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!