The Principle of Maximization

I love it when you can see truth principles in multiple areas of your life. One of the ones standing out to me lately is this principle of maximization (yeah I made that up) It’s what I’m calling the whole idea of “the more _____, the more ______.”

The more I run, the more I want to run. Back in high school I ran about 50-60 miles a month and by the end of a season, I was burnt out and I would take a break from running. After high school I took a LONG break. I didn’t run most of college. I started back during my last semester running about 3 times a week. When I moved to Chattanooga, I ran sporadically but never stayed committed long. When I moved to Crockett, I started running with the CC team. That first season I ran about what I had done in high school: 50 miles a month. The next year I decided to train for my first marathon. I ran ~70 miles a month for 3 months and then took December off. But I wanted to get back to it and ran most of the spring. But then I took the summer off. The next fall I trained for my 2nd marathon. I ran more like 80 miles a month to train this time. Afterwards I only took off a few weeks. I ran way more that next spring and even ran some through the miserably hot summer. This past fall I ran ~100 miles a month. I had planned on taking some time off this winter(surely I’d be burned out after all that extra milage), but I barely made it a week. I’m already back to it and looking for races to train for. My running history has taught me: the more you run, the more you run. I always wondered how people like my running partner, Judi never took time off or got burned out. Now I know how it can happen. The more I do it, the more enjoyable it is, the more benefits I get from it, and the harder it is to stop.

Mr. Newman, my math teacher in high school always used to say “the more you know, the more you know.” He was famous for these incredibly hard tests where the problems were unlike any you had done in class or practiced in homework. They would require you to take the theories and principals you had learned and apply them to a new type of problem. And in so doing we figured out what he meant by that statement. You may have learned A, B, and C but since you knew all 3 you actually knew how to do D. I find this in my teaching all the time. A kid will ask a question about how something in a cell or in the body works. It will be a question I’ve never thought about and the answer will not be something I actually ever read or was taught, but because I know about other principles of how life processes work, I will be able to figure it out very quickly in my head and then answer their question.

The more faith you have, the more faith you have. Acts of faith always lead to more faith, which allows for bigger acts of faith. How do I have faith to follow God into owning a business, something that looks stupid in a down economy? Because 20 years ago He answered a simple prayer, and that led to bigger prayers and cooler answers. Each act of faith begot a bigger act of faith until the most recent: (our move to Crockett, the miracles of: finding jobs, selling a house and finding another, and all the bonuses God blessed us with for stepping out) If this trend continues, I’ll be telling mountains to jump into the sea before long.

The more you experience God, the more you experience God. This one’s the hardest to explain. But something supernaturally is transmuted in us when we enter His presence. He can only reveal small increments of Himself because if we were to take in all that glory, it would kill us. But He eases us in and every time we are changed by His presence, it means we will have the capacity to experience a bigger part of Him the next time.

The opposite of this principle is also true. The less___, the less ____. You don’t use it, you lose it. The longer I went without running, the harder it was to start back. The more years I go without using calculus, the less likely it would be to ever pass a Newman test. (I doubt I could pass any of his calculus tests today) If I go a week without acknowledging God and seeking out his presence and involvement in my life, I miss so much of what He’s doing and even get to a point where I think He’s not doing anything (even though He is)

The principle of maximization is exponential. If I graphed it, it would look like Y = X^3 (thanks Mr. Newman) Jesus was such a genius(of course He was) in summing up these kind of principles: He said it this way: “whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Mat 13:12)

The Reality of The Relationship

God uses 2 main areas of my life to reveal Himself to me. One is running. The other area is my marriage.

In a few weeks, on January 1st, Mark and I will celebrate our 14 year anniversary as a couple: 6 and a half years of courtship, 7 and a half years of marriage. Somewhere over the course of that time, something amazing happened. We found ourselves in a relationship that demonstrated to us and taught us what Christ’s relationship to the church really is. Christ’s love for the Church, his bride, and the Bride’s devotion to Him weren’t these words I read in the Bible or concepts I got taught in church anymore, suddenly it made sense, not in an abstract way, but in a real way, because we were living it.

One day I was sitting on the couch talking to Mark and it hit me in that ‘ton of bricks’ kind of way: I all of a sudden just realized that there was nothing he could or would ever do that would make me love him any less. And I realized I had already forgiven him for any future thing he would ever do. It’s not even a struggle, he’s forgiven before it ever happens. He can totally tick me off in one moment and in the next moment it’s like it never happened. And I realized that it was the same for me… that even on my worst day, my most selfish moments, there was nothing I ever could or would do that would cause him to love me any less. I felt totally free in this earthly relationship, all sense of striving and trying was now nonexistent! And in that moment I understood God’s grace in a way I never had before. I understood what no condemnation and freedom in Christ meant in a real way.

Several weeks ago Mark and I were listening to a sermon on the radio while driving home and the Preacher was talking about how marriage was ‘hard work.’ We often laugh in disagreement when we hear that kind of talk. Yeah its hard work if you’re doing it the worldly way where the philosophies are: everything should be 50-50, give and take, compromise is king. But the example of Christ is to be completely poured out. It’s not 50-50, its 100-100. It’s I’ll give you my all and expect nothing in return. When your focus is not on getting what you need or want, but completely on giving of yourself to the other person, you don’t get upset or disappointed. And when that other person is treating you likewise, conflict just disappears. Now Mark and I aren’t perfect at this 100-100 philosophy, we still have our selfish moments, but that’s when that abounding grace and forgiveness comes in.

What amazing freedom and grace we get to experience because of what Jesus did, how life changing to know that it’s a reality, in real life, in real time, not some abstract idea. He poured himself out completely for us, expecting nothing in return. And it’s because of our experience of that, that we can now let ourselves be poured out for others.

Postseason Reflection

Postseason depression: it happens every year; the CC season ends and the thing that has taken most of my energy, time, and attention is no longer there. The thing that has given me the most joy and fulfillment is no longer feeding me. It’s always an adjustment. But this year has been the hardest. That’s partly why this post has been put off. I wasn’t ready to reflect yet; I wasn’t ready to let go yet. But it’s been 2 and half weeks, time to reflect and put it out there, time for closure.

State Meet, The Epic Ending, AKA Snotfest 2011. Those of you who know me best know I’m not a crier. But I cried more times in those 2 days than I have in the last 2-3 years combined. And you would think that this would not happen coaching a bunch of boys. But in fact it was my most stoic, most reserved, athlete that got the snotfest started when he expressed his feelings in a letter which he gave to us before we ever left town. So we cried in the parking lot at the Buffalo Wild Wings. We cried all through our team meeting that night. There were tears at the starting line and of course tears at the finish, tears on the way home and a whole lot more when we got back to the school. Then even more tears when 2 of my seniors showed up at my house that night. Why all this emotion? The kids expressed it best at the team meeting: we had become family. We had worked together, laughed together, accomplished together. This group of boys and I had been there for each other through not just hard workouts but life struggles. Like any family we had had disagreements and issues but worked through them. We had met so many goals: meets won, a region championship, fast PRs. And it was all culminating in this trip to state. And it was all about to be over. It was a great weekend though despite the crying, we had a good showing at state and we had a ton of fun.

God Loves You More Than You Think. Our pastor scrapped his original sermon Sunday morning after State, feeling the need to preach on thanksgiving. Our Communion meditation was on gratitude. They were for me. There were more tears at church that morning as I became so overwhelmed with gratitude that God blessed me with this amazing group of kids to coach. God said: ‘remember when you didn’t want to move to Crockett? Even then I knew what I was preparing for you, I handpicked this perfect group for you to pour into. I was going to trust you with these awesome kids, even then I knew what was coming your way.’ Can you say humbled! And just to clarify, it’s not the fact that these kids are so athletically talented that makes them so special. It’s their spirits, their personalities, their work ethic, their humor, their love. Their speed is just a bonus. So I’m sitting in church just getting wrecked by the Holy Spirit. I make it to the car as we head to our other church and I get a second dose. God said: ‘remember when you prayed for a more intimate encounter, here you go, now you have just a little bit better inkling of how much I love you, I handpicked these gifts for you and I know you so well I knew they were the perfect gifts for you.’ God’s love is overwhelming! He is so good! I couldn’t take it. There is no other way to put it than I was just wrecked! And I know I’ve only gotten a small dose more than what I already knew. I know that He has other gifts in store for me, more love to show. I just pray He increases my capacity to receive it so I can handle it because his love is so overwhelmingly good, it just breaks you.

Lessons Learned. I can’t reflect on a season without acknowledging how I’ve grown as a coach. So here are a few of the major lessons this season has taught me:

1. Boundaries. I’m terrible at them, terrible at setting them, terrible at keeping them. One of the biggest lessons this season taught me is how important it is to maintain that separation between athlete and coach. This is especially hard for me because of several circumstances. For one, I don’t separate my coaching from other aspects of my life like mentoring, teaching, ministering, and just hanging out with teenagers trying to always find opportunities to speak life into them. Also, some of these kids know me as ‘Julie from church’ before they know me as ‘Coach Crider.’ And so much involvement in their lives leads to comfort and complacency. So by mid season, several of the athletes were so comfortable, they were cussing in front of me or speaking inappropriately. I had quite the time trying to rein that in. I refuse to step back from my other roles in their lives but there has got to be a better way to balance it out. I will work on that next year.

2. Be careful with the kid who’s just like your husband. So I have a runner who is, I kid you not, the 16 year old version of Mark. Now for one, that makes it really easy for me to like, love, and forgive this kid. But an interesting thing started happening that I only became aware of late in the season. I was harder on him; I had expectations on him that I would have had on Mark. But more than that, and this is what upset me the most; I took stuff out on him. If I was frustrated with Mark, my tone towards this kid changed at practice. If I was feeling insecure because of something Mark and I had talked about, I was more assertive with this kid at practice. It was subtle and most kids would have never noticed, but this kid, like Mark, has supernatural discernment so he was picking up on it. And when(with the help of Mark), I realized this was happening, I actually had to apologize to him for things I said and my overreactions. Do you know how hard it is for an adult to apologize to a teenager? Luckily, like Mark, the kid has a ton of grace. Next year I’ll be aware and I pray I will do better.

3. Even the most guarded kid can break. So the kid that wrote the letter that got snotfest 2011 started… the most private, guarded, stoic kid I’ve ever coached. 3 years ago I started asking him probing questions. He never opened up, never shared himself, always acted like things were cool. I even asked him one time why he thought he was like that. I got a shoulder shrug in response. But I wasn’t letting up. I just kept being there, just kept loving, just kept encouraging. I think he finally started to trust me around last spring. He started to talk to me more about real things. And when he let himself open up at state, well the floodgates opened. The emotion, the thoughts, the appreciation, the willingness to be vulnerable, it was all out there. This kid is amazing. The 4 years I invested in him: so worth it!

4. Beware your number 1’s effect on you. It’s so easy to judge your coaching by how well your number 1 does. But actually, it should be how well your number 7 does. My number 1 had a great season. But if I’m really honest with myself I have to admit it had far less to do with my coaching and more to do with his God-given talent. It’s just so easy to place personal value in how the best kid is doing. But oh the side effects of that are dangerous. I let this kid get away with so much more than I let others get away with. I got more frustrated when he didn’t work hard. I got more hurt when he was disrespectful. I took things personally. When I should have been stepping back I sometimes tried to micromanage too much. It ultimately put me and him on an emotional rollercoaster. I will do better next year.

Ok so there it is: Closure. And already the depression is subsiding. Time to move on and focus my attention in other areas where God has placed me. There will be another season. And based on my coaching history and God’s continual outpouring into it(one of the purposes He designed me for), it will be an even better season than this years!

A Whole Lot of Hardware

Today our school newpaper came to take a picture of the team with all the hardware they've won this season. Our School news also interviewed my seniors and is putting together a segment for the news program that is aired every Friday here at school.


10 guys
45 medals
7 trophies
3 plaques

A Region Championship
An Epic Season
An Epic Team



Yesterday was the last hard practice; a typical speed workout involving repeats of 1/2 miles and 1/4 miles. Our school has no track but the drive around capus is a circle that just happens to be exactly 1/2 mile. The team dreads these 'school laps' as we call them, because they usually are having to run them in certain times, very fast times. But in a few days the 'school lap' will become our victory lap. On Friday, we will load 2 school vans, that the cheerleaders will no doubt decorate. And we will drive that 1/2 mile circle around campus while every class comes out to cheer us on; it's a 1/2 mile spirit tunnel made up of the entire student body. It's the perfect send off to State for us.

Region Champions

As expected, the team won Regions last Tuesday. We took medals for 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 10th, and 11th. 3 of my runners hit personal records including my 2 freshmen. Things are looking promising for next year even though I'm losing 3 seniors.

We head to the State championships next Friday and run on Saturday.

Region Championship Poems

So I give the CC team motivational reading for the van trips to meets (some of them I've posted here). Traditionally, the Region Championship Meet is a poem. Yes, I, the scientist, also write poetry (thank you liberal arts education). To give some background information, I am first including last year's poem. Last year was our first year to find success as a team. Starting this CC program 4 years ago, I had had individuals qualify for State at Region, but never a whole team. Last year was our first year to be good enough to. Last year was also marked as the first year I had such hard workers: They stepped it up in training and I stepped it up in coaching (and it obviously worked). Here was their motivation:

Ready

Today, a team approaches a race
In their heads they imagine that suicide pace
The pain will come and they must run through it
And they’re questioning themselves: Can I do it:

“today we cannot suffer defeat”
“i wish this was practice, i really hate meets”
“running that hard, it might make me sick”
“will i finally feel an endorphin kick”
“am i going to be able to stay with that guy”
“what if at mile 2, i’m just ready to die”
“this is too intense, it was supposed to be fun”
“why was it again, that i wanted to run?”

Their minds are flooded with thoughts so heavy
As they ride this van trying to get ready
But as time goes on they start to steady
And the thinking shifts, yes we really are ready:

“remember those days coach had 20 demands”
“2 minute half miles, calf raises, handstands”
“bleachers, situps, 1-legged wall sits that kill”
“push-ups, throwdowns, and running the hill”
“recall all those tuck jumps, squat thrusts, power crunches”
“leg lifts, supermans, high-knees, and lunges”
“remember running 8 miles in an hour”
“no way the opponents can match our power!”

A calm comes over them, resolve in their hearts
Now they just can’t wait for the race to start
Confident and proud, they approach the line
The thoughts of a team, a unified mind:

“we run fast, we run far, we run into the wind”
“we’ve conquered the workouts that would do you in”
“we’ve stretched farther than bodies and minds should bend”
“through it all, we’ve endured, and we’ve become men”
“yeah we’ve been there, done that, now we’re ready to go”
“see us, fear us, because soon you will know:”
“for the last several months, we’ve been put to the test”
“and today we will prove that we are the best!”

I look back on that poem now and remember the themes that stood out that year: yes they did all those things. We had many conversations about "becoming men." Those quotes in the first quoted stanza were actually quotes I heard on the van on a regular basis. Funny how different 2 back to back seasons can be. Last year we ended up being Region Runner Up. This was school history: the first time a CC whole team qualified for state, the first TSSAA CC Plaque our school recieved! But we didn't get first: we got runner-up.

This year, we are even better! In fact, we've beat all our Region opponents in every meet! Our Region Championship, our school's first, is pretty much on lock. This year was marked by some crazyness and alot of sillyness but the kids have worked even harder than last year's bunch. The following poem is their motivation for Tuesday's Region Meet, and like last year's poem it also fits the feel of the season.

A Season’s Work

A season’s work of both athlete and coach,
Is coming closer to its completion.
So now as the Region meet we approach,
I can’t help but enter reflection.

Every team, every year has a flavor unique,
And ya’ll definitely stand out in your spot.
From the way you run to the way you speak,
Everything is over the top!

No other season can match this insanity:
Not just the flipping, singing, and shaving of legs.
You guys went crazy with all that profanity,
And exceeded your quota of “that’s what she said”s.

But this coach can simply let all of that be,
When I have a team of hard workers like you.
Running to the point of blood in the pee:
What more could I expect you to do!

I’ve never had runners running this fast or so far,
Never had so many wanting to do extra.
You’ve set a new standard, you’ve raised the bar.
You’ve brought to Crockett a new running era!

Now in this new era we head to a meet
To take on opponents we’ve already beaten.
We come into this thing already elite,
So what’s the big deal about Region?

Well one year ago, we placed runner-up,
And that plaque still stands our accuser.
Yes it was a victory, even school history… but
In our hearts we knew 2nd is just 1st loser.

So three months ago we set to our goal:
Deeper in training we immersed.
And by the Dresden meet, we had taken control.
This year, no doubt, we’ll be first!

No, this Region is not the Region prior:
It’s domination on exhibition.
Today, our championship is what we acquire
Our season comes to its Epic fruition!

Expect another blog post in a few days confirming our Region Championship!

What Champions Are Made Of

Coaching the physical aspects of running is easy for me; I can make kids faster. It's figuring out how to turn them into Champions that's harder. And I'm not talking about just winning a big meet, I'm talking about developing in them the characteristics of champions. Because I believe this is what separates good coaches from great coaches. Amby Burfoot (Boston Marathon winner and editor of Runner’s World magazine) lists the following 9 characteristics as the key aspects that make up a champion runner. I agree with him. What follows each characteristic is me expounding it into what is being done or what needs to be said or done to members of my team. I guess I'm giving the blog world a peak into my coaching mind.

1. A Champion has the courage to risk failure, knowing that setbacks are lessons to learn from.
Some of them don’t have the courage to risk failure; they think: ‘if I run any harder, I may not finish the race.’ Or they’re scared of training really hard for their goal and then not achieving it, so they think: ‘what’s the point, I’ll just be ok with being decent.’ I’m calling them to man-up, take a risk; if they fail, they will learn from it. And better to do it today than at Region or State.

2. A champion uses a race to gain greater self knowledge as well as feedback on physical improvement.
It’s more than just getting faster and stronger or getting a good body. If they have not learned something deeper about themselves (their character, their values, their spirit) then they weren’t looking, and they have missed the most beautiful aspect of this sport. I’m calling some of them to look deeper.

3. A Champion trains thought processes as well as the body.
Some of them do not train their brain. All the extra miles and conditioning workouts a person can squeeze in won't maximize performance if they aren’t also training their thoughts. They have to train the negative thoughts out and practice the positive ones. I can’t get inside their head, so I’m calling some of them to get their minds in check.

4. A Champion understands his athletic weaknesses and trains to strengthen them.
You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge. Some of them would rather make excuses for their weaknesses instead of recognizing them and then working to fix them. It’s ok to know where you are lacking; everyone has weaknesses. Just admit them and start training to fix them.

5. A Champion actively creates a life of balance, moderation, and simplicity.
Most, maybe all of them, fail at number 5. But I don’t care if they are just teenagers; they are runners and they can live at a higher standard. What’s out of balance: their priorities, their diet, their sleep? What’s not in moderation: their time with a girlfriend, their language, their times of acting silly? I’m calling them into more self control, to simplify and keep things in their life in check. That amount of mental fortitude translates into mental toughness in a race. Plus it earns them more respect, respect from me, other adults, other teams.

6. A Champion views competitors as partners who provide challenge and the chance to improve.
Some of them would rather talk bad about the opponent, cut them down, or be obnoxious. When really they should be using them to better themselves. A loser calls his competitors names because he cannot beat them. A champion works to beat them yet maintains dignity and grace if he can’t. I’m calling some of them to grow up.

7. A Champion understands that running performances are like a roller coaster, with many ups and downs, and that you have to accept both the good and the bad.
Some of them are living in a past defeat or past success. If that past bad race is bringing them down and hindering them from their best, then I am calling them to forget about it, stop living in the past, bad days happen. Today is a new day and it has the potential for a great run. If they are living in that past good race, they need to understand that that too is in the past and does not give assurances that today will go as well; they can’t get complacent. Today is a new day and they may have to work harder to have similar results.

8. A Champion enjoys running for the simple pleasures it provides.
Some of them have forgotten the simple pleasures of this sport. If they can’t remember the last time they simply enjoyed a run, then I am calling them to go have fun. Don’t worry about a medal or a time, just have fun and enjoy it.

9. A Champion has vision, dreaming of things that haven’t been and believing they are possible.
Some of them still don’t believe we can be top 3 in the state. Some of them don’t think we can beat USJ at Best of the West. Some of them have given up on hitting that time or getting that place they were once shooting for. They have no vision, no dreams, no desire for greatness. Why not? Why are they doing this if they’re not striving for greatness? They can’t settle for ‘pretty good.’ I am calling all of them to bigger and better dreams.

Region is in a week, State is in 3. I want them to Race like champions, Talk like champions, Act like champions, Start living as champions. If they can, then by the time we walk into the State meet, regardless of where our times end up and how things play out, we will be able to complete our season as Champions. I don't want to just be a good coach, I want to be a great coach.

You might be a Cross Country Runner if...

I found these online and thought they were hilarious. I gave a copy to the team today. I identify with most of these!

You might be a cross country runner if ...
Your shoes have more miles on them than you car does.
You run farther in a week than your bus travels for meets.
Your dog can’t keep up with you on runs.
You combine phrases like "10 Mile" and "Easy Run" in the same breath.
You can eat your weight in spaghetti.
You spend more on training clothes than school clothes.
You wear those same training clothes to school reguarly.
You carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go.
You're running in your dreams.
Your underwear covers more than your running shorts
The most enjoyable time you've had all month is a day off from practice
Your coach won’t give you a ride home
Your temper is shorter than the distance you ran
Your Christmas list includes mostly running apparel and shoes
The mile in P.E. becomes your warm-up
You wake up every morning in pain
Your Saturdays for the next 4 years are ruined
You get a Saturday off, plan to sleep in…but wake up at 4:30 itching to run anyway
You can maintain a 5:30 pace uphill while throwing up.
You try to impress girls by saying you're a fast finisher.
You consider school as just a break between runs.
You always stretch while waiting in the lunch line.
Your room smells like Icy-Hot and New-Skin.
Runner's World provides you with more pin-ups than Playboy
Steve Prefontaine's Birthday is more important than yours
You know as many kinds of pain as eskimos have words for snow
You don’t know what “off-season” means
You find yourself saying “it’s not really a hill”
Your feet are comparable to rawhide
You’re running and you don’t know why anymore
Your friends refer to you as ‘the masochist’
You talk to your coach more than your parents
You run the day after State
You haven’t had a soda in 6 months
You can hallucinate and get high without taking anything
You wake up in the morning and find that you are already running
Your heart rate is below 50 and you’re not dying
Talking about the color of you pee is as natural as talking about the weather
You don’t laugh everytime you hear ‘fartlek’
You have less than 5% body fat but you’re not from Somalia
You feel 1 second is a lot of time
You use the odometer in your car for clocking runs, not gas millage
You know more about your body than most non-sports doctors
You wish your school had an oversees program in Kenya
You know the precise lengths of every piece of road within 20 miles of your house
You know why they call quads quads because you can count all 4 of yours

Fun Nervous System Trivia + Spiritual Reflections

My Anatomy class just finished the Nervous System so I thought I'd share some fun trivia. I honestly don't understand how anyone who knows anything about the human body can deny the existence of a Creator or deny His genius. In just the study of how we work, so many spiritual truths can be learned.

-there are no pleasure sensor cells, there are ones for pain, heat, cold, touch, etc. but pleasure is only experienced from the cooperation of many cells. When you experience pain, only the pain receptors and the cells in pain experience it. When you experience pleasure, every cell in your body changes; they are bathed in hormones and enzymes. It's the same for us isn't it. How much pleasure can you experience alone? We were designed to live in community and we have the most fun when we can cooperate together.

-your eardrum can detect a sound frequency that vibrates it at only 1/billionth of 1 cm (that’s 1/10th the diameter of a hydrogen atom). If our ears were any more sensitive, we would hear the movement of air molecules around us as a constant wooshing sound. And people think you can't hear the voice of God, please!

-A single nerve cell has 1000’s of synapses(junctions) with other neurons. A brain neuron can have as many as 80,000. 1 cubic mm of brain matter contains 1 billion synaptic connections. 5 trillion chemical operations occur in you brain every second. If our little brains can handle 5 trillion operations, God can handle all 6 billion people on the planet praying at once. Suddenly it doesn't seem that inconceivable does it?

-Each second 100 million sensory messages get sent to the brain. Of these, only a few hundred are deemed important and are admitted. So how does your brain decide what's important? It has to do with what your attention is on. Think about it: when you're sitting in a class, your brain knows to admit info like what you hear the teacher saying and what you see on the board, but it doesn't bother with admitting info like what color shirt the person next to you is wearing, even though you see it. That's why we should "focus on things above." When we do, we notice more of what God is doing because that is the info that our brain receives. When we focus on our junk, thats what we experience most. When people say they don't see God at work, it's not because He's not; they just aren't in the brain state to notice. It's why we are "transformed by the renewing of our mind."

-The mind so thrives on stimulation, if you were to cut off stimulation, it would quickly start hallucinating to fill the void, after a few hours, most people would go insane. You were designed to experience this world. You were designed for an abundant life.

-Taste buds only live 3-5 days. If it's been a week since you last had an orange, and you eat an orange, how do you know it tastes like past oranges? Well all your memories of taste lie in the brain, not the tongue. Similiarly, this body passes away but the experience, the memories, the thoughts will not. We are eternal.

-Pain receptors can change the intensity of their signal depending on how much pain they think you can handle that day. God will never give you more than you can handle. He even designed your body to do likewise.

The Art of Designing a Workout

One of the pillars of my Cross Country team’s training is a weekly conditioning workout that incorporates everything from plyometrics to gymnastics to bleachers to holds. And the are brutal. These are the workouts that set us apart from the other sports at my school. It is these workouts that have made other students, teachers, and coaches take notice. They are the reason we are respected as a sport. And the runners have a love-hate relationship with them. These workouts hurt. They require mental toughness. They turn boys into men. They are the reason I am called ‘mean’, ‘cruel,’ and ‘sadistic.’ New runners think I’m crazy, but it doesn’t take long for them to see their value. These are the days that teach a kid how strong he really is, how much he can endure; these are the workouts that bring confidence.

My veteran runners have caught on to this and are now asking to design one of our workouts, which they submit to me for approval. And though their workouts might not hit the right muscle groups in the right order for that day or may be too long; I have to say I’m impressed. I realized today, my coaching is teaching kids how to coach themselves. I’ve promised them we will do their workouts at some point this season. The kids loved writing a workout and I’m not surprised. This is one of my favorite coaching tasks. I get to be creative, use problem solving, address certain weaknesses. I get a sense of accomplishment when a design goes according to plan. I love the challenge of it. And I can honestly say our weekly conditioning is one of the main reasons we are undefeated so far this season.

100

It's August 31st and as of this morning (after a very dark 7 miler), my running log says 100.1 for the month. This is a first for me. And the weird thing is I wasn't even trying to reach this goal until about a week ago when i realized how close I actually was. Even in all my marathon training, in months that included 18 and 20 miles runs, I never got over 90 miles in a month. And even more of a shocker, it occured on the hottest month of the year and during one of my craziest months with school starting and all. How did I accumulate so many?? Last August I ran less than 50 miles.

My recently attained goal that wasn't a goal has got me thinking about goals. The marathon was a big goal, the ultimate goal. What was left?(besides an ultra which is crazy and qualifying for Boston which is like impossible until after I'm 40) Just when I thought there was not much left to go after, a whole new realm has opened up. Now I'm already thinking to myself: 'I wonder if I could run 200 miles in a month or over 1000 in a year??' 'Can I run 50 in a week??' This should be a fun venture.

But before that happens...

The CC team got their t-shirts today. In an earlier post I talked about the Prefontaine quote they chose to go on the back. ('the only good race pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die") The following is the team's motivational reading for tomorrow's meet, which was inspired by both the quote and my love for A&P.


“Today looks like a good day to die”
But before that happens…

The human body has an amazing ability to cope with an obscene amount of physical stress. Runners understand this better than most because they willingly put their bodies under the most intense of stressors. So even though it feels like a “suicide pace” and that you’re going to “die” just know that the body will do all kinds of things to cope before that happens. How close you’ve come to your own “suicide pace” is indicated by how many of the following experiences you’ve actually had:

__ I went so hard, I vomited. (the body can only divert oxygen-rich blood to so many areas at once; if your muscles are hogging all the blood because you just keep pushing them and pushing them, then the digestive system gets none. And if food is not being digested, it comes back up)

__I ran so hard/long, I passed out. (similar to vomiting, if all the blood is being hogged by muscles because they need all the oxygen, then not enough oxygen gets to the brain. The brain shuts down temporarily and you black out. This actually protects you, keeps you alive, if you’ve passed out, you’ve stopped running and the blood in your muscles can return to the brain where it is needed more)

__After a workout, I collapsed. I’d try to stand but my muscles wouldn’t stay contracted even though I was telling them too. (the muscle tissue has a limit, and even though it takes its signals from the brain, there is a point where it can’t contract anymore regardless of those signals. The tissue has either run out of energy or been damaged. However, it can heal the damage (it actually heals it back to be stronger) and the energy will return when you eat again)

__I have hyperventilated. (Though uncomfortable and kind of scary, this isn’t a bad thing. You are low on oxygen because your muscle cells are demanding so much and your respiratory system goes into overdrive to compensate. But the higher rate of breathing will make up the difference and eventually your muscles will get the oxygen they demand)

__I have felt excruciating pain and then suddenly… no pain. (the infamous endorphin kick. Your brain can make a chemical that’s exactly like opium (what morphine and heroin come from) and when the pain becomes too much, it will release this wonderful chemical for you. It takes the pain away so you can keep going and even makes you high so you’re okay with(even happy about) going a little further and a little harder. High levels can even make you hallucinate)

__A run made me laugh/cry. (Physiologically, laughing and crying are the same thing so whichever one happened, it was the same reaction. When physical stimuli reach every neuron that handles those particular physical signals and there are still physical signals being sent because you are doing so much, the brain diverts them to other neurons, neurons that control emotions. And so a physical occurrence has no choice but to manifest in an emotional way.)

Whether you understand the science or not, this is what it means: Unless you are throwing up, passing out, collapsing, hyperventilating, getting high, and/or laughing or crying hysterically, you aren’t running your suicide pace. You can go faster…you can go harder… you can take more pain… override your brain and make it happen. And don’t worry: most of the time your body will override you if you actually get close to death.

Do you Fartlek?

Today is the first fartlek workout of the season. Of all the cool little “insider information” things that runners share, this is one of my favorites. I’ve gotten to experience this scenario several times today:

Newbie/freshman: “what are we doing today?”

Veteran runner/me: “fartleks”

Newbie/freshman: “huh”

Veteran runner/me: “fartleks”

Newbie/freshman: “say that again” giving confused look mixed with laughter

Veteran runner/me: “fart-leks”

Newbie/freshman: gives priceless look indicating that he is thinking of something either gastrointestinal, oral, or both.

Veteran runner/me: lots of laughter

Newbie/freshman: walks away slightly scared

After today the newbies will get to be part of that select group that understands the fartlek. Should be a fun day:)

A Great Start to the 2011 Season

A team win, 7 individual medals, the anchor award: Its going to be an epic season!

Requirement

Today is our first Cross Country meet of the season. When we travel to meets, I often write something or find something for the kids to read as motivation. Today I wrote about a quote from my Track days; this post is an extention of what the kids are getting:

When I was running Track in high school, I had a very large, very intimidating coach, Coach Willis. One of his favorite quotes to yell at me was this: "To whom much is given, much is expected, Fisher!" It still rings in my ears, I can hear his exact tone and inflection. Every time I complained about having to do more events than the others or having to run the hardest leg of a relay, this was his short, hard response. And it ended up being one of the most encouraging phrases of my highschool running career. I didn't mind the extra effort when I knew he saw so much in me.

Back in high school, I didn't know that phrase was actually from the Bible. And according to my Biblical languages scholar husband, a closer translation says: "to whom much is given, much is required." (Luke 12:48) It's quite sobering isn't it? I have been blessed with many gifts, and it is not just expected of me, but required of me to use them for the Kingdom.

Today my team is required to bring home a 1st place team trophy, at least 5 individual medals, and at least 6 times under 20 minutes. It is my requirement of them. And it is not unattainable. I know how fast they are, how strong they are, how much pain they can endure... I know what they are capable of more than they do themselves. I expect it's the same with God. What does he see in me, that he put in me, that he is requiring I use for His glory?

Suicidal or Something Else?

Cross Country Season: My favorite time of year. Yesterday I ordered our team t-shirts for this year. I asked the kids to pick their favorite running quote to go on the back. It was not a hard decision, they all immediately agreed that it should be the following Steve Prefontaine quote:

“The only good race pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.”

Its one of my favorite quotes too. Obviously it’s meant to be hyperbole and runners aren’t really suicidal, but it represents one of the aspects of running that draws people like me to the sport. It’s that mental component that is always either your biggest asset or your worst enemy. Can you keep pushing even when it feels like death? Can you overcome the discomfort and pain to go faster and faster? When everything in your body is screaming at you to slow down or stop, can you override those biological signals? Because they’re not wrong, pain receptors warn the brain of injury, they protect us, keep us alive. How else would you know to stop doing something that was harming your precious cells? Yet the runner trains to ignore such signals (and they often pay for it for days after a race or hard practice).

So can a person run themselves to death? Every year people attempt marathons and die, yes, people drop dead at the finish line(or before). What breed of people are we that we begin a race with the thought: “today I can die, and I’m going to run anyway.” It’s the same breed of people that call themselves Christ followers: willing to die. “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Runners are willing to tear their own tissues in training (that’s what soreness is) knowing that even though some pain will follow, the muscles will build back stronger. Christians are willing to “gouge out their own eye” to keep from sinning, knowing it is more beneficial to live as Christlike as possible (Mathew 5:29).

Suicidal? No. Crazy? Maybe. But our wisdom is foolishness to the world. Only those with miles to run understand us. Only those with ears to hear and eyes to see understand us.

First Post: What's in a Title

So I think it’s customary for the first post of a blog to explain the title, right? Honestly I didn’t mull over my title at first. I knew I’d be mostly writing about Running and Biology and because I define my identity in Christ, God would inevitably come up. So “God runs DNA” popped in my head, and, wouldn’t you know it, that address wasn’t taken. But once it got published, I started thinking about what that phrase could mean. These are a couple of the thoughts I had:

Is God a runner? My guess is: YES. Running is movement, constant motion, if you stop, you are no longer running (its not like other sports: you can momentarily stop on the field or court and still be “playing” football or basketball) And if we define God as infinite and expansive, then He is in constant motion. He is, therefore, running. If you want more evidence, just consider how many times running is referenced in scripture. Or recall the story of the Prodigal Son. The Father runs to receive His son. He runs after me and you.

Does God control, (i.e. “run”) our DNA? I think YES. Your DNA makes you who you are and I believe God handpicked every little A, C, T, and G. He gave us the traits we needed to fulfill our purpose on the planet. Even the “bad” genes can be opportunities to grow and minister. I even believe (you can call me cooky if you want) that God changes our DNA structure when we come into relationship with him. The Bible says we believers are new creatures, a new species: well that means different genetics. Before, my body had to listen to my DNA: I was an animal, all instincts and reactions. Now my DNA has to listen to the Holy Spirit living in me: I am a “miniChrist,” co-creator, and heir. My DNA had to change from ruler to ruled. Yeah, I’m betting it’s different.