Book Review: All American. The Rise and Fall of Jim Thorpe

Book Review: All American. The Rise and Fall of Jim Thorpe

by | Nov 23, 2021 | Book Review, Opinion

Written by Bill Crawford

Reviewed by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

All American

James Francis Thorpe (1887-1953) was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation who became labeled as “The Best Athlete in the World” By King Gustav of Sweden after winning both the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. He was also a college and professional football player, first President of the NFL (1920) and if that weren’t enough, also played Major League Baseball, among many athletic achievements.

As a lifetime sports fan, the name of Jim Thorpe evoked victory, nostalgia, athletic triumph and unfair treatment by the powerful institutions of sports of the earlier parts of the 20th Century.

As an early fan of sports history, Thorpe caught my attention at a young age mainly because of his Olympic triumphs, and because he also played Major League Baseball, of which I was a big fan at the time. The more I read about this mysterious character, the more the legend of “the best athlete in the world” grew for me. Then, as an adult, you get your hands on a serious biographical text like this one and you get to delve into so much more. I knew he was involved in other sports activities but wasn’t aware of the extent of it. Well, now I am.

The book covers in detail the birth of amateur sports and how the entire concept became established. It was a way for the snobby British of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries to keep the working class from competing against them. To keep the riffraff away. It was not about being paid to compete or win, it was about having to work to make a living instead of dedicating your life to leisure and sports. This forces the question: who was the amateur and who was the pro? I have read other books where this is explained the same fashion, so I tend to believe the theory.

All American

Jim Thorpe at the 1912 Olympics

Bill Crawford’s book should be a bonanza for football fans. Even though it was not his favorite sport, Thorpe was one of the great football players from the early days when the game was just getting established. It goes into plenty of detail on the evolution of the game, its main characters at the college and professional levels, both on and off the field. If you couldn’t care less about football, about sixty percent of this book may not be of your interest. I fall in that category but was able to make the best out of it just because I had so much interest on getting to know more about Mr. Thorpe.

His Olympic prowess and details of his participation at the Stockholm 1912 Olympics are covered in just one chapter. His participation in Major League Baseball is no more than anecdotal. His spectacular riise and fall are explained in detail, which is an important aspect of why his name became the historic figure we all know, today.

In summary, All American is a good book and if you are interested in learning about the man behind the myth, it will be money and time well spent. But if you are looking for a book about running, Olympic triumph and competition, this is not it.

 

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Internal Thoughts of a Morning Runner

Internal Thoughts of a Morning Runner

by | Oct 5, 2021 | Guest Perspective, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Shelby Schmidt *

Note from the Editor: I am subscribed to the “Running and Schmidt” blog by Coach Shelby. A few weeks ago she wrote a funny post. It was funny only because it was real, and somehow reflected the true nature of every morning runner out there. Every runner will be able to find a little bit of him/herself in these random thoughts. I am publishing her post with her permission.

Feel free to contribute with your own thoughts in the comments section. Enjoy!

Morning runner

There are countless tihngs that go through the mind of morning runners. Some, funnier than others (Picture by libreshot.com)

If you wake up at ungodly hours to run countless miles, you can safely fall into the category of \”crazy morning runner\”. You know them, you see them, you are them: we are the ones with headlights, neon vests, half opened eye lids and enough coffee in us to fuel a small rocket.

Most of us don\’t run with headphones at that time of the morning, for safety, so we have A LOT of time to think. Have you ever run more than three miles without headphones? I don’t love it. It allows me to have WAY too much time to think and my mind is like black hole with no end in sight.

While my endless thoughts just won’t stop, every once in a while, I come up with some gems that I can’t help but share.

So, with that being said, I present you:

Internal Morning Running Thoughts

  • WHY am I up this early!?!?

  • When does the time change for it to be brighter earlier? (Then repeats “spring forward fall back” and try to do math at 5am to what time it would actually be).

  • Passing the same house you did earlier but now they have lights on: “Ohhhh look who’s awake now.”

  •  Seeing someone’s garbage/recycle full to the top: “Damn! did someone have a party?”

  •  When you see another runner like you crazy enough to give up sleep: “Did we just become best friends?”

  •  Seeing a dark object that I can’t fully make out: “Is that a human/dog/ wild animal.”

  •  When a car seems to be slowly coasting along past every house: “What is that car doing? I’m gonna break out my ninja moves—watch out!!!!! Oh it’s just paper delivery l, carry on.”

  •  Literally, every time I bump my pepper spray against myself: “Please don’t let me pepper spray myself.”

  •  Passing houses with lights on: “Doesn’t anyone sleep around here!?!”

  •  When there is a mound of tree clippings taking up half the sidewalk or road: “Do they have any trees left?!?”

  •  When anyone comes around a corner, otherwise of the street or basically into existence remotely near me: “Stay awayyyy!”

 I know I can’t be the only one to have these thoughts and I’m sure that everyone has their own!

What are some of the thoughts you have?

 *Shelby Schmidt is a running coach certified by RRCA. You can follow her in Instagram at @runningschmidt, and read her blog at https://www.runningandschmidt.com/

 
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Keeping a Running Logbook

Keeping a Running Logbook

by | Aug 17, 2021 | Article, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Maybe because I started running way before personal computers and the internet were ubiquitous. Or because I am a visual person. Or because I am just traditional. I like to keep track of my sporting activities in a written log. For years I handwrote in a 3-ring binder and, as the technology progressed, I set up a spreadsheet that has been constantly changing as I learned more about the wonders of MS Excel.

These days, with Garmin, Strava, TrainingPeaks, RunKeeper, and many, many more, you just forget about it, and someone keeps track for you. And they do so with more parameters than you will ever need, know what to do with, or care for. I do believe it is inevitable that any “serious” runner will end up with a GPS watch and an online account, and that is a good thing. But at the same time I believe that so much data, uploaded up there in the cloud, where you can access but small portions of it at a time, is not necessarily better. Yes, well into the 21st Century, I advocate for a written running log.

Running Logbook

World Record holder Eliud Kipchoge has been keeping a handwritten running log since he turned professional

Eliud Kipchoge, —yes, that Eliud Kipchoge— has kept a had written, yearly running log since he became a professional runner. He records in every single workout as detailed as possible, also adding things and thoughts from outside the running world that may help his training. “When you write, then you remember”, he says. If it works for Kipchoge, maybe you should give some thought.

There are multiple ways to keep track of your activity. You can do it by hand in an appointment book, a 3-ring binder, or a notebook. There are also a variety of journals on sale specifically designed for this purpose. In your computer you can develop an Excel sheet to track what is important to you, or you can just write in your entries in a Word (or equivalent) document. Google has spreadsheets and documents that are accessible in your desktop computer and phone. The options, these days, are limitless.

It is important to take your time to write or type something into your journal, purposefully, so you can internalize it, meditate on it, and visualize. Your GPS watch doesn’t record your thoughts.

Your entries can be arranged, based on the platform where you keep them: daily, weekly, or monthly. My personal preference is monthly because it allows me to review a bigger segment of my training in a single glance. Since I developed my Excel sheet, I have added weekly totals, monthly and yearly totals, pace average, heart rate, temperature, humidity, cross training, and much more.

Why do we keep track?

  • Because when we get in a rut (and you will), you can go back to when you were doing great and check what worked for you back then.

  • Because when you are training for your goal race you can glance your entire training without thumbing through hundreds of single entries in Strava or Garmin.

  • Because when you decide to change GPS watch brand, or want to change your online tracking platform, you won’t lose the data in your account.

  • Because when you are looking for a specific piece of data you can flip a page or two instead of combing through thousands upon thousands of data entries that were not designed with your needs in mind.

  • Because you can store it by year, month or whatever parameter works for you so data will be easily accessible when you need to consult it.

  • Because it creates a spectacular database that will become your frame of reference to get you from where you are today to where you want to be, tomorrow.

Running Logbook

Handwritten logbooks or computer spreadsheets can become as elaborate or a simple as your individual needs.

If by any chance I have persuaded you to give a running log a try, start right away. Now! Write down date, mileage, time and specific, detailed notes of each workout. If you did a particular mobility exercise or weightlifting routine that made you feel good, write it down. If you ran with someone who helped you get the best out of your ability, write it down. If the temperature or humidity became a pro or a con on your run, write it down. If you started with a new pair of shoes, write it down. If you feel any parameters become key in every workout, start tracking them.

The key to the usefulness of your log is the quality and trustworthiness of the data. If you fail to do your entries after each training, if you don’t keep good notes on why it went great or why you bonked, if you are just guessing your mileage and time, if you are lying to yourself, if you misplace your logs in your home or computer; then you are better off not wasting your time.

Think of all the benefits I’ve enumerated and check for yourself if they have any merits.

 
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The Case for Urinals at Starting Lines

The Case for Urinals at Starting Lines

by | Aug 10, 2021 | Article, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I visited The Netherlands for my birthday, a few years ago, and of course I looked for a race. I was going to be in The Hague, and God smiled at me with the Den Haag Marathon on the exact same weekend I planned to arrive. I ran the half. It was an unbelievable experience. The most beautiful course in one of the prettiest and quaintest cities I’ve ever visited.

But one of the memories that has endured from my experience in the Den Haag race is kind of weird. The urinals at the starting area, which was in a public park. Yes, urinals. And not just at the starting line but also in many public places around town and as permanent structures throughout several cities in The Netherlands.

Urinals at starting lines

Public urinal in front of the Department of Justice in Den Haag, The Netherlands.

While waiting for the gun to go off at Den Haag, I saw these weird rigid plastic structures. They were on top of a square shaped base, maybe 4 feet to a side, about 7 feet tall, each side bisected with a wall, which created four “cubicles”. Each space had a “V” shaped opening at about 3 feet high at the innermost corner. They looked like… No!!… It can’t be!!!… But they were! They were urinals and weirdest of all, men were actually urinating in them, leaving the port-a-potty facilities for those males with “bigger needs” and women.

As you may imagine, I did not take pictures of people using these artifacts, but I did take a picture of an exact one, at a later date, this one in a square surrounded by restaurants, bars and located right in front of the Department of Justice (See accompanying image). It was there 24/7 for people (men) visiting their favorite watering holes to “take care of business” without resorting to the unsanitary and illegal option of going against the walls, cars, trees or bushes. Very pragmatic, like most Dutch solutions.

I know this may be a weird topic for this forum, but I assume we are all adults and we can discuss the issue with some degree of maturity. And, since every runner has at least a handful of port-a-potty horror stories during their racing career, I wanted to make the case in favor of the use of urinals for races in the United States.

THE MATH

Let’s set up a case study with a mid-size race of 3000 runners. Let’s assume a 50-50 split on the binary genders (1500 each). And let’s assume for this example the race director calculated a port-a-potty for each 75 participants, for a total of 40. If 75% of people use the facilities pre-race (2,250) and let’s say one third of them (563) are in line at any given time before the gun goes off, this means an average line of 19 people per door. Assuming an average time of 3 minutes per use, the average waiting time is 57 minutes per user. We’ve all been there and if not, we haven’t raced enough.

Now, let’s say this same race director decides to be pragmatic and exchange just five traditional port-a-potties with 4-corner urinals placed at an appropriate location in the starting area. For this example let’s say 75% of the male users (844) are using the facilities only for urination. Then, the overall population of runners using the port-a-potties has been reduced from 2,250 to 1,406, which at 35 doors and the exact parameters of usage as before, the average runner will be waiting in line for 40 minutes. Does it sound like still a long wait? I’ll take it. It is 30% shorter. It is a start.

 THE SOLUTION

Urinals at starting lines

There is a solution to this problem. Do we have the maturity to solve it?

I don’t assume to be speaking for all male runners, but I believe I am for a vast majority. Let’s face it, most of us at some point have found a tree, a bush or a wall to relieve ourselves while waiting at the starting area of a race. And while there, very likely have witnessed females crouching with their shorts half down doing the same and for the same reason as us. And let’s come clear here, there is nothing sexy or sexual about adults exposing themselves to take care of business before a race. I haven’t experienced the first sexual frenzy in such situation. So let’s grow up and find a solution. There is one and it has been in use in Europe for years.

A difference between the Dutch and the Americans is that the former are extremely pragmatic in the solutions to their public issues while the latter are still embarrassedly prudish with anything related to sexual organs, even if they are being used for purposes other than procreation or related fun-driven activities. While the municipality of Amsterdam installed urinals around the bar areas once they figured out a substantial percentage of drowned men in the canals were found drunk and with their fly open, in the USA we would face a “Today Show exclusive investigation on the immorality of urinals in foot races”, reported by non-runners, despite the fact that it will ameliorate a big problem within this industry.

The use of port-a-potties is as part of a race as complaining of nagging injuries with your friends. None of them are going away anytime soon. There is a solution out there. Can we grow up and use it? Or are we to prudish to implement it?

Any thoughts?

 
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The Power of Being Constant

The Power of Being Constant

by | Jul 6, 2021 | Guest Perspective, Opinion, Reflection

By Anthony Reed *

Editor’s Note:  This is a posting from Mr. Reed in our RCAA Coaches Group. I requested, and obtained, his permission to repost it here. I believe it shows the power of remaining constant and relentlessly moving forward towards your lifetime goals and its compounding results.

Life-Long Goal Setting: Maintaining a three miles per day in average.

 
Being Constant

The Great Wall Marathon, China (Photo courtesy of Anthony Reed)

Many runners focus on various goals, such as running 100 miles per month. Today (6/6/21), during a 15-mile run, I finally logged over 47,000 miles over 42 years.

 In 1976, I set a lifetime goal to average three miles of running per day as a way of avoiding insulin. My primary goal was to run about 90 miles/month and the secondary goal was at least 100 miles per month. Also, I only wanted to run only three or four days per week. I’m a very firm believer in “everything in moderation”.

 I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in 1963 and was told that I’d be on insulin by the 1970’s. I started running as a way to avoid this prediction. In the mid-1970’s, a co-worker lost his sight due to glaucoma, had his foot and leg amputated, and died to complications from diabetes. I don’t believe he was more than 50 years old. I was scared to death.

 I’ve maintained a handwritten running journal since 1979. The detailed, monthly data is summarized in an Excel workbook. Here’s a brief analysis of 509 months of running.

RUNNING DATA

 – Averaged 3.03 miles/day over 509 months.

Being Constant

Antarctica Marathon (Photo courtesy of Anthony Reed)

– Ran 5,359 days (34.6%) out of a possible 15,496 days. As a father and husband, I wanted to keep running simple, fun, flexible, and injury-free. Thus, I felt that running everyday would put undue pressure on me. So, I opted to run only 3 or 4 days a week.

 – I was not perfect. I failed to reach my primary monthly goal 40% of the time, including 29 months of not running a single mile. However, I never lost sight of my goal AND my reason for achieving it. I wanted to live past 50, keep my eyesight, not have any limbs amputated, and not be on insulin. The money saved from paying for insulin was used to travel around the world and finish marathons on seven continents (completed in 2007) and fifty States (completed in 2013).

 – Longest streak of reaching at least 100 miles per month was 21 months; from June 1985 through February 1987. Averaged 148.7 miles/month.

 – Longest streak of not reaching primary goal was 29 months; from August 1990 through December 1992. Averaged 60.74 miles/month.

 – Maximum miles in one month: 200.13 in January 1986 over 17 days of running.

RACING DATA

 – Fastest races: Marathon – 3:36:45 (1984); 20-Miler – 2:35:54 (1987); Half marathon – 1:34:11 (1985); 10K – 41:31 (1983) [BTW – These PB’s were run while weighing about 195 pounds at six feet tall, which wasn’t easy.]

 – Completed 226 races between 1979 and 2018 (averaged 5.3 races/year).

 – Averaged 2.3 marathons/year between 1982 and 2000. Only one marathon (Chicago) of my first 42 marathons was outside of Texas, which included 15 Cowtown Marathons (Ft. Worth) and 15 Dallas Marathons (formerly White Rock). You have an entire lifetime to run marathons, so take it easy on the racing, especially if you\’re just beginning.

 – Completed 131 marathons between 1982 and 2018 (averaged 3.5 marathons/year).

 – Longest monthly streak: 15 marathons between February 2012 and January 2013.

 By keeping focused on a lifetime AVERAGE, it took the stress off everyday living and goal setting. Next month, I’ll turn 66 and am still not on insulin.

* Anthony Reed is the National Black Marathoners Association Co-Founder & Executive Director. He is the author of the book “From the Road Race to the Rat Race” which was published in September 2020.

 The National Black Marathoners’ Association (NBMA) is the country\’s oldest and largest, not-for-profit organization of Black American distance runners. It is open to everyone, regardless of athletic ability or previous marathon experience. Objectives are to:
¡       Encourage Black Americans and others to pursue a healthy lifestyle through long distance running and walking.
¡       Serve as a vehicle for Black American distance runners across the nation to meet in mass at a single marathon.
¡       Recognize the accomplishments of Black American distance runners.
¡       Provide scholarships to deserving high school boy and girl distance runners.

For more information about the National Black Marathoner’s Association, you can click here.

 
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The Art and the Science of Coaching Runners

The Art and the Science of Coaching Runners

by | Jun 15, 2021 | Article, Coaching, Opinion

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

A few weeks ago I went for a run with one of my trainees. He brought a friend to join in. He knew how beneficial it had been for my trainee to follow a structured, individualized, and supervised training plan. He was very aware of my trainee’s progress during the months we worked together. So, as we ran, he picked my brain with a few poignant questions.

Coaching RunnersThere was one that caught my attention and kept me thinking for a few days. He was training for a 50-mile race, and he wanted to know: As a coach, what is the weekly mileage I recommend for someone wanting to complete his distance?

As you may imagine by now, there is one and only one answer for such a question: “It depends”.

It was then when I started enumerating the different variables that need to be considered before I answered such a question. There is a whole set of variables that needs to be pondered and expressed in a training plan before a goal may have a chance to be realized. These variables, among others and in no particular order, are:

* Goal – What is it that you are trying to achieve?
* Balance – There must be a reason why miles are prescribed. No junk miles.
* Rest – It is a much part of a training plan as a long run.
* Nutrition – Without being a dietitian, a coach must understand the basics of healthy eating.
* Speed work – has to be balanced between long runs and recovery days.
* Intensity – It is not about how fast but how hard you are pushing.
* Aerobic capacity – For runs over 800 mts, it is the basic measurement of endurance.
* Strength training – core and weight work are key to the success of a runner.
* Cross Training – It can’t be all running. Supplementary activities need to be performed.
* Hydration – Not only about avoiding dehydration but when and how much fluids to consume.
* Fueling – caloric intake that needs to be consumed for the body to complete the task efficiently.
* Race strategy – What will you do on race day with what you have worked so hard to obtain.
* Recovery – What to do once you are done with your training cycle, so you don’t burn out.

Coaching RunnersCombining all these and many more variables in a reasonable, achievable, and well-balanced plan, requires knowledge, preparation, and experience, both as a runner and as a coach. But even with all these elements, coaching runners is still not an exact science.

Each body reacts different to the same stimuli, and because life affect every runner in an individual way, it is imperative for a running coach to be openminded, flexible and willing to adjust as weeks go by. This can’t be achieved by cookie-cutter, generic plan downloaded from the internet.

Running a 10K, a half marathon or a marathon is not unachievable. Hundreds of thousands of people do it year in and year out. But as you look to achieve certain distance or time goals, if you want to get the best out of what you have and/or if you want to improve and test your limits, the guidance of a knowledgeable coach, one who can balance art and science, becomes more important, if not indispensable.

 
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