The last few weeks I've posted articles on the blog about two very important concepts to your success as a distance runner: How nutrition supports you as a distance runner and the importance of Iron Level Upkeep for distance runners. This week, I am going to write about another important aspect to your success, sleep.
Think of sleep as a secret ingredient in your recipe for running success. Sure, hard workouts are part of that recipe also. But if you want want to maximize your potential as a high school distance runner you will need to prioritize your sleep in the same way you prioritize training and your nutrition.
Because you are challenging your body through hard training you will need enough sleep to support your running, the physical growth of adolescence, and to support your academic success as a student athlete. This means you are going to need more sleep than your than your non-running classmates at Vista. As much as an extra hour of sleep a night, or more, compared to your peers.
The table above on this weeks blog comes from my friend and fellow Coach Paul Vandersteen at Neuqua Valley HS in Illinois. His boys have won NXN so he knows his stuff. Coach Vandersteen uses this chart to show his team what "championship sleep" looks like. You can use this in the same way they do. Work backwards to know when you need to go to bed. If you want to be a championship runner, you will have to get a championship amount of sleep just like professional athletes do. We may not do the same workouts as Olympians, but we can sleep like them in order to be at our best. The key with sleep is that it should be enough to support the hard training we do, your physical growth as a teenager, and your academics. This means 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night.
Why is sleep so important? Sleep is when your body repairs itself. It takes the nutrition you have been putting in your body and repairs it from the damage you've done to it through hard workouts. Simply put, the more you sleep, the more your body recovers and the stronger you become. If you are getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep consistently each night your body will rebuild itself so that you are at your best!
Final thoughts. We may not be Olympians, but we can sleep like them by getting 8 to 10 hours of championship sleep a night. To put it another way, "Rest Like the Best!" Every night of championship sleep that you get will lead to better training and faster racing.
Consistency is Key: 15 Ways to Unlock Your Potential as HS Runner
Finally, A new book about high school XC running was released the other week, and our TEAM at Mountain Visa was profiled in it! It's a really cool compliment to the dedication and commitment each of you make to the entire TEAM every single day. If you are serious about becoming a better distance runner during the cross country and track season the coaches recommend you order a copy. There is great advice inside the pages of the book about the importance of sleep, along with lots of other tips related to training, nutrition, race strategy, and more!
If you are interested in buying a copy the coaches highly recommend it. It's a quick read, and something every high school and middle school runner on the Vista Nation XC squad will benefit from. The aerobic monster T-Shirt even gets a shout out in our TEAM profile!!!!
Schedule for July 20th-26th
This week we will be moving to two practice each day. A Boys practice and a girls practice for all high school runners.
Middle School Practices for July 6th-12th
Each group will meet 2x per week, once on-campus, and once OFF-CAMPUS! We are using Redstone Park for its proximity to the Highline Canal and SHADE! Additionally, each week, one group will meet a third time! Groups 3 and 4 were combined to facilitate the two/three practice schedule. When on-campus, athletes will work with one coach with a staggered start. Off-campus, two coaches will be present. We realize this schedule will not work every time for every athlete.
Reminders:
If you are listed in the last column on the Group List and would like to join a LIVE practice, please email Coach Estell (jkestell@dcsdk12.org) or Coach Sprafke (kesprafke@dcsdk12.org).
High School Training for July 20th-26th
From here on, training will be posted for you in the Final Surge App. This will help you to know what your daily workouts are before you come to practice each day, along w/ knowing what to run when you are out of town during the summer.
If you have not signed-up yet for the Final Surge App, or need help doing so, please take a look at the following link for assistance.
Think of sleep as a secret ingredient in your recipe for running success. Sure, hard workouts are part of that recipe also. But if you want want to maximize your potential as a high school distance runner you will need to prioritize your sleep in the same way you prioritize training and your nutrition.
Because you are challenging your body through hard training you will need enough sleep to support your running, the physical growth of adolescence, and to support your academic success as a student athlete. This means you are going to need more sleep than your than your non-running classmates at Vista. As much as an extra hour of sleep a night, or more, compared to your peers.
The table above on this weeks blog comes from my friend and fellow Coach Paul Vandersteen at Neuqua Valley HS in Illinois. His boys have won NXN so he knows his stuff. Coach Vandersteen uses this chart to show his team what "championship sleep" looks like. You can use this in the same way they do. Work backwards to know when you need to go to bed. If you want to be a championship runner, you will have to get a championship amount of sleep just like professional athletes do. We may not do the same workouts as Olympians, but we can sleep like them in order to be at our best. The key with sleep is that it should be enough to support the hard training we do, your physical growth as a teenager, and your academics. This means 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night.
Why is sleep so important? Sleep is when your body repairs itself. It takes the nutrition you have been putting in your body and repairs it from the damage you've done to it through hard workouts. Simply put, the more you sleep, the more your body recovers and the stronger you become. If you are getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep consistently each night your body will rebuild itself so that you are at your best!
Final thoughts. We may not be Olympians, but we can sleep like them by getting 8 to 10 hours of championship sleep a night. To put it another way, "Rest Like the Best!" Every night of championship sleep that you get will lead to better training and faster racing.
Consistency is Key: 15 Ways to Unlock Your Potential as HS Runner
Finally, A new book about high school XC running was released the other week, and our TEAM at Mountain Visa was profiled in it! It's a really cool compliment to the dedication and commitment each of you make to the entire TEAM every single day. If you are serious about becoming a better distance runner during the cross country and track season the coaches recommend you order a copy. There is great advice inside the pages of the book about the importance of sleep, along with lots of other tips related to training, nutrition, race strategy, and more!
If you are interested in buying a copy the coaches highly recommend it. It's a quick read, and something every high school and middle school runner on the Vista Nation XC squad will benefit from. The aerobic monster T-Shirt even gets a shout out in our TEAM profile!!!!
- Website to Order Consistency is Key (link)
- Awesome Strength Training Videos from the Consistency is Key website (link)
Schedule for July 20th-26th
This week we will be moving to two practice each day. A Boys practice and a girls practice for all high school runners.
- Take a look at the schedule to know the practice location each week.
- We are moving to two groups starting this week per the DCSD Phase II summer camp guidelines: A boys group and a girls group.
- All practices will start at 6:45 a.m. This is to avoid the heat, and the crowds around town on the trails when we run. We do not want to over crowd the trails when they start to become busy.
- There will always be a coach at practice.
- The freshman group will be split up. All freshman boys will be with the boys group each morning, and the freshman girls with the girls group.
- The middle school camp is on a different schedule this week. Please see the MS link below for more details!
- High School Schedule: July 20th-26th (link)
- Middle School Groups and Schedule: July 20th-26th (link)
Middle School Practices for July 6th-12th
Each group will meet 2x per week, once on-campus, and once OFF-CAMPUS! We are using Redstone Park for its proximity to the Highline Canal and SHADE! Additionally, each week, one group will meet a third time! Groups 3 and 4 were combined to facilitate the two/three practice schedule. When on-campus, athletes will work with one coach with a staggered start. Off-campus, two coaches will be present. We realize this schedule will not work every time for every athlete.
Reminders:
- Continue to bring a mask, labeled water bottle, and be ready to answer COVID Symptom Questions. If you would answer YES to any question, please stay home and run on your own. We will still take temperatures and enforce Social Distancing.
- Please bring a watch to practice!
- Be on time. This helps us get checked in quickly.
- If you can’t make a practice, they are still posted on Final Surge.
- Keep being safe and having fun!
If you are listed in the last column on the Group List and would like to join a LIVE practice, please email Coach Estell (jkestell@dcsdk12.org) or Coach Sprafke (kesprafke@dcsdk12.org).
High School Training for July 20th-26th
From here on, training will be posted for you in the Final Surge App. This will help you to know what your daily workouts are before you come to practice each day, along w/ knowing what to run when you are out of town during the summer.
If you have not signed-up yet for the Final Surge App, or need help doing so, please take a look at the following link for assistance.
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