July 15 News and Notes

​Week in Review

Last week we got back to training together off of our dead period.  That meant dealing with Southeast Missouri's trademark heat and thunderstorms in July.  But we dodged most of the major bullets, and in the process we were able to tackle a tougher aerobic workout on Tuesday. 

After a fun game of kickball over at the elementary school on Wednesday (which I was too occupied roaming center field to remember to take pictures of), Thursday brought our first Neuro workout.  Runners got to do some faster running through accelerations and wickets.  That was followed by some work with resistance bands, isometric holds, and of course medicine balls.

We ended the week with our long run and a team breakfast that included this year's first go at Secret Hitler.  It was a fairly muted round, but I'm sure we'll see some chaotic ones before the season is over!

With a full slate of contact days, we had five runners--Ethan, Reagan, Audrey, Sybina, and Abby--earn their summer training shirts.  That brings our total for this summer up to 12.

The Week Ahead

This week we'll settle back into our usual routine.  Hopefully the weather allows our first run at our course.   ​Wednesday the hope is to get in some opportunities to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge.

We'll close things out on Friday with another long run and a pool party breakfast.

​Fall Sports Parent Meeting

The school is planning the parent meeting for fall sports on Monday, August 12 at 5:30pm starting in the gym and asks that at least one parent of each athlete attend.  Athletes do not need to attend.  

The meeting usually begins with a presentation from our athletic director and administration before breaking off into individual team meetings.  My plan for our team meeting is primarily as an opportunity to ask questions.  I will send out a massive document prior to the meeting addressing most major topics for the season, but if there is anything I left our or that isn't clear, the meeting is a great chance to address those.

Parents at the meeting will also get the first opportunity to sign up for hosting pasta parties, bringing drinks/snacks to meets, and working shifts prior to and at our home meet.  Therefore if at all possible, parents should make plans to attend.

​Medical Forms

We're now under a month until official practices begin.  This is just a reminder that  sports physicals and pre-participation forms  are due before an athlete is allowed to practice.  You can see whether I have received your forms using this spreadsheet.  If you turned any of these forms in directly to the school, I will be updating with them when Coach Valleroy returns from vacation next week.

​Meet Shirts

With just seven weeks until our home meet on September 5, preparation is starting to move into full swing.  That includes the shirts that will be available for purchase there.

The amazing folks at Silkworm were able to come up with a rockstar design for this year that they'll print on a heathered navy blend shirt.  At the meet the shirts will sell for $15 this year, but as always we want to give our team the opportunity to guarantee a shirts by pre-ordering them at a discounted price of $12.

If you would like to purchase shirts, you may place your order using this form by 7/28.  Shirts should be in at some point in late August and must be paid for before they are distributed.  Payment may be made via cash, check (to me), or Venmo (mistahmclain).  You should get a confirmation email from Google when you submit the form, but if you would like to double check your order and confirm whether I've received your payment, you may do so using this spreadsheet.     

Note that this is different from our team warmups, which will be available for order in a few weeks.

​Recipe of the Week

Some of our runners have asked me to write a cookbook.  I don't think that will ever happen, but I did decide to add a new segment to the newsletter for the next few weeks.  I'll be including recipes for some of the post-run treats I bring to practice.  This gives runners and/or parents the ability to make them on their own.

This week we'll start with a simple one, which is an electrolyte drink that can serve as a natural alternative to Gatorade without processed sugar or artificial colorings.  This week is a citrus (lemon-orange) flavor, but I'm also playing with a cherry-lime version that I might debut eventually.

Ingredients (Makes half a gallon)

• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cups coconut water
• 1 cup water

From there it's pretty simple.  Mix the ingredients in a pitcher and serve, maybe after some refrigerator chill time.  If you find the flavor too potent, you can certainly add more water to dilute it.  But the existing concentration is a great balance for electrolytes, especially after a long or hard run on a hot day.  

You can drink it cold, or like I did this week, you can freeze it into popsicles.  

Product testing doesn't occur until later this week.

What Coach Learned​

Last week I finished the book Kicksology by Brian Metzler.  If you're a running shoe nerd like me, you might enjoy learning about the history of various brands and the industry as a whole, as well as trends in shoe design over the decades.  

What I found beneficial--especially in light of some wetter weather last week--was the appendix Metzler ended the book with on getting the most of your running shoes.  He gives ten tips, which I've listed and summarized below:

1. Get the Right Size:  running shoes tend small, and every brand fits a little different.
2. Get the Right Shape:  each model has a different width in the toe box, midfoot, and heel
3. Understand Your Gait:  many specialty running shores offer an analysis to determine patterns in your stride that might influence optimal footwear.
4. Get Stronger:  by and large shoes rarely cause or prevent injuries by themselves.  Blaming a shoe for injuries is sort of like blaming a crumbly cake on the frosting.  More often it's structural weakness in a runner's body, and many of the exercises Metzler recommends sound familiar to our program:  box jumps, lunges, burpees, planks, clamshells, squats, heel raises, and pedestals.  
5. Heel Drop Matters:  I explained heel drop in my post on running shoes,  When buying new shoes, Metzler suggests avoiding drastic transitions.  Most shoe companies list heel drops for their models on company websites.
6. Develop a Quiver of Shoes:  I've previously referenced an article by Jay Dicharry where he uses the exact same expression.  Basically he means to have multiple shoes one can rotate through, with certain ones possibly chosen for different workouts.  For example, a lighter shoe might be good for aerobic workouts or race-pace efforts, whereas a shoe with more cushion might be best for long runs.
7. Wear Your Running Shoes Only for Running:  many running shoes pop visually.  For that reason or convenience, a runner might be tempted to wear them to school or other everyday activities.  However, this changes the wear pattern of shoes and reduces their lifespan.
8. Untie and Retie Your Shoes:  I am definitely guilty of this one.  It's really easy out of laziness to pull one's shoes off without bending over to untie them first.  However, this stretches the shoe's materials, compromising their fit and stability.  It also puts added strain on muscles in the foot.
9. Take Care of Your Shoes:  ​Also guilty of this one.  Try to avoid leaving shoes in extreme temperatures (like inside a car), as heat speeds up the breakdown of the foam in the midsole, and cold compromises its cushioning and flexibility.  If shoes get wet, stuff them with newspaper or paper towels, but never place them in the clothes drier.  
10. Retire Your Shoes:  Most shoes last for 300-500 miles, though depending on the runner, the running surfaces, and how well some of the previous suggestions are followed, the number can sometimes drift even lower.  Bald spots in the rubber outsole or significant creases in the foam midsole are telltale signs that a shoe is on borrowed time.