Let The Games Begin!

Well we're just about at the start of the outdoor season here in Ohio! The weather is finally warmer and we're getting in good workouts outside. Fortunately for the 400 group our indoor training at Kent State did the job and we did not lose the momentum we established from the fall.

Although we have yet to have a meet, I am confident that we've done just about everything possible to get the best performances we can this season. We have the strongest base this team has ever seen. The 6 months of distance running, strength training, intervals and initial speed work were well worth it. Greg was in New York City for all of last week with a class trip. This was planned a year ago and while it put a kink in his training schedule, did not seem to do any lasting damage. He did manage to get in three abbreviated days of running in NYC. Yesterday was his first track workout since returning. It was a tough one, four sets of 400/200 at pace with a 1 minute break between intervals, 7 minute break between sets. This is a strength workout designed to build a kick. I knew this would be a bit of a "shock" to Greg's system, being off for a week but he came through. Although he lost his lunch after the third set (sorry for the graphic detail), he was back on the line and completed the set at pace. I think he'll be back to form by the end of this week.

Spring break is next week and most of the guy are going away on vacations. The timing could not be worse. Although all will be encouraged to run while away, I'm not confident that many on the team will run and we will not be sharp for our first meet as a team. I include everyone in this, not just the sprinters. However, I am the lone coach who will be in town next week and will supervise workouts for those who are staying in town for the week. For the 400 group, only Greg and one other runner will be around but it will be a great opportunity to get in a hard week of training in an intimate setting! After next week is over, we transition to our competition schedule and focus on pure speed work. We're going after workouts that feature a limited number of intervals at high speed with rest as required. This should be a great indicator of where we're at.

As I've said before, I don't want to predict season end performances but I'm confident that the guys are in shape to do their best (whatever that is!). On a purely personal note, and one that reflects tremendous parental pride, Greg and two other guys from the 400 were elected tri-captains for the team this year. I take this as a measure of respect for the amount of work and the example this group has set for the team. This is a pure election by the team members and is not influenced in any way by the coaches. What else can I say? I'M PROUD OF MY BOYS!

More to come as we get into the meet schedule. My biggest concern now is to avoid injuries!!!!

Later,

Dave

Paul Horn, Biking, and Running

This past Thursday and Friday I attended a conference about employee ownership of businesses, more specifically, ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and one of the featured speakers was our own Paul Horn. Paul, aka Dr. ESOP, gave at least two long talks (45 minutes, and an hour) which were both well attended. The talks were informative and entertaining. To learn more about what Paul does for a living, visit his company's website: www.workplaceconsultants.net. To learn more about what Paul is doing when he isn't working give him a call or send him an email. His contact information is on his company's website.

About three weeks ago I bought a road bike, after getting Chris to approve the purchase. I'm diving into this biking thing pretty deep, so I've gone with special pedals and shoes that require "clipping in" to ride and "clipping out" to stop. I was told that I would probably fall once or twice while I learned how to use the shoes and pedals and, sure enough, at the very end of my pilot ride (a short jaunt around the neighborhood) I fell when I neglected to clip out before stopping. My next few rides went well and I felt confident that I had mastered the clipping. Of course my confidence led to another fall. While I didn't get hurt badly on either fall, when I got up from the second fall I saw that I managed to damage one of my cleats, leaving part of it attached to the pedal (Chris will appreciate that this type of damage is not a common occurence). The place I bought the bike and accessories from cheerfully replaced the cleat and I hope I've had my last fall for awhile.

Last Monday I did my first serious ride--20 miles on hilly country roads as part of small group. I was not as sore on Tuesday as I expected to be. I think all the riding I've done on the exercise bike at home has actually been helpful. Today I did 20 miles on my own on a different route that was quite a bit hillier than Monday's ride. I hope I can ride with the group tomorrow. I think I'm averaging around 13 to 14 miles/hour.

I have been doing a little bit of running. I've been to the track four or five times in the last two weeks or so. So far my fastest mile has been 8:20. It's too early for me to know if the biking and running are helping each other or not. I'm more focused right now on improving my riding than I am on improving my running.

More Track!

Today I ran about 4 miles again, with about 2.3 miles on the track. I did a few more fartleks, and used my Garmin to make sure I was running under a 6 minute / mile pace for a few yards. During one 150 meter stretch, I got down to about a 5:45 pace during the latter part of the fartlek.

Maybe in a about 2 weeks I can try my initial mile run for the season!

Nothing Like the Track!

The snow is gone, and yesterday, with temperatures in the 50s, and pouring rain, I couldn't resist making my first visit to the track of 2010. I ran a total of 4 miles (including the 3/4-mile to the track, and 3/4 back. Fairly easy pace, averaged 8:25/mile, but with some fartleks on the straight-a-ways. It is very hard to imagine running a 5-minute mile, or even a 6-minute mile at this point in the "season," but it was a great feeling to have the artificial surface beneath my shoes, and see the curve of the painted lane lines moving by as I ran. There's just something special about the track..............

Mark

Last Gasp of Winter Training Update

This should be the last winter training post, but you never know here in beautiful Buffalo, NY. I did some more cross country skiing in the woods recently, once in Houghton, NY and once at Sprague Brook county park.


The latter time (Sprague Brook) had about the best snow conditions I've ever been on.....soft, powdery, not too slow or sticky, and not icy, beautiful, snowing the entire time.......for those of you that live down south, you don't know what you're missing!

But, this past week, although there is still a solid snow cover, my thoughts turned to spring, and track season. I ran a 4-mile loop on Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 8:37, 8:31, and 8:10 minutes per mile, respectively. I felt pretty good on Friday! Today I ran 4 miles at 8:18 per mile. Next scheduled run is Tuesday.

Mark

Track and Personal Character

Hey Guys!

I don't want to get sappy over this but I think we all share a sense that runners tend to possess many of the better qualities of human character. I can think of no better example than the teacher who took the lead in stopping the shooter at the Littleton, CO middle school this week after he opened up with a rifle and wounded two students. This man is a hero and clearly prevented what could have been another Columbine tragedy. He's a track coach!

Dave

Glad To Be Back!

Hello Everybody!

Sorry for the extended absence from posting but I've had a few new medical issues to deal with and been somewhat preoccupied. Thankfully, all is currently well on the medical front.

I started posting comments about coaching high school runners last year. Since that time, much has transpired and will offer a recap.

Although I ran cross country I was really a quarter miler. For me, cross country was a conditioning season and I focused my best efforts for winter and spring track. Now that I'm an old man and a father, I have had the unique opportunity to not only observe but actively participate in my son Greg's development as a track athlete. Greg is now a high school senior. This will be his last year of competitive track as he will be attending American University next fall and will not pursue intercollegiate athletics. He plans to find a running club (certainly not a problem in Washington DC) and ultimately pursue a marathon while adopting running as part of a healthy lifestyle. But for now, he is focused on making the coming spring track season his best ever and we are well on the way to making that a reality.

Those of us from the east experienced winter track as a full and complete season. Not the case here in Ohio. There is a loose grouping of indoor meets but winter track is not a sanctioned sport. Since I retired over a year ago as a result of my medical issues, I have found a new (and unpaid) career as a high school coach. I finally convinced our head coach that winter track was an invaluable component of the yearlong training cycle, especially for the 400m. As a result he agreed to let me develop and implement a training program for our half dozen or so quarter milers (including Greg) and we are both excited about the potential. These guys train as a separate unit within the track team. I should add that this is the first time Hudson Ohio runners have had a comprehensive training program for the quarter. I have adapted Clyde Hart's quarter mile training program with obvious modifications. Hart is the long time Arkansas coach famous for training and developing Jeremy Wariner and LeShane Merritt, the current World and Olympic 400m champions. If it works for them, how bad can it be for us?

Greg and a couple of the guys ran cross country as a conditioning season. This included pre-season summer running plus a modified distance program during the fall season. In September I began interval workouts two days a week. We started with longer intervals i.e. 600's, 400's and 300's to build stamina and develop pacing. Speed work consisted of 200's and 300's with times progressing from moderate to faster. We also added weight work and core development on a consistent and regular basis.

By November we picked up a couple of additional runners who were playing football and integrated them into the program after two weeks of distance work. We've been adding a number of well known workouts to the mix including step ladders, fartlek and a lot of hills (long and short). We are also in the midst of a 5 meet indoor "mini season". The weather was mild through December and we were able to train effectively outdoors. That changed in January with all the snow we've had including another foot this weekend. Fortunately, we have access to the Kent State University Field house and do our speed work twice a week on a great indoor 300m track. We still do distance runs outside twice a week and are able to get in hills most Fridays.

Throughout the season, the guys have not only gotten stronger and faster but we've developed a unique "espirit de corps." These guys are totally into the program and they are among the hardest working and best trained athletes in Hudson High School (OK, I'm bragging!) It's almost like we have emerged as a separate and elite unit within the program. Our head coach is delighted with the example we're setting for the rest of the team. After two meets, the 400 times are OK but not great, mid 53 seconds. But the goal is not to go low now but to start the outdoor season in great shape and to peak at the right time of the year as we hit the spring post season.

Do we have lofty goals for the senior season? Absolutely! This is one of those years when our overall team depth is light. For better or worse, we don't have the numbers of guys coming out this year that we've had in the past. Because we're spread so thin, it will be tough to put together strong relay teams consistently. For this reason, (and I'm talking as a father and a coach) Greg's best chances for success will come in the open 400 and not the 4x400 relay. Fair enough as this is how is was when I was a high school senior as well.

Our 400 record is 49.8. Greg's PR from last year is 51.8 on a relay leg. Is there a chance for Greg to go low and make a try for under 50? I'm trying very hard not to set unrealistic expectations but I think he has a pretty good shot, maybe 50/50. Physically, I think the tools will be there. The level of physical conditioning is there and I think a lot will come down to the psychological aspect in addition to some luck. But with a strong field on a fast track, good weather and the right kind of mental preparation, who knows?

For me, this year has been a dream. I feel incredible lucky for Greg to embrace the program and my direct involvement. He has recently expressed his regret that we could not have enacted this type of training program since his freshman year. But circumstances did not allow for that and what makes it work is my ability to fully commit to the training schedule. The other assistant coaches are all teachers and are not available to devote the time. Since this is "pre-season work" I also suspect they don't want to commit either since it's outside of what they are paid for. I've been at this since September. As a volunteer, I'm doing this for the T-shirt but I am not using this to criticize the other teacher/coaches.

I am thrilled to be able to take a direct hand in giving Greg and the other guys the best chance of achieving their best potential as runners. I'm also thrilled to be able to connect with my son in a way few other parents get a chance to do. And I'll also cop a plea to living a vicarious connection with my own high school experiences as a track athlete. It's going to be an interesting and exciting season and I can't wait. I'll try to post more regularly on our workouts and progress as the season develops. For now stay tuned!

1975 Maryland Marathon

This was the first year Bill McMullen brought a bunch of his teammates to a post XC season marathon. See if you can locate the other former SUNY-B runners.

Tony Waldrop

Click on the title for an interesting piece about the one of the greatest milers of all time.