Grading your Runs

     We do this all the time, but maybe you should make it intentional and part of your training.  There will always be great runs, good runs and bad runs, just as we all have good days and bad days.  You can grade a run and leave it at that or maybe you can take a few minutes to think about what made your run great, good or bad.

     Remember running is part of our entire life and other things in life may be a deciding factor in how you grade your run. 

Eating - What was your fuel for the last 24-72 hours?  Did you eat enough to sustain your workout?  Were you eating healthy and nutritious or was it a little on the junk food side?

Rest - I know you are busy with jobs, maybe classes, or lots of summer activities, but sleep is important to be able to perform your training.  Consider having a set bed time and wake up time at least five days a week.  Seek to get eight hours sleep.

Hydration - Especially as the summer heats up, make sure that you are getting enough water.  Being dehydrated can lead to poor performance and in the heat can be dangerous.

Other - Consider other things in your life that could change the quality of your run.  Try to make your run a positive part of your life.

So, in conclusion a great way to grade your runs is to start a log where you not only keep track of mileage, but grade your runs and then qualify in writing why you think it was a great, good or bad run.

Until next week, keep running and keep smiling - summer training is going to make for a great season!

Coach Spalding

Summer Training 2013

Runners all over the country are receiving their summer running plans from their coaches.  Coaches realize that this is such an important season for our runners.  As a NCAA Division III program I tried to plant the seed during our non-traditional season of how important summer running is to our fall success.  I know that they were tired of me saying "Great CC Teams and Runners are made in the summer.  You as runners need to create the base that we will build upon in the fall!"

I thought this morning I would go over some of the tips we discussed to stay on track and safe.

1.  Decide on your running time and stick with it.  As it gets hot, mornings make a lot of sense!

2.  Prepare for your run the night before.  I always take time to lay out my clothes, shoes and anything else I will need for my morning workout.  As soon as I get out of bed, I put my workout clothes on before doing anything else.  My dog Sally hears me and I can hear her start to prance around her room waiting for me to let her out.

3.  If you can, have a running buddy to hold you accountable!  Since I am not back to my usual running, I go to the gym.  I tell myself that the morning crew there will say to themselves, "I wonder where the bald headed lady is this morning?"  Actually my hair is starting to grow and I will probably have a whole new look for my team in the fall.

4.  Safety issues - Remember to tell people where you are going, when you expect to return.  Also be hydrated and for long runs you may want to have a water stop person.  Run with ID, or write emergency contact info on the insole of your shoe.

5.  Grade your runs/workouts - it will put those hard days into perspective.  Today was a hard day for me. I could not run/walk what has become my usual routine.  However, I did get to the gym, I did sweat and I did get the endorphins working!

5.  Best of all - check those miles off on your running log!

I hope that you will check in on my blog this summer.  I hope to write something each Tuesday!

11 Weeks of Putting the Hay in the Barn!

Eleven weeks ago tomorrow, we began practicing.  All of the summer training and these last eleven weeks are to prepare us for the 12th week and the NCAA South Southeast Regional Race.  This year we will be running at the Emory/Nash Battlefield Course on November 10th. 

Cross Country works a tad different than the other sports.  In our sport everyone runs a Conference Championship, but Conference Champions do not automatically qualify for the NCAA National Race.
In our sport National Qualifiers come from the eight regional races.  The top two teams from each regional qualify for the National Race, also the top seven runners not on the top two teams from each region qualify.

After those 168 runners, then their are 16 at large team bids awarded based on performance at the team's last four meets (This makes it a little more like NCAA for other sports).  The National field will then have 280 runners each year.  This race will take place in Terre Haute, Indiana on November 17th!

The USA South race was great for us, as we had many great performances, to include the race winner, and a Squirrel on each All Conference teams. It took all the MBC runners to lead the team to a Third Place conference finish.

The team has been dedicated to getting through workouts in the early and sometimes cold, sometimes rainy mornings.  I appreciate their dedication to working hard to prepare themselves for each race.  We finish as individuals at meets, but it takes the team together motivating and pushing each other during practice to finish high at those meets.

So, now it is taper time and if you are a runner you know that this is a good reward, but also a little scary as you decrease the amount of time running.   However, I will encourage the runners to think about the phrase - the hay is in the barn - basically what they will do at the regional race they have been preparing during these last 11 weeks! 

Into the Home Stretch

Seven weeks of practice are behind the team and we enter the phase of training that will build race pace for the conference and regional races.  This last week was a difficult week in terms of mileage and workouts, the team feels a bit tired, but that is exactly how they should feel at this point in the season.

It is a great pleasure to see them breaking records and improving their pace.  It is evident that the hard work is paying off and the future looks bright.  Our first 6k race was last Saturday.  The race had a very large field and a very flat course.  The ladies kept their paces and most of them ran their fastest for the last 3/4 of a mile to the finish. 

The whole key to a great race is maintaining your race pace for the race distance.  Right now, I feel confident that they are doing that for the first half of the race and that the remaining workouts will prepare them for race pace for the entire 6k.

I shared with my Dean the other day that I am probably the happiest person in Staunton from 6-730 am.  I appreciate each of the runners on the team, and look forward to a great October.

Challenge Brings Good Things

James Madison University Meet    9.15.12

Early in the season as I reviewed the meets with the runners, I had mentioned that our second meet would be at James Madison University against mainly Division I runners.  I also mentioned that it was a good challenging course, not too far from school and would push our number 1 runner.

Yesterday morning we arrived at the New Market Battlefield and since we didn't have to arrive early for a men's team to warm up, we were the last to arrive.  Present at the meet were JMU, the host team, Longwood College, Howard University, Virginia Military Institute and Southern Virginia University.  All except SVU are NCAA DI programs.  SVU is an NAIA program who currently is transitioning to a DIII program.

As we exited the van, some discouraging words started to take over.  Coach, we are going to be dead last.
Coach, this is going to be embarrassing.....and more that I can't remember.  I tried to assure them that each runner had a very good week of practice and that it was them against the course.  I encouraged all to try and reach a personal record.

The race began and Mary Baldwin had runners at the front, in the middle and at the end.  None of that was a surprise to me.  The first mile they had splits that were a little fast for some and a little slow for some, but I still believed good things would happen.

As the race finished, we had some surprises.  A DIII runner had finished second among a field of DI runners.  She had led most of the race and was overtaken in the last half mile.  There had been some place finish changes among our nine runners since the first meet.  At first glance it appeared that when these 5.2 K times were converted to 5 K times there would be lots of personal records.

So here is the outcome.  As a team we came in 6 out of 6 teams.  When our brilliant Coach Mark figured out the mile splits and converted the times to 5 K times we did have lots of small wins.  The tide started changing and there were encouraging words and congratulations happening among the team members.

After smiling and feeling great all afternoon and evening about the team's accomplishment, I woke up this morning and did a little more work with the times.  As a team we were 2 minutes and 10 seconds faster than our first meet.  The individual personal records varied from 2 seconds faster to 1:36 minutes faster.  So I feel that we are doing the right things in practice.

What I wonder about is our individual and team mentality.  I truly believe that looking for the good and staying positive is needed at all times even when the deck seems stacked against you.

I wonder where this team will go as we work this week not just physically, but mentally?

PLACE

Place is a theme for Mary Baldwin College this year.  I have to say that I truly feel my place early each morning is to be at Mary Baldwin College home of the Fighting Squirrels getting ready for Cross Country practice.

Just this morning I was thinking what a great group of nine runners appear each morning!  Although they don't all welcome the workout of the day announcement, they do put on the safety vests and head out for the workout.

Today it was a track workout!  The coaches thought they had set pretty aggressive times for the 400 workout.  The first rep was preceded by some dynamic warm up and then it was time to begin.  Coach Mark reminded them of the times and that they had a long rest in between each one which meant the work should be quality.  I reminded them that the work needed to stay quality throughout all 10 reps!
The start as it sometimes is was pretty fast, on repetition 2 runners started settling into paces faster than we had set and continued with those paces for all 10.  It was a great morning.

Although the runners always don't see their place as at cross country practice at 0600, by the end of the workout they do feel good about the work accomplished and how this will lead them to better times in races.

This team is moving together in the right direction.  I have to reflect on Patriot's Day that I believe many since 9-11-01 want to make sure that they live each day happy and without regret.  Being at cross country practice with this team is that for me.

Stay tuned for practice tomorrow - meet at 0600, same place!

Rain Changes the Venue

The ladies came to practice knowing that today was a tempo day, but not knowing the workout.  They were particularly lively this morning as they tried to guess what we had in store for them today.  Coach Mark had created a progressive mile workout based on their CNU Opening Meet times.  The goal was to work on overall speed and finishing speed.

The times for each mile were passed around and then one asked for a pen to write her times on her hand……then the pen was passed around.  The warm up to the park was uneventful, but as we started doing the dynamic warm up down to the starting line, the sky opened up on us. 

The times written on hands were soon washed away, the coaches had to be creative in writing down times, but the rain didn’t dampen the workout!  Although one runner was mad about the rain, she actually had a PR – I think we need to find ways to make her mad before each race!  One runner donned her shower cap because “her hair doesn’t do rain”, but the shower cap kept a smile on her face and provided a giggle for lots of runners and walkers in the park.  Others in the group commented on how they loved running in the rain, and one of our runners who decided to leave her glasses with the coaches had a great “almost collision with another runner” story.  Her story – the guy was wearing black and probably wondered why I was running right at him!

All in all it was a great workout for each runner.  I wondered on the way back about adversity and how it can work for the good.  The team posted some awesome performances this morning, we had some laughs, and we took a team picture!

I hope that we also can remember this positive performance the next time we have a rainy practice or race.  Better yet when faced with adversity off the course, I hope that we can remember how the rain changed the venue for the good!

Squirrels love to run in the rain!