week one of the 2014-15 campaign

Because we didn't meet for practice today, go ahead and either text your mileage for last week or post it to the blog comments.

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ 200's @ xc race pace on park cinder loop

(1 x 200 per loop, steady running @ ~75% remainder of loop)

w= 7-8 loops / m= 9-11 loops (one loop = 870m)

+ 3 x ~200m hill adjacent to cinder loop at hard effort w/ jog down rec

+ general strength circuit

wednesday (3:30 PM)

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday (3:30 PM)

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x 80m fast striding in spikes

+ hip and/or core work

friday (6:00am)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ 20' of AT (anaerobic threshold) running @ 85% on track

w= 3.0-3.5 miles / m= 3.75-4.0 miles

+ general strength circuit

saturday (on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

back to school

Sorry for the late post, traveling this past weekend and in Boston tonight.  Really excited to get everyone back to school this weekend and ready to start!

Plan on doing your long run on Saturday this week.  Just switch the mileage for Saturday and Sunday.  But count the mileage correctly, so this week will end up higher than scheduled and next week will end up lower.

Sunday's physical schedule is listed below.  Report to the student health center on time!
7:00 AM - freshmen women (estimated time of 1.5-2 hours)
7:30 AM - freshmen men (estimated time of 1.5-2 hours)
10:20 AM - returning women (estimated time of 1 hour)
10:40 AM - returning men (estimated time of 1 hour)
***blood tests will be done at the beginning of the physicals and are to be fasted, meaning nothing to eat or drink except water after midnight the night before.

Our compliance meeting will be in the Athletic Association lobby on Sunday at 4:00 PM.

the countdown begins

Two short weeks left before we kick things off for the 2014-15 school year!  We're excited about getting everyone back together at practice, our favorite part of every day!

Some important dates to note:

*Thursday, August 14th is the date freshman can (and should) move in.  Of course, if you're attending one of the last two FASET sessions, you will move into your school year housing assignment early when you arrive for the orientation.

*Saturday, August 16th is the date upperclassmen can move into on-campus housing without an early move-in charge of $75/night.

*Sunday, August 17th will be a busy day...physicals in the morning, squeeze in a run sometime (probably should plan on going longer on Saturday), compliance meeting and team meeting in the late afternoon.  Freshmen will also have an academic orientation in the early afternoon, as well as freshmen convocation in the late afternoon if possible.

Hopefully, the compliance office will email you soon with the compliance paperwork now online so that you can fill out the necessary forms prior to the compliance meeting.

And plan on a blood test in the early morning sometime during the first two days of class.

AND THEN, practice will officially begin on Tuesday morning, August 19th.

Oh, did I mention classes begin...

Enjoy these last two weeks :)

aerobic conditioning

The aerobic conditioning begins in earnest this week.  Some of you have already gotten a little head start on this phase with some faster-paced easy runs and some of you are still a week or two away from beginning it, but you should begin to follow the more structured weekly training schedule in the "SUMMER '14 NOTES" tab of your annual plan spreadsheet.  And you should begin to look at the pace chart to guide your efforts.  Remember to be conservative with your beginning paces and as always, look at the pace chart thinking about where your current fitness is right now, NOT where your personal best or your goal is.

Regarding heat and humidity...if you are running in hot and humid conditions you will need to adjust your paces so they will be slower.  A typical afternoon in the south would probably be worth 20-30 seconds per mile.  Overall, learn to trust your efforts by how your respiration (breathing) is...you should be able to tell when strong aerobic efforts cross over the threshold and become anaerobic.  When you can't keep up with your breathing, you've gone anaerobic.  So focus on your breathing, and stay on the aerobic side!

Lastly, from Wikipedia, some of the health and performance benefits of aerobic exercise:

Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs

Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate, known as aerobic conditioning

Improving circulation efficiency and reducing blood pressure

Increasing the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen

Improved mental health, including reducing stress and lowering the incidence of depression

Reducing the risk for diabetes

Increased storage of energy molecules such as fats and carbohydrates within the muscles, allowing for increased endurance

Neovascularization of the muscle sarcomeres to increase blood flow through the muscles

Increasing speed at which aerobic metabolism is activated within muscles, allowing a greater portion of energy for intense exercise to be generated aerobically

Improving the ability of muscles to use fats during exercise, preserving intramuscular glycogen

Enhancing the speed at which muscles recover from high intensity exercise

one more week in the mountains

As camp winds down it's time to start to gear up for the upcoming season!  One more week of easy running and then you should begin the structured training week found in your summer notes tab.  If you have questions regarding the workouts make sure you contact us.  For beginning paces, remember to use the pace chart with the thought of "where am I at right now".  Be conservative with your beginning paces.  We're looking for the high end of aerobic and NOT anaerobic.  Also, with the heat and humidity most are dealing with, be extra careful with the paces.

Have fun!

summer heating up

*All reporting of weekly mileage should now be to the comment section of the blog.


It's great to see all the posts with your mileage and other comments.  No doubt, the heat and humidity are cranking up in the south after a mild start through early July.  As we've said before, just run how you feel and don't worry about the pace of your runs.  It's ok to be slower than when you're back at school, getting the volume in is the primary goal at this stage of training.

smoky mountains

*All reporting of weekly mileage should now be to the comment section of the blog.

Just time for a quick post from the Smoky Mountains in NC.  Competition underway in Eugene at the US Junior Championships, women's 5000m this evening.  Yesterday in the women's high jump, incoming freshman, Bailey, won the event and will now represent the US at the World Junior Championships later in July.

Looking forward to the updates from everyone!