No Such Thing as Luck: Fantastic Practice Facilities

I really like this picture that Coach Stalker snapped the other day at practice it shows the men and women running out of the fog as we do some threshold intervals in preparation for the Regional Championships.  Great finishes at a meet have nothing to do with luck and.  You have to be prepared and the only way to do that is at practice and we are really blessed that just a mile or so north of campus we have Green Valley State Park.  A 500 acre lake with miles of trails around it. It is a fantastic place to run.  We also have a huge indoor pool right on campus that we train in too.  You can get a great workout without all the stress on the joints.  On the west side of campus we have a golf course that we run on as well.  Plus out by my house we 11 miles of continuous dirt roads that we get to every couple of weeks.   All combined we have some fantastic places to train. We stay on grass, dirt and trials as much as we can.   It cuts down on the wear and tear caused by the streets.    

Coach Stalker: Great Asset to the Spartans

We are really fortunate to have as our Assistant Head Coach Cari Stalker.  Cari was the first girl in the history of Iowa High School Track and Field to win the state championship in the 400m open four years in a row while she was a runner at Valley High School in Des Moines, Iowa.  All told she has 8 state track titles, 5 in individual events and 3 on relays.  She has 3 titles from the Drake Relays and she ran track at the University of Iowa.  Cari was also a recent inductee into the Iowa High School Girls Hall of Fame.  She knows her stuff and she is a big part of our success but she does take a lot of flak for being from Valley.    

Excellence at Every Level

So far this season we have had 3 athletes selected as the ICCAC  Athlete of the Week (Walt, Tressa and Peter) and 2 selected as ICCAC Scholars of the Week (Nick and Patrese.)  As a coach I think it is fantastic when an athlete receives an honor based on a performance.  It is a great testament to their hard work.  I think that all of  them will tell you that the awards would not have been possible had it not been for their teammates.   

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers........

The one thing that Coach Stalker and I really stress each season is that this is a great opportunity for everyone that might not come around again.  It is not just a great chance to run at places around the country but also a great chance to make life long friends from around the world, receive a tremendous education and have experiences that will shape you for the rest of your life. 

We have been fortunate to have some great people run for us over the last few years and this years group is outstanding they really believe that the most important person on the team is their teammate. Everyday at practice they show up and are ready to go.

2nd at the Viking Invitational: Barriers are there to be broken!!

    Friday was our first time running at the Viking Invite in Ewing Park in Des Moines and what an exciting day.  The mens team finished 2nd and we saw Walt have 50 meter lead at 5000 meters evaporate to a 5 foot lead with 10 meters to go, but it ended well as he edged out a good runner  to earn the title.

   The course had few steep hills but it was a great spectator course as the runners had to run a big loop and people could cut across to cheer and watch.

  No matter the sport there is always a barrier line that you don't want to fall below or one that you want to break, like running a sub 2:00 minute 800 or breaking the 4 minute mile.  Once you break through times just start getting better and better and you start to get some confidence in your abilities.  Ethan and Jake both ran in the 29's, it was a goal that they had established early and had been working for sometime.  It is fun to watch  someone who sets a high goal and then does everything they can to achieve it.

  Our ladies were outstanding.  Tressa finished 18th and Patrese finished 50.  Patrese has been injured and this was her first meet back in 4 weekis and she ran well.  We only have 4 weeks till nationals so we need to keep competing and getting better as we get ready for a chance in a liftetime. 

Brissman-Lundeen Invite: TOP 10- AWESOME!!

    When you get to the Brissman-Lundeen Invite you know two things are going to happen. One the field of  runners is going to be huge and two, the course is going to be fast.   This year was no different.  There were 350 runners on both the men's and women's side and we had 6 runners set p.r.'s plus Walt set a record for having the fastest 5K in the college's history. 

    The race started FAST, Walt and the leaders hit the first mile at 4:56.  Jake B., and Nick K., remarked that they hit the 5K mark at faster times than they have ever run.  With everyone running that fast I was hoping that it would show up in the final placing and it did.  Walt and Pete both placed in the top 50 Jake B., was 55th.  Everyone's performances helped us to finish 9th out of 29.  That is a big finish against some very good teams.  GO SPARTANS!!

   Tressa Miller had her best race of the season, running her best time yet on the 6K course.  Her last 1,000 meters were inspiring as she was passing people  left and right.  She is really starting to understand what it takes to be a great runner on the college level.

    A top ten  at Brissman is big and I felt really great about how everyone ran.  Next week we are off to the Viking Invite in Des Moines, IA. We will have to run well there because there will be a great field there,  

Pre-Race Meal-Goals-Ping Pong

   We have the Brissman-Lundeen meet tomorrow in Rock Island, IL.  They run a great meet and and there will be a 30 or more teams there.  Tonight we have our team meal in the lounge area of Spartan Suites.  We do this before every meet.  I think whole wheat pasta and garlic bread is on the menu for this evening.  The pre-race meal is always a good time everyone pitches in, sets the table and helps cook.  Then we'll eat,  go over departure times and then I'll highlight some things that I would like to see happen during the race.  

   After that we'll hand out our goal sheets that everyone will work on tonight so that they can have them for the race on Saturday.  Think it, believe it, write it, achieve it, you can't go wrong there.  After all that someone will crush me in a game of ping pong.  I can't seem to win one this year.  Ethan has been smashing me the most so far.  If I could get them to play pool I 'd have a fighting chance.  

   Tomorrow is a big meet and we need everyone to step up because there will be a lot great teams there.  It should give us a good measure of where we are at.     

Athlete of the Week

Walter was awarded athlete of the week for his great run at the Les Duke Invite after getting his wisdom tooth pulled.

Education is the Key to Real Riches

Every week the ICCAC comes out with the Athlete of the Week and Scholar of the Week last week we had two runners get their props for some hard work.  Walt was awarded Athlete of the Week for finishing 10th at the Les Duke Invite after having a wisdom tooth pulled the day before race. It was a gutsy run.  Nick received scholar of the week.  He's headed into physical therapy and is carrying a great gpa.  The day we announced the awards we were running the golf course on the east side of campus for practice and Mr. Sommers a long time instructor at the college and the person for whom the Athlete of Year Award is named after, pulled up in his golf cart  as we were getting ready to head off to weights.  I introduced him to the team and the first thing he said  was make sure you never miss a class if you do that you are setting yourself up for success.  That's what impresses me the most about Southwestern, everyone in the college is working to make sure that every student gets a  great education and achieves their goals.     

Even Coaches Can Be Inspired

September 15, 2008

The week getting ready for the Les Duke Invite at Grinnell was anything but fun. We had a lot of aggravating injuries, nothing bad just little things shin splints, sore hamstrings etc... We were going to hold out some runners and I didn't want to do that very badly. It was going to be a huge meet with nationally and regionally ranked DIII, NAIA's and JC's and I wanted to see what we could do against the best in the Midwest. This was going to be our first meet since getting ranked and the first with the whole team being able to run. Walt had a wisdom tooth pulled on Friday and he was iffy and Ethan, Patrese and Kyle were going to be race day decisions after they warmed up. The whole way to the race it poured and I was worried about that. How were they going to react to less than ideal conditions? Now I am not sure why I was worried. They ran with a determination, a grit and a passion that I have rarely seen in runners. They splashed through standing water, navigated slick hillsides and attacked the uphills it was something that I will not soon forget. Almost on cue with a 1,000 meters left the skies opened up during the men's race and it poured and with the bear on their backs they didn't wilt or falter instead they got faster and finished with a mad fury. In the post race huddle I told them that I had never been as inspired as I was that afternoon by a group of runners. I was so motivated that when we got home I went for a short run if for nothing else than to get to share in the moment.  Got a moment check this out  http://www.jeffhobbs.org.

The link is on the Bottom of the page.

Nationally Ranked #16: A Carrot to Chase

September 9, 2008

The NJCAA rankings came out on Wednesday and we made at #16. Everyone was super excited and they should be. It is a like a slap on the back, an atta boy for all their hard work. I know rankings don't mean much it is the head to head at nationals that count but it still feels good to know that your hard work is paying off. It makes for a great motivator that proverbial "carrot on the stick." We are starting to really hit our speed days I think everyone is glad to have the chance to really let it go and see what they can do.

Central College Dutch Invite: P.R's and Finishes

September 8, 2008

It has been two weeks since our last meet and we have spent a lot of time stressing some things we wanted to do for this meet. 1. getting out fast and 2. finishing the race (last 1,000 meters) with a great sense of urgency. We did both. The ladies were great!! All of them ended up taking a lot of time off of their first race and Tress and Trese both set P.R.'s. Walt finally got to run and he finished 3rd overall. The men finished the race like a tidal wave. They rolled the last 800+ meters. The course has a 150 meter long hill at the finish and they really attacked it. Nearly every guy ran a course best record set from the year before. We finished 5 out of 12 which is great considering the other colleges were all 4 year institutions. Dylan made the front page of the program they had taken a picture of him running in last years race. There were a lot of parents and fans there which made the day even better. We hope that our performances are enough to get us ranked in the NJCAA standings which come out next week.

Time Trial at Fort Dodge

August 27, 2008

We had our ICCAC Time Trial at Kennedy Park in Ft. Dodge. It was a 5k for the men and the women. Coach Stalker and I were happy with the times especially Tressa's and Patrese's. All the men ran strong too but you could tell everyone was nervous especially the freshmen. Who isn't at the first race of the season? Pete, Tressa and Nick finished in the top 15 and got t-shirts. We showed a lot of progress since the first day and I am excited for what is to come. Classes start on Wednesday so everyone was reminded of the importance of class. Like they say every minute in the seat is more money in the pocket.

Pre-Season Camp Setting the Bar High

August 14, 2008

We just got back from our preseason camp at Sun Valley Lake. We spent three days training on the roads and trails around the lake. The weather was great. Everyone showed up in pretty good shape and we had a great time swimming, fishing, going out on the paddle boats, playing badminton, tossing bean bags and getting to know each other. It was a great time watching all of the runners get to meet each other for the first time knowing that many of them were creating friendships that will last a lifetime. It was decided in a hotly contested game that Dylan and I are the best bean bag throwers. I missed the badminton championship so I am not sure who won. Ethan was in charge of the evening bonfires and Lou and I took care of the grilling. We spent one night setting team and personal goals and going over the point that the most important person on our team is our teammate. Everyone was very excited about heading to Spartanburg, South Carolina for nationals. It was one of the best camps we have ever had!! It was a great team builder.

Southwestern Cross Country Incredible Futures With Every Step