Mind your P's and Q's....

....and keep your eyes on the prize.

My coach, Thomo, wants me to run a 10k this weekend. It had been in the plans and I was really reved up to do it prior to my crash because everything was clicking along great. Then I missed a couple weeks of running and when I was able to return, I felt like I was starting all over. Luckily though, it has continued to improve quickly and I have been able to add some intensity back in, but know I am not where I was prior to the set back.




I'll be honest, as an athlete, I don't like to race if I'm not prepared. I like to race, not just do the event...whatever it is 5k, 10k, triathlon, bike race etc. I like to feel ready to do my absolute best. The thought of doing this little local 10k, not feeling fast isn't my favorite.

BUT, as a coach, this is exactly the sort of thing I try to get my athletes to do all the time. The information you can get from a test/ race is so helpful to see where you are at with fitness. It is much harder to plan workouts for athletes when they don't follow the plan, or do these test sets, or races (or even log in the workouts). I know that athletes fear the results, are afraid to fail, or let themselves or whoever else down, and then won't step up to the plate and take a swing at it. When this happens, it does make it tougher to keep progressing them towards the big event or "A" race. The little smaller races also help you practice a pre-race routine, deal with the nerves and butterflies, and experience moving at a race effort with other people around. You can't get that in the depths of your basement on the treadmill or bike trainer, no matter how loud you turn up that i-pod.

So doing this local 10k makes perfect sense to me as a coach, probably even more so than before the crash because now with bigger races quickly approaching it is even more important to see where I am since losing some ground. Simon can then plan the training the best way possible over the next few weeks. As an athlete, I'll have to get over myself, suck it up and just go out and give it my best effort. It can only help the training going into the next few weeks before Memphis.

Some of my awesome athletes are facing their big day very soon! Good luck to Wellman at Boston, John R at "The Rage in the Sage", and Carmen C. at Big Sur!