12-minute run breakdown

Okay, so let me break this workout down for you...

12-Minute Run
Athlete		Laps	Yards	Pace
Alli	Guthrie	6.5	2860	7:20:00
Bret	Roberts	6.5	2860	7:20:00
Chloe	Evans	5.6	2464	8:34:00
Carlee	Tackett	5	2200	9:36:00
Danielle	Page	6.4	2816	7:30:00
Lauren	Mitchell	5.4	2376	8:50:00
Diana	Katau
Morgan	Benstin	6.4	2816	7:30:00
Carrie	Flinn	6.3	2772	7:38:00
Keeley	Bobbs
Madison	Ryan	6.3	2772	7:38:00
McKena	Voorhies	4.9	2156	9:46:00
Claudia	Abner
Jo	Scott
Zoe	Zollman	6.3	2772	7:38:00
Chelsey	Schofield
Chelsea	Scott	5.7	2508	8:25:00

The distances are approximate, but good enough for our purposes here. Remember, Parkview is a standard track, meaning it's in yards. That's 440 per lap, or 1760 per mile. If I multiply your number of laps by 440 I get your total yards. Dividing 12 minutes by your total yardage gives me your pace. Get it? Or at least, that's how it should look. I need to work on my Excel skills, because my formulas did not match reality, at first. I finally worked it out, giving me the numbers you see above.

Of course we could look at this from the distance run in time, which is like freezing a race at a specific point in time. It lets you know where you are relative to other runners in the same time frame. That's useful from a training perspective because it tells you what the gap is between you and others in a very palpable way. It can be discouraging if you view it the wrong way, that is, "I'm so far behind!" The proper way to look at it is, "Alright, now I see where I need to work. I'm getting to the next girl!"

That's it. Close that gap to the girl just ahead of you, and when you get her, go to the next one. If every girl does that, we all improve, and at the same time we motivate those around us to run harder.

The body will do whatever the mind accepts. Set short-term goals that are attainable, so your mind is willing to try. Getting to that next girl is an attainable goal. This should be something you strive for every day.

Next I'd like to look at a projected race based on today's run.

Alli	22:44:00
Bret	22:44:00
Chloe	26:33:24
Carlee	29:45:36
Danielle	23:15:00
Lauren	27:23:00
Diana
Morgan	23:15:00
Carrie	23:39:48
Keeley
Madison	23:39:48
McKena	30:16:36
Claudia
Jo
Zoe	23:39:48
Chelsey
Chelsea	26:05:30

Yup, those are your approximate race predictions. Of course this is road, not the BNL course, so bear that in mind. DON'T FREAK OUT! This is very early in the training cycle, so if the numbers aren't where you think they should be based on last year's running, calm down. What you will see is the numbers should improve from week to week. Yeah, if you get to the end of summer and your numbers don't move, we'll be talking. Right now, I don't see anything here that alarms me in the least. In fact, I'd say you guys are ahead of last year, many of you by a wide margin.

It's hard to hit the mark on the first hard day... to push to the appropriate level. It takes practice, just like proper racing pace. We'll be working a great deal on that, so don't worry, we'll dial it in. 

Finally, I am so pumped about what I see. You new girls are really coming through, you veterans are picking up where you left off, and I see nothing but positives here. What a blast!