The start of the official XC season is 2 weeks away. Things are going very well this summer and I am excited for all that you have accomplished so far. However, from time-to-time it is important to keep things in perspective and acknowledge what is really important, the people that are a part of this team. In the wake of the many fires around the state and the Aurora movie theater tragedy I hope the kids, families, and coaches keep in mind what is really important. The success of the team is fun, but it's not nearly as important as the relationships and people we come into contact with on a daily basis. I love this team and every member of it. I hope the athletes, parents and coaches know that and don't take for granted how lucky we really are to have such a fantastic group of people on board with us.

This past week there was one other unfortunate tragedy that many of you may not be aware of, but it hits very close to home in the Colorado distance running community. Former Adams State Runner, 2 time Olympian and 8 time US XC champion Pat Porter form Evergreen, Colorado passed away this week after his plane went down in Arizona. His teenage son and his sons friend also perished in the crash. In the sport of distance running no one ever did it better in the United States than Pat. But in times like this it is important to look back on someones life to see the things worth celebrating. If you don't know much about Pat Porter check out the article below from a 1986 article that was published in Sports Illustrated. No one ever did it better than Pat!
Running on a Rocky Mountain High: Colorado's Pat Porter, U.S. Cross Country Champion since 1982, is an athlete truly in his element by Kenny Moore  (click)

July 30th to August 5th
Mon:  MVHS Track 7 a.m.
Tue: East/West Trail Head (Griggs Rd) 7 a.m.
           South Platte Park Reservoir (Jr/Sr's) 6:30 p.m.
Wed: Redstone Park 7:00 a.m.
Thur: MVHS Track 7 a.m.
             Audubon Center at Chatfield State Park (JR/SR boys) 6:30 p.m.
Fri:  Waterton Canyon 7:00 a.m.
          Team Breakfast at Waterton after the run. Food will be provided by the
            coaching staff.
Sat: Run on your own, or with a teammate (follow mileage schedule)
Sun: Optional Run

Thank you to everyone that helped to pull of another successful camping trip! We had a lot of fun listening to The Adams State coaching staff, running above 8,000 ft, rubbing elbows with an Olympian, and hiking to the top of the Great Sand Dunes. Like I told the kids on Saturday night around the campfire, I hope that you can feel that there is something special going on with this team. I don't know where else you can find this level of commitment for something out of 100 teenage kids. I feel pretty lucky to be able to coach such a special group!

Pictures from the camping trip can be found on our Shutterfly site:
http://vistanation.shutterfly.com/

Gear Orders in by Thursday Night
Remember, all gear orders must be placed by Thursday night if you expect to have things in by the first meet at Arapahoe on August 31st. Here is the link to all of the information about ordering Vista Nation XC gear:
2012 Vista Nation XC Gear to Order (click)

IHop Breakfast postponed until next week:
The team breakfast at Ihop for this week is going to be rescheduled to next week. I will put together the details about the team breakfast on next weekends blog.

June 23rd to the 29th Schedule:
On Monday we will just be going for a run. The tempo workout will be later in the week.
Mon: MVHS Track 7:00 a.m.
Tue: Rocky Heights MS 7:00 a.m.
            South Platte Park Resivoir 6:30 p.m. (Jrs and Srs)
Wed: The Bluffs 7:00 a.m.
Thur: MVHS 7:00 a.m.
             Audubon Center at Chatfield State Park 6:30 p.m. (JR/SR Boys)
Fri: Redstone Park 7:00 a.m.
Sat: Run on your own, or with a teammate
Sun: Optional run

Running Times Articles
There are a pair of really good articles about high school XC summer running in this months Running Times. The links are below. One article is about how the top U.S. high school runners train during the months of June, July and August. The other is about how to be ready for the fall fitter and faster than you have ever been. Both are really good reads and will probably sound pretty similar to many of the things we do at Vista. 
The Kenyan Summer: How to show up for fall practice fitter and faster than ever (click)
The Kenyan Summer: Fearless is the New Normal (click)

Camping Trip Info
Leaving Vista on Thursday (the 19th) at noon
Camping trip details (click)

Weekend Runs
Running on the weekends is a great way to help yourself reach your full potential for the fall. Follow your training schedule and go out for at least one run every weekend. Not enough? Run twice! You can run on Sunday’s or run twice on Saturdays if you feel like you want to really challenge yourself. Running on the weekends will help you to start the season feeling like you have done everything you could have during the summer months to be ready to put your best races in front of you during the XC season.

Tempo Time
You may have noticed in your training schedule that many of you will be starting to do some tempo work this week.
What does that mean? 
In means we are going to gradually start working in some more quality running into our weekly mileage.
What will this look like? 
I don’t plan on making this super structured over the summer. It may be as simple as pushing the pace for 10 mins in the middle of a run, perhaps running faster the final 2 or 3 miles of a run, a fart-lek for time, or even going out and back on a run and trying to challenge yourself by running a negative split.
Are the workouts on the training schedule flexible?
ABSOLUTELY!!!! At the bottom of the training schedules I made suggestions for tempo workouts you could be doing when you are out of town, these are not your only options. Be creative and work in the faster running in ways that are enjoyable to you when you are not with the team. This will pay big dividends for you once the season starts.
Why do we do this type of running?
If you are ever unclear about why we do something please ask me. I’d be happy to chat. The coaching staff’s philosophy behind working on this type of running is that it will increase your aerobic ability, improve speed, help you last longer into the season, and peak you at the right time. We are not going to start doing things all-out on the track yet, but faster running this summer will get your body ready for the start of the XC season and next months races.
What else will we be doing this summer? 
The most important part to your summer running is continuing to stay consistent. Keep running 6 to 7 days a week. In addition to continuing to build your weekly miles and doing some temp running you will also be increasing the distance of your long run gradually.

Schedule for July 16th to the 22nd
Mon MVHS track 7:00 a.m.
Tue East/West Trail Head (Griggs Rd) 7:00 a.m.
          South Platte Park Reservoir 6:30 p.m. (Jr/SR boys and girls)
Wed Red Stone Park 7:00 a.m.
Thur MVHS Track 7:00 a.m.
            Team Camping Trip to Alamosa (Leave Vista at noon)
Fri 7:00 a.m. practice at Vista (if not going camping) –or-
        Team camping trip in Alamosa
Sat  Camping trip in Alamosa (long run)
          -or-  Run on your own
Sun Optional Run

Half-Way Point: Great Team or Average Team???
A blog was posted on Friday that the coaches would like for everyone to read through. Keep your goals in mind for the fall as we get closer to the season. Official practice starts in 5 weeks!!!
Half-Way Point: Great Team or Average Team (click)

Camping Trip Info
If you have not signed up for the camping trip yet the deadline is Wednesday. Please see the link below for camping trip details:
Alamosa Camping Trip: June 19th-21st (click)

Going the Extra Mile: Two-a-Days
A quick word on starting to run 2-a-days this week. The philosophy behind running doubles with our upperclassmen during the week is this, we want to keep you healthy. There is always a little bit of hesitation when we change something in your training, especially when it comes to running more miles. The coaches feel that doubles once or twice a week for the upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) is a more intelligent way to gradually raise your weekly mileage as you get older. It will help to add 5 to 10 miles a week to your training without having to add multiple long runs to the week. As always, Sundays will remain optional. If you feel like you need a complete day off, take it! If you feel like you want to go out and run a few extra miles on Sunday that's fine to.

For the underclassmen (Freshman and Sophomores) we would like you to focus on consistency right now. Running 6 times a week is plenty. If you feel like you need to be challenged more then run on Sunday. If you want to take Sundays completely off, but still don't feel like you are being challenged enough with what we do at practice, come talk to me. We will discuss a way to help you feel like you are working towards your full potential.

Schedule July 9th to the 15th
Monday-MVHS Track 7 a.m.
Tuesday-Rocky Heights Middle School 7 a.m.
                 South Platte Park Reservoir 6:30 p.m. (JR/SR Boys and Girls only)
Wednesday-The Bluffs Regional Park 7 a.m.
Thursday-MVHS Track 7 a.m.
                      Audubon Center at Chatfield State Park 6:30 p.m. (JR/SR Boys only)
Friday-Waterton Canyon Parking Lot 7 a.m.
Saturday-Run on your own or with a teammate. See your mileage schedule for distance
Sunday-Optional run

It was great to see so many Vista runners out rocking the Green and Gold on the 4th at the HRCA 5K! That course is exceptionally difficult so the times were not fast, but considering all we are doing is running miles right now I think we did a great job! It was even better to see almost 70 committed runners out at Platte Park Reservoir this morning doing their long run together as a TEAM. 

One thing about the 4th of July race is that it symbolizes the half way point between school being out for the summer and school starting back up again in August. Official practice begins on August 13th. We have made some great progress over the past 5 weeks and I'm hoping the next 5 weeks leading up to the official start of the 2012 season will bring us even closer to our TEAM goals.

When we set down for our TEAM goal setting BBQs I left feeling very encouraged about what the TEAM wanted to accomplish this fall, especially at the League and State meets. I think we set very achievable goals that are very accomplish-able if we are all working towards them as a TEAM together.  However, every year this has always become the most difficult part of the summer. It's the time when we've been at it for over a month without racing, and there are still 7 weeks ahead of us until we race again. It is very easy at this point of the summer to let our consistency lag, to miss runs, not get in our miles on Saturdays, and to not worry about how we perform in the fall because it's so far away.

I feel very strongly that this time of year is the point where the great TEAMS will separate themselves from the average TEAMS. Those TEAMS that want to be competitive at League, State and NXN will get the job done now, during the months when others are not running. That's why we choose to meet and run all summer long together as a TEAM, to achieve the things that are the most difficult to accomplish. Sweeping a League meet or winning a state title is extremely difficult. But if you prepare in advance ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN on the day of those races!

There are a lot of talented TEAMS in Colorado. I would venture to say that most of them are every bit as talented, if not more so, than we are. The only way I know to separate ourselves into becoming one of the few top TEAMS in the state is to consistently work hard together in the off-season and then carry that work ethic into the months of Sept, Oct and Nov. This means being at conditioning everyday, running on your own when you are on vacation/out-of-town, running on the weekends, and following your training plan as it is written.
Right now we are in a good place, but we could be better. There is no substitute for running everyday. Even if you are out of town or on vacation, you can still run. Follow the schedule we have laid out for you so that you can do your part. Your TEAM is counting on you to be at your best during the season.

The things that are the hardest to achieve are always the ones that are the most rewarding to accomplish. It's a long road to the top. Your TEAM is behind you if you are willing to do your part. Let's make the 2012 season the best yet for VISTA NATION XC!!!

Below is the email Kimmy Romine sent about next weekends camping trip. If you plan on going, but have not signed up yet please do so by Wednesday (July 11th) so that we know who is going and how much food to buy. Please read below for details,
Dalby

Alamosa Camping Trip Information
Date:  July 19th - 21st (two nights)
Where: KOA Alamosa (http://koa.com/campgrounds/alamosa/)  - about a 4 hour drive according to Googlemaps
Cost: $30 per student (to cover gas, Dunes entry fees, and food -- chaperons are free!)
What: Tent camping with restrooms, pool, and other typical KOA amenities
Who: Vista Nation high school team members and chaperons
Food: We'll haul up the  food and grill/cook it on site

CHAPERONES/DRIVERS
Here is a list of the chaperones and number of kids they can take - please let me know if I can add you to this list:
Parker - 4 kids total
Johnson - 5 kids total
Graf - 6 kids total
Steiner - 4 kids total
Smith - 3 kids total (staying in hotel)
Romine - 4 kids total
Fitzsimmons? - 2 or 3 kids total?
Reicher - ?? kids total (also can help with first aid!) - not in tent site (pop-up)

STUDENT DRIVERS Students may ride with other students with parent permission.  If your student is driving up, please shoot me (Kimmy Romine) an email if he/she is allowed to take passengers.  I'll add them to the list.

FOOD/EQUIPMENT
I think we have a couple volunteers (Angela Smetanka, Chris Murphree) to help with the food shopping.  Please let me know if you can also help with the shopping.  I am guessing we'll need a lot of coolers, as well.  We'll also need to plan for possible fire bans - we may need to haul up some camp stoves.  Please email me (Kimmy Romine) if you have a camp stove we can borrow, if necessary.

REGISTRATION
To register for the camping trip, we just need the student's name and $30 (cash or check made out to MVHS XC).  The $30 must be in an envelope with your student's name on it. (Checks made out to MVHS won't get deposited until August).
** Email your student's name** Please email your student's name to both Lori Graf - grafz@msn.com and Laurie Parks - laurie.parks@comcast.net If you know who your son or daughter is riding with, please indicate that in the email.  If you don't know yet, we'll work it out as we get closer to the camping trip.  It will help us organize things if we know right away who has a ride and who is still looking.  If your student is allowed to ride with a student driver, please let Lori or Laurie know.
** Turn in $30 ** Your son or daughter can give his/her envelope at Summer Conditioning to Blake Graf or Ali Parks.

 Important:  Please put your student's name on the envelope.  You can also mail it to Lori or Laurie - just email them for a mailing address.
I think that's it for now.  Please email me if you have any questions or suggestions.  Thank you to Laurie and Lori for helping out with registration and thank you to all the parent chaperones!

Kimmy Rominekcromine@alumni.stanford.edu