Ted Fox 2013

Ladies,

Well, the first meet is in the books. As I promised, it was very hot out there today. Well, not so much hot as it was very muggy. Dew point was 75 degrees, humidity was 68%, and if that means nothing to you, it should. It means your sweat does not evaporate, so you get no cooling effect. Your body heats up at an alarming rate, and you sweat more to compensate. As a result, dehydration is a serious risk and surprisingly quickly.

Which we found out.

Now that we've been through it, you understand why I wasn't concerned as much about time as I was controlling our individual races. I knew the times would be slow. Everyone's times were slow. I am looking at the meet results, and there is something you didn't know before the meet; both Seymour AND Brownstown had a meet Saturday with both teams fielding multiple girls in the 21-22 range. They are both excellent teams, and you beat one of them. And get this... the top Brownstown girl only went 22:47! Yup, that's how hot it was out there tonight.

That said, let me show you the numbers.

Athlete	Mile 1	Mile 2	Pace	Mile 3	Pace	5k	Pace
Carrie	6:47:00	14:26:00	7:39:00	21:56:00	7:30:00	22:51:00	7:22:15
Danielle	6:59:00	14:27:00	7:28:00	22:00:00	7:33:00	22:56:00	7:23:52
Alli	6:49:00	14:14:00	7:25:00	21:58:00	7:44:00	23:00:00	7:25:10
Bret	7:00:00	14:50:00	7:50:00	22:53:00	8:03:00	23:56:00	7:43:14
Morgan	7:09:00	15:13:00	8:04:00	23:24:00	8:11:00	24:18:00	7:50:19
Madison	7:20:00	15:25:00	8:05:00	23:45:00	8:20:00	24:38:00	7:56:46
Keeley	7:05:00	15:19:00	8:14:00	23:45:00	8:26:00	24:42:00	7:58:04
Kaitlyn	7:41:00	16:20:00	8:39:00	24:33:00	8:13:00	25:33:00	8:14:31
Diana	7:40:00	16:15:00	8:35:00	24:43:00	8:28:00	25:50:00	8:20:00
Lauren	7:32:00	16:30:00	8:58:00	24:52:00	8:22:00	25:52:00	8:20:39
Carlee	7:53:00	16:49:00	8:56:00	25:36:00	8:47:00	26:36:00	8:34:50
Chloe	8:00:00	17:00:00	9:00:00	26:05:00	9:05:00	27:12:00	8:46:27
Claudia	8:08:00	17:23:00	9:15:00	26:49:00	9:26:00	27:57:00	9:00:58
McKena	8:20:00	18:15:00	9:55:00	28:44:00	10:29:00	29:45:00	9:35:48

In spite of the conditions, for some of you returning runners, this was better than last year. For a few it was slightly worse, but remember, I told you to go slower! I felt tactically the race we needed to run as a team was a race of attrition, that is, letting the other teams beat themselves to death. As you see, it mostly worked. Simply put, it was not a P.R. night, and it would have been silly to chase it.

But wait. Someone did P.R. Lauren Mitchell beat last season's time of 27:21. Bret took over a minute off her best time from last year. 

It was an exciting race to watch on multiple levels. You ladies were in the hunt for the win all the way to the end. Then there was the race within the race... which of you would be first on the team? Man, what a dog fight (no offense)! For a while it looked like Alli all the way, then Danielle, then Carrie... it just kept flipping and flopping. I'm glad I didn't bet on it, because there is no way I could have predicted how it would have come out.

Now to overall impressions:

The good. All girls fought, I thought. Though it was a tough night, and though I didn't give you any specific instructions beyond run by feel (85%), I think you managed it well. You fought for shirts, which is exactly what you do in this kind of race. It was great to see so many of you climb like we practiced, and it was really great to see some of you strip time out of people on the downhills. That's smart racing.

The bad. All of you, each and every one of you, were too fast to the 800. What that does is break you down for the rest of the race. Here's how you can tell; look at the first mile, then the overall pace. How close was it? There really shouldn't be any more than a 15-second difference between those miles, and that's something we're going to have to work on. 

We have a baseline time to work from now. Think of it as more of a hard tempo than a race, and that probably will put it in the proper perspective. I meant it when I said I wasn't after time tonight, so let me repeat; it was a race for place, and you girls did your job.

Now to specifics:

Carrie - great job! Of all the top contending girls, I had my doubts about your ability to hold the front against girls who've gotten more miles than you lately. It's great that the knee has come around, and you've gotten a great launch point to begin your season. You're 25 seconds ahead of last year, and you took it easy in the first half!

Danielle - great job to you, too! I could see in your face at times today you were frustrated, but you kept fighting. Patience! Races will often come back around to you, and this one certainly did. Conquer your head, and your body will follow.

Alli - to me, this was the run of the night. You've looked powerful lately, dominant at times, and the way you started was exactly what I would have expected to see. Even the second time around the field you were in command, and you were spanking that Seymour girl. You took yourself to the limit and beyond, and don't think for a second I don't know it. You were worried I'd be angry - never! You ran your heart out. There's nothing more I could ask.

Bret - feels good to get that monkey off your back, doesn't it? You dropped over a minute from your best last year, and you weren't even racing full-out. That had to feel GOOD! Have faith, it will get even better as long as you keep yourself in the positive frame of mind. You have all the tools, just believe in it.

Morgan - you might have had a better time last year, but as I recall you also blasted out with a full effort, something I didn't allow this year. You looked great today, and several people commented on that. I'm pretty up on you right now, and I think you'll be too in the next few meets. 

Madison - WOW! We knew you were a keeper, and you didn't disappoint. Your finish was outstanding, by the way! You are a mere 30 seconds or so from the Top-25 board, didn't you know? First meet!

Keeley - consistent practice. There is no other way. Quality in = quality out.

Kaitlyn - very nice first meet. The only thing you lack is conditioning, and that will come. Great job on opening day, the best is yet to come!

Diana - we know you struggle in the heat, but digest this nugget - last year you opened with 26:11. You're almost 30 seconds up on that. And you weren't all-out. 

Lauren - what more is there to say? You were instructed to cut back at the first sign of trouble, which you did, and you still had a P.R. by almost a minute and a half. Bask in it! The weather will cool, and when it does, look out!

Carlee - you were one of the few girls I pulled aside and gave modified instructions. Your job was to kick all the way out of the woods. Look at your last mile split. That tells me you kicked! Great job on your first race. Well done. 

Chloe - it's been a struggle for you lately, but you haven't given up. Don't! Your health can be managed, and you will be stronger again. We'll get through this rough patch, you'll see.

Claudia - you've come a long way! I remember this little blonde girl telling me at the beginning of the summer her goal was to run 5 miles without stopping. Guess what? Goal achieved! After you fell that time out on the road, I didn't know if we'd see you again. Then your hip became a problem, and I wondered if you'd stick it out. I'm glad to say you have, and we've been lucky to have you around. You're getting better all the time, and I think you're going to be surprised where you wind up by the end. 

McKena - once again, we have a runner that is intolerant of the heat. Never fear, this heat will soon end, and you will feel much better again. I think you had a fine effort today, but I don't think we got a chance to see what you can really do yet. 

We will not begin speedwork for a couple of days, so don't worry about that yet. Relax and let's heal a day or two.