Almost a Coach!

Last weekend we spent in Vegas; I was at the USAT coaching clinic and Jeremy was running the half marathon. We also managed to have some delicious food, go to the Cirque du Soliel show "O," and see some sights. 

So where to begin? There was lots of good information at the clinic. I did an extra CEU session with Bob Seebohar, who is an exercise physiologist and sports dietitian. His is a different way of thinking about fueling during and outside of exercise-- at least different from my past thinking. Basically, if we can decrease our reliance on carbohydrates, we'll see a lot less gastric distress during exercise. 

Ian gave us more info on swimming, while I was wishing that he'd just coach me. There was a pool right outside, heated and everything. He covered cycling very well, especially for the limited time we had. I came out of it wanting a Computrainer. 

Justin covered running and periodization, which I had a hard time concentrating on, partly because he wrote very tiny numbers on the white board at the dark front of the room, and partly because it was Sunday morning and I was watching Jeremy cross the finish line on my laptop at the back of the room.

Side note: Jeremy PRed by almost 5 minutes! And he didn't trust me that he'd be fast with all this extra mileage. Still waiting for his RR.

I learned in the clinic that every class has THAT GUY. Dude if you're going to constantly talk about yourself, at least find something better to brag about than, "I averaged 100 watts on the bike in a half IM." Really? Did you finish before the cut off? Topple over on the hills?

There were lots of great people there to minimize that guy. I became friends with Rob, who is an amazing athlete. He wins his AG in almost every race he does, and has qualified for worlds over and over. On Sunday, when I was approximately 2 minutes late for class, I walked in to find a look of horror on Rob's face, and that guy setting up shop in my seat! He created enough commotion to distract us every few minutes and to make Rob move his seat.

I found it interesting that I'd been doing triathlons about a decade longer than most people in there. A few had 20+ years of experience, and at least a few were pros or ex-pros, but for the most part, the future coaches had been racing for 3-4 years. One lucky girl had been sent by the Y because they just wanted a tri coach on staff. I don't think she had even raced one. Along those lines, we discussed how success in a sport a good coach does not make. It takes a certain personality plus experience maybe? to do it right. I'm hoping my huge variety of performance outcomes will win me some points. At least I've made all the mistakes. :)

I felt like I was in class most of my hours in Vegas, but we ended our trip with me running in Red Rock Canyon park, Jeremy following along in his car (so he could pick me up when I was done). That night was sushi! and the late performance of "O." And O my, it was amazing! I was impressed not only by their acrobatic moves, but also their ability to survive deep dark water without oxygen for minutes at a time. They could teach me a few things about swimming.

Next I have to complete my take home test, hope I did a good job, and get my certificate. Fingers crossed!