June 5th-11th: Week One of Summer Running

Here we go again! Time for another summer of running together as we prep for the fall XC season. There are currently 150 runners signed up that are taking part! Below are a few things to get us started for week #1.

Consistency and Other Key's to Success this Summer
This is info from a previous blog post, but there is great advice here. In the spirit of becoming a "student of the sport" these articles do a really nice job of explaining how a high school XC athlete can make the most out of their summer off-season, and help you reach your full potential in the fall. 

• From Zero to Varsity: A Beginners Guide to Training for Cross Country
• Summer Training for HS Runners
• 10 Tips for Making Varsity Cross Country: Pathways to Excellence for JV Runners Seeking to Move Up 

The advice I will add on to these articles is to be consistent with your training. Championships in the fall are made by the training you do in the months of June, July, and August. This is why we choose to meet as an entire TEAM all summer long. It's a chance for us to get together, have fun, and work hard towards things that most other teams will not be willing to do. It's a sacrifice for sure, but if you stay consistent to running with your teammates everyday, and following your training plan at the times when you are out-of-town this summer, then you will be in for an amazing fall season that puts us far ahead of the competition that is not willing to do the same. 

 Logging Your Summer Miles
 As a distance runner, it is important to be accountable to your own training. This is where running logs come into play. By logging your miles everyday in the same consistent place you are able to track and see how much you are doing. Here are a few additional reasons to be logging your miles each day:

• To know how much you are training each week/month/season
• To show progress in your training
• To make sure you are not over doing it in training
• Use with coaches to make sure your training is on track
• As a way to measure progress towards your individual and TEAM goals
• To compare from one season to the next, and to show improvement
• If an injury occurs, it can help to go back and look at your log to see if a problem can be identified.

There are a lot of ways you can be logging your summer miles. Amazon has a lot of great running logs for purchase, and there are also some cool online running logs that you can use. Or go old school and buy a $1 spiral notebook to keep track of your daily progress. 

• Old school $1 notebook. You can write down additional info such as pace, terrain, weather, how you felt, exact workouts, splits on intervals and reps, nutrition, hydration, sleep, etc. 
• Buy a running log like this one for about $10: 2017 Running Log from Amazon
• There are some pretty savvy apps out there as well that you can be using: 27 Apps Every Runner Should Know About (link)

Goal Setting BBQ's
Our goal setting BBQ's are on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Both goal setting meetings are for all high school members of the TEAM including the incoming freshman. 

• Girls Goal Setting Meeting: Wednesday, June 14th from 5:00-8:00 p.m. @ the Walton's house. Email will be sent w/ address
• Boys Goal Setting Meeting: Tuesday, June 13th 5:00-8:00 p.m. Location TBD. Email will be sent w/ address and location. 

The goal setting meetings are for every member of the TEAM to attend that can make it, and something I consider to be the most important TEAM meeting of the entire year. It sets a purpose for our training this summer, and allows us to set a focus for the season.

Summer Training Document
Every week I will post the upcoming week's training (no more than 2 weeks at a time). Please access the following Google Document with your DCSD login to view. If you ever have to miss a practice here is where you can go to see what runs you can be doing on your own. Parents that would like to view the training document simply need to request access from Coach Dalby on the link. 
2017 Summer Training Document

Schedule for June 5th-11th
Monday-MVHS 7 a.m.
Tuesday-MVHS 7 a.m.
Wednesday-Redstone Park 7 a.m.
Thursday-MVHS 7 a.m.
Friday- Rocky Heights MS 7 a.m. (popsicle run!)
Saturday-Run on your own, or w/ a teammate
Sunday-Run on your own, or w/ a teammate