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I'm back to running. That's good news for me and for anyone that has to spend time around me. I can't even say what the injury was that sidelined me. But a month ago I couldn't cover more than a half-mile without radiating pain from knee to ankle. After two weeks of rest I tried again and it came right back. Today I finally tested it once more and went a mile pain free. Maybe I'll be able to start keeping up with Arlene again. Though she doesn't need my company now that Emily and Matt gave her an I- pod for her birthday.

Friday after practice until late Saturday afternoon I attended the New England Track and Field Clinic. The timing of it isn't great, coming at the end of the first week of practice. In some ways, I'd rather have had a Saturday practice with the team. Yet, the combination of athlete soreness coupled with the positive experience of spending time with over 200 coaches and some top-flight speakers makes it a good time to give them rest and me re-enervation.

Track and field isn't a stagnant medium. The science improves, techniques evolve and there is always more to learn about the art of coaching. In addition, athletes of today are vastly different than those of twenty years ago. Not only do many require a different method of motivation, but their lack of general fitness requires a more incremental approach during the developmental stages. This requires a different approach, and it was discussed at length.

Back in 1970, the first day of practice was the toughest of the season. The “run till you drop” philosophy was in vogue. It was a badge of courage to prove how tough you were and it was also the day to “weed out” the athletes who “couldn't hack it.” Today, half the athletes would get injured. Not the way to develop a winning team. The irony was that once you made the team, you could pretty much goof off the rest of the season if you were so inclined. My athletes may start slower, but by the end of the season they'll be breezing through workouts we never dreamed of doing. The point being - anyone who coaches the way they were coached is missing the boat. What was successful in the past doesn't always work now.

Back to more reasons for attending the clinic. I'm not about to give another team the advantage of information missed by my staying home. I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity to listen to Olympian Marcus O'Sullivan talk about epiphanies during his training that now forms his own coaching and Bart Sessa explaining how a snowy Long Island winter altered his workouts and philosophy. The end result was a break though - a National Indoor 4X800M record of 7:42. I listened to jump expert Dick Booth wax poetic about high jump approach speed and watched Fred Doyle lead some New Bedford Voke athletes through core training, dynamic flexibility exercises, mini band routines and medicine ball drills. Lactate thresholds, developing three step hurdlers, choosing relay personnel, 800M training, and countless other topics were covered. Sure, a lot of it I've heard before, and I've listened to many of the clinicians at other times, but there's always something new, or even just a different way of looking at the same information I've always known.

Then there's the exchange with coaches. I spent a few hours with Newton South's Steve McChesney. I'll be featuring him in my first “Meet the Coach” article. Steve is really three stories in one. In the article I'll concentrate on his coaching, but his life as an elite athlete in Oregon during track and field's halcyon days and the ways in which family tragedy affected his life are both interesting and insightful stories.

I found successful coaches more than willing to trade their secrets of success and in return was able to help some new coaches with the basics of building a team concept.

I'm more surprised at who doesn't show up at clinics than who does. There's always good representation from the Hockomock, although there are some coaches who never attend. Yet, you'll find high school coaches from Maine to New Jersey and even a few new college coaches. And as always, I got to spend some time with good friend Jerry Espinosa. He will be spending less time at NAHS because his son is now running for DR and Jerry will be helping that program whenever he can. But, he promised to drop by a few times this season, just to let the athletes know he still cares. He was even sporting NA apparel on Saturday!

Enough about the clinic for now. Just one more quick issue.

The lead-up to the Boston Marathon is in full swing. The weekend of April 14, 15 should be exciting. Whenever I'm not with my team I'll be in Boston following the final preparation of the KIMbia athletes. This Tuesday Matt heads to Boulder. Ben and Baba are already there. I hope some of you have been following the chasingKIMbia website. Though it is distance oriented, there's plenty to learn for anyone.

The videos from both season 1 and season 2 are motivational and educational. Last Friday Matt focused on the Singore School in Iten, Kenya. High School in Kenya is not free - it costs about $500.00 per year to attend. That is a fortune to most families, and if they can only afford to send one child, a son would attend before a daughter. The school has a track, although by watching Friday's video you'd see that it is in extreme disrepair.

KIMbia has set up a foundation to help more girls attend school. In addition, they are identifying other ways in which interested people can help. The chasingKIMbia web-site has caught my interest and I hope it does yours. In the coming weeks I'll be identifying ways in which I plan to help, and hope you'll join me.