This past weekend I ran in the OC Youth Cross Country Meet in Yorba Linda. It was a beautiful day and a great, mostly flat course. This was the first official meet of the season and I was surprised to see so many teams and runners. In fact, my division, the 11-12 year old boys, was one of the largest with 50 runners.

I am on the far left, above. I’ve made some changes over the summer and have been working with a new coach and team. For many reasons, I’m really happy with the change. I do miss my old teammates, but I still see them at meets and we still have fun.

I ran a strong race and am pleased with my results. It was a great season opener, and I look forward to working my way up to new heights!

Until next time…

I am back from Albuquerque, New Mexico where I competed in the USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. What a weekend! My family drove from California on Thursday. It took us 13 hours including all of our stops for food and gas. My sister and I enjoyed the ride- we always have fun stuff to do.

On Friday morning I went out to Balloon Fiesta Park where the race course was. I did a course run-through and noticed right away that I had a bit of trouble breathing. Albuquerque is about 5500 feet above sea level. I had heard a lot about the altitude being something to be aware of, but I had no idea what it would feel like until then. I had to breathe a lot harder which I wasn’t used to. After doing the course run-through, I did some drills and hard strides at the start. For some reason I felt like I needed to run the full course again. I wanted to be really familiar with every turn and all of the terrain. So I did it again.

My family and I had a really nice lunch, rested up for a bit, and then attended the Opening Ceremonies at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The Governor of Albuquerque welcomed us and US Olympic Silver medalist, Leo Manzano spoke. He specializes in the 1500m distance, something I am very familiar with, so I enjoyed watching his highlight video and hearing him talk about how he got to the Olympic podium.

I noticed that after the Opening Ceremonies, I was feeling really exhausted and my throat was starting to bother me. It felt really dry and it hurt when I swallowed. I asked if we could skip going out for dinner and go straight to the hotel. We ordered room service and I got in bed right away. During the night I woke up constantly because I was coughing and sniffling a lot. I didn’t get much sleep but I tried not to worry about it.

The next morning, I knew I must have caught something because I was congested and my throat still felt horrible. What could I do? Nothing, so I just ignored it and drank a lot of water. We went to Starbucks for breakfast where I had a bagel and some hot water with honey. I knew that my race was in a couple hours and all I had to do was get through it somehow.

When we got to the course, I immediately started moving to stay warm. The temperature outside was very cold, about 33 degrees. Even though my cough was bad, it was hard not to get excited with all the people and athletes there. When it was time to check-in for my race, I felt like I was as ready as I ever would be. I said goodbye to my family and headed to the staging tent.

At the start line, I practiced a few starts and strides. I could see my family up ahead and I just tried to stay calm and focused. Once the race began my mind emptied. I controlled my start, ran the pace I knew, and pumped my arms. About a mile into the course my arms really started to hurt like never before. I don’t know why, but they were killing me! I felt like I was carrying bricks. I was also feeling tired and winded. I think it was the altitude. I never looked behind me so I had no idea where anyone else was- I just kept running.

When I crossed the finish line first, I felt so amazing. My family was there to greet me which made me really happy.

Here is a video of the race. Happy Holidays everyone and see you next year!

*guest post at Team NOW

We’ve just past the Halloween mark and for me, that means it’s time to kick my training up another notch. I am five weeks away from the Junior Olympic National Cross Country Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’ve been having a great season but am ready to start breaking new ground.

I always use Halloween as my marker because it happens to be one of my favorite holidays. I love getting into costume and going out in the neighborhood with my friends. This year I collected a lot of candy and like every year, I have two pieces and then I go on a candy fast until after Nationals. My favorite candy is candy corn and that is a big no-no when it comes to nutrition and fueling my body for peak performance.

Starting this week, I’m increasing my training schedule and will be raising the intensity even more. It’s going to get uncomfortable but it’s what you have to do. Over the next five weeks, I’ll be focusing on getting plenty of sleep, water, nutrition, and quality practices.

What are you all doing to raise your game?

Talk soon,

*guest post at Team NOW

Hello NOW friends!

Yesterday I was up near Los Angeles for a cross country race. It was my first meet of the season so I was really excited. When we arrived, my coach told me he bumped me up to the next age division for some extra competition. Yeah! I love the challenge of chasing more people so this was great news.

The 2-mile course had all the cool things I love about cross country: hills, stones, gravel, cement, dirt, and tree roots. As always, I studied the course and started my pre-race preparation routine.

Before any race or stressful event (like a test!) I always go through some exercises in my mind that help me remain calm. I think about times when I was at my extreme personal best and I try to relive everything about those moments. What was I feeling? How was I breathing? What were the sights, sounds, and smells? I can’t explain what it does to me except that I get into a feeling that is like relaxed intensity. My shoulders and fists are not tight. My breathing is deep and controlled. I am calm, but I am also really focused and ready for battle!

At the starting line, I had a clear vision of what was going to happen. After the horn sounded, everything went as it did in my head. I was in the lead group feeling strong and controlled. I kept about 3 strides distance behind the leader the entire first half, noticing and respecting his pace. I didn’t know if I would be able to pass him but I believed I could and I was certainly going to go for it at the right time!

That was the plan.

However, somewhere closer to the end I came to a sharp turn on the gravel. I lost my footing and slipped and fell.. hard. Even though I’d seen and heard stories of other people falling during races, that was the first time it had ever happened to me. It all happened so quickly that before I could think about it, I was already up again and running.

When I visualize my races, I never imagine falling or anything else that I don’t want to happen. I only imagine flawless races where everything that is in my control goes exactly as planned. There is nothing I can do about things that are out of my control and so I don’t spend any time worrying about those things. When I fell, the only thing I knew to do was to run because that was the original plan and giving up is never an option.

I’m grateful for the experience and I can’t wait to tear up the trails again!

Until next time,

Congratulations, Max!!!

2011 USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Bantam Boys Champion

There are only 8 more days until the USATF Junior Olympics for Cross Country. Ever since I went to Nationals last year for the first time, I decided I wanted to go back this year and see if I could do better.

So I have been working really really hard not just this Fall, but all year long.  In the Spring, I did track to help me with my speed. It was challenging towards the end of the season because I had a lot of heel pain from all of the hard pounding on my feet.

Luckily, taking 3 weeks off in August/ September before starting cross country seemed to help a lot. I also gave up competitive soccer and cut back on all my extra running at school. I stretch my calves a lot and use this bumpy roller ball on the bottom of my feet whenever I sit at my desk to do homework. I haven’t had any problems all season. Yeah!

Now it’s getting down to the final days before the big day. After Regionals, my practices have gotten much much tougher. My coaches are wanting us to “peak” at nationals. I’ve been very focused and I’ve had some amazing workouts that have surprised me. I feel strong and fast! 🙂

My biggest focus right now is on staying healthy and eating right. It’s winter time and a lot of kids are getting sick with colds and bronchitis. I am washing my hands like crazy and dressing super warm for practices. Even when I’m hot I don’t take my long sleeves off. Our practices are at night and the temperature drops a lot. I’m drinking tons of green smoothies and have been on a “candy fast” until after the Championships. And finally, I’m going to sleep early every night.

With only a few more days to go, I am getting more and more excited about the trip. This year the Junior Olympics will be in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It will be my second time to Myrtle Beach this year since I went in July for the USA Youth Outdoor Nationals for Track and Field. Back then it was like 104 degrees and it was just me and my mom- no coaches, no teammates.

This time will be much different.

I have 23 other teammates going to compete as well. I will have 3 coaches. And best of all, I will have some additional family members out there to support me. It’s going to be so fun!!!

This past weekend was our USATF Cross Country Association race. Throughout this season, I’ve been training with only a few other boys in my Bantam division (ages 9-10 years).

One of the things I like about cross country is that even though it is a very individual sport, there is also a fun team part. At every race, your team earns a rank based on a point scoring system.

The results from the Association race determine whether you and your team will qualify for the Regional race. Then, the results from the Regional race determine whether you can qualify for the Junior Olympic Nationals.

What was really cool was just days before the Association race, I was able to gain 2 more Bantam teammates (who are friends of mine) from my school! They are great athletes and runners and I was so excited to hear that they would compete.

Without any special training at all, they came out on Sunday and ran excellent races. They are troopers because the course was very wet from rains the day before and there is a really tough hill in the middle of the course. They not only had fun, but they also helped my team qualify for Regionals which is next Sunday!

Stay tuned… Hopefully we can advance as a team to Nationals!!!

*Update*

We did qualify for Nationals! Unfortunately, however, not everyone could make it to Myrtle Beach so we will not be able to compete as a team 🙁 Hopefully next year we will have another shot.