March Update of All Things Good

So if you've been checking the site the past few months you have noticed few updates and mainly just training information.  It's been a busy year!  Graduation didn't necessarily create free time, just more time to do the things that needed to be done.  To give you a brief update of things me and my team have done since the last update, here is a list:

In February John Curtis won its 8th straight track and field state championship, winning the indoor state championship by 30 points.  My distance runners placed 1st and 2nd in the 1600  (Devyn Keith and Trey Stewart) and 800 (Devyn Keith and Austin Brown) and then went 3rd and 5th in the 3200 (Christian Paz and Zachary Barthel).  Devyn set a D2 state record in the 1600 (4:25) and the 4x8 team (Keith, Stewart, Brown, Tyler Dugas) set a D2 state record as well (8:18).  Brown also anchored the 4x4 to a season best time and runner-up placing.

Zachary Barthel and Denton Young both participated in the Junior High 1 mile run at the New Balance National Championship placing 9th and 12th respectively.  Both should qualify for the outdoor national championship in June.

This past week Devyn Keith set a sophomore state record for the 1600 running 4:16.07 at the Sugar Bowl Classic.  Austin Brown set a school record in the 800 running 1:56.77.

At the MS/JH Metro Championships 8th graders Ethan Weaver won the JH 1600 in 5:39 and Matt Perniciaro was runner up in 5:44.  Also representing Curtis, 8th graders Chris Matise and Devin Ruiz went 1-3 in the 800 with times of 2:30 and 2:35 respectively.  In middle school competition Curtis hauled in the winning times in the 800 and 1600 as well with Alex Keller winning the 800 and Justin Unger winning the 1600.  Also of note, Eli Lirette, just a 3rd grader, broke 7 minutes for the mile to earn runner up in the Elementary Division.  For girls, Troianna Gause placed 3rd in the 1600 and 2nd in the 800 in the Junior High Division.

The outdoor post season races will start in the next few weeks.  After, obviously we have the fun summer season.  Look at the Southern Athletics page on this site for more info.  The team is looking to make another big jump with training this summer, as well as increasing the size of the team and even creating training groups in other cities and areas of the state.  Email me for more info.

Training To Be Your Best: March 31st-April 6th

As we enter April the big Invitationals across the country reach a zenith and the post season begins in most states.  Here in LA we begin our post season in the third week of April and the training will follow along that path as far as peaking is concerned.  This saturday the Mobile Meet of Champions will take place which is one of the biggest meets for top marks in Gulf South.  Watch for some fast times by a lot of Louisiana kids!

Catholic High of Baton Rouge owns the LA state 4x8 record, having run 7:53 at the Mobile Meet of Champions in 2009.

Monday- 4x400 @ 800 race effort. 6 minute recovery. Full warmup.
Tuesday- 35 minutes easy, 8 strides. Strength Workout A.
Wednesday- 3x1000 @ 3200 race effort,  5 minute standing recovery.  Full Warmup.
Thursday- 6x150 sprints. Full recovery. Full warmup.  Strength Workout B.
Friday- 25 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Invitational Meet
Sunday- Off

Legend:
Warm Up- A few minutes jogging, dynamic stretching, a few strides
Easy- A pace you can handle and have a conversation at the same time. Relaxed.
Tempo Run- A distance run at a pace of 5k race pace plus 30 seconds per mile.
Ins and Outs- Striding the straights and jogging the turns on the track
Strides- Not a sprint! Simply a short pickup of 50-100 meters at around 1-2 mile race pace. Full recovery.
Sprints- Not a stride! This is near maximal effort (while maintaining control of your body). Form is crucial in this type of running.
Progression Run- Training done at progressive pace that increases throughout the run. Begin at an easy pace and finish at 5k race effort or so for the last few minutes.
Fartlek- A run of varied pace for varied time which can be anywhere from an easy jog to hard sprinting.
Hills- Not all out sprints, good paced effort around 5k race effort. Can be anywhere between 100-400 meters long.
Workout A- 10-30x pushups, 10-30x prisoner squats, 10-30x lunges, 10-30x crunches, 30-60 seconds of planks on each side and the middle, and 30-60 seconds of Australian crawl.
Workout B- 20-40x step ups, 5-20x tricep pushups, 30-60 seconds of bridging, 10-20x dips, 30-60 seconds of pedestal, and 30-60 seconds of scissor kicks.
Pacing Calculator from McMillan

Training To Be Your Best: March 24th-30th

This past week and this week have some of the top track meets in the country on slate, getting the conversation started on state and national title contenders.  Some amazing times have already been run, and this will be one of the fastest years on record for my home state of Louisiana.  The temperamental weather looks to still be an issue is areas of the country but for the most part training should be in full swing.  Just keep working hard and lets shoot for fast times.

Blake Haney is one of the top distance runners in the US this year.

Monday- 10x60 meter sprints.  Full recovery. Full warmup.
Tuesday- 35 minutes easy, 8 strides. Strength Workout A.
Wednesday- 8x400 @ 1600 race effort,  400m jog recovery recovery.  Full Warmup.
Thursday- 10x200 at 800m race effort with 200m jogging recovery.  Full warmup.  Strength Workout B.
Friday- 30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Invitational Meet
Sunday- Off

Legend:
Warm Up- A few minutes jogging, dynamic stretching, a few strides
Easy- A pace you can handle and have a conversation at the same time. Relaxed.
Tempo Run- A distance run at a pace of 5k race pace plus 30 seconds per mile.
Ins and Outs- Striding the straights and jogging the turns on the track
Strides- Not a sprint! Simply a short pickup of 50-100 meters at around 1-2 mile race pace. Full recovery.
Sprints- Not a stride! This is near maximal effort (while maintaining control of your body). Form is crucial in this type of running.
Progression Run- Training done at progressive pace that increases throughout the run. Begin at an easy pace and finish at 5k race effort or so for the last few minutes.
Fartlek- A run of varied pace for varied time which can be anywhere from an easy jog to hard sprinting.
Hills- Not all out sprints, good paced effort around 5k race effort. Can be anywhere between 100-400 meters long.
Workout A- 10-30x pushups, 10-30x prisoner squats, 10-30x lunges, 10-30x crunches, 30-60 seconds of planks on each side and the middle, and 30-60 seconds of Australian crawl.
Workout B- 20-40x step ups, 5-20x tricep pushups, 30-60 seconds of bridging, 10-20x dips, 30-60 seconds of pedestal, and 30-60 seconds of scissor kicks.
Pacing Calculator from McMillan

Training To Be Your Best: March 17th-23rd

The indoor season is officially over now that New Balance Indoors is finished.  The two 8th graders I coach both finished top 12 in their mile race so good job guys!  Outdoor is also rolling along and in LA the big meet this coming weekend is the Sugar Bowl Classic.  With the weather warming up, this should start some really good training time for you or your athletes.  For most other states the bigger outdoor invitationals should be starting soon so you should prepare to start running some quicker times soon.

Goodbye Armory, hopefully we will see you again in a year!

Monday- 2x600 @ 800 race effort, 20 minutes standing recovery. Full warmup.
Tuesday- 40 minutes easy, 8 strides. Strength Workout A.
Wednesday- 5x600 @ 1600 race effort, 4 minute standing recovery.  Full Warmup.
Thursday- 5x3 minutes at 3200 race effort with 3 minutes jogging recovery.  Full warmup.  Strength Workout B.
Friday- 30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Invitational Meet
Sunday- Off

Legend:
Warm Up- A few minutes jogging, dynamic stretching, a few strides
Easy- A pace you can handle and have a conversation at the same time. Relaxed.
Tempo Run- A distance run at a pace of 5k race pace plus 30 seconds per mile.
Ins and Outs- Striding the straights and jogging the turns on the track
Strides- Not a sprint! Simply a short pickup of 50-100 meters at around 1-2 mile race pace. Full recovery.
Sprints- Not a stride! This is near maximal effort (while maintaining control of your body). Form is crucial in this type of running.
Progression Run- Training done at progressive pace that increases throughout the run. Begin at an easy pace and finish at 5k race effort or so for the last few minutes.
Fartlek- A run of varied pace for varied time which can be anywhere from an easy jog to hard sprinting.
Hills- Not all out sprints, good paced effort around 5k race effort. Can be anywhere between 100-400 meters long.
Workout A- 10-30x pushups, 10-30x prisoner squats, 10-30x lunges, 10-30x crunches, 30-60 seconds of planks on each side and the middle, and 30-60 seconds of Australian crawl.
Workout B- 20-40x step ups, 5-20x tricep pushups, 30-60 seconds of bridging, 10-20x dips, 30-60 seconds of pedestal, and 30-60 seconds of scissor kicks.
Pacing Calculator from McMillan

Training To Be Your Best: March 10th-16th

The good news is about the weather is at least when it starts to warm up, the cool weather will give us several extra weeks of good training down the line.  Hopefully the rain will hold off, but we will have to wait and see.  If everything went to plan last week, you had a good bit of training and this week will be more of the same.  Time is of the essence to make the most of the few weeks before state qualifying starts.

Tad Gormley stadium is one of the biggest and best track stadiums in the South.  It hosts the Sugar Bowl Track Classic each March in New Orleans.

Monday- 2000-200-200-2000 with 5 minutes between 2000 and 200, 3 minutes between 200s, and 5 minutes between 200 and 2000. 200's are near max effort, 2000s are at 3200 effort. Full warmup.
Tuesday- 30 minutes easy, 8 strides. Strength Workout A.
Wednesday- 10x60 meter sprints. 4 minute recovery.  These sprints need to be max effort.  Full Warmup.
Thursday- 2x5x300 @ 1600 race effort with 100m jog recovery between reps.  5 minutes between sets.  Full warmup.  Strength Workout B.
Friday- 35 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Invitational Meet
Sunday- Off

Legend:
Warm Up- A few minutes jogging, dynamic stretching, a few strides
Easy- A pace you can handle and have a conversation at the same time. Relaxed.
Tempo Run- A distance run at a pace of 5k race pace plus 30 seconds per mile.
Ins and Outs- Striding the straights and jogging the turns on the track
Strides- Not a sprint! Simply a short pickup of 50-100 meters at around 1-2 mile race pace. Full recovery.
Sprints- Not a stride! This is near maximal effort (while maintaining control of your body). Form is crucial in this type of running.
Progression Run- Training done at progressive pace that increases throughout the run. Begin at an easy pace and finish at 5k race effort or so for the last few minutes.
Fartlek- A run of varied pace for varied time which can be anywhere from an easy jog to hard sprinting.
Hills- Not all out sprints, good paced effort around 5k race effort. Can be anywhere between 100-400 meters long.
Workout A- 10-30x pushups, 10-30x prisoner squats, 10-30x lunges, 10-30x crunches, 30-60 seconds of planks on each side and the middle, and 30-60 seconds of Australian crawl.
Workout B- 20-40x step ups, 5-20x tricep pushups, 30-60 seconds of bridging, 10-20x dips, 30-60 seconds of pedestal, and 30-60 seconds of scissor kicks.
Pacing Calculator from McMillan

Training To Be Your Best: March 3rd-March 9th

We've had a down week to relax and recover from both the insane weather and the indoor season, although some athletes are still racing indoor this week up north.  Some of you, like two of my junior high milers, are two weeks away from New Balance Indoor Nationals and need to make sure you are prepared.  Others will be opening their outdoor seasons.  Either way, this will be the push into the spring and doing some real track training.  As always, if your weather still isn't great, do your best to keep the volume of your workouts high so you can at least get an aerobic stimulus.

Almost a decade and a half ago the greatest high school distance relay race took place with South Lakes, led by USHS mile record holder Alan Webb, setting a US Record in the DMR to narrowly beat Atlantic Delray and the Jefferson twins.  Who is ready for outdoor?

Monday- Mile cut downs.  1st mile @ tempo effort, 2nd mile @ 5k effort, 3rd mile at 3200 effort. 6 minutes jogging recovery between miles. Full warmup.
Tuesday- 40 minutes easy, 8 strides. Strength Workout A.
Wednesday- 8x Progressive 150m Sprints. Progressively move from 80%-95% throughout efforts. Walk 250 for recovery. Full Warmup.
Thursday- 10x400 @ goal 1 mile race pace, 90 seconds standing recovery.  Full warmup.  Strength Workout B.
Friday- 35 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Outdoor Season Opener
Sunday- Off

Legend:
Warm Up- A few minutes jogging, dynamic stretching, a few strides
Easy- A pace you can handle and have a conversation at the same time. Relaxed.
Tempo Run- A distance run at a pace of 5k race pace plus 30 seconds per mile.
Ins and Outs- Striding the straights and jogging the turns on the track
Strides- Not a sprint! Simply a short pickup of 50-100 meters at around 1-2 mile race pace. Full recovery.
Sprints- Not a stride! This is near maximal effort (while maintaining control of your body). Form is crucial in this type of running.
Progression Run- Training done at progressive pace that increases throughout the run. Begin at an easy pace and finish at 5k race effort or so for the last few minutes.
Fartlek- A run of varied pace for varied time which can be anywhere from an easy jog to hard sprinting.
Hills- Not all out sprints, good paced effort around 5k race effort. Can be anywhere between 100-400 meters long.
Workout A- 10-30x pushups, 10-30x prisoner squats, 10-30x lunges, 10-30x crunches, 30-60 seconds of planks on each side and the middle, and 30-60 seconds of Australian crawl.
Workout B- 20-40x step ups, 5-20x tricep pushups, 30-60 seconds of bridging, 10-20x dips, 30-60 seconds of pedestal, and 30-60 seconds of scissor kicks.
Pacing Calculator from McMillan