DXC Summer Update #2

Darts -

This will be one of my longer emails. Please read through all of it. The summer is heating up, we are going into our 3rd week of summer base training, and there are a few things that could help you to train hard and stay healthy and happy while you are training and increasing your mileage. The miles you are doing right now are crucial to our success this fall, but only if you can take care of your body (and your mind) as you train. I promise that the work you put in during the first 6-8 weeks of summer is going to make you faster, stronger, and more mentally prepared for the cross country season. Here are a few tips: 

1) Be patient and consistent - Remember that all of you are starting and progressing at different places - stay patient with yourself as you build. Our new runners may be starting around 15-20 miles per week (I hope we can build to 35-40), and our experienced runners are all different as well and might not handle mileage the same way. I said at the start of the summer that it is good to increase your mileage by somewhere between 3-7 miles per week. It is also important to increase in cycles. If you have had 3-4 straight weeks of increase, then try a "recovery" week that is a little lower before you begin to increase again. A lot of times this might happen on a girls camp, youth conference, family vacation, or EFY week. A good progression for a new runner who is trying to build up to 40 miles per week would be: 22, 25, 28, 32, 26, 32, 36, 40, 34, 40, 42, 44 (finishing the summer with 403 miles). Remember that everyone is different, and this may be too high or too low for 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 end around 70 miles as a high week for the summer. A good increase for them would be: 50, 54, 58, 60, 52, 60, 65, 68, 64, 68, 70, 70 (giving them a total of 739 miles).
You also need to be consistent. You can't build corretly 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 another commitment, 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). 

2) 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 (80+ ounces), gatorade, juice. c) Eat Right - make sure that you are eating good foods - a lot of carbohydrates, protein, fruits, iron rich foods (red meat), 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 (2500-3000 per day). If you are running a lot of miles, you have to have enough calories to fuel yourself. If you are not getting enough calories, that is the number one risk factor for injury and fatigue (especially in girls). Eating is also essential for recovery - do your best to eat something with protein and carbohydrates 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) Sleep - Eight hours is recommended for a normal person; I have found that runners need more like 8-10 hours - 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 it will pay off in the way you feel, the quickness of your recovery, and in how strong you are running. e) Listen to your body - if something is nagging you, take the time to ice that area, stretch, and maybe visit the physical therapist (I recommend Wasatch Peak in Farmington, Mountainland in West Kaysville, or Mike Smith at Fit Quest in Kaysville). Sometimes you might need to back off. 

3) Have a good pair of training shoes - if you are starting to have knee pain or shin splints, it is most likely that you are running too many miles or even more likely that you are in the wrong shoes. I recommend Striders in Layton 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. Although the shoes are slightly more expensive - they will last longer before they break down. (Make sure you mention that you run for Davis for a discount).

4) 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). It is also recommended that you try to get in the weight room 2 times per week. The main lifting that I would like to see: legs - squats, lunges, calf raises; arms - bench, pullups, dumbell 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. Recommended cross training for running would be biking (3-4 miles biking = 1 mile running), elliptical (10-12 minutes on the elliptical = 1 mile running), and swimming (1 mile swimming = 3-4 miles running).

5) Keep your purpose in mind - as the summer goes on, your motivation will be tested. We are running these 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, the higher the peak can be. We are hoping for a HIGH peak in October and November - and we need a strong base. There is a purpose to our hard work this summer. Set some goals for the summer and on a weekly basis - remind yourself of those goals - and that will help to keep you motivated to keep your mileage increasing. 

When it comes down to it - only the strong (and the smart) will survive.
Be strong and be smart! We want tough, intelligent athletes on the TEAM.

I have had a few questions about the cross country camps this summer:

Kick off Camp - June 30-July 1 (Tuesday-Wednesday). Just one night at Anderson Cove Campground by Pineview Reservoir. It is for everyone who is able to come. The cost will be $10 and we will leave on Tuesday afternoon, have an afternoon trail run, have dinner and a campfire meeting, sleep, wake up and go on another trail run, have breakfast, clean up, and come home. We will need some parent involvement (drivers, chaperones). I will send out more information this week.  This is just an opportunity to get in a few good trail runs and get to know the TEAM and the program a little better.

High Altitude Camp - August 3-7 at Marsh Lake in the Uintahs. This will be by invitation. We are going to try to take 70-80 team members based on mileage from the first 4-5 weeks and what kind of running you are ready to handle. It is a pretty intense week of running. The cost will be $125. I will be sending out more information in a few weeks.

This Week - 

Monday - Vita Course @ 7:00am - theme is SUPERHEROES. The goal of the run will be to go as far as you have on Vita so far (not necessarily going for a time - just for distance). 

Tuesday - Meet at the school @ 7:00am - we are heading over to the Lagoon trails for a short tempo run and some hill repeats.

Thursday - Meet at the school at 7:00am - we will be going for a distance run, followed by core work and lifting

Friday-Saturday - Quite a few of our team members will be competing in the Wasatch Back Relay (from Logan to Heber City). Best of luck to all of you competing with the TEAM or with your families/friends.

*There will be no girls or boys runs this week.

Weight Training - We will open the weight room for those interested on Mondays after the Vita Course and Thursdays after the team run (roughly 9-10am). I will have a weight circuit handout for you this week. Those of you who would like to lift on those days should bring something to eat after you run/before you lift. You are all definitely encouraged to be doing some sort of weight training through the summer. Stronger arms, legs, and core will make you faster, increase endurance, and prevent injury.

XC Season Schedule - Our tentative schedule has been posted at http://www.davisxc.blogspot.com/p/2014-schedule.html Please try very hard to schedule things this August-November around the race schedule. 

Logan MacKay in Cuba at the Caribbean Scholastic Championships - Logan had the opportunity to represent the U.S. in Cuba this past weekend. He won the 1500m in a solid time of 3:58, and he finished a close 2nd in the 800m with a new PR of 1:53.05. Congrats, Logan!

Former Dart Update - Natalie Haws (class of 2008) won the Utah Valley Marathon in 2:48 - it was her first time racing a marathon - and is about 6:25 per mile pace. Shea Martinez (class of 2013) competed for BYU this past weekend in the NCAA Track & Field Championships where she finished 17th, earning 2nd Team All-American status. 

Some of you have had a great start, others could be a little tougher, and some of you need to get going (it's still early, so stay positive and be brave). 

Have a great week #3. Send in your miles if you haven't already. See you at Vita in the morning. 

Smile and Run Happy!

- Coach Talley