Back when I was in high school and college, it was always different being around my coaches in the weeks leading up to the big races.  I needed someone to lean on for encouragement, but my coaches always seemed a little distant.  We are now 15 days from the National Collegiate Champs in Lubbock and I am now feeling the stress they felt.

Three weeks ago I wrote out a schedule that seemed a perfect ramp up to make the midshipmen ready for this weekend’s prep race and then sharpen them over the final two weeks.  Honestly, now it is staring me in the face on a couple sheets of notebook paper and I know why my former coaches used to be in a different world.  I think they were actually trying to get into my mind/body and figure out exactly what I needed.   At this point, I am enjoying the stresses of making changes along the way.  However, it is the time when I am not talking with the mids on the phone or e-mailing or texting that my mind begins to get the better of me.  I start to reconstruct the previous weeks and lay-out more hypothetical plans.  I listen to talk radio to go to sleep at night, because if I was left to my own internal conversations I would be up all night going through these scenarios.

Being the athlete is easy, you have control.  Being the coach (as an athlete) is fun, but not easy.  In 15 days, I am going to want to be on the start line for each of them and not have to stand on the sidelines reminding them to relax or yelling splits or telling them to go to the arms on the run.

With 15 days to go, it is good to know I am headed to Texas to race with them at the Lonestar Triathlon.  I am racing the half ironman while they are doing the quarterman.  This weekend is more about the prep than the race in my opinion, so I don’t have much concern for how the race goes for them. We need to work on the kinks of pre-race.  The 36 hours prior to the race should be the best, as I work to try to get in their heads and work on any more changes that need to be made to the plan.

Go Navy! Beat Everyone!