First, let me extend a great big THANK YOU to the parents who supported us today, both by cheering and providing the shelter and refreshments. They were much appreciated.
Also a special thank you to Coach K (Kathy Hammel), who provided us with a tarp and chocolate milk. The girls enjoyed seeing you, too.
Ladies,
I hardly know where to begin. So much good happened, it's scarce possible to take it all in. If I said it was a great team effort, top to bottom, it would be an embarrassing understatement. You ladies blew it out of the water.
Look at those numbers! Let's start with the positive - The only person who did not have a significant drop has not been able to run for a week. Even then, Morgan held her own. And, if I wanted to be picky, could have dropped her time IF she took off at the right pace. 7:01 first mile, 7:48 second mile, 7:57 third... for a 7:36 average. Now... if she started at 7:30 pace, that might have stuck. The overall time improves by 20 seconds or so. To be fair, that's being awfully picky though... it's a lot to ask someone who hasn't run for a week to nail a pace. My actual instructions to her pre-race were to stay with Alli, no matter what. So you see... the pace is my fault!
Since we are talking about that combo, let's move on to Alli. Alli saw a similar pattern, though she held it together better. Once again, not being able to train every day and being limited on the speed work makes it harder to find the right starting pace. Personally, I'm happy with the overall result - a 20-second drop in a week is always something to cheer about. And... she played two full soccer matches this week as well. So... two soccer matches (played full games), tempo run, and a race. Yup, that's a lot.
Let's look at Chloe and Diana. These girls were told to run together, though I believe they were supposed to start around 8-minute pace. 7:35? Hmm... That said, look what both did after that. Sure, the second mile slowed, but... the third mile held even. Yeah, that I like. A lot! Huge PR's for both girls, by the way.
Now we come to the front trio of Carrie, Danielle, and Shelby. When Matt asked me what order to write names, I really didn't know what to say for sure. These three have been running so close together they've looked like Siamese triplets. I've been coaching them to, as I put it, "Push/Pull". They are to push each other by trying to get away, but at the same time they are to pull by trying to encourage the others to follow. I've also told each how to beat the other two, in full hearing of the other two. Why? So they'll recognize the tactic when it's happening. Amongst the three, they possess the spectrum of the types of runners each is likely to meet. If they can recognize the moves from one another, they can race with anyone.
Now this is really important because of the way today's race unfolded. All three hit mile one together, Danielle with a half-step lead. The other two know that no daylight is allowed between them and her, so they were tight on her heel. Smart race tactic, because it lets Danielle carry the energy early. The others can sit in the slipstream and wait for their moves.
At mile two, they were still knotted. In 5ks, this is the point to decide how you want to do things. If you're a sprinter, you just carry on as you were and wait for the kick (which fairly describes Carrie). If you're not a kicker, you start pressing at this point to break the kicker (this describes Danielle, relative to Carrie). In short, if the status quo is maintained from mile two, Carrie would win, easily. Shelby and Danielle are not slow, but Carrie has a gear no one else on the team possesses.
I was standing at mile 3 (or thereabouts) when Danielle came through, at least 10 seconds ahead of Carrie and Shelby (who were together). They rounded the final turn, and as they did I yelled, "KICK!"
There was no way for me to see the finish from there, so it wasn't until after the race, when Carrie ran up to me holding up a finger that I realized she'd caught Danielle. From 10 seconds down. In the last 10th. That's crazy speed! I'm proud of all three of them - they took their shots, and they raced each other. Danielle tried her darndest to take the race away from Carrie's kick, and Carrie never gave up, huge heart that she has. Shelby kicked it in hard too, and has nothing to be sorry about; when she gets over this sinus deal, it'll really get interesting. I might also add I was proud of the way Danielle and Shelby conducted themselves afterward. They congratulated Carrie, but you can bet they're going to lay it on her in practice!
Now we come to the JV race. Keeley and Locki were our racers today, and they had the fortune to run after the Varsity. This was good in that it allowed them to see how the race went earlier (and therefore had an idea what to expect). It was bad in that it was a bit warmer by then, and they hadn't the moral support of a full team around them.
Of course they were nervous, in different ways. Locki was a bit fearful of being last; Keeley was afraid she wouldn't win. No joke, when I was telling the girls what I wanted them to do, Keeley began to tell me she was going to the front, and expressed concern about how to get up there quickly. I pounced on this, I have witnesses, and told her that was crazy. She needed to let the rabbits go, and her best chance was to run an even pace.
What do you think happened?
Look at the numbers. Consider Keeley should have been in the 8-minute range (based on her last race), I'd say she fairly well bolted out. In fact, she ran straight to the front, just as she promised. She paid a hefty price for that brashness, though by mile two it was beginning to look like she might actually get away with it. And that wasn't all - Locki was hanging tough too, and despite a too-fast first mile, she was clinging to a PR pace. My calls to increase her pressure were met with a firm head shake, but she did it anyway.
In the end Keeley gutted out a very painful effort to bring in a 22:49, a massive 3-minute drop in a week. Locki came in soon behind with a similar drop from last week.
What about those drops? Let's take a look...
The gap is narrowing, ladies, and not because the front isn't moving. Naturally the drops on the front will be less than those on the back, but it takes nothing from anything anyone did today. Yes, we have a way to go before we can think about advancing to Semi-State. Yes, we still need to get people healthy. What I can say is today we took a very positive step forward toward State series...
Link to Varsity Girls' results
Link to JV Girls' results
Also a special thank you to Coach K (Kathy Hammel), who provided us with a tarp and chocolate milk. The girls enjoyed seeing you, too.
Ladies,
I hardly know where to begin. So much good happened, it's scarce possible to take it all in. If I said it was a great team effort, top to bottom, it would be an embarrassing understatement. You ladies blew it out of the water.
| Varsity | 1 | 2 | Finish | Final 1.1 | 1.1 Pace | Overall Avg | |||
| Carrie | 6:42:00 | 13:48:00 | 7:06:00 | 21:40:00 | 7:52:00 | 7:09:05 | 6:59:21 | ||
| Danielle | 6:41:00 | 13:48:00 | 7:07:00 | 21:41:00 | 7:53:00 | 7:10:00 | 6:59:41 | ||
| Shelby | 6:42:00 | 13:48:00 | 7:06:00 | 21:54:00 | 8:06:00 | 7:21:49 | 7:03:52 | ||
| Alli | 7:01:00 | 14:38:00 | 7:37:00 | 23:11:00 | 8:33:00 | 7:46:22 | 7:28:43 | ||
| Morgan | 7:01:00 | 14:49:00 | 7:48:00 | 23:34:00 | 8:45:00 | 7:57:16 | 7:36:08 | ||
| Chloe | 7:35:00 | 15:35:00 | 8:00:00 | 24:24:00 | 8:49:00 | 8:00:55 | 7:52:15 | ||
| Diana | 7:36:00 | 15:49:00 | 8:13:00 | 24:57:00 | 9:08:00 | 8:18:11 | 8:02:54 | ||
| JV | |||||||||
| Keeley | 6:45:00 | 14:23:00 | 7:38:00 | 22:49:00 | 8:26:00 | 7:40:00 | 7:21:37 | ||
| Locki | 7:15:00 | 15:45:00 | 8:30:00 | 24:42:00 | 8:57:00 | 8:08:11 | 7:58:04 |
Look at those numbers! Let's start with the positive - The only person who did not have a significant drop has not been able to run for a week. Even then, Morgan held her own. And, if I wanted to be picky, could have dropped her time IF she took off at the right pace. 7:01 first mile, 7:48 second mile, 7:57 third... for a 7:36 average. Now... if she started at 7:30 pace, that might have stuck. The overall time improves by 20 seconds or so. To be fair, that's being awfully picky though... it's a lot to ask someone who hasn't run for a week to nail a pace. My actual instructions to her pre-race were to stay with Alli, no matter what. So you see... the pace is my fault!
Since we are talking about that combo, let's move on to Alli. Alli saw a similar pattern, though she held it together better. Once again, not being able to train every day and being limited on the speed work makes it harder to find the right starting pace. Personally, I'm happy with the overall result - a 20-second drop in a week is always something to cheer about. And... she played two full soccer matches this week as well. So... two soccer matches (played full games), tempo run, and a race. Yup, that's a lot.
Let's look at Chloe and Diana. These girls were told to run together, though I believe they were supposed to start around 8-minute pace. 7:35? Hmm... That said, look what both did after that. Sure, the second mile slowed, but... the third mile held even. Yeah, that I like. A lot! Huge PR's for both girls, by the way.
Now we come to the front trio of Carrie, Danielle, and Shelby. When Matt asked me what order to write names, I really didn't know what to say for sure. These three have been running so close together they've looked like Siamese triplets. I've been coaching them to, as I put it, "Push/Pull". They are to push each other by trying to get away, but at the same time they are to pull by trying to encourage the others to follow. I've also told each how to beat the other two, in full hearing of the other two. Why? So they'll recognize the tactic when it's happening. Amongst the three, they possess the spectrum of the types of runners each is likely to meet. If they can recognize the moves from one another, they can race with anyone.
Now this is really important because of the way today's race unfolded. All three hit mile one together, Danielle with a half-step lead. The other two know that no daylight is allowed between them and her, so they were tight on her heel. Smart race tactic, because it lets Danielle carry the energy early. The others can sit in the slipstream and wait for their moves.
At mile two, they were still knotted. In 5ks, this is the point to decide how you want to do things. If you're a sprinter, you just carry on as you were and wait for the kick (which fairly describes Carrie). If you're not a kicker, you start pressing at this point to break the kicker (this describes Danielle, relative to Carrie). In short, if the status quo is maintained from mile two, Carrie would win, easily. Shelby and Danielle are not slow, but Carrie has a gear no one else on the team possesses.
I was standing at mile 3 (or thereabouts) when Danielle came through, at least 10 seconds ahead of Carrie and Shelby (who were together). They rounded the final turn, and as they did I yelled, "KICK!"
There was no way for me to see the finish from there, so it wasn't until after the race, when Carrie ran up to me holding up a finger that I realized she'd caught Danielle. From 10 seconds down. In the last 10th. That's crazy speed! I'm proud of all three of them - they took their shots, and they raced each other. Danielle tried her darndest to take the race away from Carrie's kick, and Carrie never gave up, huge heart that she has. Shelby kicked it in hard too, and has nothing to be sorry about; when she gets over this sinus deal, it'll really get interesting. I might also add I was proud of the way Danielle and Shelby conducted themselves afterward. They congratulated Carrie, but you can bet they're going to lay it on her in practice!
Now we come to the JV race. Keeley and Locki were our racers today, and they had the fortune to run after the Varsity. This was good in that it allowed them to see how the race went earlier (and therefore had an idea what to expect). It was bad in that it was a bit warmer by then, and they hadn't the moral support of a full team around them.
Of course they were nervous, in different ways. Locki was a bit fearful of being last; Keeley was afraid she wouldn't win. No joke, when I was telling the girls what I wanted them to do, Keeley began to tell me she was going to the front, and expressed concern about how to get up there quickly. I pounced on this, I have witnesses, and told her that was crazy. She needed to let the rabbits go, and her best chance was to run an even pace.
What do you think happened?
Look at the numbers. Consider Keeley should have been in the 8-minute range (based on her last race), I'd say she fairly well bolted out. In fact, she ran straight to the front, just as she promised. She paid a hefty price for that brashness, though by mile two it was beginning to look like she might actually get away with it. And that wasn't all - Locki was hanging tough too, and despite a too-fast first mile, she was clinging to a PR pace. My calls to increase her pressure were met with a firm head shake, but she did it anyway.
In the end Keeley gutted out a very painful effort to bring in a 22:49, a massive 3-minute drop in a week. Locki came in soon behind with a similar drop from last week.
What about those drops? Let's take a look...
| Runner | Previous Best | Drop | ||
| Danielle | 22:02:00 | 0:21:00 | ||
| Shelby | 21:59:00 | 0:05:00 | ||
| Carrie | 22:26:00 | 0:46:00 | ||
| Alli | 23:31:00 | 0:20:00 | ||
| Morgan | 23:32:00 | Even | ||
| Chloe | 26:14:00 | 1:50:00 | ||
| Diana | 26:11:00 | 1:14:00 | ||
| Keeley | 25:55:00 | 3:06:00 | ||
| Locki | 27:53:00 | 3:11:00 |
The gap is narrowing, ladies, and not because the front isn't moving. Naturally the drops on the front will be less than those on the back, but it takes nothing from anything anyone did today. Yes, we have a way to go before we can think about advancing to Semi-State. Yes, we still need to get people healthy. What I can say is today we took a very positive step forward toward State series...
Link to Varsity Girls' results
Link to JV Girls' results
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