CFHH Race Recaps: BB Triathlon and Firecracker 5K

One of the most special moments for any Coach is to witness their athletes achieve their goals. This is literally the essence of coaching. To give a person every tool in the coach's box to be successful. Early on in my career,  I never would of thought that coaching would become my identity. I thought that becoming a Fitness Director was all I ever wanted to be. Now that I think back, I believe I'm so into coaching others to be at their best because my Dad did this for me growing up. Every single baseball game from age 6years old onto middle school my Dad was my coach. Although he didn't coach my hockey team, he drove me to the numerous rinks and attended almost every game. He was there for me when I wrecked my Mom's car 30days into having my license and he'd always be at the last hole of my golf tournaments. I think it's fair to say we all have different coaches in life. We sometimes don't realize it. We don't understand how people affect us. It seems we really understand though when it leads to something great.

Another reasons coaching is one of the most exciting things in life is when you're a coach you have expectations for your athletes, but you "don't have expectations." This means you want to see them succeed and you'll do everything in your power, but being their whether they knock their goal out of the park or strike out looking, you're still proud of them. Saying I will is the first step. What's interesting is the more I become a Coach, it seems the less I care about my times or goals. You can get wrapped up in this stuff! It's not a bad thing, but being a good Coach involves many factors. Walking the talk, role modeling the behaviors and resting when appropriate is important.This go around our Endurance Team had pretty legit expectations. Here's a rundown!

Race: On On Tri Beach Bum Triathlon
Distance: 400m O. Swim, 6M Bike, 5K Run  
Place: Coligny Beach, Hilton Head Island, SC
Day: June 29th 2013 8am
CFHH Athletes:(5)Becky, Anne, Jason, Lynn,Me
Total: 180 athletes

















If you're thinking about trying your first Sprint Triathlon this is the one to jump into because the swim and the bike are shortened. You're also welcomed to use a beach cruiser, which is nice. No fancy equipment needed. Awesome. Anyways, the day went well! For the majority of our athletes this was their first one. Minus the rough current and intense wind in the face on the bike temperatures were quite cool and manageable. The entire lead pack of swimmers ended up swimming in the wrong direction because a buoy got loose. The water was wicked choppy and the current was going in all directions. So how did everyone fair?

Lynn, probably our most nervous athlete absolutely knocked it out. Lynn is one of our assistant coaches and has been training with CFHH Endurance group since its inception, but the swim was a little bit intimidating going into the day. Given the fact that she's roughly ninety pounds and super lean could have something to do with it. A lot tougher to swim. You know the waves sort of toss around a person that size.  Anyways, she knocked it out. With a goal of finishing she rocked thru the finish line in a time of 1:19:12. It was great to see her make it thru as she put the effort into practicing the swim was even fearful entering into the water on race day, but stayed calm to get on  the bike and transition to her strength on the run! 

Anne, super sad story to tell, but she showed as what being a team member is all about. Like Lynn, Anne was a little nervous about the swim, but with ease she made it the 400 meter distance. As she ran up to to transition one, she found one of her tires to have a flat! Can you believe it? What's wild is Anne road her bike to Coligny that morning and it was totally fine. I felt so bad and wish I had known because nobody wants a situation like this to happen. So yes it SUCKED, but did that stop Anne from supporting the team? Not one bit.

When Becky came into transition two, Anne decided to run the 5K with her. I think if we were to ask Becky, which sport she enjoys the least it would be the run. Anyhow, this shows you what type of person Anne is. To keep her head up, support a fellow team member and still be positive at the end of everything was incredible. Becky finished in a time of 1:24:03 and is looking to do another Triathlon in the fall. A little bit longer on the distances too! Anne you were a big part of her finish and I know Becky was so appreciative of you being with her on that run.

We can't forget about Jason, one of our more experienced Beach Bum Triathletes. A guy who works as hard as anyone I know in life and when he is training. He was quite busy this training cycle and always managed to keep up with the workouts outside of class. J picked up a respectable PR last Saturday and finished 10th overall 1:01:07 in the under 40 category. Yep that's good for a coconut!!

I guess we can discuss what happened with Coach Jeff on this day. I managed to roll in for a second place overall finish. Not bad given I did these dynamic effort good mornings and a rough power clean/running workout two days prior. Going into the day my hamstrings felt pretty wrecked, but it's good experience. If you can perform not being 100% and slide in just 27 seconds shy of a 1st place win finishing in 51:33, how can I complain?? I can tell I still need more work on the bike. It'll come. A good word that has come up lately for me is discipline.

Time to move onto the Firecracker results!

Race: Bear Foot Sports Firecracker 5K
Place: Jarvis Creek Park , Hilton Head Island 
Day: July 4th, 2013
Athletes: (8) Nahuel, Ian, Eric, Lindsay, Suzan, Sara, Lynn, Anne
Total: 1600 participants

One of the busiest running days in the country, the fourth of July. Thinking back four years now, I've always been at a run on Independence day. This one was probably the most exciting though. New course and hot weather only breeds a good race :) We've got all different levels of runners and that's what is so cool about the CFHH Endurance Group.5K personal records range from sub 17minutes to sub 45minutes. It not about WHAT the goal is its about do you HAVE a goal.

Let's start with Suzan, I'm just straight up pumped that she felt good and ran almost the entire distance. Suzan was a new runner with us this cycle and she's living proof that cleaning up your technique and dialing in the focus on one goal makes all the difference. Suzan came to me nervous to sign up for our Endurance series. She didn't think her knees would hold up (has serious knee osteoarthritis) and wasn't quite sure if she'd fit the mix of our athletes. I encouraged her to give it a go! If you see her first run mechanics evaluation she is now night and day. My hope is that Suzan gained so much more confidence in this training cycle and I'm excited to see what challenge she takes on next! Finish time of  just under an hour awesome!

Now I have to discuss Sara, what a fighter. She is such a hard worker and someone who completely dialed in on the new technique. Sara and I worked individually to do some corrective stuff before starting the endurance class cycle and she did a great job of picking up on the . Dealing with hamstring tightness the entire time Sara built up her endurance and ran the entire distance of the Firecracker. Check out this video she was so strong coming in. Let's not forget this was her first 5K. How cool. She'll be drawing her attention to train towards the Disney Half Marathon this upcoming February.

Our High School Baseball players, Ian and Eric were taking on their first 5K as well this past Thursday. They crushed the race meeting goal times of sub 24minutes for Ian and under 30minutes for Eric. They're working the endurance program as a supplement to their sport and keep progressing nicely in their training.

Our youngest athlete Nahuel happened to PR his 1 mile (4:50) and 2mile (11:05) in the middle of the 5K Run, but finished with an 18:35 overall 5K good enough for 31st Overall and 3rd in his age group. Over the last 8 weeks, Nahuel has completely revamped his technique and gotten so much stronger. Once he understands pacing he'll be a force to reckoned with. Pacing certainly comes with experience. By the way he is only 15years old. Stay tuned for his progress!

Lead pack finish.

One of the most inspiring showings cam from Anne as she completely rebounded from the uncontrollable flat tire on Beach Bum day. Anne PR'd by over 3minutes running a 26:47 to scoop up 3rd place in her age group. I believe Anne's first 5K was right around 35minutes before starting Endurance. Incredible. Another 5K PR was found by Boston Qualifier Lindsay as she ran 20:12 almost breaking the coveted 20minute mark and placing 1st in her Age Group. Lynn then swooped in with a solid 5K time of 24:01 about 10seconds off her personal PR.This was not a PR course. I mean its July guys! Even with all the turns and the hot climate it's quite impressive to see our athletes meeting these marks so early in the short course season.

Incredible experiences. Lots of great new memories. Its always good to have hard copy evidence of this stuff. Our team is shifting gears now towards the Blue Ridge 206 Mile Relay in September along with a beginner 5K program pushing towards Run for RET. Get excited!

Find out more details about the CFHH Endurance Performance Series HERE.