Dual Meet #2: at Bedford - Tuesday 9/23/14

Meet Site: Bedford High School

bus time: 2:30

First race 4:00 PM unless you hear different from me

Girls will be followed by boys; one race for each gender

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: temperatures in the high 60s at race time, with light breezes from the west. Quite similar to last week's home meet. You'll want to wear more than just your uniform while warming up and cooling down. The temperature will start to drop by the time the meet's wrapping up. It's worth a reminder: bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform.
• Once again you'll be required to wear your DCL bib number. After the race, don't forget to return it to me and I'll hold on to it until next week's meet.
• The Bedford coach says the tour will take no more than 30 minutes. 
• A map of Bedford's course can be seen here. It's quite flat, and about a third of it is on pavement. Start and finish are on the track encircling the football field. 

What to Bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• sunscreen
• water bottle - BRING YOUR WATER BOTTLE, it does you no good sitting on a shelf at home!
• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Challenge)

for parents:

• The best (only) place to watch the race apart from the start and finish at the track is along Railroad Ave., near the middle school parking lot. See the course map linked above. 

Training Plan for Week 4: 9/22-9/28

This week the pattern changes from what it's been up to now. Hopefully, the amount of running you've been doing has been gradually increasing since practice officially started. This week, the average amount of running you do on a daily basis will drop by about a third from what it's been the past week or two. Put in simple terms, if you've been averaging 60 minutes of running a day, this week you'll average 40. If you've been averaging 45 minutes per day, this week you'll average 30. This doesn't mean every day is the average; some days will be less and others will be more. The pattern of the runs will be A-B-A-(B)-A-(B) where A is shorter and B is longer; note that there are no C (longest) runs for the week. The higher training volume will return next week but this week, with two meets on the schedule for many people, it's a good idea to pull the cord. 

Also worth noting this week is the observance of Rosh Hashanah on Thursday. As a result there's no school or organized practice on Thursday. Also, there's no organized practice on Friday even though school will be in session. Depending on whether or not you're observing the holiday on Thursday you can run on your own if you want. On Friday, I'd like you to do basically the same thing we're doing on Monday. You can get together amongst yourselves to do that if you like. 

Mon 9/22 - 20-40 minutes. Hill drills between the warmup and the rest of the run. In the last ten minutes of your run I want you to run 4-5 times from the far corner of the football practice field to the start/finish line of the home course at race pace. And not faster. Jog back to the other end as recovery. This stretch is flat, has smooth footing, is basically straight, and just under 200 meters so we can easily put a time goal and get a sense of what race pace effort "feels like" on a flat course. Worth doing given that both courses this week are mostly flat with smooth footing. I'll also explain Bedford's course and our approach to this meet given its place in the season. 

Tue 9/23 - Dual meet at Bedford, 30-60 minutes total including warmup and cool down. Check this website during the day Monday for a post with meet info including a link to a map of Bedford's course. Think flat with a lot of pavement. 

Wed 9/24 - 20-40 minutes. Core circuit after the run. Since this is the last time we'll meet before Saturday's meet it's important that we go over some things about the meet before you leave for the day. 

Thu 9/25 - off. No organized practice today, if you're not observing the holiday and are interested in going for a run on your own you can do something in the 30-60 minute range. 

Fri 9/26 - same as Monday. Including the same 4-5 runs at race pace on the stretch of course I described in Monday's entry. 

Sat 9/27 - Frank Kelley Invitational at The Wrentham Developmental Center. 30-60 minutes total including warmup and cool down. Check this website for more information on Thursday or Friday. The large school races (not us) are in the morning; the small school races begin at 12:15. Note that there are time cutoffs for each race; this has forced me to hold certain people out of this meet. 

Sun 9/28 - off or an easy run in the 30-60 minute range if you took Thursday off.  

Website upgrade - Volunteer opportunity this weekend - Frank Kelley Invitational next weekend

Three things to note:

• I've added a sidebar to the website with useful links. One of them is a link to results of DCL dual meets, uploaded by the Weston coach for everyone's benefit. So far our meet with Latin and the Bedford/Westford/Weston double dual are up.

• The Dudley Pond Association 5k will be held this Sunday at 1 PM. They're looking for volunteers, specifically people to call out mile splits and help direct runners on the course. Graham has helped out at this race in the past and can explain what it's like but it sounds like a good time. You can earn community service credit for volunteering at this race as well. If you're interested let me know at practice or send me a note at llayam (at) hotmail (dot) com

• Next Saturday September 27th is the Frank Kelley Invitational at the Wrentham Developmental Center. This is the same site as two of the big meets in November.  It's a good opportunity to experience the course in advance of the championship meets, as well as run against a large number of other schools. I need to submit entries by this Saturday, so I need to know if you're interested in running. As with the volunteering for the Dudley Pond 5k, let me know at practice or send me an e-mail if you want to race this meet. Important note: Due to the establishment this year of cutoff times in the various races at this meet, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to enter every team member who wants to go.

Dual Meet #1 Results

We had a lot of good performances today on the home course for our first (and only) home meet of the season. The boys won both the varsity and JV races, while the girls race was won in convincing fashion by Sarah Tully. I was impressed with how our team approached running our course, which requires the right mental approach in order to have a good race. I saw many people come out of the sandpit having passed people who were ahead of them going in. The way people helped out in both setting up the course and cleaning things up when the meet was done is much appreciated.

If you're on the e-mail list, you've received copies of the results and split times; if you're not yet on the e-mail list, send a note to me at llayam (at) hotmail (dot) com and I'll add you to the list.

Dual Meet #1: home vs. Boston Latin - Wednesday 9/17/14

Meet Site: Wayland High School!

First race 4:15 PM unless you hear different from me

Girls will race first, followed by boys

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: temperatures in the high 60s at race time, with light breezes from the west. Compared to last week at Franklin Park, maybe just a bit warmer. Nevertheless, you'll want to wear more than just your uniform while warming up and cooling down. The temperature will drop by the time the meet's wrapping up. It's worth a reminder: bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform.
• 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 me and I'll hold on to it until next week's meet.
• Be prepared to help out with setting up and/or breaking down the course before or after the meet. You may be asked to help by one of the coaches or one of the captains. 
• You're more than welcome to join the course tour before the first race of the day: it's not restricted to the visiting team.
• The varsity result will be determined by the first seven finishers from each team. 
• The JV result will be determined by finishers 8-14 from each team.

What to Bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• sunscreen
• 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 Challenge)

for parents:

• a map of the course can be seen here. 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 race.

Team Dinner Tuesday!

There will be a team dinner Tuesday after practice at captain Maddy Schwartz' house (60 Highland Circle, off Draper Road). The dinner will start around 5:15, right after practice so you'll have time to do your homework as well. I'm told there's going to be spaghetti, and that no one goes home hungry.

Training Plan for Week 3: 9/15-9/21

This week features the first dual meet, which is also our only home meet. It's also the first race you'll be running that is longer than 2 miles. The training pattern will closely resemble last week, with a longer run Monday, shorter runs Tuesday and Thursday, meet Wednesday, a fairly substantial workout on Friday, long easy recovery run Saturday, and day off Sunday. Ideally, the amount of running you've been doing has gradually increased since the pre-season. That trend should continue through this week before we pull it back next week, when two meets are on the schedule.

• Monday 9/15 - Longer run of 40-70 minutes. Core circuit after the run and before stretching. Start out today at an easy pace, and gradually pick it up over the course of the run, such that the last 5-10 minutes are at close to a race pace effort. Also, after the warmup I'll explain how dual meets are scored in cross country. 

• Tuesday 9/16 - Shorter run of 25-45 minutes. Hill drills after the warmup and before the rest of the run. In the last 5-10 minutes of today's run, do 4-5 short pickups of 40-60 meters in length on the field loop of the home course. For anyone that wants to see the home course again, you can do the first part of your run (or all of it) as a course tour with the coaches and/or captains.

• Wednesday 9/17 - First dual meet vs. Boston Latin. With the warmup and cool down, you'll find that your total time spent running will be in the medium range, anywhere from 40-60 minutes. Both before and after the race itself, we'll need your help in both setting up and removing cones and course markings. Also, you will need to wear a bib number with your assigned DCL competitor number. Our number range is 701-799. When your race is over please return your bib number to me with the safety pins attached to each corner. I'll give it back to you before our next dual meet at Bedford next week.

• Thursday 9/18 - Shorter run of 25-45 minutes. Core circuit after the run and before stretching. Take it easy today after yesterday's race and before tomorrow's workout.

• Friday 9/19 - Track workout. Hill drills after the warmup The specifics of the workout will be explained, as there will be different options. However, in general the structure will be a longer repeat at a speed somewhat slower than race pace, followed by a 200 meter jog recovery, then a shorter faster repeat of 100 or 200 meters, followed by another recovery jog. At this point the cycle starts over with the longer repeat again. Overall, people will run anywhere from 10 to 20 laps, repeats and recovery jogs combined. 

• Saturday 9/20 - Long easy recovery run, 45-80 minutes. Take it easy today, particularly at the start. There'll be an optional practice in Lincoln meeting at 9 AM, otherwise you can do this run on your own. 

• Sunday 9/21 - off.