Glad to be back!

Ladies,

I'm so happy to be back, even if I'm beat. We got in early Monday morning, and it was a short nap before I had to get up and get to practice.

I was glad to see all of you there. We upped the mileage today, as planned, and it seemed everyone took that well. We even got a new runner (hello, McKena!).

Tomorrow's practice will be the first time we push the pace a bit. It won't be a tempo per se, rather it will be a timed run. I'm borrowing the idea from VO2 testing inasmuch as the main component is time. It's simple really - once warmed up, you will all run for 12 minutes on the track. At 12 minutes, you stop, and we record how many laps you got, or rather, how many yards. That will give us a baseline number to work from, as well as pace.

Here's the thing - I don't want this to be flat-out running yet. We aren't ready for that yet. In a couple of weeks I'll feel more comfortable pushing you, but for now, we just need some preliminary numbers. This will help me make targets for each of you later specific to you.

Don't be afraid of the workout, it won't be that bad. Hard - yes. Horrible - no.

First day of summer - and it was pretty much perfect

I don't know about you guys, er, gals, but for me, it's hard to beat a 59 degree, low humidity morning for a run. There's no pain, no suffering, it's just... easy. What a great day to start!

We had a bunch of you out... I counted 11 current team members, one middle schooler, one fifth grader, and one foreign exchange student (who sadly has spent her last day with us). We also saw another coach in the form of Jo Scott. I like what I saw - a LOT! Everyone seems fit, there was a lot of energy, and we even ran faster than we did last year on the first day. 

As we move through this week, our goal is to break in and begin to sort things out. Believe it or not, there are only 9 weeks until season starts officially. This summer will absolutely fly by, trust me. Very quickly we will transition to separating the group as necessary. We have new people and we need to be sure we don't hurt anyone right away, so we'll have a plan for you. We also have the veterans, and for you we will be pushing much more aggressively this summer. What do I mean? Let's break it apart a bit.

For the new girls I want to give your legs time to acclimate. About a week into practice you're probably going to start to feel a bit worn down. This is normal. It will pretty much pass within the next week or so. Tough it out! We will pull the mileage up weekly. So, this week you'll run 3's. Next week, 4's. Following week, 5's. This is a pretty aggressive schedule, but the time is limited. To some extent, the length of our summer dictates what has to happen.

For the veteran girls, the mileage will be more like 4-5's, 5-6's, 6-7's and so on. More importantly though... the pace has to pick up. Whatever number you pick out for yourself by season's end, whether that is 20, 21, 22... it breaks down to pace. So, let's say you want to run 20-22 by season's end. By the numbers:

20:00 - 6:27 per mile

21:00 - 6:46 per mile

22:00 - 7:05 per mile

Here it is, pure and simple... your daily training pace, the pace at which you are reasonably comfortable running, has to be within 1:00-1:30 of your goal 5k race time. That's pretty much an absolute of running, as any running coach will tell you. 

This will not be easy to do, at first. But we have something on our side - time. We have plenty of time to work it down. The old conundrum goes "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" We have a similar issue here, "Mileage or speed". Both. You're athletes. You're great athletes. Your competition is doing it, so it can be done.

We will also be doing weekly tempos. That can be done year-round without risk of injury. These runs, though unpleasant, give a weekly check of progress. Done properly, they are a vital tool. I'll talk more about those later.

Tired and sore is normal. What we want to watch out for is pain. Any sharp, knife-like pain, or throbbing pain in joints, I want to know ASAP. Ignoring this type of stuff won't make it go away - ask any girl from last year! We want you all to be healthy and ready to train hard when season kicks off in August. We can't do that if you are in a cast. 

This team has the potential to be a great team. I really believe that based on what I saw today. Be consistent in your practice, show up as often as you can, train as you should, support one another, push one another, and you will be amazed at what you can do. 

Sorry I have to be gone the rest of this week. I'm thrilled to be your coach, and I can't wait to get back to it next week. In the meantime, I expect the seniors to step up and help out in practices. I believe Coach Jo will be with you this week, so she can help with supervision, especially with the new girls. As dull as it is, stay with Parkview - the course is safe and easy to monitor, and there is water available if it gets too hot. As a variation you may also do the Armory/Wilson/Park Avenue loop, and that should be relatively safe too. 

Can't wait to see you guys next week!

Summer is upon us!

Ladies,

Hard to believe it, but yes, it's time to start training again for the upcoming fall season. I know, I know, track just ended. I tried to give you as much time as possible to rest and heal, but facts is facts. We have to start hitting it again.

It's very important that we start as early as possible, that we are consistent, and for the love of all that is holy, that we stay healthy! A slow build-up is the best possible recipe, so girls, one this is for certain: you must run, and you must run regularly.

Next, I have a selfish request - let me determine when you should run hard. I know I share you with other sports and activities. I will do my very best to work with these coaches and sponsors so we keep your risk to a minimum. But you must understand... you cannot hammer activity after activity day after day without paying a price. Your body has a rhythm, and you must obey it.

This year I think I'd like to break the group up if possible. By that I mean we will have levels. This is so we get folks training specific to their abilities/conditioning. Last year we did what we had to do. This year I hope to do what we want to do. What will that look like? I rather imagine a fast/intermediate/novice ranking. With a little luck we'll have enough supervision to make this easily manageable. If not, I'll find some way. Bottom line; you experienced ladies will get the opportunity to run faster and focus more on your personal improvement.

That's not to say we don't want to work together as a team. Of course we do. I'll still expect everyone to encourage everyone at every turn. The older girls especially need to be accessible to the younger girls, to offer advice when and where possible/necessary. We need each other to succeed. We just need, each and every one of us, to be the best we can be.

I don't know about the rest of you, but considering how close we came last year, despite being in a very tough Sectional/Regional bracket... I want to go to Semi-State. We have the talent. Do we have the desire? Do we have the work ethic? I think so.

Let's get fired up, and let's get going!

New training!

Hey Girls,

I've left you alone for some time. This was by design, because I think you need a break after a long season. It's now time to start thinking about the spring track season.

Some of you have been running a bit. That's good! There probably hasn't been a lot of structure about it though, and that's what we need to start creating.

If you are in a sport, stay in it. That's your training. If you are not in a sport, let's get going!

We want to start with the mileage first. Assuming you girls have been running a bit, you'll want to start edging it up. Track doesn't need as many total miles per week as cross, but it won't be that much less.

Let's say you've been running 3 miles three days per week. Let's start by adding a day. Let that go for two weeks, then add another day. Stay there for two weeks. After that, take a couple of the days up to 4 miles. Two weeks, then add a couple more days of 4 miles. Once you have five days of 4 miles per day, you will be at a good level to jump off for track.

Track will be more intense than cross. The overall speed is much greater, which is good for those of you with good natural speed. However, you still need to be strong. You need a good base over the winter so you will be ready for the higher stress of the daily track workouts. The stronger you are, the less likely you are to be hurt when the real speedwork begins.

The main thing is you must run. You must run consistently. This will work best if you meet with others. Try to set a schedule where you can meet together. Believe me, as the weather turns colder and nastier, it gets really hard to head out the door. If someone is counting on you, the chances are much greater you'll go.

I am available to train with you any time you want. I don't think it's my place at this point to run the track preseason training officially, so I won't set a hard schedule for you. I do not want to run afoul of coach Lambrecht! Kathy Hammel would also gladly train with you, especially if you want to run Spring Mill.

Get out there and run!

Banquet December 6th

Ladies,

Okay, change of plans. The banquet will be December 6th, regardless of whether or not we join the boys. Mark it on your calendar. Simply put, it's a day we can all meet without a school event conflict. I will try to nail down (with Coach Hiles) where we will do this, so stay tuned.

We'll need to get those uniforms in, too. A couple of you have done so already, but I need the rest.

The yearbook is done, and I have to say I like how it turned out. I still have time to get more pictures in if you want to get them to me. CD format works best. Let me know and we can try to get together.

DONUT RUN!
Ladies, how many plan to do it? This year they are Krispy Kreme, the official donut of all donut races. You won't want to miss out! I will make sure you get a shirt one way or another, though the order has been placed. I have been instructed to tell you there will be race-day registration, if needed.

An alternative plan

Ladies,

There is a chance we may change the dinner.

I was contacted yesterday by Coach Hiles. He is planning for a December 6th dinner. This is still a Thursday, and would avoid any athletic competition. That's a plus, because we have one athlete at least who cannot attend next Thursday. Additionally, we would likely have more room for parents.

The drawback of course is it would be less "just us", which may or may not be an issue in your minds. It would also mean we would have to listen to the boys' awards as they are given. I don't have a problem with that, I support both programs, but you should know it heading in.

So here's the thing... are you interested in sharing the night with the boys? Would you rather do it with just us? Would we need to pick a night everyone can come?

Please, ladies, I need an answer on this one. If you don't state a preference, I will make the choice. Nobody needs THAT to happen...

Banquet

Ladies,

The yearbooks are all but done - all I need are some pictures. They aren't necessary, they'd just make it nicer. I am limited on my photo collection because I was... well, coaching.

The banquet is beginning to look iffy. I have sent numerous e-mails concerning an event, and to be honest, the response has been underwhelming. I know you're all busy, and many have moved on to other sports or activities. It may just be a case of there being too much to do to get it done. I hope I'm wrong, but as I haven't really gotten a strong response, I can only assume I'm not.

Right now I'm inclined to say I will be sitting at Mr. Gatti's in a booth, eating pizza, if anyone wants to show up on Thursday, November 15th, 7 PM. If not, I'll eat my pizza, go jump in the balloon room for a while, cry softly in a corner, then go home. If you can rest with that on your conscience, go ahead. (the jumping in the balloon room part, not the crying)

This is for you, ladies. I would still love to meet with you once more, but if it can't happen, it can't. So, unless I hear something different, my aforementioned plan is the plan. There is still time for some of you to make other plans (if you hold a religious objection to Mr. Gatti's or pizza in general).

We cannot extend beyond November 15th. Winter sports will begin competition, and the chances of us being able to meet beyond that point will be highly unlikely.