My Coach

Wonderful phone conversation with my son. Yesterday he ran a Grand Prix race in Louisiana and finished well which will give him more points. I knew he was fast, but I didn't realize how high he ranks in his division until I went to the website and looked for myself.


Proud mama.

He's my off-campus coach for marathon training. I bounce questions off of him, he gives me suggestions. He's super-encouraging but still matter-of-fact when it comes to technical aspects of running. He doesn't cut me any slack. There aren't really any shortcuts to training. The work needs to be done and it needs to be done in a safe way. He bolsters my confidence without blowing smoke up my running gear. If he thinks I can push a little harder, he tells me. If he thinks I'm overdoing it, he gently suggests that I take a few days off. What I love about his suggestions is that he's not authoritarian in his presentation. He repeats back to me what he's heard, states his opinion, and then gives me some options for change. At the end of the day, I'm responsible for my training, my actions, and my workout. He leaves the power in my hands (or my feet, whichever way you want to look at it).

I'd like to think I helped mold his conversation style. After all, I raised him and he must have learned this from me. Right? Nah, I don't think so. I didn't give effective communication style any real thought until he was in college. When he was growing up, I was busy. I was kind of a mess. I was distracted with simply getting through some days and weeks. I wasn't always as present as I should have been. I can't take credit for this. He's somehow managed to do this on his own.

Grateful mama.

As we were wrapping up our phone call yesterday, we were talking about nutrition and weight. He mentioned how much he weighs now and how much he weighed when he finished college. I didn't tell him that I outweighed him most of that time. He's smart, he knows. I was really happy, though, to know that I'm finally at a weight significantly below my tall, thin athlete of a son.

Happy mama.



©Michelle Scofield, August 19, 2012 All Rights Reserved