Fight 'Til The End

Ladies,

Well, it's officially over. The 2015 season has come to a close with the results of today's Regional. It's bittersweet; both girls fought hard, but both fell short. Both should hold their heads high, because in truth, there was nothing else to do than what they did do - go out swinging. 

For Baili, there was a 50/50 chance going into it she could get out. It was a faster field, and with no known person to pace with, my final instructions were to run for position. She couldn't worry about pace or time, she simply had to gut out the hardest race of the year. It was that simple. For most of the race she hovered right around the 40 mark, but in the final mile the body shut down. 

I know it was crushing, but there was nothing to be ashamed of. Without a depth of running and racing experience it was not really possible for Baili to make the pace adjustments necessary to optimize her time, She was able to pace off Carrie for the bulk of the season, but without Carrie there was no way to reliably go about it. She had to race position, pure and simple. Even if she had been able to pace herself, she would have needed a significant drop in time to get out. It was simply too much to ask. No regrets.

Danielle fared much better. Her 22:34 was an all-time PR by 2 seconds and nearly 50 seconds better than her previous course PR. It was an outstanding day for her. Realistically there was never a chance for her to get out - that would have required at least a 2-minute drop (or more!) and that just couldn't happen. No, this was the best possible outcome for Danielle - a best time on a fine day, and a lot of momentum going into track and next season. We really couldn't have asked for more. 

That said, it's over now. Time to turn the page.

I talked to a few of you about off-season. Once again, let me say I would like all of you, after a rest, to stay active somehow. I will be training constantly, and you are always welcome, however let's remember it will be better if you girls who are not competing in other sports get together on a regular basis. I cannot meet individually with girls! Additionally, for girls running track, you should check with Coach Jo and Coach Amy regarding off-season training. You belong to them now!

Banquet is scheduled for November 2nd. I will try to have the yearbook ready by then!

Okay, Time To Post

Ladies,

It's been hard to get back to the blog over the past week. I could talk about it being a busy time, and it was. I could talk about home life being hectic - it was. I could give a whole lot of valid reasons I haven't posted, but the real reason is I couldn't think what to say.

I failed you.

When things go this wrong, there is only one place to look; the top. I am not upset with any of you, because I think you did your best. I failed to manage the health of this team properly, and there isn't any getting around it. Coulda, shoulda, woulda is all that's left.

In some ways things were a success. Every girl improved this year, some by a great deal. Carrie PR'd as a senior, which is hard for a 4-year runner to do, Baili dropped 90 seconds. Danielle came down a couple minutes. So did Zoe, Kate, Delaney, Molly, Alannah, Payton, Ani, Amber, Katlyn, Ali, and Joslyn. Sara and Chelsey improved by 30 seconds. Typical improvement for an average runner should be around 30-45 seconds from beginning to end. And Madison? She went from "career over" to "limited season with hope for the future". That's big too.

You all worked hard. Maybe you could have done more on the maintenance side at home, but you know, even that's my fault. I should have thrown the ultimatum down harder and faster. Don't take care of your hurts by stretching or ice? You don't run the next meet. You don't properly tend your sore muscles? No practice today. Sooner or later the point would be made. It would have been so easy. It should have been done. Rest assured in the future it will be.

That's it. I don't want to dwell on the negative any more. I will look at the bad only as a means to make effective changes for the positive. Beyond that, I'm not going to beat myself up anymore about it. I strongly advise all of you to do the same thing.

Now what is left is looking forward. First things first - you need to heal. All of you! You need to get healthy enough to tackle your next sport, whatever that is. And if you aren't doing a sport, you should be running or cross-training. You must stay active! I will be running (limited) and biking (a lot!) in the coming weeks, and you are always welcome to join me. A few of us are also looking at Priority Fitness for strength training (they have a $20 per month deal going). Off-season is the perfect time to go after the strength, and it's a nice change of pace. I think the best thing that could happen would be if all of you not engaged in another activity formed a group that met regularly. Get in touch with me if you are interested.

Regional
Tomorrow is Regional, and of course all eyes are on Baili and Danielle. It's a tall order for both, as we have quality teams coming in. Still, it's a great opportunity for both. Listening to Baili talk all week has been fun - she's so hungry for it! Danielle is a little nervous, but that will all go away the second the gun goes off.

We are running the same schedule as Sectional - meet at 10 AM, warm-up starts at 10:30, race at 11:15. If you want to warm-up with the ladies, you are certainly welcome to do so.

See you tomorrow!

Sectional!

Ladies,

Saturday, be at the course by 10 AM. Not 10:10. Not 10:15. 10:00 AM. Yes, that's a bit early - just a bit - but I don't want any rush at all. Town traffic could be seriously curtailed, and we don't want any trouble.

The girls running:

1. Baili
2. Zoe
3. Danielle
4. Kate
5. Delaney
6. Chelsey
7. Sara

I talked to all of you after practice about the reality of our situation. Let me play it again - we have to have a good race by all runners to get out. That's right, Regional is not a given right now. Carrie cannot run this weekend, and it would serve no purpose. Better to face the reality and gear each of us to individually do what we must to advance the team. 

Baili, you need to be as fast as you can to get the money. As you say, the offers have already started. It will be so much more so if you can get under 21:00. That's 6:46 pace. Your middle mile will be the story.

Zoe and Danielle, you two are virtually the same now. 22:00 would be fantastic, though we would take 22-mid as well. 22:00 is 7:05 pace. I have no doubt you two could do that.

Kate, like Baili, you need to bump that time up to get the bigger money. 23:00 would be a huge jump, BUT you are well capable or running that kind of time. You simply need to be as determined as you were on the track on Tuesday. You are not allowing the course or anyone out there to take away what is yours. That's 7:25 pace, and yeah, I think you can. 

Delaney, Chelsey, and Sara... you all need to be under 24:00. We are running an awfully tight margin, and if you are all over the 24 mark we will be hard-pressed to get out as a team. I'm sorry to be so blunt with this, but that's how it is. Better for you to understand while you can still affect the outcome than to find out afterward. Is it pressure? Yup. But you know what, that's what champions do. They face the challenge however much it scares them. You gals were all tough on Tuesday. I'm asking you to be just as tough on Saturday. Nothing more, nothing less. The pace? 7:44 gets you under 24:00. Here's a big hint: be at the 2-mile mark at or under 15:00. 

So, for reference, here's the breakdown:

Time	Pace
21:00:00	6:46:27
22:00:00	7:05:48
23:00:00	7:25:10
24:00:00	7:44:31

It's a tall order, ladies. It's also doable. If each of you decide you are taking what you've worked for come what may, we'll be fine. Either way, I can't wait to see what happens!

Just A Short One To Go

Ladies,

Three miles. That's all that separates you from Sectional. Three measly miles.

Now is the time to start wrapping your heads around what is to come. We have to race well this weekend. It was for no small reason we did the time trial yesterday - we had to know who we best prepared to succeed on Saturday. That in no way disparages anyone who ran... some girls just ran better.

We ran four easy ones today, tomorrow three. It's rest now. That's all there is left for it. Well, that and the mental part.

You know the course. Imagine where you would be weak and be ready for that spot. Imagine yourselves powering through those pieces. You know where you have mental lapses in a race. Look for them! In fact, use them to your advantage - if you are weak in places, that's probably where others are too. Power through and bury them! When you look at it that way, your weak spots can empower you. Be courageous!

I want to think over time goals a little. In broad strokes:

1. Baili - 21:00
2. Zoe - 22:15
3. Danielle - 22:15
4. Kate - 23-anything
5. Delaney - 23-anything
6. Chelsey - 23-anything
7. Sara - 23-anything

Getting the point? Most of this race's outcome will fall on the last four girls. Why? Because that's where the biggest time gaps are. Time gaps create large point totals. You can't have large point totals in tournament. If we are going to get out, at least two of you four have to come up big. There's no denying it.

So... are you ready for the biggest meet of the season?

You Just Never Know

Ladies,

The interval workout today was foreshadowed by an event of even greater significance to the team - the 2-mile time trial. Though the day was warm, the track would be hotter before it was done.

Eight girls made the trials. Only four could pass on to Sectional, and of those, only three to Regional. To say the outcome of today was important would be a grave understatement.

After the warm-up, I gave a short talk about feeling nervous or sick on such events - that it's normal, and shows you really care about what's happening. The trick is to keep caring when the running gets really hard. Never give up!

Ani took it to the girls for the first mile. She split off a clean 30 meter break and held it for the first five laps. Then Kate moved up, caught, ran briefly with Ani, then opened 10 meters of her own. Behind was another group of Madison, Chelsey, Sara, and Delaney. Madison looked like she too might bridge to Ani, but the move never quite happened. With two laps to go Chelsey made the move to Ani, and a clear three had formed. Who would nail down the fourth spot?

Turned out it wasn't nearly over. Ani slid back further to get into the trailing group. Delaney moved forward with Ani, and now the defined three had changed. Madison's foot began to hurt pretty badly and she fell back a bit, and the final spot seemed to come down to Ani and Sara.

Of the two, Ani is the superior kicker. As they headed onto the backstretch I told the watching group Sara needed to move now if she didn't want to get outkicked. Wrong again! Sara waited to the final straightaway, caught Ani with 30 meters to go, and nipped her on the line. It wasn't much, but it was a clear finish. Sara won!

Now my heart certainly goes out to the four girls who didn't make it. I wish there was some way to run all of you, but there simply isn't. That's especially true for Katlyn, the senior. I've never had a runner work any harder, and I sure wish it had worked out. Ani gets to come back, and my hope is she will be stronger and more focused for it. Same with Molly. Madison, well, it was sort of a win. At the start of the season it looked like there would be no season. At least she's progressed to the point to contend for a spot, and in my mind, that's a win.

In the final analysis, we got what we needed. We needed to see heart, and we did. We needed a clear result, and we have it. The only caveat I want to throw into that is I still leave the door open for a breakout run. If you four girls finish this weekend in more or less the same order, I think the top three go on to Regional. If however in the final three of you one of has a huge drop, that supersedes today's results. I warn you though, it would need to be something truly spectacular.

Could it happen? How can you ask? Seriously, how many of you expected Chelsey to be the third runner today? With heart, anything is possible. Oh, and consider this... top three girls were on pace to easily go between 23 and 24 minutes. And trust me, we need that to happen!

Taper Begins!

Ladies,

So today we reduced running by one mile. Big deal, you say. Well, it is.

If normally we run 6 miles, then a one-mile reduction would be almost a 17% reduction in running miles. Yeah, that's significant, especially as that will become the norm from now on. It's going to be much, much easier and faster to get workouts done.

Tomorrow we have the time trial, but for the rest of you girls, it will be intervals. Not many, with lots of rest, but there will be intervals. The mileage will also be reduced. Believe me, it won't be a hard workout.

The time trialers though... that's another story. It's time to get your game on. Tomorrow is very important to anyone wishing to race further into the season. For the seniors involved, race like it might be the last time - it might be! The top 4 runners will race this Saturday. Barring the unforeseen (injury, meteoric improvement on someone's behalf) the top 3 runners will lock down Regional as well. Backs are against the wall, ladies. It's do or die.

Saturday's race for the girls will be at 11:15. I will want you there by 10 AM. I'm going to be posting this all week, so don't be surprised.

I don't know about you gals, but I'm excited about tomorrow!

HHC

Ladies,

The numbers:

Runner	1	2	5k	Pace
Baili	6:36:00	13:44:00	21:30:00	6:56:08
Carrie	6:32:00	13:58:00	22:03:00	7:06:46
Zoe	7:00:00	14:34:00	22:44:00	7:20:00
Danielle	7:00:00	14:35:00	23:01:00	7:25:29
Delaney	7:23:00	15:31:00	24:09:00	7:47:25
Ani	7:23:00	15:54:00	25:03:00	8:04:50
Sara	7:23:00	15:56:00	25:18:00	8:09:41

Obviously the races that should be mentioned first are Baili's, Zoe's, and Delaney's. Baili and Delaney ran PR's - Baili by 7 seconds, Delaney by around 40 seconds. Those were great times! Zoe had a season best by 10 seconds or so, and with the up-and-downs she's faced since the start, it's good to see her coming back to form. 

Baili and I talked a bit before the race. She has always been concerned with how to position according to Carrie. I told her Carrie was hurt and she should run her own race, the one she feels in her chest. That means (in case you are confused) she should run by the pressure she's able to stand in her chest. Don't ask for an explanation beyond that, it's a "race-by-feel" method triathlon racers use to level effort over three different sports, but it does work. It just takes time to master. 

Did she do it? I think so. The middle mile featured a hill that made even splits unreasonable, so all of you would have slowed down there. Baili was no different. However, in the stretch when she went by she still looked strong. 

We've been playing with Zoe's shoe situation. One set hurts her shins, the other hurts her shins (less) and foot (a bunch). We have opted to stay with only shin hurt. It looks like the right choice, because this time was a big improvement. Zoe also looked very strong in the final straightaway, a lot better than any other time this year. 

Delaney has a little trouble with the middle part of the race. Fortunately, coach and I were at the mile mark and gave her a verbal boost at about the right time. She took off from there and resumed hard racing, making significant improvements over the time she would have had if she had stayed in the group. 

Danielle had a solid effort. It wasn't her best time, but she took her shot. 7-flat pace may have been a little too aggressive, but hey, I TOLD you to go for it. You did the right thing. The only way to be in the race is to try to be in the race.

Carrie is hurt. If you've never raced on a high-calf strain, you can't understand how much guts it takes to complete the race as fast as she did. For two weeks now she's brought it home in decent times where most others would walk off the course. She's awfully tough. 

Ani and Sara, your times weren't terrible, but a lapse in focus caught you both out. I actually caught you two and Delaney at mile one and yelled for you to break up your group. Delaney is the one who responded and put a minute on you in the next two miles. Don't take this the wrong way... I don't believe there is any way she's that much better than you gals. In fact, your workouts are faster than hers. So how did it happen? You let it happen. The good news about that is if you can recognize this fact, you can easily fix it. Anytime a girl you beat in practice passes you in a race, catch her. Pass her. It's a simple and obvious truth - if I can beat you every day in practice, I can beat you in a race. Don't ever lose sight of that. 

Now, back to that time trial thing... 

I had Joslyn run the numbers on the way home... with a healthy Joslyn running 20:30, a healthy Carrie running 21:00, Baili at 21:30, Zoe at 22:44, and Danielle at 23:01 our score (119) would have been good enough to place us 4th today. Notice the gap on that... 20:30 to 23:01 is 2:31, way too big for a team to do well in tournament. We would need to close that gap down to do better, and it's a challenge we face going into next year. For now though, we are running from 21:30 - 24:09, or 2:38. We have to rest Carrie for Sectional, so it looks like we have to pull some people up. The cluster is from 24:00 to 24:30 now, and a bunch of you girls are right there. Beyond that we have a couple at 25:00 or so. We have four spots available, and the first two in particular will determine whether or not we move on to Regional. 

1. Delaney 24:09
2. Molly 24:10
3. Sara 24:17
4. Ani 24:22
5. Kate 24:32
6. Madison 24:35
7. Katlyn 25:45
8. Chelsey 25:56

Those are the numbers we are dealing with. See it now? I could make a strong case for practically any girl on that list to run the top-7, and could rule out none. That's why you're in the top-12! We've now come to the place where we HAVE to have a clear decision. 

This isn't going to be popular with everyone. This isn't going to make everyone happy. I can't help that. My job is to put the best possible team on the field this Saturday. My job is to give this team the best chance to advance as far as possible in the State Tournament. Is there a risk not running Carrie? Yes. I will be to blame if we don't get out of Sectional. The only explanation I can offer in advance is the only chance we have to get out of Regional is with her. Period. I think we have a reasonable shot at getting out of Regional, so for me, the choice is pretty clear. 

That's why this time trial is necessary. I believe it is also fundamentally the fairest thing to do. Am I pitting you all against one another? Yes. I have to find out who wants this more. I have to know who is willing to fight hardest for it. I have to know who is healthiest. Same course. Same distance. Same heat. 

I also believe by doing this on Tuesday you will have more than enough time to recover for Saturday's race. The distance is not more than you've been doing for speed work, and in fact by going the whole 2 miles at once it will slow your paces down and make for less risk. We are going to see what strategy you each employ, and whether or not you can come from behind if you get dropped early. It's going to be very, very revealing.