So, after canceling practice Wednesday due to bad air quality and opressive heat, we combined our tempo scheduled for wednesday with our long run scheduled for Thursday with excellent results.
Thursday's workout was probably our best workout as a team so far this summer. Great job guys.
Take a look at this video of Ryan Hall (top US marathoner for the past 4-5 years) doing a long tempo as he prepares for the London Olympics.
http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/78-Ryan-Hall/video/645471-Ryan-Hall-12-Mile-Tempo-WOW
Friday, July 13, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Finding the Time
This week, I'd like to go into a topic which maybe, I should have done the first week of the summer.....prioritizing....making the time to run.
I know some of you are busier than others, but I can assure you, that no matter how busy you are, someone who is busier, is also running more than you. Many adults who continue to train to be excellent find the time to run 70,80,....120 miles per week before work, after work, at lunch, whenever they can get the time.
Running is a wonderful sport. It is incredibly simple to train for. All you need to do is plan a time that you are going to run and stick to it. Some days, you may only have 30 or 45 minutes to squeeze in a run. That is fine, we all have those days. Get your shoes on, head out, and after a short period to loosen up, hammer for the short period of time you have.
If you are telling me or telling yourself that you do not have the time, you are not being honest. You are lying to yourself. I know fair is coming up and many of you have FFA or 4H projects. Those are no excuses. Wyatt ran 50 miles last week and Jackson ran 46. Both of them are getting ready for fair. Traveling is really no excuse either. Before his senior year, David McKay spent the summer in the Netherlands, but managed to come back in good enough shape to set the still standing team record for the pre-season time trial, then go on to become TVL champion. Personally, I look at travel as an opportunity to run in new and exciting places. At the very least, you can try this old stand by of mine, run up and down the stairs of your hotel for 20 minutes and do sprints in the parking lot.
There are a number of "varsity" runners who are putting up very weak and "un-varsity" type of numbers so far this summer.
I've been watching the swimming olympic trials. There are 3 teenagers qualified for the finals of the 800 freestyle, beating out olympic veterans. I think some of you may learn a very hard truth this season, the same truth that some olympic swimming veterans just learned. It doesn't matter who you are or what you have done in the past. There is always going to be someone who is young and hungry ready to knock you off your pedestal.
Now, some of you are hopelessly far behind pace for our 500 mile club. That is OK. My high school coach didn't have us start running officially until July 1st. Today is July 1st, and it is not too late to still build a very strong base for the upcoming season. We have 6 weeks until we have to do anything truly hard (our first time trial) and another 4 weeks after that until our first race. This means that if you've been slacking off, you still have 10 weeks to gradually build a strong base.
Some of you are ahead of schedule for 500 miles also. That is great. Keep up the good work. Those of you who are consistantly running in the 40 mpw range are setting yourselves up for a great season. Some of you are even touching into the 50 mpw range. It is this type of consistancy which will allow you to make a quantum leap in your running abilities.
I know some of you are busier than others, but I can assure you, that no matter how busy you are, someone who is busier, is also running more than you. Many adults who continue to train to be excellent find the time to run 70,80,....120 miles per week before work, after work, at lunch, whenever they can get the time.
Running is a wonderful sport. It is incredibly simple to train for. All you need to do is plan a time that you are going to run and stick to it. Some days, you may only have 30 or 45 minutes to squeeze in a run. That is fine, we all have those days. Get your shoes on, head out, and after a short period to loosen up, hammer for the short period of time you have.
If you are telling me or telling yourself that you do not have the time, you are not being honest. You are lying to yourself. I know fair is coming up and many of you have FFA or 4H projects. Those are no excuses. Wyatt ran 50 miles last week and Jackson ran 46. Both of them are getting ready for fair. Traveling is really no excuse either. Before his senior year, David McKay spent the summer in the Netherlands, but managed to come back in good enough shape to set the still standing team record for the pre-season time trial, then go on to become TVL champion. Personally, I look at travel as an opportunity to run in new and exciting places. At the very least, you can try this old stand by of mine, run up and down the stairs of your hotel for 20 minutes and do sprints in the parking lot.
There are a number of "varsity" runners who are putting up very weak and "un-varsity" type of numbers so far this summer.
I've been watching the swimming olympic trials. There are 3 teenagers qualified for the finals of the 800 freestyle, beating out olympic veterans. I think some of you may learn a very hard truth this season, the same truth that some olympic swimming veterans just learned. It doesn't matter who you are or what you have done in the past. There is always going to be someone who is young and hungry ready to knock you off your pedestal.
Now, some of you are hopelessly far behind pace for our 500 mile club. That is OK. My high school coach didn't have us start running officially until July 1st. Today is July 1st, and it is not too late to still build a very strong base for the upcoming season. We have 6 weeks until we have to do anything truly hard (our first time trial) and another 4 weeks after that until our first race. This means that if you've been slacking off, you still have 10 weeks to gradually build a strong base.
Some of you are ahead of schedule for 500 miles also. That is great. Keep up the good work. Those of you who are consistantly running in the 40 mpw range are setting yourselves up for a great season. Some of you are even touching into the 50 mpw range. It is this type of consistancy which will allow you to make a quantum leap in your running abilities.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Week 4 mileage totals updated
For those of you who got your totals to me, thanks. For those of you who didn't, a fat slap to the back of the head.
Weight Management and Nutrition
We compete in a sport where carrying as few pounds as possible, while still remaining healthy, is tremendously important. If you don't believe that losing an extra couple of pounds can help your racing performance, put on a backback with 5 pounds worth of books in it and see how much slower you run with the extra weight! This relationship between body weight and performance has led many an athlete down the road toward disordered eating. If you take the time to do a little internet searching, you will find plenty of information out there about runners who have suffered from disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.
So, the question is how do we maintain optimal racing weight while keeping our bodies healthy and strong? The answer is surprisingly simple for most American athletes, make a few dietary modifications and you are golden.
First let me tell you what not to do. DO NOT deny yourself any of the major nutrient groups. There is always some kind of diet fad: low carb, no fat, paleo, and many others have recently been popular. While these restrictive diets may lead to short term weight loss, they are difficult to stick to and do not promote the type of life long healthy eating habits that we need to develop. Your diets should have plenty of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Do not try to eliminate any of these groups.
If you are looking for an easy place to start with healthy eating for athletic performance, look in the garbage can. In the U.S., most of us have plenty of wrappers from garbage food in our garbage cans. Soda, candy, chips, and other fatty snack foods are a huge part of most our diets. If you are looking for an easy place to start eating healthier, eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the junk food you eat and replace it with healthier choices. Instead of grabbing a soda (or Sunny D, or sugary iced tea)when you are thirsty, have a glass of water, or a small glass of milk or fruit juice. If you want a salty snack, chose a handfull of nuts. If you are in the mood for something sweet, grab some of the central valley's bounty of fruit. Many of you can cut out 500 calories a day with those simple steps. An added bonus of replacing junk food with healthy snacks is that you will be getting valuable nutrients such as vitamins and minerals if you make the switch. While snack foods are almost empty of nutrients, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, and milk are full of them. So, in your garbage at home, you should be seeing less soda cans, chip bags, and candy wrappers and more apple cores and carrot tops.
The next place where you can easily drop a large number of calories from your diet is in chosing lower fat options at meal time. Avoid breaded, fried foods at meal time. The breading on these foods, although deliscious, acts like a sponge for the grease in which the food is cooked. I will admit that the orange chicken and sweet and sour pork at Panda Express is very tasty. However, the broccoli beef and green bean chicken is equally tasty with less than 1/3 of the calories per serving. If you replace fatty fried foods with grilled meats and vegetables, you will not only chop out a huge amount of calories, but you will once again replace them with something that your body needs, fiber. Dietary fiber is crucial for digestive health, yet most of our processed foods lack it. Orange chicken and sweet and sour pork have zero fiber, but the vegetable dish options are packed with it.
Countless books have been written on optimal nutrition for athletics. My purpose here is not to write another, rather to provide my team with a few easy steps to take toward better health and performance.
If you are interested in learning more about nutrition for performance, follow some of these links below
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09362.html
http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/imported/42817.pdf
So, the question is how do we maintain optimal racing weight while keeping our bodies healthy and strong? The answer is surprisingly simple for most American athletes, make a few dietary modifications and you are golden.
First let me tell you what not to do. DO NOT deny yourself any of the major nutrient groups. There is always some kind of diet fad: low carb, no fat, paleo, and many others have recently been popular. While these restrictive diets may lead to short term weight loss, they are difficult to stick to and do not promote the type of life long healthy eating habits that we need to develop. Your diets should have plenty of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Do not try to eliminate any of these groups.
If you are looking for an easy place to start with healthy eating for athletic performance, look in the garbage can. In the U.S., most of us have plenty of wrappers from garbage food in our garbage cans. Soda, candy, chips, and other fatty snack foods are a huge part of most our diets. If you are looking for an easy place to start eating healthier, eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the junk food you eat and replace it with healthier choices. Instead of grabbing a soda (or Sunny D, or sugary iced tea)when you are thirsty, have a glass of water, or a small glass of milk or fruit juice. If you want a salty snack, chose a handfull of nuts. If you are in the mood for something sweet, grab some of the central valley's bounty of fruit. Many of you can cut out 500 calories a day with those simple steps. An added bonus of replacing junk food with healthy snacks is that you will be getting valuable nutrients such as vitamins and minerals if you make the switch. While snack foods are almost empty of nutrients, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, and milk are full of them. So, in your garbage at home, you should be seeing less soda cans, chip bags, and candy wrappers and more apple cores and carrot tops.
The next place where you can easily drop a large number of calories from your diet is in chosing lower fat options at meal time. Avoid breaded, fried foods at meal time. The breading on these foods, although deliscious, acts like a sponge for the grease in which the food is cooked. I will admit that the orange chicken and sweet and sour pork at Panda Express is very tasty. However, the broccoli beef and green bean chicken is equally tasty with less than 1/3 of the calories per serving. If you replace fatty fried foods with grilled meats and vegetables, you will not only chop out a huge amount of calories, but you will once again replace them with something that your body needs, fiber. Dietary fiber is crucial for digestive health, yet most of our processed foods lack it. Orange chicken and sweet and sour pork have zero fiber, but the vegetable dish options are packed with it.
Countless books have been written on optimal nutrition for athletics. My purpose here is not to write another, rather to provide my team with a few easy steps to take toward better health and performance.
If you are interested in learning more about nutrition for performance, follow some of these links below
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09362.html
http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/imported/42817.pdf
Sunday, June 24, 2012
2010 camp video...Good Stuff.
Many of you probably know that in 2010, a young Scottish/Welsh lass named Scarlett McPhillips came over to Hughson with her dad for our annual training camp. Her dad, Tom, demonstrating fine filmmaking skills, has posted a pretty cool little video of the adventure on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvS_1zWJj20
Enjoy the vid, and get those week 4 mileage totals to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvS_1zWJj20
Enjoy the vid, and get those week 4 mileage totals to me.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
1st Practice
Frist practice of the summer was Monday. Second one is tonight. Pretty typical first practice for you guys. Run time was relatively slow compared to what you will be doing in a few months, but a solid day none the less
Gravel Pit (6.4 miles)
Caleb - 57:43
Mason - 57:43
Jared - 59:28
Michael - 60:00
Wyatt - 60:24
Aldrich (4.4 miles)
Trent - 40:11
Leo - 40:15
Adam - 40:31
Maddy - 41:45
Jackson - 41:45
Geer and Back (3.2)
Danny - 26:58
Tasha - 28:58
Carli - 29:53
Kady - 31:33
Heavyn - 33:05
Kasey - 37:27
Some of us didn't quite get the start easy and progress to steady at the half way point concept. A couple of you guys were going too hard when you came in and a couple of you guys barely looked like you were working at all. All in all, we are off to a very good start this summer.
Keep up the good work!
Gravel Pit (6.4 miles)
Caleb - 57:43
Mason - 57:43
Jared - 59:28
Michael - 60:00
Wyatt - 60:24
Aldrich (4.4 miles)
Trent - 40:11
Leo - 40:15
Adam - 40:31
Maddy - 41:45
Jackson - 41:45
Geer and Back (3.2)
Danny - 26:58
Tasha - 28:58
Carli - 29:53
Kady - 31:33
Heavyn - 33:05
Kasey - 37:27
Some of us didn't quite get the start easy and progress to steady at the half way point concept. A couple of you guys were going too hard when you came in and a couple of you guys barely looked like you were working at all. All in all, we are off to a very good start this summer.
Keep up the good work!
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