Sweet Smell of Mammoth!

Hard to believe, but we leave for Mammoth in just under a month! What a great week we have there, the running is just awesome and Coach Peirce's menu is to die for!

I was given a cool website that you can chart the routes you run. It's better than the one we've been using.

So I was playing around with it and thought I'd map the traditional first run we do in Mammoth, the "Mammoth Rock Trail." I was even able to attach some photos from the route.

Check it out!

The Race is On, Part 5

I can hardly wait until October 10 and 11! The Clovis Invitational in Fresno is one of my all-time favorite meets! It's a great setting, well run, highly competitive, and best of all, it's held on the State Meet course!

We've been traveling to Clovis for a number of years now and have put together some really fine performances there. It's something about that setting that really gets our motor running and brings the best out. Click here for our all-time list.

If you check out that list, you'll notice that there are NO current boys in the top 25! (We didn't run the meet last season). With one of our better squads shaping up, it's going to be cool to see how many of that list get bumped down or off. The girls are peppering the list, but some of our young stud-muffins have yet to give the course a go, so you never know what the list on the girls side might look like when we're done.

We take the top 14 boys and the top 14 girls to the meet based on 1) Attitude and 2) race performances during September. We're planning on running the top-7 in the loaded "championship" race and the next seven (JV) in the "varsity race."

We'll drive up with parent help and stay in a local motel. Get in shape to race! You're not going to want to miss this!

OH MY! Watch This Finish

Boston Marathon, 2008. Last 3 minutes of the women's race! Check out the battle!

The Race is On, Part 4

A race I'm really excited about this season will be a new one for us, the "Central Park Invite" hosted by Fountain Valley HS. The meet will be held in Huntington Beach on October 4, so we should get some cooler temps that close to the beach.


But more importantly, the OC always brings high-quality competition, and so this will be another meet to test ourselves against some of the area's best. Check out last year's results, course map and other stuff at this link.

The Race is On, Part 3

Big 8! That's the name of the new league we'll be in. It's a creative name. Reflects the fact that the league will be made of 8 large (big) high schools. Oooooh.

Actually it's a blend of the Mountain View League and half of the Ivy League. King, Poly and North will be joining with the Corona schools -- Corona, Santiago, Norco, E.Roosevelt, Centennial.


Other than the names of the schools in the league, there will be some significant changes. First, dual meets will be no longer. Instead, the league will compete in "cluster meets", meaning, all 8 schools will compete three times in the season, including league finals. Each meet will be like an 8-team "invitational". The first meet, September 25, will be at our course.

The other main change will be the level of competition. This will certainly be a tougher league than the Ivy was, especially for the girls. Our girls have been unchallenged since we arrived in the Ivy League. Let's face it, there have been meets in league where we could run JV runners at the varsity level and still win easily. Those days are over.

Corona's girls are a power. They are well coached by Mark Gardner and have a similar history to ours: League dominence and CIF Finals berths. Santiago also had a decent girls squad last year, as did Poly.

The boys will have a deeper pool to wade through. In the past several years, it's been La Sierra and King at the top of the league heap. Corona's boys are as good as La Sierra, if not better, and in fact will most likely be one of the best teams in all of D1. Roosevelt is an up-and-comer and Santiago has always produced good teams, so it will certainly be a battle.

I like the challenges that confront us. Frankly, for our girls, league has been too easy and this will help make us better. Great challenges create great opportunities and that's the most obvious thing about heading into the Big 8.

Let's rise to it!

High Expectations

A couple of posts ago I wrote about Galen Rupp, the tough and fast kid from Oregon and his take on the pressure of high-level competition.

Well, in case you missed it, he finished second in the 10K at the Olympic Trials and qualified for the Olympics. He said, "high expectations mean you have a chance to do something special."

He's done it. He's met the expectations and at 21, he's on to the Olympic Games! Incredible story.

Sports Illustrated wrote about it. Check it out here.

The Race is On, Part 2

The sweet eucalyptus casting various and shifting shadows in the image above is the sight at the top of "the hill" at Morley Field, Balboa Park, San Diego. It's the location of the Mt. Carmel Invitational, one of my personal faves for many years, dating back to my time coaching at Ayala in Chino Hills (last century!). Seems like every time I come back to these fields and trees and the killer San Diego weather, cross country comes over me ... it's a great place to hold a race and the Mt.Carmel invitational never disappoints.

It'll be our second race of the season (9/20), a grade-level event, but the competition is always very challenging and quality, including an Arizona team thrown in for fun.

Our records on this course go back to 2000, when, and this is trivia, we made our first overnight trip in school history to the meet. We don't spend the night there anymore, but the 90 miles south of school are worth every minute it takes to get there. Click here for results and photos of last season's invitational.

Plan on having fun on this saturday and racing a real cross country course against real cross country schools!

The Race is On, Part 1

Over the next week or two, I'll be blogging about our upcoming season's race schedule. It seems sometimes that we can fall into the habit of "just showing up" and racing, especially in the early season (September) and perhaps lose an opportunity to race and compete at a higher level. So maybe a preview of what's ahead of us will inspire us to greater heights!

Seaside Invitational, September 12. The past couple of seasons we've kept it local at a small grade-level, small-school meet that hasn't produced tremendous competition. The Seaside Invitational (on a Friday, near the beach in Ventura) will be a BANG for our first meet of the year. The flat course and cool beach temperatures brings out many of the top Ventura teams (like Oak Park, Buena and Ventura) along with some of the powers of the state. This season, the #2 girl team in the nation last season, Saugus, will open their season at Seaside and State Finalists and OC power, Trabuco Hills will also be there.

We don't know much about the course yet, but it's at a park near the beach, and maybe this aerial map gives you an idea: Can you spell F.L.A.T.?


View Larger Map

So get excited about the possibilities that await us at the start of the season. We'll be coming out of the gates against some powerhouse programs that yearly train and produce outstanding runners. Though our success at this meet won't make or break the season, we are excited to go up against the best and see where we stand on Day One.

And yes, the meet is held on a Friday, which will allow us to get out of school in the morning hours for the bus ride. We'll return late, stopping for a fine team dinner at some killer location (Coach Peirce is working on it!) and thereby avoid traffic coming back to the IE.

Click here for last year's results and a couple of basic top finishers videos.

Pressure!

Galen Rupp, one of America's top 10,000 meter Olympic hopefuls, said this the other day about his upcoming Olympic Trials race, in which he must finish top three to qualify for Beijing. A great example of how top athletes recognize and respect "pressure" but don't let it get to them!

"A race I’ve been looking forward to for eight years is two weeks away. I will be running on my home track, having finished second in last year’s national championships, with the chance to make my first Olympic team. I am nervous, excited, and the pressure continues to mount. But with pressure and expectations comes the opportunity to do something great. I wouldn’t want it any other way."

It's Not "Just Running..."

One of the things that annoys me is when folks refer to our sport as "just running." You know the sentiment, kids and old dudes alike kind of cast off our sport into the playground as if any one can do it.

I love it when our runners begin to think their way through a season. It rocks when it's obvious that they are absorbing all that is being taught to them. I love it when they pick up the "why" ... as in why we are training the way we are, or why we pick the the races we do. It's easy to sometimes get lulled into "just running" and giving little thought to all the rest that goes into making us better athletes and competitors. Cross country is soooo much more than "just running."

This came to my mind when I came across this description of the elite runner's routine, written by Lauren Fleshmen, one of America's top 5,000 meter runners and Olympic hopeful. Read it. Notice just how many factors and people are involved in getting Lauren to the starting line ready to roll.

Though not all of what she does at the world-class level would apply to you, what does?

We're not "just running..."

2 Mile National Record Falls ... 29 years later

One of the longest held records in HS track and field fell finally, as Jeff Nelson's 8:36 for a full 2 miles (not the shorter 3200 meters race) was crushed by German Fernandez. Watch this historic race here! This guy is AMAZING! Be inspired.

Some of our graduates

Something to think about

Last season we tried to think about and act upon helping others within the larger community. Our "shoe drive" netted over 200 pairs of used shoes which we donated to the homeless of Los Angeles. We raised over $2,000 toward the digging of drinking wells in Africa through BloodWater:Mission.

I came across this quote regarding our charity from the famed English writer, CS Lewis (writer of The Chronicles of Narnia among many other works). It kind of hit me betwee the eyes, as I realized that I've got a long way to go to get to that place in my charity, my giving.

Think of these words as we approach another season and another opportunity to give to others:

“If our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.

If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them.” - C.S. Lewis

Fuzzy Math!

Finally, someone who's worse with numbers and math than I am! Whoo hoooo!

I am only one...

Very cool.

The German Army

Did you see German Fernandez' State finals races? My goodness. Dyestat's official word was "there are no words." Mine would be "speechless." I don't think I've ever seen anyone on this side of world class run like he did. 4:00 for the 1600 meters, then, 2.5 hours later, 8:34 for 3200 meters. His first mile in the 3200 was 4:18, his second was in 4:15. Both were state records, the 32 was a National record. Both were run "alone" (there were, officially, other guys in both races, but was anyone -- including their own coaches -- watching?) The German army was storm trooping through Cerritos and it was a sight to behold. In events where few can break 4:10 and 9:00, he made very good runners look mediocre.

I had to remind myself he's a high school kid. Other than talent, not much different than you, the high school kid who may be reading this. When asked after his incredible day "what made the difference this season?" his answer was "I ran more last summer." Wow.

If you haven't seen his races yet, go over to these links to see the video. 1600 meters. 3200 meters

Morgan Sjogren's All American Experience

I got an email yesterday from Morgan Sjogren, (class of '05) whom I wrote about a couple of posts ago (see "M&M"). She wrote me describing her two races at the NAIA National Championships, and as any coach would want to know, she took the time to describe the races as they unfolded. Very cool!

What was really neat though about reading the account was to see so clearly how her experience and knowledge played a role in her performance. As you read it, notice how she had a strategy going in, how she practiced patience, how she relied on her preparation, how she overcame spills and racing "alone" and how, through it all, she came through with a couple of very good races. Learn from what she writes ... and yes, I got permission from her to post this !

Before the 10k my only instructions from Coach Scott were to run how I feel, so i just planned to go with my gut instinct. I had actually had a chronically tight calf that week and had to take a few days off prior to the meet, which i do not like at all! The first 2 laps were on my Pr pace(84/85) but then 3 girls took off (A D1 All-American and 2 Kenyans)! I decided to sit in the pack until I felt ready to go. The pace slowed enough that I used it to rest for my move. When we hit an even slower lap with 3.5 miles to go I decided to make a surge. No one went with me so I decided to keep pushing on my own. It was tough to run that much of the race by myself, but because I trained and raced alone so much this season I knew this would be my best plan-and it worked! Even though I was really stoked I had to focus on recovering for my next 2races as soon as I finished. This included and ice bath at midnight!

The next day during the 5k prelim I fell in a 3 girl pile-up. This bumped me back to last place way off the front pack. fortunately I have fallen enough in my career to stay calm and gradually move up. I ended up fourth and auto-qualifying for the final. Unfortunately I didn't have anough gas in my tank for the final. I got boxed in and missed the big break away. I ended up running the whole race by myself back in 12th, but eventually working my way up to 8th and scoring a point for the team! It was tough,but it really motivates me to do even better next year!

Sportsmanship Personified -- Distance Runners are the Best!

Click here to read the ESPN story

King High's 2008 Valedictorian!

Congratulations to this year's top scholar, one of our own for the last two seasons, Jeff Lin! 4.gazillion GPA!

M&M

It's always neat as a coach to see athletes move on to compete at the next level. Though it doesn't happen a lot, it's really cool when it does happen! Then, when those who do move on, actually stick it out and succeed, well, truly awesome!

Two of our recent grads have been competing for Cal State San Marcos (north of San Diego) under the guidance of 1984 and 1988 Olmpian and former US record holder in the mile, Coach Steve Scott. Monica Valenzuela (class of '07) and Morgan Sjogren ('05) are the M&M I'm referring to!

Word has come that the two have now qualified to compete in the NAIA National Championships this next week in St. Louis, Missouri! Monika is a part of the San Marcos 4x400 squad, and Morgan has qualified in both the 5K and the 10K ... with, according to the last reports, a 10K PR that enters her as one of the favorites to win the whole thing!

What makes this story even sweeter, is that I can distinctly remember each of their years at King. Both girls found levels of success as varsity athletes in cross country and track. But both would also say their years here were frustrating ... filled with injuries and illnesses, enough setbacks to temper the enthusiasm they gained from their progress. They had the setbacks that come with sports.

But they are both testimonies of perseverence ... the ability to "keep on keepin' on." Now in their college years, they are enjoying the fruit of hard work ... and time ... and consistency ... and effort ... and not giving up.

How sweet is that reward! Great job Monika and Morgan! Thanks for not giving up on your gift and finding a way to succeed. We'll be looking forward to seeing the results from Nationals!