Coach Conference & Music

I coughed my way through the week, grinding my gears back into regular life routines as my body slowly worked on recovering from the flu. Journal excerpts from the week: 

Monday, January 26th: So. Tired. I went back to normal life post-flu today, and it was exhausting. I cleaned bathrooms, cooked dinner, played piano for an hour, did a pull-up prep workout, ran 30 minutes, and drove the girls to piano lessons, the library (Amber, for fresh books), and the hardware store (Rose, for science fair supplies). I am so sleepy. My slow run felt hard thanks to my cough and my feeble legs. Hopefully I can get all the way healthy again soon! I don't have anything else to say. I need sleep most.

Tuesday, January 27th: Another tired day. I slept so well last night too! But I think my body is still working on recovering from the flu. One week ago today I still had a fever, so I guess I shouldn't expect too much from myself. I ran 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning and it was better for my cough than running out in the cold. But it wore me out! 

I persuaded Amber to run a mile today. She has only run once all month. I have been slowly working on her to return to activity. Rose didn't want to exercise today because of her cough, so I talked her through options and coaxed her to at least ride the stationary bike. She did. Whew, keeping my kids active is hard work! Jay says his cough is getting better. Hopefully he'll feel good at the swim meet on Thursday! 

Wednesday, January 28th: So tired. We had Rose's young women's class over to make pizza for their activity tonight. It was cute, and the girls had fun. Our house smells like crispy pizza crust and cheese. 7 girls came-- 6 from church, and one was a friend from school. They were a surprisingly quiet group, but they warmed up as the night went along. My post-flu fatigue made me feel like I had sand in my bones starting basically at lunch today, so being upright, social, and active tonight past 8pm was tiring! 

This morning I drove to the tri cities and went to a "women's health appointment" as I described it to Jay when he asked. I have to say that this experience made me think I know where JK Rowling got her inspiration for the wizarding security staff's "probity probe" device, haha. 

After that I went to Costco and bought toothpaste because we randomly completely ran out. Then I went to Great Clips for a quick hair trim. I lucked out as a walk-in without an appointment, and didn't have to wait at all. My 2-3 inch hair trim took about ten minutes or less. I dislike getting my hair cut, so it was very nice not to have it take too long.

On my way home from the tri cities, I called ahead and ordered some Pad Woon Sen from Prosser Thai Bistro to pick up for a late lunch, as a reward for all the un-fun things I had accomplished. 

Thursday, January 29th: This morning I ran 30 minutes on the treadmill and did a small strength session afterwards. That was hard and satisfying. My left shoulder is STILL weaker than my right, even though it's way stronger than it was 2 years ago. Baby steps. 

Jeff, Jay, and Rose went to a swim meet in Moses Lake tonight, so Amber and I had a night at home together. After school, Amber ran a mile on the treadmill, and then I let her have screen time while I also vegged with an episode. Then we had leftovers for dinner together and had a 2 person family scripture and prayer. My sweet Amber. I hope she wasn't too lonely tonight. I wish we had done more together, but I am just so tired...sigh.

It's 9:20pm and Jeff is still in Moses Lake with the swim team. Tomorrow we're going to the Nike coaches conference! [They ended up getting home sometime well after 11pm--I was asleep.]

Saturday, January 31st: So tired. We left our house for the Nike track and field coaches conference on Friday morning at 7:15am, and got home at 7:45pm tonight. It was a great conference. I went to several classes about throws, to learn more about one of my track and field weaknesses. My PT friend Daniel Hernandez presented two classes at the conference, which was super fun to see. My friend Camille made posters for us to hold up in support and silliness during Daniel's sessions. In return, he called each of us up front to help with his demonstrations. When I went up front, Daniel had me do a movement, and then he asked the room what I did wrong. It was a new experience standing up front and having people call out things I did wrong! Daniel then had me try several times as he adjusted my form until I got better at it. Basically, it was business as usual like every time I've gotten help from him, but this time it was in front of a large room of people! Hah! Even Jeff went up front to be grilled. It was great. 

My other favorite part of the conference was listening to Mitch Crouser -- Ryan Crouser's dad and lifelong coach. Ryan Crouser is a 3 time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in shot put. I loved what his das/coach chose to share. He didn't break down shot put technique or talk about strength training, physics, or release angles. He talked about staying calm under pressure and how to be a mentally tough powerhouse athlete. He didn't just talk about how awesome it is when athletes manage to be mentally tough; he gave specific simple techniques to practice every single day to ground and prepare athletes to perform under pressure with ease. It was fascinating and totally applicable to any athlete in any competition. I loved it! He gave two calming breathing techniques and then said to choose a few form drills to do daily so the athlete can basically perform on autopilot in competitions. His stories and applications were so awesome! Side note: when Jeff and I went to Hayward Field to watch the Olympic Trials back in 2021, Ryan Crouser finished his winning throws and ended up sitting two rows in front of us in the stadium. We're basically best friends now.

While Jeff and I were in Portland, Oregon at the coaching conference, our kids were at home. Jay was the licensed driving star of the weekend. He drove Amber to and from her friend's birthday party on Friday. Saturday was the high school solo and ensemble event in Yakima. Kids had to get themselves and their instruments to Yakima on their own. Jay drove our van loaded with a bass, a cello, and his sister (plus one violinist who needed a ride) all the way to Yakima for their regional solo and ensemble performances. They did so well! Rose sent me videos. The scoring for solo and ensemble is kind of confusing, but it is out of 5, with 1 being the best score. Then they add +/- to the score. Kids compete in each region to advance to the state solo and ensemble performances.

Jay played Spring from Vivaldi's Seasons on the bass, and he sounded so good! He scored a 1- and is a first alternate for state (so if the main person can't make it to state, Jay gets to go). Later I learned that there were only two basses competing for a spot at state, haha. Jay still played so well! Jay also performed in a group of 10-12 strings. He didn't know what their score was for that one, haha. Rose played cello in a trio with two friends: two cellos and a bass. They did well too, and scored a 1+ and became second alternates for state. Rose also performed in her small string orchestra. I was so impressed with my kids for taking on this musical challenge! Jay said they left home at 8:30am and got back a little after 3pm. Amber had the house to herself during that time, bless her. She went on a 1 mile run and took a shower, and had lots of uninterrupted screen time.

Rose's cute young women's class in our kitchen with their finished pizzas.

The frosty view from my treadmill in the barn.

Registration to the coaches' conference not only gave us access to the Nike Company Store, but also a 40% off code for all Nike gear! We had to show our IDs at the door to enter this exclusive store. It made me feel famous.

Sunrise run on Saturday morning along the Willamette River in Portland, with Mt. Hood on the horizon. 

It was a beautiful morning--only 45 degrees, so I ran in shorts!

The airport was less than 2 miles away, so the tranquility of my sunrise run was periodically interrupted by the roar of planes taking off overhead. 

Facing the sun, the sky was painted in light and color. Facing away from the sun, it was all dark and hard to see. There's a lesson in there.

I couldn't decide which was my favorite: the sky or the water.

My beautiful new Zoom Fly 6 running shoes of soft buoyant perfection!

Voodoo Donuts for lunch! We cheated on Portland and went to the Voodoo in Vancouver because it's easier to access than the busy downtown Portland original location.

Camille made me this sign to hold up "Every tall person needs a short best friend. I'm lucky to have a friend like you." (I'm taller than Daniel, haha.) His face when we walked into the room carrying these signs was pretty funny.

Jeff, called up front to demonstrate.

Sunnysiders supporting Daniel Hernandez at the conference!

Jay, playing his bass solo at solo & ensemble! These pictures are from the videos that Rose sent me.

Rose (on the left) playing cello in her trio. My friend took a video of this performance and sent it to me.

Jay, playing in his chamber orchestra group at solo & ensemble.