How do you get a cold in August???? I somehow have and it has completely sapped me of energy. I was finally beginning to run pain free and get in some decent miles when I get a few sneezes and then all of a sudden my nose is like a hydrant.
Sometimes timing is everything and I cannot figure out whether this cold is good or bad. I only have another week and a half til school begins and my nephew is down at the coast (they went to the PNE today while i went to sleep. But it may be a bit of a sign as I figured I was in the 80 mile range last week (not workouts, just runs), which was a bit of a jump. I felt great all last week in every sense of the word (I got in an hr and 40 mins at the SFU trails) and was even planning my early season fartlek and tempo workouts.
Of the many things I've lean red as I've gotten older is not try and hammer thru sickness....back off yes, hammer no.... the worst part is that I was finally chomping at the bit to get in some harder stuff, but that will have to wait at least another day.
On a side not is a presentation I am doing at the UBC XC team camp this year. I realized when I sat down to think what is relevant to a young collegiate athlete I thought back to when I first began running and remembered what a complete idiot I was (in every sense of the word). I emailed a few of the guys who have gone thru the UBC system the last few years and asked them about direction. They were really helpful, but I also fear that I may go to the extreme of things.
Basically I've picked a few things from here and there to hopefully create a coherent presentation from their attitudes and the basics of training. Mostly I looked at the 'larger picture' items and tried to relate the to mistakes I made myself and often see other young athletes making. As always I worry that my bluntness will get me in trouble, but I hope they appreciate the honesty. It's one thing I can look at any things in 20/20 hindsight and I don't think a lot of younger athletes get a chance to always be fully conscious of how they need to approach running to achieve even a reasonable level of success.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Dirty Harry was a bad bad man....
.....someone may wonder how can Dirty Harry and running have so much in common, but my obtuse mind works wonders when I am actually back and running. Now don’t me wrong I love the Dirty Harry movies. This is one of those times. In the various Dirty Harry movies he was always a guy who bucked the rules and system and ignored what ohers told him . He also had some of the best quote from his ‘Do I feel lucky’ punk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daFb3J-cwLg&feature=related) to ‘Make my day’ (,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6-Snl4a1RI) .
The quote I want to focus on is his also famous, but one the character of Harry Callahan often contradicted in his actions, was ‘A man’s got to know his limitations’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZNlraF0xec). If anything I’ve come to realize as I got older was that one of the reasons I never stopped running was that I refused to set limits on what I was doing and what society said I should be doing. There was always that little thing in me that said you can somehow learn something from this situation. I think that’s what Brett Favre is going through in his various comebacks... he simply likes what he is doing.
It’s not that I expected to go out and win every race or set world records (to the contrary), but I always recognized that pushing limits and boundaries was something that really motivated me. So if that meant trying to run competitively at an age when most people have given up or coming back from an injury or simply seeing what sort of stresses I could put my body through then that was something that I saw as a challenge.
I was lucky in that even in the bad times I always was able to have some performance that kept me going and trying. It was then that the decision of what I was doing never really became a question. It had already been answered.
I can look back on things in 20/20 hindsight realized that some of my performances in my 30’s were a direct result of ignoring Dirty Harry’s famous words. If I had listened to him there is little doubt that I would not have achieved any tangible results or made any teams. But more relevant is that I would have lost out on so many great experiences. From such things as travelling, learning from winning/losing/trying/giving up, making friends and mostly the day to day enjoyment of grinding it out I learned many things about myself that I would have never found out if I had packed it in.
I remember a story from a few years back when Bob Kennedy was trying to overcome injuries and race successfully over 10km. He was being advised by famed miler Marcus O’Sullivan who told him to try and comeback because he had also done the same thing in his mid 30s and that it was during this time that he appreciated running and more importantly had learned the most about the sport and himself.
There are times when packing it in becomes a lifestyle choice or something that you forced into, but if you create those ‘limitations’ then remember that sometimes you may lose something that you can never get back. So don't listen to Dirty harry....instead do as he did and buck the system. You just might surprise yourself.
The quote I want to focus on is his also famous, but one the character of Harry Callahan often contradicted in his actions, was ‘A man’s got to know his limitations’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZNlraF0xec). If anything I’ve come to realize as I got older was that one of the reasons I never stopped running was that I refused to set limits on what I was doing and what society said I should be doing. There was always that little thing in me that said you can somehow learn something from this situation. I think that’s what Brett Favre is going through in his various comebacks... he simply likes what he is doing.
It’s not that I expected to go out and win every race or set world records (to the contrary), but I always recognized that pushing limits and boundaries was something that really motivated me. So if that meant trying to run competitively at an age when most people have given up or coming back from an injury or simply seeing what sort of stresses I could put my body through then that was something that I saw as a challenge.
I was lucky in that even in the bad times I always was able to have some performance that kept me going and trying. It was then that the decision of what I was doing never really became a question. It had already been answered.
I can look back on things in 20/20 hindsight realized that some of my performances in my 30’s were a direct result of ignoring Dirty Harry’s famous words. If I had listened to him there is little doubt that I would not have achieved any tangible results or made any teams. But more relevant is that I would have lost out on so many great experiences. From such things as travelling, learning from winning/losing/trying/giving up, making friends and mostly the day to day enjoyment of grinding it out I learned many things about myself that I would have never found out if I had packed it in.
I remember a story from a few years back when Bob Kennedy was trying to overcome injuries and race successfully over 10km. He was being advised by famed miler Marcus O’Sullivan who told him to try and comeback because he had also done the same thing in his mid 30s and that it was during this time that he appreciated running and more importantly had learned the most about the sport and himself.
There are times when packing it in becomes a lifestyle choice or something that you forced into, but if you create those ‘limitations’ then remember that sometimes you may lose something that you can never get back. So don't listen to Dirty harry....instead do as he did and buck the system. You just might surprise yourself.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Science vs Nature
I have been nitpicking at this one for over a week. getting a few sentences here and there and generally forgetting about it. But I also realized that in my own running this has been a central push and pull about the philosophy of how one should approach their running.
Over the years I have had enough revelations and tried enough things that you get down to the basics (more about that in the future) in running. One of those own questions and battles in myself have revolved around structure vs. running free or as I often see it Franz Stampfl vs. the “Stotan” or better described as Stampfl vs. Percy Cerutty. Although a debate that began in the 50s and 60s, this is a debate that is as relevant now as it was in the past.
For those who don’t know Franz Stampfl was an Austrian coach who had gained his fame while helping Roger Bannister get under 4mins for the mile, while Cerutty was an Australian coach, who had worked with John Landy (although before the Empire Games Landy had left him. Where these two would really come into conflict, hence the idea behind this post, was when Stampfl moved to Australia and came into direct conflict with both Cerutty and his most famous athlete Herb Elliott (the only undefeated major miler of all time and arguably the greatest 1500/miler runner of all time).
What makes their story so interesting if how each approached the sport and their athletes. Stampfl was by all accounts a very scientific and quiet coach. He advocated a very organized and structured training pattern that was dominated by interval work and hitting certain splits around the track.
Cerutty on the other side felt that humans were animals and as such needed to run ‘freely’. His philosophy was based upon his creation of the term ‘stotan’ or a combination being both stoic and leading Spartan lifestyle. He felt that if u ran like a natural animal and ran against pain (rather than in a structured manner like around a track) then you would achieve your greatest successes. He advocated sand running, fartlek style running (based upon the great Gustav Holmer and successes of the two Swede milers Arne Andersson and Gunder Hagg who had come so close to breaking the once impregnable 4 min mile). He believed that if one runs around the track in training then that took away some of one’s natural love for running. He also felt that you should hate your opponent as your main goal was to beat them in a race so why should you be nice to them off the track. He did wild things like waving a towel if Elliott was on wld record pace and often led philosophical discussion on famous philosophers such as Nietzsche who was famous for his ‘what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger’).
Cerutty’s greatest athlete was the legendary Herb Elliott. Elliott went undefeated as a Sr athlete (he lost once in grade school to an older boy) in the mile/1500m. He set a time that IMHO is the single greatest race ever run, and is still considered wld class, at the 1960 Olympics when he ran 3:35 (closing in 1:52 on a cinder track) and won by the largest margin in Olympic history (still I think). Elliott’s ability to make himself puke and run himself into submission is legendary.
Where the Cerutty vs. Stampfl rivalry really began was with Elliott’s greatest Aussie rival Merv Lincoln. Lincoln was probably one of the top few milers in the world, but never could beat Elliott. But more relevant was that Lincoln was coached by....Stampfl, who had come to live in Australia after Bannister’s successes. Of course not only did Cerutty’s ‘them vs. us’ attitude cause problems, but his attitude of ‘natural running’ was in direct contrast to Stampfl’s scientific attitude. Hence the argument of who produced the better system of producing runners. In then end many saw Cerutty as a crackpot, but to this day Elliott still sees his basic attitude of challenging oneself and running through barriers as the key to success.
So the question is...are you a Stampfl (science and structure) or a Cerutty (free and natural)? I know for me I’ve gone through episodes of both over the years. And in both cases I got into trouble and learned much all at the same time. In the end I decided that at heart I was more like Cerutty, but that at times I need to fall back on the basics and force structure on myself. More relevant came when I ended up doing a bit more coaching/advising. Some want and need someone to be more Stampfl in their approach (structure, told what to do, science) while others want and need someone to treat them like Cerutty did to Elliott on a regular basis (challenge, philosophical, more ‘art’ in coaching). In then end you need to find out if you want and need one or the other more/less...... if you can then running is far more enjoyable.
Over the years I have had enough revelations and tried enough things that you get down to the basics (more about that in the future) in running. One of those own questions and battles in myself have revolved around structure vs. running free or as I often see it Franz Stampfl vs. the “Stotan” or better described as Stampfl vs. Percy Cerutty. Although a debate that began in the 50s and 60s, this is a debate that is as relevant now as it was in the past.
For those who don’t know Franz Stampfl was an Austrian coach who had gained his fame while helping Roger Bannister get under 4mins for the mile, while Cerutty was an Australian coach, who had worked with John Landy (although before the Empire Games Landy had left him. Where these two would really come into conflict, hence the idea behind this post, was when Stampfl moved to Australia and came into direct conflict with both Cerutty and his most famous athlete Herb Elliott (the only undefeated major miler of all time and arguably the greatest 1500/miler runner of all time).
What makes their story so interesting if how each approached the sport and their athletes. Stampfl was by all accounts a very scientific and quiet coach. He advocated a very organized and structured training pattern that was dominated by interval work and hitting certain splits around the track.
Cerutty on the other side felt that humans were animals and as such needed to run ‘freely’. His philosophy was based upon his creation of the term ‘stotan’ or a combination being both stoic and leading Spartan lifestyle. He felt that if u ran like a natural animal and ran against pain (rather than in a structured manner like around a track) then you would achieve your greatest successes. He advocated sand running, fartlek style running (based upon the great Gustav Holmer and successes of the two Swede milers Arne Andersson and Gunder Hagg who had come so close to breaking the once impregnable 4 min mile). He believed that if one runs around the track in training then that took away some of one’s natural love for running. He also felt that you should hate your opponent as your main goal was to beat them in a race so why should you be nice to them off the track. He did wild things like waving a towel if Elliott was on wld record pace and often led philosophical discussion on famous philosophers such as Nietzsche who was famous for his ‘what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger’).
Cerutty’s greatest athlete was the legendary Herb Elliott. Elliott went undefeated as a Sr athlete (he lost once in grade school to an older boy) in the mile/1500m. He set a time that IMHO is the single greatest race ever run, and is still considered wld class, at the 1960 Olympics when he ran 3:35 (closing in 1:52 on a cinder track) and won by the largest margin in Olympic history (still I think). Elliott’s ability to make himself puke and run himself into submission is legendary.
Where the Cerutty vs. Stampfl rivalry really began was with Elliott’s greatest Aussie rival Merv Lincoln. Lincoln was probably one of the top few milers in the world, but never could beat Elliott. But more relevant was that Lincoln was coached by....Stampfl, who had come to live in Australia after Bannister’s successes. Of course not only did Cerutty’s ‘them vs. us’ attitude cause problems, but his attitude of ‘natural running’ was in direct contrast to Stampfl’s scientific attitude. Hence the argument of who produced the better system of producing runners. In then end many saw Cerutty as a crackpot, but to this day Elliott still sees his basic attitude of challenging oneself and running through barriers as the key to success.
So the question is...are you a Stampfl (science and structure) or a Cerutty (free and natural)? I know for me I’ve gone through episodes of both over the years. And in both cases I got into trouble and learned much all at the same time. In the end I decided that at heart I was more like Cerutty, but that at times I need to fall back on the basics and force structure on myself. More relevant came when I ended up doing a bit more coaching/advising. Some want and need someone to be more Stampfl in their approach (structure, told what to do, science) while others want and need someone to treat them like Cerutty did to Elliott on a regular basis (challenge, philosophical, more ‘art’ in coaching). In then end you need to find out if you want and need one or the other more/less...... if you can then running is far more enjoyable.
Monday, July 27, 2009
I NEED A ROUTINE
.....hence why this post is short and sweet....Since i've been out of school things have been hectic. I've done 2 trips up to the interior for fairly extended times (I am actually still up here). I didn't care too much at first as running was only just beginning, but as the achilles has gotten less and less tender (I've waken up in the morning for 3 straight days with no pain) I have been wanting to get more and more into a regular training pattern. I am not yet willing to do full on running workouts, but I am ready for more pool sessions and my weekly grouse grind tempo session.
Unfortunately, in the interior there is no grouse grind so I've been suplementing my daily 30-45mins of running with biking (I've pulled my mtn bike out of the mothballs) and inline skating (the closest thing to running) and hopefully tomorrow some pool running. All I know is that it's been fricking hot here (close to 40) and I hear that the coast hasn't been much cooler. Oh well it could be minus degrees.....
...I have decided on my next running topic as my training is way too boring which will be an old one, but a good one...I'll be sticking on the my current theme of mental approaches to running and coaching...the topic... "Are you a Stampfl or a Stotan?"...if it doesn't make sense now it will in the next few days....
Unfortunately, in the interior there is no grouse grind so I've been suplementing my daily 30-45mins of running with biking (I've pulled my mtn bike out of the mothballs) and inline skating (the closest thing to running) and hopefully tomorrow some pool running. All I know is that it's been fricking hot here (close to 40) and I hear that the coast hasn't been much cooler. Oh well it could be minus degrees.....
...I have decided on my next running topic as my training is way too boring which will be an old one, but a good one...I'll be sticking on the my current theme of mental approaches to running and coaching...the topic... "Are you a Stampfl or a Stotan?"...if it doesn't make sense now it will in the next few days....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Yes Billy there is a Santa Claus....
....due to my own stupidity I've taken shall one say a 'long route to this sport.' Due to my relative late start into running I probably ended up with an attitude that was simply do as one is told. I even remember a past coach (not my coach) who would yell at us that what we were doing (at Uni) had legitimate research and such. If I was in that position again I would probably simply have walked away or questioned this person in private. Back then I said nothing.....simply because I didn't know any better.
If there are a few things I've come to realize it's first and foremost the responsibility of the athlete to... well.... 'Take responsibility for his/her own training'. There is enough information out there on the internet or over the counter books (egs Daniels running formula) to gain at least some semblance of discussion with other athletes or coaches. Not saying go out and train blindly, but rather find out why you are doing something. As Arthur Lydiard said if your coach cannot tell you why you are doing something then it's time to find a new coach.
As I've mentioned before my own 'responsibility' period began when I initially started coaching younger athletes. (I can actually lay claim to 'coaching' 2 Canadian record holders/Olympians....more about that later). I had considered quitting the sport in my last year of Uni and actually taking up duathalons (there were big then...give me a break) was lucky enough to have some good races that year (won the NAIA 1500m title and finished 4th at the Can championships in 93). But I had a good enough year that I felt I had a good shot at making the 94 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. I was getting close enough (and once again lucky timing) to the standard that let me take a shot at making the team. As I would find out later in life actually having the chance to represent your country on home soil is an experience that no amount of money can buy.
I decided that my best way to make the team was to save up some money by living at home (my parents had moved to Kamloops) for the Fall/Winter and then coming back down in the spring. I had done this the year before with good success. For a period of time when I first finished Uni I lived with my folks in Kamloops and I even coached with both Shane Niemi and Dylan Armstrong. Please don't get me wrong...I take no credit for anything they've did...ever seen me sprint out of blocks or throw...yikes.....but what I did do was simply fill a hole when they were looking for a new club head coach. One of those serendipity things I talk about (where by some fluke someoen fills in a gap in your life that hopefully doesn't allow one to fall through the cracks).
I ended up taking responsibility for the dist runners (no wanted to deal with them) and felt I needed to get some semblance of what to do with HS kids that I had missed out on. So began the journey of my evolution of training ideals.
I would hit every library, used/new book store I could find in my quest to find information (where I was initally introduuced to Harry Wilson). Shockingly, I found some good stuff (an old beat up copy of Marty Liquori's 'Real Runner' is a classic that I found in the running 'hotbed' of Penticton). Once again as luck would have it we had an actual sports book store here in town (it no longer exists due, I'll assume, in large part to the used bookstores online). I'd been in a few times, but the old lightning struck one day when I saw a book that somehow caught my eye.
I used to sell running shoes and I remembered this guy who used to come in tell me about this great book he had read. Some story about a miler, and since I was a miler I remembered the storyline. Now I should preface this by saying I had been in fantastic shape to make the Games team, but had run very poorly in the races setup to get the standard. I was pretty defeated about what I needed to do and almost seemed lost and really lacking in confidence. While I was browsing this book I realized it was the same book this fellow had told me about. The book seemed interesting and had a boring, but fitting title....'once A Runner'. It would impact not only my running, but as I would find out...my life.
I think I read the book in two days. I simply couldn't put it down. Every thought or feeling I had ever had was down on paper. Every thought that lacked focus came into focus and I felt as though someone had finally given me the answers I craved. It talked about the 'miles of trials', the isolation of the distance runner, the personalities of all the track and field events and mostly the preparation and steely resolve that was required to be a successful runner.
The immediate result was a new found intensity. I did a workout with a teammate (6 x 3mins off 2mins on trails). He was in very good shape, but after he wondered what had gotten into me. As he said I didn't think I was going to be able to finish the workout after the first set...but we both did. The next week the same thing happened, until we reached the trials. I was completely focussed on the race, and ran as tough as I could (at that time against an up and coming Kevin Sullivan and an emerging international star in Graham Hood) make the team, but alas I had left all my eggs in one basket and failed to achieve the required standard (although I did get the required placing -3rd). I felt I needed one more time trialed race, but alas my luck had run out. But my lucky new book find would create and fortify an attitude that had remained dormant. I now had a vision (I just didn't know it would continue to last so long), that would lead me to a quest to find new books and to find out more about the story behind what I have come to refer to as my 'bible'. Sometimes one thing can change your life...
If there are a few things I've come to realize it's first and foremost the responsibility of the athlete to... well.... 'Take responsibility for his/her own training'. There is enough information out there on the internet or over the counter books (egs Daniels running formula) to gain at least some semblance of discussion with other athletes or coaches. Not saying go out and train blindly, but rather find out why you are doing something. As Arthur Lydiard said if your coach cannot tell you why you are doing something then it's time to find a new coach.
As I've mentioned before my own 'responsibility' period began when I initially started coaching younger athletes. (I can actually lay claim to 'coaching' 2 Canadian record holders/Olympians....more about that later). I had considered quitting the sport in my last year of Uni and actually taking up duathalons (there were big then...give me a break) was lucky enough to have some good races that year (won the NAIA 1500m title and finished 4th at the Can championships in 93). But I had a good enough year that I felt I had a good shot at making the 94 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. I was getting close enough (and once again lucky timing) to the standard that let me take a shot at making the team. As I would find out later in life actually having the chance to represent your country on home soil is an experience that no amount of money can buy.
I decided that my best way to make the team was to save up some money by living at home (my parents had moved to Kamloops) for the Fall/Winter and then coming back down in the spring. I had done this the year before with good success. For a period of time when I first finished Uni I lived with my folks in Kamloops and I even coached with both Shane Niemi and Dylan Armstrong. Please don't get me wrong...I take no credit for anything they've did...ever seen me sprint out of blocks or throw...yikes.....but what I did do was simply fill a hole when they were looking for a new club head coach. One of those serendipity things I talk about (where by some fluke someoen fills in a gap in your life that hopefully doesn't allow one to fall through the cracks).
I ended up taking responsibility for the dist runners (no wanted to deal with them) and felt I needed to get some semblance of what to do with HS kids that I had missed out on. So began the journey of my evolution of training ideals.
I would hit every library, used/new book store I could find in my quest to find information (where I was initally introduuced to Harry Wilson). Shockingly, I found some good stuff (an old beat up copy of Marty Liquori's 'Real Runner' is a classic that I found in the running 'hotbed' of Penticton). Once again as luck would have it we had an actual sports book store here in town (it no longer exists due, I'll assume, in large part to the used bookstores online). I'd been in a few times, but the old lightning struck one day when I saw a book that somehow caught my eye.
I used to sell running shoes and I remembered this guy who used to come in tell me about this great book he had read. Some story about a miler, and since I was a miler I remembered the storyline. Now I should preface this by saying I had been in fantastic shape to make the Games team, but had run very poorly in the races setup to get the standard. I was pretty defeated about what I needed to do and almost seemed lost and really lacking in confidence. While I was browsing this book I realized it was the same book this fellow had told me about. The book seemed interesting and had a boring, but fitting title....'once A Runner'. It would impact not only my running, but as I would find out...my life.
I think I read the book in two days. I simply couldn't put it down. Every thought or feeling I had ever had was down on paper. Every thought that lacked focus came into focus and I felt as though someone had finally given me the answers I craved. It talked about the 'miles of trials', the isolation of the distance runner, the personalities of all the track and field events and mostly the preparation and steely resolve that was required to be a successful runner.
The immediate result was a new found intensity. I did a workout with a teammate (6 x 3mins off 2mins on trails). He was in very good shape, but after he wondered what had gotten into me. As he said I didn't think I was going to be able to finish the workout after the first set...but we both did. The next week the same thing happened, until we reached the trials. I was completely focussed on the race, and ran as tough as I could (at that time against an up and coming Kevin Sullivan and an emerging international star in Graham Hood) make the team, but alas I had left all my eggs in one basket and failed to achieve the required standard (although I did get the required placing -3rd). I felt I needed one more time trialed race, but alas my luck had run out. But my lucky new book find would create and fortify an attitude that had remained dormant. I now had a vision (I just didn't know it would continue to last so long), that would lead me to a quest to find new books and to find out more about the story behind what I have come to refer to as my 'bible'. Sometimes one thing can change your life...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
'Coaching'...what does this word mean????
The question of a ‘coach’ seems to be a good place for any athlete to begin. I cannot say I’ve gone through a traditional approach as an athlete (egs strong HS or club situation). I was able to do some stuff with the Kelowna Track and field Club on a seasonal basis (and learned a ton in many regards), but I never had that sort of ‘mentorship/leadership’ day to day coaching. As a result I ended up with two things 1) lacking much basic running knowledge and 2) being independent.
Many young athletes probably face #1 as they have no local club or have a ‘nice’ HS coach who supports them, but knows very little in regards to training concepts. It’s very different now with the internet and ease of trading or finding resources. # 2 on the other hand I have always found to be an intriguing concept.
I had a great university coach (Mike Lonergan) at SFU who has easily been the most influential single person in my running life and it is from him who I have often found I share my basic coaching philosophies. Mike was not a rah rah kinda guy, but instead was laid back. Sometimes to the extreme (especially as I have come to realize I need a kick in the butt and need someone to ‘shake’ me up), but his attitude that you needed to make the decisions for yourself have always stuck with me.
So what then to look for or expect from a coach....the answer is ‘I don’t specifically know.’ What one gets from a coach and what one wants vary from person to person. There is also the variability of what level of experience and the knowledge the athlete has gained over time. The great peter Snell had a fallout with his legendary coach Arthur Lydiard before the 1964 Olympics, but they were able to rectify their issues before the games. The dissension between the two.... Lydiard’s training beliefs versus Snell’s belief that he had a better understanding of how his body reacted to training.
Some athletes want to be told exactly what to do as the great Villanova coach Jumbo Elliot said to Eammon Coghlan, ’Act like a horse. Be dumb. Just run.’ For some they want to just simply show and not have to think about what they will do today, tomorrow, etc.... I’ve seen athletes who need nothing that involves the creation of an actual workout and instead need a coach to calm their nerves, pump them up, be a friend, order them, scare them, inspire and even make life decisions. In the end a good coach probably has to be able to do all these things, but each athlete needs different things at different times. In the end the athlete really needs one simple thing...to be able to believe in what their coach tells them. Having said that I also feel there are three main tenets to coaching:
1) Do not hurt the athlete (either physically or mentally)
2) Each athlete is unique/different from others (both physically and mentally)
3) Make the training program suit the athlete, not the other way around (both physically and mentally).
The famous coaches like Lydiard felt that if an athlete knew why he/she was doing something then that was motivation enough. Others like Percy Cerutty (to say he was eccentric is an understatement) felt you had to run in a natural manner like an animal and that ‘pain is the purifier’. The Franz Stampfls (Roger Bannister’s coach) and Peter Coe’s of the world were purely scientific, while others like Bill Bowerman were seen as mentors and father figures.
My personal philosophy of coaching is along the lines of Steve Ovett’s coach Harry Wilson. His idea was to make the athlete independent of him. Those who have some knowledge of Ovett know that in the later stages of his career Wilson was a ‘sounding board’. But early on he was instrumental in Ovett’s development.
As a young athlete I was pretty ignorant and it wasn’t until I began coaching some HS aged athletes that my own training took on its own evolution. Being a history major I was more interested in what previous athletes and coaches had done (rather than scientific research) and to say I’ve gone out of my to research these things is an understatement. I read books, asked coaches and athletes who I respected questions, paid attention to how other athletes interacted with their coaches and generally tried to be as open to the varying coaching relationships as possible. In the end I took all those things in combination with my own personal experiences and created my own version...or maybe better defined as versions of what constitutes a good coach. And in the end I realized there was no one answer... instead I came to the conclusion that a coach needs to be a chameleon to different people and different situations.
One of the more influential coaches I’ve had had the pleasure of dealing with wasn’t even a coach of mine, but rather was a coach whose athletes I competed against. His name... Joe Vigil. Many will recognize this name as the former coach of Deena Drossin/Kastor (the oly bronze medalist) and former Wld XC silver medalist Pat Porter, but he was also the coach of Adams State College (now a D 2 NCAA powerhouse who were in the NAIA). Coach V always had great teams, but his success and development rate was unbelievable. I would ask his athletes about him and they would do anything for him. Even when I saw Coach V recently he was able to fill me in on what many were doing as they still keep in touch with him. His ‘Vigilosophy’ of making running a simple, yet ‘satisfaction’ (he felt running wasn’t something you liked, but rather something you felt satisfied doing) oriented process has always struck me as a core running idea. The stories of how his guys would show up (and not know their workout) and ask what they were doing and he would say a 10 mile time trial...see you guys in an hour sort of approach was something that inspired me.
About 10 years or so ago I heard that coach V had written a training book. I was lucky enough to see him at the Mt Sac relays with a HS guy I was coaching at the time. I saw Coach V in the stands and he recognized me from my SFU days. I was fortunate enough to chat with him for a bit. Even luckier yet was when I asked him how I could get a copy of his book and he had a few in his backpack. It’s one of the prized possessions in my running library. Although one would assume Coach V’s book would be scientific (he has a PHD in exer physiology) it spends a significant amount of time on creating the proper training environment and the requirements of the athlete. This sort of attitude has always stuck with me as what really good coaches do....they create the training environment.
In my own short coaching resume, when I have been more hands on as opposed to an advisor, I learned early on that different people need to be treated in different ways. I was lucky enough to work with Bruno Mazzotta when he was in HS. Now he was a talented athlete (he won Can Jr 5000m as a HS aged athlete), but at the time he was easy to prepare for races. He simply was ‘ice cold’ (he didn’t need me around for his races) and we could do a proper theoretical taper. I also worked with his brother in his later HS years, but he was the opposite. I had to keep his mind off his racing and he required doing workouts till the last possible moment to make him relaxed (we didn’t do anything big in the days leading up to his races but we had to be on the track doing things like 100s and 200s and he needed a more hands on approach). What this meant is that the ‘art’ of coaching became relevant as both guys required different things both physically and more important mentally to race well.
I always felt that good training partners are as relevant or even more relevant as a good coach, but without the coach creating that environment for successful training partners, things can be difficult. And that is where my attitude that a coach cannot treat any athlete like the other. I was recently deemed ‘uncoachable’ in a conversation over some beers. I understood what was being said, but I couldn’t disagree more.... it’s just that my needs aren’t the same as other athletes. I have always been very concerned with the process of training ( I recently heard an online interview from US Wld championship marathoner Nate Jenkins and I realized I had found a soul mate in this regards) and finding things out on my own, therefore having someone devise a training plan/workouts for me is not what I need... in fact I find that almost demotivates me.
Unlike Jumbo Elliott’s ‘horse’ approach I’ve always enjoyed finding things out on my own. I realized a long time ago that I run my best when I have more control over my own running, and therefore am low maintenance in that regards. For anyone who wants more control I would bet I drive them nuts, but my needs have become more mental than anything over time, or may be a better way to describe it is that I need more ‘art’ to push my buttons. As I’ve grown older I’ve mellowed out and have found that I really don’t need someone creating a training program for me, but rather I need an adviser (ala Wilson/Ovett) who can 'tweak' my training and get me mentally prepared to run. My biggest running Achilles (besides the real Achilles) has been my inability to get ‘pumped up’ for less meaningful races. I’ve almost always performed well in championship races, but have run sub-par in non championship races. When I was younger I would create ‘enemies’ to get me focussed, but as I’ve grown older I have had more and more problems creating that tension that I need to race. In that regards it’s more about ‘pushing’ my buttons. But that is much more mental and takes time for a coach to find out.
As always my moral... if you’re a coach then find that way to ‘manipulate’ (I mean that in a positive way) the training environment to suit the needs of the athletes (in every way possible) and if you are an athlete you need to find a coach who understands what you need (or is willing to accommodate your needs in every way possible).
Many young athletes probably face #1 as they have no local club or have a ‘nice’ HS coach who supports them, but knows very little in regards to training concepts. It’s very different now with the internet and ease of trading or finding resources. # 2 on the other hand I have always found to be an intriguing concept.
I had a great university coach (Mike Lonergan) at SFU who has easily been the most influential single person in my running life and it is from him who I have often found I share my basic coaching philosophies. Mike was not a rah rah kinda guy, but instead was laid back. Sometimes to the extreme (especially as I have come to realize I need a kick in the butt and need someone to ‘shake’ me up), but his attitude that you needed to make the decisions for yourself have always stuck with me.
So what then to look for or expect from a coach....the answer is ‘I don’t specifically know.’ What one gets from a coach and what one wants vary from person to person. There is also the variability of what level of experience and the knowledge the athlete has gained over time. The great peter Snell had a fallout with his legendary coach Arthur Lydiard before the 1964 Olympics, but they were able to rectify their issues before the games. The dissension between the two.... Lydiard’s training beliefs versus Snell’s belief that he had a better understanding of how his body reacted to training.
Some athletes want to be told exactly what to do as the great Villanova coach Jumbo Elliot said to Eammon Coghlan, ’Act like a horse. Be dumb. Just run.’ For some they want to just simply show and not have to think about what they will do today, tomorrow, etc.... I’ve seen athletes who need nothing that involves the creation of an actual workout and instead need a coach to calm their nerves, pump them up, be a friend, order them, scare them, inspire and even make life decisions. In the end a good coach probably has to be able to do all these things, but each athlete needs different things at different times. In the end the athlete really needs one simple thing...to be able to believe in what their coach tells them. Having said that I also feel there are three main tenets to coaching:
1) Do not hurt the athlete (either physically or mentally)
2) Each athlete is unique/different from others (both physically and mentally)
3) Make the training program suit the athlete, not the other way around (both physically and mentally).
The famous coaches like Lydiard felt that if an athlete knew why he/she was doing something then that was motivation enough. Others like Percy Cerutty (to say he was eccentric is an understatement) felt you had to run in a natural manner like an animal and that ‘pain is the purifier’. The Franz Stampfls (Roger Bannister’s coach) and Peter Coe’s of the world were purely scientific, while others like Bill Bowerman were seen as mentors and father figures.
My personal philosophy of coaching is along the lines of Steve Ovett’s coach Harry Wilson. His idea was to make the athlete independent of him. Those who have some knowledge of Ovett know that in the later stages of his career Wilson was a ‘sounding board’. But early on he was instrumental in Ovett’s development.
As a young athlete I was pretty ignorant and it wasn’t until I began coaching some HS aged athletes that my own training took on its own evolution. Being a history major I was more interested in what previous athletes and coaches had done (rather than scientific research) and to say I’ve gone out of my to research these things is an understatement. I read books, asked coaches and athletes who I respected questions, paid attention to how other athletes interacted with their coaches and generally tried to be as open to the varying coaching relationships as possible. In the end I took all those things in combination with my own personal experiences and created my own version...or maybe better defined as versions of what constitutes a good coach. And in the end I realized there was no one answer... instead I came to the conclusion that a coach needs to be a chameleon to different people and different situations.
One of the more influential coaches I’ve had had the pleasure of dealing with wasn’t even a coach of mine, but rather was a coach whose athletes I competed against. His name... Joe Vigil. Many will recognize this name as the former coach of Deena Drossin/Kastor (the oly bronze medalist) and former Wld XC silver medalist Pat Porter, but he was also the coach of Adams State College (now a D 2 NCAA powerhouse who were in the NAIA). Coach V always had great teams, but his success and development rate was unbelievable. I would ask his athletes about him and they would do anything for him. Even when I saw Coach V recently he was able to fill me in on what many were doing as they still keep in touch with him. His ‘Vigilosophy’ of making running a simple, yet ‘satisfaction’ (he felt running wasn’t something you liked, but rather something you felt satisfied doing) oriented process has always struck me as a core running idea. The stories of how his guys would show up (and not know their workout) and ask what they were doing and he would say a 10 mile time trial...see you guys in an hour sort of approach was something that inspired me.
About 10 years or so ago I heard that coach V had written a training book. I was lucky enough to see him at the Mt Sac relays with a HS guy I was coaching at the time. I saw Coach V in the stands and he recognized me from my SFU days. I was fortunate enough to chat with him for a bit. Even luckier yet was when I asked him how I could get a copy of his book and he had a few in his backpack. It’s one of the prized possessions in my running library. Although one would assume Coach V’s book would be scientific (he has a PHD in exer physiology) it spends a significant amount of time on creating the proper training environment and the requirements of the athlete. This sort of attitude has always stuck with me as what really good coaches do....they create the training environment.
In my own short coaching resume, when I have been more hands on as opposed to an advisor, I learned early on that different people need to be treated in different ways. I was lucky enough to work with Bruno Mazzotta when he was in HS. Now he was a talented athlete (he won Can Jr 5000m as a HS aged athlete), but at the time he was easy to prepare for races. He simply was ‘ice cold’ (he didn’t need me around for his races) and we could do a proper theoretical taper. I also worked with his brother in his later HS years, but he was the opposite. I had to keep his mind off his racing and he required doing workouts till the last possible moment to make him relaxed (we didn’t do anything big in the days leading up to his races but we had to be on the track doing things like 100s and 200s and he needed a more hands on approach). What this meant is that the ‘art’ of coaching became relevant as both guys required different things both physically and more important mentally to race well.
I always felt that good training partners are as relevant or even more relevant as a good coach, but without the coach creating that environment for successful training partners, things can be difficult. And that is where my attitude that a coach cannot treat any athlete like the other. I was recently deemed ‘uncoachable’ in a conversation over some beers. I understood what was being said, but I couldn’t disagree more.... it’s just that my needs aren’t the same as other athletes. I have always been very concerned with the process of training ( I recently heard an online interview from US Wld championship marathoner Nate Jenkins and I realized I had found a soul mate in this regards) and finding things out on my own, therefore having someone devise a training plan/workouts for me is not what I need... in fact I find that almost demotivates me.
Unlike Jumbo Elliott’s ‘horse’ approach I’ve always enjoyed finding things out on my own. I realized a long time ago that I run my best when I have more control over my own running, and therefore am low maintenance in that regards. For anyone who wants more control I would bet I drive them nuts, but my needs have become more mental than anything over time, or may be a better way to describe it is that I need more ‘art’ to push my buttons. As I’ve grown older I’ve mellowed out and have found that I really don’t need someone creating a training program for me, but rather I need an adviser (ala Wilson/Ovett) who can 'tweak' my training and get me mentally prepared to run. My biggest running Achilles (besides the real Achilles) has been my inability to get ‘pumped up’ for less meaningful races. I’ve almost always performed well in championship races, but have run sub-par in non championship races. When I was younger I would create ‘enemies’ to get me focussed, but as I’ve grown older I have had more and more problems creating that tension that I need to race. In that regards it’s more about ‘pushing’ my buttons. But that is much more mental and takes time for a coach to find out.
As always my moral... if you’re a coach then find that way to ‘manipulate’ (I mean that in a positive way) the training environment to suit the needs of the athletes (in every way possible) and if you are an athlete you need to find a coach who understands what you need (or is willing to accommodate your needs in every way possible).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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