Sunday, August 3, 2014

DXC Summer Update - XC Camp and Week 9

Darts - 
It was a fantastic week at cross country camp. I came home feeling exhausted - but in a very good, satisfied way. I was very pleased with the way you all responded to the hilly, challenging runs. Monday's run in the rain up to the Silver Lakes set the tone for the week - we were positive and working hard and working together. Tuesday's ('flat') run up the Tibble Fork Road gave us some surprising hills, and I was pumped to see so many of you working through it. Wednesday's mile repeats got me very excited for the season and the grass xc courses - I loved the way we were working as a TEAM. Thursday's climb up Timpanogos was one of the most beautiful and scenic trail runs I have ever been on - it was a pleasure to experience it with all of you. And although I was pretty tired and sore on Friday, the run gave me a chance to contemplate how lucky we are to be a TEAM and how lucky we all are to be part of such a great program. I also felt like we did a great job playing all week - and I want to thank you all for making camp fun and successful. We have a few goals going into camp: 1) A solid week of training, 2) Build TEAM unity, 3) Build individual and TEAM confidence, 4) Have fun. I think that all of these goals were met - so thanks for making it a great week. I know that not everyone had the chance to go to camp this year - and I hope that everyone who would like to go is motivated to work for it next summer. It is an experience you won't regret. Brad and I both posted some pictures on Facebook if you would like to go through them. There is also a video of 1 through 5 that Coach Timothy put up on the team facebook page. 
I learned a few things about our TEAM during the week. I learned that we have some extremely tough runners on the TEAM - I was amazed how fast the boys scaled Timp, and I was impressed with how fast/tough the girls were on the way down as well. I learned that we have a lot of young runners who want to get better and are willing to work and hurt to do so. I learned that the old guys (Brad, Timothy, Jon, and me) can still school the young guys in football. I learned that sometimes girls deserve the pranks that boys play on them. And I was again reminded that having a TEAM makes me stronger and more motivated. 
I want to thank all of the parents who helped put the camp together, drove athletes up and back and around Provo, donated prizes, helped me keep an eye on all the runners, and allowed your son(s)/daughter(s) to spend the time with the TEAM. We have amazing parents on this TEAM, and I appreciate all the help, trust, and support. And I want thank my coaches - Brad, Timothy, and Caleb (this week) for their help, sacrifices, and expertise.
I want to apologize to anyone who spent money on 7 Peaks passes and will not be able to use them this summer. I was pretty disappointed that they closed the park - even though the weather ended up being perfect. We may try to organize a day where anyone who would like can come down to the Salt Lake 7 Peaks (even those who weren't at camp). I will let you know if we can fit it in during the next 3 weeks.    

Recovery is an important part of training that is sometimes neglected. I just want to remind you all how important it is that you take recovery seriously. Recovery can be broken down into 4 main components - nutrition, sleep, stretching/injury prevention, and easy running. With nutrition, try to eat some healthy foods that contain both carbs and proteins within 30-45 minutes after a hard workout. Protein throughout the day (in your other meals) will also help you rebuild and restore muscle tissue. There are recovery drinks you can buy at sporting goods and running stores or online - like Endurox, Hammer Nutrition, Nuun, and others. Chocolate milk is also a good recovery drink. With how much we are running in the summer, you might find that you need more sleep than normal to properly recover. I would shoot for at least 8 hours per night - and possibly a small nap in the daytime. If you haven't been taking your sleep seriously this summer - try to do so the final 3 weeks. Stretching and Icing can also really help with recovery and injury prevention. Spend 10-15 minutes when you are done running (especially hard workouts). Stretching and Yoga can really help you to feel better on your next runs. And finally, everyone needs recovery runs. It is not beneficial for any runner to take make every run hard. You will feel better if you have some easy days mixed in with your hard days. An 'easy' 40-70 minute run will still give you benefit and will help you to recover. Coming off of a hard week like camp, let's all make sure that we are thinking about recovering properly and preparing ourselves to work really hard in the upcoming pre-season workouts. 

Eligibility - 
1. If you have not already done so, everyone needs to create an account on www.registermyathlete.com - when you go to the website, login to your school (Davis) and create an account. You should do this by Friday (August 8) - let me now if you run into any issues. Once you have an account created, I will add you to our team roster and you will have a few more things to do on the web site. 
2. You also have to get a physical and fill out the A-Form (a lot of you got this done for camp). The school is going to have some days where you can do the physical at the school for $15 - but they haven't given me the days yet.
3. Everyone planning to run cross country needs to pay the fee ($90) in the office or online. You can pay starting on Tuesday (August 5th). Try to have this done by Monday, August 18th.

Racing Spikes - Make sure you stay in good training shoes to help prevent injury. Most of you will also want to buy a pair of cross country racing shoes (although it is not necessary). You want to look for shoes with a rubber sole and the option of inserting spikes (depending on the course we race). You can find xc spikes at Striders in Layton and Wasatch Running in Centerville. Both places will give Davis athletes 15-20% off the listed price. Wasatch Running is going to have a Davis Team night in the next 2 weeks where they will give us an even better discount (I will let you know the date). You might occasionally find some decent cross country spikes at Ross. 
You can also buy your spikes online (and sometimes find a great deal). 
Here are some good xc spike options from eastbay.com:

With only 3 weeks left of summer miles - and our first real cross country race in just 18 days - we still have a lot of work to get done in the summer. I challenge each of you to finish strong! Be committed and serious about having your final weeks be your best weeks. If you haven't put in the summer you feel you should have, these 3 weeks can still make a difference. Once we start racing, the fun begins. We have had one of our best summers ever - we are on our way to shattering both the boys and girls TEAM mileage records. Let's just make sure that we stay focused and hungry in the final 3 weeks!

Send me your mileage for weeks 8 & 9 if you haven't already done so. . . 
~ Coach Talley

This Week (mandatory workouts - unless you are out of town):
Monday - Vita Course - 7:00am
Wednesday - Layton Park at 7:00am (tempo run + some 300s on the grass)
Friday - Meet at Davis at 7:00am (intervals at Nichols Park)
*Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday are distance days on your own.


Brad's Corner: 
Want to be a great runner? Train like a great runner! 
I often see runners in their early years of running not training like they are a top caliber runner until they have had a little success. This is a huge mistake. It is hard to know how many good runners could have been great had they only trained like the best.
You need to look at the best runners you know. What are they doing? What extra things are they doing? How can you incorporate that in to your training?
I know this is what changed my running career from a top, small school, runner to running some killer times.
If your goal is the be a varsity runner you need to be doing what the varsity runners are doing.
Obviously a new and younger runner can not run as many miles as a seasoned runner, but you can begin to build up to that. If you don't shoot for it you can't get there.
I want every single athlete who runs for Davis Cross Country to train as if they are the next big thing! I can't wait to see who steps up to the challenge. 
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