This email has a lot of information, so grab a water bottle and start reading. . .
Great job at the Dart Challenge 5k yesterday! It was a very strong starting point for our TEAM. I felt like we gave some solid efforts and that we did a good job supporting each other. We had 14 boys under 18:00 - not quite a record (16). Our top 5 combined "team time" was 1:20.44 - which is our 3rd best ever (behind 2012 and 2010). We were led by a very strong 1-2-3 group with Josh Ward, Stokton Smith, and Colton Rimann. We had 11 girls run under 23:00, and our girls team time was 1:35.48 - which is our 2nd best ever (behind 1:34.53 last year). We were led by our best 1-4 effort ever - Aubrey Argyle, Ally Geisler, Miah Weaver, and Tatum Beard. Aubrey ran our team record on the course with 18:36. Biggest improvements over last year came from Camren Todd (1:51), Frasier Williamson (1:49), Josh Peters (3:55), Josh Wilkinson (2:50), Mitch Perry (2:15), Dallin Kitchen (1:48), Jason Boyd (2:33), Branson Petty (4:19), Ally Geisler (1:25), and Tatum Beard (3:01).
I am happy with the starting performance for the most part, but I hope that no one is completely satisfied with where you were. I feel like we can race better through the middle part of a 5k and I feel like we can close a lot stronger as well. We still have a lot of work in front of us - and we can't afford to get complacent. Each of you should take a few minutes to analyze your race from Saturday - what did you do well? At what point in the race could you have pushed harder or responded to a teammate passing you? Did you prepare well for the race? Were you having positive thoughts when it got tough? Try to pick out some specific things that you can work on when we race at Highland this Thursday. If your race on Saturday didn't go well, don't let that get you discouraged. Be resilient - and be more determined to race how you would like on Thursday. Keep working!!
Thanks to the many parents who were there helping, supporting, and running in the race on Saturday. We greatly appreciate the involvement we see from such great parents and families!
Race Preparation - With a lot of racing coming up, we will be talking about how to prepare to run your best race. Brad's Corner (at the bottom of the email) talks about warming up. There are things you can do even before the warm up to prepare for the race. It is important for you to find out what works best for you - both mentally and physically.
Sleep is a big factor before races - but the most important sleep comes 2 & 3 nights before the race. That doesn't mean that the night before is a party, just that you can be thinking about rest a few days out.
What you eat can also be a factor in how you race. Hydration can begin 36-48 hours prior to a race. Make sure you are drinking some things with electrolytes (in addition to plain water). For a morning race, I like to get up at least 3 hours before my warm up and have something little to eat - oatmeal, toast, and half a banana is my typical pre-race breakfast. I have found that my stomach does not do well with dairy or orange juice on the morning of a race. If it is an afternoon race, then breakfast becomes very important. I also like to make sure I am eating my lunch about 2 1/2 to 3 hours before I warm up (and maybe a small snack 30 minutes to 1 hour before warm up). Race day lunch for me is a peanut butter and jam sandwich, a granola bar, a banana, and some gatorade. Then I sip water up until race time. Again - find out what seems to work best for you.
I have found that mental preparation is something that is really unique to each person. I like to have a race plan or a race goal figured out a day or two in advance. I like to review what I feel like my strengths are (compared to the course), think about when I would like to really make a move - or what part I would like to focus on improving, and have a goal time or place in mind. The day of the race, I try not to think too much about the actual race. I like to listen to music and talk with teammates about other things to help me stay relaxed and loose and keep my mind at ease. If I start to feel stress or anxiety about the race - I remind myself that all I can do is give my best effort and really try to stick to my race plan.
Read what Brad has to say about warming up at the bottom of the email. One thing I would like to add is that we always warm up as a TEAM. You might need to do a few things specific to you in the warm up, but be prepared to warm up together about 45 minutes prior to the race: 10-12 minute jog, bathroom time, light stretching (you don't want to do too much static stretching before a race), changing into spikes and heading to the starting line, drills, strides, TEAM cheer, and then be calm and ready at the starting line.
Eligibility - Everything should be done by tomorrow. We are meeting at the school - so if you haven't paid yet, PLEASE bring your check in and get it done (or do it online). I don't want to mess with the eligibility stuff after tomorrow, so please do your part. You basically have to do the following 4 steps:
1) Pay the $90 fee in the office or online.
2) Register at www.registermyathlete.com and complete the 3 forms that are listed on there.
3) Turn in your physical A-Form to me (if you turned it in for camp, that works).
4) Turn in the drug test consent form to me or to Mr. Firmage in the main office. If you didn't get one at the meeting, let me know at practice Monday.
Highland Invitational - We have our first true cross country race this Thursday at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake. The race is 2.9 miles long and is very similar to the race we will run at the state championships in October. We are going to see some of the top competition in the state (boys - Ogden, Timpanogos, Alta, Bingham; girls - American Fork, Bingham, Ogden, Mountain Crest, Timpanogos). It is going to be very competitive in each of the 6 races (listed below). For the most part, freshmen and sophomores will run in the Freshmen/Sophomore race - there are a few I might bump into the JV race. We are going for the TEAM win in each of the 6 races. We will discuss the meet in my classroom before the run on Monday morning (tomorrow). PLEASE let me know if you cannot make it to the meet on Thursday (and why) - each person we enter costs money - even if you don't compete.
Schedule:
1:45 - Bus leaves from the south parking lot of the school
4:00 - Freshmen/Sophomore Boys
4:25 - Freshmen/Sophomore Girls
4:50 - JV Boys
5:15 - JV Girls
5:45 - Varsity Boys (Josh, Colton, Colter, Logan, Camren, Frasier, Solomon)
6:10 - Varsity Girls (Aubrey, Ally, Miah, Tatum, Josey, Sam, Emmaline)
This Week:
Monday - Meet at the School at 7:00am - in my classroom - followed by a long run and uniform handout.
Tuesday - Meet at Layton Park at 7:00am for an interval session.
Wednesday - on your own - anywhere from 4-8 miles + some light strides - in the morning (for longer recovery before the race).
Thursday - Highland Invite - Meet at the school at 1:45. Come early if you missed uniform handout.
Friday - On your own (5-10 miles - recovery run) - or two runs during the day if you are trying to end with a certain number of miles for the summer.
Saturday - Meet at the school at 7:00am for our final TEAM run of the summer. We will have breakfast after - please let me know if any parents can send breakfast food (fruit, muffins, etc). I will make pancakes.
Summer Mileage - I have attached the totals I had after 10 weeks - let me know if there are any errors or if anything is missing. A lot of boys are very closing to reaching the goal of 500 and a lot of girls are very close to the goal of 400 - get there this week!!!
XC Schedule - can be found at http://www.davisxc.blogspot.com/p/2014-schedule.html - please try to schedule things around those races. Thanks.
Bob Firman - Our annual trip to Boise for the Bob Firman Invitational is this year on September 26-27. We will be taking between 50-60 people from the team. The selection process will be based on summer mileage/attendance at workouts and performance in the first 4 races of the season. We are staying at the Marriott Springhill Suites on Chinden Blvd (north side of Boise).
Injury Prevention - We have got to do a better job PREVENTING injuries. I am seeing a lot of injuries that I feel could have been avoided (at least partially). We are working hard, and there are going to be injuries when we are pushing our bodies - it is part of the risk we take to be our best. BUT there are things you can all be doing to avoid the injuries in the first place. 1) Stretching - Especially after you run/workout. Spend 15 minutes stretching before you go to bed. 2) Diet/Sleep - watch what you eat, and be disciplined with your sleep. Protein after hard workouts, plenty of good calories, and a lot of hydrating. It is also important that each of you make sure to get iron in your diets (low iron is very common in distance runners - particularly in girl distance runners), and iron is so essential to endurance because it gives oxygen to our muscles. 3) Be SMART - don't overdo it - even when you really want to. And don't try to fit too much into one day. For example - don't go on vacation and not run for 3 days and then come home and try to fit 21 miles into one day to make up your mileage. 4) Make sure you are in good shoes - and the right shoes (neutral/stability). One of the reasons I always recommend Striders is because they do a foot analysis to get you into the right shoes.
We have many great resources to help when an injury does occur. There are other great doctors and resources as well. I like the people on this list because they know runners and they are very experienced with running injuries:
Dr. Todd Flitton (Foot Doctor) at the Kaysville Tanner Clinic - is great with shins/feet. He is always very willing to fit in Davis athletes (especially runners). 801-773-4840 for appointments.
Dr. Jason Blackham (Sports Medicine Physician) at McKay Dee hospital (Calton Harrison Clinic). He is great with knees, hips, and any other running related injuries. 801-387-2750. Dr. Steve Scharmann is in the same office and is also incredible (Weber State's team doctor).
Nate Graven (Massage Therapist) - in South Ogden. 801-698-1910. They also run a clinic on Tuesday nights in the fall where high school athletes can have a "problem area" worked on for only $15.
Wasatch Peak Physical Therapy in Farmington - they are the official physical therapists for Davis High and will see Davis athletes for free for the first 5 visits. 801-451-9616 (or just talk with Carrie at the school).
Mountain Land Physical Therapy in West Kaysville at the Sportsplex - they have been incredible in assisting our injured athletes. Nylin, Jeremy, and Trisha are some of the best around. 801-547-1155.
I am really looking forward to this season. I hope you are all getting excited and determined to give your all. Let's continue to come together as a TEAM - practice being supportive and excited for your teammates at Highland this week. Let's race TOGETHER and for each other and show our TEAM strength in each of the 6 races.
~Coach Talley
Brad's Corner:
One aspect of racing I often seen ignored is the warm up. I don't think many runners understand the importance of a good warm up. It is the time you get your body, as just as importantly your mind ready to race.
You don't go into a date without preparing your lips and mind for love do you?
In high school, and even now, the warm up was all business. I love having fun and joking around, but an hour 45 minutes before race time I get ready for business. It was a good time to calm my nerves and get my head together. My teammates knew it was my time and they it wasn't a good time to mess around with me. It was all about racing.
I suggest getting a good warm up routine with running, stretching, strides and focusing.
I had certain songs I liked to listen to to help get me in race mode. The Beatles' Helter Skelter was my race song. (Give it a listen)
The warm up and strides let your body know it is time to run fast. Do not hit the race line before doing strides and elevating your heart rate. If you don't warm up properly you spend the first 1-1.5 miles of your race just warming up.
But most importantly, I thought about my race. My strategy, goals and my race plan.
So, our next meet start making a good warm up routine. Find out what helps you relax and get in race mode. It will help you calm your nerves and get your mind and body ready to race your best.
If you want specifics, as always, just ask me. But with racing, just like kissing, a little preparation goes a long way.
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