Ladies,
Well, you've done it again. The fund raising efforts of the summer have not gone unrewarded, and by now you should have ample monies to do whatever it is the team decides it should do with regards to warm-ups and such. This is completely up to you, I want no part of it! I trust you anyway, and know you will make wise decisions. Please, no team tattoos.
It certainly was a long day out there. We're fortunate it wasn't hot, but it sure was sunny. All. Day. Long. A few of your fairer skinned girls are going to feel this in the morning.
We now have three weeks until school starts, two weeks until season begins. May I remind you to get your IHSAA physicals completed ASAP? If you took the spring physical with the school, it counts. Short of that, you will need to visit a doctor very soon. No nurse practitioners either, IHSAA doesn't allow that.
One of you mentioned I have been a bit mean here over the last few posts... reminds me of the question, "Do you like coaching girls or boys better?" In this respect, boys are better. Boys would have understood the context of my comments without clarification. This is my limitation, being a quote/unquote boy, failing to be as clear as I should.
I would never intentionally step on someone's dream or box them into a set performance range. I hate it when people do it to me, especially when I feel they are wrong. But part of my job as coach is to give you perspective, hopefully from the decades of experience I have as an endurance athlete and runner. We set goals, as discussed in a previous post, for the now, soon-to-be, and ultimate levels. When I set up workouts, it definitely falls into the "now" category.
When I say we have no 18-minute 5k runners on the team, that is bluntly true - we don't. This doesn't mean someone couldn't become one, but today, no one is. That today is very important when you are looking at workout or racing goals. Because your best time is limited by a number of factors, we have to be realistic when setting a particular goal for the now. One thing is always certain - there is a limit to your performance every single day. Learning where that wall is, or at least being able to quickly sort it out on the spot, can be the difference between a great day and a disaster.
You have to be honest with yourself. Does this particular time fall within possibly achievable levels? If it doesn't, don't chase it. You don't EVER get your best time by blowing up a big first mile followed up by two semi-walking miles. Your best time comes when you push yourself to the edge of your limit and hold it - right - there. High schoolers always struggle with this, but trust me, the sooner you figure it out, the sooner you will see your best times.
It doesn't hurt to dream. It doesn't hurt to occasionally say, "Let's see what happens" and just go flat out from the start. Breakthroughs do happen! By and large, your practices will show you where you are. That's most often the best way to set goals.
I will share this though... when I first started running, one of my buddies, a very experienced road racer and cross-country coach, asked me what my goal time was for 5k. I told him I wanted to run in the 15:30's. He looked me up and down - I'll never forget this - and said, "Deckard, you might wind up being one of the best runners in the county some day, but I don't know about that time." I knew what he was thinking. I was a power-lifter at the time, and in my first months of running. I was nearly 200 lbs., and had just run my first 5k. There was no logical reason (from his perspective) to believe I was capable of running like that. He was being nice, though in a patronizing fashion.
And that's when I decided no matter what else happened in my running career, I would run in the 15:30's for 5k. And I did. Three years later I ran 15:33.
No coach is perfect. No coach can look into every athlete and know how it will all turn out. I've been surprised before and I'm sure will be again. Some of you will go on and continue to be competitive runners. You are all certainly capable of doing so. For some of you, your best will come long after you leave high school. I was 33 when I ran my fastest.
I try to keep things in the positive. I really think I am, though this stuff recently may not have sounded as such. The positive part of knowing and understanding your limitations is this knowledge gives you power over your weakness! Use this power to limit or eliminate your weaknesses.
Enough preaching. See you on Monday!
Well, you've done it again. The fund raising efforts of the summer have not gone unrewarded, and by now you should have ample monies to do whatever it is the team decides it should do with regards to warm-ups and such. This is completely up to you, I want no part of it! I trust you anyway, and know you will make wise decisions. Please, no team tattoos.
It certainly was a long day out there. We're fortunate it wasn't hot, but it sure was sunny. All. Day. Long. A few of your fairer skinned girls are going to feel this in the morning.
We now have three weeks until school starts, two weeks until season begins. May I remind you to get your IHSAA physicals completed ASAP? If you took the spring physical with the school, it counts. Short of that, you will need to visit a doctor very soon. No nurse practitioners either, IHSAA doesn't allow that.
One of you mentioned I have been a bit mean here over the last few posts... reminds me of the question, "Do you like coaching girls or boys better?" In this respect, boys are better. Boys would have understood the context of my comments without clarification. This is my limitation, being a quote/unquote boy, failing to be as clear as I should.
I would never intentionally step on someone's dream or box them into a set performance range. I hate it when people do it to me, especially when I feel they are wrong. But part of my job as coach is to give you perspective, hopefully from the decades of experience I have as an endurance athlete and runner. We set goals, as discussed in a previous post, for the now, soon-to-be, and ultimate levels. When I set up workouts, it definitely falls into the "now" category.
When I say we have no 18-minute 5k runners on the team, that is bluntly true - we don't. This doesn't mean someone couldn't become one, but today, no one is. That today is very important when you are looking at workout or racing goals. Because your best time is limited by a number of factors, we have to be realistic when setting a particular goal for the now. One thing is always certain - there is a limit to your performance every single day. Learning where that wall is, or at least being able to quickly sort it out on the spot, can be the difference between a great day and a disaster.
You have to be honest with yourself. Does this particular time fall within possibly achievable levels? If it doesn't, don't chase it. You don't EVER get your best time by blowing up a big first mile followed up by two semi-walking miles. Your best time comes when you push yourself to the edge of your limit and hold it - right - there. High schoolers always struggle with this, but trust me, the sooner you figure it out, the sooner you will see your best times.
It doesn't hurt to dream. It doesn't hurt to occasionally say, "Let's see what happens" and just go flat out from the start. Breakthroughs do happen! By and large, your practices will show you where you are. That's most often the best way to set goals.
I will share this though... when I first started running, one of my buddies, a very experienced road racer and cross-country coach, asked me what my goal time was for 5k. I told him I wanted to run in the 15:30's. He looked me up and down - I'll never forget this - and said, "Deckard, you might wind up being one of the best runners in the county some day, but I don't know about that time." I knew what he was thinking. I was a power-lifter at the time, and in my first months of running. I was nearly 200 lbs., and had just run my first 5k. There was no logical reason (from his perspective) to believe I was capable of running like that. He was being nice, though in a patronizing fashion.
And that's when I decided no matter what else happened in my running career, I would run in the 15:30's for 5k. And I did. Three years later I ran 15:33.
No coach is perfect. No coach can look into every athlete and know how it will all turn out. I've been surprised before and I'm sure will be again. Some of you will go on and continue to be competitive runners. You are all certainly capable of doing so. For some of you, your best will come long after you leave high school. I was 33 when I ran my fastest.
I try to keep things in the positive. I really think I am, though this stuff recently may not have sounded as such. The positive part of knowing and understanding your limitations is this knowledge gives you power over your weakness! Use this power to limit or eliminate your weaknesses.
Enough preaching. See you on Monday!
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