A lot has gone on the past 18 months ... I got pregnant, swapped running for power walking (hand weights and all), gave birth to a baby girl named Ada, traveled to 3 countries in 3 weeks with said baby, returned to running, started writing a book, and now I’m back to running coaching and working on some exciting new running programs.
I’ve realized the part I love most about running coaching is the mental side of everything - being with people as they process their stress, doubts, and insecurities and seeing them find their intuition, patience, and confidence. This is the magic of running.
And yet, I see such an emphasis on the physical side of training, even in my work, and that’s something I’m committed to changing.
As long as your training plan has certain basics - a gradual build, regular strength work, warm ups and cool downs - it really doesn’t matter which one you follow. The secret sauce is not in your training plan. It’s in you. In your willingness to open up, look inside, question your thoughts, try new ones, feel silly or afraid, and keep going. In this way, my running coaching looks a lot like life coaching, aka unofficial therapy. And I love that!
I want to help more people grow mentally as runners and people, and with that in mind I want to share
My goals for Tend Athletics this year:
1. Create a group program focused solely on mental training.
2. Continue to offer 1-1 running coaching, with more emphasis on the mental training and less emphasis on a custom training plan.
3. Release a podcast about mindset in running and life. Season 1 will be about motherhood and running, featuring the interviews I’ve been doing for the book I’m working on.
4. Put my work out there and engage with people ... with you! I’ve been almost entirely off social media for 18 months and while it’s mostly been glorious, I want to share my work and connect with others - on Instagram, in writing this newsletter and articles for other publications, as a guest on podcasts etc. I want my work to help people and to matter, and to do that I want to know you - to see your struggles and successes and hear what you’re looking for.
Personally, my intentions for the year are to relish being a human and not a robot, to trust my decisions, and have fun every day. One concrete goal I have is to play around with hosting a book-club-style podcast. I’ve got my first book and reading partners ready. If you want to read along, we’ll be reading Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason.
So what can you expect from this newsletter in 2022? I plan to send out a short weekly email that is mostly on the topic of mindset in running and life, but also with tips on running training, recipes, and whatever is of interest to you! I would truly love to hear from you at any point with questions, training issues, topic suggestions, or just to say hi!
See ya next week,
Caitlin
P.S. A song, and artist, I'm loving lately is Clean by Maude Latour. You'll even (kind of) hear this email's subject line in there
P.P.S. The title picture is from a solo weekend trip I took to Neskowin, OR. I hope to make it an annual tradition and if you’ve ever thought about doing a solo retreat I highly recommend it!