About this time last year I was writing that I liked how, with running, you can wipe the slate clean at the end of the season and start fresh for the new year. So much of running is mental, therefore it’s no surprise that confidence plays a huge role in performance. I definitely wasn’t overconfident in 2008 and, of course, I hope to improve that in 2009. I think one of the ways that taking an end-of-season break helps this process is that getting out of shape and out of rhythm brings your confidence even lower too. Then when you get back into the routine you finally start to feel better and your confidence begins to improve – hopefully carrying over into the entire upcoming season.
I’m not there yet. I managed 35 miles last week plus an hour on the bike and a bunch of Core Performance stuff. Maybe my biggest improvement came in my eating habits. I normally do pretty well while I’m at work. It’s when I get home – and the weekends – where I need to watch my snacking. Over the weekend I was able to grab an apple, prunes, or some granola instead of chips and oreos.
I inadvertently scared my wife half to death last night. I got up around 1 AM to take a leak. I’ll admit it, when I get up in the middle of the night, I pee like a girl. That way I don’t have to turn on any lights and I can still hit the target. Well, during the 30 seconds it took me to get out of bed, walk to the toilet and go pee, my wife decided to do the same thing – not knowing I was in there. Not wanting her to sit on my lap, I had to get her attention – knowing full-well that anything would scare her. Sure enough, when I said “I’m in here.” she jumped backwards and let out a yelp. I guess next time I’ll have to make a little more noise in the process.
Quote of the day;
“Sometime the difficult thing is to hold back when things are going well, to remember that what you’re doing is, after all, preparation. That’s hard when you’re in a competitive group.” – Sebastian Coe
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I found the Chris Carr column written in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram when Sean's contract was not renewed...Here is the articles conclusion...I think it says it all:
"The toughest part will be leaving the 30-some kids in mid-stride," he said. "I'll really miss the relationships with the athletes. They've given me motivation, and we've shared a lot of experiences together."
The way to achieve this relationship, Hartnett said, is to build the individuals into a team -- and from there into a family.
"We use the word 'Unis,' " he said. "It's a Greek word meaning united in body and mind. This creates a strong bond in the team.
"Anyone who knows me knows I'm an athlete's coach. I serve the students. I'm in the trenches with them, and I'm close to their pulse. They called me 'Sean.' "
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