Salem Invite - Results

Ladies,

The results are in. First let's start with your times and splits.

Runner	Mile 1	Mile 2	Pace	Finish	Pace
Joslyn Weaver	6:51:00	14:13:00	7:22:00	22:11:00	7:09:21
Carrie Flinn	6:40:00	14:16:00	7:36:00	22:38:00	7:18:04
Madison Ryan	6:54:00	14:33:00	7:39:00	23:05:00	7:26:46
Zoe Zollman	7:16:00	15:20:00	8:04:00	24:14:00	7:49:02
Katlyn Eagan	7:28:00	15:42:00	8:14:00	24:30:00	7:54:12
Chelsey Schofield	7:52:00	16:15:00	8:23:00	25:26:00	8:12:15
Diana Kattau	7:52:00	16:15:00	8:23:00	25:46:00	8:18:43
Sara Peterson	7:53:00	17:13:00	9:20:00	27:00:00	8:42:35
Cynthany Hignite	7:54:00	16:49:00	8:55:00	27:13:00	8:46:46

It goes without saying this is vastly improved over Monday's meet. We expected as much, given it was cooler and flatter. No, not perfectly cool nor perfectly flat, but better on both counts. We also had a fair chance to win, at least on paper.

The top 3 girls I gave a hefty assignment, and I think you all accomplished it. You were supposed to break up Salem's top 3, and you did that. Joslyn nearly beat their #2. That's a big deal, a very big deal. If we could get all three of you ahead of their #2, and we can, then their top runner won't much matter. Assuming we don't catch her too. ;)

Zoe, great job. You were supposed to treat this like practice, and I could tell by your face you did. It takes a lot of the pressure off to have your head in the right place. Staying in the positive makes you a faster racer every time. This was a huge time drop from Monday (1:35!) - you are a great runner! More drops like this are on the way!

Kaitlyn - super effort, especially the final kick. You were given instructions to run between 7:45 and 8:00, and I think 7:54 fits nicely into that slot. It's a great place to start the year, and I'm certain you will drop a lot more time. By the way, 3rd mile was faster than mile 2 by 15 seconds... good place to start is focus in 2nd mile!

Chelsey - just a great job all around. You recognized when the pace fell off and left Diana, which is what you should do. Your splits actually look really solid - speedwork will do a lot to give you big drops!

Diana - this was another super effort. It's not as bad as you think - you're racing better than you ever have, and you are doing great workouts in the heat. I think you've turned the corner on this whole thing. If you split the difference between the opening mile and your eventual pace, you should find easy drops. 8-flat starting split?

Sara - that was tough on you, but look; you got a good effort in. You were able to do it in race conditions, and you got a chance to pull through some people. You have to experience it to get it. Things are going to get a lot better soon, hang in there. I can't believe how tough you are, and I know you're going to amaze me even more. 

Cynthany - I've seen many athletes quit a race with far less provocation than you had today. You were in agony by mile 1 but kept plugging along. You pulled yourself together and actually had one of the best closing kicks. That was nice to see. I encourage you to push yourself more in practice, because the only thing you really lack is base mileage. 

Oh! Final team scores:

Silver Creek: 34

Vincennes Lincoln: 55

BNL: 72

Salem: 88

Borden: 160

Mitchell: 174

Lanesville: 201

West Washington: 230

I am proud of you girls, all of you. Our goal was to beat Salem and get a look at who we will face in the tournament. We did both. Every girl did what was asked, and I can't ask any more of you.

I want you to think on this too... If you look at everyone who ran today, 4 of the top 5 were sick this week, and 3 of the next 5 are nursing chronic issues. Yes, we have things to work out, but I'm telling you the sky is the limit here. Push yourselves in practice! Take every chance to be great! The heat is going to be with us for a while, and I will do what I can to mitigate that, but we still have quality work that needs done. We know what we have to do, so let's individually choose to make the most of the time left.

See you on Monday, Milwaukee Trail, 8 AM.

Salem Invite

Ladies,

Meet at pool by 8:05.
Depart by 8:15.
Arrive by 9:15.
Race at 10:15.
Depart by 11:30.
Arrive at BNL by 12:30.

That's the outline of tomorrow as near as I can guess. We might be a little later than that depending on how long it takes to get results.

To review the race instructions I gave you today:

Diana - 8:10 pace to start. Fight through 2nd mile. Hold that pace! PR!

Carrie - control early pace, but keep Salem's top-3 in your sights. Turn it on 2nd half of race. Do not be discouraged if you have rough spots. Hang in there! You will come back if you don't let up.

Katlyn - 7:45 pace would be an excellent place to begin. It's a flat course, so maintain your cadence all the way. Focus on your form, set short goals to reach, the race will disappear under your feet. Look up late in the race, look for shirts to catch.

Madison - Stay calm. Keep doing what you have been doing with the addition of try to keep Salem's top-3 close. Look for any sign of weakness... tapping of the side, slouching, head rolled back. That's the moment to strike.

Joslyn - your key happens before the race - make sure you have plenty to drink and you stretch thoroughly! If you can do those two things, all you have to do is race like you know how. You are capable of racing with anyone you will see tomorrow, but only if you go in prepared.

Zoe - treat it like practice, seriously. You know you can run with anyone. You know how the tempos go. Keep the same distance with our girls you normally would. Ignore the other runners out there. You are always a certain distance behind the top-3. Maintain that gap and your race will be great.

Chelsey - you are one of the most experienced racers out there, so I don't have to talk strategy too much. It's more the mental game with you... you are going to hurt. Accept that. Your only choice is how long you want to hurt. You can hurt for 24 minutes or 26, that's up to you. Like Katlyn, set small attainable goals along the way and focus on those. Chase shirts at the end.

Cynthany - first race! I just want you to go smoothly. No faster than 8:15 pace first mile. Try to hold that! In the end, pass as many shirts as you can get.

Sara - this will be a tempo for you. I want 85% effort. All we need is a base time to work from. Get your treatment in a timely fashion and you will be okay. It's going to hurt, but you know it won't last long. Try and see what you can make of it.

Remember girls... every shirt, every point matters. We can win this meet tomorrow if you all race well. Salem is the biggest target though... we have to get their number and figure out what we need to do to prepare for Regional!

Stealth Speedwork

Ladies,

I'm afraid I have to cop to something... tonight's workout was a bit of a paradigm shift. Ordinarily we would have done hill repeats, but since we were running a course that doesn't have hills, I needed to find something else that could raise the stress level a bit without doing too much. Given that we raced Monday and will again Saturday, I wanted something in the medium range.

The options are few on this type of course. About the only thing to vary is speed or distance (or both). I wanted to keep it in the 6-mile range... that's felt about right with the weather conditions. I started considering the options, looked at the calendar again, and realized it is time to begin doing speed work. Hence tonight's workout heralds the beginning of a new phase in the season.

Notice we did a long interval (1 mile) with rest? That rest roughly coincided with the hard portion. This is how it starts - long effort, longish rest interval. We will be shortening the distance, raising the speed, and shortening the rest soon. Ultimately my goal would be to have 6-8 x 800s at race pace.

Tonight was important because not only to we have to break into the process a bit gently at first, we also have to learn what paces feel like. I broke it roughly into two groups, one at 7-minute pace, the other at 8-minute, and I think you mostly landed on that. As it gets shorter and faster, it will require a great deal of concentration to stay on pace. It will also teach you what those paces feel like so you have a better chance of nailing them in a race.

If you pay attention to your form and breathing you should soon be able to guess your pace to within 10 seconds at any given time. This ability will vary a little depending on the weather, but it's fairly constant otherwise. If you know where your red line is (the point you blow up), then you should be able to pick a race pace that will keep you just under it, which should give you your optimum race pace.

Tomorrow will be an easy day. We will run Milwaukee at 4, just like we have all week. We'll be talking quite a bit about the race on Saturday. See you there!

Taking Care of Business

Ladies,

Nice job on the runs the last two days. The Milwaukee Trail has been a perfect way to beat the heat, and we will run it again tomorrow. It doesn't look like the weather is going to break the rest of the week, so look to be there again on Friday, too.

I received an updated meet sheet today. Let me give you the particulars I now have in hand:

Boys race - 9:30 AM
Girls race - 10:15 AM

No limit on entries - (means all girls run varsity)

Race begins behind Bradie M. Shrum Elementary School on North Harrison Street.

Schools entered: Salem, BNL, Borden, Mitchell, Crothersville, Trinity Lutheran, Medora, Lanesville, Scottsburg, Vincennes Lincoln, West Washington, and Silver Creek.

If this is true, then we wouldn't need to leave so early on Saturday. I will call and confirm tomorrow, but if this information doesn't change, our day would be:

Gather at BNL near pool: 8:05
Leave BNL: 8:15
Arrive at Salem: 9:15
Race: 10:15
Leave Salem: 11:15?
Arrive at BNL: 12:15?

We have girls sick right now, and our priority is to get healthy. However, if we can get enough healthy girls there, I believe our team has as much a shot at winning this as any other team. I don't know anything about Borden, Crothersville, Lanesville, Scottsburg, Vincennes Lincoln, West Washington, or Silver Creek, and I don't care. I think if we run the races you girls can race, we can do it. Get your minds ready to race!

First Meet!

Ladies,

There you go - that's as tough as it gets to run. Hot, muggy, no air moving, nothing but an unrelenting blanket of stink and sauna. You all passed the test! It might rain, it might get cold, it might do a lot of things to make you uncomfortable, but nothing breaks you down faster or more completely than heat.

This is also the first team - EVER - to follow instructions on the first day. Every one of you ran a smart race. Maybe a minor mistake was made here or there on the timing of a move. So what? Four of the six girls racing tonight were doing their first ever high school 5k! Of course there would be minor errors. It still remains that as much as any group of athletes could possibly stick to any game plan, you girls did. Bravo!

Here are the splits gathered tonight. I've broken them down a couple of ways, so bear with me.

Runner		Mile 1	Mile 2	Pace	Mile 3	Pace	5k	5k Pace
Joslyn Weaver		7:09:00	14:48:00	7:39:00	22:27:00	7:39:00	23:05:00	7:26:46
Carrie Flinn		7:09:00	14:52:00	7:43:00	22:45:00	7:53:00	23:28:00	7:34:12
Diana Kattau		7:42:00	16:00:00	8:18:00	24:45:00	8:45:00	25:37:00	8:15:48
Zoe Zollman		7:27:00	15:57:00	8:30:00	24:58:00	9:01:00	25:49:00	8:19:41
Chelsey Schofield		7:36:00	16:14:00	8:38:00	25:10:00	8:56:00	25:52:00	8:20:39
Kate Albertson		7:38:00	16:20:00	8:42:00	25:40:00	9:20:00	26:25:00	8:31:17

First would be the mile splits and their paces. While it's true the usual plan would be to hold roughly even splits, even under the best of conditions that's tough on our course because of the difference in difficulty between miles one and two. Tonight it was even worse. With that in mind, I'm not surprised to see a big drop off in splits. Just know if you'd pushed harder earlier the drop off would have been worse, and in some cases, catastrophic. 

As for the overall time, it's irrelevant. This was not an all-out effort. 85% was the plan, and I felt that's what you did. Frankly I'm surprised the times are as fast as they are. This race was about placement, and you ladies were solidly in 2nd tonight. You were never in danger of losing that spot, think on that, and you didn't give it your all. Also, you left two of your runners home. That's pretty solid stuff right there.

Next let's throw in the first 800. Remember, you were all told to be slower than 3:30. Check this out.

Runner		800	Pace
Joslyn Weaver		3:37:00	7:14:00
Carrie Flinn		3:37:00	7:14:00
Diana Kattau		3:45:00	7:30:00
Zoe Zollman		3:37:00	7:14:00
Chelsey Schofield		3:40:00	7:20:00
Kate Albertson		3:43:00	7:26:00

Anyone notice anything about the 800/Mile 1 comparison for Joslyn and Carrie? That's right, the second half of the first mile was faster than the first, significantly so. That's the reverse of what we normally see. That's control. Both dropped 30 seconds the next mile, and Carrie a bit more the third (Joslyn even-split the last two miles). Interesting!

Finally, let's look at the kick.

Runner		Final 1/10	Kick Spd
Joslyn Weaver		0:38:00	6:20:00
Carrie Flinn		0:43:00	7:10:00
Diana Kattau		0:52:00	8:40:00
Zoe Zollman		0:51:00	8:30:00
Chelsey Schofield		0:42:00	7:00:00
Kate Albertson		0:45:00	7:30:00

This was a bit unexpected, though I attribute this to my instructions. I said 85%, and that's what I got, mostly. Joslyn had a girl right on her at the finish, and she fought for the spot (and I'm glad she did!). She wound up running a hard sprint uphill to the finish, giving her a final 10th pace of 6:20. Carrie brought it in at a steady 7:10, but whoa! Chelsey?! Seven flat?! I didn't see that coming, though I should have. 

I cannot say enough for Joslyn and Carrie to take the front and take on as many Seymour girls as they could. That was mature racing by both of you, and it's good to see athletes with competitive spirits such as yours. You were tough, and you sent a message tonight.

Still, I have to reserve special praise for Diana. Diana has fought for three years now to conquer the heat, her arch-nemesis. There are no words to express how remarkable it is to see her not only run 3rd for the team, but also have one of the best season-opening times of her career. On this day. In this heat! Last year she started the season with a 25:50 on a much cooler day (and was 9th on the team!). 

It's late and I am too tired to do it, but if I were to look up Megan Winter's time from last year (Seymour, 11th grade), I would find she was 2 minutes faster (likely as not). No one broke 22 today. Usually a team at the quality level of Seymour would have someone near 20 flat. Let me be clear; the day was worth up to 2 minutes on everyone. That means you could pull up to 2 minutes off your time and you have an idea what was possible today if the weather had been better.

<EDIT>Okay, I grabbed an old newspaper. Last year Seymour's Zoey Johnson won in 19:53. 'Nuff said. 

In the final analysis, there is still much unknown. Though some great things came out of tonight, the waters are still muddy. I'm hoping to get a clearer picture on Saturday. Flatter course and cooler weather should make running a bit easier. We'll also have some good competition from Salem. It'll be very interesting. 

Meet time is 9:30 AM, so we will leave BNL at 7:30. That should give us plenty of time to get down there and set up. 

Run at Milwaukee tomorrow, 4 P.M. Easy run!

First meet

Ladies,

Here it is. First meet! We've worked a long time to get to this point - in fact, all summer. Now it's time to test our mettle, to toe the line and find out what is what. Tomorrow we see past and future rivals, get to see them in field conditions, and determine our course of action from this point forward. It's a big day.

Fear not. Competition is nothing to be afraid of. Will you be nervous? Of course. Excited? Certainly! But that's a good thing. You'll know you're alive when you get to the start with that heightened sense of awareness, just before the "fight or flight" instinct kicks in. If you don't feel it now, you probably will then.

Let me then talk a bit about our race plan for tomorrow. Easy - we are using this as a tempo run. We want to run 85% effort, not all out - at least, not until the last 200m. Then you can let it go. I'm not concerned about winning the meet. The truth is, the only thing I'm worried about is placing as highly as possible in Conference, Sectional, Regional, and Semi-State. That will never change. These other races show us what we need to work on to get us ready for those other meets.

Tomorrow will be heinously hot. I have no intention of losing anyone for the season to heat stroke. We can run a hard effort, but I don't see any purpose to an all-out effort. Besides, I think the teams that do use that approach will explode, and if so will hand their places to us anyway.

That's the way it is with racing... sometimes you race the clock, sometimes you race the conditions. Tomorrow we race the conditions.

I have no time goals in mind. That doesn't mean you don't have to work, it simply means until this race is done I won't have any clear idea where you are at. This meet will be one of our hard workouts for the week and also a shakedown cruise. I'll be looking for bugs or anything else that will need to be tweaked.

I expect everyone to be at the course by 4:30 PM dressed and ready to go. See you there!

Kudos, and an Apology

Ladies,

Let me reverse the order of the title. First, the apology. Ahem...

"I am so sorry. I had no idea it was as hot as it was. Sure, I was sweating out there in the sun, but I didn't think too much of it. I should have. Please forgive me!"

What prompts this apology? Read on.

"I also want to bow down to your superiority. I ran later tonight, just after 8. I wanted to wait until it cooled down a bit. Then I actually looked at the weather particulars. Heat index 100 degrees. Dew point 79 degrees. Relative humidity 79 percent. I would never had you run those hill repeats had I realized how bad it was!"

Let me go on.

"In my run I planned to go 5 miles. I started off at a slow pace, but was still appalled when I took over 9 minutes to run the first mile. The second was no better, and worse, my fingers were tingling. That's bad. I had to stop at 3 miles."

That's right. You girls, every one of you, ran farther today, under worse conditions, than your coach. Big deal? Hardly! I'm in pretty good shape, very well conditioned really, and couldn't take what you could. You have my respect for sure! I am more impressed than ever with how good you guys are.

Okay. I can't do anything about the past, but I can work on the future. We have 2 more workouts this week. Tomorrow is another hot day, so we are going to cut back the miles. 4 miles easy, short practice, out by 4:15 if you start by 3:30. Saturday? I'd been toying with this anyway... I have been concerned about how hot  Monday will be, and it is our first meet... current conditions have me leaning toward safety, so I am canning the run for Saturday and we will swim instead. Bring your suits!

Proud

Ladies,

I didn't get to run with you today... the way it worked out, I had to watch the weather and the workout was split into two groups (due to concussion tests). Not that I needed to; you girls are so good.

There were lots of ways you could have taken shortcuts, cheated the workout, or otherwise taken the easy way out. I've had groups like that, and I would have checked on them periodically because of it. Not you girls. I trust you, because you always show me you can be trusted to do the right thing.

I've coached a long, long time, and I can tell you every team I've had always had at least one character on it that would cheat the workout given half a chance. Until now. That means a lot to me. It's the kind of impression I will always remember, the character this team possesses. Very special.

We are coming up on our first meet on Monday. I have no idea right now how that's going to come out. Right now the weather forecast is for pretty hot weather - as usual - and we'll likely have to take a cautious approach... no, aggressively cautious approach to our pacing. My guess is the smart race will be to race for position, not time, and let the other teams destroy themselves. At least, right now that's how I'm leaning. I'm not locked on that, especially for the top few girls, who by the way have been looking outstanding. I sure would like to see what would happen if I turn them loose...

Tomorrow is hills. I won't try to convince you to like them, but don't fear them. Think of them as opportunities. ;)

Oh, my run for tonight!

Tempo

Ladies,

Runner	Mile 1	Mile 2	Pace	Proj. 5k
Joslyn	6:16:00	13:18:00	6:39:00	20:36:54
Madison		13:58:00	6:59:00	21:38:54
Carrie		14:14:00	7:07:00	22:03:42
Zoe		14:23:00	7:11:30	22:17:39
Chelsey		15:17:00	7:38:30	23:41:21
Katlyn		14:56:00	7:28:00	23:08:48
Kate		15:04:00	7:32:00	23:21:12
Diana		15:56:00	7:58:00	24:41:48
Sarah		18:09:00	9:04:30	28:07:57
Cynthany		18:09:00	9:04:30	28:07:57

Look at those numbers. Just look. Shhhh! Be quiet a second and just let those numbers pour over you. 

<crickets>

Okay. What does it all mean, really? You might say, "Coach, that was a flat course" or "Coach, it was downhill", or "Coach, why are you so fat?". I of course would say, "SHUT UP! I'm not FAT!" Okay, the first two points are valid, and in relation to the BNL course, it's fair to say we wouldn't have been that fast. Or shouldn't have been. Things aren't always that simple though. 

Though we didn't get the one mile splits, at least for all of you, I don't need them to know what happened. You all, to a person, took off too hard. You blew up a bit and had to slow down the second mile. I know, because I did the same thing (though nowhere near the same extent). When I saw my Garmin instantaneous time of 6:00 at around 1/2 mile and I could still hear female voices right behind me, I knew you were out too hard. See, by my logic, throwing that huge first mile split in there was like having a big hill on the course. That negates both the flatter and slightly downhill argument to a great extent.

Of course if you ran an even effort all that wouldn't apply. Trouble is, none of you did. I stand by my belief that, though you might not quite be ready to run as fast as what you did tonight in a race, you're close, and it won't be long. North Harrison is the week after our race. Brown County is shortly after that. Both of those races are quite a bit flatter than ours. And faster. 

Here's my takeaway from tonight; potentially we have 7 girls right now that could break 24 minutes at this point in the season. I would be thrilled if 5 did it first meet, and happy if at least 3 do. Do any of you remember the first meet last year? Let me show you some times...

Athlete	5k	Pace
Carrie	22:51:00	7:22:15
Danielle	22:56:00	7:23:52
Alli	23:00:00	7:25:10
Bret	23:56:00	7:43:14
Morgan	24:18:00	7:50:19
Madison	24:38:00	7:56:46
Keeley	24:42:00	7:58:04
Katlyn	25:33:00	8:14:31

That's opening meet for the top-7 runners last year. Come to grips with it girls... you're a much better team than we had last year, by a wide margin. Of course we won't know for sure until the meet, but on paper there is no question, way beyond the margin of error. Now here comes the exciting part... those numbers today, if they didn't improve at all (and they will) would likely be enough to get us to Semi-State. THAT is exciting!

We'll be talking about pacing and mindset a lot this week. Know this... today was pretty uncomfortably hot and you ran that well. What might have happened if it had been 20 degrees cooler with low humidity? You know that weather is coming soon, right?

I am really, really stoked!

The Heat is Back

Ladies,

I felt for you, I truly did. The heat is back in a big way, and plan on it staying that way for at least a week. Be very certain to drink plenty of fluids, get plenty of salt, and getting a banana a day won't hurt. Electrolytes and water are the keys to surviving the hot stuff.

We are running the Milwaukee Trail tomorrow, 4 PM, U Street entrance. We will warm up, then using the mile markers (which are accurate to my GPS) we will do our tempo. It will be warm, but cooler than our course would be, and of course much flatter. I will run with you in some way, because I have to get the splits, or at the very least, the final time.

How might we do this? My preference for now is to warm up, stretch, run down to the mile marker, then do a straight-line 2-mile run. That would give us the distance we want as well as the difficulty. The catch to that is simple - no water. You will have to carry a drink with you, and I suggest a small Gatorade. You'll be glad you have it at the end of the hard part.

15 minutes hard. That's what we're talking about. 15 hard minutes. You can do it.

I did my workout after yours tonight, just so you know I'm not dodging. Click the link below if you are interested.

Look at those splits, ladies!

I keep telling you ladies about Strava, and for those of you with Garmins, it really is a cool site. Tracks your miles and gives you splits. Very nice tool. 

Donuts, Milk, and Sore Legs!

Ladies,

Outstanding job on the run today. Nine miles is a big deal, a milestone for the season. We've managed to push the distance up and up, and it seems like that is going as well as any could hope. True, a couple didn't go the whole distance, but that will always be the case. There will always be someone with a problem or an injury. That's totally normal, and you will all go through it at some point.

Just a small aside on that point, my job as coach is to ascertain your condition on any given day and give you the proper amount of stress to help you grow. This will not always allow all of you to get the same workout. Do not take this personally! You may think you know your running better than I do, and in some ways you might, but I have the perspective you don't; an unbiased outside observer with experience. We'll work together put a plan together come what may.

I've actually given thought to starting separate tracks, giving those with unique skill sets workouts tailored to their specific needs. In a perfect world I would. It might sound crazy, but isn't that exactly what you do in the spring in track? My problem is manpower and management. All those workouts would need to be monitored and analyzed, and I only have one set of eyes. I don't think I could do it justice, so that idea sits on the back-burner.

But back to today... I thought you all handled that pretty well, even Kate, who struggled by the end. Growing hurts, because you are stretching, breaking, healing, then repeating it all over again. Truth is, if you don't occasionally hurt in a workout, you aren't getting everything you should.

We all have those moments when we face something unpleasant and we mentally start looking for a rationalization for an easier path. Often with kids that's a direct line - I don't want to do that, so I'll do something else. Adults, my friends included, will start the bargaining process. "Oh, I have that big day at work coming, and I don't want to be too tired, so I'll do this instead." Stuff like that. My job was usually to come back with, "I came here to work hard. You guys can do what you like." That typically does the trick, because it reminds them they really do have goals, and the only way to achieve them is to, well, work hard.

That all may sound cocky, but think about it. When you behave that way you are modeling the right way to do things for others. Everyone knows they are about to suffer, but man, how impressive is it to have that one person stand up, look it in the eye and say, "bring it." It can turn the whole workout around for everyone.

I am happy to say this team is full of people who bring it every day. I have not heard anyone whine, what I would truly call a whine. Telling me your hip hurts isn't whining - it's keeping me informed. Complaining a bit about not wanting to do something isn't whining. Carrying on about it is. And that has been wonderfully, beautifully absent this season.

No one, not any of you, wanted to run 9 miles this morning. I didn't hear a cheer go up when I gave the workout. Fair enough, it's not needed. I also didn't hear anyone tear it down and make it all the harder for everyone else. You all set your jaws and got to business. You might not have known how it would turn out, but you went. And look what happened!

I want to commend both Carrie and Diana for their leadership. They might not be the most vocal and boisterous people on the team, but they are great leaders in every possible way. What I really love about it is they have a way of leading without stepping on heads. From what I can see, from top to bottom, youngest to oldest, everyone seems comfortable and able to speak and relate to all the others, which is exactly what I'd want to see. This is not an easy thing to pull off, but amazingly, they make it look easy. Bravo!

Oh, and for funzies, let me post a link to the run based on my Garmin data.

Nine Miles With the Girls

Enjoy! See you all on Monday.

Picture THIS!

Ladies,

The obligatory nature of pictures to chronicle a season necessitated a big bite of practice be taken today. I guess we could have spread it over a few days, but in the end we would have lost more time. Better to get it all done at once.

Fortunately for you that shortened the top-secret clandestine workout I planned. Well, partially... we had time for more, but I could tell some of you were really taking a pounding going down the hill, stopping suddenly, reversing, and climbing back up. I figured four would be enough to learn something. Here's what I got out of it...

1. Some of you get to shine when it comes to hills. Joslyn's form was perfect, and Zoe was an animal. A manimal. A Zanimal! Diana fought valiantly to stave her off, but there was no denying Zoe. Truth be told most of you looked pretty solid on the climb, and it appears our hill workouts are, well... working.
2. Our course favors endurance. Everyone was a world-beater for the first one or two rotations, but wheat was separated from the chaff in the second two. There's a lesson in there for all of you; be careful to control the front half of your first race on our course! Runners will come back to you if you are patient. 
3. I could see Madison's hip was an issue. Sudden movements are hard on hips. I'll have to watch your quality runs throughout the season. (mental note taken)
4. Carrie still dominates the downhill running by a wide margin. No one else is even close. Downhill running favors turnover speed, and Carrie has that in spades. 
5. Chelsey is a game-day player. Anyone watching her go mano-e-mano against Kate could see that. Kate is no slouch, and she fought all the way, but as my old friend Derek Ingersoll would say, "that girl's got the sticks of power!"
6. Katlyn is quitely going about her business and getting the job done. She flies under the radar, and against the more boisterous personalities she can sometimes be overlooked, but don't. Race day's a comin'...
7. Sarah is another quiet one. She is a hard worker, and is a physically strong athlete. By the end of the season things are going to come together I'm sure... 
8. Hey! You know what I'd like to see? A staring contest between Katlyn and Sarah! Both so quiet and serious. It'd be like two MMA fighters at a weigh-in. Intimidating, both of them.
9. Diana really went after it today, though hills are definitely not her thing. Fought the good fight!
10. Kate, great explosive speed. Endurance is the main factor now, as well as keeping the head in it when a runner catches you. It will happen. It doesn't mean the race is done. With her kick, she could lay the hurt on someone foolish enough to try nonsense near the finish line.

As promised, the winning team will receive donuts on Saturday morning. Being the softy that I am, everyone will get something. The winning girls will just get somethinger. Saturday will be another long run, so I will likely cut a couple miles off tomorrow. That means no more than 5 miles, so you'll also be done earlier, no later than 4:30 if you start on time. 

If. You. Start. On. Time.

ERMAHGERD!

Don't try to understand it. These social memes often defy explanation. Just let the art roll over you. Just... LOL. FWIW, these are the sort of lighthearted distractions that help us get through a day. Of course YMMV. You may ROFL, OTOH I usually just lqtm. ATM I am AFAAP from L337, but I can hang. AAF, and IMHO, TG. 

Tomorrow we do a different hard workout. I won't reveal what, mainly because I haven't completely worked it out. Of course I might just be mysterious and all that. DW2M. You'll do fine. 

Tonight's Tempo

Ladies,

I've been looking forward to this workout for a while. There are still a lot of questions left to be answered, and the more often we can replicate race environment, the clearer the picture gets. I know you are all talented; what I don't know yet (for the new girls) is how you handle pressure.

You think it would be easy. Just line up and do the stuff you do every day in practice. If only it were that simple! For some, race day is a three-headed monster, grotesque and unmanageable. Some just cannot find a way to cope with the self-inflicted pressure. Yet some seem completely unaffected, or even better revel in it.

Most of the time the pressure can be dealt with by putting the mind in the right place. You see a hill and dread it. I see a chance to open more of a gap. You see the heat and fear it. I see an element I can turn to my advantage if I manage it better than others.

I gave Kate a ride home (we're neighbors) and her first comment on the way was, "I did awful tonight". No way! She did a fine job, and I told her so. No matter how badly you think something has gone, something good also happened. If you want to grow you have to look honestly at things and pull out both the good and bad and learn from them. In Kate's case, I look not at one tempo but two. In the first, she took off too hard and blew up. In the second she was a touch too conservative (because the first one hurt so badly). This is normal. She has both ends of the spectrum entered now... all that is left is to find the happy medium. Aw, heck, let me be direct with Kate for a moment..

<turns to Kate>
"Kate? You are new to this. You have a lot to learn and a short time to learn it. There will be trial and error. This is what it looks like. I am completely happy with what you have done, and I am confident we will drop minutes from your time by the end of the season."
<turns back to the rest>

To that end, I couldn't be happier with all of you. I have zero, ZERO complaints. There will always be room for improvement, there will always be things that will go wrong, but you guys are great, a coach's dream!

Okay, the numbers from tonight.

Runner	800	Pace	Mile 1	Mile 2	Time	Avg	Proj 5k
Joslyn	3:25:00	6:50:00	7:07:00	7:11:00	14:18:00	7:09:00	22:09:54
Madison	3:26:00	6:52:00	7:14:00	7:33:00	14:47:00	7:23:30	22:54:51
Carrie	3:21:00	6:42:00	7:10:00	7:37:00	14:47:00	7:23:30	22:54:51
Zoe	3:39:00	7:18:00	7:40:00	8:00:00	15:40:00	7:50:00	24:17:00
Chelsey	3:47:00	7:34:00	7:55:00	8:00:00	15:55:00	7:57:30	24:40:15
Katlyn	3:47:00	7:34:00	7:46:00	8:15:00	16:01:00	8:00:30	24:49:33
Kate	3:47:00	7:34:00	7:55:00	8:42:00	16:37:00	8:18:30	25:45:21
Diana	3:46:00	7:32:00	7:58:00	8:56:00	16:54:00	8:27:00	26:11:42
Sarah	3:47:00	7:34:00	8:00:00	8:56:00	16:56:00	8:28:00	26:14:48

First let me say that top five is faster than the top five we opened with last year. I would also say I had no idea what order to predict before the run, at least not precisely. I knew from last week's tempo who the first three would be, but beyond that I had no idea. 

In general, you were all out a touch too fast for the first 800. The pink times under "Pace" indicate what your first mile would have been if you kept that first 800 pace all the way. Quite a drop off after the turn, right? Carrie was the most aggressive, leading out in a 6:42 pace to 800, but falling to 7:10 the second 800. Anyone want to work out the math on that? What was the second 800 split? Waiting... okay, it was 3:49, or 7:38 pace. Get the idea? That's almost a minute per mile drop inside the first mile. This is not what we want. We have to learn to be smooth, find the optimal pace and go for that. I like Carrie's aggressiveness, but we have to be careful not to get too much of a good thing.

Alright, let me start on the end and work my way up. 

Sarah - you are still working your way back into it. If you think about it, you haven't gone a full week of practice in a while. You are tired, and you should be. Don't worry... it will get better, and soon. Hang in there! Everyone goes through this. You were out a bit fast for your conditioning... if you could have hit the mile at 8 minutes on an even effort you would have been okay. Like Carrie, you killed yourself in the first 800 yards. This is an easy fix - slow down the first 800! Slow down to go faster? Yup.

Diana - Pretty much what I just said above, but I'll add this - you are faster by about 20 seconds over last year at this time. It's true - I looked it up. Keep fighting!

Kate - Not a lot to add to what has already been said, except you held your second mile a bit better than Sarah and Diana, and your sprint at the end hinted there is untapped potential. I think for you it isn't a question of "IF" you can do it, it's how quickly you learn how to use your powers.

Katlyn - This too is an improvement over last year this time. You didn't fall off as much as the other girls, a sign of your experience. You, like Sarah, are getting a little beaten up at the moment, but I'm sure of your strength. You are a strong athlete, and smart; you're going to figure out what works and do it. 

Chelsey - I like. A LOT! You didn't have nearly the drop off from the 800, your splits were five seconds apart... girl, you NAILED it! You as much as anyone here is a game-day racer. You always find a way to elevate the day of an event, and I can't wait to see what you do in a meet.

Zoe - You actually had the run I would have called expected. Your splits spread a bit, as they should. The miles are very different, so they are difficult to keep even. The spread you had was just fine as a result. Your form throughout never looked ragged, you had a confident look on your face, like you were in the zone. Be confident! This was very nicely done!

Carrie - We've already discussed the early pace, and the drop off. The good news is you made the girls work for it. There is a challenge for you now... you have to figure out your timing. I absolutely believe you should try to attack the other girls, but you have to figure out when to do it. It's not that you attacked, you understand... it's that your attack happened too soon. Once they caught you, it was over, you had nothing left to cover (or at least you believed you didn't). Your kick is as good as anyone's on the team. See where I'm going with this?

Madison - Very mature run. You are learning a great deal of control, something you lacked last year. You are allowing a little time to pass before you make your move, and you are correctly reading the slow down in front of you. I like how you slowly but steadily made the catch. Super racing! Yes, the pace was uneven, and we need to work on that, but your race tactics were excellent.

Joslyn - The last few runs - since we figured out hydration - have seen you transform into a dominant runner. Today's effort was a thing of beauty. You picked the perfect time to attack and didn't give any of the space back. Coming out of the low woods, across the creek and up the short rise, I told you to put it away. In case I wasn't clear, I wanted you to bolt down that hill so when the other girls rounded the corner they would be mentally put out of it. That was the moment, the death stroke, and from that point on there was no question they couldn't catch you. The splits were perfect, only four seconds apart. Yes, like the others, slightly fast first 800. Beyond that, perfect run.

Now lest you think I'm playing favorites, I'm not. When Madison and Carrie came out of the woods, I told them to use the downhill to catch Joslyn because she was dying. Yeah, I lied. Sometimes I will pit you against one another. I have to. It's like having sparring partners for boxers. You may like that person across from you, but you're still going to punch their face. You have to. That's the game. In our case, we have to attack one another. Feelings have nothing to do with it. The faster you run, the better the team is. The more you chase, the faster the chased will run. It really is that simple. 

Now afterward I expect every one of you to compliment the others no matter how it turned out. We are still a team, and we are still friends. Just think about what happened, how it happened, and how you can better take advantage next time... ;)

Tempos, Team Uniforms, and Pictures

Ladies,

In a previous post I outlined what I hoped would be a typical week. The post, intended to clarify, may have in fact confused. Tomorrow we tempo, but we'll not be able to go to Milwaukee to do it. Unfortunately we don't yet have approval to leave campus by car to a different running site, so for now the run will be on campus - somewhere. I'm mulling the options, so no answer yet. But yes, tomorrow we tempo.

I will also be getting uniforms out in the next couple of days. We are taking team photos on Thursday, and I want you to have them before then. I will do my best to get them out in a timely fashion, but practice might run over a couple of minutes because of it.

Tonight's run on the old railroad bed was an eye opener. That area is really torn up! What a shame... I loved my runs there in the years past. It's really in awful shape now. I don't know how useful it's going to be to us down the road.

Picked up a new invite at the end of the month. If you were at practice you heard this - if not, write this down. August 30th (Saturday) is the Salem Invite. There will be a handful of teams there, but the only one that matters is Salem. They are our main rivals at Regional, and we need every chance we can get to see them and what they have. We had room on the schedule so I made the call. If there are conflicts, we'll deal with them. I feel it's the right move.

Rest up - big day tomorrow!

In case you're wondering...

Ladies,

I know my training pattern might be confusing some of you a bit, so let's take a few lines to clarify this. I do this not because anyone appears upset, but we have a lot of new runners that might not yet get the big picture.

Our big races come in October. Between now and then we'll have races, and we'll want to go hard, but they aren't the focus of the season. Our big races are Conference, Sectional, Regional, Semi-State, and State. Setting those races as the goals, we work backward to make the plan.

About 6-8 weeks out from peak race we want to start speedwork. We can't do this for much longer than that or people get hurt. This is the most stressful part of the season, and everything builds to it.

We are currently 10 weeks from the what I believe will have to be our focus - Regional. Our #1 goal of the season is to progress from Regional to Semi-State. I won't delve into the why on that right now; I only need to know how far away peak is.

That means we start speedwork, true speedwork, in 4 weeks. We'll race before then, and that will serve in some ways as quasi-speedwork, but the true stuff doesn't come for a while. No, for the next few weeks we'll focus on tempos and hill work.

Along with that I'm going to bend the rules a little. Ordinarily once you get to this point you don't really lift your miles. This summer we went shorter miles to keep injuries down, and that I feel was successful. However, we need a few more a week for a bit, so I am taking Saturdays and trying to run a bit longer. Today we ran 8. It wasn't fast, but I didn't expect it to be. We ran 10k of hills yesterday, and a tough hill workout the day before. What I wanted was a nice, flat run. Long, easy, flat. And that's what you did.

I know, I know, it's the Milwaukee. Count your lucky stars it's there. It is by far the easiest way to collect long runs we have. Sure there are downsides to it. But really, would you have preferred to run a hilly, hot 8? I can't see it.

I've told you I'm after permission to use Milwaukee after school. Understand, I don't want you to run hilly courses every day. Your body needs recovery from stressful work, and running hills day after day won't help. Last year was undone by injuries; I don't want to repeat that misery.

What might a typical week look like then?

Monday - easy 6-7 miles - CC course
Tuesday - tempo 2-3 miles, 6-7 total miles - Milwaukee Trail
Wednesday - easy 6-7 miles - RR bed
Thursday - hills, 6-7 total miles - CC course
Friday - 6-7 miles - CC course
Saturday - 8-10 miles - Milwaukee Trail

That would give a training range of 38-45 total miles for a week, right on target for most really good high school cross-country teams. That might seem like a lot, but it really isn't. I don't know if you realize it or not, but you girls ran for 38 miles this week!

I feel pretty solid about those numbers. Are there concerns? Always. But I like where we are right now...

Memories

Ladies,

Some days, however unlikely, seem to make the greatest memories. Today was truly dismal. Grey skies, a constant drizzle, and wet course didn't really promise much fun. And I guess for me it really wasn't, standing in the rain watching you girls run. And then maybe it was.

I watched the group of you disappear into the hills and trees, your chatter fading into the distance, heads whipping back and forth in conversation. I don't know what you were discussing. Maybe it was about the day, or your plans for the evening. It could have anything, it didn't matter. It was a moment, a beautiful, perfect moment, something that sticks in the mind and resurrects later on in life. You may not know it now, but these are the kinds of memories that will populate your nostalgic dreams in years to come.

There is a specialness about belonging to a group of people you enjoy. It is so rare a thing, to have people like that to share your activity. I can only enjoy it vicariously through your eyes, from afar. That is as it should be; my time is past. Watching you ladies reminds me of my sports teams from long ago, the great teams, and it warms my heart. I can be young again, just for a while, when I watch you share that friendship.

In reality though, it's your team. These are your memories you are collecting. I only suggest you keep your eyes and hearts open to what happens every day, storing these precious images. The time flies by so fast!

I'm proud of you all. I'm proud to be a part of this. I hope you all know how special you truly are.

Hills

Ladies,

No one likes them. No one. It's the workout you dread, the one you hate, and the one that whips you the hardest. It's the one that can make you feel weak and small. If you choose to let it be, it's the workout that will break you.

On the other hand, it's the workout that toughens you. It's the one that challenges you, that helps you grow, and teaches you to overcome. It's the workout that gives you focus, that expands your physical abilities, the one that lets you know the hill can't break you.

It's all a matter of perspective, or more correctly, which perspective you choose.

Pain for the most part can be overcome. That doesn't mean it goes away; it only means you learn how to manage it. The more pain you can manage, the more you can accomplish. Why would you want to? Tough question for sure, but it's certainly a lot more than about how fast you can run.

Sports are the great metaphor of life they say. Sure, you could say you don't want or need to go through the pain of being your best on the running side of things, and you'd be right. However that's something that often can be revealing of character. Is this how all difficult challenges in your life will be handled? If college stops being fun or gets too hard, should you quit? Should a job be ecstatically exciting every single day? Are relationships always an easy path? Pick whatever life parallel you want, but the truth is nothing truly worth having comes easily.

What we have here is the chance to experience something very few people do. We get a chance to be a part of something special, a chance to learn in a real way each of us has value, and what we accomplish together is so much greater than any of us could individually. There are so many life lessons wadded into a hard workout, none of which can be separated from the activity.

Sports, simply put, are a reflection of life.

Here's the nugget I've been building to... the way you approach a challenge says a lot about your chances of success, and ultimately your character. You will not win every time you try, no matter how hard you try. However, if you keep trying you will ultimately succeed. And I can tell you from personal experience the sweetest successes come from the most bitter of defeats. You see, not only did you achieve the goal you aimed for, but you know also what you had to overcome to get it. It's like winning twice.

Hill workouts aren't easy - they aren't supposed to be. I'm proud of the way you girls went after them, and that you were able to do so many. Great job! However, next time you are faced with one of these workouts, try to see them not as hills, rather opportunities. 

Ladies,

I'm feeling really good about this team. As I roll through our roster, I see girl after girl with talent. We're deep, and we're good. More than that, for the most part, we're healthy. That's a great way to start a season.

Don't think that will last though. We will be training at a higher intensity level, and if you ignore soreness and pain it will quickly turn against you. Pain is normal, we all go through it; the smart athlete takes measures to understand and contain it.

Your #1 friend is ice. Ice reduces swelling and speeds healing. Stretching is your #2 friend, because flexible muscle is healthy muscle, and is far less likely to be hurt in the first place. Hydration is friend #3. Ignore hydration at your peril! If you can remember these three friends daily, you'll find your season will progress much more smoothly.

Remember we will be training six days a week now, not 5 as through the summer. Yes, we train on Saturdays. Where we meet is optional, and I prefer to go off-campus for this one. Saturday, when open, should be a longer run, so I would prefer it to be an easier course. What does that mean? Likely as not we'll be running the Milwaukee. You may think you're tired of it, but believe me, it's the easiest way to get a long run in. You don't want to do a long run on our course!

Tomorrow we run at 3:30 at BNL. Meet at the soccer field gate. Make sure you bring your running clothes!

Ladies,

I won't lie, I am concerned by the number of missed practices so far. I'm sure there are reasons for everyone, but I hope if you are missing you are running a bit on your own. Don't throw away the benefits you gained from a hard summer of training!

For the girls who did make it today, it was a solid workout. We did a 2-mile tempo, and let's look at the numbers:

Runner	Time	Avg	Proj 5k
Madison	13:47:00	6:53:30	21:21:51
Joslyn	13:48:00	6:54:00	21:23:24
Carrie	14:14:00	7:07:00	22:03:42
Kate	15:25:00	7:42:30	23:53:45
Diana	16:15:00	8:07:30	25:11:15
Chelsea	16:52:00	8:26:00	26:08:36

I will open with a hearty "I'm VERY pleased!"

I want to be realistic with you, so let me break this down a bit. It may sound like a downer at first, but have patience, I think I can bring this around.

When it started, all the girls were together, though Diana and Chelsea quickly carved off the back a bit, as they should have. Carrie was leading, and took the girls down the road at what was likely (initially) a sub-6:30 pace. It's easy to do on this course, as the first mile is downhill. 

By the time the girls were at the bottom of Industrial Park, Kate had broken off the back, as she should have. The pace was too much and she had to make the adjustment.

Shortly after that, Madison took over the run. Carrie slipped off, Joslyn slipped up to Madison's shoulder and ran off her shoulder, as she should have. She let a more experienced girl (with talent) lead the workout, a smart thing to do since Joslyn had never done this type of workout. 

The second mile winds uphill for the first half, and this is where I expected a drop off. The first girls came through mile one at around 6:45, Carrie a bit under 7:00, Kate a bit over 7:00, Diana and Chelsea over 8:00. Sorry I didn't write those down - I was pretty excited when I saw where they were!

Coach Jo and I drove to the mile two mark to catch the finish, where we recorded the times. I wanted to see not only the times, but how the runners handled the stress. I haven't really spoken to Coaches about this, but I'll share with you my thoughts...

Madison - that was a super mature run. You could have waited with Carrie when she began to slow down, but you did the right thing... you moved on around when you knew you could. Not only that, you carried that freshman with you, showing real leadership. When you finished I didn't have the impression that you were "finished", meaning I felt you could have carried it another mile. Would I be happy with that projected time first meet? As it would be a huge PR, I'd say YEAH!

Joslyn - great, GREAT job there! I've already touched a bit on how it was smart to let Madison guide you through that workout. You also looked very strong as you came in, in fact your comment, "My breathing wasn't a problem at all" was a welcome relief. My guess is we've probably figured out what is causing your trouble of late. Drink plenty of fluids!

Carrie - this was a solid time, believe it or not. You are not used to seeing girls in front of you, and I know how hard that is - BELIEVE me! What this will come down to is your pacing and pain tolerance. At times you look brilliant - you just ran an outstanding Limestone 5k. I think what is going to have to happen is you will really have to be aggressive about your recovery at home. Ice, stretch, ice, stretch. Ibuprofen and Tylenol. You can get through this, every runner goes through this at some point or another. 

Kate - you cannot begin to understand what you bring to this team, and the fact you can also run fast makes it so much better. Maybe you had no idea what you were getting into when you started the hard portion, but I love that you tried to stay with the front at first. Okay, so you fell off halfway through. Big deal. Have courage! Little by little, you will hang in there longer, until you can't be dropped. You are strong, perhaps physically the strongest girl on the team. With focus, you will be able to maintain the pain for longer and longer periods of time. You'll also figure out where your boundaries are, and how to ride the edge a bit better. 

Diana - believe it or not, this was a solid run for you too. You were even on the splits, and you were smart enough to let that gap open when it needed to. That time would be the best opening day time you've ever had, and that's no small thing. Be encouraged! 

Chelsea - I know you ran hard yesterday evening, and that made you sore enough you didn't want to push it again. Have courage! Never be afraid to try. Never stop probing for weakness, never stop attacking, be persistent. If you can keep your mind there, the race will fly by for you. You are easily in the top-5 of all middle schoolers in the county, and on any given day could win a meet. Just don't be afraid to take it to them all!

Okay, I projected out all your 5k times based on pace today. There are caveats... this was a road event. That means you would slow down some going to grass. On top of that, BNL is a hillier course. Still, and this is the most important part, you girls weren't running anything like this at this same time last year. Carrie and Diana, you are both a minute faster on overall projected time. I don't have times on anyone else from last year, sorry to say, but what do those comparisons mean? 

Ultimately, it projects a minute drop from last year's best time by the end of the season. Now do you see why I'm pleased? ;)

Final Parkview run tomorrow, 8 AM. 

Ladies,

So this is it. We start a new season, one filled with a great deal of promise. Many of you gave your summer to the sport, and we managed to keep everyone running the whole time. That's great! We also saw growth in all of you, so I'm confident we are set for a great beginning.

I will have forms tomorrow. There are three we deal with: physicals, handbook, and trainer consent. The physical forms you download from the IHSAA site and take to your doctor; the others I give you. All three will need to be signed and returned, though only the physical is immediately required before you can start practicing.

Let's lay the ground rules out there before I go any further:

1. Practice is mandatory. If you are going to miss, you need to contact me immediately. This is not an activity or a club sport, it's a team and you owe it to yourself and your teammates to do your best to make it a better sport. 
2. Practice will typically last no more than 1 1/2 hours, with rare occasions going longer. This of course depends on you. If you get dressed and out on the field in an expeditious manner, there should never be cause to be held over. Be on time!
3. You will respect one another at all times. No bullying, harrassment, etc. This is handbook stuff, so I won't labor the point. 
4. You will be responsible for equipment (uniforms) issued to you. 
5. I am the coach, and I alone will determine who will run varsity any given meet. This will typically be the 7 fastest girls at meet time, but this can be altered if there are rules violations or health issues. Missing practices can be cause for losing a spot at a meet (or more, if the problem persists). 
6. All runners who complete the season doing what I ask will receive varsity points, whether or not you are in the top 7. Make the practices and try your hardest and this will never be an issue. 
7. You are student athletes, not athlete students. Grades matter, and will be monitored. 

There will be more to follow, but this covers the bulk of what is likely to crop up. 

Practice this week:

• Monday-Wednesday at Parkview track, 8 AM
• Thursday-Friday at BNL, 3:30 PM
• Saturday 8 AM, location TBD

Remember girls - you have to have 10 regular practices completed before you can run a meet. I will keep track, as will the Athletic Department. Sometimes missing practice is unavoidable, I understand, but the more consistent you are, the better you will be. Make every effort to be at every practice.