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.

Dual Meet #3 Results 9/29/21

Pace and Effort Chart we'll be referring to for Friday/Saturday practice

Wayland visited Lincoln-Sudbury for the first time in a long time (at least 8 years) for a double dual with L-S and Westford Academy. There were three separate dual meets contested among the three schools present. The course mixed flat smooth fields with a rolling loop in the woods culminating in a finish on the track that saw many exciting head to head duels. The varsity races and JV boys were 4km (2.49 miles), while the JV girls ran a 2 mile course.

The girls team scored their first victory of the season over Westford Academy with an impressive display of depth and sound racing tactics. With four Wayland runners in front of Westford's second runner the final result wasn't close. June Kim won the Westford meet after being at a significant deficit to Westford's top runner the first mile of the race. Ashley Rice had an impressive effort to be Wayland's second runner, with Arya Samaratunga and Emily Grieco consolidating the Wayland top 4 running much of the way side by side. 

 The boys dropped both meets but had many good performances, with Lucas Thompson and Daniel Narvaez leading the way for Wayland. Thomas Creavin, Michael Wightman, and William Morris rounded out the Wayland top five. 

Overall results shared by the L-S coach can be seen here

Wayland splits can be seen here

Dual Meet #3 vs. Lincoln-Sudbury and Westford Academy at LSRHS, 9/29/21

Performance Predictor (Purdy Calculator) for extrapolating a theoretical 4k time (and thus pace) from one's 5k or 3k time

Meet Site: Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, 390 Lincoln Road Sudbury

Bus time 3:00

It will be an actual bus this time.

Race order and lineups

First race scheduled for 4:15 (no earlier) 

Subsequent races will take place every 20-25 minutes after that

JV girls - Han, Liu, Mente

Varsity boys - Creavin, Goldstein, T. Jay, Morris, Narvaez, Thompson, Wightman

Varsity girls - Calder, Grieco, Kim, Marto, O'Leary, Rice, Samaratunga, Thoen

JV boys race- Caddoo, Frank, Grossman, F. Jay, Reece

Course Map: 

 

• The course is 4k in length. It starts on the athletic field complex next to the track and finishes on the track in the corner of the athletic field complex, with a loop in the woods in the middle of the race.

Spiked shoes should have 1/4' elements.

The course has a bit of roll in the woods, the parts around the athletic fields are flat.

JV and varsity race the same course.

 
Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: partly cloudy, temperature in the low to mid 60s. Light winds WNW 5-10 mph. It will be cooler today than any of our previous meets. Bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform.
• It's expected that during the race you will wear the uniform assigned to you.
• You'll need to wear your assigned bib number. After your race and before you leave, please return this bib number to the ziploc bag that holds the bib numbers and safety pins, which is in turn kept inside the large red duffel bag. Don't leave the bib number attached to your jersey after the race.
• There should be a course tour sometime soon after we arrive. If not or if time is short, take a moment to look out at the athletic fields and try to see the loop in the woods on foot.

• Remember that you can find results of the opposing teams from earlier this season at this link. Girls varsity runners should pay particular attention to the Westford Academy results thus far.
 
 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:

• Standing on the raised area near the track (or atop the bleachers next to the football field) one can see most of the course that's on the athletic fields.
• Parking is in the upper lot near the tennis courts.

Week 6 Training Plan, 9/27-10/3

With this week, the number of training levels has been reduced from 4 to 3, henceforth known as Group A, B and C. Group A is the former Level 1 and 2 combined; Group B is the former Level 3; Group C is the former Level 4. Also note that there's an optional Saturday practice at Lincoln Station on Saturday morning for those that can make it.

Mon 9/27 - Warmup including BURPEES followed by a cyclic long run. Today everyone will head to the center of town via the Weston Aqueduct and then route 27 south past the golf course, with various options from there. Remember there are 12 equal length segments in a CLR. The length of each segment today will be 30 seconds more 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 longer than the last cyclic long run. Level by level it looks like this:

Group A: 54 minutes (4.5 minute segments)
Group B: 66 minutes (5.5 minute segments)
Group C: 78 minutes (6.5 minute segments)

Tue 9/28 - 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

Wed 9/29 - Dual Meet #3 @L-S with Westford Academy. This is a double dual meet, which is why there are two other teams competing instead of just one opponent. 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 9/30 - 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 10/1 - Warmup followed by either a medium length run for those going to practice in Lincoln tomorrow, or the following workout:

Group A: 6-8 minute warmup jog, 2x7 minutes at a "good" effort (80-85%) with a 4-5 minute break, 2 sets of (200,100) at race pace on top of the aqueduct, 6-8 minute cooldown
Group B - 6-8 minute warmup jog, 2x9 minutes at a "good" effort (80-85%) with a 4-5 minute break, 3 sets of (200,100) at race pace on top of the aqueduct, 6-8 minute cooldown
 Group C - 10 minute warmup jog, 2x11 minutes at a "good" effort (80-85%) with a 4-5 minute break, 4 sets of (200,100) at race pace on top of the aqueduct, 10 minute cooldown

The good effort portion of the workout can be done on the loop in the neighborhood just beyond the edge of the school fields that includes Charena, Cameron, Kelsey and Clarence Roads. The break between this and the short fast repeats is a jog/hike to the top of the aqueduct. There is a possibility we might do the short fast repeats on the track instead if it's available.

Sat 10/2 -  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: 6-8 minute warmup jog, 2x7 minutes at a "good" effort (80-85%) with a 4-5 minute break, 2 sets of (200,100) at race pace, 6-8 minute cooldown
Group B - 6-8 minute warmup jog, 2x9 minutes at a "good" effort (80-85%) with a 4-5 minute break, 3 sets of (200,100) at race pace, 6-8 minute cooldown
 Group C - 10 minute warmup jog, 2x11 minutes at a "good" effort (80-85%) with a 4-5 minute break, 4 sets of (200,100) at race pace, 10 minute cooldown

Sun 10/3 - off, cross training if you like for no more than an hour.

Frank Kelley Invitational Results

WHS cross country returned to the Wrentham Developmental Center for the first time in almost two years with many noteworthy performances on the fast grass course. Overall the pacing was very good in races that had the largest fields by far of the young season. The all time WHS lists for the Wrentham Developmental Center course have been updated to reflect today's results. 

There were three medal winners on the day, who all finished in the top 25 in their race. In the 9th-10th grade girls race Arya Samaratunga placed 20th, while in the 9th-10th grade boys race the duo of Luke Chisum and Owen Williams cracked the top 10 in 9th and 10th place respectively.

Overall results from the MSTCA website are here

Splits and times for WHS athletes can be seen here

Frank Kelley Invitational - 9/25/21

Live Results

Meet Site: 

Wrentham Developmental Center. The address is 131 Emerald Street, however the race course is located a little further down the road, in the large field at the intersection of Emerald Street and Shear St. This is across the street from the William A. Rice Recreation Area.

Bus pickup times

9:15 AM - 5k runners

11:15 AM - 3k runners

Remember, no eating on the bus and masks must be worn.

Race Schedule and Entries (time cutoff in parentheses):

11:00 AM Boys 5k (25 minutes) - Caddoo, Creavin, Goldstein, Grossman, T. Jay, Morris, Narvaez

11:30 AM Girls 5k (28 minutes) - Grieco, Kim, Marto

1:00 PM 9-10th grade boys 3k (17 minutes) - Chisum, Wightman, Williams, Yu

1:20 PM 9-10th grade girls 3k (19 minutes) - Liu, Samaratunga

1:40 PM 11-12th grade boys 5k (17 minutes) - Frank

2:00 PM 11-12th grade girls 3k (19 minutes) - Calder, Han, O'Leary, Thoen

 
Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Partly cloudy, Temperatures in the low 70s with a 50% chance of rain showers and light winds.
• Numbers will be assigned to you specifically for this meet; these numbers have an RFID chip attached to the back side which interacts with a conductive mat at the finish line to record your time. The meet director has asked athletes who aren't racing NOT to wear their bib number if standing near the finish line; doing so can cause a false reading by the finish line mat. Also, don't crumple or fold your bib number. 
• Report to the starting line 10 minutes before the start of your race; the meet staff has been known in the past to start races a few minutes earlier than the posted schedule. 
• If you're wearing a stopwatch while racing, putting your arm up to hit the button on the watch while crossing the finish line can cause the RFID chip to be blocked by your arm, and your finish might not be recorded. In other words, don't press the button on your watch when crossing the finish line.
• The meet staff has asked that no one do their warmup or cool down among the buildings of the Wrentham Developmental Center, where patients are housed. Aside from the course itself, you can warmup and cool down on the ball fields across the street.
• Medals will be given to the top 25 finishers in each race.
• Time cutoff: the timing system will be turned off when the cutoff time for a given race is reached. 

Course Map:

• The course is fairly flat, with some roll in places. There are no long and/or steep hills. The course is almost entirely on grass. The 5k course is three loops. The 3k course ends after the second loop (yellow on this map). The 5k course repeats this second loop. Both the 3k and 5k share the same first loop, which is the circumference of the large field where the course is situated. The second loop has two incursions from the edge of the field into the middle. Typically there are large digital clocks at the mile and two mile marks. 

What to Bring:

• Uniform
• Everyday training shoes
• Racing shoes if you have them; this is a course for spikes, 1/4" or 3/8" elements
• Warmup clothes including a shirt
• Water bottles - filled

• Umbrella - don't plan on the pop-up tent being brought to the meet unless we can locate the anchor stakes

• Sunscreen
• Snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)
• Food - food will be sold at the meet but it won't be particularly good or nutritious. 5k runners should bring lunch to have after they're done. 3k runners should eat a big breakfast/brunch in the morning and then a snack 90 minutes or so before race time if possible, then another snack after the race.

For Parents:

• The parking fee this year is $10 for each car.
• Dogs aren't allowed except for service animals.
• No grilling, cooking, or fires are allowed at the meet site. 
• 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. 

• We hope to return to WHS by 3:30 PM, possibly a bit earlier  

Dual Meet #2 Results 9/21/21

On the cusp of the autumnal equinox it was an excellent day for racing on Weston's course at Burchard Field. The relatively flat, dry and smooth layout made for some fast times but those times don't happen without people who can run them. There was very good pacing from WHS athletes overall. The boys race was quite tactical up front which led to a barn-burner of a finish with multiple clusters of athletes coming in within seconds of each other. Lucas Thompson led the boys team in his first race of the season and first cross country race ever. Luke Chisum finished with a flourish to be the second runner for the boys team, followed closely by Daniel Narvaez and Owen Williams. For the girls June Kim led the way and was followed up by 9th grader Arya Samaratunga and 11th grader Emily Grieco. Times and splits for WHS athletes can be seen here. As of this writing I haven't received the official times for the JV race, those will be included when I get them. 

This is the fifth time Wayland has raced on the Burchard Field course since it was established in 2017. This year the course was re-routed slightly to accommodate work being done on the ball fields where the course typically starts and finishes. However, 93% of the course remains exactly the same and the other 7% is only slightly different. As such I feel comfortable including today's times on the all-time WHS performance list for this course. 

Both teams fell to strong Weston squads, the boys on the tie-breaker after the first five runners for each team both added up to 28 points. For more on how cross country meets are scored and how ties are broken see this document. 

Finally, if you haven't yet filled out this survey regarding Saturday's Frank Kelley Invitational please take a moment to do so, whether you plan on participating or not.