Last Friday in January already!

Friday, January 27, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning!

Grab your coffee and let’s share this morning pleasure together.

How is your sleep lately? Less than 7 hours sleep a night not only impacts your workouts, but also contributes to weight gain. We do not take our sleep serious enough and yet multiple studies find that the effects of minimal sleep, are severe. Myself, I struggle with sleeping throughout the night, but I definitely take it serious. I have resorted to over the counter sleep aides and that is not a good thing, so I am working on that. Computers, tablets, televisions, and even smart phones are all found to be a determent to a healthy night of sleep, so the goal should be to minimize them 90 minutes prior to lights out. From a coaching standpoint, I cannot stress enough that sufficient sleep is critical in a successful training plan. Something to work on.

Diet update:

This week I had salmon twice, along with broccoli and kidney beans. Last night I cooked chicken with beans and some other vegies and that will last me through the rest of the week. Definitely not fully the Mediterranean diet, but some parts of it. I have not touched the salt shaker in over 10 days, and that is a record! The salmon is not exactly enjoyable, but it goes down okay. Somewhat cleaner eating, but I have had a few sweets mixed in. J

This week we have gotten two email inquiries about coaching Ultra-marathoners. Certainly, we have the capability, but not I’m not sure that either of these circumstances are a good fit for NFLR. We do a lot of talking with prospective clients and sometimes it is not as simple as either side might like. We are not sure that either of these would be a good partnership and not because of the desired distance, but more the differences in training approach. We are not in business to decline opportunities to help runners, but NFLR represents a unique approach to coaching, and that means that some runners do not fit well with us. Training time is always important, so often determining if we are the best fit for a particular runner, has to be made fairly quick and we try not to make the wrong decision in haste. Our thought process is more intended to make sure the runner works with a coach that will be likeminded enough to give them the best opportunity for success. There are certainly a lot of coaches outside of NFLR that are willing to take on circumstances that we do not. We will see, but it is unique to get two such request in one week.

If I can manage a strength training session this afternoon and a long run tomorrow, I will feel good about my week of working out. Whether it is my classes or just gravity, it has been a challenge this week to workout. Wednesday for instance, I had zero motivation to do my strength training. I had my workout clothes on and yet, my mind and body wanted to just sit on the couch. I would even have chosen studying skeletal bones over working out and that is sad. Instead of thinking about it too long, I got up and started my workout and my body still didn’t want to do it. Because of the design of my current strength training plan, I was quickly near the end of my first circuit and that boosted me considerably. I labored through and as I finished my second circuit, I knew I was going to get it done. When I struggle with getting myself moving, I will often visualize how I feel after a workout and that helps a lot. Nothing is greater than the feeling of finishing a workout and if you can hold that feeling and recall it, you have a great tool to motivate you on those tough days. When I feel tired or sore, I also try to keep my focus on form and posture as a way to distract the way my body feels. This not only helps with mentally getting through a workout, but it is important to not let a tired body get sloppy. I got the workout done and while I did not feel amazing, I was happy with myself for overcoming. No doubt, this afternoon will require the same approach, as I did not get as much sleep as I would have liked and am tired. I will say that when I have my partner, it is much easier.

Time to get ready for work at the Country Club. Have a great Friday and this time next week we will be rolling through February already!

God Bless!

Mike