A
Coach’s Introduction
Dear New Parents:
Hi. Hello. Or, as my relatives in
Bristol, Rhode Island like to say, “Hi. How are ya? How ya doing?” Why I’m Coaching
Cross Country
I teach English and coach high school cross country because
doing so lets me spend my days immersed in the things I love most: reading
and writing and running and racing. Here’s how I discovered that: Maybe. I am an aging athlete turning into an academic. In other words,
I’m still a runner, but now I read and write more than I race. So when I get
to do both, my heart flutters. And now that I’ve found a job that lets me do
that, the world often seems as mud-luscious as did on that puddle-wonderful
Saturday. Although, some Saturdays I wonder if I wouldn’t be better off
writing PR copy at big firm so where. But I only wonder that when I find
myself yelling at the girls’ team to please warm up together. The Nature of Running Cross Country To borrow a phrase from the Olympic gold
medallist Eric Liddell, running is hard; it requires concentration of will
and energy of soul. Surely, after nearly three weeks of workouts your
children must know that. But fear not. Running produces not only woe; it
yields wonder and wackiness as well. My freshman physical, for example,
revealed that in 1981 I stood 5 feet, a half-inch and weighed 101 pounds.
Still, I made the varsity and became the first letterman of my class. I can
humbly say 12 inches, 30 pounds and 18 years later that I’m still running
well (3 hours, 5 minutes for the marathon). I want the runners of the Lexington Catholic
cross country teams to run because doing so improves their health, fitness
and should be fun. But I also want them to run, which is to say to cover
ground fast and then faster still. Not only to be faster than their teammates
and their competitors, especially Boyle County, but faster than themselves. Moreover, my concern this season is not only
that we win races, but that we race with intensity, and most importantly,
have fun doing so. In other words, I hope the runners of LCH cross-country
(to borrow another phrase) come to “martial the ferocity of your ambition
over the course of many days, weeks, months and (if you can come to accept
it) years.” John L. Parker, Jr., author of our sport’s most rousing novel,
Once a Runner, called that principle “the Trial of Miles and the Miles of
Trials.” I have yet to find words that better describe the nature of cross
country. A Few Words on Pain and Discomfort To run fast, runners must learn to deal with
discomfort. There is no other way to say it. There is no secret. Serious
training is often difficult and sometimes unpleasant. Still, it should never
cause pain. Pain is not a natural consequence of exercise
or training. It is a sign of a problem that shouldn’t be ignored. An athlete
who experiences real pain during training should back off. If the pain
persists the problem should be evaluated. Discomfort, on the other hand, can accompany
difficult aspects of training, especially long distance running. Discomfort
is a natural consequence of the anaerobic effort associated with lifting or
intervals and of the muscle fatigue, micro trauma and soreness that follow
long distance training. Overload sometimes requires working at the
upper limit of strength, intensity, or endurance, and that can be temporarily
uncomfortable. Yet, if it results in pain it is probably excessive. My Approach to Training In short, there is no secret to success in
running, or anything else for that matter. But running cross country without
a plan is unwise. Thankfully, I have a plan. As with most high school cross country teams,
there are two levels of runners in our program: the beginner and experienced
runner. The beginner should focus on the following:
·
Proper
running form On the other hand, the experienced runner
should focus on the these keys:
·
Committing
to running five to seven days a week My training approach is based on the
principles developed by famed New Zealander Arthur Lydiard, which include a
base period, an anaerobic training phase and racing. The base period—usually about six
weeks—consists of high mileage with an emphasis placed on maximum
cardio-vascular development through long runs. Concentration on form and
relaxation are also stressed during this phase. Normally, cross-country runners work on their
base training during the summer. In fact, many of our returning runners did
work out together as team this summer and thus have looked very fit and fast
already. Nevertheless, this season we’ll spend all of August and much of
September building a base. Even so, I have three prerequisites to
running cross country that cannot be lacking, regardless of summer training.
They are: enjoyment of running, setting of goals and making a commitment. If
a runner lacks any of these, he or she cannot expect to succeed. God’s speed, Tim Wiesenhahn Literature teacher;
Head Cross Country Coach
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