RRCA Coaching Certification

Mid-May I traveled up to the Twin Cities to geek out all things running and coaching at a RRCA Coaching certification. I went solo, which is totally not my thing, but something I'm getting better at. I had been fighting a cold all week, so when I got to the hotel I ordered in food, spent time working on my coaching clients since I knew I wouldn't have my typical Saturday afternoon time to work on things, and went to bed early.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early and ready for Day 1! I arrived, and was given a HUGE spiral bound book and was ready to soak up all the information. I didn't know anyone in the group, but there ended up being a couple of guys that were from Sioux Falls originally, which was nice, as well as some who had done the Sioux Falls marathon in the past, and had plans to come back this year!

Day 1 was so good; lots of information. Luckily it was reaffirming a lot of the principles of trainings that I have read over the years. I do think if I had come in as a fresh newer runner, I would've been very overwhelmed with information. Phew.

Day 2 was more great information, touching on running form, injuries and then working on training plans in a group, which was a lot of fun. I love learning from other people and hearing the "why's" behind their decisions to do things differently than me. Unfortunately after lunch, I started feeling really terrible, and by the time I had gotten home from the cities at about 9pm, I felt like I had full on influenza--chills, body aches, racing heart. Blech. Luckily for me, (and everyone in that room), I just had an insane bronchial infection that shouldn't have been contagious. I would've felt TERRIBLE.

Now I have a 100 question exam that I have to score an 85% or higher on to pass. I've started working on the test and it's not as easy as I thought it'd be! Some of the questions are looking for a very specific answer that was discussed on slide 97 of 500 at some point during our 17 hours of instruction. Coupled with my post-training fevered brain. :P

Regardless I've very thankful to get the opportunity to take my coaching to the next level and represent 605 Running Co. to the best of my ability!

2019 Coaching Goal Accomplished

I'm super excited to be crossing off one of my 2019 goals already:

Coaching 5 runners toward their running goals.

I just added my 5th runner to my schedule and I'm so excited. The runners I'm coaching are all so vastly different and it has been such a joy to customize a training cycle specifically or them, to fit their daily lives and make them a stronger runner.

I've gotten in a nice pattern where I've been adding new runners about every 3-4 weeks. I seem to get into a nice rhythm with my new runners in about 3-4 weeks, figuring out what works well, laying out a communication strategy that works best, and just getting to work!

If you have spring goals races, or a big fall goal and want to talk about some base building to hit your goals, let me know!

For more information about coaching check out this page on the 605 Running Co. website.

I am a Running Coach!

I am so excited to become the newest running coach at 605 Running Co. It's no secret that I love studying the sport of endurance running and using myself and my running buddies as guinea pigs as I try out different theories and philosophies of training. After some persistent, gentle nudging from some friends, I finally made the big ask to my friends at 605 to see if they needed some help with coaching. 

I can't wait to help some runners hit their goals, no matter how big or small. I've really enjoyed helping my BRF Toni hit some major PRs over the last couple of years, and without her nearby to obsess over her training, I certainly have some extra free time to obsess over others. I'll be taking my RRCA certification in the near future, and can't wait to learn anything and everything about coaching, especially as it challenges or confirms my current thoughts and coaching philosophies.

If you're interested in being coached by me, I'm taking on a few athletes to start. More information about coaching can be found here.

***Also, just to clarify, I haven't left my job at the library to pursue coaching. I guess a lot of people thought that was the case. No worries, I'm still shilling people free books all day e'ery day!