change it up

Time to switch gears a little and enter a new phase of training...aerobic short specificity.

Aerobic, because we want to stay aerobic, not anaerobic
Short, because the repetitions will not be long
Specificity, because generally repetitions are at 6k/8k goal pace

We're just trying to get used to running a faster pace again and you will need complete recovery between repetitions, so do not start another rep until fully recovered from the previous one.  The short repetitions combined with the long recoveries will prevent the build-up of any oxygen debt.

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday stay the same as previous weeks.  The only exception would be Thursday where you could substitute 6-8 short (~10") hill sprints with a walk-down recovery for the 6-8 x 80m fast strides, if you want to.  Tuesday and Friday now become, for the most part, fartlek type workouts.

For this week:

Tue: 8-10 x 1' @ either 6k or 8k goal pace with 3' easy recovery

Fri: 5' + 4' + 3' + 2' + 1' @ ~85% effort w/ equal time recovery @ ~65%

For the women to determine their 6k pace, figure out your 5k pace in terms of minutes per mile, then add about 3".  For the men to determine their 8k pace, figure out your 5k pace in terms of minutes per mile, then add about 10".  These are off your XC 5k goal pace, not your current race pace.

For the 85% and 65% efforts, choose a current 5k time from the pace chart that you are confidant you could run right now, then look at the 85% and 65% columns for that 5k time.  You should adjust your times slower if your are running in hot and/or humid conditions.

Lastly, read the Tolstoy quote above...patience and time are always important, but certainly so at the beginning of a new phase.  Do not work too hard too soon!

almost to full volume

"Most battles are won before they are fought." - Sun Tzu

Patiently building volume through the summer and training at the appropriately level is the preparation that will lead to a successful fall season.  This is the last week of just easy running and building our volume up before beginning the next phase, which will consist mostly of short fartlek-type efforts at xc distance race pace with sufficient aerobic recoveries.  Keep working to intentionally add cross-training volume, and sending pictures for the facebook summer roll call.

\\\life

First week of camp in the mountains of North Carolina, so some long days in store!  But love being here sharing what we do, and learning from others about what they do.  Never stop learning!

Mileage is climbin'...stay thirsty my friends :)

Summer '18 roll call

Time to get the annual summer roll call going on our facebook page .  We're hoping for 100% participation!  It's always great looking through the roll calls of previous summers, so we can't wait to see this year's!

You may receive an email with instructions, but it's simple.  Send a picture of you wearing something Georgia Tech to Coach Megesi.  The idea is to take the pic somewhere and/or doing something that is representative of your summer.  We'll upload the pic to the Georgia Tech Track & Field/Cross Country facebook page.  Include an explanation of the trip so Coach Megesi can include some info with the pic when it gets posted.

xc schedule v.2018

Traveling in New England so only a short post this week with our upcoming fall season schedule below...

Sat, Sep 8 - UGA Invitational, w= 5k, m= 7.5k / Athens, GA

Fri, Sep 21 - Battle in Beantown, w= 5k, m= 8k / Boston, MA

Fri, Oct 12 - Penn State National Open, w= 6k, m= 5.2mi / State College, PA

Fri, Oct 26 - ACC Championships, w= 6k, m= 8k / Boston, MA

Fri, Nov 9 - NCAA South Regional, w= 6k, m= 10k / Tallahassee, FL

Sat, Nov 17 - NCAA Championships, w= 6k, m= 10k / Madison, WI

Hope to hear from more people on the blog!

hail eugene

Hopefully you watched the NCAA Championships on TV last week.  Truly, as always, an awesome track & field competition with some unbelievable performances in inclement weather - wind, rain, even hail! The last thirty minutes of the women's competition on Saturday was magical to watch.  Now, before you go any further, take five minutes to read this story about a competitor who raced in the final of the women's 1500m...

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a21081488/university-of-toledo-runner-comes-back-from-burns/

With the training spreadsheets having been sent out, below is some additional info...there are no major changes to the spreadsheet from last year. Basically we'll build up to a full volume week, maintain that level with consolidation weeks every 2-3 weeks, and then taper toward championships. The first phase of six weeks consists of a gradual build up to your full volume mileage week.  During these first six weeks, run easily as you feel, DO NOT worry about paces, and there are no workouts.  One day a week, preferably on Thursdays, do 6-8 strides focusing on being relaxed and running with good technique.  Some mobility and stretching should be included both before and after your runs. Lastly, each week should be supplemented with one to two hours of cross-training.

Each week, starting with this one, mileage for the previous week can be reported through the comment section of the blog.

Sleep and nutrition, as always, are integral parts of proper training.  Sleep times should be as consistent as possible, with at least seven hours each night, and shooting for that magical nine hours fourteen minutes! Nutrition should always include good sources of carbohydrate, lean protein, and healthy fats. Staying hydrated is obviously very important.

Strength & Conditioning will be sent separately.  The summer is a great opportunity to make gains in strength, and also to strengthen weak areas.  For returners, you can to the Taurus general strength circuit twice a week and squats once or twice a week.

The pace chart is included as a tab in the spreadsheets that will be sent. We'll begin to focus on the pace chart a little in the next phase, but mostly we will begin to use it extensively once we get back to school and practice starts.  The golden rule regarding the pace chart is that we ALWAYS look at it thinking about where our current fitness is...we NEVER use it thinking about what our personal bests are or what our goals are.

Lastly, at the end of the season we asked everyone individually "what do you bring to the team". Continue to think about that question.  For those joining the team next year, consider how you would answer that question. At some point you will very likely be asked!

hayward field finale

This weekend's NCAA Outdoor National Championships will be the last track meet ever held at historic Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.  Below is the schedule for the Yellow Jackets!

(all times listed are Pacific time)
Wednesday, June 6
6:14 PM - men's 800m semi-finals
7:08 PM - men's 10,000m final
Thursday, June 7
5:02 PM - women's 100m Hurdles semi-finals
Friday, June 8
6:44 PM - men's 800m final
Saturday, June 9
4:12 PM - women's 100m Hurdles final