This is a long email (one of the ones I promised you at the start of the summer) - it will build your endurance just getting through it. . .
The first 3 week of summer flew by way faster than I would have liked. But they were awesome weeks of training for our TEAM. We are on record pace for both the boys and the girls - and I am really enjoying reading your weekly running log emails. I have attached the new set of workouts - post them somewhere you can refer to them. I hope to see more of you at the TEAM workouts over the next few weeks. There is even more information on the attachment - please read through all of that as well.
For any of you who have not been to the workouts or haven't had a great start to the summer, don't give up! You have to start sometime - and there is still plenty of summer for you to get some good running in. Always feel welcome to start running with us - even if you have missed a lot or haven't made it to the TEAM runs at all. Just start coming - I won't judge you ;)
Topic of the Week - Healthy Mileage Increase: With so many of you running the most miles you ever have in your entire lives, I think it is important that we go over a few things that will help you to stay healthy and strong and have the energy you need to keep running higher mileage. The miles we are doing right now are crucial to our success this fall, but only if you can take care of your body (and your mind) as you run the base miles. I promise you that the work you are putting in during the first 6 weeks of summer is going to make you faster, stronger, and more mentally prepared for the cross country season. Here are a few tips to staying healthy while you are running high mileage:
1) Be patient and consistent - Remember that all of you are starting and progressing at different places - stay patient with yourself as you build. Our new runners may be starting around 15-20 miles per week (I hope we can build to 35-40), and our experienced runners are all different as well and might not handle mileage the same way. I said at the start of the summer that it is good to increase your mileage by somewhere between 3-7 miles per week. It is also important to increase in cycles. If you have had 3-4 straight weeks of increase, then try a "recovery" week that is a little lower before you begin to increase again. A lot of times this might happen on a girls camp, youth conference, family vacation, or EFY week. A good progression for a new runner who is trying to build up to 40 miles per week would be: 22, 25, 28, 32, 26, 32, 36, 40, 34, 40, 42, 44 (finishing the summer with 403 miles). Remember that everyone is different, and this may be too high or too low for you. If you started around 35 miles - an increase might be: 35, 38, 42, 44, 38, 43, 47, 50, 45, 50, 52, 55 (giving you 539 miles). Some of our top boys are shooting for even higher and have started around 50 miles. Although most of them will end around 70 miles as a high week for the summer. A good increase for them would be: 50, 54, 58, 60, 52, 60, 65, 68, 64, 68, 70, 70 (giving them a total of 739 miles).
You also need to be consistent. You can't build corretly with running every other week. The kind of summers I don't like to see: 25, 6, 28, 28, 3, 30, 22, 15, 0, 6, 35, etc (you are just asking for injury). Occasionally you will have a low week because of a family vacation or another commitment, that is fine - just do what you can and be careful with your increase when you come back the next week (don't try to run double because you missed).
2) Take care of your bodies - with the strain that we are putting on our bodies, we have to take care of them or they will break down: a) Stretch - before and after you run (especially after). b) Hydrate - you should be drinking a lot all summer long - water, gatorade, juice. c) Eat Right - make sure that you are eating good foods - a lot of carbohydrates, protein, fruits, and vegetables. Drink your milk or take a supplement for the calcium. It is okay to have some fats and sugars as well, but they should not be the main part of your diet. For a lot of you this means eating enough calories (2500-3000 per day). If you are running a lot of miles, you have to have enough calories to fuel yourself. If you are not getting enough calories, that is the number one risk factor for injury (especially in girls). Eating is also essential for recovery - do your best to eat something with protein and carbohydrates after you run. Chocolate milk is a good recovery drink - or I like to make an egg sandwich and drink a bunch of gatorade. d) Sleep - Eight hours is recommended for a normal person; I have found that runners need more like 8-10 hours - especially when you are hitting 40+ miles in a week. I know that it is a challenge in the summer to stay disciplined with your sleep - but it will pay off in the way you feel, the quickness of your recovery, and in how strong you are running. e) Listen to your body - if something is nagging you, take the time to ice that area, stretch, and maybe visit the physical therapist (I recommend Wasatch Peak in Farmington, Mountainland in West Kaysville, or Mike Smith at Fit Quest in Kaysville). Sometimes you might need to back off. For example, after 4 pretty solid weeks of increased mileage, my shins were feeling tender this week and I had to take Friday off of running and adjust my weekly mileage plan (I also ran less on Wednesday and Thursday than I was planning). By Saturday and Sunday, my shins felt a lot better - but I am still going to be paying close attention to that area.
3) Have a good pair of training shoes - if you are starting to have knee pain or shin splints, it is most likely that you are running too many miles or even more likely that you are in the wrong shoes. I recommend Striders in Layton and Wasatch Running Center in Centerville because they are going to do their best to put you in the shoes that are right for the way your foot strikes the ground. Although the shoes are slightly more expensive - they will last longer before they break down. (Make sure you mention that you run for Davis at either store for a discount).
4) Strength Training and Cross Training - It is very important to strengthen your muscles. Your core is a very important area (that is why we spend so much time doing ab work). It is also recommended that you try to get in the weight room 2 times per week. The main lifting that I would like to see: legs - squats, lunges, calf raises; arms - bench, pullups, dumbell work, push ups. If you are feeling worn down, it might be smart to cross train a few days, and I will still give you mileage credit. Recommended cross training for running would be biking (3-4 miles biking = 1 mile running), elliptical (10-14 minutes on the elliptical = 1 mile running), and swimming (1 mile swimming = 3-4 miles running).
5) Keep your purpose in mind - as the summer goes on, your motivation will be tested. We are running these miles in order to build a base that will support you and allow you to be faster in cross country, and indoor and outdoor track. Think of a pyramid - the wider and stronger the base, the higher the peak can be. We are hoping for a HIGH peak in October and November - and we need a strong base. There is a purpose to our hard work this summer. Set some goals for the summer and on a weekly basis - remind yourself of those goals - and that will help to keep you motivated to keep your mileage increasing.
When it comes down to it - only the strong (and the smart) will survive.
Be strong and be smart! We want tough, intelligent athletes on the TEAM.
High Altitude Camp will be held July 28th - August 1st at Granite Flats (American Fork Canyon). I will be emailing and handing out camp fliers (invitations) to those who I feel are ready for camp and those who have been working hard and earning their spot at camp. It will be based on the mileage turned in for the first 4-5 weeks of the summer. We are limited to about 65 runners at the camp this year.
This Week:
Monday - Vita Course - 7:00am - same as always
Tuesday - on your own
Wednesday - on your own
Thursday - Meet at the school at 7:00am
Friday - No boys and girls run because of Wasatch Back - run on your own
Saturday - on your own - Good Luck to those running Wasatch Back on the school teams or on your family teams!
I know that was a ton of information. I hope that you took the time to read it all. Keep up the good work, send me your miles for week 3 (if you haven't), and keep falling in love with running!
- Coach Talley
Brad's Corner (the best thoughts ever presented in email):
Want to get faster? Want to see improvement? Make goals! But not only make goals, write those suckers down!
When I was running in high school I wrote my goals everywhere. On my shoes, on my walls, locker. Had SC (State Champion) and my goal times written on the inner waist band of my running shorts. (Note: If you write on the waist band of your Davis High Issued shorts. We will find you. And you will pay for your transgressions.)By constantly seeing my goals it helped keep me focused and understand why I was training so hard. I had goals on the ceiling above my bed so it was what I saw when I woke up for an early morning run, and it was what I went to bed dreaming about.
When I was running in high school I wrote my goals everywhere. On my shoes, on my walls, locker. Had SC (State Champion) and my goal times written on the inner waist band of my running shorts. (Note: If you write on the waist band of your Davis High Issued shorts. We will find you. And you will pay for your transgressions.)By constantly seeing my goals it helped keep me focused and understand why I was training so hard. I had goals on the ceiling above my bed so it was what I saw when I woke up for an early morning run, and it was what I went to bed dreaming about.
*See attached picture.
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