Week 11 Training Plan, 11/1-11/7

Purdy calculator

This week features the Frank Mooney Invitational on Saturday, a meet that for this program will involve 9th and 10th grade athletes. Those that aren't racing on Saturday will be doing a time trial, either on Thursday (first choice date) or Friday (backup date if weather on Thursday isn't suitable). Like last week, there will also be a day off mid-week which will be Wednesday.

Mon 11/1 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a progressive medium long run. The length of this week's run is the same as last week's CMR.

Group A: 36 minutes (12 minutes easy, 9 minutes fresh, 9 minutes good, 6 minutes easy)
Group B: 48 minutes (16 minutes easy, 12 minutes fresh, 12 minutes good, 8 minutes easy)
Group C: 60 minutes (12 minutes easy, 9 minutes fresh, 9 minutes good, 6 minutes easy)

Tue 11/2 - Warmup followed by a short length run including run-throughs and bounding over cones

Group A: 24-28 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 40-44 minutes

Wed 11/3 - off

Thu 11/4 - Warmup followed by a medium length run including timed repeats as follows:

those racing 3k on Saturday: 10 minute warmup, 2 sets of 3x400 meters with the first set at race pace and the second set 1-2 seconds per rep faster than race pace. 200 meter recovery jog after each repeat with 4-5 minutes recovery between sets. 10 minute cooldown.

those racing 5k on Saturday: 10 minute warmup, 2 sets of 4x400 meters with the first set at race pace and the second set at 1-2 seconds per rep faster than race pace. 200 meter recovery jog after each repeat with 4-5 minutes recovery between sets. 10 minute cooldown.

those not racing on Saturday: 10 minute warmup, mile time trial on the track, 10-12 minute break, 3-4x200 at race pace with a 200 meter jog recovery, 10 minute easy jog cooldown.

Fri 11/5 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a short length run at an easy to moderate intensity. Two sets of short repeats on top of the aqueduct in the last 8-10 minutes of the run.

Group A: 24-28 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 40-44 minutes

Sat 11/6 - Frank Mooney Invitational. More information will be forthcoming in a subsequent post. Those not racing today should do a medium length run at an easy to moderate intensity, with 5-6 pickups of 15-20 seconds in the second half of the run.

Sun 11/7 - off

DCL Championship Results, 10/28/21

Championship season kicked off today at Franklin Park with the DCL Championship meet. With both the boys and girls varsity teams having members racing in separate 9th grade races the emphasis today was on individual accomplishment on a course that's been in use for decades. In fact the World Cross Country Championships were held at Franklin Park in 1992 (the women's race was won by an American, Lynn Jennings). 

There were many performances of note in what were deep and competitive races throughout the day. The course, soggy from recent rains, ran relatively slow and yet times compared favorably to other, faster courses like the ones at Weston and Wrentham that the team has raced on earlier in the season. 

There were three medal winners on the day, all of them in the 9th grade races in which Wayland was well represented. Arya Samaratunga ran a strong second place in the 9th grade girls race, moving up smartly in the second half of the race and finishing impressively. Her time puts her third on the list of Wayland athletes for this course that has performances going back to 2003. 

In the 9th grade boys race Luke Chisum and Owen Williams were part of a pack that broke away from the field in the early stages of the race. The trip up and over Bear Cage Hill gave Chisum the opportunity to show his heels to the field as he pulled away and then stormed to the line, with Williams following close behind in third. Both of them finished in under 11 minutes, something that hasn't happened for a Wayland 9th grader since 2007.

meet results

WHS athletes splits and times

All-Time lists for current Franklin Park 3k and 5k courses going back to 1997

and don't forget, real men love cats...

DCL Championship, 10/28/21

Meet Site: Playstead Field at Franklin Park, Boston.

Bus Time: 

12 PM - note the bus time. Athletes listed below (and only those athletes listed below) will be dismissed after 3rd period. Remember that you're responsible for any work in classes that you miss.
 

Meet Schedule and lineups:

2 PM JV girls 5k - Han, Mente

2:30 PM Varsity boys 5k - Creavin, T. Jay, Morris, Narvaez, Wightman

3 PM 9th grade girls 3k - Samaratunga

3:20 PM 9th grade boys 3k - Chisum, F. Jay, Williams

3:35 PM Varsity girls 5k - Calder, Grieco, Kim, Marto, O'Leary, Rice, Thoen

4 PM JV boys 5k - Caddoo, Frank, Goldstein, Grossman, Reece

4:30 PM Awards

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: mostly cloudy, temperatures in the low to mid 50s with SSW winds around 10-15 mph. The temperature and wind combination make it incumbent upon athletes to have adequate warmups and to wear them before and after racing. 

 • The varsity and JV 5k course has three loops; the first loop starts on the Playstead field and goes around these fields and White Stadium. The second loop goes part of the way around the fields and stadium before heading away from the field loop for a climb up and over Bear Cage Hill. On the other side of Bear Cage Hill the second loop rejoins terrain covered on the first loop again. The third loop covers the Wilderness and Playstead field. 

• The 9th grade race incorporates the first two of three loops shown on the maps below.

• The top 15 finishers in each varsity race, the top 8 JV and the top 7 9th graders will receive trophies.

• In the past, athletes from various DCL schools (including Wayland) have gotten lost in the third loop of the course. This section is labeled "The Wilderness" on the map below. While this part of the course will surely be well marked, it's a good idea to check it out during your warmup jog if you're running the 5k course.

• If this is your final meet of the season, bring an extra change of clothes and after we return to Wayland you can change out of your uniform in the field house and return it to one of the coaches.  

• Return time to WHS is approximate, but we hope to be back between 6:00 and 7:00 depending on traffic 

 
What to bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes including: long sleeved shirt, pants, windbreaker, gloves, hat
• water bottle
• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival). If you're running in a later race, bring a snack to have when we first arrive at the park to tide you over until your race. 
• folding chair if you want something to sit on while changing shoes
• blanket to lie on under the team tent

internet connected device to fill out the Golden Microphone Voting

For parents:

• There's a small parking lot at the corner of Circuit Drive and Pierpont Road; there's also a larger lot further down Circuit Drive, as well as on-street parking on Circuit Drive.
• If you're going to be at the meet and would like to take your child with you when their race is over, please let one of the coaches know.
• The area just beyond the finish line is a good spot to see the race at various points as the runners pass by this spot repeatedly.

Week 10 Training Plan - 10/25-10/31

 This week features the beginning of championship season with Thursday's DCL Championship meet at Franklin Park. More information will be forthcoming on this meet which will require an early dismissal from school. In addition, with the end of the season drawing near, we've entered the final phase of our training. The proverbial hay is in the barn and from here on out it's a draw down of training volume achieved in two ways:

• a reduction in the length of most daily runs.
• a reduction in the number of runs per week. This is achieved by taking one more day a week off from practice. This week that day is Tuesday.

I'll explain in more detail at practice Monday how this tapering process will proceed. In the meantime here is the plan for this week:

• Mon 10/25 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by cyclic long run as follows:
Group A: 36 minutes (3 minute segments)

Group B: 48 minutes (4 minute segments)

Group C: 60 minutes (5 minute segments) 

• Tue 10/26 - off

• Wed 10/27 - Warmup followed by a short length run with two sets of short reps at the end on top of the aqueduct.

Group A: 24-28 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 40-44 minutes

• Thu 10/28 - DCL Championship Meet @Franklin Park. The first race (JV Girls) will be at 2 PM which means we have to arrive in time for those athletes to adequately warm up. More information forthcoming. This is a medium length day, including warmup and cooldown running it should add up to the following:

Group A: 32-36 minutes
Group B: 40-44 minutes
Group C: 48-52 minutes

• Fri 10/29 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a short length run at an easy to moderate intensity.

Group A: 24-28 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 40-44 minutes

• Sat 10/30 - Medium length run at an easy to moderate intensity. For those that are interested we will be meeting at Lincoln Station at 10 AM for this run. To avoid getting lost on the trails, download the Outerspatial app on your phone. 

Group A: 32-36 minutes
Group B: 40-44 minutes
Group C: 48-52 minutes

• Sun 10/31 - off

Week 9 Training Plan, 10/18-10/24

This week there are no meets scheduled which means the focus can be on consolidating your training leading up to the championship portion of the season. The two highlights of the week are the long run on Tuesday and a timed repeat workout on either Friday or Saturday. Keep in mind that the forecast calls for cooler temperatures on Monday and Tuesday and you should have clothes for this. There's an optional practice at Lincoln Station on Saturday morning, those who plan on attending will do the timed repeat workout and not on Friday. 

Monday 10/18 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a short run followed by high knee run-throughs and bounding over cones. The cones will be set up on the softball field. We will again be practicing running around tight corners. Total length of the run today is as follows:

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Tuesday 10/19 - warmup followed by a PLR along the Weston aqueduct. Once people have crossed the Sudbury River via the hot dog bridge there are various options of where to go from there. The overall length of the run is as follows, remember that the first 1/3 of the run is easy, the next 1/4 is at a "fresh" pace, the next 1/4 after that is at a "good" pace and the final 1/6 of the run is at an easy pace again.

Group A: 48 minutes
Group B: 60 minutes
Group C: 72 minutes 

Wednesday 10/20 - warmup including BURPEES followed by a short length recovery run at an easy to moderate intensity with hill drills. We will most likely be doing the hill drills on Wallace Road near the Hultman aqueduct and Old Connecticut Path. The length of the run today is as follows:

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Thursday 10/21 - warmup followed by a short length run at mostly an easy effort. Save the last 8-10 minutes of the run for two sets of short intervals on top of the aqueduct.

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Friday 10/22 - warmup including BURPEES followed by either a medium length run (Group A: 36-40 minutes, Group B 44-48 minutes, Group C 52-56 minutes) or the following workout:

Group A: 6 minute jog warmup, 2x 3 minutes at good pace with 90 seconds recovery after each, then 2 sets of 3x200m with a 100 meter jog recovery and 2-3 minutes jog rest between sets. 6 minute cooldown. The first set should be at race pace, the last set faster than that. 

Group B: 8 minute jog warmup, 3x 3 minutes at good pace with 90 seconds recovery after each, then 3 sets of 3x200m with a 100 meter jog recovery and 2-3 minutes rest between sets. 8 minute cooldown. The first two sets should be at race pace, the last set faster than that. 

Group C: 8 minute jog warmup, 4x 3 minutes at good pace with 90 seconds recovery after each, then 3 sets of 3x200m with a 100 meter jog recovery and 2-3 minutes rest between sets. 8 minute cooldown. The first two sets should be at race pace, the last set faster than that. 

Saturday 10/23 - warmup followed by either a medium length run (Group A: 36-40 minutes, Group B 44-48 minutes, Group C 52-56 minutes) or the following workout:

Group A: 6 minute jog warmup, 2x 3 minutes at good pace with 90 seconds recovery after each, then 2 sets of 3x200m with a 100 meter jog recovery and 2-3 minutes jog rest between sets. 6 minute cooldown. The first set should be at race pace, the last set faster than that. 

Group B: 8 minute jog warmup, 3x 3 minutes at good pace with 90 seconds recovery after each, then 3 sets of 3x200m with a 100 meter jog recovery and 2-3 minutes rest between sets. 8 minute cooldown. The first two sets should be at race pace, the last set faster than that. 

Group C: 8 minute jog warmup, 4x 3 minutes at good pace with 90 seconds recovery after each, then 3 sets of 3x200m with a 100 meter jog recovery and 2-3 minutes rest between sets. 8 minute cooldown. The first two sets should be at race pace, the last set faster than that. 

Sunday 10/24 - off

Dual Meet #5 Results

 The dual meet portion of the  season wrapped up on Wednesday at Franklin Park in Boston, which will also be the site of the upcoming DCL Championship later in the month (note the date for this meet is confirmed for Thursday 10/28). With many members of both teams having either raced twice in the past week or in one case still recovering from injury, today’s meet was more of a controlled effort than an all out race for most. Still it was a good opportunity to see the layout for the next meet which will be more competitive for sure with the entire league in attendance.

WHS splits and times can be seen here

Dual Meet #5 vs. Boston Latin, 10/13/21

Meet Site: Playstead Field at Franklin Park, Boston.

Bus Time: 3 PM, note the bus time
 

Race Schedule:

JV combined (3K) - Caddoo, Frank, Goldstein, Grossman, Han, F. Jay, Liu, Mente

Boys 5k

Girls 5k

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: sunny, temperatures in the low to mid 70s with light NE winds around 5 mph.
 • The course has three loops; the first starts on the Playstead field and is a loop around these fields and White Stadium. The second loop also goes around the fields and stadium and features a climb up and over Bear Cage Hill. The third loop covers the Wilderness and Playstead field. 

• The JV race incorporates the first two of three loops shown on the maps below. The 5k course covers all three loops.
• In the past, athletes from various DCL schools (including Wayland) have gotten lost in the third loop of the course. This section is labeled "The Wilderness" on the map below. Upon arrival, I will be leading everyone entered in the varsity race on a tour of this section.

• there will be live scoring of the varsity races that can be seen at this link.

• Return time to WHS is approximate, but we hope to be back between 6:30 and 7:00 depending on traffic and what time the first race starts.

What to bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• water bottle - including a larger (24-32 oz.) bottle if you have one
• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)

For parents:

• There's a small parking lot at the corner of Circuit Drive and Pierpont Road; there's also a larger lot further down Circuit Drive, as well as on-street parking on Circuit Drive.
• If you're going to be at the meet and would like to take your child with you when their race is over, please let one of the coaches know. 
• The area just beyond the finish line is a good spot to see the race at various points as the runners pass by repeatedly.

Week 8 Training Plan, 10/11-10/17

map of Jericho town Forest in Weston for Monday's long run

Mon 10/11 - Warmup followed by a cyclic long run. For those who are in town today we'll be meeting at the intersection of Plain Road and the Mass Central Rail Trail. This is the spot where we met the last time we went for a run along the rail trail. Remember there are 12 equal length segments in a CLR. The length of each individual segment today will be 30 seconds less than the last time we did a cyclic long run two weeks ago. This means the long run for each level will be 6 minutes shorter than the last cyclic long run. Level by level it looks like this:

Group A: 48 minutes (4 minute segments)
Group B: 60 minutes (5 minute segments)
Group C: 72 minutes (6 minute segments)

Tue 10/12 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a short run followed by run throughs and bounding over cones. The cones will be set up on the softball field. We will again be practicing running around tight corners. Total length of the run today is as follows:

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Wed 10/13 - Dual Meet #5 v Boston Latin @Franklin Park. More information on this meet will be forthcoming. Today is a medium length day in terms of training volume as follows:

Group A: 36-40 minutes
Group B: 44-48 minutes
Group C: 52-56 minutes

Thu 10/14 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a short length recovery run at an easy to moderate intensity with hill drills. We will most likely be doing the hill drills on Keith Road near the middle school. The length of the run today is as follows:

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Fri 10/15 - Warmup followed by either a medium length run for those going to practice in Lincoln tomorrow, or the following workout:

Group A: 6 minute jog then 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute with 2.5 minute jog recoveries, 6 minute jog.
Group B: 6 minute jog then 2 sets of 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute repeats with 2.5 minute jog recoveries, 6 minute jog.
Group C: 8 minute jog then 2 sets of 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 1 minute repeats with 2.5 minute jog recoveries, 8 minute jog.

The 4 and 3 minute repeats should start at a good pace (tempo) and end at a hard pace (race effort) over the last 30 seconds. The 2 minute repeats should be split evenly between good and hard pace. The 1 minute repeats should be run entirely at a hard pace (race effort). 

Sat 10/16 -  A medium length recovery run for those who did the repeat workout yesterday (Group A: 36-40 minutes, Group B: 44-48 minutes, Group C: 52-56 minutes) or the following workout at Lincoln Station (145 Lincoln Road, Lincoln MA):

Group A: 6 minute jog then 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute with 2.5 minute jog recoveries, 6 minute jog.
Group B: 6 minute jog then 2 sets of 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute repeats with 2.5 minute jog recoveries, 6 minute jog.
Group C: 8 minute jog then 2 sets of 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 1 minute repeats with 2.5 minute jog recoveries, 8 minute jog.

The 4 and 3 minute repeats should start at a good pace (tempo) and end at a hard pace (race effort) over the last 30 seconds. The 2 minute repeats should be split evenly between good and hard pace. The 1 minute repeats should be run entirely at a hard pace (race effort). 

Sun 10/17 - off, cross training if you like for no more than an hour.

Fort Devens XC Challenge Results 10/9/21

 In the first edition of the Fort Devens Challenge there were many noteworthy performances from Wayland athletes. There were three different distances contested--3, 4 and 5 kilometers--over a course that had a mix of mostly flat smooth grass fields with a short but steep climb up and back down a decent sized hill in the woods next to the fields. The 4k and 5k courses visited this hill twice. The course layout favored a strategic approach to racing, and Wayland athletes as a group acquitted themselves quite well in this respect, moving up through the field as the race progressed.

There were four medal winners on the day with Owen Williams and Luke Chisum taking 2nd and 3rd place in the boys 3k race, patiently working their way up to near the front of the field. The next race with WHS participation was the boys 4k and Daniel Narvaez celebrated his birthday with a convincing victory. He didn't take the lead until after the 2 mile mark but when he did it stuck. Daniel was followed by Thomas Creavin who also finished in the top 10 making a potent 1-2. 

In the largest field of the day, William Morris, Michael Wightman and Zachary Grossman all did well in the boys 5k race to complete a full scoring team for Wayland (3x 5k runners, 2x 4k runners, 2x 3k runners). The final event on the docket was the open 4k race that saw members of both WHS teams racing together. This race was nearly as large a field as the boys 5k and featured back and forth competition throughout. 

overall results

splits for Wayland athletes - boys who ran the 5k, if you know your mile split time please pass it along to me

video of the boys 3k - stay for the high five at the five minute mark

Daniel Narvaez post-race interview

Fort Devens XC Challenge - 10/9/21

Note: much of the information below has been taken from this document which you can download if you like. 

Meet site: 65 Antietam Street Devens MA

Bus time:

9:00 AM for boys entered in the 3k, 11:45 AM 4k, and 5k

11:45 AM for everyone entered in the Open 4k

Weather: 

Cloudy, temperature around 60 with west winds 5-10 mph. Warmup clothes (long sleeves and pants) will be necessary.

Schedule/Order of Races/Lineups:

11:00 am Boys 3K Short Course - Chisum, Williams
11:15 am Girls 3K Short Course - none
11:45 pm Boys 4K Medium Course - Creavin, Narvaez
12:15 pm Girls 4K Medium Course - none
12:45 pm Boys 5K Long Course - Grossman, Morris, Wightman
1:15 pm Girls 5K Long Course - none
1:45 pm Open 4K Medium Course - Caddoo, Frank, Goldstein, Grieco, F. Jay, Marto, O'Leary, Reece, Rice, Samaratunga, Thoen

Course Maps: 

3K - link to larger version

4k - link to larger version

5k - link to larger version

Format:

Each school may enter unlimited teams of 7 with 3 racing the 5k, 2 racing the 4k and 2 racing the 3k. The cumulative times of each set of 7 athletes will be used to score the meet. Each school may also enter unlimited athletes to run in the co-ed “Open” race if there are any “odd athletes out”

Medals to the top 25 finishers in each race, no medals for the Open 4k race

 What to Bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• plastic bag to store sweaty clothes

• water bottle - including a second (24-32 oz.) bottle if you have an extra

• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)

Historical Note:

As time allows we hope to stop at the Fort Devens post cemetery where various German and Italian POWs from World War 2 are buried (among others).

POW causes of death

Rumination on the death of Friedrich Steinhoff 

Friedrich's brother Ernst, Nazi and beneficiary of "Operation Paperclip"

 

Dual Meet #4 Results 10/6/21

Graph of predicted and actual accumulated precipitation for the last two years - note that the last 3 months of rain have wiped out the drought conditions that prevailed for the previous year, and we're currently in a precipitation "surplus" vs. what would be expected.

The final home meet of the season was contested earlier today against Waltham under sunny skies with many stretches of squishy soft ground underfoot. There were many good individual performances. Compared to the previous home meet three weeks ago, the course was running slower today due to the multiple episodes of rain that have happened between then and now, most recently on Monday. The soft ground and mud absorb more of the energy from each step and "give back" less with each push off.

The boys raced first over the same 3 mile course as three weeks ago dropping a close meet 27-29. The team was led by Luke Chisum who finished with a flourish, followed closely by Owen Williams and Daniel Narvaez. Thomas Creavin and Will Morris rounded out the top five and Michael Wightman displaced Waltham's fifth runner. Two of the top four finishers from Waltham are seniors; meanwhile none of the top five runners from Wayland today can say the same. 

Following the boys the girls raced over a shorter 2.5 mile layout at the request of the Waltham coach. Wayland took six of the first seven places led by Ashley Rice who won the race outright. She was followed by 9th grader Arya Samaratunga, the only other Wayland runner under 20 minutes today. Bella Thoen was third with Nadia Calder and Grace Marto finishing in rapid succession to round out the top five. 

Splits, times and scores

Dual Meet #4 vs. Waltham, 10/6/21

Meet Site: Wayland High School. The second and final home meet of the season.

First race 4:15 PM unless you hear different from me. Boys race will precede girls, with the girls race likely starting around 4:45 PM assuming the boys race goes off at 4:15. Please arrive no later than 3:15.

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: mostly sunny, temperature around 70 degrees with a light breeze. Bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform.
• Don't forget your assigned dual meet bib number. At the conclusion of your race, please remove the bib number from your jersey and return it to the large ziploc bag where the bib numbers will be stored between meets. Leave the safety pins on the corners of the number.
• Be prepared to help out with setting up and/or breaking down the course before and after the meet. This mostly involves the placement or removal of cones and small flags. You may be asked to help by one of the coaches or one of the captains. 

 
• Course map

• course description

• NOTE: As in our previous meet, the course will be slightly modified to avoid a flooded out area at the back corner of the practice football field. This detour adds about 150 meters to the length of the course.

• Soon after the teams from Waltham arrive, there will be a tour of the course. Wayland athletes are welcome to join the tour if they didn't race in the first home meet three weeks ago or don't feel confident in their knowledge of the course.

 
• Once the course tour has begun, all balls, frisbees, etc. will be put away for the duration of the meet.

 What to Bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• plastic bag to store sweaty clothes

• water bottle - including a second (24-32 oz.) bottle if you have an extra

• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)

for parents:

• If you stand near the start/finish line area (just off the corner of the student parking lot, near the JV baseball field) you can watch most of the first mile and the last half mile of the race.
• Snacks are welcome, but due to allergy concerns the Athletic Director has asked that any snacks be individually wrapped and ideally have the ingredients written on the label.

Week 7 Training Plan, 10/4-10/10

This week is similar to two weeks ago in that it features two meets, a dual meet and an invitational. The dual meet will be on Wednesday on the home course. The invitational on Saturday will be held on the grounds of the former Fort Devens which is in Ayer. This is the first time Wayland (or anyone else for that matter) has raced at this meet as it is a brand new event. 

Many of you will be participating in both meets, which requires some adjustments to how the rest of the week is structured. In a nutshell, other than the long run on Monday and the two aforementioned meets, the rest of the week consists of short length runs. There is no timed repeat workout scheduled this week. 

Finally, the team fundraiser event is coming up on Sunday, the Wayland XC Festival. As in past years, the WHS cross country teams will be providing volunteers for this event, more information and a sign up sheet of some kind will be distributed. Proceeds from this meet pay for various things that make your experience better (including but not limited to post-race chocolate milks), so please make every effort to volunteer if you're in town that day.

Monday 10/4 - warmup including BURPEES followed by a PLR along the Hultman aqueduct. Group A and some Group B runners will do an out and back along the aqueduct while others will continue along Rice Road or possibly trails along the Wayland/Weston town line to eventually reach the Weston Aqueduct near Old Connecticut Path/Pinebrook Road. The overall length of the run is as follows, remember that the first 1/3 of the run is easy, the next 1/4 is at a "fresh" pace, the next 1/4 after that is at a "good" pace and the final 1/6 of the run is at an easy pace again.

Group A: 54 minutes
Group B: 66 minutes
Group C: 78 minutes 

Tuesday 10/5 - Warmup followed by a short run followed by run throughs and bounding over cones. The cones will be set up on the softball field. Total length of the run today is as follows:

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Wednesday 10/6 - Dual Meet #4 vs. Waltham. This is the second and final home meet of the season. More information will be forthcoming in a subsequent post. Today is a medium length day, the overall amount of time running including warmup and cooldown should be

Group A: 36-40 minutes
Group B: 44-48 minutes
Group C: 52-56 minutes

Thursday 10/7 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a short length recovery run at an easy to moderate intensity with hill drills. We will most likely be doing the hill drills on Wallace Road near the Hultman aqueduct and Old Connecticut Path. The length of the run today is as follows:

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Friday 10/8 - warmup followed by a short length run at mostly an easy effort. Save the last 8-10 minutes of the run for two sets of short intervals on top of the aqueduct.

Group A: 26-30 minutes
Group B: 32-36 minutes
Group C: 42-46 minutes

Saturday 10/9 - Fort Devens Invitational at Devens. More information including time schedule, lineups and a course map will be published on this site by Friday morning.  Remember today should be a medium length day in terms of total running time, including warmup and cooldown. This breaks down as follows:

Group A: 36-40 minutes
Group B: 44-48 minutes
Group C: 52-56 minutes

If you're not participating in the meet you should do a medium length run on your own, with the last 1/4 of the time spent running at a good to hard pace (80-90%).

Sunday 10/10 - off. Today is the Wayland XC Festival which is the team fundraiser. The WHS cross country teams provide help in the form of volunteers for this event, more information forthcoming. If you're in town today you should plan on signing up for one of the various volunteer roles that will be available. Note that no one from either team is expected to be racing today, just volunteered.