My Meeting with Coaches Jeff and Diane

I've been in Denver since Sunday afternoon for a conference. For those of you that have traveled for work, I think you'll agree that one of the biggest decisions to be made is where to go for dinner and drinks. So while many of my colleagues were deciding between sushi or Peruvian, I was looking forward to an evening of form analysis and form drills with my coaches Jeff and Diane.

I was still in my work clothes when I met them in the hotel lobby so I quickly changed and met them in the hotel gym. The gym at the Grand Hyatt was pretty nice. It had several treadmills, recumbent bikes, ellipticals, free weights, floor mats, etc... everything I needed to workout. Since I did a strength and core routine in the morning, I got on the treadmill for some form analysis. Diane took several minutes of video then told me to get off. We sat on the floor in the gym watching the video. I won't bore you with all the details, but there are many things I'm doing well and several things I need to work on.

Then it was time to move on to form drills. We went through a bunch of drills to teach my body what it should feel like to run naturally. When I first started the drills, I tried to run exactly like Jeff was. Jeff stopped me and said "don't run like me, run like run you." After that, I had an easier time with the drills.

After the drills we sat down and chatted mainly about about my goals for Vermont. I told Jeff and Diane that this time of year always gets in head. I've missed 2 long runs, and Passover is fast approaching. Jeff said one of the reasons for building a big base is in anticipation of the next few weeks. We did talk about a specific time goal for Vermont, I'd rather not share it right now. The most important thing Jeff and Diane left me with is that I have to believe I can accomplish the goal. Jeff and Diane are confident that I can, it's time for me to start wrapping my head around it. I'm starting to get there. I've had some very solid step-up runs recently that has boosted my confidence. But I still can't believe that my name and the time goal are being mentioned in the same sentence.

OK, I've gone on long enough. It was so nice to finally meet Jeff and Diane in person. They are so nice and easy to talk to. My time with them was much better than any meal in Denver.