Who’s reading this? HMMMM?

 I guess we will find out who actually reads this.   The blog has changed to our SEASON blog.

buryxc.blogspot.com

"LAST ONE"...Interesting to think about!

 

 

As much as it may be difficult to start school back up, there is also something about it that just gets me excited!  The routine, the mornings, the chance to run after school and put everything that has happened that day behind me (even if it is only for a while), the time together!  It's just a good feeling to be around so many others (even if they don't get what we do as runners!).   

Another thing that is interesting...we had our final Canyon run for those who have been doing it this summer!  We had MOST of those who came, have amazing PR's and times!  Some had minutes shaved off from previous attempts this summer!  So why is that interesting?  Well, the real question is WHY DO WE FINALLY SEEM TO BREAK BARRIERS WHEN IT'S THE "LAST" ONE?  It's interesting that you all knew it was the last Canyon run and all of a sudden you bust through barriers?  Now, this doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with that, but imagine if we treated most days, moments, RACES, and so on, like it was the "Last one".   We know we get easily caught up in the routine of each day, and that key workouts are hard, and sometimes we feel beat down and tired (ok, maybe that is most days! 😂), and we just are trying to get to the next thing we need to do for the day.  But take a step back sometimes...take a deep breath...enjoy the moment...feel the wind in your face or the heat, or the rain...soak in the rays of life for just a bit and be grateful for the simple things in your life!  Heaven forbid...SMILE!

It was super exciting to see so many of you break the barriers on this Canyon run...but we will remind you of something...the ability to do what you did...was always there!  Sure, knowing it was the "Last One" helped get through the barrier, but YOU ALL HAD IT IN YOU...now use that knowledge to keep breaking more barriers...and help others along the way!

What Running can do...

I don't know why, but I always go through some of the PAST videos that I have made for our Team.  This one always gets me! It helps me realize that I LOVE TO RUN...I LOVE TO COACH YOU...THAT THIS IS ALL WORTH IT!  It always reminds me of the GOOD things, which is why we feel it is important that you watch this and then read our short thought for you after!

How can you NOT feel like all that you are trying to do with your 
Running isn't amazing?

IT IS AMAZING!  I tweaked that video awhile ago, to fit one of our XC themes for a past year.  I don't know why I chose to watch this, this morning, but I couldn't help but feel the need to share this with you! 

When I watch this, it takes me back to all the years that I have been running!  It reminds me of WHY I LOVE DOING THIS!  It teaches me that I have gained so much over the years...

HOW has it done this?

It has taught me...given me...

How to push myself.

How to get up early...and enjoy it!

How to Enjoy the Tough moments...and even want more of them.

How to feel Peace in times of chaos

How to work through the struggles

How to see the GOOD in most things in life!

How to change my ATTITUDE and that my ATTITUDE changes everything else!

How to feel CONNECTED... to myself and to others around me.

How to LOVE where I am at and where I still want to be

How to treat others and truly help others! And in doing so, I get back so much more!

How to INSPIRE and be INSPIRED!

How to recognize that it's the LITTLE THINGS that make a difference.

How to sacrifice things in the moment for things that really matter later.

How to want more, but be happy with where I have come from...

How to BELIEVE even when it seems impossible!

How to SMILE in both the darkest moments and highest peaks!

How to Be EXCITED (truthfully), even when I'm nervous or unsure

How to be CONFIDENT because I CHOOSE to RUN and put in the time!

How to be ok with myself and realize what I am still BECOMING!

How to...(keep filling in the blanks!)

Running has truly TRANSFORMED ME for the Better! 

and it will for YOU also!

What's really IMPORTANT!

 

I love COMPETING!  I love the thought of the challenge before me and taking the chance to give my best and see what happens.

I love the OLYMPICS!  Or at least, I love what the Olympic idea is all about!   It is amazing to watch the top athletes in the World go head to head and COMPETE!  So many cool stories, and real struggles for people all over the World, coming together to go up against one another in COMPETITION vs actual fighting due to differences we might have.

As I started watching all the Olympic events, I noticed an interesting advertisement from Nike that kind of threw me off...I can see what they were trying to inspire people to do, but I really feel they missed the mark on what truly is GREATNESS!  The commercial is called, "Am I a bad person?" and then proceeds to link GREATNESS to being "deceptive, obsessive, selfish, obsessed, delusional, not respecting your competition, having zero remorse, no empathy, and no sense of compassion."  

Fist of all, THIS IS UNTRUE!  Second of all, why does the world think that being GREAT requires this mentality...what is the "little boy or girl" watching the Olympics and sees this ad and asks, "Dad, what does it mean to have no sense of compassion?"  Some of it shouldn't be to surprising, there are some top level athletes that are notorious for crazy personalities, but usually are tied to doping or aggressive behaviors.  

Yes, the best athletes (and I KNOW YOU can be included in this statement also), in the World are focused, determined, a little bit crazy, at times obsessive, and live mundane lifestyles that most people would find boring.  But the Best athletes, in the world also have deep respect for their competition, develop identities outside their sport, learn compassion for themselves and others, and do a good job of being realistic about their capabilities.  Some of the more recognizable athletes in the commercial are known for their respect for others, and empathy, and compassion for their competitors and their sport.

I believe that the AD was trying to capture the ferocity, relentlessness, the dedication, and sometimes borderline insanity that is often required to be world-class.  What they missed is that when most athletes, become too hyper-competitive, they often lead to cheating, illness, injury or burnout.  

WHAT MAKES FOR GREATNESS (and not just in sport, but in anything), is being a fierce COMPETITOR, and RESPECTING your competition!  Wanting to win badly and knowing how to lose. Being deeply determined and not letting your entire self-worth balance on a single race.  Being relentless but being kind! Being disciplined and compassionate.

Research proves that when athletes focus on the PROCESS rather than the outcomes, they are more successful!  "Do the work and let the outcome take care of itself!"  Contrary to the AD, when we view sport as win-at-all-costs and about dominating, it pushes most of us to perform out of fear and avoid things instead of facing them head on, and to play NOT to lose instead of playing to WIN!   This is why it is so important...WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, knowing what you stand for, what are our values, creating our foundation and standing up for what is right!  

The entire spirit of the Olympic games (before modern times sometimes tarnishes reality), was about people's desire to COMPETE!  The root of the word COMPETE is COM which in Latin means "together" and PETE, which means "to aspire toward or to rise up!"  So next time we go to "COMPETE" remember what it really stands for and the GREATNESS in each of us!

I think Nike was trying to capture how hard it really is to be Great, and how you can't do it by being ordinary.  By definition GREATNESS is EXTRAORDINARY!  But they may have gotten caught up in the worlds view/motivational culture of today, but hopefully we know better that this is NOT what GREATNESS really is!   The BEST in the World, which is mostly what we see when you watch the Olympics...let the inspiration come from the REAL COMPETITION from within and bettering yourself and understanding what GREATNESS is really all about!  YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY!  

Here is the Nike ad if you want to watch it.  It really is cool, but hopefully you can see beyond the idea and truly know the difference.

Story Time..."RING THE BELL"

 

There is a true story about a man named Ben Yosef, who trains some of the most remarkable Arabian Horses (which are a type of Stallion...by the way!).  These horses are known for their toughness, service, and obedience.   They are the most sought out horses in the world.  What separates these horses from all the others?...well, from the time they are able (little ones), they are trained to do special tasks everyday, in the heat, at any time,  and then at the RING OF A BELL, they are trained to immediately to go to Ben and he rewards them for it.  

This training goes on for years, until the true test comes.  The Horses are taken to a corral and locked inside, away from everything, left in the heat, with no food or water, for DAYS, even weeks!  After awhile, he returns to gather his prized horses, to bring them back to the desert ranch, where there is water and food.  As they get closer to the watering hole, he lets the horses go.  They immediately run to the water...just as they are getting close to the water, Ben RINGS THE BELL!  All the horses ears perk up...most keep running to the water...a few slow down, look back and continue to the water...and a select CHOSEN ones, slow down, turn around without hesitation, and slowly walk back to Ben!  They are then rewarded with all the water and food that they want and need and are given the best tasks any horse could have in this World.   They are the MOST sought after Horses in the World!

I share this story because, sometimes it is hard to see why we go through all these runs, miles, waking up early, hydrating, monitoring your sleep, trying to eat well, pushing yourself on the same Friday run :), and still try to be normal!   I guess, the key to GREATNESS, is NOT to be NORMAL!  It requires something special, some sacrifices I suppose, and a willingness to separate ourselves from others, just like the amazing Arabian Horses, mentioned in the story.  It's about willing to do what others aren't...NOT so we can appear BETTER than others, but to improve ourselves...and the greatest thing about Arabian Horses is that they are used mostly as Service animals...helping and inspiring others, to want more!  We should want to improve ourselves, while HELPING others to be willing to "return at the RING OF THE BELL", even when it seems the HARDEST!  The Bell could represent so many things...tough moments in a run/race, days where you feel really tired and just want to sleep, and on and on!  When you "hear the bell", what will you try to do from now on?  Let's ALL work on it!  :)

EVALUATION TIME:  Which type of Arabian Horse are you right now (the great thing is, that we can work on it...its a CHOICE!)?  Are we just the perky ears and still run to the water horse...perky ears, look back, and still run to the water...or perky ears, turn around, return, and become the CHOSEN (which by the way was a CHOICE that the Horse made, not Ben)!

                                           I just love story time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   :)

Happiness is NOT the Goal!

 

I have had this thought for some time now, because we try to do our best, we try to show up most days, we try to do more miles, we try to improve and give a little more, but it doesn’t always seem to pay off!

Whether it is our newbies trying to increase their miles, or others shooting for the chance to go to HARC, or others to run Varsity, and maybe others who are trying to run with the fastest kids around…each of us has some kind of “obstacle” seemingly in our way.  And sometimes that can be frustrating and NOT a very HAPPY time in life.   

But to keep this very simple for all of us…IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN “OBSTACLE” TO WORK AROUND OR GET OVER, OR FIGURE OUT, THEN YOU PROBABLY AREN’T LOOKING VERY CLOSELY OR REALIZE IT!   It’s the challenges in our lives that truly make us better, not the smooth times (those are nice also of course), but real HAPPINESS comes from the HARD WORK that is EARNED by figuring things out, by working through it, by helping others, by doing it together, by believing in the process!  That’s right, the PROCESS is where we experience the GREATEST HAPPINESS!  That doesn’t mean that we literally don’t have a goal of being Happy, but how we are HAPPY is from the WORK that we put into the process…which means we don’t always know or understand all the “obstacles” but we TRUST and BELIEVE, and WORK because that is the only way to give ourselves a chance!  Take that chance on you, on each other and pursue HAPPINESS…especially since now you should understand HOW to be HAPPY!  Run on my Friends!

The SECRET...

 

Let's see who really is paying attention and takes to HEART, what we share in these posts!  Sweet and Simple and to the point!  When we ask what the "SECRET" is...you can respond with the following asnwer!

The Secret is...there is NO SECRET!

CONSISTENCY is more important the Intensity.

PROGRESS must be the focus over Perfection.

FUNDAMENTALS over Fads.

OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

Simple and yet profound!

The "FORMULA"

 

 

I was reading a book on a famous football coach, Andy Reid...Head football coach of the Kansas City Chiefs (won the last 2 superbowl's in case you didn't know!).  In his book, he mentions a FORMULA that he uses to help his players get the most out of themselves, each other, and for the TEAM!  I thought it would be cool to share, PLUS, IT FITS RIGHT UP OUR ALLEY OF WHAT WE COULD USE FOR US ALSO!

I'm not trying to share spiritual or religious ideas with you or make any of you think you must do this...it simply was really cool to me that this is what a big time Coach, known all over the World, shares with his Team and everyone else about what matters.  The FORMULA involves what he thought Jesus Christ's primary characteristics would be, if he were a football player.  

1. Eliminate Distractions:  Seems pretty obvious, but we all struggle with it!  If we could just let things go a little and not get caught up in sooooo many things that demand so much of our attention and focus on what matters most to us!  We are not saying that you don't do things you love or should do...just make sure they fit on your priority list so that you can be ALL IN!

2. Create Energy:  Are you an energy giver or energy taker?  Are you helping others and giving back or do you require others to get you out the door or to get you to do things?  Of course we all need help now and then (even to get out the door), BUT OVERALL, are you GIVING back, to others, to the Team, to everything?  Be an Energy Giver!

3.  Fear Nothing:  We all have fears, but are you gonna run away from your fears?  Are you going to get to the bottom of your fears? Are you willing to "go in there and go in there deep?"  Are you going to attack your Fears?  And that leads us to the last step of the FORMULA...

4.  Attack Everything:  Attack your fears, your goals, your passion, your commitment, your choices, your courage, your consistency...Attack the CC's of XC!  Don't just simply say these things, show it through your actions...ATTACK!

It was interesting to see the perspective of this well-known coach!  To me is was keeping things simple and using his FAITH and WORK Ethic to imagine what would someone who is important to him (Christ), do to improve their lives, sport, situation, etc.

We challenge you to do the same this week and the weeks to come!  Do these 4 things and see what happens...you will be amazed at what the FORMULA does for you...for all of us!

The "FILING CABINET"

 

Next time you're pushing through something hard, go into your "filing cabinet." 

"The filing cabinet" is in my brain and full of folders of experiences or speed bumps I've had along the way, problems that come up during running. So when a problem comes up, I check the filing cabinet: 

• What do you already know about this situation? 
• What have you tried before? 
• What has worked or not worked in the past? 
• What are the facts here? 

A lot of these really long running days (SUMMER MILES) are about problem-solving and keeping your cool when things blows up on some days. The filing cabinet keeps it really factual, so that emotions don't play into it. When stuff is going wrong, the last thing we need is to be getting emotional about it.

In our book "Consistency is Key", there are many chapters that you could pick to use in your "Filing Cabinet!"   Pick one or two chapters and use it this week, and next week, and next week so that it becomes a good folder of files for you to use.  I personally feel that chapter 9 on Do easy days easy and Hard days hard, would be good for all of us.  I also like chapter 8, Run by feel.  And one more to possibly help you all is chapter 11, Know you could have run farther or faster...this is not the time to "empty your tank" on most runs.  Always know that you could have gone farther or faster when you are done...at least for now!  

This should give you some good things to help you take the next step...that is if you are willing to and want to take that step.  Remember, we are always here for you and things like these posts, the book we give you, practices, encouragement, and each other are all to help you, bless you and discover the BEST YOU!

Here is a sweet video to help remind you all about taking advantage of THE TIME we have!  There are 3 videos on here, but just watch the first one (it ends at 5:45).  You can watch more if you want...they are all good, but that is a bit too much extra TIME.  ENJOY!

What are the PRIMARY INGREDIENTS? The BREAD and BUTTER!

 

We tend to think national and world class athletes have it all figured out. They are dialed in, optimizers of everything: they do the little things that the rest of us don't. We also believe that the coaches of such athletes must be obsessed with the final 0.1%, always searching for marginal gains.

This story sounds good. And, in some exceedingly rare cases, it might be true. But in my over two decades of working with athletes, I developed a simple rule of thumb for when I started coaching someone new: look for the big holes.  Last week we talked about doing the Little Things…but the “MAJOR” THINGS ARE THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF THE FOUNDATION!

Let's take my favorite sport of distance running as an example. It isn't complex. The foundation is essentially the same in any decent training program: do you get in decent overall mileage? Do you have a long run? Do you execute workouts up and down the intensity spectrum—from short and fast, to medium and steady, to long and slow? Do you do some sort of strength training or sprint work?

Even with NCAA champions or Olympic Trials qualifiers, there are almost always some big holes to fill. It could be that an athlete never sprinted, or that they did lots of short and fast intervals but never any longer sustained efforts. 
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You fill the big holes first. Why? They are low risk, high reward. Think of these big items as the PRIMARY INGREDIENTS to bake a cake. They are the sugar, butter, and flour. From there, you look at surrounding factors that may have a large impact on the overall performance of an athlete, such as sleep, stress, and nutrition (the Little Things!). In our baking analogy, these factors are connected to making sure the oven is at the right temperature, that we've added the right kind of flavoring, and that the frosting pairs well with the inside of the cake.

It's only after we know that we have the right core ingredients and the right environmental factors to make the cake that we can focus on the smaller details—the final touches and decorations that may make it look a bit nicer, but probably won't have much of an impact on the taste of the cake.

In sports, these are the minor details that may or may not have much of an impact. It's the precise timing of nutrient intake, the micro nutrients that may or may not matter, the exact sequence of drills or strength exercises that might make some theoretical sense, but if we're being honest, we are really just guessing. This is where the minor details, or as some have come to call it, marginal gains, come into play.  Don’t stress out about what “everyone else” might be doing or how much of it or even the routine…WE WILL FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS TO US, WHAT WORKS FOR US!
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The number of athletes I've worked with who need a marginal (small)-gains level of help is very little. Why? Because contrary to the popular performance notion that the best of the best optimize everything, that's not how it works in the real world. If I obsess over the exact micro nutrients of someone's diet or the exact timing between their morning run and afternoon strength training session—it's more likely to add stress and drive them nuts than it is to provide any performance benefit. For many, obsessing over marginal gains shifts their focus from the BREAD AND BUTTER of what matters most to worrying about making sure the rest of their diet, recovery schedule, and so on is optimized to the highest degree.

For runners especially, a group that tends to be a bit obsessed, you are adding fuel to the fire. The end result is often an athlete who thinks that if they don't do their warm-up drills in the precise order before a race, then their race is doomed. Or if they don't have their pre-race ritual to get their muscles feeling a certain type of way, they are going to be in trouble. This kind of obsession doesn't make you stronger; it makes you fragile.

When we spend all our time optimizing the minor things, we neglect the really important MAJOR things.

And yet, when we look around online in the health world, that's exactly what we see. We are “majoring in the minors” and YOU ARE NOT IN THE MINOR LEAGUE! We worry about if we should delay eating upon waking, how we should breath during our morning jog, or our precise pre-work routine. Just go and see for yourself what is most popular on social media and podcasts. It's not looking for the big holes…the PRIMARY INGREDIENTS. It's obsessing over the tiny details.
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I'm not saying that we should ignore the minor details, or that you need to be an elite athlete to worry about marginal gains. Some of those details can make a difference, and if they help you do the major things, more power to you. Even so, I can't help but notice that too many of us obsess over the final details, the fancy cake decorations that make the thing look nice on Instagram, but that do not impact the taste whatsoever.

If you want to go into the details (and it doesn't make you obsessive), great! But remember the rule of thumb when working with runners: make sure the basics are rock solid first. If they aren't, no amount of tinkering with the small things is going to matter. 

The "Little Things"

 

We talk about doing the Little Things ALL THE TIME!  Well, what are some of those “little things” that make a difference?   I know this may seem silly or maybe dumb to you, but some of those “THINGS” are as easy as Trusting us!  Reading the Blog Post that we do for you every week!  Taking the time to talk to your Teammates!   Reading and learning new things that inspire you (like the Book we have for you (read below).  And that doesn’t even include the things you know…hydrate, eating well, sleep, positive self talk and attitude, being a GOOD person!  Take the time to really understand what it means to do the “Little Things!”

The little thing to focus on this week for our CC's of XC is Consistency!  Our book is ALL about this topic.  IF you really want to know specifically what Consistency can do for you in RUNNING, then come get the book from me and read the Preface and Introduction of the book.  If you have already read this part...DO IT AGAIN!

As I ask you questions throughout the week, this will help to see who is taking the opportunity to read it!

You want to take the "Next step" in your progression, then do the "Little Things" like take advantage of cool things like this book and enjoy getting better!  By the way, the reading in this book is easy and short chapters.  It's awesome!

Don't forget, in order to get the book, you need to have your miles updated online on the blog and your runs are on strava (your mileage should match on the leaderboard on strava with the miles on the blog).

Let's Go!

The CC’s of XC

 

 

To really start figuring out what the “IT” Factor is (what will CHANGE US, what will help US, Better US, Strengthen US, Excite US…), we chose to call it the CC’s of XC (words that start with “C” that can remind US of what to do to BECOME the BEST US).

We don’t want to just talk about all the “C” words, but honestly, THEY ALL SEEM TO WORK TOGETHER…ONE AFFECTS THE OTHERS AS THEY WORK TOGETHER!

Here is what we mean…The main “C” that stands out to us this week is COMMITMENT!  

We know and understand that there are soooooo many things that are going on during the summer (well, just life in general).  But it can get very discouraging when we show up for a practice and it seems every day the group gets smaller and smaller.  Please don’t think that if you miss that you are not committed!  We are just REMINDING YOU that there are many things that can get in the way or may come up and if you are truly COMMITTED to being the runner you say you want to be (a varsity runner, go to HARC, improve yourself, etc), then you cannot just do what every average runner (or person) does (or even what you have just done before).  We want you to truly understand what it mean to be COMMITTED!  Because if you start to learn what it means to be COMMITTED, then you will realize that you must be CONSISTENT (another “C” word)!   And if you are CONSISTENT, then you start to gain CONFIDENCE in yourself and in each other!  And if you are COMMITTED, then you will always COMMUNICATE with your Coaches, Parents, and Teammates…when you might miss or if something is hurting you, so that we are ALL ON THE SAME PAGE! 

We don’t want to show up to practices feeling like we are alone or trying to “make you do this” if you don’t really want it!   If you are COMMITTED, then missing hurts more than working through the tough days!   Start to really think about the CC’s of XC and use the few mentioned today to take that next step and it doesn’t matter if you are new to this or if you have done it for years…WE ALL MUST WORK BETTER AT THE CC’S!  

The goal for this week (and truthfully weeks to come), TO REALLY BE COMMITTED, which obviously leads to other great things in your life (other CC’s).

What is the "IT" Factor?

 

To help you remember our Theme for this year, is to focus on the INTANGIBLES ("IT" for short).  The sentence  THE "IT" FACTOR,  references on what are the things that can take us to that so called next step...what are the FACTORS that we can do to make each of us better?

So what are the INTANGIBLES?

We decided to focus on the CC's of XC!  So we thought of a bunch of words that start with "C" to keep it simple (and fun since CC is the OG of the Cross-Country...before XC).

So what are the CC's to focus on?

The plan is to focus on one of these "C's" a week and help us work on the little things that we can do to improve ourselves, each other, and this TEAM Together!   When we do this, the INTANGIBLES will change us for the better!  And that is all that matters!

Make sure to click on the LINK at the top of the blog to see the schedule for the week!  Canyon Run on Monday Morning!  Yea!

In the Beginning...

 

We always love the beginning of Summer Miles!  It is almost like a FRESH start, like a reset button for the year and to get excited about things to come!

We won't share too much with you this week except for a few pointers on what to expect and do's and don'ts of the first week!

1.  Finding a balance:  We usually see an extreme of kids either doing too much too soon (running more miles than they should the first week), or some not really buying into the challenge of being consistent and running everyday!  FIND THE BALANCE AND BUILD SLOWLY!  

2.  Talk to your Coaches!  Let us help you in finding a balance if you need it.  Don't be scared to speak up and ask questions.  Communicate with us, even if you start to fall behind in the coming weeks...talk to us and let us help you reset or build you the best way for YOU!

3.  Trust the Process:  This is about as important as any thing you can learn and ties in with our Theme of understanding the "IT" Factor!  Trust is definitely an intangible that can take you places you never knew possible!

Remember some of the CC's of XC!  Let them inspire you and help you STAY EXCITED for this first week!

AS PART OF RECENT TRADITION, IF YOU WANT TO JOIN, WE WILL MEET AT THE CHURCHWOOD GATE TO GO FOR A RUN ON MEMORIAL DAY.  SOME MAY ATTEMPT TO GO TO BARNEY'S PEAK (11 MILE ROUNDTRIP).     Not everyone is ready for that and shouldn't do that, but there are plenty of great places to just go run around that area.   We are meeting at 7am for those attempting Barney's peak (if you know you can do this but would like to leave 15-20 min earlier than work that out with some others and go for it...if you want to...not required!).   

Link for location of Churchwood gate:  

https://maps.app.goo.gl/S73rpiFwfrVJaQvm7

HERE WE GO!

Let's GO!

 

We are so excited for this upcoming SUMMER MILES!  

If we will focus on the Theme for this year, we know that YOU will find exactly what you need!  

So Hold on tight and Enjoy the ride!