Archives for June 2014

June 25, 2014

I love my track & field, but I ain’t gonna lie. There are times when the meets last so long that taking a good snooze is the only way to make the time go by faster. Like I often say to my non-track-fan friends, if you wanna catch up on your sleep, go to a track meet. Not because the competition isn’t exciting, but because there are so many heats of so many events that meets literally last all day long.

At New Balance Outdoor High School Nationals two weekends ago, my girl was running the 100 meter hurdles. The semi-finals took place at 10:55 Saturday morning. But the finals were held eight hours later, at 6:55, the second-to-last event of the day. With so much time to kill between races, my crew and I spent most of our time chilling in the shade beneath the bleachers.

So of course, one of my athletes, Lamar (yes, the same Lamar who doubted I could clear a 36-inch hurdle), took the opportunity to catch me napping when I dozed off a little while.

We’ll call this one the “Deep Sleep” photo, as it displays the contemplative, deep-thinker’s pose. You can tell that I’m dreaming of a new workout or technical innovation that I can incorporate into the next practice session.

We’ll call this one the “Shoulder Lean” photo, as the head sliding to the right shoulder puts me in danger of a stiff neck. At this stage of sleep, I’m so far gone that I can hear the ocean waves crashing on the shore.

We’ll call this one the “Clown the Coach” photo, as Lamar clowns me, laughing in the foreground as I doze in the background. That’s some good photography bruh.

So if you find yourself taking a few extended blinks between events at a track meet, let it be known, you’re not the only one! read more

June 20, 2014

For today’s blog post, a brief talk on confidence:

One of my female hurdlers, whom I’ll call Andrea, was saying the other day that she needs to work on the mental side of her race. It was a conversation we had had before, as she puts a lot of pressure on herself. While I demand a lot of my athletes, I don’t like for my athletes to want success too much. Too much tension impedes progress, has a negative affect on performance.

I pointed out to her a teammate, whom I’ll call Jill, who had decided to switch her start in the 400 hurdles from a 24-step approach to 23 steps, which meant switching her feet in the blocks, getting out faster, and risking a greater level of late-race fatigue. Never one to err on the side of caution, I approved of this change and decided to work with her to make it work.

I pointed out to Andrea that Jill was willing to try 23 steps because she’d been feeling a bit crowded taking 24 and she wasn’t afraid of what might go wrong if she switched. She wasn’t afraid of making mistakes. read more

June 16, 2014

So one of my athletes had the nerve to doubt that I could get over a 36-inch hurdle. He promised me he’d buy me dinner, to a restaurant of my choice, if I could do it. Never one to back down from a challenge, I said, “It’s on!”

Two days later, after rigorous stretching, meditating, visualizing, groin and hip flexor exercises, and hoping for the best, I took my talents to the track to get my hurdles on. After numerous drills and reps over a 30-inch hurdle and then a 33, I raised the hurdle to 36. The results are below:

Instead of dinner I settled for a funnel cake at New Balance Nationals, ’cause you know them funnel cakes ain’t no joke!

Special thanks to my athlete and Nigerian brother Arthur Njemanze for documenting hurdling history on his iPhone. Special thanks to my athlete Lamar Brewer for presenting me with the challenge. And special thanks to friend and inspiration Terry Reese for his endless hurdling videos proving that age ain’t got nothin’ on passion! read more

June 7, 2014

For today’s blog post I’m providing a snippet from an interview I did with Jon Hendershott – long-time journalist for Track & Field News – that will appear in the June issue of The Hurdle Magazine, which comes out June 14th. Usually on the other side of interviews, Hendershott has been writing for T&FN since 1967. Over that period of time, he has covered 9 Olympic Games and 13 World Championships, dozens of USA Championships, and countless meets at all levels of the sport. He has interviewed some of the greatest track and field athletes who have ever lived, including hurdlers Rod Milburn, Renaldo Nehemiah, Kim Batten, Kevin Young, and numerous others. The interview covers a gamut of track-related topics. The passage below addresses some hurdle-specific issues:

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McGill: Do you feel that the hurdling events should constantly be evolving? I for one have argued for several years that the height of the hurdles in the women’s 100m hurdle race should be raised. What are your thoughts on that? read more

June 5, 2014

For today’s blog post, back by popular demand, we have another round of “You Know You’re a Hurdler If …” Got ten more here in Part 2:

You know you’re a hurdler if…

10.            You’ve been guilty of driving while hurdling – taking your hands off the steering wheel and doing the hurdle motion with your arms while driving over a pothole or speed bump.

9.            You have bumped elbows and forearms with a hurdler in an adjacent lane.

8.            You have lumps or a numb spot on your trail leg knee from hitting hurdles in the exact same spot over and over again.

7.            You have broken a crossbar in half with the force of your lead leg foot slamming the hurdle.

6.            You have asked your coach before practice, “Hey Coach, we’re hurdlin’ today, right?”

5.            You have noticed a superior athlete in another event or sport and thought to yourself, I could beat him/her in the hurdles. read more