Brilliant Color Dotting the Earthy Brown

Rebecca came home today. Well, not "home", home, as she's been sleeping in her own bed for a few days now, but she came back to our program, back into the welcome embrace of those who have run by her side for the last four years and have been cheering and praying for her healing over the last three weeks.

She came wrapped in a surprise and burst forth in a mix of delighted shock and smiles of joy. It was quite a moment.

Accompanied by her Mom, Dad, brother and Coaches Clendenen and Griesinger, she "interrupted" our Monday meeting at the start of practice. It was a most welcome interruption!

Oh my, what a grand occassion. Three weeks to the day since CBU's terrible and tragic accident ... three weeks after traumatic injuries ... three weeks of intensive care in Reno, Rebecca walked in Riverside and right back into our lives.

We shared in the joy of seeing our loved one again. We marveled at her pace, her determination, her sheer grit. Those of us privy to the accident details could only stand in awe at what we beheld ... a lovely young woman, walking now with purpose, planning to run again and fulfill her mission in life.

My mind was taken back to the stunned silence of the night three weeks ago today when, in the dark of a Mammoth midnight, we got the news of the accident. A numbness descended over our camp the next morning. We wrestled with the fact of fear, of uncertainty ... the confusion of "what next?" We ran that morning ... it was a trudge for some ... but we ran up the big hill called Dead Man's Pass, our minds fixed on pain, real and imagined. We ran to the top, soaked in the view from 10,200 feet under a canopy of blue. Wild flowers painted the ground in yellow and purple, adding a festive hue to the earthy browns. We heard the muffled symphony of creation but it was hard to catch the tune. It was that kind of moment. A big, gigantic run, a celebratory tradition of our week in Mammoth, deadened by our sorrow. It was hard to let it rip and feel the joy.

In Riverside today, Rebecca shared time and words with us, her presence pushing our practice time back by ... well who cares. We ultimately did run, but there was no magnificent climb to ascend, no grand vista to greet us, just a mundane route we've done many times, checkered by suburban spreads painted in terrocotta shades of earth.

Yet Rebecca's visit, at least for this runner, did something to that routine. Energized by the gift of life, reminded of it's fragility, this "normal" run took on new colors and new meaning. How grateful I am for Rebecca's life, for the opportunity to have shared the road with her for four years, to taste the struggles and joys of sports and life together. I saw that idea in clear, vibrant colors as I ran through the housing maze of Orangecrest.

Today Rebecca came back to us, packaged as a gift, a new treasure of life. From the shadows of a great crash, her life and smile and radiant beauty reminds us of the brilliant colors that dot the earthy browns and greys of life. David Crowder puts it well: "A certain sign of grace is this, out of the broken earth, flowers come up..."

For those six miles today, the normal took on new beauty, a freshness and splendor not unlike the rooftop of Mammoth.

Thank you Rebecca, for inspiring us yet again. Oh, and welcome home!

Wooden's Secret of Success - Alertness

When you typically think of being alert, goal setting does not come in to play. We need to stay alert while driving, be aware of our surroundings when we go from place to place, and work to remain focused and sometimes awake doing everyday tasks. Sometimes we work through our daily tasks without even thinking about them. We go to class, say hi as a formality to people we may not really know and finish our days not really thinking about whether we moved closer to any goal we had set for ourselves.

On John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, his seventh secret is “alertness” which he tells us to “Be observing constantly. Stay open-minded. Be eager to learn and improve.” When you connect this to last week’s secret of self-control and ambition, we see how the block of alertness does affect our goals. Without goals, we won’t remain alert while completing practice, studying for a test, pursuing a job or living our best life.

Psychologically it makes sense. Let’s say you really want to save money to take a trip to Disneyland or to a great destination. You will start to become alert to what it takes to save money. You will become aware of every money earning possibility that confronts you rather than not being alert to them if you didn’t have to earn money. When you set the goal of earning a certain amount of money you become alert to the opportunities it takes to achieve that goal. On the opposite side if you only focus on the negative- the what if’s, the fears, the bad things that have happened in the past, we have turned our attention from our goal to one of defeat before we have done anything. You do this when you race or confront a hard practice. You become completely alert to all the bad feelings you could have, the pain you may feel, and disappointment of possibly not doing your best. Instead of being alert to our goal and outcome we focus on being alert to possible negative results.

In our hectic, busy and cell-phone filled lives, we may feel as if we are always alert because we are always on the go and connected to everyone and everything. Rather, the opposite is true. With our heads buried behind computer screens and phones, we may miss half the people that cross our paths. We may miss beautiful scenery or the opportunity for an important face to face conversation with a loved one or even someone new. It is often difficult to quiet our minds and to remain still, but this is when the most alertness occurs. We become completely present with our thoughts, where their taking us and what we want from our lives. Through quiet observations of ourselves and others, we become increasingly alert and sensitive to other’s needs as well as our own.

As a coach and teacher, I must remain sensitive to each student and athlete’s method of motivation and inspiration. I must become a better observer to their needs. Whereas one person might like a daily dose of questions and answers another might like a random comment once a week. In asking better questions and working on truly listening, we actually grow as a person, a leader and in our alertness. Whereas we may want nothing but answers, it’s our questions that help us grow.

Written by Coach Clendenen

Wooden's Secret of Success - Self Control

This season we are focusing weekly on the John Wooden's famous Pyramid of Success. Our aim is to instill in our athletes the character traits of team work and the building blocks of competitive success. While in Mammoth, our discussions focused on the base level of the pyramid, and now that the season has started we're working our way to the top and a block a week will be our aim.

These short articles are being written each week by Coach Clendenen:

Secret #6 in John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success is “Self Control”. We show self-control each day as we avoid eating too much, spending too much money or making choices that don’t help us become the best person that we can be. Wooden defines self-control by saying we must “practice self discipline and keep emotions under control. Good judgment and common sense are essential”.

Building on the base blocks of hard work, enthusiasm and team play, Wooden links the block of self-control with the trait of “ambition”- an ambition for NOBLE goals. When we combine the two, we see how they must go hand-in-hand for without having a goal, any goal, there would be no real need to practice self-control of any sort.

At first glance it may appear that self-control is what we need to discipline ourselves away from the playing field. We have goals to race better, improve our times, to rise to the occasion and therefore we must eat right, stay focused, go to bed early, and make sacrifices for the sake of our sport. Ultimately these are important, especially as teenagers who are surrounded by so many out of control people. Through self-control you will indeed become a better runner. You will feel strong; self confident in knowing you have done the right things to help you become a better athlete. More important to all of this however is how self-control will help you become a stronger individual and one that can truly set, create and achieve a noble goal.

Wooden says that “Success is peace of mind, which is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you’ve done the best of which you are capable.” Self-control seems to be the clear stepping stone to achieving the kind of success that leads to the peace of mind that you have indeed done the best of which you are capable. How many times have we finished a race, practice, test, assignment, conversation with a friend or loved one and said, “I could have done better. I can be better.” We are full of regrets. We don’t race, act, believe or speak nobly. With clearly defined goals, ambition to become bigger than we have ever been before, we must practice self-control in all paths of life. Your actions, thoughts, values must become natural and not forced. They must be applied to your life and your life only for we are all faced with different circumstances and must rise above them. It is our head that must rest soundly on the pillow at night knowing we have peace of mind in being the best person we can be.

In the book Beyond Success, based on Wooden’s pyramid, the author Brian D. Biro, shares the story of Jackie Robinson, an obvious candidate for someone that epitomized self-control. Robinson, is a baseball hero who broke the color barrier when he became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in 1947. Robinson, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was obviously a success athletically, helping his team win the World Series six times, winning the National League’s MVP and playing on six All Star teams. Robinson clearly had to show self-control as a professional athlete, but in an era where people spit on him in public, mocked him on the field when he was up to bat and forced him to do things separately from his teammates while they were in public, he had to show self control in even more profound ways. Robinson was known to never complain, never fight back and never put anyone down. He was there when his teammates needed encouragement and made it a point to reach out his hand to a fellow opponent. He is known for saying that it did not matter if people liked him or not, the only thing that mattered was that they respected him.

Self-control knows that you must treat your own life with the sort of respect you hope to earn from others. It is a knowing that you are rising above the value that sometimes society places on us. It means living a life nobly to better those around you and to live your life in a way that helps you realize you are becoming the person that people can recognize as a goal-setter, a leader and a team player that stands up for what is right even when others may disagree. It is living your best life. This goes back to the groundwork for the pyramid. In order to be a good teammate you need to not strive to be like someone else on the team and compare yourself to others, but to make yourself a better person for the sake of the team.

As long as we are breathing, living and enjoying all the great opportunities we are presented with each day, we must strive to be better. We will be faced with adversity, obstacles and difficulties. We will have to help others overcome their own personal tragedies, defeats and struggles. We will face circumstances that we just can’t control- but we will want to control anyway. It will make us sad, mad, scared, and feel defeated. It is our amazing ability as humans, however to rise above these challenges and show great self-control because we respect the gifts and lives we have been given and to act with great ambition for the next opportunity to succeed in practice, in the classroom, in a race, in your home and in your community.

Big Run, Big Game, Big Names

Yesterday we had a fun, challenging, and busy day. The morning started with our traditional "Big Smokey" long run, with the boys getting a full half-marathon in while most of the girls ran a tick over 11 miles. All finished well and it was a successful run.

After some time to rest and recover, we headed over to Shady Rest Park for the afternoon. A second-annual game of kick ball commenced, with typical hilarity. The Meecen (don't ask, it's a word that just came to be, born from men in Mammoth) were victorious, in large part to Dustin Means' cannon of a right leg, the "rookie" launched two long balls and circled the bases in dizzying fashion. He won the Player of the Game award, a title so prestigious that the game ball goes to the winner. This year's sphere was a baby blue bouncer with Star Wars figures painted on it. Sweet stuff, that.

We were treated to a delicious BBQ of burgers and dogs by Coach Peirce and the "Lords of the Grill", Mr. Andy Schupp and Mr. Mike Ritter who cooked 'em up to order. It was goooood.

The night was topped off with a presentation of Q-and-A by members of the Mammoth Track Club, a group of professional runners who live and train in the altitude of Mammoth Lakes. Among the six who spoke were Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor. Both are the leading marathoners from the United States, and Ryan ranks as one of the best in the world. Deena was the bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and was poised for an even higher finish in 2008 before her foot broke at mile three of the race. These and several others shared candidly and with humor the lessons they've learned along the way. This, after serving watermellon to the couple-hundred high school runners who came to listen. There was no fee for their knowledge.

Following the presentation, the pros mingled with the kids posing for photos and smiling gamely. Truly a unique aspect of our sport is the humility of it's very best! Good times.

The boys with Ryan Hall


Trevor Berney makes the catch


The girls with Ryan Hall


Girls, girls, girls!


MVP of the game, Dustin Means!

An Uphill Climb

We ran and in some ways are still are running with heavy hearts on the news of CBU's tragic accident and the traumatic injuries to one of our beloved alums, Rebecca Trupp. While the prognosis as of this writing is hopeful, she still has a long way to go and will be working hard to recover in the coming weeks and months.

The news hit us hard Tuesday morning and we were somewhat numb as to what to do. After some time of talking and crying we decided to go ahead and do the planned run up Deadman's Pass. Some said, "It would be a tribute to Rebecca."

Knowing some would struggle with the emotions and carry the weight of sadness and fear, we made our way up the hill in whatever fashion we could muster. Some ran, some walk, some did a little of both. Some cried.

As I struggled up the mighty grade, I thought of Rebecca and how she was such a fighter, especially on hills. During her years running with us, she was just so tough on hills, she was such a fighter. As my heart rate redlined and my quads ached, I thought of her. I thought of how I never once witnessed her giving up. I kept going. So too did her former teammates and those few among us who never had the opportunity to know her and be inspired by her.

Our usual celebratory spirit at the summit was naturally muted. We enjoyed the view. The brisk wind whipped at our dampened bodies. We waited for the last to arrive, took photos and headed back down.

I couldn't help but think of the parallels this run had to what perhaps Rebecca is now going through. She's on an uphill climb of recovery. There will be pain. Patience and endurance will be critically important.

Along the way, she'll need our cheers, our support, good words well timed. Just as we urged each other on to the top of Deadman's Pass Tuesday morning. Those words of encouragement ... "You can do it, keep going" will be what will sustain Rebecca in the coming weeks.

Some wonder why we annually choose to tackle such a tough run. You could say it's because it's hard. But really its because of what awaits us at the top. The view is simply spectacular, and given the toll such vistas require, they are all the sweeter.

I can only imagine that such views await Rebecca when the healing process is complete. I hope so. Until then, she will trudge onward, one step at a time, progress made.

You and I must cheer her on. We must not fail.

The Passage of Time

Time is an interesting concept. It moves almost without notice. It doesn't need an engine. It's measure by light, shadows, wrinkles and watches. It creeps up on us. It flies by. Moments can seem frozen in time, and then there are times when we remark, "my, where has the time gone?"

We marked the passage of time last night, as two of our own celebrated birthdays. Hanna (17) and Sabrina, (14). One is entering the last year of high school, the other just entering it. Like bookends, they are beginning and end.

So it was a moment in time worth celebrating. Cupcakes with an abundance of frosting were handed out and an off-key rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" was sung at the top of our lungs. Given the altitude, we were a bit winded by the time the last note was sung off-key.

In the morning we made the most of our time with a run around Convict Lake, a truly inspiring place of serenity and beauty. We stopped along the footbridge at the western edge of the lake to soak in the artistry of creation and enjoy the time we had.

An easy pace back down the road brought us to the end of an hour spent running along trails, around a lake, under the heaven of blue.

It was a good time. What did you do with your time today?

Day One on Day Two

We've had a good day today, with great weather and sunshine, a lot of sumptious food and about 11 miles put in our collective banks.

As I wrote yesterday, our traditional first-afternoon run along the scenic Mammoth Rock Trail had to be scrapped due to potential thunderstorms. So, we did Day One on Day Two.

It was beautiful. We're still acclimating to the altitude, so we kept the pace well within our comfort zones, allowing time to laugh and look. The view along the hillside trail is truly spectacular!

The Eagle Has Landed, We're Here!

While the weather down South has been pleasantly delightful all summer, we were greeted upon arrival in Mammoth to actually cool temperatures and a strong breeze! Our drive north was a breeze too, thankfully, and we've all made it safely through our first run.

Tradition had to be scrapped however. For 10 years, our traditional first run has been to take the very scenic Mammoth Rock Trail that overlooks the village and the valley, the White Mountain range off in the distance.

Some ominous storm clouds have been brewing over the Sierra's since we arrived, and since they seem to have congregated for a meeting over the trail, we decided to avoid potential lightening, and opted for an easy run through town. True to Mammoth form, we spotted no less than four other high school teams getting their run in as well. We'll get the Mammoth Rock trail in tomorrow evening.

So it's off to a good start. Ham and baked potatoes are cooking up and dinner's callin'!

Why Hills?

In light of the hill training we've been doing of late, I thought this short article by one of America's top coaches could be helpful explaining the what and why of hills in a training regimen.

"So why do we add in hill training? Hill training – either as continuous uphill runs or as hill intervals accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. The hill itself will provide you with great resistance training as you run. If the incline is steep enough then you will recruit many more muscle fibers over the course of the workout. Your hips and glutes work over-time when you are climbing over 2000 ft of elevation in one run.

With time and repetition you will get physically stronger as well as run faster once you hit level ground. Hills are also a great way to improve your running mechanics. Since the energy demand to climb a hill is that much greater than running on a flat surface you will learn how to use the right muscles to get you to the top. This workout has a way of getting rid of what isn’t working in a hurry.

In addition, hills provide you with the aerobic training that you need, but with much less pounding then when running on flat or downhill surfaces. Since you are always going up there will be less joint stress and eccentric muscle overload and this means that you can add in miles on hills without feeling like you ran a marathon in training.

Finally, hills are great for teaching mental tenacity and patience. If you go full steam into a hill you will probably get knocked over quick. A few more attempts like that and you will see that the prudent way to make it to the top is the steady approach. Conquering hills is much like conquering a marathon. The wise runner is the patient runner. Don’t give up if your first attempt goes south. Take the tortoise over the hare approach here and you will see a steady improvement that will bring tremendous dividends once you hit the streets. Running on a flat surface will feel like you are not working hard at all and then you can just watch the miles will fly by."

Commitment

Ever thought about what it takes to be successful in running? I bet your mind goes pretty quick to the things like "talent" or "ability". While those are part of the equation, I've been coaching long enough (started in 1989) to have seen plenty of talented runners who weren't very successful. Their ability didn't get them very far.

The reasons for those detours are numerous, but so often it's simply because they lacked commitment. To neglect commitment in running is to invite an early end to running. "Uncommitted runner" is an oxymoron.

The problem is that in our society, studies are showing that a lack of commitment is becoming the norm. It's now acceptable, cache. Just two years ago, more than half of people ages 20-24 had been at the current job for less than a year. Young Americans are marrying later in life than at any time in our history.

The obituary of commitment comes with the collateral damage to community. While we exalt a commitment to ourselves, narcissism (an obsession with what we think will make ourselves happy) stands in the way of developing a team, of nuturing the collective good. All of the foundations of a healthy society crumble with the religion of self-focus. Commitment is at the core of all human relations, and it is the essence of great teams.

So how does this apply to us? Well, it begs a question: How committed are you? What kind of determination have made to contribute in a committed way to the well being of this community we call King Cross Country?

More specifically:
How committed are you to your teammates?
How committed are you to improving?
How committed are you to serving others?
How committed are you to listening?
How committed are you to having a positive attitude?
How committed are you to us?

The irony in all this, is that our self-absorbed society has abandoned the principles of commitment in search of personal fufillment and happiness. Studies show that we are among the nations of the world, one of the least content, least happy?

Why? Because to gain more life, you have to give more of yourself away. Without a commitment to others, our individual lives are empty and barren.

I challenge you to die to yourself this season and find the life that comes from living for others. Start with a teammate, then two, then three.

If all of us do this, we'll have the most successful season we could possible have.