Man is it ever hot.  Like record-breaking hot.  REAL hot.  If there's any good news weather-wise, it's that the humidity has been pretty low.  The weatherman on the radio said we're having Phoenix weather.  And he's right, I've been there.  Low humidity means that as hot as is it, it doesn't strike us Ohio-valley dwellers as steamy hot-hot hot ("this ain't hot--lemme tell you about hot...").  And that can be dangerous, as we have a hard time estimating when to draw the line in training.  Train as early as you can.  The earlier the better.  
    Regarding training, I hope your summer workouts are going well (don't forget, the summer workouts are located on my "Clipboard" page).  I gotta admit, today being Friday, these Mon/Fri Arms & Shoulders + easy run + Indy Core days seem to take forever.  It's quite a commitment.  Keep it up.  (Speaking of arms & shoulders, I'm amazed at how different 3 sets of 10 seems compared to 2 sets of 12.  I guess you've got to feel weaker sometimes in order to get stronger.)
    All this time spent training reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses, 1 Timothy 4:8.  In it, Paul (the "coach") reminds Timothy (his young "athlete") that "physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is far more important, because it offers a reward in both this life and the next."  In other words, don't make yourself and your training a higher priority than your relationships with God, your family, and others.  Keep things in perspective.
    Like the sign on my classroom wall says, "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."  Keep up the good work.

    Great to see everybody at the Run for the Health of It 5K in Bardstown this morning.  I paced my daughter and running partner Julianna and I'm proud to say she not only set a PR (on a long course) but came home with a age-division gold medal around her neck.  Nice job!  Pacing her was fun, and it made for an enjoyable, although different, running experience for me.  Normally I coach racers from the sidelines, but today I was doing an awful lot of coaching as we ran, and funny enough found myself accumulating runners.  After the finish, I was surprised at the number of people (some complete strangers) who came up to me and thanked me for the advice and encouragement given out throughout the race.  One of my HS runners even said, "I wanted to stop, but I saw you up there yelling at your daughter and it made me press on!"  (I was not yelling at Julianna, that was coaching.)  It also made me appreciate those who've helped me through races, like by bud Matt H. who not only paced me to a PR but drove with me two hours to do so in a 1/2 marathon.  That's love, people.
    And although I'm not into times too much at this juncture of our summer training schedule, I did check out a few times, and WOW! Landon F good job and how about NC runner mom Katie H. WHAT IMPROVEMENT!  WOW!  You guys are inspirational.  My congrats to all who were there and thanks to God for the fun rain to run in.  Fun fun fun.
    A new week ahead is a new opportunity to kick-start that training schedule.  If you're on target, keep it up, and if you're not, click over to the Clipboard and let's get this ball rolling!  Have a great week and call me if you need me.  
    Coach

Well, as of yesterday's workout, I've completed the first week of summer workouts.  Have you?  I'd have to say that as a guy who's used to training by charting mileage only, yesterday's LSD day was still my favorite.  I ran road/ trail loops at Nazareth with my main man Jeb.  But I can definitely tell that every activity is benefitting me.  Arms & shoulders and the core work have clearly been needed as they are producing some soreness.  But I never thought the mertyl stuff would be such a workout, esp in the glutes.  Plyos is fun like always, but I fear I'm no Shawn-T.  I gotta admit I hate the speedwork, but I got it done.  I'd like to hand it to my family--they're my training group and are really helping me keep on track.  If you live in the North Nelson/Cox's Creek area and like to join us, give me a call--we normally train at around 10AM and do our runs at the Methodist 2nd Campus.  ONE FINAL NOTE: do the workouts RIGHT.  If you do what's supposed to be an easy run like a tempo, you're jacking up your whole week.  Tempos are tempos and easy is supposed to be easy.  The key?  Talking.  Run with somebody and talk the whole time.  If you can carry on a conversation, it's an easy run.  If you're gasping out one word answers to their questions, back off, you're overdoing it.  It really helps to find a partner you're at pace with and then talk it up. 

    If you found the site, congratulations!  Over the next few weeks, I am hopeful that more and more of you will visit the site, and I plan to distribute most of our important info for the upcoming seasons on its posts.
    If you have any recommendations of what you'd like to see on it that I've missed, shoot me a note through the message board on the "Starting Line" home page.
    I hope you've been doing the summer workouts according to the training schedule.  I've been doing them (and my wife and kids have become my new training group, poor guys).  Each day has been sort of hard, but not really, and I have a general feeling of having stressed my body without really any pain.  Yet.  Remember, it's a progression, but a friendly one that will strengthen you and get you ready for the upcoming season.  And veteran runners: follow the plan!  Don't blow off what's written to substitute in runs not on the schedule.  There's a method in there if you'll follow it.
    It's available on my "Clipboard" page.  If you've already started, keep up the good work!  If you haven't, click over there!  What are you waiting for?  You're not going to get into any shape staying up late ready some silly blog!
    See you later,
    Coach