Posts in the Track Category at , Page 4

There Aren’t Any Ref’s for Running: Rules of the track and running etiquette

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

There aren’t any ref’s in track or cross country, or road races for that matter, but should there be?

Check out my little bro on the left, yo! 😉

I know there are plenty of elbows being jabbed in some of those tight, jostling packs of harriers. Sure there is a general code of conduct but truth be told some of those European and high stakes track races can get downright cagey. Runners fighting for their personal space, positioning, afraid of getting boxed in and a part of racing is being tactical and making sure that you ARE in the position to make a move if you need to be.

How far is too far though, and when is being an assertive or ‘defensive’ runner crossing the line into being just a downright boxer or ‘sketchy’ runner?We’ve seen runners go down during a race, of course there are the accidents, but sometimes there can be a few brow raises and fingers pointed.

Man down!! 😛

Elbows and runners right up on your heels isn’t only relegated to world record paced runs and it’s something anyone at any age can deal with. The first time I got a swift elbow to the side on a high school cross country course I was a little shocked, then mad, but later realized that it wasn’t necessarily personal and that if you’re all in it to win it you need to be prepared to fight for your positioning.

There is a difference between being a running bully and carving yourself out a good position…you don’t want to be all set to dig for the extra gear but be stuck right up by the rail with no way to pass your competition!

* Defensive runner: the gun goes off and you get out fast enough so as not to get stuck at the back, naturally there is a bigger group at the onset so be prepared for a little hustle and bustle. The longer the race usually it’s not as crucial to establish a spot at the onset for fear of the ‘box in’, but here are times where you might have to have those arms swinging just a little wider and be extra aware of the people around you and how much space there is between you guys.

* Running bully: it’s down to a two person race, both runners are making a drive for the homestretch, and if an arm goes out to obviously stop from being passed…that’s not cool. The same might be said for the lead runner purposefully running extra wide to make it even harder to be passed. It’s not illegal, but not exactly something to be proud of.

Running and racing doesn’t really come with a manual and I’m sure we’ve all seen some things where we wish a ref could be called to order. Blow a whistle, toss a flag, or if nothing else point a finger to call the offender a poor sport. 😉

Own your space but don't kick someone down to get it...hehe. 😛

There are sometimes race short cutters who think they can pull a fast one…too bad these guys actually wound up in jail! hehe. Being a female I’ve had road races where macho guys refuse to get ‘chicked’ (I love this term, thank you Britt for teaching it to me!) and weave around so I have a doubly tough time passing them.

No, there aren’t ref’s for running and I’d say that’s generally fine for us genial runners but every now and again I think we all should be able to shout out FOUL on a particularly annoying offender…if for no other reason than to alert them that we know they stepped out of line and if they do end up winning maybe we can call it a ‘tainted’ win…hehe.

Okay, now is my little moment for being a proud sister…the referees there are at the top are my littlest brother and his date to the Sadie Hawkins dance. So that’s how this little sportsmanship tangent my brain went on came to be.

In running and in life there are often written down rules and the unsaid codes of conduct. Sometimes don’t you wish we could have a whistle and a flag in our back pockets so we could whip them out? How about an ear-splitting *toot toot* at the random runner you come up to on the sidewalk, you’re obviously going at a faster clip, but then they huff and puff trying to ‘race your easy run’…you could then let them know they are being annoying and it’s totally fine for everyone to run their own pace and just let you pass them! Then we could also toss the red flag up at the guy who obviously has 24 items in the Express Line at the supermarket. 😉

1) Have you ever had an encounter of a ‘mean racer’ or race bully? What’s the oddest or most unsportsmanlike behavior you’ve ever seen? And you don’t have to limit it to races, maybe something that’s happened on just one of your runs.
A woman in a baby jogger short cut a race to come out the winner. I mean, power to women pushing jogging strollers, but it’s a co-ed race and did she really think she’d get away with that one? Hehe.

2) Is there a tip you have for being an assertive racer and getting a good position in a race?
I guess a tip I have is to try and pass on a straight-away; that way if you have to just run extra wide to make a pass or a move you won’t need to be tacking on even more extra distance by going wider over a the curve or a turn.

3) What would you blow a whistle on in a recent ‘life’ situation?

4) Did you ever go to a themed dance and what did you dress up as?

A Bird’s Take on the Olympic Games…

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

London, England
A Tree Just Outside the Olympic Stadium

A mamma bird and a pappa bird sit in their nest. “Move over, Hal, your wing is in my side,” chirped an annoyed Lydia.

“Sorry, Dear,” a belittled Hal answered as he hopped outside the nest entirely and onto the branch. The look of a defeated husband just tossed outside of his ~~bed~~ house splayed across his face. Between them and the three eggs there really wasn’t all the much room in the nest at all these days.

“And what in the world is all that noise?!” shrieked Lydia. It was to be one of those mornings established Hal to himself.

“I was curious about all of the hulla-ba-lub myself,” remarked Hal.

“Well, don’t just sit there and dally the day away,” started Lydia, “they don’t come up with those stupid ‘the early bird gets the worm’ sayings for nothing, do they?”

Hal flit off the branch as instructed, secretly not all that displeased with the opportunity to get the he** out of the nest.

* * *

Three days later two little baby birds had emerged, one little egg remained, and the hulla-ba-lub had been upgraded to a melee.

“Feed me! Feed me!” the everconstant din from the twins’ mouths.

“Hal, what in the world is going on over there! This is driving me INSANE!!!” Lydia’s temper had been upgraded as well, Hal hadn’t found a word that really could fully describe her mood…it seemed no word could give this kind of mood justice.

“I’ve spent a lot of time watching, Dear,” Hal attempted to placate her today, “and I do have to say it’s been rather entertaining.”

“Entertaining is it?” Lydia seemed on the verge of being slightly interested or headed down the road of a volatile explosion.

Hal proceeded with caution, “Well, yes. It seems these bi-peds are having a contest of some sorts. The rules are a little wacky but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

“Do tell,” Lydia seemed to be on the side of interested.

“What they do?!” squeaked two chicks.

“Looks like they have rounds,” started in Hal. “Over there is where you start, way off in the grass fields over there. When one of the really big bi-peds has to find a rock. They chuck the rock as far as they can and try to grunt as loudly as possible. I assume the louder the grunt, the stronger the person, and the more points they get.”

“But the ones who can’t find a rock to throw get a penalty and they are corralled over there to that red oval. This is their first shot to try and make back some points. They line they up on one of those straight-a-ways and a man fires a gun into the air. The gun gets fired once and they run the full length of that straight-a-way to get away. I assume the guy who makes it there last gets shot as punishment.”

“Humph,” Lydia prompts Hal to speed up.

“The ones who didn’t get there first or last get shuffled on to the next round. They go into the middle of the red oval and start doing jumps. They really look like a bunch of trained circus dogs, you know, we saw those come to town last year…what fun was that?! I really thought Fido…”

“HAL!”

“Sorry, back on track. They jump into a sandy pit and get as dirty as possible and then they try and jump up over this beam thing. The funniest part is that in the end they try and fly…you know it’s sad really how pathetic those land walkers are. I feel bad for them, but at some point they really just have to accept they aren’t meant to fly.”

“How are they trying this time? I hope not as ridiculous as those metal birds, or those balloons! The big balloons are the best, I’d like to just pop one one day!” Lydia ~~cackled~~ laughed.

“They use this big long pole and hoist themselves into the air. It’s a pretty lame attempt as they don’t even really make it very far and land on a pillow.”

“See, they already knew they would fail.”

“I suppose. Well, by this point the bi-peds have been given lots of chances to try and win some kind of event. The person who wins an event of course doesn’t have to go through the humiliation of the next round. There are still a few pathetic ones that even after the throwing, gun dashing, hopping, and fly-trying are still coming up short.”

“Those must be some real losers,” remarks Lydia.

“Losers, losers, losers!” echo the twins.

“Losers indeed. They get punished though. The last round is where the bi-peds have to run around and around the red oval, some of them until they collapse.”

“They just fall down?” asks Lydia, a little glee in her voice.

“Maybe they are just dizzy from running in circles? I’m not totally sure, or maybe their weak little legs are tired.”

“But how do they find out who wins in that event?” asks Lydia.

“Aha, this one, well, I told you these bi-peds are a little kooky. The same guy from earlier shoots the gun, they make them run all these laps and suddenly one of them rings a bell…”

“Bell, bell, bell!” chant the twins.

“Well, the bell means that they have to run one more time around the red oval. That’s their last shot to try and make it around the red oval and they all seem to be pretty motivated to pick it up if they can…I even saw a few of them shove the other one with their featherless wings. Sometimes their skinny legs get tangled up and they fall…”

“Why are the ones running in circles so skinny?” asks Lydia.

“I think by this point going through all the rounds tires them out. Anyways, the bi-ped who makes it to the white line after that final lap wins and is safe.” finishes Hal.

“What happens to the rest of them?” asks Lydia, she is the most entertained Hal’s seen her in months.

“Well, they look pretty glum, I think they all get tossed into a pit of fire.” says Hal.

“Fire? Really?”

“Yea, they bring in this blazing torch at the beginning of this game thing. They keep it there burning in the corner I think as an incentive, or twisted reminder for the bi-peds to try their hardest. The losers must just get torched,” observes Hal.

Char-broiled.

Before Lydia has a chance to return a comment one of the rocks the bi-peds had been hurling goes long, much longer than any of the rest. It slams into the bottom of the tree. The third egg cracks open and a third chick pops out. He immediately starts screaming for food. Lydia starts screaming at Hal to get food. Hal flies off in search of more worms…he thinks to himself, “Oh well, sometimes it’s better outside the nest…maybe I’ll even get to see this big pit of fire.”

Battling the Race Day Nerves — Use the Nerves to Your Advantage

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

Sunday again already, eh? Well, we are approaching the ‘GO TIME’ for races here; whether it’s the high schoolers gearing up and going through all the sectional/regional races, the college athletes doing the same, the road racers continually make the circuit, and of course the marathons. We have NYC Marathon fast approaching, other ones going on all around the world, and then come January the US Olympic Trials…exciting stuff!

Though, whether you are racing in a huge meet or a low-key fun run, there is something special about putting on that race bib. Even if you are going into a race using it more as a workout or a tune-up, you still get that little buzz right before that gun goes off.

Races wake up that competitive beast just a little more…if tough workouts are just poking it with a stick than having a gun go off is like kicking him in the mouth. I’ve talked about how people have different perspectives on races: for some they just want to survive, others don’t care a lick about time and are all about the fun, and then there are those who are out for time and want to push themselves to their absolute limits.

Any and all of those goals are valid and great; but if you do fall into that last category and each of these races are upping the ante: read as you need to hit a certain qualifying mark, place as high as possible to make it to the next round, and there is a lot on the line, you CAN’T let the nerves get the better of you.

You want that buzz of adrenaline, the prick of your hairs as you crouch at the line, because that’s all a part of racing. But you don’t want to take it to the extreme and sabotage yourself. Don’t ‘think’ yourself out of a race.

Out-thinking it can happen even days or weeks before you start your warm-up. For whatever reason I think I was pretty good at not psyching myself out to the point where it ruined my race before it even started; I think it was because of a few things, and I’ll just share a few tips or pointers that might work for you:

* It’s just a ‘workout-plus’: the thing is, I get nervous before hard workouts too. I can’t really put into words why exactly, part of it is because I want to do well of course, part of it is that I know it will hurt but I want to test my mental toughness and see how far I can push that. I am a big believer in that being a mentally gritty and tough runner is one of the best attributes to have; I respect that probably the most in other people. How to use this for the race then: just think of this race as you would a tough workout; yes, there is more ‘on the line’ but just like in hard track sessions, go out there and give it the best you’ve got. The ‘plus’ part comes from the extra boost the excitement, adrenaline, and competition will give you; usually that will happen on it’s own and will help push you a little harder.

* Go in with multiple goals: the races I’ve been the most nervous for were the ones where I wasn’t exactly sure where my fitness was. Maybe I was coming off on an injury, perhaps I hadn’t raced for awhile; whatever the case if you haven’t built up enough workouts to gauge your level of fitness that can be daunting. In this instance, I’d suggest looking at what workouts you HAVE done, (here is where a coach helps a LOT as they can help you predict and set a goal for the race) and set a few goals. Set one for what you would consider ‘acceptable’, another a little bit higher, and then have a third that you might think is a reach but you still have to put it out there. Now, the three goals things still works even if you are in good shape; you always want to have a third goal where you really put your neck on the line and set it; even if you don’t tell anyone but yourself.

* Carry the confidence: now if you DO know you are ready to rock that race, then I’d suggest thinking back on your key workouts. The ones where everything clicked, you did well, and they are proof you are in good shape; so then when there is the point in the race where it hurts like a beast you can tell yourself, “Okay, I did such-and-such workout and that hurt way more, I CAN do this.

* Power-down, Power-up: leading up to the ‘big race’ just try to push it out of your mind with about two days to go. If you stress out too much about it, what happens is you will physically just wear yourself out. Your body will produce this hormone called, cortisol, which will, come race day, leave you wiped out. Not only that, your mind will have been stewing and could just work against you. So set your goals in advance, then tune out the days leading up…flip the brain back on when you are starting your warm-up because then it’s GO time.

* Relax: ummm, thanks for the obvious advice? Haha…no but seriously, I know we all handle nerves differently; for me I used to sort of turn into this weirdo-yabber mouth. I was the one on the line saying good luck to people or making some dorky joke; for whatever reason that helped me let off some steam by keeping it light. There is a limit of course, you don’t want to be outright rude because some racers are the opposite and like to be completely stoic, so give them their quite. I respect that everyone works in their own way; for the relaxing though, it helps to sometimes just shake out your arms because your shoulders can be up to your ears without you knowing it.

We're equal opportunity here, here's one for the guys. 🙂

I hope a few of these things help. Lastly, if you’re running with a team, use the camaraderie to your advantage, not your undoing. Yes, let it propell you to pick off that last person down the stretch, to really reach…but don’t let the opposite happen where you just absorb all that pressure to perform. The funny thing about it, the more you focus on ‘wanting to do well’ that is usually when you are working against yourself the most. Often times the races or times I’ve felt my best is when I wasn’t thinking about ‘wanting to do well’ but instead just letting it happen.

I’ll share a quote my mom used to always tell me when I would be nervous: “If you weren’t nervous, then I’d be worried; that means you don’t care.”

1) Best way you’ve found to channel nerves to your advantage?

2) Do you get nervous before key workouts?

3) Did you race this weekend? If so…share!

And Then The Police Kicked Me Off the Track

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Apparently I must be rather threatening while running 800’s around the track? I guess that high school tracks are off-limits during school hours, but I was told by plenty they have seen people using the track if no classes were using it. I know I’ve used other tracks with no problems in the past and that when I was in high school, community members would even walk their dogs on the track.

Maybe I would have been more threatening like this? Art Credit: Cait Chock Designs

Well, those were different times I guess and what with all the recent school abductions by random runners doing intervals, I can see their upping the alert status to Code Red.

Snarky sarcasm aside, looking back it seems a bit comical, though at the time I was ROYALLY mad because they didn’t even let me finish the full interval before making me leave. I did in fact pant, “Can I just make it about 130 meters to the line?” That was answered with a swift “no” but when I saw the actual police officer and car I figured it best to in fact vacate the track.

I was bummed, but I then finished my remaining rep’s on the streets around the neighborhood. Oh well, no more track during school hours.

A few things came to my mind here. 1) it’s funny how ‘normal people’ probably thought it was completely insane of me to even ask to finish those last 130 meters, but I think if the officer had been a runner he maybe, just maybe, might have offered me the courtesy.

2) What in the heck kind of hazard could I be; I obviously wasn’t there to cause mischief, only running in circles torturing myself.

3) The police, was that a slight over-reaction?

4) Mostly I was bummed because it was the first time I was doing a workout on the track in a long while and was curious what the outcome would be.

My mug shot.

Oh well, maybe if I wasn’t in fact so focused on finishing my workout I would have pushed it to see how long it would have taken for them to cuff and haul me away. Would I have been able to do a few more rep’s, would the cuffs slide off of my sweaty arms, would it be a comical game of cat and mouse as they chased me around the track? Would my times then be a little faster because of that? Mostly I think if I had to get a criminal record, how funny would it be to have it read: hauled off for illegal abuse of the track?

1) Have you ever been kicked off of a track?

2) Do you like 800’s repeats?
I of course like tempo’s the most, probably mile repeats after that, but I’ve gotten to be on a friendly basis with 800’s and like them.

3) How is your week rocking along and what was/will be your workout?

Setting a Warm-up Routine – You’ll Run Better and Feel Better Doing it

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Cait — 13 Comments ↓

I don’t want to waste energy. I’m really late and the gun is JUST about to go off. I don’t really need to. I’m just plain lazy.

All reasons, ahem excuses, that people give for not wanting to do a warm-up. The energy wasting one is something that I’m sure even the most seasoned vet is guilty of when they first started out, I knew I fell for that one in my first few meets. Or I guess back then I was probably also just lazy too. Though this is one of the biggest fallacies even though common sense might lead you to plead a case for it.

One of these doesn't belong, can you guess which one? 🙂

Physiologically your body CAN’T perform at its best going from 0 to 60 the second the gun goes off. Sadly we are not a high performance sports car that all the macho guys drive, peel out, and feel like ‘the man.’ Rather, our muscles burn glucose (energy) most efficiently if you gradually work into that faster pace. Not only will you be running faster if you’ve warmed up but it will actually feel easier too. [the same rules apply for the actual race, and that’s why it’s smarter to run negative splits; go out at one pace and pick up the pace as the race progresses, make that closing mile/lap your fastest]

What constitutes a good warm-up? Well, that is different for everyone and it’s a matter of finding one that fits with you. Still, there are some general ingredients to add to this recipe; I’ll just put out what worked for me when I was racing. Another couple of things; the other major benefit of having a warm-up routine set out is once you find the perfect recipe for YOU, stick to it. Keeping the same routine helps eliminate variables for the race but it also helps mentally.

Art Credit: Cait Chock Designs

The routine helps keep some of those nerves at bay. For me, the day before and of a race I’d try to limit thinking about the race too much to avoid getting overly nervous. But once I started my warm-up that’s when I started to really focus again. During my warm-up I’d mentally run through my race plan, think about staying relaxed, calm, and remembering what I wanted to accomplish for the race.

The routine, my body knew it and could go through it on auto-pilot, it was known, familiar, and that was reassuring. It also allowed my mind to focus on the race at hand. Another reason why I was able to run through it all on auto-pilot is I did basically the same thing before hard workouts. Just as with other aspects of training, come race day you want to limit any variables. So practice what you’ll be doing come the actual day.

Finally, with timing, I usually liked to start 50-45 minutes before I had to get to the line. I’m also really anal, and would rather err on the side of being early to the line rather than feeling rushed or heaven forbid not make it!

Here is a little sample or rough guideline to get you started:

* 2 miles easy: Keep this easy and you want to actually be overly warm if anything; that’s why even in hot conditions you’ll see people layered up in sweats. You want those muscles as warm as possible before you strip down to that singlet. People vary how long they run, but you want it to be at least 10 minutes.

* Drills and stretching: After the running I’d do some static stretches then move into a set routine of drills (think quick feet, A skips, butt kickers) to get my feet moving fast and work on turnover. I’d then do dynamic stretches, mostly leg swings. Keep the sweat on and I liked to keep moving around.

* Strides: After drills I’d then do 4-6 strides, 60-100 meters long. The last few I’d do faster than race pace, staying controlled and keeping good form.

* Stripping down and spiking up: Time to take off the sweats, I’d usually be so hot by this point I couldn’t wait to get rid of all the sweats. Then change into the shoes I’d be racing in.

* Head to the line and last strides: Then time to get to the line, I’d usually do one or two last short strides and then time to go!

Art credit: Cait Chock Designs - Inspiration: Mamma Nappy's amazing cookies! 🙂

I know that cross country season is well underway, so good luck to all those racing! I also know there are tons of people signing up and training for road races; for some it are their first races and I thought about posting this because I had been hearing from some that they didn’t even know what a warm-up was, so I hope this can help them out and do their best come the big day. 🙂

1) Do you do a warm-up routine before your races or hard workouts? If so, what?

2) Name one reason people may not want to warm-up?
The first time I went to a junior high meet (mind you I didn’t train at all before, that was an ugly 400…haha) my mom suggested it but I thought she was insane. I also didn’t want to look like a weirdo being the only kid running around before the actual race. Gotta love self-consciousness and peer pressure.

3) Happy Wednesday, what was your workout?
11 mile run outside and core, I’m slowly feeling better going sans tready…yay. 🙂

This Runnerchick Can’t Jump, BUT Plyometrics are Your Friend – Part I Bounds & Skips

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

I don’t jump. I can’t really, anything that I do would only qualify as a hop at best. In my one-time attempt at the high jump in junior high PE, I made the running start, I tried to clear the bar, failed miserably, and then proceeded to roll off the back end of the mat and onto the concrete. Nice.

Epic fail.

I’m pretty sure, actually I know it to be true, that the correlation between my lack of any speed and jumping ability are interrelated. It’s because I don’t have a single, not one, fast twitch muscle fiber in my body.

I’ve worked on it though in the past, diligently like a good little coachable athlete. That entailed 200’s to boot, hill work, pulling weights while I ran (this was hilarious and I wish I had pictures…anecdote for another day perhaps), weight room, and of course plyo’s.

Plyometrics. Short, all-out bursts of exertion, anaerobic, all fast-twitch baby. Hopping, jumping, bounding, leaping, you get the picture. Typically this is what you’d think of as only ‘sprinter’ or field eventer (is that a word?) work, but if you’re a distance runner and you turn a blind eye to plyo’s you’d be missing out.

[Actually, plyometrics are great for anyone, and I semi-cringe in writing this because in my writing of this I’m not trying to cater to the weight-loss masses or turn into one of ‘those blogs’ where they talk about working out for the sole reason to lose weight, but here is a quick fact: plyometrics are among certain activities that rev up your metabolism more-so than just going out for a steady run. They create something called the ‘afterburn effect’ too which keeps your metabolism elevated for hours after your workout is done as well; this is similar to what happens after you do a hard, interval session. Plyo’s will also give you more definition and improve anyone’s athletic abilities if done right, that’s why so many sports teams incorporate them into their training.]

Other things you need to know about plyo’s,( other than that they hurt…hehe) is that the aim is quality over quantity. Here it’s all about giving it your ALL for the number of rep’s that you do, and when you first start out you only want to begin with one set of each exercise and slowly build up. The thing is, you might not feel like you worked ‘hard’ enough your first few times out, but the next day and those that follow, that is when you’ll feel the soreness.

The reasoning behind why you need to do each one precise and not get sloppy is tri-fold: if you do them with poor form you’ll get into a bad habit and then repeating that is only instilling poor muscle memory, if you aren’t doing them right you’re not reaping the full benefits, and finally, you’ll get hurt. Plyo’s, if you do them right will make you more injury resistant but if you do them wrong you can easily hurt yourself, pull something, tear something, no good. So if you can only do a few correctly, stop there and wait until you’re strong enough to add more; don’t just do five ones perfectly and then ten more junky ones, it’s not worth it. This is why it’s smart to have someone watch you the first few times to make sure you’re doing them right.

Plyometrics take it out of your body too and the best times to do them are early in the season, during the off-season, or during what would be considered a base period. Typically you wouldn’t do them during racing season, by then you’ve pretty much put in all the work anyways. So, early-season timing is a great time to bust them out…and lookie here, that’s where we are. 🙂

There are tons and tons of different plyo’s you can do, so this one will be a series. First on the agenda will be bounding and skipping. Bounding is sort of like exaggerated running, you want to explode off of the ground here. Skipping, don’t be shy boys, it’s not just for girls on the schoolyard. The difference between the two is that for bounds you land on the opposite foot, for skipping you will land on the same foot as you started.

For this series you will aim to make each distance of bounds 30-40 meters in length; not too long because you want to make each bound exact, hard, and you’ll be burning by the end. Start out with one set of each the first week, you can do two the second, and work up to four sets. Plyo’s should be done at most three times a week and on non-sequential days. Don’t do them the day before a hard workout and probably not the day before your long run either; doing them after your hard sessions is one suggestion. That way your easy, recovery days allow you to do just that.

*Bounds for distance: The aim here is to cover as much distance as you can with each bound, think of eating up that ground below you. You want to get as much air between those legs; when you toe off, extend the opposite leg as much as you can before landing.

*Bounds for height: Here you want to get as far off the ground as possible, all about the altitude. Try to get in as many bounds as you can in the distance because each one will be shorter, just make it higher.

* Skipping for distance: Similar to the bounds, but this time with skipping; really push to see how far each skip can get you.

* Skipping for height: Try to see how many skips you can get; and really reach for those clouds, friends. 😉

* A-Skip: This one is about speed and agility rather than trying to go for distance or height. When you skip, you want to be extra mindful of coordinating your opposite arm and leg to go up and down at the same time. Lift your knee up for the skip, get it up and then back down to the ground as fast as you can while still keeping the motion controlled. Again, if you have to slow it down at first to do it RIGHT that’s much better than doing them faster but sloppily.

* B-Skip: This one is different from the A in that you will extend your leg as you skip. When you’ve gotten your leg to the top of your ‘skip’, kick your foot out in front of you, and then pull it back as you cycle back and land. As you get better at these you want to increase the speed in which you do them.

A few last things: As you work up to more sets of these, alternate the foot that you start off with. So if you did your first set of bounds leading with the right leg, do the second set leading with the left.

Finally, give yourself a full recovery between each set. With distance training it’s our tendency to think that shorter rest is better and will get us more fit, but we’re not tapping into our cardio here, it’s all anaerobic and for this you really want to make sure you’re fully rested and recovered before going into the next exercise. That way you can really put your all into each set and make it your best!

Alright folks, I’m out…but for my friends here that aren’t necessarily on a team, plyo’s are for everyone because it will make you stronger, faster, and improve your running. Then, again under my aforementioned disclaimer, it will give you some awesome definition too and that metabolic boost…all the more reason why refueling immediately afterwards is imperative!

1) Jumping, leaping, bounding, plyo’s; love them or hate them? Or have you never tried them?

Not going to lie, I hate them, but it’s usually the things we hate the most that are the best for us, right? 😉

2) Favorite refuel after a hard workout?

Ummmm, favorite choice or the best choice? Hehe.

America Wins One FINALLY on the Track and Pictures of Dreams Realized

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

So I have to start this post off with a huge congrats to Jenny Simpson (previously Barringer) who won the Gold Medal in the 1500 meters at the World Track Champs. She is the first American to win any Gold for any distance race for 28 years!! Finally we have broken the African dominance streak…hehe. 🙂 If you’re not a huge track fan, I’ll let it slide and tell you you’re missing out later, you should still appreciate this feat and go read up on what’s going on at the World Track Champs scene.

Looking at the faces and reactions of the various athletes crossing the finish line is always really fun. There are those moments that capture utter euphoria at a dream finally recognized, the athletes who have poured their hearts and souls into this moment for years, never a guarantee that all of that work would in the end grant them a Gold Medal. There are those shy receptions of breaking the tape from the ones who were the overwhelming favorites going into the race and already have multiple Golds waiting back at home.

There are the comical ones sometimes, tossing up hand gestures, one guy looks like he’s strumming an air guitar, others sticking their tongues out. I’m not judging; hey, if you win you can do what you like, some people find it disrespectful but I think so long as you don’t turn around and run down the homestretch backwards or break into some MC Hammer running man you’re alright.

My favorites though are the moments that capture pure shock. The ones where you can clearly see that an athlete is living out ‘one of those days’ on the track and even they haven’t even fully been able to wrap their heads around the fact that they may be, in fact, the person running. I mean of course they put the training in with the hopes of achieving such a feat, you have to have confidence in yourself, but there are no sure things in track…when you get to the line you still have to get through those laps before hitting the medal podium no matter who you are or your past accolades.

These shock moments come from runners who don’t necessarily come home with the Gold either. Heck, are you kidding me, when you get to that level you should throw your own flipping party over any medal in my book. Some of the happiest harriers captured have been the ones coming in second or third…sometimes to the point where their achievement almost overshadows the actual winner of the race.

Shalane Flanagan’s bronze at the last Olympics in the 10k was one, the year before when Kara Goucher snagged the bronze at the same event in the World Champs are just two examples. I loved looking at those pictures.

So Jenny’s 1500 meters pictures…track fan or not, you can’t help but be excited for her when you see the snaps of her crossing the finish line.

1) In your mind’s eye what would the moment of your own dream realized look like? If you have achieved this already do you already have a picture of just such an event?

I’m Back and Busy Watching the Pro’s Bring Fire to the Track at World Champs

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

Goodness, me! Wow, sorry to have been gone for a few days there, don’t you hate it when work and life stuff gets in the way of the real important things? Blogging that is. I would say that it’s a pain in the butt should ANYTHING get in the way of running or working out, but we all know that would be a lie since there isn’t anything that I’d let get in the way of that one. 😉

But yea, I’ve been busily working on a few freelancing projects that have sucked up all my ‘would-be-blogging-and-blog-trolling’ time…so my apologies. The good news is that rather soon I’ll be rolling out some new art here…what, you’re not sick of the recycled ones yet? Good. Hehe.

I hope your weekends have been going well and if you’re living under a rock, I’ll tell you that the World Track Champs are currently underway. Now, I’m totally biased towards both the longer distances and my friends, so fair warning that’s really all I’ll be mentioning. Hey, it’s my blog so deal with it. 😉 But really, you can check the full results at the IAAF site and Paul Merca has a stand-out track and field blog which you should hop on over too.

Back to my biased little two cents; I was really rooting for our girls in the 10k there. Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher especially, I’m sure the 7^th and 13^th places respectively weren’t what they had gone in there vying for but we all know that on any given day all we can give is what the legs are willing to put out.

Kara though has shown her guts in just spiking up; she’s coming back from a stress reaction in her femur…and should I also remind you that she did push a human being out from between her loins this past year…just saying. 😉 Still, I never counted her out of putting it all out there, she’s one of the most mentally tough people I know. But again, injuries suck the big one and always have a ‘nice’ way of popping up at the least opportune time. Though, is there ever a good time for an injury? Me thinks not!

That said, all the athletes competing there have enough of the stuff to even BE there in the first place! And as a track fan it’s fun to watch or read all about it. In the men’s 10k there was a big upset in that Kenenisa Bekele didn’t win the very first 10k he’s ever entered; he actually DNF’ed. So the title went to a dark horse in a sprint to the finish, as much as it’s sad to watch a great runner DNF it is nice to spread the gold medal love around I suppose?

Back to us regular runner peons…hehe. 🙂 Did anyone have a race of their own this weekend? If so it’s bragging time! Just some easy miles for me with the distraction of some Disney. I wonder if Kara and Shalane were thinking of Disney related material while busting ther @$$e$ on the track? ;

Well, sorry to keep this short but back to the grind! Oh, before I forget…I need to address that for whatever reason stupid WordPress is now staging a revolt against me! All of my reply comments seem to disappear a few hour after I post them…I don’t know what is up?!?! So, please don’t think I’m ignoring you guys, I love comments and I reply to them! It’s WordPress, maybe somewhere in a dark alley it is selling the comments it stole from me. 🙁

1) What was the most fun thing you’ve done this weekend?

2) Do you enjoy going out and watching/cheering for track races? Do you actually stay and watch the full 25 laps or are you a dork who uses that time as a potty break?

3) Last thing you ate?

Cinnamon raise English muffins.

The Story of Lane One…

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Lane 1 was the baby of the family. Her siblings liked to remind her of this fact as often as possible, mostly because they were jealous. The story goes that when she was paved, Papa Grand Stand put a little something special into her mix. It was a golden spike that he had carried with him and saved special for his baby girl.

track lane one

Whether or not this was in fact true didn’t really matter to her siblings, they didn’t like it one bit and Lane 2 especially. Of course we all love our siblings, but if love had a color for how Lane 2 felt towards Lane 1 it was puke green laced with envy-lime.

The reason for this jealousy isn’t fully unfounded, and who could blame them? Everyone loved Lane 1, everyone fought for her, elbowed, shoved, and dug in right up close to her rail. PR’s, heck even World Records, had come down to the wire as the athletes leaned for the tape across her physique. Lane 1 was holy ground.

Sure, one could argue that plenty of action occurred in Lane 2, even 3 or 4 on plenty occasions, but let’s be honest, nothing compares to Lane 1. I think the fact that Lane 2 rightly felt that they deserved just as much attention as its white line sharing sibling only made things worse, “Did you see that lean? Ya, well that just won themselves the Gold Medal, and do you know where that lean was? Ummm, hello?! It was right up on me! But does anyone care, no, it’s all about my snotty sister!”

You’d think Lanes 8 and 9 would be most bitter, but I think it was more just they had given up completely. They accepted long ago that they were forever and always the ugly stepsisters reserved for strides and even so low as to be used for additional warm-up area for runners prepping for their race to be run after the one currently in progress. Every now and again they got some attention, should a miscalculating hurdler go down and warrant some ‘oooh’s’ and ‘ahhh’s’ from the crowd, but not much else.

Lanes 4 through 7 played the typical middle children roles of the family. Lane 7 had adopted the second-mother role and made sure that all the lanes kept themselves neat and tidy and presentable come race days. This nagging usually was greeted with the typical grunts and groans, but the sibling lanes always followed orders, they too always wanted to look their best for the races. Well, except for that one time Lane 2 rebelled, refused to take care of a little wear and tear near the 200 meter mark and let it fester until it was an unsightly pothole. The subsequent repaving was her punishment and trust me she learned her lesson…no one likes a pot-holey track and if she thought she didn’t get enough love before, well, the scorn of a pothole made her furious.

Lane 6 was the comic relief of the bunch and liked to play commentator for the races, “Ouch, tough race for that guy, he shouldn’t have been wolfing down those chili cheese fries earlier. I hope he learned his lesson.” Lane 5 was sort of that ghost of the family, people sort of forgot she was even really there at times. This didn’t really bother her, this fading into the background, she was able to pick up some especially tantalizing tidbits and if Lane 5 were to talk more, would she ever have some whopping secrets to divulge. She stored these up like a squirrel collecting acorns, she documented these in a diary that one day she planned to publish, make millions, and rub in the faces of all her sister lanes.

Lane 4 was the prankster; usually, if you look real close, if a runner goes down in a big pack you can see it had something to do with Lane 4. Mamma Grand Stand tried to keep her in order, but to no avail. She’d constantly threaten to have her unruly daughter stripped off and resurfaced into the triple jump or shot-put areas, but Lane 4 knew all talk was pretty much an empty threat.

So Lane 1 shone. She glistened and shined, she glinted in the scorching heat, the beads of perspiration fell to her sacred ground from the harriers giving all they had and more. She elongated the shadows of the 10k racers dueling on as the evening sun set. She splashed in the downpours as the sprinters’ rapid fire legs raised in wild, explosive arcs across her formation.

She highlighted these runners’ accomplishments, swelled with pride as they mounted the podium on still wobbly legs. She cheered loudest of all because she truly felt each footstep, she had a kinship with each and every one of them. A part of her heart also ached for the ones that shed tears in addition to sweat.

Maybe that’s what set Lane 1 apart from all of her sisters, that she had a heart. Perhaps there really was truth behind that golden spike legend, and it granted her the ability to feel. To feel and know that to everyone that lined up on her sacred ground it was more than just a race, more than just laps around a track.