This is one of the longer emails you may see from me. Please take the time to read everything in here.
We have had a great start to the summer. First of all, after week #1's mileage was all turned in, the boys totaled 1769 miles - almost 500 above our best 1st week ever, and only 1 mile away from our best summer week we've ever recorded (1770). The girls turned in 1110 miles which was also our highest first week total ever.
Week #2 looks to be strong as well. I am feeling a lot of excitement about our summer training, and I have been very pleased with our TEAM practices as well as the training logs that you sent in last week. I am looking forward to reading about your second week of the summer, so please send me your training logs as soon as you can, and please keep this excitement and this commitment to get stronger and faster.
Wasatch Back Relay - our Davis boys and Davis girls were very well represented at the Wasatch Back Relay (Ragnar) the past 2 days. The relay is a 197.5 mile race from Logan to Park City along the back of the Wasatch Mountains. Each team is made up of 12 runners who each run 3 times making 36 total legs. Our boys and our girls TEAMs both finished 1st in the high school division (for the 7th year in a row) and 3rd in the overall divisions. The girls who ran were Ashley Tyndall, Katie Frandsen, Kenzie Weir, Mikell Wood, Kami Dixon, Joanna Boyd, Hannah Albrechtsen, Aimee Vance, Brooke Gutzwiller, Becca Albrechtsen, Janice Hartvigsen, and Josey Hedquist. The girls ran strong and consistent all the way through the relay. They finished in 26:20.22 - which is right at 8:00 per mile. The top 2 teams were made up mostly of college and post-college runners. Out of more than 1100 teams, the girls were the 19th fastest team. There were only 10 all-male teams who were able to run faster than our girls. I was super proud of the girls for their positive attitudes, their TEAMwork, and their toughness. It is a very challenging and exhausting relay - and the girls really worked together and supported each other throughout the entire way.
Our boys team was made up of Logan Wood, Taylor Goldsberry, Brad Nye, Austin Allred, Seth Thompson, Phillip Baker, Jackson Sagers, Skylar Williams, Alex Hedquist, Preston Johnson, Hayden Hansen, and Andrew Aposhian. The boys team met a challenge right from the start when Logan missed a turn and could not find his way back to the course. He ended up running close to 12 miles rather than the 7.7 mile leg that was planned. He did all he could, but essentially lost about 40:00. With the latest start time of the day (5:00pm) - the boys were in the very back of 1100 teams. They stayed positive, stayed patient, and worked together very well to make up a lot of ground. The boys were extremely tough along the way - through uphills, long runs, night runs, sickness, fatigue - and they ended up running 21:40.52 (21:00 without the unfortunate start) - they also finished with about 900 "kills" (passed teams along the way). The boys were 3rd behind the team from BYU (19:07) and the team from Weber State (19:49). We were the top high school team once again, finishing ahead of our rival American Fork (22:07) and Timpanogos (22:49). At 21 hours, the boys averaged 6:22 per mile which is our fastest average - and the course was longer than it has ever been. Last year we averaged 6:24 per mile. I was mostly proud of the way the boys ran hard despite a discouraging start. They worked together and were able to overcome quite a bit through their toughness and determination. I have been there a few times before - I know the mental challenge of waking up after 2 hours of uncomfortable sleep to run your 3rd leg of the relay even though your legs are tired and sore or your stomach doesn't feel quite right. But our boys and girls did it - they overcame any doubt, and ran extremely strong - especially on those final legs of the relay. Nice job to our TEAMs and to any of you who may have competed with family and friend teams as well.
New Balance Outdoor Nationals - Both Brayden Cromar and Shea Martinez traveled to North Carolina for the high school nationals this past weekend. Brayden ran the 5000m on Thursday night. He finished with a time of 15:28. He was on his goal pace through 2 miles, but the finish was not what he was hoping for. Congrats to Brayden for a great season and a great year. Shea ran the 800m on Saturday. The race went out extremely fast (high :58 for the leaders). Shea finished with 2:10.79 - good enough for 7th (one spot away from All-American). Although it was a strong time, it was not quite what Shea was hoping for either after having run 2:07.4 last week in a time trial (which would have been 2nd). We are still very proud of her for her season and for representing Davis T&F at the nationals.
Increasing mileage without getting hurt - As we progress through the summer, there are a few keys to increasing your mileage in a healthy way. Some of our boys are going to finish the summer running 60 or more miles, some of our girls are going to finish near 50 miles per week - but to get there, we have to be smart and patient. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Everyone is different - some of you have been running for years, and some of you have been running for 2 weeks. It is important that you are running an amount of miles that you can handle. Our new runners are starting around 20 miles per week, and I am hoping you can handle about 40 miles per week by the end of the summer. That gives the new runners about 10 weeks to increase to that amount. Some of our runners who have been training for a while still might not be able to handle the higher mileage as well as others. Listen to your body - you still want to be tough and not use laziness as an excuse, but make sure that you are not overdoing it.
2) Patience and consistency - I said at the start of the summer that a good increase to shoot for is somewhere between 3-7 miles per week. It is also important to increase in cycles. If you have increased for 3-4 straight weeks, then have a "recovery" week that is a little lower before you begin to increase again. A good progression for a new runner to get to 40 would be: 20, 24, 27, 30, 25, 30, 35, 38, 32, 38, 40, 42 (giving you a total of 381 miles for the summer). Remember that everyone is different, and this may be too high for a few of you. If you started around 35 miles - an increase might be: 35, 38, 42, 44, 38, 43, 47, 50, 45, 50, 52, 55 (giving you 539 miles). Some of our top boys are shooting for even higher and have started around 50 miles. Although most of them will not go above 70 for the summer, a good increase would be: 50, 54, 58, 60, 52, 60, 65, 68, 64, 68, 70, 70 (giving a total of 739 miles). You also need to make sure you are consistent. You can't build mileage correctly with running every other week. The kind of summers I don't like to see: 25, 6, 28, 28, 3, 30, 22, 15, 0, 6, 35, etc (you are just asking for injury). Occasionally you will have a low week because of a family vacation or EFY or youth conference. That is fine - just do what you can, and be careful with your increase when you come back the next week (don't try to run double because you missed a week).
3) Plan your weeks - it is a really good idea to have a general plan about how many miles you are going to run each day. If you want 40 miles in a week, don't get to Saturday at 25 and then run twice Saturday to get to 40. Your longest run each week should only be about 25 percent of your week total. A good 40 mile week would be: Monday 8, Tuesday 5, Wednesday 7, Thursday 5, Friday 6, Saturday 9. When you get above 40-50 miles, it is time to start running twice a day to get your mileage higher.
4) Take care of your bodies - with the strain that we are putting on our bodies, we have to take care of them or they will break down: a) stretch - before and after you run (especially after). b) Hydrate - you should be drinking a lot all summer long - water, juice, gatorade. c) Eat Right - make sure that you are eating good foods - a lot of carbohydrates, protein, fruits and vegetables. Drink your milk or take a supplement for the calcium. It is okay to have some fats and sugars as well, but they should not be the main part of your diet. For a lot of you this means eating enough calories. If you are running a lot of miles, you have to eat enough calories to keep you moving. If you are not getting enough calories, that is the number one risk factor for injury (especially in girls). Eating is also essential for recovery - do your best to eat something with protein and carbohydrates within an hour after you run. Chocolate milk is a good recovery drink - or I like to make an egg sandwich and drink a bunch of gatorade. d) Have a good pair of training shoes - if you are starting to feel shin splints, it is most likely that you are running to many miles or even more likely that you are in the wrong shoes. One of the reasons I recommend Striders in Layton is because they are going to do their best to put you in the shoes that are right for the way your foot strikes the ground. They also sell upper end shoes that are going to last longer before they break down. e) Listen to your body - if something is nagging you, take the time to ice that spot, stretch, and maybe even visit the physical therapist (Wasatch Peak in Farmington will see you for free as a Davis High athlete).
5) Strength Training and Cross Training - It is very important to strengthen your muscles. Your core is a very important area (that is why we spend so much time doing ab work). We will also be lifting weights a little more this year than we have in the past. I will have the weight room open most Mondays and Thursdays after we practice. The main lifting I want to see: legs - squats, lunges, calf raises; arms - bench, pullups, dumbbell work, push ups. If you are feeling worn down, it might be smart to cross train a few days, and I will still give you mileage credit for it. Recommended cross training for running would be biking (3-4 miles biking = 1 mile running), elliptical (10-14 minutes on the elliptical = 1 mile running), and swimming (1 mile swimming = 3-4 miles running).
6) Keep your purpose in mind - as the summer goes on, your motivation will be tested. We are running summer miles in order to build a base that will support you and allow you to be faster in cross country, and indoor and outdoor track. Think of a pyramid - the wider and stronger the base is, the higher the peak can be. We are hoping for a HIGH peak this cross country season - and we need a strong base. There is a purpose to our hard work this summer. Set some goals - remind yourself of those goals - and that will help to keep you motivated to keep your mileage increasing. Only the strong will survive.
This Week:
Monday - Vita Course - 7:00am - same old story.
Tuesday - Meet at Davis High at 7:00am - we are going to drive over to the Lagoon Trails for a run. It will be a little harder (except for those still recovering from Wasatch Back). This workout will not kill you - everyone is ready for it. I will also be handing out the next workout schedule.
Thursday-Friday - Kick-off Camp. I have attached the flier/waiver with information for the camp. You will need to bring this waiver and $10 when we meet on Thursday. We are meeting at Davis High at 1:30pm, and we are going up to Cutler Flats for one night. We will be running on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. This is for EVERYONE - even if you have not yet come to a practice, this is a good chance to get to know your teammates and coaches and to have some fun together.
I know that was a lot of information. I hope that you took the time to read it all. Keep up the good work, send me your miles, and tell your Dads you love them.
Coach Talley
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