A high school friend recently reminded me of the efforts that we used to make to get our workouts in during inclement weather. This seems especially poignant given the recent conditions that runners have experienced in the mid-atlantic.
While actually in school, our coaches had a good hold on us. They did exactly what they should have to help keep us safe. When it was icy, we’d run the hallways of the school (something not allowed anymore) and do circuits of weighted jump rope, push ups, lunges and the like. We’d get in the gym before the basketball teams started up and get in some sprints, followed by a devilish wall-sit routine. Some snowy weeks we had to sacrifice a little mileage for the sake of safety.
The days when we were out of school, off days brought on by dumping snow and hazardous driving conditions, were the special ones. These were the days when we “proved” our dedication to each other and our sport. We used to meet at a rarely used parking garage central to all parties. This meant that everyone had to drive a distance to meet up. Our parents told us we were crazy or that we were being stupid. However, we were young, fit and invincible (don’t forget incredibly lucky that no one got stuck or hurt while getting there). The standard parking garage workout was a fartlek of hard loop, easy loop. It would go on until all parties were satisfactorily tired. We would stretch, talk a little smack and return home, not remembering the arguments we’d had with our folks in order to get ourselves out there. What these workouts did from an athletic perspective was very limited. What they allowed from a mental perspective was the actual benefit. Not only did we gel more easily as a team but we were able to convince ourselves that no one else was as hardcore as us, training in these conditions. It formed a sense of strength in each of us that was invaluable to our performances later in the season.
As I said, I had forgotten our winter storm workouts until my friend brought them up. During the recent winter storms, I realized that my mindset had never changed. I’ve run on ice, driven to neighborhoods where streets were cleared, worked out in the basement of a parking garage, run on the treadmill, even run on a trampoline! It has been nearly twenty years and I’m still trying to gain a little edge. I’m not even competitive anymore, but I feel a compulsion to get workouts completed during the poor weather. Feel free to call me crazy, it’s not like I’ve never heard it before. The more things change…
BE SURE TO WATCH THE U.S. INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ON ESPN2 SUNDAY 7-9PM!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Magic Miles
If you follow NCAA track and field like I do, you have to be excited. There are a ton of middle and long distance athletes that are pushing the limits of what is expected from collegiate athletes. The mile, especially, has my eye right now. It is a thrilling event, a wonderful combination of speed, strength and tactics. And it is seeing a resurgence in the college ranks. The magic number for the mile has always been 4 minutes. Four quarter miles in one minute each. Through today, there have been 17 collegiate men this season that have powered through the event faster than that magic 4:00 mark. In fact, 10 American men ran their first sub-4 mile this last weekend. This brings the total number of American men that have run sub-4 in our nation’s history to 342. Over the past 3 years, we have added 44 Americans to the sub-4 list. What has caused this rapid increase in our totals?
One of the causes of our recharged Mile totals, I believe, is an ease of getting race results. We used to have to wait for a month or two to find results from out of the way events to be published in a magazine. Now, we can fire up our laptops and find results within hours, if not minutes, of an event being completed. There are many times that we can actually watch the race online and find out instantly! Every race from UW this past weekend was streamed live online, as well as the US Cross Country Championship races from Spokane. So, it is easier to find out which athletes are doing what. This allows athletes to play the “why not me” game, and step up their achievements.
Part two, our coaches are not afraid to put our athletes in positions to run fast. This means getting the athletes into races where all the other great athletes are competing. Having a large group of very fast athletes banging heads in a race is where we get these bulk additions to our all-time lists. They know the race is going to be fast and only have to worry about beating the guy next to them. Additionally, we seem to have moved away from the “loneliness of the long distance runner” and more into group training. There are several post-collegiate groups that cater to middle distance athletes, as opposed to only focusing on marathoners.
I believe the biggest reason for the influx of names to the USA mile list comes down to one name: Bernard Lagat. When Lagat became a US citizen, he brought with him a list of accolades and accomplishments that few Americans had ever achieved. Heck, he even had an Olympic medal! Lagat forced the other American athletes to step up their games. He caused them to train and race harder than they previously thought possible. Since Lagat became an American citizen in 2005, there have been 77 Americans that have run a sub-4. That averages to 12.8 per year. In the previous 45 years we only averaged 5.8 new athletes running sub-4. If you want to wear the USA across your chest, you still have to go through that man. To beat him, you have to train ridiculously hard. Lagat is a product of the American collegiate system and has had amazing success on the international level. It comes back to athletes seeing that success and saying, “Why not me?”
One of the causes of our recharged Mile totals, I believe, is an ease of getting race results. We used to have to wait for a month or two to find results from out of the way events to be published in a magazine. Now, we can fire up our laptops and find results within hours, if not minutes, of an event being completed. There are many times that we can actually watch the race online and find out instantly! Every race from UW this past weekend was streamed live online, as well as the US Cross Country Championship races from Spokane. So, it is easier to find out which athletes are doing what. This allows athletes to play the “why not me” game, and step up their achievements.
Part two, our coaches are not afraid to put our athletes in positions to run fast. This means getting the athletes into races where all the other great athletes are competing. Having a large group of very fast athletes banging heads in a race is where we get these bulk additions to our all-time lists. They know the race is going to be fast and only have to worry about beating the guy next to them. Additionally, we seem to have moved away from the “loneliness of the long distance runner” and more into group training. There are several post-collegiate groups that cater to middle distance athletes, as opposed to only focusing on marathoners.
I believe the biggest reason for the influx of names to the USA mile list comes down to one name: Bernard Lagat. When Lagat became a US citizen, he brought with him a list of accolades and accomplishments that few Americans had ever achieved. Heck, he even had an Olympic medal! Lagat forced the other American athletes to step up their games. He caused them to train and race harder than they previously thought possible. Since Lagat became an American citizen in 2005, there have been 77 Americans that have run a sub-4. That averages to 12.8 per year. In the previous 45 years we only averaged 5.8 new athletes running sub-4. If you want to wear the USA across your chest, you still have to go through that man. To beat him, you have to train ridiculously hard. Lagat is a product of the American collegiate system and has had amazing success on the international level. It comes back to athletes seeing that success and saying, “Why not me?”
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cabin Fever
Whether you are calling it “Snowpocalypse”, “Snowmageddon” or simply “a huge pain in the butt”, the Washington area has experienced the second major winter storm of the season. In fact, the second top 10 snowstorm of all time. When twenty to thirty inches of snow has fallen, there is really little else to do besides shovel and get back inside. Personally, I am fed up with shoveling. So, what to do with the extra time? Perhaps I have a short attention span, but I cannot watch 9 hours of “Big Game” coverage. Nor can I watch the Live StormTeam coverage from the networks. That leaves reading. Fortunately, I’ve got quite a library of running related books to get me through times like these.
Below are a few of my favorites, broken down by category.
Fiction: The classic “Once a Runner” by John L. Parker. If you’ve already read this several thousand times, try the follow up “Again to Carthage” to read of Cass’s venture into the marathon.
Non-Fiction: “Running with the Buffaloes” by Chris Lear chronicles the 1999 cross country season of the University of Colorado.
“Sub 4:00” by Chris Lear about Alan Webb and the Michigan team.
“Bowerman and the Men of Oregon” by Kenny Moore is an inside look at the man that co-founded Nike and basically brought interval training to the U.S.
Training Manuals: “Daniels Running Formula” by Dr. Jack Daniels, simply the best read if you want to learn more about training and don’t want to be bogged down by the technical terminology. Dr. Jack does a fantastic job of turning complex physiology into concepts than anyone can understand. He also includes a ton of tables to help you customize your training to your current fitness level.
“Better Training for Distance Runners” by Martin and Coe…If you enjoy all the Xs and Os of physiology and coaching.
“Run Fast” edited by Kevin Beck. This is a compilation of chapters by various elite coaches from around the country. Each person breaks down a particular topic related to training, from mileage to nutrition. A very solid read!
Have fun being snowbound. There is virtually no reason to be out driving around. Use it to your advantage and become a student of your sport. I will be doing the same...right after I finish the next round of shoveling!
Below are a few of my favorites, broken down by category.
Fiction: The classic “Once a Runner” by John L. Parker. If you’ve already read this several thousand times, try the follow up “Again to Carthage” to read of Cass’s venture into the marathon.
Non-Fiction: “Running with the Buffaloes” by Chris Lear chronicles the 1999 cross country season of the University of Colorado.
“Sub 4:00” by Chris Lear about Alan Webb and the Michigan team.
“Bowerman and the Men of Oregon” by Kenny Moore is an inside look at the man that co-founded Nike and basically brought interval training to the U.S.
Training Manuals: “Daniels Running Formula” by Dr. Jack Daniels, simply the best read if you want to learn more about training and don’t want to be bogged down by the technical terminology. Dr. Jack does a fantastic job of turning complex physiology into concepts than anyone can understand. He also includes a ton of tables to help you customize your training to your current fitness level.
“Better Training for Distance Runners” by Martin and Coe…If you enjoy all the Xs and Os of physiology and coaching.
“Run Fast” edited by Kevin Beck. This is a compilation of chapters by various elite coaches from around the country. Each person breaks down a particular topic related to training, from mileage to nutrition. A very solid read!
Have fun being snowbound. There is virtually no reason to be out driving around. Use it to your advantage and become a student of your sport. I will be doing the same...right after I finish the next round of shoveling!
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