Sunday, September 21, 2008

Mt. Jefferson

Eugene, September21, 2008

This past weekend I attempted to summit Mt. Jefferson from the Woodpecker Ridge trail head (on the south side of the mountain) with my friend Kelsey. Oregon's second largest mountain (at almost 11,000 ft) proved too much for us as we descended in defeat just below the top cliffs at around 9,000ft, flanked by glaciers, and strewn with treacherous scaly shale. Besides the difficult climb to the summit ahead and lack of provisions or gear (ice climbing crampons, ropes, harness, etc.) we were concerned at the loss of sun light (being 4pm), and our need to return to base camp on Woodpecker ridge before daylight closed her eyes and darkness blanketed the land. Although the mountain is supposed to be one of the most popular in the cascades, we did not see a soul our entire climb! The reason: the route we chose was absolutely mad: eroded hills without trail, glaciered river with crevices, impassable waterfalls and the final cliffs at the top. But beautiful! and Sublime! We made it safely back to base camp and spent most of the next day licking our wounds and recuperating at the glorious Britenbush hot springs, only 20 miles away from the mountain. Yesterday, not quite ready to return home we made a half-day canoe trip from Monroe to Corvallis, some 18 miles. The river was majestic, showing off her fall colors, while giant blue herons fished along the shore, and we even spotted a bald eagle! I am just not ready for summer to end, wanting to make the most of every remaining sunny day. Next weekend we are planning an overnighter via canoe at Waldo lake, and another dip in the North Umpqua hot springs, more single scotch at McMiniman's?

Training is coming along. I am starting to find my stride again since Coach Tom Telez visited last month to "correct" my form. I have been visualizing the push-off, extension, dropping my legs naturally in front of me (no lifting with the hip-flexers), running more flat-footed, while using the arms to control the tempo. Running is a meditation! There are no drills, weights, or other replacement for focused running. The goal is to let the body find its most natural rhythm, a sort of wheel that generates its own momentum by renewing energy. As training progresses the miles are going up and the tempos are speeding up. In preparing for this marathon, CIM, December 7, I am trusting the three simple components of 1. long runs, 2. long tempos and 3. long intervals to bring me to the finish line a champion. By following a simple program with proper recovery, and keeping my focus on form, maintaining the discipline to make running a priority first thing in the morning, I pray that I will achieve a higher power and unity in my running.

My ITA project with the South Axemen has been up and running for almost a month now. Once again I am finding the young athletes to be a huge motivator: the curiosity and freshness that a beginner brings to a discipline helps the veterans remember the purpose in our sport; in return the veterans offer experience, skill and wisdom. And so my approach this fall has been more of a peer than a coach, as I try to lead by example. As a student of dance I am often struck how dance is almost entirely an imitative art; we emulate the grace, rhythm and movements of the masters. I am taking this approach with running. As a master of my sport I want to be a model to be followed. I think there are too many fat coaches that exhort there athletes from the sidelines without knowing or feeling the pain, transcendence, focused form, courage and habitual discipline that it takes to be a champion. I want to lead champions!

Godbless and Godspeed!

Gabe

Friday, August 29, 2008

Habana Bound

Eugene, August 29, 2008

After a very busy summer I have finally settled at my Grandmother's house in Eugene just below Spencer's Butte. I arrived Monday and began running Tuesday; it is now Friday. Since the Trials I took almost 5 weeks of no running, which is probably the biggest break of my career. The time was well served, and I find my self eager to expand lungs and heart and grapple with demons. Today and continuing over the weekend I have a conference with Coach Tom Telez, Carl Lewis' coach, and my own Coach, Dick Brown. Coach Telez aims at helping me with my form so that I run with greater efficiency and power. Coach Brown and I are planning to run CIM marathon December 7 in Sacramento, while keeping sharp enough to time trial a 1:51 800m. As usual, the goal is ambitious considering my time frame, but there is nothing like the pressure of performance as a motivator.

After a brief rendezvous with the South Axemen at Elk Lake two weeks ago I will be fully integrated into the fall program this Monday with the start of school. Head Coach Jeff Hess is excited at the dedication and excitement on the team. The kids just finished two weeks of "daily doubles," meaning working out twice a day. I am kind of glad I missed daily doubles, because the kids would have surely destroyed me in my naked state, but now I am eager to begin anew. Our star senior, Sammy, is probably going to prove the perfect training partner while I make the adjustment back to fitness.

From August 16 to August 24 I was in Habana Cuba learning Afro-Cuban folkloric songs, drums and dance. The trip solidified my dance knowledge and made me realize how restless I continue to be. After making numerous connections in Cuba I am determined to live and train in Cuba over the next quadrennial. My fantasy is to garner a coaching position for the Cuban national team while I continue to train and learn music. The way I look at it: I was going to invest in graduate school--but, living, learning and giving in Cuba is a better education. However, there are numerous details that need to be worked out before my tentative departure this winter after the CIM marathon. Foremost, my contract with Saucony is up in December and I need to try to get a renewal. Secondly, visas for Cuba only last one month, so I need to find a way to get a work permit and gain citizenship. Thirdly, I need to set up a foreign bank account so that I can access my US dollars while in Cuba. There are no easy answers to any of these questions, and how my running will fit into this new vision. But one thing is for certain, life is exciting and full of promise!

Gabe

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Orff

San Rafael, August 9, 2008

The past two weeks I have been studying at the San Francisco School for the levels II Orff Schulwerk training. Two years ago when Ms. Rowe relayed to me her idea of founding In The Area, she stressed the volunteer component of giving directly to the communities where the ITA athletes live. This got me thinking, what skills do I possess that I might transfer into my volunteer work. Running and coaching obviously come to mind, but I also hoped to integrate my latent skill in music and dance into a teachable form. While scrambling to put together a comprehensive lesson plan to teach music to kids, my mom and her sister, my aunt, both pointed me towards the Orff Schulwerk, which they have both utilized themselves in the classroom with much success. Two weeks later I attended the annual Orff conference in Omaha Nebraska, with Ms. Rowe's blessings in November 2006, I was completely hooked, and the rest is history: I attended the levels I training last summer 2007, this past year's conference in San Jose, November 2007, and now levels II training August 2008.

The program is a three year program and takes place once a year in August for two weeks. Next year will be my last year, and hopefully I will graduate from level III with an Orff certification. Carl Orff, the founder of the method, composed the famous opera Carmina Burana, he is also founder of the Orff Institute in Salzburg Austria and developed five volumes of scores to facilitate a method of teaching music to children. The method involves movement; mallet instruments like xylophones, glockenspiels, marimba, etc. (but instruments were the bars or keys can be removed, so that scales can be simplified for kids); recorder (flute) instruments; and singing, starting with the solfeggi approach to learning note names with easy to sing syllables like: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, as demonstrated famously in The Sound of Music.

Orff theory involves a sort of species counterpoint that enables children to progress from "little" to "big." We focus on basic musical feeling of harmonic sounds through the body while encouraging improvisation, and performance. Last year in level I I learned a basic approach for teaching K - 3rd grade music with recorder, mallet, voice and movement but while staying exclusively in the Do pentatonic (or five a five note scale), meaning in Do pentatonic taking out the F and B bars or notes in the scale. On the soprano recorder we start with improvising on E and G because the minor third is the easiest interval for kids to sing and also easy to finger on the recorder at 6 years old, which means we need to transpose to Fa and Sol pentatonic. This year I studied the Level II training which is geared for 4th to 7th graders. In level II I learned how to integrate the hexatonic scale (or six note scale), basically adding Fa or a perfect forth interval into Do major; next we learn the complete eight note major and minor scales; and finally we learn the basic modes that complement major and minor (Ionian and Aeolian): Dorian or minor D scale with flatted sixth, Mixolydian or major G scale with flatted seventh, Phrygian or minor E scale with flatted second, Lydian or major F scale with raised forth (tritone interval). This all seems very theoretical but you must keep in mind that we are learning this basic species counterpoint via singing, dancing and playing; there are few formal theory lessons on the chalkboard. Next year I plan on taking level III, which is more advanced, geared to 8th grade and above. In level three I will finally learn how to integrate chordal music into the Orff approach! Doug Goodkin is our level III master teacher. Lord Douglass leads the music department at the San Francisco School, leads the Orff levels training, has his own master classes though out the year, is a world renowned Orff practitioner, and teaches in the "special" yearl long program at the Orff Institute. I am excited to tackle level III next year and beyond! See Lord Douglas' website:

http://www.douggoodkin.com/AboutDougGoodkin/index.shtml

Doug Goodkin has a vision for founding Orff West in San Francisco to bridge the Orff Worlds, and integrate Orff methods into the classroom from sea to shining sea! I am one of many hearty disciples and I look forward to using my new found skills to enlighten the youth in the spirit of In The Arena.

The bond that I have formed with my classmates is unbelievable, now that most of us have completed two years together in an intimate collaboration for two weeks each summer of long days of continual "orffing." Almost all of the levels training attendees are music teachers, with degrees in music, I am the exception, as a coach, though I did study for a music major at Stanford University.

This next season I plan on continue my work with the Eugene South Axemen Cross Country team. In fact, August 12th I plan on rendezvousing with a group out in Elk Lake, on the east side of the Cascades for the end of their summer pre-season camp. I hope to begin teaching keyboard, voice, recorder and movement to students on a private and small group basis this fall.

God Bless! Can you hear the music?!

Gabriel

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Vino

Caspar California, July 17, 2008

Since the Trials are through I have a month of active rest to get my feet under me, or over me. Cloud me! Cloud me! 

The adventure continues. . . 

My cousin, Jules Maltz, married Kelly Greenwood July 12th at Viansa Vineyard in Sonoma. I made the trek south, and have been wine tasting ever since.  I have been thoroughly exploring Sonoma, Napa, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, Rock Pile, Russian River, Garcia River, Anderson Valley, Navarro River and everything in between. A story couldn't possibly do justice to my journey. My zigzags have taken me over hill, dale, river and everything in between. I am sipping on Dry Creek meritage blend at the moment: the flavor, and warmth is very grounding. I have been searching for the perfect big Red, a cab that can age 15 years, hold its bite, while maturing the tannins.  Rafinelli's unfiltered cab has changed my life and my palette forever, and I can thank Kelly and the Roger's family for opening up the wine cellar to me, and their kitchen. However, Rafinelli's does not sell its wine but to an exclusive list of patrons, of which I am not included. Unfiltered wine has all of the microbials buzzing around in its raw essence, piercing the soul, chakras inflamed, singing to angels.

Two nights ago I descended three miles down the sharp canyon walls of the Garcia River, from Fish Rock road outside Point Arena on the Mendocino Coast. I took no water, and had no provisions. My goal was to find the remote hot springs five miles up the river from its ocean confluence. However, with only rough directions from John the bartender at the Lost Whale Inn, the treasure hunt took on epic proportions as I set off down the cliff at close to 9pm with only 45 minutes of twilight before dark. I managed to reach the river at around half past 11pm by pure determination. No hot springs. The trek back up the steep hillside in the dark, through brush, fallen trees, and obstacles of immeasurable description, was one of the most challenging of my career. Luckily it was a full moon! Yet, as midnight came, so did a mist that covered my trail. Soon I was very lost, thirsty and fatigued. I dug a bed out of the hillside, using a log for my base, and covered my self in leaves to keep me warm.  I slept most of the night in the woods to the sound of owls.

Now water turns to wine and I am grateful for the simple blessings of life.

I will be at the Afro-Cuban dance and drum camp all of next week. At the closure of camp I will be the featured speaker at the Humboldt Cross-Country camp, coinciding with my own.  The last week of July and the first week of August I will be training in the the second level of the Orff Schulwerk at the San Francisco School. Orff is a methodology for teaching music to children! It is my dream to be a children's choir director someday, and this is the perfect training grounds. 

I plan on making it back to Eugene August 10th or so, but who can tell where the adventure will take me until then. There are many more valleys to explore on my way. . .

Gabriel


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Lyre

Eugene, June 11, 2008

I have been working on constructing a harp from a kit. The kit is pretty minimal so I am needing to do some pretty fine woodworking. She is walnut, her curves are smooth and round, her angles captivating. I was turned onto the harp through my girlfriend, Kelsey, when she was keeping hers in my room to practice. When she plays for me I am transported to a calm peaceful world, and all my troules seem to dissolve. When I play, the strings almost play me; the meditation resonates a basic vibration that unifies the Spirit of the universe.

I will be putting on the second coat of varnish after blogging. Then bed time. The light lingers until almost 10pm, only ten days away from summer solstice. Where have the seasons gone?

Love and Light
Gabe

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

State

Eugene, May 28, 2008

The State meet rapped up the 24th of May, and after a few days of reflection, I am still at a loss to express the enormous emotions that have sprung from a full season working with the ITA Eugene South Axemen. A few individuals made some impressive marks (in order):

Sasha took third as a sophomore in the 800m: 2:16!!
Walker took fourth in he 1500m: 3:59.
Casey finished fifth in the 800m: 1:56.
Sammy was just off the lead pack in the 3K, sub 9.

This third day of competition I ran in the elite 800m: eighth in 1:49.6. I was actually quite encouraged by my performance: form, feeling and motivation.

I am looking forward to the Pre Pre, 1500m on June 8 before the televised portion of the Prefontaine Classic. Then on June 15 I will be running another 1500m at the "Last Chance Meeting" at Hayward Field. At this point I have a solid B standard: 3:39 from the semifinals at last years outdoor nationals in Indianapolis; so it is just a matter of getting to the line as psyched as possible for July 4 and again on July 6 for the finals of the Olympic Trials.

God Bless and destroy your opponents! When you can't destroy your opponents, destroy yourself so you can rebuild yourself.

Gabe

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Districts

May 17, 2008

The Arena Axemen competed in Grants Pass today for the final day of competition in the Districts championships: qualifying for the Oregon State High School Championships May 22, 23, and 24th.

There were a lot of brilliant performances, but a few stand out in my mind from memory: 1,2,3 sweep in the boys 800m 1:57/1:58's: Casey Weinman, Walker Augustyniak, Brad Gissel: Walker took control from the gun, Casey surged with 230m to go, and brad finished well over the last 120m; 1,2,5 in the girls 800m 1:21: Sasha Teninty (sophomore), Rachel Bunting, and Nora Wilson (freshman): Sasha stalked the leader from the gun, sling-shotting past with 170m to go, while Rachel moved from mid-pack to third in the backstretch, challenging Sasha in the homestretch; 1,3 dominance in boys 1500m with a bold move by Sammy with 800m to go and a final quarter surge by Walker in 58 for a 4:06 and 4:09 respectively. The South girls dominated the 4 X 400m relay, victorious by 70 meters: lead-off Anna Persmark (frehman), Sasha Teninty, Lauren Opsal and Rachel Bunting (after winning the open 400m and second in the 800m).

I am excited for the State Championships next week! I would like to see some aggressive and confident running: fast and relaxed : : the sublime opposition. I believe we can win some titles. Hayward Field here we come! I am also competing myself on Saturday, May 24, in an elite 800m set up by Mr. Gagliano of the OTC elite Track Club with the intention of running the Olympic A standard: sub 1:46! We will race at around 1pm to start off the final day of the State Chapionships. It appears that I will be holding myself accountable to everything that I ask of my athletes. Do as I do!

God Bless and PUT YOUR HAND ON THE TORCH!

Gabe