What was your worst run?

Today's late March freakishly cold temps and snow brought about the topic, "what was your worst run?"  Think about it: If you live in the northeast you can likely reflect on some rather nasty runs through wind, rain, sleet, snow, ice, etc. People drive by looking out their windows in disbelief. You have crossed the line from dedication to stupidity (at the time you've convinced yourself you are simply the most dedicated runner on earth). 

I have had several experiences that fall into this category. Oddly, one of the runs for me that ranks in the top 5 "worst ever" runs was in St. Louis, MO.  I was living in Kansas City  and coaching at William Jewell College at the time (1999) and had planned to attend a college fair in St. Louis to recruit. I was in the bulk of training for my first marathon with a scheduled 19 mile run with 15 miles to be run at marathon pace.  My training had gone well, and I was excited to nail this workout. I found a 30k in St. Louis that was part of a Polar Bear Challenge Series.  Perfect: a race with people to run with, water on the course to practice drinking, splits to check my pace work. I called up ahead to register... no need I was told... show up race morning and pay the $2 fee... I was told this was a "no frills" race.  Just come and run.... I did just that.  The morning brought 35 degrees, windy and pouring rain. I thought about trying to find a treadmill instead to have a good 19 mile workout. But, I opted to go to the race. I found myself in the lead rather quickly.  There were no mile markers, no water on the course (with heavy rain and wind, I really had no desire for water so it made no difference), and best of all, no directions on the course or lead car.  I made two wrong turns and both times someone well behind me yelled to me to turn around.  After what I assumed to be over 15 miles (1:30 of running, assuming I was running 5:50 pace), I started to jog because my "workout" was done. Some guy caught up to me and was happy to just jog along with me to the finish. We exchanged our unpleasant feelings about the weather, race, and overall miserable moodstate.  I had gone off course twice, I was shivering cold, I had no feeling in my hands or feet... I crossed the informal finish line in 1:52 for the 30k, got in my car, and drove back to the hotel to take a very long hot shower, and drank a LOT of VERY HOT coffee! I did have a good day recruiting once I regained feeling in my extremities.

As miserable as this run was, I can reflect back on the coversation with my incredible coach that followed, the silliness in my thought process through this run, the memories that took me to St. Louis, the wonderful experience I was given in Kansas City, and value the fact that I was able to run 30k.

Maybe I will write about the other 4 Worst Runs Ever... each one has rather remarkable positive memories.

Outdoor season underway

UB made an impact at the Wake Forest Open.  Our throwers picked up right where they left off in the indoor season.  Becky O'Brien won the discus and set a school record, Shant'e White won the Hammer Throw, Rob Golabek & Matt Gac also had impressive showings.  On the track, Ryan Bloom took home first in the 3k Steeple - nice opener for him. While being in the Carolinas is nice, the weather was practically TOO HOT for us!  Friday's unusual high of over 80 degrees made it rather tough for us northerners. But, no complaints from our team --- they took the extremes in stride (remember, just one week before they gutted out a workout in the sleet, snow, ice, and wind of Buffalo!).  I had a nice surprise visit from former UB runners Rick & Melissa (Burrows) Stewart who are now living in Charlotte. 

On the ride home last night one of our athletes put in a movie, which is now on my top-10 athletic inspiration movies - Glory Road - the story of the 1966 Western Texas Men's Basketball team under Coach Haskins going all the way to the NCAA Championship. The pride, the passion, the adversity faced, and the commitment to each other and the TEAM was meaningful.  I'd like to see our team take that focus of team work and putting the team above individual -- we'll be on the way to our first championship with that approach.

Glad to be back home, for sure. And, looking forward to seeing the full team tomorrow! I don't know when my next post will be... so for my 4 readers to this point... stay tuned!

On to Wake Forest U.

Today we left Wilmington after 5 nice days of training and good weather.  We arrived at Wake Forest U at 2:15pm for a light workout on the track.  Boy, it was hot!  Us northerners are not use to the bright sunshine in March... our team has already used 2 bottles of sunblock.  Tomorrow is the first day of the Wake Forest Open. Judging by the entry lists, this will be a very large meet. The men's 200m has 179 entries, the women's 1500m has 112 entries.... we are expecting some crowded heats on the track for the 1500s.  Good practice for getting our tactics into play. 
The weather tomorrow and Saturday is expected to be around 80 degrees and bright sun. It's going to be a challenge to keep the athletes cool and convince them to stay in the shade during the day.  It's so tempting to sit in the sun and feel the warmth that we've missed during the winter.  However, we need to stay focused on the meet and getting in some good competitions. 
Results will be posted live at http://www.flashresults.com/.  Go Bulls!

Catching some sun in NC

Relaxing before the start of intense Kan Jam tourney.

Training, lifting, and fun in the south

We are three days into our spring training and the theme seems to be soreness, hard work, and great workouts!  I think all will agree that the little bit of soreness from having those spikes on for the first workout is well worth it.
Yesterday, the 800m/1500m group posted an incredible workout starting with 4 x 500m repeats (women running right at 5:00/mile pace) + 3 x 400m repeats, and then closed with 2 x 300m quick. The women ran through 1:34/500m, 74/400m, and 49/300m.  Awesome.
Today, the distance group pounded out intervals through some good wind at the track. The wind brought back the feeling of being on the UB wind tunnel track, so it did not phase the runners.  In prep for the steeple chase, we had Ellen run the middle 400m of 1000m repeats over hurdles, but keeping pace with the others in their training group running flat.  Ellen's workout was one of her best ever. 3:32/1k, running over hurdles like she was born to do it.  The other women ran 5 x 1000m flat and had a strong workout.  To conclude the workout, we tacked on 2 x 200m quick - Sprehe showed her stuff -  both at 30.0 like it was nothing. Sanders decided she had some speed, running 32 and 31... she's been holding out on us.  Now that we know she has speed, we're gonna make her use it!
Thursday morning we head over to Winston Salem to get ready for the Wake Forest Invite...

First day of training in NC

First day in Wilmington... arrived last night after a smooth bus ride down.  This is the view from my hotel room.  Ahhhh....This morning we were greeted by sunshine, 63 degrees and a nice breeze as we headed out for our long run.  I managed 6 miles (yup, that's a long one for me), and the distance women put in about 12 miles, and Bloom got in about 14 miles. 
Most of the team just headed for Wrightsville Beach to hang out, play some frisbee and football, walk through the cold water, and simply enjoy the sun and shoreline.  The rest of the afternoon is about relaxing, hanging out, and enjoying each others' company. I don't really like the beach, so I am hanging out with my cup of coffee and heading out for a walk in the sun.
Tomorrow we head to the track for our first warm weather workout. 

UB's newest ALL AMERICAN

News just came in that ROB GOLABEK placed 8th at the NCAA Championships in the Shot Put!  All-American Honors!  Congrats to Rob and Coach Garnham!

The Windy City

After a while, you just get use to the wind tunnel known as the UB track stadium.  Today our women hit the track for a tempo workout of 4 x 2000m... Judging by the looks the distance women gave me, they were not pleased to be heading outside... it was 40 degrees, but the winds were sustained at 27mph with gusts well over 35mph and a sand-blasting snow.  Despite the disparaging looks, they ran a strong workout. The tough get tougher; that is the approach we must take. I also believe that despite some sleet, icy snow, and rain, we were very fortunate compared to the natural disasters in other parts of the world.  And, we can be even more excited about our training trip to North Carolina tomorrow!

Rob Golabek is in the shot put circle as I write this post.... waiting for the results! 

Pre-NCAA Championships

Today Coach Jenkins, Coach Garnham, Rob Golabek and Becky O'Brien landed in College Station, TX. Texas A&M will be hosting the Indoor NCAA Champs, and tomorrow Rob will be honored at the banquet as the Northeast Field Athlete of the Year - this is the first time that a UB T&F athlete has won this honor. And, let's make a note on Coach Garnham - this is the 6th NCAA Championship in a row that he's had 1 or more throwers competing!  Talk about a winning streak. Where he goes, success follows. 

The recruiting battle continues, though, for the rest of our events. We just solidified NINE distance men committed already for next fall.  And, we have several women with verbal commitments as well., including a local runner! However, we have some critical recruits keeping me on the edge of my seat.... JUST SAY YES, please!!!!  Make my day!!!  Apparently I believe that the exclamation marks will make my plea seem louder and and more convincing. I have to say, when a recruit gives that desired, "yes," it is one of the greatest feelings of joy (and relief). I am not sure which is better: a top recruit committing, or one of our current athletes having a great workout or a personal best.  Both are equally rewarding and exciting. I suppose that is why I continue to do this coaching thing. Anxiety, stress, worrying, and all....

Sports & Anxiety

Sports and Anxiety. They go hand in hand it seems, at least for me.  My former coach made things look so easy!  He seemed to never showed anxiety (although I am sure he had some when I toed the line).  I, on the other hand, seem to live it with my student-athletes. I dream about the meets.  I worry about the athletes - did they get good sleep, are they healthy, are they ready to go?  Last week at the MAC Champs, we saw the deepest and most competitive MAC Conference championship ever.  Becky O'Brien continued her winning way by not only winning the SP title but also breaking the 16 yr old MAC Championship Meet record.  Our athletes on the track competed and had too many "slow close" to making finals but just missing.  Times that ordinarily place in the top 3 did not even make finals this year. The belief that the MAC is a "Mid-Major" conference was definitely put to rest. We are as competitive as many of the "big" conferences.  The season was spent preparing for this one meet, this one chance to go out and make it big.  We did. More than have of our women had personal best marks at the meet - can't ask for more than that, right?  Wrong, I will expect more, and I believe our women want more, too.  Personal bests are nice, but moving up the ranks is even nicer! 

Now we are in the sit and wait game to see if Rob Golabek makes the NCAA Champs in the men's SP.  He's currently 12th in the NCAA, top 14th go, with one remaining meet in the country to be contested.  We'll know tomorrow if he's in... it's looking good.  Becky is already an automatic qualifier by virtue of hitting the auto mark several weeks ago.  Sit and wait.... anxiety?  Oh yeah.  Good anxiety, but nonetheless, anxiety!