Saturday– September 24, 2005
Training: Workout with Fritz Tempo Warm up 20 minute tempo, a jog, and then a 10 minute tempo a little faster
Where: Spiez toward Wimmis
Quotes: "I feel like crap. Crap." Me
Could not sleep until 2am last night and then got up early to work out. I didn't think the jet lag would hit me as hard this time, but it sure did!!!
Quote of the day: You either ran today or you didn't. PERIOD.
Sunday– September 25, 2005
Training: Long run, MY FAVORITE
Where: From Emdtal all the way to Frutigen and back along the Kander river, which is flowing its normal bluish green again!!!!
Quotes: "This feels much better than yesterday."
Oh man, I really love long runs. The weather today was really PERFECT. I totally loved my run today. Everything was just perfect. Don't I wish I felt like this everyday...
TODAY'S RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT COACHES
I can't stress enough the influence all my coaches have had on me. For me, my coaches became like second fathers or mothers, people I wanted to run for and wanted to please. I obviously wanted to run well for myselff, but it felt good when a coach came up to me and gave me a high five or a hug to let me know we ran well….Or met me at the finish line to give me a hug as well to tell me I going to be okay even though I just ran the suckiest race ever…
Like a team, a coach is another motivation factor for me. I know my coach is watching me in a race, I actually think about that while I am racing…and when I hear them yell something, I try to dig even deeper. It is a hard relationship to define and put into words, but again, if you trust your coaches and your training, you will trust yourself more in a race. There is no substitute for that trust relationship one has with a coach.
With my past coaches, I remember not wanting to somehow disappoint them. Even if it was something outside of running. A few times in college, my coaches found out about something and wanted to "talk about it"….I just remember shamefully staring at the floor if I was called into the office to be "scolded." My coaches have all been like family to me…My coaches oftentimes helped me put things into perspective and were also there to hold me accountable for my actions (when the parents weren't there to do it).
Then comes race time. I would try to keep in mind all the workouts I kicked my own butt in and would wonder if they were enough, if I ran hard enough, if I did them right…Self-doubt began to flood into my brain…Then, as soon as the "on your mark" command would be yelled out, those doubts would somehow disappear and I would put my trust where it belonged…into my coaches and into my training.
Now of course, this is coming from me, someone who has been truly blessed with awesome coaches. (For those of you who have coaches who don't know what they are doing, I can't speak for you…)
MY AWESOME COACHES
High School: Coach "Skinny" Aylsworth
N.C. State: Coach Rollie "George" Geiger (Funny story with this name)
Coach Laurie Henes
Jackie Brooks
Swiss National Team: Fritz "BOSS" Schmocker
In my coaches I trust….
Quote of the day:
What counts in battle is what you do once the pain sets in.
- John Short
Great quote! What counts in a race is what you do once the lactic acid starts kicking your butt!!!!!! hahaha
NEXT: September 26 - Water fountains in the forest...
PREVIOUS: September 22, 23 – Fall... time for Student-Athlete bashing at colleges.
INDEX: Unfinished Business -- Former PA XC state champion Josi Lauber's post-collegiate adventure.