could feel it. Just walking around I was sore, a misstep here or there and I did not feel right.  I sort of raised my hand to coach and we dialed it back a bit.  Here is big mistake. Instead of I'm a bit tired"  I should have said "I'm worked, my body is not right and I am worried about getting hurt" Clear message of recovery week needed

4 - my back fired up- sign of fatigue and this lead to compensating running for the severe back pain.

5- timing- with Oceanside looming it was the last solid week of running and my thoughts of if I can get these 2 runs in I am good to go.  WRONG  If I had skipped those 2 runs, I probably would have been able to race Oceanside and definitely St George.

6- the run I felt the twinges of pain were a sign. the hard run OTB was not right, pain and compensation.  the final 10 miler where the pain was prevalent and I just finished it  UGH to turn back the clock

7- Newer relationship. My #1 goal is to improve my run, so the idea of calling my new coach and saying I need a break was hard.  The fear of  "how will you get faster if you don't do the work", he will think I am a wimp.  Long term coach/athlete relationships trump here as you are past the "impress the coach " phase the the coach, the coach knows the athlete well, sometimes better than they know themselves.  This is why many consistent athletes work with the same coach year after year.  If you have a good relationship, stick with it and you will be consistency working together to fine tune, focus on weaknesses, improve in all areas etc ...  You are past the understanding personalities, what motivates an athlete, what their life stresses are etc.

So yes more fun on deck!