IndianaRunner

[Drake]

Here you can discuss Kent Garrett's training.

Feel free to ask questions, make comments, critique or just read!

Kent will likely chime in and answer.

Here you can find his latest blog entry:
http://indianarunner.com/KentGarrettTrainingBlog2011.aspx

[ac_xc]

What kind of recovery/physical therapy did you undergo/undergoing for a long term injury such as a stress fracture? At your peak in xc last year, how much mileage did you di in preparation for the sate meet?

[Kent-GuerinXC]

Well coming back from the sports hernia surgery, I did physical therapy with a company called Body One. It was recommended by my doctor, and that went over smoothly. That class just showed me types of workouts and exercises to help me come back from that injury, and make sure recovery from the surgery goes well.

By the way, a sports hernia is kind of like 'removing your tonsils' for serious athletes. Having a sports hernia is nothing major, and normally does not create huge problems in performance. However, when my doctor found out I had a stress fracture and would be out of competition for 4 months, it made sense to get the surgery done then to repair the sports hernia, which turned out to be a double sports hernia. Recovery from that procedure went perfectly fine.

I've been doing some scripted or organized rehab for the stress fracture directed by my doctor, but for the most part it's just getting back into running gradually. For example, this time last year I was running 45-50 miles a week. Coming back from the stress fracture, I'm at about 25 and still building up.

Last year during the week of the state meet, I ran about 37 miles that week. I tapered quite a bit from my normal 50-55.

I appreciate the questions! Thanks!

[Logic_Runner]

kent how do you think girls and girlfriends have effected your running?

[Drake]

kent how do you think girls and girlfriends have effected your running?

I've always heard that Kent's not one to shoot a girl down...just sayin'

[Kent-GuerinXC]

Well boys, I said I would answer almost any question, and being a man of my word, I am not afraid to answer this question.

Ladies. They are in fact a major part of every males training. Whether they think they are, or they don't, they are definitly an influence. I'm currently dating a girl named Vy. She's pretty cool. Drake Sterling met her, and approved. Chris Walden did too. However, I have had to make many significant sacrifices to date such a lady. For example, there was an instance where Chris Walden saw my girlfriend and I at Steak N Shake, and my attire was quite swagged-out/metro. I was wearing what could be called, skinny jeans, a red long sleeved tee, some ato matsumoto sneakers and of course, a scarf. Yup, ladies love the scarf. Doesn't matter if you can break 15 minutes or barely break 19, if you can rock some skinny's and a scarf, the ladies will never get off you. This serious relationship started when I got the stress fracture, so I did not have to sacrifice Friday nights due to Saturday track meets which was quite an advantage. She hasn't broken up with me yet, but when she does I hope it's just a couple weeks away from the state meet, to give me that extra edge in workouts. As much as we don't like to admit it, when you're hearts broken, you have that extra fire to really murder those workouts. I mean, think about it, Andy Cowen ran his PR's at roughly the same time periods Alex Chitwood broke up with him. Ladies, they affect training, no way around it.

[Kent-GuerinXC]

And Drake, if you are getting your Kent Garrett lady knowledge through Roudabusch and the Noblesville boys, those are some dirty lies! Middle School were not exactly my best years when it came to dealing with ladies!

[Logic_Runner]

I mean, think about it, Andy Cowen ran his PR's at roughly the same time periods Alex Chitwood broke up with him..

this

[TREATED]

I mean, think about it, Andy Cowen ran his PR's at roughly the same time periods Alex Chitwood broke up with him.

TREATED

[iwearperushortshorts]

Coming into your senior year, any college choices that are possibilities that you're willing to make public? You probably haven't made a choice yet, but have you at least started thinking about what school you'll want to attend?

[Kent-GuerinXC]

Thanks for the question Nich. Yes, I have been looking into colleges for a quite a while now since it's something I did with my time off due to the injury. I am extremely interested in going to a school that is a top 50 academic institution, is in a big conference (Big east, Big 10, Pac 10, ACC, SCC, conferences like that) has a noticeable running program, most likely far from home and has solid weather to train in year round (I hope explaining this process does not come off as arrogant in any way, but just as rather to inform any and all on the decision making criteria). So I first made a group of schools I was interested in. Those were:
Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Berkley, USC, UCLA, Virginia, Wake Forest, UNC, WIlliam & Mary, UCSD, Penn State and Syracuse

Northwestern does not have track or cross, and USC does not have cross country so those were both dropped from the initial list.
UCSD is not a major conference, and due to William & Mary losing coach Gibby I'm not sure how interested I am in at the idea of running in a small conference.

So my final list of interests are Stanford, Duke, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Berkley, USLA, Virginia, Wake Forest, UNC, Penn State and Syracuse.

I've been in close contact with both Duke and Wake Forest, and plan on making official visits to both schools, however, nothing is set in stone. I look forward to hopefully being in more contact with other coaches as soon as the coaches see me in results again.

At this point though, I would love to be in contact with any coach in the country, as I am always willing to learn different things and have an open ear to all. I'm just starting the recruiting process and hope for a successful one!

[WarriorXC09]

OMG OMG OMG OMG go to UCLA that would be so killer

[ac_xc]

How have you been, recovering-wise? Do you think you'll be able to race when the season starts?

[Kent-GuerinXC]

After discussing with coach, he preferred I rather not blog on here during the cross country season keeping our xc training more in-house. And yes, I will be in our first race, August 20th at Brebeuf.

[KindaSpeedy]

How has your training been so far? I know you can not talk in great detail with us about it due to your coach's request but I'm just curious mileage wise what you are hitting as of now? Also how do you feel about your first race of the season running a 16:57 at the Brebeuf meet?

[Kent-GuerinXC]

How has your training been so far? I know you can not talk in great detail with us about it due to your coach's request but I'm just curious mileage wise what you are hitting as of now? Also how do you feel about your first race of the season running a 16:57 at the Brebeuf meet?

My training has been hit or miss recently. Due to some alignment issues, like with my pelvis and hips, I wasn't getting the world's best 'rhythm' during my workouts earlier on during the year. The doctor says this is typical for an athlete who trains for a long period of time, stops suddenly, and then picks up again. So for July I spent a good time having up and down workouts. But I was able to get back to 'mundane' or 'average' mileage in my opinion, somewhere between 40-50 miles a week. This time last year, I was running more mileage than that, about 60-70, but it was with stellar workouts and no real set backs. So I spent July with on and off training to be honest. But things have been getting back to normal. I have a new training partner in Ryan Cutter, and he is assisting with the workload. It sure is different to have somebody to run workouts with you.

And to answer how I feel about my first race, I wasn't very pleased with it. Admittedly I came down with an illness friday night (cough, fever) and just felt terrible Saturday morning. But I mentally psyched myself out of it, and said, 'Hey, Michael Jordan played game 6 with the flu, you can get through this.' Well, turns out Michael Jordan is a little bit more BA than I am . Admittedly, Saturday morning at Brebeuf took a toll on me. I led the chase pack (which was Berger, Conrad, Bix, Kirkpatrick as a more unknown runner by 20-30m for the first mile) so it took a mental toll. It was weird being back in competition in over 9 months, so being with a competitive group was playing tricks on me. I felt comfortable for the first mile, and when I heard my split at 5:27 it made sense why I was so comfortable. At the 2K Berger picked up the pace with 2 other Zionsville runners, and I went with em for 600 meters. I then began to slowly fade until about 3600 meters, where I gradually lost contact with Kirkpatrick and the group of Snider, Herlusky and Craft got to me. With a KM to left, I was dead. My body was exhausted, my legs felt sore and I basically just finished the race. Luckily the only person that passed me was my teammate, Austin. I went to the starting line that day feeling tired, with a coarse throat and achy legs, but there was no convincing me not to run. In retrospect, I probably should not have run. Regardless, I'm glad to have my 'seasonal sickness' out of the way early. So to answer your question, I'm not thrilled by my 16:57, but I'm not heartbroken either. I did not spend my summer eating Cheetos and playing Video Games, the slower time was more of a cause of poor bodily conditions. Hopefully I can put together a better result this Saturday at Rushville.

Sorry that I have been more of a spectator recently on IR, but I hope this cleared up any questions.
Thanks.

[WarriorXC09]

so, is UCLA still one of your college options......

[kg_FTW]

Check out The Bash! you dont know what you are missing!

[douglasbaker74]

Wabash College has a stellar academic reputation, as well as an excellent coaching staff and team for both Cross Contry and Track. It would be worth a look.

[kg_FTW]

there is no other college experience like this in the world. its something you need to see to believe. One step on campus and youll know.

[IR_BrettFavre]

How much is Wabash paying you to advertise them on here?

[thurgood-marshall]

Ya Wabash is unique.....no girls

[douglasbaker74]

The philanthropists at Purdue University and Depauw University kindly donate their women

[Kent-GuerinXC]

Evaluation of my senior cross country season


I'm still evaluating what happened Saturday and I think I figured out why it happened. Futsum called me after my race on Saturday, wishing me the best in the future. In my discussion with Futsum, we talked how the Lord acts in funny ways. Whether it's by getting a season ending injury, having a bad race, or losing a shoe, he always knows what's best for you.

I think the reason he ended my season 'short' this past Saturday is to once again prove to me how hard you must work to get to the very top level. Don't get me wrong, I worked as hard as I possibly could have this season under my conditions, but I was still limited due to coming back from injury/other factors. My maximum mileage week my entire season was only 52 miles, and that was in the first week of October. I was only able to run 62 miles for ALL of June: the entire mileage of that month was less than what I ran in some 6-day periods last year! Throughout much of July I was not able to do as many intense core or strengthening workouts due to rehab from the double-sports-hernia surgery. And then once the season got under way, I had to back down on my long runs as well as workout intensity for much of August due to having the pneumonia. To the abilities I was able or allowed to perform, I worked as hard as I could have. However, this was not nearly as much as I had worked in years past.

My junior year, I did a core workout every night from July 1st till November 25th. That's right, every night: I was very determined to be great. Along with this, my mileage would get relatively high, hitting as much as 340 miles for the whole month of August and 302 in July. It was evident that I was giving 110% effort the entire season, from workouts in the pool to tempo's on our 5-mile loop, I was doing everything I possibly could to be the best runner I could be. Due to some limitations my senior year, I wasn't able to train the same way.

[/b] Therefore, Hypothetically speaking[/b]
Let's say I made it to the state meet and got on the podium this year. If I got a 14th place finish (just throwing a number out there) I could have looked back at myself and said, "Man, I hardly trained in June, did not have as strong of a base as last year, didn't get in as much mileage and didn't work as hard (in theory) as last year and still placed the same. Why work at that level if I still get roughly the same results?" (Remember, that is how I could have looked at it...could have, not saying I necessarily would have). Getting roughly the same results off a much lighter intensity of training could have changed my opinion on distance running for the worse: I take it as a blessing this did not happen then.

I think the fact that I didn't make it to the state meet taught me the lesson that you truly have to work above and beyond the common high school athlete it you want to be an elite runner in the state of Indiana. You can't just go through the motions and expect to have a spectacular season in this state: you have to give a truly uncommon effort if you want to be great.

I do not want this post to take away from the fact that I was still very dedicated in aspects that I had control over. Every night I would do about 1 hour of maintenence work. This was a combination of ice bathing, static stretching, foam rolling or using 'The stick'. Once my physical therapist allowed me to do core workouts again, I was doing my core workout every other night for the months of August and September, and every night in October. I also remained dedicated to my infamous runners diet. I did not have fast food, junk food, soda, or preservative based foods from August 1st to October 22nd. (The only exception was that of a celebration dinner/lunch with the team, when after a good race we would hit up Cici's pizza or something). Even though I was not able to put in as much mileage, I still ate healthy, dedicated time to keeping my body feeling fresh, and did what I could to get to bed at a decent time. However, I ultimately was not able to do as many workouts this year compared to last year. When my team was having two-a-days getting in extra mileage, I wasn't able to join them. When I last year I would go out on 13-mile + runs on Sundays, I would go out for 5 or 6 miles this year instead.

I don't want you guys thinking I blew off this season and didn't work hard, I still worked as hard as I was able too, but that was ultimately a different level from last year. My team was commonly outworking me though this year which obviously paid off by getting out of sectionals! My teammates were getting the extra mileage in all June, July and August. They were doing core workouts with St. Vincents when I could not, and we spent extra time mentally preparing for races. I ultimately just was not able to train at a level I had been accostumed to. I trained at a level that made me a fairly good runner, but not a great runner. And to make it to the state meet in Indiana, you truly have to be a great runner. This is a subtle remainder on what it takes to be great.

Accordingly, I would like to take this time to renew my pledge of dedication to distance running excellence. You better believe that I will be working my 'you know what' off all winter in pursuit of distance running excellence. I want to go out there and do everything possible for my team. Whether that means doubling, tripling or just focusing in on my own individual event I'll go out there and do it. I want to go outside of the state (Arcadia Invitational, New Balance Indoor Nationals, Kansas Relays, etc.) to prove to other states that the best runners come from Indiana. I want to go out there and take care of all my un-finished business! The semi-state race has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I can't wait to go out there and do something truly special. I want to accomplish my goals in memory of all the other runners that have given me advice throughout the years: I want to go out and make James, Walden, C-Mart, Shields, Dylan and all those dudes proud of what I've accomplished. Cross country season was fun, but this upcoming track season will truly be great. And most importantly, I want to do it in name of my school and my state. I want to represent my school in the best way possible, and become something that distance runners in this state can take pride in. (It's fun to go on college visits and say that my state meet last year had a runner go 1:49 and 4:04, as well as a 2-mile consisting of 5 all-americans and 6 sub-9 runners. I wanna be that guy.)

I know, this post was rather lengthy and mostly redundant, BUT I appreciate you for reading it anyways LOL. It's almost 2am, I'm having a classic case of runners insomnia (the first night's always the worst).

Either way, I'd like to thank you for reading this. Hopefully Drake puts this up on my other blog page.
Hopefully I live up to my goals, and will make my team, friends, family, and state proud of my accomplishments. We'll find out.

Best of luck to all my competitors and friends as their seasons continue. I'll be rooting for all of you - to my close friends of Tate Schienbein, Conner Sorrels and to my barely acquaintances, I wish everybody a happy Lavern-week!

[steburg]

Kent, thank you. That was one of the most inspiring posts I have ever read on IR.