7/11 Newsletter

A Great Return to Training

We had an awesome first week back, full of plenty of fun and hard work.  Hopefully we can keep that momentum rolling in the weeks ahead!

Week Ahead

This week many of our athletes will be at our team camps.  However, we will still have training the entire week for those in town, as outlined below:

Monday 7/14 (7:00-8:30AM):  Neural Day at School
Tuesday 7/15 (7:00-9:00AM):  Aerobic Repeats Workout at School
Wednesday 7/16 (7:00-8:00AM):  Fun day (Pickleball) at City Park

Thursday 7/17 (7:00-8:30AM):  Easy Run at City Park (PYF Field).  
Friday 7/18 (7:00-9:00AM):  Long Run at Higher Ed Center.  An optional team breakfast will follow at Hoeckele's.  

Watches

One thing I've noticed so far this summer is that a few athletes either aren't bringing a watch or are doing so inconsistently.  Pretty much all of our summer training is time-based, so a watch is a vital tool.  

That doesn't need to be a fancy GPS watch.  I've actually become more and more convinced that a standard wristwatch is a better option for most high school runners.  Besides being cheaper, it has a battery that will often last years, which avoids the "my watch died because I forgot to charge it" scenario quite typical with teenage athletes.  Many athletes also tend to obsess over the additional metrics high-end GPS watches offer--most of which have been shown to have limited accuracy--rather than learning to run by feel.

Pretty much every time I'm in Wal-Mart I've seen a standard watch with a stopwatch feature on sale/clearance for $10 or less.  If an athlete doesn't currently have a watch, this would be a very beneficial investment.

Seminary Picnic Help

We are still in need of athletes to cover a few more shifts at the carousel during the Seminary Picnic.  If an athlete has not already signed up for a shift, please do so using the link below.

Claim a Shift

At the most recent picnic meeting, there was also a need expressed for the fence line along the highway to be weedeated the week prior to the picnic.  This is where the signs for picnic sponsors are hung, and so it is important that is area look as presentable as possible to promote awareness for these sponsors and their support in the future.

I (Mr. McLain) plan to be out at the picnic grounds on Monday, July 28 at 6pm to work on the weedeating.  If anyone else with a weedeater would like to join in the fun, that would be greatly appreciated by myself and the picnic committee.  

Home Meet Shirts

The design for the shirts for our home meet came in this week.  For those new to our team, most meets have shirts available for purchase that many athletes like to purchase as a sort of keepsake.  This is optional.  For our meet, we typically order limited quantities that will come close to selling out, so that we aren't left on the hook for the expense of unsold shirts.  

To make sure all of our athletes (or parents) that want a shirt get one before they sell out, we always offer pre-orders at a discounted price.  This year pre-ordered shirts will be $13, as opposed to $15 at the meet with no guarantee of one being available.  If you would like to order shirts, you may do so using this form.

Pre-orders will close on Thursday, July 30.  After that point shirts will need to be purchased at the meet.

Physicals

Just a reminder that a completed physical form as well as the pre-participation form must be submitted by the first day of official season (8/11) in order for an athlete to be allowed to practice.

Forms may be either be submitted to the school office or to Mr. McLain.  The current physical form can be found here (please only submit the final page).   The pre-participation form can be found here.  

Hard copies of both forms will also be available at practice this week.  Athletes can ask Mr. McLain for a copy.

Shoe/Spike Sales

We're getting to the time of year when many running stores (online and brick and mortar) run sales on shoes.  If you need a new pair of trainers and/or spikes (or will in the foreseeable future), now is often a great time to save some money.

For those who don't know what spikes are, you can find a full explanation in this post.

For the next five or six weeks I'll be including a section in the newsletter with details I find about any sales online or at local stores:

Online:
--First to the Finish has some pretty steep discounts on a number of models of spikes.   Do make sure they say cross country or XC.  Track spikes (even distance ones) are not the same thing. 
--TC Running Company has some spike models on sale for men as well as for women.

In-Person:
Nothing yet, but expect sales and specials to start showing up toward the end of the month.

The Importance of Sleep

On multiple occasions I've heard Coach Jeff Messer refer to sleep as the greatest performance enhancing agent for high school runners.  Messer isn't your average coach.  He has a PhD in exercise physiology and has also coached an individual champion in the boys race at Nike Nationals as well as two top-ten girls teams there.

Not only does an athlete's body need fuel to make the appropriate adaptations and improvements, it also needs rest, typically in the neighborhood of 8-10 hours.  This can be a challenge for athletes during the school year while juggling schoolwork and jobs on top of training, but summer is a good time to try to build better habits.  The chart below from Paul Vandersteen (another national caliber coach) offers a good guideline.  For more detailed primer on sleep, check out this article by Coach Jay Johnson.