Reality struck – 0630 and officially 39F degrees. Up and running. And as everyone is learning, start on time end on time. I have a love-hate relationship with making excuses. So much so that I wrote the book on excuses not to run – the theme of this camp is simple – this is a No Excuse Zone. Whine somewhere else… we’re in this together. Off we went for our first mostly easy trail run.
Our morning topic was about getting in shape. How does it happen? How much should you run? How often should you run? What paces should you run? These questions were answered and many more. All the answers are based in the most recent research. There are some surprising answers. Ask your runner!
Then we were out to Observatory Field to do running and strength related drills. After 45 minutes we ended with a round of the Plank. It was obvious at to each runner what they needed to work on to become stronger and more injury resistant. Now, if we can just get them to do these things BEFORE they get injured instead of waiting until AFTER and doing them in rehab.
Food, rest, card games and then our first mental game discussion. Based on our assessments yesterday, I’ve chosen the most popular needs of the group. We started with a big picture general discussion on the concepts of control, influence and non-control/non-influence.
Our first topic is about focus. It’s one of my favorite topics. I personally believe it is the absolute #1 mental game skill an athlete must possess to be the best they can be. By learning how to control your focus and ability to refocus you form the foundation for all other mental game skills. The key of course is not to just “focus”. We are focused. The problem is that most often we are focused on the wrong things. So we spent time defining relevant and non-relevant cues to focus on.
Game time yielded the usual fun and competitive atmosphere in kick ball. Two games were going on at the same time. We swapped teams to keep variety in opponents.
- More Aerobic Games
- Game time
- Dinner Time!!!!
- Elevate Running Camp – No Excuse Zone
- Elevate Running Camp – No Excuse Zone
Sounds like you are whippping everyone into shape – physically & mentally! Thanks for posting on the blog. I check it daily. Have fun & enjoy NOT being in temps close to 110!
Today reality is really setting in. Some sore bodies. Everyone wants naps and food. Each single workout isn’t too long. But, they do build on each other. They had a nice walking tour on campus today to relax and loosen up.