1. Short Track (hi, Sharon!). Yes, I'm trying short track again...sort of. Last winter I took US Speedskating's Level I coaching course (taught by none other than the fabulous Coach TieGuy). One of the requirements for completing the Level I certification is to do 25 hours of coaching. I mentioned this to a fellow masters skater at an an association meeting a couple weeks ago, and he suggested I help coach short track for Plymouth-Wayzata Speedskating, now renamed Twin City Speedskating. Well, that sounded like it was right up my alley--or, more accurately, right in my neighborhood. PWSS trains for short track just a few miles from me, which is a refreshing change from the 30 mile jaunt to the oval. So I said "sure."
Only problem is, I know squat about short track. Oh, sure, I tried it a few times--at PWSS, actually, back when TieGuy did some coaching for them--but I never got good at it and never got to enjoy it. Too many people, too short of a track, too rutted ice and the walls way too close when you crash--which, by the last couple sessions, I was doing at least twice a night. My short track since then has been limited to a once-or-twice a year slow session with fellow long-trackers at a rink without pads.
But this time I'd be coaching rather than skating, so what the heck. So last Sunday I grabbed my short track skates and my kneepads and headed to the rink. After a dryland warmup, one of the "real" coaches filled me in on my task. She's a very knowledgeable person who has been around skating forever, and she's seen me on the long track ice for years. Which is why, when she informed me that I'd be watching three skaters and giving them feedback on technique issues, she reminded me that "you know what to look for, even if you can't do it yourself." This was followed by a very meaningful look, which nicely forestalled my "but I can't skate short track" whine.
So I helped coach. It was fun, and it did involve some skating, which I survived (well, OK, I did crash once). I do feel a bit lost when looking for technique issues in short track, but I'll get there, and I'm going again tomorrow. This means that I am now at three to four skating workouts, two Crossfits, four or five foam-rolling and stretching sessions, and a coaching session per week. Oh, yeah, and a job. Anyone want to take bets on how long I can keep this up?
2. Handstands. In Crossfit they do all kinds of crazy things, including handstands. Now, I was never one of those little girls who goes around practicing handstands and roundoffs and cartwheels on any flat stretch of lawn they happen to come across. No, I was a clumsy little thing who hated being upside down or sideways and who liked to keep one foot firmly planted on the ground at all times. So when I saw handstand pushups (HSPU) on the WOD (Workout Of the Day) on Thursday, I figured it could get interesting. Especially since it was following up the Clean and Jerk Debacle of Monday (those Olympic lifts are tricky for a "motor moron!"). So as soon as we were sent off to practice our handstands in preparation for the WOD, I headed straight for the coach.
"I've never done a handstand," I confessed.
Two minutes later, after some brief instruction and a bit of help to get my feet all the way up, I was standing on my hands with my feet against the wall. Then the coach moved my feet slightly away from the wall, exhorted me (repeatedly) to tighten my abs...and then removed his hands.
Five seconds later, after he had helped me return to a right-side-up position, he proffered his knuckles for a fist bump (which, in a display of my typical inability to keep up with popular culture, I initially attempted to high-five).
"There," he said, "you just did a handstand."
And, like a five year old whose dad has just let go of her "big girl bike" for two seconds and then assured her that she "rode a bike"--I beamed with pride.
3. Thyroid. Well, the tweaking of the meds seems to be working. On Tuesday I re-attempted the 3x5K endurance workout which had ended so horribly--and so quickly--the previous Tuesday. This time it went much better: my slowest lap of the 37.5 was a 53, which was, coincidentally, my fastest lap of the six I had managed to complete the previous week. I consider that progress! In addition, a quick flip through my data notebooks showed that I haven't done 5K's in an inline workout in a couple years, so just completing them feels like a victory. So once again, I can say "so far so good, and bring on the ice!"
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