Snow Day! We have had quite a few days in Socorro this season where it has snowed but it never really sticks or snows enough to do much more than build a little snowman that melts in a few hours. This morning we woke up to a few inches of the white stuff. We also got the news that school had been delayed for 2 hours so we woke up bright and early and headed over to the golf course for some sledding. We were actually the first people to get there and we had had a blast! School was never canceled so we did have to leave but I think most of our schools students could have been found there today because our hallways were e-m-p-t-y. The forecast calls for more possible snow storms tonight and possibly tomorrow. If so, we'll be sledding for sure :)

Since XC ended I thought I would start to read more so I researched some good running books and one of those books was Running with the Buffaloes written by Chris Lear.  The book follows the University of Colorado mens cross country team during the 1998 season on their road to the NCAA championships.  Besides being regarded as one of the best running books ever written, one of the runners on the team at the time was former Socorro High School graduate, Matt Napier.  Matt has been a friend of mine since kindergarten when we were in the same class at San Miguel.  Although life has taken us on different paths since then, it is great to learn about the kind of success Matt had at CU and now that Matt is a triathlete (a very good one at that) it is not uncommon for us to send some emails back and forth and have a long chat at any race we both find ourselves at.  Back to the story...

It is a great read if you have some spare time or are an avid reader and runner.  The book follows the season's ups and downs on an almost daily basis in journal form.  There is no exaggeration in any of the stories and there doesn't need to be.  The book does a great job letting you inside the team and you feel like you really get to know the runners and coach.  I'd say it would be hard to read this book and not put it down and be a fan of CU running.   One of my favorite aspects about the team and coach was the success CU manages to attain using only American and mostly local Colorado kids at that.  Like Matt, who went to CU not having run more than 12 miles a week in his life and leaving as an NCAA All-American, many "blue collar" kids are able to find success in the program.

Coaching cross country has shown me that there is no closer team than in CC.  Pretty much all of the kids fit very similar personalities and the adversity that they share during training, racing and in life,  brings them together into a very close knit group.  The lowest point of the book is the tragic loss of one of the runners and the book does a great job of providing insight into the pain and emotion that the team felt and how they dealt with it.  The chapter before that accident took place, I was about to email Matt and ask what that runner was up to now.  I was just that interested in him and his life and it was unfortunate for even me to hear of his death in the next chapter.

Besides Matt, my personal favorite runners on the team were Oscar Ponce, a Mexican who grew up dirt poor on the streets of Juarez and who is now a teacher, coach, and mentor at his high school alma mater in Denver.  The other is Ronald Roybal, who was self described as a "little Mexican from Pojoaque."  Besides these two, there are many others to root for including 1998 NCAA champion Adam Goucher.

So if you have some spare time, I encourage you to pick up a copy.  I'd lend you mine but I signed it and dated when I finished it and passed it off to one of my runners to do the same.

I have been thinking about something lately and even more so since I received my latest Runners World magazine.  In the latest issue, the cover story features Bernard Lagat, a Kenyan by birth who has since earned his American citizenship and who has established a running career much longer and more successful than most elite runners.  Although the story goes into lots of different aspects of Lagat's running and  personal life, the thing that has stuck with me was his childhood growing up in Kenya.  You see, the thing I have been thinking about lately is how the kids I see in Socorro have little drive and no consequence and how this affects sports, education and ultimately their lives.

In the Lagat article it is described how a young Lagat was crudely circumsized in front of the male elders of his village.  If he showed any sign of weakness he would be labeled as a coward for life.  Lagat did pass and earned his manhood and the respect of his village elders.  Beyond this, he worked on his family farm taking care of livestock and running to and from school daily.  Lagat and probably 100 more boys in his village were raised this way and were no strangers to work and discomfort.  That's a stark contrast to the US where teenage years are viewed as an exemption from work and responsibilities.   

Here in Socorro, discomfort is something far away from most people.  Even families who are not financially well off can receive government aid and live a pretty decent life as far as I can see.  There is no shortage of cell phones, iPods, and clothing that I can tell of in our hallways.  From what I see the kids who seem capable of success at a University are the minority.  It is almost as if being a delinquent is the norm and socially acceptable because afterall, it's Socorro.  I hear that excuse a lot actually.  Not many kids are willing to work for anything worthwhile, whatever is good enough academically and athletically.

So this brings me back to sport.  Being a XC coach, I need to teach kids to be OK with discomfort for extended periods of time.  That's a tough sell when I try to recruit new runners for the team.  I have to convince them that running can be fun and rewarding.  I also have to acknowledge that we run... a lot... and it's uncomfortable for the most part... but it is rewarding.  When a kid can learn to embrace the work and see value in it I feel that I have accomplished a much bigger thing than making my team better.  I recently had one of my top returning runners tell me that he really wants to have a good year in XC next year.  He experienced some success as a freshman and he likes that feeling and wants more of it.  The first thing I told him was he is very capable of being a very good runner BUT he is going to have to be willing to work, welcome discomfort and get used to it.

Over the weekend, I invited 2 kids for a mountain bike ride.  They aren't bikers at all but they each own a bike and were willing to go ride for 2 hours up and down mountains and through river beds and learn a new kind of pain in the hope of becoming a better runner and person.  I'm proud of each of these kids for who they are becoming.  So I guess there are those kids out there who are still willing to work and fortunately I have 30 of them out for XC.  If they're GPA says anything about them, the average team GPA this season was 3.88.

The truth is for every one of these kids there are probably 4 more who aren't anything like them.  In the mornings I teach in portables in the ELC alternative department of our school and I just had a kid say that he turns 18 soon and he is going to go buy a big ol' bong and get all high.  Aspirations huh?     

"Faith is not the belief that God will deliver what we want when we want it, but that He has gracious control of our lives and that He will be faithful to direct our paths and give us the grace to walk through life's unpredictable times."

My thoughts and prayers are with my very dear friend Dawn today as she says goodbye to her father who unexpectedly passed away. May the memories they shared bring comfort to her and keep him close in her heart. I love you Dawn.

Isn't this picture awesome?  Lindsey's mom, Sue, sent it and some other ones from the same artist to me in an email the other day.  This one in particular has become my phone's background and my personal favorite.  This picture was taken in Hawaii but I'm not sure which particular island or beach.  So many things came together at this one instant to create the image and when I think about that it just reminds me of "perfect".  I also wonder how many photos and how many sunsets were spent at the beach in order to achieve this one shot?  No way this was captured on the first try and hopefully there wasn't too much photoshop used either.  Anyway, this picture reminds me of summer, the main reason people become teachers you know ;)  It seems like lately I have been longing for those warm summer days as mornings here have been in the 20 degree range and it is very easy to ignore the alarm and stay in the warm bed a little longer.  Every week a new cold front moves in and I get that much closer to buying a treadmill.  I hope you like the picture and here's to summer, 105 more school days to go.

DISNEYLAND

So we spent our Christmas vacation at the magic kingdom of Disneyland to celebrate the new year and Lindsey's birthday.  We had a great time for sure and I'm glad we had a 2-day pass as we learned our way around the first day and then really hit it with an almost 14 hour day at the park on New Years.  The park was very crowded and there were some long lines but once we figured out the fast pass stuff we were in business and never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride (some lines were close to 2 hours!).  We did not get to visit the entire park but we did visit the legendary teacups, it's a small world, the haunted mansion, space mountain, the matterhorn, splash mountain, pirates of the caribbean, buzz lightyear, star tours, and winnie the pooh... Just to name a few!  Emma's favorite ride was splash mountain because we got pretty wet and my favorite was the big thunder mountain railroad coaster.  As you can see we had a very full day on New Years and as much as I tried to keep Emster awake for midnight she fell asleep right on my shoulders as soon as the regular fireworks display was over.  I didn't think much of it then but she was pretty heavy and awkward to carry to the hotel and now today I tried to go for a run and my back seized up on me and I am in some pain :(

Here is a teaser of how we spent our Christmas vacation!  More to come later...