Less Weight, More Reps

A simple word of advice that most of you have probably heard before, but some of you may not have, is that for runners, it is better to do more reps at a lesser weight than more reps at a greater weight when weight lifting. This is because runners need to build up muscle that is effective and strong, while not being overly bulky. Lean muscle is strong and enough to allow a runner to propel themselves for ward and do what they need to accomplish without weighing too much. Runners need to carry their body weight with them as the run, so seemingly, they don’t want to carry too much excess weight around with them, because that will just make it harder for them to run and slow them down. At the same time though, muscle is a great asset to runners and can help them push through and tier less easily, as well as allow them to have greater power in their motion and push offs. So as you can see, there is a delicate balance when it comes to muscle for runners.

One way to reach this balance is to concentrate on body weight exercises. Seeing as when you run, you are dealing with carrying your weight and exercises in which you are only working with your weight can help ensure that you are not bulking up too much, but are still getting a good workout if you do enough reps of each different exercise. These workouts should do a pretty good job of building up enough muscle for most runners to perform well, however, free weights and machines can also be a great way to assist you in gaining muscle mass and endurance. Weights will clearly help you get bigger, and they can be very beneficial, but putting too much weight on your barbell can have a negative effect at some point if it is causing you to gain too much weight, because keep in mind that muscle does weigh more than  fat.  In addition, too much weight can be dangerous if one is not properly advised and prepared. But given all of this, if you are careful and do plenty of reps, you can build strong, lean muscles that will be very beneficial during the season! Just remember that muscle and getting big is not the primary goal for competitive runners, especially those that run distance. I mean there has to be a reason why so many successful cross country runners seem to be twigs right? J

Off Season Training Sessions

Several of the girls on my team have recently been getting together a few times a week to work on some tactical stuff and conditioning for the upcoming track season. While I often have to work and miss out on some of the trainings, It has certainly helped me get in the gear for track and feel excited and more prepared for this year! My freshman year I did not do nearly enough training for the track season, and it seemed to sneak up on me very fast, so it was certainly a brutal awakening to get back in the swing of things. This year though, I feel like I maintained the fitness and endurance I had built up during the cross country season a little bit more than previous years and have been working to keep it up, though it of course faltered slightly.

I think these short training sessions have helped me to get in the mood for track and to feel more ready and in shape this year. The sessions are also a great way to reconnect with some of the teammates whom you may not have seen for a few months! Your teammates are most likely some of your best friends, and you certainly have to learn how to trust and depend on them when the time comes to compete and give it your all, especially in the case of a relay. That is why these sessions are such a great idea, because they not only provide an opportunity to get reintroduced with your teammates before the season, but it also gives a way for those on your team to more easily make sure they are pulling their weight during the off season so that they can be the best athletes they can when it comes time for the season. It comes down to the  buddy system, when someone on our team knows that there are others out their putting in work, they will feel more obliged to tag along and get in a good workout. It also goes both ways, and you may be more likely to exercise if you know that you can do it with a bunch of your friends, I certainly know that that it the case for me. 

Stair Master

The off season is a great time to experiment with different types of cross training other than just running, and one machine that I have found to be very beneficial for me in my training is the Stair Master. I went to the gym with my friend a few weeks ago for the first time and she showed me the machine and said that it is usually the first thing she does before every workout at the gym. I hopped on to the Stair Master next to hers and after spending a few minutes figuring out the groove of the machine and how to start it up, I discovered that it was kind of fun, and hard. The Stair Master got going and it didn't seem too bad for the first few minutes but it steadily gets more and more taxing, similar to the feeling of a tempo run for me. I enjoyed the Stair Master though and felt like it was a great alternative to running because it not only works your circular system, getting you breathing heavy and sweating a lot, it also works your muscles substantially as you work your way up the never ending loop conveyor belt of stairs.

To the people at the gym whom I see working their way through the Stair Master like a champ for nearly an hour, I truly applaud you. Whether it is just because I am new to the Stair Master universe or because it is truly more taxing than running, which I feel is the case because I mean come on, it is a continuous loop of stairs, but either way, the Stair Master does seem to get me tiered far before running will and is a great way to get in a really good workout in less time. I usually go on the Stair Master for around 25 minutes at the beginning of my workout and by that point I am certainly feeling pretty darn tiered! So for those of you who don’t have the time to get a good long run in every day, the Stair Master can be a very efficient way to get in a beneficial workout that will result in increased leg muscle and endurance! In addition, it also has several levels of speed on the machine so one can experiment with different speeds and can work on speed training or distance as one would when they are running on a treadmill. The option of different levels also proves that the Stair Master is adoptable for all different fitness and experience levels, so go ahead and give it a try the next time you hit the gym. 

Ponytails

Even though not everyone on Earth can benefit from this simple object, it is still a very important and under appreciated part of a lot of people’s lives. This elastic band of toughness is not just a tool for you to use when it is convenient for you, it is also your friend. However, despite its high importance, it is something that a lot of people forget about until they don’t have one when they need it the most. What is this highly coveted and overlooked object you ask? Well, it is something that you will find among the wrist of many young girls as they strut around school. It is also the thing that transforms ones hair from being messily flung every which way around their face to being in a tight and perky pony tail on the top of their head.

Hair ties are nearly critical for any athlete with long hair that doesn’t which to get their hair pulled,  flung in their eyes, of stuck to the sweat on the back of  their neck. You can ask nearly any girl and they will tell you that it is more than a little uncomfortable to run with your hair down, and  the irritation is unbearable for many. Hair ties easily take the annoyance of having long hair and exercising out of the equation. You can move around any which way and your hair will stay out of your face. All one needs to perform this magic trick is to take 30 seconds to pull their  hair up, given that they are indeed in possession of the  before mentioned elastic  band, because if they are not, they will have to undergo the desperate task of many girls in the locker room before them. Those without a pony tail have to look around the room and pinpoint those closest to them who have a pony tail around their wrist. If they know them well enough, or are desperate enough, they will ask to borrow the ponytail, and if the girl whom they ask is nice enough, they will hand over their coveted possession, knowing very well that they will most likely never see it again. If one is not lucky enough to find a ponytail, well then they are about to realize just how under appreciated ponytails truly are. The unlucky ones have to exercise without the protection of a ponytail, and that is clearly a daunting and heart-wrenching task.

Ponytails are not just for the athletic and active among us, they also provide a way to quickly alter the outfit and look that one is going for that day. It allows girls to change up their look from day to day and differ in their style choices. Hair ties are essential in the making of a bun, fishtail, all of the many different types of braids, and lastly, and most obviously, the ponytail. So next time you put your hair up in a ponytail, or watch someone put their hair up if yours is not long enough, take a moment to appreciate the simplicity of the band and the substantial benefit that ponytails have had on society. 

Runner's Knee

There are many major benefits to running when it comes to health. Such benefits include improved cardiovascular health, strength, endurance, and overall fitness. Taking a jog around the block will have a substantially more positive than negative impact on one’s health, however, that being said, running, like everything else in life, has its cons. The major downside to running is that it is an exercise that is very hard and unforgiving on the joints of one’s body. 

The repetitive motion of striding out as we run and the pounding on our knees can slowly but surely irritate the patella as it slides past surrounding bones. This pain in one’s knee is often called "runners knee" due to how common it is among runners. Now I am clearly no expert on the matter, so if you would like to read up further on the causes of runners knee, its symptoms, and how to help prevent it as much as possible, please visit http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=150629. 

Given that I am not well researched and informed on knee injuries or how to prevent them, I will leave it up to you to look up “runner’s knee” on google and browse through the hundreds of websites and articles that come up. I wanted to write this article simply to remind you all that knee and join issues can be very serious and are not something to joke around about or ignore. I have has a minor experience with knee pain, but I know others on my team who have had much worse knee pain and injuries. My pain arose my freshman year toward the end of my first cross country season ever. I ignored the discomfort for a little while until I realized that I should probably get my knee checked out when it didn’t seem to be getting any better after two weeks. Fortunately for me, there were so few weeks left in the season at that point that I could fight through my knee problem and cause only mild pain. Most people are not this lucky though, so please don’t ignore the knee pain and remember to try your best to follow all the necessary procedures and precautions to ensure that you stay as injury-free as possible. 

Socks

This may seem like a rather obvious or pointless thing to say for some of you out there, but socks are a critical piece of clothing to wear when you run. Now I know, most of you wear socks no matter what you are doing when you are wearing close-toes shoes. Usually that is just because wearing socks is the normal thing to do, plus it prevents your feet from sweating like they are in their own personal little saunas. To continue this line of reasoning, when our feet aren’t sweating as much, there is a much less likely chance that any given room will have to evacuate to the fresh outdoors do to the awful odor that our feet can produce. Though the whole smell issue is clearly enough reason to wear socks, some people don’t know that socks have another function of equal or greater importance.

                Socks help prevent blisters from forming, and for anyone who has had a blister on their big toe knows, which I’m guessing is probably anyone who has ever regularly engaged in any physical activity whatsoever,  blisters are not fun. Blisters and calluses usually don’t bother me that much (unless they are those huge blood blisters) but I mean if you can prevent those nasty looking things that cause mild discomfort from infesting your toes, then why wouldn’t you? That is the beauty of the under appreciated sock. They do more for us as runners and human beings than we give them credit for.

                Also something to note the next time you venture out into the great and mysterious word of athletic apparel, the thicker the sock, the less likely it is that it will tear and cause blisters. Running can be harsh on your socks, especially the flimsy little socks with cute designs on them, so spend the extra money on the good socks that will last longer and better protect your feet from blisters and the overbearing smell that they emit. 

Treadmills

         There seems to be a lot of controversy on the internet over whether or not treadmills can be effective replacements for the outdoors when the weather is simply too harsh. Some say that treadmills don't work your muscles as well because the conveyor belt does the moving for you so you don’t actually have to push yourself forward. Others state that treadmills are easier to run on so it is not giving the runner as effective of a workout. I however am pro-treadmill, and have learned to balance out the cons so that the positives far out way the negatives. 

         In the winter, I have close to zero motivation to go out and get a good run in when the temperature falls below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only does the air outside wreak havoc on any exposed skin on your body, the sidewalks can also be dangerously icy, so even if you are one sure-footed fella, your pace is most surly dropping at least a little as you make your way through an icy patch. This means that in these low temperatures you are not only uncomfortable with itchy legs and tight muscles that are hard to get to stride out, but you are probably not even getting as good as a work out as you would on the treadmill. Treadmills provide an environment in which you would be safer, more likely to run farther given that you are more comfortable,and more able travel easier at a faster pace. 

         A few tips that can help offset the treadmills lacking muscle-building abilities is too set your treadmill to a 1 or 2% incline so that your muscles are getting a little bit more taxing of  a workout. This makes the effects of treadmill running quite similar to that of the outdoors. You could also try to make sure you get outside on the nicer days during the winter so that you can still ensure that you are still working and training all of your leg muscles correctly. In addition, simple body weight exercises can help promote and maintain muscle growth and strength, these exercises can include lunges, squats, and many others that are only a google away!
         If you are one who gets bored easily on the treadmill, try listening to music or setting up your phone on the ledge and watching Netflix! This certainly helps pass the time. Another important point to mention is that treadmills are better for your joints than the unforgiving and harsh concrete of sidewalks. The bounce of the treadmill conveyor helps alleviate some of the impact on your knees and ankles that occurs when one runs. So don't rule out treadmills quite yet! Head to the nearest gym and give them a try first!

Secret Santas

 For those of you who don't know, a "Secret Santa" is when a group of people get together and anonymously draw someone from the group to give a present to so that each person gets a present from someone!  This is a great thing to try doing with your track or cross country team! It helps promote team bonding, because you can all open them at a festive and cute little Christmas party, or not! It is also a great way to knock a few people off your Christmas gift list. I mean let’s face it; in high school you probably do not have the means to get a gift for all of your friends. So this is a cheap way to spread Christmas cheer with all of your friends on your team without breaking the bank. Secret Santas are also pretty fun and can help you get to know someone if you don’t know the person on your team whom you drew very well. 

                Initiating the Secret Santa is fairly easy, all you have to do is create a group chat and allow people to add those on the team whose numbers you don’t have. Once the people who want to join have responded to the message you can get a family member to randomly assign people to each other and text each person with the name of who they are to get a present for. All that’s left to do now is decide on a maximum price for the gifts and let the fun begin!

Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm has been my role model when it comes to sports since the time I was a little girl. For those of you who don't know of her legacy, she was the youngest player on the National US Women's Soccer Team, joining at 15. She was an extremely valued part of this trailblazing team that won the gold in the World Cups of 1991 and 1999, and in the Olympics of 1996 and 2004. She herself was named FIFAs World Player of the Year in both 2001 and 2002 and held the record for the most international goals scored until 2013, when American Abby Wambach beat her out. For more information on Mia Hamm and her immense success, please visit http://www.biography.com/people/mia-hamm-16472547#synopsis. 

Now you probably see why she was an inspiration for thousands of girls all over the US who aspired to be soccer players. The team of 1991 made a name for US women’s soccer and set the path for the future boom of youth soccer in America. They were truly revolutionary in a sense, and the Women’s National Team has certainly maintained their high respect in the international world, seeing as they won the previous World Cup in the summer of 2015 and have been ranked 1^st-3^rd in the world continuously since 2003. But why am I telling you all of this? Mia Hamm is an athlete that is known not only for her success, but is also known to have many iconic and inspirational quotes to her name. My favorite quote of hers (and really I suppose of anyone) is about the value of hard work and commitment required in reaching ones true potential.

“The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.”
               To me this speaks volumes. And I feel that you could take this quote in two different, but equally valid directions. The first way to take it is that a champion does not have to be the one who crosses the finish line first. A true champion is the one who works to be as good as they can possibly be, is determined, and is hungry to reach their potential. We can’t all become Olympic medalists in this lifetime, but we can all become champions in our own right. When one strives for greatness and has the discipline to achieve their own level of personal greatness, then they are champions as well. 

Another way to interpret this quote is that no one can become a champion by being lazy. People only see champions out on the field in all their glory under the lights, but the truth is, 98% of the time they spend play their sport, they are practicing and preparing to achieve in the moments that the fans see. Champions are made at practice and through hard work, not on the field in front of their friends, family, and fans. Champions must train long and hard to achieve greatness, and there are no shortcuts.

So not matter which approach you take when looking at this quote (or maybe of see both?) no one can deny that it is definitely a thought provoking quote for competitive athletes.  Think about this quote the next time you are out by yourself busting you butt, because you may just let it give you the motivation to push through toward your ultimate goal. 

My Experience With Staying Positive

         As athletes, we all have those bad days. The days where we have a terrible practice or race. The days where we are so tiered that we just want to give up and head home. The days where we are so nervous for the big race, that we question why we put ourselves through the pain that comes along with the sport. The days where we wish that we were not runners. 

         Everyone has had these days and been subjected to these negative thoughts (or at least everyone I run with) but that is why it is so important to push through and get to the rainbow on the other side. Running is a very mentally straining sport, and one must either enjoy the sport enough, or be competitive enough, to overcome this challenge. In a past blog of mine (http://alikhsblog04.blogspot.com/2015/10/having-positive-attitude.html) I talked in simple terms about the importance of staying positive. In this blog, I am going to talk about how I overcame part of the mental struggle that accompanies races; however do keep in mind that there is no simple cure to dealing with nerves or racing, and I still have my bad days. 

        My freshman year cross country season was a major adjustment for me. I did not run cross country in middle school, so not only was my first race of the season my first ever cross country race, I had to run it on varsity! That was quite a daunting task for me to say the least and I was terrified that all of the big mean juniors and seniors would blaze ahead of me and leave me in the dust! I don't remember exactly how my first race went, but I remember that it was not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. This fact however, did not prevent me from being so racked with nerves my entire freshman season that I was practically in tears before each race. Clearly, this was neither healthy nor enjoyable. My sophomore year was a bit better in regard to pre-race nerves, and this past season was even better.  I think that I have finally pinpointed what has made my junior year so much more enjoyable and equally as successful for me as my freshman year. 

         My junior year, I completely changed my outlook on running in general and decided that I was going to have more fun throughout the season and be less competitive and strict about it. This meant to me that I would relax more when it came to forcing myself to drink the exact recommended amount of water or get the exact recommended amount of sleep. When I had to skip a practice for another commitment, I did not fret it and ran when I could by myself. When it came to racing, I took a far more relaxed approach. I told myself that whatever was going to happen will happen, and all I can do is try my best. Tearing myself apart at the end of the race was not going to help anything, and it only made me feel worse, so I always capitalized on the good parts of my race. I came to the realization that how well I do running in high school is not going to affect my future career or family, and though this seems counterproductive to success, I took on the mentality that it truly doesn't matter how well I do in any given race at all. 

         Now this is not 100% true, ones success during high school can help them get a scholarship in college, and it probably matters a lot to themselves and their coaches and teammates, but to me, it was a far better mentality to have than my freshman year. During that season, I worried way too much about how well I would do each race and put way too much pressure on myself, which was probably mainly due to the fact that I was a freshman and my sister was a very good runner whom I wanted to be as good as. My junior year however helped me have more fun in my season because I let go of most of the burden I had felt. I mean honestly, if you are not enjoying your life and the activities you do, then what is the point? 

         Not only was I enjoying myself more, I also had a very progressive and successful season for me. That may seem strange seeing as I took a less competitive approach to the season as a whole, but I still tried my absolute best each race, I just put less pressure on the outcome of the race and raced for fun. This released me of the fear that accompanied failure and helped me to go out and race for myself, which ultimately worked best for me. This mentality might not be the way to go for everyone, but if you are one that had above average pre-race jitters, just remind yourself that the outcome of the average race is not a life or death situation and try to have more fun! You never know, worrying less could help you feel free and achieve more in the long run!

A Few Friendly Reminders

Sometimes we all need to take the time to google "running motivation and inspiration". Here are a few quotes I found, because if they don't motivate you, at least they will make you laugh!

Stretching

Lets do a quick little quiz. Shall we?

Q: You are getting ready to run and just changed into some athletic clothes. What do you do next?

A: Stretch

Q: You just finished your run and walked over to your kitchen to grab a water bottle. What do you do next?

A: Stretch

Q: You are sitting at your desk and your hamstring is feeling a little tight. What do you do next?

A: Stretch 

Okay, I think you get the point now. Stretching is a very critical component when it comes to staying active and healthy, but it is often overlooked in the daily life cycle of the average runner, or all athletes in general for that matter. 

Stretching can relieve that seemingly ever present soreness that permeates through your body the day or two after a particularly taxing workout. It can also be a relaxing way to unwind and care for your body after pushing it to the limit. If the comfort that stretching brings is not enough to get you to consider taking the time to stretch, how would you like spending seven weeks of your already short season on the sideline? Stretching is a very easy part of living the anti-injury lifestyle and can help keep you injury free so that you can reach toward your goal of having a successful and complete season, no matter what sport you are in. Injuries are the unfortunate byproduct of competitive sports, and nothing can ensure that you can be 100% injury free, but why wouldn't you want to take any precaution you could against cutting you season in 1/2 (or worse depending on the injury)? Everyone has a predisposed illusion of how their season will go before it starts, and I have a lot of confidence when I say that I don't think being injured is a part of anyone's plan. 

There are few excuses when it comes to not stretching. I mean really, it takes around five minutes tops to quickly run through and release the tension in each part of you leg, so don't say that you are too busy! Think about this the next time you are chilling on the couch after school/work eating some cheerios and watching Grey's Anatomy (fortunately stretching is one of the few tasks that can easily be done while watching McDreamy dissect an inoperable metastatic brain tumor from a 7 year old boy). So unless you are medically unable to pull back your leg a little until you feel the tension, stretching can only be beneficial, as long as you do not force the stretch too much, because that can be harmful. I suggest just pulling back until you feel the stretch, but do not go until you feel too much discomfort or pain, a little stretch is just fine and people are at a spectrum of flexibility. 

If you still aren't certain whether or not you will stretch before and after your next run, take the time to look at these websites to discover some of the logical reasons why stretching is a nearly essential part of the process that keeps your body active and healthy. These websites can also give you a few stretching tips. 

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/cardio/the-importance-of-stretching-for-runners.html

http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/essential-runner-stretches#1

Choosing the Right Shoe for You

        Running shoes are a very critical tool in the health and success of runners, and though I realize that everyone reading this has probably heard a lot about running shoes and how necessary choosing the right one is (and if you haven’t, you have probably deduced this fact on your own), I just wanted to quickly put my two cents in.

        There are many different types of runners out there, for example: there are the pronators, the supinators, those who want more support, and those who want a more barefoot feel as they run. However, no matter what a runner’s goal of form is, it is important that they find a shoe that fits their needs. Going to a store with professionals can be a great way to start off this search. Many running shoe stores have people that will help those in need find the most comfortable and successful shoe for them.

        Another critical thing to mention is the importance in knowing how long your shoes will last. Wearing out shoes can lead to injury and discomfort, however, running shoes are expensive and you want to make sure that you can get every dollar of use out of them. Keeping a look out on how worn down the soles of the shoe are and paying attention to the comfort and aches of your body are the main factors in determining when it is time to ditch the shoes. Professionals at many sporting goods stores are also willing to help you if you are having trouble determining if the time has come.

      In conclusion, please remember that no matter what, not every shoe will always work for everyone, and finding the right shoe can improve the comfort and health of the runner.

The Dreaded Side Cramp

       For many with a sensitive or moderately-sensitive stomach, like me, running in the morning can often propose a difficult problem. It forces you to find something to eat that gets your metabolism going, stops the grumbling stomach, and gives you energy for the upcoming run and day. However, finding the right breakfast is not as easy as one might think. If you eat too much or something that is too heavy, you have to carry it around with you on the run, making you feel sluggish and often times giving you a mild case of the stomach cramps. Side cramps are absolutely no fun, you can take it from me! Side cramps force you to deal with them usually the entire run and make it rather uncomfortable to breath, because every time you inhale a pain stabs you in the side. At the same time though, they are such a mild issue that you usually feel compelled to bear through the discomfort and not complain. So overall, eating too much right before a run may tame your loud stomach, but is it worth the heaviness and semi-twisted feeling in your gut? That is the question, because eating too little is not much fun either.

        If you are one who decides on the option of not eating breakfast, you face very different issues. The most annoying and obvious of these issues is that if you do not eat enough, you are hungry the entire run, which is clearly not a good feeling (I know, I know, I told you it was obvious)! This hunger feels even worse during a morning run because you have to deal with the fact that your metabolism is not warmed up and running yet after resting for the last eight or so hours of your body’s inactivity during sleep. In addition, running on an empty stomach can almost make it seem as if your gut is eating itself (this is clearly WAY over dramatic but you get my point). This feeling comes from the fact that running is making your hibernating body burn calories even faster than it normally would on an empty stomach.

       The solution to this problem is one that everyone needs to take the time to experiment and figure out for themselves. I generally opt to eat a less extensive breakfast before I run because my stomach is more sensitive, this usually means that I pick up a banana to eat on the way to practice. My friend however, is so hungry in the mornings that she practically eats a four course meal and is completely fine during the run. Whatever works for you is the right thing to eat, you just have to know your body and the way running and food affect it. 

Similarities Between Show Choir and Cross Country

        Show choir and cross country may seem like they are from two completely separate spectrums of the school extracurricular universe, and they are in many ways. Cross Country is in the athletic galaxy and show choir is in the arts galaxy, but they are similar in a few key ways.

        Both show choir and cross country involve the idea that the performances of individuals come together in end to determine how well the group does as a whole.  In both cases the performers/competitors do not necessarily interact with each other throughout the whole competition. When you are on stage competing for show choir, the judges are looking at all 40+ members of the group as a whole and seeing how the individuals and different vocal parts blend and sync together. In other words, performers are meant to add to the overall appearance and sound of the group and try not to stick out too much, except of course in the case of a solo. Everyone does their own performance and tries their best but strives to match the intensity of sound and cleanness of choreography as the person to their right and left. In cross country, the individual success of each member all add up to the grand total of the teams score; so while each person on the team is pushing themselves to run their best and is not extremely worried about everyone else on their team, in the end they want everyone on their team to do well so that when their efforts come together, they can discover that they have been successful as a whole.

        Cross country and show choir also share in common the fact that they involve a cognitive focus on breathing during the competitions. Though this might seem a little far fetched, I have certainly found this to be true in my experience. In regard to running, many focus on their inhaling and exhaling with the pace of their footsteps. This helps ensure that they are not breathing too quickly or deeply and can help prevent injuries (I will go more in depth on this topic in an upcoming blog). Whether a certain runner concentrates on how they breathe during a race or not, breathing it is clearly an important aspect of running (and life in general, but you know what I mean). In the show choir universe, breathing is highly regulated and planned out during a performance. One must breathe during the rests of a song and concentrate on inhaling enough air so that they can have enough juice to belt out the next few words before the next rest.

        In an attempt to add a few other, simple points of comparison I would like to make light of the fact that show choir and cross country also involve competitions in which a large number of schools compete against each other. In addition both activities involve a huge amount of time and preparation to be at a competitive level. Runners train for years to reach their prime level of fitness and success, and show choirs put countless hours in to learning the dynamics and diction of a song as well as cleaning and altering choreography.  

       My point in sharing all of this is to prove that although two activities may seem completely different from one another, all extracurriculars are important in their own ways, and they all share a level of competition and respect that brings them into the same universe. All activities should all be seen as equal in regard to the worth and talent of the participant, because every extracurricular is a huge part of the daily life of someone. 

The Misconception of the Female Athlete

        Society has viewed women throughout history as the weaker of the two genders, and people use all sorts of arguments to defend this line of thinking. Proponents of this notion claim to justify their view using everything from God to biological differences, but as any independent and ambitious girl knows, the notion that women cannot be strong, feminine, and intelligent is crap.

        Some people in society (and I am not talking about everyone or anyone in particular) feel that women do not have the ability to push through the pain as well as men, or are not capable of being as intense of athletes as men. In other words women are sometimes thought of as less legitimate athletes than men. They feel that we should not be competitive and offensive, they feel that we should be vulnerable and bow down from a challenge. They feel threatened when we do not. 

          I want to make two components of my view clear right now, the first is that I realize times have changed, and women’s sports now receive far more respect than they did in the days of the 91’ World Cup when the US Women’s Soccer Team won and came back to the United States to find that their accomplishment had not even been aired on any television station. They received no recognition for being the best team in the nation. However there is still a discrepancy between men and women in modern day sports, for example, the men’s national team in the World Cup earlier this year received more money for not making it to the quarterfinals than the women did for being the champions of the nation once again.

          The second point that I want to clarify, is that I am not denying that men are not biologically more adapted to generally perform better than women. I am not saying that every man is better than every women at sports, I would like to see 99% of the male population go against Serena Williams in a match and last two minutes, but the best males are better than the best females when it comes to their maximum capability of strength and speed. This fact has its basis in science, but that is not to say that there are not exceptions, it is biological and stems from simply the amount of testosterone one has versus estrogen. However, the things that define what make men men and women women do not determine the value of them as athletes. 

          My point in writing this blog today is simply to state that women can be just as intense and successful as male athletes in their own right and that they should not be counted out just because of their gender and the air of vulnerability surrounding them. I didn't mean to turn any heads or offend anyone, this is just my point of view on an ever present topic in the context of feminism in sports. 

Fun Runs

       With the Cross Country season over, fall is a great time of year to go out and participate in some of your neighborhoods fun runs! Many communities have several throughout the year, and they are usually packed with runners of all levels, so they can be a very enjoyable, noncompetitive experience. After a season full of races and competition, many high school cross country runners may feel the need to be reminded why they run in the first place, because let’s face it, racing is anything but “fun”. That is why fun runs are a great way to get in touch with the joy that running can bring and allow us to immerse ourselves once again in the simplicity of exercising and running free without any expectations or obligations. 

        Two weekends ago, a few of my friends and I participated in our towns "Costume Run". This particular race has taken place for the past few years and is certainly not your average race, because all of the participants dress up in whatever creative costume their imagination can come up with to run in! We parade around downtown covered in makeup, wigs, and spooky cloths. We probably look like quite a spectacle to the uninformed, unsuspecting bystander! My friends and I dressed up as the Ninja Turtles (I was Michelangelo if you were wondering) and entered ourselves in the costume contest before the race, which we sadly did not win. Our day soon improved though as the race started and ended, and we were in first place! To be fair though, most of the participants were not there to compete and run, but that is the beauty of fun runs: all levels of runners are out together. Fun runs are also full of surprises and little tasks at every turn that one must complete before they can advance and are simply meant to get people to be active and enjoy themselves!

         I’ve said it several times and I’ll say it again, fun runs are created to be just that: Fun! This logic, though simple, can be quite refreshing to those of us who have spent the last 5 months of our lives training for the sole purpose of competition. We work to get our bodies in the best shape possible so that we can be as fast as possible, and that is not always an easy or pleasant task, which is why I find that it is vital to take the time to go out and run for pleasure every once in a while with no goal in mind of training or success. 

Cross Training Introduction

Over the next couple of months, my blogs will begin to be a little less about running, and a little more about what you can do to stay fit and active during the winter that will act as a supplement to running. I personally enjoy cross training and feel that it has had benefits on not only my training and speed, but also on my overall heath.

For the past two years during the winter off season, several of my teammates and I have done Cross Fit 2.2., which is essentially a program that works more on weightlifting and agility than running. Cross Fit can be a good way to tone your muscles and gives you an opportunity to stay fit in the warm indoors. This year though, my teammates and I were considering just getting a gym membership and meeting up after school. This gives us a little more flexibility over not only when we decide to make a trip to the gym, but also over what we do once we are there. CrossFit was a highly structured program that was great for building muscles evenly throughout the body, but did not seem to be targeted toward runners, so I will be interested in the opportunities that gyms have in regard to experimenting with new machines and workout routines that you can decide for yourself. As a side note, the gym also has an indoor track that we can run on when the weather outside is just a little too impenetrable, allowing us to continue building our endurance and preventing us skipping out on running altogether.

             I will try to blog about my experiences weightlifting and eventually the effects it had on my track season in the spring. But for now, the next few weeks will be mostly about some tips I have acquired at the gym, information on different types of weightlifting, and how to keep motivated to train during the winter. So stay tuned if you are interested in different types of cross training and how it can sometimes build muscle and endurance in ways that cannot be attained solely by running.

Knitting

Knitting might seem like it has absolutely nothing to do with running, and to be fair, it really doesn’t, so this blog is just my attempt at trying to tie in a little hobby of mine with running. Hopefully this blog will give you the inspiration to try something new that might end up making you feel more stylish and warm during your runs this winter.

Knitting is something that I enjoy doing while I am watching TV or listening to music, because I find the constant rhythm of it relaxing. It is also a craft that is actually productive because when you are finished you have a cute product that you can show off.  Most people seem to think of knitting as a pastime for grandmothers who listen to classical music while sitting in a rocking chair and knitting for their grandchildren, but lately this has been changing. Many teenagers have begun taking up knitting, and several of my friends knit as well. People around school always ask my friends and if we can knit them a scarf of teach them how to knit one themselves when they see us wearing ours around school. Scarves are definitely a fashion trend right now, and making your own gives you more flexibility in the style and look of your scarves. Step into any Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or Walmart and you will see a large selection of yarn to choose from, and they are usually at pretty affordable prices that are way cheaper than buying a scarf at a department store.

            As far as knitting and running go, temperatures seem to be dropping ever more quickly, and scarves can be an essential component to making sure you are safe, warm, and healthy this winter. So why not make your own scarf? Make yourself a scarf that you can be proud of and get a lot of use out of at the same time; a truly win-win situation!

Trails

       Finding the perfect trail can be a very rewarding and satisfying accomplishment; an accomplishment that can be used as an effective and motivational training tool. I personally love running on the trail in my neighborhood, and my team runs on it very frequently.

     
 As for using trails as a good motivational tool goes, their beauty and calmness can be quite enticing to many. Running when you are surrounded by trees that seem to tower over you with little bunny rabbits that scamper across the trail in front of you can make it seem as if you are immersed in nature. This aspect can make running seem like less of a chore, and more like you are out on a stroll enjoying the outdoors. When running with friends, being surrounded by cars zooming past you when running on a sidewalk is far noisier and, to me at least, less comfortable. I sometimes feel as if I am being watched by my neighbors or people driving by in cars, even though I know that they are preoccupied with their own lives and are not worried about spying on the girls running by them.

       Trails can also be used as effective training tools. Trails provide one with a place to run in which they know the distances exactly and can therefor better judge their pace from the start, allowing them to run with a more even tempo. In addition, there is truly no place to run that is better suited for a long run than a trail. On a street, you run in stoplights or cross walks where you have to stop and wait to pass through, but on a trail, you have miles of free track with probably nothing that will get in your way. This makes trails a great tool to use when trying to build up cardiovascular strength and endurance, because (according to my coach) stopping for more than 30 seconds during a run drops your heartrate which alters the chemistry of you blood, essentially making the run easier and allowing your heart to rest to a point where the benefits it had been receiving from the run start over. Though I do not know if I, or the scientific community, believe that stopping affects your heart substantially, your heart will thank you if you run on a trail, because this can all be avoided! To read more about the specific effects of stopping mid run, please visit www.runnersconnect.net.

Pump Up Music

      Music can be an important part to helping people get in the mood emotionally to workout. Listening to songs with an upbeat rhythm and cheerful or intense tone helps set people in the right mindset to get some work done and strive for results. Music helps get you out of your mind and into the beat of the drums and the bars of the lyrics so that you can escape from your present situation or mood and into the world as seen by the artist or band blaring though your headphones.

        You know those times when you are listening to music in the background at a party or a restaurant and all of a sudden a song comes on that you know and like and a wave of uncontrollable urge come over you to get up and dance? Whether you succumb to the urge or not, the song has definitely gotten you pumped up. Music just seems to have this effect on us at times, given that it is the right song or genre, and it can be a very useful tool to help wake us up when we are in a funk and get us ready to tackle the next workout or task ahead of us. Listening to “Eye of the Tiger” almost never fails to make me want to stop what I am doing and go run for president of the United States (or you know, some other seemingly impossible task that has about a .0007% chance of actually happening). 

      "Eye of the Tiger" is not for everyone however, and different people can be pumped up by a multitude of different genres. When the concept of “before game” or “pump up” music comes up, the commonly thought of genres are the ones with a low base and fast beat, such as pop, and rock that cause peoples heart to race, which is ideal before a race or practice and help people warm up. However, many people prefer to listen to Taylor Swift or the break up station on Pandora before their workout. This helps them feel ready to go simply from the fact that they enjoy that music and get excited by the fact that they can sing along. They will blare that Whitney Huston song proudly as they zoom down the interstate (*sassy finger snap*)! Whatever works for you is the right music! Some people swear off music while they are working out, and others, like me, never seem to think about listening to some hard rock before they head out for a run, but I have recently come to see that benefits of music. So give it a try, or don’t, but even if you don’t enjoy the music before a workout, it certainly does make life more fun listening to Maroon 5 more often!

Cold Weather

       It is that time of year again, the time of year when the temperature drops and the squirrels disappear in their burrows to hibernate the cold away. Unfortunately, we as runners can’t just hibernate in the winter and hope to pop out in the spring as a conditioned and fit athlete. However, it is hard to find the motivation to run in the winter. The cold temperature, the ice on the sidewalks, the dark of the night that seems to fall at 5:00, these are several common excuses that runners have, and there are certainly many more, and they are valid, but how can we push ourselves to overcome these obstacles? 

       The first and probably most important thing to do is dress warmly! This is quite obvious, but many people on my team, and I’m assuming around the world, use this as their number one excuse to skip out on training in the winter.  However, if one just steps in to their nearest Dick's Sporting Goods or Sears, the first thing they will probably see is a bunch of sweatshirts and running tights for their choosing. They come in many brands, from Nike to Under Armour, and are produced in about a million colors and styles. Choosing  a fashionable outfit the will let your body breath and keep in the heat is easier than you think, so fortunately, or unfortunately, you can knock that excuse off your list! The good people at your nearest sporting goods store have you covered.

      As far as the darkness goes, I would suggest trying to stick with a daily schedule where you run at the same time everyday so that you don’t get in the habit of procrastinating your run to the point where it is too dark. For me, I always try to run within 30 minutes of getting home from school, this ensures that I don’t put it off and I can keep a schedule that lets me get my run over with, allowing me to enjoy my night (or do four hours of homework, but you know, whatever).

        The ice is a more tricky issue to solve, because you don’t want to feel as if you are endanger on a run and quite frankly, getting injured is not worth the run that day. If you are someone who has access to a treadmill, the winter is when I get the most use out of mine, I would suggest turning to it when the outdoors just seems a little too uninviting. So whatever you decide to do on that formidable winter day, just remember that most winter issues can be combated, but the most important thing is that we all stay healthy, active, and safe this winter!

Fat Week

The Kennedy High school Womens' Cross Country Team has passed down a simple tradition for as long as I can remember, which is really only six years because that is when my sister was a Freshman and therefor the earliest that I can state knowing about this custom, but still! Now that the Cross Country season is officially over, the tradition, otherwise known as "Fat Week", can commence! You may be wondering what "Fat Week" is, and I’ll tell you right now that it does not have anything to do with the social construction of "fat people" or gaining weight. Fat Week is the week following ones last meet, whether that may be the conference meet, the state qualifying meet, or the state meet, in which one can feel free to eat as they please, for the most part, and enjoy a break from running. During Fat Week, all of the cross country runners enjoy the freedom of the off season and the fact that they do not have to be competition fit 24/7. Throughout the season most of us generally try to eat relatively healthy, especially the 3-2 days prior to a meet, in an attempt to better our performance during races. This is due to the fact that, as all of us can logically deduce and have come to know, it is a lot more fun and efficient to run without a bunch of junk food in your stomach. In other words, we try to fuel our bodies’ right!

When the season is over though, we do not have to worry quite as much about what we eat, and can indulge a little in the foods that we have been abstaining from for the past three or so months. That is what Fat Week is all about! Celebrating the end to a (hopefully) great season in which we put forth our personal best,  and enjoying what it is like to live a less restrictive life for the next three or so months until track season. That is not to say that my team only eats junk food for a week, but it just gives us an excuse to feel less guilty about grabbing that doughnut or cookie (or maybe both) because we feel like we have earned it! And after all of the time spent training during and before the season, it is certainly justified to indulge a little and take a break from running for a week or two to give our bodies a rest and heal up. However, it is important that one does not drag Fat Week on too long, because the next running season will be upon us before we know it. Getting back in the flow of regular training after a few weeks is a vital part to helping ensure that we as runners can have the best following season that we can possibly have! (But do enjoy your Fat Week!)

"Off Season"

The time has come. The time when you can finally go home after school and sleep in on Saturday mornings. The time when you don't have to feel as guilty about eating that doughnut. The time when cross country is over. After training all summer and into the end of October, it is finally time to relax and..... And what? What do we do now? Maybe we can go home after school and get a few extra minutes of sleep, but that can get a little old after a while. For me anyway, I begin to miss my teammates after a few weeks of not being forced to see them every day at practice. Even if your teammates are still your friends and you talk with them every once in a while at school, it is not the same as being with them 90 minutes a day for six days a week. So I guess you could say that the "off season" is a little bitter-sweet. 

Now you may be asking yourselves, 'Why the parenthesis around off season'?  Well I will tell you why. It's because there really isn't an off season. Yes there is a period of time in which you don't have meets or practices for a few months, but it doesn't mean you should just be "off" your game that entire time. You do not have to train as often, or at the same intensity and level as you do during the season, but you should remember to run at least a few times a week to keep you fitness at a decent level. This will make you a better runner from the start when the next season comes around, because you are already in somewhat good shape and you can start building from where you are at now, rather than having to start from the bare beginning after not running for four months. As my coach once said, “The really good runners, they are 11 month runners, meaning that they train 11 out of the 12 months in a year. They take at most a two week break after the cross country season, and a two week break after track, but then they are right back at it again.” So take it easy and enjoy the off season, but just don let yourself turn into too big of a couch potato. 

Guilt

There are some days in life when going for a run just isn't an option. Most high school runners plan to train six days a week, usually taking Sunday off. Our coaches encourage this and most tend to be a little disappointed (this is usually an understatement seeing as my coach gets more than "a little disappointed")  when we can’t make it to every practice. However, things come up that can prevent this goal from happening every week, especially for the high school student. High schoolers these days seem to have broken the click based social system depicted often in the 1980 cult movies, including but not limited to my favorites: "The Breakfast Club", "16 Candles", and "Pretty in Pink". While this concept is generally beneficial to many, it can create a much busier life for the average high school student.  With the absence of the pressure to conform to fit one group of people, students are commonly involved heavily in the arts, academics, and athletics. Take me for example. I am a junior in high school and in addition to running cross country and track, I am apart of one of the show choirs at my school, take several advanced classes, and have a part time job.  I am also not an oddity and several of my friends have equally busy lives. So what is my point? My point is that people are busy, and running is often not the most important part of our lives. On occasions it is normal and sometimes unavoidable that you might need to skip a run. 

While bowing out on a run every once in a while because you have another commitment might be necessary, it doesn't mean that the guilt goes away; the guilt that seems to consume you when you can’t get in a workout that day. You feel as if you are cheating yourself and wrecking your training. The world seems to be mocking you and you know that because you didn’t run today your time at the next race will automatically be 45 second worse and the earth will be sucked up into a black hole completely devoid of light. While this is clearly an extreme exaggeration, skipping a run that you know other people on your team got in that day can be very stressful. For most people, or at least me anyways, it makes us feel like we are getting behind in our training and will be worse or less fit runners. While this may be ever so slightly true on a minor level, there is so much more that goes into being a good runner, and skipping one workout will not affect you that much. Think about it this way, when you are toeing the line at the state cross country meet or any other big meet that has been the ultimate goal of all of your training thus far, you will not be thinking, “Wow! I am going to do awful today because I couldn’t make it to practice on the 18th of the month!.”  You will be thinking about the race and concentrating on staying mentally tough, and that practice will most likely have zero effect on your race. So give yourself a break and don’t let the guilt consume you so much!

Carbs

There seems to be a stigma in the general public when it comes to carbs. But as everyone knows, carbs taste good; and as every runner knows, carbs are good for you too. Carbs provide energy for you to get through the day and are especially important for people who spend a great deal of time doing prolonged physical activity, such as running. Eating an excess amount of carbs for a less active person can seem to weigh them down and make them feel a little bloated, but carbs should not be taken out altogether of anyone’s diet. Carbs are the first thing that your body uses up as energy, so they provide that boost that one needs when they are about 5 miles into a long run and seem to have hit a wall, or when you have one final surge left in you as you cross the finish line of a race. Carbs are important for runners, and they taste good too!

For me anyways, I seem to be able to eat a never ending supply of pasta and bread if I wanted to. Now this would not be such a great choice on a normal basis, but “overloading” on carbs can be ok the day before a race to make sure your energy tanks are all at 100%. Don’t go overboard though, because you don’t want to feel heavy right before the race because you have pasta in your stomach. So as a runner, just remember that you are using up the carbs you eat on a regular basis, and they are not always the enemy. Carbs can help you feel stronger, happier, and less fatigued during a run.

For more information on the effects of carbs for runner, please go to http://www.runnersworld.com/rt-web-exclusive/fueling-the-runner-carbohydrates-battling-a-bad-reputation.

Stress

 So picture this, you are currently in the middle of having the worst day ever, you know the day. The day you woke up too late and had to get ready for school in 5 minutes so you basically look like a tornado swept through your hair and turned it to a rats nest. You are also wearing those sweatpants that are the baggy ones you promised you would never wear again because they make you look like you gained 10 pounds over night. To make matters worse, you walk into first period 10 minutes late and discover that you have a test today that you forgot about. Your teacher lets you take the test, but you have to get it done by the end of the period like everyone, so you have 15 less minutes to take it. You know you failed the test, or at best got a C-. *For those of you out of school, pick something to imagine that is equally terrifying and horrible, because believe it or not, your morning was just the beginning of the worst day ever. So what do you do? You could sit on the couch with a carton of Ben and Jerry's and sulk, or you could go outside and get some fresh air during a run.
 Running can honestly be a great stress reliever. Going outside and sweating a little gets your body in a state that makes everything else in your life seem to fade away. You are pushing your body to the limit and physically letting off some steam in a way that is more productive in the long run and feel much better than that time you almost broke your leg because you were trying to take out your anger on a tree. You don’t have to worry about anything when you are on a run but the birds chirping in the trees and remembering to put one foot in front of the other. All around you is a world that is moving and pulsing with life, life that moves on even though you have had a crappy day. It reminds you that although you have had a bad day, or week, or month, time will move on and things will get better, even if your crush saw you looking like a bum and your grade in Algebra went from an A- to a B. So next time you are having a sub-par day, consider hitting the pavement. Even if Ben and Jerry seem like much more comforting companions than your running shoes at the time, I promise, going for that 30 minute jog can be a life saver. 

Hills

Hills. They often seem like the devil's work when you are toward the end of a practice or race and you discover that you now have to make your way up an incline, no matter how steep it is. Those few degrees of incline can seem like they require 20 times more effort to travel the same distance than on flat ground, and it does require a little more energy. Hills can burn your calf muscles and make your lungs gasp for breath. But there are a few tricks I have learned from various coaches that I am going to share with you. But be warned, they do not magically make running hills suddenly feel like floating on a cloud; they just offer a new way to think about and take on hills. 

My coach has told us for years to "Maintain our effort up the hills, and push past people on the way down." This means that one should attempt to keep using the same amount of energy up a hill as they have been throughout the race, and not try to keep the same pace, because attempting to maintain the same speed up a hill as on flat ground will zap all of your energy. By maintaining effort, you are essentially working the same amount, and thereby slowing down a little, but you then have more energy at the top of the hill that you can use to take on the people ahead of you who are now exhausted. 

To put it another way, when I went to a camp at Wartburg College in Iowa during the summer before my freshman and sophomore years, the head coach of the successful men and women’s Cross Country teams, Steve Johnson, gave us the short quote “crest don’t rest.” This basically is saying that at the top of a hill, or the crest, you should push through toward the bottom and use the momentum of the hill, and not rest because you wasted so much energy chugging up the hill that now you have to slug down it to regain your energy for a few seconds. So just remember that hills are hard for everyone and as long as you don’t empty your tank on the way up, you should use the decline to your advantage to take on the people ahead of you. Just because the hill is behind you, doesn’t mean you are done with the race, you have just completed one of the many obstacles on the cross country course.

Team Dynamics

Cross country and track are often thought of as, and sometimes seem, like individual rather than team sports. This line of thinking arises because when runners are out there racing on the course, they are not just competing against the people in the different colored jerseys. They are competing against everyone out there that day pushing their bodies to the limit alongside them. This includes their teammates. And one might think that teammates would not purposely try and compete against each other, given that their points all count together and it doesn’t matter to the team score who passes who in the last 100 meters of the race, but to the teammates involved, it is often not seen that way. To beat a teammate can selfishly bring one much more pride than passing the random person from a school 60 miles away whom they are most likely never going to see again until maybe the next year at the same course. This is because one knows what their teammates can do, they know what level their teammates are at, and when they beat them, it feels like a slightly bigger accomplishment.

But be clear in the message I am trying to send, it is perfectly acceptable to be proud of yourself after a race in which you finally got a long awaited record and passed the runner on your team who is always a few seconds ahead of you each race, but your main goal in the race should not just be to beat a teammate, it should be to beat yourself. The distinction comes in to play for instance if you beat a teammate, but you both didn’t have very good races and you didn’t put the 110% effort in, you just had a slightly less sucky race than your teammate. Don’t get me wrong, it is perfectly normal to have those off races, but in this case you should not rejoice in the fact that you beat your teammate, because you really didn’t do anything in that regard to be proud of. So to reiterate, I feel that it is a worthy strategy to use your teammates as goals in regard to measuring your growth as a runner, but it is important to understand that being ahead of someone is not always something you should be solely happy about in it of itself. 

What I am trying to get at, is that although your teammates are also your competition, you should be there to support each other and lift each other up when you have bad days. Teammates should work toward helping their friends get back on the track to reaching their goals and remind them that (I know this sounds extremely cheesy) they shouldn’t beat themselves up over a bad race because the important thing is to have fun and enjoy what they are doing. If no one is there to remind you of this when you need it, running can become a very dark topic for you, and practice can seem like a frustrating part of your day that you just want to get over with as soon as possible. This is clearly not how it should be, practices should be a safe place where you can hang out and train hard with your friends. Your sport should not be a source of sadness and disappointment, and teammates are there to help others realize this when they need it the most.

In addition to helping each other through the bad times, teammates should also celebrate with each other during the good times! When someone on the team gets a PR, it is something that they should be recognized and congratulated for, because they have reached a personal milestone for themselves. When running becomes solely a competition with your friends, it can muddy relationships and harm the confidence and perseverance of others. If a teammate that is normally behind you has an amazing race and beats you, it can be hard to feel happy for them in the moment, but you should never be mad at your teammate for passing you! You have a right to be upset, but not at them! They were just going out there to race and do their best, and the only person that one can be a little mad at in this situation is themselves, because they were not good enough that day. Use it as motivation to fuel your training in order to surpass your current level of fitness and to reach toward a new PR, and use the other person as a training buddy so that you guys can both push each other during races! But do not be angry with the other person, because you do not want to win just because they let you, you want to win because you had a better race that day, and it is not right to be mad at someone for trying their best.

So although team relationships can sometimes get a little tense in the wake of such a competitive sport, remember that you are all in the same boat and are there to support each other. After all, track and cross country are team sports, and teammates are around to be friends and help each other thrive to the best of their abilities. 

The Difference between a 4k and a 5k

In the state of Iowa, girls have been running 4,000 meters for a cross country race, while guys and girls in all states except 10 (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Oklahoma) run a 5k race. My freshman and sophomore year I always heard the boys complaining about how much harder 5ks were and how lucky girls were that they didn't have to race a 5K.

This all changed last year though, when the Iowa coaches association voted to change the distance for women to a 5k. Now I got to find out for myself how much harder 5Ks were than 4Ks. Though the extra .6 of a mile doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference, it can severely alter the strategy of the top runners and play into the hands of participants that are better conditioned or more adapt to longer races. The races are run quit differently from one another and involve different training, because as my coach says, any amount of racing until 15 minutes is anaerobic, and for a 4K that is the entire race, while a 5K lasts longer so it is more important to build up the aerobic system and endurance.

Before the beginning of this cross country season, my teammates and I were all really scared to run 5Ks and were rather annoyed, but a little excited, that the distance was changed. We did not know what to expect out of the extra 1,000 meter and were anxious when it came to the day of our first meet to finally discover the mysteries of the 5K. Our coach made the two distances seem very different, and this only added to the wonder, and frustration, at having to learn the strategy to a new race.

As it turns out though, the extra 1,000 meters did not seem to make as much of a difference as we thought! Sure it is a longer race and we may have to go an extra loop around the baseball diamond, but in the end, it feels pretty similar to racing a 4K when it comes down to it. Maybe I only feel that way because I can’t recall exactly what it felt like to race a 4K in the 7 months or so since I last ran one, but nonetheless it seems as if my teammates feel the same way. I have not heard anyone since the first meet mention anything about the new distance in regard to its added difficulty.

The major downfall to the switch in distance comes when one tries to compare their race times from year to year. I for one had never actually raced a 5K before this year and had no idea what sort of time to expect. It is hard for me to compare my times from this year to last year, so I don’t know if I am improving and growing as a runner or not! But in the end I suppose that is ok, because the goal is just to do ones best and strive to succeed.

A positive to the new distance is that many road races during the summer are 5Ks, and so it is a lot easier to get in a few good time trials before the season to see where you are at. Very few, if any road races are 4Ks, so it was always difficult to get a feel for how you would do at the first meet, because you had no opportunity to race a 4k since last year. With 5Ks, you could choose nearly any weekend you wanted to find a race and go see what you can do in a race like setting!

For more information and an interview on the topic with one of the elite women runners in the country, please visit http://espn.go.com/high-school/girl/story/_/id/7906220/in-10-states-girls-run-shorter-cross-country-races-boys-why. Keep in mind that it is slightly outdated seeing as Iowa has adopted the new distance. 

Having a Positive Attitude

        As with many things in life, it is important to try and keep a positive attitude about running. With all the pressure and the drive to success that comes with this sport, it can sometimes be hard to remember to take a step back and relax every once in a while. I mean in all reality, runners, or at least some of my teammates and I, and I am assuming many others around the world, tend to worry and stress about running. We worry about that fact that we had a bad practice. We worry that we didn’t get enough sleep and will run poorly at the next meet. We worry about who is on varsity. We worry too much. If all we do is worry and stress about running, then why do we do it? That is the million dollar question, because when running isn’t fun anymore, what is the point?

       That is what each individual needs to figure out for themselves - what is the point? In other words, why do they run? Sometimes just taking a few minutes to reflect on why you started running will help you to remember the simplicity of running and rejuvenate your passion for the sport, because it’s not all skidded knees and sore legs! Remember the simple times, the happy times. Like when you used to run with your dad in that one road race every year, or the time you realized that you could actually make a name for yourself as a runner, or the day you ran around the block for the first time in a new town, and you saw the sights, felt the wind blow by, and heard the inhale and exhale of your breath as you speed down the street, feeling fast and powerful. Those are the moments that are important to remember. Those moments are vital when you are stuck in the negative spiral that occurs when one capitalizes too much on the competitive, recorded, race aspect of running too much. Those moments can bring you back to the joy and the freedom that running can bring.

       Keeping a positive attitude will also make it easier for you to put the bad days behind you and work toward achieving your goals instead of sulking and being grumpy at practice the next day. It will also help you to enjoy the moment and be a happier, less stressed person. And if that is not enough, please keep in mind that although everyone may like to complain every once in a while about a difficult workout or a horrible race, no one likes the Negative Nelly that always has a frown on their face and can’t go five seconds without making a snarky comment about something or another. So don’t be a Negative Nelly, life is way too short to worry too much about the negatives in life, so concentrate on the good days, move forward from the bad, and always work toward becoming an even better, healthier version of yourself!