DXC Update

Darts - 

I hope that your training has continued to be consistent and strong through the 3rd week of summer mileage. I will be handing out new schedules tomorrow at the Vita Course (7:00am); the schedules are also attached to this email. I am going to be on vacation in Virginia later in the week, and I will not be at the Thursday practice. When I get home next week (after your 4th week of mileage), I will send out the initial High Altitude Camp invitations. 

Make sure to send me your weekly mileage from last week sometime today or tomorrow. We have had our best start to the summer (in terms of total mileage) for both the boys and the girls. If we continue to run a lot as a TEAM, we could have a shot at the summer records for both the girls and the boys - I think that will directly correlate to the success we have as a TEAM and as individuals in the upcoming season. 

I have decided to give prizes to the top 3 athletes with the most mileage in each grade. The top runner in each grade will receive a pair of cross country spikes - I am not sure what the prize will be for 2nd and 3rd place.

Wasatch Back Relay

We had a very strong showing at the Wasatch Back Relay this past week. The Wasatch Back Relay is a 198 mile race from Logan to Park City with 12 people on a team. Each person runs 3 legs throughout the race - averaging 12-20 total miles per person. It shows me every year that I am working with some really tough kids who care a lot about their teammates.

The girls TEAM ran 25:13 - which calculates to about 7:39 per mile over the 198 mile course. It was our fastest Wasatch Back team ever. We ran 67 minutes faster than we ran in 2012 (8:00 pace). Our previous best mile average was in 2008 when we ran 7:47 per mile. It was good enough to finish 1st place in the high school division for the 6th year in a row. We were also the 2nd fastest womens team in the race and the 17th fastest overall (out of 1,400 teams). The girls team was made up of Joanna Boyd, Aimee Vance, Josey Hedquist, Madi Bledsoe, Hannah Albrechtsen, Elise Anderson, Ally Geisler, Aubrey Argyle, Chelsey Johnson, Taylor Cox, Ashley Tyndall, and Miah Weaver.  I was not able to be with our TEAM, but from what I have heard, they showed toughness, teamwork, speed, and determination - even through some injuries and illnesses and a dog bite. A special thanks goes out to our drivers and navigators - Brad Albrechtsen, Becca Albrechtsen, Shawna Cox, and Kenzie Weir. 

Our boys TEAM also ran very strong. We were the 3rd fastest team in the race and finished with a time of 21:10.07 - which is an average of 6:24 per mile. That ties our best average set in 2011. It is also the 3rd year in a row where we have finished as the 3rd fastest team in the race. We finished 2nd place in the high school division - only 13:30 behind our rival American Fork (about :04 per mile). The boys team was made up of Alex Hedquist, Hayden Hansen, Jackson Sagers, Isaac Clouse, Andrew Aposhian, Brayden Cromar, Ethan Stuart, Kimball Potter, Josh Ward, Colton Rimann, Stokton Smith, and Alex White. A special thanks goes out to our drivers and navigators: Charla Williams, Skylar Williams, and Caleb Ward. I am proud of our boys for continually showing toughness and competitiveness and a spirit for racing and being a TEAM. It was nice to have these 6 seniors compete with us one last time.

We were also very well represented by a mixed relay team put together by the Gipsons. Our mixed team (6 boys and 6 girls) ended up being the 3rd fastest mixed team in the race and the #1 high school mixed team in the race. They finished the relay in 24:26.36 - which was the 12th fastest team out of 1,400. The mixed team was made up of BriAnna Gipson, Rachel Johnson, Nicole Wood, Sam Hedquist, Sydney Zaugg, Alex Tanner, Jackson Rayl, Colter Blanchard, Bryce Ferguson, Daniel Tumblin, Caleb Gipson, and Brandon Peters. They had some challenges with injuries and had some guys and girls really step it up to help the team out. I got to see them a few times through the relay, and I was very impressed with their positive attitudes and their mental toughness - especially from Danny Tumblin and Colter Blanchard in running 4 legs. Thanks to their drivers - Mr. Gipson and Mr. Ferguson.  

Brooks Inspiring Coach of the Year Award: I am a finalist for the Brooks Coach of the Year Award. One way that they are picking the overall winner is through Facebook voting. The cross country TEAM will be direct beneficiaries if I am the overall winner because our program will get $10,000 in Brooks gear. I will be getting something for everyone on the TEAM if I win - but I need you to vote on Facebook everyday - you can vote once a day (starting now). Also try to get your friends to vote. I will probably put this reminder on every email for about 2 months (even though that will be annoying). Please vote as many days as you can. Thanks.

TEAM practice this week:

Monday: Vita Course @ 7:00am - I hear the theme is Hawaiin Day - bring your beach "swag" (but still be ready for a run).

Thursday: Meet at the school at 7:00am

*I also expect our boys captains to organize a boys run and our girls captains to organize a girls run this week. So expect to hear something about another TEAM run either at the Vita Course or at Thursday's practice.

I took this from an email last summer (and made some small adjustments) . . . 

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 3 eeks. 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 35-40 miles per week by the end of the summer. That gives the new runners 9-10 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. (You can also refer to Coach Timothy's email from last week). 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, Mountain Land Physical Therapy in West Kaysville has also always been great to work with us). 

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.

Sorry for the book (I hope you still read it - considering you don't have any other homework).

Have a great week 4. 

Send in your mileage if you haven't already. 

Coach Talley

DXC Summer Update - Week 2

Darts - 

I hope that you were able to stay consistent through the second week of summer training. As your emails came in last week, I was very excited to see so many of you fired up and determined to have a solid summer of running. We set new records for our first week of summer for both the girls and the boys. The girls ran 1264 miles - beating the record we set last year with 1215; and the boys ran 2228 miles - also beating last year's record of 1900. The important thing now is that we continue to work together and continue to find things that will motivate us and keep us going through the summer. If there are any of you who have not yet come to a TEAM practice - you should come to the Vita Course with us next Monday.

Please send in an email with your mileage sometime between now and Monday. Those of you who are new to this, remember to stay patient with yourselves. Give yourself time to improve and adapt to running. I hope that you will stick with it, and I hope that some of the advice in this email and an upcoming email about summer motivation will help . . .
 

Running More and Still Feeling Good:

If any of you are feeling pretty tired from the running these first 2 weeks, you need to understand that it is normal to feel some fatigue when you increase your mileage. I like to go through a self-inventory when I feel worn down. Ask yourself the following questions: 

1) Am I getting enough calories (fuel) for the amount of training I am doing? Also - am I eating the right things at the right time? You will recover faster and feel better if you are eating about 20 grams of protein and about 40 grams of carbohydrates within 30 minutes after you finish running. If you are going to be at the school lifting weights after we run, it might be good to bring a little bit of food to eat after you finish running. It's also good to eat and drink a little in the mornings before you run - I usually don't eat much - maybe some toast with peanut butter and a banana and some water. It is also important to make sure to get iron in your diet - it is great for recovery. I have attached a nutrition guide that was put together by Coach Timothy. It is also posted at: http://davisxc.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-davis-high-elite-runners-diet.html, please look through it closely. 

2) Am I getting enough sleep? Eight hours is recommended for a normal person; I have found that most runners should be getting between 8-10 - especially when you are hitting 40+ miles in a week. I know that it is a challenge in the summer to stay disciplined with your sleep, but you will find that if you get the right amount of sleep that your body will feel better, you will recover faster, and your running will go better. 

3) Am I staying hyrdrated? You are going to hear me say it so much over the next 5 months because it really does make a huge difference (especially when it is hot) - STAY HYDRATED. Drink a lot of water! Try to have a water bottle with you through most of the day. 

4) Am I stretching after I am done running? A great way to make sure that your muscles recover and that your flexibility increases is to have a good stretching session at the end of your run. Spend 10-15 minutes and you'll feel a lot better. 

5) Have there been changes in my training? Most of you have had quite a jump in your mileage as we have started the summer. You need to realize that the increase in mileage will most likely make you feel a little more tired. If you push through the first few weeks, you should start to feel better - but you may need to make it through a few runs where your legs feel heavy and you just feel tired. That's normal. Stay tough and stay motivated and stay consistent and it should get a lot better. Also realize that if you have put together a string of hard days, it is important to have a recovery day where you might run fewer miles at a slower pace or you might even cross train instead of running. 

This week:

Monday - 7:00am at the Vita Course. My challenge to you new runners is to try to go farther than you did last Monday - and maybe to walk a little less on the hills. The Vita Course will challenge you each week (it still challenges me after 10 years of running it on Mondays in the summer), but I hope you feel satisfied when you are done with a challenge like that. Congrats to Colton Rimann, Stokton Smith, Josh Ward, and Logan Haviland for joining the sub 50:00 club last week.

Tuesday - 7:00am - meet at Davis. The schedule says we will be running at the Lagoon Trails - but we will actually just be running something from the school.

Thursday - 7:00am - meet at Davis - those of you who are running the Wasatch Back Relay later on Thursday will not need to come to the Thursday morning practice. 

You will be on your own on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I encourage you to find teammates to run with who are about your ability level. Get to know each other and start to build friendships.

Great job with the first two weeks. Keep running strong. 

Don't be afraid to ask questions in your emails this week - I will do my best to answer them all. 

Have a great Father's Day.

Thanks,  

Coach Talley

ps. Don't forget to "follow" the Davis High Cross Country Facebook Page. I will try to post some extra running tips and motivation on a weekly basis.

The Davis High Elite Runner’s Diet

Courtesy of Coach Timothy: 

The purpose of a diet is not to restrict you from eating food; it is to encourage you to eat plenty of the right foods so that your body can recover faster and work more efficiently. Runners expend a lot of energy and require a higher calorie intake than non-runners. Your body needs plenty of fuel to improve your fitness level. If you don’t give your body enough food, or if you’re not giving your body the right foods, your body can’t reach it’s maximum potential and efficiency. Here are some foods to consider:

Whole grains, seeds, and nuts

·         Packed with nutrients, proteins, and other good stuff! They contain everything a plant needs to grow which is good for the body.

Fruits and Vegetables

·         5-a-day

·         Best to get a variety of colors (orange, green, purple, yellow, red, blue). Pigments are packed with vitamins that work best when combined with different colors. Best to keep skin on.

·         Replace junk food (candy, desserts, chips, fried foods) with fruits and vegetables and you will have WAY more energy.

Protein

·         Helps body repair itself (that’s how you get stronger)

·         Runners need about 50% more protein than non-runners

o   3-5 servings a day (4 ounces is one serving)

·         Fish (and other seafood) is so good for you!

·         Lean meat, poultry, eggs

o   Great source of iron and zinc (especially for you girls)

·         Avoid processed meats like lunch meats and raw hot dogs (sorry boys)

o   Contains too much sodium and other harmful chemicals

Dairy

·         There’s a reason why (chocolate) milk is used so much by runners

o   Calcium for bones

o   Whey protein helps muscles repair quickly

·         Yogurts and cheese

o   Contain live cultures that help body function better

WATER (not soda)

·         Your body is mostly water and NEEDS it to function properly and efficiently.

·         Start drinking early and often and your body will start to crave it once you get in the habit. You need to learn to love water.

·         One of the quickest ways to slow down a car is pouring sugar in the gas tank. Same with your body. White sugar and corn syrup are not good for you. Soda is not good for you. Even diet sodas contain chemicals that will harm your body and keep it from absorbing nutrients. Drink water.

·         Sports drinks are great during exercise

If you can choose:

·         Choose wheat bread over white bread

·         Choose brown rice (or wild rice, quinoa) over white rice

·         Choose fruits/vegetables over sugary/greasy foods

·         Choose water over just about any other beverage

·         Choose grilled/baked over fried

·         Choose real food over fast food

Great Snacks:

·         Fruits (fresh or dried)

·         Vegetables

·         Cashews (lightly salted)

·         Almonds

·         Pistachios

·         Soy nuts (remind me of half-popped popcorn kernels)

·         String cheese

·         Jerky (turkey jerky even better)

·         Frozen fruit bars

·         Rice cakes

·         Yogurt

·         Cottage Cheese

·         Peanut butter and celery

Summer Update - Week 1

Darts - 

It is one of my favorite times of the year. The Summer Mileage emails are starting to pour in, and it gets me excited for the summer training and for the upcoming cross country season. If you have not yet emailed your week #1 training log, please do so either today or tomorrow. Most of you are including the information I like to see: Your daily run (or runs if you went out twice) with your daily mileage, your week total, and any other details such as time, course, thoughts about the run, etc. Remember that you are required to send me an email for each week of training in the summer. Also keep your goal in mind. I want each of you going for something this summer - set a goal: 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 miles - decide how much you think you can accomplish and then put the effort in each week. 

Running on Vacation: Most of you will be on vacation (or camp, EFY, Youth Conference, or something else) at some point this summer. I completely understand that there will be times when you are unable to run. I would recommend that you do your best on those days/weeks, but don't let it stress you out too much. If all you can do is an ab workout before you get in bed on those days - just do the best you can. Sometimes I think of the vacation weeks as "maintain weeks" - where I do what I can to maintain my work/fitness without necessarily worrying about improving that week. Again - just do your best. 

Cross Training: I will count cross training mileage as part of your summer total. If you bike, swim, do a strenuous hike, or do something else that you feel was a hard workout, let me know in your weekly emails and I will add that to your totals. When you are biking and swimming, it is important to try to keep your heart rate up (above 140 when possible). I will usually count 3-4 miles of biking as 1 mile of running, and 1 mile of swimming as 3 miles of running. (Or you could count 10-12 minutes of strenuous cross training as 1 mile of running). Cross training is only effective if you are still pushing yourself pretty hard. I would recommend cross training for injuries or if you feel that you need a day off of running. 

This Week:

Monday - Meet at the Vita Course at 7:00am. The parking lot is at the top of 200 N. - above Highway 89 (by the rifle range). We will be running anywhere from 4-8 miles depending on your ability level. For those of you who can on Mondays, we will go down to the school after the run and do weights and an ab workout. 

Tuesday & Wednesday - on your own (or in smaller groups).

Thursday - Meet at Davis at 7:00am for a distance run.

Friday - Varsity runners will meet at Davis at 7:00am (by invitation only) - everyone else is on their own. 

Saturday - On your own (or in groups) - If you haven't already, this should be your long run for the week (5-10 miles) depending on your ability. 

High Altitude Camp: Camp will be on July 29-August 2 this year. I have attached the flier to this email that has more information. I will send out the invitation list after the first 4 weeks of training. Remember that girls have to have a minimum of 100 miles at the end of 4 weeks and the boys have to have at least 120 miles to be invited. 

If some of you found that the first week was VERY challenging for you, remember to be patient with yourself and remember that your biggest victory will be to conquer yourself. It is good to seek after things that challenge you and will make you stronger. 

Don't be afraid to come to the TEAM workout at Vita tomorrow - even if you didn't come to any of the runs we did last week. And last of all . . . Don't ever let LAZINESS or sleeping in be your excuse for missing a great run with your TEAM. 

Let me know what I can do to help or what questions I can answer. 

See you in the morning, 

Coach Talley

PS. The updates are also posted at www.davisxc.blogspot.com, but let me know if any of your parents would like to be added to the email list. 

Davis Cross Country 2013

Darts - 

It was great to see so many of you at the meeting yesterday. I am very excited about the summer training and about a new season next fall. I hope that I didn't scare too many of you away at the meeting. There were a few main things that I hope you took away from the meeting:

1) We are going to work hard - but we are going to have fun doing it. 

2) Everyone is on a different running level - and you should each shoot for a mileage number that you are ready for this summer. (Remember to be patient with yourself and consistent with your training). The most important thing to us is that you do your best and that you learn to push your own limits - that is what DXC is all about.

3) We are going to work this summer and fall on being a unified TEAM (also a huge part of DXC). 

Most of the other important information you can find in the handout that I sent home with you (which is also attached to this email). 

A few other important things to know:

1) The weekly mileage email that you are all supposed to send on Saturdays or Sundays is mandatory. I want to know what you are doing each week. It is also very important to me that you read the emails that I send out to you each week.

2) If your parents didn't get this email and they would like to receive the weekly emails - have them send me their email address. Otherwise, they can follow the updates on www.davisxc.blogspot.com 

3) We have a facebook page - Davis High Cross Country Team - you should all 'follow' the page. I will sometimes post reminders on there. 

4) If anyone has already changed their mind and would like to be removed from this email, please let me know. 

5) If you have any interested friends - just bring them to a practice and introduce them to me. 

6) I will keep graduates on the email list through the summer - after that, you will need to request to stay on the list. 

Next week is week #1 for our summer mileage. We will have 12 weeks that count on your summer miles (June 3-August 25). We have some TEAM goals - depending on where you are as a runner. I think you should each start the summer with an idea of where you would like to be at the end - 

700 miles (58 miles per week) - 10 boys/0 girls

600 miles (50 miles per week) - 15 boys/3 girls

500 miles (42 miles per week) - 30 boys/15 girls (our record is 22 boys)

400 miles (34 miles per week) - 45 boys/30 girls (our record is 21 girls)

300 miles (25 miles per week) - Everyone who runs summer cross country

*Remember that it is important to build up throughout the summer. If you have a goal to hit 500 miles - you should start around 35 miles the first few weeks and your final weeks of the summer will be in the low 50s. 

*We have awards at the end of the summer for the top mileage in two categories: Returning Runners and Beginning Runners.

We are meeting next week:

Monday - 3:00pm at the Davis Track

Tuesday - 3:00pm at the Davis Track (we'll be playing a running 'game')

Friday - 6:30am at the Davis Track (the schedule says 7:00am - GET OUT OF BED and GET THERE!!)

If you miss those - we will meet at the Vita Course on Monday (June 10th) at 7:00am - up at the top of 200 N, above Highway 89, before you get to the shooting range.

Once again - I am really looking forward to working with you this summer. Our cross country success in years past has come from having a very strong summer base. I hope that you are all on board with putting in the work that is going to turn you into a fit, tough, determined running machine. Bring excitement, passion, and personality to everything you do. 

Please let me know if you or your parents have any questions. 

Thanks, 

Coach Talley