Stanford week

6:30 am morning sky in Sacramento

This week was a down week for us.  So we have backed off on the miles a little for this week to get ready for big races the next two weekends at Stanford and a Regional Preview meet at home next weekend.  We had 3 very solid weeks of mileage and I wanted to freshen them up a little and give them some time to let the miles and workouts soak in a bit.

Tuesday we did a 6-8 mile Marathon Pace Tempo.  We had done a few cruise miles that had reached 7 total miles but had not put the pieces together just yet.  I felt this week would be a good week to do it.  The MP tempo is not as intense, so i felt having a longer sustained effort in with a race would be a good combo.

Jacquie Taylor on her MP run

Guys warming up for MP run on river path

On Thursday we came back with a light rhythm run and 200's.  Since this is a down week I just had everyone go 35 min for the rhythm run, a few weeks back we had some go 45 min, and most did 4-6x200 after.  We used the rhythm run to cut down to tempo pace for about 5 min, then just turn the legs over a little on the track.  This is a workout Doug Brown my college coach and post collegiate coach came up with while I was at Mount.  I have always like doing this the week of a race.  This is the a workout that lets them go though a large spectrum of systems and finish running fast.  Its also nice for the mid distance kids to have an opportunity to open up and run something a little quicker on the track.

Dan, Vron, Rachel, Steph and Mooges running 200's

Reese, Drew, Ryan and Sam finishing up 200s

It is great to be back on the recruiting trail and recruiting a group I will get to coach and work with long term.  It has been a while.  I have enjoyed making initial calls and am excited to get in some homes and on the road to find some new Hornets for next year.  I will get a good start this weekend at Stanford because I have spoken to several kids who will be racing there.  I am excited to expand my network and meet new coaches and try to help high school student athletes find a school that fits their needs.

This weekends meet at Stanford will be a great test for our team and will set the tone for what we are capable of doing this year.  We have a very talented group on both sides.  If we can perform in races the way we have been running in practice we are going to surprise a lot of people.  But tomorrow is BIG.

Until next time Go Hornets!

Back at it

Ok so I am going to get this blog back up and running. I moved to Sacramento about 3 weeks ago. It has been a little crazy since day one. I was hear about 24 hours and camp started, so i hit the ground running and have felt a little behind since I have arrived but finally this week after some long hours in the office I am getting a grasp on things. The people here in Sacramento have been very warm and welcoming.  I have enjoyed getting to know people around campus and town.

So far the team is doing really well. I have thrown a lot of new things at them in a short amount of time and they seem to be adapting well. We raced this past weekend at home, see story here,  I was pleased with the progress we have made.  We still have a lot of work left to do but I feel that we will be ready come November.

Well that is it for now.  We have  tempo workout out on the regional course tomorrow morning.  I am excited to see how the kids handle this block of training.  It will be a key one moving to the next phase of the season.