Knowledge Is Power: October 25th

Here is your weekend reads to satiate your appetite!

Put Your Hand On Seven by Dyestat- Why it matters: This is actually the first part of a long series but the story is most likely worth it because it is about the York cross country team, one of the greatest programs ever!

Conference Championships by USTFCCCA- Why it matters: This is the highest level of team cross country in the country (if you don't include USATF cross country which is actually probably less competitive) and many of these top runners are former standouts in high school.  See how the field pans out this fall by following the meets.

State Championships by Milesplit- Why it matters:  This is a complement to the conference championships above.  The state championship season is in full swing around the country.  Follow the future of the sport!  Don't forget the LHSAA state championships are on November 18-19th.

Track and Field's NFL Team by Spikes Mag- Why it matters:  It really doesn't matter, it's just fun.  I think Spikes underestimates the size needed at QB in the NFL though!

Sara Baxter's Mt. SAC Race 2012 by Flotrack- Why it matters:  Mary Cain may be the best female distance track runner in the country, but Sara Baxter is the top cross country runner.  Last year she nearly broke 16 for the Mt. SAC course which is similar to the time a runner would hit on a flat 3 mile course.  Take a look at her running 16 flat last year.

Sara Baxter of Simi Valley on her way to winning NXN.

Training To Be Your Best: October 28th- November 3rd

As we move further into the post season, keep in mind that you need to stay injury free so if that means you need to take an extra day off from practice, go for it.  The majority of the work has been put in already.  Now is just the peaking process.  Also, it should be getting cold everywhere across the US by now.  Stay warm because getting sick can also negatively affect your performance.

Monday- 2x2k @ current 5k race effort with 12 minutes jogging recovery between, Strength Workout A
Tuesday- 5x300 @ 800 race effort with 6 minutes recovery
Wednesday- 25-35 minutes easy,  8x strides, Strength Workout B
Thursday- 8x400 @ Saturday goal race pace with 200m jog recovery, 8x strides
Friday- 20-30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Regional Championship
Sunday- Off or 20-30 minutes easy

NXN South is a Post Season race coming up in four weeks.

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 joggins 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.
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.

Knowledge Is Power: October 18th

Here are a few articles you can sneak in between meets and football this weekend:

Throwback Thursday: Matthew Elliott by Running Times- Why it matters: Elliott is such a great guy who had a very inspirational interview after his fourth place finish at the US champs this summer where he had to walk away after a happy, tearful breakdown.  He was only a 4:42 miler in high school. He should be the model for what the sport is really about.

Matt Elliott after a victory.

Mead High School 20 Years Ago by Dyestat- Why it matters:  I've always believed that we should know where the sport has come from in the past so we can see if we are improving or regressing, and we should also use others as a lesson.  Mead was one of the best teams in the 90s and Doug Binder explores them a bit here.

Can You Talk Yourself Out of Exhaustion? by RunnersWorld- Why it matters:  Finding an edge in performance is always important, and here is a chance to understand a way you can improve without even doing any more training!  Take a look.

Competitor Groups Decision by Flotrack- Why it matters:  This is another post about the situation with Competitor group not supporting elite athletes anymore.  I don't usually agree with Flotrack, but this is worth considering.

Nutrition by Athletics Weekly- Why it matters: People are always asking me about nutritional advice and I usually yield to better sources of information since I'm a coach, not a nutritionist.  AW gives you some food for thought here on protein.

Training To Be Your Best: October 21st-27th

The last postseason Invitational is over, I hope you ran well!  The part of the season where you worry about times is over, now we shift the focus over to racing for place.  For the more experienced and advanced teams, the goal will be to qualify for the next phase of the season without injuries, staying low key until the tougher meets.  For others, the goal may just be to make it out of the district or conference meet.

Monday- 3x1 mile @ Saturday goal race pace with 400m jog recovery, Strength Workout A
Tuesday- 12x200 @ 1 mile race effort with 200m jog recovery,
Wednesday- 30-40 minutes easy,  8x strides, Strength Workout B
Thursday- 6x600 @ Saturday goal race pace with 200m jog recovery, 8x strides
Friday- 20-30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Conference/League/District/Metro Championship
Sunday- Off or 30-40 minutes easy

Postseason is here!

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 joggins 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.
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.

Preparing For Fall Sprint Training

Either it's football or soccer ending early or it's a kid who is solely focused on track, but for some teams, between six to eight weeks from now some of the over-eager sprinters will head out to their track coaches (if they are holding practice, some may opt to wait till January) to begin their season. What should you do with high school sprinters who come out late November/early December to prepare them for the spring season and get them ahead of the game?

Well one of the first and foremost items that need to be addressed is developing the practice routine.  It will be different than their previous sport if they even did one at all, and you need to show the athletes what time practice starts, what the warm up is, and what tempo you want your practice to be.  This can go on for a week or two as developing the mindset early in the season is crucial for keeping practice flowing well throughout the year.  For instance, when the John Curtis football players come out for track in late December/early January, the first week or two is dedicated to learning the warm up and just doing a few strides on grass to get the rhythm of practice down.

One thing a good sprint coach needs to focus on is not allowing the athletes to dictate the workouts. Doing blockwork on the first week of the pre-season is unnecessary despite how much kids may say they want to do it.  Don't over look some small things like doing shin exercises to help rid the athletes of shin splints from the get-go so you don't struggle with that down the season when you are racing. Also, you may want to get the ball rolling on some strength work.   It doesn't have to be crazy, and honestly body weight strength training exercises will be fine for the majority of what you need to get accomplished in high school track and field.  Once again, for instance, the John Curtis track/football guys haven't lifted for over a month and a half when they start running again and need to start with just some basic exercises.

Malachi Dupre of John Curtis is a 5-star wide receiver as well as a sprinter/jumper.

Get your plan set ahead of schedule because the seasons can be short.  In Louisiana the indoor state meet is in the middle of February and the outdoor post season starts the second week of April.  The season is over before you know it so a good base is important to success.

Knowledge Is Power- October 10th

Are you ready to learn something?  Here you go, and a day ahead of schedule!  Also, shoutout to the Ukraine, you guys are reading almost as much as the US on here!

How Much Does Mental Toughness Affect Race Times? by RunnersWorld- Why it matters: Perhaps the scientists are a bit off on how much mental toughness affects race times, but regardless they come out with the conclusion that it is still a huge factor.  Imagine that only 3% of a 20 minute 3 mile run is 36 seconds!

Improving Olympic Performance by Popular Science- Why it matters:  This is the future of athlete training.  Very specialized science and medicine which will create specific diet plans and training plans on the highest level.

Training Essentials- The E's by Vern Gambetta- Why it matters:  This article is very short but to the point.  You need to think about how you approach every training day and make sure this is a part of your program!

Efraimson Takes Another Step by Dyestat- Why it matters:  This year the quality of girls competition in high school is through the roof.  I've noticed locally that even some state champions have become also-rans in the girls races.  The sport is becoming very tough across the country.

Alexa Efraimson has represented the US internationally and medalled.

What Makes Great Runners Great by Milesplit- Why it matters: Dr. Matthew Mitchell breaks down two components that runners can improve to be great.  I really like the line "good is the enemy of great."

Training To Be Your Best: October 14th-20th

So here comes the promised down week to prepare you for the final invitational and get ready to run well for the post season (don't confuse down week with a week where you don't work hard!).  At this point, we should be starting to round into form as the state meet is 3-4 weeks away. Some states will have to qualify for the state meet, others like Louisiana are automatically qualified by fielding a team (I know, sad, but hopefully that changes in the future).  I will tailor the training for those who have to navigate the gamut of post season qualifying meets so don't fear!  Next week will start the prep to a state championship!

Monday- 6x800 @ end of season 3 mile/5k goal pace with easy 200 meter jog recovery, 8x strides, Strength Workout A
Tuesday- 30-40 minutes easy, Strength Workout B
Wednesday- 5x300 at near maximal effort, focusing on running fast but without losing control
Thursday- 35-50 minutes easy, 8x strides
Friday- 20-30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- End of Regular Season Invitational Race
Sunday- Off or 30-40 minutes easy

State (or states as some people call it) is a month away and it's time to shift focus to it!

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 joggins 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.
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.