The ending of the 2020-2021 school year is upon us and the track season is winding down. As we approach summer, cross country is never far from my mind! I'm excited for the season and can't wait to finally get back to training with you guys and girls...IN THE HEAT! No more cold weather! Woohoo.
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9 days....9 days until county. 9 days until we compete, until we show up at Dan Nic and are hopefully prepared to win a championship. It's going to take preparation for these next 9 days. We must have meaningful practices that you are fully invested in without any distractions. You must get rest. You must eat each day enough to fuel and repair your bodies. You must do everything right! This week isn't going to be all about mileage...but more about getting mentally and physically prepared to do your absolute best up to this point.
“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” ― Muhammad Ali Is your will stronger than your skill? I think so. I believe you in you. I know you can be champions. Let's do this. Hey girls and guys. I can honestly say this has been the best start to a season I have ever been a part of. Yes, we have had some adversity. Yes, we still have some hoops to jump through. Yes, I'm sure something will come up that will slow us down for a microsecond....BUT so far we have faced whatever has come, and have rose to the occasion. We will face it, and rise to the occasion if something else pops up too! During the long run Saturday those of us doing 8 miles had to turn around at a church in Kannapolis and on the sign they had a quote that said, "God only gives the hardest fights to the strongest soldiers." I believe each of you are super strong in ways you don't even know yet. Just showing up at 8AM on a Saturday ready to pump out a long run proves how strong ya'll are! Most athletes are still in bed, but you guys are up doing what needs to be done to improve. That's huge! I'm super proud to be your coach and I'm sure you are going to keep working as hard as you can to be your absolute best. If you keep doing this, we will keep rolling, and keep making this season one to remember!
Don't forget to keep collecting pledges for the Run-A-Thon! See ya tomorrow! WOW Cougars! Two meets down and two awesome performances. See how hard work pays off? Now it's time to hit the grind and keep pumping out these PRs. Remember not every race will be a PR....but that doesn't mean you can't improve every race. Rather it be the way you feel, your breathing, your form, your endurance level, your mental state, etc...just because your time fluctuates with the uncontrollables doesn't mean you aren't improving!
So this week I need to talk about something VERY important....NUTRITION. With the start of school approaching we will begin whirlwind schedules of school, practice, homework, church, clubs, jobs, family, etc and sometimes find it hard to make time for simple things like eating and resting. Previously we had a Senior who ate very little during the school day. She never ate breakfast and I was told she ate things like a bag of grapes or a fun size bag of cheese puffs for lunch. She improved during the summer but as soon as school hit she plateaued. She was extremely pale and fatigued after practice and her times went from improvement to becoming slower. We talked about eating and she went on the Ihme diet, wrote down what she was eating, and things changed!!!! So in the next couple of weeks I will be checking in on each runner to see what they ate that day just to make sure they are getting enough calories to sustain them during practice. However, I am going to especially mindful of the freshmen. I am going to check the running journal of all freshmen every week and check periodically the upperclassmen. Here is what I suggest: **Breakfast 500-600 calories at least, more if possible. Boiled eggs, cereal, peanut butter toast, cream cheese bagels, oatmeal, fruit, nutragrain bars, granola bars, etc **Lunch 700 calories at least! Sandwiches, fruit, peanut butter crackers, tuna, avocado, yogurt, pudding, MILK (chocolate even), fresh veggies (carrots, broccoli), peanut, almonds, LOTS OF CARBS! **Snack on the way to or during 5th period (I will contact each 5th period teacher about this): another 300 calories: granola bars and/or sports bars, trail mix and dried fruit, pretzels, whole-grain crackers, dry cereal, sports drinks, 100 percent juice boxes, string cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, and whole fruits and vegetables ******I will have a stock of snacks you can come get if you forget yours. Do not make it a habit to come by everyday. This is for emergencies. You need to make it a habit to pack up your lunch and snacks the night before. ***After school snack: the cafeteria provides after school snacks for all athletes. Go by the cafeteria, pick up a snack and juice and eat on the way to practice! **Dinner: At least 1000 Calories: Lots of Protein and Carbs! Fish, eggs, chicken, veggies, bread, pasta, etc. THE KIDS NEED AT LEAST 2500-3000 CALORIES A DAY! Plus plenty of protein, carbs, and fluids. A milkshake, ice cream, protein shake, smoothie a day is not a bad thing! So, freshmen. You need to be writing down what you are eating in your running journal every day! Upperclassmen; you should also make it a habit to do this as well. I promise you, you will begin to see a correlation bw eating well and feeling good during the day! Ok Times for last two races: 1st/precounty; 2nd/Metrolina Invitational Abby Lee: 20:16/20:48 Taylor C: 21:30/20:42 Kimberly B: 24:18/22:29 Megan D: 24:21/22:39 Lani I: 24:07/23:29 Carly G: 25:08/24:01 Tori L: 25:19/24:11 Hannah I: 26:33/24:19 Kendall B: 26:45/25:37 Camden C: 26:53/24:26 Brynn S: 27:20/24:44 Angelica S.: 28:34/27:21 Montana B: 28:42/28:08 Oliva W: 29:02/28:36 Cheyenne K: 29:34/29:37 Taylor P: 32:32/29:34 Malia: 32:35/29:57 Alyssa W: 33:52/31:16 Rebecca: 35:00/33:39 Lauren: 45:00/42: Zac: 17:46/X TJ: 19:53/18:35 John:19:16/18:36 Jimmy: 21:17/19:14 Michael: 22:01/20:17 Wyatt:23:39/21:36 Simon: 24:22/22:34 Matt:26:07/22:23 Kendall:24:39/22:29 Aaron: 25:29/22:38 Jaxon:25:35/23:15 Avery:25:42/26:05 Jackson:25:53/22:47 Jacob: 26:22/23:26 Ok runners, we are exactly 23 days from the start of mandatory practice, 28 days till camp, and 45 days till our first meet. It sounds like forever away right? Don't think so fast...we have been meeting for 3 weeks now, and had our first after school run exactly 6 weeks ago! So in theory, you have all had 6 weeks to bust into this training log, meaning most everyone should be at or almost on level 3! However, I know many of you haven't gotten off of level 1 yet or have said, "I'll start in July...or August." I can't tell you how important it is that you start now and begin getting serious with this training. You cannot move up fast in these levels, they take time! Building a base takes time. I hate to see a runner finally achieve a good solid endurance base in October only to end the season...all because they started the first week of school and not sooner. The season ends the last weekend in October, so how can you know your full potential if you never get the opportunity to truly train? Let's go Cougars! You have to do it everyday! (except rest days!) Next week of practice is crucial. I need ALL to make an effort to be there as much as you can unless you are OUT OF TOWN. Practice will need to take top priority come July 30th, so get those work schedules adjusted and be available at 7AM. Here are some very important dates coming up...
Practice schedule July 8th-14th Monday 9th: Two times...pick one. 8AM-9:30AM Dan Nic or 7:30PM-9:00PM @ Ihme's house (435 Kimball Rd. C.Grove) You need to tell your captain which one you are coming to. Tuesday 10th: 7AM-8:30AM at Family House Restaurant in China Grove, meet in the parking lot Thursday 12th: Two times...pick one. 7AM-8:30AM and & 7:30PM-9:00PM both at Ihme's House. These times are not because I love running that early or late...it is because of the heat! I want us to be safe. Bring water and a towel. We are having two practices on Monday and Thursday to make sure all of you that have jobs can attend. ****Ihme is out of town July 14th-21st, which is also the 2nd and last dead period of the season. The captains will get together if anyone wants to run. They will contact you about those. ****SUPER IMPORTANT: PARENT MEETING TUESDAY JULY 24TH IN THE CARSON GYM @6:30PM. THIS IS REQUIRED FOR ALL PARENTS OF FALL ATHLETES. **Our first fundraiser: 2Day 5K-July 27th-28th. Official 5k starts in downtown China Grove at 11:59PM. Super fun race, there are awards. There is also a competition between us and south rowan. The more Carson "runners" we have the better! Runners can be parents, siblings, friends, family, etc. They do not have to run, they just have to finish! Here website to check out info and register. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jT5HCiIINAaJfYF0yVa8eeBsQMGooUNEkwA4wCQkntM/edit *Camp: Aug 6th-11th. If you do not go to camp you will still be required to practice at home with a volunteer. More on that later. **Aug 12-18th sometime will be our retreat at the tree houses in China Grove. This is our official kickoff to the season and where all the newbies will get their animals. ***Also we still have quite a few adventures planned. Let's get through the next two weeks and we will make more decisions about those then. Summer running is super important to get the season started off on the right foot. We use summer as a base building period. Base building typically should take 2-3 months and consists of steady runs that purely focuses on building endurance. Each week should have a target mileage depending on what level each runner starts at, and consists of one long run and several shorter runs. When a level is completed, the runner and I will make a decision about moving up a level, and adding more mileage. Adding mileage too quickly can cause injuries, so we want to make sure the mileage is being ran correctly and fully. Running over the summer is also a time for the team to bond and have fun running with each other. Sometimes running alone is boring and honestly not the safest thing. I prefer you to alway run with a buddy and either in the morning or at night when the temperature is at it's lowest. Drinking water, strength building, adding flexability, and cross training are also important during the summer months. One of my big goals is to have no training related injuries. I will do my part, as long as you do yours and that is making sure you get your mileage in correctly. We are going to have a blast this summer! Can't wait!
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