Newest Technology Means Faster Performances?

The US Olympic trials are in full swing. I watched the swimming trials and aside from great competition, what caught my attention were comments regarding the new Speedo LZR swim suit. Supposedly, it provides 5% less drag in the water. Rowdy Gaines, 1984 Olympic Gold medalist, talked of the suit. He tried it on (said [...]

Run Focus Take III - Smell the Roses

Bainbridge Island, early morning chill, two sets of foot steps echo off the forest towering above; an occasional car passes giving wide birth. (By the way - very courteous drivers here!)
My brother and I run in tandem without much comment in the first mile. Then I break the silence, “Look at the Buttercups!” Quickly I [...]

From Excuse to Motivation

Thanks to a comment on my previous post, I’m going to elaborate a bit about the excuse list and its ties to motivation.
The list was created over the years by groups I coach - specifically High Performance Running Club and RxRunning & Racing Club. And the last portion of excuses dates much further back to [...]

Following the Flame - Review

I’m not sure you’ve heard this from me before but, I hate novels. So, why do people keep giving me novels to read… this time it was my brother Jim. Now, in his defense, he’s recommended a couple other books I actually read and enjoyed.
“A runner’s pursuit of an Olympic dream” is the sub-title to Following [...]

Distant Star Rupp to Get Sprint Training

The byline from Track & Field News: Oregon distance redshirt Galen Rupp intends to travel to Orlando this spring to work on power and accelereation under the tutelage of USATF High Performance coach Brooks Johnson. Former Stanford head Johnson, the ‘84 Olympic women’s coach, has long touted optimizing biomechanical efficiency as a cornerstone of training [...]

The Gift - A Runner’s Story - Review

This is Paul Maurer’s first novel. He’s obviously a runner and I actually loved this book. Wait, did I just say that about a novel? Not two weeks ago Christina, one of my Tempe runners, lent me this novel on running. One - I really don’t like novels and two, I really don’t like novels. By the [...]

Stop running - Start deconditioning?

We work so hard to attain solid physical and mental conditioning unfortunately, it doesn’t take long to lose it according to the research. Just how much time off from running before your fitness drops off?
Indeed it is well known that training does great things to your heart. Athletes develop a lower resting heart rate, their hearts [...]

USATF National Podium Education Project - 2007

As promised, this is the first of posts on topics from the USATF National Podium Education Project held in Las Vegas, December 2007. In upcoming posts, I will distill some key learning points on various topics and how it applies to you.
Let me first state the intent of the Podium Education Project is to promote [...]

Coaches’ Continuing Education

I admit it, I just love learning, going to courses, seminars, reading, talking to and interviewing athletes and coaches. I’m just never satisfied that I have enough information. I also like to test what I already know. Running itself may be very simple (put one foot in front of the other rapidly). But, getting that to happen in [...]

Shhh, Listen: Your Body is Talking to You.

[This article was originally written in the Fall of 2006]
With just a few heartbeats, my life changed forever. But it was those heartbeats that also saved my life. As I sat hooked up to electrodes, I thought nothing of the routine nuclear stress test that was supposed to rule out any possible heart issues following [...]