2009 Monroe County Boys Team Preview

As with the girls a few days ago, I have taken last year's XC data, eliminated the seniors and regenerated the ratings for all Monroe County runners. Note that this also includes Canandaigua and HF-L. Since they did not compete in the league last year, the sample of their results is significantly smaller than for the other teams; however, it does include McQuaid and Sectionals which can give a decent indicator of where they stood last year.

1	Rush Henrietta	77
2	Brighton	83
3	Mendon	107
4	Honeoye Falls-Lima	118
5	Hilton	240
6	Sutherland	244
7	Penfield	251
8	Irondequoit	257
9	Arcadia	263
10	Thomas	264
11	Fairport	266
12	Schroeder	281
13	Victor	296
14	Odyssey	308
15	Brockport	327
16	Spencerport	337
17	Gates Chili	397
18	Athena	574
19	Churchville Chili	600
20	Olympia	607
21	Canandaigua	628
22	East Rochester	702
23	Batavia	inc
24	East Irondequoit	inc

Rush-Henrietta is certainly the early favorite, with Brighton, whose top 5 should run just as tight as R-H's, a very close challenger. Mendon faced some losses to graduation, but a runner like VanVleck can bring others around. The same situation exists in HF-L; they drop off substantially after the big two (Deir and Mangan), but when you chase guys like that in practice every day, you tend to improve rapidly. Those are clearly the top 4 teams in the County, so only the A race at Sectionals appears up for grabs (unless Wayne can improve enough to give HF-L a race).

After the top 4 teams, there is a big gap, then everything is up for grabs. Places 5 thru perhaps as high as 16 may not be clear until the County race is over. It should be an exciting year for all of those teams, Schroeder included, as most dual meets will involve at least two teams from that group.

2009 Monroe County Girls Individual Preview

As with the team preview, we definitely see the impact of the two new teams in the Monroe County league this season. Six of the top 15 girls in my preseason ratings (based solely on the 2008 XC season) are from those two teams. Here are the top individuals, along with some comments based on track season.

Moreland, Amanda Honeoye Falls-Lima - Fastest returner at Sectionals by over a minute
Deming, Brianna Thomas - Defending AA Champ only ran 10:33 during track
McCormick, Meghan Canandaigua - 10:17 in the 3000
Tuite, Shaylyn Mendon - Should be tough; 4:41 and 10:13
Jarvela, Angela Batavia - 7:06 Steeple
Hallock, Allison Mendon - Only 10:57
Mack, Kellie Canandaigua - No track results?
Atkins, Morgan Mendon
Robinson, Jodi Rush Henrietta
Brunett, Jessica Honeoye Falls-Lima
Cymerman, Amy Sutherland - Almost 22 minutes at Sectionals last year; only 11:31 in track
Cocchiara, Amanda Hilton
Greiner, Lizzie Rush Henrietta
Kahen, Rachel Athena
Hoh, Allison Honeoye Falls-Lima
McCormick, Kate Canandaigua
Colon, Christina Thomas
List, Rebecca Hilton
Swertfeger, Sarah Olympia
Aldridge, Mary Brighton - 4:54 in the 1500
Farmer, Katy Gates Chili - Expect a big jump here; 7:07 Steeple
Hughes, Ashton Fairport
Saxton, Katie Spencerport
Hawes, Katherine Mendon
D'Amore, Lauren Canandaigua

Also, be on the lookout for Penfield's Leila Mantilla. Unranked in XC last year, she ran 10:15 as a freshman this past spring.

2009 Monroe County Girls Team Preview

OK, I took my year-end individual ratings from last year, pulled out all of the seniors, added league newcomers, Canandaigua and HF-L and generated ratings for the new set of girls. The teams now stack up like this:

1	Mendon	71
2	Canandaigua	72
3	Honeoye Falls-Lima	140
4	Brighton	167
5	Thomas	167
6	Hilton	188
7	Rush Henrietta	245
8	Spencerport	247
9	Sutherland	273
10	Penfield	279
11	Victor	318
12	Fairport	335
13	Athena	354
14	Gates Chili	377
15	Olympia	405
16	Brockport	458
17	Churchville Chili	496
18	Irondequoit	505
19	East Irondequoit	517
20	Odyssey	546
21	Schroeder	552
22	Batavia	598
23	Arcadia	711
24	East Rochester	718

This methodology misses some of the information we learned during track. For example, HF-L added Amanda Moreland beginning with last year's Nordic Ski season. She should drop almost 50 points off HF-L's score, which still wouldn't be enough to get into the Mendon - Canandaigua battle, which should lead to an exciting Sectional race, similar to Mendon's 36-37 win last year (not final until Mendon's 6th girl crossed the line ahead of Canandaigua's 5th). But it will be plenty to ensure HF-L returns to the State Meet once again.

The Class AA Sectional race is currently looking wide open. Thomas has the early edge, but not by much over Hilton. And Rush-Henrietta just needs to find one younger girl to replace their two seniors and be formidable once again.

Other track results that may affect the standings include Sutherland's relatively weak performances, and three teams with several notables missing from the outdoor track leaderboards: Canandaigua, Brighton and Penfield. This could be due to other sports, injuries, or just times not being posted, so we'll have to see what happens starting on September 15th.

Practice Schedule

It's probably a good time to review our upcoming practice schedule. Note that this is subject to change, but we'll let you know here and at practice.

Thu 8/27 - 5:30-7:30 Schroeder
Fri 8/28 - 5:30-7:30 Webster Park
Sat 8/29 - 8:00-10:00 Webster Park

Mon 8/31 - 3:45-5:45 Schroeder; WABO at 6pm
Tue 9/1 - 5:30-7:30 Webster Park
Wed 9/2 - 5:30-7:30 Ellison Park
Thu 9/3 - 5:30-7:30 Schroeder
Fri 9/4 - 5:30-7:30 Webster Park
Sat 9/5 - 9:00-11:15 Webster Park (Blue / Gold at 10:00)

Mon 9/7 - TBD Webster Park
Tue 9/8 - 5:30-7:30 Schroeder
Wed 9/9 - SCHOOL STARTS - usual practice (3:45-6, most days) via shuttle to Webster Park
Thu 9/10 - First Meet (at Marion), bus at 3pm

Stay tuned for any updates.

Could Be Wet

Since the weather forecast looks a bit iffy for this afternoon, it's probably a good time to talk about being prepared for practice. Here are a few things to bring, to be ready for practice:

1) Water! We have repeatedly pointed out that everyone should have a water bottle at practice. We have found that we can't count on water supplies being available at Webster Park, or even at the high school!

2) Watch! I still don't know how some of you know how to do a 10-minute warm-up without a watch. Based on the +/-50% arrival times after a warm-up, it could be that people run around counting 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi or something. Many of our runs could be done free of a watch. For example, yesterday's workout involved a fixed route, and there was a great deal of leeway regarding pace, so no watch could work (although, personally, I like to know my pace, since, coupled with how I feel, I can learn a lot about how my body is recovering from workouts).

3) Wearables! Extra stuff is often needed. Today, that could mean something dry to wear after getting rained upon (perhaps the storm will miss us). In the not-too-distant future, we will have our first chilly day and several runners will be unprepared and freeze during stretching. So, extra stuff should soon include sweats, perhaps including a wind/rain-resistant top.

4) Willingness! Make sure your mind is ready for the workout each day. A positive attitude can make the workout go much easier. We are off to an excellent start, so even the newcomers should find things much easier over the next couple of weeks, as we continue our build-up to racing season efforts.

5) Wit! Have fun out there. OK, perhaps the coaches occasionally scold disruptive behavior at inappropriate times, but Cross Country should be fun. Most of our running is of a social nature - in groups, at a comfortable enough pace that you can chat. Sure, we do toss in some work that makes it difficult to breathe, let alone talk, but most of the miles are much easier than that.

One Week Down

So, we've completed one week of practice. For most of the team, there are only 11 weeks in the whole season. Yes, that's right, there are less than 10 weeks left until the County Meet on October 31st. Hard to believe, isn't it?

While the first dual meet still seems a ways off, we need to be completely ready for it. So, we'll get in another solid week this week, and end another good week with our Blue and Gold competition next week, then start thinking about our first invitational and first dual meet.

Easy / Long Pace

Another training pace we will use, based on our VDOT reading, is the Easy / Long pace. This is the recommended pace to use when doing a long run, or an easy run. It varies much more widely than the other paces. Our faster runners may only be a little more than a minute and a half slower than 5K race pace, while some should be over 2 minutes per mile slower than 5K pace.

Remember, this is not walking pace. We do not want to do the easy days too slow, or we would be better off taking the day off, or cross-training. We also want to be careful of running too fast on the easy days. It can prevent our bodies from adequately recovering from one quality session and being prepared for the next quality session.

Speaking of long runs, we should have been building up our long runs over the summer, and we should have probably gone as far as we need to by now. For those that have done that, the long runs will not get any longer, and will become just a bit faster as our fitness improves. For those that have not reached their ideal long run distance yet, we will still increase the length of the run, but by no more than a mile per week, and never for three weeks in a row.

Tempo Runs

Yesterday, I introduced the concept of VDOT and how we can use tables to determine our optimal training paces. One of those training paces is Tempo pace. Tempo runs are also called Threshold runs, because the ideal pace is that pace that puts your body at its lactate threshold, which is the point at which you start to get beyond your body's ability to continue aerobically (literally, "with oxygen"), and must function anaerobically ("without oxygen"). Once you start exercising anaerobically, your muscles undergo a different chemical reaction in order to operate, and acidic byproducts are released into your system.

Research is mixed on whether there is cause and effect relationship between lactic acid formation and the specific response of the muscles, but it is clear that where there is lactic acid, there is more difficulty in running. If your body can get better at performing at a certain level, your threshold level will improve. If your threshold level improves, your race performance will also improve, since everyone is capable of racing 5K at 20-30 seconds or more per mile faster than threshold pace.

So, it is very important to run the right pace for tempo runs. Ideally, these would be steady runs of about 20 minutes. It is very difficult to maintain the proper concentration to keep that pace for that long, so early on, some of our tempo runs will be in the form of "Cruise Intervals". These are run by breaking the tempo run into shorter segments, but taking very short breaks in between each segment. If the break is too long, the body will have too much of a chance to recover and the lactate threshold will not be reached for a significant period of time.

We will be doing tempo workouts early in the year, as many experts believe that it is the most effective way to improve conditioning. We will also use tempo workouts near the end of the season. They are a great tool for maintaining fitness without overdoing the training during a taper period.

VDOT

We spoke briefly about VDOT at practice yesterday, and covered some of the types of training we will do at different paces, as determined by your current VDOT.

VDOT is a value that Jack Daniels utilizes, which is similar to VO₂ max, which is the measure of the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can transport and use. These values are best determined in a laboratory environment, but Jack Daniels has done research that correlates VDOT to particular performances over a wide range of racing distances. We can take advantage of that fact to take a recent race performance, or a estimated current racing capability, to generate our VDOT.

Attackpoint has a VDOT calculator here.

Once you have your VDOT in hand, you can use it to determine the proper pace for most of your training. I'll cover the different training paces over the next several days.

Opening Day!

Today is the first day of our 2009 Cross Country season. I hope you are all looking forward to it as much as I am. We can make a nice improvement over last year, especially on the girls side.

It is going to be a hot one. You should have already started hydrating - in fact, go get a drink now and I'll see you at Webster Park at 5:25pm. Bring a water bottle and a watch!

Last Day of Camp

Although the weather is finally going to heat up around here over the next few days, a sign that summer is winding down is that today marks the last day of our XC camp. I've been impressed with the work ethic of our camp participants this year. It is a clear sign that our team continues to improve, and should be cause for excitement about the upcoming season.

While the end of summer is a little sad (and I don't even have to go back to school), especially when the summer has been so cool and wet, XC season gives a reason to look forward with joy. I hope you are all looking forward to a longer(?) and more fun and successful season!

See you on Monday, for the first day of practice!

Get Those Forms In!

Don't miss any practice because of late paperwork. You can turn in your "Sports Sign-up form" at Willink from 6-8:45pm tonight (August 12th) or tomorrow night (August 13th). No form, no practice (and of course, no current physical, no nurse's signature, no practice).

Here are the practice times / locations for next week (note that Friday's location is different from Coach Klehr's original note):
Monday, 8/17: 5:30-7:30pm @ Webster Park
Tuesday, 8/18: 5:30-7:30pm @ Webster Park
Wednesday, 8/19: 5:30-7:30pm @ Webster Park
Thursday, 8/20: 5:30-7:30pm @ Webster Park
Friday, 8/21: 5:30-7:30pm @ Ellison Park (Landing Rd parking area)
Saturday, 8/22: 8-10am @ North Ponds Park (Main Parking Lot by 104)

This Week's Training

OK, this week is the last chance to get ready for the start of the season next week, so make sure you get out and run!

Rookie
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 long run (6 miles)
2 easy days of running (25-40 minutes).

Beginner
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 "long" run (6-9 miles)
2 easy days of running (4-6 miles) plus strides
2-3 days of X-training
2 days of weights (Tuesday and Thursday 9am) and 3 days of core!

Intermediate
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 "long" run (8-11 miles)
2 easy days of running (5-7 miles)
1 easy days of running (3-5 miles)
2-3 days of X-training
2 days of weights (Tuesday and Thursday 9am) and 3 days of core!

Advanced
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 "long" run (10-13 miles)
2 easy days of running (6-8 miles)
1 easy day of running (3-6 miles)
2-3 days of X-training
2 days of weights (Tuesday and Thursday 9am) and 3 days of core!

Recertification

Get those Recertification forms (or whatever they call them now) in by next week! DO NOT miss even one day of practice because of not doing the paperwork!

Speaking of practice, it looks like we will practice 5:30-7:30pm, at least for the first week. There is a good chance we will keep the practices in the evening until school starts. Pay attention to the practice schedule - there will be varying locations for practices throughout the season, but especially in the time before school starts!

Look for the final "summer schedule" week of workouts tomorrow.

Orienteering Tomorrow

Those of you not attending camp are encouraged to compete in Nate's orienteering meet at Basil Marella Park (also known as English Road Park). Nate has set a Sprint course (actually two Sprint courses) and a 60-minute Score-O course.

Some of you campers are welcome to attend, too, since that is where I will be tomorrow.

The Score-O starts at 7pm. If you arrive around 6pm, you could do the Sprint first. The entry fee is just $3, for both races. The park is not huge and has plenty of open areas, so this is a nice venue for relative newcomers.

Directions from Webster:
104 West to 390 North for just one exit (Vintage Lane). Turn left onto Vintage and then take the first right onto Fetzner. The park will be on the right. "O" signs should be visible from the 390 exit to the parking lot.

This Week's Training

This week we are backing off just a little bit, to get ready for the final push to the start of the season on 8/17.

Rookie
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 long run (35-45 minutes)
2 easy days of running (20-30 minutes).

Beginner
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 "long" run (6 miles)
2 easy days of running (3-5 miles) plus strides
2-3 days of X-training
2 days of weights (Tuesday and Thursday 9am) and 3 days of core!

Intermediate
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 "long" run (6-8 miles)
2 easy days of running (4-6 miles)
1 easy days of running (3-5 miles)
2-3 days of X-training
2 days of weights (Tuesday and Thursday 9am) and 3 days of core!

Advanced
2 days of XC Camp! See you Tuesday and Thursday
1 "long" run (8-10 miles)
2 easy days of running (5-7 miles)
1 easy day of running (3-6 miles)
2-3 days of X-training
2 days of weights (Tuesday and Thursday 9am) and 3 days of core!