9/19 Newsletter

A Fairly Busy Off-Week

We didn't have any races of our own this week, but sandwiched between a Monday long run and Thursday race-pace workout, we witnessed plenty of competition.  Tuesday we had a team dinner before attending the girls volleyball game, and Wednesday we hosted our first ever middle school meet.  Then today we wrapped up the week with some pickleball at the park.

The Week Ahead

Monday 9/22 (3:45-5:15PM):  Neural Day at school.  We'll also preview Thursday's meet.

Tuesday 9/23 (3:30-4:45PM):  48-Hour Workout at Course.  A pasta dinner will follow later in the evening.

Wednesday 9/24 (3:30-4:45PM):  Pre-Race Workout at Course.  

Thursday 9/25 (1:00PM-???):  Fox Meet. Students will be dismissed from class at 12:45, and the bus will leave at 1PM.   More details below. 

Friday 9/26 (3:30-5:00PM):  Fun Day/Recovery Run at City Park

Saturday 9/27 (On Own):  Easy Run and Strides.

Fox Meet Preview

Our program has only run at Arnold City Park once before.  The year was 2020, and in the debut of the controversial championship factor, our boys team was forced to run in Class 4 on the heels of their recent success.  As expected, our team wasn't much match for the regional powerhouses of Festus, Hillsboro, and Farmington. 

As we head back to race at the park in the Ed White Festival of Races hosted by Fox High School, a lot has changed.  We'll be racing both our boys and girls this time.  Due to some changes at the park, the course will look quite a bit different.  And while Farmington and Hillsboro will be in the races once again (along with plenty of other fast teams), we won't be seeing any of our district competition next Thursday.  

All told there will be 25 teams in the high school races.  St. Charles, Oakville, Clayton, and Jefferson are other strong teams on the boys side.  Cor Jesu and Visitation Academy will lead the way on the girls side.  A few schools will be racing their best runners at the Gans Creek Classic next Saturday, leaving their "B" squad to compete in Arnold.  But even the secondary runners at many of these schools can run some impressive times.  

Even after the changes, the course at Arnold Park should be fairly fast.  The new course does have a number of turns, but I still expect some impressive times if the weather cooperates.  Big River Race Management--who did the timing at Jackson and our meet--will once again be our timer.  However, they will be offering a somewhat different experience.  Automatic splits will be recorded at every kilometer, much like they are at the state meet.  With the new course still being finalized, the locations of the mile markers are a bit approximate and tentative.  They might not end up being marked at all.  

A few different locations for spectator parking exist, each with their respective benefits, especially considering their relative proximity to the start, finish, and tent city.  As for watching the meet, there is a bit of distance between the start and finish.  If someone is comfortable making that trek, they should be able to see athletes once after the start before heading toward the finish line.  There is also an area in the middle of the race where athletes can be seen multiple times, but that would require some speedy travel or else missing the start and finish.

As for our race lineups, we won't be running our whole team as we look to spread the load of three meets in 10 days.  Race times and rosters are as follows:
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Thank Yous!

Thank you to everyone who helped with this week's middle school meet.  Multiple coaches mentioned how much they loved the meet.

Thank you to Mindy Welker for volunteering to help transport the team tent to the Fox Meet.  

Inhalers During Races

We have a couple athletes with asthma who have inhalers.  State policy allows them to use an inhaler at any point before or after a race.  However using an inhaler during the race requires a doctor's note.  Few regular season meets enforce this, but it is scrutinized a bit more in the postseason.  If an athlete could possibly need an inhaler during a race, please go ahead and get a physician' note and give it to Mr. McLain so that it can be submitted to the directors for each meet.

Hotels at State

As mentioned in the info sent out before the parent meeting, the school will provide lodging for all athletes who qualify for the state meet individually or as part of the the team..  However, parents and any other spectators are responsible for their own transportation.  If rooms weren't booked earlier as advised, lodging is going to be at a premium with Mizzou having a home football game the same day as our races,  Trying to find a room now won't be easy but will also only get more difficult in the coming weeks.  Many schools who don't end up qualifying for state and their parents will cancel reservations after districts.  Sometimes new rooms will become available at the last minute, but surprise qualifiers for state will also be seeking them out.  That's obviously creates some risks.  This is just a reminder so families can figure out how they want to approach the situation.

Nike Cross Country Regionals

Every year Nike hosts a postseason series of races following our state meet.  This begins with multiple regional meets around the country at which teams and athletes can qualify for the national meet in Portland, Oregon.  While it is unlikely any of our athletes would make it out of the regional meet, it can still be a neat experience for athletes to race on a stage even bigger than the state meet.

Teams and athletes from Missouri are required to race at the Midwest Regional, which is held Sunday, November 16 at the LaVern Gibson Championship XC Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.  While the championship race is restricted to invited individuals and teams, any teams/individuals can enter into the open races.  However, since the race falls after the state meet and the conclusion of the official cross country season, we are not allowed to compete under our school's name or under the coaching of our school coaches.  Our athletes can still race as a team if enough athletes are interested.  They just have to use non-school uniforms and a different name.  Otherwise they can also race as individuals.

If athletes/parents are interested, they are responsible for registration, transportation, and lodging, though they can collaborate on this.  Hotels are in short supply in Terre Haute, and with over 3000 athletes racing, they fill up quickly.  The site for the meet is here for anyone interested.

Course Mowers

​As some of you know, we continue to use the front loop of our course for practice during the remainder of the season.  That means we still need individuals to keep that part of the course mowed.  We would like to have a rotation of mowers to lighten the load on any one person.  If you would like to help with this, please contact Mr. McLain.

Why Chocolate Milk?

After every hard workout and race we have chocolate and strawberry milk available for our athletes.  Some people think this is just a treat to reward a difficult effort.  It certainly tastes cold and refreshing, but it's far more important than that.  Following a hard workout, a runner typically needs to restore four things:

--fluids to account for water lost through sweat
--electrolytes (primarily sodium and potassium but also magnesium and calcium) to replace those lost through sweat
--carbohydrates to replenish energy stores within muscles
--protein to allow for muscle repair, ideally in a ratio 1 gram of protein for every 3-4 grams of carbohydrate

Without all of these (plus sleep), an athlete will struggle to recover well and bounce back from fatigue.  The problem with drinking just water after a race is that it only checks one of the above boxes.  But even beverages like Gatorade and LMNT only check the first two boxes, and in some cases partially the third.  Milk sweetened with chocolate or strawberry checks all of them.  As the graphic shows below, chocolate milk nails all of the targets.  Not only does it have more electrolytes than Gatorade or Body Armor, it also contains more carbohydrates, as well as protein that the others lack.  Per serving it is also significantly cheaper than the others.

This isn't saying that these other drinks are bad at all.  They all can serve a purpose, and each has some benefits over the others.  Unlike chocolate milk, they can be decent options before a race in the right quantities.  And they can be consumed after a race.  They just probably would do best paired with some other sources of carbs and proteins.  The important thing is that athletes are putting themselves in a good place nutritionally for success, regardless of the particular food items that get them there.  But since some athletes don't feel like eating after a race yet can handle liquids, chocolate milk is a solid option backed up by scientific research and the opinion of sports scientists and dietitians alike!