Want to see what it looks like to high jump 8ft? This past weekend Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim did just that becoming the #2 high jumper of all time. Watch the determination and focus he shows in order to win the competition.
Barshim was not the only high jumper in the field last weekend. 2013 World champ Bohdan Bondarenko from the Ukraine had cleared 7 ft 10" earlier in the meet. With no one else left in the field, whoever won would also win the IAAF Diamond League title for the 2014 season. Barshim cleared 7ft 11.75"on his first attempt which gave him the lead and placed him #2 on the all-time high jump list. The only way Bondarenko could win would be to clear the next height before Barshim. The only problem for both of them was the next height was a new world record of 8ft.
Barshim took some good jumps at 8 feet but missed all three. Bondarenko missed both of his attempts at the world record and had to settle for second. Without a doubt, this was the greatest HJ competition in the history of the sport.
I found Barshim's interview after the meet very interesting. Barshim said, “In a competition like today, you don’t have the world record on your mind. You just want to win, you want to beat your opponent; you don’t care what the height is."
I love this quote! It's a great look inside of an elite competitors mind. Too often we think here at Mountain Vista that we are going to have success just because we train a lot. Training is important, but unless you are willing to compete all of the tempos, mileage, long runs and hard workouts in the world won't make a difference. What is equally important to training is an ability to compete.
The belief that training alone will make you faster than everyone else is false. In fact, I find the opposite to be true. The more you train the harder you have to push yourself in competitions in order to be the best. Training will give you a chance to go out and be competitive, but you also have to have a burning desire out perform everyone else. Once you have the combination of work ethic and and a competitive edge over others some amazing things can start to happen.
What should being comptitive feel like when you run? Try this scenario to help you out. What is the one thing in your life that you consider to be your "prized possession"? It doesn't matter what it is, just something that you would never want to part with. Something so important to you that you would be willing to fight for it if someone else tried to take if from you. Then imagine what you would do if somebody else actually did try to take it from you. How hard would you fight for your "prized possession"? Would you just let it go, or would you fight back with all of your might to make sure it wasn't taken away?
This is what competing in a race should feel like and it can give you a real edge on the competition. Think of your individual goals and our team goals as "prized possessions". Athletes on other teams are trying to take these "prized possessions" from you every time we race. How hard are you willing to fight in a competition? Will you let others take your "prized possessions", or will you try to protect them?
Want to see what being a competitor looks like in a distance race? Check this video out from last years 2013 Great North Run. A 13.1 half-marathon race that is held every year in England and contested by some of the worlds best distance athletes. In 2013 marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie (2:03:59), 5K/10K world record holder Kenenisa Bekele (12:37/26:17), and 2012 5K/10K Olympic Champion Mo Farah were all competing for the win with less than a mile to go. Watch how badly all 3 men want the victory and how hard they are willing to fight for it. This is one of the best examples of competing in a distance race I have ever seen. The winning time of 1 hour comes out to a pace of 4:33 a mile. The final 400 meters was run in just over 50 seconds!
Barshim took some good jumps at 8 feet but missed all three. Bondarenko missed both of his attempts at the world record and had to settle for second. Without a doubt, this was the greatest HJ competition in the history of the sport.
I found Barshim's interview after the meet very interesting. Barshim said, “In a competition like today, you don’t have the world record on your mind. You just want to win, you want to beat your opponent; you don’t care what the height is."
I love this quote! It's a great look inside of an elite competitors mind. Too often we think here at Mountain Vista that we are going to have success just because we train a lot. Training is important, but unless you are willing to compete all of the tempos, mileage, long runs and hard workouts in the world won't make a difference. What is equally important to training is an ability to compete.
The belief that training alone will make you faster than everyone else is false. In fact, I find the opposite to be true. The more you train the harder you have to push yourself in competitions in order to be the best. Training will give you a chance to go out and be competitive, but you also have to have a burning desire out perform everyone else. Once you have the combination of work ethic and and a competitive edge over others some amazing things can start to happen.
What should being comptitive feel like when you run? Try this scenario to help you out. What is the one thing in your life that you consider to be your "prized possession"? It doesn't matter what it is, just something that you would never want to part with. Something so important to you that you would be willing to fight for it if someone else tried to take if from you. Then imagine what you would do if somebody else actually did try to take it from you. How hard would you fight for your "prized possession"? Would you just let it go, or would you fight back with all of your might to make sure it wasn't taken away?
This is what competing in a race should feel like and it can give you a real edge on the competition. Think of your individual goals and our team goals as "prized possessions". Athletes on other teams are trying to take these "prized possessions" from you every time we race. How hard are you willing to fight in a competition? Will you let others take your "prized possessions", or will you try to protect them?
Want to see what being a competitor looks like in a distance race? Check this video out from last years 2013 Great North Run. A 13.1 half-marathon race that is held every year in England and contested by some of the worlds best distance athletes. In 2013 marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie (2:03:59), 5K/10K world record holder Kenenisa Bekele (12:37/26:17), and 2012 5K/10K Olympic Champion Mo Farah were all competing for the win with less than a mile to go. Watch how badly all 3 men want the victory and how hard they are willing to fight for it. This is one of the best examples of competing in a distance race I have ever seen. The winning time of 1 hour comes out to a pace of 4:33 a mile. The final 400 meters was run in just over 50 seconds!
Colorado Milesplit Subscription
In order to view most of the articles, pictures, videos, etc. that I send out each week you will have to purchase a subscription through co.milesplit.com. It is worth it! Colorado Track/XC (aka milesplit) is our main publicity site for all things XC and Track across the state. Every time an athlete runs a race where they are electronically timed or mentioned in an article it uploads to their individual athlete profile. This includes JV and Open runners.
Here is an example of an athlete profile from one of our former runners. Every race he ran over 4 years was uploaded on his profile:
Andrew Walton Profile from co.milesplit.com
Alan Versaw, who coaches at The Classical Academy runs the site. Everyday Coach Versaw posts 2 to 3 articles related to Colorado XC and track. A subscription will set you back $4 a month. Your $4 will also allow you access to content on the other 49 milesplit sites across the country from other states. In my opinion, more than worth the cost!
https://www.milesplit.com/insider/payment
Joe Davis Recap
Varsity results and video from the meet have been posted on Milesplit. The meet should also be covered in the week-in-review article that will probably go up on Monday evening sometime.
JV and Varsity MVHS Results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/161lEGk3TprF86MuQQPnFJ7nhA19mlxglcgbAFgTFCYc/edit?usp=sharing
CO Milesplit Recap:
http://co.milesplit.com/meets/171567-joe-davis-classic#.VAzACRbalUQ
Univ. of New Mexico Lobo XC Invite Recap
Articles, results, video and pictures from the meet have been posted on Milesplit.com
http://nm.milesplit.com/meets/178543-unm-lobo-cross-country-invitational
Mountain Range Mustang Invitational
When: Friday, Sept 12th starting at 3:30 p.m.
Where: Adams County Fairgrounds XC Course in Brighton, CO
Who: All Vista Nation XC athletes. If you are not racing you are still invited to attend the meet and get your run in at the course before the races start.
Transportation: Athletes are out of class at 1:00. There are 2 busses leaving for Adams County Fairgrounds at 1:15. There is 1 bus returning after the meet. Athletes are welcome to ride home with their parents.
Race Times:
Meet Page: http://co.milesplit.com/meets/179731-mountain-range-mustang-xc-invitational#.VAy7XRbalUT
Shutterfly Pictures From Last Week
https://vistanation.shutterfly.com
Schedule for September 8th-14th
Mon-MVHS 3:10 p.m.
Tue-East/West Trailhead (Griggs/Daniel's Park Rd) 3:20 p.m.
Wed-MVHS 3:10 p.m.
Thur-MVHS 3:10 p.m.
-Team Dinner at Tyler Matzke's House After
Fri-Mountain Range Mustang XC Invitational
Sat-Redstone Park 7 a.m.
Sun-30-60 minutes on your own, or rest
Team Dinner
When: Thursday after practice
Where: Tyler Matzke's House
What to Bring:
In order to view most of the articles, pictures, videos, etc. that I send out each week you will have to purchase a subscription through co.milesplit.com. It is worth it! Colorado Track/XC (aka milesplit) is our main publicity site for all things XC and Track across the state. Every time an athlete runs a race where they are electronically timed or mentioned in an article it uploads to their individual athlete profile. This includes JV and Open runners.
Here is an example of an athlete profile from one of our former runners. Every race he ran over 4 years was uploaded on his profile:
Andrew Walton Profile from co.milesplit.com
Alan Versaw, who coaches at The Classical Academy runs the site. Everyday Coach Versaw posts 2 to 3 articles related to Colorado XC and track. A subscription will set you back $4 a month. Your $4 will also allow you access to content on the other 49 milesplit sites across the country from other states. In my opinion, more than worth the cost!
https://www.milesplit.com/insider/payment
Joe Davis Recap
Varsity results and video from the meet have been posted on Milesplit. The meet should also be covered in the week-in-review article that will probably go up on Monday evening sometime.
JV and Varsity MVHS Results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/161lEGk3TprF86MuQQPnFJ7nhA19mlxglcgbAFgTFCYc/edit?usp=sharing
CO Milesplit Recap:
http://co.milesplit.com/meets/171567-joe-davis-classic#.VAzACRbalUQ
Univ. of New Mexico Lobo XC Invite Recap
Articles, results, video and pictures from the meet have been posted on Milesplit.com
http://nm.milesplit.com/meets/178543-unm-lobo-cross-country-invitational
Mountain Range Mustang Invitational
When: Friday, Sept 12th starting at 3:30 p.m.
Where: Adams County Fairgrounds XC Course in Brighton, CO
Who: All Vista Nation XC athletes. If you are not racing you are still invited to attend the meet and get your run in at the course before the races start.
Transportation: Athletes are out of class at 1:00. There are 2 busses leaving for Adams County Fairgrounds at 1:15. There is 1 bus returning after the meet. Athletes are welcome to ride home with their parents.
Race Times:
- 3:30-Girls (unlimited entries)
- 4:15-Boys (unlimited entries)
- Boys: Smith, Currie, Grover, Hellier, O'Sullivan, Matzke, Spieker, Fu
- Girls: Fitzsimmons, Chipman, Easton, Goodrum, Parker, Walton
Meet Page: http://co.milesplit.com/meets/179731-mountain-range-mustang-xc-invitational#.VAy7XRbalUT
Shutterfly Pictures From Last Week
https://vistanation.shutterfly.com
Schedule for September 8th-14th
Mon-MVHS 3:10 p.m.
Tue-East/West Trailhead (Griggs/Daniel's Park Rd) 3:20 p.m.
Wed-MVHS 3:10 p.m.
Thur-MVHS 3:10 p.m.
-Team Dinner at Tyler Matzke's House After
Fri-Mountain Range Mustang XC Invitational
Sat-Redstone Park 7 a.m.
Sun-30-60 minutes on your own, or rest
Team Dinner
When: Thursday after practice
Where: Tyler Matzke's House
What to Bring:
- Frosh: Pasta/Main
- Soph Girls: Chocolate Milk or Water
- Soph Boys: Desserts
- Juniors: Fruits/salad
- Seniors: Bread & Sides
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