As I've stated previously, the motif of the year thus far is coaching - as in coaching two separate baseball teams this year. However, I've been doing another sort of coaching as well, a bit under the radar: I've been coaching a few runners.
I started about six moths ago or so with my friend and former colleague Nick, who at the time was relatively new to running. A few weeks ago I picked up another "client" (I use the word loosely; I'm doing this for free) who is also a former colleague. Both guys are working towards completing their first marathon this fall in Chicago and both are making great progress
Anyway, turns out I might actually know what I am doing: despite training through for the Lakefront Ten Miler day in downtown Chicago, Nick busted out an amazing time that, quite frankly, has surprised us both. Six months ago he was skeptical that he could run one mile under 8:00 minute pace. Today he busted out ten miles at an average pace of around 7:30. And the beautiful thing is he could go even faster.
Anyway, a big congrats to Nick. I might be doing the coaching but he's putting in all the hard work, and today he saw the rewards.
Important qualifier vis a vis my "coaching" -- it's not something I am exactly qualified for in a professional sense. I don't have an exercise physiology degree or even a trainer's certification (though that's on my "to do" list for this year or next). The only thing I have is about 20 year's worth of experience, which I think counts for something.
Anyway, if anyone else is interested in my "services" please let me know. For the short-term, the price is definitely right (as in free if it wasn't clear before).
On the topic of running, I went on my longest trail run in all my time here in Marin: ran for three hours and twenty minutes on the trails in what I am calling the Tour de Marin. I literally hit all the "biggies": Sun Trail to Redwood to Dipsea to Muir Woods to Muir Beach to Coastal Trail to Pirates Cove to Pacific Coast Trail Back to Coastal to Tennessse Valley to Miwok to Highway One and Alll the way back up a gnarly mountain to my house. I was so freaking worked in the heat -- it was around 85 degrees - towards the end of the run that I saw a cab and started heading over -- I had ten bucks in my pocket and had had enough. Just as I approached, the cabdriver rolled down the window, took a look at me and said "you are one tough dude."
With that said, there was no way I could get in the cab.
Tough dudes don't od cabs during hard runs.
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For readers of this blog, surely, I cannot tell you more than you already know about Howard the man, and Howard is the man (or the main boy, whichever you prefer) but I might be able to give you a bit of insight into Howard the trainer.
Howard is passionate, and compassionate. He really wants you to be the best you can be, but not at the expense of your growth as a runner/swimmer or your health. He has been there, so he knows what it is like to recover from a long run or the joy you feel after *killing* a track session.
Howard is creative and makes running really interesting. You think you know how to run and how to train right now, but you have no idea at all. Forget the mundane four mile track you run on Thursday nights, this is going to be interesting, customized and results based. You will have unique workouts each week and you will literally see the results of what you accomplished last week when you are recording your mile splits.
Howard is extremely motivational and really revels in your successes. I can't explain the feeling of pride I get when I can let Howard know how well I did on a certain tough or long workout, but it is something that keeps me going when I want to quit. Howard is really invested in my training and I believe that he is nearly as interested in it as I. And as my wife can attest, I am really interested in it.
Howard is tough, and understanding. Howard is going to increase the amount of training you are used to by a factor of three, in both duration and intensity, so prepare yourself. That being said, if you need to miss or move a workout because of a conflict, he will understand and reformat your week to make it work.
Howard is funny and very responsive. Dude is a good friend, Howard is. And funny, if you think workout-related humor is funny. Also, he is pretty responsive to emails. This was made possible through a controversial blackberry implantation process he recently underwent.
Bottom line is, if you are ready to go to the next level, Howard is your man. I can really say that he has transformed me from a runner into a running machine; from a passive swimmer into a passionate fish; and I am about three weeks away from buying a road bike, so you do the math.
Howard has been truly inspirational and an insane motivator for me, whether he knows it or not, and almost all of my recent successes I owe to his tutelage. Thanks, How, and keep up the good work, coach.
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