Driving The Bus

 

Patrick Scott driving the team home from yet another meet.

 

Any good head coach will tell you, any success you have is most likely due to the athletes and your support staff. The athletes are the ones doing the training and are out there competing. Good assistant coaches make all the difference because they are hands on with the athletes on a day-to-day basis. Behind the scenes you also have the trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and a host of other vital people who comprise a track & field program. This past season the Sacred Heart Cathedral track & field team had one other key player who contributed to our success – one of our bus drivers, Patrick Scott.

We first met Patrick last spring when he drove the team to the Central Coast Section (CCS) Finals in Gilroy, and then waited patiently in the parking lot at Applebee’s while the team shaved my head to celebrate our three state meet qualifiers. During the fall cross country season we often had Patrick again, and I requested him specifically for our two overnights, to the Mt. Sac Invitational and the state meet in Fresno. He was always laid back and flexible about things. The kids liked him and he genuinely showed an interest in getting to know them. One time when we pulled into a shopping center for lunch, Patrick got on the PA system and told the kids where all the “hot spots” were – “In ‘n’ Out is in this section, cross the street to the right to get to McDonald’s, cross the street to the left to go to Starbuck’s.” It was awesome. While we were at the meet, Patrick had been scouting the area to help us quickly find the food of our choice right after the meet.

This track & field season, week after week, meet after meet, when I walked up Gough Street to our bus, there was Patrick sitting in the driver’s seat. An avid sports fan, Patrick admitted to not knowing too much about track & field. But at most meets he would come in and watch and cheer. He got to know the kids and what events they did. One afternoon, it warmed my heart when I saw Patrick giving fist bumps to the kids as they boarded the bus. Another time when we coaches got our wires crossed and we only had one coach (me) for two buses, we had no choice but to send the kids on the bus with Patrick with no coach. When we got back from the meet, Patrick sent me a text message reporting that the kids had behaved superbly and that they left the bus extra clean. I was proud of our kids that day, but also it reinforced the idea that since Patrick was so polite to them, they just naturally reciprocated. Almost every kid thanks Patrick by name for driving us when they get off the bus back at school.

Halfway through this season I was having problems coordinating my ride home after meets. My wife was picking up our car at the end of her work day and going home. This season I had no assistant coach living near me to give me a ride. On a lark, I asked Patrick if he was going back to the Coach USA yard after dropping us off, and if he was, could I get a ride there. The Coach USA yard off of Evans Street is an easy three minute drive for my wife to pick me up, as opposed to a thirty minute drive (fifteen each way) if she had to come to school to get me. A ride with Patrick to Evans Street became our weekly ritual. Patrick would comment on some of the things he saw at the meet and I could explain some of the nuances of track & field to him.

As if this wasn’t enough, when one of the kids left her laptop on the bus, I called Patrick. Typically a forgotten item like that is placed in the Coach USA office and the kid and their parents have to go retrieve it during business hours the next day. Even though it was 9:30 P.M., Patrick went back to the bus to retrieve the laptop. He called me saying he had it. I had walked to dinner so I didn’t have my car with me and couldn’t go get it from him. Patrick’s solution? He asked for directions to where I was having dinner and he drove the laptop to me.

Because of this terrific relationship that our team has with our bus driver, I look forward to opportunities to buy Patrick a meal when we’re on the road or invite him to our end of year banquet. I think he’s become a real track & field fan, too. Although we probably won’t be using a bus for the CCS meet this year, Patrick has already indicated that he’s kind of hooked on our team now and wants to see us through to end. He’s texted me after CCS Trials, asking “How’d we do today?” and I know he’s trying to take the day off and driving himself down to Gilroy to cheer us on at the CCS Finals.

Now that’s a bus driver that’s part of the team!

Running for Sherry

On Saturday, February 11, 2012, I had the privilege of running for more than just myself.

As a high school coach, I look for opportunities to teach the students about life and how running can be a part of their life beyond high school. “Running is more than just training to run in a high school meet,” I began. I went on to mention that I was living proof that even after high school, one could run in order to compete and accomplish goals. I pointed out that running is often used as a means to raise funds for charities, through organizations like Team In Training. “Finally,” I said, “Running is a way to honor and remember people – sometimes people you don’t even know, and that’s what we will do today.”

I went on to describe Sherry Arnold, someone about the same age as me, a math teacher at Sidney High School in Montana, a mother, a wife, and a fellow runner. I told the team that on January 7, 2012, she went out for a run and didn’t come home and that it appears she was abducted and killed.

It was a good reminder to all of us runners to be as safe as possible when out running. I reiterated to the team that they are not to wear headphones while running so that they can hear things all around them. I re-emphasized the importance of paying attention to the traffic and people around them. I re-stated our policy that they run the exact route the coaches prescribe and that they try to always be with a teammate or at least in earshot of one.

I then told the team that we would join thousands of other runners around the country in honoring Sherry Arnold by participating in a virtual run. I passed out the running bib for Sherry and safety pins. When everyone had their bib on, we gathered for a prayer led by my assistant coach, Natalie Martinez:

Let us remember… That we are in the holy presence of God.

Let us pray in the memory of Sherry Arnold. A wife, mother, teacher and fellow runner whose life was cut too short one Saturday morning. Her tragic death is a simple reminder to be thankful and appreciative of the many blessings we have especially the chance to run on this team. Let us celebrate her life, her spirit, her strength and courage as we run in her honor today.  And we pray we have a safe and successful track season. 

Holy Founders…Pray for us

Live Jesus in our Hearts…Forever.

After that, we headed off for our run. We ran what the kids call the “box run,” a route that includes the beauty of Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. We’ve done this run many times but today, running for Sherry, it was just a little bit more meaningful.

2012 Post-Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon and 5K Fun Run

Pamakid Runners at the starting line of the 2012 race.

I think February 5, 2012 will go down as a race day that many of us Pamakids remember for a long time. The conditions were excellent to have a good race. The work by RhodyCo and the race volunteers ensured an excellent race experience for all. Not all of us ran personal records (PR’s) or met or exceeded time goals but many Pamakids did and I think overall we’re pretty happy with the race.

For me personally, I had several moments that stand out. As always, it was thrilling to be in the middle of the Pamakid Go Green team cheer. Along the course, my Pamakid friends who were volunteering did the perfect job, yelling for us to be patient for the first seven miles and then getting in our faces and “demanding” that we go hard late in the race. As Adam, Tim, and I ran through the park, I felt very smooth and relaxed. We made it a point to not waste energy in the early stages of the race. When we hit the seven mile mark I felt as if I had just finished a long warm-up run. I was ready to get after it on the Great Highway, which was perfect because all week I had been telling people that the race didn’t start until the Great Highway. As I surged and ran 5:49, 5:46, and 5:50 for miles 8, 9, and 10, I knew that I was having a good day. I made eye contact with Tony at the turnaround and enjoyed boisterous cheering from Jerry, Eduardo, Olga, Anne, and Janeth. When I spotted Denis I pretended to pull on my singlet ala Superman. I was feeling great and enjoying myself so much that I didn’t even care that the wind had seemingly shifted and was in my face both southbound and northbound on the Great Highway. I felt some twinges in my hamstrings at mile 11 and had to slow down a bit. One runner passed me with half a mile to go. Two more passed me with a quarter mile to go. That’s when I decided enough was enough. Malinda’s been saying I’ve had a back kick of late and I felt that I needed to stop that. When we hit the stop sign, I started my kick and re-passed two of the runners in the final 100 meters. I heard Mike, the announcer, call my name, “and here’s our first Pamakid, it’s Andy Chan, the President of the club”) as I crossed the finish line with tired legs but a tremendous feeling of pride.

Below is a table comparing various PamaStats from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 races.

	2008	2010	2012
Runners in the half marathon in Pamakid uniform	24	26	41
Top 100 finishers	2	4	9
Women in the top 100 females	5	4	5
Top 10 in their age group	10	5	13
Medalists (top 3 in their age group)	3	1	4
Sub-1:19	0	1	3
Sub-1:24	2	4	9
Sub-1:30	9	9	16
Sub-1:40	15	16	28
Sub-2:00	19	23	35

Special congratulations to our 2012 race medalists: Patrick Lee (first in his age division for the 5K), Theo Jones (second in his age division for the half marathon), Markham Miller (third), and your truly (third).

I would like to thank our partners at Kaiser Permanente,  and Dave Rhody and the RhodyCo gang. Buzz Ayola, the finish line timing extraordinaire offered a new feature of race day live results so you could get your results via a smartphone at the expo or have friends follow you from home. Pamakid members Mike (race director), Phyllis (volunteer coordinator), and the volunteer captains do a tremendous amount of work, not just on Sunday but also in the days and weeks leading up to the race. We would never have such a highly successful race without people willing to volunteer for their fellow runners.

Please support our race sponsors (see a list of them here) and remember that your participation in the race helped support the Koret Family House, The Harbor Light Center for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and Support for Families of Children with Disabilities.

Results are now available at: http://www.buzzwordproductions.com/iat_016.htm.

Brightroom pictures are available at: http://www2.brightroom.com/96766.

KP Half Marathon Countdown: SATURDAY – 1 day to go

It's just about Game Time.

Game Time.

One day to go. Not much more to be done. It’s just about game time.

Think positive thoughts. You can’t go back and do more training or control things like the weather. Focus on things you can control in the final 24 hours. Think happy and positive thoughts about being out there doing an activity you love (or at least like) with 9,000 other people.

Look at the course map closely. For many of you who run often in Golden Gate Park this is as close as it gets to being a “home course.” As you look at the course, pause to think about what it physically looks like in that area. What will you see when you’re out there? What landmarks can you look for? Nothing makes the miles go by faster than knowing the course. Without going crazy, try to constantly have something you are looking for during the race. This isn’t hard when you are super familiar with the area. To combat the monotony of the Great Highway, I suggest looking ahead only to the next stoplight. The stoplights are conveniently staggered a quarter mile away from each other.  It gives you a psychological boost to be “seeing what you’re looking for” every one to two minutes because you feel like you are making progress. If your landmarks are every mile mark, you pass a mile mark, you run two to three minutes, don’t see the next mile yet, and start looking around for it. Then you spend the next two to five minutes looking for the next mile mark, constantly checking your watch, and consequently feeling like you are going to be out there forever! This can be quite discouraging. There is value in having a landmark to look for pretty frequently.

Spend some time visualizing yourself running fast on the Great Highway. Close your eyes and see yourself running strong and passing people. Imagine that it feels effortless and yet you are running very fast. Tell yourself how fit you are. Remind yourself how hard you’ve trained. Tell yourself you can do it. Heck, hum the Chariots of Fire or Rocky theme as you visualize. In high school, I visualized my cross country championship race over and over every night for weeks while listening to “One Moment In Time.” The race played out just like I had imagined it and to this day I have a hard time differentiating what I visualized and what I actually experienced in the race.

If you are nervous, keep this in mind. There are 1.3 billion people in China and none of them (unless you have a close relative there) are going to go to http://zinsli.com/results/ on Monday to see if you PR’ed. I also like to remind people that they’ve trained hard and they deserve to run well.

If it’s Game Time, then I have my Game Face on.

When I race, I have my game face on. I’m competitive and I care about how the race goes. That’s just how I am. I’ve been told (and the pictures and video back this up) that I get that same game face on when I coach. (Side story: At my wedding reception we had Sacred Heart Cathedral kids helping. Right before we got started Tomas, my assistant coach and wedding reception master of ceremonies, came to me and said, “Don’t worry about anything. Everything’s going to go great. Ethan has his game face on. He looks like he did before the CCS Finals.” As the coach who taught Ethan to have a game face, it was, in the middle of a busy and memorable night, a proud moment.) Anyway, if it works for you, have your game face on. After all, Sunday is the Super Bowl. And you did pay $40-50 to be on the starting line. Why not have that focused game face on that tells everyone that you are about to go out and race as hard as you can.

Good luck, everyone, it’s just about game time!   

KP Half Marathon Countdown: FRIDAY – 2 days to go

Race Day and In-Race Nutrition.

If you want to spend time pondering nutritional things this week, think about:

1. What are you going to eat race morning and at what time?
2. Do you plan to take water at the water stops? (Hint: this is a trick question, the answer is yes!) Which water stops? And do you have an idea of where these stops are located on the course?
3. Do you plan to take the electrolyte drink that will be available around mile 6.2, 8.4, and 11.1?
4. Do you plan to ingest some sort of energy gel during the race?

 1.       BREAKFAST

There are as many pre-race food combos as there are runners. Do what your body is used to. Don’t try something new because it’s race day. What do you eat before you go for a morning long run? How much time does your body need to digest it? My wife needs to eat a more substantial breakfast before a run than I do and she doesn’t need as much time to digest her food as I do. I used to eat very little before a race (half a Power Bar and water) and I tied to finish eating two hours before the race started. Now I have found that my body likes a little more pre-race fuel so I have two pieces of toast with peanut butter at home approximately two hours before the race starts. Then upon arriving at the race, about an hour before the gun goes off, I eat half a Cliff Bar. Do what is right for you and your digestive system.

Taking water from a volunteer like Patrick at one of the many water stations is highly advised.

2.       WATER

You need to stay hydrated to keep running your goal pace. The course map indicates water stations around miles 1.7, 3.2, 4.5, 6.2, 8.5, 10, and 11.5. Taking water is important because your body does not function well when it is not fully hydrated. It’s often on a cold and wet day when people sweat less and are less thirsty that they forget the need to drink water during the race. Don’t be one of those people. I suggest taking water at, at least three of the water stations if not more. 

3.       ELECTROLYTE REPLENISHMENT – SPORTS DRINKS

As the race progresses, even in cooler temperatures, your body is losing electrolytes via sweat. Maintaining proper electrolyte balance keeps the cells in your body communicating properly and is a key to preventing dehydration. It is said that electrolyte replacement becomes a factor after exercising for over an hour and a half. To replenish electrolytes there will be electrolyte drinks available at three spots on the course (mile 6.2, 8.4, and 11.1). I recommend sipping a little electrolyte drink as long as you are used to drinking something besides water during a run. If you are not used to drinking anything besides water, those carbohydrates in the electrolyte drink may not sit well in your stomach.

Taking an energy gel at some point along the Great Highway may be just what you need to get you through to the finish line.

4.       CARBOHYDRATE REPLENISHMENT – ENERGY GELS

During the first hour to hour and a half of the race your body produces energy from glucose in the liver and muscles, and the breakdown of fats. Thanks to the high glucose level in the bloodstream, fat metabolism occurs rapidly. But sometime around an hour and a half to two hours the glucose stores in the liver and muscles get depleted and the blood glucose level begins to drop. Fat metabolism still occurs, but because there is less glucose circulating around it occurs at a much slower rate. Pretty soon, if nothing is done to provide more fuel, you will run out of energy and experience the proverbial “hitting the wall.” To combat this runners often consume an energy gel mid-race*. Energy gels contain complex carbohydrates (glucose) in an easily and quickly digestible state. They enhance performance by raising your blood sugar and giving your body an immediate fuel source. Again, in a race of an hour and a half to two hours you may not require energy gels. You should know your body and whether you need it or not. As you get closer to two hours and further from an hour and a half you may benefit from a carbohydrate or sugar boost mid-race. But don’t try this if you haven’t done it in practice on the long runs. Any benefit from the gels may be countered by stomach distress. The race does not provide energy gels, so you’ll need to carry your own.

KP Half Marathon Countdown: THURSDAY – 3 days to go

 

A key to success - Going over the race plan with a runner before the race.

Race strategies and split calculating.

First of all, be sure you’ve looked at a course map, preferably one with the miles marked. You don’t have to memorize every mile mark but try to have a general idea where some of them are. You will race better when you know where you’re going.

 

Course Map for the half marathon and 5K fun run

Half Marathon

I suggest you break the race into three sections:

1.       Start to Mile 4 (Panhandle back to JFK Drive) – Conservative; about five seconds per mile slower than your goal pace.

2.       Miles 4 to 7 (downhill through the park) – Use the downhill in the park from the museums to the beach to run a little faster. Gravity should help you to run five to ten seconds per mile faster than you ran for the first four miles.

3.       The last HALF of the race, Miles 7 to the End (Great Highway) –See if you can hold the pace you were running downhill through the park or go faster (if so, hello big PR!). If not, lock on to your goal pace and you should still be right around your goal time.

Pull out a calculator and start making some race pace calculations.

Half Marathon split calculations

1.       Establish best case and medium time goals.

2.       Think about the range of per mile paces you are likely to be able to run in the last 6.1 miles. Have a best case and medium scenario. The time range between best case and medium should be :05-:15 per mile (e.g. 6:00-6:15). Perhaps a good mile pace to consider is your 8^th mile at Waterfront 10 or the 8^th mile of the Lake Merced workout on MLK Day.

3.       Calculate how long it will likely take you to run the last 6.1 miles.

4.       Based on your overall time goals and your two last 6.1 times, calculate a range of times for when you should arrive at the 7 mile mark to still be on target.

5.       Pick the middle of that range as your target 7 mile time, knowing that you have some play on either side of it.

6.       Calculate the per mile pace to hit this time for 7 miles.

7.       Add :02-:07 per mile and that’s your target pace for the first 4 miles.

8.       Based on that target pace, calculate what your 4 mile cumulative time split should be.

9.       Try to be :05-:10 faster per mile for miles 5-6-7 than you were for miles 1-4 (it is downhill).

My goal times as an example:

1.       1:19:00-1:20:00

2.       5:54-6:04 (per mile for the last 6.1 miles)

3.       36:00-37:00 (to run the last 6.1 miles)  [5:54 X 6.1 = 36:00; 6:04 X 6.1 = 37:00]

4.       42:00-44:00 (range of time at the 7 mile mark)  [1:19:00 - 37:00 = 42:00; 1:20:00 - 36:00 = 44:00]

5.       43:00 (goal 7 mile mark cumulative time)

6.       6:08 (average mile for the first 7 miles)  [43:00 ÷ 7 = 6:08]

7.       6:10-6:15 (per mile for the first 4 miles)  [6:08 + :02 = 6:10; 6:08 + :07 = 6:15]

8.       24:40-25:00 (goal 4 mile mark cumulative time)  [6:10 X 4 = 24:40; 6:15 X 4 = 25:00]

9.       6:05 (per mile for miles 5-6-7)  [6:10 - :05 = 6:05 or 6:15 - :10 = 6:05]

Final points to remember about the half marathon:

-          Be very patient for the first 4 miles.

-          Use the downhill to go faster for miles 5-6-7 but don’t attack this section as much as it’s been recommended in the past.

-          The goal is to get to 7 miles around this time with as little effort as possible.

-          Almost half the race is on the Great Highway. You can still catch a lot of people and make up a lot of time (if you didn’t go out too hard).

-          Negative splits are the key to success in distance races.

-          The race starts when you hit the Great Hwy. Do your fastest running then. Start aggressively passing people. Catching and passing people is an exhilarating feeling. Passing the first person is the hardest. Once you pass one person, you’ll then try to pass more. With each person you pass, you’ll feel better and better and the fast pace will become easier and easier.

5K

The 5K is a fun run and the course isn’t certified. That being said, I have run the course and because of the downhill it is a fast course. The 5K course is marked on the above pdf course map with dashed lines.

The start for the 5K and half marathon are at the same time and same place. The 5K course makes a sharp right turn after about 400 meters. Line up on the right side of the start line so you won’t have to cut across traffic to make the turn. Be on the lookout throughout the race to make sure you are on the 5K course! The first mile is pretty flat. The only uphill of any significance is right before the first mile mark as you go from MLK Drive up to Stow Lake. On this course you can really hammer out a fast last mile…which means, don’t be afraid to press the second mile (which also has lots of downhill)….you will have more left at the end than you think….gravity will be your friend and help get you to the finish line.

KP Half Marathon Countdown: WEDNESDAY – 4 days to go

Dress for success.

The first Sunday in February in San Francisco can be quite unpredictable weather-wise. It might rain. It might be unseasonably warm (70’s). Check the weather forecast and then still prepare for all conditions.

What shoes will you race in? Most people can get by with regular training shoes or lightweight trainers for a half marathon. You’re probably on the pretty elite side if you have racing flats for 13.1 miles. Don’t forget to pick the right socks. Your lucky race socks are the obvious choice if you are superstitious. The sock should certainly be made of wicking microfibers so they don’t rub you raw if they get wet from rain or sweat.

 You want to have something that keeps you warm (top and bottom) to warm-up and stretch in. This can be a longsleeve shirt, a sweatshirt or jacket, or sweatpants. Don’t bring your whole wardrobe because you need to put it somewhere before the race starts but do wear something to stay warm. I cringe when I see runners wearing what they plan to race in standing around one hour before the race starts shivering or jumping up and down to stay warm. 

The Pamakids showing off a variety of warm-up attire options: sweatpants, sweatshirts, jackets, long sleeve shirts.

If it’s wet, a good way to stay as dry as possible (and thus as warm as possible) before the race is a garbage bag with holes cut out for your head and arms. Or an old rain poncho. Use something that you don’t mind throwing away right before the race so you can keep it on as long as possible. Your goal before the race is to stay as dry and warm as possible.

 

Adam shows off the "garbage bag" look before the 2008 race. The garbage bag is a great way to stay warm and dry right up until the start of the race.

Staying warm during the race is key. Heat escapes through your extremities (feet, head, hands). You can’t do much more than wear your shoes and socks on your feet. For your head, a beanie is wise. If it’s raining, a hat with a bill will shield your face from the rain. For your hands, gloves.

Wearing something to cover your arms is often desired. This can be tricky. You can wear a shirt under the singlet for warmth. If you go with a long sleeve one, try to have it fit snuggly so you aren’t catching extra wind with your baggy sleeves. A downside to these undershirts is there’s no going back…it’s pretty hard to take it off mid-race. A new way to combat this shortcoming is to wear arm warmers over your arms. If you get too hot you can take these off like gloves and stuff them into a pocket or hand them to someone. Another option is to wear something over your singlet (long sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, or microfiber shirt) that you can take off mid-race and tie around your waist. If employing this strategy, remember that you are supposed to have your race bib number prominently displayed on your front at all times.

A lot of people wear tights to keep their legs warm. It’s a personal preference thing. I think people who normally wear tights are used to it and like it. It has to be really freezing out (single digits) before I wear tights. I always have this (probably irrational) fear that I am going to get hot and be uncomfortable in tights.  

On the left, Joanna (#562) has on arm warmers and tights. On the right, Louise (#565) has a long sleeve shirt under her singlet.

The trend of wearing compression socks has two advantages and two disadvantages. Advantage one is that the socks, which come up to just below the knee, give additional skin coverage and thus added warmth. They also provide compression to the calf muscles. This compression is both advantage number two and disadvantage number one because the compression can become uncomfortable in the later stages of the race. The last disadvantage is the fairly obvious fact that if you start the race wearing compression socks, you are basically committed. There’s no taking them off mid-race.

I've been known to race in my green compression socks on both warm and cold days.

If it’s raining, face it, you are going to get wet. All you can hope for (besides running so fast that you run between the rain drops) is to finish as quickly as possible and get out of the elements. Early in the race, I try to avoid puddles and go as long as possible with dry shoes and socks. But once they become saturated, I stop wasting energy and going the extra distance to dodge puddles. Remember, too, that if it’s raining your socks are probably going to get wet and muddy and may possibly never look the same again. If ruining a pair of sentimentally favorite socks is going to be devastating, don’t use them if it’s likely to be raining.

 I advise people to make sure their top, whether it’s a shirt or singlet, be made of a microfiber/wicking/dry release material. These types of fabrics pull moisture (i.e. sweat) away from your body. It’s more comfortable to not be in a drenched t-shirt, wicking the moisture away from your skin decreases the chances of chaffing, and these fabrics help keep you cool on a warm day.

KP Half Marathon Countdown: TUESDAY – 5 days to go

 

Carboloading - ravioli's with brocoli, bell peppers, and onion in tomato sauce

Carbo-loading and other pre-race nutrition concerns…at least my take on these topics….there are certainly other opinions out there and I do not claim to be a nutritional expert.

 A lot of people ask me about carbo-loading. For the half marathon distance (an effort of 1:20-2:00 for most of us), carbo-loading isn’t as vital as for a full marathon. But still, I will answer the question.

The original concept of carbo-loading (by Ahlborg in 1960) involves an exhaustive workout one week before the race and a low-carb (10% carbs) diet for three days (to deplete the body of glycogen) and then a high-carb (90% carbs) diet for three or four days. This is to achieve a effect known as glycogen supercompensation. Nowadays there are other scientific methods of carbo-loading that are not as extreme.

 

The SHC cross country team having a "traditional" carboloading dinner the night before a race.

 

“Traditional” carbo-loading for typical runners is eating pasta the night before a race. This method may not have the same physiological effect as Ahlborg’s method, but at least we all feel we are doing something nutritional to enhance our race performance. And by default, if you are eating pasta, you are not having a steak the night before the race. I think the traditional pasta meal before a race is part of running culture. The Sacred Heart Cathedral cross country team has a pasta dinner when we have team dinners before a meet. I believe there is much value in having a routine and eating something familiar. And if you believe the carbohydrates Saturday night are somehow going to make you run faster on Sunday, who am I to dispute it?

Don’t overeat on Saturday night. Don’t try a new pasta recipe or a new restaurant. Just eat something you like, and that you know agrees with your body (nothing too greasy or that leaves you really really full). And reap the psychological benefits of knowing you have carbo-loaded in your own way.

KP Half Marathon Countdown: MONDAY – 6 days to go

Welcome to Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon and 5K Fun Run Week. This is a week many of us in the running community look forward to every year.    

Some final week workout thoughts:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – I leave it to you to decide what you should do. Rest is important but I suggest sticking to your routine. Don’t over do it, but if you normally swim, bike, do yoga or run go ahead and work out, just don’t go extra hard or long.

Thursday – three options:

Option 1 (medium run finishing with some “up-tempo”:

- Run four miles at an easy pace.

- Run the next mile at half marathon pace.

- Run a final mile 10-15 seconds faster than half marathon pace.

This is a total of six miles of running, with only the last two miles being at a harder effort.

Option 2 (tempo and 300’s):

Two mile warm-up, then three miles at tempo/Lactate Threshold (LT) pace, and then 4X300 with 100 meter jog recoveries. Run each 300 a little faster than the previous one.

Option 3 (track workout):

- Two mile warm-up

- 800 – easy (half marathon pace)

- 6X300 with 100 meter jog recovery (keep the recoveries short, the point is not to run the 300’s super fast).

- 800 – hard (think of it as the last 800 of the race)

- Cool-down – one mile

Friday – I always suggest taking the day 48 hours before a big race off and getting plenty of sleep.

Saturday – Pre-race:  three miles easy and four to six striders.  Striders are 80-100 meter sprints at 70-90% effort. The goal is to loosen up the muscles by getting the blood pumping to your legs and breaking a sweat. Then shut it down and save it for race day.

Sunday morning – Some important things to keep in mind for pre-race Sunday morning:

• The race starts at 8:00 A.M. Calculate how much time you need to get dresses, have breakfast, drive to the race, park, get to the start line, and warm-up. Then add in some extra time. Figure out what time you need to get up and set your alarm clock now.
• Parking. Remember that it’s a point to point course. Ten thousand runners means not a lot of extra parking spaces. Car pooling and public transportation are highly recommended. Check the website for event details like parking and transportation information.
• If you want to park by the finish line there are two main lots, either on the Great Highway or up above the Cliff House. You can either run to the start (approximately two miles) or take the race provided shuttle. Shuttles depart from the bus stop above the Cliff House and the corner of Fulton and the Great Highway, beginning at 6:15 A.M.
• If you park by the start line you can either run back to your car for a cool-down after the race or take one of the shuttles that will run up Fulton from the Great Highway to 8^th Avenue. This post-race shuttle leaves from Fulton and the Great Highway and will run from 8:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to:

• Get in line for the port-a-potties.
• Check your sweats.

It may be a little Type A to plan out all this stuff but having a plan and giving yourself extra time to park, ride the shuttle, go to the bathroom, and check your sweats can really pay off. If you are meeting friends, have an exact meeting spot and time. You want to minimize stress before the race. Planning this stuff out is one way to do just that.

Assistant Coaches – Tomas Palermo, one of the best

SHC Coaches always in sync.

I’ve had plenty of great moments as the head coach of the Sacred Heart Cathedral (SHC) cross country and track & field teams. I’m now in my fourteenth year of being the head coach and my list of successes on the track, in the field, on the race course, and most importantly in the development of young men and women is endless. I am smart enough to know that I owe much of the program’s success to the athletes out there training and competing, and to the assistant coaches.

Assistant coaches work behind the scenes teaching techniques, offering encouraging words, providing motivation, and being a good listener; they make or break a program. I would love to be able to teach every athlete on the team techniques, offer them all encouraging words, provide them all with personalized motivation, and have time to talk to and listen to each athlete one-on-one every day. But there is just one of me and forty-five athletes in cross country and ninety-five athletes in track & field. I can’t be everywhere and I can’t be everything for every athlete everyday. This is where strong assistant coaches are vital.

I’ve been fortunate to surround myself with good assistants. My main criteria when looking at potential assistant coaches is passion for the sport, patience, and a sense of how the high school athletic experience fits into the life of a high school student. I’m not looking for tons of technical training experience. It’s nice if they know the sport, but if not I can teach it to them. First they have to be passionate about the sport. Their enthusiasm will rub off on the kids. Also, with passion comes a willingness to learn coaching and training techniques. Patience is a virtue, and it certainly is necessary when working with high school kids. You have to be willing to sacrifice your time for the kids. You have to be able to cajole them into doing things. You have to not judge the book by its cover, but instead take the time to find the hidden gem inside each of the kids. High school athletics is a co-curricular experience. There are rules that need to be enforced, and the goal is to train hard and to be as successful as possible. But this needs to fit into the framework of the activity being only a high school sport, not life and death. Coaches are educators and the top priority is to teach life lessons. Kids won’t remember in ten years what place they came in at the league finals but they’ll remember the bus ride to the meet with their friends. That’s how it works and there’s nothing wrong with that. I want assistant coaches who can make sure the athlete is challenged and having fun at the same time. If the kids get both, then being on the SHC cross country or track & field team will be one of the highlights of their high school days.

Coach Tomas in his first season in 2004.

On Monday, January 30, the 2012 track & field season will officially begin. It will be the first season since 2004 that Tomas Palermo isn’t on my SHC coaching staff. I first recruited Tomas to coach with me in 2004. He ran with the adult track workout group that I coach and he clearly possessed the traits described above that I look for in an assistant coach. He didn’t have previous coaching experience but that didn’t matter to me. The fact that he ran at St. Francis High School, one of our league rivals, counted neither for him or against him. For the last fifteen seasons, eight in cross country and seven in track & field, Tomas has been there. We’ve celebrated school records, Central Coast Section (CCS) and State Meet qualifiers, as well as kids just developing into fine young men and women. We’ve mulled over meet line-ups, training plans, and disciplinary issues. What’s best for the program? What’s best for the kid in the big picture?

Over the years Tomas has developed great coaching skills. His familiarity with my style allows him to echo my thoughts to kids and tweak workouts as necessary. He’s been a mentor for numerous SHC kids. Ironically, seven girls from Tomas’ first cross country season in 2004 have been or are going to come back and be an assistant coach at SHC. At meets he meticulously records splits with the exacting detail that I like (first leg of the 4X4 splits at the 800 start line and the rest of the legs are split at the finish line). At practice he helps come up with the assistant coach assignments so that all the assistants get to interact with different kids and still perform the necessary assigned training duties. He has an uncanny sense of when something memorable is about to take place and he grabs the camera to photograph the moment.

His relationships with the kids are, however, what make him special. He can talk Giants baseball during a long run with Nate W., sit in the stands with Izzy A. before practice, start a pull-up competition with Geoffrey Y. and Dominic R., discuss music with James M. and Bryan F., video games with Daniel K., and writing and movies with Sophie C-B. “DJ Tomas,” “Tommy,” and “Coach T” are just some of his nicknames, and we coaches all know that getting a nickname from the kids is basically their stamp of approval. In our end of season evaluations kids always reference the good advice and inspiration that he provides. One student thanked him for staying with him for a long run, both to help him not get lost and also for motivating him to run the whole way. Another evaluation red, “Coach Tomas is the bomb diggity” (Urban Dictionary translation: totally the awesomest, no lie).

I will always remember Tomas’s first season in 2004. It had been an emotional season. In September the top returning girl, Melanie S. broke her leg on a freak fall at the end of practice. The girls were devastated and it took a lot of energy to keep them from falling apart emotionally. Our chances of the girls team qualifying for State Meet went down significantly without Melanie S. At the same time we had a good young boys team but no one that was expected to make it to State. That was the team dynamic as we headed to Toro Park in Salinas for the CCS Championships. Melanie S. came with us and gave a great speech the night before the race. As a first year coach, Tomas came to me the morning of the race and commented that the kids were all going to really “leave it all out there” and we coaches should be ready at the finish line to help carry some of them through the finish chute. Tomas couldn’t have been more right. He read the mood of the team and the look in their eyes and thus we were ready with extra water and staff at the finish line. “Leaving it all out there” is now pretty much a hallmark of the SHC teams. I often associate the beginning of this tradition to that day back in 2004 and Tomas’ first CCS meet as a coach.    

At the 2004 CCS Championships - we left it all out there on this day!

It’s been a great run of eight years with Tomas as a SHC assistant coach. I’m sure he’ll still come around and cheer on the team because not only is he passionate about the sport, he’s passionate about seeing the SHC teams compete. Life takes many turns and I suspect someday he may wear the SHC coach hat again because his heart is definitely in education. But for now, I must face the 2012 season without my trusted friend and fellow coach. Tomas, that evaluation had it right, you are the bomb diggity!

Coach Tomas is the bomb diggity!