Welcome February!

Wednesday, February 01, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning.

Happy February! I am pretty sure many of you are happy to say goodbye to January and hope that this month treats you a bit better. I certainly am not disappointed to change the calendar and look forward to a great February! Only 13 days till Valentine’s Day!

I hope your week is going well, mine got a little boost when I saw that I did okay on my test on Monday. I am not sure if I am all that impressed with my knowledge or that it was more a case of the instructor being kind. In any event, I will continue on with the class. Next up, is a test on Monday in my Prevention & Care for Exercise Injuries class. I am behind in preparing for that because of the focus I put on Exercise Fitness, so I have some cramming to do. Life is certainly challenging at times.

Unfortunately, yesterday at about the midpoint of my interval workout, I felt a pretty good strain on the upper part of (distal) of my hamstring. I was on a treadmill, so I brought the speed down quickly. However, even walking, I could feel a decent amount of discomfort, so that workout was done. Typically, my injuries surround either my hip, calf, or my left foot, so this was kind of weird for me. My guess, is that I was a little too aggressive with the space of my intervals and that I strained the hamstring. While I am not thrilled that I may have to take a break from running momentarily, I am confident that I caught it quick enough that I only did minimal damage. Let hope.

Instead of calling it quit after I strained my hamstring, I decided it was as good time to use the rowing machine. I am a proponent of using a rowing machine as cross training alternative and that did not cause any strain on the hamstring. For the next week or so, I will use the rowing machine and get some good cardio, as well as other benefits. Later today will be interesting when I do my strength training.

This weekend I must take the Road Runners Club of America certification test, so I can get that behind me. I will then have 12 modules to complete over the next 12 months, to complete the requirements for Level II Certification. Not particularly easy, but I will get it done. Hopefully when I have completed these educational challenges, I will be a better-rounded running coach. Never be still!

Considering the various request NFLR is getting, I would say that continuing to get formal education is imperative. Being able to help runners complete some pretty crazy challenges requires us to learn about every aspect of healthy running and I am learning that there is a lot of information out there. We are fortunate that we have a team of coaches that have a diverse amount of knowledge and we are able to help all types of runners. Even some of the crazy ones!

Time to get myself out the door. Wednesday mornings is my time with a men’s group that meets and talks about our faith and struggles over breakfast. Really an awesome 90 minutes of enrichment that I look forward to. Have a great day. and thanks for hanging out with me!

God Bless!

Mike