Rich Medellin' thoughts/beliefs on coaching Ryan Bousquet to a 4:06.97 mile.

When asked, "What do you feel is the reason for your big improvement this year (From 4:16.98 to 4:06.97) in less than 50 words," Ryan could not answer the question. He said that the best way for him to answer the question was to use singular words but he felt people would not get the complete picture (and I agreed).

He used the words: Dedication, determination, trust, coaching, hard work, attitude, goals, commitment, training, support, to describe his improvement. What he did this year was not easy nor by accident. The plan was set more than two years ago and the process was brought to a slow perfection this year. It called for long distance runs of 12 to 14 miles each Saturday for the entire year. Running on soft surfaces mostly dirt in the Chino Hills National Park area. Ice baths on a regular basis after each hard session and easy running dispersed methodically.

Ryan was convinced that the plan set for him would get him to his ultimate goal of being a high school All American in the mile and to run one of the fastest miles in county history. He achieved both and finished second place at the Footlocker National Championships in Raleigh, North Carolina in June 2000.

Early Pre-Season Circuit Training and Triangles

In the early Pre-Season we used Circuit training and Fitness Triangles for strength and fitness. The Circuits consisted of 6 stations. The stations were push-ups, crunches, leg lifts, lunges, dips and a running station (usually 880 yds.). The athletes would start by doing 25 push-ups then jog to the next station, to do 20 crunches then jog to the next station and do 15 leg lifts. Lunges were done 10 on each leg, then quickly the athletes jogged to the bleachers to do 8 to 10 dips just before starting an 880 at 5k race pace. This circuit was repeated 4 to 6 times for a complete workout. The main idea is to keep the heart rate up and the recovery at a minimum. No walking was allowed and the quality of the exercise was stressed. A warm-up of 3 to 4 miles was always done before starting on the first circuit.

Triangles

Our warm-up consisted of running to a local park approximately 2.5 miles away. Once at the park we had a soft grassy surface which to workout on. An isosceles triangle with the sides made up of the softball field foul lines was used. We sprinted from the right field foul line to deep center field then did 20 crunches. As soon as we finished, the athletes sprinted to the left field foul line to do 10 (on each leg) one-legged squats. After the squats were finished, the athletes then sprinted back to the right field foul line to do 20 push-ups. This circuit was repeated several times and a warm-down of 2.5 miles was also included to complete the workout. Proper form and building muscular strength were the ultimate goals of the workout.

Distance Runs

One of the most fundamental parts of Ryan's program was a distance run between 80 to 90 minutes in length. These runs were set at a pace of 6:20 to 6:40 per mile, a pace that would be very manageable for a runner of Ryan's stature. These runs were one of two kinds depending on the type of effort and recovering needed. One of the runs would be a flat, soft surfaced, continuous run along the Santa Ana River trail. Each mile was marked, noted and/or corrected. Ryan ran with teammates and myself on all the distance runs to maintain a reasonable pace. This run was done in the preseason, mid-season, as well as after the days following meets, rain or shine!

Hills

The other long distance run was much more difficult; it consisted of a trail run in the hills. The first 45 mins were flat and steadily uphill to a Ranger Station in the nearby hills. After getting a quick drink of water, the group would then proceed back to the starting area but not before climbing a mile long hill. The hill consisted of several switchbacks and rises to a point on top of a hill called "Skully Ridge". Times were kept on the ascent and recorded for future reference, and as expected each week became faster as the season progressed.

Recovery Days

Most of the other runs that Ryan ran were of 60 minutes in length; this was a standard distance for him on recovery days and maintenance days. It is my belief that a runner must be able to run a reasonable distance (depending on the experience and caliber of the athlete) on their recovery days and be able to recover and maintain their weekly mileage at the same time. This practice of running 60 minutes has been a staple in Ryan's running regiment for the last 2 years.

Warm-ups

Warm-ups were long in length; most were about 3 to 4 miles in length. They were done on a very soft surface such as dirt or grass. As Ryan progressed through the warm-up he increased his pace so that he was running at or around 6 to 6:30 minutes per mile at the end of the warm-up. Stretching and 6 x 100-meter strides with spiked shoes followed, to complete his warm-up process before all track workouts.

Track Work-outs

On the track, the focus was on longer types of intervals of various lengths. In most of the early season we concentrated on 1320 yard repeats, a session could consist of 3 or 4 x 1320 and 1 x 440. At the end of each session, we would also try to add a fast and short interval to work on Ryan ability to kick while tired. Listed below are some of the workouts that Ryan completed. It also should be noted that Ryan participated in dual meets and major invitational's though out the year.

Ryan Bousquet's Track Workouts and Times

All workouts were done on a dirt track. Often times with wind and/or hot weather.
Utilizing Running starts.
4 miles warm up and 2 miles warm down.
Rest was 3 minutes of jogging the majority of the time.
Dates
2/29/00	2 x 1320		3 x 880			440
	3:40	3:39	2:15	2:16	2:16	61
3/7/00	14 x 440
	66	66	66	65	65	65	65
	64	64	64	64	64	63	63
3/14/00	3 x 1320			4 x 440
	3:32	3:33	3:34	60	60	60	60
3/17/00	5 x 440
	61	59	60	60	58
3/21/00	1320	2 x 660		2 x 440		2 x 220
	3:30	1:37	1:36	60.1	60.4	27	26
3/27/00	2 x 1320		2 x 440		2 x 220
	3:29	3:28	59	59	25	25
4/3/00	880	660	880	440	220	100
	2:18	1:36	2:14	60	25	11
4/11/00	2 x 1320		2 x 880		220
	3:31	3:31	2:12	2:12	28.5
4/20/00	1320	660	880	440	220	100
	3:31	1:36	2:13	56	26	11
4/22/00	5 x 440					2 x 220
	60.9	61.2	60.5	60.9	61.2	26	27
4/27/00	2 x 1320		4 x 440
	3:32	3:32	58.8	60.5	59.7	59.6
5/9/00	4 x 1320				2 x 220
	3:27	3:25	3:26	3:27	25.4	26.5
5/17/00	880	2 x 440		2 x 220
	60.0-64.8	58.8	57.5	27.1	26.7
	02:04.8
5/23/00	220	2 x 660		220
	30.1	58-30.7	59.5-30.6	26.9	26.4
5/30/00	220	660	440	220
	29.1	27.9-30.0-29.0	28.0-30.9	26.6
		01:26.9	58.9
6/5/00	5 x 220
	28.2	27.1	26.6	26	25.9
6/7/00	2 x 220		660	2 x 220
	30.3	27.6	28.0-30.2-27.9	26.4	26
			01:26.1
6/14/00	4 x 440				220
	61.4	59.8	60.9	66.7	27

All sessions were done on a 440-yard dirt track, sometimes under adverse (windy, hot, cold) conditions. We never avoided a session because of inclement weather conditions. It is my belief that all runners must prepare for any type of race conditions whether it is favorable or not.

Ice Baths

All track sessions were followed by an ice bath done after a two or three mile warm-down on a soft grassy surface. Ryan was dedicated to recover quickly from all of his track sessions and religiously iced.

His Belief

By far the most important part of Ryan's training program was "His belief in what he was doing was right." Enough cannot be said, about the power of belief in the coach and what the coach asks, because, "without belief you have only empty promises." Ryan believed in what he did on a daily basis. He believed that everything we did would improve him as a runner and person. His total belief in the system is what worked for him. Ultimately this could be the toughest part of a coach's job, to get the athlete to give his or her full trust.