Seen here in his sophomore year at UC. Mac Fleet is looking strong with the Ducks.

“I was pleasantly surprised that the team qualified. I didn’t know if we could get it done. To break 9:30 this early in the year is impressive.”

This team could be scary good once Olympian Andrew Wheating joins the mix.

-This was a huge week for high school recruiting. Torrey Pines’ Megan Morgan will take her distance skills to the University of Washington. Patrick Henry front-runner Kellen Blumberg is heading to the Ivy League with his choice of Harvard. Pole Vaulter Kourtney Ross (Westview) is headed up to Eugene to join the Ducks.

-Looking for a run this weekend? Try the Super Run 10k/5k taking place in the Mission Bay area.

-SDNR’s Michele Wallace had a great article on former SDSU xc coach Jennifer Nanista. Although she was a spinter back in the day, she has taken quite fondly to the longer events.

-The winter Olympics are fast approaching. Although it’s unfortunate the IOC still hasn’t added snowshoe running or something, it’s still an amazing event. Forbes takes a look at why women love to get in on the Olympic action.

-Track and Field News just updated its list of every sub-4 miler in U.S. history. Check out 1989, you’ll find SDNR’s Paul Greer on the list. He just snuck under with a 3:59.79.

                                            

Jennifer Nanista was SDSU's cross country and track coach before being let go last year.

Jennifer recruited me to the San Diego State University women’s track and field team since I had one year of eligibility remaining. Jennifer was the assistant coach and Ron Sheffield was the head coach. At the time, Jennifer was also a competitive sprinter, training with the Sheffield Elite Track Team.

I’d arrive at practice while Jennifer was wrapping up her sprint workout. Jennifer would then toss on her jacket and put on her “coaching hat”.  Ron and Jennifer made a great team of coaches—Ron was the dreamer, while Jennifer was the realist. They were a yin and yang duo whose love for track and field fueled many successful Aztec seasons.

                                            

Recovery drinks are high-carbohydrate drinks with significant amounts of protein, small amounts of fat, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. The calorie counts range from 200 to more than 300 per eight-ounce serving. They come in a variety of flavors, in either cans or mix-it-yourself powders.

Recovery beverages were developed after research showed that adding some protein to the carbohydrates athletes consume post-exercise facilitated glycogen storage in muscles.

                                            

Many parents who love to run want to share their joys of running with their children.  Not only is running fun, but it has numerous other benefits including fitness, mental toughness, and self confidence. I’m a mom of two girls; I started running when I was 8-years old, which just so happens to be the age of my oldest daughter. It is around this age that many parents wonder if it’s time to introduce their kids to the trails. I, for one, will not.

I know that some people are going to vehemently disagree with me on this one, but I say the time to introduce kids to running is as soon as possible—the time to introduce them to “training” is never.