May 5th , Thursday, 5 p.m.
The “Thursday Day Off Theory” is an idea that I developed after a number of years of coaching experience relating to how to prepare for an important race. I chose to take the day off today because my body was feeling very tired, the weather was still unpleasant and I have a race on Saturday. The circumstances brought to my mind the concept of “The Thursday Day Off.” Now I know of no science behind this whatsoever. I know of no physiological realities that support this theory. But what I discovered after a number of years was that in preparing for an important Saturday race, Friday’s off did not seem to have the desired positive impact. We did take off Thursday frequently. On Friday we would do a pre-race type of workout which could range from a 40-minute run to some race pace 400m’s on the track. I did not share this idea with many people because I thought it was our little secret. I will let the results speak for themselves . There is an interesting story to go along with this.
One Monday morning while I was teaching class at North Hunterdon High School, I received notice that I had an important phone call. This is a very unusual event to be called out of class for a phone call. So I was a bit concerned when I reached the phone. Turned out the call was from a coach friend. Now he was not a close friend, but someone I had met had a number of track meets. We had spoken and had similar thoughts on many track related issues. But he knew my reputation well. He told me that he had a guy running Saturday in the Meet of Champions. This guy was one of the top 5 runners in the state but had never beaten the best guys around. He said to me,
“Coach, you have had more individual success at the Meet of Champions than anybody I know. Do you have any suggestions that you would share with me to prepare my guy for Saturday.”
In a moment either of weakness or of kindness, I’m not sure which, I told him the “Thursday Day Off Theory.” My friend responded,
“This guy has not taken off a day in 2 years. I don’t think he will do it.”
I said, ” All other things being equal, that’s the only thing I can tell you that might change the situation. Tell him to take the day off!”
He said, ” I’ll give it a shot and see how he responds, thanks coach.”
On Saturday his guy won the Meet of Champions. After the race he said to me, “Coach we did it. We took the day off on Thursday, but it was a battle. On Thursday we came to Holmdel and very slowly walked the course; that’s all! Thank you.”
I have not told many people that story. But it is one of my favorites.
So, I took the day off but decided I needed to post anyhow because I have not missed a day of blogging since its inception. It’s not that Saturday is such a great big important race. I do hope I finish with the time that has a 25 in front of it. That would be kind of a Benchmark in my plus70running career. It was in my brain the original goal I set for myself 4 years ago. And tomorrow is projected to be a Nor’easter type day in New Jersey. What I can get in tomorrow I do not know, but I’m definitely going out for some kind of work, hopefully between the torrents of rain.
STATS
A.M.HR – 50BPM Low?
I-MAD – 3
SLEEP – 8 HOURS
WEIGHT – 152#
WORKOUT – Nothing YIKES!
The days you gave us off prior to a big race were always a help to me. Those three days prior to a race were always a gradual pump up for the main event, and the way you structured them made me feel like a horse at the gate when on the line during race day. By the way, Nor’easters are overrated; storms help you. We crushed people in bad weather, and we expect you to do NO LESS. Cobra Kai, Coach!
Chris, Thank you for reminding me not to be a ‘wussy’ about weather conditions. I always taught our
guys that harsh weather conditions gave us an advantage precisely because we were tougher than the rest. No more whining!
Coach, Robby shared the blog with me a week or so ago, and I’ve just gotten a chance to check it out. Loving it! Glad to see you running hard and following Robinson’s fashion advice. Now you just need to get those knee high tube socks with the green and yellow stripes and you’ll be golden.
Its amazing to me how fast highschool track has gotten these days. Two guys already under 4 this year. Its just crazy.
Looking forward to keeping up with your progress.
CR, if you see this, write back and let me know where your living? I think its OK, but Im not sure.
Thanks John,
I am glad you enjoy the dialogue. It has been a lot of fun for me to catch up with some of the old timers.
Hope all is well with the Tillman family.
Tillman! You’re close, we live in Indonesia. But yes, you’re right, Ma moved out of Jersey and all the fam is in OK; when we’re Stateside we call Tulsa home (Remember Katie Baron? She lives about three blocks away from our house). Where are you? Good to hear from you!
By the way, it’s a cool story. I like the blog for the history and the stories. And the advice. And connecting with old friends.