.....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....
Monday, July 27, 2009
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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