Sunday morning coffee

Sunday, August 04, 2013 · Mike Davis

A new week ahead and the running business is crazy! I was at pizza party with a team of runners that are finishing up with their 10K training and one of the runners made this comment to me: “You must have great time management skills to do all that you do with runners”. Well the fact is, I do not have very good time management skills and my schedule has to be managed carefully some times. Often it looks like this: Monday at 6PM with a training group followed by a track workout with a high schools X- Country runner. Tuesday back at the track at 5:00 to meet on the hour with various clients. Wednesday back at the track for both the 10K group and my X-Country runner and finally Thursday I may or may not have a client session. Friday is date night with my wife and the weekend could be anything. All of this can be challenging and crazy but I am a running coach and that’s what I do. I will take it a step further and say; I am a running coach and I love it! I work with runners of all levels and with various goals. From seasoned marathoners to those that desire to make a change in their life through running and fitness. Recently I received this email from one that fell more into the latter. There may be more information than she might like me to share but to fully grasp how running has made a difference in her life I cut and pasted the entire email she sent me. “So I'm not sure if you remember this, but when we first met, I told you I have diabetes. I've been dealing with it since I was 27, so that's been like 7 years now. Runs in the family and is just the crappy hand of cards I've been dealt.” “So, periodically I have to see my endocrinologist (diabetes doctor), who I saw today for my regular appointment. Well, things are going so well that we're looking at cutting back on one of my 2 diabetes meds (the other one I'll probably have to be on the rest of my life no matter what I do, but that's how it goes.) Mike, I can't describe to you how awesome this is. First my blood pressure meds are cut way back, now the diabetes meds, things are lining up and I'm just so excited! I've tried and failed so many times, and I think this time with your help and my husband's and family's support, I'm finally going to do this and make the lifestyle change that I need to. I'm already doing it, now I just need to keep it up. In the past, this seemed like a daunting endeavor; now I find myself being excited get my next month's training plan! :) And I'm having fun and looking forward to my workouts, which is awesome! I used to slog through my workouts and now I think having things organized, having a plan, having a log and the accountability all makes it come together for me. Thank you so much, Mike, I'm just so grateful to be working with you!” I will not begin to take much of the credit for this wonderful story but I will say that the individual that shared this information is being physically impacted by the hard work and discipline that comes with following a personal training plan. No doubt I can design a personal training plan that fits just about any individual, but ultimately it takes the individual to make it work. I won’t even say that I am a motivator because motivation has to come from within the person, I may encourage and hold someone accountable but that’s all a coach can really do. Her improved health I a byproduct of a decision she made and has followed through with. We just published our second NFLR Newsletter and so far the minimal feedback is that it’s great! No doubt it is very good, but we are looking for as much feedback as possible along with suggestions. So be sure to check it out by going to the link on the front page of the site. Another big addition to NFLR will be coming later in September and we are really excited! Enjoy your Sunday and take your time sipping that coffee….