The slate-gray skies had been pouring their sorrow on the land for days, and the melancholy hung thick like a too-heavy quilt on a warm summer night. Countless denizens of the city walked mirthlessly through the streets, bereft of all sentience, mindless automatons gliding senselessly through their mundane lives. Yeah, it was another gritty night in old B-town.
My office was on the second floor of a cheap walk-up. It was small, barely room for my computer and a worn-out chair. Weak light flickered from under a dusty lampshade, casting an almost campfire glow about the room. Evidence of past fast-food meals peaked over the lid of a too-full trash bin. Clipboards, race results, watches, and GPSs, tools of my trade, littered the room. Yeah, I'm a coach.
Business had been slow, and for all my beating the streets with my feet I seemed to be getting nowhere. Sometimes it felt as if I was on the same path, running circles, racing an invisible clock ever-present above my head. Yeah, something meaningful had to come my way soon.
That's when trouble knocked. It came in the form of a 5'4" redhead. She was a hot number with a sharp tongue, always underfoot, but always worth it. She slapped the manila envelope on the desk in front of me, the weight related by a solid "thump" on impact. This case might be just the ticket.
"Knock yourself out, hero!" she said in mock admiration.
"Better get out before I knock you out!" was my terse response. Dames. Every now and then you gotta show 'em who's boss.
I untied the binding and slid the material all over the desk. Yup, this was a big one. Numbers and names, all in a jumble, seemingly disconnected. It was a puzzle all right, but I was just the Joe to figure them out.
It was a tough nut to crack. Was this a combination to a safe? Were these code names? Did I have bus locker numbers? What did it all mean?
All that thinking made my head hurt, and when my head hurts there's only one thing to do - hit the hard stuff. I grabbed my double-sized Milky Way, chewed through both bars, then chased it with a Diet Coke - super-sized, of course. It didn't matter - the numbers just didn't add up.
That's when the lights began to flicker. Figures. Anytime there's important work to do, the old power grid in this city gives up the ghost...
WAIT! Grid! The answer had been before my eyes all the time. Feverishly I began laying out all the numbers and names in a grid. Soon the whole mystery unraveled before my eyes.
My office was on the second floor of a cheap walk-up. It was small, barely room for my computer and a worn-out chair. Weak light flickered from under a dusty lampshade, casting an almost campfire glow about the room. Evidence of past fast-food meals peaked over the lid of a too-full trash bin. Clipboards, race results, watches, and GPSs, tools of my trade, littered the room. Yeah, I'm a coach.
Business had been slow, and for all my beating the streets with my feet I seemed to be getting nowhere. Sometimes it felt as if I was on the same path, running circles, racing an invisible clock ever-present above my head. Yeah, something meaningful had to come my way soon.
That's when trouble knocked. It came in the form of a 5'4" redhead. She was a hot number with a sharp tongue, always underfoot, but always worth it. She slapped the manila envelope on the desk in front of me, the weight related by a solid "thump" on impact. This case might be just the ticket.
"Knock yourself out, hero!" she said in mock admiration.
"Better get out before I knock you out!" was my terse response. Dames. Every now and then you gotta show 'em who's boss.
I untied the binding and slid the material all over the desk. Yup, this was a big one. Numbers and names, all in a jumble, seemingly disconnected. It was a puzzle all right, but I was just the Joe to figure them out.
It was a tough nut to crack. Was this a combination to a safe? Were these code names? Did I have bus locker numbers? What did it all mean?
All that thinking made my head hurt, and when my head hurts there's only one thing to do - hit the hard stuff. I grabbed my double-sized Milky Way, chewed through both bars, then chased it with a Diet Coke - super-sized, of course. It didn't matter - the numbers just didn't add up.
That's when the lights began to flicker. Figures. Anytime there's important work to do, the old power grid in this city gives up the ghost...
WAIT! Grid! The answer had been before my eyes all the time. Feverishly I began laying out all the numbers and names in a grid. Soon the whole mystery unraveled before my eyes.
| Athlete | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total | Pace | 5k |
| Danielle | 3:21:00 | 3:19:00 | 3:17:00 | 3:20:00 | 3:16:00 | 3:18:00 | 3:19:00 | 3:16:00 | 26:26:00 | 3:18:15 | 20:29:09 |
| Bret | 3:21:00 | 3:19:00 | 3:17:00 | 3:20:00 | 3:16:00 | 3:18:00 | 3:19:00 | 3:16:00 | 26:26:00 | 3:18:15 | 20:29:09 |
| Carrie | 3:21:00 | 3:19:00 | 3:17:00 | 3:20:00 | 3:16:00 | 3:29:00 | 20:02:00 | 3:20:20 | 20:42:04 | ||
| Morgan | 3:39:00 | 3:28:00 | 3:32:00 | 3:31:00 | 3:34:00 | 3:32:00 | 3:40:00 | 24:56:00 | 3:33:43 | 22:05:02 | |
| Kaitlyn | 3:39:00 | 3:32:00 | 3:33:00 | 3:31:00 | 3:34:00 | 3:32:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:31:00 | 28:27:00 | 3:33:23 | 22:02:56 |
| Madison | 3:39:00 | 3:28:00 | 3:32:00 | 3:31:00 | 3:31:00 | 3:37:00 | 3:36:00 | 3:29:00 | 28:23:00 | 3:32:53 | 21:59:50 |
| Chloe | 3:50:00 | 3:53:00 | 3:56:00 | 3:54:00 | 3:55:00 | 3:53:00 | 3:47:00 | 3:32:00 | 30:40:00 | 3:50:00 | 23:46:00 |
| Carlee | 3:52:00 | 3:55:00 | 3:56:00 | 4:00:00 | 3:55:00 | 19:38:00 | 3:55:36 | 24:20:43 | |||
| Diana | 3:45:00 | 3:58:00 | 3:56:00 | 4:09:00 | 4:18:00 | 4:10:00 | 24:16:00 | 4:02:40 | 25:04:32 | ||
| McKena | 4:02:00 | 4:07:00 | 4:06:00 | 4:01:00 | 4:10:00 | 20:26:00 | 4:05:12 | 25:20:14 | |||
| Claudia | 4:52:00 | 4:32:00 | 4:52:00 | 14:16:00 | 4:45:20 | 29:29:04 | |||||
| Nicole | 3:57:00 | 4:42:00 | 8:39:00 | 4:19:30 | 26:48:54 |
This was big - bigger than anything this small-time coach ever faced before. I wondered if I'd gotten in over my head. Unmistakably the numbers added up - this was my shot at greatness, if I could read the evidence correctly and turn it to my advantage. This was my shot at the big leagues!
Alright, enough of the noir. Let's peel through it...
Danielle, Bret, and Carrie were given 3:20 (6:40 per mile) paces to hold today. This is a bit ahead of the 3:22-3:24 you held a few days ago, but doable. You can see you beat that with a 3:18. That's good, very good. I especially liked how your girls shared the lead throughout the workout. That's smart racing and smart teamwork.
Morgan, Kaitlyn, Madison were given a 3:35 average, which you also beat. Morgan's shins took her out at the end, but this is still great stuff. And, like the other group, you girls shared the leadership a bit. Good stuff!
Chloe, Carlee, Diana were set up for a 3:55 pace. It was interesting how things worked out. Chloe got stronger as the workout progressed; Carlee was doing fine until her stomach sump pump broke down and she had a backup problem, and; the heat finally took Diana out. Still all of you did a great job.
McKena rebounded from last week in a big way. She, Claudia, and Nicole were set for 4:20. McKena never did that, with her slowest interval coming in at 4:10. Claudia struggled with an even pace, but this is the type of workout that takes strength and experience, neither of which she has just yet. It was a great effort. Nicole blew out the first 800 at under 4:00 and couldn't recover. Again, it comes down to experience.
Five girls finished this workout completely. I didn't expect everyone would - heck, I don't know if I knew anyone would - so if you didn't, don't feel too badly about that. I always reserve the right to pull people off the track if I feel it's necessary. Also, I pushed some girls beyond where I might ordinarily. That's because these workouts are critical. I know knees, ankles, and shins hurt, but if it's possible to get this work in, it has to be done. Time will tell if I made the right call.
Back to the five who completed... this is a very good indicator of where you could potentially race at this time. Danielle, Bret - as you see you are predicted at 20:29. Carrie, slightly slower at 20:42. Madison is next at 21:59, then Kaitlyn at 22:02 and Chloe at 23:46. Even taking these ladies as the top-5 we would be in pretty good shape, but that isn't nearly the whole story.
Morgan was solid, predicting at 22:05. I pulled her because of shins, and maybe I shouldn't have, but I was seeing the speed drop off. If the pain is bad enough to do that, workout is over - in case you're wondering why I did it. Still, that's 3.5 miles at speed, more than a 5k distance. That's a solid predictor.
Carrie I pulled at 6 for the same reason. You ran 3 miles at speed, so again, this should be a fairly good predictor. Same for Diana, who charts out to 25:02.
Carlee and McKena came in at 5, or 2.5 miles of pace. At 24:20 and 25:20 predicted (respectively), those are both quality times and vast improvements for you, especially McKena (who has struggled in the heat).
Claudia and Nicole, once again, I don't have enough data to really make any meaningful predictions, so I won't. You worked hard, you'll get the hang of it. Patience.
Alli and Lauren... this was a tough choice, but I felt it far too risky to run either one of you on this workout. As much as I hate to lose it, I felt as if pushing you through it would be guaranteed injury. There is nothing to be gained from hurting either one of you. That said, I'd chart Alli right up there with the top-3 girls today, and Lauren would likely be between Morgan's group and Chloe's group. That's just a best guess, of course.
Now we turn our attention to North Harrison on Thursday. I'll talk more about it as the days draw on, but here are some quick hits:
- It should be cooler.
- Their course is flatter, but more congested. Plan to be bumped!
- It's a long straightaway finish. Prepare to sprint!
- We will see conference foes there. Important preview!
See you all tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment