No Wicked Sloths

This past week my mother was able to come down to visit my family and I.  She brought with her my running t-shirt quilt.  This quilt has shirts from high school and some from when I began to run again.  It was nice to see the shirts and reflect on how things went during those races.  One of the shirts came from my senior year in high school.  The theme that year was "No Wicked Sloths." It stems from the speech that our coach gave us before the regional meet. If you are not familiar with this parable, it is a common Christian parable that can have many different versions but all have the same message. 

It talks about a king leaving his servants (3) for a time.  One servant was given 5 things, another was given 3 and the last one was given 1 thing.  What the servants were given depends on the version that you might have heard.  We had been told that they were given talents.  The story goes on to say that the servants that received 5 and 3 talents wanted to please their master and did what was needed to double their talents.  While the servants that received 1 talent was so afraid to lose this talent that they did not use it at all.  When the king came back, the servants that doubled their talents pleased the king very much and were rewarded.  When the last servant gave back the king the single talent the king proclaimed the servant to be a “wicked sloth.”  This servant did not use their talents to grow their talents. 

I think that this parable works very well with runners if you have certain talent(s) and do not work at trying to make them or yourself better then you are wasting those talents. 

I see this in many teams, some of the kids come in with so much talent that we as coaches get excited for what lies ahead. However if these athletes are afraid to use their talents they will not expand those talents and see what they are truly capable of.  Then there are those athletes that might not have the talents that the others do but they are not afraid to use their talents they find through using their talents that they become more talented than they ever imagined.  As a coach, these athletes are what make the team what it is.  These are the athletes that others should look up to and try to emulate.  We as coaches and runners also need to look inward and try to figure out if we are being a wicked sloth or are we using and trying to expand our talents.  

   

A girl like her and a guy like me

Today is the day that I get to celebrate time that I have spent with a very special person in my life, my wife.  We have been married for eight years, and known each other for over 11 years.  Scary to think about it but I have known her for a 1/3 of my life. 

We have had a lots of fun over the last eight years.  We have also taken some big leaps together as well.  We moved over 500miles from home for a job that we had no idea how it was going to go.  There been some tuff times because of the leaps but in the end I think that we have grown stronger because of them. 

When my wife meet me I was not running at the time.  I call it my seven-year hiatus.  I was still very interested in running and the sport I just was not running.  After we moved to where we are now I started running again.  I did things the smart way starting out with very low miles (highest month was 92, 525 for the year).  At the time she did not understand what was about to unfold or how crazy runners get.  But she still stuck by letting me know how crazy I am, shaking her head as I get ready for a run in the freezing cold or the sweltering heat.  She has expressed her worries before my first marathon (thanks to the hottest Chicago and Twin Cities marathons in recent history).  Now she I think has come to understand my running and me more. 

So on our anniversary I thought she should know that even with all these miles ran and races paid for, I still love her more.  

Dead Heat

Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix did something that is so rare that USA Track & Field did not even have a policy in place for such an event.  Yes, I am talking about the dead heat that occurred in the women’s 100m final.  As I write this Jeneba Tarmoh has conceded her potential spot in this event, which to me is sad. 

This is a black eye for the sport of track and field at a time when the whole country could have seen one of the greatest things to happen to the sport.  I do not think this is on Jeneba Tarmoh, this is on USA Track & Field.  However, Tarmoh should have known that the results that are posted are always unofficial.  

Here is where things began to go bad to worse.  If there were a policy in place, nothing would be made of this but because there was no policy, we have a big deal.  The results that the officials can up with were in my mind not the best; coin flip, run off, or concede the spot.  Now the coin flip is just absurd, the run off should have been the first option given to the athletes and more time should have been given to athletes to recover and prepare for the potential run off.  I personal would have liked to have seen Felix conceded the spot because she did make it in the 200m and would have been on the 4x100m relay as well.  Nevertheless, this did not happen so we have this mess.  I hope the Olympic committee is paying attention.

How can this be prevented in the future…..well first off MAKE POLICY.  I would suggest that like the field events the semi-final(1) and the prelims(2) heat times are the first tie breakers.  If this was the policy here would have been the results:

Athlete	Semi time	Prelim time
Felix	11.23	11.19
Tarmoh	11.10	11.16

Tarmoh would have been declared the winner before this got out of hand and the USATF would have had an answer when they said they wanted one in the first place.  If the athletes had identical times in those heats then it goes to a run off. 

My hope is that USATF learns from this and sets a policy that makes sense.

Here we Go

It has been quite some time since I have written anything.  A great deal has happened since I have written however I will not bore you with a post that is a complete recap.  Instead, I will be looking at how this summer is shaping up. 

First, I had to come to terms that I am mentally unable to take of my son all summer.  It took about a week to find this out.  At first I did not want to admit this, but there is some things that I just cannot do.  I was trying to keep him busy and then try and work on things that need to be done for next school year (essentially 4 new classes). 

I have been able to get some real quality training in now that we are done with school this year.  Have had a couple of races in which showed some promise with the stroller.  I really enjoy going to small local races with my son.  It gives me an opportunity to race and be competitive and spend time with my son. 

This week (6-24à7-1) does not have me racing, so it is a full week of training and some higher mileage 50+ weeks.

During the summer, I have found that having some sort of a plan is very helpful.  It is well documented that just running will improve your running.  However, this is for those that are just starting out.  Those of us that have been running for a number of years need stimulus to increase our level of fitness.  Those that are just starting could do the same but in some cases, it is best just to build a base.  This summer I am able to actually follow the similar training plan that I had the summer before my son was born. Because of this I am able to try out some workouts that I want to run with my athletes in the fall and spring.   Last year I was able to just run, this year it is training.  So with training comes intervals, hills, these should get me back to the 3:04 marathon shape that I was.  The goal is and always will be to break three.  

Still here Just Busy

From the depths of the real world I have resurfaced on the internet yet again.  But I am not sure how long this will last.  I am in my third week of coaching JH (Junior High) Track.  If you have ever had or experienced this age group of kids you know that the energy that they bring is over the top.  If I can channel this energy and get them to work out and get faster maybe I will get a few to move on and contribute in the next level.  I have always viewed JH as a feeder for varsity, it is a way to mentally get the athletes ready for what lies ahead. 

Being this busy does have an effect on my personal running.  I went from a couple of weeks of sixties.  I have dropped to about fifteen to twenty.  Mentally this is hard but when coaching is needed that is what I need to do and not run because my training calls for me to run.  I have tried to get out after practice with the stroller.  Nevertheless, even this at times is difficult to do because I feel more rushed.  I try to make sure to get a stroller run in on the nice days. 

So if you are following this blog I can promise that I have plenty to say just no time to say it. 

Little Help Needed

Training this year has started out to be consistent; however, the mileage is not what I would like to have.  I am used to increasing my mileage up to about 40+ miles per week and now have only broke the 30 mile mark twice this year.  It is not because the weather is bad; the weather this summer has been nice this year.  I think that the lack of miles comes from my comfort level in taking my son out.  I could never get any good information as to how cold is too cold to bring him out-side and go for a run.  The weekend runs (ha no pun intended) are essential to my training and I am guessing most athletes with a full time job.  Any insight into how cold is to cold or any tips would greatly appreciated.

I have been able to get a first look at what races I will be running this summer.  Most of them look to be ran with the stroller so that will make this summer slower, but we are going to try and make some new good times, both on the clock and with my son.  The exact dates are still being worked out but should be putting something together soon.  

Winter Weekend Off

Consistency is the key to success I think this is true in some many different aspects of our lives but winter running consistency leads to success in the spring, summer and fall.

I find it interesting that in a short while (6weeks) the track season will be starting for a number of my students and athletes and I am very encouraged by the amount of them that I see working out in the weight room and running some miles around town.  Seeing this tells me that the change is near.  The runners and athletes are starting to understand that in our sport we need to train year round.  The training does not need to be intense but it needs to be there.  This change in attitude is one that I have been hoping for, for the last three years.  I tell the kids that the better shape they come in the farther we can take them.  What it took was having a couple of runners take the bite and try running and working out in the offseason (if there really is one) those athletes saw less injuries and more gains than those that did not run.  This year because of it we have seen double the students doing off season stuff on their own.   

This has also inspired the head cross country coach and I to run ourselves and make sure that we are ready for the season and able to keep up with the kids to some degree.  But the wonderful side-effect has been running more miles thus far since 2008 and close to even 2009.  This consistency is very promising as the spring and summer races will be approaching faster than I think.  This summer I have a feeling that my training will change some due to the fact that I will be pushing a stroller.  I like the training plan that I have ready to implement the only thing will be actually doing it.  It calls for more at pace running and some longer easy runs.  I am going to try and train the same workouts as if the stroller was not there but I think that the stroller will slow down my times and paces for some of the runs that I plan on running.  Getting beyond the fact that my pace might not have been spot on will take some time but I am encouraged by the fact that I will have an added training aspect almost every run, pushing that stroller.  So until school is out and track is still going on the stroller will most likely stay in the garage and wait for warmer weather in March and or April so then I can run more consistently on the weekends.  

The Year That Was 2011

In a race we are taught not look back because that is not where we are going, but one can reflect on what happened and still look to the future.  This is my attempt to reflect. 

This Year began much like the previous year (2010), I was busy doing graduate work and teaching and running as much as could. 

In 2011 I began the process of changing to a more minimal running shoe and transitioned into a pair of Saucony Kinvara’s.  Having read a good deal of literature on the benefits of going to such a shoe I decided to take the plug, but did so with the caution that is needed to make the change for a high supportive shoe to one that is less supportive.  The transition took the better part of the winter and was almost complete by the time track started in the spring. 

When track started in the spring my life was getting pretty crazy, my graduate classes where in full swing and my paper was coming due soon, not to mention that our family was about to expand.  Because of all the extra work that I was taking on I was finding it difficult to maintain a good weekend running regiment.  I did something that most would not suggest doing and that was race myself into shape or race to maintain shape.  In a span of three weeks I ran three races, two half marathons and one 10k.  

The crazy thing about running these races so close together was that I set PR’s in two out of the three races. The races that I did PR were not that easy of courses or the weather was not “perfect”. 

By the end of spring my paper had be written and my JH track season was done.  But then another chapter in my life began, my son was born.  

On June 1 very early in the morning my son was born after a very hard labor by my wife.  Many runners (male ones most likely) think that training and running a marathon is difficult but I was there with my wife and giving birth is more difficult for sure.  I know this because the next day my wife was walking like she ran a marathon and her facial cheeks hurt, which never happened after a marathon. 

The summer was crazy little sleep, not a great deal of running, but was able to get out and run when I could.  It started off by me going to Bozeman MT for a week to present and receive my master’s degree.  

This was a fun experience and was able to meet a great deal of people that have some very good thoughts on how to improve the classroom for students.  

When we went home in July for my son’s baptism I was able to get a race in.  The race ended up being very small and was my third overall win in a race.  

By the time we got back from North Dakota it was time to start thinking about cross country and school. 

The fall was crazy we had more kids come into the season with a great deal of miles ran and the team looked primed for the goal that we eventually came up short on achieving. The fact that this team did the hard work and still came up short is just one of those things in running you can do everything that you can and it still might not be enough.  Also in the fall I was able to come to terms that my race time will suffer if I do not get the proper amount of sleep. This was after two what I consider sub-par performances in the half and full marathon’s.  This is also around the time that I was able to get the greatest gift a running stroller.  My son took to it with no problem at all and enjoyed being in the stroller and going for runs with dad.  We ran our first race together for a Halloween fun run and ran well with the crowds and in full costume. 

My step-father Bill in Perth Australia  

The end of the year was met with sadness in the family. My step-father died suddenly after a surgery.  I tried to write about this life event earlier but each time I tried I find myself becoming angry and have more questions than I feel comfortable posting here.  I was able to be there for my mom at least for a short while, but it did not feel that it was enough. 

In the end 2011 was a year of polarizing opposite’s great joy and sadness.  I think that we can learn some things from 2011; life is precious and fragile, take every day as a gift every moment as it comes.  I am glad that 2011 is over because I am looking forward to what 2012 has for me and my family both running and non-running.