and God said, "Let there be RUNNERS!"

Walking. It's an epidemic that plagues my Middle School Cross Country team every day. I emphasis running as a team in the warm-up, but how can they when there's those few who WALK the warm-up?? the WARM-UP!!!! So my first move was to have the 6th graders (who make up most of the walkers) go on a separate warm-up, a shorter warm-up, than the 7th and 8th graders. But, what came of that was I was holding back the 6th graders who actually run and not walk from doing a good warm-up because half the time they had to stop and wait for the walkers to catch up. Then I would find those same walkers walk during the workouts. I tried to stop that by having them do sit-ups if they chose to walk. That didn't really do much justice since half the time they did sit-ups they would just sit on the ground. So, I really didn't want to spit the team up with runners in one group and walkers in another, but it has to be done. They are keeping the actual runners from running, from doing cross-country. So today, before I had the team go on their warm-up, I had all the "runners" who walk to step out and come with me. I then sent off all the runners who run on their warm-up. With the walking group in front of me, I laid it all out to them. They're still on day one with cross-country practice. They will start day two when they have stopped walking. Does a basketball player ever not dribble? or a football lineman not tackle? or a soccer player not kick the ball? No, because if they don't dribble/tackle/or kick, they're not playing the game. Same goes for cross-country - if you don't run, you're not doing cross-country. So I had them line up behind me and grab the persons shirt in front of them. I was setting the pace and if one of them tried to walk, I told them we're gonna be dragging them to the finish, because once you let go of that person's shirt, you've stopped being a runner, you're not doing cross-country, so hang on! And so I went at a slow and steady trot. The walkers-soon-to-be-born-runners screamed and yelled "It's hard running like this!" "This is weird!" "I'm gonna fall!" and I just trotted along, not listening to their complaints, to their screams, only to the sounds of their feet strike the ground not as walkers, but as runners for once! We made it one loop around the school, barely a 400m, with everyone we started with, hanging on to dear life to that person's shirt in front of them. It worked, it actually worked! I found a cure!
Then, for the workout, it was just a pre-meet day since they have a race in the morning, I sent them on what is known as an " easy distance run" for middle schoolers - 1.65mi for 7th and 8th grade, and 1.2mi for 6th grade - the equivalent distance to what they're racing in tomorrow. So for the walkers I had for the warm-up, I told them the distance they had to go and that they are to do the same thing - grab a shirt. Over half of them stood in terror and shook their heads, "No, no! We'll run, promise!!" And off they dashed. The few that still considered themselves walkers went ahead yanking on shirts and still finished, as runners! I did do my recon and spied on my walkers who promised they'd run and only came upon one who walked, but I squared that choice away with the back of my shirt and told her to hang on. So, if you feel like walking, better find someone quick who's running and grab on!

Mark!.... Get Set!....

1st meet tomorrow with these Middle Schoolers. And, it's gonna be a roast of a meet! High of 90 when the gun goes off for them... Sucks. It won't be the best meet to use as a determiner of whether or not my coaching style so far is the way to go, but it's a start. Coaching Middle School is just a different kind of beast. I'm not dealing with veteran runners, focused and alert athletes, and don't even get me started with the maturity level. They're kids and I'm an intense veteran runner who constantly has to pull on the reins to ensure their survival with this workout. They test my patiences constantly and Friday, after I left practice, I had no fun. I pondered over everything this weekend that I dealt with this past week of practice. 26 kids and counting. They talk over me all the time, they freak out if they can't have a drink, they get distracted easily, pulling grass is their greatest pastime, and walking is the next best thing. Today, all of that is about to change. I want to coach to have fun, to make sure they're having fun. But fun doesn't have to come in the form of playing Capture the Flag or throwing in an easy practice, fun is about looking back on what you just did and smiling about it. Cross-Country is a tough sport, but it's not impossible. Sure, I'm a tough coach. I made them do a fitness test Wednesday, Hills Thursday, and an Indian Run Friday. No soccer, no Frisbees, and for goodness sake no Capture the Flag. Work, hard work. XC isn't easy and it's not for everyone. They survived all the workouts and came back the next day, because of what is pounding in their chest. They have the potential heart for runners, but if they constantly tell me what we should do today or even whisper over my words, Air Force Annie is gonna come out to play, and just because it's a pre-meet day today, doesn't mean I won't make them work. My patiences is constantly tested and I am grateful for that. Patience is key to a jedi, but the same goes for anger to the darkside, which is tempted to leap out too. Ya know, before I thought I'd give anything to coach High School or College running, because they'll actually hear what I have to say and run with it, but they wouldn't challenge me like I am here with these kids. So give me your best shot Middle School, because that gun is about to go off and their inner annie-mal is about to be unleashed. Champions are coming, and we're gonna all finish as runners.

Mind, Heart, and Soles of a TEAM

So for this week I am taking up the reins to coach Middle School Cross-Country for the very first time. Heck! It's my first time coaching ANYTHING! And, I am a bit nervous.... I just got done running competitively for college and I still can't shake that intensity and that competitive edge off of me. I mean, for goodness sake I'm making myself do workouts on my own throughout the week because it's cross-country season and I can't seem to step away from that, even if I can't compete on my college team, or on any team for that matter! So, while I pound through the miles with that in my blood, now I am being huddled around by little kids, aching to run around, and I just hope, just HOPE I don't kill them, or worse, make them hate running and coming to practice. I just get intense. Locked and loaded. You give me an inch, and I'll sprint a freaken mile. But these kids will do me some good. They'll force me to really work from the bottom up with running. They don't know what they're doing, only to just put one foot in front of the other. They see cross-country as a long game of tag. Just don't get clipped by the person behind you and the "safe spot" is the finish line. That's it. It's every man for themselves. I hope to change that and really get them focused as to what a "team" is. Without that, no matter what kind of coaching is thrown at you, you'll never make it to that finish line as good as if you did with a team behind you. So yes, I am nervous, but I am pretty excited too. I'm creating the foundation, the platform of running for these kids. It takes 3 things to become an outstanding runner:

• Mind - Gotta develop that runner mentality of ignoring the pain and envisioning the gain of every mile
• Heart - Gotta love running, gotta love the team, and you have to have the heart to start
• Sole - Gotta attack that next mile, that next hill, that next RUNNER with the bottom of your feet to make the journey complete

Without a team, you go none of these. I ran without a team for two years in college. Yes, I had teammates, great teammates, but never a "team". It was so divided, I just couldn't bring myself to come out for cross-country my sophomore year, my love for running literally was lost. I don't run for myself, I run for that teammate next to me. I was so alone; when I did track that spring (because if there's anything you know about me, it's that I eat-breathe-LOVE track and I just couldn't stay away) I ran an 800m in 2min 55sec. In College! Ugh it was terrible. But I am not ashamed to say that time, because you know what happened the next year? I broke the 800m record and PR-ed with a 2min 17sec finish. All because I had my team back. I had someone to run for, someone to set my mind, heart, and soles for. So that's what I'll focus this first week with the middle schoolers. Team. Coming together and pushing each other. It's not everyone for themselves, it's everyone for everyone else. Watch out Middle School XC revivals, you're about to be run over by my Middle School XC TEAM!

Stretch, or Not to Stretch...?

So, if you have ever attempted to run, or have seen other people take strides to move like a runner, then you've probably seen and/or taken part in the iconic pulling that foot behind your buttocks while hopping on the other foot aimlessly around to keep from falling over. Whatever you do, do not, and I repeat, do NOT do that. And don't even think of plopping on the ground, stretching your legs out, and grabbing that freaken toe. Forget those static stretches. They do you more harm than good. Don't believe me? Take it from me, I've been running competitively for 10 years, never pulled anything, and I've only been running faster, breaking records, and leading the pack in races ever since I stopped doing static stretches. Plus, the Kenyans never stretch, and look at them! They're running gods! Still can't trust me? Here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/should-i-stretch-before-or-after-my-runs?page=single

it's just one of several articles that have been coming out lately stating what I have always stood by - Might as well stretch how you run. So, if you hop on one foot with the other one pulled up behind your butt while running, well, then go right ahead and do those static stretches. But if you actually move when you run, then it's time to change it up. And if you still don't agree, shoot me a comment, prove me wrong. Otherwise bear with me as I ramble some more.
So before dipping into a workout/run/or race, I highly recommend doing a set (meaning 25m down and back) of

• Butt kicks
• A's (like high knees only walking, should be slow)
• High knees
• Calf walks (while walking forward, bend down and touch the foot in front's toe simultaneously)
• Frankenstein walks (hands out in front of you, bring your toe up to your opposite hand while walking forward)
• Karaoke (really pop that knee UP!)
• Lunge twist (take a lunge forward, then twist your torso left and right, repeat) 
• and finish with Ballerina skips (skip sideways while swinging your arms over your head like you would jumping jacks) 
• and Front skips (skip forward and swing your arms as if you were doing the butterfly in swimming).

if you don't understand one of these dynamic movements, let me know! I'll search for a youtube clip to give you a better image of what I'm expecting :)

Key to remember while doing these is it's not about how fast you can do them. If you're breathing hard after High knees, then you're working yourself too hard. Don't make yourself get a workout in while stretching. You're doing those to get ready for the freaken workout! Go easy on yourself. Take time in between each set. Quality over quantity. Do these nice and easy, slow, and right. I don't care how long it take you to get these in, could be 15-20minutes. Perfectly cool. Don't get that heart rate up. Just focus.
So then, after doing these, drink some water, rest a bit, shake out all your limbs as if you were a noodle (yes people may think you're having a seizure standing up, but just do it, trust me, you'll feel awesome!), and then do 2-4 build-ups. Should be at least 100m. Just go from 0 speed and gradually increase to about the pace you plan on hitting maximum that day at the 75m mark. Hold that top speed for the rest of the way and have a nice long deceleration. Don't jump on the brakes when you've hit 100m in your build up, go at least 20m extra for your deceleration. Same goes for these as the dynamic stretches - rest in between each! This is not the workout yet or the race. It's just warm-up, stretching. Catch your breath back and head out on your next build-up. Focus on form, feeling that increase in speed through your legs, swing the arms, don't cross them. Just focus.
Then BAM! Your body is as good to go as ever. Without a static stretch in sight.
There is one exception... Static stretches are good to go at the end of a workout/run/or race. Your body is tired, you just ran your body hard. So, might as well give it a rest while stretching too. So static stretches I give a shady green light to AFTER the run. Still not my favorite statement, but I have received input from numerous runners and coaches that say static stretches after a run is okay to do. So, if you simply cannot give up standing and bending down to touch your toes, then go ahead, but only after you've sweat a bit from your run today ;) Else, get your legs stretched through dynamic movements before and after a run. It's the way to live, to run, to really feel your body inside and out become the beast from within. It's one step closer to becoming an Annie-Mal.

~Annie

Wanna be a Running Annie-Mal??

Yo,
I'm Annie, a born shoe lacing, hill pumping, sweat dripping, lung sucking, thigh slapping, calf ripping, mid-foot striking runner. All of that and much much more. I don't know what makes me do it... Maybe it's the weather that day, or the aching in my legs, or the tugging at my heart. Whatever it is, I find myself challenging my inner beast once again to go "just one more mile." I figure it's time for me to share the experience and spread my mind/heart/and soles of my feet with you to learn how to really be a runner. Running these days has been clouded by posers, or those better known as joggers. Nothing against them, I give them props for going at conversation pace endlessly and maybe drop a few tears of sweat down their face. But that's not why I am here doing what I'm doing. I'm not out there to hear what the gossip is around the street, nor am I out there to lose a couple pounds. I'm out there to gain it, to focus, to plow through and challenge the streets/trails/road that if I don't move, will you? These thunder thigh are nothing to frown upon, but to tremble at because if you don't move, these suckers are gonna take you down! That's the Annie-Mal within me. Survival of the fittest. So where do you stand? Every single one of you has what it takes to join me, to run with me, or is your inner beast a scaredy cat? On this blog I will post my workout for the day, times to hit, and give advice on endless running topics - foot strike, gaining the mentality of a runner, avoid injuries, stretching may not be worth the wait, and so many more - I want to get stronger and I want nothing less for you. I'm a true mid-distance runner, but come on, it's Fall, Cross-Country season is in full swing and it's time to get up that mileage. 5Ks will never look so easy. 3 miles?? Piece of cake. It's that .1 one that sucks. So join me and challenge yourself, heck! Challenge the challenge and be the best, most vicious runner this world has ever seen. Because when I'm done with you, that starting line is marked, and you can be sure I'm gonna be ready to go. So, you wanna be a running Annie-Mal? Workout starts tomorrow. Repeat miles. I'll meet you at the park.

... Okay, so repeat miles might be a little intimidating, and if you were anything like me 3 years ago, then you're in no shape to jump into this. All I ask of you is to get one mile in, at race pace, hell, faster than race pace. I want you to run it as if your inner animal was running after you, teeth barring and everything. Be afraid of it. It's all good if you are. Better for you to be afraid of yourself than laughing at it. This run will let you know where you're at. If you suck, you suck, don't let that stop you. It's stopped you for this long, why let it take over again? Gotta start somewhere. Just finish. Just finish one mile, and we'll go from there.
Good luck tomorrow ;)

~Annie-Mal