DXC Summer Update Week 8

Darts - 

Great job on another solid week. The hill (which I have not yet named) was killer on Monday, we were well-represented at the Deseret News 10k on Wednesday, and the 800s at Barnes Park were awesome on Friday. I hope that your Saturday morning run capped off another very good week. With camp coming next week, make sure to email in your mileage early (by Sunday evening if possible). 

Those Not Going to Camp: This next week is still very important to your training. I hope that you will be extra motivated to get out and run every day knowing that your teammates are training hard in the Uintahs. I wish that we could bring the entire team to high altitude camp, but we are somewhat limited on space. I hope you realize that with this program, if you work hard you will have many opportunities like this. Those of you who have to miss camp due to family vacations, work, etc. do your best to put in some solid running on your own. 

Those Going to Camp: Be at the school on Monday morning at 8am. We will be loading the truck, going over the rules, handing out t-shirts, and heading to the mountains. We are set on the rides to and from camp. We are still looking for an axe, one canoe, and if any parents have a few dutch ovens we are also trying to gather some of those for a dessert. Those of you with good, large tents please bring them - even if we don't end up using them.  Please let me know if you have any last minute questions. Also let me know if for some reason you did not get my final camp email earlier this week that had the packing list and other instructions. Be ready for a great time.

That's all for this week. Keep up the great work.

Coach Talley

DXC Summer Update - Week 7

Darts - 

The summer is slipping away fast. I know that is depressing for a few reasons, but it is also exciting because it is bringing us closer to the cross country season, and I think that most of you have been putting in the work that is going to prepare us for another great DXC season. The rest of you need to get on board - and all of you need to take advantage of the final 5 weeks of summer training. We call it "base" training because it is like building a base to a pyramid. The wider and the stronger the base of the pyramid, the higher the PEAK is going to be. We are hoping to hit that peak in October and November - and the weeks you are running (or not running) right now are going to directly affect where you are in those final races. These are weeks and days you can't get back - so get your running in with a positive and determined attitude. I will ask the same thing over and over again - that you do your very best. In training, in racing, and in your everyday life - do your best. I will also ask you to continue to be patient through the ups and downs that running may present to each of you. Keep believing in yourself and in the program. 

I have attached the final set of workouts for the summer. It will bring us through the final week that counts on summer mileage. There may be some changes as we go along - so pay special attention to the emails you receive over the next few weeks. I will also make use of the Davis High Cross Country Facebook page - so if you are not a follower, please become one. I have also attached the mileage for the first 6 weeks of the summer. In last week's email I wrote about the importance of going after something for the second half of the summer. I hope that you will take that to heart and work hard to accomplish what you can. Please let me know if there is anything missing or if there are any errors. You can see that we are doing very well as a TEAM. We are on pace to finish the summer with our highest total combined mileage ever!

Cross Country Camp: Is next week (July 29-August 2) at Marsh Lake (near Mountain View, WY). Those of you who are going should expect to see a very important final email in a day or two (please check for that). 

Nichols Park Trail: I have set up a time for the TEAM to help with clearing the way for the Nichols Park Trail. We will probably help 1 or 2 more times as well. This coming Friday (July 26), we will meet at the Nichols Park Pavilion at 9:15am (after our morning workout). We are going to work for 3 hours. I would like everyone who can to be there. If there are any parents who have a chainsaw and would be able to come and help, we are looking for adults to run the chainsaws (adults only). Parents, let me know if you can help. Everyone should bring work gloves and be ready to haul some trees. The trail is going to be something we will be grateful for in the future.

Legacy Midnight Run: Thank you so much to the athletes and the parents who volunteered to help at the midnight run on Friday. The $1,000 you raised will really be beneficial to our TEAM this fall. I really appreciate so many of you being willing to help. 

Upcoming Workouts: 

Monday - Vita Course at 7:00am

Friday - Barnes Park at 7:00am

*The rest of the days this week you are on your own (or hopefully meeting to run together at times). If you have had high mileage or an increase in mileage the past few weeks, this would be a good "recovery" week where you are 5-10 miles lower. As I explained earlier in the summer, you should really increase your mileage on a 3-4 week cycle where you have 3 weeks of increase and then a lower or a "recovery" week. I notice that some of you are due for a recovery week before High Altitude Camp, and some of you had a lower week in the past 2 weeks and should plan on a recovery week the week after camp. 

Happy Running, 

Coach Talley

DXC Summer Update - Week 6

Darts - 

It's hard to believe that we are half way through our summer training. 6 weeks down, 6 weeks to go. For the most part, I am very pleased with what our TEAM has accomplished in the first half of the summer. The boys are on record-setting pace, we have 56 boys who reported their mileage every week for the first 5 weeks, and we have 32 boys who are still in range of getting to 500 miles for the summer (our record is 22 boys). After 5 weeks, the girls are only 150 miles behind last year's record setting pace, and 24 girls are in range of 400 miles (our record was 21 last year). 

Each of you should do a quick self-evaluation for the summer so far. Did you run as many days as you could have? Is your heart in it? Are you training with purpose and with focus on what you can become as a runner? Were there days you missed because you were lazy? What can you do better over the next 6 weeks? If you are not motivated - get yourselves motivated!! If you haven't already, I challenge you to set a goal for the next 6 weeks. Look at where you are after the first half of summer training, and set a goal based on what you think you can do in the 2nd half. After I update week 6 mileage, I will send out a copy in case you aren't sure what your total is so far. If you are in the 220-250 range, you should be going for 500 miles. If you are in the 170-200 range, you should be going for 400 total miles. If you are in the 130-150 range, you should be going for 300 miles. By the end of the summer, we are going to have an army of fit, mentally tough runners who are ready to kill it on the cross country courses. I am excited about where we are at this point, and I know if we continue to progress as a TEAM, that we have a successful season in front of us. 

Be disciplined. Summer training is not the easiest thing to do. You have to make up your mind that you are going to conquer your weaknesses and your doubts. It takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice. Commit to getting your running in every day. Be disciplined with your eating and sleeping habits (realize that taking care of your body is essential to running well, and realize that your body needs good calories to continue to push itself). Commit to doing your abs/core work at least 4 times per week. Be disciplined with stretching before and especially after you run. I promise if you put in the work during the summer, you will be satisfied with what you have accomplished and you will be prepared for a great season. No matter how fast you are, running can challenge you and make you a better person and bring you satisfaction from accomplishing something great. But it takes a lot of self-discipline. Don't be a typical teenager who stays up until 2:00am all summer long, and sleeps in until noon only to get up and play video games and put junk into their bodies whenever it is in front of them. 

Assignment - I would like each of you to tell me something in your training logs (this week or next) about your own running that makes you proud - some type of accomplishment or personal victory that you have had in the first 6 weeks of the summer. I hope you realize that we are working together - that we are hurting together - and sacrificing together in order to be a stronger TEAM. I know that I don't "count" as far as my own fitness and my own racing goes (I don't get to race with you) - but it still motivates me to know that I have a TEAM that is working along with me - that I am not the only one who is invested in this and sacrificing and pushing myself to become better. 

Cross Country Camp: All papers and money are due on Monday (July 15). You should turn in your camp waiver, your physical form (A or B), and $130. Let me know if you didn't get the email with the forms, and I will send it to you. If this is your first sport at Davis and you haven't had your physical yet, just bring the waiver and money and then turn in the physical when you get it done. Email me with any other questions regarding the cross country camp. 

Coming Up:

Monday - 7am at the Vita Course. We will be going for PRs for the full course. Prepare by hydrating and eating well on Sunday. 

Thursday - 7am at the school. We will meet at the school and drive over to the Lagoon trails for mile repeats. 

Friday - 8:30pm - If any of you or your parents are interested, we are volunteering at the Legacy Midnight Run. We need to have 25-30 volunteers meet at the Farmington Fairgrounds at 8:30pm to help with the aid stations and the finish line of the course. It will earn our program $1000. Each volunteer receives a free t-shirt - and it can be fun. You won't be home until about 12:30am. If you can volunteer - please let me know. Thanks.

Great job on the tempo run this past week. I wish more of you had been there. It was the best tempo run our girls have EVER had.

Keep up the great work. Have fun with your running. Challenge yourselves to be your best. 

Thanks,

Coach Talley

2013 XC Schedule

July 29-Aug 2 High Altitude Camp Marsh Lake, Uintahs
Saturday, August 17 Dart Challenge 5k Barnes Park
Thursday, August 22 Highland Invitational Sugarhouse Park
Saturday, August 31 Utah County Invite Timpanogos Area (tentative)
Tuesday, September 3 Pre-Region (2 mile) Layton Park
Friday, September 6 Murray Invitational Murray Park
Wednesday, September 11 Davis County Championships Layton Park
Saturday, September 14 BYU Invitational BYU
Saturday, September 21 Bob Firman Invitational Boise, ID
Wednesday, September 25 Open Region Meet Layton Park (tentative)
Wednesday, October 2 Open Region Meet Viewmont (tentative)
Friday, October 4 Westlake Invite Westlake High School
Wednesday, October 9 Open Region Meet Davis – Barnes Park
Monday, October 14 Region Championships Layton Park
Wednesday, October 23 State Championships Sugarhouse Park
Saturday, November 23 Nike Southwest Regional Tempe, AZ
Saturday, December 7 Nike Cross Nationals Portland, OR

DXC Update - Week 5

Darts - 

I hope that you had a great 4th of July and that your training has stayed strong through this holiday week. After 4 weeks, I am very excited about our consistency and our weekly totals. The boys have run more than 2,200 miles every week so far this summer - with a high of 2,310 last week (our 2nd highest week ever); the boys are also on pace to hit our most ever for a single summer. The girls have turned in more than 1,100 miles every week and are only about 100 miles behind our record-setting 2012 summer. I just want to remind each of you to be patient with yourselves and realize that your hard work will pay off. You may have days where you don't feel your strongest - but be patient and be very positive with yourselves and you will eventually see the rewards. I also want to remind you that we are working together as a TEAM toward our TEAM goals. I want to see a lot of teamwork and positive energy with one another over the next few weeks. 

To those of you who came to the original meeting, but have not yet come to any practices or haven't emailed your miles: It is NOT too late to start training with us!! If you are still interested, see if you can come to the workouts this week and start putting in some miles that will help you to be more ready for when the summer is over and the racing begins. I hope that you will seriously consider starting up and giving a full effort. I really feel like this is going to be one of our most fun and most successful seasons ever and we want you to be a part of it. It is definitely not too late to start. If you know you are not interested, send me an email and let me know, and I will remove you from the roster. Thanks.

Cross Country Camp - Don't forget to bring your camp permission slips to the workout at Vita on Monday morning. You should have gotten an email from me earlier this week with the invite list and the other information.

Congrats to those of you who ran the Kaysville 4th of July 5k/10k. We had some very solid performances:

Men's 5k

1. Jared Ward (alumni) - 16:03

2. Skylar Williams - 17:23

5. Josh Robinson - 18:42

8. Caleb Ward (alumni) - 19:23

28. Isaac Neuenschwander (future Dart) - 21:58

56. Branson Petty - 24:13

66. Matt Neuenschwander (future Dart) - 24:44

Women's 5k

1. Natalie Haws (alumni) - 18:46

2. Laurissa Neuenschwander (mom) - 20:18

3. Aubrey Argyle - 20:36

11. Tatum Beard - 24:23

17. Sariah Dixon - 25:01

53. Ella Palmer - 29:16

Men's 10k

1. Seth Gutzwiller (alumni) - 35:26

2. Josh Ward - 35:49

13. JR Oldham - 44:21

48. Jason Boyd - 54:02

Women's 10k

2. Joanna Boyd (alumni) - 42:36

3. Sierra Graham - 42:49

5. Ally Geisler - 45:04

8. Grace Neuenschwander - 46:08

11. Sarah Waddoups - 49:34

2013 Cross Country Schedule - I have attached the season schedule to this email. There are a few tentative races - we will not be going to all 3 of them. I will also post the schedule on the blog (www.davisxc.blogspot.com) Let me know if you have any questions about the schedule. 

Upcoming Week:

Monday - Vita Course at 7:00am - Bring your Camp Permission Slips

Wednesday - Varsity Run - meet at the school at 6:45am (by invitation)

Thursday - Meet at the school at 7:00am - We will be doing a Tempo Run

Don't forget to send in your miles for week 5 (hard to believe we are almost half way there). 

Consistency, Patience, Positive Attitude, TEAMwork.

- Coach Talley

DXC Update - Week 4

Darts,
I am writing from Virginia. Things are going well - I am having a good time with my family, and the running here has been nice - it makes me very grateful that we don't live in a humid climate. I know that it has been very HOT in Utah the past few days, and I hope that you are finding some ways to get your running done during the cooler parts of the day.
I don't have much time today, so I am copying another email that I really liked last year. The topic is motivation. I think about it a lot every summer. Your personal motivation is what will make or break you as a runner - especially during the off-season. By the end of the summer, I want to have a group of tough, fit, disciplined runners who are ready to do their best at pushing themselves and their teammates through our workouts and our races. I really like what I have seen so far this summer, but we are barely 1/3 of the way through, and now we hit the middle part of the summer where it is really going to take some determination and personal interest/motivation in what you are trying to accomplish. I hope by the end of the summer that each of you have learned to take responsibility and ownership over your progress and success as a runner. I also hope that each of you are starting to feel like you are a part of a TEAM - and that it is important to work hard for your TEAM as well as for yourself. Running for your TEAM will help you to make the sacrifices you need to when running gets difficult or challenging.

Here are a few tips to help you out with motivation:
1) Run in the morning. It is cooler, and it is much easier to motivate yourselves than when it gets to be the afternoon. Plus then you won't stress about it later in the day.
2) Set some goals - an overall summer mileage goal (if you don't already have one), weekly mileage goals, season goals - and write them down and keep them in a place where you can see them on a daily basis. Don't be afraid to dream big - and always try to make a plan about how you are going to get there.
3) Don't be discouraged right now if you are not as fast as you would like to be someday. Realize that it is going to take time and consistency to be your best.
4) Get online and watch race videos. Search youtube for "inspirational running videos" (example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7A_QUlMbvY). Go to flotrack.org and watch some of their race videos. Go to letsrun.com and read articles about running and about runners. It always seems to help me to want to push myself harder when I learn about other runners who have worked hard for their success. You can also find quotes about running that can help to motivate you. One of my favorite running quotes -
“Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for.”
5) Switch things up. Have some easy running days, run different courses, run with music, run at night - maybe run in groups at night, and find ways to make your running an adventure and unique and challenging. I know many of you struggle to run on vacation, but running in a new place is one of my favorite things to do (as long as it is safe and your family is okay with it - best with a partner of course).
6) Help each other out. Be positive and encouraging with your TEAMmates, attend the TEAM practices, make running fun!
7) Most of all - refuse to quit. Don't let yourself think about it. Don't let yourself down. I said it at the start of the summer, and I will say it again now - only the strong will survive. Be strong - you won't regret it.

Coming Up:
Monday - Vita Course at 7:00am -
Tuesday - Meet at Layton Park at 7:00am - directly across the street to the west from the Layton track. We are going to be doing a few mile repeats (nothing too hard). I will be back in town and I expect to see you ALL there.
Thursday - Kaysville 4th of July Race (optional). There is both a 5k and a 10k - you can still register on www.runnercard.com

Don't forget to send in your miles. I will be sending out the camp invite list on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Thanks
Coach Talley