Some thoughts and Alamosa Info....

What the Crucible 

Of Starting A School Year Has Taught Us.... 

(and some Alamosa info)

Starting a school year has become a crucible. 

A test of everyone's will, time management and emotional stability. I believe we have rode the wave of it into shore, washed up...and now can begin the real good work of becoming great. 

(That is a lot of metaphor.) 

Our opening weeks have been filled with everything you can think of and we lived it all together so there is no need to go over all of the happenings since we began on August 14th. What we do need to look at is what we have learned having gone through it. Here are some thoughts...

Young, dumb and in love. ---Mat Kearney 

The most obvious brutal fact about our situation is that we are young. There is a ton of information and learning that needs to reach everyone and we are absolutely in love with the sport right now. It has been awhile since we have found the need to hold back the power of a student-athletes personal motivation in order keep them and our team healthy. Over the last few weeks the biggest challenge has been setting a pace and intent in training that everyone can manage. One of our big takeaways as coaches from the last few weeks is that we need to spend a lot more time teaching our Dakota Ridge way and the general things (nutrition, time management, training understanding, pacing). Training is both foundational to a person's overall physical fitness and is also preparation for racing. You should in some sense prepare for hard workouts similar to how you prepare for racing. While racing will require another mental gear, physically preparing for ALL of your running with sleep,  proper nutrition and appropriate focus is vital to personal success in the sport.   

We are a passionate and idealistic bunch that is absolutely seeking our best in this sport. It is obvious that many of you have wrapped your identity up in being a part of this team and a part of the sport. It has created a performance anxiety vacuum that is in a sense creating all kinds of crazy emotions and decisions among our team. This is something we can work on and once we get a grip on our emotion, we can start to use it to our advantage and more then likely perform even better. Over the course of the last few weeks we have seen a ton of fear start to dictate to us how things are going to go. Fear and anxiety are good when we let it be the foundation for giving a strong and focused effort. Fear and anxiety are bad when it begins to be the reason we make physically harmful decisions and/or hold back and don't take healthy performance risks. I assure you... you must be sound in sleep and nutrition to be successful in this sport and in addition if you are not willing to feel pain in this sport you will not achieve your best.  Sure there are times when it is not wise to risk during a race. Going out too hard early in Cross Country is usually a recipe for disaster whereas in track it might win the day. In Cross Country the risk comes once you have begun to feel a little bit of pain and it comes time to embrace that pain and forge ahead into unknown depths of it. 

Another aspect of wrapping your identity in the sport is the notion that "I am less, if I am not them". Our American culture certainly celebrates winners, talent and anything football. We should celebrate these things but we should keep it in the proper perspective. You might want to be the fastest, most good looking or a football player and be the most popular kid everyone loves because of it. However, the reality is we are who we are. I see us spending a lot of time wasting energy desiring to be someone else. What happens when you over-compare yourself to others is you start to get a voice in your head that says "I don't matter", "I suck" "I am not worthy" etc etc. Then that negative energy takes hold and becomes frustration, anger, depression and those things begin to hold you back. Embracing your own story, living your life and being thankful for every great thing (including failure) has been a hallmark of my personal coaching philosophy. We need to love what we have and strive to create. Ask yourself...do you remember or know who played the offensive line for the New England Patriots the last few seasons?  On the flip side...can you name someone in your life who you enjoy being in the company of that brings you joy? Can you name someone in your life who has made a big impact in a positive way in your life? Winning is great and fun and we should certainly strive for it and celebrate it, but in the end it is the impact we have on each other that is creating the lasting memories. Strive to make your impact be your passion for improvement, your acceptance of yourself and others and your ability to make everyone around you feel joy. Do that and whatever time you run for 5k becomes something you accomplished and not who you are. 

Forging on with our Jim Collins theme this year...

Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who take disciplined action—operating with freedom within a framework of responsibilities—this is the cornerstone of a culture that creates greatness. In a culture of discipline, people do not have jobs; they have responsibilities. When you blend a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get a magical alchemy resulting in superior performance.---Jim Collins 

http://www.jimcollins.com/concepts.html

We have responsibilities on this team. First you need to be on the bus of course. Showing up and making sure you are doing the things that will make us successful. Refer back to previous blog posts (click here) to understand what those responsibilities are. Chief of among those responsibilities is treating each other well and being great teammates. 

What we are in need of at this point is the culture of discipline that Jim Collins is talking about in that quote. Contemplate your part of the story and confront the brutal fact of whether or not you are acting within the framework we have here on Dakota Ridge Cross Country. 

Looking Ahead....

We have a very fun trip to Alamosa next weekend. By September 5th you need to have your paperwork signed and turned into our trio of fabulous women coaches.  Our $150 for uniforms and the Alamosa trip should also be turned in by this time. We need confirmations that you are going so we can finalize hotel room assignments and travel arrangements. 

If you have a parent that is planning on driving down to the meet....I need to know ASAP via email (drhsrunning@gmail.com) that they are doing so. We very well may need a couple of extra seats in vehicles to get everyone down there. 

Here is a basic itinerary we will follow... 

September 8th...

8:30am Arrive at Dakota Ridge High school and load bus. 

9:15am Leave Dakota Ridge HS for Sand Dunes National Monument 

1:15pm Arrive at Sand Dunes National Monument

3:30pm Leave Sand Dunes for Days Inn Alamosa, Colorado

4:00pm Arrive at Days Inn hotel (we have 28 rooms)

5:30pm-7:30pm Team Dinner.... site to be determined

September 9th

7:30am Load Bus for XC meet

8:00pm Drop off at XC meet site. 

9:20am Boys 5k race...(everyone)

10:25am Girls 5k race...(everyone)

11:00am-11:20am Awards for High School Races

 11:45-12:00pm Leave XC meet site for lunch

 by 1:30pm Leave Alamosa, Colorado for Dakota Ridge High School

5:30pm Arrive at Dakota Ridge High School