I need a rest....

…I went from doing the Calgary stampede run and road trip to helping my parents with some surgery my Mom had and then a few days later I am up in Kelowna at the BC Summer games helping coach a bunch 14 and 15 year olds. And now I am going on vacation with the ‘insignificant other’ aka ‘the boss’. But even as I write this the road to Whistler (the first day of our trip) is closed….Uh Oh……

I had actually gotten back into the swing of things running wise when I went up to Kelowna. I figured I would be able to do some maintenance work, but between the schedule, the heat and general responsibilities I was exhausted. But it was probably good for me. I haven’t really ‘coached’ since I was injured in 2003 and began working with Matt Johnston. Since then I’ve kinda advised people in their training and trained with them, but not actually being solely responsible.

It was great working with the ‘kids’ as it will also be the same ages I will be working with next year. Fortunately, They were well behaved and already had some good club coaches so they knew their routines. I sometimes forget that I have achieved some running awards that look good on paper and carry some weight with the younger athletes. It’s interesting how they respond to you, much in the same way I would have responded to many of my running role models at the same age. But then again I was pretty stupid about the sport at 15 and had no real idea of anyone.

The BC Games was one of those experiences that would (although I didn’t realize it at the time) have a great impact on my life. I met some athletes who would become great friends, competitors and training partners, and coaches who would lead me down the road to a sport I have (I hate to say it) I love. A few days off of running was well worth the motivation I gained from the kids and I also (hopefully) helping them in their races. It’s a bit of an advantage I have in having run so long and tat is I’ve experienced it all from the high and lows and don’t simply look at the sport as simply running a race. It means so much more than that to the athlete.

It was fun discussing tactics with the ‘milers’ that took me back to a place long ago when I caused havoc on the last lap of races with surges and kicks that got me both in and out of trouble. I was pretty inexperienced at racing at 15, but these kids have been ‘around the block’ in regards to racing. They are still finding out their ‘racing personalities’ and fortunately I think I was able to help one of the boys to go to the next level in beginning to understand his strengths and weaknesses as he ran very similar to what we had discussed beforehand. I think he surprised everyone, including himself,f with two 3rd place finishes in the 800 and 1500m. Funny thing as I had seen him race a few times this year and had tracked some of his results on paper and felt he was in the mix if he ran ‘smart’ races. He ran both tough and smart races and walked away with the two best performances of his young running career.