Day 27
Practice is OYO today. So, as promised, a look back at the MVC Indoor.
Amelia gets things started in scenic South Cedar Falls filling in on a 4 x 200. Then it’s all hands on deck for the 1500.
The results are foundational.
Which shouldn’t be surprising. Our training has been foundational:
Week 1: 10 x :60 Hills; Hill Sprints + Hilly Threshold
Week 2: 600 Time Trial; 8 x 200 cut down (date pace 3k → goal pace 1500)
Week 3: 800 race; 4 x 4 x 400 at 5k; aborted threshold
Week 4: Hill Circuit at 5k/3k; 800 race + threshold
Like Hassan Mead, we’ve been taking our “tea and cookies”, ignoring Standards of Azure Ellipse Excellence, resolutely focused on being, as Coach Raff says, “Happiest in May.”
Regardless of our focus on May or the strength of our foundation, the results a good reminder to coach and athletes both of Rule #3: Choose to Be Humble and Hungry. Being process oriented doesn’t mean we aren’t accountable for our results.
Last month, steve magness and Jonathan J. Marcus discussed the “Art and Science of Competition” on their podcast “On Coaching”. I finally had the opportunity to listen to it last week and took down the following definitions for winning:
- Winning is not just finishing first but asking, “Did you do something outside your comfort zone?”
- Winning is competing in a way you previously didn’t.
- Winning is dealing and struggling with discomfort, fatigue and useless chatter.¹
It is helpful to analyze our results through these lenses. While an overall objective is to be actors and not observers in our races, to make our narratives part of the race’s narrative, to contribute to the conversation, sometimes, for whatever reason, we can’t.
In these situations it is important that we ask ourselves, “Did I do the best I could with what I had today?” The definitions above provide us with some helpful metrics to figure out whether or not we did.
A couple takeaways from the races:
- Amelia made a bid to be an actor in the drama. Ultimately, it wasn’t successful, but you have to risk failing in order to succeed.
- Esti competed hard over the last lap and showed some good foot speed.
- Julia did a good job moving up through the field after a conservative start to finish third and within three seconds of a PR. She just wasn’t quite able to catch up with the leaders before the real racing started.
- Brownie, doubling back in the 4 x 400, ran the second fastest split out of the D-Squad. Not a poor work for a kids with a big diesel engine.
It’s also important to remember that progress isn’t always a straight line. Melanie Holman provides an illustrative case study. Mel was a swimmer-turned-runner. Her ninth and tenth grade years, she chased the 1500 Standard of Excellence (5:15) but coming close, but ultimately unable to break it.
Her junior year she came close at close at the UNI Dome, running a PR of 5:16.8. Her next crack at the mark ended up being a disappointing 5:26 effort, winning the JV heat at the Sherwood Relays. Nine day later, however, she would rebound to smash her PR by more than 10 seconds, running 5:05.10 at North Scott, before ultimately breaking the 5:00 barrier running 4:59.39 at Forwald on the same track she had run almost half a minute slower less than a month earlier.
So, that’s a wrap on the 2018 Indoor season. Goodbye to 20 heats of the 200m. Hello, Outdoors!
- Full notes from this podcast can be seen here.
