CKS Cross Country 2008

Final Thoughts

2008-10-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a terrific season. This squad performed fantastically and set new marks for future CKS teams to match. Shaving almost 15 minutes off of their time between two meets is a record that will go unanswered for some time to come. We have added to the hardware in the bulging trophy cases at our school and even set a new mark for participation - I don't think there is any other sport that features 83 of our students...I believe that's about 37% of the student body!

And so another year passes. I tend to divide my year up into seasons - there's the Holiday Season from Halloween through New Years, the "I'm an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt" season, the "whew, I'd better start training for the Triathlon season" and then, my favorite, the CKS cross country season. I drive past our training field in the non-cross country seasons and often reflect on all the beautiful faces I have seen there through the years. I think about where they might be now and hope that in some small way, the experience they had here is helping them live life more fully.

Thank you all for your more than generous gift to me...I greatly appreciate it, but the greatest gift you give me every year is the privilege of working with your children. . The satisfaction I get from watching them develop affection for the sport I love so much is immeasurable. I am reminded of the commitment they show to excel throughout the school year as I scan the honor rolls and notice the disproportionately high number of runners on the list!

The end of the season is always bittersweet for me. At the last race, I watch the 8th graders run their last races in the "Flying Pizza Man" shirt...some of them I have coached since Kindergarten. I see them approach that last rise before the finish and muster the energy for a final push to the finish. I know as I watch them cross the line that they are ready to move on. I wish them well. Like those from our school that have gone before them, they will make us all very proud. But to Mary Catherine, Zoe, Shea, Kalyn and Rachael...to Nick, Kenneth, Michael and Patrick - I wish you the best and as we say in the Navy, "May you have fair winds and following seas." You are always welcome back at our practices, if nothing else, to brush up on your "Sharks and Minnows" skills. I will look for you among the ranks of high school runners next year at Vaughn's Gap and Steeplechase next fall.

I pedalled over to our practice field on my mountain bike the other evening. The air was still warm, but the moon as big as a stadium was rising over J.T. Moore illuminating our course. I am an amateur astronomer, a hobby borne of too many nights at sea as a Navigator in the Navy so I am always fascinated by movements in the heavens. The astronomy nugget led me back to an essay by a more serious astronomer, Owen Gingerich, titled "Is Mediocrity a Good Idea?" It is a wonderful defense of the spirit of man. To be human we must defy mediocrity.

I saw the defiance of mediocrity and the triumph of indomitable spirit in each of your children's faces this past weekend. I saw kids defy physics and meteorology to turn in gutsy performances in the face of stiff competition! What a privilege to be on the same field as these spirited representatives of the fact that mankind IS special. We are endowed with the spirit of God and each of them in their own silent way spoke that truth with their sneakers.

There's an old saw among the astronomers/astrologers/theologian type crowd...it goes something like this: the scientists will strive all their lives to climb the mountain of knowledge. And when they finally crest through the clouds at the top, they will find the theologians comfortably sitting there sipping tea and wondering what took them so long. We don't have to climb that mountain. All we have to do is show up for a Diocesan Cross Country Meet in the Fall and watch ordinary children do extraordinary deeds. We are blessed!

And so, runners, all of you, keep running, keep your heads up and remember as George Sheehan once said: "Success rests in having the courage and endurance and, above all, the will to become the person you are, however peculiar that may be. Then you will be able to say, 'I have found my hero and he is me.'"

You are all my heroes. Until next season, God bless and thank you!

Last Meet Photos

2008-10-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is where we always begin - "Lady Queen of Victory, Pray for us!"

Kayln started the medal haul...

Then came Zoe...

Patrick led off for the boys...

Then came Nick...

Combined the boys helped bring home a team trophy, leaving our five straight streak intact...

Coach Holmes relaxing after a job well done...who was playing anyway?

Congratulations CKS Runners - you did it again!

SEEKING

2008-10-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

"In a race, we are not opponents, but seekers after a common goal." -George Sheehan

So here we arrive at the last meet of the season, the Championship. Everything we have done up to now is to be put into the grand total of the ultimate performance on Sunday afternoon. Our common goal is to do the very best we can. This is why I asked the team on Thursday to pledge to their teammates on either side that they would do their best. This oath will make them resist the urge to slow down before the finish. When the "little voice" pops up and says: "This hurts, slow down," they will resist because they have pledged their word of honor to do their best. All of these kids have shown the commitment, courage and character to be great runners, now they have pledged their word.

But what is "great?" The race, George Sheehan once observed is "a synergistic society - a society in which everyone can be a winner." When your runners get out there on Sunday and toe the starting line, whether they run the 3/4, the mile or the mile and a half, they will learn that winning and losing is a process inside themselves. In that process, greatness emerges whether it is in the strength to fend off a late race challenger sprinting to the chute, or in the will to "carry on" even when you still have a half mile to go and everything inside hurts.

Becoming an athlete is special, especially for children because they learn that they can't expect anything for nothing...without training, your distance is limited. The personal control you gain from that knowledge is invaluable. It is a discipline that carries over into all aspects of life. I am always thrilled to see the numbers of our runners that make Principal's List and Honor Roll. I would like to believe that the discipline gained from conquering the personal ghosts on the training field and the race course help lead them to these academic heights.

The purest expression of the athlete is his or her performance in the contest. "Contest" has a Latin root, "contestere" which means "to seek together." When the starting horn sounds, each of those runners departs the chalk line and enters a new world, fresh with possibility and pulsing with urgency. They are seeking a common goal...they are no longer opponents, they are witnesses.

Godspeed to all!

PRE

2008-10-07T09:03:00.001-07:00

A couple of you had asked me to reprise this piece I wrote a couple of years ago. Fortunately, in the transition from PC to Mac it didn't entirely disappear!

(As a reference point for those of you that don't know me well, I grew up overseas in the Diplomatic Corps of the United States. We lived in the Azores, Brasil, Japan, Brasil again, India etc. I went to school in the US for 8th, 9th and 10th grade. Oh, college too. Nevertheless, we grew up as blue blooded Americans, proud of our country and our athletes. Steve Prefontaine symbolized the United States for me...hard working, competitive, brash but fundamentally good.)

The news from the States arrived a day late in Brazil. May 31, 1975 and we were buckling down for another wet winter in Sao Paulo. It never snowed there, just got damp, cloudy and cold. Remember, in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed. Dad brought home a digest of newspapers put out by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – it was our connection in those pre-Internet, pre-Cable News days to what was happening in the USA. I remember flipping through them and having that sensation of bitter cold flow through my body when I saw the headline: “American Runner, Steve Prefontaine Killed in Car Crash.” I had lost a hero.

“Pre,” as he was known to his fans, wasn’t the prettiest runner that ever graced the track. His legs were short, a lot of his height was in his trunk, and he had a running style that was reminiscent of his background – he swung his arms, especially when he kicked almost like he was chopping wood. But he was beautiful when he competed! “I’m going to work it so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I’m the only one who can win it,” he said. And he did…he trained twice a day in the pre-scientific era of running and recovery. His philosophy on training was that he wanted to push his body to levels of pain that only he could bear. If he could do that then no one could keep up with him. This was the America I was proud of. Not the America that had self-immolated in front of the world as we withdrew from Vietnam in April of that year. Not the America of self-doubt of Richard Nixon and Watergate. This was the gutsy, can-do, back-to-work America that I felt I was a part of even though I was growing up overseas.

I first learned about Pre from my 8th Grade cross country coach at Mater Dei in 1971. He was a big fan of the young upstart from Coos Bay that was going to the Munich Olympics to restore American running to its grandeur. He regaled us with stories about Pre’s competitive spirit which motivated us to try harder in our battles with St. Alban’s (the Protestant boy’s school in D.C.). Showing up late and seemingly unprepared for the NCAA Championship Meet in Eugene in 1970, Pre turned to a stunned Frank Shorter (who was his closest rival) and said: “I will destroy you and everything you believe in.” Not exactly the model of great sportsmanship, but a master of the “head game.” Shorter, who had beaten Pre earlier that year in Florida was left flat footed and later admitted “I was so surprised by his remark that I never recovered to race.” The two continued to be great friends until Pre’s unfortunate passing. Mater Dei beat St. Alban’s and Landon that year…it had never happened before.

He owned every (8) American record between 2,000 and 10,000 meters and between two miles and six miles. He also held eight collegiate records while at Oregon, with his three-mile (12:53.4) and six-mile (27:09.4) still standing. During his career, he broke his own or other American records 14 different times, broke the four-minute barrier nine times, ran 25 two-mile races under 8:40 and 10 5K races faster than 13:30.

At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, the disruption caused by the Arab terrorists when they killed 11 Israeli athletes weighed heavily on Pre and he finished a disappointing 4th in the 5K, well behind the great Lasse Viren of Finland. The coach at my high school, Georgetown Prep, was certain that Pre would be back in 1976 and would carry the day then. He too, was a Pre fan and had actually met Bill Bowerman, Pre’s coach and swapped tips with him. His philosophy was that if you didn’t throw up after crossing the finish line, you weren’t trying hard enough. Cross country was not about outsmarting the competition, it was a mano a mano death struggle to see who could hurt more. Despite that, I kept running, largely because of Pre. We had these workouts on our golf course where we would see who could run the most number of hills in a row before buckling over…we wanted to make our competitors hurt like Pre made his hurt.

By sophomore year, Prep had the toughest team in the league and I was fortunate enough to make my conversion. I read something in a running magazine that Pre had said: "Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I've never seen anyone run like that before.’ It's more then just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better then anyone else. It's being creative." I realized it wasn’t about the pain…it was about doing something well…it was about trying my best, or as Pre would put it: “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice your Gift.” Running became enjoyable!

I kept running even after cross country season. I ran to see things…like Forrest Gump, I ran to get places. I ran because it was beautiful. Regrettably, I strayed for several years away from that…college and the Navy was hard on a runner. But I was fortunate enough to come back. I came back to running initially to help me stop smoking…then it was about the competition. Finally, on a crisp fall day in 1993 as I was running a trail in Warner Park, lost in my thoughts, I realized again that it was about the beauty and the giving of a Gift. This is the essence of what I hope to pass on to the kids who toe the line for Christ the King…it’s about the satisfaction of having done the job well. Or again, as Pre might put it: “Over the years I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started…self satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”

A few days after Pre died, a somber ceremony was held at Hayword Field at the University of Oregon. The hearse, carrying his body was brought onto the track and it slowly circled the infield four times…the distance of a mile. At the first lap, the crowd was standing and silent. At the second some smattering of applause. At the third, the familiar chant of “Go PRE!” was heard and by the fourth lap it was deafening. The clock read 3:14…he could have run another quarter mile and still been under four minutes.

Adults Running!

2008-10-06T08:50:00.001-07:00

What a great example our parents and pastor set for the kids this past Sunday! Thanks to all who participated. Courtesy of Coach Holmes, we have the photo evidence as shown below.

Father shows the way...truth is he had already run a couple of miles to get to the race on time after 11:30 Mass!

Larry has learned from the kids how to hug that turn...

Bob showing that determination as he crosses the asphalt for the first time...

Rick putting on a last burst to the finish...
Coach Thomas prepares to pass one of those St. Matthews people...

Finishing first for CKS, Larry surges across the pavement...

Connie grooving to the beat as she closes in on the finish.

Thanks again for showing so much grit and determination!

Round Three

2008-10-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

Our third meet is upon us this Sunday at 1:00PM at Overbrook. I am very pleased with how the team is gelling and performing. Reviewing some statistics of prior teams, two things jump out:

1. This team had a greater improvement in time from week 1 to week 2 than all the others. This bodes well. Typically, week 2 to week 3 is the biggest improvement in time, with the final week being only marginal improvement. We'll see how they respond...a lot of it is weather related so I am praying for this wonderful cooling trend to hold, although the forecasters are saying otherwise.

2. The course is a true mile now. For returning veterans that have kept track of times in years gone by, worry not! You are not getting slower, the course got a little longer. It had always been suspect to me - 5 minute miles are not usually common among 6th graders! I wrote it off to the extraordinary talent of our kids and Coach Donnely's Heartbreak Hill harrassment...but alas, we are human.

Please review pre-race instructions posted earlier in this blog and fine tune the process. Review the last two races with your runner (or yourself if you are the runner reading this!) and assess what went right and what went wrong. Double check diet and fluid intake...the chocolate donut and coca cola option is probably not working!

Speaking of diet, a quick word on "carbo loading." First, it really isn't necessary for a race of this distance. Second, nutritionists tell me that if you are going to do it, the heavier pasta intake should be two-three days before the race. I have always found a light pasta, like the recipe below works best.

I look forward to another great meet!

Lemon Pasta:

3-4 cloves garlic - pressed or finely chopped
Juice of three lemons squeezed
3-4 TBS of olive oil
Black pepper to taste
3-4 tomatoes chopped up (hand squeeze them if you like your sauce to have a little more body)
2/3 cup of walnuts toasted (you can use pignoli or pecans, I vary it)
Handful of fresh herbs - basil or Italian parsley works well

Toss all the above together in a large bowl

1 lb. pasta (I go for a cavatapi or rotini - soaks up the sauce better)

Cook the pasta and toss it in the bowl.

Serve with a salad or fresh fruit...mangia bene!

Alternative Visualizing

2008-10-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

This is a little piece I got published a long time ago in a running magazine - I stumbled across this cleaning out some old files - since we were talking about visualization, here's an alternate approach to add to your training regimen.

VISUALIZING WITH HISTORY

I can still hear their voices. Cries of anger, cries of fear and despair, cries of anguish. Battered men, out of breath and desperate for water. I hear them through the bare trees of late winter even though the voices were stilled one hundred and thirty four years ago.
I am running in the early twilight of mid-February along the northeastern ridge of Shy’s Hill. It was here that in late December, 1864 that young boys from Maine and Massachusetts charged out of the gully in the bottom of the hill and swept over the crest breaking the weak Confederate siege of Nashville and pushing the Army of Tennessee into the mists of tragic history.
The Confederate General Hood had brought his army to this spot after being hideously bloodied in the Battle of Franklin. Hood’s grand scheme, after losing Atlanta, had been to march north, defeat two Union armies and return Tennessee and Kentucky to the Confederacy. Then he would hang a hard right up around Cincinnati, and head east through Ohio and Pennsylvania towards Washington DC uniting with Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia somewhere on Pennsylvania Avenue. Hood was a “big picture” guy! Mail was pretty slow back then, so it is unclear if Confederate authorities ever approved of his plan. Even if they had not, there wasn’t much they could do. Hood was loose heading north, leaving the Union army under Sherman to head for the Georgia coast playing with matches along the way.
Hood’s grand plan fell apart on the slopes of Shy’s Hill, and now, a century and half later, I run the same route the attacking Yankees ran but without fear. At times I feel the speculative twinges of the fright they must have experienced as they rose up and began their charge into the gathered guns at the top of the hill. As I burst out of the same small valley at the base of the hill, I am greeted with the lights of oncoming cars on Hillsboro Road. They would have been greeted by grapeshot and minnie ball. My Sauconies are a little worn, but the rest of my clothing is comfortable given the unseasonable warmth. They would have worn heavy leather boots, heavy wool overcoats and wool clothing. They were carrying monstrously heavy rifles, which they desperately reloaded as they ran.
I work my way around the hill and in the gathering darkness find the historical marker that marks the path through the woods to the top of the hill. I make this charge as part of my strength training. Arms swinging I pound up the trail to the top. I feel the massive lactic burn turning my legs from pistons to gelatinous non-compliant goo, breaking down my will to carry forward. But I persist, imagining bullets whizzing around me as I reach the crest and find the small cross that marks the center of the Confederate line.
From here, the lights of downtown Nashville spread out before me. This was the high ground that had to be captured by the Union forces. Catching my breath, I imagine myself as one of the young boys from Alabama or Tennessee that fought to the end. They were not encumbered with the material goods of their Union counterparts. Few had shoes or coats, ammunition and food were scarce. Their perseverance rested on the simple premise that “they” were down “here.” And “here” was home for these boys. For some, home was a short walk away. Some would die able to see their homes in the distance. Later that evening, their mothers and wives would search the hillside in the darkness hoping and praying not to find their loved ones.
Now I scramble down the backside of the hill toward Granny White Pike, following the pattern of retreat and dissolution of the Confederate Army. Returning to streetlights and the trappings of a modern subdivision I regain my modern self. Still, as I slowly jog home I hear the voices.

The Mental Game

2008-09-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

I believe that the majority of cross country races are won or lost before the runner ever toes the line. We've all heard of the power of positive thinking; bookstore shelves are lined with thousands of titles asserting that you can "think your way to success" or that a "positive mental attitude" can convert a painfully inept schlep into a master of the universe. I can't speak for trying to take over corporate America, but I can vouch for the fact that a positive mind set makes all the difference in an athletic event.

One of the ways to establish this mind set is the technique called "visualization." ALL the elite athletes, regardless of the sport, engage in this. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods both talk about how they see each shot in their heads before they even select the club. Here's a swimmer you might have heard of:

In his book 'Beneath the Surface', Michael Phelps writes, "When I'm about to fall asleep, I visualize to the point that I know exactly what I want to do: dive, glide, stroke, flip, reach the wall, hit the split time to the hundredth, then swim back again for as many times as I need to finish the race".

Arguably some of the best athletes in the world, Navy fighter pilots use the technique too. Let's go inside the ready room of the "best of the best," the Navy's Blue Angels:

To develop the minute "muscle memory" necessary to fly precise formation, while countering high g-loads, new Blue Angel pilots rely on the time-proven techniques of active visualization and armchair flying. During the first preflight briefing of a practice day, Foley and Shortal close their eyes and virtually "fly" the team's upcoming profile. "Boss" Foley verbalizes his radio calls, just as he would in the air, and both new pilots move imaginary sticks and throttles. The two veterans, Saccomando and McCoy, watch their teammates carefully, jotting notes to enable last-minute suggestions prior to flight.

Well, we are not headed for the cockpit of an FA-18, but I want to encourage all our runners to add this mental drill to their pre-race routine - and parents, you can help them out with this!

1. You now have your first race time. Establish a goal for yourself so that you achieve steady improvement. This goal can be a time or a place. Now, take that goal and break it down into pieces on the race course. Where do you want to be at the first turn? What pace will you run to come up Heartbreak Hill? Where will you start your sprint to the finish?

2. Review the first race (and each subsequent race) in your mind. What went right? What went wrong? Were there places on the course that you felt really good or really bad? Was there someone you really felt you should have passed?

3. Catalog these things and if you want, draw the course out on a piece of paper and note on there the places you want to improve.

4. The night before the race, before you go to bed. Review your goals and then run the race in your head from start to finish. Picture yourself being fresh and strong on the starting line...gliding down the slopes by the soccer field...attacking Heartbreak Hill...finishing strong and passing a bunch of runners at the finish! This is a proven way to get this into your subconscious mind and improve your performance.

5. Race morning, when you wake up, go through the visualization exercise again.

6. In the car on the way to the Dominican Campus - do it again.

7. After we warm up and stretch, do it again.

The more you visualize your dreams as a reality, the more motivated and determined you will become.

First Race Afterthoughts...

2008-09-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

There is an old proverb that says "fear makes the wolf bigger than he is." With our first race under our belts, each one of these fine competitors has now met the wolf. In most cases, we have learned that the wolf is really a nice doggie - maybe a golden lab or beagle. A few have learned that the wolf is still there, but it's not as scary as it once was. For all who raced on Sunday though, we now know what we must do to meet the wolf the next time.

For a few who have not put their hearts into the practice routine, I suspect we will get a little more attention. For another set, I suspect we will see even more effort as they strive to improve their times and places. Then for another set yet, we will probably see a little slacking off - the "I did pretty well" set...those are the ones who are going to find that the golden lab will bite!

For the next three weeks, leading up to the Championship Meet, we will hone our skills in an effort to make steady progress each week. The coaching staff has the same problem every year...we get the Gumpian "box of chocolates," not really sure what we are going to get. We now have our first measure and a sense of what needs to be done to help everyone meet their goals.

In general, Monday's practices will be a little easier, Thursday's practices a bit harder. The rationale for that is that the day after race day needs to be a recuperative day. This is when we exercise gently to get blood flowing back through sore muscles and help the regenerative process. Thursday's practice leaves plenty of time for recuperation before Sunday's race, but will be used to work on course specific challenges. Some of the big issues I see facing us over the next couple of weeks are:

1. Rhythm - well, we do live in Music City! Every racer has an internal rhythm that works best - a pace that optimizes their performance. I saw quite a few examples of runners getting out of rhythm or using a beat that needed to be a little faster in order to place higher. Running rhythm is the combination of breathing and foot strike that carries the runner over the greatest distance at the fastest speed with the least discomfort.

2. Confidence - I mentioned the wolf at the start of this post...we had some wavering confidence on the part of a very small group of runners...unfortunately, that lack of confidence, especially if it is vocalized before the race to other team members can become a mental block for the whole squad. We need to be careful to contain that contagion! As Robert Louis Stevenson once observed: "Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others."

3. Late Race Form - fatigue does funny things to us, but the one thing we have to control is not letting our form come unglued in the closing stretches of a race.

Overall, though, I was VERY pleased with the efforts posted by all runners yesterday. We have a lot to be proud of and I am confident that they will make CKS proud going forward!

Team Photos!

2008-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Our first timers before their first race!

Our first and second grade squads...

Third and Fourth Grade...

Fifth and sixth grade squads...

And our 7th and 8th Graders!

A fine looking bunch all - we'll have to get them to line up for pictures AFTER they race!

FIRST RACE!!!

2008-09-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

OK, I hate getting letters and e-mails with three exclamation points, but hey, if it gets your attention...here goes. At long last our first race week has arrived! I am very excited about this team and am confident they will do very well. Let me review some race information in preparation for our big day.

The meet is held at the Dominican Campus (Overbrook, St. Cecilia, Aquinas) on West End, next to St. Thomas Hospital. It begins at 1:00 in the afternoon and usually wraps up by 3:30. Please be there no later than 12:15! We need to have ample time to get everyone checked in. When you enter the Campus, you will be directed to parking - they charge for parking, I believe it is $5.00. Sorry, this money goes to Overbrook for hosting the races. We have a large yellow and red banner that says "Christ the King" on it, so assemble over there. Please check in with Coach Katy Holmes so we know who is there!!

We will go through our warm-up and stretch routine and last minute discussions before the races begin.

The race order is as follows:
1. All Kindergardeners
2. 1-2 Girls
3. 1-2 Boys
4. 3-4 Girls
5. 3-4 Boys
6. 5-6 Girls
7. 5-6 Boys
8. 7-8 Girls
9. 7-8 Boys

Parents, please tell your children to stay close to the CKS sign so we can collect them and shuttle them to the start line. After all this preparation, you don't want them to miss the start because they've wandered off to the playground!

What to bring? Plenty of water, a sports drink is fine too. A snack if you want. Sunscreen - looks like it's going to be bright and sunny. Don't forget your "running pizza man shirt!" If you haven't received it, see me before the race, I will have shirts available.

Let's exhibit good sportsmanship! (Please see my post below on "Character.") Please encourage your kids to cheer for the other runners on our team and for all finishers. I will not accept ANY poor sportsmanship - we pride ourselves on the 3 "C's"

Most importantly, let's have fun. Cross country doesn't have marching bands and stadium pageantry, but it does have great crowds at our Diocesan meets. It does offer the drama of every one of those runners that toe the line going through their personal transformations and asking themselves whether they have the mental toughness and self-discipline to perform...the race is an incredible reality show! It is a joy to watch a child become a believer in themselves and it is a life lesson they will carry with them always.

OKAY - now the pre-race routine:

1. Eat a supper the night before that is high in carbohydrates - pasta, sweet potatoes, rice. Drink lots of fluids.
2. Before going to sleep, visualize the race. Close your eyes and rehearse everything from the start to the finish...see yourself gliding up the big hill, opening your stride on the downhills. See yourself running through the finish line. We spent some time this week on developing the race strategy, replay it all in your head.
3. GO TO BED!!! The best training tip there is is to get a good night's sleep!
4. Eat a good breakfast...if you are brunchers, try to get the last meal in at least 2 hours before race time. Continue drinking fluids.
5. Repeat the visualization exercise.
6. Check the weather and dress appropriately. Bring warm-ups for after the race if necessary.
7. Arrive at the Dominican Campus at 12:15!
8. Check in with Coach Holmes
9. Gather with the team for warm-up jog and stretching.
10. Once the races begin, stay focused! Cheer for your teammates and then find a quiet spot for yourself to go through your visualization again in preparation for your race.

During the race:
Once the race has begun -THINK!! Keep your head in the game:
• Study the runner in front of you...look for signs of weakness (hands high? dragging footsteps?) Don't get caught staring at their feet - it will put you to sleep.
• Remember the strategy - preserve yourself on the hills, charge the downhills.
• Pass with authority!
• Never look back - you have ears to determine if someone is closing in on you - run your race!
• Run uphills with shorter strides, lean into the hill but not over - you don't want to collapse your chest. Drive the arms.
• Rembember your landmarks - stay out of the ditch, run in straight lines, left side of the chute!
• Remember, if you are hurting - so is the other guy - see story below.
• Run through the finish line.
• Have a great race!!!!

After the race:
1. Congratulate yourself - YOU DID IT!!
2. Drink lots of water/sports drink.
3. Stretch out - go through our yoga routine.
4. Get back out there and cheer for your teammates!

Now as many of you know, I am a huge Steve Prefontaine fan, so what race prep would be complete without a quick Prefontaine story:

Early in his career at the University of Oregon, Pre found himself running stride for stride with Henry Rono, a veteran runner from Washington State. The event was the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the five mile mark, the blistering pace was taking a toll on Pre. Now, he could have said "I'm hurting so bad, I'm guaranteed second..." and let up. But that was not his style...it is not the attitude of a champion. Instead, Pre said to himself, "If I am hurting this badly, he must be hurting much more than I." So he threw in a surge with a mile to go. Rono was unable to respond, and Pre went on to win the event. As Pre always said, "I don't run races to see who is faster, I run to find out who has more guts." He did.

Character

2008-09-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

"Character," the last of our three "C's" is the uniting force for all three. It's the gravity in the molecular equation. Courage and commitment without the inner conviction to use them for good and in a noble, honorable way are meaningless...in fact, they can be a nuisance! Recognizing the semantic problem that a person can have bad character, the trait I speak of here is synonymous with honor.

In the movie "Rob Roy," the Robin Hoodesque legend of the Scottish Highlands, Rob tells his sons that honor is "a gift a man gives himself." This is the takeaway that I hope all our runners receive when they exercise good character in practice and especially in our meets. When they don the marigold yellow tee-shirts with the "flaming pizza man" logo, I want everyone out there to know that win or lose...first or last place, this is a competitor who wishes the best for him or herself, their school and all the runners that have shown the courage to toe the starting line.

We have a proud tradition at Christ the King...a reputation for being the "good guys." "Reputation is made in a moment," I have heard it said, "character takes a lifetime." I think it is a testament to our school and its faculty, our wonderful parents and these gosh-darned good kids that we've earned the repuation of being honorable opponents. As a society, we have lost in large measure, what it really means to be a good sportsman. You can't watch a sporting event anymore without some wiff of performance enhancing drugs, cheating, illegal videotaping and on and on. The "win at any cost" mentality permeates the NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA and just about every other L or A you can throw out there. The scandals have permeated such noble venues as the Tour de France and the Olympics. Now don't get me wrong...I HATE losing! But I do not subscribe to the "at any cost" part of winning. Perhaps it's a nod to my dysfunctional sports background (years of 2-9 seasons at Vanderbilt!) that I DO subscribe to Grantland Rice 's (VU Class of 1901 ) philosophy:

"For when the One Great Scorer comes

To write against your name,

He marks - not that you won or lost -

But how you played the Game."

Maybe we are swimming against a rip tide that has become the modern arena, but for at least four Sundays every fall in Nashville, on the cross-country course at the Dominican Campus, we can make a difference when we show our appreciation for the beauty of fierce competition but noble character. Our runners with courage, commitment and character show the best of us. Honor them.

Commitment

2008-09-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

"Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation."
-Roger Staubach

I have completed another Wye Island Regatta. The Wye, also known as the "Challenge of the Chesapeake" is a 13 mile marathon for "any human powered craft." I have used a kayak for the six times I have done it. I am not sure why I submit myself to this punishment, but the camaraderie is terrific.. Perhaps too, the sense of accomplishment is, as the MasterCard ad says, "priceless." But that sense is only achieved, as all athletes know, because of a commitment made much earlier. You cannot paddle that distance without spending a lot of time on the water and in the weight room anymore than you can race our cross-country course without the commitment to train and prepare for the race.

That is the reason we have "commitment" as the second part of our team motto "Courage, commitment, character." In order to complete the course - whether you are a Kindergartener or an 8th Grader you have to have the personal commitment to train. Failure to do so harms not only your teammates, but your own self esteem. The great football coach Vince Lombardi once remarked: "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." Cross country running is a perfect metaphor for life...there are times we suffer, there are times we feel we can run like the wind...but we can only achieve excellence through our commitment to learn, to practice, yes - to train.

This is my wish for all our runners: to learn from the commitment to excellence that cross-country demands and use that knowledge to excel in life and to fully understand Roger Staubach's observation about spectacular achievement.

Our Three "C's" (Part I)

2008-09-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Rallying cries are an integral part of every culture. "For Queen and Country!" our British cousins are fond of yelling out in a tight spot. "Remember the Alamo!" carried the Texicans to victory in the Battle of San Jacinto. "Citiua, altius, fortius!" (Faster, Higher, Stronger) is the slogan of the Modern Olympics. The slogan/rallying cry of our cross country team has been the "Three C's" for several years...or "Courage, Commitment, Character."

For today's post, I wanted to focus on courage. The standard definition of "courage" is the quality of being brave when you are in danger, in pain,or in a difficult situation. For our purposes, "bravery" and "courage" are interchangeable, but I like the alliterative nature of "courage." "Two C's and a B" doesn't have the same ring. I have always liked Nelson Mandela's definition of courage: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." A friend of mine who served in the Royal Navy and fought in the Falklands War related a story to me about the Commanding Officer of the HMS Broadsword in the Battle of San Carlos Bay in 1982. The Brits came under withering air attack from the Argentine airforce (ironically, trained by the United States) and several ships were sunk. Broadsword lost her aft gun mount so was essentially fighting one-handed. The C.O. stood his post on the bridge through the whole fight and according to my friend, "looked bored." At a particularly tense moment, he summoned one of the Mess Cooks to the bridge and inquired what was being prepared for dinner. This was a tremendous turning point. As my friend related, "we all knew we were going to make it through."

Successful cross country running requires this type of courage. It is an inner control. It is not that every runner doesn't experience some measure of fear, performance anxiety, trepidation etc. when they toe the line. It's how we handle it that defines our success. When the starting horn sounds, we know we will be out on a course that is rugged, often hot and dry. Our throats and mouths will dry up. Our stomachs may cramp, our sides may get stitched up. We may experience a fading feeling as we climb "Heartbreak Hill." These are just some of the possibilities that await us in a cross country race. But with courage...mastery of our fear...we push on. And by that mastery, we finish the race. This internal drama is revisited with each meet but the cumulative mastery builds an internal fortitude and courage that we can take with us into our academics, our relations with others and our lives. Just like the Marine Gunnery Seargent and the British CO, we will develop the ability to not only handle the fears and threats that we may face ahead, we can become examples for others around us.

As Clare Booth Luce observed: "Courage is the ladder upon which all the other virtues mount."

Well, we needed it!

2008-08-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I have some very happy shrubbery right now! Sadly, it also means I will have to mow again soon. Of greater sadness though, is that we didn't get to run this week.

For a little self-training, I would ask that you do the following this week:

K-2: Warm up run for about 10 minutes; stretch; run for another 10 minutes.
3-6: Warm up run for about 10 minutes; stretch; run for another 15 minutes.
7-8: Warm up run for about 15 minutes; stretch; run for another 20 minutes.

The pace for the warm up run should be nice and steady. The pace for the second run should be a little faster - you should be able to talk, but not comfortably.

Sunday at 4PM will be an optional practice at the Dominican Campus. I would really like to get the 7th and 8th graders over there, but I understand weekend schedules can be very difficult.

I know Monday is a school holiday, but I would still like to have practice at 5:30 at J.T. Moore.

Here's a link to some information on a common cross country malady, side stitches!

Run well!

Coach

Stuff

2008-08-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

I always try to come up with some clever catch for the title - I think the lack of rain has me in the doldrums and I couldn't quite get anything to pop out. Anyway, welcome back!

This was a great first week of practice and I saw a lot of good effort out there. It was a little sultry yesterday afternoon, which makes the running all that much harder. Let me get some administrative stuff out of the way first:

1. Next week, I will be circulating a sheet requesting t-shirt sizes. Please cooperate with us on getting that done, we need to get the order placed as soon as possible.

2. I will submit our roster after next week. If you have not already done so, please make sure of two things - one, the $25 Diocesan Fee (per child) is paid; two, the school health form has been turned in. Coach Vance will let me know that everyone on the roster has the latter...your child cannot run in the meets without it!

3. Here's the schedule for our meets:

Sunday, September 21
Sunday, September 28
Sunday, October 5
Sunday, October 12

All meets will be at the Dominican Campus - where we have our Thursday practices. You must run at least TWO of the first three races to be eligible to run in the last meet, which is the Championship.

4. We will not practice next Thursday due to the Home School Association meeting.

5. I am exploring having an extra practice for our 7th and 8th Graders over a couple of the weekends coming up - more to follow.

OK - here's what the plan is for the next few weeks. Basically we have a month before our first meet. The key elements for effective cross country running are endurance, strength and speed. Overlapping this are flexibility, mental toughness and technique. The emphasis these first three weeks is building our "base" or endurance. Simply put, we are just running - getting our bodies used to going the distance. Once we have that down, we will work on our strength for a few practices and then we will focus on speedwork. The strength portion of the program is made up of hill repeats (always a favorite!) and some course alterations to get tougher grades under our feet. For speed work we will use fartlek exercises...I know, nasty sounding name. Fartlek is a Finnish word that means "speed play." The way I do it is to have the kids run the usual course, but on signals, they have to accelerate for periods of time...then jog, then run etc. Our "sharks and minnows" game is a bi-weekly exercise in speed training. That, combined with kids natural competitiveness, helps the kids get plenty of training at high speed.

So that's the plan!

All for now - I leave you with a link to one of George Sheehan's essays.

Enjoy!

Coach

.

Getting Started...

2008-08-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all our returning runners and a hearty "welcome" to our newcomers! Welcome to our cross country family. It is such an honor and a privilege to be doing this that I can't believe this will be my 16th season coaching at Christ the King. I have coached runners that have now graduated from college and are starting their own families...and even some runners who have run for their respective colleges, some on cross-country scholarships. (You see, if you hang in there, it could pay off!)

First, some administrative "stuff:"

1. Our practices will be from 5:30-6:30 every Monday and Thursday.
2. Monday practices will be held behind J.T. Moore Middle School, Thursday practices will be held on the Dominican Campus (next to St. Thomas Hospital on West End...enter the campus and bear to the left and head back behind the Aquinas College...you will see a large parking lot...we'll be near there!)
3. You must have a health form filed with the school.
4. You must have paid the $25 registration fee.
5. Once I get a roll, I will circulate it and ask for your t-shirt size. The school provides our t-shirts...they are the coolest ones on the race course!
6. You must bring water and proper running atire for your child. Running shoes are not required, especially with the younger ones, but bear in mind that if you are using school shoes, they will get "trashed" running on a cross-country course.
7. There will be three meets, followed by a championship meet. (A full schedule and training plan will be provided in a week or so.) YOU MUST MAKE TWO of the THREE MEETS TO RUN IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

OK, on to the fun stuff...

I used the term "family," because that is truly what our group has become over the years. We are blessed with a terrific coaching staff, many of whom have been here almost as long as I have. Harold Donnelly, who coaches the middle grades and covers the "afterguard" on the course has been coaching 12 years. Ditto for Chris and Katy Holmes. Without the Holmes family, all order on the race course would crumble...time itself would become irrelevant! (Katy is our lead timekeeper.) Leigh Ann Hofstetter is in her 5th year of coaching, she has been invaluable working with our "little ones." Thomas Meyer, who ran for Christ the King in a not-too-distant past, is in his third year of tenure as is Ruth Wehby. Both of these fine coaches have several younger ones coming up through the ranks, so they should be here awhile! In various ways all these coaches have run, raced and lived the athletic life and are now thrilled to be giving something back.

It also feels like family to me when I see the engagement of all our parents in the athletic lives of their children. Parents are always welcome at our practices and it serves as such a terrific example to the kids to see their own mom or dad willing to go the distance.

Running is the foundation of virtually all sports and cross country is running at its elegant best. I use the term "elegant" because it is truly an aristocratic sport requiring equal amounts of strength, endurance, patience, strategy and mental tenacity. I have seen kids with body types that would make you think they could run like gazelles get beat by kids who looked like they had just left the "all you can eat" line but who had greater mental stamina.

My training plan is simple. The practices are the core, but there is some self-practice that I ask parents to get involved in. We focus on the three key elements of effective training: endurance, speed and strength. We also place high value on stretching and utilize a rudimentary yoga routine that stretches all the key muscle groups. Our practices will last for an hour and each practice will focus on developing a specific area of running expertise: hills, stride length, finishing kick, etc. We work hard on our runner's form. I was tickled a couple of years ago when I was at a high school meet and I overheard one of the Harpeth Hall coaches commenting on a St. Cecilia runner (who graduated from our program). "Bet that girl went to Christ the King, those kids always have terrific form." The conclusion of almost every practice is our now famous "Sharks and Minnows" game. Kids perform best when they are having fun!

I do not claim to be an expert. I do this as a volunteer who loves the sport of running. I have run several marathons and triathlons, I ran the mile in track in high school and cross country from 8th through 12th grades. Running, for me, reformed a heavy smoker who was 25 pounds overweight. Now it is my sanctuary. I no longer have the speed to avoid getting caught in our "Sharks and Minnows" game, but love the challenge nevertheless. I am less focused on times for myself and more on the emotional haven that an hour on the roads gives me.

I approach coaching children with a three-part philosophy:

1. Teaching children that winning is never having to say "I quit." As George Sheehan said: "There is nothing more certain than the defeat of a man who gives up. And I might add, the victory of one who will not."

2. Running provides happiness...this is different from pleasure, but an important "life lesson" that the sport extends free of charge. Happiness is true fun.

3. Running is as much a mental sport as a physical one and the biggest challenge is yourself...each race makes us question what is inside of ourselves. I want our kids to be able to smile at their answer.

Thank you for the honor of coaching your children. If at any time you have concerns, please do not hesitate to call me! I look forward to running with you and your children.

"Every journey begins in hope and ends in wisdom." -Lau Tzu