Cougars Don't Cut Corners

One of my favorite stories from college lore is this.  The campus grounds crew, tired of students wearing the grass thin as they angled across the well-manicured lawns in an effort to get to classes faster, placed signs all around proclaiming loudly, "Cougars Don't Cut Corners!"

It was an admirable sentiment, until some smart-alek student snuck around one night and cut off all the corners of the signs, leaving a somewhat mixed message for students the next day.  

While this story makes me laugh, I retell it to my runners to remind them of this truth: there is more than one way to cut a corner.  I can't really stop anyone who wants to cut a corner, but you still shouldn't do it.  In the short term it might get you there faster, but in the bigger picture it doesn't get you the results you desire. 

Knowing this, I still found myself subconsciously looking for corners to cut this week as I searched for a marathon training plan.  I am trying to decide if I can run a sub-3, and after looking at the paces and training required, I decided it just looked really hard.  So I began to wonder if I could find another training plan, one that somehow could turn me into a faster runner without all that hard work.  Turns out they all expect me to run faster longer in practice if I want to run faster longer in a race.  There is no shortcut.  And, it occurred to me, if there was someone selling a shortcut, it probably wouldn't yield the results I wanted in the end anyway.  Eventually I came to the conclusion the grounds crew hoped we would all reach years ago: if I wanted to get where I was going, I needed to stay on the proven path and not cut corners.  It might require more work, but short cuts just leave everything worn out in the end.  

Running in the light

I was running early this morning. Once I got off of the one mile strip of Main Street that has street lights,  it was really dark.  Like mid winter, no moon, cloud-cover, can't see a thing dark.  Fortunately, I was wearing a headlamp and reflective vest. ( I figure the cars should at least see me before they hit me.) But as I was running in the dark, I realized I could only see about a ten foot halo around me, where the light was shining.  Beyond that, it was completely black. I have to admit it is a little scary not knowing what is beyond the halo of light, but I had to keep going.  As I did, I discovered that I could see the next ten feet ahead, and then the next ten feet, and found that the light moved just ahead of me the whole way until I returned safely to my home.  

I realize this might sound a bit obvious, but there is a great principle here at work.  As we move through life, we often find ourselves in unknown territory, where we can't see the path ahead.  We can chose to stay safe and run back and forth in the light of Main Street, or only stay those places we are comfortable, but then we don't get anywhere.  Yet if we have a little faith, trust in ourselves and our guiding light, we can be guided safely through the darkness of our lives.  Isn't that wonderful!

What I wish I knew in high school

I enjoy spending time around the high school girls that I coach on the track team.  Some days they remind me of how fun high school was, and other days they remind me how grateful I am that I am well beyond. But occasionally they get me thinking about things that I have learned from and since my high school days, that I wish they could understand to help them on their way.  I don't know if I would have listened if someone had given me this advice, but here is my list to pass on of things I wish female high school runners understood.

You are a runner. Doesn't mean you can't do other things, but this is what you are good at. Embrace it and commit yourself so you never wonder what if.

Understand that while running is part of who you are, it does not define you.  When you are no longer a competitive runner, you will still have an identity as a sister, friend, daughter, scholar, hard-worker, etc. 

Big legs are beautiful, because big legs=muscle=fast=strong=beautiful.

You are faster, stronger, smarter, and more capable than you believe. 

There will be voices, both inside and outside your head, that tell you you can't do it.  Prove them wrong.

There will be voices, both inside and outside your head, that tell you you are better than you can imagine.  Believe them.  

Someday you will learn that eating 15,000 calories a day without gaining a pound is unnatural and unsustainable.  Until then, enjoy it.  

It's okay to cry when your goals are unmet or changed out of necessity.  But then set new goals, get back up, and go to work. 

Treasure the friendships.  Never again will you have such a natural group of built in friends who understand why you are the way you are (running lots of miles makes everyone strange).

Give your parents a hug.  They follow you to races and cheer like your race is the most important thing in the world to them.  It's really you they care about, not the race.

Be the best you can be and run (and live) with no regrets.

Happy running.

Faith

I was trying to pep-talk another runner who said, " I don't know if I can do this," and I found myself reassuring her that running is a tremendous leap of faith.  When I begin a race or a run of any distance,  I have no assurance that I will finish, let alone feel good doing it.  The thought of running twenty miles (or even five miles or one, some days) can be pretty overwhelming.  Without faith, I wouldn't dare even begin.  But a runner who has faith can be brave enough to take that first step.

A runner has to have faith in the coach, trusting that Coach has prepared the athlete adequately to run.  Likewise, the runner also has to have faith that the workouts have been appropriate and have been completed in a manner that will allow her to race at her best. I know that my past workouts have made me strong enough to finish the workout in front of me today.  (I used to calm pre-race nerves by relying on my faith in my coaches and assuring myself that they had done everything possible to prepare me or the day's race. ) 

Further, faith is a motivator for work, because faith would be incomplete without taking those first few steps out the door. I can have all the faith in the world that I could run a five minute mile, but without actually training for it, my faith wouldn't be any good. But because I want to turn my faith into knowledge, I am willing to do the work.  

So if there is a life lesson in this, here it is.  Faith is believing that we can accomplish the unseen task ahead of us, and even the simplest task requires faith.  Don't be afraid to try your faith, but let faith move you to action to run farther or faster than you ever have before.  

Happy running.  

   

Galen Rupp follow up

It occurs to me that I never followed up with the conclusion of Galen Rupp's record quest.  I wish I could report that he had broken the record as planned, cementing his place in the indoor record books.  Unfortunately, this is real life and despite evidence to the contrary, Rupp is only human.  He pulled out of the record attempt due to nagging injury in order to save himself for indoor nationals and worlds. 

I have to admit feeling a little disappointed for him.  He was running so well, I figured the record was a given.  And I'm sure he was disappointed too.  But I also see several positive lessons in this experience.  

First, there is no shame in living to run another day.  One bad race, or workout, or day, does not define a career. It is better to accept a minor setback, recover, and then press forward full steam ahead again, instead of just plowing ahead recklessly.

The second lesson is that sometimes, despite our best laid plans, life interferes.  Even if he was doing amazing workouts and eating right and sleeping right and everything, Galen still got injured.  It happens. We have to be flexible enough to change plans midstream sometimes. 

Third, recognize the difference between short term and long term goals. If the goal of his entire season had been to set the record, then it would've been worth it to run and risk injury.  But if the goal is to place at world championships, it is an easy decision to pull out and train for that instead.  It is important to see that a change in plans doesn't mean failure, it just means a new focus.  

My take home message is to set high goals for yourself.  Go for the records.  But don't feel like a failure if you don't get them.  Just refocus on another goal, regroup, and run another day. Happy running. 

Another sign you've been spending too much time at the track

Since I started coaching the high school track team,  my four kids get to come hang out at the track with me.  Most of the time this is not a problem, and they enjoy running around, playing, and generally being with the high school kids.  

However, the other day it occurred to me that maybe my kids are spending a bit too much time at the track.  I was headed to practice with my five year old, and mentioned how it was time to go so we wouldn't be late.  He responded, "yep. We can't be late because we are the coach."

I loved his use of the plural.  But maybe he needs a day off.  This coaching stuff can be exhausting.  

10 reasons it's great to be a distance runner

1: I have time to be alone and think, plan, solve problems, or just relax.

2:  Everyone thinks you are strange anyway, so go ahead and live it up.  You have nothing to lose.

3: You can win medals, even as a fully grown adult.  

4: I can eat dessert.  Sometimes two.  

5: It is socially acceptable to wear spandex.  

6: Carbs are my friends.

7: You can go places car people can't.

8: I have forged lifetime bonds with people through the shared sweat and effort of many miles, and even bonded with those whom I have shared a few miles. 

9: I better understand the rewards of hard work and long term persistence. 

10: I have earned my confidence and strength one mile at a time. 

Happy running.