XC Update #7

Darts -
Excellent workout this morning. I thought it was a lot of fun, and I thought you brought the perfect amount of intensity and energy. It was fun to have breakfast afterward, I think we may have to make that an annual tradition on the Saturday before the region meet.
For many of you, the region meet will be your final race. Going into the race, think of all the hard work and sacrifice you have put into this season. Think of your summer training. Think of the distance runs. Think of all of the intervals. Think of the races you have conquered. Think of what we have accomplished as a TEAM, and run for your TEAM. Think of the individual challenges and weaknesses you have had to overcome. All of you are ready to have your best races at the region meet. I expect you to come prepared to pr and to give your best effort. I am proud of what we have done this season, and I am grateful for each of you and the sacrifices you have made for the TEAM. Let's have a lot of fun, support each other, and have our very best races.
After the region meet we will continue to meet as a TEAM to workout until the State Meet. I expect all of you to continue to come to the workouts, and I expect all of you to come to the state meet to support and be part of the TEAM.
The race at Syracuse this week was one of our stronger races of the season. We talked about it quite a bit on Thursday, but just in summary - I was impressed with the way we ran as a TEAM. I thought it was one of the better 'pack' races of our season. I also thought we responded well to the moves our teammates made through the race. We had a lot of fun, and we were competitive. The one thing I noticed that many of you could work on is NOT letting yourself slip into a comfort zone through the middle of the race. I saw quite a few of you who were content with a pace that was a little too comfortable. In the middle of the race this coming Wednesday (the 2nd lap), I want to see you making some aggressive moves and continuing to attack through the 2nd and 3rd laps. Don't settle into a pace just to avoid the pain. Don't let yourself be content or satisfied with where you are running.
At the same time we need to run smart and confident. Each of you should have a race plan that you do your best to stick to. Don't get too caught up in the excitement of the first 1/2 mile of the race, work the middle with your teammates, and finish the final lap strong and with confidence. I can't wait to watch the race - I hope you can't wait to run it.
We will have region TEAM dinners on Tuesday night. The girls will meet at Emily Hansen's house at 5:30, and the boys will meet at Jason Thomas's house at 5:30. We will have a sign up sheet for pasta sauce, salad, and rolls/breadsticks. We will need a few moms at each dinner who don't mind helping cook the pasta and who can show up at 5:00 - let me know if your mom can help. The workout on Tuesday will not take long, so you should be home with plenty of time to get ready.

Coming Up -
Tuesday, 13th - Region Meeting after school in my classroom
Tuesday, 13th - Region Dinners at 5:30. Boys at Jason Thomas's house, Girls at Emily Hansen's house
Wednesday, 14th - Region Championships @ Layton Park -
JV girls - 3:00
JV boys - 3:30
Varsity girls - 4:00
Varsity boys - 4:30
Awards - 5:15 (we are going to get a lot of the awards - so plan on staying)
Wednesday, 21st - State Championships @ Sugarhouse Park
5A Girls - 3:30
5A Boys - 4:00
Saturday, 31st - Halloween

Athletes of the Week -
Brad Anderson - for beating me in fantasy football - He is the King (Are you happy Brad?)
Mike King - Coming on strong to end the season
Cody Robbins - big pr at the Syracuse meet after a slight mess-up the week before :)
Tessa Brown - came back from injury to have 2 solid workouts and a strong race this week
Kayla Sagers - Good race Wednesday, but mostly because she has worked hard all season and shown she can do more than just sprint.

Thanks for all you are doing - bring all your energy and enthusiasm and focus for the final 11 days of the season.
- Coach Talley