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.