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
No comments:
Post a Comment