DCL Championship Meet - 10/24/14

Meet Site: Playstead field, Franklin Park. 

Bus Time: The bus will arrive at noon, and after loading our gear we should be on the road by 12:15 at the latest. You'll be dismissed at 11:45, if you need to have your ankles taped there should be time for that.

Meet Schedule and lineups:

NOTE: The powers that be allowed the course to be double booked, so we're sharing with the Catholic Conference. Their races will alternate with the DCL races. 

1:20 Course tour for those who need it
1:30 Coaches Meeting
1:40 Volunteer Meeting - Each team should bring 2-3 volunteers who can be students or adults to help with course navigation and/or setup
1:50 - JV Boys - Bartick, Brewton, P. Butler, D. Comettant, Dowling, Dutton, Gold, Jacobs, Kay, LaRochelle, Moody, Pachter, Porter, Talukdar, Watkins, Xu
2:20 PM Varsity Girls - Henning, Kiefer, A. McCarthy, Provost, Schwartz, Sheffres, Tully
2:50 PM 9th Grade Boys and Girls (3K) - Chase, Daley, Estrada, Luo, Pak, S. Comettant
3:00 PM Catholic Conference Freshman Race
3:20 PM Varsity Boys - Bucher, Cocce, Galang, Greenwood, Last, Macklin, J. McCarthy
3:40 PM Catholic Conference JV Boys
4:00 PM JV Girls - Barrow, Bauerova, Burke, S. Butler, DeRubeis, Jofe, Moran, Pineault
4:30 PM Awards Presentation 

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: temperatures in the mid-50s with 10-15 mph winds from the NW. Dress warmly!
• You'll be wearing your DCL meet bib numbers--for the final time this season. You can keep your number afterward as a memento if you like!
• Race protocol:
a. Runners must report to the start line 10 minutes prior to start
b. Runners will be asked to remove sweats 5 minutes prior to start
c. Runners will be warned with one minute prior to start and again at 30 seconds
d. Command for start will be “Runners Set” and then the horn or starters pistol 
• Awards will be given to the top 15 finishers in the varsity race, the top 8 JV finishers, and the top 6 9th graders. 
• Face paint and hats are not allowed. 
• If your name is listed in bold this will be your final meet of the season. It would be most convenient for everyone if you bring an extra change of clothes and after you're done with your race and cooldown, change out of your uniform and return it to one of the coaches. 

What to bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes including: long sleeved shirt, pants, windbreaker, gloves, hat. Remember, this will be the coldest, windiest meet conditions of the season thus far. 
• 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). If you're running in the boys JV race and you have third lunch on Friday, let me know so we can discuss how much to eat lunch. If you're running in a later race, bring a snack to have on the bus or 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 

Information for Parents:

• The course starts and finishes between White Stadium and Pierpont Road, just north of the zoo. Parking is available at the corner of Pierpont and Circuit Drive, as well as at other lots on Circuit Drive and along the side of Circuit drive as well. While there is parking along Pierpont right next to the zoo, it's doubtful these spaces will be open to the public and if they are they'll fill up first. 
• The race can be seen multiple times from the small rise just beyond the finish line. Binoculars come in handy when viewing the racers from the other side of the field. 
• We hope to be back at WHS between 6 and 6:30 at the latest.

Karaoke and Booster Campaign

Saturday night's bus ride home from the Twilight Invitational was enlivened by a karaoke singing exhibition. Today at practice I'll be announcing the results of the fan voting, with prizes going to the top performers. If you were on the bus for the return trip and haven't voted yet you can send an e-mail to me at llayam (at) hotmail (dot) com. 

In addition, I received this note from the president of the Wayland Boosters:

"We have announced (as part of our campaign) that we want to purchase a 15 passenger bus for the athletic department. As you probably know the transportation cost are about 1/3 of the athletics budget and increased 17% this year. The bus should create savings of approximately 12,000 per year. It will allow you more opportunities to schedule scrimmages and travel to tournaments with out incurring significant travel costs. Our goal is to buy two busses so that all teams can take advantage.

We are looking for student athletes to help make follow-up calls to all Wayland families for the next three Tuesday evenings (10/21, 10/28 & 11/4) from 7-9pm in the main office at WHS. We will provide dinner (pizza and drinks) and support to help them make calls on our behalf. " 

If you're interested in volunteering, let me know and I'll pass your name along to the Boosters. Having access to a 15 passenger van would be very helpful for this program going forward. 

McIntyre Twilight Meet results

Some nice races for us at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds yesterday. I'm left wondering how the mile markers are in different places if the course is the same loop as previous years! Maybe there were some subtle changes to the layout. Congratulations in particular to Graham Macklin who came in 8th in the 10th grade race and Sarah Tully who finished 12th in the small school varsity race. While Graham's bib number was lacking the chip transmitter that the meet management were supposed to have prepared for us, his placing was acknowledged by the officials at the meet. I'm working on having the official online results updated.

Full results can be found on this page. I'm also sending out a spreadsheet to everyone on the mailing list with the split times of everyone who raced yesterday.

Training Plan for Week 8: 10/20-10/26

This week marks the beginning of championship season, with the DCL meet at Franklin Park in Boston on Friday afternoon. For some of you, this will be your final race. Others will continue on to the MSTCA Invitational on November 1st or the MIAA EMass Division 4 Championship (cross country's version of the state sectional meet). These are the people who are finishing up on Friday:

• boys: Bartick, Brewton, P. Butler, Daley, Dutton, Jacobs, LaRochelle, Nealley, Pachter, Pak, Porter, Watkins, Xu

• girls: Barrow, Bauerova, Burke, S. Comettant, Pineault

I should note that finishing your competitive season doesn't mean you're no longer welcome at practice after this week! If you'd like to continue working out with the team let me know.

• Monday 10/20 - 30-60 minutes, starting out easy and gradually progressing to about 80% effort for the last 5-10 minutes. Hill drills after the warmup and before the run. The aqueduct is a good option for the run today. This is a wide time range, the idea is that the people whose seasons are ending on Friday will be at the lower end of it. If you're continuing on to November it would be on the longer end.

• Tuesday 10/21 - 10 minute warmup, 5-7x800 meter repeats with 3-3.5 minute recoveries, 10 minute cool down. The loop we'll be using for this will be around the practice field and baseball fields, including up and over the small hill in the corner next to the parking lot. The idea is that the pace gets faster with each successive rep. One way to express this is to start at a 75% effort level and finish at a 90% effort. The first couple of reps will be just slower than race pace, the last one or two just faster than race pace. 

• Wednesday 10/22 - 20-40 minute easy run, on your own. Today is "Wayland Connects Day" and as such we won't be meeting for organized practice in the afternoon. 

• Thursday 10/23 - 20-30 minutes including 4-5x200 meters, starting at race pace and ending faster than that. Jog back after each rep. We'll follow this up with a game of partner tag for those that are interested. 

• Friday 10/24 - DCL Championship Meet at Franklin Park. Because this meet begins at 2 PM, the bus will be leaving at noon. You will be dismissed from class; of course, you'll also be responsible for any work you miss. It's best to let the teachers of affected classes know ahead of time and work out the details with them. More details on the meet itself forthcoming. If this is your final meet of the season, I'd like you to return your uniform to me before you head home for the evening, so bring a change of clothes to wear after the meet's done. 

• Saturday 10/25 - off

• Sunday 10/26 - 50-75 minutes easy. For those that are interested, I'll be at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge visitor center at 10 AM for an optional practice on the trails there. Like the last time we met here, there will be a trivia question for those that decide to make the trip. 

4th Annual Bob McIntyre Twilight Invitational - 10/18/14

Meet Site: Barnstable County Fairgrounds, 1220 Nathan Ellis Hwy (rt. 151), East Falmouth, MA 02536

Bus Time: 2 PM. Arrive before this time so that we can be on the road at 2 PM!

Meet Schedule and lineups:

4:10 Coed 6th-7th-8th grade race - n/a
4:30 9th grade boys 2.1 miles (17 minutes) - Chase, Daley, Estrada, Luo, Pak
4:50 9th grade girls 2.1 miles (19 minutes) - S. Comettant
5:10 10th grade boys (25 minutes) - Dowling, Kay, Macklin, Talukdar
5:35 10th grade girls (28 minutes) - A. McCarthy
6:00 JV girls (28 minutes) - DeRubeis, Henning, Jofe, Kiefer, Provost, Schwartz, Sheffres
6:25 JV boys (25 minutes) - Brewton, D. Comettant, Gold, Jacobs, LaRochelle, Pachter, Porter
6:50 boys varsity large - n/a
7:10 girls varsity large - n/a
7:35 boys varsity small (23 minutes) - Bucher, Cocce, Galang, Greenwood, Last, J. McCarthy, Moody
7:55 girls varsity small (24 minutes) - Tully

The time in parentheses after each race is the cutoff for that race. Athletes who don't make the cutoff won't be recorded in the results.

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: temperatures in the mid 60s dropping to the low 60s after sunset. Clear with winds around 15 mph from the SW. The wind will make it feel like it's cooler than it actually is. No one will be allowed on the bus wearing nothing but their uniform. 
• The top 25 finishers in each race win medals, which will be given out in the chute.
• MSTCA will be using Chip timing, athletes who are not competing, and are by the finish line, should not be wearing their BIB with tag, because it can be picked up by the transmitter, this will cause issues in recording places, please educated your student athletes.
• The course is a loop of just over a mile that's repeated twice for the 9th grade race and three times for all other races. Course map.  
• There will be a karaoke contest on the bus ride back from the meet; as of this writing, there are only two sets of contestants. See me if you're interested. 

What to bring (IMPORTANT):

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes including: long sleeved shirt, pants, windbreaker, gloves, hat
• 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)
• folding chair if you want something to sit on while changing shoes
• blanket to lie on under the team tent
• DINNER for after your race. We won't be leaving the meet until sometime around 9 PM; dining options on the trip home are few and of low quality. Not to mention if you visit any restaurant near the fairgrounds that's still open, you get to wait in line with 2 or 3 other teams that have also just left the meet. Long story short we won't be stopping for food on the trip back to Wayland! There is food for sale at the meet if that's your type of thing; otherwise I'd recommend preparing something in advance and bringing it with you in a small cooler or lunch bag. 

Information for Parents:

• Parking costs $5 per carload, carpooling is suggested. With over 3,000 athletes entered parking will likely become scarce.
• There's also an admission fee to enter the fairgrounds; $3 per adult, $5 per couple, $2 for children.
• The area near and next to the start/finish line area is the best area to watch the race.

Dual Meet #4 results - also Pam's Run is looking for volunteers

Yesterday in decidedly muggy conditions both teams earned a split of the double dual with Newton South and Waltham, taking the meets against Waltham. The boys end the dual meet season at 3-3, the girls 1-5. The girls were down to Waltham at the mile mark but turned the tide in the second half of the race and ended up winning 27-31. The boys did an excellent job of winning 17-44 without overdoing it in advance of the next meet on the schedule. That of course is the ever-popular McIntyre Twilight Invitational at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds in Falmouth on Saturday. More info (much more) on that in a later post.

Also on Saturday is a great local running event, Pam's Run held at the Claypit Hill School. They're looking for volunteers, if you're interested let me know at practice or send me an e-mail, my address is llayam (at) hotmail (dot) com. With the twilight meet being a late afternoon/evening affair, it's possible to both volunteer at Pam's Run and still make the 2 PM bus to Falmouth.

Dual Meet #4: at Newton South with Waltham - 10/15/14

* This meet is a make-up from its original date two weeks ago*

Meet Site: Cold Spring Park, 1200 Beacon Street, Newton MA. The meet will NOT be held at Newton South High School! 

Bus Time: 2:30

Start Time: First race will be 4:00 at the earliest.

There will be separate JV races. Order of races is as follows:
• JV boys - Bartick, Brewton, Butler, Chase, D. Comettant, Daley, Dowling, Dutton, Estrada, Gold, Jacobs, LaRochelle, Nealley, Pachter, Pak, Porter, Talukdar, Watkins, Xu
• varsity girls - Butler, DeRubeis, Henning, Jofe, Kiefer, McCarthy, Provost, Schwartz, Sheffres, Tully
• varsity boys - Bucher, Cocce, Galang, Greenwood, Kay, Last, Luo, Macklin, McCarthy, Moody
• JV girls - Barrow, Bauerova, Burke, S. Comettant, Moran, Pineault

*If your name is listed in bold, you're entered in this weekend's McIntyre Twilight Invitational at Falmouth. Whether or not you're entered will affect how you approach the dual meet Wednesday at Cold Spring Park.*

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: temperatures in the low 70s, overcast partly cloudy with winds from the south. No one will be allowed on the bus wearing nothing but their uniform. 
• You'll need to wear your assigned DCL bib number for this race; afterward, please return it to one of the coaches for future use.
• This is a "double dual" meet in that there are three teams contesting three separate dual meets: Wayland vs. Newton South, Wayland vs. Waltham, and Waltham vs. Newton South.
• There are two different courses in use at this site; the boys will run a 3.1 mile course, the girls a 2.7 mile course. This is a decision made individually by each of the Newton South coaches (there are separate coaches for boys and girls at NS). FWIW the 2.7 mile course had been in use by both genders for 30+ years. I've sent a map of each course to everyone on the mailing list; it's a two loop course in the woods with a much smaller loop at the beginning around the soccer fields. Both courses finish on the soccer fields. 

What to bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• 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)
• folding chair if you want something to sit on while changing shoes

Information for Parents:

• The course is NOT located at Newton South High School; please see above for the address of Cold Spring Park where the meet will be held.