you’ve had the following happen in your life as a coach in one 5-day work week. I’ll simply list the coaching and running related highlights.
- On Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to run repeat 800′s with the young men and young women of Lincoln HS. I pushed the baby jogger around a dirt loop in the middle of Denver while the athletes receive instruction from an amazing, inspirational coach, a coach who happens to be a good friend named Oscar Ponce. Cross Country in Colorado’s front range has a small – I think it’s ragweed, but I’m not sure – and to be in the parking lot soaking wet from sweat while the Lancers did their core work (and my daughter tried to eat tomato sized rocks) was great.
- Many, many thoughtful, intelligent people emailed or commented on this post, which is a gift, so thank you to everyone that posted. I want to highlight two comments, fromCoach Kedge and Coach Sessa, for two reasons. First, they are both nationally esteemed HS coaches and the fact that they find time to write comments on this blog is a blessing. But personally, they’ve both people who continue to make me a better coach because every time I talk to them I’m reminded of the simple fact that good coaching is, in essence, attending to the needs to the athlete and helping the athlete realize their aspirations. Thank you both.
- On Thursday night my wife let me blow off my domestic duities to run for 70 minutes. A great gift indeed.
- On Friday morning I meet Renee and her husband in Boulder for a workout. 3,200m at 6:00 pace with 150m in 27 (15:00 5k pace); 5-6 min jog; then 3×1,600m at a pace with 8 min jog. The pace was 5:20, but she was instructed just to follow Austin and she, a math major at CU, was watchless as I had her trusty timepiece in my pocket. Austin ran 80′s evenly and while Renee knew the pace was somewhere in the 5:20 range, she was focusing on relaxation. Why all the complication and why not just tell her to run 5:20′s? Because – and I confirmed this with her post workout – if I had written “3×1,600m, 5:20 pace for all, but speeding up the last 200m on the 2nd and speeding up the last 400m or even 600m on the 3rd” she would have said, “oh, that will be easy.” But it’s not easy, it’s medium and I’m learning that she tends to polarize workouts (and life?) into hard/easy, good/bad, fast/slow.
…but the reason to share the lead up is that on the second lap of the first 1,600m I asked “how you doin’?” and she looked up with a “this is not what I expected look” yet she simply keep running. They ren 5:20, then 5:16, after which she said, “I wanted to speed up, but I knew I should save some for this last one.” I asked her to run 80′s through 1k, then go 200/200/200. She did and she ran 5:03. It was a good day not because she ended well, but because a) 8k worth of running, even though the rest intervals were long, is step in the right direction in terms of volume and b) she didn’t panic when the first 1,600m felt fast and she simply kept running. I’m intrigued to see what she can do over the next six weeks and I’m glad she’s in Boulder
- Friday after the workout I had the chance to talk running, Boulder and running-Boulder-business with Brain Metzler Running Times. I fortunate to be able to call him and have him answer in the midst of his busy life (this is also true of all of the RT editors, all whom make our sport better) and the conversation was really helpful. Thanks Brian.
- On Friday afteroon I had the pleasure of watching an early season cross country meet where Lincoln and D’Evelyn raced, which was made infinitely easier by my wife finding time to get away from her job early so I could watch HS XC. I cheered loudly for the Lincoln athletes I worked out with on Tuesday, yet I had to do a double take at the 3.5k mark when a D’Evelyn runner, solidly in the top 10 and moving up, ran past. I gasped, “that’s that kid from camp?!?!?!” It took me a good 10 minutes to remember that kids name was Sam because the strong, athletic runner that flew by barley resembled the small, bookish boy who attended camp in ’07 and ’08. Seeing him reminded me of something Adam Kedge said during camp this year, that “the small, skinny boy that runs on our team in 9th grade will be the strong, athletic senior that runs on our varsity in 12th grade.”
Micah Porter, the coach at D’Evelyn, will no doubt have fun this year as his boys finished third, which I believe was a surprise to him. Lincoln’s eighth place finish was fantastic, yet I know it stings for Oscar given that two of his top five were unable to run, yet Oscar has the long view and knows that some of the challenges he faces at Denver Public School (DPS), including 8-10 hours a week he spends organizing tutoring/study hall for his kids, aren’t going to change overnight, just as this week’s article in the Denver Post points out.
I look forward to more post this week and I sincerely appreciate everyone’s time and attention. Thank you.
