Everyone is or should be in full training mode right now for their up and coming races. I've had many people asking me if and where I'm racing this season which I appreciate. As a coach, I'm providing my athletes a path that hopefully builds their fitness, expands their mental and physical limits, and puts them on the starting line of their goal races confident and ready. Because I've committed myself to an "every other year big goal" plan as of lately, it's easy for me to get distracted with others on my in between years and forget that I also need some carrots out there to pursue. I also feel it's important for me to practice what I preach. I want to race in a 70.3 or two, but need to find some that fit in my calendar. June looks shot as of right now between recitals, soccer tournaments, Camps, ... My main goal this season will most likely be Olympic Distance Nationals in Tuscaloosa in September. I need a qualifying race first though.
I've been running a few days a week with my wife, including a great run that we did last Saturday in Central Park. We stayed in NYC last Friday night to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. Saturday morning was beautiful weather and as we made our way warming up easily to Central Park South, we merged in with a bunch of runners that were being paced by official Nike pacers for the up and coming 1/2 marathon taking place in NY. This worked well since they new the trail system through the park. Honestly, there were maybe 10,000 runners in the park that morning! I'm used to running all alone in the trails near my home so the visual stimulation was fun. Lisa is more competitive then me - if she lived in NY and ran in the park regularly, she'd get injured or burned out quick. She hates getting passed and all her runs would end up as tempo.
Speaking of running in the trails alone and running tempo, I had a cool experience yesterday in the trails near my home that I run in all the time. I had about 90 minutes to work in a run in between soccer games and I planned to work the hills and also work in two by 20 minute tempo efforts. About one hour in, I was working a hill over on a single track trail and as I crested it, about fifteen feet in front of me, I startled a pack of young coyotes. There were maybe 10 or 12 of them scrambling everywhere and I froze in my tracks, turned off my music, and looked everywhere for A) their elders, and B) a big stick. This was the first time I've ever seen coyotes in these trails that I've been running weekly for the last ten years.
There are only four weeks left until my LP Camp! If you haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for???
Cheers,
EH
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