Winter Break Workouts: Sprinters, Jumpers, Hurdlers

Click on each workout for more details. If you have any questions, please shoot Coach Hawk a text or email him at cory.hawk@dcsdk12.org. Remember: the work you put in NOW will pay HUGE dividends in the Spring! HUGE! Happy Holidays!- Coach Hawk

CHSCA Track Clinic Speaker Line-Up

Below is the speaker line-up for the 2011 CHSCA Track Clinic. I am pretty excited to go, especially after seeing the finalized line-ups!

Friday @ 5:00 pm
Room 1 - Aaron Moser - Coaching the Multi Event Athlete
Room 2 - Sarah Schwald - Strategy & Training for the 800 and 1600
Room 3 - Stuart Lienemann - Building a Program
Room 4 - Loren Landow - Sprints

Friday @ 6:00 pm
Room 1 - Dr. Rick Bettger - Litigation for Coaches
Room 2 - Jay Johnson - Coaching in the 21st Century
Room 3 - Kevin Galbraith - 400 m Training
Room 4 - Jan Johnson - Pole Vault Session 1

Friday @ 7:00 pm
Room 1 - Al Joyner - Triple Jump
Room 2 - Dr. Joe Vigil - Distance Running
Room 3 - Tom Tellez - Sprinting
Room 4 - Jan Johnson - Pole Vault Session 2

Friday @ 8:00 pm
Room 1 - Matt Hemingway - High Jump
Room 2 - Dr. Joe Vigil - Distance Running
Room 3 - Tom Tellez - Sprinting
Room 4 - John Godina - Shot Put


Saturday @ 8:00 am
Room 1 - Al Joyner - Coaching the Paralympic Athlete
Room 2- Sarah Schwald - Distance Running
Room 3 - Dana Pounds - Javelin
Room 4 - Jan Johnson - Pole Vault Session 3

Saturday @ 9:00 am
Room 1 - Hy-Tek Training for Meet Directors
Room 2 - John Godina - Discus
Room 3 - Tom Tellez - Long Jump
Room 4 - Jan Johnson - Pole Vault Session 4

Saturday @ 10:00 am
General Session, Rules Update, General Discussion


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College Recruiting Tweets - By: Jay Johnson (read from bottom to top)

coachjayjohnson

1. #recruiting Plus, if you say No when you know, the T&F Gods will likely spare you a debilitating overuse injury your freshman year. #karmaabout 9 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac
2. #recruiting Why? Because you're impeding the process for the coach (who you like, remember) and the other families she's working with.about 9 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac
3. #recruiting College coaches lack one piece of data you have; what you can afford. If you can't afford the school you need to say No ASAP.about 9 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac
4. #recruiting Now, that assumes that the $ is right for your family. If it's not, call coach ASAP, tell her No, move on to the next school.about 9 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac
5. #recruiting The ideal campus visit is simple - you love campus, team and coaches. You go home, don't over think it, and you commit. The End.about 9 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac
   

I loved these thoughts by Jay on recruiting, they are simple and correct. Follow them, he knows what he's talking about, and he's right.

Thanks Coach Jay!

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Consistency

What a great run yesterday, I was happy to see everyone who was there. If you weren't at practice, read on, my thoughts are consistency apply to everyone!

On those aerobic run days, going fast is not the main point, it's going steady. As you get more and more fit, you cut down on the walking breaks/rest stops and are able to run at a constant steady pace. Consistency is the key to achieving this fitness. If you only run one or two days a week, you won't get fit nearly as quickly as if you train 4-5 days a week. So, even though your legs are hurting from lunges, you have blisters on your feet, and you want to go skiing; but you have schoolwork, and you need to go holiday shopping for your winter track coaches :), make time to get out there and run! Most days, it requires less that an hour a day, so find the time to make your training consistent. Work thought all the aches and pains, and keep working on your aerobic fitness. It will pay off in spring track season, trust me!

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P.S. I was so glad to see Coach Jeanie (I called her Janie in an earlier post, sorry!) Boymel with us yesterday. I think she had fun dodging cows with us! Anyway, she has access to the blog now, so look for her words of wisdom cropping up on this site!

Let's go Patriots!

I am so excited for the game tonight! I think Chloe is too. Hope she saves me some pretzels.

Thoughts on Steven Busch and Div. II schools

I have pictures of Steven Busch when he was in middle school, running the cross country course at Sierra. He still has the record on it, low 9:00's or so, and no one has come close to it. (Granted, we have changed the source considerably in the years since, but Steve-O still has the record! Which kind of illustrates why XC records are a little silly. But I digress.) He was not a only our top runner then, he was also the undisputed team leader, inspiring his teammates, working hard every day in practice, constantly improving. He was a joy to coach in middle school. The coaching staff at Sierra still talks about him, he is the standard we hold a lot of our athletes to.

When Steven moved up to the high school, I moved up to coaching at the high school. I was lucky enough to coach Steven for two years on the Sierra track, then four years on the Chaparral track. (We joke that he and some of his other classmates are sitting on a gold mine, a book about six years of Sep coaching scarred them for life... inside joke I guess.) Steven was an incredible runner at Chaparral, illustrating the same qualities he had in middle school. He was usually the last to leave practice, he believed in his training and the plan, he did all of the little things to make him better than his competitors. I will never forget breaking down in tears of joy after finding out he hit the automatic qualification time at Hinkley in the two mile. That was a four year quest for Steven, and to reach his goal, in the last race of the regular season was really special. Steven certainly came a long way from his middle school days.

However, he has developed into an even better runner over at Drury under Coach Van Arkel. He certainly wasn't a top 50 runner in the nation when he left CHS, he is that now. Looking at the results of the Colorado kids in the Div. II championships, I can't help but to marvel at the excellent performances of these athletes. I am thinking more and more that Div. I athletics might not be the best place for a lot of our HS athletes. Look at how well these kids run, how well they do in school, and how well they develop into young adults at the "lower" division. I am not knocking the Div. I level, I was lucky enough to compete at that level. (Not very well, but I competed.) What I see these days, however, is the Div. II scene seems to be a lot more conducive to producing well-rounded athletes with a sense of perspective who not only achieve on the playing field, but in all other areas of life to. Maybe this in a huge over-generalization, but I see a lot of Div. I runners transferring to Div. II schools and doing really, really well. Not just in running, but in all areas of life. College is tough, it is a huge transition for people. Finding a place to be able to develop into your true self that is a safe environment is not an easy task. These smaller Div. II schools might be the first place to look.

This fall, just like in the first season of his XC career waaaaay back at Sierra, Steven improved every race, he was a true leader to his teammates, and he was an inspiration to everyone he interacted with. I can say that Steven has convinced me to get back to training again, and if he can get me off the couch, I am sure he was pushing and cajoling his teammates to race their tails off. Steven has changed considerably, but he essentially is the same kid he was in middle school. A little taller, a little faster, maybe a little more worldly, but he is still a leader, a driven competitor, and the hardest worker on the team. Congratulations, Steve-O, you have left your mark on all of us, you're an extraordinary runner, but an even more amazing person. You deserve every accolade you receive, and I feel blessed to have been able to coach you.

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Div. II Championships

Quick update,

Steven Busch, a CHS alum, came in 48th at Div. II Nationals, second on his team (Drury) and helped his team to a 14th place finsh. With Drury being ranked 23rd coming into it, 14th place is excellent!

More thoughts and opinions tomorrow.

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Goals

I am a big proponent of setting goals. I think having something to shoot for at the end of your journey is important. It helps you get out of bed before the sun comes up to go for a long run, it helps you do one more interval, it helps you suffer for 30 more seconds in the ice bath. Enjoying the training and enjoying the journey is important, but the end-goal is a crucial part of the whole experience.

You all should want to improve your racing throughout this process, but I want to throw out some numbers that you all should be aiming for. You might not achieve these times this year, but I truly think all of you have the capability to achieve them in the future if you dedicate yourselves to it.

Below are the times of the 18th fastest person in 5A Track and Field for 2009 and 2010. Why 18th? The top 18 athletes in each event go on to the State Meet in May. And running at the State Meet is the truly ultimate experience in Colorado Track & Field.

Gender/Event/2009 Time/2010 Time

Women/400 m/60.34/58.39
Women/800 m/ 2:23.45/2:22.05
Women/1600 m/5:20.63/5:18.71
Women/3200 m/11:40.77/11:36.45

Men/400 m/50.32/50.06
Men/800 m/1:58.37/1:58.11
Men/1600 m/4:29.31/4:27.77
Men/9:54.56/9:47.67

Some fast times, for sure, but some attainable times. Print these times out, hang them on your bathroom mirror, or staple them to your notebook. Visualize yourself running those times. The journey to achieve these times starts now. It starts with getting out there and doing the running. It starts with stretching and with good nutrition. You all have a headstart on your competitors due to your participation in winter track, so take advantage of it. What's the silly cliche, "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" or something like that. It's a cliche, but it's true. Put in the hard work now, and you will be reaping the benefits later on in the season.

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Great First Day

Wow,

What a great first day of practice, we had a great turn-out of total athletes, a great cross section of track disciplines were present, and we had a surprising number of athletes complete the strength session.

Congratulations go out to:

Bryce Rich
Nate Purdue
Ryan Kwiatowksi
Hanna Barringer
Whitney Schultz
Cy Ferguson
Devan Foster
Evan Roberts
and Jonny Bacovin!

We will do this exact same workout again, at the end of the winter season, and hopefully we get a significant number of athletes completing our "Simple Monks" routine.

Remember, when chopping water and carrying wood, chop water and carry wood.

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Miles

This winter season, we are going back to basics. For the first six weeks of training, we will be trying to accomplish one thing, and one thing only. Getting as many miles under our feet as we can.

We will be progressively increasing our mileage, about 5% per week, in order to reach our goal of a solid aerobic base by the beginning of February. We are not shooting for 100 miles per week, but we are going to be able to consistently run for 60-75 minutes at a time.

Running lots of miles accomplishes many things. I blogged about this four years ago, you can re-read it if you want. But, in the time since that initial blog post, I have learned a few things about what I used to call LSD. (Long Slow Distance)

First of all, it shouldn't be automatically long, or automatically slow. It should start off at a distance that taxes you, then you should slowly increase that distance so it keeps taxing you. The pace should not always be super slow, nor should it always be super fast. The pace should change with the terrain, the weather, your overall fitness level, even with how you are feeling minute to minute. These runs should be fun, meaning if you want to pick up the pace a bit, go for it. And if you are feeling a little sluggish, don't be afraid to shuffle a mile to get warmed up.

Let your body tell you how fast to go. Don't be concerned with paces or miles or anything like that. Go out and just run. Have fun with it. Know that the time spent running now will help guard against injury and sickness, help prevent fatigue, enable you to do a greater number of intervals with shorter recovery, and allow you to get that top speed that much faster.

My old ski coach used to say, "You gotta go slow to go fast." and that applies here. Intervals, tempo runs, plyometrics. All that will come later. Build your foundation of aerobic miles now, so you can tolerate and utilize all of those speed and strength workouts.

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Bullet Points Galore

Good evening everyone, lots of quick thoughts, in no particular order.

*Keagan ran today in Wisconsin, he ran a 15:45, for 40th place, at the Footlocker Midwest Regionals. I am assuming it was freezing cold, so any time under 16:00 minutes is a great time. Good work Keagan, you deserve some time off, take it!

*Been up in the mountains for the holiday, getting in lots of XC skiing. Let me tell you, pulling a 23 lb human being behind you in a sled is not easy work. Wow my thighs are sore!

*The CHS coaches are meeting Monday night, gona finalize all of the winter track plans. I do know that the distance kids will be meeting twice a week(Monday and Wednesday), with training plans individually desgined for all. We will not go to any winter meets as a club, but you are more than welcome to go to any of the meets on your own. You will have to be a member of USATF (for insurance purposes) and there will be a nominal fee to join the club. We are hoping to start by the beginning of next week, so stay tuned!

*I classic skied over 12km today on my own this afternoon, I was laboring. My thighs were sore as soon as I was done, that's how I know it was a good workout. As I was finishing up, I saw the University of Denver nordic team heading out for a workout. I asked one girl what they were doing, and she politley replied, "Oh, just an easy hour and a half." (In skiing, training is measured by time, not by distance, for obvious reasons) I thought to myself, an hour and a half?!? After they skied this morning? I did some quick math, and at their T-day camp, they conservatively got in 15 hours of training in 4.5 days. Unbelievable. I guess that is why they are national championship contenders every year.

*And those D.U. skiers are awesome to watch. They just jump on their skis, a couple of hops, and they are already cruising along three times as fast as I can go. Maybe I used to be like that, but not anymore. Slow, chunky and winded, that's me. :)

*Beth got me this Garmin watch for Father's Day this spring, and I must say, it is the best girt I have gotten in recent memory. I have it set for running workouts, cycling/rollerskiing workouts, and skiing workouts. The best thing about it is for my skiing workouts, it gives me my "speed zone" I am usually in "squirrel" zone, but I occasionally go up to "greyhound". Nice. Ia m addicted to it, I am constantly tweaking it and using it to post workouts. It totally helps with my motivation, that and my iPod; I don't know how I lived without them.

*We have a new middle distance coach on the CHS staff, and I have been working very closely with her the past couple of weeks to set us up for some big time success this spring. He name is Janie Boymel, and she used to coach at Platte Canyon HS. She is a great coach, a great person, and will be a huge addition to our coaching staff. I am eager to work with her with all of the athletes, that's for sure!

*I hope you all had a great turkey day, and I hope all of you have been accumulating as many miles as you can. Heck, even I have gotten a good amount of miles in. My plan for the distance kids for the first six weeks of winter track is miles, miles, miles, and it certainly is easier to do that if you are already used to it. If not, no worries, we will get you up to speed quickly. (Track pun, you caught that, right?)

*That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen, gonna go relax on the couch with an adult beverage. I might not be as fast as those Pioneers, but I can at least enjoy a beer post-workout. I am pretty sure they cannot. :) :)

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Congrats Keagan

This was just brought to my attention, but over the weekend, Keagan Vargo was named to the Colorado All-State Cross Country team!

This is an incredible honor, and I know Keagan deserves it. He has worked hard all season long to turn himself into an elite runner and being All-State is something he should be proud of.

Great job Keagan, congratulations!

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Drury Running News

Over the weekend, we had two alums continue their fall racing seasons.

Over at Drury University, the Panthers competed in their regional championships. Katelyn Wojan ran in the women's race (a 6km, weird) and finished in 45th place with a time of 23:56 Those are sub-6:30 miles, excellent job Wojan!

Steven Busch competed on the men's side, and with a 7th place finish, garnered Grand Valley All Conference honors! Way to go Steven, that's fantastic! Steven ran the five mile course in 25:18, at 5:06 a mile. Impressive work, Steve-O!

The Panthers race in a couple weeks in Lousiville, for their Regional Championships, wish them luck!

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Winter Track

As I am sure most of you know, the Chaparral Winter Track & Field program starts up in late November/early December. The coaches will be meeting a couple of times this month to figure out exactly what it will look like, so until then, this is your training "assignment".

If you ran XC, take two weeks off from the time your last competition ended. Relax, rest, don't run, get your muscles and brain re-charged. It's a long track season, two weeks off now will make you better the last two weeks in May.

Once those two weeks are done, just get out there and run. Get lots of miles under your belt. No speed work, no tempo work, no strength work. Miles, miles, miles and more miles. See if you can run a little further or a little longer every day. Don't worry about running fast, worry about how many minutes running you can accumulate between now and December.

The more time spent running in November means the easier time you will have doing intervals and recovering from those intervals come April, trust me.

So, until then, happy running, enjoy yourself, and start getting psyched for a uber-successful track season!

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Percent Back Data

The actual data results from the State Meet have finally been posted!

I have the percent back data if anyone wants it. If you are interested, shoot me an email, and I will email you the numbers.

Or, you can always figure it out on your own.

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