Sunday Morning Coffee and Chat

Sunday, December 18, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning!

Grab your coffee and hangout with me for a few minutes. Having coffee with that someone you love is such a wonderful thing. Take some time during this holiday season to enjoy those that mean so much to you and if it is over a cup of coffee; all the better.

The past week in North Carolina was chilly but nothing like our friends in New Hampshire have been dealing with! Negative temperatures and enough snow to guarantee a white Christmas for sure. Yesterday I had to wear a cold weather half zip, but I also wore shorts, so I have no complaints about the Carolina running weather. While I was in shorts running many of my friends to the north were stuck inside because of a snow storm. White Christmas is my favorite Christmas movie but having a white Christmas is not something I long for. Do not get me wrong, I would be okay living in New Hampshire but for now I am enjoying not having the mess that comes with snow.

This past week I was pleased to get in two strength training workouts in. It is so important to maintain functional strength as well as work muscles that are ignored when I am running. The reality is that running alone might help with not only shedding fat, but also muscles. Kathy and I have many conversations about strength training and there is no doubt that it is imperative that it be a part of a good overall training plan. No doubt strength training gets squeezed out when life gets busy but, both of us agree that it is better to sacrifice some running to get in at least one strength training session, but two should be the goal. This past week I ran one less day but I getting in 2 strength training sessions made my overall week a good one! In all honesty, I did not miss a run to get in a strength training workout, but I consider my week a success.

My good friend and fellow certified running coach Doug Mackinnon might tell me that I am semi-retired and that makes it easier to fit both running and strength training into my schedule and I would agree but… I did much better with my workouts when I was working, nice try Doug!

Thursday was awesome as my wife and I ran together! However, while it was fantastic for me to run with my favorite partner, I think Kathy may not have be so thrilled about it. She has not felt well since. Bummer!

The largest certifying organization for running coaches; Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), is now offering a level II certification class. This has been a long time coming and I am pleased that myself and NFLR NH’s team lead, Amy Spencer will be attending. Our team of coaches spends a lot of time educating ourselves on everything running as well as having an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified trainer on our team. Now being able to further our certifications is awesome and I look forward to the class. I have been involved with RRCA for a few years along with Kathy and while we have evolved our coaching skills, it is good to have another structured course. The course will be in Arlington Virginia, so it is fairly convenient for me.

I am now trying to find a fun race to sign up for and surprisingly that has not been too easy. I want to run something locally but I have not been able to find any events. I guess I will look outside of North Carolina but that means it must be an event worth traveling for. A few of the NFLR coaches are talking about running the Eastern State 20 miler in the early spring, but I don’t see myself running that distance.

Six shopping days to Christmas! My shopping is done and the gifts are wrapped! That might be a first for me! Speaking of Christmas, If you are looking for a great gift for a runner, get them a gift certificate for a professional gait analysis from NFLR. Gait analysis is necessary for every runner and the recipient of such a gift will be grateful.

Time to head off to church. I am certainly grateful that we found a great church here in North Carolina that truly keeps Christ at the forefront of all things! Thank you Marry Alice!

Have a great week and keep Christ in Christmas!

God Bless!