Last year Brendan Maas told me he had broken my record at ST. John's hill.
That comment brought back a rush of memories.
Once a week the track team would jog( Well middle and distance runners would jog. Sprinters would walk lolly gag and whine.Something to do with fast twitch vs slow twitch) from the prep up to the arroyo behind St. John's College.
There we would run or whatever to the top of the HILL a very steep climb of maybe 30 seconds then walk down get our pulse taken . when we were recovered we would run again. Apparently I held the record for number of hill climbs in one day.
I think that this is typical of me in that I did not know that. I just remember a lot like those repeat 400s the calm and focus of supreme effort. I also remember waiting with the other kids for a pulse check to do the next repetition. After a while Coach Maas would tell me "That's enough." I knew that this had something to do with recovery times and heart rate
I also was upset that Brendan(I am sure his brother Dan also broke this record) had broken this record I did not know I owned. Reminding me of a friend who once told me that she was the LEAST COMPETITIVE MOM EVER!!
Later I went looking for the hill and could not find her. Those days will always be just a memory...
That comment brought back a rush of memories.
Once a week the track team would jog( Well middle and distance runners would jog. Sprinters would walk lolly gag and whine.Something to do with fast twitch vs slow twitch) from the prep up to the arroyo behind St. John's College.
There we would run or whatever to the top of the HILL a very steep climb of maybe 30 seconds then walk down get our pulse taken . when we were recovered we would run again. Apparently I held the record for number of hill climbs in one day.
I think that this is typical of me in that I did not know that. I just remember a lot like those repeat 400s the calm and focus of supreme effort. I also remember waiting with the other kids for a pulse check to do the next repetition. After a while Coach Maas would tell me "That's enough." I knew that this had something to do with recovery times and heart rate
I also was upset that Brendan(I am sure his brother Dan also broke this record) had broken this record I did not know I owned. Reminding me of a friend who once told me that she was the LEAST COMPETITIVE MOM EVER!!
Later I went looking for the hill and could not find her. Those days will always be just a memory...
I was telling William about that hill just the other day. First off, we sprinters didn't whine, we jogged/walked, lollygagged, and made smart-ass remarks all the way up there.
ReplyDeleteI personally loved that hill--for me it was the feeling of digging in with my toes and trying to catapult upward using my quadriceps at each step. It's a great feeling when you dig your foot in and try to launch upward, straining so much you can feel the dirt give way below your toes. Kind of like the catharsis of throwing a shot-put, only repeated immediately with the next step on the other foot, and so on for about 30, very steep yards.
Anyway, I was telling William about the hill because I think that's exactly what he needs in Track. He's a middle distance runner. He has the strength and endurance but lacks that last explosive bit of speed to sprint over the finish line. I think that hill training is what gave us the explosive launch out of the blocks and that last burst of speed over the last 50 yards while already tired.
Darn sprinters! I certainly remember whining!
ReplyDeleteDoes he need speed? downhill and short repeats! or does he need strength. The hill will slow him a little. Of course the jump test may tell us that he is a miler...
I actually don't know what he should run. He bicycles like crazy! Not uncommon for him to get up early on a Sunday morning and ride a big 100-mile loop around Albuquerque, Corrales, Rio Rancho, etc.
ReplyDeleteI forget the jump test--he has no real vertical leap, I know that.
vertical leap, the higher you jump the du...I mean the more fast twitch muscle and the shorter the distance you can compete successfully at.
ReplyDeleteI think that under 20" is a distance runner and over 30" is a sprinter....
100 miles WOW! So probably a distance runner?
Odd experience, I was showing the kids how to jump in one spot the other day (showing off for the kids, really). I seem to have the exact same vertical leap I've always had. In high school, at 17 yrs old and 175 lbs and running track, I could just brush the rim of a 10' basketball hoop with my fingertips. Now at 4x yrs old and 2xx lbs (exact numbers obscured to protect the vain) and vastly out of shape, I can just brush the rim of a 10' basketball hoop with my fingertips. Why and how on earth is that possible?
ReplyDelete