Google Docs Indoor Meet Registration

I have been fighting with this online registration for this indoor meet for a little while now, and I think I have it figured out.  It is looking like I (the coach) will have to enter all the athletes.  No biggie, but I just gotta make sure I have all the information that we need as I need to enter you all individually into a roster.  So, I set up another google doc that you can fill out.

If you are interested in running on Saturday, please have this form filled out by WEDNESDAY AT NOON.  There are fees to run, five bucks an event, and I will need those fees from you by THURSDAY AT 9 AM PRACTICE.  It looks like I can pay for everyone with a credit card as a group, but I will still need those fees from you by Thursday.

Even if you already signed up, I don't think you are officially in, so please fill out the form below.  Just to be safe

Sorry this is so complicated, I thought it would be much much simpler, but I guess this is the way it is.  Any questions, please shoot me an email.  I will be at practice on Wednesday if you need to ask me in person.

Here is the google form.  Thanks for getting that filled out by Wednesday.  And here is a link to the meet schedule.  Rolling schedule, high schoolers start at noon.

SEP

P.S.  Hopefully this works, but if not, I might be needing more info/help from you.  Thanks in advance for your patience and tolerance.  We will get into this meet, even if we have to storm the doors!!

Quick Post: Indoor Track Meet Sign-Up

It seems that signing up for this indoor track meet that is this Saturday is trickier than I thought it would be. Long story short, even though we are a registered club, they do not have our official roster.

The solution for the athletes is simple. Get signed up for the meet by Wednesday at noon by registering as an "unattached athlete". (Ignore the Wolverine Track & Field option.)

After lunch on Wednesday, I can easily go back and upload each registered Gulo Gulo athlete with their USATF credentials that I have on file. That shouldn't be that hard, famous last words.

If you fail to sign up for the race by noon on Wednesday, then you will be racing "unattached", as I cannot take the time to keep going back and uploading individual athletes throughout the week. I plan on doing the full batch while Reid takes his afternoon nap on Wednesday.

I hope this works on the athletes end, and if it does not, please let me know as soon as you can.

SEP

Quick Post: First Week of 2013 Training

Since I am still up in the mountains skiing twice a day (rough life, I know), we will;only hold offical SEP practices on Wednesday and Thursday. These practices will be at 9 am, at the track, and will be really tough days. Hopefully y'all have been doing just some easy running all week, to recharge the batteries, and to accumulate some miles.

So, this upcoming week of workouts looks like this:
Sunday: Active Rest Day ( 20 min walk)
Monday: On Your Own Flying Sprints (12 x 20 m acc/40 m all-out, from a block stance)
Tuesday: Captains Practice Creative Run (60 m run, stopping every 10 min for calisthenics)
Wednesday: SEP Practice @ 9 am VO2 Max Intervals (4 x 4 x 400 Kenyan Style)
Thursday: SEP Practice @ 9 am Pursuit Running Drills w/Core strength
Friday: On Your Own EZ Aerobic Run
Saturday: Indoor Meet @ Boulder, sign up at ColoradoTrack.org
Sunday: Total Day Off

I assume the captains will contact people, either through this blogs comments section, through facebook, or through twitter, what specific time they will be holding the creative run practice on New Years Day. I must admit, my senior captains are really awesome this year, no sarcasm. They understand what it takes to reach your potential and they are always on top of things. Best group of captains I have in probably EVER!

And I will see you all Wednesday morning, have a happy and safe New Years Celebration!

SEP

P.S. Don't forget to fill out the goals form as well as send me an entry for the media guide. Very important.

Quick Post: Online Registration

At ColoradoTrack.org, the online registration for the Jan 5th meet is now open. Head on over there and sign up for some racin'!! Text me or email me if you need some advice on what to sign up and pay for.

SEP

P.S. Pretty excited to see all the distance kids dominate that 1500 and to see how much they have improved since November.

Quick Holiday Hits

I have received one media guide entry.  Please try to find the time in the next couple of days to get that in to me.  It gives you an excuse to sneak away from the family for a few minutes.

I have received about six goal entires.  Knowing these helps me cater the training to your specific set of talents and help you reach those specific goals.

This upcoming week, it is all on-your-own easy running.  No organized practices  just get out there every day and run for 30-60 minutes nice and easy.  This is really the last chance to build up some easy miles before the spring.

Yesterday I got 6 miles under my belt, in 51 minutes, today was about 4 miles, with the third mile being at 6:00 pace.  Felt pretty good, gonna really try and run or ski every day this winter break, even if that means getting it in before everyone wakes up!

The Michigan Miles today were a smashing success.  Huge props to the 13 kids who came out, they all ran so well and I am so proud of all of them.  It was a super tough workout, and everyone just gave it their all and really *crushed* it.  Excellent work, guys and girls, excellent work.

SEP

Media Guide

CHS T&F Media Guide Cover

I am going to be working on putting together a media guide for the track & field team over winter break.  Media guides serves as a historical records, as well as promotional material for our program. This electronic document that will be sent out to the various TV and print media outlets around the state in the spring, as well as to all the parents and friends of Chaparral Track & Field.  

Working with the yearbook teacher down here at Sierra, I have been able to create some templates to streamline the process.  The only thing I need now is the athletes help.

Your second piece of homework (after filling out your goals) is to please email me at:
bseppala[at]gmail[dot]com a few things.  One would be a headshot of yourself.  If could be a senior pic, it could be a nice close-up, but I want to see your smiling face.  No cheesy mirror self shots, as this is something that will be officially representing our program.  Please label your picture with your name.

I will also need the following information:

• Your current grade (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)
• Your birthdate
• Your neighborhood (Ponderosa Hills, Challenger Park, etc)
• Two to four sentences talking about your track experiences such as personal bests, races won, letters earned, clubs on, prior experience, etc.

This short biography needs to be emailed to me at the same address.

The final thing I need is any candid pictures of you doing stuff away from the track.  Pictures that show what you do for fun outside of track & field.

This is what you are going to be sending me:

To: bseppala[at]gmail[dot]com

From: Chloe and Reid

Subject: Media Guide Info

• Chloe Seppala, pre-school
• 5-14-2009
• Walnut Hills
• 2010 Seppala House 10 m dash champion (12.2)
• Personal Best of 18:30 in the mile
• Competed for Gulo Gulo T.C. as a toddler

I have no candid pics right now coach, but I will send you one of me opening presents on the 26th.

The higher quality pictures I get, the higher quality media guide I can create.  So, if you are going to do track & field this spring, and you want to be in the media guide, please email me all this stuff as as soon as you can.

Thanks!

SEP

Indoor Track Meet

Our first indoor track meet is going to be Jan. 5th, up at the CU Fieldhouse in Boulder.  If you go to ColoradoTrack.org, you can see a listing of all the indoor track meets around the State.

Here is the schedule for the meet on the 5th.  It is a rolling schedule for high school kids, starting at noon.  You may run as many events as you like, and I will be there for a good portion of the meet.

AFTERNOON SESSION - BALCH FIELDHOUSE

TRACK 12:00PM 

60 HURDLES 

60 M 

1500 M 

300 M 

600 M

1000 M

4X200 M

FIELD 12:00PM

 LONG JUMP

TRIPLE JUMP

HIGH JUMP

SHOT PUT (ALL)

(Sorry Nolan, no pole vault, all the pole vaulters are up in Ft. Collins at a meet that weekend)

I would expect all distance kids to run the 1500 M race at the minimum.  This is because I want to see how much faster you have gotten since our mile time trial earlier in the fall.  I am eager to see how much faster you have gotten.

The sign-up is online, and can be accessed at ColoradoTrack.org.  There is a five dollar per race entrance fee, and you must be a valid member of USATF to sign up. The online entry is not up and running yet, but I am sure it will be soon.

This is he first big competition of 2013 for everyone, I am eager to see how we stack up!

SEP

Goals

I have a little bit of homework for y'all over winter break.  The first thing I want you to is to think and then put down on "paper", your goals for the spring track season.  I have embedded the survey right here on the blog, so you can just fill it in electronically when you have thought about them.  Please have this taken care of in the next few days.  You can look up your old results on milesplit.com, or you can come up with goals that are based on your present fitness.  If you are not sure as to what you should be shooting for, I can help you out over email/text/twitter no problem.  

And finally, this is anonymous, only you and I are privy to the results, so be honest and be thoughtful and be bold!

SEP

2013 CHS T&F Goals

Pre-Season Rankings

Check out milesplit.com for some bulletin board material!

I love Coach Versaw of The Classical Academy.  He is one of the best coaches I have had the fortune of  learning from.  His teams always compete, and compete with the best of them.  And I understand he writes these milesplit previews based purely off of cold hard numbers.  There really is no other way for him to write them, in all honesty.

So, it is with a very small grain of salt that I take some umbrage to the CHAP boys ranking of 29th, below teams such as Regis, Denver East and (tied with) Legend.  I actually take it as motivation.  Motivation to not just win some races at JeffCo stadium in May, but to crack that overall top five again for the third straight year.  Motivation to hammer that extra interval in practice, even in the dark days of winter.  Motivation to hydrate and eat right and go to bed early, knowing that this will all pay off in the late spring. Motivation to turn my running into a lifestyle, not just something I do for two hours a day.

I truly believe there is no way we are going to come in 29th in the state, just no way.  But, we still have to go out and prove it, every day, until May 19th.

SEP

Disney Meeting Paperwork

If you can/could not make it to the meeting tonight, or you forgot to grab some of the paperwork, here is all is, via Google links.  You can just print it out yourself and get it all to me by Jan 9th.

Here is the link for the Parent Meeting Agenda that we went over this evening.

Here is the link to the Athlete Behavior Contract that needs to be signed and returned to me.

Here is the link to the Field Trip Release Form that needs to be signed and returned to me.

Here is the link to the Medical Forms that need to be notarized and have a copy of photo ID and health insurance cards attached to it.

Here is the link to the General Student Etiquette that all of our athletes are expected to follow.

Here is the link to Parent/Student Release Form that needs to be signed and returned to me.

I still need the check for 200 dollars as a deposit in hand tonight however, this blog post is just to give you another option of accessing the paperwork.

SEP

Disney Meet Brochure

Just a reminder, Disney Athlete/Parent meeting is Monday the 17th, after practice, in Coach Bowman's room.  It will be a short meeting, but packed with information!  Trip deposits are due at the end of the meeting as well. Hope to see you all there.

Coach Sep

Quick Post: Saturday Workout

This Saturday is On Your Own for practice. (Although I know there is a group of people meeting at the track at 11 am to execute this workout)

Short Flying Sprints
20 m zone for acceleration to top speed
40 m of all out, as fast as you can possibly go, overspend running

Walk back for rest. Do 10-12 of these.

Start these sprints from a three point stance, or mimic your block stance. Focus on exploding out of the start and getting to top speed as quickly as you can. Then, just finish the interval as fast as you can go. Make sure you do a good warm up, with sprinter form drills and stretching to get loose. Afterwards, do a lunge routine (5 each leg) for your cool down.

Even though this is on your own, make every effort to get this workout in and to complete it to the best of your abilities. Text me afterwards, let me know how it went, how you felt, how you ran, etc.
SEP

Quick Post: Able Elite Team (AET)

Coach Able runs a team up at CU that is bases on elite training for 400/800 meter athletes. Here is what she says about it.

" the kids start actually practice at 6:30 pm but to properly warm up we want the kids to arrive at 6 pm
• practice will be held every Monday and Wednesday till Feb. 20th
• I am meeting in the parking lot at 5 pm (at Chap) every Monday/Wednesday. I will take the toll if anyone wants to follow me.
• practice is held in Balch Fieldhouse (CU campus)
• practice will start at 6:30 and end approximately 7:15
• have the kids bring water and sweats
• bring running shoes and spikes
• the workouts involved are high intensity on the indoor track
• each practice costs $5"

Now, everyone knows how I feel about Coach Able, I think she is awesome and we are super lucky to have her on our coaching staff. I think this program, while costing a little more money in field house usage and gasoline, is truly an awesome opportunity. To train solely for the 4/8 in the winter is something I cannot provide. To train in a collegiate setting is something I can not provide. To train under Coach Ables perspective is something I cannot provide.

I strongly urge all athletes who are focusing on winning those 400 and 800 races this spring to at least make the commitment one day a week to get up to Boulder to train with the AET. Carpool up, take turns driving, manage your time, so you can make it happen.

SEP

Quick Post: Friday Morning 500's

It was downright balmy this morning for our 3x500 m practice. I was happy to see so many kids there, and everyone ran really well. The goal of these 500s is to teach us how to react when us bodies to start locking up. To do that, we need to hit that 400 mark like it is a race, and then in the last 100, try to fight through the lock and finish strong. It is not easy, for sure, and it is quite painful, which is why I give so much credit to the tough athletes that were out there this morning. Go home and take a nap this afternoon, guys, you deserve it!

SEP

Quick Post: Florida/Disney Meeting

Just a reminder, the parents and athletes who want to go to Florida in February need to be at the meeting Monday after practice (5:15-ish). We will talk schedule, events, chaperones, and answer any and all questions. The deposit I need Monday if you decide to go will be 200 bucks.

SEP

Quick Post: Staff v Students Soccer Game

This morning was the staff v students soccer game, and my streak of ten years with a goal was broken! But, that's OK, the final score was 10-3 staff, so I can't complain about that. We got some good staff players this year, so hopefully we can pull out a few more victories in years to come.

SEP

Pace Changers = VO2 Max Repeats?

On Monday we did Pace Changers, a staple workout that incorporates tempo running and building a kick.  Today we are doing VO2 Max Intervals, which raise your oxygen efficiency threshold.  I think it would be cool if each athlete could do the same number of VO2 Max Intervals today as they did Pace Changers on Monday.

Nikki = 3
Ellen = 3
Emily = 3
Jessica = 3
Ryan = 4
Kelly = 3
Travis = 4
Gavin = 4
Hebe = 4
Jack = 4
Patrick = 4
Ciara = 4
Matt = 3
Molly = 4
Mackenzie = 4
Caleb = 4
John = 5
Dan = 6
Ross = 4
Darin = 5
Whitney = 5
Landon = 6
Austin = 6
Jill = 5
Erika = 5
Josh = 5
Devin = 5
James = 7
Steven = 7


Seven VO2 Max Intervals?  I think we can do it!

SEP

Random Track Thoughts

Just some bulletpointized ideas that I want to get out onto the Internet.  (Isn't that what Twitter is for?)

I mis-spoke in the previous Disney post.  With two nights of hotel, I estimate the overall cost to be closer to $580, not $560.  Thanks to my detail-oriented wife for catching this.

8th gradeer Noah & the tights

The running tights are in, and I think they are awesome! If you ordered a pair, bring your $30 to me so you can wear them at all the cold practices that are about to start!

Chloe and her new headband

It is looking like we will not be having a 6 am practice on Friday morning.  If the sun does not come out and start melting the snow and ice from the track, we will have to figure out alternative plans.  The decision has not been made yet, but don't be surprised is that early morning practice is cancelled.  (Yes, I know all of you are really distraught over this news.)

On St. Nicholas day, Chloe got a sweet new purple headband that she wears every day along with all of her necklaces and bracelets..  Her favorite colors are purple and pink and she like to be a princess.  She is such a girly-girl. :)

We have a Continental League coaches meeting tonight, after this meeting, the spring meet schedule will be in much clearer focus.  Coach Harris is coming along to this one, if he ever wants to be promoted to head coach, he needs this valuable experience.

Reid itching to get in the backpack

I am so happy there is significant snow in the mountains.  Cross country skiing with my family really is one of the most enjoyable activities in my life.  This year, little Reid will be on my back, I am psyched to see how much fun he has flying along through the woods!

Our first real competition of 2013 is going to be Jan. 5th, up in Boulder, at the All-Comer Indoor Meet.  Yep, it's in Boulder and it's an All-Comers meet, so it could make for a long day, but I think it is important to get some race experience in, so we can really see how the training is going.  The meet website is not up yet, but as soon as it is, I will update all of you with more details.

Monday the 17th, Parent Meeting for Florida, 5:15-ish or so, in Coach Bowman's room.  It is there will figure out who is going, and what events we can run.  If enough boys and girls go, we will certainly put together some relays, it all depends on the numbers.

I think we do a great job dressing for the weather, but here is a great blog post from a runner back East on what to wear at specific temperatures.

Next week starts up with Coach Able's "Elite" team.  These are kids who want to focus on the 400/800 in the spring, who are physically and mentally able to train with collegians, and who can get to Boulder for training twice a week.  Coach Able will be around next Monday to explain more, but I think this is a great opportunity for more experienced kids to step up their training even more!

US Women's Nordic Team

If you have not been following the exploits of the U.S. women's nordic ski team, you really need to.  What they are accomplishing is truly historic.

Remember, the theme for the next few weeks is "grind".  Even though it gets dark so early, and it's cold, and you are tired, you gotta stick to the training.  Take it one day at a time, and grind it out.  Don't give up, don't let down, keep working as hard as you have been every day.


SEP

Disney/Florida Update

Read the original Disney/Florida blog post here, then read below for some breaking news.

I have been online, on the phone, and on top of monitoring all flights from Denver to Orlando for that weekend.  I am adamant about flying as a group, so we can cut down on the ground transportation to and from the airport.  And the best deal I have found, that fits our training schedule the closest, costs 540 bucks round trip.  It is on SouthWest, it leaves on Friday morning, early, and gets us to Orlando right after lunch.  This would give us plenty of time to get some running in at the DisneyWorld track, pick up our registration packets from Mickey & Minnie, and check in at the hotel.  We get back to Denver around lunchtime on Sunday, with another early morning departure.  Leaving on a Thursday is not a significant price drop, and having to pay for that extra hotel night, the extra food, as well as miss an additional day of school, I do not believe it is worth it.  I was hoping to find something under $500, but with it being Florida, and March being a popular spring break month, I think this is as good as we are gonna get.

The hotel situation is significantly cheaper.  Through a great alum connection, we can get rooms at a Fairfield Inn & Suites very close to Disney.  The price of these would be about 80 bucks a room, with taxes and everything.  Four athletes of the same gender to a room, that makes each individual share 20 bucks a night, which is *super cheap*!  I am pretty excited about that one.

That makes the grand total around 560 bucks, give or take a few taxes here and there.  At the parent meeting on Monday the 17th, which will be held right after practice (5:00-ish), I will be asking for a deposit of (at least) 200 bucks. The remainder of the payment will be due on March 8th, which is the day before our first spring track meet.  That deposit, plus the capital we have in our track account already, will be enough for me to buy a block of plane tickets before the New Year.  It will also allow me to book the hotel rooms before all the spring break kids snatch them up.  If this deposit is an issue, please email me or talk to me, and we can try and figure something out.  As I am sure you all understand, there are no "coaching fees" tacked on here, we are trying to charge the bare minimum that we can in order to make this a reality.

Any questions, email me. And see you all at hill practice tomorrow!

SEP

Recovery Week

We are entering into a week of easy work.  A little tempo running tomorrow, (unless you have not completed your mile time trial), then a week of easy recovery running.  Saturday we will meet at my house in the morning to run some hill repeats in a DTC park I live near.  I will give out my home address via text message, as I am not so keen on putting it on the blog.  Next week starts up another period of hard training, so we must take advantage of this recovery week.

While running hard is very important, recovering is just as important.   Now, recovery does not mean skipping practice, or not putting any effort into your recovery.  Recovery is easy relaxed running, lots of dynamic stretching, excellent hydration, and making sure you get plenty of sleep.  All of the hard work we have done the past two weeks won't mean a thing if you don't recover well and soak it all in.  Recovery might be easier  but it is just as importnat as any other phase of training we do.  You must take it seriously and be as dedicated to it as you would be to an interval workout.

See you all Monday,

SEP

Friday Morning Practices

Getting ready for practice at 5:59 am

This morning, we had a 6 am practice at the track.  It was pitch black, it was cold, and it was early.  The sun hadn't even started to rise yet, and even the cube was dank and damp.  But, practice was being held, and I applaud the following athletes for getting out of bed and coming to practice.  Huge shout-out to Goose, Kaleb, Bacon, Ice, Devin, Evan, Rummler, Durks, Dennis, Swiggy, Whit, ED, Hirsch, Jill and Hanna.  They made it out there, and just dominated 3 x 500m all out.  Bacon was leading the guys through in 59/75, and Hanna was leading the girls through in 70/89.  The first interval was tough, the athletes didn't get out fast enough, but once they learned the pace, they really did extraordinary on the last two.

If I have anything to be disappointed or unhappy about, it was the fact that we have 45 kids on the distance side and we had 33% of that show up for practice.   Where were all the freshman?  What about the juniors?  I know a couple of kids were excused, but still, 30 kids absent?  That's unacceptable.  If you really want to be a champion in track & field in the spring, these practices are the secret.  3 x 500 is what the Littleton girls run, it's what the Rangeview boys do in practice.  There is no secret potion, the key is doing hard work when you don't want to do hard work.

I really expect that there are more athletes there when we have another early morning practice in a few weeks.  Attendance is not mandatory for my needs, it is mandatory for your needs.

Enjoy your weekend make sure you get in an OverDistance run this weekend. See you all on Monday!

SEP

Disney Track Meet, March 16th 2013

2009 Disney Track Meet Athletes
(J. Lake, K. Wojan, M. bergen, T. Brost, A. Hertzler, A. Balsiger, A. Grimm,  J.  D'Agostino)

One last post for the evening.

About four years ago, we went to the Disney Track & Field Invitational down in Orlando with a group of kids.  It was small group, but the experience was invaluable.  This Disney meet is tough, but not overly competitive.  The athletes we compete against are one we will never see again, so we go in blind,not knowing anyones flaws or tendencies.   I remember Coach Maroney saying, "The vibe and mojo in that warm-up tent is something you just can't replicate, having our athletes experience that will make State seem that much easier."  It was a bonding experience for the athletes, as well as the coaches.  It was just a great time, and we want to do it again this year.

However, the standards for attending have changed a bit.  Five years ago, anyone who wanted to go could go.  In 2013, the standards are that any athlete who has a electronic mark that would place them 6th or higher at the 2012 meet would be invited.  I crunched a bunch of numbers from the official results website, and these are the following qualifying athletes.

100m G - Olivia Perry
400m B - Alec MacArthur, Ryan Kwiatkowski
400m G - Jill Hanrahan
800m B - Zach Young, Ryan Kwiatkowski, John Bacovin
800m G - Whitney Schultz
1600m B - James Kadolph, Dominic Compoz
3200m B - James Kadolph, Dominic Compoz, Bryce Rich
300H B - Dane Goldwasser
PV B - Nolan Ellis
HJ G - Katrina Bacovin, Olivia Perry, Whitney Schultz
LJ B - Spencer Bills
LJ G - Keanna Anderson, Jenna Lanskey
TJ G - Jenna Lanskey
SP G - Jen Calscionne
DC G - Jen Calscionne

Disclaimer: There are one or two other athletes who have conferred with me about possibly attending.  I have informed them I will email the meet director to see what his thoughts are on this based on their electronic 2012 marks.  I do not know what the response will be, but I can see him having some leeway for athletes who are close to the qualifing mark, in un-laned events, and who are seniors.  At least that's how I would look at it if I was the meet director.  If you think you are close, please talk to me in person about it, and I will give you my thoughts on the situation.

So, first of all, congratulations to the above athletes for achieving the qualifying mark last year.  I count a possibility of 16 athletes, which is a perfect number.  Now, some preliminary logistics.

First and foremost, we are going to compete in a track meet.  We will not be going to Disney World, we will not be going to the beach, we will not be going to GatorLand.  We will fly in, acclimate, compete at a track meet, and fly home.  We are a competitve track team, not a sight seeing tour.  The goal is not only to have a good experience, but to also win the meet.

NOT where we are staying

The track program would pay for meet registration, meals and ground transportation.  The individual athlete would have to pay for airfare, their share of the hotel room, as well as side expenses, like T-shirts or other Florida nick-nacks.  I have one alumni working on securing hotel rooms at an incredibly low rate.  Not at a fleabag motel either, this hotel chain is very nice.  Big clean rooms, hot continental breakfast  pool, kitchenette.  A hell of a lot nicer than the soon-to-be-condemned dumps I used to stay in on athletic trips.  Right now I do not know what the rate would be for each athletes, but since we would be staying at least three to a room, I am betting on about 20 bucks a night.

Airfare is the other major expense.  Looking on google (man, google can do everything!) right now, the airfare from Denver to Orlando for that weekend in March is about 500 bucks roundtrip.  Now, I have sent an email to the group ticket people at both United and at Delta, trying to figure out a way to get us discounted  group tickets.  (We will fly in as a group, we have learned that is the easiest way to get all athletes, plus all of the equipment, to and from an out-of-state track meet.)  Another option is to not fly out Friday, but to fly out Thursday.  Maybe the added expense of an extra hotel night would be negated by the discount of flying on a Thursday as opposed to a Friday.  That would mean another couple of meals, and an extra missed day of school, but it would guarantee us some quality track time on Friday to prepare for the meet, as well as some rest from flying before competition.  A third option is to just jog to Orlando, but then I think we would be pretty tired for the actual track meet. As of right now, I am not sure of the answers, but once I know who can totally commit, then those hard numbers will help me firm some of these things up.

Way to dress up, gentlemen

Athletes would be registered in the events they have qualified for.  If we have enough athletes, will will certainly do some additional relays.  We will have an administrator from Chaparral, as well as three Chaparral T&F coaches.  These coaches will be doing nightly bed-checks, we will be driving the vans, we will be in charge of all athletes for the duration of the trip. We will bring coolers of food for the athletes to eat at the meet.  We will bring all field equipment that we need (pole vault poles, shot-puts, etc.) and we will have a nice celebratory dinner at a funky Orlando restaurant on Saturday night before we leave.  Athletes must sign a behavior contract drawn up by the track team, as well as have medical and parental permission forms on record.

The athletes listed above are NOT forced to come on this trip.  It is completely voluntary.  I repeat, it is completely voluntary.  The regular meet for that weekend is the ThunderRidge Invite at Parker Stadium, and any varsity athlete that does not go to Florida will compete in that meet here in Colorado.  However, in order to move on with the nuts and bolts of registering athletes, buying plane tickets, securing hotel rooms, renting vans, and making restaurant reservations,  etc. etc, I do need to know who can definitely attend the trip.

I will be holding a parent informational meeting on Monday, December 17th after practice in Coach Bowman's room.  I will have more information on hotel rates, as well as airfare and an exact schedule for our trip at this meeting.  If you plan on attending this Disney Meet, I need to see you and your parents there.  You can make your final commitment at the end of the informational meeting, as I will be asking for checks then to cover the plane tickets and the hotel reservations.  If you cannot attend the meeting, but still want to go to Florida, please email me that so I can have it in writing.

I am super excited about this opportunity.  This is a great meet, great weather, great fun, great experience.  It really changed the course of those athlete's seasons in 2009.  If we have only one athlete, we will still go, but I really hope all 16 can make it.

Of course, email me with any questions.
SEP

11/28 Edit: 
I have been in communication with the meet director.  He has told me will will allow seniors that are "competitive" to attend this meet as well.  I think this is great news.  If you are a returning senior to the CHS track & field team, and are interested in going, let's have a conversation about it at winter practice.  I will not  bring athletes who wouldn't benefit from this experience, but I believe that almost all of you would be "competitive" enough to go, if you so choose to.  Same logistical rules would apply, but I think the more seniors we can bring, the better we will compete.

Distance Practice Today

I think that today was one of the better distance practices this program has seen in a long time.  We did 1500 m repeats, thirty seconds slower than present mile race pace.  The goal was for each athlete to do three of them.

What made today special was not just the workout, but the way the athletes executed the workout.  When I announced we were going to do them Kenyan Style, that proclamation was met not with dread, but with cheers and enthusiasm   The athletes were excited to be running these intervals in a manner that made it tougher, but more specific to racing.  That was pretty exciting to experience, especially on a dreary cold 30 degree winter day.

Another incident that made me smile was when I offered the athletes some advice on where to start their intervals on the track, so they could finish them closer to the cube.  Less of a walk to get back to relative warmth.  And, a couple of seniors spoke up and said, "We don't need to get back to the cube, the walk is better for us, it keeps us looser."  Which of course it does, but to have athletes choosing to bypass the easy way out is refreshing, to say the least.  It means they are committed to become better runners, no matter how uncomfortable it might be in the short term.

The last example of dedication to running was when two groups, through no direction from me, decided to do an additional 1500 m interval.  The number to stop at was three, but these two groups went above and beyond, and decided to do four of them.  That, ladies and gentlemen  is what separates really good runners from legendary runners.  The conscious decision to suffer through another cold painful interval is a hard one to make.  That training cube was nice and warm, but in order to achieve glory in May, one must choose to suffer in December.  To have the two lead groups do that sets the example of how to work hard and push yourself beyond your perceived limits.

We had a lot of great performances today, 2 guys going under 5:00 in the mile time trial, one of them breaking 5:00 for the first time ever.  Having a freshman in the top mens and a freshwoman in the top womens group not just holding their own, but pushing the pace.  Watching young athletes that have never run a Kenyan run before easily pick up the concept and just dominate the sh*t out of it.  But, it has been a while since we have a had a whole team mentality that points towards working harder than anyone else, without complaint, because one chooses to do so of their own free will.   I know from experience that these are the teams that can endure the long cold winter of tough training and reap the rewards in the warm days of spring.  Great job today, Wolverines!

SEP

Sprinters Show Up!

Mike Powell, in the middle of his record setting long jump of 29' 4.5"

As pleased as I was with the turn-out of the distance runners the past month, I was even more pleased to see all the sprinter faces today.  I was admittedly worried about how we would stack up in the sprints this year, with the graduation of so many excellent seniors, but today dispelled any reservations I might have had.

With 13 athletes (and counting) now committed to working on the sprints during the long cold winter months, we are sure to be deeper and stronger on that side than anyone could have imagined.  Coach Harris (who now has publishing privileges on this blog, so watch out!) will be working with the sprinters on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the field coaches will be able to work with you all on Thursdays.

It wasn't too long ago that this winter track program consisted of 15 distance kids, suffering through long runs in the blizzards.  We are growing by leaps and bounds, and that will translate to spring success, I'm sure!

SEP

Sundown

With December rapidly approaching, the sun is going to set a lot sooner than we are used to.  The sun will set tonight in Denver at 4:38 pm, and it is going to get earlier and earlier until the end of December.

When the sun sets in Colorado, it gets cold quick.  All that heat reflects off the Earth and with no clouds to hold it in, sweaty athletes start shivering right away.  While it might be 68 degrees at 3:15 and we can train with short shorts and no shirt, in a little over an hour the temperature can drop twenty degrees!

It is very important that athletes bring enough clothes to be able to train in these colder temps.  Shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt will not cut it.  At the end of practice, we will not go inside to do our strength work.  Sit-ups, cannonball cooldown, push-up pyramids.  They will all be done outside on the football field, so you must have clothes to put on to keep warm.

Starting Monday, please throw in a sweatshirt and some sweatpants into your track bag.  You can throw them on that the end of the running portion of practice to stay warm through the strength portion.

From here on out, it is only going to get colder before it gets warmer, so please be prepared!

SEP

Monday Practice

For practice tomorrow, we will be doing some long VO2 max intervals.  These are tough, make sure you eat a good dinner tonight and stay hydrated from now all the way through practice.  Wear your in-between shoes, these longer intervals are perfect those lightweight shoes.

If you are one of the guys just starting up with us from NXR, wear your mile time trial shoes, as that is what you guys will be undertaking.

Sprinters, bring your spikes, I got a feeling Harris is going to run you into the ground!

As for coaches, we will be wearing our coaching shorts, so don't worry about us.

SEP

Thanksgiving Saturday

I hope all of you reading this had a great Thanksgiving filled with family, food, and some good time spent running.  I got in a great six mile run through the woods, and my sore hamstring felt great.  Today, it was 90 minutes in the pool, watching Chloe swim and splashing around with Reid.  Tomorrow, not sure what I am going to do, but I have a suggestion for all the Gulo Gulo track kids, repeat 200s!

Head on over to the track, and after a through warm-up and stretch (that includes nice slow form drills as well as lunges) get your fast shoes tied on.  I want you to do ten repat 200's and all-out speed.  Your form should be perfect, you should not be hunched over, and I want fast light steps.  Picture yourself as Alyson Felix out there, that will make you faster.

For your rest, I want you to walk/easy shuffle 300 meters.  (Not just 200.)  This extra rest will accomplish two things, it will force you to run all areas of the track, and it will make your tenth 200 just as fast as your first.  So yes, believe it or not, I want more rest between these fast 200's, thank me later when you are chasing down kids in the mile when spring track rolls around.

Enjoy the rest of your break, take an active rest day Sunday, and get ready for a week of really hard training come Monday.

SEP

Classy Quarter

While the distance kids have been training for about a month now, the sprinting side of the team has yet to begin.  However, that wait is almost over, as the target date of Nov. 26th is rapidly approaching.  That is when Coach Harris will begin the sprinting specific practices.  These practices are for any athlete who is interested int he 100, 200, hurdles, vaulting, horizontal jumping or vertical jumping.  Coach Harris will be handling sprint specific practices two days a week.  Monday and Wednesday*.  The field event coaches will be handling an additional practice one day a week, and those days are dependent upon your chosen field event.  For this season, the coaching staff has decided that all sprinters/hurdlers will do at least one field event as well.  (And vice versa, all field event athletes will do one sprinting event.)   All field event coaches want you sprinting, lifting and sprinting all winter.  That will form the base for your field event practices. This cross-over will also build depth in our program, and allow us to score more points at meets.

So, if you are presently singed up with the Gulo Gulo track club, and you fancy yourself a sprinter, show up Monday as usual, but be prepared to work with Coach Harris.  If you have not yet singed up for Gulo Gulo track, all of the details are available at the link on the right sidebar.  Make sure you have the paperwork filled out completely.  Make sure you have a valid USATF number for insurance purposes.  Make sure you have a check for 75 bucks to CHS T&F.  (We are starting a month late, shouldn't the fee be less? Nope, you are getting an extra practice once a week, so it evens itself out.)  Bring all of this to me on Monday. If you are missing any of these components, you cannot practice with the team. Any questions, of course, shoot me an email.

Hopefully with a solid summer winter of sprinting, weights, and drills, you can complete the "classy quarter".  See you all Monday!

SEP

*Wednesday could change, but Monday sprint practice is for sure.


Video and commentary courtesy of the lovely @corrinarc

Thanksgiving Training Thoughts & Plans

What a great workout Monday was.  It is a pretty standard workout, tempo pace repeats, but I changed it up a bit to try and freshen it up.  Instead of repeats kilometers, we did repeat 1500's.  We increased the rest slightly, and set the watches to go off at 500 m intervals for pacing purposes.  The athletes ran between three and six of these repats, for a total of between 25 and 35 minutes of running at tempopace.

What I was so pleased to see was the breakthrough achieved by some athletes.  Tempo running can be a grind, it can be boring.  It is at a slow pace, and going in cir les around that track can really start to suck.  But, when one "breaks through" and just starts cranking out laps, without looking at the watch, just running by feel, it really is magical.  You feel like you could maintain that pace for hours, that the running is effortless, and any hardship you experienced earlier in thew workout has suddenly vanished. Quite a few athletes experienced this yesterday, and for such a young team, that is really fantastic.

I am sure the creative run went well this afternoon, so here are some details on tomorrow's workout.

The seniors have decided to meet at 10 in the morning, at the track, in fast shoes.  They will be overseeing 8 x flying 60's.  These are just like last week.  A twenty meter acceleration from a three point stance (that's one hand and two feet), into a all-out, overspeed  just flying, 40 meter dash.  Do them on a curve, on the straight, it does not matter to me.   Just do them as fast as you possibly can.  Get those arms churning, get those feet up off the ground as quickly as you can. Drive those legs with power.   However, make sure you walk back slowly, and have PLENTY of rest in-between these. I do not want you running them tired, but I want them run after your are fully rested.

Make sure you get in a really good warm-up and stretch before this workout.  You need to stretch like the sprinters do, with lots of form drills and stretching  and not rushing through that.  (Even you, Zach!)  This is a workout where you can easily pull something, so be careful and be smart.  After the flying 60's, I suggest a simple push-up pyramid, starting from ten and heading down.

Rollerskiing in Franconia Notch (illegal now)

As for Thursday, I suggest either one of the statewide Turkey Trot races or an 90+ OverDistance run.  Both will be perfect for you, as they will really stress your body.  Go to the Turkey Trot race in Parker as a family, start that tradition up.  Or, have a family member be the sag wagon support on your long run, stopping ahead of you every few miles to make sure you have water and fuel.  Thanksgiving is a day to spent with families, so enlist your family to help you train!  Some of my most memorable workouts were when my dad would follow me on the bike.  I was rollerskiing, he was behind me smoking a cigar.  He just loved it when passerby would refer to him as "Coach", man he would get a kick out of that!

Friday is easy, a nice relaxing, rejuvenating 45 minute run.

Saturday is more sprinting, but more details to come on that later in the week.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone.  I know what I am thankful for; a loving supportive family, wonderful athletes who work hard every day, and fantastic friends who make me laugh and smile.

SEP

Thanksgiving Week Training

There are multiple mini-updates for this week of training coming, but here is big picture idea to take home.  With only two days of school, I will only hold an official practice once (Monday).  It is up to you, the individual, to take care of the rest of your training   The workouts are not complicated, but you must have the self-discipline to carry them out yourself.  I have learned trying to hold practice over Thanksgiving week is next to impossible, so the workouts will be prescribed to you and for your own benefit, you must run them on your own.  If at all possible, try to set workout times up with a friend, having that training partner makes the workouts so much better!

Check the right sidebar to get a general idea of what is going on, and check back via this blog often throughout he week to get more specific instructions.

See you all tomorrow at the track for tempo kilos!

SEP

Nike Cross Southwest

Today we had a strong contingent of boys race down in new Mexico at the Nike Cross Southwest race.  While I was not there, (I was on top of Green Mtn having a mild coronary,) there results of the boys can be accessed here.

Since I was not in New Mexico, I don't have a strong feeling of who raced well, and where the key points of the course were, but lookng at the general results, I can see two things that apply to our boys team:

Two of our close rivals, Cherry Creek and Mtn. Vista, have very strong XC squads, and they carried that strength into the XC post-season.  I have never put much stock into the XC post-season, I always start looking towards track season once Halloween passes us by.  But, the results put up by these 2 rivals make me do a double take.  A big double take.

Cherry Creek and Mtn. Vista are goo.  They are very good. Results don't lie. But, we can take these guys down in the spring, we just need to do one very simple thing.  Be as dedicated to track as we possibly can starting the Monday after Thanksgiving.  No breaks, no blowing off practice. No injuries, no excuses.  Manage your time, make track your lifestyle, make it something you live for.  Every day, run as hard as we can, and try and beat our teammates into the ground.  If we do not waver from the goal of state meet up in JeffCo, I think we can beat these guys.  We have so much firepower in so many events, we just need to make sure we work as hard as we can, every day, so we can maximize our talents.  No egos, no putting yourself above the team, just sweat, blood and guts, and we can make a huge splash in May.

Believe in it.  Y'all had a great XC season, and I am proud of you, but it is time to rest, and move on to bigger and better things.

Coach SEP.

Green Mtn. TT Results & Pics

Looking west from the summit

What a great day over in Morrison for the Gulo Gulo track club.  We ran the inaugural Green Mtn. Uphill Time Trial this morning, and I would say it was a smashing success.

Looking east from the summit

Here are some stats on the course we ran.  The race was 100% trail running, exactly 2.1 miles long.  We ran from the Hayden Trail/Green Mtn. lower junction to the cairn at the height of Green Mountain along the Hayden Trail. We gained 683 feet in elevation, the majority of that in the first half of the course.  The start was at an elevation in excess of 6100 feet, which is not normal for us training in Parker.  We navigated 8 major switchbacks along the way. The weather was gorgeous, bluebird skies with temps in the 60's or so.  We had one coach starting the athletes every 15 seconds, and one coach at the top with jackets recording the finishing times.  (Next year, that coach might take a helicopter to the top, running up with a full backpack of jackets is not as fun as it sound!)  The course was pretty rocky and technical for the first 2/3, but then smoothed out into a jeep road the last 33%.  The real kicker was a pretty significant hill with less than 300m to go, which everyone seemed to notice. :)

Here are the official results:

Austin D. - 17:25 - 1st place

Johnny - 17:37 - 2nd place

Landon - 17:57 - 3rd place

Alex - 18:30 - 4th place

James - 19:12 - 5th place

Ciara - 20:10 - 6th place

Hanna - 20:37 - 7th place

Whitney - 20:47 - 8th place

Erika - 23:08 - 9th place

Austin S. - 23:46 - 10th place

Daniel - 23:46 - 11th place

Jenna - 24:31 - 12th place

Coach Sep - 24:52 - 13th place

Jordan - 24:45 - 14th place

Corrina - 26:19 - 15th place

Kelly - 26:57 - 16th place

What I was proud of:

1. The effort put forth by all the runners.  All of them were hand-on-knees, bent over, gasping for breath at the top of the hill.  Excellent effort, that is awesome.

2. The guts shown by all athletes   This was not an easy workout.  I did it, and I admit power walking a few sections.  I challenge anybody to do that course in the times we achieved and not be hurting afterwards.  To undertake that requires a high amount of intestinal fortitude, which these have athletes have a lot of.

3. The overall times.  We had distance kids breaking 20 minutes.  We had sprinters breaking 25 mintues  This was all uphill, for over two miles, on less than desirable terrain.  To run that fast is very impressive, my congratulations go out to all of you!  I did the exact course you all did, and it was not easy.  Brutal would be a good word to describe it, so congrats!

What I was not happy with:

I do not want to end this blog post in a down note, so all I will say is this.  We have over 55 athletes registered for the Gulo Gulo winter track club.  A few of them had to work, and texted me.  A few of them were injured, and texted me.  A few of them were in Arizona, and texted me.  But still, the majority of the athletes who signed up to run this winter did not show up today.   That is dis-heartening, to say the least.  I have always said, I will coach the kids that show up, and not worry about the kids that aren't there. But, if you cannot make it to winter track practice, whether it is on a Wednesday or a Saturday, and you miss your goal by 1/10 of a second in the spring, you have no one to blame but yourself.  Champions are made when no one is watching.  Every day you come to winter track practice makes you that much faster and stronger in the spring.  If you are serious about running and about achieving your goals and about becoming a Wolverine champion, you will start coming to winter track on a regular consistent basis.  The program is designed for 100% attendance rate from each athlete.  Skipping a day here or there hurts no one but yourself.  I expect to see higher numbers from here on out, for every practice we have.

SEP

Green Mountain Time Trial

I have been eager to start up a traditional uphill time trial for our program, but one thing or another has always gotten in the way.  I am trying again, though, and I think this time it will stick.  The hill I have chosen is closer to Parker, it is not a super long trail, and this hill will be able to be revisited over spring break, so see how our fitness has progressed.

Green Mountain, Morrison CO

This big workout falls on Saturday.  I want to do the uphill time trial on Green Mountain.  The DU ski team does this workout, I am unclear as to which trail they ascend Green Mtn. on, but I want to see how our athletes fare on this.  (Probably not as good as elite collegiate athletes, but who knows!)

The plan for this workout is as follows.

Meet at Wildlife Experience at 7:00 on Saturday morning. It is not a mandatory workout, but this is an important workout, and I hope you can be there on time.  Please bring plenty of water, extra clothes and snacks.  There are no facilities at Green Mtn. and this will be a long morning.

We'll drive C-470 over to the Green Mountain Rec. Center. This is about 30 miles or so, and we will turn off at the Alameda Pkwy Exit.  The Rec. Center is a couple of miles east of C-470.  We will need to carpool over and back, so the more athletes that can drive, the easier this will be.  Parents are more than welcome to come, as we might need the drivers.  Also, the more support we have for this difficult workout, the better the athletes will perform.

Hayden Trail in Summer

Once we arrive at the Hayden Trailhead, I will head up the hill with as many sweatshirts and jackets as possible after Coach Harris and I sync our watches.  After ten minutes, the first athlete will head up the trail,  Every 15 seconds after that, another athlete will go, until everyone has left the start.  When the athletes reach the top three kilometers later, I will be there waiting to write down their time.  This is true racing, by yourself, learning how to push your body to the max without going overboard.  There will be people in the distance to chase, and people out-of-sight chasing you, so the mental aspect of this cannot be overstated.   Racing a time trial makes you a better racer.  The "race against the clock" really tells me a lot about your physical and mental make-up.

At the top, hopefully it will be nice weather and beautiful views.  You will grab a warm jacket from me, then walk.run back down to Coach Harris, knowing you put in an excellent day's work.  Once everyone is back down the hill, we can all head just up the street for Starbucks and snacks, before heading back to the Wildlife Experience.

How long will we be?  I really don't know.  If we leave at seven, I am guessing we will be back by 11:00???  But I am not sure.  I guess that is what cell phones are for these days, huh? :)

I am really looking forward to this, I think it is going to be an epic day.  We have an easy week this week, so make sure you are rested up and ready to go for the inaugural CHAP Green Mtn. Time Trial!


SEP

Sprints, sprints, sprints!

We had a lot of happy winter track kids today.  The majority of the winter track team is comprised of distance kids right now, and today we did 8 x 60 m out of the blocks today.  For distance kids, running short sprints with lots of rest was something they had neer really done before, especially in November   The kids had to get to top speed in 20 m, then maintain it for 40 m.  It was actually a lot of fun. It got competitive, with freshman races and senior races, with lots of testosterone exhibited by lots of hooting and hollering.

I was pleasantly surprised with the foot-speed of some of our kids, but Coach Harris was more concerned with the rate of acceleration of some of our kids.  He was stressing that we need to get to top speed as quick as we can.  20 meters might seem like not a lot of time to get to top speed, but in races like the 400, the 800 and even the mile, 20 meters can make the difference between being in the lead pack and being spit out the back.  This requires getting that foot up off the ground as soon as possible, having quick arms, and not slamming the ground, but rather lightly scratching it.  That is something we are going to continue to work on through the winter.  We have the fitness to maintain top speed throughout the race, but in order to win races, we need to get to that top speed faster than everyone else.

Overall, it was a very good practice today.  Easy run tomorrow, with tempo kilos on Wednesday.  And the inaugural Green Mtn. Time Trial will be on Saturday, more details to come later in the week.

SEP

P.S.  I got most everyone taken care of for ordering winter running tights today at practice.  If you want a pair, please let me know by Tuesday afternoon. I want to get that order in as soon as possible.  They are 30 bucks, and are super awesome!