Due to waterlogged conditions and the threat of more heavy rain in the afternoon, today's meet has been pushed back to October 21st. We will be practicing, meet in the fieldhouse for the team warmup. Today's workout will be the session originally scheduled for Friday:
10 minute warmup, 4-6x4 minute repeats at 80% effort (i.e.
effort level 8) with 2 minute recoveries, 10 minute cool down. Along the
flat surface of the Weston aqueduct east of Happy Hollow, not quite at
race pace effort. This workout, like Monday's, will be done in groups of
similar fitness level.
When you get home after practice I recommend stuffing your shoes with newspaper to help dry them out.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Week 5 Training Plan - 9/28-10/4
This week marks a change in the nature of the training we'll be doing. For one, the next three weeks will have the highest volume of training for the entire season. In addition, the schedule sets up such that we'll be able to fit in a more regular, predictable pattern with meets on Wednesday only for the next three weeks. The weekly circuit training of the last month is a thing of the past. Instead there will be two harder workouts besides the meet; a session of shorter, faster repeats and a longer more moderately paced workout. One of these will be on Monday, the other on Friday.
Mon 9/28 - 10-15 minute warmup jog, hill repeats on the Hultman aqueduct, 10-15 minute cool down jog. The stretch we'll be running today isn't actually entirely on a hill, but rather starts out flat and then tilts up. The number of repeats will vary depending on the person, but will likely fall in the range of 6 to 12. The recovery is a jog (not walk) back down to the starting point. It's key to approach this workout with patience, holding something in reserve at the start and picking it up as the workout goes along. The last 2 or 3 reps should be at race pace if not a bit quicker.
Tue 9/29 - hill drills followed by 35-50 minutes at a moderate intensity (4-6) including 5x100m run outs at race pace. The route or loop today is up to you. In addition to the day's run there'll be a discussion of how to approach tomorrow's meet.
Wed 9/30 - Home dual meet vs. Newton South and Waltham. More information will be forthcoming in a subsequent post. Don't forget that the race day protocol includes a cool down jog after your race of 10-20 minutes.
Thu 10/1 - 40-60 minutes at a low to moderate intensity (3-5), out and back along the Hultman aqueduct heading east from Maiden Lane. Since we're no longer doing circuits on the track, when you get back from the run you'll be doing a post-run series of core exercises. This will include some of the things you did during the circuits without the repeats on the track.
Fri 10/2 - 10 minute warmup, 4-6x4 minute repeats at 80% effort (i.e. effort level 8) with 2 minute recoveries, 10 minute cool down. Along the flat surface of the Weston aqueduct east of Happy Hollow, not quite at race pace effort. This workout, like Monday's, will be done in groups of similar fitness level.
Sat 10/3 - 45-80 minutes at a low to moderate intensity, level 3-6. Ideally it should start easy and gradually get a bit quicker by the end. Very important to allow your body to absorb the training of the week by taking it easy and not forcing the issue overly today. There will be an optional practice meeting at 9 AM for those interested, site TBA. We might return to Lincoln, the other possibility being the Assabet River NWR in Sudbury.
Sun 10/4 - off
Mon 9/28 - 10-15 minute warmup jog, hill repeats on the Hultman aqueduct, 10-15 minute cool down jog. The stretch we'll be running today isn't actually entirely on a hill, but rather starts out flat and then tilts up. The number of repeats will vary depending on the person, but will likely fall in the range of 6 to 12. The recovery is a jog (not walk) back down to the starting point. It's key to approach this workout with patience, holding something in reserve at the start and picking it up as the workout goes along. The last 2 or 3 reps should be at race pace if not a bit quicker.
Tue 9/29 - hill drills followed by 35-50 minutes at a moderate intensity (4-6) including 5x100m run outs at race pace. The route or loop today is up to you. In addition to the day's run there'll be a discussion of how to approach tomorrow's meet.
Wed 9/30 - Home dual meet vs. Newton South and Waltham. More information will be forthcoming in a subsequent post. Don't forget that the race day protocol includes a cool down jog after your race of 10-20 minutes.
Thu 10/1 - 40-60 minutes at a low to moderate intensity (3-5), out and back along the Hultman aqueduct heading east from Maiden Lane. Since we're no longer doing circuits on the track, when you get back from the run you'll be doing a post-run series of core exercises. This will include some of the things you did during the circuits without the repeats on the track.
Fri 10/2 - 10 minute warmup, 4-6x4 minute repeats at 80% effort (i.e. effort level 8) with 2 minute recoveries, 10 minute cool down. Along the flat surface of the Weston aqueduct east of Happy Hollow, not quite at race pace effort. This workout, like Monday's, will be done in groups of similar fitness level.
Sat 10/3 - 45-80 minutes at a low to moderate intensity, level 3-6. Ideally it should start easy and gradually get a bit quicker by the end. Very important to allow your body to absorb the training of the week by taking it easy and not forcing the issue overly today. There will be an optional practice meeting at 9 AM for those interested, site TBA. We might return to Lincoln, the other possibility being the Assabet River NWR in Sudbury.
Sun 10/4 - off
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Frank Kelley Invitational Results
Overall meet results - WHS is in Division 2
splits
pictures - most but not all races included (sorry boys JV)
On the whole, impressive racing on a fast course with generally favorable conditions all around. Special recognition to the medal winners (top 25 in their race):
Sarah Tully 4th - varsity
Zach Last 22nd - varsity
David Ahearne 19th - 9th grade
splits
pictures - most but not all races included (sorry boys JV)
On the whole, impressive racing on a fast course with generally favorable conditions all around. Special recognition to the medal winners (top 25 in their race):
Sarah Tully 4th - varsity
Zach Last 22nd - varsity
David Ahearne 19th - 9th grade
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Types of cross country courses
Not all cross country courses are created equal. Here's an overview of the general types of course conditions you'll encounter. Note that some courses, like ours, are not all one type or another, but a mix of different types.
Grass Track Meet - smooth, good footing, dry, relatively flat terrain:
Rollercoaster - courses that deviate significantly from the horizontal. In other words, up and down figure prominently. Add in rocks, roots, sand, etc. and it can slow things down significantly:
Mudbath - add water (in liquid or frozen form) and lots of foot traffic to even the smoothest course and slippery conditions that slow everyone down is the inevitable result:
Grass Track Meet - smooth, good footing, dry, relatively flat terrain:
Rollercoaster - courses that deviate significantly from the horizontal. In other words, up and down figure prominently. Add in rocks, roots, sand, etc. and it can slow things down significantly:
Approaching the finish of the Loon Mountain Race on the Upper Walking Boss ski trail.
Road races - Not at all in the spirit of the sport, but in some cases there's no choice but to have some or most of the course on pavement. Typically course designers try to keep pavement to a minimum. Rarely seen around here, thankfully:
Southern California
Utah
Franklin Park in Boston - finish of the 1992 IAAF World Championship Senior Women's race, won by Lynn Jennings who grew up in Harvard, MA! The course they ran was 6 km in length.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
MSTCA Frank Kelley Invitational - 9/26/15
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 - JV boys 5k (25 minutes): Brewton, Butler, D. Comettant, Estrada, Goren, Jacobs, Memoli, Pachter, Porter, Zhu
9:56 - JV girls 5k (28 minutes): Moran
10:18 - 9th grade boys 3k (16 minutes): Ahearne, J. Kunen, Stafford
10:33 - 9th grade girls 3k (18 minutes): Adelman, Walsh
10:50 - Varsity boys 5k (22 minutes): Chaet, Chan, Chase, Dawson, Kay, Last, Luo
11:15 - Varsity girls 5k (26 minutes): A. Kunen, Lorenc, McCarthy, Sheffres, Tully
Meet Information:
• Weather forecast: Sunny with temperatures in the high 50s to mid 60s depending on race time. A massive improvement over the conditions at this meet a year ago!
• 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 that athletes who aren't racing NOT 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.
• The meet staff has asked that no one do their warmup or cooldown 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 finish chute will be closed when the cutoff time is reached for each race. Their idea, not mine.
What to Bring:
• Uniform
• Everyday training shoes
• Racing shoes if you have them
• Warmup clothes
• Sunscreen
• Water bottle - bring it already filled
• Snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Challenge)
• Lunch - 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.
For Parents:
• A parking fee of $5 will be collected for each car.
• Dogs aren't allowed except for service animals
• We hope to return to WHS by 1:30.
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 - JV boys 5k (25 minutes): Brewton, Butler, D. Comettant, Estrada, Goren, Jacobs, Memoli, Pachter, Porter, Zhu
9:56 - JV girls 5k (28 minutes): Moran
10:18 - 9th grade boys 3k (16 minutes): Ahearne, J. Kunen, Stafford
10:33 - 9th grade girls 3k (18 minutes): Adelman, Walsh
10:50 - Varsity boys 5k (22 minutes): Chaet, Chan, Chase, Dawson, Kay, Last, Luo
11:15 - Varsity girls 5k (26 minutes): A. Kunen, Lorenc, McCarthy, Sheffres, Tully
Meet Information:
• Weather forecast: Sunny with temperatures in the high 50s to mid 60s depending on race time. A massive improvement over the conditions at this meet a year ago!
• 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 that athletes who aren't racing NOT 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.
• The meet staff has asked that no one do their warmup or cooldown 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 finish chute will be closed when the cutoff time is reached for each race. Their idea, not mine.
What to Bring:
• Uniform
• Everyday training shoes
• Racing shoes if you have them
• Warmup clothes
• Sunscreen
• Water bottle - bring it already filled
• Snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Challenge)
• Lunch - 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.
For Parents:
• A parking fee of $5 will be collected for each car.
• Dogs aren't allowed except for service animals
• We hope to return to WHS by 1:30.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Dual Meet #1 vs. Bedford results
Boys: 19-44
Girls: 23-36
Bedford wins both meets with good depth. Good racing by us on a course that is both longer and hillier than anything experienced thus far this season. Times, mile splits for boys, and pace stats can be found here.
Girls: 23-36
Bedford wins both meets with good depth. Good racing by us on a course that is both longer and hillier than anything experienced thus far this season. Times, mile splits for boys, and pace stats can be found here.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Dual Meet #1 - Home vs. Bedford
Meet Site: Wayland High School
First race 4 PM unless you hear different from me
Athletes should arrive no later than 3 PM
Order of races and lineups as follows:
Boys varsity - Ahearne, Chaet, Chan, Chase, Dawson, Estrada, Jacobs, Kay, Last, Luo, Pachter
Girls combined race - Adelman, DeRubeis, Freedberg, Kiefer, A. Kunen, Lorenc, McCarthy, McNamara, Mishara, Moran, Provost, Sheffres, Tully, Walsh
Boys JV - Bartick, Brewton, D. Comettant, Daley, Goren, J. Kunen, Memoli, Pak, Porter, Shapley, Stafford, Talukdar, Wang, Xu
NOTE: The girls JV race has been combined with the varsity race; boys varsity will be first race of the day, followed by girls, then boys JV
Meet Information:
• Weather forecast: temperatures in the high 60s at race time, with light breezes from the west. Cooler than last week at Franklin Park 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 one of the coaches.
• 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.
• When Bedford arrives, there'll be a tour of the course. You're more than welcome to join the course tour, it's not restricted to the visiting team. If you have any questions about the course it's strongly recommended you tag along with the tour.
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.
First race 4 PM unless you hear different from me
Athletes should arrive no later than 3 PM
Order of races and lineups as follows:
Boys varsity - Ahearne, Chaet, Chan, Chase, Dawson, Estrada, Jacobs, Kay, Last, Luo, Pachter
Girls combined race - Adelman, DeRubeis, Freedberg, Kiefer, A. Kunen, Lorenc, McCarthy, McNamara, Mishara, Moran, Provost, Sheffres, Tully, Walsh
Boys JV - Bartick, Brewton, D. Comettant, Daley, Goren, J. Kunen, Memoli, Pak, Porter, Shapley, Stafford, Talukdar, Wang, Xu
NOTE: The girls JV race has been combined with the varsity race; boys varsity will be first race of the day, followed by girls, then boys JV
Meet Information:
• Weather forecast: temperatures in the high 60s at race time, with light breezes from the west. Cooler than last week at Franklin Park 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 one of the coaches.
• 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.
• When Bedford arrives, there'll be a tour of the course. You're more than welcome to join the course tour, it's not restricted to the visiting team. If you have any questions about the course it's strongly recommended you tag along with the tour.
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.
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