Thursday Practice Very Good

We had one of our better practices of the summer last night.  This is what made it good:

1. We had a good number of people there.  We didn't have everybody....fair, family trips, and what not took their normal summer toll, but we had a good group yesterday.  Keep this up.  Hold Each Other Accountable!
2. The intensity level and volume of training were good.  I don't think anyone left yesterday's workout thinking that they were totally wasted, yet at the same time, we all had a good training session and achieved the goal of the workout, which was to get a fair amount of volume and to have our legs do some easy turnover work.

We have to remember one thing all summer and most of the fall. Steady volume of miles is the most important factor in our training.  However, the training should be as low stress as possible while still achieving the training goal. Let me offer some suggestions on how yesterday's workout could have been improved. I will use the varsity boys workout as an example.

• VB squad did 5 miles easy followed by 16x200 @ 2 mile race pace with full recovery between reps. The weather was pretty warm, but the heat wasn't that bad.  None the less, you still spent well over 1 hour training in temps in the 90 degree range.  The workout totaled 7 miles

1. A better scenario would have seen the whole varsity team do what Daniel did....run an easy 4 miles in the morning, so that he could do a little less volume in the heat of the evening.  Daniel totaled 9 miles for the day
2. The best scenario would have been for the whole varsity squad to meet and run 5-6 miles easy in the morning then have the evening workout be dedicated totally to the 16x200 workout.  6 miles in the morning with an evening workout of 1 mile warm up, 16x200, 1 mile cool down would have given 10 miles for the day, but probably felt less stressful than the workout that the team actually completed.  A scenario such as that would have accomplished the goals of 1. Get good volume and 2. Have the legs turn over at race pace in a non stressful situation.
3. Let me continue to stress that fact that you guys should be doubling as much as possible.  The best days to double are the days we have practice.  If you double on the days we have practice, then the practices out in the heat of the evening will be shorter and more focused.  If you don't double, then the evening practices have to be longer. 

Don't get me wrong.  I was very pleased with the workout yesterday.  I think that all levels got benefit from the session, from our newest beginners to our top varsity athletes.  Let us continue to work to improve.

I'd like to link you to This Interview With Former State Champion, Paul Thomas of Jesuit High. Paul offers some very good advice for up and coming runners.  One of the best pieces of advice he gives is to "live like a clock". That means be precise.  Wake up on time, do your running, sleep plenty, eat well, be consistent....live like a clock.