Thursday Morning Practice is a GO!

PART I

Everyone is expected to attend! We invite your parents to come and watch.

However, a Time Trial is scheduled in the morning for those who won't be attending the evening race at College of the Canyons.

Here are the maps...Mile One and Mile Two

Do not come to the track...meet in front of the pool.

Warm up consists of jogging out to the course and then jogging the course to learn the way. It is your job to look at the maps tonight to make it easier to navigate tomorrow.

Runners who are racing in the evening will be lined up around the course to cheer and help you along.

PART II

College of the Canyons Details

Meet at 5:20pm in front of the pool. We will leave promptly at 5:30pm!!
Race Time: 7pm
Return Time: 8:30pm

Here is a map to C.O.C. in case you (your parents) want to head over on your own.

Otherwise you can follow us (caravan) over there from LCHS.

Bring the following in a backpack:

DO NOT WEAR YOUR LC UNIFORMS--WE ARE UNATTACHED. JUST WEAR YOUR EVERYDAY PRACTICE SHIRT AND SHORTS!

• Water bottle(s)
  
• Racing shoes if you own them.
• Training shoes that you normally wear for practice.
• Extra Shirt/Sweat pants for after the race
• Granola bar/energy bar for after the race
• Money for the race: $5

Race Tips/Tactics

I realize that many of you have concerns about your first "race" tomorrow and may even feel anxious about it. The first thing I will say to that is, PLEASE, don't feel that way. While technically it's a race, I still look at it more as a controlled workout with a lot of people who will be joining you. I want you to go into this with an open mind and to not be afraid to challenge yourself. I would like you to be competitive, but at the same time, I don't want you to stress over it and worry if you don't do well. In fact, if you toe that starting line tomorrow, that alone should be considered a victory. I am completely aware that most of you have absolutely no experience. I want you to know that I have absolutely zero expectations in tomorrow's outing. Go into this for the experience. You will observe all types of runners tomorrow: from the fastest to the slowest, young to the elderly--they will all be there with you. What if you are last place? You won't be; but if that happens, then hold your head up and know that your coaches will be there at the finish line cheering you in! Again, NO EXPECTATIONS!

Okay, now for the tactics and tips:

• The first part of the race is probably the toughest in terms of being able to show your patience and self-discipline. You will feel great 'cause you're fresh!! So what do most people want to do? They want to SPRINT! It's really easy to get caught up in the excitement, feel the need to get that "hole shot", to get into position, to lead the way for that first 400 meters...HOLD UP THERE!! WAIT A MINUTE CHIEF!!!...Don't do that!!! That's a big mistake. You will hit the proverbial WALL very quickly if you try to lead the race. Ease into the race. I'm not saying for you to jog. You'll have already done that during your pre-race warm-up. I'm saying, ease into your pace. Let your legs dictate how you'll race, not someone else's.
  

• Next step: Right now we are very short on race experience. (Hey, I think that's why we're doing this.) And that's why there are no expectations. But now that you're in the race, and you've figured out a pace for yourself, I want you then to begin "racing". How do you do that? This is where you will begin finding someone who has matched your own race-pace. They might even be running a little faster than you. That's good! That's the type of person you are looking for--someone who is slightly ahead of you. This person will be helping you without even knowing it. But use them to "latch" onto. (Don't actually touch them 'cause that's illegal without their permission.) Once you get to that person, you will slowly pass them and find someone else. In some races you may never find THAT person, or you may only find one person, or you may be "lucky" and find a pacer every 30 seconds until you finish the race. Luck, by the way, has nothing to do with it. It's all about fitness and racing experience. By the way, a pacer may or may not be a teammate of yours. But if it is, you could actually encourage your teammate to do this with you. Words like, "come on", "let's go", "you can do it", "you're doing great!", "let's work together", "it's only 25 minutes of pain", etc...you get the idea.

• The HILL: I won't lie to you! It's a killer! But you know what, if you don't heed what I'm telling you in the first bullet statement, the hill will be a lot worse. For sure, you will be tired before you begin your ascent, but if you're really spent because of poor pacing in that first mile, then the HILL will not be fun. You will definitely hate it either way, but it's much more tolerable if you are not so dead before you begin the madness. Rule of Thumb for running a hill: try to maintain your effort (naturally you'll slow down due to the steepness) and don't stop if you can help it. Gradually work through the pain because it's there. The reward is when you know you made it without stopping. The need to stop exists in a big way! The voice inside your head will be pleading and begging you to do that-- to stop. That would be the most sane and normal thing to do. Why would you want to put yourself through that kind of pain? Because no one else will. This is what we runners do. We do it because we CAN!!! Tell yourself that as you climb THE HILL. You will respect yourself for having done so; and, you will respect the blasted HILL. One more thing: I don't think you will do this but just in case. If you try to surge past someone in the middle of the hill, then you just made the biggest mistake of the race. Even the fittest (the reason for any ideas to surge at all) will have thrown their race away by the time they reach the summit. You will feel like you need an oxygen tank due to your little mid-hill sprint. That's a big NO-NO in cross country racing. Remember, if you can, just maintain effort!

• Last mile of the race: This is when everyone is tired. And I mean EVERYONE. It's funny, but when I was younger, I always thought that the front runners were in such good shape (they were) that they could do what they were doing without much effort or feeling tired. That's HOGWASH! I used to be a front runner. Let me tell you something--it hurts more! In fact, those guys who win races can tolerate the pain better than most, but they still feel it. It's all about fitness, competitiveness, a desire to win, and a little insanity. Experience helps too! So, dig deep within yourself and see what you got. Again, start picking more people to pace off of and pass them if you can. Never pass someone quickly!

• Never pass someone quickly, unless it's at the end! The end of the race brings you onto the track. You will run a 3/4s lap to the finish line. Sprint (as fast as you can) that last 100 meters. You'll always look better than if you're jogging.

That's all I will write on this, but we can speak more about it tomorrow if you are still feeling uneasy. But the truth is, I don't want to do a lot of coaching tomorrow. Again, I want you to go into this knowing I am not expecting a lot. It's all about getting the experience.

Hey, Coach, what about camp? Won't this race impact whether I go?

Answer: Remember, the race tomorrow is one piece of the puzzle. Go back to the list of criteria from yesterday's post.

See you tomorrow!