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Birthday Celebration, Runner's Style

Let's face it, runners are an odd lot. How many times have you casually mentioned to a non runner friend details about one of your runs and they have looked at you like you are nuts? Exactly.

So when one of my athletes came up with the idea to run 40K on her birthday, I thought it was a fantastic idea! To be somewhat discreet, I won't say how old my client was turning, but you can kinda figure it out. I think back to my father's sage wisdom: "Always remember a woman's birthday, but never her age."

Nickie's plan was to run a loop trail around the lake at one of our area parks. The loop was right around 1.85 miles and a few of our running friends were going to join in the fun at different times throughout the run. Our buddy Ian wound up running the entire distance as a show of support! I joined in for the last 7 miles or so. I had a coaching session with a cross country client earlier that morning, doing one of my favorite XC workouts, mile repeats on grass. Nickie arrived early to the park to get started before the blazing NC heat rolled in and got a great shot of the sunrise.

We ran, we walked, we talked and laughed.......and since we are dog lovers, we stopped to pet all the dogs!

The dog whisperer

  Nickie hit the 40K mark and we decided to do a victory lap and get her to 26.2 miles. All in all a great day and I was happy to help her celebrate by sharing some miles with her!

Have you done any wacky birthday ( or other life event) celebrations that involved running? Let me know by leaving a comment!

Coach G

Fall Update

Fall. My favorite time of year to run! I am just waiting for some "autumnal" weather to actually arrive here in NC. We just got through the first week of October and the XC team battled warm temps all week long, including a hot 6K race on Saturday at Lee Mansion in Newport News, Virginia.

Previewing the Course!

 I am ramping up my own training after a stubborn knee issue over the summer. I race a 5K in November, then start training for the Black Mountain Marathon in February of 2018.
Black Mountain Marathon

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What race are you training for? Drop me a comment and let me know!

Coach G

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A challenging week and getting my run mojo back!

This past week was quite the week.
Monday, head coach got in a car accident right in front of campus. An ominous start to the week. She is fine. A bit bruised and sore but none the worse for wear. I covered Monday and Tuesday's practice in her absence.
We have been struck by the injury bug big time this season. One of our top runners was just put in a boot. We are two weeks away from our conference championship and trying to keep everyone in one piece.We have spoken with the training staff more that with our families the past two weeks.
Our runner in the boot went home on Thursday to see her grandfather, who was just moved to hospice as he loses his battle with cancer. We got news yesterday that he passed away.

At the age of 53, I have had my share of experiences with loved ones dying. I lost both my parents due to health issues before I was 40. My high school graduating class has a Facebook page. I cringe whenever I see a notification from the group. It usually means that a classmate has passed on.
I remember when some of my dad's friends began to pass away, I thought it must be a really unnerving and introspective time when you start to hear the drumbeat of mortality beating away in the distance. I now am getting to experience that feeling firsthand. However to see someone struggle with their first loss of a beloved family member is heartbreaking, no matter how much loss YOU have experienced.

In an effort to turn our luck around, coach and I turned to our go to Friday lunch of Spinach Zaki (for her) and Eggplant Zaki (for me) at our favorite Mediterranean restaurant across the street from campus. Hopefully this will help us turn things around!

One bright spot in the week is that I got a few runs in. I have been floundering in a bit of a slump the past month or so with my own running. With 20 runners and 5 triathletes on the 813 Coaching roster and the Meredith XC team, I am concentrating on everyone's running but my own! The cooler temps are definitely making things easier as I can wait and run in the afternoon without having to worry about getting heat stroke in the blazing NC heat and humidity.

Looking forward to a fresh start on Monday. Training plans have been sent out to all my athletes, a fresh supply of coffee and plant based snacks are in the pantry and hopefully the week, even with a funeral service looming, will be better.

Coach G

Giving Back

The Cross Country team was on fall break this week, but with a meet on Saturday the girls had to stay on campus.
We decided to do our service project on Thursday by visiting the local animal shelter to run with some puppies!

A few new favorites and a busy weekend behind me!

After a long week with less than desirable weather for both running and holding practice, we took the Meredith Track team out on Friday night for some fun bonding time at the local bowling alley!

I was also excited for the weekend as I had some new things to test out. Saturday morning I taught boot camp at 8am and spin class at 9am. Right after that, I met up with my friend Mika, who I had not ran with in forever, for a nice 7 mile run. My friends at Generation UCAN had sent me some samples of their new flavor, Cocoa Delite, and I mixed some up and drank it on the drive over to meet Mika for the run.

Another great flavor! I really like the taste of the Cocoa. You can check them out at www.generationucan.com

After our 7 miler, I had to stop by Meredith and catch up on a bit of paperwork. As luck would have it, the fitness center was open so I got a quick lifting session in before leaving!

I had gotten home late Friday, but was happy to see that my box of Tasc performance wear had arrived and was sitting on the front porch for me!

I love their gear!!

Their fabric is a mix of bamboo and organic cotton and is really comfortable and odor resistant! https://www.tascperformance.com/

Sunday morning I did my usual thing of getting up early, making coffee and sending out weekly training schedules to my runners. If you like strong coffee, and I mean STRONG coffee, check out Death Wish Coffee. They are from a small town in upstate New York called Round Lake, where my sister lives!

I had a group run at noon with the Jimmy V Foundation's Team V and I was eager to run since the weather was going to be beautiful! I was also eager to test out my new Brooks Launch 2's that I had purchased from Omega Sports on Saturday. I was in dire need of new road shoes. I had been running in Mizuno Wave Rider 17 and 18's, but they had quite a few miles on them. I had ran in Brooks before, so it was nice to check them out again!

I ran a little over four miles in them. They are super light and very responsive! Can't wait to get more miles in with them.

Some of My Team V peeps!

After the group run I sped off to the gym to teach 2pm spin class. I had a good crowd and they worked hard. 3 new people in class too!

A man and his spin bike.....

Another busy week coming up as we prepare The Meredith College Track team for their first outdoor meet of the season on Saturday March 5th at Berry College in Rome, Georgia!