tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37742566017238672232024-03-13T22:18:57.999-07:00So You Wanna Run Cross-Country?Info and guidance for anyone new to cross-countryMarty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-72882390940196285462015-03-03T12:03:00.001-08:002015-03-03T12:03:51.671-08:00Movie Review: "McFarland, USA"I was eagerly anticipating the movie <i>McFarland, USA</i> for months. As a high school cross-country coach, I was particularly interested in how this terrific sport would be portrayed in the film. As a Disney movie, you would probably expect that the emotion of the particular true-life situation would be well-covered, but who knows if they would get the running part right.<br />
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Overall, I think they did an excellent job. One thing I had to remind myself was that the story was from events in 1987, when I was not involved with high school running at all. My only year of high school cross country was in 1978, and I started coaching in 2010. Then again, people will see how the sport is portrayed and assume that the vibe is the same.<br />
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Here's what I saw that they got right:<br />
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Running cross country is hard. There are hills, rough trails, tough competition, and other challenges, so it takes a lot of hard work to succeed. The film showed the runners training very hard, and suffering in the races. The characters in the story succeeded partly because they already knew how to work hard, so all of that made sense.<br />
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They really do have a prison almost right next to the high school. I thought this might be an embellishment to make the story more dramatic, but a quick visit to McFarland via Google Earth confirms that the prison - with barbed-wire topped fences and all - is literally about a block away. I imagine that they probably do indeed run past the prison on some training runs.<br />
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They actually might use a pedestrian overcrossing of Highway 99 as a "hill." In the movie, McFarland hosts a meet, and the course traverses the freeway using a pedestrian overcrossing - the one hill on the otherwise flat terrain. Sure enough, there is one of these right near the school. If I were laying out a course for a cross country race in the neighborhoods near the school, I would likely use this feature. In fact, the "hills" we have the kids train on where I coach in Alameda, CA are bridges that link the main island with the peninsula part of the city, which rise a whopping 10 feet at most.<br />
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The portrayal of the Latino families as being friendly and family- and communty-oriented people is 100% consistent with what I know of this community. My dad spent his tween and teen years in the Central Valley as a migrant farm worker and had many friends whose families originally came from Mexico. His stories of these families is just like in the movie. Also, the families in the film were not recent immigrants, which I also understand is consistent with reality. This, of course, led to some funny moments when Kevin Costner's character didn't know that some of the people spoke English as well as he did.<br />
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But what did they get "wrong," if anything?<br />
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For one thing, they show one of McFarland's chief rivals as Palo Alto High School. This just isn't true, as Paly High is about 4-5 hours from McFarland - there's no way they would have been a frequent rival. I don't see any scenario that they'd be facing one another in a meet of the size they showed in the movie (maybe in a huge invitational or in the State Meet). I guess they needed to have a school with wealthy families, and people have heard Palo Alto fits that bill, but they could just as easily have made up a "rich" school for McFarland to run against.<br />
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The borderline trash-talking between the runners is something I have never seen. The runners I see either ignore the others (because they're busy talking with their own teammates) or happily chat with them. Actual current high school runners routinely congratulate each other without being prompted to do so.<br />
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Same with the coaches making snide remarks to the Kevin Costner character - none of the dozens of coaches I know would even think of doing that. In fact, one of the reasons I enjoy coaching high school cross country is that the coaching community is so friendly. It's quite common for experienced coaches to volunteer training advice to newer coaches so they can help their kids more.<br />
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The 1987 State Meet was held at the site where they currently hold it, Woodward Park in Fresno. It would have been pretty cool to actually film the movie there - I guess it was probably more expensive than just finding a park near Hollywood.<br />
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The film made it look like McFarland was the top team in the state in 1987. I don't know the exact times they ran, but they were actually the top team in the small school division that year. Typically (although not always), schools from the larger school divisions are stronger than those from the smaller ones.<br />
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One other thing was that the film made it appear that McFarland only had a boys team, but over the years, they have not only had girls teams, but actually had several girls teams that finished in the top 10 in the state. Cross country meets always have both boys and girls present (they don't compete at separate venues, like in, say, basketball), so it looked a little weird to me to see only boys running around.<br />
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Overall, though, this is a film that every cross country runner or potential future cross country runner should see. The cast is outstanding, especially some of the minor characters like the school principal (Valente Rodriguez) and Señora Diaz (Diana Maria Riva). Kevin Costner (as Coach Jim White) does a good job at not screwing up the movie - I'm not always a fan of his, but I think he does quite well in this role. The food shown in the movie... well, let's just say I left the theater drooling. I will definitely be buying the DVD when it comes out so I can share this movie with all of the high schoolers I coach in the future.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-68260977615945510922014-05-14T13:47:00.000-07:002014-05-14T13:47:43.079-07:00The Winning Formula for the 800Over many years of racing and studying others racing the 800m, I have figured out a formula that works great for succeeding at this distance. It's mostly a mental approach because the physical part of running for around 2-3 minutes is not that complicated.<br />
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Here's the main problem (which is also applicable to other distances, but to a lesser degree):<br />
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You don't believe you can finish strongly if you run hard in the middle.</div>
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First of all, let's backtrack to the beginning of the race. Everyone has about 7 seconds worth of energy to expend in a hard (almost sprinting) effort that won't hurt the remainder of your race, whether it's the 800, 1600, 5000, etc. So I tell my runners to go out hard for 5 seconds - not going for the full 7 seconds provides a little safety factor, both physically and mentally. But at the end of that 5 seconds, you <i>MUST </i>dial back the effort. The key to doing this is to make sure you are not "racing" the other runners. You should still be running somewhat briskly, but you shouldn't really be pushing the pace. Other runners may pull ahead of you here.<br />
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Before you know it, you'll get to the 200m mark, and you should be hitting this at about your goal time divided by 4. I think of the entire first 200 meters as a part of the race to largely ignore, in that - as long as you run that first 5 seconds hard - it will pretty much take care of itself. You will quite likely complete that first half lap just how you want to.<br />
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The next segment is very short: simply the 100m of the second turn. It's the only part of the race that you should look ahead to what is coming up. As for any turn, you should shorten up your stride, and don't worry if you slow down a bit because it's only 1/8 of the race.<br />
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The most important part of the race is the next 300m, which I call "The Middle 300." Starting on the home stretch (with 500m to go), work as hard as you can. The key to this 300m segment is that you get two straights and only one curve, so it's a part of the race that you should be able to run fast. Many other runners will slow down here because they are thinking ahead to the final 200, believing they need to "save something" in order to have a good sprint at the end. But you don't have to do that because you WILL have a good sprint at the end; everyone can sprint at the end.<br />
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During this 300m segment, you must have the mindset that you don't care how you will feel in the future (specifically, with 200m to go). The reason you can do this is that everyone will feel very, very fatigued during the final 25% of this race. So you can either be the same as everyone else in terms of where you are time-wise and fatigue-wise or you can be several seconds ahead of them and feeling the same level of fatigue. If you need a goal to get you through this part of the race, try to beat other runners to the beginning of each curve. This is actually an important tactic because you don't want to have to swing wide on a curve to pass a runner that you are overtaking.<br />
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The final 200 doesn't take any special approach - just run as fast as you can. Don't slow down on the curve, but try to speed up by increasing your turnover rate. Once you hit the straight, run like a sprinter with the best form you can muster.<br />
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One final key point is to be sure to give maximum effort all the way across the finish line. The 800 and 400 are races in which runners can almost literally become paralyzed within a very short distance of the finish line. I have seen 30m leads disintegrate within 50 meters because the leader "locks up" and almost can't move.<br />
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Will you get passed in the final 50 meters? It is possible, and if it happens, you can rest assured that the person who passes you should have been even further in front of you than they were had they run more efficiently. That is, it isn't a case of you not running well, but rather a case of a runner who is markedly better than you who just underperformed.<br />
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Good luck!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-66436091544813914762014-03-13T14:13:00.000-07:002014-03-13T14:13:21.759-07:00Running the Mile - OK, the "1600"This week, our team has its third invitational of the track season. Only about half of the team ran in the first two because many runners had only been running for a couple of weeks. But this week, almost everyone will be running.<br />
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The newest runners on the team are, of course, just learning how to run the 1600 properly. Indeed, running this distance is a skill that has to be practiced in order to succeed. I put together a list of tips for those of you who are new to this race.<br />
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<b>1. The Start. </b><br />
At the beginning of every race, your body has about 5 seconds worth of the kind of "fuel" that powers intense running, like sprinting. That fuel source is not available after the first 5 seconds of the race, even if you don't start fast, so you might as well use it. So start quickly, but only for about 4-5 seconds. After that, settle into your race pace.<br />
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<b>2. The First Lap. </b><br />
Let the other runners go. Unless you're a freak of nature, you probably will be running with other inexperienced runners, and almost everyone runs way too fast for the first lap, then dies later on. One of the hardest things to do as a runner is to trust that you will catch up to other runners later, but it WILL happen if you run the correct pace on your first lap. Because of the adrenaline surge you'll get from the excitement of the beginning of the race, you will NOT run the first lap too slowly. It just won't happen. But if you run this lap correctly, you actually come through in a time a little faster than your desired average pace. Here's why:<br />
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Let's say your plan is to run 6:00 - that's an average of 90 seconds per lap. If you run the first 5 seconds "fast," you will cover about 30 meters. Let's say you then settle into a slower pace and actually complete the first lap in 90 seconds. Perfect, right? Well, not really. If you do the math, you'll realize that you are now running at a pace of 92 seconds per lap (because part of the lap was run at a faster pace). So you actually would want to finish the first lap about 1-2 seconds faster than your desired average pace, so in 88 or 89 seconds. Now, if you did that, you will start your second lap actually running at 90-second pace.<br />
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<b>3. The Second Lap. </b><br />
As long as you ran the first lap correctly, you should be able to maintain your pace on the second lap. However, you will probably have to consciously work in order to do it, as opposed to the first lap, which should have felt easy.<br />
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<b>4. The Third Lap. </b><br />
This is the hardest lap of the "mile" because you're tired, and you're thinking about how much farther you still have to go. Almost everyone slows down on this lap, and your goal is to minimize that slowing. So when you get to the back straight, focus on trying to speed up and catch other runners. Try to beat one or more runners to the beginning of the curve (since it's harder to pass on a curve - you don't want to get stuck behind someone who is slowing down). You may still be slowing down slightly, but if you ran the first two laps correctly, you will be slowing down less than others, so you'll overtake them. Also, most newer runners have a mindset that they'll run a little easier on the third lap, thinking that they should "save" something for the final lap. Don't do that. If you try to catch and pass people instead, you will probably only slow down by a second or two, hitting a 91 or 92, leaving you right on 90-second pace.<br />
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<b>5. The Fourth Lap. </b><br />
This is when you simply run as hard as you can manage. Actually, I recommend starting your "kick" on the home straight before you begin the fourth lap. You don't want to get stuck behind other runners on the first curve of the final lap, so try to race people to the curve. If you follow this plan, you will certainly not run slower than 6:00, and will likely beat that by a couple of seconds as your adrenaline kicks in as you sprint for the finish line.<br />
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That's it - congrats!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-35110321809237847352013-10-25T07:33:00.001-07:002013-10-25T07:34:57.432-07:00Get that "Killer Instinct"Before I go any further, let's be sure to understand that the phrase "killer instinct" in this context has nothing to do with harming anyone. I have often written about how great the sportsmanship is in the sport of cross-country, so we're not talking about anything that would hurt someone else.<br />
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What I do want to tell you about is a heightened level of mental intensity while competing, and even while training. When I was in college, there was a woman in my dorm who was the top badminton player in the country. She went on to compete in two Olympic Games. She taught several of us in the dorm how to play, and was laid-back, patient, and fun when teaching us. There were a few times when she and I played as a mixed doubles team in pick-up games.<br />
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This is where it got a little scary.<br />
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My friend became the Godzilla of the badminton court. She was 100% respectful and sportsmanlike in her words and actions, but there was a whole other level of intensity that was way beyond anyone I had ever played with in any sport. Way beyond. Did I say "way"?<br />
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When I reflected on this, both immediately after and years after, I realized that this is a characteristic of many successful athletes. They probably have physical skills that are somewhat greater than the rest of us, but not that much greater. The difference, though, is the level of mental strength and focus. These athletes feel an intensity so great that they will expend effort beyond what other people will do to succeed, both in training and in competition. The best ones are also "intense" about knowing when to back off to avoid injury, by the way - yes, it's possible to rest with intensity.<br />
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This is what I call the "killer instinct." It's analogous to a lion who is really, really hungry for that gazelle, and will expend enormous effort to chase it down. In cross-country, there are many times when there are just a couple more runners within catching distance, and if a runner can just give a little more effort, they can catch them and shave a couple more points off of their team score. Most runners will try to catch them; only a few runners will have that "killer instinct" to go beyond what they <i>think </i>is a maximum effort and actually catch them.<br />
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As most leagues around the country are winding down toward league and regional championships, it's time to bring out that killer instinct. For some people, it comes naturally; for others, it can be learned. Yes, have fun, enjoy being around your teammates and competitors, but when you head to the starting line, let's see that lion's gaze, searching for that gazelle.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-68851801094081278402013-04-23T10:06:00.000-07:002013-04-23T10:06:02.470-07:00Book Review: Cross Country 101 by Dan Martinez<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQHnTA2kI98/UXa98Tk0zuI/AAAAAAAAAPg/KsxqiyG9Cz4/s1600/cross+country+101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQHnTA2kI98/UXa98Tk0zuI/AAAAAAAAAPg/KsxqiyG9Cz4/s1600/cross+country+101.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
One thing that I don't cover too often on this blog - OK, never, actually - is reading. Well, I just finished reading <i>Cross Country 101</i> by Dan Martinez, which is a novel set at a Southern California high school. Why am I telling you this? Because the story centers around a high school freshman who joins the cross-country team. The target audience seems to be pretty much the same as this blog, which is, more or less, 7th-10th graders.<br /><br />I really enjoyed the book. At first, I was suspicious that it was going to be an overly corny kid-with-football-dad-gets-bullied-but-succeeds-in-XC type of book. While it's true that that pretty much sums up the basic storyline, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't overly corny - indeed, it wasn't corny at all. Despite an intended audience much younger than I, I found myself entirely engaged with the story, and even rooting strongly for Eric, the protagonist. As I got deeper into the book, I found myself reading faster and faster, as if I were training and racing with Eric, and it was harder and harder to put it down each day.<br /><br />I found some parts of the story foreign because I neither experienced nor observed any kind of bullying when I was in high school. I also never found that upperclassmen were mean or even unkind to the freshmen. This is also the case at the high school where I coach now - the coaching staff is constantly on the lookout for bullying and even guys or girls being less than nice toward each other. We're lucky we don't seem to have these problems. The parents I know are all very supportive of their sons and daughters running cross-country, too. In the book, Mr. Martinez handles it all very well, and it's great to see the team come together, as well as Eric's father get on board with seeing cross-country as a "real" sport.<br /><br />Finally, if you have ever run at the State Meet course at Woodward Park in Fresno/Clovis, you will appreciate Mr. Martinez's accurate depiction of it in the book. I have never been to Mt. SAC, but he clearly knows what he's writing about for that course, too. Being able to visualize parts of these actual courses as Eric and the rest of the team race there is great fun and helps to draw you into the story.<br /><br />Finally, I definitely finished the book hungry for more stories about Eric - what happens in his sophomore year? Junior year? Senior? Does he get recruited and run in college? This is a character that I found I really cared about, and I think you will enjoy reading <i>Cross Country 101</i> as well.<br /><br />Available on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Country-101-Dan-Martinez/dp/0985181613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366735650&sr=8-1&keywords=cross+country+101" target="_blank">Click Here</a><br /><br />Dan Martinez's web site: <a href="http://www.runningentertainment.com/" target="_blank">Click Here</a>Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-61876006173760774522012-10-22T08:16:00.000-07:002012-10-22T08:16:47.222-07:00Rain Gear for RunningOK, I know many of you live where the weather has already gotten cold and wet. Where I live (and run and coach), however, it was over 80° for two of our workouts last week! Today is a different story - the first rain of our rainy season is here, and it is likely to rain for at least part of our workout today and maybe even tomorrow. So here is a recap of appropriate clothing for running in the rain.<br />
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<b>After the Run</b><br />
That's right. What you have to put on <i>after </i>your run is way more important than what you wear while running. That's because you will generate heat while you run, so you aren't going to get too cold during the run itself. But if you're wet from the rain, you will get cold very quickly once you finish. Always have a pair of sweatpants to put on, as well as a dry shirt and a sweatshirt, and maybe even a hat. If you know you'll be getting out of the rain before too long, then those items don't have to be waterproof (or -resistant), just dry. A good way to keep your clothes dry (if you're going to stash them somewhere outdoors while you run) is to put them in a plastic bag. Even a basic plastic bag from a shopping trip will work. A large zip-loc bag is best, but probably not necessary.<br />
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<b>During the Run</b><br />
Like I wrote above, you probably won't get too cold during a run in the rain. The joke I always tell our runners is, "If you start getting cold, run faster!" They laugh nervously, then speed up. Seriously, though, it is good to wear a shirt made of man-made fabric. You can get a fancy "technical fabric" shirt, or even a cheap polyester-based shirt - I've seen these for as little as $5-10. The advantage of these artificial fabric shirts is that they hold less water than cotton, so will keep you a little warmer. The other advantage, primarily for boys, is that they will cause less nipple-chafing than a cotton shirt. This is generally less of an issue for girls because sports bras fit relatively tightly, so minimize the friction between fabric and skin. But nipple-chafing is a painful issue for boys, so try to avoid it with this kind of fabric (although you can also put a little vaseline or even regular lip balm on them to help, too).<br />
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The other accessories I will wear in the rain are a hat and gloves. I wear a hat anyway to keep the sun off of my face, but in the rain, it can keep the rain off of it. Rain won't harm your face like the sun will, but it can be annoying. For gloves, I usually just wear a simple pair of lightweight cotton or polyester gloves - it seems I only need a little extra warmth, so even when cotton gloves get wet, my fingers don't get too cold.<br />
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What about something warm for your legs? Unless it's very cold - say down around 50° or colder - I find that I don't really need to wear running tights. It seems to be just fine to have dry sweats to put on afterward. But if your legs get cold, some lightweight running tights can do the job. People living in colder climates might need more than one pair to cover more variation in temperatures.<br />
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<b>The Next Day</b><br />
Whenever you get home, you need to start thinking about tomorrow right away. Why? Because it might rain again tomorrow! Unless you have two (or more) of everything, you need to get it all dried out for the next day. The good thing is that all this man-made fabric I've been writing about dries pretty fast (but may not be appropriate for your clothes drier). Unless your stuff got really muddy or sweaty, you can probably just hang up your shirt, gloves, hat, and tights (if you wore them), and they'll be dry by morning. Just be sure to wring out any excess water first.<br />
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To dry your shoes, take out the insole, then stuff them with newspaper. Before you go to bed, pull that newspaper out. If the shoes are still wet, stuff some fresh newspaper in them, and they should be dry by morning.<br />
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That's it - you're ready to run in the rain! If you have other tips, post them in the comments!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-61322501339377881312012-09-11T08:39:00.000-07:002012-09-11T08:40:19.046-07:00Research The CourseLast year, I wrote a <a href="http://crosscountrynewbies.blogspot.com/2011/09/know-where-youre-going.html" target="_blank">post</a> about the importance of knowing a course so that you don't miss a turn and go the wrong way. Another important reason for knowing a course is so that you do not encounter unexpected features that freak you out.<br />
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This week, the team I coach will be running a course with hills. The last thing you want to do is to start a race, run along smoothly, feeling great and then: OMG! Where did that hill come from?!!<br />
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Hills are no different than any other feature that might be on any given course, in that there are certain techniques to run them. If you know you have one or more hills in a course and if you know more or less where they are, you can plan ahead.<br />
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So, to continue the example I started above, the course that the frosh-soph and junior varsity divisions will be running this week starts out mostly flat for about a half mile. At that point, there is a fairly steep hill that goes for about a quarter mile. After reaching the top of the climb, the course heads out onto a loop that goes around the tops of the adjacent hills - the loop is about a half mile. During the second half of that loop, there are a few small, rolling hills. Then, you find yourself back at the top of the quarter-mile hill. Down you go, back to the path that you started on, and then you mostly retrace your steps to the finish line.<br />
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Since you know that there's a steep-ish hill at the half-mile point, it would be wise to not kill yourself in that first half mile. Then, knowing that there aren't any significant uphills after that point, you can pretty much run as hard as you can on the loop part and then all the way back to the finish.<br />
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I was able to race on this course a couple of years ago, and it was fun because, even though it is a difficult course, I knew what the terrain was like, so I was able to plan how to run it. Different runners may want to approach the same course in different ways, and I always encourage runners to make a plan of some sort and try to follow it. After the race, it is always important to assess how you did. Did you execute your plan? What parts worked? What didn't work? Was there a part of your plan that you did particularly well or poorly? Is there some other way you could have run it that would have resulted in a better place?<br />
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If you have had experiences where you have either had a plan and it worked or didn't work, or if you didn't research a course and had a bad experience because of that, please share in the comments.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-31929457511127512082012-08-17T07:50:00.000-07:002012-08-17T07:51:15.661-07:00Your First Race!Your first race is probably coming up in about a month. Yikes! What will it be like? How do I warm up? When is my race?<br />
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If you are new to cross-country, you will have many questions like these. Your first race might be just a small gathering against a few other schools, or it could be a huge invitational. Let's review the different kinds of races you will probably run.<br />
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<u>Dual or 3-Way Meet</u><br />
This kind of meet is simply a race against one or two other schools. There won't be many runners, and the timing and scoring is likely to be done by hand. Announcements will be made informally, with one of the coaches simply shouting something like, "OK, varsity girls, your race starts in 10 minutes!" Once everyone gets to the starting line, one of the coaches, who will act as the starter, may give some basic instructions, like an overview of the course or a reminder not to cut in front of another runner. Then he or she will step out of the way, and say something like "Runners to your mark; GO!" Off you'll go. When you finish, the coaches who act as scoring officials will have some way to record your place and time. The old school way is to have the runners stay in a line in the order they finish, and hand each runner a popsicle stick with the number of their finishing place on it. You will take the stick to a scoring table where someone will record your name, school, and place. Once everyone finishes, they will tally up which team won the race.<br />
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<u>Center Meet or League Meet</u><br />
This meet is similar to a dual meet, but involves more schools. With more schools, there will be more runners and they may split into more divisions (e.g., separate freshmen and sophomore races instead of a frosh-soph combined race). The starts may be a little more formal, but will still probably be done simply by a coach from one of the participating schools. The scoring logistics could be the old school method described above, or it could be a little more formal, like using bib numbers with tear-off tags.<br />
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<u>Invitational</u><br />
These are big, sometimes huge, events with dozens of schools competing. The atmosphere is usually more formal (and exciting!), with announcements made by experienced race announcers over loudspeakers, perhaps more than one race for each division, and more formal scoring and timing (often using electronic timing chips).<br />
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Runners often feel differently about these different types of meets. Some runners like the smaller meets because they're more down-to-earth, but some don't like these because they might feel they are obligated to perform better, maybe even win. These latter runners may like the bigger meets better because there might be less pressure to win, given the tougher competition. Some runners don't like the biggest races because they worry about getting trampled.<br />
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<u>Warm-up</u><br />
Warming up should be easy - your coach will tell you what to do, but it will probably be about the same as what you do to warm up before every workout.<br />
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<u>How to Race</u><br />
I will write more about specifics of racing through the season, but your best approach is to listen to your coach. He or she will probably have some specific recommendations for specific races. Often, early season races, especially smaller ones, allow opportunities for runners to try different approaches like starting out faster or slower than you would otherwise.<br />
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<u>"When is My Race?"</u><br />
This is something that, as a coach, I hear more often than anything else. My usual answer is, "I have no idea." That usually isn't completely true, but the reason for it is that meets usually have an order of races, but not specific starting times. Each race starts a few minutes after the previous one ends. Because you never know when any given race will be complete (i.e., when the last runner will finish), you don't know when the next one will start. There can also be technical glitches that slow things down. The best solution is to listen when your coach tells you the order of races, then keep track of where the meet is, how long each race is taking, etc. After a few meets, you'll get the hang of how they go.<br />
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<u>Watching the Action</u><br />
One of the best things about races is that you will have a chance to watch your teammates and other runners race. Besides the fact that cheering for others is fun, you can learn a lot about racing by watching others. Where do various runners position themselves in the pack, and how does that work out for them? When are the most successful runners speeding up on a specific course? When does everyone start their sprint for the finish?<br />
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Let the season begin!!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-16198580572973667072012-08-08T08:44:00.000-07:002012-08-08T08:44:53.687-07:00Don't Step on the Banana Slugs!<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lPyoOjMERbk/UCJ8dW2m2JI/AAAAAAAAANg/luANkjebGHE/s1600/IMG_4520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lPyoOjMERbk/UCJ8dW2m2JI/AAAAAAAAANg/luANkjebGHE/s200/IMG_4520.JPG" width="200" /></a>Many high school cross-country programs offer a "running camp" during the summer. Last month, I helped take 28 student-athletes to a camp. It was a fantastic experience for everyone!<br />
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There were several purposes of the camp. The obvious one was to be able to get some focused training time, away from whatever obligations everyone has at home. Another major purpose was team bonding, which is more than just getting to know each other better. Other purposes included learning about our upcoming season and mental training techniques such as visualization. The camp was open to anyone, whether they were on the team or not.<br />
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We left town on a Sunday morning for the 1½-hour drive to the camp. The camp was located in a spectacularly beautiful part of the San Francisco Bay Area between Palo Alto and the Pacific Ocean. There was no cell phone service in the area of the camp. No one seemed to mind.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp "Wildlife"</td></tr>
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What did we do at the camp? Our typical schedule was to wake up at 6 AM and go running at 6:30. What?! 6 AM?! Yes, that's pretty early for teenagers to get up during the summer, but you know what? There wasn't a single time in the five days we were there when we had to drag someone out of bed who had overslept. Everyone was very motivated to get up and run. Why? The early morning runs were some of the best times of the camp. The forest was just waking up, the fog was collecting in the redwood trees and dripping down onto the ground, and - best of all - the early morning was the best time of the day to find banana slugs!<br />
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After breakfast, there was some free time, and then we had a meeting at 10. We did several different things at these meetings. For one of them, I walked everyone through a simple visualization exercise. I wrote about visualization in <a href="http://crosscountrynewbies.blogspot.com/2011/10/visualization-more-than-just-imagining.html" target="_blank">another post</a> last season, and this was a chance for everyone to try it in real time.<br />
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Once the meeting was over, there was some more free time before lunch. After lunch, everyone tried to digest their food quickly because the main workout of the day was at 2:30. At this workout, the most advanced runners would run all the way to the end of the trail that we ran on - the round-trip distance was ten miles! The less advanced runners started the week running for 40 minutes, and then worked their way up to 60 minutes by the end of the camp.<br />
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After the tough workout of the day, there was more free time, which was used to swim in the camp's beautiful pool a few times. Other runners enjoyed playing volleyball on the sand court or ping pong or making friendship bracelets or playing the guitar and singing. After dinner, we had another meeting, where we did things like going over what our competition was going to be like in the upcoming season. We also had some "circle time" at a couple of the meetings, where everyone shared their experiences of a good or bad race or something funny that happened to them in a race. During one of the evening meetings, each person got up in front of everyone and announced what their goals are for the upcoming season. Each person also had the option of saying how they feel about running, about being on the team, etc., which several people did.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S'mores!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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Finally, the day ended with some kind of social activity like group games or a campfire with s'mores. One night, there was a talent show, which was very impressive and, of course, fun. It was lights out at 11 PM (although it's rumored that some of the runners stayed up talking a <i>little </i>later than that).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a lot of miles!!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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At the end of the camp, some of the runners made a chart on one of the white boards in the meeting room that tallied up all of the miles everyone ran. Many of the runners were amazed at both their own accomplishments and those of their teammates. Everyone left the camp with a huge confidence boost because of all of their hard work, not to mention having made new friends or strengthening existing friendships with their teammates. Most importantly, the camp served as one more experience that made everyone want to continue running.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-86059596597194230602012-07-26T12:11:00.000-07:002012-07-26T12:11:04.773-07:00Summer!So here we are in about the middle of the summer. What are high school cross-country runners doing?<br /><br />Running.<br /><br />That's right, you don't want to show up on the first day of school having taken the summer off (unless you were injured, of course). Instead, you want to have spent your summer running.<br /><br />But what kind of running? How far should I go? How fast should I run? Who will coach me?<br /><br />These are easy questions to answer. First of all, you should mostly be doing easy running. The hard running comes during the season when you're training your body to race. But in order to be able to do the hard running, you have to be "in shape," which means that you have an endurance base. This means that just running miles is all you really have to do in the summer. Well, that, plus other strength work like pushups, abs, etc. - all of those things will get you ready for the Fall.<br /><br />Second, you should have taken some time off after your track season, like a couple of weeks. Or maybe you are totally new to the sport. In either case, you should view the distances you might run during the summer as a long process of building endurance. This means to start with shorter distances and then increase. How do you know how far you can run? Just try a few miles at first. If that feels easy, add a mile or so, then another, and so on. For example, on the team I coach, some runners started at 3 miles, while the more advanced runners started the summer running 6 or 8 miles in the first workouts. Now, halfway through the summer, even the shortest distances are around 6 miles.<br /><br />How fast? Don't even think about speed yet. Just enjoy being out running, preferably with your friends on the team. Sometimes runners want to race each other during these workouts (because it's fun) and end up running long runs really fast. I think that's a bad idea because you increase your risk of injury if you try to run fast before your body is ready to do that.<br /><br />Coach? Who needs a coach? Actually, as coaches, we are not allowed to hold workouts or coach anyone until a specific date a week or two before school starts. All we do is provide a place and time for student-athletes to run - in fact, anyone can run with us, and we often have parents or students from other schools join us. We're really just a bunch of people who like running. We can suggest how many minutes or miles to run, but, at least for our team, the captains actually direct the workouts. We pretty much just bring the first aid kit in case anyone trips and falls and maybe some water. This is a good setup because summer running is a chance for everyone to just get out and enjoy running. The benefits of summer running are huge, but the motivation comes from the student-athletes anyway: everyone who wants to improve knows they should be running in the summer.<br /><br />Another way we offer runners an opportunity to stay in shape over the summer is to hold a running camp. I will be writing a separate blog post to tell you all about what our running camp was like. Here's a preview: It was awesome!!<br /><br />Until next time, keep on running!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-64329500366257425102012-04-10T06:56:00.000-07:002012-04-10T06:56:03.715-07:00Your Worst Enemy - Your Own MindThat's right, your mind (brain) is your enemy. It is always trying to get you to slow down, mostly when you don't have to.<br /><br />I was at an invitational track meet last weekend at which two of our runners were running. Both of them suffered from their worst enemy: their own minds.<br /><br />On the first day, our runner was in the 3000 meter race. The first four laps went pretty well - he was patient and ran that first 1600 meters a little faster than when he ran his best time a few weeks ago in the 3200 meters. Then, he hooked up with what looked like a great situation - three or four other runners who were running about his pace. He could hide in the pack to stay out of the slight breeze, and let them do all the work. The only problem was that they slowed down. Our runner's brain most likely sent signals out that told him he was doing all the right things. The only problem, I believe, is that that brain ignored the sensation that he was slowing down, a sensation that this individual would ordinarily have noticed in an instant. So his brain said "You're doing great! Keep doing THIS!" when it should have been saying "Dude! You're slowing down! Pick it up!"<br /><br />Our other runner ran the next day in the mile. In his case, he started off at the pace he hoped he could run for the first two laps. In the third lap, he tired a bit (as he should have!), and several runners passed him. As an experienced and talented runner, he should not let this kind of thing bother him. I don't believe it did, at least not consciously. But I think his brain said, "Nice try, kid, but you're just not as fast as those other guys." The final lap was interesting because those guys who passed him were about 5 meters ahead of him, but never increased that lead. To his brain, it appeared that they were out of reach, but standing where I was, it was a gap he definitely could have closed. IF his brain would have let him. But instead, his brain (subconsciously, I believe) told him the race was over. His final lap split was the same as his third lap, even though he had the ability to sprint in with a time 3 or 4 seconds faster, which would have put him ahead of at least a couple of those other guys.<br /><br />Why does this happen and what can you do about it?<br /><br />I think it happens as a defense mechanism. Your brain is in charge of your life support systems, and any time your heart rate and respiration rate and lactic acid production rate start heading upward, it's your brain's job to figure out how to reverse those trends. Your brain starts to tell you that you must slow down. It tries to trick you by telling you you can't do what you want to do. Even if it is doing this subconsciously, it is really, really good at it.<br /><br />What you can do about it is, first and foremost, train appropriately for the goal you have. If your goal is to run a mile in under 5:00, train for that. But the key to overcoming your brain's tricks in the actual race is to trust that training. If you're trying to run under 5:00, but you've only trained enough to run under 5:15, then this will not help. If you have done the training, the next trick is to acknowledge that your brain WILL try to trick you. When you get to that third lap, start thinking, "I know my brain wants me to slow down, but I know - because of the training I've done - that I don't have to. I can actually keep this pace up, even speed up, because I know what I actually can do. My brain is just trying to trick me."<br /><br />So next time you're in a race, remember that, no matter how well-intentioned it might be, your mind is your enemy. Use that knowledge to run the race you want to run.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-54248623322333551602012-03-29T08:27:00.000-07:002012-03-29T08:27:42.387-07:00If You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything!Earlier this week, the San Francisco Bay Area finally got a rainstorm with some strength to it (we are currently in a near-drought condition, running at about half of our normal rainfall for the rainy season). <br />
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Of course, we had a track workout scheduled.<br />
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The wind was gusting up to around 20 mph, and the rain was steady. The temperature dropped almost 10 degrees from the time we showed up at the track to the time the workout ended.<br />
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When you're running along a path or road on a stormy day just doing a regular run, it's not too bad. You're constantly moving, so you can adjust your clothing and pace to be reasonably comfortable. On the track, it's run, then stop, then run, then stop. The runs always include portions that are against the wind, which means - even if you wear a hat, like I do - you get rain in your face. You get cold in between the run segments. Ugh. It is really <em>not</em> fun.<br />
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What's worse is that it's really, really hard - no, darn near impossible - to get any sense of pace because of running against the wind, then with it, then against it, and so on. So the workout can be very frustrating, in addition to very miserable.<br />
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But here's the bonus: a lot of your competition won't do it. They'll change their workout to something easier or even skip it entirely. If you go ahead and do it, you should know that it will put you one step ahead of the competition in terms of training. Better yet, the mental toughness you gain by doing that workout under those conditions will give you a huge leg-up. You will be in races where you are feeling very fatigued, and you'll know that it will require a lot of toughness to continue running well all the way to the finish. If you have done this kind of workout under extreme conditions like what our runners did this week, you will <em>know</em> (not just <em>hope</em>) that you have that toughness to get the job done.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-72146112258994622382012-01-26T10:41:00.000-08:002012-01-27T06:45:06.545-08:00It's January. What do I do now?<br />
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So, here we are nearing the end of January already. What is going on for cross-country runners right now? Chances are, you are getting ready to start your track seasons. Are you running track? Should you? What event(s) should you run? How is track different from cross-country?<br />
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Lots of questions, of course. Here are my answers to these questions. If you think of other questions (or other answers!), add them in the comments, and I'll give you my two cents.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>What are cross-country runners doing right now?</b></span><br />
As I noted above, most are probably getting ready for track season. Track is a natural companion to cross-country because, well, it involves running. Different kinds of running, but running nonetheless. Since "track season" doesn't really start for at least a couple more weeks, most athletes are in a pre-season regimen of some kind. For our team, we are just running miles, with an occasional easy-ish tempo run or a few 50-meter strides thrown in. We also went to an "all-comers" meet just for fun (I even ran in it!).<br />
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<b>Should you run track?</b><br />
<b> </b>Absolutely! Why? For a couple of reasons. First of all, you should continue running throughout the year. There are times when you should take a break from running, but you don't need to make that break more than a couple of weeks. You are developing as an athlete, and running track will allow you to continue to develop without going backwards in that development. Second, track will give you some experience with different kinds of running that will keep you interested in the sport, as well as develop your ability to run fast. Finally, it's fun! I actually developed my love for running from running track. Even though I was one of the slowest runners in the entire county, running in a track meet made me feel like I was competing in the Olympics. There was something about the formality of the starts of the various races that just seemed really cool to me. I also found that I loved the competition itself, as well as the systematic-ness of dividing up races into easily dividable pieces, like laps or half-laps (did that make sense?).<br />
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<b>What event(s) should you run?</b><br />
Most cross-country runners will run the 1500/1600 meters and/or the 3000/3200 meters, and some will also do the 800. I encourage runners to try other events, too, just to see if they like them. The 400 is a good one to try because it can give you some perspective on your own pacing for the longer races. Depending on how big the meets are and what the order of events is, you should try to run in two events during each meet, maybe even three. This introduces you to a new skill, which involves cooling down from one event, then warming up for another one, which you did not have to do during cross-country season. It's a challenge to figure out how to make that work.<br />
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<b>How is track different than cross-country?</b><br />
First and foremost, the distances are shorter, which means that you will be running faster. In the case of the 800, especially, it will be a lot faster. This creates a new challenge because the faster you are running, the more you might be risking injury, especially if you have not trained enough.<br />
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Another major difference is that every course is the same, pretty much. There are some differences in surface (one track may be softer or harder than another) and, of course, weather, but 1600m on one track is the exact same distance as on another track and - some people will love this - there are no hills!<br />
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Training is different for track, too, primarily because of the shorter and homogeneous races. There is a lot of precise pacing involved, which you will learn during practices.<br />
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Like I noted above, if you have other questions about track, post them in the comments, and I will answer them!</div>Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-61295871726849273212011-10-27T07:17:00.000-07:002011-10-27T07:17:58.666-07:00Visualization - More than Just Imagining Your Best RaceAt this point in the Fall, many of you are approaching your league championships or some other final meet of the season, so you are hoping to run your best. Visualization is a technique that can help you with the mental aspect of running races.<br />
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I first learned about visualization in the 80's, specifically in 1987 when I was training for a marathon. I really wanted to run under three hours, and I found a book (<i>The Total Runner</i>, by Jerry Lynch) that described visualization. I didn't have a good race (died at about 17 miles) in the marathon, but I continued to use the technique because I was having success in other races from using it.<br />
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Without going into the detail of Lynch's book or anyone else's specific techniques, I can tell you a few things to get you started.<br />
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One of the main things is that visualization is more than just imagining your race and how wonderful everything will be. What I do is start there. Once I am relaxed (although not too relaxed - I will sometimes fall asleep!) and ready to do some visualization, I close my eyes and basically do a run-through of my race. During that first step, everything goes as planned.<br />
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But here's the benefit of visualization: the next step is to imagine various things going wrong: you get a blister; the weather is crappy; someone steps on your foot; your jersey doesn't feel right - anything you can think of that might reasonably happen.<br />
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"But isn't that kind of the opposite of thinking positively?"<br />
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It could be, except that in this exercise, you troubleshoot whatever the problem is during the visualization. That way, if it actually happens in the race, you will already know how to deal with it, and your race will continue on uninterrupted.<br />
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"Don't you have a funny story about visualization, Marty?"<br />
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Well, as a matter of fact, in the early spring of 1988, I was getting pretty fit, and was racing frequently. I decided to do a 5k race that was in a hilly park on trails. I did my usual visualization techniques in the week leading up to the race, going through various things that might happen. When I got into the race, though, something happened that was totally unexpected: I was leading. By a lot. Having not anticipated this, I started worrying that I had gone off course, but I resisted the urge to look behind me, knowing that you should <i>never </i>look behind you in a race. I finally decided to just keep pressing on, and I actually won the race by over a minute! My first win! Now I had one more thing to add to my visualizations.<br />
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As you get to within a week or so of your race, you should start doing some visualization. Find what works for you, in terms of where and when it works best. Think about how you want to implement your race strategy. Let me know how it works out by posting in the comments.<br />
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And don't forget to consider what you might do if you find yourself in front!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-91416240864759359432011-10-18T08:09:00.000-07:002011-10-18T08:09:59.643-07:00Taking Workouts SeriouslyAs you get deeper into your season, the workouts your coach prescribes will get harder. This is because your coach is trying to prepare you to run your best race(s) at the end of your season, which may be a league championship meet, a sectional meet, or even your state's state meet. These hard workouts - tempo runs, repeats, hill workouts, etc. - are some of your most important workouts of your season.<br />
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Treat them like races.<br />
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No, that does not mean you should necessarily run them as hard as you do a race. You should run those workouts however your coach tells you to run them. But you need to be prepared for them because you don't want to have that be the day you show up at practice and - oops! - you forgot to hydrate properly, or you ate that greasy pizza slice for lunch only an hour ago, or you're just "not feeling it today."<br />
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On the days of these hard workouts, imagine you are running a race at 3:30 (or whatever time you practice). Wouldn't you be extra-sure to hydrate properly on a race day? What would you ordinarily eat on a race day? When would you eat your lunch? Did you go to bed early enough last night?<br />
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If your coach hasn't given you a practice schedule, ask him/her what the workout is going to be the day before you do it. Spend a few minutes the night before thinking about how you're going to run it, just like you would if it were a race.<br />
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Once you arrive at practice, treat the warmup/stretching/drills like you were about to race. When it comes time to actually do the workout, listen to your coach and do the workout like he/she says.<br />
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When the day finally comes to actually run the big race, you'll be ready!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-395976440371003572011-10-11T11:40:00.000-07:002011-10-11T11:40:51.167-07:00A New Trend in XC - Sock-Footed Running<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7GgvVQowHCY/TpSNG9NX8WI/AAAAAAAAAMc/Js3qOKJx2P4/s1600/1shoe1-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7GgvVQowHCY/TpSNG9NX8WI/AAAAAAAAAMc/Js3qOKJx2P4/s320/1shoe1-c.jpg" width="320" /></a>On the team I coach, we've had a rash of shoe loss this season. One runner lost one of his shoes during two different races, and another runner had it happen once. In each case, the shoe either came completely off on its own, or the runner concluded that's what would end up happening anyway, so kicked it off.<br />
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Sometimes, a poorly-tied shoe is the culprit. But in the most recent case, a runner from behind accidentally stepped on the heel of my guy's shoe, so better shoe-tying would not have helped. He kicked it off to the side of the course, then kept running. <i>For over two more miles.</i> His time was remarkably good, as he finished within just a few seconds of teammates who had routinely beaten him throughout the season by a half-minute or more.<br />
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This got me thinking.<br />
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How long would it take to put your shoe back on? I notice that many, if not most, young runners these days usually just leave their shoes tied and just jam them onto their feet when it's time to run. So if, during a race, your shoe came off (still tied), how long would it take to stop and jam it back on?<br />
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I would guess about 5 seconds, maybe 10.<br />
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So, knowing that, if it's late in the race, maybe it would still make sense to just leave it off and keep running. But if it was earlier in the race - say, with more than one mile still to go - it might be more productive to stop and put it back on. You could probably get those 5-10 seconds back by having both shoes on, maybe more.<br />
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The point of all this is that you should think about what you would do if it happens to you. That way, if it does, you'll be prepared and have some idea what to do.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-66170491832993485852011-10-03T07:31:00.000-07:002011-10-03T07:31:46.694-07:00"I'm Ruuuuuunning in the Rain....."[<i>Be sure to sing the title of this post to the tune of Singing in the Rain....</i>]<br />
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Yes, where I am, we are expecting to get the first rain of the "winter" either today, tomorrow, or the next day. Many of you may not have run when it's raining before.<br />
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You are in for a treat!<br />
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Your initial reaction will be, "But won't I get wet?"<br />
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Um, yes, probably due to that watery stuff coming down out of the sky.<br />
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Running in the rain is one of those wacky traditions of cross-country, like hay bales on the course. It's actually pretty fun because you don't have Mom yelling at you "GET INSIDE OUT OF THE RAIN SO YOU DON'T GET WET!" You can actually step in puddles and splash water all over. On purpose!<br />
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Seriously, just like other weather conditions, you have to be prepared. You can't NOT hydrate, just because it's going to rain. Your body still needs fluids. Probably less than on a hot day, but about the same as on a regular day.<br />
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If it's colder than on a dry day, you might want to wear a long-sleeved shirt and maybe even running tights. <br />
In general, whatever clothing you wear should be made of some kind of man-made fabric (a "wicking" fabric) because cotton will just absorb the water and make you cold. The other kinds won't hold onto the water, so it will be more comfortable. You probably don't have to worry too much about wearing "warm" clothes because running will keep you warm enough in most cases (remember that when it's dry, your body gets so warm that it sweats - you might sweat less when it's raining, but you probably won't get cold). Some people like wearing gloves because your hands can get cold when they get wet.<br />
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As in sunny weather, I like wearing a hat, but in rainy weather it's to keep the rain out of my eyes.<br />
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Most importantly, you need to have something dry to put on when you finish. You still have to stretch, etc., and you'll freeze if you don't get out of your wet clothes. That means you have to plan ahead. You have to bring a spare t-shirt (long sleeved, if possible) and some sweatpants with you to school.<br />
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If it might rain several days in a row, you should have at least two sets of "rain clothes." The wicking fabric will generally dry fairly quickly, so, even if you can't wash and dry your wet shirt, you can at least rinse it out and hang it up - it will be dry within a day and a half or so.<br />
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What about those sopping wet shoes? You need to dry them out because you don't want to be putting wet shoes on tomorrow, so here's what you do (even if you already have two pairs that you are rotating): Take out the insoles, set them up on their edges somewhere so they can dry, then stuff the shoes with newspaper. The newspaper will slowly absorb the water from the shoes. Leave them alone for a while, like a couple of hours. Before you go to bed, take the newspaper out and check to see how wet they are. If they're only a little wet, just leave them alone overnight - they should be dry by morning. If they're still pretty wet, stuff them with (dry) newspaper again and leave them overnight. When you get up the next morning, check them again and do the same thing. Don't put the insoles back in until right before you're about to put them on to run again.<br />
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Presto! Now you're ready to run in the rain. It's actually a useful thing to do in training because, guess what? They don't cancel cross-country races because of rain - you may as well get used to it. Heck, it's fun!!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-59089772892784928962011-09-30T07:19:00.000-07:002011-09-30T07:19:40.656-07:00"It's Hot/Cold/Rainy/Windy! What do I do?"I went for a run the other day on what was probably our hottest day of the year. When I got home at around 5 PM, the thermometer in our back yard (in the shade) read 90 degrees! Then, I read the weather forecast, and they say it may rain next week. So it seems like a good time for some weather-related advice.<br />
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<i>So what do you do if it's that hot?</i><br />
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First of all, the number one priority in any weather conditions is that you do what you need to do to be safe. If it's hot, you have to be certain you do not put yourself in position to suffer from heat exhaustion or, worse, heat stroke. It's actually possible for most people to safely run in very hot conditions, but you can't just run out the front door when it's 90 degrees out and expect everything to be the same as if it's 60. Here are some thoughts about running in hot weather:<br />
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<b>Hydrate</b><br />
Just like in any other weather, you absolutely must hydrate appropriately for the conditions. If it's going to be hot when you run, you need to hydrate more. And that doesn't mean chugging three bottles of water right before you change into your running gear. I tell my runners to have a water bottle (small - say 16-20 oz.) with you during your school day. During each class, sip on it throughout the class so that you finish one bottle per class. When you change classes, refill the bottle. You should also be peeing between each class - if you're not, you're not drinking enough. Also, if you have the opportunity, take a drink of water (or two or three - whatever you need) during your workout. However, don't expect to make up for lack of hydration earlier in the day by drinking water during the workout. Do drink if you need to, but if you really need to drink during a 45-minute workout, it's a signal that you did not hydrate enough earlier in the day. Don't make that mistake again!!<br />
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<b>Wear Light Colored Clothing</b><br />
I know, black is fashionable, but an 80-degree day will feel like 100 if you wear your favorite black shirt from the latest rock concert you attended (do they still have rock concerts? ;-) ). The guys I coach like to run with no shirts, despite warnings from me and the other coaches about skin cancer. I actually feel cooler wearing a white t-shirt than running with no shirt. The white color will reflect some of the sun away from you.<br />
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<b>Wear a Light Colored Hat</b><br />
I know, it'll mess up your totally awesome hair, but it will REALLY keep the blazing sun off of your head, which is where you are supposed to be dissipating heat. If you wear a cotton hat (like I do), you can also soak it in water to help with the heat dissipation.<br />
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<b>Slow Down</b><br />
When it's hot, you almost certainly won't be able to run as fast as under normal circumstances, so just accept the fact that you have to slow down. You can actually get the same benefit of whatever workout you're doing by slowing down when it's hot. Remember, your body doesn't really know how fast you're going - it only knows what it feels like. So if you're running 7:00 pace on a hot day and your body feels like you're running 6:30 pace, the conditioning benefit will be like running the 6:30 pace on a cool day.<br />
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<b>Practice</b><br />
No matter whether you do all these things or not, you won't be able to successfully run in hot weather unless you gradually build up to it. I remember when I worked at Stanford University back in the '80s, and I ran with a great club down there, the Angell Field Ancients. We would meet up at noon every day to run from 5-8 miles on trails up in the hills above the campus. In the summer, it was usually around 80 degrees every day. I always found that it took a couple of weeks after the weather turned warm to get used to it, but once I was, I could run just about the same as when it was 65 degrees a month earlier. I grew to love running in the heat, but always - ALWAYS - had to build up to it.<br />
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I was going to write about running in the rain, but this is enough for now - I will cover that topic in a few days....Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-29514884031190803372011-09-26T07:08:00.000-07:002011-09-26T07:08:42.261-07:00Know Where You're GoingI was reminded over the weekend of the importance of knowing where you're going. Twice in the same meet, runners went off course, wrecking their chances for winning.<br />
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I saw one case (last year) when a course official actually directed runners the wrong direction, but it's usually the case that there is a turn on a course somewhere with no official, and one or more runners go the wrong way.<br />
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Yesterday, in the first race of the day, there was one runner that was well in front of the others. Behind him was a sizeable pack, then a string of several others extending back from there. Just before the 2-mile point, the course takes a 90-degree right-turn. The leader, then the pack, then several of the others continued straight. The runner who was in about 25th place (one of the boys I coach) had listened all week when we had talked about the course, then had gone over it along with his teammates with a map in hand during his warmup. Even when the runner a few feet in front of him went the wrong way, he knew to turn, so he did. He ended up winning the race. Yes, knowing where you're going is part of the sport.<br />
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Later, on the final race of the day, another runner made a brief foray in the wrong direction. He was very close to the front at the time, but even though he only went off course for 2 or 3 seconds, it was apparently distracting enough to wreck his race: he finished somewhere above 20th place.<br />
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In today's age, you can usually find a course map on-line somewhere, so check it out and know where you're going!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-81677690673504746962011-09-23T07:10:00.000-07:002011-09-23T07:10:06.369-07:00"My Knee Hurts! What do I do?!"Unfortunately, injuries are often part of any sport involving running. Even if you seemingly do everything right to try to avoid injuries - get the right shoes for your body, gradually build up to the level where you're running, etc. - you can still develop an injury. Sometimes when I'm in the car (with the windows UP) I will shout at some runner, "Don't you know running is bad for you?!!"<br />
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The biggest challenge in dealing with injuries is knowing whether the pain you feel is just normal soreness because you did a hard run the day before, or if it is something that is the beginning of an injury. Even having been a competitive runner since 1978 (!), I don't always get this right.<br />
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The first thing to know is that, except in extremely rare cases, your coach is not a doctor. However, your coach may be a runner or at least a former runner, or at least has had some training in dealing with injuries. So when you go tell your coach, "My knee hurts," listen carefully what they say, because they have probably gone through the same thing you are going through. Just understand that whatever advice your coach gives you is "runner's/coach's advice," not "doctor's advice." You can always go see your doctor.<br />
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Here's what I and most other coaches I know will likely say. We'll ask you if it hurts when you're not doing anything or when you're just walking. If it does, we might tell you that's a fairly clear sign that it could be something that either is or might turn into an injury, and advise you to take a day off and check again tomorrow. Or even go to a doctor right away if the pain is very substantial.<br />
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If it only hurts when you run, we'll suggest that you try running a little, and see if the pain gets worse. If it doesn't get any worse, then it may be something that is just some soreness that will go away. So, basically, the advice is usually to test it out to see what makes it feel better and what makes it feel worse. If the pain persists for longer than a few days, it could be a sign that it's something leading to an injury. The only exception to that would be if it's getting noticeably better from day to day. You really have to learn to listen to your body every day and be able to compare how you feel from one day to the next.<br />
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At any rate, it's usually good advice to ice whatever hurts. If you hunt around on the internet and just ask people you know, you'll probably find seventeen different ways to ice something. Here's my favorite way of icing something. Buy a bag of frozen peas at the grocery store. Put the unopened bag into a ziploc bag (it's tougher than the bag the peas come in). Put in the freezer. When it's time to ice, put the bag onto the sore area for about 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, take the bag off and let the area warm back up for about 15 minutes. The put the bag back on for another 15 minutes. Let the sore area warm back up for 15 minutes before getting up to walk around again. That, conveniently, also gives you an hour to do whatever reading you have for homework.<br />
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Whatever you decide to do for an injury, do keep the big picture in mind. As a runner, my goal is usually to try to avoid an injury with a long recovery time, so I will skip a workout or cancel my participation in a race if I think some soreness I have might result in 6 weeks on the couch. You have to think about what the "big picture" means to you, and how your injury (or non-injury) fits into that.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-13939309648944976912011-09-20T07:22:00.000-07:002011-09-20T07:22:47.671-07:00Why are 800s "Good for Me"?Because I said so, that's why. OK, just kidding.<br />
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Actually, doing a set of 800m repeats is good for a number of reasons.<br />
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One reason is that it trains you to run about as fast as you need to run in a cross-country race. One could argue that there are times that you might be running faster, but high schoolers are probably going to be able to ratchet up to that higher speed well enough (for sprinting at the end, etc.) without training for it.<br />
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Another reason is that 800m represents a good distance that you might want to speed up during a race. Let's say you're running a course that's about 2½ miles long. The first mile or so, you're getting started, settling into your race pace, etc. At some point during the second mile, you will either A) start inadvertently slowing down; or B) want to pass a bunch of other runners, so will need to speed up. Regardless of the reason, this is a good time in a race to turn up the effort. If you do so for about 800m, you will put yourself in an excellent position to run an overall good race - you will probably pass some people, which will give you confidence, and you will now be close enough to the end of the race that you will start to speed up toward the finish (like the horse smelling the barn on a ride).<br />
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Of course, there is the mental practice you get running 800s, too. You have to run pretty fast during each 800m repeat, and you have to do it while you're tired. However, they aren't that long, so you will know that the discomfort won't last forever, as it can seem when you're doing mile repeats or a longer tempo run. Because you'll do more of these than the longer distance repeats, you get more brain training than when you do fewer of the longer ones. Each time you are running one of these, you are learning how to accept the discomfort that comes with running fast for a prolonged period of time (longer than a 100m sprint, say). Then, when you get in a race, you will recognize the feeling you have as relatively familiar, and won't panic ("OMG, I need to slow down!!!").<br />
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Finally, again because you will do more of these than longer repeats, you get a chance to refine your pacing because you get more attempts. If you're only doing 2 or 3 1600s, it's hard to get a feel for the pace. But doing, say, 4 or 6 800s, you get a much better opportunity to compare: "That one felt slower, but was 2 seconds faster than the one before last."Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-12893752466544661322011-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:002011-09-15T07:10:43.300-07:00One Runner at a TimeOne of the challenges of running in a larger race (like a big invitational) is that there are so many runners, it might seem overwhelming to try to pass people and move up in the finishing order. That is, it will probably seem to be too big a task to look ahead and see 30 runners that you want to pass: "How can I pass <i><b>30</b></i> guys?!"<br />
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So here's what you do.<br />
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Once you get through the chaos of the start, try to find what seems like your "race pace." Then, look up ahead. <i>But only look at the very next runner in front of you. </i>Your mission - indeed, your <i><b>only </b></i>mission - is to pass <i>that </i>runner.<br />
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Do not think about anything else.<br />
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Do not think to yourself: "Self: let's pass those four runners up
ahead of me."<br />
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Do not think to yourself: "Wow, that
runner is too far ahead of me to think about passing him."<br />
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Do
not think to yourself: "Look at the lovely trees and pond."<br />
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The
only thing to think to yourself is: "Pass that runner that I see ahead
of me."<br />
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Within 10 seconds or so, you will pass that runner. Now, your mission is complete.<br />
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But you then have a new mission: to pass the runner that you now see in front of you.<br />
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Within 10 seconds or so, you will pass that runner. Your second mission is now
complete.<br />
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But you then have another new mission: to pass the runner that you
now see in front of you.<br />
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Do you get the picture?<br />
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That is all.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-90627416412965432642011-09-14T12:09:00.000-07:002011-09-14T12:09:41.963-07:00Race Pace - Know Where You Should BeEventually, you will learn how to pace yourself during a race. You will develop a sense for what a given pace feels like. But until you do, one tool you can use to help you during a race is to know about where you should be finishing. You can do this in big races because you can probably find results from the past year's event.<br />
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Here's an example.... Our team is headed to our first invitational of the season this weekend. The newer runners ran their first official race of the season last Friday on a course that is about the same length. Using their per-mile pace as a guide, I could estimate what their time might be this coming Saturday. Based on that time, I am able to guess about where they might finish. For the fastest guys, they will probably be in the top 20 (out of 150-180 runners). The medium guys will probably be in the top 50 or 60. So I can tell the fastest guys that if it looks like there are a number of guys about equal to the total number of guys on our whole team (about 30) ahead of them, then they are probably going too slow. Similarly, if the medium guys see only a couple dozen guys ahead of them, they're probably going out too fast. For the slowest guys, it's probably best to primarily use their own teammates as a guide, i.e., they shouldn't be keeping up with guys they know will finish a minute ahead of them.<br />
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It's also possible that you might look up previous years' results and find that you might actually have a chance to win. The only downside of this knowledge is that you probably shouldn't get out and try to lead wire to wire - you might accidentally start out too fast. Instead, you should be a little more patient, and let someone else lead for the first half of the race or so, then move ahead after you determine that's the best plan.Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-35358812834582884342011-09-12T13:58:00.000-07:002011-09-12T13:59:02.557-07:00You Can Make a Difference!One of my first posts on this blog was about how the system of scoring works. I mentioned that every member of the team has the potential to influence the outcome of a race. Many of you probably thought, "Here we go, blah, blah, blah, everyone's a winner, blah, blah, blah....." I'm right, aren't I?<br />
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Well, at our school's league meet last Friday, we saw a great example of this. There were six schools in the meet, and four of them had complete varsity boys teams (at least five runners). There was a pretty good battle for first place, with the first place and second place teams separated by only 6 points. Then, amazingly, the other two teams tied for third place. When there's a tie, you look at which of the two teams' 6th runners finished higher. In this case, one school had only five runners, and the other did have a 6th. That runner actually finished the race DFL (Dead Flat Last), but because the other team didn't have a 6th runner, he constituted the tiebreaker that secured third place for his team. That's right, the guy who was LAST PLACE in the race was the factor that bumped his team up to a higher place!<br />
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The importance of this point is that you should always do your best in any race. Even if it seems like you are the slowest one out there, or if you're having a bad race that day, or if you're down on yourself for some other reason, you should keep trying and get to that finish line. You might be the one that pushes your team up one more spot!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774256601723867223.post-87104224238946675482011-09-08T06:48:00.000-07:002011-09-08T06:48:44.815-07:00Chocolate Milk - Yeah!I want to post about nutrition eventually, but this just popped up on my radar screen:<br />
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<a href="http://ht.ly/6nOgq">http://ht.ly/6nOgq</a><br />
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It is about a study by a University of Texas researcher about the benefits of consuming chocolate milk after exercise. In addition to the article itself, read the comments. People raise many interesting questions, and the lead researcher actually responds to them. Interesting stuff!!Marty Beenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13007723949758185705noreply@blogger.com0