Frank Kelley Invitational Results - 9/30/17

Splits for WHS athletes
Wrentham Developmental Center course all-time list

9th and 10th grade boys overall
 9th and 10th grade girls overall
11th and 12th grade boys overall
11th and 12th grade girls overall
5k boys overall
5k girls overall

Some very good performances today in wet and windy conditions at Wrentham, with many examples of good pacing. Congratulations to McKenna Kelemanik and Matt Clayton who won medals by placing in the top 25 in their respective races.

Frank Kelley Invitational - 9/30/17

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 time 7:30

Race Schedule and Entries (time cutoff in parentheses):

• 9:30 9th and 10th grade boys 3k race (16 minutes) - Bonanno, DiCarlo, Duffy, Goode, Nagalingam
• 9:47 9th and 10th grade girls 3k race (18 minutes) - Carroll, Javed, Korzeniowski, Strehle
• 10:06 11th and 12th grade boys 3k race (16 minutes) - Puckett
• 10:22 11th and 12th grade girls 3k race (18 minutes) - Nallet
• 10:40 Boys 5k (25 minutes) - Ahearne, Chan, Chase, Clayton, Daley, Dussault, Karle, Matta, Pak, Troost
• 11:06 Girls 5k (28 minutes) - Bartick, Bonvie, Kelemanik, LaClaire, Matta

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Overcast, temperatures in the low to mid 50s with winds from the NE 5-10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The temperature will be about 30 degrees cooler than Wednesday's meet at Concord-Carlisle HS, and with the possibility of rain you need to bring appropriate clothing besides your uniform so you can stay warm and dry.
• Those entered in the 5k will be responsible for setting up the tent; the tent must be anchored to the ground with the stakes.  
• 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. 
• 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 cooldown running among the buildings of the Wrentham Developmental Center, where patients are housed. Aside from the course itself, you can warmup and cooldown on the fields across the street. 
• A map of the course can be seen here. It's mostly flat, with some gentle roll in places. The course is entirely on grass. The freshman race ends after the second lap (3k versus 5k). JV and varsity run three laps. 
• Medals will be given to the top 25 finishers in each race.
• The timing system will be turned off when the cutoff time is reached for each race. Their idea, not mine.

What to Bring:

• Uniform - both singlet and shorts
• Everyday training shoes
• Racing shoes if you have them
• Warmup clothes including long sleeved shirt and/or jacket as well as pants
• Water bottle - bring it already filled
• Snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)
• Lunch (optional) - food will be sold at the meet but it won't be particularly good or nutritious; my advice is to pack a lunch and bring it with you. If you'd rather wait until we return to Wayland and have a late lunch that's also an option.

For Parents:

• A parking fee of $5 will be collected for each car.
• Dogs aren't allowed except for service animals.
• No grilling, cooking, or fires are allowed at the meet site.
• We hope to return to WHS by 1:15.

Dual Meet #2 Results - @CCHS, 9/27/17

We had some encouraging results from our visit earlier today to Concord-Carlisle, in unseasonably hot and humid conditions. The times, scores and splits can be seen here. I was particularly impressed with how many people were able to hold close to their initial pace for the overall race distance. I asked those who are racing on Saturday to hold something back the first mile and finish at a faster pace. In fact it's nearly impossible to run "negative split" on a course that drops down in the first half and then climbs back up in the second half the way their layout does. Anything remotely close to a steady pace from first mile to the overall average is in fact a negative split effort for a course like this. The numbers from today's race will be very useful in helping to plan out future races starting with this Saturday's meet at Wrentham for those who will be going.

Dual Meet #2 - at Concord-Carlisle HS, 9/27/17

Meet Site: Concord Carlisle High School, 500 Walden Street, Concord

Bus leaves at 2:30
Boys race 4:15 PM unless you hear different from me
Girls race approx. 4:45


There will be two races--boys will precede girls. I'd like to get everyone's mile split, which will be tricky especially on the boys side with everyone in one race. It would be helpful if you remember your mile split which will be called out as you run past.

Course Map: 




The course is 2.6 miles long (our home course is 2.9 for comparison). The woods loop and field loop are separated by a ridge, with a hill that's fairly steep but relatively short.

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Partly cloudy with a 40% chance of rain with temperatures in the low 80s. Winds from the SSW 5-10 mph. Bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform. In addition, bring a plastic bag to keep your clothes and bag dry when not being worn.
• It's expected that during the race you will wear the full uniform assigned to you. This includes jersey and shorts.
• You'll need to wear your assigned bib number which is the same number you wore in last week's home meet . 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.
• There will be a course tour sometime soon after we arrive but no earlier than 3:15.

 What to Bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• sunscreen
• plastic bag to store clothes and backpack/duffel bag
• 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:

• The best place to watch the race is on and around the upper field where the race begins and ends. See map above.

• Parking behind the school building near the upper field is very tight. Your best bet if you're coming to the meet to watch is to park in front of the school in the main parking lot. 

Week 5 Training Plan - 9/25-10/1

This week is a transition between the early season training and the more advanced types of workouts to come in October. In between falls this week which has two meets, on Wednesday and Saturday. With two races on the docket for most people, the rest of the week is mostly dedicated to continuing to build on the overall training volume that you've been doing over the past month.

If you haven't yet filled out the poll regarding Saturday's invitational meet, please do so before practice on Monday.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VRT5CMQ


Monday 9/25 - 45-70 minutes with 4-5 hill repeats. Due to the unseasonably warm weather, today's run has been rerouted to the town beach where we will do aquajogging for 15 minutes as part of the run. The hill repeats will be done on the Hultman Aqueduct on the way to the beach. We'll access the aqueduct via Maiden Lane.

Tuesday 9/26 - hill drills followed by 25-40 minutes at an easy to moderate intensity. Between the drills and the run we'll discuss the optimal approach to racing, drawing upon the conclusions of the article on pacing written by Steve Lane, the coach at CCHS. A link to this article is in the useful links section of the website.

Wednesday 9/27 - Dual Meet #2 at Concord-Carlisle. The bus will leave at 2:15 for this meet. Stay tuned for more details on the course and how to approach this race, particularly if you'll also be racing on Saturday as well. As usual, the day includes both a thorough warmup and cooldown.

Thursday 9/28 - Weight room visit followed by 30-50 minutes at an easy to moderate intensity. Today's lifting exercises will be done in three sets--a set of 10 reps, then 8, then 6. The idea is to add a bit more resistance as the number of repetitions decreases from set to set. Be sure not to start with too much weight on the first set.

Friday 9/29 - 25-40 minutes finishing with short repeats on top of the aqueduct.

Saturday 9/30 - Frank Kelley Invitational. The bus for this meet will leave at 7:30, please arrive a few minutes early. More information on this meet will be forthcoming later in the week.

Sunday 10/1 - off

Online poll - Frank Kelley Invitational entry status

Please take a moment to fill out this brief poll regarding your status for next weekend's Frank Kelley Invitational. This is our first visit of the season to the course at Wrentham Developmental Center. The poll can be accessed at

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VRT5CMQ

Entries close Monday; please respond to the poll by Sunday evening. 

Dual Meet #1 Results - Newton South, Waltham at WHS

Wet weather didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the WHS athletes earlier today in our only home meet of the season. Both the boys and girls varsity teams came out on top versus Waltham while dropping the meet against large school powerhouse Newton South. There were also noteworthy performances in the JV races. There was also cake.

Results for Wayland including meet scores can be seen here. The next meet is next Wednesday at Concord-Carlisle. The next practice is Friday after school.

Dual Meet #1 - Newton South, Waltham 9/20/17

Meet Site: Wayland High School

First race 4:15 PM unless you hear different from me
Athletes should arrive no later than 2:45 PM
Girls team meeting at 2:45
Boys team meeting at 3:00
meetings will take place in the field house

Order of races and lineups:

Girls JV:
Comettant, Hoopes, Javed

Boys Varsity:
Ahearne, Bonanno, Chan, Clayton, Daley, Duffy, Dussault, Karle, M. Matta

Girls Varsity:
Bartick, de los Reyes, Kelemanik, Korzeniowski, C. Matta, Strehle, Walsh

Boys JV:
Chen, D'Amico, DiCarlo, Dines, Goode, Homyak, R. Levin, S. Levin, Liu, Pak, Puckett, Reese, Stafford, Troost

Meet helpers: Carroll, Hess, LaClaire, Nallet, Provost

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Occasional showers and wind with temperatures in the high 60s. Chance of rain 50%. Winds from the NE 20-30 mph. Needless to say, the weather will be a big factor.  Bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform. In addition, bring a plastic bag to keep your clothes and bag dry when not being worn.
• It's expected that during the race you will wear the full uniform assigned to you. This includes jersey and shorts.
• You'll receive a bib number that you need to wear for this and all subsequent DCL meets (i.e. weekday meets). 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.
• Be prepared to help out with setting up and/or breaking down the course before or after the meet. This mostly involves the placement of cones. You may be asked to help by one of the coaches or one of the captains. 
• When the visiting teams arrive, there'll be a tour of the course. In all likelihood there will be a separate tour for each of the two teams visiting. If this is your first time racing on the home course, you should join the course tour as well.
• 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 clothes and backpack/duffel bag
• 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:

• a map of the varsity course can be seen here. The JV course is a similar layout but about a mile shorter. If you stand near the start/finish line (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 varsity race.

Week 4 Training Plan - 9/18-9/24

This week features the first of four successive Wednesday afternoon meets. These are the dual meets where we compete against one or two other teams from the Dual County League. The varsity races are scored and I encourage you to read the "how cross country meets are scored" link under the "useful links" sidebar of this website.

Besides Wednesday's meet, we'll continue with the circuit training that we started the first week of practice, as well as another visit to the weight room. There will be another optional Saturday practice at Lincoln, and same as last week, we need to know by Friday if you'll be attending the optional Saturday practice. Those not attending Saturday's practice will do the same workout on Friday at the school.

the practice schedule:

• Mon 9/18 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. 10-20 minute warmup, circuits, 10-20 minute cooldown.

• Tue 9/19 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Weight room - 3 sets of 10 reps on each exercise, followed by an easy jog of 15-35 minutes and wrapping up with short repeats on top of the aqueduct. Today there will be important announcements about the meet tomorrow, be sure to pay attention so that you'll be prepared for the race.

• Wed 9/20 - Dual Meet #1 (double dual) vs. Newton South and Waltham. This is our only home meet for this season. Please arrive for the meet no later than 2:45; there will be meetings for the boys and girls teams separately, times for those will be announced. In all likelihood there will be four races, with a varsity and JV race for each gender. I need to confirm this with the coaches of the visiting teams. The first race will start no earlier than 4 PM but most likely around 4:15. All athletes new to the team and anyone at all unfamiliar with the course should tag along with the course tour. There are links to JV and varsity course maps in the "maps" sidebar of this website. Regardless of when you're running, take the time beforehand to do a thorough warmup incorporating most of what we do on a daily basis at the start of practice. After your race at least 10 minutes of light jogging followed by the SAM circuit is expected, and your legs will thank you for it over the next few days.

• Thu 9/21 - Off. No practice. If you're not observing the holiday today you can do Sunday's workout on your own and take Sunday off instead.

•  Fri 9/22 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Those not coming to the practice tomorrow will do a 10-20 minute warmup, 4-6x field loop at a pace between "tempo" and "repetition" pace on the pace and effort chart, 10-20 minute cooldown. The loop is the same one we used for last Friday's practice; this time, instead of running multiple laps continuously, there will be a recovery break of 2.5-3 minutes after each loop. Meanwhile, the pace will be faster than last Friday's practice. The pace and effort chart can be found in the "Training Links" sidebar. Today's workout is designed to be both the longest and hardest effort of the week, but the effort isn't all-out at any time. For those attending practice tomorrow the workout is a 30-40 minute easy run with 4-6 short pickups of 10-15 seconds or so in the last 10 minutes of the run.

• Sat 9/23 - Optional Practice 9 AM @Lincoln Trails. The address for the meeting point is 145 Lincoln Road and we'll meet in the commuter parking lot just beyond the small shopping center. The workout will be 4-6 reps of the field loop at "repetition pace." The loop is the same one that was the venue for last Saturday's practice. There will be 2.5-3 minute recoveries after each rep. Those not attending this practice should do a 30-40 minute easy run with 4-6 short pickups of 10-15 seconds or so in the last 10 minutes of the run.

• Sun 9/24 - 25-45 minute easy run with 4-5 pickups of 10-15 seconds or so in the last 10 minutes of the run.

Week 3 Training Plan - 9/11-9/17

This week there are no meets on the schedule which is not a bad thing as this allows for an unbroken stretch of training which will pay off later on in the season with improved fitness. Two things of note:

• There will be a spike night on Monday from 5-8 PM (after practice) at Marathon Sports in Wellesley. All purchases are 20% off and this is a store that carries shoes designed specifically for wearing in races which can't be said of most sporting goods stores. This is not a required event.

• This Saturday is the first of the optional practices at Lincoln. We need to know by Friday if you plan on attending this practice, as attendance on Saturday will determine what you do at practice on Friday.

the week's workouts:

• Mon 9/11 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Hill drills then run to town beach, 15 minutes of aquajogging (2 minutes on, 1 minute off). For some that will be the end of practice and you can be picked up from there, while others will run back to the school. Spike night at Marathon Sports Wellesley after practice until 8 PM.

• Tue 9/12 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Warmup 5-20 minutes, circuits, cooldown 10-20 minutes. This is the same circuit workout we did last Thursday. The elliptigo bikes are available for the warmup or cooldown for those interested (and certified to ride them of course).

• Wed 9/13 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. 45-65 minute run out and back along the Hultman aqueduct which can be accessed from Maiden Lane. Everyone will head east along this aqueduct to Loker Street, where there's a hill just east of the Loker Street School. 3-5 times running (not sprinting) up this hill before either continuing east along the aqueduct or turning back for the school. Ideally, the last 10-15 minutes of the run are notably faster than the rest of the run.

• Thu 9/14 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Weight room visit/orientation followed by 20-45 minutes easy run.  Elliptigo bikes are available for today.

•  Fri 9/15 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Those not coming to the practice tomorrow will do a 10-20 minute warmup, 15-20 minute progression run, 10-20 minute cooldown. The idea is to gradually increase the pace over the course of the run while running a loop repeatedly. In this case the loop will be around the ball fields next to the track, which is part of our home course. This is designed to be both the longest and hardest effort of the week, but the effort isn't all-out at any time. For those attending practice tomorrow the workout is a 30-40 minute easy run with 4-6 short pickups of 10-15 seconds or so in the last 10 minutes of the run.

• Sat 9/16 - Optional Practice 9 AM @Lincoln Trails. The address for the meeting point is 145 Lincoln Road and we'll meet in the commuter parking lot just beyond the small shopping center. The workout will be the progression run the rest of the team did yesterday, and the loop will be in a field next to the Mount Misery area of Lincoln conservation land. You can see elite runners training on this same loop in this video (I think they're sponsored by a shoe company but I can't be sure). Those not attending this practice should do a 30-40 minute easy run with 4-6 short pickups of 10-15 seconds or so in the last 10 minutes of the run.

• Sun 9/17 - off

Clipper Relays Results and Splits

The results of today's Clipper Relays in Newburyport can be found here:

girls

boys

Splits for WHS athletes can be seen here

Note that I took splits from a spot that marked the end of the loop, and the third runners ran about 100 meters beyond this point to the finish line. This explains the difference between the total of each team's split times and the official time from the overall results.

There were many impressive performances, a lot of them from first timers. The next meet will be our home meet on September 20th, those who missed today will be able to get in their first race of the season then. 

Clipper Relays - 9/9/17

Meet Site: Maudslay Park, 74 Curzon Mill Road, Newburyport MA

bus time: 7:00 AM, please arrive 5-10 minutes early so as not to miss the bus!

girls race: 9:15
boys race: 10:15

Meet Information:

• The current weather forecast is for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s at racetime, with 5-10 mph winds from the NW. It will feel somewhat cool and humidity should be at a comfortable level.
• When we arrive, the girls will begin warming up for their race; the boys will assist in setting up the tent.
• The course is a loop through the woods with a downhill start before a couple of climbs in the middle stages leading back to the field where the loop started.
• The races consist of 3 person teams running relay style such that each person runs the course. If we have a number of runners not divisible by 3, the leftover runners can run the course as well. Be sure to tell the coaches your team's name.
• On each 3 person team, only the runner who goes last will wear a number; a baton will be passed from one runner to the next.
• Meet shirts will be sold, and there will also be a concession stand.
• From the meet director: "do not let your runners swim in the river this is a huge liability issue for the park. Hate to have to deal with this but we are constantly being threatened with the loss of use of the park. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated."
• While the boys are cooling down after their race, the girls will assist in breaking down the tent.
• Once the boys are done, which includes cooling down after the race and the SAM circuit, we'll leave and stop for lunch at the Port Plaza on Storey Ave (rt. 113). There are various restaurants there including Panera, Papa Ginos, D'Angelo, and McDonalds.
• If all goes according to plan, we'll leave Newburyport sometime around 1 PM and arrive back at WHS sometime around 2-2:30 PM.

for parents:

• There's a $5 fee for the parking lot. This fee is levied by the Mass DCR, not the meet management. Carpooling isn't a bad idea if you know of other parents that plan on attending.
• 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.

What to bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• sunscreen
• water bottle - ideally a larger (24-32 oz.) bottle if you have one, and bring it already filled
• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Challenge)
• money for lunch

DCL Preseason Relays and practice Wednesday 9/6 CANCELLED

Within the last hour I received word from the Dual County League Commissioner for Cross Country that the DCL Preseason Relays have been cancelled due to the high likelihood of thunderstorms in the area this afternoon. This meet won't be rescheduled. For the same reason, today's practice has been cancelled as well. While we can and have competed and practiced in the rain, lightning is another matter.

I'm disappointed for those that were going to race today at Franklin Park and won't be able to go to the meet on Saturday. I appreciate the effort made by people to clear their schedules to make this happen, but the weather had other plans. There will be other meets and with the extra practice everyone's fitness will be that much better.

We'll pick back up tomorrow afternoon with practice at the regular time and place, meeting at the school at 2:45.

Week 2 Training Plan - 9/4-9/10

This week is highlighted by two relay style meets on the schedule. They're close together at a very early stage of the season, as such everyone on the team will be doing one or the other meet but not both. In addition, there's a holiday on Monday, with an optional practice in Lincoln on the trails near the MBTA commuter rail station. More on that below.

• Mon 9/4 - Optional practice at Lincoln, 2:30 PM. For this workout, we meet in the commuter rail station parking lot near the small shopping center. If using your GPS to find the place, use the address 145 Lincoln Road Lincoln MA. The workout will be to run at an easy pace over to Walden Pond which is a couple of miles away. Once there, aquajogging for 15 minutes (1 minute on, 30 seconds off). Following that, back to where we started, hopefully a little quicker than the trip out. For those not able to attend this practice, the day's workout is 20-45 minute run starting at an easy relaxed pace and finishing at a faster but still relaxed pace, building over the last 10 minutes.

• Tue 9/5 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Hill drills then run to town beach, 12 minutes of aquajogging (1 minute on, 30 seconds off). For some that will be the end of practice and you can be picked up from there, while others will run back to the school. The elliptigo bikes are also available to be ridden to or from the town beach. There will also be uniform distribution after practice for those yet to get a uniform whose athletic user fee has been paid.

• Wed 9/6 - DCL Preseason Relays or practice 2:45 @WHS. As of this writing there are 9 people who will be running in the meet today, and I will notify everyone who's going to this meet via e-mail by Monday afternoon at the latest. For the bulk of the team that's practicing at the school, today's practice will be a 45-65 minute run out and back along the Hultman aqueduct which can be accessed from Maiden Lane. Everyone will head east along this aqueduct to Loker Street, where there's a hill just beyond the Loker Street School. 3-5 times running (not sprinting) up this hill before either continuing east along the aqueduct or turning back for the school.

• Thu 9/7 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. Warmup 5-20 minutes, circuits, cooldown 10-20 minutes. This is the same circuit workout we did last week last Monday. If it's not raining too heavily, the elliptigo bikes are available for the warmup or cooldown for those interested (and certified to ride them of course).

• Fri 9/8 - Practice 2:45 @WHS. 20-45 minutes with the last 10-15 minutes on top of the Weston aqueduct behind the sandpit for short intervals. The idea today is to run 50 or 100 meters multiple times at a speed approximating what you'd be doing in a race, with short jog or walk recoveries after each fast run. Cones will be laid out every 50 meters along the aqueduct for this purpose.

• Sat 9/9 - Clipper Relays @Maudslay State Park, Newburyport. There will be more details forthcoming on this meet in an later post, for now it's worth mentioning that the bus will be leaving at 7 AM (which means you should arrive a few minutes before that) and we should be returning by early to mid afternoon after stopping for lunch in Newburyport on the way back. The girls race at 9:15, the boys at 10:15, and it's relay style with teams of 3 people carrying a baton around the course. In addition to the race itself, with warmup and cooldown everyone should wind up with 40-65 total minutes of running on the day.

• Sun 9/10 - off