Well, it is finally here. Since last November we have had this weekend in mind - the GSC championships at Veterans' Park in Hoover, AL. We had a terrible race last year, finishing 7th in the men's race after a school record 5th place finish the year before. It ended a 3 year run of ever higher finishes and it left a bad taste in our mouths. We have trained better this year than ever before. We are runnig better this year than ever before. All that remains is to put it all together in tomorrow's race.
These things are always, at least for me, difficult to predict. Depending on how other teams perform, we could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th. We have 2 freshmen in our top 5 and that is a little scary, as they are relatively inexperienced in this type of race at the collegiate level. However, they are both talented kids and if they let their talent work for them, they could come up big for us.
We did a small taper this week, but not a whole lot. We did 4x1 mile on Monday instead of our usual 5 and did them with three minutes rest instead of our usual two minutes. The workout went well and it was over a relatively challenging loop. On Wednesday we did 3 x 800m-600m-400m and it went extremely well. Thursday and Friday were just easy mileage days with strides at the end of the run. As the saying goes, "The hay is in the barn" so we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. If our guys run smart, I like our chances. The worst case scenario is that the younger kids let their emotions get the best of them and they go out too hard and fade at the end of the race. We've done all we can to make sure this doesn't happen, but, once again, one never knows what will transpire.
Regardless of how the race turns out, I am very pleased with how our freshmen performed this year. They have been a very dedicated, hard working group and we'll have a strong core back for next year's team - losing only our 3 seniors - Austin Enriquez, Jonathan Sellers and Craig Warlick.
The women's team is whole different kettle of fish. We have been plagued by injuries all year long - Jessica Gonzalez had a calf/shin problem that kept her from regular training for 6 months in the middle of the season, after she got off to a great start. Kelli Hartley tried to run through a case of plantar fascitis and developed a stress fracture and missed 8 weeks of regular training. Both girls have been back with us for one week and now, Kelli, who did the best job of cross training I have ever seen, is getting sick. We can't expect a lot out of these girls with just one week of running under their belts. They were going to be our #3 and #4 runners this year so it really hurts our chances of moving up in the conference standings. Our top 2 girls, Polina Babkina and Carolyn Mancuso are running well and should perform up to par in the race. The key for us will be how well our pack performs. How much improvement can Amy Benoit and Kirstie Lusignan and Anne Enoch show in this race. They have been running well in training and have all run PR's or near PR's at one time or another this year, but the questions remains: Can they continue this rate of improvement in tomorrow's race and the NCAA regional in 2 weeks. Impossible to tell. We'll know in about 23 hours.
That's about it for now. Got to go get the vans gassed up and loaded up and get all our extra spikes, tape, etc all on board. I'll post results tomorrow.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Monday of GSC week
Well, GSC week has officially begun. Our conference championship race is Saturday, Nov 6th. Today, Monday Nov 1, we started our mini-taper for conference. (We won't do a full-blown taper until the week before the NCAA South Regional on Nov 20th.
Today the men ran 4 x 1 mile at goal pace for Saturday's race with 3' rest. We usually have less rest - 90"-2:00 - but this is part of our mini-taper. We also usually do 5 repeats but reduced it by one to give the guys a bit more rest. The women ran a tempo run today - 3.6 miles on one of our on-campus loops. They usually do 5 miles but we reduced that workout as well.
The workouts went along smoothly. Everyone managed to stay relaxed and run within themselves. Our only concern is Peter who still seems to have zero energy. He went to see the doctor this morning and we are waiting to hear what might be ailing him. He hasn't run well in over 2 weeks now. We may have to switch his place on the GSC roster with one of our alternates - Evan Lemons. If Pete can't run, that would be a blow to our chances. When right, he is right in the mix for our top 4-5 spots.
We have an easy day tomorrow morning and then, on Wednesday, our last quality session of the week - 3 x 800-600-400 on our new grass track with 90" rest after each interval. Again, not much volume - only 5400m - with longer than usual rest periods. Hopefully, enough to keep us sharp and still let us rest enough to get the supercompensation rebound effect we are looking for.
Thursday and Friday will both be easy days without much volume. Just some strides after the runs and, hopefully, we'll be ready to run fast on Saturday.
Long range weather forecast is for a totally sunny day with a high of 60F and a low of 32F that morning. Should be perfect for our 9 AM (women) and 10 AM (men) races.
We are already starting to feel that excitement that comes from an important race in which you know you have a good chance of doing well.
Today the men ran 4 x 1 mile at goal pace for Saturday's race with 3' rest. We usually have less rest - 90"-2:00 - but this is part of our mini-taper. We also usually do 5 repeats but reduced it by one to give the guys a bit more rest. The women ran a tempo run today - 3.6 miles on one of our on-campus loops. They usually do 5 miles but we reduced that workout as well.
The workouts went along smoothly. Everyone managed to stay relaxed and run within themselves. Our only concern is Peter who still seems to have zero energy. He went to see the doctor this morning and we are waiting to hear what might be ailing him. He hasn't run well in over 2 weeks now. We may have to switch his place on the GSC roster with one of our alternates - Evan Lemons. If Pete can't run, that would be a blow to our chances. When right, he is right in the mix for our top 4-5 spots.
We have an easy day tomorrow morning and then, on Wednesday, our last quality session of the week - 3 x 800-600-400 on our new grass track with 90" rest after each interval. Again, not much volume - only 5400m - with longer than usual rest periods. Hopefully, enough to keep us sharp and still let us rest enough to get the supercompensation rebound effect we are looking for.
Thursday and Friday will both be easy days without much volume. Just some strides after the runs and, hopefully, we'll be ready to run fast on Saturday.
Long range weather forecast is for a totally sunny day with a high of 60F and a low of 32F that morning. Should be perfect for our 9 AM (women) and 10 AM (men) races.
We are already starting to feel that excitement that comes from an important race in which you know you have a good chance of doing well.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
One Week To Go!!!!!!
Our conference meet is one week away - Saturday Nov 6th at Veterans' Park, next to Spain Park High School, in Hoover, AL.
We concluded a hard week of training this morning. We will start cutting back a little bit on mileage this week in preparation for the conference championsip race.
On Tuesday, we ran 7 x 800m on our grass track with 60" recoveries. That put a little bit of speed in our legs for the main workout of the week - what we call the Oregon for short. It is a 10K race simulator - the runners do 1200m (3x400) at 3 paces - faster than race pace, close to race pace and close to tempo pace. They then go out on our grass loop for a 2.75 mi tempo run which ends on the track and starts another 1200 at close to race pace leading out to another 2.75 mi at tempo pace and closing with another 1200(3 x 400) at close to tempo pace down to close to race pace down to faster than race pace.
Both of these workouts went well, especially the Oregon. It is such a good indicator of fitness and race readiness. Doing well on it really built up our team's confidence. They know they are fit and race ready because they did so well on this workout.
Today's training session was a hard run up a very hilly dirt road - total distance of 8.48 miles measured with a Garmin satellite watch. It was one of our very best training sessions of the entire season - we had 5 runners average under 6:00 per mile for this difficult road along with 4 others who were within 10" per mile of averaging 6:00/mi. All told, we have had 7 runners go under 6:00 per mile for this workout - 3 of the 5 times we did it we ran 10 miles as opposed to 8.48. This is really a test of one's ability to concentrate and focus. The road is essntially uphill most of the way and it's a very demaning session. So we have seen that our speed is up to par, our race fitness is up to par and we can grind out a sustained effort over a long (8.48 mi) period of time.
All that's left for us now is a recovery run tomorrow - 8-10 miles for our guys and 8 miles for our girls.
Monday we will do some intervals - repeat miles for the guys and repeat 800's for the girls.
Wednesday will be a short, peppy workout 3 x 800-600-400 with good rest after each/
Thursday and Friday will be short easy days with some strides and we hope we will be ready to rumble on Saturday morning.
We've put in some excellent work so far his year. I hope the guys do well enough so they will feel it was all worth it. I do know this - this is the best team we have had - by far - since I have been at UWA and, according to records, since we joined the GSC almost 20 years ago.
Fingers crossed.
We concluded a hard week of training this morning. We will start cutting back a little bit on mileage this week in preparation for the conference championsip race.
On Tuesday, we ran 7 x 800m on our grass track with 60" recoveries. That put a little bit of speed in our legs for the main workout of the week - what we call the Oregon for short. It is a 10K race simulator - the runners do 1200m (3x400) at 3 paces - faster than race pace, close to race pace and close to tempo pace. They then go out on our grass loop for a 2.75 mi tempo run which ends on the track and starts another 1200 at close to race pace leading out to another 2.75 mi at tempo pace and closing with another 1200(3 x 400) at close to tempo pace down to close to race pace down to faster than race pace.
Both of these workouts went well, especially the Oregon. It is such a good indicator of fitness and race readiness. Doing well on it really built up our team's confidence. They know they are fit and race ready because they did so well on this workout.
Today's training session was a hard run up a very hilly dirt road - total distance of 8.48 miles measured with a Garmin satellite watch. It was one of our very best training sessions of the entire season - we had 5 runners average under 6:00 per mile for this difficult road along with 4 others who were within 10" per mile of averaging 6:00/mi. All told, we have had 7 runners go under 6:00 per mile for this workout - 3 of the 5 times we did it we ran 10 miles as opposed to 8.48. This is really a test of one's ability to concentrate and focus. The road is essntially uphill most of the way and it's a very demaning session. So we have seen that our speed is up to par, our race fitness is up to par and we can grind out a sustained effort over a long (8.48 mi) period of time.
All that's left for us now is a recovery run tomorrow - 8-10 miles for our guys and 8 miles for our girls.
Monday we will do some intervals - repeat miles for the guys and repeat 800's for the girls.
Wednesday will be a short, peppy workout 3 x 800-600-400 with good rest after each/
Thursday and Friday will be short easy days with some strides and we hope we will be ready to rumble on Saturday morning.
We've put in some excellent work so far his year. I hope the guys do well enough so they will feel it was all worth it. I do know this - this is the best team we have had - by far - since I have been at UWA and, according to records, since we joined the GSC almost 20 years ago.
Fingers crossed.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Men have a great race
We ran in the UAH Invitational at the Oakville Mound course this past weekend. The men won their race in a squeaker beating UAH 47-55. The women finished 3rd in their race.
The men's race was exciting and we didn't find out until the awards ceremony who had won. We had 4 runners break 27' for the 8K race. Freshman David Farist who had previously run 16:45 was not able to make the trip but that gives us 5 runners who have broken 27' this year - the first time that has happened since I assumed the coaching duties 5 years ago. It is a sign that we are on the right track - we are getting more talented runners and they are working hard - a great combination. Additionally, we have 2 other runners who are close to breaking 27' but just haven't been quite able to do it yet.
We were able to beat UAH, who were ranked ahead of us in the South region rankings. So, we should be able to move up a bit in the rankings this week. If we do, it will be the highest ranking in school history. The trick, of course, is to end up high in the rankings - they are based soley on finish at the NCAA regional 10K being held this year at Sharon Johnston Park in Huntsville. The win did a lot of good for our team's confidence and should help a lot as we head into our pre-conference training cycle.
The women had a bit of an off day - no one ran quite up to their capabilities. I know they have a good bit more in them and I am hoping it comes out at the conference meet in 2 weeks.
I always love going to Oakville Mounds - it is a special place with the Indian culture and lore permeating the grounds. With the burial mounds right on site, it is an almost eerie kind of atmosphere whenever I go there. Coach Cain (UAH) said he would try to host an annual meet there and I definitely would look forward to going back again.
The men's race was exciting and we didn't find out until the awards ceremony who had won. We had 4 runners break 27' for the 8K race. Freshman David Farist who had previously run 16:45 was not able to make the trip but that gives us 5 runners who have broken 27' this year - the first time that has happened since I assumed the coaching duties 5 years ago. It is a sign that we are on the right track - we are getting more talented runners and they are working hard - a great combination. Additionally, we have 2 other runners who are close to breaking 27' but just haven't been quite able to do it yet.
We were able to beat UAH, who were ranked ahead of us in the South region rankings. So, we should be able to move up a bit in the rankings this week. If we do, it will be the highest ranking in school history. The trick, of course, is to end up high in the rankings - they are based soley on finish at the NCAA regional 10K being held this year at Sharon Johnston Park in Huntsville. The win did a lot of good for our team's confidence and should help a lot as we head into our pre-conference training cycle.
The women had a bit of an off day - no one ran quite up to their capabilities. I know they have a good bit more in them and I am hoping it comes out at the conference meet in 2 weeks.
I always love going to Oakville Mounds - it is a special place with the Indian culture and lore permeating the grounds. With the burial mounds right on site, it is an almost eerie kind of atmosphere whenever I go there. Coach Cain (UAH) said he would try to host an annual meet there and I definitely would look forward to going back again.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
It's a beautiful day in the Heart of Dixie
It's a little past 7 AM on a beautiful Sunday morning and we are finishing up our long run. Campus is very, very quiet after last night's Homecoming football game. I guess everyone is sleeping off the effects of a UWA TD pass with no time remaining on the clock. What an incredible finish to a see-saw contest. Pundits had predicted that the last team to have the ball would likely win and that was UWA last evening.
Earlier in the day we "ran" the homecoming 5K - we ran quite easy and used it as a warm-up for our steady state run - the men ran 10 miles and the women 8. The steady state run was done on a nearby dirt road - pretty hilly - and we had some of our best training performances of the season. It is good to see that our strength is remaining at a high level since we have focused more on speed the past week.
Results from across the conference suggest we can compete favorably with all but one of the teams we finished behind last year. If we stay healthy and run a smart race at conference, I think we'll be able to move up 2-3 spots, if not more.
We have our last "regular season" race this coming weekend at the Oakville Mounds course in north Alabama. It is the site of the Alabama state high school meet so we know it is accurately measured. It is a beautiful course, located in a park where some very old Indian ruins are located. It is a great place to visit and an even better place to run. Several conference schools will be there so we are hoping to compete well.
We have repeat 2000's tomorrow and a combo workout of 300m hills and 400m repeats on Wednesday and then 2 easier, mileage days before the Saturday race. After that, it's just 2 weeks until the GSC conference meet - one of the two meets towards which we have been pointing all year.
The weather is cooling and it's starting to get exciting!
Earlier in the day we "ran" the homecoming 5K - we ran quite easy and used it as a warm-up for our steady state run - the men ran 10 miles and the women 8. The steady state run was done on a nearby dirt road - pretty hilly - and we had some of our best training performances of the season. It is good to see that our strength is remaining at a high level since we have focused more on speed the past week.
Results from across the conference suggest we can compete favorably with all but one of the teams we finished behind last year. If we stay healthy and run a smart race at conference, I think we'll be able to move up 2-3 spots, if not more.
We have our last "regular season" race this coming weekend at the Oakville Mounds course in north Alabama. It is the site of the Alabama state high school meet so we know it is accurately measured. It is a beautiful course, located in a park where some very old Indian ruins are located. It is a great place to visit and an even better place to run. Several conference schools will be there so we are hoping to compete well.
We have repeat 2000's tomorrow and a combo workout of 300m hills and 400m repeats on Wednesday and then 2 easier, mileage days before the Saturday race. After that, it's just 2 weeks until the GSC conference meet - one of the two meets towards which we have been pointing all year.
The weather is cooling and it's starting to get exciting!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
It's been awhile
It's been a while since I posted our last blog. Much has happened since then so let me at least summarize for you.
We raced on Oct 9th at Jacksonville State University - a DI school about 3 hours from UWA. The races went well - our men won their race and brought home some nice hardware. Our women ran well and finished 3rd overall in the meet.
We had 3 runners finish in the top 10 and 5 runners finish in the top 15 of their race and earn a very attractive t-shirt as a prize. The team trophy was a very nice glass plaque shaped like a mountain - a very welcome relief from the traditional "cheesy" trophy or wooden plaque. Our times were not as fast as we had originally hoped. The race went off close to 11 AM and it had warmed considerably by then - the radio announced it was a record high for that date of the year. Also, we had trained very hard the previous 2 weeks with only an easy run the day before the race, so our guys' legs were tired and heavy to start with. We left knowing that when we do taper, we are going to be running strong.
Our women had 2 runners in the top 5. Our # 3 and # 4 runners were not able to race due to injuries and it looks like they might not race again this year. By the time they are cleared to resume training it may be too close to the conference and/or regional meet to get them ready. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, our # 5 and # 6 girls have picked up the pace a good bit lately and, hopefully, they will continue to improve right up until the conference race.
We took the Sunday after the race off and started another 2 week training cycle on Monday, the 11th. The guys ran 2 mile repeats on that Monday and the girls ran 2 mile tempo repeats at tempo pace. Yesterday we did our first real speed session of the year - 400m repeats on our newly measured/mowed grass track. They all loved being able to run on flat, well cared for grass. They were able to really stretch it out and our times were the fastest we've had at UWA since I have been here. The guys did 16x400 with one minute rest and the ladies did 12x400 with one minute rest.
Today was an aerobic mileage run and tomorrow will be an easy recovery run for everybody.
Saturday is Homecoming at UWA and we are going to "participate" in the annual 5K - we are going to run/jog it as a warm-up before we head to a nearby hilly, dirt road to do a hard 10 mile run (men) and 8 mile run (women)- sort of a very long tempo run.
Our next race is a little over a week away now. We will run at the Oakville Mounds course where the Alabama state meet is held each year. It is a beautiful course and reasonably fast. The weather looks like it might be fairly cool - it is 4 hours north of us and at a higher elevation so conditions might be ripe for a fast run.
Only 3 weeks until conference now. After the Oakville Mounds race we will go into our "conference training mode" which includes a light, semi-taper, but not much of one. Our main race is the NCAA South Regional - a 10K which will be run at Sharon Johnston park in Huntsville, AL.
It is going to be a lot of fun to see how our runners do - they have had a great year of training and are close to ready.
We raced on Oct 9th at Jacksonville State University - a DI school about 3 hours from UWA. The races went well - our men won their race and brought home some nice hardware. Our women ran well and finished 3rd overall in the meet.
We had 3 runners finish in the top 10 and 5 runners finish in the top 15 of their race and earn a very attractive t-shirt as a prize. The team trophy was a very nice glass plaque shaped like a mountain - a very welcome relief from the traditional "cheesy" trophy or wooden plaque. Our times were not as fast as we had originally hoped. The race went off close to 11 AM and it had warmed considerably by then - the radio announced it was a record high for that date of the year. Also, we had trained very hard the previous 2 weeks with only an easy run the day before the race, so our guys' legs were tired and heavy to start with. We left knowing that when we do taper, we are going to be running strong.
Our women had 2 runners in the top 5. Our # 3 and # 4 runners were not able to race due to injuries and it looks like they might not race again this year. By the time they are cleared to resume training it may be too close to the conference and/or regional meet to get them ready. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, our # 5 and # 6 girls have picked up the pace a good bit lately and, hopefully, they will continue to improve right up until the conference race.
We took the Sunday after the race off and started another 2 week training cycle on Monday, the 11th. The guys ran 2 mile repeats on that Monday and the girls ran 2 mile tempo repeats at tempo pace. Yesterday we did our first real speed session of the year - 400m repeats on our newly measured/mowed grass track. They all loved being able to run on flat, well cared for grass. They were able to really stretch it out and our times were the fastest we've had at UWA since I have been here. The guys did 16x400 with one minute rest and the ladies did 12x400 with one minute rest.
Today was an aerobic mileage run and tomorrow will be an easy recovery run for everybody.
Saturday is Homecoming at UWA and we are going to "participate" in the annual 5K - we are going to run/jog it as a warm-up before we head to a nearby hilly, dirt road to do a hard 10 mile run (men) and 8 mile run (women)- sort of a very long tempo run.
Our next race is a little over a week away now. We will run at the Oakville Mounds course where the Alabama state meet is held each year. It is a beautiful course and reasonably fast. The weather looks like it might be fairly cool - it is 4 hours north of us and at a higher elevation so conditions might be ripe for a fast run.
Only 3 weeks until conference now. After the Oakville Mounds race we will go into our "conference training mode" which includes a light, semi-taper, but not much of one. Our main race is the NCAA South Regional - a 10K which will be run at Sharon Johnston park in Huntsville, AL.
It is going to be a lot of fun to see how our runners do - they have had a great year of training and are close to ready.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Rough Road
Rough Road is an 8.6 mile long dirt road with some difficult hills - of the 8.6 total miles, probably 6 or more of them are uphill, with a final steep hill of about 800m to finish off the run.
On Saturdays when we don't race we travel to Rough Road - it's about 7 miles from school. Today we increased the men's distance to 10 miles by starting 1.4 miles away from the start of the dirt road on a flat, paved surface. The women ran the full 8.6 miles on Rough Road.
The workout went extremely well for us - the weather was perfect - maybe in the low 50's when the workout began at 6:45 AM. Every runner ran his/her fastest time of the year for this particular workout, some by more than 2 minutes. All of the women met or exceeded the goal times we set for them and 9 of our 13 male runners met or exceeded the goal times set for them. 4 of the remaining 5 were close to their goal times and only one runner wasn't able to come close. He did, however, improved his best time by more than 2 minutes, so it was still a very good run.
Everyone was pretty pumped after the workout ended and started talking about how we are going to increase the distance to 11 miles for the next run. They ran great times last Saturday in our Memphis race and had 2 excellent workouts this week leading up to today's run, so their confidence is very high at this point of the season.
We have our weekly long run tomorrow morning at a different complex of dirt roads about 10 minutes from school.
Next Saturday we return to Jacksonville State University for 8K and 5K races. It's a course we already know from our first race of the season when the guys ran 5K and the ladies ran 2 miles. I would rate it a pretty fast course so we will be looking for some additional PR's to go along with those we ran in Memphis last week.
Long range forecasts are for good weather - cool mornings to train and no major rain to speak of. I hope it will hold for Saturday's race.
On Saturdays when we don't race we travel to Rough Road - it's about 7 miles from school. Today we increased the men's distance to 10 miles by starting 1.4 miles away from the start of the dirt road on a flat, paved surface. The women ran the full 8.6 miles on Rough Road.
The workout went extremely well for us - the weather was perfect - maybe in the low 50's when the workout began at 6:45 AM. Every runner ran his/her fastest time of the year for this particular workout, some by more than 2 minutes. All of the women met or exceeded the goal times we set for them and 9 of our 13 male runners met or exceeded the goal times set for them. 4 of the remaining 5 were close to their goal times and only one runner wasn't able to come close. He did, however, improved his best time by more than 2 minutes, so it was still a very good run.
Everyone was pretty pumped after the workout ended and started talking about how we are going to increase the distance to 11 miles for the next run. They ran great times last Saturday in our Memphis race and had 2 excellent workouts this week leading up to today's run, so their confidence is very high at this point of the season.
We have our weekly long run tomorrow morning at a different complex of dirt roads about 10 minutes from school.
Next Saturday we return to Jacksonville State University for 8K and 5K races. It's a course we already know from our first race of the season when the guys ran 5K and the ladies ran 2 miles. I would rate it a pretty fast course so we will be looking for some additional PR's to go along with those we ran in Memphis last week.
Long range forecasts are for good weather - cool mornings to train and no major rain to speak of. I hope it will hold for Saturday's race.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Follow up to Twilight Meet
Well, the weather has certainly changed. It was downright chilly this morning - our coolest morning yet for training so far this season. Forecast is for more of the same the rest of this week. Perfect for training.
After looking over our results from the Twilight Meet I saw some encouraging signs. The gap between our # 1 and # 5 runners was 82". Ideally, we would like to shave that down to 45"-60" so we are definitely headed in the right direction.
The gap between our # 2 and # 5 was only 41" and we think we can get that down to around 30" by season's end. Even better, the gap between # 2 and # 6 was only 59". Our usual # 6 didn't finish the race due to a cramp but if we put him into the mix we will have a gap of less than a minute between our # 2 and # 7 runners. That is the kind of depth we were hoping to build before the season started and it looks like we are making definite progress.
Our training over the next two weeks will be focused primarily on strength - the ability to hold a fast pace over longer and longer periods of time. In spite of the really good times we recorded in the Twilight Meet, our pace still dropped off a bit too much in mile # 2 and, snd, subsequently, the later miles. We will focus on long intervals (1600's and 2000's) as well as tempo runs to try and build the kind of strength that we are looking for.
Today's 2000m repeat session went well - better than I thought it might. Most runners were able to hold their pace during the 4 repetitions of the 2000m loop. With only 2' rest it was a very tough workout and they took on the challenge quite well.
The women ran a 4.8 mile tempo run and had good success. We are close to getting some of our injured runners back - maybe in a couple of days - and that is something we badly need. We have only raced 5 the past couple of meets and our missing runners badly need to get some training and racing in before we get to the championship meets at the end of the season.
It's such a beautiful day - I think we'll spend some time in the pool this afternoon for some relaxation and a light aerobic workout to help our recovery process from the intervals this morning.
After looking over our results from the Twilight Meet I saw some encouraging signs. The gap between our # 1 and # 5 runners was 82". Ideally, we would like to shave that down to 45"-60" so we are definitely headed in the right direction.
The gap between our # 2 and # 5 was only 41" and we think we can get that down to around 30" by season's end. Even better, the gap between # 2 and # 6 was only 59". Our usual # 6 didn't finish the race due to a cramp but if we put him into the mix we will have a gap of less than a minute between our # 2 and # 7 runners. That is the kind of depth we were hoping to build before the season started and it looks like we are making definite progress.
Our training over the next two weeks will be focused primarily on strength - the ability to hold a fast pace over longer and longer periods of time. In spite of the really good times we recorded in the Twilight Meet, our pace still dropped off a bit too much in mile # 2 and, snd, subsequently, the later miles. We will focus on long intervals (1600's and 2000's) as well as tempo runs to try and build the kind of strength that we are looking for.
Today's 2000m repeat session went well - better than I thought it might. Most runners were able to hold their pace during the 4 repetitions of the 2000m loop. With only 2' rest it was a very tough workout and they took on the challenge quite well.
The women ran a 4.8 mile tempo run and had good success. We are close to getting some of our injured runners back - maybe in a couple of days - and that is something we badly need. We have only raced 5 the past couple of meets and our missing runners badly need to get some training and racing in before we get to the championship meets at the end of the season.
It's such a beautiful day - I think we'll spend some time in the pool this afternoon for some relaxation and a light aerobic workout to help our recovery process from the intervals this morning.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
We LOVE Memphis!!
Just got back from our trip to Memphis to run in the Brooks' Twilight Meet last night. It was a beautiful night - just a hint of coolness after an afternoon rain shower. The course was in great shape - the rain helped keep the dust down and the grass was short and people were running fast! Even if we weren't running, what a treat to watch Ben Cheruiyot from Auburn win a wire to wire battle with Soufiane Bouchiki from Eastern Kentucky. They were neck and neck the whole way with Cheruiyot managing a 2" win - 23;15 to 23:17. Cheruiyot averaged 4:39 per mile for this run which is CRAZY!
Our men had a great run - the best overall race since I came to UWA in 2006. It was great to see all of their hard work pay off. Here are our times:
Austin 25:43
Craig 26:25
Jonathan 26:38
David 26:45
Peter 27:07
Brandon 27:27
Josh 28:02
Cody 28:08
Miles 28:38
Evan 29:10
Adam 29:30
Cam DNF - he got a severe side stitch and had to drop out of the race.
Austin's run was remarkable. He hadn't done any real training for at least 10 days - we have been working him out hard in the pool each afternoon. He seemed strong and did not appear to miss a beat.
Craig is having a great season. This is his 3rd PR in 3 races this year. He spent the summer training at altitude and it has helped him early in our season. As a 5th year senior who missed last cc season with mono, it is great to see all of his hard work for the past 4 1/2 years starting to pay off.
Jonathan had a bit of an off race for him but still turned in his 2nd fastest 5 mile race ever. He has been on a higher milage program since the summer and I am sure his legs are a bit dead right now - I look for him to rebound when we start dropping some mileage.
David had the race of the night for us - he set a UWA freshman record for 5 miles at
26:45.10 - breaking Austin's freshman record of 26:45.94 set on the same course in 2007. He is poised to have a breakout season in this, his first year of collegiate running.
Peter set a goal of 27:00 for this race and came very close - 27:07. He rebounded well after a disappointing race at Alabama last weekend. He is rounding into good shape and could be a major factor for us at the GSC meet in November.
Brandon had a great race as well. He set a big time PR for himself in this his initial collegiate season. He finished in 27:27, which beat his goal time of 27:30 for the season. We'll have to see how far he can take it in the remaining races.
Josh ran a strong race - finishing in 28:02. He was so close and was left wondering where he could have made up those 2 seconds. I look for him to break 28:00 in either or both of our next 2 races. The weather seems to be cooling and both courses are pretty quick, although not like the soccer fields at Mike Rose Soccer Complex where we ran last night.
Cody had a PR finishing in 28:08. He also rebounded well from a disappointing race at Alabama last week. Once he can even out his miles he'll be a much more formidable runner and be able to help us at conference.
Miles had a wonderful race - he followed his race plan almost to a "T". It was good to see him thinking out there and executing his plan. He also needs to even out his miles and he'll be right up where he can help us.
Evan ran a great race - a PR for him as well. H ran a smart race and evened out his miles. This enabled him to pass 29 runners after the first mile, including 5 different runners in the last 800m.
Adam struggled a bit in this race - he didn't seem as "peppy" as the other guys, but he still met his goal of 29:30. I told him that any time you can meet your goal you should take some satisfaction away from the race. He wanted to run even faster but it didn't happen....this time. I look for him to train hard the next couple of weeks and run well at Jax St. on Oct 9th.
The women's race wasn't quite as filled with PR's but we had several solid performances.
Carolyn ran 19:10, just 2" off of her PR. She struggled a bit in mile # 2 and that is what ultimately cost her a new PR as she picked the pace up again in the last 1.1 miles. She is definitely looking for a new PR and to break 19 in her next race or two.
Polina had a "bad" race....for her. She ran 19:32 - 12" slower than last week at Alabama. She was hoping the fast course and cool evening weather would lead to a new PR but it didn't happen. Knowing her, she'll train like a maniac the next 2 weeks and go after the new PR at Jax State.
Kirstie raced a solid race. She hadn't trained in almost 2 weeks until this past week when we got some basic distance runs and one tempo run completed in training. She seems healthy now and with a couple of weeks of additional training should be able to get below 20:00 which she has done on several previous occasions. She ran 20:56 last night.
Amy ran a strong race...finishing in 21:08 and closing in on sub 21 territory. She worked hard to keep her pace from falling off in mile # 2 and had some success. We'll look to keep that process going even further in the next 2 weeks before we return to JSU for our meet on 10-9
Anne ran a PR last night - 20:54 - and seems to have developed some consistency around this pace, having run a PR of 22:01 last week at Alabama.
I'll post some additional analysis tomorrow once I get a bit of rest. All in all a very nice trip to Memphis.
Our men had a great run - the best overall race since I came to UWA in 2006. It was great to see all of their hard work pay off. Here are our times:
Austin 25:43
Craig 26:25
Jonathan 26:38
David 26:45
Peter 27:07
Brandon 27:27
Josh 28:02
Cody 28:08
Miles 28:38
Evan 29:10
Adam 29:30
Cam DNF - he got a severe side stitch and had to drop out of the race.
Austin's run was remarkable. He hadn't done any real training for at least 10 days - we have been working him out hard in the pool each afternoon. He seemed strong and did not appear to miss a beat.
Craig is having a great season. This is his 3rd PR in 3 races this year. He spent the summer training at altitude and it has helped him early in our season. As a 5th year senior who missed last cc season with mono, it is great to see all of his hard work for the past 4 1/2 years starting to pay off.
Jonathan had a bit of an off race for him but still turned in his 2nd fastest 5 mile race ever. He has been on a higher milage program since the summer and I am sure his legs are a bit dead right now - I look for him to rebound when we start dropping some mileage.
David had the race of the night for us - he set a UWA freshman record for 5 miles at
26:45.10 - breaking Austin's freshman record of 26:45.94 set on the same course in 2007. He is poised to have a breakout season in this, his first year of collegiate running.
Peter set a goal of 27:00 for this race and came very close - 27:07. He rebounded well after a disappointing race at Alabama last weekend. He is rounding into good shape and could be a major factor for us at the GSC meet in November.
Brandon had a great race as well. He set a big time PR for himself in this his initial collegiate season. He finished in 27:27, which beat his goal time of 27:30 for the season. We'll have to see how far he can take it in the remaining races.
Josh ran a strong race - finishing in 28:02. He was so close and was left wondering where he could have made up those 2 seconds. I look for him to break 28:00 in either or both of our next 2 races. The weather seems to be cooling and both courses are pretty quick, although not like the soccer fields at Mike Rose Soccer Complex where we ran last night.
Cody had a PR finishing in 28:08. He also rebounded well from a disappointing race at Alabama last week. Once he can even out his miles he'll be a much more formidable runner and be able to help us at conference.
Miles had a wonderful race - he followed his race plan almost to a "T". It was good to see him thinking out there and executing his plan. He also needs to even out his miles and he'll be right up where he can help us.
Evan ran a great race - a PR for him as well. H ran a smart race and evened out his miles. This enabled him to pass 29 runners after the first mile, including 5 different runners in the last 800m.
Adam struggled a bit in this race - he didn't seem as "peppy" as the other guys, but he still met his goal of 29:30. I told him that any time you can meet your goal you should take some satisfaction away from the race. He wanted to run even faster but it didn't happen....this time. I look for him to train hard the next couple of weeks and run well at Jax St. on Oct 9th.
The women's race wasn't quite as filled with PR's but we had several solid performances.
Carolyn ran 19:10, just 2" off of her PR. She struggled a bit in mile # 2 and that is what ultimately cost her a new PR as she picked the pace up again in the last 1.1 miles. She is definitely looking for a new PR and to break 19 in her next race or two.
Polina had a "bad" race....for her. She ran 19:32 - 12" slower than last week at Alabama. She was hoping the fast course and cool evening weather would lead to a new PR but it didn't happen. Knowing her, she'll train like a maniac the next 2 weeks and go after the new PR at Jax State.
Kirstie raced a solid race. She hadn't trained in almost 2 weeks until this past week when we got some basic distance runs and one tempo run completed in training. She seems healthy now and with a couple of weeks of additional training should be able to get below 20:00 which she has done on several previous occasions. She ran 20:56 last night.
Amy ran a strong race...finishing in 21:08 and closing in on sub 21 territory. She worked hard to keep her pace from falling off in mile # 2 and had some success. We'll look to keep that process going even further in the next 2 weeks before we return to JSU for our meet on 10-9
Anne ran a PR last night - 20:54 - and seems to have developed some consistency around this pace, having run a PR of 22:01 last week at Alabama.
I'll post some additional analysis tomorrow once I get a bit of rest. All in all a very nice trip to Memphis.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
2 days until the Twilight Meet
We are about 60 hours away from our races at the Memphis Twilight Meet on Saturday.
We have had a good training week since our race at the U of Alabama on Sat, 9-18. We had a great long run on Sunday, the 19th. The freshmen guys really pushed themselves on that run and got a lot out of it.
Our only real "workout" was yesterday. The guys did 6 x 1000m with 2' recovery at their current 5K pace and the ladies did a 4.8 mi tempo run. Most of the guys were able to hit their assigned paces pretty well - a couple fell off the pace midway through the workout. The ladies' tempo run went well.
We have had several of our women's team missing from practice this week due to various nagging injuries. We are fortunate to have an excellent swimming pool in which we can do deep water running as well as various swimming type conditioning activities. Also, our # 1 guy runner, Austin, has been doing just deep water running and swimming this week - he is trying to rest his sprained ankle and it looks like he may be able to run on Saturday.
The race looks to be a huge one - a very, very large field with lots of DI schools and several schools from our conference. I have been telling our young runners that it is always a good thing to beat other teams/runners from our conference whenever we happen to be in the same meet. You like to set a precedent and put some doubt in their minds about their ability to beat us.
The race is held at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memhis. It is almost perfectly flat and the race is held at night. It's a fast course and the competition is stiff. If the weather is cool times should be great.
We have started putting together our race plans and final copies are due today. In fact, we "practiced" our race mentally today - even though it was a relatively easy distance run, we "mentally practiced - talked to ourselves - our race plans during the run. We started out slower than usual - under control - and then picked up the pace at places in the workout where we would pick up the paces in our upcoming race. This helps get the plan locked into the bodies as well as the minds of our runners.
We'll practie it again this way tomorrow morning. We like to let the team sleep later on the morning before the race - we know they won't sleep as well the night before the race because of excitement. So we'll get up later and "practice" the race during our easy run.
Confidence seems high and if we can get a weather break, I think we'll run fast. Regardless of the weather, I think we are ready to run well.
I'll post our results on Sunday when we get back home from the race.
coach M
We have had a good training week since our race at the U of Alabama on Sat, 9-18. We had a great long run on Sunday, the 19th. The freshmen guys really pushed themselves on that run and got a lot out of it.
Our only real "workout" was yesterday. The guys did 6 x 1000m with 2' recovery at their current 5K pace and the ladies did a 4.8 mi tempo run. Most of the guys were able to hit their assigned paces pretty well - a couple fell off the pace midway through the workout. The ladies' tempo run went well.
We have had several of our women's team missing from practice this week due to various nagging injuries. We are fortunate to have an excellent swimming pool in which we can do deep water running as well as various swimming type conditioning activities. Also, our # 1 guy runner, Austin, has been doing just deep water running and swimming this week - he is trying to rest his sprained ankle and it looks like he may be able to run on Saturday.
The race looks to be a huge one - a very, very large field with lots of DI schools and several schools from our conference. I have been telling our young runners that it is always a good thing to beat other teams/runners from our conference whenever we happen to be in the same meet. You like to set a precedent and put some doubt in their minds about their ability to beat us.
The race is held at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memhis. It is almost perfectly flat and the race is held at night. It's a fast course and the competition is stiff. If the weather is cool times should be great.
We have started putting together our race plans and final copies are due today. In fact, we "practiced" our race mentally today - even though it was a relatively easy distance run, we "mentally practiced - talked to ourselves - our race plans during the run. We started out slower than usual - under control - and then picked up the pace at places in the workout where we would pick up the paces in our upcoming race. This helps get the plan locked into the bodies as well as the minds of our runners.
We'll practie it again this way tomorrow morning. We like to let the team sleep later on the morning before the race - we know they won't sleep as well the night before the race because of excitement. So we'll get up later and "practice" the race during our easy run.
Confidence seems high and if we can get a weather break, I think we'll run fast. Regardless of the weather, I think we are ready to run well.
I'll post our results on Sunday when we get back home from the race.
coach M
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Notes on the Crimson Classic and other "stuff"
We ran in the Crimson Classic yesterday at the U of Alabama's home course, which is one of the nicest courses I have seen in my 20+ years of coaching. The course was in great shape - grass cut low, no wet spots at all and clearly marked. You couldn't ask for anything more. Well, we could have asked for a bit cooler weather but it's the same for everyone in the race so why complain.
One of our main goals for this race was to try and develop more consistency between our first and second miles - both for the men and women's squads. We were very successful in this phase of the race. Every runner cut his/her "gap" in at least half and a few runners actually went faster in the 2nd mile than they did in the first. We will continue to work on this in an attempt to have everyone's mile # 1 vs mile # 2 difference down to 10" or less. We are going to work on that again in practice this week and then really focus on it once our race this coming weekend is over.
We had 3 male runners surpass the goals we had set for them in this race. For the most part, the other men ran about 20"-25" slower this race than the goals that had been set for them. I attribute a good deal of this to the weather - it was in lower 80's at the end of the men's race and in the upper 80's by the end of the women's race. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the guys' performance - for 7 of our runners this was their first ever 8K and they all said it was much more difficult than they had imagined it would be.
Our # 1 and # 2 women had good races, with our usual # 2, Polina Babkina, beating our usual # 1, Carolyn Mancuso, for the first time ever. Our #3, #4, and #5 runners were all held out of the race due to illness and/or injury. Our # 6, #7 and #8 ladies tried to pick up the slack and had some success. Our usual # 8, Anne Enoch, ran a PR in this race and almost caught our # 5 girl in the process. That was an encouraging sign. Once we get our group back in action, we should be in good position to continue working toward our season's goals.
We race in Memphis, TN this ocming weekend at the Brooks' Twilight Meet. Race time is at 8:45 PM so we are hoping it will be a bit cooler. Early forecast is for a heat wave around Memphis so we may not get that cool weather we all want. The Twilight Meet is a lot of fun - huge field with some great competition. It finishes on the track inside the main soccer stadium so there is always a large crowd cheering at the end of the race. The course is essentially flat as a pancake, except for the little 1 step eleveation between adjacent soccer fields. We should be able to record some good times in this meet. We have a traditional post-race meel at IHOP each year and everyone looks forward to that. It makes the long run the next morning a bit tougher, but no one ever mentions giving up the IHOP part of the weekend, so we'll do it again.
Right now our main focus is on getting our injured/sick women runners back into action and keeping our guys healthy - our # 1 guy sat out this race due to an ankle sprain and we are hoping it won't be a long lasting injury for him.
One of our main goals for this race was to try and develop more consistency between our first and second miles - both for the men and women's squads. We were very successful in this phase of the race. Every runner cut his/her "gap" in at least half and a few runners actually went faster in the 2nd mile than they did in the first. We will continue to work on this in an attempt to have everyone's mile # 1 vs mile # 2 difference down to 10" or less. We are going to work on that again in practice this week and then really focus on it once our race this coming weekend is over.
We had 3 male runners surpass the goals we had set for them in this race. For the most part, the other men ran about 20"-25" slower this race than the goals that had been set for them. I attribute a good deal of this to the weather - it was in lower 80's at the end of the men's race and in the upper 80's by the end of the women's race. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the guys' performance - for 7 of our runners this was their first ever 8K and they all said it was much more difficult than they had imagined it would be.
Our # 1 and # 2 women had good races, with our usual # 2, Polina Babkina, beating our usual # 1, Carolyn Mancuso, for the first time ever. Our #3, #4, and #5 runners were all held out of the race due to illness and/or injury. Our # 6, #7 and #8 ladies tried to pick up the slack and had some success. Our usual # 8, Anne Enoch, ran a PR in this race and almost caught our # 5 girl in the process. That was an encouraging sign. Once we get our group back in action, we should be in good position to continue working toward our season's goals.
We race in Memphis, TN this ocming weekend at the Brooks' Twilight Meet. Race time is at 8:45 PM so we are hoping it will be a bit cooler. Early forecast is for a heat wave around Memphis so we may not get that cool weather we all want. The Twilight Meet is a lot of fun - huge field with some great competition. It finishes on the track inside the main soccer stadium so there is always a large crowd cheering at the end of the race. The course is essentially flat as a pancake, except for the little 1 step eleveation between adjacent soccer fields. We should be able to record some good times in this meet. We have a traditional post-race meel at IHOP each year and everyone looks forward to that. It makes the long run the next morning a bit tougher, but no one ever mentions giving up the IHOP part of the weekend, so we'll do it again.
Right now our main focus is on getting our injured/sick women runners back into action and keeping our guys healthy - our # 1 guy sat out this race due to an ankle sprain and we are hoping it won't be a long lasting injury for him.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
2 days and counting
The Crimson Classic, held at the U of Alabama is only 2 days away now. Just looked at the entry list and it is...awesome. 173 runners in the women's 5K and 193 runners in the men's 8K. Some very strong teams, including Alabama, Auburn, Kennesaw State, Ole Miss, Samford, Texas A&M, Tulane and DII regional powerhouse, Columbus State University.
This is a great opportunity for our runners to knock heads with some very talented opponents. Hopefully, the competition will motivate us to run at our very best. The course for the Crimson Classic is a good bit tougher than we saw at the season opener at Jax State. There are some hills on this course that need to be respected.
One of our goals for this race is to really focus on our second mile. In the opener at JSU, our pace in the 2nd mile dropped off dramatically - too dramatically to be perfectly honest. We have done some training to help remedy that situation and we'll see how effective it is. We have done some long intervals with short recoveries to help us be able to hold our opening paces for a longer period of time.
In addition, we have talked a good deal about pace - our runners, as often happens in season opening races, went out much faster than they were ready to handle and got in over their heads in mile # 2. We are going to try to go in a much more controlled fashion this race and see if we can't run it more evenly paced with a very strong last 1200m to 1600m.
Kealth wise we are a little banged up. Our men's # 1, Austin Enriquez, has been having some plantar fascitis problems and is questionable for this race. Our # 3, # 4 and # 5 girls are all out for this this race - one with a severe case of shin splints, one with a calf problem and one with a case of the flu.
Still, in all, it is a great opportunity for us to see where we are at, conditioning wise, at this early point in the season.
The weather promises to be dry and, perhaps, even a bit cool in the morning with a cold front expected to pass on through the area over the weekend.
Our hard workouts this week included some 300m hill repeats this morning and an intervas session on Tuesday - the runners used the distance they covered in an all out 5:00 run at the start of the season and ran 4-5 repeats of that same distance in 5:30 with only 75" rest. A tough workout but they handled it well, as they did with the hills today, so we have some confidence that we can run well.
The runners will hand in their race plans tonight and I'll go over them and make suggestions where appropriate. I'll get them back the runners tomorrow morning and they'll have the day to start "absorbing" the race plan.
I love these large meets! It seems the amount of adrenaline the runners produce is directly proportional to the # of runners in the race. With 173 and 193 in the women's and men's races, respetively, there should be ample adrenaline flowing on Saturday.
Will post the results on Saturday. Hold a good thought for us.
M
This is a great opportunity for our runners to knock heads with some very talented opponents. Hopefully, the competition will motivate us to run at our very best. The course for the Crimson Classic is a good bit tougher than we saw at the season opener at Jax State. There are some hills on this course that need to be respected.
One of our goals for this race is to really focus on our second mile. In the opener at JSU, our pace in the 2nd mile dropped off dramatically - too dramatically to be perfectly honest. We have done some training to help remedy that situation and we'll see how effective it is. We have done some long intervals with short recoveries to help us be able to hold our opening paces for a longer period of time.
In addition, we have talked a good deal about pace - our runners, as often happens in season opening races, went out much faster than they were ready to handle and got in over their heads in mile # 2. We are going to try to go in a much more controlled fashion this race and see if we can't run it more evenly paced with a very strong last 1200m to 1600m.
Kealth wise we are a little banged up. Our men's # 1, Austin Enriquez, has been having some plantar fascitis problems and is questionable for this race. Our # 3, # 4 and # 5 girls are all out for this this race - one with a severe case of shin splints, one with a calf problem and one with a case of the flu.
Still, in all, it is a great opportunity for us to see where we are at, conditioning wise, at this early point in the season.
The weather promises to be dry and, perhaps, even a bit cool in the morning with a cold front expected to pass on through the area over the weekend.
Our hard workouts this week included some 300m hill repeats this morning and an intervas session on Tuesday - the runners used the distance they covered in an all out 5:00 run at the start of the season and ran 4-5 repeats of that same distance in 5:30 with only 75" rest. A tough workout but they handled it well, as they did with the hills today, so we have some confidence that we can run well.
The runners will hand in their race plans tonight and I'll go over them and make suggestions where appropriate. I'll get them back the runners tomorrow morning and they'll have the day to start "absorbing" the race plan.
I love these large meets! It seems the amount of adrenaline the runners produce is directly proportional to the # of runners in the race. With 173 and 193 in the women's and men's races, respetively, there should be ample adrenaline flowing on Saturday.
Will post the results on Saturday. Hold a good thought for us.
M
Friday, September 10, 2010
2 difficult training days for the Tiger runners
Yesterday (Thursday the 9th)we did a challenging workout that we call 3/4 3's. Simply put, the runners do a 1200m run with the pace starting out at what we call "going out" pace and then slowing a bit (about 10"/mi)during each of the next two 400's. Then they went out and ran 2.25 mi at tempo pace and then back for another 1200 at fast, steady pace (close to goal race pace for the season) and then into another 2.25mi at tempo pace and finishing with another 1200, starting at slightly slower than tempo paace and increasing every 400 until the runners are at "going out"pace again.
This workout always challenges freshmen to the max. It is a great race simulation and really provides a mental as well as a physical challenge.
The women ran 800's instead of 1200's and their tempo runs were about 1.25 miles long. The logic of the workout remained the same.
Overall, the workout went well. Our most experienced runners managed to come close to their assigned paces. The same was true for our top female runners. The freshmen really struggled about mid-way through the workout. The ability to finish with a strong 1200 was really tested and it showed us that our freshmen need more work on strength type workouts.
We are going to repeat this workout in 3-4 weeks and I think we'll see a good bit of imporovement in our performances. The weather will be cooler and we'll be more fit and we'll have a couple of 8K races under our belts.
We went easy today - a 35' recoovery run with the last 1200m on one of our grass loops run at race pace. We did a pretty good job on the 1200's today. My hope is that this translates into stronger finishing kicks in our races. We will be in the pool this afternoon - no real workout - just moving around and having some fun.
Tomorrow is another very challenging workout - a 10 mile steady state run for the guys and an 8.6 mi steady state run for the girls. The run will be over what we call "Rough Road" - in deference to a road sign with that printed on it. The road is pretty "rough" out of the 8.6 miles, about 6.5 to 7 or so are uphill to some degree with a very steep hill at the end of the road. We are giving the runners times they may not be able to quite hit on this workout but hope they can run at the end of the season. We always end this run with chocolate milk to replace carbs and provide protein to repair the micro-trauma occurring as a result of the run.
So...Thursday and Saturday are two very challenging sessions that I think will help us a lot at the end of the season. They both take a lot of mental energy - staying focusedf during the run - as well as physical endergy.
Sunday will be a long run - 15 miles for veteran guys, 11 miles for freshman guys, and 10 miles for women.
Monday will be an off day - the 11th day of our training cycle which iw quite often an off day.
This workout always challenges freshmen to the max. It is a great race simulation and really provides a mental as well as a physical challenge.
The women ran 800's instead of 1200's and their tempo runs were about 1.25 miles long. The logic of the workout remained the same.
Overall, the workout went well. Our most experienced runners managed to come close to their assigned paces. The same was true for our top female runners. The freshmen really struggled about mid-way through the workout. The ability to finish with a strong 1200 was really tested and it showed us that our freshmen need more work on strength type workouts.
We are going to repeat this workout in 3-4 weeks and I think we'll see a good bit of imporovement in our performances. The weather will be cooler and we'll be more fit and we'll have a couple of 8K races under our belts.
We went easy today - a 35' recoovery run with the last 1200m on one of our grass loops run at race pace. We did a pretty good job on the 1200's today. My hope is that this translates into stronger finishing kicks in our races. We will be in the pool this afternoon - no real workout - just moving around and having some fun.
Tomorrow is another very challenging workout - a 10 mile steady state run for the guys and an 8.6 mi steady state run for the girls. The run will be over what we call "Rough Road" - in deference to a road sign with that printed on it. The road is pretty "rough" out of the 8.6 miles, about 6.5 to 7 or so are uphill to some degree with a very steep hill at the end of the road. We are giving the runners times they may not be able to quite hit on this workout but hope they can run at the end of the season. We always end this run with chocolate milk to replace carbs and provide protein to repair the micro-trauma occurring as a result of the run.
So...Thursday and Saturday are two very challenging sessions that I think will help us a lot at the end of the season. They both take a lot of mental energy - staying focusedf during the run - as well as physical endergy.
Sunday will be a long run - 15 miles for veteran guys, 11 miles for freshman guys, and 10 miles for women.
Monday will be an off day - the 11th day of our training cycle which iw quite often an off day.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Results from season opener at Jax State
Here are the finishing times for our runners from the season opening race at Jacksonville State University.
WOMEN 4000 meters
Carolyn Mancuso 14:31
Polina Babkina 14:31
Jessica Gonzalez 15:25
Kirstie Lusignan 15:48
Kelli Hartley 15:48
Hannah Sharrow 16:16
Amy Benoit 16:41
Anne Enoch 16:56
MEN 5000 meters
Austin Enriquez 15:25
Craig Warlick 15:54
Jonathan Sellers 16:07
Peter Kazery 16:09
Cody Lee 16:15
Brandon Nelson 16:34
Cam Holmes 16:43
Josh Griffin 17:09
Adam Pierce 17:13
Miles Bowman 17:20
Evan Lemons 17:36
WOMEN 4000 meters
Carolyn Mancuso 14:31
Polina Babkina 14:31
Jessica Gonzalez 15:25
Kirstie Lusignan 15:48
Kelli Hartley 15:48
Hannah Sharrow 16:16
Amy Benoit 16:41
Anne Enoch 16:56
MEN 5000 meters
Austin Enriquez 15:25
Craig Warlick 15:54
Jonathan Sellers 16:07
Peter Kazery 16:09
Cody Lee 16:15
Brandon Nelson 16:34
Cam Holmes 16:43
Josh Griffin 17:09
Adam Pierce 17:13
Miles Bowman 17:20
Evan Lemons 17:36
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Good day at the opening race of the season
Well, it was almost a perfect day for our opening race at Jacksonville State University. The course was in great shape so hats off to coach Steve Ray for getting it ready for the race. The grass was cut short and the ground was quite dry - couldn't ask for much more. It was a bit warmer than we had hoped - the temperature didn't get down into the 50's like MSN had predicted, but it was still quite pleasant.
The women ran first at 9 AM and we had two runners finish in the top 6 - Carolyn Mancuso, our all-conference runner from a year ago just edged Polina Babkina, with both girls covering the 4000m course in 14:31. This is a new school record for 4000m and since we don't run that distance again this season, the new record should last at least a year. We also had 3 other girls finish under 16:00 in the race, with Jessica Gonzalez finishing in an excellent 15:25. Kirstie Lusignan (15:48) and Kelli Hartley (15:40) were the other sub 16:00 finishers. Hannah Sharrow ran a 16:16 which was not bad at all since she was nursing a sore quad muscle and didn't really look comfortable out there.
We finished 2nd to a very strong Divison I Georgia State team. All in all, it was a good beginning for us. We showed we are in good shape and we know what we need to work on. Our biggest "negative" from the race was that we slowed down too much in the 2nd mile. Our goal is always to try and keep the drop off in the 2nd mile down to about 10"-12" and our drop-offs were much larger than that. The good news is that we can fix that in our training. I am glad the girls were able to have some success today as it shows them that their summer training paid off.
The men's race also went well. We finished 2nd to Georgia State University and had some very nice head to head battles with their runners - passing them, getting re-passed by them and passing or trying to pass them at the end of the race. Good stuff.
Austin Enriquez was our top finisher, coming in 5th and covering the 5K distance in 15:25. He went out with the leaders from the very beginning and stubbornly held on before finishing in 5th spot. Fellow seniors Craig Warlick (15:54) and Jonathan Sellers (16:07)also had strong races with Warlick posting his first ever sub 16:00 finish in a cross country meet.
One of the highlights of the men's race was the performance of our pack. We had a gap (45") of less than a minute between our # 1 and our # 6 runners. Ideally, we will be able to get it down to 30" by season's end. It is something we definitely plan to work on.
Sophomore Peter Kazery (16:09) and freshman Cody Lee (16:15) also had very strong races today. Several other freshmen also had PR's in the race so it was a really good day for the guys' squad.
We gave the runners the rest of the Labor Day weekend off. They have a long run scheduled tomorrow (on their own) and an easy run on Monday. We get back to work on Tuesday, Sep 7th and will try to work on reducing the loss of speed in mile # 2 - a problem for more than a few of our runners.
The women ran first at 9 AM and we had two runners finish in the top 6 - Carolyn Mancuso, our all-conference runner from a year ago just edged Polina Babkina, with both girls covering the 4000m course in 14:31. This is a new school record for 4000m and since we don't run that distance again this season, the new record should last at least a year. We also had 3 other girls finish under 16:00 in the race, with Jessica Gonzalez finishing in an excellent 15:25. Kirstie Lusignan (15:48) and Kelli Hartley (15:40) were the other sub 16:00 finishers. Hannah Sharrow ran a 16:16 which was not bad at all since she was nursing a sore quad muscle and didn't really look comfortable out there.
We finished 2nd to a very strong Divison I Georgia State team. All in all, it was a good beginning for us. We showed we are in good shape and we know what we need to work on. Our biggest "negative" from the race was that we slowed down too much in the 2nd mile. Our goal is always to try and keep the drop off in the 2nd mile down to about 10"-12" and our drop-offs were much larger than that. The good news is that we can fix that in our training. I am glad the girls were able to have some success today as it shows them that their summer training paid off.
The men's race also went well. We finished 2nd to Georgia State University and had some very nice head to head battles with their runners - passing them, getting re-passed by them and passing or trying to pass them at the end of the race. Good stuff.
Austin Enriquez was our top finisher, coming in 5th and covering the 5K distance in 15:25. He went out with the leaders from the very beginning and stubbornly held on before finishing in 5th spot. Fellow seniors Craig Warlick (15:54) and Jonathan Sellers (16:07)also had strong races with Warlick posting his first ever sub 16:00 finish in a cross country meet.
One of the highlights of the men's race was the performance of our pack. We had a gap (45") of less than a minute between our # 1 and our # 6 runners. Ideally, we will be able to get it down to 30" by season's end. It is something we definitely plan to work on.
Sophomore Peter Kazery (16:09) and freshman Cody Lee (16:15) also had very strong races today. Several other freshmen also had PR's in the race so it was a really good day for the guys' squad.
We gave the runners the rest of the Labor Day weekend off. They have a long run scheduled tomorrow (on their own) and an easy run on Monday. We get back to work on Tuesday, Sep 7th and will try to work on reducing the loss of speed in mile # 2 - a problem for more than a few of our runners.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
It's the night before the night before....
Well, it's just about here now. Tonight is Thursday night and I know all of the runners are really getting excited for the race on Saturday. I just checked the weather forecast and the high is only supposed to reach 83F and, more importantly, the low Saturday morning is supposed to be around 57F. The women race at 9 AM and the men race at 9:30 AM so the conditions should be ideal. Anniston has had some clear, warm weather the past 4 days so the course should be pretty dry as well. Just about everything a runner could hope for.
We had a very successful hill workout on Tuesday morning. The guys did 15 repeats of a 300m hill and the womend did 12 repeats of the same hill. Their times were significantly faster than the first time we did that workout 2 weeks previously so that helped their confidence a good bit. We spent a couple of short evening meetings going over race plans and the runners got their final plans to me this morning for my comments. We should have a couple of interesting "intra-team" battles going on - a little bit of a "race within a race" kind of situation.
Yesterday was a typical recovery day with some plyometrics and core work in the afternoon - nothing too much but continuing the work we started at the beginning of the semester. Several of the runners have noticed that the feel "stronger" in the core and believe it has helped their running. This also builds their confidence.
Today was an off day - we try to take every 11th day off - train for 10 days and take the 11th day off. Sometimes we have to adjust that but that is the general formula.
Tomorrow we will do an easy shake-out run in the morning with some light strides and then leave at 12:30 for Anniston, AL, where the race is being held. We'll walk the course and then do a comfortable run over it with some strides at the finish line for good measure. We'll also mark some distances for the runners so they can have an idea of where they are on the course and when they might make a surge or start a kick.
Hopefully I will have some good results to report on Saturday when we get back home.
Fingers crossed.
We had a very successful hill workout on Tuesday morning. The guys did 15 repeats of a 300m hill and the womend did 12 repeats of the same hill. Their times were significantly faster than the first time we did that workout 2 weeks previously so that helped their confidence a good bit. We spent a couple of short evening meetings going over race plans and the runners got their final plans to me this morning for my comments. We should have a couple of interesting "intra-team" battles going on - a little bit of a "race within a race" kind of situation.
Yesterday was a typical recovery day with some plyometrics and core work in the afternoon - nothing too much but continuing the work we started at the beginning of the semester. Several of the runners have noticed that the feel "stronger" in the core and believe it has helped their running. This also builds their confidence.
Today was an off day - we try to take every 11th day off - train for 10 days and take the 11th day off. Sometimes we have to adjust that but that is the general formula.
Tomorrow we will do an easy shake-out run in the morning with some light strides and then leave at 12:30 for Anniston, AL, where the race is being held. We'll walk the course and then do a comfortable run over it with some strides at the finish line for good measure. We'll also mark some distances for the runners so they can have an idea of where they are on the course and when they might make a surge or start a kick.
Hopefully I will have some good results to report on Saturday when we get back home.
Fingers crossed.
Monday, August 30, 2010
It's Race Week, Baby
Well, it's almost here. We were beginning to feel that it might never get here but it is race week. 5 more days until our first race week of the season. We had 2 challenging workouts over the weekend and have only one more "hard" workout before our race at Jacksonville State University on 9-4.
We had a good bit of rain over the weekend and it muddied the dirt road we use for some of our longer workouts. The forecast for the week is mostly sunny after Tuesday or Wednesday so, hopefully, the course at JSU will dry out in time for the race. It is a great course - all grass and quite flat and accurately measured - good for fast times and you can leave knowing your time was legit - unlike some courses we have run. Forecast is for cool temps the morning of the race which is also nice.
We had a team meeting last night and began working on race plans with our freshmen runners. They are really excited and I just know they will all take off too fast at the start of their first collegiate race. We discussed it and I warned them and I know they will still go out too hard. That seems to be a rite of passage for freshman runners.
Our workout last Friday went quite well. We used the distance from our 5' maximum effort run and did repeats in 5:45 with 60" rest. All the runners finished 5 repetitions and some managed to do 6. These were run at close to current 10K pace so it was a strong session for them.
Saturday's training was just an easy 30' run with some 100m strides at the end of the session. We ran those at close to 1500m pace and they all seemed to enjoy the feeling of running fast. We cut the mileage short on this day to help our freshmen recover from the hard day before and to rest them up for the really hard session coming up on Sunday. I know their legs appreciated the reduced mileage.
Sunday's run was probably our toughest of the season so far. The guys ran a total of 10 miles and the women ran 7. The men ran a 1-2-1-2-1-2-1. The first and last miles were scheduled to be run at race pace for 10000m. The 2 mile sections were scheduled to be run at tempo pace. The single miles in between the 2 mile sections were scheduled to be run at a comfortable pace. The women had the same type of workout but only ran 2 tempo sections - 1-2-1-2-1.
It had rained a good bit overnight so the road was muddy and slippery. Also, there was some confusion about the workout and when to run tempo and when to run easy. As a result, not all runners ran the workout the way it was designed. The effort was good but the times were not up to what we had set out as goals for the session. In addition to the sloppy footing and confusion (my fault for not making sure everyone was clear on what to do)I think the freshmen's legs were tired from 3 weeks of training that was harder than they were accustomed to. They have been very good about really putting forth a lot of effort so one "off" day seems ok. I am sure they'll do better the next time we do this same workout.
Today's run was 45' easy with 6 x 100m strides at 1500m pace after the run. We try to finish each easy run with a hard 800m-1200m-1600m at race pace, but the loop where we do this was pretty muddy from the rain so we opted to do the strides instead.
Tomorrow is our last hard workout before the race on Saturday. We are going to do 300meter hill repeats on our grass loop. The men will do 15 repeats and the women will do 12repeats. We take an easy jog back around to the bottom of the hill for our recovery.
Wednesday is an easy recovery day and Thursday is an NCAA mandated off day.
We will have an easy shake out run on Friday morning and then travel to JSU in the afternoon to run over the course.
Saturday is race day and we'll see what happens!!
We had a good bit of rain over the weekend and it muddied the dirt road we use for some of our longer workouts. The forecast for the week is mostly sunny after Tuesday or Wednesday so, hopefully, the course at JSU will dry out in time for the race. It is a great course - all grass and quite flat and accurately measured - good for fast times and you can leave knowing your time was legit - unlike some courses we have run. Forecast is for cool temps the morning of the race which is also nice.
We had a team meeting last night and began working on race plans with our freshmen runners. They are really excited and I just know they will all take off too fast at the start of their first collegiate race. We discussed it and I warned them and I know they will still go out too hard. That seems to be a rite of passage for freshman runners.
Our workout last Friday went quite well. We used the distance from our 5' maximum effort run and did repeats in 5:45 with 60" rest. All the runners finished 5 repetitions and some managed to do 6. These were run at close to current 10K pace so it was a strong session for them.
Saturday's training was just an easy 30' run with some 100m strides at the end of the session. We ran those at close to 1500m pace and they all seemed to enjoy the feeling of running fast. We cut the mileage short on this day to help our freshmen recover from the hard day before and to rest them up for the really hard session coming up on Sunday. I know their legs appreciated the reduced mileage.
Sunday's run was probably our toughest of the season so far. The guys ran a total of 10 miles and the women ran 7. The men ran a 1-2-1-2-1-2-1. The first and last miles were scheduled to be run at race pace for 10000m. The 2 mile sections were scheduled to be run at tempo pace. The single miles in between the 2 mile sections were scheduled to be run at a comfortable pace. The women had the same type of workout but only ran 2 tempo sections - 1-2-1-2-1.
It had rained a good bit overnight so the road was muddy and slippery. Also, there was some confusion about the workout and when to run tempo and when to run easy. As a result, not all runners ran the workout the way it was designed. The effort was good but the times were not up to what we had set out as goals for the session. In addition to the sloppy footing and confusion (my fault for not making sure everyone was clear on what to do)I think the freshmen's legs were tired from 3 weeks of training that was harder than they were accustomed to. They have been very good about really putting forth a lot of effort so one "off" day seems ok. I am sure they'll do better the next time we do this same workout.
Today's run was 45' easy with 6 x 100m strides at 1500m pace after the run. We try to finish each easy run with a hard 800m-1200m-1600m at race pace, but the loop where we do this was pretty muddy from the rain so we opted to do the strides instead.
Tomorrow is our last hard workout before the race on Saturday. We are going to do 300meter hill repeats on our grass loop. The men will do 15 repeats and the women will do 12repeats. We take an easy jog back around to the bottom of the hill for our recovery.
Wednesday is an easy recovery day and Thursday is an NCAA mandated off day.
We will have an easy shake out run on Friday morning and then travel to JSU in the afternoon to run over the course.
Saturday is race day and we'll see what happens!!
Friday, August 27, 2010
One down, two to go.
We finished one of our last 3 hard workouts before our first race on 9-4. We have 2 more to go before the first race and everyone is getting more and more excited.
Today's session was covering a set distance in 5:45 with one minute rest and completing 4-6 repetitions of the distance. The distance was determined by a 5' all out run during the previous training cycle. The workout went far better than I expected. Each girl did 5 repeats and on only one of them did a runner fail to exceed her goal distance for the 5:45. The men's team had slightly more mixed results with some runners not reaching their goal distance on the more uphill direction of the road where we did the workout. Still, a vast majority of the repeats did exceed the goal distance. All in all, the workout seemed to raise everyone's confidence and more than a few runners commented that they ran faster/farther than they thought they could. It is always good to push the envelope and extend our self-imposed limits.
When we do this workout the next time, we will use the same goal distance but have only 5:30 to complete it. It will be a serious challenge for our group but will also be another opportunity to push their limits and build their confidence.
Tomorrow is a very easy recovery run with a stretching session after the run. We are changing our start time from our usual 5:30 AM to 8 AM - partly as a reward to the group for such a good effort this morning and also to help them rest up for Sunday's formidable session - alternate ones and twos.
Today's session was covering a set distance in 5:45 with one minute rest and completing 4-6 repetitions of the distance. The distance was determined by a 5' all out run during the previous training cycle. The workout went far better than I expected. Each girl did 5 repeats and on only one of them did a runner fail to exceed her goal distance for the 5:45. The men's team had slightly more mixed results with some runners not reaching their goal distance on the more uphill direction of the road where we did the workout. Still, a vast majority of the repeats did exceed the goal distance. All in all, the workout seemed to raise everyone's confidence and more than a few runners commented that they ran faster/farther than they thought they could. It is always good to push the envelope and extend our self-imposed limits.
When we do this workout the next time, we will use the same goal distance but have only 5:30 to complete it. It will be a serious challenge for our group but will also be another opportunity to push their limits and build their confidence.
Tomorrow is a very easy recovery run with a stretching session after the run. We are changing our start time from our usual 5:30 AM to 8 AM - partly as a reward to the group for such a good effort this morning and also to help them rest up for Sunday's formidable session - alternate ones and twos.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Easy today, harder tomorrow
We had a recovery day today - 40' easy on the local golf course and then a final 800 at race pace at our on-campus trails. The 800s were the quickest of the year so far -we are starting to get a bit of turnover in our legs.
In the afternoon we did a series of plank (pillar) exercises and a series of Swiss Ball exercises for the core. We finished with a max out on pushups and pull-ups - all at the Fitness Center in the Student Union Building.
Tomorrow the runners face a challening workout: last cycle they ran 5' all out and tried to cover as much distance as they could during the 5'. This week each runner will run his/her same distane from the 5' test and attempt to cover it in 5:45. We will attempt 4-6 repeats. The factor that makes this workout difficult is that there is only a minute's rest after each repeat. We will do this run a nearby dirt road which is primarily flat with a small rise about midway down the road.
It will be interesting to see how the runners respond to the challenges of this workout. The weather has been cool the past few mornings and it looks like it will be fairly cool tomorrow as well - so that should help a lot.
I'll post the results tomorrow or as soon as I can get to them.
We are just about a week away from our first race of the season - Saturday, Sept 4 -
at Jacksonville State University - about a 3 hour ride from UWA. Everyone is getting pretty excited about it right now. I can't wait to see how our athletes perform and get some information on how to focus their upcoming training.
In the afternoon we did a series of plank (pillar) exercises and a series of Swiss Ball exercises for the core. We finished with a max out on pushups and pull-ups - all at the Fitness Center in the Student Union Building.
Tomorrow the runners face a challening workout: last cycle they ran 5' all out and tried to cover as much distance as they could during the 5'. This week each runner will run his/her same distane from the 5' test and attempt to cover it in 5:45. We will attempt 4-6 repeats. The factor that makes this workout difficult is that there is only a minute's rest after each repeat. We will do this run a nearby dirt road which is primarily flat with a small rise about midway down the road.
It will be interesting to see how the runners respond to the challenges of this workout. The weather has been cool the past few mornings and it looks like it will be fairly cool tomorrow as well - so that should help a lot.
I'll post the results tomorrow or as soon as I can get to them.
We are just about a week away from our first race of the season - Saturday, Sept 4 -
at Jacksonville State University - about a 3 hour ride from UWA. Everyone is getting pretty excited about it right now. I can't wait to see how our athletes perform and get some information on how to focus their upcoming training.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Training Cycle # 2
This is a couple of days late, but here is the schedule for our current training cycle, # 2.
8-23 Billat # 2.
We ran an all out 6' time trial last cycle. We will run 5 repeats that are 1/2 that distance and try to complete them in 3' taking a 3' jog-recovery.
8-24 Easy Recovery run with last 800m at goal pace for the season.
The men will run 50' and the women will run 45'.
8-25 Tempo Run with the first 1000m at goal pace for the season.
The men will run 6 miles and the women will run 5 miles.
8-25 Easy Recovery Run w/last 800m at goal pace for the season.
The men and women will both run 40'
8-27 Astrand Run # 2.
Last cycle we ran an all out 5' run to cover as much distance as possible. We will try to run that same distance 4-6 times and cover it in 5:45 with a 60" rest between repeats.
8-28 Easy Recovery Run with 8 x 100m strides @ 1500m pace.
Men and women will both run 30'.
8-29 Alternating ones and twos.
The men will run 1-2-1-2-1-2-1 and the women will run 1-2-1-2-1.
The first and last miles are at race pace. The two mile segments are at tempo pace. The miles in between the two mile tempo sections are easy, recovery type miles.
8-30 Easy Recovery Run with last 800m at goal pace.
8-31 300m hill repeats on a campus hill
The men will run one easy repeat, one moderate repeat and 13 hard repeats. Recovery is a jog back down the hill.
The women will run one easy repeat, one moderate repeat and 10 hard repeats. Recovery is a jog back down the hill.
9-1 Easy Recovery Run with last 800m at goal pace for the season.
Men will run 45' and women will run 40'.
9-2 OFF DAY
8-23 Billat # 2.
We ran an all out 6' time trial last cycle. We will run 5 repeats that are 1/2 that distance and try to complete them in 3' taking a 3' jog-recovery.
8-24 Easy Recovery run with last 800m at goal pace for the season.
The men will run 50' and the women will run 45'.
8-25 Tempo Run with the first 1000m at goal pace for the season.
The men will run 6 miles and the women will run 5 miles.
8-25 Easy Recovery Run w/last 800m at goal pace for the season.
The men and women will both run 40'
8-27 Astrand Run # 2.
Last cycle we ran an all out 5' run to cover as much distance as possible. We will try to run that same distance 4-6 times and cover it in 5:45 with a 60" rest between repeats.
8-28 Easy Recovery Run with 8 x 100m strides @ 1500m pace.
Men and women will both run 30'.
8-29 Alternating ones and twos.
The men will run 1-2-1-2-1-2-1 and the women will run 1-2-1-2-1.
The first and last miles are at race pace. The two mile segments are at tempo pace. The miles in between the two mile tempo sections are easy, recovery type miles.
8-30 Easy Recovery Run with last 800m at goal pace.
8-31 300m hill repeats on a campus hill
The men will run one easy repeat, one moderate repeat and 13 hard repeats. Recovery is a jog back down the hill.
The women will run one easy repeat, one moderate repeat and 10 hard repeats. Recovery is a jog back down the hill.
9-1 Easy Recovery Run with last 800m at goal pace for the season.
Men will run 45' and women will run 40'.
9-2 OFF DAY
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
UWA Cross Country Rosters
Here are the rosters for the mens'a and women's squads for the 2010 cross country season.
WOMEN
Carolyn Mancuso Junior Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Polina Babkina Sophomore Sochi, Russia
Kelli Hartley Senior Tuscaloosa, AL
Kirstie Lusignan Freshman Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Jessica Gonzalez Junior Columbus, MS
Amy Benoit Junior Ellisville, MS
Anne Enoch Junior Columbianna, AL
Hannah Sharrow Freshman Hoover, AL
MEN
Austin Enriquez Senior Fayetteville, GA
Jonathan Sellers Senior Lithia Springs, GA
Craig Warlick Senior Daphne, AL
Peter Kazery Sophomore Jackson, MS
Camden Holmes Junior Cullman, AL
Evan Lemons Freshman Guntersville, AL
Billy Lane Freshman Pell City, AL
Adam Pierce Freshman Cullman, AL
Miles Bowman Freshman Daphne, AL
Brandon Nelson Freshman Brewton, AL
Josh Griffin Freshman Houston, MS
Cody Lee Freshman Homewood, AL
David Farist Red-Shirt Buford, GA
WOMEN
Carolyn Mancuso Junior Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Polina Babkina Sophomore Sochi, Russia
Kelli Hartley Senior Tuscaloosa, AL
Kirstie Lusignan Freshman Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Jessica Gonzalez Junior Columbus, MS
Amy Benoit Junior Ellisville, MS
Anne Enoch Junior Columbianna, AL
Hannah Sharrow Freshman Hoover, AL
MEN
Austin Enriquez Senior Fayetteville, GA
Jonathan Sellers Senior Lithia Springs, GA
Craig Warlick Senior Daphne, AL
Peter Kazery Sophomore Jackson, MS
Camden Holmes Junior Cullman, AL
Evan Lemons Freshman Guntersville, AL
Billy Lane Freshman Pell City, AL
Adam Pierce Freshman Cullman, AL
Miles Bowman Freshman Daphne, AL
Brandon Nelson Freshman Brewton, AL
Josh Griffin Freshman Houston, MS
Cody Lee Freshman Homewood, AL
David Farist Red-Shirt Buford, GA
Game on!
The 2010 season officially began on Aug 11 with our first training session of the year. We welcomed 13 male and 8 female runners. We were expecting 9 females but one of our prospective athletes decided not to run.
Here is our first training cycle:
1. Tempo run. We ran the first 800m at close to race pace and the rest of the run at tempo pace. The men ran 5 miles and the women ran 4 miles on this run.
2. Easy recovery type run. The men ran 6-8 miles and the women ran 5-6 miles depending upon their summer training levels. The last 800m were run at close to race pace.
3. Billat workout. This entailed a 6' all-out run in which the runners attempted to cover as much distance as possible. After a 5' recovery period, the runners attempted to cover 1/2 of the 6' distance and do it in 3' with a 3' recovery jog. They did 3 repetitions of the 3' intervals.
4. Easy recovery type run. Men were at 6-8 miles and the women ran 5-6 miles. The last 800 was run close to race pace.
5. Steady state run at a nearby dirt road. The road is quite hilly and is 8.3 mi in length. The men ran the entire distance and the women ran 7.3 miles. This is always one of our more challenging training sessions and we handled it quite well for so early in the year.
6. Easy recovery type run. Men and women both ran 40' with no particular distance requirements. They were all pretty tired from the past 5 days and definitely benefitted from a very easy day. We fnished with 6 strides of 100m on a grass football field.
7. Astrand workout. The athletes ran 5' all out and tried to cover as much distance as they could. After a 5' jog-rest, they ran the same distance as they covered in the 5' test and tried to cover it in 6:00. They had 30" recovery and repeated the runs for a total of 5 times.
8. Easy recovery type run. 40' for both men and women. They ran this run a good bit quicker than the previous 40' recovery run. I think they are starting to get their legs under them.
9. 300m repeats on a campus hill. The men did 1 easy hill run, 2 medium hill runs and 9 very hard repeats. The recovery was a jog back to the bottom of the hill. The women did 1 easy hill run, 1 medium hill run and 8 very hard repeats. This was one of our very best workouts so far. Everyone seemed in good spirits and were encouraging one another the whole time. Good team spirit today for sure.
10. Easy recovery day. 40' for both men and women. We did 6 light sprints afterwards and everyone looked quick and light footed. The runners look confident and eager to do well.
11. Long Run. We stayed on campus and ran on all of our various loops and trails and through town. The men ran 2 hours, or 90' or 75 minutes depending upon their mileage levels. The women all ran 75'.
12. OFF DAY
In the afternoons (Mon through Fri) we did core work, strength work, plyometrics and flexibility work. This did, of course, lead to a certain amount of soreness, but that seemed to have pretty much abated by the end of the training cycle. Lots of swimming probably helped a lot with that.
Overall, the first training cycle went quite well. Times were well advanced over those from other seasons, even with many of our incoming freshmen. Attitudes were quite good. The teams seem to have bonded quite well, with lots of laughing and good natured teasing going on - even though it hasn't been two weeks yet. We did have a few health issues - one sinus infection, one sore throat, one tight calf and one case of plantar fascitis, none of which proved to be very serious.
I left the first training cycle feeling optimistic about both of our squads' chances of having a successful season. If we can maintain the same team spirit and motivation, it could be one of the best seasons we have had in a long time.
Here is our first training cycle:
1. Tempo run. We ran the first 800m at close to race pace and the rest of the run at tempo pace. The men ran 5 miles and the women ran 4 miles on this run.
2. Easy recovery type run. The men ran 6-8 miles and the women ran 5-6 miles depending upon their summer training levels. The last 800m were run at close to race pace.
3. Billat workout. This entailed a 6' all-out run in which the runners attempted to cover as much distance as possible. After a 5' recovery period, the runners attempted to cover 1/2 of the 6' distance and do it in 3' with a 3' recovery jog. They did 3 repetitions of the 3' intervals.
4. Easy recovery type run. Men were at 6-8 miles and the women ran 5-6 miles. The last 800 was run close to race pace.
5. Steady state run at a nearby dirt road. The road is quite hilly and is 8.3 mi in length. The men ran the entire distance and the women ran 7.3 miles. This is always one of our more challenging training sessions and we handled it quite well for so early in the year.
6. Easy recovery type run. Men and women both ran 40' with no particular distance requirements. They were all pretty tired from the past 5 days and definitely benefitted from a very easy day. We fnished with 6 strides of 100m on a grass football field.
7. Astrand workout. The athletes ran 5' all out and tried to cover as much distance as they could. After a 5' jog-rest, they ran the same distance as they covered in the 5' test and tried to cover it in 6:00. They had 30" recovery and repeated the runs for a total of 5 times.
8. Easy recovery type run. 40' for both men and women. They ran this run a good bit quicker than the previous 40' recovery run. I think they are starting to get their legs under them.
9. 300m repeats on a campus hill. The men did 1 easy hill run, 2 medium hill runs and 9 very hard repeats. The recovery was a jog back to the bottom of the hill. The women did 1 easy hill run, 1 medium hill run and 8 very hard repeats. This was one of our very best workouts so far. Everyone seemed in good spirits and were encouraging one another the whole time. Good team spirit today for sure.
10. Easy recovery day. 40' for both men and women. We did 6 light sprints afterwards and everyone looked quick and light footed. The runners look confident and eager to do well.
11. Long Run. We stayed on campus and ran on all of our various loops and trails and through town. The men ran 2 hours, or 90' or 75 minutes depending upon their mileage levels. The women all ran 75'.
12. OFF DAY
In the afternoons (Mon through Fri) we did core work, strength work, plyometrics and flexibility work. This did, of course, lead to a certain amount of soreness, but that seemed to have pretty much abated by the end of the training cycle. Lots of swimming probably helped a lot with that.
Overall, the first training cycle went quite well. Times were well advanced over those from other seasons, even with many of our incoming freshmen. Attitudes were quite good. The teams seem to have bonded quite well, with lots of laughing and good natured teasing going on - even though it hasn't been two weeks yet. We did have a few health issues - one sinus infection, one sore throat, one tight calf and one case of plantar fascitis, none of which proved to be very serious.
I left the first training cycle feeling optimistic about both of our squads' chances of having a successful season. If we can maintain the same team spirit and motivation, it could be one of the best seasons we have had in a long time.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
WEEK 3 OF SUMMER TRAINING
Week # 3 of summer training is scheduled to end on Sunday, June 20th. So far we have had very good results - all of our runners have sent in weekly reports to discuss what they accomplished during the past week. In return, Coach Medina and I send back comments and suggestions to each of the runners to better prepare them for the upcoming week of training.
We stress consistency during summer training - trying to get in as many of the scheduled workouts as possible. More so even than fast times or especially strong workouts, we believe it is the accumulation of training results that will reap benefits when November's championship season rolls around.
Our summer program is based on two fartlek runs per week - one with shorter accelerations (up to 45") and one with longer accelerations (up to 4'). In addition, we have two variable paced distance runs which mix easy miles with faster miles in varying amounts. The week also has 3 very easy recovery runs mixed in. We feel this is an excellent mix of aerobic work with enough faster running to keep fast twitch fibers "awake" and prevent any major loss of speed over the summer.
The training schedule is 10 weeks long, with 3 sets of 3 week periods. Within each 3 week period we have 2 weeks of increased mileage and one week of reduced mileage to help recover for the next 3 week period. Our mileage increases over the duration of the summer. Each runner's starting point as far as mileage goes is set individually, based on what the runner has already done and what the coaching staff feels he/she can handle. The final week (# 10) is a moderate week to keep the runners sharp enough for our pre-season training camp, the week before classes begin.
Runners are encouraged to run a road race or compete in a track race or two during the summer to help break up the monotony of summer training and to give us an idea of their current fitness levels.
The end of week # 3 on Sunday will mark the completion of 30% of the summer program and, by all reports, things are going well. Our incoming freshmen have had some very good weeks and that is encouraging. We'll need our freshmen to step up early if we are going to reach the goals we set at the end of the last school year.
SPEAKING OF FRESHMEN
Here is a list of our incoming freshmen for the 2010-2011 school year:
MEN
David Farist
Cody Lee
Miles Bowman
Adam Pierce
Adam Nelson
Matt Ray
Josh Griffin
WOMEN
Hannah Sharrow
Leah Onye
In addition, we have a couple of additional runners who have indicated an interest in walking on to the team and we'll add their names to the list once they have been accepted into school.
We'll get back to you with more information in our next blog. Take care.
Coach Medeiros
We stress consistency during summer training - trying to get in as many of the scheduled workouts as possible. More so even than fast times or especially strong workouts, we believe it is the accumulation of training results that will reap benefits when November's championship season rolls around.
Our summer program is based on two fartlek runs per week - one with shorter accelerations (up to 45") and one with longer accelerations (up to 4'). In addition, we have two variable paced distance runs which mix easy miles with faster miles in varying amounts. The week also has 3 very easy recovery runs mixed in. We feel this is an excellent mix of aerobic work with enough faster running to keep fast twitch fibers "awake" and prevent any major loss of speed over the summer.
The training schedule is 10 weeks long, with 3 sets of 3 week periods. Within each 3 week period we have 2 weeks of increased mileage and one week of reduced mileage to help recover for the next 3 week period. Our mileage increases over the duration of the summer. Each runner's starting point as far as mileage goes is set individually, based on what the runner has already done and what the coaching staff feels he/she can handle. The final week (# 10) is a moderate week to keep the runners sharp enough for our pre-season training camp, the week before classes begin.
Runners are encouraged to run a road race or compete in a track race or two during the summer to help break up the monotony of summer training and to give us an idea of their current fitness levels.
The end of week # 3 on Sunday will mark the completion of 30% of the summer program and, by all reports, things are going well. Our incoming freshmen have had some very good weeks and that is encouraging. We'll need our freshmen to step up early if we are going to reach the goals we set at the end of the last school year.
SPEAKING OF FRESHMEN
Here is a list of our incoming freshmen for the 2010-2011 school year:
MEN
David Farist
Cody Lee
Miles Bowman
Adam Pierce
Adam Nelson
Matt Ray
Josh Griffin
WOMEN
Hannah Sharrow
Leah Onye
In addition, we have a couple of additional runners who have indicated an interest in walking on to the team and we'll add their names to the list once they have been accepted into school.
We'll get back to you with more information in our next blog. Take care.
Coach Medeiros
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Summer Training
Our harriers have just completed their first week of summer training and are in the midst of their second week. Each runner has e-mailed in their results and they look good. We have stressed the importance of summer training in reaching our goals for the upcoming season and everyone, including the incoming freshmen, have responded well.
We'll keep everyone posted on our progress as the summer goes along.
Coach M
We'll keep everyone posted on our progress as the summer goes along.
Coach M
Monday, January 18, 2010
BIG RECRUITING DAY
Today (and tomorrow) we hosted a large group of high school runners and their families. It turned out to a beautiful day - sunny and warm and not a cloud in the sky. We had a nice lunch to start the day off and then toured campus. Then we checked everyone into their hotel rooms and then we all went for a run on a 5 mile dirt road near campus. Tonight the runners will go to dinner and socialize most of the evening.
Tomorrow we have a morning gym session. After breakfast we'll have individual meetings with runners and their parents to go over admissions information and to answer any questions they might have. During lunch we'll have a presentation by Dr. Doug Wymer head of the biology program. After lunch we'll have academic appointments with faculty from the departments in which the recruits want to major. We'll also have a presentation by Dr. Lesa Shaul, head of the Honors Program.
Finally, we'll have an easy run to cap off the visit and then a good-bye dinner. It will be a hectic 2 day period but we are hopeful the recruits will like what they see and decide to come to UWA next Fall.
Tomorrow we have a morning gym session. After breakfast we'll have individual meetings with runners and their parents to go over admissions information and to answer any questions they might have. During lunch we'll have a presentation by Dr. Doug Wymer head of the biology program. After lunch we'll have academic appointments with faculty from the departments in which the recruits want to major. We'll also have a presentation by Dr. Lesa Shaul, head of the Honors Program.
Finally, we'll have an easy run to cap off the visit and then a good-bye dinner. It will be a hectic 2 day period but we are hopeful the recruits will like what they see and decide to come to UWA next Fall.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
School is back in and we are back to training
Classes began this past Monday, January 11th. We are having a one week transition period to get back into regular training and to assess what each runner accomplished over the holiday period. Here is our schedule:
Monday Men 6 miles at a comfortable pace
Women 4 miles at a comfortable pace
Tuesday Men 5 mile tempo run
Women 3 mile tempo run
A very solid session today. Given that we were running on a hilly road, I thought the times were quite promising. It showed that we were able to accomplish a good bit over the holiday break. This kind of stuff makes a coach VERY happy!
The guys seemed to perform a little bit better than the girls - on the whole - but there were a couple of very strong runs for the girls as well.
Wednesday Men 10, 8 or 6 mile run at a comfortable pace, depending upon X-mas mileage
Women 4 miles at a comfortable pace
Thursday Men - 10 x 300m hill repeats with jog back recovery
Women - 8 x 300m hill repeats with jog back recovery
* This workout went great today. Both the guys and the girls really worked hard and attacked the hills. Their splits were very consistent - a good sign that the aerobic work they did over the holiday was beneficial.
Friday Men 6, 8 or 10 miles at a comfortable pace.
Women - 4 miles at a comfortable pace
We'll have a team meeting after this workout to go over the training schedule for the upcoming track season. Now that we have everyone's class schedule we'll figure out the best training times and get that set up.
Saturday - Men - hard run (8.3 mi) at Rough Road - perhaps our toughest training venue.
Women - hard run (6 mi) at Rough Road
This is a very challenging road - lots of hills and mostly uphill for about7 of the 8.3 miles. It will be interesting to compare the runners' times to those from the cross country season. We'll be lengthening this run as the season goes on to a maximum of about 11 miles for the men and 8.3 miles for the women.
Sunday - Men do a 10-12 mile run at a comfortable pace, depending upon their mileage levels.
Women do a 6 mile run at a comfortable pace.
As of today - Thursday - the weather has been really nice. It was great today during our hill workout - the guys were running topless - as usual. All in all a great day. We have 2 basketball games on campus tonight so that will be fun as well. We usually go to those as a group when studies don't interfere.
Monday Men 6 miles at a comfortable pace
Women 4 miles at a comfortable pace
Tuesday Men 5 mile tempo run
Women 3 mile tempo run
A very solid session today. Given that we were running on a hilly road, I thought the times were quite promising. It showed that we were able to accomplish a good bit over the holiday break. This kind of stuff makes a coach VERY happy!
The guys seemed to perform a little bit better than the girls - on the whole - but there were a couple of very strong runs for the girls as well.
Wednesday Men 10, 8 or 6 mile run at a comfortable pace, depending upon X-mas mileage
Women 4 miles at a comfortable pace
Thursday Men - 10 x 300m hill repeats with jog back recovery
Women - 8 x 300m hill repeats with jog back recovery
* This workout went great today. Both the guys and the girls really worked hard and attacked the hills. Their splits were very consistent - a good sign that the aerobic work they did over the holiday was beneficial.
Friday Men 6, 8 or 10 miles at a comfortable pace.
Women - 4 miles at a comfortable pace
We'll have a team meeting after this workout to go over the training schedule for the upcoming track season. Now that we have everyone's class schedule we'll figure out the best training times and get that set up.
Saturday - Men - hard run (8.3 mi) at Rough Road - perhaps our toughest training venue.
Women - hard run (6 mi) at Rough Road
This is a very challenging road - lots of hills and mostly uphill for about7 of the 8.3 miles. It will be interesting to compare the runners' times to those from the cross country season. We'll be lengthening this run as the season goes on to a maximum of about 11 miles for the men and 8.3 miles for the women.
Sunday - Men do a 10-12 mile run at a comfortable pace, depending upon their mileage levels.
Women do a 6 mile run at a comfortable pace.
As of today - Thursday - the weather has been really nice. It was great today during our hill workout - the guys were running topless - as usual. All in all a great day. We have 2 basketball games on campus tonight so that will be fun as well. We usually go to those as a group when studies don't interfere.
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