Winter Conditioning Over Vacation

The fitness portable will be available over vacation on Mondays and Thursdays unless posted otherwise here. Sorry about not posting much lately, our downstairs was flooded recently and all of my time has gone into getting that taken care of. The new carpet goes in tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday all the stuff we rushed to the upstairs will be headed back downstairs.

PI Boys XC Athletes of the Year

Ed Thorpe sent me yet another splendid article about running. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/343260%20boysxc12.html this will get you to the PI search engine, then type in Jonathan Lafler MVP

Ponder these common threads throughout the article:

1. Many of the honored athletes mentioned an appreciation of their teams for supporting and pushing them.

2. Several of them suffered set backs

3. Even though they faced set backs they didn't give up or quit.

4. No I'm not taking eighty guys to Hawaii. If I'm going to sit on a plane for five hours, I'm going to stay ten days or more. Besides we need new sweats more than we need another trip.

Final thought: Let's be a team and support one another and let us never give up.

Winter conditioning Mondays and Thursdays in fitness portable!

I'm Not Running, I'm Not Running

Ed Thorpe sent me a wonderful article from The New York Tmes, written by Gina Kolata about running and dissociation. Dissociation - what the? You'll need to read the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/health/nutrition/06Best.html?em&ex=1197608400&en=50eoada6c54a0f4a&ei=5070 to understand.

Okay, so you have read the article. I have some comments that will tie it in with what we have practiced. I'm sure you all remember what I say before a race: If you aren't passing someone or thinking about passing someone you are spacing not racing. This is a form of dissociation. You are focused on the act of competing. You are not focused on how much you hurt or whether you are not at 100%.

Another thought came to mind when the author wrote about someone staring at the person's bicycle seat in front of him during a bicycle race. Focusing on the seat allowed the athlete to ignore the pain he was experiencing and perform at a higer level. Sometimes you will hear us yell at you during a race to focus on the back of the athlete ahead of you. This works really well if the athlete ahead of you is actually faster than you. If the athlete ahead of you is actually slower than you, then the outcome could be disappointing. This often time happens when an athlete goes out too fast, slows down and traps others behind him/her. That's when it it important for you to be bold and step around this athlete and forge ahead.

Another thought:

Disassociation is the act of separating yourself from the reality of the race entirely. Your mind wonders away and escapes to a land of cascading waterfalls, flowers and chirping birds. You are no longer racing - you are spacing. You have temporarily fled from the stress and pain of competition which will lead to a disappointing performance.
Disassociation can be a useful tool when on a long training run. I have been on runs and have hardly known it. It is a good time to compose a paper, make plans, or talk to a friend. I don't recommend texting, however.

The fitness portable will be open Mondays and Thursdays after school.

Winter Training Begins Tomorrow - Dec. 3rd

Tomorrow Dec. 3rd there will be meeting in the fitness portable. The topic will be weight training for endurance athletes. We will also discuss cross training.