Good evening all.  I'm writing this post minus two wisdom teeth, following a quick trip to Lake Cumberland to deliver my mother from L'ville International to my grandparents' house at Lake Cumberland, and, what seems like so long ago, a Regional Championship weekend.  With a little time to reflect, the Regional Championship results have taken on even more meaning.  It's about what it means to the program as a whole, it's about what it means to each individual member of this team, and it's what it means to the TNHS community.  I witnessed a program ascend to prominence in its first year of competition much to the surprise of those that know high school running in Kentucky.  I had the opportunity to cheer on amazing triumphs and to share in some of the hardest heartaches.  And, I saw the TNHS community represented by 15 of the most amazing young people that I've ever had the opportunity to work with.  Special congrats to the boys team (who PR'd across the board - seven out of seven!) and ran 3rd (narrowly missing 2nd - 3 points!) and qualified for the State Championships.  And, to Sadie Middleton who laid it all on the line, suffered through a self-imposed blistering pace, and qualified herself for the State Championships with a huge PR - you rocked it!

Seems a little early in the XC season to be doing too much number crunching, but I already find myself scouring the Regional rankings to see how we stack up after our first meets with complete teams (Asbury for girls and Shelby Co. for boys).  A tremendous show of strength by this group of young runners is what had my curiosity so piqued.  A day of lackluster performances or DNF's would have me reading anything but rankings - maybe even doing lesson plans.  However, these kids just run their hearts out, and even at this VERY early point in the season, they have made me proud. 

As coaches, we often get caught up in the numbers.  PR's, rankings, virtual meets, data, training volumes etc.  But, today wasn't just trying to figure out where to start the taper or how much mileage I can fit into a mesocycle.  It was just pure delight, clicking on links and finding things like a boys team Regional ranking of 2nd, individual girls and boys filling the top 20, and even pretty respectable state rankings.  Now,  super-fans beware, it's early in the year and these standings are based on the season's best time by each individual.  It doesn't take into account how a kid is doing in October or if they're even doing cross country at all!

My focus sharpened back to what numbers are truly important.  The fact that Danielle and Courtney ran 5000 meters and smiled the entire way (at least when they passed me), the way Maggie remembers her times from years past and is so determined to best them, how Tyler ran his guts out (but not literally this time) and went way under the 20 minute barrier, the way Timothy fought through a long race knowing his number was going to be high and at the bottom of the page, how 3 races in 5 days is too many but Faith and Hope will want so badly to be racing tomorrow, how my saying "go out hard - stay near the front" translates into Nathan and Jarrett hitting the first turn in 1st and 2nd en route to a 5:20 mile, the way Adam looks at numbers like 3 in terms of miles and tells me he hates running, and lastly how Austin fended off that one kid sprinting in to the chute, to hold on to that one place, worth one point - the margian by which we beat the next team - those are numbers I like to crunch.

Your typical cross country meet flyer has a course description saying "our course is this, or our course is that."  Indstead, I wanted people to actually see what the TNHSXC course looks like.  I know, the still looks more like a picture of a barn, a soccer field, and a tennis court.  Well, it is, but in and around lies the home of TNHSXC which is developing into a permanent fixture on our campus. The other permanent fixture, that little neon green speck, is me. 

Home to the upcoming Wednesday Night Warfare cross country meet at TNHS, the XC course is almost entirely visible from the top of our stadium.  This video is of me running a tempo 20 minute 5k (in 10 minutes!) on the course as seen from the press box and the runner's point of view taken from the gator.  This was shot on a muggy afternoon following heavy rains. While I don't think this will ever be a super-fast course, it's not a slow one.  The course will continue to improve and is quickly becoming a hub for fitness activity in the TNHS community.   Turn up the sound, take some Dramamine, and hang on.  Don't take my word for how great this course is.  See for yourself.

I just don't tire of bragging on this guy.  Kevin Castille (pictured with Coach Bradley and myself) is certainly the fastest person I have ever had the honor of meeting.  Today saw the start to Nelson County Schools' annual running camp.  And, we couldn't have kicked it off with a more charming, motivational and accomplished speaker.  I happened to get hooked up with Kevin as I was trying to nail down another speaker while visiting John's Run Walk Shop in Lexington, KY. 

A Louisiana Native, Kevin turned 40 this past March.  Since then, he has broken American masters records in the 10k, 5k and 3k,  And, lucky for us, about a year ago he moved to Kentucky.  His 10k mark of 28:57 and a 5k of 14:00 are exceptional by any standard.  Now with  his sights set firmly on the marathon, his mileage is increasing, and he was nice enough to invite me along for his Saturday workout last weekend.  Maybe he was nice enough to agree to my inviting myself along.  Regardless, I was looking forward to joining him, if only for a fraction of the workout. 

What struck me the most about Kevin was his running efficiency.  He chatted comfortably as we rolled along Lexington's Legacy Trail - the rest of us tried to chat and sound as if we weren't under distress doing it, breathing harder all of the time.  As one of the younger runners in our group was beginning to yo-yo off the back of our pack, Kevin softly shared some wisdom.  He said the Kenyans have a saying.  They say "Stay on the bus.  Once you get off the bus, you won't get back on the bus."  which means stay with the group, because once you're off the back you will stay there.  A few minutes later, the high schooler fell off.  Shortly thereafter, another runner.  Six miles in, I was gone, watching the bus roll away. 

I'll probably continue to invite myself along for some of Kevin's workouts especially as I get my training back on track.  But, if that by chance was the last time I ever run with Kevin Castille, I'm honored to have gotten to meet him, to see him speak to our kids, and most of all, to have spent that short time with him on the bus.

Following two weekends of races totalling 90+ miles, this week has been a refreshing break.  However, the draw of the new cross country course at Thomas Nelson had me lacing 'em up Thursday morning as much of the course was freshly bush-hogged thanks to Nelson County Schools' John Ball (and the support of Todd Sanders and Wes Bradley).  Accompanied by friend, NCHS alum, and Georgetown College track athlete, Mark Scout as well as Hope and Faith Stansbury, we stepped high through the cut grass and made our way around the large loops that run the property perimeter.  Stopping frequently, I elaborated on my vision and tried to encourage the girls to focus on the potential and not the mounds of cut hay that they were standing in.  After an afternoon pass on the Cub Cadet, the course was emerging. 

Friday morning, I began with a measuring wheel and a can of ground paint.  Run it, mow it, run it again, mow it again was the rhythm of the day.  There is still lots to do, but we now have a 5k course starting just behind the athletic facilities, tying small stretches of green space and practice fields to the long woodlines and fence rows that edge the TNHS property, and it finishes with a lap in the stadium on the track.  It's almost entirely visible from the top of the stadium bleachers, and it has parking, bathrooms and concessions!  It's all very exciting - seeing our new home taking shape.

Here we go.  A new school, a new program, a new website and a completely new experience for me ... blogging.  I'm looking forward to building this web-based platform into something that athletes, families and friends of the program can all look to for news, schedule updates, training resources and the occasional rant.  This all coming from a guy who doesn't have text messaging on his phone and has never had a facebook page.  Maybe I should just go back  to handing the kids papers that they leave on the locker room floor.  No, I'm embracing the technology.  Enjoy.