Squeeeeee! I’m so excited! I’ve been keeping something from you. I’m so sorry. But now I can finally break my silence.
About a month ago, I traveled to DC to take the RRCA Coaching Certification course. I was so nervous. Not only for the class itself (more on that later), but more for the test and if I’d pass or not. Plus I had to get CPR/First Aid certified, which was another scary adventure which I shared with you yesterday.
The reason I didn’t share any of this before is that I was expecting it to take a lot longer to get my certification. Plus it’s been 12 years since I’ve taken any class or test, so I was a little on edge about the whole ordeal. I didn’t want to jinx myself and not pass the test, so I kept it to myself.
The class I took was in Kensington, MD, just outside Washington, DC. If you’re not familiar with RRCA and their certification courses, I’ll start off by telling you the classes are very difficult to get into, and not offered very often. I’ve yet to see one offered in my area. When I happened to see there were a couple openings in the Kensington class, I jumped at the chance. My aunt happens to live very nearby Kensington, and I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with her for the weekend.
You may be asking, what is the RRCA? Directly from the RRCA website, “The Road Runners Club of America is the oldest and largest national association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to promoting running as a competitive sport and as healthy exercise… The RRCA supports the common interests of runners of all abilities during all stages of life by providing education and leadership opportunities along with programs and services that benefit all runners.” You can learn more by clicking here.
The drive down to DC was uneventful and quite speedy. It helped that I didn’t have three other passengers to stop for throughout the trip. I literally stopped twice. Once to pee, once to get gas (and pee). I made it to my aunt’s house in record time.
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| It’s hard to take photos while driving. I don’t recommend it. |
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| Tunnel! |
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| As seen on my road trip… |
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| Home stretch! |
When I got there, we had a chance to sit and chat, sans kids (relief!) and she showed me several items that she had been saving from her parents and other deceased relatives. It was really interesting. She showed me things from my grandpa’s school days. One of the funniest items was this list from the back of his Phys Ed report card:
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| Health Rules |
We had a nice chuckle over that one. It was so nice to be able to catch up with her without any interruptions.
Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early to arrive at my class on time. Class was Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Breakfast and lunch were provided, which was fabulous. The class itself was held in what I can only describe as a pool house. It was a summer-only location for the community swim team. The room was a giant room with vaulted ceilings. The bathrooms were in the basement, complete with showers and lockers. Very nice facility. Only problem — it was freezing. Unfortunately I completely underdressed. I checked the weather before I left Cleveland, and it said “60s and sunny.” It was NOT 60s and sunny. It was mid 40s — tops — and rainy. It was the same weekend as Rock n Roll DC, in fact. I stayed bundled in my jacket for the day, as did everyone else.
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| Whoop whoop! |
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| View from my seat… |
On the morning of Day 1, I was quickly humbled by my surroundings. I was by far the most inexperienced runner, and the only stay-at-home-mom — and the only blogger. My neighbor to the left, Daisy, was an ultra runner, who had just run a 50 miler. And my neighbor to the right, Joe, was a veteran Boston-runner. He will be running his 15th Boston Marathon this year. All around the room as introductions continued, I kept hearing “marathoner,” “ultra runner,” “Ironman,” and “Boston.” It was quite intimidating. But I used this to my advantage. I learned so much from all of these folks. At first I felt kind of stupid asking questions, but as the day went on I realized I knew much more than I was giving myself credit, and I didn’t feel that my questions were all that elementary. In fact, there were several questions from the experienced marathoners that I knew the answers to.
I did find something else somewhat surprising — I wasn’t the only Clevelander! My new friend and fellow coach, Bob, saw the same class posted and also jumped at the chance to attend. He flew in on Friday evening.
After hearing lots about coaching history and methods, Day 1 ended, and I headed back to my aunt’s house. I arrived “home” and she and her fiance took me out to dinner at a very nice restaurant near their house. It was delicious. After dinner, I read a few pages of Born to Run, and fell asleep.
Day 2 started out much the same as Day 1. Breakfast in a cold room. But this time I was prepared. I borrowed a fleece from my aunt, and stayed nice and comfortable for most of the day. After learning and discussing all sorts of different training techniques and schedules, we broke out into groups. Luckily I was in a group with some fabulous people. This is really where I started picking brains. Not only was I the most inexperienced person there, but I’m also training for my first full marathon. What better place to glean knowledge than from a room full of runners? Two names that I remember from my group are Kim and Bob, both very nice people. I must have missed the introductions from the rest of the crew because I didn’t catch anyone else’s name. (So if you’re from the Kensington class, and you’re reading this, please let me know who you are!) Everyone was very nice and very knowledgeable. We worked out a training plan for our “client” and then at the end of Day 2, all the groups presented their training plans. And then we proceeded to pick apart everyone else’s plans. Some plans were better than others. Overall, each plan was pretty solid. It was interesting to see how all these different groups had the same “client” but came up with such different variations.
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| Team 1 Training Schedule |
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| Team 1! CLE represent! |
Our instructors were great — Bobby and Brent. They were both extremely interesting to listen to. Not only are they coaches and runners, but they’re really interested in coaching and running, which made it that much easier to pay attention and stay engaged. Plus they had some pretty funny stories, which always helps to keep the audience entertained.
After Day 2 ended, I went back to my aunt’s house. Her fiance had left on a business trip earlier that morning. She had spent the day making homemade chicken soup. What a great Jewish mama she is! We had soup and salad for dinner, and it was amazing. We were both exhausted, so we went to bed pretty early. I haven’t slept so well in years. I don’t think I even moved until 8:00 am the next day.
Come morning, it was time for me to go. I knew my aunt was tired so I let her sleep in while I showered, packed some food for the road, and loaded up my car. When I was ready to go, I knocked lightly on her door and she came downstairs to see me off. It was such a great weekend. Not only did I get to take the RRCA Coaching Certification class, but I got to spend some serious quality time with one of my very favorite people.
I made record time on my way back home as well. Turns out there is literally zero traffic on Mondays. I got home earlier than planned, and was so excited to see my little people and my husband. I took Monday and Tuesday “off,” and then on Wednesday I started working on my certification test. I didn’t want to risk letting too much time go by and let myself forget anything I had just learned. The test was both harder and easier than I thought. The harder part was because I hadn’t taken a test in years. But the easier part was the content. I knew the material and did well. It turns out I had nothing to worry about.
My RRCA Coaching Certification weekend was an amazing experience. I’m grateful I was able to take the course. I’m thankful I got to stay with my loving aunt. And I’m [still] humbled by the incredible people I met.
And now I’m proud to officially announce that I’m a certified running coach.
Wooooo hoooo!!!!!
What comes next for me? My goal is to complete my first marathon, and then start building my business and taking on clients. Over the next several weeks, I plan to hone in on my coaching style and determine types of clients I’m comfortable coaching. It will be a wild ride, but I’m really looking forward to it. There will be more from me on this subject in the future.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, shoot me an email and I’ll help you as best I can!
Happy running!
xo
Tell me… have you been in a truly humbling situation? Where and when?
