Concrete Jungle Where (Coaching) Dreams Are Made

One of the biggest perks of my job is that they support continuing education and professional development, in and out of the classroom. I have attended a number of seminars and conferences on teaching already in my year and half at the school. Last year, when I was visiting other private schools, I noticed that one of the cross country coaches was USATF certified and got it into my head that I wanted to obtain that certification as well. It was a long process but I finally accomplished it: USATF membership, an online course on fundamentals training and then this weekend a 22-hour coaching education level 1 certification course.

The course was awesome, and way better than I imagined. Although we spent plenty of time on horizontal jump approaches and the blocking position for throws (which I'm still not sure I understand), we covered so many topics that will definitely help me coach and train better. Obviously the endurance section was the most helpful for learning about drills and running-specific recovery, but I also nerded out during the training theory, physiology and biomechanics sections. One of the biggest points I took away from the course was the importance of multilateral training. I'd heard about this concept before but now I understand why it's so important. Basically, there are five biomotor training components that athletes* should constantly and consistently be addressing in their training: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility and Coordination. The integration of all of these practices into one's training is crucial to success. I've already expressed on this blog that I often eschew speed work and put off my lifts. I knew that I shouldn't and that I should always strive for a more well-rounded training plan, but now I have to practice what I preach. Fortunately, I already coach this way, and reviewing my training plans from the past xc seasons has shown me that between dynamic mobility, strides, long runs, strength circuits, etc, my girls are pretty well prepared. I base my coaching on how I was coached at Colby, and Deb definitely knew her stuff. I'm grateful for a coach who trained us as well rounded athletes.

*Speaking of athletes, another great takeaway from the course is that as coaches, we want to train athletes who run marathons/10k/800m/etc, rather than a marathoner/10k runner/800 runner. Being generally strong, flexible, coordinated, fast and enduring in any event or sport is infinitely better than being confined to one specific race because of your training. Do we need to go into why? Glad we're all clear on that.

Aside from spending 22 hours in an elementary school auditorium, I was able to get in some touristy moments as well. I ran (and took selfies) in Central Park both days, once during sunrise which was pretty neat. For a decidedly country mouse, running in the city was a fun change of pace. I still don't like waiting at crosswalks, but I saw so many people running and that was really refreshing. The whole gamut of runners were out, especially on Sunday. I passed a bunch of ladies waddling in their yoga pants and jackets, and then definitely got lapped by some Columbia runners out for a workout. It was exciting and motivating, and had I not been so exhausted from the work week and the demands of the weekend, I would have stayed in the park for hours.

While I was not running or learning about running, the boyfriend and I got out to explore the city a little bit. We ate at Chinese, Italian and Cuban restaurants and saw the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. We also visited with a good friend and saw her new apartment. We did a lot of walking and exploring. I've always been and will always be a Boston girl, but it was a weekend well spent in the city that never sleeps.

Rachel "Level 1" Runner