The open race boys competition was very competitive this year. There were nearly 800 athletes and over 60 teams that competed. The bulk of these teams were all other teams varsity. Our JV athletes finished 27th in the competition against some of the best teams in the region.
The boys in the championship race finished 3rd, our best ever finish at NXR SW. In the process the boys also earned an at-large bid into the national championship race 2 weeks from now in Portland. It will be Sunday when we receive word about being accepted into the meet or not. There are 18 teams in the U.S. that will be considered for at-large bids and only 4 will be chosen. I have no idea what will come of this but we beat some very good teams on Saturday including 3 or 4 that have been ranked nationally this season by both Milesplit.com and Dyestat.com. Special recognition goes to Carson Hart for helping to keep the boys dream of an NXR birth alive. Carson was our 6th man on Saturday, but there was a tie for 3rd place between us and Ogden, UT. Ties are broken by the position of the 6th runner and Carson ran 1.5 seconds faster than Ogden's #6. This is definitely a great example of how important every member of the TEAM is!
Finally, thank you to all of the parents that came down to help chaperone the trip. It was a lot of fun to have you with us this weekend and we appreciate all that you do for our kids!
Milesplit articles, videos and pictures from NXR SW Regional (link)
Vista Nation Shutterfly pictures (link)
Training Schedule for Nov 25th-Dec 1st
The boys that are still eligible for an NXR at-large birth have decided to continue and train this week in case we get the call to run in Portland. Here is the plan for the week.
Monday: MVHS @ 3:10
30-60 mins easy
Tuesday: MVHS @ 3:10 (Fart-lek on the grass fields at Vista)
15 min warm-up, 2x4 mins tempo, 3x60 sec race pace or faster, 1x4 min tempo (recovery is always a 2 min jog), 10 min cool-down
Wednesday: Run on your own or w/ a teammate
easy 45-50 mins
Thursday: Shea Stadium @ 8 a.m (run before the Turkey Day 5K)
45-50 mins easy and strides
35-40 mins easy and strides if running at Footlocker
Friday: MVHS @ 9 a.m.
60 min run w/ 8-10x1 min pick-ups during the run (full recovery between)
Easy 20-30 mins if running at Footlocker
Saturday: Run on your own or w/ a teammate
40-45 mins easy -or-
Footlocker
Sunday: Rest
Time Off From Running and December Training
I will post a blog sometime over the Thanksgiving holiday about running in December and what to expect the rest of the winter. Please remember, nothing faster than easy to moderate running during December.
If you are starting your time off please take 2 weeks away from any type of scheduled running. My advice is to follow one of 2 options after your last race of the season.
Option 1) Take 2 full weeks off from running.
Option 2) Take 1 week off from running, then 1 week of running an easy 15-25 mins every other day.
Don't ignore time off. It is very important that you take the time needed to let your body heal up from a long season of racing. Regardless of where you are at, I want everyone to take some down time and not return to running until you have both physically and mentally recharged. It's a long track season, your body will thank you for resting it over the next few weeks.
I've included a link to an October blog that I posted that talks in more detail about time-off and winter track. More info will be posted later this week.
http://www.vistanationxc.com/1/post/2013/10/october-14th-20thregionals-and-time-off.html