Robert Radnoti 2009 Cross Country Blog
8/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The team does mile repeats in Alumni Park today under the coaching of Cole Feldman and Chris Ogle - our volunteer assistant coaches. I am so proud of them for stepping up. Cole is in his second year of Law School and Chris just started his PhD program in psychology. Both ran for the Waves in their fifth year while in graduate school and both are outstanding students and role models for our young team.
I did get a nice email from one of our athletes, senior Liz Lyons that I wanted to share here:
Hey Coach Rad,
I thought I would send you an email to let you know what's up in Malibu. We love you, miss you, and are keeping you in our morning prayers. Practice today went very well; Chris and Cole have been great leaders. We also remembered to do our drills! I am going to Pilates at four today which fits almost perfectly into the schedule we created as a team. We are also planning a team workout at the pool tomorrow. Things aren't the same without you, but don't worry about us because as Ken Durham referenced this Sunday- we are taking care of business. You are in my thoughts and prayers. I appreciate your resilience and determination- they are contagious qualities and I don't think you know how much they have inspired me.
Thank you for everything,
Liz
Saturday, September 12, 2009
It is an early departure, 5:15 a.m. for Irvine for todays cross country races. The conditions are near perfect with overcast cool temperatures until after the races. For a race recap click here. Following the races we head over to the Wozniak's for tacos and waffles. Thank you very much Gail and Paul Wozniak.
In the early evening I head back to Phoenix to help my mom.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Not a great day to fly but I do as I want to take our team to UC Irvine tomorrow for our Cross Country meet. In the afternoon, I meet with our Athletic Director who talks about the love and support from the Pepperdine community. I know why I am at Pepperdine. It is such a great place full of love as we prepare students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
Monday, September 7, 2009
I had one of those terrible phone calls this morning. It was from my mom telling me that my dad had died. I immediately left for the airport to fly to Phoenix to be with my mom. I'm not sure what my plans will be but I have great faith in our assistant coaches and our team.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Heading into Labor Day weekend we had our "Lydiard hill" workout starting at Zuma Beach. The circuit is about 2 1/2 miles long and includes a good long hill to start, followed by a recovery flat section to another sand dunes hill leading up to Point Dume. Then it comes down along the beach for a series of 50-100 meter sprints. And, then it's back up the hill. We did this workout during preseason and everyone looks much better today. The team is getting stronger and feeling confident. Today most of the team goes into the ocean following their cool down to soak in the Pacific Ocean.
Many college teams open their 2009 season tomorrow. But, we scheduled our first meet earlier in the week to allow us to start preseason earlier and give our athletes 12 days between races (more good training).
Over the three-day Labor Day weekend our team will run on their own. This allows some to go home and others to take a mini-vacation (while continuing their running).
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Thursday has become "speed" day in Alumni Park (as long as there is no race on Saturday). We like to make sure to include a speed day once a week, year round. And Alumni Park is the perfect place to get it done. The sun rose as we were going through our movement prep (dynamic warm-up). It was such a beautiful day!
In the afternoon, we held our Pilates session. I think this will serve our team well and everyone is improving in each of the exercises.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The day after our first race of the season is designed for recovery. In the morning we go to Malibu Creek State Park. It can be quite cold there (we are such Californians!). But the temperatures have been warm for several weeks and it feels good running along the creek in nature.
Our afternoon session is at the pool. I love these days when it as very hot and the student athletes get to enjoy a good water workout while staying cool.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Race Day! We have a short workout in the morning in Alumni Park. The team runs the course plus their mileage needed for the day.
In the early evening our women race Cal State Bakersfield and men race our alumni. The races go off very well. See the recap here.
I am very pleased with the performances of our top runners and happy with the races of newcomers Wes Blundell and Ana Prim as well as the huge improvements by Aneasha Lawrence, Liz Lyons, and Kenny Smith.
Monday, August 31, 2009
It is the first day of school and the day before our first meet of the season. We set our meet for an unconventional Tuesday evening start because September 1 is the first allowable competition for NCAA Division I Cross Country and the first meet triggers the start date for preseason. Most teams start next Saturday. This gives up four days head start on those teams. I like that.
Friday, August 28, 2009
This will be our last day of "preseason" camp as we go to Sycamore Canyon for our long run. Many on the team love Sycamore Canyon. There are miles and miles of good running trails. Since it is a Friday the paths are quite empty also. Our top runners get 17 miles in and come back to the beach for a nice little soak.
We have been working hard and with school beginning on Monday, I give the team "off" time over the weekend. They still get their run(s) in but have the freedom to go where they like. A large group of the women's team spend the weekend at Hannah DeWalt's grandparents home in San Luis Obispo. The reports back are they had a great time!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Today is a relatively easy day with "speed" work in Alumni Park in the morning. Though the minimum miles of this workout is still 6.5 miles.
In the afternoon we get our third session of Pilates completed. It is getting easier for even me. I love Pilates and believe it will be a huge benefit to our team.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
One of my favorite places to run is Santa Monica along Ocean Blvd and San Vicente. It is flat with low cut grass the entire path. There are always many people out and runs can be scenic on the cliff overlooking the ocean and along the Corral Tree lined street.
Our pool workout in the afternoon is another good one. In addition to getting additional work done with little stress on the body, it is fun and a good way to cool down during this heat wave we are having.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Malibu Creek State Park is our location of the hill workout for the week. This state park has many good running trails. But, I like to use it for the one big hill that simulates Crystal Springs (site of the WCC XC Championships). We like to run up and down the hill alternating intervals back and forth. I don't think too many of our athletes like this work out. But, they do know it will prepare them for WCC's.
Pilates has become our afternoon workout on Tuesday and Thursdays. Some of our more experienced runners get their second run in before Pilates. The campus rec studio is free today. So, we take advantage of the air condition space and go indoors. This is not likely to happen again during the year as classes are scheduled nearly every hour in the room. But, it is nice today!
Monday, August 24, 2009
One of my favorite trails is the backbone trail. It is 47 miles long from Santa Monica to Pt Hueneme. Our start point is the Kanan trailhead. The trail meanders up and down along beautiful almost forest like terrain. It often reminds me of running in the Pacific Northwest; except that it is not raining and it is warm. I like that!
And, of course we get our water workout done in the afternoon. We are going to get a couple of hours of pool time on Mondays and Wednesday and alternate with Tuesday/Thursday Pilates sessions.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Long run day! This time it is the Ray Miller trail in LaJolla Canyon. A week before the start of preseason I ran this route with Dale Reicheneder, alumni and volunteer with the team. I ran in my Vibram Five Fingers near barefoot shoes. The first hour plus of running were good. But then I developed some bad blisters. So, it's back to running shoes for a while. But, Dale did show me how to make this loop a nice 12 mile run. By adding a little more we can make this our long run.
However, I must be slowing down or our athletes took a shorter turn as they blasted this very hilly run. The first four miles is all uphill. We do have ocean views the whole way. I love it!
I am going to give the team the weekend to run on their own. They have been working hard and deserve a chance to go out of town if they want.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
This morning was our first speed session. Alumni Park is the perfect location. I like to set up a course on the grass that gives us about 80-100 meters for sprints with a 300 meter jog in between. This is a workout I would like our athletes to do weekly year round.
The team was planning a camping trip beginning this evening but campsites were not available. So, instead they made s'mores up at Drescher. The team is coming together very nicely.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Our first day at Santa Monica is a nice one. I remember running along Ocean and San Vicente in the weeks leading up to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. There were so many world class runners here then. I had hoped that previous coach Richard Kampmann would walk over from his apartment. But, I was late in reaching him. Perhaps next week.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I was excited about today's workout. It was down starting at Zuma Beach with two good hills and some sprinting along the beach. I borrowed this workout from Arthur Lydiard. He did this often with his New Zealand world record holders.
The top men ended up doing about 12 miles with some tough hills with women getting about 10 miles.
Afterwards everyone ate breakfast burritos from Lily's. According to the students, Lily's makes the best breakfast burritos (thought some say it is the Law School surprisingly).
Monday, August 17, 2009
This morning's run is back over the hill at Chesebro Canyon. It is hot there and dusty and a good run along dirt roads. Crystal Springs, site of our WCC Championships is run on dirt roads. So, this is a good chance to get used to that terrain.
After our run we go over to Future Track Running Shoe Center for shoe sizing. Bill Duley owns the store and is happy to work with our Pepperdine athletes. He has coached several great runners, including Olympic marathon medalist Deena Kastor.
The afternoon features our first water workout. The freshmen are treated to running in the water. We can simulate jogging, sprinting, and even uphill running in the water using various techniques. Plus it is good on a hot day.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
In the morning we run Sycamore Canyon just up PCH. It is one of the best running routes near us as we can get in up to 17 miles in a looped run. Many of our top athletes enjoy this run as they have a dirt fire road to run and can talk and enjoy the great views. In the afternoon we have separate team meetings for our women's team and men's team. I lead a relaxation/visualization session for the season. Many of our athletes like these sessions.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Today is our first day of official practice and we take the team to Malibu Creek State Park for our morning run. Afterwards we have chocolate milk and breakfast. This will be our routine for preseason and the athletes love it. We have fruit, energy bars, sort of healthy pastries, etc.
It is going to be a good season!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Our athletes arrive tomorrow to check into dorms, meet as a team, have physicals, sign NCAA paperwork, etc.
It is an exciting time and day for all of us. We have five new women and four freshmen men joining the team. I am sure they are quite nervous. I heard some of the men went up to Mammoth to train at high altitude before arriving in Malibu. Great idea!
Last week we learned that two of our women, Chelsea Wishard and Lauren Lodge were named to the pre-season All-WCC team. This team consists of only 10 student athletes. Only Portland with three, Loyola Marymount with two, and Pepperdine with two had more than one athlete on the honored team. Congratulations to these women. Now, we need to go get it done!
It is going to be a fun season and I hope to keep up with my daily blog. So, check in frequently to see how we are doing. Summer is over. It's time to get serious.
