So many exciting things going on!

Even though I had every intention to, I wound up not getting around to posting yesterday. I had to take my nephew up to Atlanta so his father (my brother) could take him back home to Florida. Then I had two former athletes contact me needing help with their respective programs: one is a fifth year D1 athlete recovering from a major surgery earlier in the year and the other is a first year D1 athlete. As a coach, I always try hard to connect with my athletes which has always made leaving or changing schools one of the hardest things for me. Luckily, I'm able to keep in contact with most of them. I feel its important to let them know that I'm always willing to help them when I can, with many of them taking me up on that offer. Of course I have to be careful not to take money out of my pocket as coaching is still my main occupation, but its a line I have been trying to tread carefully. :-)

For the better part of a month, my wife and I had two resident athletes as both my sister-in-law and nephew were staying with us while on their summer vacation. Currently, their both preparing for the upcoming high school XC season. Their both starting to show some promise as distance runners, though I think it may be another year or so before they're developed enough to compete on the state level in Florida. Anyways, it was interesting having two hormone filled teenagers living with us for that long, much less having to coach them at the same time (normally we just coach them over the internet). I wound up doing a lot more distance running then I normally do as, Terrieha or I would act as their pacers during track

workouts. I never make any bones about it: I'm a big, powerful, sprinter...period. I'm good at it and I enjoy it, but I had to throw that out for a few weeks as we were really trying to get them to break through some plateaus on their paces. We'll see how it develops...only about another month till they start official practice.

Nonetheless, life is finally getting back to normal for my wife and I. We have the house to ourselves for a few weeks until our new roommate moves in. This morning we went out for a little trail run at Keisel Park. If you're in the Auburn area and enjoy running, walking, or just discovering new places, this park is a must for you! It is located only about 5 minutes from campus has some great trails, though admittedly they aren't overly technical. One of the best things for us is that the park allows dogs to be off-leash as long as they're under voice control. Our youngest dog, Gator, is an extremely energetic dog who loves to workout with us. She is one the best, and worst, motivators to continue pushing yourself during distance or sprint workouts. If I could harness just part of her physiology in a bottle I would become a rich man by selling it.

When I got home, I finally had a chance to break into the peaches we bought at the AU Farmers Market last week. It may have taken them some time to ripen, but it was worth the wait. My post-workout meal consisted of a wonderful glass of Florida orange juice, everything flavor bagel thin, with jalapeño jelly (from the farmers market as well), finally topped with peaches. It was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend attending the market as they have some great, original, products at considerable savings. Plus, you can help some of the help local farmers! :-)

Tomorrow I'll have some research of interest for all of you mothers or mothers-to-be out there, plus a little bit about some research I have coming up, so be sure to check in on that.