Dedication

Its crazy to say that in a week and a day we will be competing at the conference championships in Dubuque! As a coach you always wish you had more time to prepare and be at your best. However, I think we're in the best possible shape we could be in and are peaking at the right time. We've had a few people out with minor aches and pains and they are beginning to heal up just in time for the big meet.

People don't realize how long of a season these distance runners have and that they really have to do alot of extra things to ensure they are healthy and fit throughout the entire year. After the cross country season is finished, each member will take about 2 weeks off and begin training again for the track season which won't end until the middle of May. Then they get a couple weeks off again and start back base training for cross country again. That's how you have to train in order to continue improving fitness and really turn yourself into a great distance runner. Many other sports can take off large chunks of time, come back and be not far off of where they were the year before. Granted, they never really take time off either, they're always taking jump shots, throwing passes, lifting weights, agility training, etc. However, a distance runners life is a year round continuation of running with very few breaks in training. Many exercise physiologists have pointed out that its this year after year of aerobic training which truely molds great distance runners. If you take a look at the best distance runners in the world, most of them have spent the majority of their lives putting in mileage that has molded them into fit beings who can handle unbelievable loads. A great example would be the Africans (namely; Kenyan's, Ethiopians, Sudanese and Morracans), each has spent a large portion of their lives running from place to place as a way to get around, to get to school or work or whatnot. It's the years of training that have aided these runners to have such a strong cardiovascular system and respiratory system. I wish more US high school distance runners could understand that year round training is what it takes to truly improve and to reach a higher level, it must be done. It's not just the running we do, its the weight lifting, the core work, the change in diet, hydration, proper stretching, rest and sleep, etc. We have to be consistent and live our lives by these things to truly see yearly improvement. I think when I was in college I took a total of 4 months off over 4 years, of course you have people say, well didn't you miss out on other parts of life while doing all of this running, my answer is no! All you have to do is prioritize your time and you can always find time to do other life fulfilling activities. I have a great passion for running and will continue to run at least 5 days a week probably for the rest of my life. I feel its my duty as a coach to help my athletes feel as though they can say the same once the leave college and move on in their lives. Plus I feel as though I have added time to my life, due to my increased fitness and healthy diet I have reduced my risk of cardivascular disease, and have improved my overall quality of life. This all probably seems like a lot of rambling, and I apoligize to you all reading right now, I have a strong passion for what I do and want people to understand the world runners live in and how dedicated we have to be. To close on this topic, i'm gonna refer to a great cyclist and avid runner who once said:

"You hear a lot of comments about 'He makes it look easy,' or 'His face shows no effort....' Come look at my face when I'm trail running in Texas and I'm hurting like a dog. It's an ugly face. But I'd rather have the face then and feel good here. It's called sacrifice." - Lance Armstrong, en route to his third Tour de France Victory