North Harrison

OMG! It's past 11:30 on a school night, and I'm only beginning to post on this evening's race. There's no way I can go into full detail, but if I can hit 3 or 4 points, that will be Good enough!

I've punched it all into Excel, let the spreadsheet work its magic, and the race becomes clearer to me. First thing that's obvious - it wasn't a fast night. Temps were in the mid-90's during your races, so no, it wasn't just you. I turned to Lane at the start of the Varsity race and told him it was going to be a tough one for us. 

So, let's try to break this down quickly...

Danielle - 7:08, 7:11, 7:09, 5:40 kick - a nearly perfect race. That's how splits should look!

Shelby - 7:08, 7:11, 7:15, 6:00 kick - these were very good splits too. You lost no more than 5 seconds a mile. Great work!

Carrie - 7:05, 7:19, 7:30, 5:20 kick - a little slower on the first mile, and you would hold it. 10 seconds would do it. Time would have been exactly the same, but it would have seemed like an easy race. I like your heart though... I'm not sure if I want to make a correction or let you get tougher. Hard choice.

Alli - 7:24, 7:48, 7:42, 6:10 kick - you may not believe it, but this was a lot better race than last week in more ways than one. You had a nice negative split at the end. True, it's not as fast as you'd like, but you did go faster tonight when most went slower. You have to feel good about that. 

Morgan - 7:30, 8:24, 8:47, 6:20 kick - gutsy performance. I know that leg hurt bad. It was a pretty good kick, all things considered.

Bret - 8:00, 8:15, 8:33, 7:10 kick - the slide is slightly more than we'd like, but it's a reasonable gap. Still, we have work to do on your form. You have to push yourself to stretch out your stride. I'm going to sic the team on you if you don't! ;)

Diana - 8:37, 10:44, 9:19, 8:40 kick - you are not a heat runner. It's that simple. 

Keeley - 7:12, 8:45, 9:18, 6:40 kick - you hit a good time in spite of yourself. That first mile was not the plan at all. I know you wanted to explain why you weren't going to do it my way, but do it my way. Or I will sic the team on you. ;) Seriously, you lost 1:33 from mile one to two, then another 00:33 the next mile. Slow down the first mile and see what can happen. Start at 8 and stay there. 

Chloe - 8:17, 9:00, 9:10, 7:20 kick - you took your shot, it just wasn't there. I'm not sorry; we'll try again. Your kick shows you have something there yet. 

Lauren - 8:21, 8:56, 9:14, 8:20 kick - this is an issue of time on your feet, and you simply haven't built enough strength yet. We knew this would be tough. The plan is to be ready by Sectional. We can still do that. 

Locki - 8:23, 9:21, 9:29, 6:40 kick - the kick betrays you. We had a cautious plan for your first meet, but now I know you can do more. Can't hide now! You have speed; if we can get you a bit stronger, you will be able to use it. 

Summer - 8:22, 9:23, 9:54, 8:00 kick - confidence is the issue here. You are a faster runner, and you were all summer. You have to push through the pain a bit more, and resume the stride you once had. You can run faster even now, you just have to believe it. 

You won't PR every race, it just doesn't happen. We're still probing here, we'll find the mark for all of you. We also need to continue to work hard in practice, to hit minimum mileage goals (at least), and take every chance to be better. 

I'm proud of all of you. I know we're headed the right direction!

*So, did you solve the riddle?

North Harrison Eve

Ladies,

Tomorrow is another big day - a test of the work we've done since the last meet. Once again, we've faced some challenges along the way. Once again, there have been some shining spots too, and ever being the optimist, I choose to believe we have a shot to run very well.

We need measured aggression. We need fearlessness. We need focus. We are getting faster every day; we are running stronger too. What's the worst that could happen? Honestly? That your race could blow up? The world won't end. Take a chance!

It will come down to a couple of points:

1. Stay on the goal pace for the first mile
2. Hit the gas after mile one

Simple plan, eh?

Pass every single shirt you can, right up to the last minute. Fight all the way. Win, lose, or draw, go down swinging. You ladies made me so proud last Monday - I know you will again.

Schedule

The best I can make out is the following:

• JV race - 5k - 6 PM start
• Varsity - 5k - 6:30 PM start

The information is specious. I received no information through mail either from our athletic dept. or North Harrison. Sorry, it's the best I have.

Bring a snack for the bus ride. There should be sandwiches afterward (provided by run moms). 

Sorry for the delays

Okay, I've been called out. Danielle asked today why I haven't been updating this site. The answer is simple; I've been very busy because of work and other issues. Every night is a late night right now, so I've not taken time to do it. However, I will double down on my resolve to make more frequent additions to this blog.

It is important to do so, if for no other reason than this is a better venue to more completely and properly express my thoughts. Sometimes we're too busy or running behind and I can't fully develop an idea with you. At least here you can read (or not) at your discretion. 

Things are going better at the moment in some ways, but the edge is ever present. Every time I get a little greedy and push you ladies, something (or someone) pops. It's the only way to get the most out of you of course, but it's a dangerous game. Establishing the proper ebb-and-flow relationship between hard/easy workouts is tricky. 

Do understand; we have critical workouts in a week. For us, that's the speed workout (often the race) and the hill workout. Hills give you strength. They also transition you to the high-quality speedwork we do later. Without the transition, the highest quality training cannot be achieved without undo risk of injury. 

Our racing mindset (individually) also has to develop. It takes courage to challenge yourself to the edge race after race. You know it hurts. You know it has to hurt more. You have to willingly accept the pain, embrace it, but also control it. Visualize every part of the race, feel the easy beginning turn to a building pressure that crescendoes to a pretty intense finish. By the end, you should feel like you've gone so hard you cannot imagine going any further. 

Day by day, run your workouts like opportunities to improve. There are girls all around you. No one does more than you (unless I assign it that way). No one goes faster. No one hurts more. No one is tougher. 

Push your teammates, but implore them to work harder. Try to beat them and lift them at the same time. It sounds silly, but it's the truth - you are always fighting to be number one while wishing your teammates individually run the best they can. To paraphrase JFK, "Pray not for an easier path, rather pray to be stronger women". 

Going over some times

Ladies,

I've been going over some times from last year, and thought you might be interested in what I've gleaned from it...

First, let's compare the three returning girls' races to last year. In the first invite we had Danielle, Alli, and Bret. Results:

Danielle - 22:53, compared to 22:05 this year - a 15 second-per-mile improvement!
Alli - 23:47, compared to 23:36 this year - a 3 second-per-mile improvement.
Bret - 24:58, compared to 25:04 this year - a slight decline.

In Danielle's case, this is very good news - 45 second head start on last year should equate into a low-20 time by year's end, if she remains healthy. The elements are in place to make it happen.

In Alli's case, it's also good news - tearing a quad is a very big deal. To have survived the summer without losing anything from last year is a big deal. Sure, things could have been better if she wasn't hurt, but she was; we've minimized the damage and now we'll work to get things back where they belong. We're headed in the right direction.

In Bret's case, it's a little mixed, but this one is more of a mental game. Being hurt scars a person psychologically. It can take a long time to regain the confidence possessed before the injury. Bret is fast. I bet if I laid a $100 bill on the course and yelled, "Go", she'd give you all a run for your money (Like that pun? Two for one!). She needs to believe it, and more than that, believe she can hold together for the whole race.

Here's more to consider. Up and down we are a faster team than last year at this time. That's right. Our 5th person went 23:36 this year; last year, 5th was 24:28. In fact, a direct comparison of the times is even more revealing:

2011                    2012
1. 22:53               1. 21:59
2. 23:05               2. 22:05
3. 23:32               3. 23:16
4. 23:47               4. 23:32
5. 24:28               5. 23:36

Pretty amazing, huh? And from a banged up team! I'm telling you ladies, if we can just get healthy, big things are going to happen...

Sore, aren't you?

Ladies,

You came in today about like I thought - beaten up a bit from yesterday's race. We ran easy, and believe me, you earned it, thoroughly. Now you know why I didn't want multiple races in a week!

We do still have a hill workout to do, which will happen Thursday. Yup, training has to go on. We're just getting started!

Another easy day tomorrow, though we'll go farther than today. 

First Meet!

Ladies,

Words fail me. I've never had a team execute as well on the first meet as you girls did tonight. Sure, I've had faster teams on the first meet, but they were healthy teams. You folks raced like mature racers, all of you, and that maximized what you were able to bring to the meet. That to me is more satisfying than teams that are faster but waste opportunities. You will get healthy. And you will be one of the best teams I've ever coached.

I cannot say enough how smart you girls were on the course. You stayed focused and in the moment. You fought through the bad moments. So what if the time wasn't what you expected? You fought for it all the way, and the times will come, trust me. So long as you always fight, the good comes.

So, setting aside the superlative for one moment, let's look at the breakdown. First, the order of finish and times:

• Shelby, 21:59, 7:05 mpm, 3rd
• Danielle, 22:05, 7:07 mpm, 6th
• Carrie, 23:16, 7:30 mpm, 10th
• Morgan, 23:32, 7:35 mpm, 12th
• Alli, 23:36, 7:36 mpm, 14th
• Bret, 25:04, 8:05 mpm, 30th
• Diana, 26:11, 8:26 mpm, 44th
• Chloe, 26:14, 8:27 mpm, 45th
• Summer, 28:26, 9:10 mpm, 67th

We scored 45 points to Seymour's 38, missing the win by only 7 points. The next closest team was Jennings County at 93 points, or over double our score. Take nothing away from Seymour, they deserved the win, but know this; they are beatable. Very. With a little work, a little luck, and a little health, we'll get it done. We'll see them again at Conference!

Some of you and your parents wanted to know before the meet what times to expect out of you. I didn't want to say, partially because I couldn't be sure, but the other part because so many of you are first-time racers. There's an indefinable quality in some athletes, something like a switch that turns on game day, where the impossible becomes possible. I've seen glimmers of it in some of you, so I couldn't be sure what would happen. 

But...

If you want to know how you could have known what to guess, look no farther than the latest tempo. A 3-mile tempo is an excellent predictor of 5k times. Whatever you tempo, you generally race. So, how did the last tempo go?

• Shelby, 22:01
• Danielle, 22:01
• Carrie, 2 miles at 8:15 pace
• Morgan, 24:01
• Alli, 24:42
• Bret, 25:16
• Diana, one mile at 8:55
• Chloe, one mile at 8:42
• Summer, one mile at 9:51

Got that? Shelby, Danielle, and Bret came in right on the prediction; the rest of you blew it away! I actually originally planned to run only 5 girls this meet (after last week's tempo). What a difference a week makes! There is no one to be upset about, no one that underperformed in comparison to her tempo, no one who raced outlandishly... it was a pretty great performance. Room for improvement? Of course. But as first meets go, they don't get much better. 

The thing I am most proud of is the control you all exhibited, followed by guts in the back half. You were patient, you let the race come to you. I have to say, Danielle and Shelby, that race was a masterpiece of team tactics. By focusing on one another and teaming up to break the girls ahead of you, you were able to overtake nearly every girl in the race by the end. You both ran your race. Great job!

Carrie, you are a hunter. The look in your eyes says it all - no fear. You set your jaw and started moving through the group like a pro. Fantastic!

Morgan, what can I say? Over the last two weeks you've dropped minutes from your time. As you've gotten healthier, you've certainly come around. I wish I could bottle some of that for the other hurt girls.

Alli, I know it's hard right now, but you did what I asked you to do. You started cautiously and built it up as the race went on. Remember, we were looking for an 8-minute pace, right? You brought it in in 7:36 mpm. It's a very good improvement over the last week. It's as fast as you've run all summer, and you only did it before on the perfect day. Today wasn't a terrible running day, but it was far, far from optimal. Oh, and you only did that pace on a much flatter course. For myself, I see it as nothing but improvement, and I'm extremely encouraged. 

Bret, confidence! I'm going to put both you and Zollman (boys' team) in a self-confidence seminar! You ran fine, very good actually, but we've got some easy time to get from you... the stride. You have to push it open, to relax with a more open gait. 

Diana, what do you think? What's it like to pass people the entire race? Kinda fun, wasn't it. And don't think I wasn't watching; I never once saw you raise your hands or give any other "tell". Outstanding, girl. You finished in the top half of the race and in our top-7. 

Chloe, way to fight through that back. I know it hurt. I saw you after you finished, I know it was killing you by the end. Way to tough it out, and it was a very solid race all around. 

Summer, you improved you minute-per-mile pace by 30 seconds from a week ago. That's huge. That's 1.5 minutes improvement in 3 miles!

Sometimes practice can frustrate you, and it can feel like you're not going anywhere. You are. You are ALL improving. We'll make the adjustments we need as we need to so we can keep you healthy and training. Just work hard, try always to get better, and you will!

First Course Tempo

Ladies,

The first tempo on our course this season turned out to be a hot one - that is, the day was pretty warm. Temps were in the low 90's as you started, which will be what you can expect on Monday when we race. If I'm wrong and it's cooler, so much the better. Still, better be ready!

Given the course is rougher than the road, and it was 20 degrees hotter, I knew the runs would be slower. Don't be upset with your times! It was bound to happen, and if you think about it, I warned you as much last week.

The average difference in time was roughly 2 minutes or so, except for Morgan, who actually ran faster! This you can attribute to her getting healthier. One by one we are getting better, even if it doesn't feel like it.

The breakdown is as follows:

• Danielle and Shelby: 7:03, 7:27, 7:31 - 22:01, 7:20 mpm
• Morgan: 8:04, 7:51, 8:06 - 24:01, 8:00 mpm (PR!)
• Alli: 7:44, 8:20, 8:38 - 24:42, 8:14 mpm (she was instructed to hold back)
• Bret: 7:54, 8:42, 8:39 - 25:16, 8:25 mpm (she was instructed to hold back)
• Chloe: 8:42, and I didn't catch the second mile. She ran two (planned)
• Carrie: 8:15, stopped with sore knee
• Summer: 9:51, stopped with sore knee

It's tough to see a workout break down for so many girls, and I hate to schedule them knowing this is going to happen, but the truth is we no longer have a choice. This work has to be done or you won't have a chance to be ready by Sectional. I'm pushing you as hard as I dare to get the minimum mileage we need to compete. It's a hard target!

I don't mean this to sound negative, because it surely isn't my intent. This is a problem we have to solve together, and we need to stay upbeat about it - attitude is critical to injury recovery. We can get better, and we will. Have faith.

Look at Shelby. She started the summer unable to run much at all. Now she's on the front of the group. Or Morgan, who's struggled off-and-on with her shins. Great run today. Alli couldn't run at all a month ago, and now she can hold 6.5 miles a day without too much trouble. Maybe our recovery didn't happen as fast as we would have liked, but it is happening. 

We may race fast on Monday, we may not. I want you to try your best, always. But I also want you to listen to me and to stick to the plan. Whether we win or take last doesn't matter. What matters is we continually get better as the season goes on. What matters is we are at our best when it really matters. 

There's a chance we won't run all of you on Monday - no, it is likely you won't all get to run. I have absolutely no desire to see someone get hurt in the first meet of the year. If I feel you can complete the run in a reasonably hard effort, I'll let you run. If I don't think you can, I won't let you go. 

I'm proud of you girls, all of you. This is going to be rough for a while, but that will make the reward all the sweeter!

That's the way to do it

Ladies,

When I got to practice today, it was good to see you there and ready to get ready. I'm sorry it took as long as it did for me to get there; I have bus duty, and there's no way around it. You didn't waste any time once I was there, and as a result you were able to complete your workouts well before the 5:00 PM goal. Good job.

Most days we should be able to do that. Exceptions will be when we do structured workouts with long breaks. They will happen, but not often. For the most part, you can expect things to go more or less as they did today.

Tomorrow we're doing a tempo. That's right, we're going to work hard again. This one we'll do on the course. It will be slower than those you've done on the road, expect that. Still, I want you to be aggressive with it.

Monday is our first meet! 

First practice after work

Ladies,

Tonight was the first time we practiced after school (for me). You did a good job of getting there on time, and we were able to get the workout done by 5. That will be the pattern for most days. If you hold up your end, I'll hold up mine.

Hills! That's what we did. Today we talked about how it is important to run hills properly, and just as important to run hard after you top. It can be a deal breaker race day.

Tomorrow we run after school. Be there at 3:30, and we should be done by 5:00.

Wow!

Ladies,

I am truly impressed. Today is nothing short of an unqualified success! You ran that bake sale like pros- you handled everything that came up, and you did it on your own (well, maybe some help on baking - heh). You raised a good deal of money, and should now have more than enough to purchase your warm-ups and shirts.

Summer is over for me. I go back to work Monday, and that means practice will be at BNL from now on - except the possibility of Saturday. We can't run on the roads anymore, but we can meet at different locations on Saturdays. More on that discussion later.

With regards to regular after-school practice, it will begin at 3:30 at the course. You'll need to get over there ASAP. I've been told I have bus duty after school, so I won't get there quite as early as I'd hoped, but the soccer lockers should be open regardless. Please, make your best effort to be there on time.

Rotating Captain week one is over, and I think we all can agree Alli did an outstanding job. Bret is next; her task is to help get you inexperienced runners ready for our first race, a week from Monday. Bret is an excellent choice, because of all you ladies, she has far more racing experience than anyone. She's been doing 5ks since she was 7. And winning. That's worth listening to!

Coming Soon!

Ladies,

It was an easy run today, as I promised. Sure, you were sore and tired, but you didn't have to run fast. I guess that made it "easy". I suppose a better term would be "active recovery".

I did pick up uniforms after practice. I will issue those tomorrow after practice. You will keep them throughout the season, and you will be responsible not only for keeping it clean, but to show up to meets with the uniform. You cannot run a meet without your uniform!

We will take the fall preview photo (for the football program) on Friday morning, 7:45 AM at the cross course at BNL. Be there on time or you will not be in the photo. Wear the team uniform as well.

Friday's practice will be short - 3 miles - then we will swim. Saturday is a regular practice, then you will need to get ready for the bake sale.

School starts for me on Monday, so practice next week will be at BNL, 3:30 PM, on the cross course. I do have keys to the locker room over there, so you will be able to change at the course. 

Progress

Ladies,

Well, that was quite a workout! Sorry to pop it on you like I did, but that's why they pay me the big bucks. It was a judgment call, and in hindsight, I'm happy with it.

Running isn't just about lacing up your shoes and going that way fast - it's a thinking man's (or woman's) game. There is a great deal of science to optimizing your abilities as a runner, and never, ever do you neglect your mind. Let me go over some numbers with you, and let's see if you can agree.

Remember last week? That's right, we started off the season with a tempo run. We had some decent numbers, but it was a struggle for some. A few girls didn't even make the full distance. There is a decent place to start - this week, all who started the tempo finished the full distance. That's progress all by itself.

The fastest time we had last week was 23:13. This week it was 20:28. That's a 2:45 drop in one week!

Now let's look at pace. If I add up the total times from last week and calculate the average I get 8:16 mpm average pace. This week the average pace dropped to 7:52 mpm. That's over 28 seconds drop in one week! And, let's not forget, that's per mile, which means the overall average time dropped almost a minute and a half!

I'd like to point something else out, in case you haven't picked up on it yet... I predicted these times yesterday based on your speed workout. I was close on Alli, and nailed it on Danielle and Shelby. Lest this sound a lot like bragging, that's not the point - the fact is, if you know how to read your numbers, you can figure out where you should be racing at any given time for any given practice level. This is a skill you all need to learn, because it gives you confidence. The numbers never lie.

I don't know how these particular points were coached to you last year (if ever), but if not, it will be a marked difference in our styles. I am a numbers freak. I will be asking you about your splits incessantly. I want to know what the numbers tell you. I want to know you're thinking, adapting, seeing your opportunities and capitalizing. Stay focused on your numbers and you will stay focused on your race.

If I'd told Danielle and Shelby to run 6:49 pace today on their own, they would have been daunted to the point they may not have made it. They didn't believe it was possible. Even late in the run it seemed there were moments when it might not work out. That's why I wanted to be there - to provide that focus. Shelby looked outstanding all the way through. Danielle struggled starting about halfway, but fought her way back into it. Both runs have a great deal to commend them. And it's only the beginning.

Alli wasn't happy with her run at first. I know she wants to be on the front, that's the competitor in her, and I love it. But consider her one-week progress. Last week it was 7:50 pace. This week is was 7:35, and more importantly, the pain in her quad is lessening day-by-day. Go ahead, drop 15 spm on your pace week after week. That's a 45 second drop in overall time each time. I'd take that. ;)

Bret and Carrie held fairly consistent from tempo to tempo, but there are reasons for both. Bret is still getting over the foot pain, and Carrie is recovering fitness from her trip. Both looked solid on the run, and from appearances ran this run far more comfortably than last week. That itself is progress.

Summer and Diana finished the three miles and lowered their paces significantly. It is a very big deal.

Morgan... as of this writing I didn't have her time. I know she was faster, but how much so I cannot say. I know she's suffering shin splints, so even holding even would be fine.

I won't lie; we're not where we need to be yet, not even close. But we have time, and that's always been part of the plan. What we want is progress, week by week, even if it's only a few seconds per mile. A five-second per mile drop translates into a 15 second faster overall run. Over 10 weeks, that's a huge drop, wouldn't you say?

We have base times from which to work. We'll be improving our speed and fitness. Let's watch these times drop! Have the confidence to be aggressive in the workouts, to fight for positions. We're friends and teammates, but concede nothing to anyone. It's the job of the girls on the front to be as good as they can be at all times. It's the job of the girls at the back to close the gap between themselves and the front - in other words, to be as good as they can be! Everyone is necessary, everyone is important, but try to beat the pants off every other member of the team!

Easy run tomorrow - I promise!

Danielle's Run Data

Quarters for Dan

Ladies,

Consider today the first psuedo-speedwork of the season. Our first meet is two weeks from today; we need to start becoming familiar with our speed.

The workout was an interval drill, the pattern being 1/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/4, 1/2, 1/4. There was a 1/4 rest interval between each hard run. How did it go?

Danielle and I ran together, so I can give you her splits (and mine). Shelby joined us in the second half of the run, so she shares some of the harder splits. The breakdown:

1. 1:29 - 5:56 mpm
2. 3:09 - 6:18 mpm
3. 1:31 - 6:04 mpm
4. 1:27 - 5:48 mpm
5. 2:56 - 5:48 mpm
6. 1:24 - 5:36 mpm

Things to consider - this was the first work at high speed we've done for some time. As such, it's difficult to nail down the precise pace you want to run at any given time. This will explain how the pace jumped from the first to second split. I was leading, and I wanted to bring the pace back to a reasonable number, something I felt you could do. It was a guess, pure and simple. It became clear to me as the run progressed I wasn't really pressing Danielle (and later Shelby). From that point on I let the pace pick up. Ultimately, the girls dusted me on the last quarter. 

Okay, analysis time. If I combine the halves, I get 6:05 mpm. Combining the quarters gives 5:51. Add it all up and you get 11:56, or 5:58 mpm. What can we make of those numbers?

First, the quarter speed. The high end was 5:36 mpm pace. That absolutely confirms top-end speed. This you are born with, and there's little you can do to create it. It's also worth noting the final quarter was the fastest, suggesting the real top-end speed would be much greater. I'd guess quarter speed could easily be more in the neighborhood of 5:20 mpm or less. That's very good. 

Second, let's consider the half speed. The average here was considerably less, which makes sense because the distance was double. Now consider the length of a 5k - that's 3.1 miles, or a bit more than 12 quarters. It would be a good bet that the overall pace for the distance might be 15-20 spm slower. That would give us a race speed of 6:20-6:25 mpm on the road. 

Our cross course is hilly, worth anywhere between 30-40 second increase from a road time. So, extrapolating out today's pace with the predicted slowing from running our course... I'd race predict 20:30 under similar weather conditions. That's a rough number, but I'd guess it's in the ballpark of what we could expect in the not-too-distant future.

Now let's look at Alli's run - numbers I have because of the Garmin.

1. 1:35 - 6:10 mpm
2. 3:23 - 6:46 mpm
3. 1:38 - 6:16 mpm
4. 1:32 - 6:04 mpm
5. 3:13 - 6:26 mpm
6. 1:37 - 6:14 mpm

Okay, halves give us 6:36, quarters 6:22. Applying the same logic as before, you get a road race pace of approximately 7:00-7:05 mpm, or right about 21:50 total time. Add the adjustment for our course, and you get right at 22:35. That sounds about right.

All of this logic is contingent upon a couple of points - first, that you all ran the appropriate level of effort, and secondly, that you run the proper race first race. Further, understand this represents how things stand today. It can (and will) change quickly over the next few weeks. 

We'll do a tempo later this week. I think I have an eye-opener for a couple of you on that day!

Allie's run.

This week

This week we will run from Parkview. I considered going to the course, but this is the last week we will be able to run away from the course for the rest of the season, so, even though you might be sick of it, we need to do it.

There are other reasons. I want to do one more tempo on the road for comparison purposes. I need to see how we do on hills one more time. I also have a special workout planned.

See you in the morning.

Another step forward

Ladies,

We had another fine practice - better than yesterday even. Three girls went 8 miles, five went 6.4, two went 3, and two did 15 on the bike. I also saw a few get hungry, chasing impromptu opportunities to overtake runners ahead. It's a good thing to see, because that needs to happen by instinct during a race. If you think about it too long, the opportunity is lost.

Yes, we are adding Saturdays. We have to. All our competition will run Saturdays, and if we want to have a chance, we need the day. It'll help boost the mileage too, something we need for strength.

The physicals are all in. Whew! Now we need to work on the concussion and handbook slips, and I'll be off your backs.

Danielle is ordering shirts and warm-ups. Talk to her about sizing.

Bake sale next Saturday!

By the numbers

Ladies,

Our first tempo of the season is in the books. Results were mixed, as they usually are at the beginning, but a clearer picture of where we are is forming.

Understand first the purpose of tempos; we are trying to lift our aerobic capacity, teach our bodies to process lactic acid more efficiently, and to simulate more closely a race atmosphere. Key to running an effective tempo, much like running an effective race, is careful control of effort. Optimally, assuming a level course, the splits would be even.

The course we ran today was not level. It starts with a downhill in the first mile and ends with an uphill, much like... our BNL course. In this respect it simulates racing at BNL, and is a good practice course.

What I would expect would be a slightly quicker first mile (10 seconds per mile), a steady second mile, and a slower final mile (10 seconds per mile). Varying beyond that is an indication for a pace correction on the next tempo.

Effort is not all-out. Tempos should be run 20 seconds per mile slower than current 5k pace. There's the rub of course; we have no current times. Therefore we simply do our first one based on effort, analyze the information, using the results to formulate a more precise plan for the next run.

With all that out of the way, let's break it down in order of finish.

• Danielle - 7:20, 7:38, 7:38 - 22:36, 7:32 mpm average
• Shelby - 7:20, 7:38, 8:15 - 23:13, 7:43 mpm average
• Alli - 7:53, 7:42, 7:55 - 23:30, 7:50 mpm average
• Carrie - 7:53, 7:54, 7:53 - 23:40, 7:53 mpm average
• Bret - 7:53, 7:54, 8:13 - 24:00, 8:00 mpm average
• Zoe - 8:42, 8:05, 7:33 - 24:20, 8:07 mpm average
• Morgan - 7:53, 8:27, 8:05 - 24:25, 8:06 mpm average
• Summer - 8:56, 9:52 - 18:54, 9:27 mpm average
• Diana - 9:02, 10:04 - 19:06, 9:33 mpm average
• Chelsea - 8:44, 10:27 - 19:11, 9:35 mpm average

Alright, the most even split run obviously belongs to Carrie - she varied only a single second throughout the run. That's incredibly difficult to do on this course. Her next run should drop to perhaps 7:45-7:50 average, or at least, that should be the goal. That would net her a 15-30 second improvement in overall time in one week. This should be a very attainable goal assuming the same weather conditions. 

Next big standout is Zoe - negative splitting on this course? Incredible! There is a nearly 40-second difference between the first and last split. This is a clear case of setting too conservative a goal to begin. The way this is normally handled is to look at the final time, divide it into the three miles, and arrive at the average pace. Looking at that number, we drop it 5 seconds per mile to get the goal for next week. Realistically Zoe should run 7:55-8:00 pace for her 15-30 second drop. But there is more to this story. Zoe has already broken 22:00 on the road this summer, and she is in much better shape than that point. We may have to get really aggressive next week and see what happens. 

Let's next look at Danielle and Shelby. The first two splits were fine, perhaps slightly slow in the second mile, but not terribly off. What was interesting was the third mile. The reason I put the Garmin on Danielle and instructed Shelby to follow was experience. Danielle is a far more experienced 5k runner, and I guessed (correctly) this would be enough for Danielle to push through a little better than Shelby. Danielle was able to negative split the third mile, and it was just enough to snap Shelby. The race lesson to take away from this is to recognize both ways, whether chasing or being chased, the mental game in the late stages of a race. Everyone hurts while racing. Sometimes, taking that person next to you one inch farther than they want to go is enough to snap them off you. If you are the pursuer, you have to remember you've run every step with that person. Remind yourself, if that person can do it, so can I. This is especially true of training partners. You should be well aware of one another's abilities. Both of you develop the "If you can do it, so can I" mentality. 

Alli - of all the people out there today, this was the one that worried me the most. I have to start allowing her to run harder, but is she healed enough? We'll find out. Today, success. I like these splits, even though they don't follow the classic pattern, because they were smart. The downhill has the potential to harm the quad, so she was careful - good! The middle is more moderate, so the speed picked up. Good! The final mile has the big climb, and once again the effort was steady and controlled. Very good! The gap between Alli and the front two girls was controlled, contained, and close enough to give Alli confidence that, once she's given the green light, the gap is manageable. In many ways, this was one of the most encouraging runs she's done this summer. 

Bret - the first two miles were very even. The last mile fell off a bit, but with an ankle that was hurting before the tempo started, the cautious approach to the last climb was smart. There are still plenty of things for us to work on - stride length being the key ingredient - but health has to come first. 

Morgan - when I first looked at the numbers I had in mind talking to you about the middle mile. Ordinarily a weaker middle mile means a bit of a mental breakdown, which is normal. Most experienced racers will tell you the middle mile of a 5k is the hardest mile, and takes a great deal of focus to conquer. After speaking with you I realized you were in a great deal of pain along your shin. Great job toughing it out, but let's get some ice on it!

Summer, Diana, Chelsea - You all lost your last mile, but that's okay - we have enough data. The glaring thing is the drop-off in the second mile. This is an indication of conditioning. All of you have had a big break in training in the summer, and this is where it shows. Don't worry, we have time to get back, but endurance sports require consistency. Hard-earned gains are easily lost. When running is not possible, do your best to substitute with another aerobic activity. 

It was a great workout ladies. However fast or slow you ran today, we will all improve. And the gains will come very quickly, you'll see. Keep the faith. Our end goal is several weeks away, and it's really the only thing that matters. Work hard every day. Let it come to you.