Author: cookersdistance

Prepare To Win

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Juma Ikangaa is a marathon runner from Tanzania who won the New York City Marathon and placed second overall at the Boston Marathon. After he won the NYC marathon he said “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” I have always liked this quote because it stresses the importance of training/having a good work ethic. Many athletes want to win on race day, but only the athletes who put in the work have a chance to be successful. 

  • Around ten years ago, I came up with the idea of wristbands for the team. I wanted us to have a motto to focus on, to give us motivation when we trained. I couldn’t fit the whole “will to win” quote on the wristband, so I shortened it to “PREPARE TO WIN.” We’ve had different color wristbands over the years, navy, white, silver, gray, but it’s always said the same, “PREPARE TO WIN.” The kids enjoy collecting the wristbands and like to ask for an extra one to put on their water bottles. When our team wears the wristband, we seem united. Maybe we aren’t capable of winning a state championship, but at least we are focused on becoming better. For me, there has always been comfort in seeing a bunch of our kids work hard together towards a common goal
  • I have been fortunate enough to speak at a few coaching clinics. Most of the coaches look at me funny when I tell them that a big reason for our success is the wristbands. They are looking for some secret workout or race strategy we implement, but instead of hearing about those things, they mostly hear about PREPARE TO WIN. I stress the importance of this because if athletes aren’t motivated to do the workouts, then what difference does it make? What does it matter if we do 10×400 or 4×1 mile if the athletes don’t see the point?

  • As coaches, we try to emphasize the importance of the process and to reward athletes for their consistency in our practices. We had a student recently complete our LRC (long run challenge) for the past five weeks, despite the bad weather. I made sure to acknowledge his dedication and consistency in our morning team meeting, and expressed how proud we are of his hard work. Although we have had athletes run the LRC faster, none have completed the run for five consecutive weeks.
  • Motivation is a constant battle, and I won’t pretend that it has always been easy in our program. Although we have a great group of athletes, even the most driven among them need encouragement and a pat on the back. Before each practice, we have a team meeting, and I use that opportunity to greet the team in a positive manner and to encourage them for the day’s workout. We also use the meeting to discuss things such as team culture, 5 keys to success (see previous blog post) and other random things related to running like safety on the roads.

Most Popular Running Shoes, Then and Now

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I recently took a poll and asked our cross country team what shoe brand they wear for our easy distance runs. I was surprised by the results.

Back in the 1990s, when I was in high school, Asics was the most popular brand amongst runners. We believed that a serious runner should only wear a serious running shoe, and that brand was of course Asics. Our high school coach even provided the varsity team with one pair of shoes each year, which were always Asics with the famous gel cushioning. If an athlete was willing to spend extra money, they would usually buy the Asics Gel Kayano. Looking back, I find it amusing that a group of high school runners were wearing heavy, structured cushioned shoes

Asics Gel Kayano from 1993-2009- Not the best looking shoe!

When I moved on to run at Texas A&M University, we were sponsored by Nike. We had two choices of shoes: the Nike Pegasus and the Nike Structure. I wore both shoes and don’t remember having any issues, except for achilles tendonitis when I ran 110-120 miles a week during my senior year. That was due to overtraining, and I can’t blame the shoes for the injury.

We did workouts in a Nike flat (can’t remember the name), and races in the Nike Zoom Kennedy spike. Bob Kennedy was the greatest runner in the United States in the 1990s, setting American records in the 3k and 5km races. Running is different from other sports, as we usually only have a few famous runners to get excited about. Everyone still knows Steve Prefontaine, but in the 1990s, we had Bob Kennedy

Nike Zoom Kennedy- THE spike of the 1990’s

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TEAM SHOE POLL

  1. Nike- 20
  2. Saucony- 9
  3. Hoka- 7
  4. Brooks- 6
  5. Asics- 5
  6. New Balance- 1
  7. On Running- 1
  8. Adidas- 0
  9. Under Armour- 0

Nike continues to be the champion in the shoe battles. I discussed this with some of our athletes and we think it’s because Nike’s shoes are readily available in all sports stores. You can visit Dick’s Sporting Goods or Academy and find a wide selection of Nike running shoes and apparel. Nike has also done a better job of creating shoes suitable for both slow, easy distance runs and intense workouts. Our athletes like the Nike Pegasus, Nike Zoom Invincible, and for hard workouts, the Nike Vaporfly.

Saucony is the second most popular brand on our team. The girls, in particular, seem to prefer the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 and Saucony Triumph.

Hoka has become popular among our team, with 7 athletes wearing shoes that were once only used by ultra-trail runners. Hoka’s are now worn by walkers, runners, and people who spend a lot of time on their feet at work.

Brooks is a popular choice among our boys team for easy distance runs.

The low popularity of Adidas was the most surprising result for me. They make good shoes, but kids aren’t currently interested in wearing them.

Returning from an injury

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Unfortunately, as I have gotten older, I have had more experience with running injuries. Most recently, I have struggled with metatarsalgia in my right foot. At first, the pain was minor, but after a while, it got to the point where I was limping when walking around the house. I have taken three weeks off and hope to return to running soon. In order to maintain my sanity, I started riding the spin bike for 30-45 minutes each day. Once my foot was pain-free when walking, I transitioned from the bike to the elliptical machine. The elliptical feels much more natural, and the time goes by faster when I’m stuck inside, staring at the wall.

When I start running again, I plan on taking things slowly at first. With our high school runners, we typically stick to an every-other-day program. Starting with something simple, like running the straights and walking the curves for 1 mile on the track. The track is softer and flatter than most surfaces. It also provides an athlete with the opportunity to stop at any time if they feel discomfort.

After the test run, we usually progress with the following plan listed below. A lot of this is dependent upon the type of injury and how long their break lasted. It’s also important to mention that, if given, we will follow the direction/guidance of the doctor, athletic trainers, or physical therapist.

RETURN TO RUNNING PLAN (6 WEEK BREAK)- Run every other day

Run the straights and walk the curves for 4 laps (test run). If there is pain here the athlete will take another week off.

Run the straights and walk the curves for 8 laps

Run 1 minute/walk 1 minute for 10 minutes

Run 1 minute/walk 1 minute for 20 minutes

Run for 10 minutes without walking

Run for 15 minutes without walking

Run for 20 minutes without walking

At this point we move away from the every other day plan and go to 2 days on and 1 day off for two weeks. Once the athlete has completed this step for two weeks it’s time for them to join our lowest mileage program and begin working out with the team.

The slow build up always seems to be the most difficult time for athletes. They take their running break and want to jump right back into training again. I try and remind them to be patient and the last thing we want is a setback that could cause another extended break.

In addition to a slow return to running program it’s also important that the doctor, athlete, and coaches evaluate why the athlete was injured to begin with.

Three of the most common causes of injuries.

Training error: Did the athlete increase mileage or intensity too quickly?

Lack of sleep or recovery: How many hours of sleep does an athlete average each night? We encourage athletes to shoot for 8 hour of sleep.

Running Shoes: When was the last time the athlete purchased a new pair of shoes? Are they in the right pair of shoes?

Weakness/Flexibility: Based on what type of injury the athlete had it’s important to look at their overall strength and flexibility. When I was injured 10 years ago with a sacral stress fracture the physical therapist put me through several basic exercises. After completing each one to my satisfaction he remarked “that’s impressive”. I said thank you and he responded with “you are extremely weak for an athlete!”. That was humbling, but I learned it was important for athletes to always work on their strength/flexibility if they want to remain healthy. Especially as we age or if we are increasing our training intensity.

Weather Chart

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New runners tend to struggle with what to wear when the temperatures get warmer or cooler. With our high school boys they usually underdress and it’s a battle to get them to wear something more than a shirt and shorts. With our high school girls they usually overdress and are sweating and shedding clothes after the first two miles.

Below is a basic chart to help guide new runners on what to wear. This is just a guide and everyone is different. I also accounted for windy and non windy days. Other factors not listed that can play a big factor is the humidity and whether it’s sunny or cloudy.

Since I live in Texas I’m not the greatest expert on the very cold temperatures. When it does get in the 10-20F range I usually wear running pants (sporthill), long sleeve shirt (nike dri fit), light jacket, thicker gloves, and a beanie. I also prefer to wear a shoe like the Nike Pegasus Shield that does a better job of keeping my feet dry and warm.

5 KEYS TO SUCCESS

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Below is what I go over with our athletes on the first day of summer practice. I keep it simple and stress five things that they need to focus on in order to have a successful season. 

  1. RUN: In order to experience success in running you must run. Focus on being consistent from week to week. For returning runners a great way to set personal bests is by running longer or faster than last year.
  1. REST: After a hard workout or any workout for that matter it is important to rest. Rest allows your body time to recover and come back stronger…this is also known as ADAPTATION. I encourage all of our athletes to try their best to get 8 hours of sleep a night. If this is impossible for you then please take a nap during the day. 
  1. STRENGTH TRAINING: A house is only as strong as its foundation. Will your house stand or will it crumble because you neglect strength training? Besides keeping you healthy, strength training will also help you become a more efficient runner (require less oxygen to run at the same pace).
  1. NUTRITION: What you eat is fuel for your run. Eat healthy=Run Faster and Eat Poorly=Run Slower. I’m not saying that you can’t eat cookies (my favorite!) or ice cream, but make sure overall you have a healthy diet. Try your best to include vegetables and fruit with all of your meals.
  1. FLEXIBILITY: Athletes should always do dynamic stretches before running and static or dynamic stretches after running. Athletes who have poor flexibility are more likely to become injured. Don’t be lazy and take that extra time to stretch!

I encourage everyone to look at the 5 keys to success and focus on improving one of them this week.