Training, Technique, Efficiency, Nerves

    This last weekend was a bit off as far as my workout regiment goes. I did get in a 60 minute run on friday before house guests began arriving, but saturday was all about family gatherings, festivities, hilarity, and celebration. Sunday, all guests but coach had headed home by noon, and so skills building began.
    First step, setting out all the Tri gear for the transition area and practicing the actual transitions to give me a better understanding of what I need to bring and how I need to set it all up. It was excellent practice.
    Second out of the gate was getting the new bike out and familiarizing myself with the new shifters and gearing. Coach is good at explaining new info so my brain incorporates it well; for the click shift, "remember, small goes small, big goes big." It has nothing to do with low or high gears, but the size of the sprocket. MUCH easier to remember. After a few sprints on the new bike to revel in the heady exhilaration of speed we stashed the bikes and got ready to run.
    For Coach, getting to run means discarding shoes. You just don't get much more simplistic than that. For me, with my delicate tootsies, I kick off cycling shoes and slip into the bare minimum shoes I have been running in. Yes, they are basically neoprene moccasins with a rubber sole; zero rise, no arch support, no heel, very little padding. They are just enough so that I don't feel every angle of every bit of gravel. So scantily shod, or unshod, we trotted out the door and down to a side street. There Coach had a chance to analyze my style and give me gentle critiques to hone my abilities and improve my efficiency. I bounce too much, his main criticism. I need to land a bit less on my toes and more mid-sole, and lean forward more from the ankles to let gravity do the work, lessening the energy needed for each stride. These are actually things I knew in my mind, we had discussed them earlier, but I have been unable to tell on my own if I was being completely successful. The general consensus is that I am doing very well, a bit slow though, and just need to refine my technique.
    So this week is an easy workout week for me, as I maintain my level of fitness, but allow my body some rest before the event this sunday. Rest does not come easy to me. But Coach insists, and with 300 marathons, numerous triathlons and an Iron Man under his belt, as well as countless hours of coaching professional athletes and Team In Training, I kind of figure he knows what he is talking about. I will listen to his voice of reason, heed his experience, and let myself coast into the weekend. Fortunately he will be at my side throughout the weekend to keep me from burning this nervous energy with pulse pounding workouts. I am excited. I am nervous. But I am as ready as I can be. Now to trust my body.