First Speed Workout

Ladies,

I wish all of you could have done the workout tonight. Alas, once again, fate is cruel, and we were short several team members. Of the 18 members of the team, only 12 were able to do the speed work tonight. I'm sure several of them wished they were hurt by the end of it, but in truth, they did a fine job and will benefit from it in the end.

In line with this season's "just race" mentality I've been pushing, I sent the girls out with the instructions, "push hard, like you would in a 5k". Apparently to Carrie that means a sub-18:30 5k, because she drug the front group out in a 5:45 pace first quarter that had me stop the group for a clean restart. There was no point letting THAT go on!

Once the group got going again, things settled down. Let me show you the numbers so you can judge for yourself.

Runner	800	800	400	800	800	Total	Avg Pace	5k
Carrie	3:11	3:06	1:25	3:10	3:05	13:57	6:12	19:13:12
Baili	3:17	3:17	1:26	3:24	3:14	14:38	6:30	20:09:41
Danielle	3:32	3:24	1:43	3:24	3:18	15:21	6:49	21:08:56
Alannah	3:44	4:02	1:52	4:40	4:25	18:43	8:19	25:47:15
Ani	3:46	3:55	1:54	4:37	4:28	18:40	8:17	25:43:07
Katlyn	3:50	3:42	1:49	3:43	3:34	16:38	7:23	22:55:01
Delaney	3:52	3:44	1:49	3:50	3:44	16:59	7:32	23:23:57
Molly	4:01	4:03	1:52	4:12	4:02	18:10	8:04	25:01:47
Amber	4:04	4:10	2:04	4:17	4:15	18:50	8:22	25:56:53
Ali	4:07	4:27	2:17	4:49	4:30	20:10	8:57	27:47:07
Payton	4:47	5:06	2:38			12:31	10:00	31:02:29

I hope that all fits on. I tried my best to modify it so things would slide in okay. 

Starting at the top, Carrie was solid throughout. No surprise there - she's in top form and has done this for years. She knows what she is doing. 

Baili hung in there bravely, but is still facing a bit of the sick. The third 800 looks deceiving - I told the group to contain themselves on that one. She was running with coach like the good girl she is.

Danielle really grew tonight. She decided to keep in contact with Baili as much as she could. Exactly right! Maybe Danielle did slip a bit at the end, but no matter; little by little she will catch Baili. That's what we want. 

Alannah started fine but quickly faded. This is inexperience and a bit of the carryover of sick over the weekend. 

Ani blew up, pure and simple. The pace was way too fast on the first one, then way too slow at the end. a more moderate beginning would serve her well. 

Katlyn got stronger as she moved along. This was the first time this season she's looked like the old Katlyn, and I hope it gives her confidence going forward. 

Delaney was also solid, and got stronger as the workout went on. The hip appears better now, so if we could see more of this, the team will really benefit. 

Molly was pretty even throughout, and for the first speed workout, that's pretty darn good. The projected time from the workout would be quite a drop!

Amber struggled a bit in the second half, but this was her first time on this type of workout. Getting that early pace right is a challenge. No matter. The projected time is much faster than she's raced yet. That's how hard she worked. 

The middle part of Ali's workout fell apart a bit, but she brought it back at the end. What is important to realize is Ali was getting less rest than most of the other girls (since she was finishing her speed work behind the others). It's pretty impressive she hung in there at all. 

Payton really struggled. Her calf is bothering her a bunch. We talked about that a bit before I sent her for ice. I'm hoping she hit the ice and stretching when she got home. If not, well... practice won't get much easier. ;)

All of you - if I conservatively added two minutes to each of your times for a 5k total, you would still be faster than you've been so far this year. Understand, this indicates what you could do on a similar course (flat and perfect surface). Our race courses are anything but, so time would be added. I do think if you added 1-2 minutes to the projected 5k time on the chart, you could safely bet you could run that time on a regular course. That gives you a safe bet about what you could expect in the next meet. Anything can happen though, and remember, these are only ranges. Some of you could go significantly faster depending on conditions. 

Salem Invite (spoiler: WE WON!)

Ladies,

It was a tough way to go. People sick, people hurt, and people having a tough time in life. It is always so; it's part of the struggle. What matters most is how we react to the tough times. You girls did it right.

And you won.

Practically anyone today had a good reason to take it easy and let it go. You fought through whatever it was and held your part. You did it for your team, you did it for yourselves, and you did yourselves proud.

We didn't think Salem would be strong, but you never know how the other teams will look. Jeffersonville was a surprise entrant, and I'm glad they were there. They turned out to be our main competitors, and as Conference rivals, it's always nice to get an early peek.

It was a meet I felt we could win, and might even have the individual winner. Though we didn't get the individual, we did get the team win. Under normal circumstances we might have gotten both, but let's face it... if we had to choose one or the other, we got the right one.

Here are the numbers...

Runner	Mile 1	Mile 2	Finish	Pace
Joslyn	6:40	13:46	21:54	7:03
Carrie	6:40	14:23	23:05	7:26
Baili	6:50	14:43	23:26	7:33
Zoe	6:53	14:59	24:05:00	7:46:08
Sara	7:07	15:13	24:17:00	7:50:00
Danielle	7:18	15:29	24:36:00	7:56:08
Kate	7:16	15:44	25:31:00	8:13:52
Chelsey	7:54	16:42	25:56:00	8:21:56
Delaney	7:52	16:30	26:13:00	8:27:25
Katlyn	8:11	17:17	27:16:00	8:47:45
Ani	7:51	17:21	27:55:00	9:00:19
Ali	8:53	18:35	29:04:00	9:22:35
Amber	9:16	20:32	33:37:00	10:50:39

While we didn't get all best times, we did get season's best times from a few girls. Joslyn, Zoe, Sara, Delaney, and Katlyn all improved time from Monday. The rest? No, but that's not all bad. 

Carrie and Baili are sick. Danielle was a bit too aggressive on the first mile (according to the splits) Kate and Chelsey had slow middle miles (easy to fix). The rest I would attribute to good ol' tired. Two meets in one week are tough to pull off. 

Something to look at on these numbers girls... and it will tell you what I mean by too fast on the first mile... If you lost more than 30 seconds on that second mile, your first mile was too hard. 

In Joslyn's case, 6:40 went to 7:06. That's not terrible. Carrie went 6:40 to 7:43. That's too much, but is attributable to her illness. Check your splits out and see. In most cases, that's where you need to focus attention. 

We start speed work on Monday. Rest up!

That's a lot more like it!

Ladies,

Sometimes you have to clear the air. I'm glad to see how you all responded today at practice. I told Coach Vance to take you out a bit harder and challenge you, and from what she told me, those of you who went with her rose to the occasion.

It's not an easy run from BNL to the Water Company. That last hill to the trail, and the final big climb coming out of the bottoms are both beasts. If you climbed them without stop, good for you; it was a pretty hot one out there.

Our distance has held pretty consistent at 5-6 miles. While I wish for more, I dare not push it. Instead we'll have to have more quality. Starting Monday, we will be doing speedwork. I won't lie, that's going to hurt. A lot. It's the hardest part of the season, no doubt. Never fear, you will survive it. What you get out of it will depend on what you put into it. At any rate, your daily running speed will improve as a result of improved efficiency.

More good news: neither Madison nor Zoe have broken bones, and both are cleared to run. We will be breaking them in over the next few weeks. Cynthaney has resumed training too, and though she is not cleared to run, she can work cardio. Who knows, by the end of the season we may have all 18 girls running!

Tomorrow we have to training options - morning or afternoon. The morning session will be at 6:00 AM by the pool. It will be a 4-mile run. The afternoon session will start regular time and end by 4:30 PM, and will also be a 4-mile run.

Saturday we will leave from BNL pool at 7:30 AM. We should be back by 12:30 PM or so. 

Tough Talk

Ladies,

Every couple of years in coaching I wind up having to give a talk like I did tonight. I never enjoy it. I am a positive person by nature, or at least I try to be. When I am with you, I want everything to be moving forward, for us to look at what we can do to make progress towards the aggressive goals we have set for this team. It takes cooperation and commitment to reach these goals. Alas, sometimes those qualities begin to erode.

On paper we are an outstanding team. We have the natural speed to compete with any team. In reality we are far from that right now. Injury upon injury, circumstance upon circumstance, it's gotten to the point where we have lost over one-third of our team in part or completely. We had depth; now we don't. The sad part? It didn't have to be.

Some things are beyond our control. Things do happen. Unfortunately for us, we've also had our part in making things happen. Common sense precautions, those things we coaches have harped on all summer long, have been ignored. What followed was utterly predictable. No - it was predicted, and yet some were surprised when it happened.

How many times have one of you come up to me and said your calf hurt, I tell you what to do when you get home at night, and a couple days later you come up to tell me it hurts again? The kicker? I ask you if you followed my instructions, and you say, "no".

I. Can't. Help. You.

Small things stay small if you manage them. Ignore them and small things become big things. Every. Time. I'm not Nostradeckard. I don't have to see the future. I can see the past, and how it plays out every time. If you don't manage minor injuries, they WILL become major injuries.

Look, everyone who is in a sport hurts. That's part of it. If you aren't hurting, I'm not pushing you. That's something we have to wrap our heads around. Not all pain is bad or abnormal. Bone pain is bad. Soft tissue pain is mostly normal. Once again, that's not hard.

Bottom line - manage your pains. Ask me what to do if you don't know. Follow the instructions. Keep me posted. Simple.

Now the whole extra-curricular activity stuff...

You should not be involved in any other sports activity (unless we have already arranged it) for the duration of the season. I shouldn't even have to say that, but I will now. We already have too many people hurt.

Homecoming week activities - this is going to sound awful, but it's better to be honest with you so you understand why I say this. The timing of Homecoming puts it near enough to the end of the season that if you wind up on crutches from playing in that game, you might as well turn in your uniform. Why? Because I have to turn in my Conference and State Tournament rosters so early, I have to guess who is going to be healthy. I am only allowed so many girls to be on the roster. See it now? You wind up on crutches at that time, I can't rely on you being healthy by tournament, you don't make the roster, the season is over by the time you can run again. That's what you are risking.

We have five seniors, many of whom are scholarship candidates at Division II schools. I can't sell an injured runner. Fair or not fair, that's the reality of it. You can make your own choice, but you have to live with it. And so does the rest of the team.

I will tell you this... I am not giving up a single minute of practice to Homecoming. Don't even ask. As of now, on this topic, my good nature has been abused enough. 

First Meet

Ladies,

I hope I didn't go too far tonight with the pre-race talk - you know, about George. It's been a trying time for my family over the last few weeks, really the last few months, and George has been on my mind a lot. The man was a testament to grace under duress, and I'm humbled by his example. I hope sharing a bit about his life inspires you the way it does me.

As for the race itself, I couldn't have asked for more. I intentionally didn't give you a lot of instructions, other than basically saying, control early, then go for it hard. And that you did.

I am super happy with the splits early on. No disastrous first miles to complain about... no, I thought you all did a reasonable job. Carrie, you especially took the pre-race chiding the right way and did exactly what you needed to do. Joslyn and Baili also did well, trying to keep Carrie contained and in sight.

Danielle, you proved you are a blue-chipper, just as we knew you were. Even after what you've been through this week, you came out tough on your inaugural 5k. I am very impressed!

Kate, good job on nailing down #5 for us tonight - and maybe in your best time ever! I have lost all of my online data from last year (computer crash), but I will try to look it up elsewhere in the coming days. For now, I'm pretty sure if that wasn't your best time, it was darn near it.

Chelsey, you looked strong the whole way. That finish especially showed me you could run with confidence even late in a race.

Molly got a #7 spot on her first race! And, if I am not wrong, she beat her sister's best time. I have to hunt that up to verify, but, like Kate, I'm pretty sure I'm right.

Ani had a huge PR tonight. I ran the Limestone 5k with her, where she barely broke 30:00. Tonight she went over 3:30 faster. That's a huge gain!

Delaney completed her first 5k, and it too was a solid effort. There is no way to prepare runners for the distance - you have to do it, then you know what you're in for. Next time won't be so bad, and you will get faster. I think it was a great effort and time.

Katlyn, we talked about it after the meet, but for the sake of giving you your time here, let me repeat a bit; you will come back quickly. You've had some tough stuff to get through this summer, but the good news is it's easier to reach a height you've already hit than it is to climb there in the first place. Time will fall away from your current place, don't worry.

Ali, I'm so proud of you. I envy your strength, and your ability to keep on moving. Your face showed the strain most of the way, but you toughed it out. Great job!

Amber, you just chug. Your demeanor doesn't change much, so you don't reveal anything to those that don't know you, but you are a tough cookie. I think as you learn the race you will figure out where and when to be more aggressive, and your time will fall quickly.

Alannah, 5k is tough. You love to train, I know because the crossfit stuff you do is body nazi-type workouts. Hopefully you have gained some respect over the last few weeks for endurance athletics. You pulled yourself through a tough race tonight, and that took maturity. Keep after it, especially in practice.

Payton, you really surprised yourself, didn't you? That was a wonderful effort tonight! Way to go after it, especially late in the race.

Here are the splits:

Runner	Mile 1	Mile 2	Finish	Pace
Carrie Flinn	6:57	14:04	22:07	7:08
Joslyn Wever	6:57	14:15	22:46	7:20
Baili Peterson	6:58	14:26	23:05	7:26
Danielle Kittaka	7:07	14:41	23:39	7:37
Kate Albertson	7:34	15:29	24:36:00	7:56:08
Chelsey Schofield	7:30	15:53	25:19:00	8:10:00
Molly Mitchell	8:16	17:01	26:20:00	8:29:41
Ani Brock	7:30	16:18	26:21:00	8:30:00
Delaney Myers	8:15	17:01	26:31:00	8:33:14
Katlyn Eagan	7:42	17:07	27:57:00	9:00:58
Ali Allen	8:51	18:19	28:51:00	9:18:23
Amber Foster	8:51	18:45	29:49:00	9:37:06
Alannah Zollman	8:40	18:45	29:53:00	9:38:23
Payton Flynn	8:56	18:53	30:02:00	9:41:17

Really nice job, ladies!

Meet!

Ladies,

Tomorrow - be at the BNL soccer field by 4:30 PM. Have your uniform. Meet starts (for the girls) at 6 PM. 

Challenges

Ladies,

We are always riding the razor's edge. We push our bodies, we hurt, and we struggle to get every last ounce out of ourselves. We tell ourselves that nagging pain we feel is nothing, that it will be better tomorrow. Usually it is. Sometimes though, it isn't.

We are transitioning to running on the BNL course. It's rough. It's hard on the body. Some pain is normal. That's why it's imperative you maintain yourselves. Ice after run any part of your body you THINK might hurt. The more you can stay ahead of pain, the easier it is to manage. Stretch! Finally, and this is a big one, stay in good shoes.

Not just good shoes, mind you. Shoes that fit you properly. You can buy high-quality shoes that just don't fit your feet properly. Example: if you have a narrow foot and you buy shoes for wide-footed runners, you will have trouble. The reverse is obviously true, too. Your shoe needs to hold your foot in place and support it properly underneath. Usually that means you'll find a brand that's good for you and hang with it. I'm a wide-footed runner, and for me Asics and Saucony work best. Narrow-footed runners typically run in Nike or Mizuna. There's a little trial and error to it, but if you find a brand that's good to you, stick with it.

Don't try to extend the life of your shoes too long. Generally for girls your size and weight, 300-500 miles is it. Don't think you're saving money if you take it up to 700 miles; I promise an X-ray is more expensive than a pair of shoes.

Tomorrow we are going to do our tempo run. Not everyone will. No one will run on the course tomorrow at all. I'm going to pull back on that a bit and try to preserve some legs. We'll have to come into it a bit more gently. We haven't lost anyone yet, and by golly, I don't plan on it now.

See you all tomorrow evening. 

THAT'S What I'm TALKIN' 'BOUT!

Ladies,

Wow, did you gals look sharp tonight! Those singlets really made you look like a team. And your running? Outstanding on the hill work girls. That's the strongest any of our teams have looked climbing in a long time.

We are closing in on one week to go before our first meet. It's exciting to think what you gals will do this year. I cannot even guess who are top runners are going to be, or how fast all of you will go. We'll just have to wait and see!

Tomorrow we are going to run a regular practice at BNL. Saturday... I think we'll go back to Parkview. After a few BNL days it will be nice to get a break. It will also help those girls that have to work afterward. Best to keep the time to a minimum. So, officially, practice on Saturday will be 8-9:30 AM at Parkview Track. We'll do a trail run. We might extend it a bit depending on the weather. I will not keep you late regardless.

Looks like we have to use the old uniforms until the new ones come in. I will distribute those soon. Stay tuned!

Back to the Course

Ladies,

Today was the first day we ran on the BNL course for the season. I didn't allow us to run too far on it for a simple reason; it's hard on you when you aren't used to it. I know we've been doing trail running, but that trail is well-manicured and immaculate in texture. The BNL course is rough in places with ample opportunity to turn or twist ankles. You will be sore after running on it. Bet on it. Be prepared to ice sore body parts over the next week or so as we acclimate.

I've given a lot of leeway to girls missing practice this week because it's a bit of a hybrid time - half is summer, half is school. That leeway is about to disappear. We need you at practice. We need you there every day. If you aren't going to be there, I need to know and know why. That's the only way this works. This isn't a club activity; it's a sport. Sports are demanding, and a commitment. I am committed to being at practice every day and on time. I expect the same from all.

I also expect you to keep your grades up. That's right, I will be checking. You are student-athletes, and if you are paying attention, you notice "student" comes first. It does with me, too. I've been a coach a long time, but I also have been a teacher a long time. Priority will always be academics.

That said, there is no reason you cannot do both. Will it be hard at times? Of course! That's one of the life lessons you learn from participating in sports - the invaluable lesson of time management. If you prioritize your activities, you can get the important stuff done. Ancillary activities might need to go on hold for a while. That's the way it works in the real world, too.

I expect you all to be role models, good citizens, good friends, and good teammates. I want you to be the envy of all BNL sports, an example of doing it right. That's what I want to be a part of.

This whole post tonight could be boiled down to setting high expectations... I have them for you, and I know you can live up to them. I challenge you to challenge yourselves - set that bar high, and give everything you have in everything you do. Extreme? Maybe. But for me, the edges are where the fun is...

Stretch, Ice

Ladies,

More and more of you are reporting sore knees, hips, and ankles as we move into the second week of season. This is normal, especially for those that didn't run much this summer. We haven't done much of any real hard work yet, so it's hard to imagine we have done anything that could hurt anyone. That said, there are basic steps you should be following all season long, ESPECIALLY if you are prone to injury.

1. Always stretch before and after running, and again at night at home.
2. Always ice areas of concern EVEN IF THEY DON'T HURT!
3. Always run in shoes that are not worn out.
4. Always warm up before running hard.

That last one... Let's talk about that one.

Today we did our warm-up, then we headed down the trail. Some of the girls made the first mile the hardest. It's easy to understand why. It's downhill, and you hadn't had time to get really overheated at all. It was the easiest running. After that mile, the heat settles in, breathing gets hard, and pretty soon form falls apart. Once the form falls apart, you begin running in ways that make you ache in various places. 

While I said I want girls to run faster, we have to be smart about that. Just like you would warm up before a race, you have to warm up a bit in the early parts of your workout before you're ready to run harder. Give your body's joints time to generate lubricant, let the body begin processing lactic acid, let your heart rate settle to a rhythm. Do that, and the middle part of your run will be faster AND more comfortable. 

This sport is hard to master. It's much more layered and nuanced than the casual observer could ever see. It is also fraught with risk to the unwary. Take the precautionary approach to recovery and warm-up, and you will have a better chance to be successful as the year goes on. 

This Coming Week 8/10-8/15

Ladies,

Our summer is almost gone. We have two more days to run from Parkview, and then... to the school!

Let's try to get some clarity here before we proceed. If there is anything I know about working with large groups of people, it's that if you make a change, there will be confusion. So, what's coming this week?

Monday - practice at Parkview, 8-9:30 AM
Tuesday - practice at Parkview, 8-9:30 AM
Wednesday - practice at BNL, 3:30-5 PM
Thursday - practice at BNL, 3:30-5 PM
Friday - practice at BNL, 3:30-5 PM
Saturday - practice location TBA, 8-9:30 AM

I'm leaving the Saturday location open for the time being because we might switch venues depending on weather and other factors. That will be a common practice. I like to be able to get you gals off-campus once in a while, because the course can get kind of stale fast.

We had a very solid first week of training, and as we move forward we need to be mindful of what's coming. We have our first meet in two weeks, so it's time to begin accelerating our training, pace in particular. We will have to make the attempt to get more familiar with our faster running forms, meaning, we'll have to run faster on a regular basis. That doesn't mean we won't have recovery runs; it means we are entering the serious training portion of the progression.

Summer is about conditioning you so you can get to the season to train. Summer is over. Season is here. Time to train! What's the difference?

Conditioning is lower-level activity that prepares the body for much harder work to come. If you skip the conditioning and shock your body with training, the likelihood of injury rises dramatically. So... by coming all summer, you've prepared your bodies for the shock to come. It will hurt you less. Those that were not regularly running will have a much harder time, and it will take longer to progress. We can't do anything about that now, we have to move forward. It's not impossible to have a great season without summer, just much harder. And more painful. But it certainly can be done!

Uniforms! I'm guessing the order is in. I'm not sure about the particulars of your order, when they will come in, who does the screening, but in the event they don't come in on time, we do have uniforms. However... some of you girls still have last year's issue. Yes, you do. We will need to get those back or we may very well run short. Or, I guess, you can keep your issue but let me know you have it. Either way, if push comes to shove, we will need to use the old uniforms. Be ready.

Uniforms and Junk

Ladies,

It was another great workout today. The miles are going to quickly add up, as will the work level. With that in mind, let me remind you as we head into the weekend of a few things.

1. We practice 6 days a week. Yes, even Saturday. Your opponents will, and if I'm being honest, some teams even encourage girls to run on Sundays (unofficially). I am not. I don't want ANYONE running on Sundays. Rest. You're going to need it.
2. Stay in good shoes. If you don't, very quickly the pain is going to set in. Trust me on this one... shoes are cheaper than a doctor's visit. 
3. Come to practice every day, but if you can't, contact me personally. I am not a hardcase, I will work with you, but please, no messages through friends about maybe you couldn't come because there was this thing and you didn't know what you should do if that guy wanted to contact you... you get the idea. 
4. Keep me informed about any extra training you might be doing. I won't necessarily say no, but I definitely need to have an idea of what your training load actually is.
5. Ice anything you even think might be getting sore. Stay ahead of injury. 
6. Get your sleep. You can't absorb your training if you don't let the body rest. 
7. Don't be afraid to eat. You need food to fuel that body. You're going to run enough that weight won't be a problem. 
8. Give what you have at practice, try to be your best, try to challenge your friends and teammates. 

Uniforms

Looks like we are coming to crunch time. We'll need sizes, so let's get those to Carrie tomorrow. 

I spoke with the coaches after I spoke to you girls, and they think maybe I went a little too far with my request about bottoms. I know I'm an old guy, so let me soften a bit. Absolutely no bikini bottoms! (How's that for soft?) If you girls can find tasteful spanks or something like AND you all agree on it, I can live with it. It may not be my preference, but I'm not president. 

See you in the morning!

Rainy Hills

Ladies,

That was one for the books, wasn't it? I bet if we are all being honest, when we got up this morning and saw the radar we were all thinking, "Man, this isn't going to happen!" Aren't you glad we went?

It turned out to be a great day. Sure, it rained the whole time - hard. But didn't it feel good? Wasn't it a nice change from the heat and humidity? I think so. Speaking for myself, I would 1000 times rather run in today's weather than hot and humid.

You all looked so strong climbing that hill. Coach Jo and I both noticed you all held it together so well. That's what's going to happen as it cools down, too... you're just going to feel better all the time.

We still need to watch form whenever we run. Hills have a form, racing has a form, and regular running day running has form. Always be mindful of what you're doing. Practice makes perfect, whatever you practice.

Keep me abreast of your aches and pains. I want to know when it hurts you and how it hurts you. We don't want anyone hurt if we can avoid it.

See you all in the morning!

We Have the Horses!

Ladies,

Sorry for the late post. For a whole host of reasons I've gotten on late again tonight. I will keep it brief as a result.

I like what I see so far. No, I LOVE what I see so far. We are deep girls, very deep. It's not crazy talk at this point to say I can see a path to State meet if things fall our way. We still need a little luck, but I'll tell you, we are very deep. I count 10 girls that could run on any varsity team in the area. That's pretty tough.

Today we broke the group up and tried to individualize the workouts a bit more. I think it worked out well, at least for the group that stayed behind. We got to look at some much-needed form work, and hopefully that will pay off. Remember, practice makes perfect, whatever you practice.

For the girls who hit the trail - great job! That's fantastic what you managed today!

Tomorrow we do hills. I will be pulling a few girls from that workout based on various factors. Do not get your feelings hurt if you are one of them! I want healthy girls for tournament, so I will always make the call. No trial, no jury, no appeal. I am the judge and executioner here!

The Right Direction

Ladies,

Today we did the first tempo of the new season. It was an informal affair - I didn't even take splits. I wanted to focus more on getting a look at our grouping, and I also wanted a look at the returning girls we haven't seen much this summer. I was very pleased with the results to say the least.

We have a solid front group. I think we are going to be very competitive throughout the season, though the people in that front group will change as we go. That doesn't mean people will get worse; in fact, I think up is the way all will go. What I am driving at is we will see mercurial growth from some. The odds just stack up that way. We have so many girls, there is a sleeper hiding in there somewhere. Just remember I told you so.

This first week is about establishing a rhythm to our weekly schedule. When racing begins, we will average one meet a week, so we'll plan for two additional hard days to go along with that. That's all the hard you need as a racer. Usually that will be a tempo and some form of strength or speed training. The other days will either be distance or rest. That's the broad outline of the easy/hard relationship. We can go more into that down the road if need be.

Tomorrow we will go for a standard distance run. Six miles is the goal, and that shouldn't be too tough. We will stagger that though... some girls will have reduced distances. I'm even thinking of breaking the workouts up a bit since we have the coaching to do it. It might be good to target people for their specific needs.

For now, keep up the good work! 

And so it begins

Ladies,

We had our first official practice today, and it was a great turnout. The summer fitness training we did will hopefully pay big dividends for those that were faithful and came (or ran) regularly. If you didn't... it will be harder, but stick with it! We need all of you!

It was an easy practice, sort of... I have set a daily rabbit out in the form of Coach Vance. She is the target speed we need to carry us to State, so the more girls we get running her pace, the closer we come to getting all the way to the top. While it's true we only have a few girls who can sort of hang with her now, by the end of the season we should have plenty more.

We are also starting to see injured people get healthy. That's great news. I fully believe if we can keep healthy, we have all we need. That doesn't mean we don't welcome more! If you have friends that are thinking about running, bring them out! The more we have, the easier it gets.

In a similar vein, our fundraising this summer was quite successful. Right now it looks as though there is a plan in place to make another purchase. The seniors are researching the purchase, and we'll have some info to discuss soon. We will have to get a solid head count before we do it though.

On to tomorrow! I can't wait!