Back From Texas and Thoughts on Strength

If everything truly is bigger in Texas, wouldn't it makes sense that I come home with ideas on how to get "bigger" (stronger)? I returned home from Texas early this morning (12/16), from a week spent with some of the best coaches in the world. This was my first convention and I have to thank RPI for giving me the opportunity to attend. I must say the week started off right...watching the NY Giants come back on the Cowboys, and being in Texas made it a little more sweet. That being said, most of my time was spent in symposiums listening to top coaches like Gina Procaccio (2009 and 2010 NCAA Women's Coach of the year from Villanova), James Li (Bernard Lagat's Coach) and Sean Cleary (West Virginia), but I must say my favorite presentations came from Gary Wilson of Minnesota, on coaching and managing a large team, and Boo Schexnayder, formerly of LSU, and his presetation on "Ancillary and Speed Training for Endurance Athletes." The USTFCCCA really knows how to do a convention right. Those of you that tuned in to The Bowerman Awards on Flotrack saw a show that was worthy of cable TV. The nominees and winners were so poised and professional, it speaks wonders of the programs and coaches they spent four years working with. If being in the same room as world championship medalists and qualifiers doesn't light a fire in your stomach than you don't belong in our sport!

It is great to be back to New York though and I am really excited to start implementing some of the lessons I learned from some of the best coaches. On the plane ride back I started drawing up a new mesocycle for my middle distance and distance athletes that starts when they come back to campus and ends at our indoor championships. Since Boo was perhaps the speaker I took the most from, I spent some time revamping some strength, speed and mobility work for them as well. I really feel like Boo and Vern Gambetta are two of the best minds in track and field when it comes to "athletic development."

Vern states time and time again that strength=speed. Build strength and when it becomes time to transfer that strength to the track you will be faster, if done correctly. Winter break for the college middle distance and distance runner is a tough time for strength training because you leave the college campus with the top of the line facility and return home to mom and dad. Most homes don't have a squat rack, or a plethora of medicine balls and kettlebells. Three to four weeks is a long time to do nothing though, so what should a college athlete do? My top recommendation is to join a gym and continue with what your strength and conditioning coach says. But if that is not an option, the following circuit is great. As always this is just an example of something that could be done by an athlete who has gone through many cycles of training leading into this.

Vern Gambetta Leg Circuit
1) Body Weight Squat x 20
2) Lunge x 20 (10 ea. leg)
3) Step Up x 20 (10 ea. leg)
4) Squat Jump x 10

Week 1- 2 sets w/ 30 sec between exercises and 1 min between sets
Week 2- 3 sets w/ 30 sec between everything
Week 3- 3 sets continuous inter-set, 30 sec between sets

Do exercises with speed, but with good form and full range of motion. This circuit is building power and speed, it will carry over into your running next semester.

Also an upper body/ Core circuit
1) Push up into side plank x 5 ea. side
2) Dips (50% max)
3) Front Plank and reach x 5 each side
4) Pull-ups (if available) x max or 10 at most

Week 1- 2 sets
Week 2- 3 sets
Week 4- 3 sets, increase range of motion and speed

It is simple, but it is just for some upper body strength maintenance until you can get back to a gym.

The Dog Days...Lie Ahead?

If the summer gets dog days, what does the winter get? Bear days? Either way it seems like the most extreme conditions of the year occur during the most important times of training for cross country and track and field athletes. I would like to believe it is to only make the athlete even tougher. Recently, Running Times posted an article that I shared with my distance runners about not being fearful of the conditions. In order to succeed in our sport in the northeast there is nothing more true. The Bear Days are coming and they are to be faced individually as most college/university teams are on winter break. Below I have written a few tips to focus on.

1) Every day has a purpose, stick to the script your coach has laid out for you. If planned properly you will arrive back on campus in fantastic shape. You will be ready to attack the season with confidence.
2) Adaptation takes time, for most athletes the winter break marks a time of transition from cross country training (for distance runners) or preparation training (for track and field) to more specific track training. It takes time to see results. The time you spend training by yourself whether it be 4 weeks or 6 weeks you probably won't notice a huge difference in how you feel day to day, but if you compare your workouts from week 1 to week 6 you will notice a huge difference.
3) Environment is the key to success, the best athletes surround themselves with support. If your going out until 2 am every night, chances are you won't be training consistently. If you live in a city environment it will be hard to go out and run for 100 minutes for a long run, or to do hill sprints. Plan ahead and create an environment that is positive for all aspects of your life.
4) "Little things make the big difference", make it a point to spend time doing the little things that lie outside your comfort zone. After all, competing in our sport is uncomfortable, wouldn't you think it is a good thing to be uncomfortable in practice? Spend time doing your strength and conditioning and all the funny looking drills your coach asks you to do, it will pay off in the long run.

Economy Workouts

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Here at RPI, economy workouts are used at this time of year in track training to help the body utilize its anaerobic energy pathways and to allow your body to become familiar with it's mechanics at faster paces. The goal is to turn the bodies fuel efficiency at a high speed from that of a F-350 to that of a Mustang. Jack Daniels refers to these workouts as repetition workouts or (R). For some, it is at a pace faster than race pace, for others it is at race pace depending on your event group. Usually it is good to have a coach prescribe the pace that best fits your running as it is different for distance specialists and middle distance specialists.

A standard workout that Jack has in his book is sets of (200,200,400) which have equal jog recoveries. I have prescribed 3 sets to some athletes and I have prescribed 6 sets to others. It is individualized based on the event being trained for, the overall volume the athletes is training with, as well as the training age of the athlete. A set would look like this- 200 @ R, 200 jog, 200 @ R, 200 jog, 400 @ R, 400 jog. Each set is 1 mile of running or 800m of R pace running.

The most important part to understand about these workouts is that the recovery should be full. An athlete does not want to allow their form to break down at the end, and they should end the workout feeling like they could do more if he/she were asked to. The harder more intense workouts will come in time. Athletes should not start each repetition until the athlete feels he/she can complete the next without breaking down in form.

I have found through my years of coaching that the adaptation to this type of workout is very quick. The first workout may be difficult (especially for the longer distance runner), but each consecutive workout feels more controlled and comfortable. Usually after 3-4 workouts the beginner can make their pace slightly faster.

As the season progresses this is a good workout to do in spikes or flats since running in trainers does not allow the same economy as their lighter counterparts, and it allows training to be a bit more specific towards your goal.

As always, it is important to allow for a good warmup and follow the workout with a good cool down. Be sure to stretch the calves and hamstrings after as these are two muscle groups that I have seen become sore after starting these workouts.

What's in a name?

RUNsselaer! I found out coming up with a blog name is one of the more challenging tasks around. This blog is going to cover Running, RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) XC/Track, some personal stuff, and coaching/educating. I hope to be able to use this blog as a vehicle of communication between our programs here at RPI, as well as me personally and our alumni, athletes, recruits, and fans.

 I began running in 1994 for Shenendehowa High School, and ran at Cortland under Coach Jack Daniels in college. Recently, I ended my first coaching job at SUNY Plattsburgh to come to RPI and coach the cross country team along with the middle distance and distance runners in track. I started this past September and could not be happier with my new job. The school, athletic department and team have been literally outstanding (picture Rob Lowe from Parks and Rec on NBC saying "literally outstanding" when you read it). Since I grew up close to RPI I know what the school stands for and the excellence it drives for. As a program here at RPI we are driving for the same excellence the school reaches for. I believe this past fall we started down that path. You can read up on our season by clicking on the links to the right.

One of my main goals in starting this blog up is to help the communication lines between our program and the alumni, fans, and community. I will be posting frequently, as well as through my twitter (some live updates at meets), which can be found on this page as well. Recently, with the help of recent alumnus Jeff Corelli, a facebook page was started to keep our alumni(ae) even more in the loop (If you are not a member yet please search for it and request to be a member (RPI XC/TF Alumni). As a coach I preach to my team how important communication is, I feel it is only right to communicate myself. We have seen the fan base of our sport grow in recent years due to websites like flotrack, letsrun, and runnerspace because of the opportunities they allow for communication. It is my goal to see the fan base of RPI XC/Track grow in response to more communication from our coaches, fans, and alumni! With student-athletes like we have here at RPI, how could it not!