this past weekend I went to the CFE cert in Lexington, KY. I had been unsure about whether I should spend the money on a cert or try to learn more of the info from online/other sources and after going, I'm glad I spent the money. The weekend went really quick, but we got a ton of info and instruction in that short time.
The majority of the instruction was teaching the POSE method of running and how to teach it to others. I have been practicing POSE for a few months now, so I had a leg up on the rest of the class, but still needed to have my form tweaked a good deal. The biggest help was having my stride critiqued over video where I could see exactly what I was doing and what I needed to correct. Then, doing 4 hours of drills provided the repetition to develop the skill. As they say at CFE, "running is a skill" and it is so surprising that in my 20 years of running, I've never heard that before. Even when running on teams with a coach, the most instruction I got was to use my arms more and to keep my eyes up/forward. Pretty sorry if you ask me...
The weekend was also super fun b/c of the other cool people I got to hang with. Most all of the class were CrossFitters and there were even a handful of Level 1 Trainers there. On our 1st lunch break, I asked Ben Carter (Level 1, qualified for CF games) to help me w/ my Muscle-Up. After 5 mins of coaching, I got my first-ever Muscle Up! I was so stoked - I wanted to keep doing them over and over again. Then, after the WOD, I got some more help from another trainer on my deadlift form, which was desperately needed. Stuff like that is why I'm getting more hungry to get more certifications and become a true CrossFit ambassador (trainer).
Another great thing about the weekend was that I gained more confidence in the CFE programming, specifically that it will sufficiently prepare me for the IM this fall. There are so many doubters that argue you can't race well at the half and full IM's without adding the crazy amounts of mileage that most everyone else does. CF builds strength and power, CFE adds speed and endurance. CFE states that at the end of the long races, it's not your lungs that are breaking down, it's your muscles - so why not train your muscles to be stronger rather than just training them to be more efficient and your lungs to be stronger?
If I'm honest with myself, at the end of the day would I choose: 1. 15-20 hrs a week of long miles and little or no time to strength train, getting specialized in tri's, but weak in everything else; or 2. 8-10 hrs a week of constantly varied, strength and endurance training that prepares me to complete the long races but also gets me strong enough to do whatever else life brings by...? I think that's an easy call. I realize that I may not win many races or qualify for Kona, but to be able to race well, have fun, get strong, look and feel good AND still have time for relationships.... wouldn't we all choose that if we believed it could all be true?
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