Summer 2009 - week three

Beginning with week three, everyone should be following the weekly pattern with a fartlek effort on Monday, a tempo/threshold effort on Wednesday, and a long run on Saturday. Some of you already have started those efforts and that's ok. Keep in mind though, that at this point these efforts should be moderate in intensity. Focus right now should be on increasing the volume, keeping the efforts at a relaxed level, running correctly (i.e. midfoot strike), and establishing a routine for yourself (more on this below). Please read though the notes below!

note #1
Just to clarify, post your weekly running to the comments section of this blog entry. At a minimum, post your weekly mileage. Feel free to add more, such as how the week went and encouragement for others, for example. You don't have to email COACH or ASST COACH if you've posted to the comments; remember to identify yourself and on the blog we want to use FIRST NAMES ONLY. However, you can certainly email us, particularly if you want to add more detail or you're seeking some feedback. We really enjoyed the first week of comments and look forward to coming editions.

note #2
It's been a great week here in Fayetteville. Congrats to EC for making it this far! All of you should aspire to make it to this meet. It is truly an absolutly fantastic meet and I always leave here inspired and motivated. It's great to watch the world-class competition and to catch up with many old friends and colleagues. Over the course of the week I had many conversations with coaching friends about one of our favorite topics - the student-athletes we coach. EC and I also had some good conversation. In the many talks I had, one important word kept coming up that is so vital to your success - CONSISTENCY. I know that's not a flashy word, certainly not an exciting word. Through your life though you will begin to find that the things that make a real difference are not 'flashy and exciting'. But consistency in your life will provide you with a solid platform off of which you can reach for excellence. Consistency in your running, your recovery, your nutrition, your stretching and strength-training, your rest and sleep, will pay huge dividends. The athletes at this meet in Fayetteville are not here because they have more talent. They are here because they do the right things consistently, day after day, week after week, and month after month. In the SUMMER NOTES tab of your annual volume worksheet is a quote from one of the great all-time collegiate coaches - Jumbo Elliot of Villanova - "live like a clock". Take it to heart, put it into practice, and your running will take off!

note #3
*NEW FOR 2009-2010* We have decided to offer all of you an opportunity for EXTRA-CREDIT, particularly those of you with lower volume targets! This is your chance to add to your volume levels with supplemental running - running in addition to your scheduled miles. But as with all things in life, this opportunity for extra-credit comes with a catch.

*supplemental running MUST be added as a second run so you cannot add it on to your scheduled mileage for a single run.
*supplemental running must be LIGHT, EASY running. It MUST be run at a slower pace than all of your scheduled running.
*supplemental running is to be run in MINUTES ONLY, not miles, and will be offered in 15 minute increments (i.e. 15', 30', 45'). RUN FOR TIME AND NOT FOR MILES.
*supplemental running CANNOT exceed the level of extra-credit we offer each week.
*while supplement running is light and easy, it is not sloppy running and you should work on good technique.
*lastly, supplemental running must be REPORTED. For example if you ran 44 scheduled miles and a total of 30 minutes of supplemental running, you would report: 44 miles + 30' extra credit.

*** EXTRA-CREDIT OPPORTUNITY FOR WEEK THREE - 2 x 15' ***

In closing, sorry for the long post, I'll try to keep subsequent weeks shorter!