This blog post is for females only. So, if you are a male, I’m going to have to ask you to please just go ahead and press your back button now. It’s really nasty and gross, so I urge you to not read this if you are a man, or if you are squeamish in any way.
You have been warned. I don’t want any guys posting comments on this blog, or I’ll know you read this and I’ll be embarrassed. And so should you!
Okay, here’s the story. Whenever I have my period and am fixing to go for a bike ride, I use a tampon, and I jam the string “way up in there”. Otherwise, the string, particularly the little knot part at the end, will really irritate my girly parts while riding. And that causes me pain and will hamper my enjoyment of the ride. I do have a sensitive girly butt. I am guessing most females do.
Anyhow, whenever I do this, I think, oh man, I hope I don’t forget that I jammed a tampon way up in there. I never have forgotten – until this time. OMG, I rode my bike on Saturday, and didn’t realize until Wednesday that I still had a tampon in. I guess the good news is that I had some pretty good signs of the odoriferous nature that something was terribly wrong with me. As I was taking a bath tonight after my spin class, I remembered the tampon and realized what was wrong with me.
Eww. Gross. Never. Again.
More good news, I am still alive.
To be on the safe side, I think I’ll start doing something like writing myself a note on the bathroom mirror. Is this a senior moment? fml.
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tip:
I’d love to hire you as a coach! Then I won’t have to think! I can just swim, bike and run!”
WHAT???
Last week, a potential client said this to me in conversation and it seems to sum up what many athletes think about once they are in a coach-athlete relationship. Other coaches I talk to routinely say that they bump up against this, so perhaps it’s time to get this out in cyberspace once and for all:
WE WANT YOU TO THINK!!!
Any coach wants an athlete who cares, questions, trusts and even obsesses. We are in the profession of coaching because we want to see athletes develop and we cannot do this with just your bodies! Of course we simplify your life by writing you a custom program and manipulating the myriad training factors of intensity, volume, training time, recovery sequencing, strength, speed, agility, peaking, racing etc. But ultimately, we want you to train mindfully and to grow. You need to hear our voice inside your head when you swim, bike, run and repeat. And you need to let a coach’s wisdom into your thoughts and actions. Only then can you fully apply it.
What has your coach done to change your mindset, thoughts, and insight about about your training?
Ask.
Listen.
Think.
Apply!
2012 your best season ever
stacey@tristacey.com
I had this saved in draft mode for months, only because I was too busy to write up a report. I have a new goal to try to post at least one blog per week, in addition to Stacey’s workout tips…do you like those?
In January 2012, two of my daughters did the Eno Equalizer race with me, which was put on by the Godiva Track club. The race course is rugged four miles in the Eno River state park. It is a scenic, hilly trail that includes crossing a swinging bridge and climbing a mountain!
It was an interesting race format. When you arrive at the race site, you give them your estimated 5k race time. Based on that, they assign teams of three, each with a handicap allotment of minutes. Each team then decides how to divy out the handicap minutes between the three runners. The goal is for the entire team to cross the finish line at the same time, and the team who has all three members cross first, wins.
When we signed up for the race, we thought we would be our own team. At first we were disappointed to arrive on the race site only to be told the teams were random. But, in the end, it turned out to be really fun and we met some cool people.
I ended up on a team with the gym teacher from my daughter’s grade school. Laura ended up on a team with a woman who does 100 mile races. Holy cow! Becky’s teammates included the infamous “Monk” from the trailheads running group.
We were just in the race to have fun, and we didn’t win, but we all had a great time.
Here are some pictures and a video:
Here is a video of the finish line – you can see all three of us cross the finish line at the Eno Equalizer.
I cross at 1:40 into the video;
Becky crosses 4:14 into it;
Laura at 7:18.
Hey, I wanted to let you all know that The Unnamed Half Iron race needs a name! FS Series is running a contest on Facebook for a name.
Join the discussion on facebook by becoming a fan of FS Series and then posting your idea for a name on their wall!
Last month, I blogged about how I am very excited that FS Series is bringing back my favorite race venue at Jordan lake. Why not join me in the pain fun and register for that race, too?! :-)
PS…I have a Rudy Syton aero helmet (which they don’t sell any longer because the Wingspan is even cooler) and Rudy Abilty in pink shades. I love them! I got them a few years ago, and they are still in good shape (even the shades – i have never had shades that have lasted so long!)
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tip:
2008 Worlds, p.o.'d at Poseidon
Don’t you always wonder what rage can do for your race results?
I often toss this around in my mind, as I begin the journey of coaching various athletes with different styles and personalities. It’s not every athlete who can effectively channel rage and anger into breakthrough performances. Not every athlete is wired like Lance Armstrong or Chris McCormack, using anger effectively on the race course. For every Macca, there is a Chrissie Wellington who races through the pain by channeling joy, writing “smile” on her water bottle and achieving her own joyful nirvana through suffering.
Sports psychologists and coaches certainly have their work cut out for them in this arena. Each athlete is wired so differently. Great coaches have so much more on their plates than simply writing swim, bike, run, repeat…
Last week, one of my happiest, most light-hearted athletes with a wild, carefree attitude responded so strongly to my suggestion of channeling rage in her upcoming A race. It downright shocked me how “miss happy” could readily summon up rage and anger at various things in her life. We agreed she would save it for the last 5 miles of the upcoming White Lake half Ironman. Who knew that there was this other level of passion within her. How great to know she can call on it when she puts it all on the line in her upcoming race!!!
It’s amazing to discover these hidden sides of ourselves both as athletes and as humans with daily lives full of frustrations, stressors, and seemingly small victories.
Find out what fuels you: love for your kids, specific race goals, redemption for something, fame, fortune, or some form of anger. Harness it. Channel it. Stash it away. Then unleash a torrent of great racing at your next race; bring together your passion and that well-tuned body. Bet you will achieve the next level in your racing once it all acts as one;
body + mind+ passion= breakthrough race day
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching
