Jumping In

October 4, 2011

This past weekend I went to Connecticut for for a USA Track & Field conference. It wasn't fun. It was more like 5:30-10 on Friday, 8-9 (with NO DINNER BREAK!!!) on Saturday, and 8-4:30 on Sunday. In my world, anything that has no dinner break, has a 0% chance of being fun.

But I learned a lot. A whole lot.

If you have questions about the pole vault, or the hammer throw, or the long jump, or the 100 hurdles, I'm your girl. Actually, don't ask me about the hurdles. I skipped that section and gave myself and damn freaking dinner break.

So, if you want to know about the hurdles, I say this: Don't do the hurdles. They look dangerous...and hard...and have too much potential for accidentally ripping your genitals right off your body frame.

I also learned a whole mess of new stuff about distance running. Most of it involved superbly complex math like adding fractions and figuring out percentages, and I'm still like whoa, because honestly, I don't remember how to add fractions.

Jared mentioned something about common denominators. But he's full of crap, I just need an iPhone with a Third Grade Math app to do that kind of figuring-out. I could also use an iPhone for my self esteem.

The highlight of the weekend was probably this guy:

Aside from being a ridiiiiiiculous stud, he was insanely smart. His name is Mike Young, and you can read about him here. He was almost worth skipping dinner for--I actually would have skipped dinner if he did his presentation shirtless.

I also had the chance to pow wow with a guy who coaches world-class middle-distance runners. I was like, "Hi. I have a really funny running stride."

And he got, I kid you not, four inches from my face and said, "Oh yeah, what's it like?"

So I took a step back and said, "Some people call it an egg beater stride."

And he stepped forward, maybe three inches from my face and said, "That's permanent. You can strengthen your hip flexors, but you really can't fix it."

So I said, "Thanks Coach!" and ran away.

I guess it's a lot like that close-talking disorder he has--you can't just magically turn it off.

After the class got out on Sunday, I had a five hour drive ahead of me, and man I was tired. I stopped around hour three for a visit, and to talk business with my mildly drunk dentist friend, and then kept plodding north. Then, right around hour four, I decided I had to have McDonald's fries IMMEDIATELY. So I drove twenty miles to the next exit (seriously, I live in Maine, they really are that far apart), and got my fries.

And here's where the story turns heartbreaking.

It was 10:30 on a Sunday night, I had my fries, I had a good song on the radio, and I had a renewed sense of faith in humanity. And then, I accidentally got on the highway going in the wrong direction. The. Wrong. Direction.

I dealt with the pain by yelling @#$%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as soon as I realized what I'd done. Then I dealt with the pain by eating my bucket of fries in three minutes. Honestly? That helped.

I drove the extra forty miles, got home in the middle of the night, curled up next to Jared and whispered, "Babe, this is it."

Because you know what? This is it. Coaching? Training? Motivating? Fitness? Helping people realize they can do what they always thought was impossible? I've never felt so comfortable/motivated/excited/challenged in my life.

As long as I can keep my muffin top, this is exactly where I want to be. The world might not need another Jillian Michaels, but maybe Central Maine needs an Amy Lawson. We'll find out. (!)