Coaching Nostalgia

First off I consider myself lucky. I coach on the track I ran on in high school. I report to the man who coached me in high school. Not many people can say they have these rights. That said, today was a special day. It was not that I was able to run, I do that nearly every day, but I was able to run with my runners today who normally leaves me in the dust. He is a junior and I have redacted his name, but he is the last of our distance boys. Our girls team is well represented, but our boys fell apart at the district level. On Saturday, April 27, he will run the 3200m in the state meet, he is seeded 11^th based on season bests, but recent results put him in the running for a podium finish in a tactical race.

He was not always this good. I remember him as the awkward freshman that could barely finish a race, much less break 20:00 in a 5k (he runs in the low 16:00’s now). Pain was not his friend, pain was his crutch, his reason not to run. But he grew. The first time he broke 20:00 came on the beach, in a 5k I dragged him to in order to help pace me on a Mother’s Day morning. All he decided to do was win the thing, barefoot. So, we used to run together with little problem. Today, we only do so when he needs to go slow and I want to pick the pace up a bit, meeting in the middle on days where it meets our goals. Today was one of those days, a day where he wanted to recovery from his last speed session of the year and needed some company.

Before I go farther, I didn’t make this runner, in fact I’m not sure any runner is ever made—he made himself. Sweat, determination, and a growing immunity to pain have crafted him into the man he is. But for the last three years, I have been his sounding board. We discussed minimalist running together, barefoot training, and he now runs exclusively in the style, wearing Vivobarefoot Evo, New Balance Minimus, and Skora Form (often he will run workouts sans shoes regardless of the surface). He throws nutritional plans at me, personal training regimens for the offseason (he is famous for going outside our training plans), strength work, and seeks out inspiration. His questions keep me moving, digging, and searching for answers. Over the past few years, I’ve watched him change and grow, and even though we speak daily, the running part has become a distant past.

Today I was able to learn where he is, what he plans to do in his race Saturday—we literally discussed every lap, situation, scenario, and goal. More importantly, he has committed to guts. He wants to run on guts and determination, not just Saturday, but every day for the next 365 days, until his senior season comes to halt at next year’s state competition. Lofty summer mileage goals (700+), time commitments, team goals, and well a lifetime of running mark his mind. He wants to instill the idea in his teammates, to create a program based on want and power as much as natural talent. In his mind, the sky is the limit. Thus the nostalgia—I’ve had the pleasure of watching him grow. I have the pleasure of running on the same track I ran on high school, working for the same man that coached me. Hopefully, it doesn’t change, hopefully this runner reaches his goals, just as I aim to reach mine.

Current Goals:

Guana last year via Speedy Banana

• Break 20:00 again in a 5k. Last time I did this was high school. My recent PR was a 20:06 in February. 
• Target date is Race for the Pies on June 15, 2013
• Drop my marathon time in two stages:
• Stage one, a 3:30 during my July races (two of them: Make it by Midnight Marathon on July 13, 2013, and marathon portion of 24 hour Ultra around the Lake on July 26, 2013
• Stage two, a 3:20 or faster during the Jacksonville Bank Marathon on December 14, 2013
• Run my first Ultra, a 50k, on December 1, 2013. The Guana 50K Trail race.

Skora Cores

Current Shoe Rotation:

• Skora Form for recovery and length 
•  Altra One for recovery and length
• Skora Core for speed and shorter distances 

Skora Phase, a mesh version of the Core.

On Finishing a season: Running the Real Race

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence”—Jim Watkins

After months of training, my runners have entered the post season environment. The air is electric, the urgent nature is apparent. These kids have gone through multiple phases of training that honestly have lasted since last summer, if not longer. They built a base for cross country starting in

June, they worked on their lactic threshold and built a speed game, they tapered for the post season, the girls took home a state crown, and then they took two weeks off. Enter track season. As November expired, they worked to renew their base, as January came in lactic threshold training began, but we still pushed, overdoing it—early season races have little substance beyond confidence and tired legs created mental strength—then we started training to race, and now we taper.

Districts are days away and it is run well or go home time. Cliché or not, anyone who had ever seen the Rocky movies felt the urgency of hearing “Eye of the Tiger” blast over the stadium loud speakers. If you do not place in the top four, you are out. You ran a 4:36 mile, you better beat the two guys breathing down your neck. That was the scene for our last workout. Nothing we did today mattered for districts, but it mattered more today. All we could do was maintain our fitness, but we chewed through the track. We said hit your 3200m pace on 800m runs, you hit it. Hit your mile pace on 400’s, you did. Run with a person you will race near, you grabbed on with your imaginary rope and didn’t let go. God forbid someone walked across the track—where we once yelled track, we now barked, daring them not move and feel the freight train or urgency coming their way.

Pontification aside, they have their eyes on the prize. We have run weekly meets for two months, not one of them means a thing. This week we are racing, run well you live on to next week, another chance to achieve on your home track for the second week in a row. Fail to understand your race and you get an early off season to rest up and prepare for cross country. As I posted in my article on daily and weekly goals (also published by Skora Running), every run has a purpose. Every time we spent half an hour working on core and doing leg strengthening has come down to this week. All the pain, all the suffering, was for now.

You may be asking how does this apply to you? Almost every runner races—races are sacred

in a way—and this week were these high school kids are getting their chance to advance, represents the end of a journey to their sacred event. When you work to your 5k or half marathon and see those workouts on your training plan, remember how each moment builds to the moment you are standing at the line waiting for the gun. They are not something to groan over and complain about, but rather means to an end. Attack them. Be excited, recognize the process, and when you get to your race, treat it like a race and not an event. Understand that there are no second chances, no going back. If you fail to meet your goal, you wait until next year. District track is once a year, so is the Turkey Trot Half Marathon. Never forget it and race your heart out.

Gear Review: Injinji Compression Ex-Celerator 2.0 OTC

 I was really excited about these socks. First off, Injinji had done a reboot of some their products—I had gone looking for a pair of these prior to running the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge at Disney and had come up empty. I was worried about blisters between my toes by running the back to back races and wanted to wear a calf compression to make it through the marathon. That said, it took me a little bit to get ahold of them, but I was finally able to get them this week in a shipment from Road Runners Sports, and take them out for a spin.

Initial impressions:

Packaging was accessible, a pet peeve of mine is actually having to work to get into a product (see toys), and I popped the shrink wrap in seconds. The socks themselves had a good feel—they were a bit heavier than expected, but overall a solid lycra material with a nice spring in them.

Now I’ve worn compression socks off and on for years, for races, long runs, or to expedite recovery, and my go to brand has been CEP. They have been hands down spectacular in quality and fit. The measure the calf system has been flawless and there has never been extra material. For these socks I went with my go to Injinji size: Large. I wear a shoe between 11-12 US (11 in Skora, 11.5 in Nike, 12 in Newton), so the 11-13 shoes size they suggest typically works out well—the sock fits the foot well and a minute amount of extra fabric extends beyond the toe and is not in the way. When I donned these socks, which sport gradual compression up the calf so they are tightest at top and much looser on the foot, I found the same pattern that once my toes were snugly placed, a bit of fabric extended out. Where the surprise came was in the calf portion, for I could actually extend the fabric to mid-knee height if wanted. While I was a bit disappointed in that aspect, I compensated by putting a little slack into the ankle portion (where it is looser) and pulling the sock up to desired level.

Wearing/Using:

My first wear came around the house. I wore them for about two hours and without shoes. They had good traction and provided a pain free compression. They were snug, and while the fabric felt a bit thick when I held them, I did not notice any of these issues while walking around in them. They took a bit of work to get on, lining the toes up with a tighter style sock is a learned art, but they slid off with ease.

My second wear came on a five mile recovery run wearing my Bolt Yellow Skora Bases (see to right). This shoe, which has a loose fit, felt like a great opportunity to spread my toes and create an overall general impression. What I found was a very natural experience—my toes were free of the CEP compression, and my foot was able to spread out and take full advantage of the Base’s flexibility. There were no issues with pain and when removed the socks had gained taken on little water weight, thus proving to have a strong moisture wicking feature (it was in the 70’s during the run). For an update on wicking, in a later, pouring rain run, the socks felt nearly dry after the six mile workout (as did my legs).

Verdict:

Buy these socks if you want a mixture of toe socks and compression. If you are on the low end of a sizing range, consider dropping down so as to avoid having to disperse extra fabric. If I was to do it again, I would buy a medium.

Understanding and Dealing with Pain

Photo Via Speedy Banana during Guana Park 50K 

This post has also been published on Skora Running's blog.

Towards the end of a recent track workout, one of my athletes inquired if I had ever dealt with a serious injury due to running. The answer he received was somewhat convoluted. Outside of stepping in a hole and spraining my ankle, I’ve never had what I classify as a running induced injury. I’ve had tweak here, a pain there—lately my left IT-band has been tender, perhaps I should foam roll it or use my e-stim on it a couple times, perhaps a bit extra area specific stretching might help me, or maybe an extra day off, taking it easy, all of the things discussed here. Yet I don’t consider this pain to be an injury. Once upon a time I did, once a sore calf muscle meant a day or more off, IT-band pain a trip to the doctor, an excuse, an upset to my training plan, and thus a missed week, month, and race.

So I answered him in an odd way. I’m always hurt, so I’m never hurt. I understand my body, I’ve trained at millage both high and low, fast and slow. This is not to say I am an amazing runner, but that I am a runner, one who aims to run four or more marathons a year. Such a goal has pushed me out onto the road with tired legs, with knots in my calf, and a litany of other, somewhat minor but inconvenient ailments. Some people stop with this pain. I used to stop. I used to treat everything as something bigger. The IT-band problem would have been morphed into a knee issue because I feel the tightness down into the knee. Instead it is a form issue (video shows I’m bringing that leg a bit past center) and a strength issue (my hips need work to ensure that they work more efficiently). If I correct my biomechanics the pain will subside, I will return to normal. The process will not occur overnight, thus I will log my runs, take notes, and pay attention to the problem. If it grows, I will become concerned, if it lingers and/or mitigates, I will not.

Pain, I told him, is part of running. If you focus on how much it hurts, you quit your workout early, sacrificing valuable training time. If you do less you won’t hit your goals. Want to break the five minute barrier in the mile? Then run your 400 meter repeats in 75 seconds or less and do at least 12. So what if it is hot, cold, or pouring rain: endure. Build strength, understand the pain, and go from there. The goal makes the pain worth it, the race makes it fun and when you are done you will plaster it all over Facebook, Twitter, and the like because, well, that is what we now do. So I am always hurt. I have goals, my goals require effort and pain, and thus chinks in the armor arise. I must diagnose them, treat them, and deal with them. Knowing that I will deal with pain allows said pain to be forgotten. Thus I am never hurt.

In the end, we all want everything to look easy, to feel easy, but we need to understand that running, like many athletic pursuits, is a painful enterprise. The reason we run marathons (over 177,000 people finished one in the USA in 2012 according to Runner’s World) is not for the pain, but for the accomplishment that the pain gives us. The reason my athlete runs is to beat his friends and achieve personal goals. He is going to have to endure to get there. He will hurt, he knows it. He closed our conversation, the length of a 200 meter jog with a smile and the reply, I am not hurt anymore. Then he ran another 200 meter sprint when he didn’t plan on it. Pain ceased to be the motive to quitting.