Songs of Experience

A young-blood coach from West Forsyth high school recently sent me this very clever way to communicate to her team what it means to be a smart runner. Thanks for the tips, Coach Cox (formerly, Julie “Mythical Gear” Smith).

White:
White is a base color, so white represents your base in running, which is your mileage. To be a smart runner, you must run consistently. Consistently means running 5 or 6 days a week, at least 30 minutes a day. Your times will improve after running consistently, especially after getting in a full year of consistent running. So I guess, white could also stand for patience. . . All we need is just a little patience. . . because it takes a lot of patience in order to run that much with no gaps in training.
Orange:
Orange you going to do your long run??? I cannot stress the importance of a long run enough, but I will try. Long runs make you tough and give you the endurance you need to make improvements in a race. The key to long runs is adding 3 minutes each week AND finding a good training partner who will hold you accountable to “go the extra mile” and keep you company. You can get some of your best talking and stress relief accomplished in a long run. So . . . ORANGE you going to do your long run???
Yellow:
Not to gross anyone out, but YELLOW stands for hydration. To be a smart runner, you must give your muscles the water they need to perform well and recover from the hard workouts. Why yellow? you might ask. If your urine is yellow, you’re not drinking enough water. So remember, yellow urine = Urine’sane for not drinking enough water! = Yellow Smartie. Enough said.
Green:
The Green Smartie stands for “You must eat green, leafy vegetables, as well as other really good foods.” Green represents growth, and your bodies are still developing and need lots of good food from the 6 major food groups: Carbos, Meats, Veggie’s, Dairy, Fruits, and the Butterfinger group. If you’re running 5-6 days a week, you can eat anything (just remember moderation is good). Also, after hard runs, your body is best at taking in nutrients up to 45 minutes after the workout; therefore, it’s good to eat a piece of fruit or drink a juice box immediately after a workout.
Red:
The Red Smartie stands for pace. Think of it this way, you don’t want to hit the “red-zone” in the first mile of the race. Start out slower, and let the other teams hit “the zone” in mile one, then think how “smart” you are as you gradually speed up and they immediately slow down after hitting the mile mark. I’m not trying to convince you that you won’t encounter pain if you run this way. There should always be pain, but pacing yourself is one way to handle the pain. Be smart, don’t hit the red-zone in the first mile.
Bluish-Purple:
Bluish-Purple represents winners, and so the Bluish-Purple Smartie represents your running intelligence if and only if you follow the guidelines listed above. You know what your goals are (cutting your times, finishing a race, making all-conference, making the state meet) and you can receive the Bluish-Purple prize if you are a SMART Runner.

PS: I ate all my SMARTIES before I finished this, so I can’t remember if there is another color. If there is another color, it would have to represent pain. In racing there is always pain. The fastest runner can be faced with just as much pain as the slowest. To be a smart runner, you must know that you will feel pain in the race, and you must decide before the race how you will handle the pain when it comes. You don’t have the ability to decide during the race because your mind and body will always tell you to give in to it. Decide now what you will do when faced with pain in a race. One of my coaches told me that pain is a force that holds you back, so you should bust through the force and allow it to push you forward.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2005 at 12:29 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.