To be continued, by Daniel Whiting

INTRODUCTION: It was the summer of 2018, and Whisper was hosting a summer running camp in Long Beach, WA. Our stay was in two large homes with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, just a few steps away from putting our feet in the water. Prior to our arrival, I had reached out to a few cross-country coaches in the Long Beach community to inquire about running trails in the area. The head XC coach from Ilwaco High School not only shared some great running options, but she opened the doors to the high school track, and better yet, she introduced us to her number one running, Daniel Whiting. Danny was a stud, having been to state all four years of high school, finishing in the top-20 twice. Additionally, he was a great human - super humble, eager, and seemingly excited to run with us on the day we showed up at the trailhead to meet he and his coach. After the run, Danny joined us for a few hours back at the house, and again a couple times more throughout the week. He was a true delight to get to know, and it was exciting to see him run a few times during his high school career, and again in a Whisper uniform during the XC Junior Olympics in Seattle during the 2018 season.

To be continued is similar to a “where are they now?,” update, where runners of the past provide us a small glimpse of their lives, where they’ve been, what they’ve been up to, and where they are heading. Having remained in contact with Danny over the years has been super special to me, and I am thrilled to share with you his article, To be continued.

I grew up in Long Beach, WA and graduated from Ilwaco High School in 2020. I attended Clark College where I earned my associates of arts in June of 2022. My purpose of attending Clark was to continue competitive running and meet the prerequisites for the flight school I wanted to attend. It is my life long dream to be an airline pilot. Covid had huge impact on the athletics side of this plan. Due to Covid, I was unable to compete in my last year of high school track along with any collegiate events. By my second year of attending Clark, I was no longer planning on running competitively. I decided to begin working towards my private pilot license (PPL) while finishing Clark. I graduated from Clark and earned my PPL on the same day. Although, I did not get the opportunity to compete in a Clark uniform, I did compete in high school and this is some of my story. 

 My first involvement with running was in seventh grade as I entered middle school. I chose to do cross country simply because I liked the idea of trail running. By the time I was a in Freshman in high school (2016), I realized I had developed a passion for running. Fast forward to summer of 2018, I was summer training for my upcoming junior year cross country season when I was introduced to Whisper Running. My high school coach had let the team know a running club from Vancouver, WA was going to be at our high school track to do a run if anyone wanted to join. I was the one team member to attend. I shared some of our favorite local trails that we often used for training to Whisper. After the run, I was invited by Dave to join him and the team at their beach house for activities. Dave and I had kept in contact throughout the remainder of my summer training and cross country season. That season, I had the goal of running under 17:00 minutes for the 5k race. I ended my junior year 17th at 1B/2B State Meet and held season record of 16:48. Shortly after the completion of the State meet, I met the Whisper team in Seattle to race the Pacific Northwest Junior Olympics. This was my first time competing with Whisper. After the Junior Olympics, I took a couple weeks of rest before winter training for track. I attended high school two hours away from Vancouver where Whisper practices so, Dave and I continued to work together remotely. I made it to Vancouver to practice a small number of times duringIntr this off-season. Dave had composed a personalized winter training plan for me to help prepare me for the track season. I completed my Junior year shy of making state by one place in the 3200 meter race. My season bests for the 1600/3200 were 4:40/10:21. Both times were improved from the season prior and the goal of a 4:40 1600 was achieved. By the time I started summer training for my senior year I had set some goals. I wanted to improve my 5k time along with earning a spot on the podium at State. To achieve those two goals I knew my summer training had to be well structured and consistent. I built up on my weekly mileage to about 45-50 miles. Each off-season I would add a few more weekly miles as I noticed I adapted well with more volume. As the season approached, I felt conditioned and well prepared to have a good senior year. I was happy with all of my races during the season. I was able to shave 10 seconds off my 5k time from the previous year leaving me at a 16:38 season best. My biggest improvement was the difference between times at the Junior and Senior year State meet. I ran the race 26 seconds faster and earned a podium spot my senior year. At the time I did not know that was going to be my last competitive season. Covid had made an appearance a few months after finishing the season. I continued to train in preparation for cross country at Clark. 

This is Daniel after earning his commercial pilots license. Grayson and I were fortunate to fly with Danny in July 2023, and I am so proud of Danny’s drive and determination to continue pursuing his dreams.

 After graduating high school, I moved to Vancouver in the summer (2020) during the height of Covid. Throughout Covid, I continued to work and attended Clark remotely. It was not long before being notified our track season was canceled as well. From this point on, I attended online classes and worked full time. April of last year (2022) I met Dave for lunch. It had been some time since we last caught up. We worked out loose plans of taking him and his son Grayson flying during the summer once I earned my PPL. During July we coordinated and made a scenic flight around Mount Saint Helens happen. This was an unforgettable flight. In August I had decided I wanted to finish my flight training in Mesa, AZ. My decision on moving down here was based around my plans to continue flight training along providing myself with the best opportunity. So far Arizona has treated me well and I recently earned my single-engine commercial license. Being a commercial pilot is one step closer towards the airlines. Going forward, as I wrap up flight training in the next couple of months, I plan be a flight instructor to earn the rest of my hours needed for the airlines. Once that is achieved, I will move on and work for one of the many companies transporting people. 

To be continued, by Mitchell & Connor Hayward

Mitchell participated in the 2021 NAIA XC National Championship Meet at Fort Vancouver National Park in Vancouver, Washington on November 22, 2021. I was fortunate enough to capture a moment with him during his cool-down.

My name is Mitchell Hayward and I am a runner from Camas, Washington. I started running because of my soccer coach growing up putting me at the midfield position and seeing me being able too run up and down the field nonstop for almost the entire game. He told me to try out running and I would eventually give it a try in 6th grade. At first, I wasn’t anything special, mediocre at best. However, my 7th grade year I for some reason got a lot better than a lot of people with basically no training except basketball conditioning. I made the district meet and even though I placed last in my race, it was the first time I thought to myself that I could become a good runner with some effort behind it.

Throughout my last middle school years and early high school years, I became members of the Evergreen Storm Track Club and the Whisper Running Club. Both of these teams that I was apart of really got me faster and grew my love for the sport so much that it became the sport that I focused on the most throughout all of high school. Before you know it, after a bumpy year of covid and online school, I was a senior getting ready for potentially my last track season.

On a cool, crisp morning, these four comedians shows up sporting Evergreen Storm swag. Mitchell, Katelyn Flolo, Kiley O’Brien, and Connor, pose for a practice picture on April 7, 2017 at Clark College.

One of my childhood dreams was to be a collegiate athlete, but I didn’t know what sport it would be in. I would figure this out by the time my senior year started that I wanted to be a collegiate runner. Running is a sport that you hate and love at the same time. Running kills your body and makes you hate yourself for doing it, but you keep coming back and doing it because deep down you know you like it and want to see the results. I had started to look for schools about 3 months until graduation seeing where I could run at. I have some family from Indianapolis and my cousin was a runner and ran at a small catholic college called Marian University. She found out I wanted to run in college and told me to apply to Marian University and said it was a very fun 4 years for her there running. I honestly applied as a joke because I had never even step foot in Indiana up until this point in my life. However, as the pool of schools I could run at and gave me good scholarships narrowed, Marian University was still up for consideration. I would then message the Marian coach and we talked on the phone for a bit and he immediately offered me a roster spot. I even got a good scholarship academically to go there as well. After my main school I got into to run for didn’t give me a good scholarship, my gut told me to risk it and go to Marian. I committed there and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Indiana is definitely very different in most aspects from where I grew up, but after some time here, I consider it my second home. I have met tons of people from all aspects of life at this school and I’m only about to finish my sophomore year.

Running in college has been the most amazing experience here. From the travel to the training and the racing experience. The best part about being a collegiate runner has definitely been being apart of the team because it makes you feel like you are apart of a family. You do everything with your teammates. You study, live with, travel with, hang out with, party with, literally any college activity I have done has been involved with someone on my team. I also major in civil engineering and minor in Spanish. It has become hard at times being able to balance things out between athletics and school, but you always figure out how to gut things out in the end. My college life has been nothing but fun story after the next as each week passes on from being a student athlete at Marian University. If y’all want to take something away from this, if you are still in highschool and even somewhat considering being a collegiate athlete, you definitely need to. Like I said, being a collegiate athlete has been the most fun experience of my life.

My name is Connor Hayward and a lot in these last 2 years has happened ever since I left home for college. But to put this story in context, I'll take you back to my roots and how I became a collegiate athlete. I grew up in Camas, Washington and as long as I can remember I've always wanted to be a college athlete. Every weekend when I wasn't playing sports or hanging out with friends, I was chilling out with my family watching college football. I loved every moment of it, especially growing up a diehard Oregon State fan and attending games for them every year. From that point on, I knew that's what I wanted to do when I grew up. I played a lot of sports growing up. I played football, soccer, basketball, and baseball.

The sport I found the most success in would be running. It would be my long-time soccer coach, coach Troy, who saw my endurance on the field and told me to give track and field a try. I thought it would be cool and joined the track team during my sixth-grade year. I was decent at first but not the best and ended up missing the post season. Little did I know that would be the last time that I would fail to make the post season. I knew my goal next year would be to make districts. The next year, I got even better and made it to districts. Even though I got last place, I knew that I had potential in this sport.  The Evergreen Storm Track Club also thought so too, and the head coach of that team recruited me right after districts. That summer I competed in my first season of USATF and had a lot of fun traveling around the state and competing against some of the best runners in Washington. That fall, I also competed in my first season of cross country as my soccer coach (coach Troy) was the head coach of the cross-country team. I was very well prepared for my eighth-grade track season, and even more so was when I met Dave and became a part of Whisper running.

Mitchell and Connor Hayward during their senior year at Camas (2021). Mitchell and Connor competed with the Vancouver-based Evergreen Storm Track Club during their middle school and high school years.

Eighth grade was nothing short of excellence, me and my brother dominated every race and soon I became the best runner at my school. I ended up placing fourth at the district meet in the mile and also did very well in the 800 meters that same meet. I knew that this was the sport that was going to take me to college level. High school was much the same, I improved every year and had massive jumps in times. I even was a part of a state cross country championship team my junior year. After winning the state title, letters and interests came flooding in with schools from everywhere around the country. But the school that stuck to me the most was Suffolk University.

During covid, I first spoke on the phone with the head coach of the track team there and he was really interested in me. I loved everything he said about the team and the school. We stayed in touch my entire senior year and a year after that phone call I traveled out to Boston to meet him and the team. I knew immediately I wanted to go here. A couple weeks later, I committed to Suffolk University for track and cross country.

My dream had come true, I was now a collegiate athlete and putting on that uniform for the first meet that fall was truly special. These last two years here have been nothing but spectacular. I'm currently working on a bachelor's degree with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Spanish. The best part about being a college athlete has been being a part of a team. The moment I met these guys from the moment I arrived at Suffolk, I knew that these guys were going to be lifelong friends. And not only that but you do almost everything with them like partying, hanging out, movies, schoolwork, breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. Boston has become my second home and I've been loving every minute of it. I can't wait to see what the future is going to look like.

How Club Track Works

Welcome to Spring 2023 Club Track with Whisper Running. We have five track meets this spring (4/29, 5/5-6, 5/24, 6-3-4, 6/10) for your child to participate in. Here are the steps to get started:

  • Select the meet(s) your child wishes to participate in. Meets are $25 each and participants may compete in 3-4 events depending on the meet. Approximately two weeks prior to the meet your child wishes to participate in, complete the $25 registration, and RSVP via text or email identifying the meet and events your child wishes to participate in. The meet registration link will be located on the Join the Team page and will open April 15.

  • Complete the Waiver.

  • Participants must have an active Whisper Runcard or Membership.

  • Register with USATF.

Each of these steps can be found on the Join the Team page.

Have specific questions not listed? Text Dave at 360-989-0935!

To be continued, by Emily Rosenkranz

Emily, climbing to the top of the world!

I was on the treadmill the other day – simultaneously watching my show and the snow outside the window. Normally, I would have trudged through the snow and run outside, but unfortunately, the snow in Flagstaff is a little heavier than the couple of inches we get in SW Washington each year. Of course, my first year at school had to be the year of multiple record-breaking storms! Regardless of my hatred of the treadmill, I was in a simultaneous place of boredom, pain, and suffering. But there are a few different things that make me return to the treadmill despite how much I hate it.

I remember how I used to train for the season with my friends and at Whisper. I don’t have a season anymore but replicating that feeling in any way I can is beyond rewarding. I always feel invincible during or afterward – which didn’t come easy to me throughout my time in youth sports. Even to the point where I decided to not run my senior season of track. This was simply because I have other related ambitions, but I must stay healthy to do them. This decision was extremely hard as all my friends compete, and I thought I was going to run track – until I didn’t. However, this was the best decision I could have made.

In short, this led me across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Florida, Texas, and Arizona. This allowed me to progress in an area of my life that was normally only for weekends: refereeing soccer. This is a large community, but such a family. My goal is to continue refereeing to as high a level as I can. It is my new form of competition that I no longer have from racing. It is one of the most challenging things I have ever done, but I want to keep a piece of the former competition I used to have. The stress sometimes takes it away when you’re in the moment, but there truly is nothing like racing. Once the youth seasons finish, often that feeling ends. But for me, now it never has to. I don’t have to give up that feeling. I can escape and feel at complete peace like I once did. For this reason, it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever been involved in. But it started with that decision to focus on refereeing, which led me across the US.

Most weekends, you will not find me in my dorm or even around the Northern Arizona University campus. Instead, I will usually be in Phoenix or Mesa refereeing. Soon I will trek to Florida once again for another tournament. (Catch me in Florida for a 3rd time, without ever seeing a beach!) It is fun to return to somewhere that I raced so many years ago. The difference is today, I am competing in a much different way. But this does not mean that I do not value what I am doing in school. I am double majoring in biochemistry and Secondary Education with minors in Mathematics and Biology. After tutoring through high school, pacing at Whisper, and starting my practicum teaching in my courses, I know that I want to teach kids how to think critically about anything the world brings to them.

Thankfully, I am surrounded by amazing people in my life that have only uplifted me in my education, career, and soccer/running-related goals. If it was not for the decision I made in the spring, I likely wouldn’t be in the same place I am today. Today, I remember the power of the decisions I make, and the impact they can have on my life as I continue on the treadmill. I am grateful I can still escape in my runs as I used to when I started running 9 years ago. The training I do, and by extension, Whisper reminds me that I can still find the indescribable feeling that I had training for and racing at 2017 JO’s or for Cross Country State.

The best part of Whisper

Micah (left), as a 2017 Summer Whisper Pacer, leads a pack of runners that includes Aiden (gray), Katie (blue), Jude (white), and Cordova (teal).

This morning I ran with Micah Goff, a Whisper Pacer in 2017, one of the OG’s in the program, a solid high school and collegiate runner who is currently pursuing his dream of running in the 2028 Olympic Trials. An incredible human studying Cyber Security at Clark College, Micah ran 14:35 last summer in the 5k, a huge personal best time from the previous summer. How lucky am I, at the ripe young age of 48, to receive an invitation to run with him on a chilly February morning.

Running with Micah is a true joy for a number of reasons, and connecting with him is one of the best parts of Whisper. This is a common theme that parents may hear me say - Blank “is the best part of Whisper!” Whether blank is seeing connections made between runners from different sides of town, or even school districts, watching runners who trained during the winter or summer months reconnect the season that follows when their teams compete against one another, or hearing that the kids are getting together outside of the running realm, where relationships grow stronger. Countless “best parts of Whisper,” with the most recent highlight being the group picture that was taken on Monday, February 20 at Hudson’s Bay. It was six years earlier we had taken our first ever group photo, the same day the quarter-zip long sleeve shirts were distributed. Though there are a handful of runners not pictured on that 2017 summer day, most notably my own children, there were are two individuals who were photographed on that day, who were also present last Monday when we took the 2023 Winter Training group picture. See if you can spot them before scrolling down further where their images are revealed.

2017 Summer Training Group

2023 Winter Training Group

Any luck? Scroll down to find out which two runners were in both photos!

Lauren has trained and raced with Whisper since 2017.

Josh has trained and raced with Whisper since 2017.

And that is the best part of Whisper!

Preseason to Season Transition

As we enter the sixth and final week of high school preseason training, runners will need to keep their training load (volume and intensity) in mind as they enter their high school programs next week, Monday, February 27. In order for the high school runners to enter the first week of high school track season with fresh, healthy legs, Week 6 of the Winter Training session will be slightly less in volume.  In past years, runners who transitioned from off-season training with Whisper to their school program have voiced frustration due to the lack of training volume, intensity, or specificity at the start of their school program. Keep in mind that high school coaches will rightly take a conservative approach at the start of the season to protect the runners who have not trained in the off-season. So what about the kids who have worked hard over the break - how can they remain sharp while their peers catch up? Here are few ideas:

  • COMMUNICATE: Have your child communicate with the coach about their off-season work and their 2023 goals. Share with the coach the typical workload performed from the end of their XC season, to the start of track. NOTE: We typically perform 1-1.5 mile warm-uip, 3.5-4.5k (2-2.75mi) of track/interval work, and .5 mile cool down on Mon/Thurs evenings. Saturday runs are 5-8 miles (depending on age, years run, etc.).

  • VOLUME: Aim to keep the same volume at the start of the season, and if your child feels like they are losing fitness, they should talk with the coach about adding an additional set of intervals (suggested not to exceed 4k of total speed work in February and early March, unless the coach is really dialed in to exercise prescription/physiology).  Runners could perform strides at the end of a workout or run to remain sharp and quick, until teammates catch up in fitness.

  • WEEKEND MILEAGE: If the miles during the week are low, you may add a couple of miles to a long weekend run. If the coach wants to wait a week to perform interval work, use the weekend to perform tempo work to sustain VO2 and thresholds.

  • GOALS: Seasoned runners can expect to improve 1-3% from one season to the next. Here is how I derive at a runners goal(s) for a mile goal for 2023:

    • Previous season (2022) mile time of 6:31 = 391 seconds

    • 391x.97 = 6:19, 391x.99 = 6:27 (1-3% improvement)

    • Range goal for 2023 6:19-6:27, w/dream goal of sub 6-10.

Going into the season, if there is one suggestion I highly recommend, it is to keep the race distances varied.  If your child is predominantly a 800m/miler, then they will likely run these events 5-7 times before districts.  They should also race the 400m (or be part of a 4x400m team) 3-4 times, and the 2-mile at least twice.  Doing so will keep primary events fresh and sharp.

Any coach can take an out of shape athlete, get them in shape, and watch the athlete set PR's (personal records). But all high school and college coaches should be able to take an athlete who is already in shape, hone their fitness, and continue improving their athletes stamina and speed. 

I welcome conference video calls between now and April 12 to all runners who trained with Whisper over the winter and who would like to discuss their 2023 season goals. Please email me to schedule a meeting.

To be continued, by Ashley McKinstry

Ashley taking part in the 2022 Cascade Lakes Relay, alongside past and present Whisper runners.

On my morning run, I took a tour of Seattle’s notoriously vibrant Capitol Hill, made my way to Leschi to inspect the water, and completed my journey, breezing down Lake Washington Road, waving to trees in the arboretum. Six years ago I would have patterned my run with 200 sprints or a tempo, preparing for the track season ahead. Today, I jogged along reminiscing on wearing bright yellow socks and hair ribbons, thankful for the ability to get out into the city without the constraints of looming competition. I miss my days of wearing the Whisper uniform and the friends I looked forward to seeing at practice and am excited whenever I get my siblings updates on the community. Catching snippets of the world I used to be so present in, gives me perspective on how much has changed since I have left. The streets of Seattle occupy a space in my mind, evicting the road names of Camas and Vancouver, I once knew so well. I still see my favorite running buddy a couple times a week, attempting to hold on to a bit of home in the chaotic track of growing up. Taking in the city together, we reassure each other about the heavy uncertainty of the future and circle career paths. We have both missed our days on the starting line and were easily roped back into the world of racing by the opportunity of the Boston Marathon in April. Training for the marathon has brought structure and running overall has kept me sane throughout this period of my life.

I came to college and rushed the process of grounding myself in the city, getting an internship, job, volunteering and finding others who call this place their home. I picked up unconventional means of income, hosting children's science birthday parties on the weekends to supplement hobbies of cooking, rock climbing, and music related ventures. During the week, I attend classes, working towards my majors of biochemistry and marine biology. I also spend some of my day at a cardiology lab, where I research the effect of genetic mutations on the heart. In everything I participate in, I try to make my life exciting, taking classes that pique my curiosity, and being actively engaged in research.

Ashley (1295) and teammates post-race at the 2019 USATF Regional Championships after qualifying for Nationals.

My home life is filled with a constant stream of distractions, as I live with ten other girls in a house close to campus. Our calendar is filled with nights at concerts and trips around the country. Being a college student requires being thrifty and so when we found a buy one get one travel deal, we hopped on it and booked a quick trip to Alaska. Unfortunately, the cloudy days ruined a chance to see the northern lights, but we ameliorated the situation by eating some good pizza and marveling at the mountain range. Any weekend escape provides a break from the bustling city culture. I have been introduced to many new places in Washington and although I was not much of a camper before college, I had to adapt as it was not reasonable to purchase an Airbnb every time we needed to get away. It would be a lie to say we have a constant stream of adventurous whims, as most nights we unwind in the comfort of our home. Looking into the windows of our centrally located home, pedestrians can spot us drinking tea and keeping up a steady string of conversation, while our homework sits in front of us, nearly untouched.

I am fortunate to be surrounded by many ambitious people, who motivate me to work towards my passions. Before college, I had my heart set on becoming a neurosurgeon but now I am now welcoming the idea of not knowing what I want to do. I have really enjoyed classes that have given me foundations for understanding the way the world functions. Every breath and heartbeat prefaced with a biological pathway that is so complex it's easy to be grateful. As I become further immersed in the science world, I yearn to share my passions with others, and have joined outreach programs for kids in the Seattle area. Working with kids is a refreshing vacation from being around often single tracked college students. The world of possibilities is expanded, and my perspective is shifted to view situations from more juvenile eyes. Working with kids and being in a city with so many opportunities has presented me with a million paths to take, but I will remember to take time and smell the roses as I jog along.

The picture that started it all, Whisper Running reps of the 2017 squad. From left, Kira Mahaffy, Abigail Wall, Ashley McKinstry, Kiley O’Brien, Katie Flolo, Emily Rosenkranz, Callie Ulin, and Candi Owen.

Concentration, Play, & Running

The flame of a candle, the perfect inhalation and exhalation of the breath, the trickle of a stream, or a gentle breeze as it plays off the leaves of a blossoming tree, each provide welcomed moments of peace and calm.  Even time spent in a heightened cardiovascular state can produce a quiet mind, although these moments can also be quite busy in critical and productive thinking. 

In running, the feeling of being in complete control, with movements coming naturally and without effort, can lead to a feeling of being in a flow-like state.  This flow state is achieved when fitness and the field merge, when an athlete achieves the challenge-skill balance.  Many factors play key roles in achieving flow, but one thing is for certain: runners must be ready to sustain the heightened level of meditation while in their state of concentration on the task at hand.

Equipping runners with concentration tasks is one of the more fun activities performed at Whisper.  Last Wednesday, during the cross-training (of the mind) night at Clark, we explored fun ways to enhance concentration.  First, we shut off the phones, which helps immensely.  Next, we played games.   It really was that simple.  In the book, “Sacred Hoops,” Phil Jackson discusses the practice of quieting the mind off the (basketball) court, so the athletes are better equipped to mentally handled the noise and tasks on the court.  Per these suggestions, along with activities practiced over the years, we played a numbers game, we played with mazes, and a dots game in teams. We attempted Sudoku, but not everyone knew how to play, so we pressed on.  It seemed that no matter the task, the kids had fun, and the objective was met – provide a task to concentrate on and identify where focus lies during these activities.  The stress level in the room resided at a 1 on a scale of 0-10, with the only stressor being a neighboring teammate one was trying to best.  Even in defeat, smiles were observed and giggles were heard. 

Taking these activities to the track, where there is clearly more skin in the game, stress levels rise merely due to the emotional and physical desires to attain lofty goals.  Stride after stride, each tap of the foot provides input.  And runners know when the input duration lasts longer – the difference between strides lasting .24. and .34 seconds in a 5k, where runners may take between 3,300-4,000 steps – their brain calculates the difference in pace based on the duration of the contact time.  The longer the stride remains on the ground generally means the muscles in the leg take on greater eccentric load, leading to earlier fatigue. 

Just as physical conditioning will help with this fatigue, so will spending time in thought on particular patterns of movement during the time of concentration.  Whether it’s exploding with great force out of the starting blocks, perfecting the foot strike in the middle of the race, or positioning the arms correctly for greatest efficiency, the mental energy centered on constructive thoughts can grow stronger with time and practice.

So, what can one do to strengthen the ability to concentrate well?  A quick Google search will provide with plenty of suggestions, but here are the ones I subscribe to most:

  1. Put away distractions.

  2. Quite the space – a “white noise” is okay, but music, Podcasts, or TV is ill advised.

  3. Read – even if you do not consider yourself a reader, just a few minutes each day will help.

  4. Play games and puzzles.

  5. Meditate.

  6. Create a checklist and accomplish tasks one at a time.

  7. Get adequate sleep.

  8. Take timed breaks.

  9. Exercise using a guided (intentional) workout plan.

  10. Go away – get out in nature.

  11. Meal prep healthy options with whole foods (preferred), unprocessed, and rich in fiber.

As I tell our runners, when you work, really work, and when you rest, really rest.  The same goes with play and responsibilities. And if you are like me, a person who sees squirrels at every turn, more than half of the tips listed above will serve you quite well.