Mar 28th: Motivation Flipgrid

Hey all-

I've posted a flipgrid to try and help you to stay motivated. Feel free to upload a video and watch the ones that are up there to get connected to your teammates!

FlipGrid Link

Cheers,

Coach Dusto

Mar 24th: The New Normal

Hey all-

Well, this has been quite the experience. I know that for me, it has been one of the most difficult months to deal with between the restrictions, specifically not being able to contact you kids, and the unknown of what is coming next. My biggest concern is for you all physically, mentally, and emotionally. Please feel free to contact me (edusto@cherrycreekschools.org) if you have any concerns or problems to deal with. As an athlete in all phases of my life, one of the things that I have really looked forward to and enjoyed has been the structure, consistency, and camaraderie that sports offer. Now we are facing a scenario where that isn't possible until the 20th of April and possibly longer. The real question then becomes, what do we do?

I hope that you take this time and get things squared away in your life where you can. Seniors, try and get your plans for the summer and next fall as thought through as you can. Juniors, start thinking about teachers who can write your recommendations and maybe start on college applications and long-term planning. Sophomores and freshmen, well, just enjoy being sophomores and freshman and not having to worry about these things. Pretty soon you will be getting some instructions on how "distance learning" is going to work and what your school expectations are going to be. Realize that this is the first time we are all going through this and try and cut your teachers some slack and lower your expectations for what this experience is going to be like. You will probably continue to have a lot of freetime with this new system and I encourage you to use some of that to stay active (as long as we can). With that in mind, a few things:

1. As of right now, our season is set to start again on April 20th. We should get some information soon as to if that is happening or not. I don't want to speculate, but if we have no school, obviously we have no track.
2. If our season does continue as planned, we will do our best to try and get time "marks" for each of you, but it will be difficult. I have no idea if CHSAA would push the state meet and allow us more competition or if they will change what a track meet looks like. We will all do our best to adapt to the changing landscape.
3. If our season does continue as planned, it will be of particular importance that you continue to train and be in the best shape possible. Fortunately, as endurance athletes, you don't need that much direct coaching. Coach Lohman and I have put a plan for together you (see below). A plan is only as good as someone executes it and their body responds to it, so do your best to listen to your body and learn your limits. Obviously, there will be things you won't be able to do because of your particular situation. Just do your best to stay fit and hopefully this plan is helpful. As to running:
   1. Really try to socially distance and keep space between teammates as well as other people on the trails.
   2. Don't organize any large gatherings or big practices. Instead, try and run on your own or in small groups.
   3. Do not hesitate to contact Coach Lohman or myself if you have questions.
4. Finally, I'm going to post some pictures from runs. Feel free to send some in!

Coach Dusto

Coach Dusto Photo Blog

Jan 29th: New Running Loops

Coach Dusto and I were looking at the online maps of Cherry Creek State Park yesterday, and we were mapping out a new running route along the southern shore of the lake. He ran it, it was a great shaded loop that were are gonna try out a little this spring, and then get into the rotation this summer. It's about 1.5 miles from GV to the Gazebo loop on this trail, but you can also extend it into "Trees" and then into "Inner Rez Loop". I am excited to give it a try next week on a run, any new loops we can incorporate into our training, the better.

That brings me to my request. We have a "Training Routes" page linked here on our website, but I would love to add to it. Using a an online mapping wesbite, such as OnTheGoMap.com, map out your favorite routes that start here from the high school. Send them to me, and I will update our database. More variety in our training is always a good thing, and any new routes that we get, we will sure to give a try to them!

Coach Sep

Dec 15th: Foot Locker Update

While it was dumping snow up in the mountains, in San Diego, it was warm and dry and fast for our two participants in the Foot Locker National race. In case you missed it on the webcast, Riley raced a new personal best for that course, 17:58 to come in 17th, and Parker raced a great second half of his race to achieve All-American status by coming in 15th in 15:37.

If you saw the race, you would've noticed that both races went out pretty fast over the two loop course. There was a minor hill, but then a huge hill near the end of each loop. That huge hill had a huge downhill, of course, but it didn't look like a recovery downhill, it looked like a hold-on-for-dear-life downhill.So, the tough course, coupled with the elite competition, really made this a tough race, and both Riley and Parker performed brilliantly. All of of here at Creek XC are super proud of them, they represented our school and our program fantastically, and they both deserve a nice long break! Great work guys!

CO-Milesplit Article & Photos

Dec 4th: Nationals Qualifications

The "post-season" of Cross Country can be a complicated, murky situation to the uninitiated. While there is no official post season in Colorado, (the State meet is the final official high school meet for Colorado kids), there are some races that athletes can choose to attend if they want to continue racing. The two big ones are Nike Cross and Foot Locker. Foot Locker has been around for decades, while Nike Cross is relatively new (maybe 15 years?). Foot Locker has the history behind it, while Nike Cross has Nike behind it. Both races are excellent races, with top quality talent, and are great experiences for kids to go to after the Colorado season is over.

Both Nike Cross and Foot Locker have regional then national races. For kids from Denver, the regional race for Nike Cross is in mid-November in Arizona, Foot Locker Regional is in Wisconsin over Thanksgiving weekend. Nike Cross accepts teams as well as individual qualifiers, while Foot Locker only accepts individual qualifiers.

Our varsity girls team went to Arizona to try and qualify for the Nike Cross national race, but unfortunately they did not. Coming in 4th is an excellent result, but only the top two teams from each region automatically qualify, and our girls did not make it as an at-large wildcard bid. Disappointing for sure, but in no way should that reflect negatively on the amazing season that they had. Riley had an excellent race, (winning the whole thing in 17:03!) so she will race in Nike Cross Nationals in early December in Oregon.

A couple of our varsity boys went to Arizona as well, and Parker just barely missed qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals by less than a second, even though he broke 15:00 for the second time this year.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, both Riley and Parker traveled to cold wet muddy Wisconsin for Thanksgiving to race in the other post season series, Foot Locker Regional. Riley came in 6th, in a time of 18:04; and Parker in scored 10th in a time of 15:59, and they BOTH qualified to run in Foot Locker Nationals in California in mid-December.

To re-cap, we had lots of kids doing a lot of racing and training (on their own, as Cherry Creek HS is not affiliated with any of this) since Halloween. And the results were there, with Riley qualifying for both final races, Parker qualifying for one and barely missing out on the other, and the girls team just barely missing out on qualifying as well. Plus, we had Riley, Abby, Addison, Claire and Adam get seasons best results in these races as well! That's some great results and even better dedication to training and racing. We are very proud of all the athletes that competed in these races, and I am eager to live stream the Nationals races in the next few weekends!

Coach Sep

Colorado MileSplit Cherry Creek Article

Nike Cross Nationals Webcast - Dec. 7 in the morning

Foot Locker Nationals Webcast - Dec. 14 in the morning

Nov 23rd: Nike Cross Regional Results

We had some of our athletes continue their training since the State meet in order to compete at Nike Cross Regionals in Arizona. If our athletes race well enough at this race, they get to race at Nike Cross Nationals in December up in Portland Oregon. Creek raced here a couple of years ago as a full team, it is a super fast fun course through a manicured golf course type of setting. I would say had some fantastic results today, with Riley S. winning the girls championship division in a time of 17:03 (a new personal best) , and Parker W. coming in 7th in 15:58. The girls team of Riley, Addison, Abby, Claire, Cissy, Libby & Maggie came in 4th overall, which gives them a great chance of moving on as a team to Oregon. Adam P. also raced, running a 16:42, which is a huge personal best for him.

Excellent work from these athletes, we are all super happy for you!

Coach Sep

Nov 21st: Future Bruins Night

Tonight, from 6:15 to 7:30, in the North Gym, is Future Bruins Night. If you have younger siblings that will go to Creek, please swing by and say "Hi". Coaches and present athletes will be there to answer any and all of your questions. Can't wait to see everyone!

Coach Sep

Nov 20th: Booster Club Board Members

Even though we have months to go before CCHS XC officially starts, (6 months, 3 weeks and 4 days, not that anyone is counting), we do need to start thinking about the season next year. One thing we need to figure out is new Booster Club Board Members. We have lots of board members who are parents of graduating seniors, and while they are some of the most dedicated people I know, I can't see them staying on when their own children are not at Creek anymore.

If you have any interest, any questions, and desire at all to support the team in this manner, please drop me an email (bseppala@cherrycreekschools.org), or drop our outgoing president Nicole Seawall an email (info@SailorsSweetLife.com) for more information. Being part of the booster club is a lot of work, but it is key to the success of all the athletes on the team!

Coach Sep

Nov 18th: Winter Track Begins

Let me just say this right off the bat, I LOVE winter track. I love the fact that it is cold, I love that it gets dark early, I love the dedication that the athletes show simply by showing up after school to run hard. Our plan for this winter is to train Monday/Tuesday/Thursday. There will be attendance taken, to make sure everyone who heads out to run comes back, but there is no sign-up fee. Mondays will be a quick pace run with Coach Dusto, Tuesdays will be a longer run with Coach Boyce and Thursdays will be intervals with Coach Sep. Things might change slightly from week to week or day to day, but we are planning on sticking with those general guidelines. There is a chance of attending some indoor meets but that will be up to the individual athlete.

The goal in winter track is not to maintain fitness, but to build fitness and go into spring track season ready to handle some hard workouts and get really fast for that first meet. Practices are usually smallish, sometimes we only have 3-5 kids, but everyone is welcome and we are eager to start focused training again!

Coach Sep

P.S. Here is a great article on Winter Training.

Nov 6th: Thank You

The senior award banquet last night was wonderful. I wish I could say thank you to everyone personally, but there was simply not enough time. Thank you for all the cards, all the gifts, all the emotional speeches I also want to express my sincere gratitude to all of the athletes who worked so hard for 20 weeks in a row, all the parents who were so supportive all summer and fall and all of the other coaches who worked so hard day in and day out. I could go one for hours and hours with examples of amazing acts of awesomeness, but a few that stand out are the Biggerstaffs handing out popsicles as we ran by on our Kent long run, Nick, and Josh and Cissy and Erin being so amazing during every cooldown after practice, Ian leading me through that damn "Trees" run, the entire trip to Minnesota, cheering on the open athletes during Liberty Bell, the tornado pasta party, the van ride to State; it was all a fantastic season. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. I sincerely love all of you guys.

Sep

Oct 28th: Senior Awards Banquet Postponed

This Wednesday the 29th, was supposed to be our Senior Awards banquet. Due to the weather, we have pushed it back to Tuesday the 5th. This banquet is invite only, since we are having it catered by Bennett's BBQ. If you received an invitation, and Tuesday the 5th does not work for you, please let Coach Dusto or myself know as soon as possible. If you cannot make it, we want to make accommodations for you to get your awards.

Tuesday the 5th, 6:00 pm, West Cafe, so wear a nice shirt, comb your hair, look presentable; and I can't wait to see everyone !

Coach Sep

Oct. 27: State Championship Wrap-Up

What a great day for running yesterday down in Colorado Springs. The weather was perfect, and our teams ran fantastically. The boys team, which was seeded 20th going into the meet, ran lights out to come in 15th place overall, In the process we beat Arapahoe and Cherokee Trail, two teams who beat us the past few weeks at League and Regionals. Parker W. had a spectacular race, coming in third overall, a couple of seconds behind the winner who set a course record. Liam S. ran a season best yesterday, on the toughest course in the State, which is called "really good timing" as it helped our team to a great overall placing!

The girls team earned their second consecutive trophy, coming in second in the entire state. The girls all stepped up and ran very well, and a huge highlight was Riley S. winning the entire race! She becomes only the third individual state champion in Cherry Creek history, what an accomplishment! And everyone was very impressed with Addison P getting a top ten finish, as a freshman, fighting the whole race to keep her team up there in the overall standings!

The season continues, with some of our athletes attending the senior awards banquet on Wednesday night at Creek, and some athletes continuing to race in post season races in Arizona, Portland and Wisconsin.

It was a great season, 20 weeks of hard work from everyone, and we are so proud to have been able to coach this group of runners. Can't wait to see everyone next June for summer camp, we will be even bigger and better next year!

Coach Sep

Oct. 18th: Regional Championship Wrap-Up

At the beginning of the season, athletes could chose to sign a pledge dedicating themselves to Cherry Creek Cross Country. That pledge guided athletes to be the best representative of Cherry Creek Cross Country they could be, and yesterday those pledges came to fruition. Our boys raced their guts out, finishing fourth in the 13 team region, and punching their ticket to State Champs. Parker won the race, holding off 2 hard charging competitors, and we edged out Grandview for that last spot in our region for State. So proud of the boys, we didn't qualify last year, so this was out goal, and they achieved it. Well done, gentlemen.

Our girls also raced their guts out, and they became Regional Champions because of it! Riley won the race individually, but we outscored Arapahoe by 11 points and took home the title overall. Every girl executed their race plan to perfection and we ran as a team to the title. So incredibly happy for this girls team.

Overall, these kids just earned one more week of practice, as State Champs is next Saturday down in Colorado Springs. Our boys race at 1:00 pm, our girls race at 2:20 pm. Hope to see a bunch of Creekers down their supporting the team!

Coach Sep

Oct. 16th: Regional Championships

After a rough day at the League Championships, Creek XC is still racing. The top 18 runners are competing tomorrow at Aurora Sports Park for the 5A-Region 1 Championships. While a League Championships would have been nice, this race is arguably more important to our season-long goals. Within our region, which consists of 12 teams, about 100 competitors per race, as a boys team and as a girls team, we need to get in the top four to move on to the State Championships. This is not an easy thing to do, we have some very good teams in our region, and all of them will be racing full speed ahead to ensure a trip to the State Championships next weekend.

Since Regional Champs is over fall break, the athletes that are racing tomorrow have dedicated their time off to training and preparing for this race. The boys start at 3:00 on Thursday, the girls will go off at 4:00. If anyone is in town and wants to come support us, we would love to see you. It should be some good racing, and I think our team is going to do very well!

Coach Sep

Oct. 11th: IMPORTANT League Championship Update

As I am sure most of you know, the League Champs race will NOT be today. There is no early dismissals, and we will have a regular practice after school today. The race call was not made "official" until 7:00 this morning, but the race has been officially pushed back to tomorrow, Saturday morning, with 100% certainty. We know that many of our races and their families have fall break plans, and unfortunately will not be able to race. For that, we sincerely apologize, but the timing and scheduling of the race was totally out of our hands. As it stands now, the races will still be at Cherokee Trail HS, and the schedule is as follows:

October 12, 2019

Boys Varsity: 9:00 am (Top 9 runners)

Girls Varsity: 9:30 am (Top 9 runners)

Boys Open: 10:05 am (All other runners)

Girls Ope: 10:40 am (All other runners)

Please make sure to arrive at CT at least one hour before your scheduled race time. We will have the team camp and tent all set up, and I will have a fire going and be roasting breakfast s'mores. :)

While this is not the most ideal situation, due to weather, field scheduling and safety, the coaches in charge decided this was the best possible solution. Like my dad always said, there's gonna be a race, so we might as well go out and win it! Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow morning, it's gonna be a memorable day.

Coach Sep

Oct 9th: League Championship Schedule

As of Wednesday (Oct. 9) morning, this is the information for League Championships (at Cherokee Trail HS, 25901 E Arapahoe Rd, Aurora, CO) for this Friday, October 11th. If there are any changes, we will update it as soon as we know using this forum.

Coach Sep

League Championships 2019 -

Races:

In order to best split the number of runners on the course equally among the 6 races, we will not race with the original order of Varsity, JV and Open. Instead, we will race 9 runners for each team in the varsity races, and then race 2 open races for the boys, and 2 open races for the girls. Using Milesplit to determine the number of runners on each team, each open race will have 4 schools in them to evenly split the number of runners in each race. The results will be combined later to determine team scores in the open races.

Race Schedule:

Boys Varsity: 1:00 pm (Top 9 runners)

Girls Varsity: 1:25 pm (Top 9 runners)

Boys Open #1: 1:55 pm (Remaining runners from Arapahoe, Cherokee Trail, Grandview, and Smoky Hill)

Boys Open #2: 2:25 pm (Remaining runners from Cherry Creek, Eaglecrest, Mullen, and Overland)

Girls Open #1: 2:55 pm (Remaining runners from Arapahoe, Cherokee Trail, Grandview, and Smoky Hill)

Girls Open #2: 3:30 pm (Remaining runners from Cherry Creek, Eaglecrest, Mullen, and Overland)

Awards will be at 4:15 on the upper practice field.

Parking:

School will still be in session at both Cherokee Trail and Fox Ridge Middle School, so parking will be limited. School busses should drop teams off in the lower parking lot, and then park at King Soopers across the street if they are staying for the duration of the meet.

Team Camps:

Team camps should be set up in the lower practice field adjacent to Legacy Stadium. The start and finish of the races will be in the upper practice field.

Thanks,

XC Staffs of Mullen HS & Cherokee Trail HS

Oct 8th: League Championship Update

We just got word that the League Championship XC race will be held at Cherokee Trail HS (on the course that we run for early season time trials) on Friday. The first race will go off at 1:00 pm. More details on race divisions and dismissal times to come. But for now, plan on doing some racing at CT on Friday! Dress warm, and bring lots of extra dry clothes!

Oct 7th: League Championship & Weather

So, living in Colorado, you have to expect that weather is gonna play a major role in an outdoor sport like cross country. And as I am sure you have heard, the weather this week is going to take a front seat when it comes to League Championships.

Mullen is hosting the League Championships, so all decisions around this will be made by the XC staff at Mullen. The XC staff at Creek has no say in this decision. Mullen has told us, that the safety of the athletes takes precedence over all other considerations, which we at Creek agree with wholeheartedly.

Originally, the meet was planned for this Thursday at Aurora Sports Park (ASP). However, with the predicted weather of cold temperatures, snow and wind, it is looking like the people at Aurora Sports Park will not allow us to run on Thursday. (If this weather report is incorrect, and there is no storm, we will run Thursday as normal.) Due to other conflicting events, ASP will not be available to race at on Friday or Saturday. Yom Kippur is on Wednesday, so there will be no racing on Wednesday.

Right now, Mullen is thinking that we will race on the roads either at Creek (around Village Greens Park, not the Dam Rd.) or we will race the roads around Mullen. A lot of this depends on permits, which are difficult to come by, and on volunteers, which is a tough ask three days before the meet.

When it comes to details such as the actual start time of the race, and how many divisions we will race; those are all still very murky right now. No good information about these issues can be disseminated right now.

Bottom line is, we really don't know what is going to happen right now. However, we will keep everyone as updated as possible with the most accurate information as we can over the next few days. If you have any questions, please shoot me an email and I will do my best to answer it as clearly as possible.

Coach Sep

Oct. 6th: Cherry Creek Recap

What a great day for our home invitational. Big thank yous to all the parents and volunteers who helped us put this race on. Very proud of all the athletes who ran some smoking fast times yesterday. The coaches got lots of good feedback from all the other teams, we really showcased a great event. Coach Dusto worked very hard to pull this all together, he did a great job.

Pictures via Claire S. are below, and the results and linked under the Results tab as usual.

Stayed tuned for a very important post about League Championships, not we are getting into Championship season!

Oct 5th: Cherry Creek Invite Information

This Saturday is out home invitational race, the Cherry Creek Invite. The coaches and parents are rapidly trying to get everything ready, and we have some information for everyone before Saturday rolls around.

Race is at Cherry Creek HS. We start in the Stutler East parking lot, head out the Dam Road, turn around, come back on the Dam Road, run through campus, then finish on the track in the Stutler Bowl. Should be a fast race!

Varsity Boys start at 9:00am, Varsity Girls at 9:05.

JV Boys at 9:40, JV Girls at 9:45

Open Boys at 10:20, Open Girls at 10:25

We will have some kids running in different divisions than they are sued to, so pay attention to that.

Volunteers are needed, the more the better. We will certainly find a job for you to do. Please sign up via the Sign-Up Genius linked below.

CC Invite Volunteers

And of course, we will be having a pasta party on Friday night in the schoolhouse.

See everyone on Saturday!

Coach Sep

Oct 2: Minnesota Recap

The team had a great time in Minnesota this past weekend. The boys team came in 5th overall, out of over 50 teams, and the girls team won the whole race! At the awards ceremony, the crowd went wild for third place, a team from Minnesota. Same with the second place team. When it came time for the first place team (Cherry Creek) to step up, the place had emptied out, dead silent. It was like a visiting quarterback silencing a stadium full of opposing fans. Pretty sweet, actually. :)

The kids we brought were really a great group of kids. We have pretty high standards for our athletes representing Cherry Creek, so when we got the following email from our hotel in Minneapolis, I was pretty pumped.

Hi Brian,

I hope you had safe travels back home yesterday, and that you are scraping by today despite all the weekend craziness!

We enjoyed hosting your team this weekend! While all the teams we had with us were well behaved, your team was visibly grateful and extremely well mannered. Compliments to your athletes, and almost more importantly, to you and your coaching staff! Our front office and restaurant team not only noticed the gratitude, but mentioned multiple times the kind comments they received. Sometimes these youth athletic tournaments can be hectic and hard on the staff, but they always look forward to Roy Griak weekend, and your group is a contributor to that mentality. You are welcome back anytime!

After that long-winded thank you, I attached your receipt here for your records. As your team paid by check upon arrival, you should be all set.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and don't hesitate to reach out next year if you find yourself traveling to Minneapolis again.

Have a great week,

Steph

Stephanie Lundeen

Senior Sales Manager

Hilton Garden Inn

Direct: 612-367-5967

slundeen@fhginc.com

Can't wait for next year, hopefully this trip and this experience has inspired a lot of athletes to train hard and get themselves in position to attend our travel trip next fall!

Coach Sep

Sept 24th: Minnesota Race

This weekend, some of our A-squad members are heading to Minnesota to compete in Saturday's Roy Griak Invitational. This is a huge XC race, one of the biggest in the country, and we are very excited to have the chance to compete in it. If you are not heading to Minnesota, you do not have a race this weekend, nor do are we having a pasta party this week.

If you are interested in viewing the Roy Griak race via a livestream, it seems like the best link is through FloTrack.com. Unfortunately, it costs $12 to sign up for FloTrack PRO, but I think it's worth it. Our athletes are competing in the afternoon GOLD races, at 1:10 and 2:00 Minnesota time. Make sure you sign up and log in early, these live streams tend to get clogged up the closer you get to race time and you run the chance of missing the race due to technical issues.

Wish us luck, hopefully we bring home some great results!

Coach Sep

Roy Griak LiveStream

Sept 22nd: Dave Sanders Recap

In looking at the results from Dave Sanders, I saw a lot of "SB" next to the names. SB stands for Seasons Best, and that is pretty incredible on a tough a course as the one at Clement Park. Wind, tall grass and hills usually don't equal a season best, but CCHS XC found a way to make that happen in a lot individual cases, which is awesome. Other highlights were many athletes learning how to be mentally tough in races, how to be positive in their racing and how to race fast when tired and stressed. Nice work by everyone in attendance.

As usual, Official Milesplit results are linked up in the "Results" corner of the page, along with lots of video and articles from co.milesplit.com

Sept 20th: Dave Sanders Information

9/20/19 -- Dave Sanders Invite @ Clement Park

• 3:00 pm Varsity Boys
• 3:40 Junior Varsity Boys
• 4:30 Varsity Girls
• 5:10 Junior Varsity Girls
• 5:40 Open Boys
• 5:50 Open Girls

We race up to ten in each division, so more kids will be swinging up to varsity and junior varsity this week. If you are unclear what division you are in, make sure to ask a coach. Advanced Approval forms for early dismissal will be handed out at practice.

Sept. 15th: Change One Word

This week is gonna be a hard week of training. For all squads, this could be the most challenging week of running of the season. And in order to initialize on this tough training, you must have a positive mindset. But what is a positive mindset? That's a vague concept that means something different to everyone. So here is something I do, that really helps me when I get overwhelmed, or discouraged, or I feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. This helps me focus on havinga positive mindset. I simply change the word "have" to "get". Instead of "having" to go to practice, I "get" to go to practice. Instead of "having" to create a lesson on phase changes, I "get" to create a lesson on phase changes. Don't see life as an obstacle, as a burden; see it as an opportunity.

There is a famous thread on Reddit from username RedheadBanshee that started in 2014 (Yes, I regularly fall down the Reddit rabbit hole in my free time) that goes something like this: This is a a story about a man who uses a wheelchair. When asked if it was difficult being confined, he responded, “I’m not confined to my wheelchair—I am liberated by it. If it wasn’t for my wheelchair, I would be bed-bound and never able to leave my house.” Think about it, this shift in his mindset was the only thing that kept him going, that kept him living. That is pretty powerful.

Everything in life is an opportunity, in one way or another. Embrace that language, and your overall outlook will change as well. Intervals are an opportunity to get faster, hills are an opportunity to get stronger, school is an opportunity to get smarter. Instead of "having" to do something, just tell yourself you get to do it, you are lucky you get to do it, you are honored you get to do it, and that thing you supposedly have to do; you are gonna do it 100X better.

Coach Sep

Sept 15th: Another Successful Bandanna Bolt

Yesterday was our third annual Bandanna Bolt, and we had a blast. Thanks to all the athletes who ran, all the parents who came out and supported the team, the athlete leadership council for organizing a field day after the race, and the coaches who made it all happen. Below are some pictures from the day, many thanks to Ms. Booton for the great snapshots!

Sept 10th: Bandanna Bolt

Our third annual Bandanna Bolt is this Saturday, at Village Greens Park at 8 am. This is a great 5 km race for all members of the team to compete in. Coach Dusto divides the entire team into groups of ten or so, and each group gets a head start based on their average time. First team of ten to the finish line wins the Bandanna Bolt trophy and bragging rights for a year! This is a super fun event and we hope that all athletes can make it to the park Saturday morning to participate! Don't roll in at 8:00, though, make sure you give yourself enough time to warm up.

(There are rumors of a field day after the race, so stay tuned for that.)

Coach Sep

P.S. Since we have no official race, there will be no pasta party this week.

Sept 9th: Team Pictures

Team pictures will be this Thursday, the 12th. Athletes MUST wear their uniform to be in the picture. Individual pictures can be ordered using the form that is linked below. All squads will be holding practice immediately following pictures.

XC Picture Order Form

Coach Sep

Sept 9th: Liberty Bell Thoughts, Results and Pictures

What a weekend for CCHS XC! A couple of big highlights! Girls varsity took home the team title and Riley S. went 17:13, which is the 4th fastest time in the country right now. Parker W. went pretty fast as well, with a 14:47, which is the second fastest time in the country right now. I crunched the numbers for the athletes who ran last year and this year, and almost everyone had a new Liberty Bell personal record, which is pretty cool. It was a fast day, and the coaches are very happy with all of the results.

Official Milesplit results are linked up in the "Results" corner of the page, along with lots of video and articles from co.milesplit.com

And huge thanks to Claire for the great pics, she is the fastest photographer on the team!

Sept 7th: Liberty Bell Race Schedule

This Saturday morning, the 7th, is the largest meet of the year, the Liberty Bell Invite. Below is a schedule of our races, Cherry Creek XC is in all of the sweepstakes races, the highest level races.

A couple of notes.

Make sure to get there very early, parking is extremely limited at Heritage High School.

Even though it is in the morning, it is always hot on the Highline Canal trail. Make sure you drink plenty of water and come to the race super hydrated.

There is no Frosh/Soph race at Liberty Bell, all athletes not on Varsity or Junior Varsity will be running in the open races.

This is a fast course, be ready to run a great time!

Coach Sep

Sept. 5th: Liberty Bell Advice

I know Henry Ford had his flaws, to put it lightly, but I really do love this quote by him.

"Whether you think you can, or think you can't—you're right." — Henry Ford

That sums up XC racing. If you think you can do something, you are right. And if you think you can't do something, you are right.

Head into this race Saturday with a super positive attitude, and you will be successful. You just gotta consistently believe in yourself and your training!

Coach Sep

Sept. 3rd: Sickness

So, I finally caught the nagging cold that has been slowly working its way through the team. Ugh, stuffy head, aches and pains, coughing; it stinks. I think I am working my way through it today, and I have my top three methods to beat this cold.

1. Sleep

2. Water

3. Vitamin C

I have tried to get a good nights sleep, I have been slamming water, and I make sure to have an Emergen-C in the morning and at night (which helps with my water intake) the past few days. I plan on continuing this habit, even after I feel better, just to be as healthy as I can be. Everyone will get run down and a little weary after all of the hard training we have done. But, you can overcome that with some extra planning and supplementing. Make cross country not just something you do from 4-6 in the afternoon, make it a priority all day every day!

Coach Sep

September 1st: Arapahoe Warrior Thoughts

Overall, a very successful first meet for us on Friday. Lots of kids raced, lots of kids raced faster than they did the year before, lots of hardware was handed out on both the boys and girls sides. I linked to the results under the "Results" tab on the top of this page.

The coaches are very pleased, but this is only a first step. We gotta continue to do all the little things (hydration, stretching, etc) well so we can do the big things (long runs, intervals, etc) well in training. We value process over results; only when the practice is excellent will the race times will be excellent.

Get a distance run in on Monday, five miles or so, and see everyone on Tuesday.

Coach Sep

August 30th: Arapahoe Warrior Invite Race Schedule

4:00 pm Open Fresh/Soph Boys

4:20 Open Fresh/Soph Girls

4:50 Varsity Boys

5:10 Varsity Girls

5:40 Open Junior/Senior Boys

6:00 Open Junior/Senior Girls

Directions are under Meet Directions at the top of the page.

Plan on being there 60 minutes before your scheduled race time.

Look for the big red CCHS-XC pop up tent.

August 29th: Race Expectations & Logistics

What to expect before the race: About an hour before your race, you should get all your bathroom and changing necessities squared away. Make sure your chip is attached to the shoes you are running in. Look at the posted race map so that you have an idea of where particular milestones are (for Friday, mile markers, water jumps, start/finish). About 40 minutes out, you should start warming up. This will look like a group of athletes, typically led by seniors, going for a 10-15 minute jog. Dynamic warmups (like what we do before practice) follow that, and then you need to head to the starting line about 10 minutes before your race goes off. Ask a coach what “box” you are starting in so you know where to go. Races will sometimes be unexpectedly delayed, make sure you are paying attention!

What to expect during the race: All the races are a 5k. This will take you anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to complete. The race start will be much faster than you expect, pace yourself! Know where you should start your kick to the finish and be sure to stay focused and not walk during the races.

What to do after the race: First off, way to go! You should take off your chip and find a coach to give it to. We usually have snacks for post-race at the tent that you might want. You should get a post-race “cooldown” in, which consists of 15-20 minutes of easy jogging, in addition to stretching anything that is tight. Going through a full dynamic cooldown (donkey kicks, etc.) is a great idea. This will prevent you from tightening up too much post-race. Please stay to cheer on your teammates and attend the awards ceremony. Nothing is more embarrassing than only having the coaches there to accept awards.

Coach Dusto

August 27th: Heart Screening Tests

Here at Creek, we have scheduled a day for all athletes to be able to undergo a heart screening here at the school. This year, it is Sept 12th, from 9:30 to 3:30, in the community rooms next to the library. We encourage all athletes to undergo this screening, where doctors conduct echocardiographies, EKG's and blood pressure assessments to find potential issues before they become too much to handle. These tests are free, you just need to RSVP at everyheart.org to set your spot.

This is a great way to spend your off period, in all seriousness. It is a very worthwhile use of your time.

Coach Sep

August 26th: Getting to XC Meets

Unfortunately, there is never a bus to a meet. It is the parent’s responsibility to get the athlete to the meet. This is not a perfect situation and we highly suggest that you reach out to other athlete’s parents to figure out carpool options. Athletes can also talk to any of our older kids on the leadership council to inquire about rides.

August 25th: Service Day Project

Saturday morning, the team had over 75 athletes, plus many more parents and friends, come to the Cherry Creek State Park for our first annual service day. We worked on the East side of the park, at Pelican Point, pulling mullein (considered a noxious weed) and rebuilding some stairs around the Pelican Point access beach. The team put in 3.5 solid hours of work, with only a couple breaks. Shovels, pick axes, rakes, clippers, trimmers and wheelbarrows were in constant motion all morning 15 giants garbage bags of mullein were removed, 10 stairs were dropped into the trail, and two dump truck loads of crusher fine were spread out over the 75 meter stretch we worked on. It was a great day, a great opportunity to give back to the park that we run in almost every day, and a great bonding experience for the team. The team cannot wait to go for a run there this week, to check out all the work we did!

Coach Sep

August 21st: Hydration Article

I stumbled across this article from Runner's World on hydration. While it goes quite deep on diet and hydration, like salt intake and using gels during your run, the first section on drinking consistently throughout the day is very important. One quote, "If you chug an entire liter of pre-run water, the kidneys will flush it out, causing frequent mid-run bathroom breaks." is especially true. This theme of consistency is going to keep coming up. Being consistent in your training, in your hydration, in your sleep; all that adds up over time to being an amazing runner.

Take a second to read it, it might give you some ideas on how to stay hydrated during these hot workouts we are putting you through!

Coach Sep

August 19th: One Day Left for Spirit Gear

The sale for spirit wear has only 24 hours before we close the link and send the order. If you are interested in buying any CCHSXC gear, please order before tomorrow (Tuesday!)

Cherry Creek Cross Country Spirit Wear Order Form

August 18th: Spike Night!

One of my favorite nights of the year is this Wednesday. At Runner's Roost, on Colorado/Mexico, just north of the Colorado Exit on I-25, we have Spike Night right after practice. While in XC, we really don't wear "spikes" we wear XC flats, this is an oppurtunity for you to get some really fast race shoes, or new trainers, or some high end insoles, or new running apparel, or any gear that you might need, for a discount and it supports the Creek XC team.

Rumor is, free pizza dinner!!!!

Coach Sep

August 18th: Squad Breakdowns

The initial A/B/C squad breakdowns have been decided upon. There are a few very important points about these squads that everyone needs to understand.

1. This is who you will train with on a daily basis. You will be training with athletes of similar ability level, which will allow you to improve as efficiently as possible. Remember, we are one big team, but just that these are the runners and coaches you will see on a daily basis.

2. These groups were determined based on both race times and practice effort. Times in races will determine who runs in what division, but practice ability and effort will determine training groups as the season progresses. Coaches will talk to you in practice about moving up or down for training groups based on your ability and effort in practice. NOTE: this is a big change from how we have done things in the past, which was primarily based on race times!

3. A training group coaches: Brian Seppala and Ethan Dusto; B training group coaches: Christine Garcia, Cayel Dwyer, and Craig Clark; C training group coaches: Greg Critchett, Karl Mimmack, and Jeff Boyce. These will be your direct report coaches for the training group you are on. Please contact them if you have any issues (like attendance, injuries, training questions, etc.).

4. As we have mentioned before, training groups are fluid. If you are unhappy with the group that you are placed on, you need to show effort and ability above the group that you are currently with. We will be closely monitoring things over the next two weeks to look for misplaced runners and try and get them on the correct training team. After that we will reevaluate teams every two weeks.

5. All training groups run at all races, with the exception of the Minnesota travel trip, Regionals, and State. Athletes will be notified what division they are running a few days prior to the meet.

And without further delay, the initial 2019 training groups.

August 18th: Service Project

This upcoming Saturday is our annual Service Project. We as a coaching staff decided that we need to give back the community in which we run in, so we decided a morning of trail work at Cherry Creek State Park is a great way to do that.

I have created a sign up genius, linked below, with lots more details about the project as well as an RSVP (so the park knows how many are coming).

We hope to see as many athletes, siblings, parents and members of the Cherry Creek XC community as we can Saturday morning to help make the Cherry Creek State Park a little better place for everyone to enjoy. We are not just trying to help kids get faster, we are trying to teach kids that giving back is a crucial to growing as a person.

Service Project 2019: Trail Work

August 18th: Time Trial Results

With over 130 Creek kids running yesterday at Cherokee Trail, we had a ton of great results. Congratulations to everyone that ran, the results are posted under the "Results" tab in the upper right hand corner.

August 17th: Spirit Wear Link

Below is the link to purchase spirit wear for Cherry Creek Cross Country.

Cherry Creek Cross Country Spirit Wear Order Form

In the form, just click on what you want, it will add it to your cart, and you can check out right through the Eastbay website.

This link will be closed on Tuesday evening, so don't delay. We need to close the order quickly so we can get the gear delivered to us before the end of the season.

Thanks, and if you have any questions, please email myself or Debbie Wolfe or Dara Goeglein (the Booster Club Spirit Wear Directors) at dmaass3@gmail.com or goeglein@msn.com

Time trial results to be posted soon.

Coach Sep

August 15th: Time Trials Information

Our first real "race" against other teams is this Saturday, at Cherokee Trail HS. These races will help coaches determine who will start the season on which squad. We have three levels, A-squad, B-squad and C-squad. We will look at the times from this race, as well as your abilities and how hard you have been working in practice, to make this determination. There will be three races, boys go off at 7:30 am, will will start warm-up at 7:00. F Girls race at 8:00, warm-up at 7:30. If you have missed a practice this week, you need to race in the open community race at 8:30, warm-up at 8:00 am. Directions to this race, and all the races are in the Meet Directions tab. Bring plenty of water, warm clothes, (Its cold at 6000 ft at 7 in the morning!) and wear some type of Creek gear to run in. Parents are encouraged to stay and cheer the athletes on, and even to jump in the community race if they want! See everyone on Saturday.

August 14th: Website Updates

I have worked to update a lot of the tabs on this website. Training Calendar, Booster Club, Coaches Contact Info and Coach Boyce Service Project have all be significantly updated. Please take a moment to check those out.

August 14th: Parent Meeting Links

Please click on links 1 & 2 below to be cleared to practice with the team this fall.

If you missed the parent meeting on Wednesday night, we have linked to Coach Dusto's presentation below.

1. Rules of the Road

2. Cross Country Contract

3. Parent Night Presentation

Welcome to Cross Country!

As we get ready for the start of our season here is some answers to frequently asked questions:

• Practice begins on 8/12 at 3:45 PM in Stutler Bowl Stadium. It will be done between 5:15 and 5:30, depending on the run. That will be the same for the week.
• You must have paperwork filled out before we let you practice. It also must “clear” on our end of things even if you’re sure you did it.
• Parent night (8/14 at 6PM in Shillinglaw) is the best time to get a uniform. Otherwise a lot of coordination between athlete and coach needs to happen.
• Athletes must compete in their uniform.
• You need to attend practices AND meets in order to get participation. The standard for participation is 85%.
• We usually have 5 days of practice in a week and 85% of 5 is less than one 1. Meaning = you CAN’T miss one day a week of practice and expect to get participation.
• We do not have cuts or tryouts, but we have a time trial on 8/17 (at 7:30 for boys and 8:00 for girls) that is going to help to determine training groups. If you miss this, you’ll be put on our “C” training group until you get a chance to prove that you belong on a different training group. This is not going to be the only determiner of training groups and movement between groups will happen throughout the season.
• All runners compete at all meets EXCEPT the Minnesota travel trip (9/28, top 10 of each gender, if you're close don't plan a trip), Regionals (10/17, top 9 run and top 11 go of each gender, again if you're close don't make fall break plans!!!!!!), and State (10/26, top 7 run and anyone is welcome to come cheer).
• The participation pasta party for all runners is on 10/23 in West Café. Anyone is welcome and we will hand out participation slips here.
• The awards banquet is on 10/30. Athletes earning an award will be invited to this banquet. The invitations will be handed out the week of 10/21. Not all athletes win awards (very few in fact).

July 12th: Week Recap & Weekend Suggestions

This week was our first week of really "sharpening the blade". We wanted our fast days (Tuesday and Thursday) to be really fast and our other days to still be high quality miles. I think we achieved that, Tuesday was a strong hill day for everyone and Thursday was a great speed day for everyone. I was most pleased with how hard the beginner kids ran on the track on Thursday. We did lots and lots of short hard sprints, to get ready for finishing races, and our athletes knocked it out of the park!

Wednesday was our annual Runners Roost summer run. The highlight was the battle between Claire and Miles for plank supremacy!

This weekend, don't fall into the trap of not training consistently. Today, get an easy shake-out run in. 20 to 30 minutes nice and easy. Maybe some strides, maybe so form drills, to keep the legs loose. Saturday, if you are not swimming in summer swim league championships, go for a long distance run. Not your longest run ever, but I would hope at least 75% of your longest run. Go on the o'l Highline Canal trail. Flat, soft gravel, gorgeous trees; super fun run. Sunday take the day off for running, but be super focused on getting ready for Monday. Monday will be your longest run of the summer, 10+ for advanced kids (Spillway to Bible Park), so make sure to drinks lots of water, eat great whole foods, and get a good nights sleep.

I will see everyone in a couple weeks. I am heading back East for vacation. Boston to Shelter Island to northern New Hampshire back to Boston again. Not sure how much blogging I will do, but I will try to update as much as I can. I can promise you I will still be training; hiking, running, SUP-ing (hopefully); so I expect all of you to keep up your training as well. Remember, summer consistency is the key to fall success, so make sure you get to camp every morning and do your best.

Coach Sep

July 8th: Weekly Message from Coach Dusto

Hey everyone!

Hopefully everyone had a great 4^th of July weekend. We have a great week of “sharpening” ahead of us, lowering the mileage and increasing the intensity. After this week we only have two weeks left of summer camp! We have our “shoe breakfast run” on Wednesday from the Runner’s Roost at I-25 and Colorado. We will plan on starting at 7:30 like normal but we will probably be done running a little earlier than normal, probably around 8:30. After that we will have an opportunity to get some discounts on shoes and maybe grab a bagel. If you aren’t planning on getting shoes, you might want to get picked up a little early. Parents/siblings are welcome as well (for run and shoes). Hope to see you there!

Weekly thought:

It seems as though we’ve hit the summer doldrums. Attendance is down a little and apathy is up. This happens every year, but is something that you really need to be capable of overcoming if you are going to be a successful runner. When you first start running you’ll hear coaches say “running is 90% mental and 10% physical” and it doesn’t make any sense. Your legs hurt and you’re fatigued. Your ability to run is definitively hampered by your physical state. Once you get about two weeks in, though, much of what limits you is your mental attitude toward running. This can be as simple as the decision to get out of bed and show up to practice or as complex as the serious thought that you would put into goal setting and/or centering yourself before a workout. When we see athletes walking, as coaches, unless that athlete is hurt, we see an athlete that has lost that mental battle. Editor's Note: So true, walking is losing that mental battle!

The same is true of an athlete who is running/racing well below their potential. These little losses happen to everyone at all levels (even elites) and all sports, but are usually very obvious for runners. If you string enough together, they can sink a season or get you to lose interest in the sport altogether. Three hints on how to overcome your perceived limits and to break through a mental block:

1. Set goals. We do this together, but you should set goals for yourself every day. Goals can be really simple (actually stretch well) or sophisticated (increase VO₂ max), but will help yourself to feel that accomplishment. Your goals should be a stretch, but should be within your grasp. If you set a daily goal for yourself during a run/workout and you’re consistently hitting your goals, you should think about setting your sights a little higher. If you never hit your goals, you need to lower your standards in the short term so that you have the fortitude to hit your long term goals. You should also start to learn how you are internally motivated. I know for me, I like to have two layers of goals. One or two easy to achieve short term goals to increase my confidence and a stretch short term goal that will help me out if I can hit it. In this way I feel accomplished that I’ve hit my simple goals and not too discouraged if I hit my long term ones. I do this for my life as well. For example, my simple goals for today were walking my dog and making sure to eat a healthy lunch, and my stretch goal was to write a good weekly email (hopefully on track…?).

2. Wall your psyche against the inevitable doubts that will creep in. During any hard run, there will be a slow nagging voice in your head to give up. Give up might mean something different to every person, for some it might mean walking or not coming to practice the next day, others it might mean dropping off of a prescribed pace or “letting someone go” (letting someone out pace you) during a run. This nagging voice will keep getting louder and louder as you run. You’ll start to feel pains that you never noticed before or imagine scenarios where you’ll get stranded because you won’t be capable of finishing a run. The logical part of your brain knows that you won’t actually DIE from a run, but your emotional brain starts to take sway and convince you to quit/slow down. To combat this, you need to first acknowledge that this will happen (know your enemy/self!). Knowing that it will come will not allow you to be surprised and will make you more likely to conquer your doubts. Additionally, you should be able to set an achievable goal for yourself to help conquer these doubts. When I was running, and even now, I’ll pick another runner to be with and only present myself the possibility of finishing with or ahead of them. When I think about my run and visualize how it will go, I only visualize a scenario where I stay with that runner. Then when the point comes where that runner starts to take a few steps ahead of me, I can take a deep breath and believe that I can stay with him or her. I’ve coached a number of athletes who achieve above their perceived potential by doing just that, refusing to let someone go. Finally, realize critical junctures when they are happening. If you watch a race or even someone else running, there will come a point where someone moves ahead and someone else doesn’t go with them. The reason that they’re not going with them could be calculated, but usually it is because they’re giving in to doubt. The person moving ahead doesn’t jet away, you watch them move ahead over a long period of time. Sometimes you’ll run for minutes just 10 feet behind another athlete (which makes no sense!). You need to make sure that when you’re running, you’re aware enough to counter these moves and to overcome the doubts in the moment. Which leads me to…

3. Believe in yourself and visualize your success. Like I said above, you should be visualizing your runs and competitions before they happen. You should stick to positive visualizations that allow for you to achieve your goals. I usually like to visualize my successes in a workout during a long run or before bed (make sure you don’t get too amped to go to bed though). If you continue to believe in yourself it won’t allow room for negative self-talk and doubts. Your body can only accomplish what your mind allows!

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Coach Dusto

July 7th: Sunday Preparation

While Sunday is traditionally a day off from training, it is not a day off from preparing for the upcoming week. Tomorrow, Monday, is our long run day, and long run day is a very important day in your summer training. So, make sure you drink lots of water today, eat lots of good healthy whole foods, and get a good nights sleep tonight. Try to get some stretching in, and get your mind excited for a big week of training coming up!

Coach Sep

July 5th: Runner's Roost Breakfast

Don't forget, Wednesday, July 10 is Runner's Roost day. We will meet for practice at the Runner's Roost shoe store on Colorado & Mexico. We w go on our normal recovery run from the store, then Runner's Roost will have great deal on shoes and other gear that you need for the rest of summer and for the fall. Same times as normal, see you at Runner's Roost!

July 2nd: Coach Dusto Advice

(Focus on Coach Dusto's ideas on nutrition, nutrition is one of those "little" things that separate good runners from great runners. )

Caoch SEP

Hey all-

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to send out an email the past two days, busy weekend in the Dusto household. A few reminders:

1. Make sure that you’re getting an up-to-date physical for the start of the season! Schedule now so that you’re not sidelined in August. Our season officially starts August 12, and you cannot practice without a current physical on file.

2. We have NO CAMP on Thursday, 7/4

3. We will meet at the Runner’s Roost at I-25 and Colorado on Wednesday, 7/10. We’ll meet at normal time but run from the Roost. Make sure you square away transportation. We should be done around the normal practice time. There will be deals so you/your parents can come to get some shoes! https://runnersroost.com/runners-roost-denver/

So a quick note about nutrition before I leave on my trip:

Properly fueling your body is one of the keys to recovery. Make sure that you’re getting enough calories to maintain and grow your muscles. Let me preface this with the fact that most of my knowledge is personal and experiential, but encompasses over 20 years of experience. Some thoughts:

1. Eating before practice/race: You should have a light meal before practice/race. Start to find foods that work well for you. Start with the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast) and branch out from there. A lot is about portion size as well. Digestion pulls a large portion of your blood (about 40% the last study I read), which is problematic because your blood is what fuels your muscles with oxygen. Your body prioritizes muscles over digestion, which is why you feel sick/vomit after a hard run (you don’t have enough blood to digest your food). I find that your stomach can handle about the food volume of your fist while you’re running (it takes 1-2 hours for your body to digest food/to get past that peak blood draw) – about two fists worth of food roughly correlates to the maximum amount of food volume that you can reasonable eat 1 hour before a run. Additionally, simple carbs/sugars are great that close to a run. Avoid fats and proteins this close to practice/race (more on that next). Additionally, if you’re getting cramps, chewing your food a lot helps to break it down and digest quicker (take about 10 more bites than you think are necessary, tedious but helpful).

2. Eating the night before: Really the best time to prepare is the night before. Having a good balanced meal, focused on protein and healthy fats, will allow for you to fuel yourself into the next day. Carbs are a runner’s best friend, but the body uses them up relatively quickly, so more than 12ish hours out aren’t going to be particularly helpful. Typically there isn’t a maximum number of calories that you can eat. Unlike most of America, it is nearly impossible for high school runners to take in more calories than they can expend. I know when I was running 100+ mile weeks, it was hard to hold my weight up even eating two breakfasts and two dinners.

3. Hydrate: In addition to calories, there isn’t a maximum amount of water (practically) for runners. Try and get at least 1 L per day, and more if you’re a sweaty runner like myself. I’ll probably try to drink 2-3 L of water on any given day. Gatorade/Juice is great if you’re trying to supplement calories, but isn’t necessary to recover. You have to drink a lot of water to dilute your nutrients to the degree that it’s detrimental (and you can take salt tabs if you’re concerned, available at Runner’s Roost). HYDRATE!!!

4. Post-Practice/Race: Your body does most of its muscle growth/recovery in the 45-60 minutes following practice/workout. This means that you’ll want to have at least 100 or so Calories freely available for your body to grow muscle. An Otter Pop has about 40 Calories, so that only gets you about halfway there. You should be having a snack after every run to get the most out of them!

Ok have a great 4^th and follow the training calendar if you have any questions!

Cheers,

Ethan Dusto

July 2nd: Holiday Training

Remember, we do not have practice on the 4th of July, but you are expected to get a run in. Here is the training for the holiday weekend.

July 4th: 25 min out easy, 20 min back home hard. Negative split. Run out 2-3 miles, then get home faster than your pace going out. Then go to a 4th of July ice cream social.

July 5th: 4-5 miles at your normal distance pace.

July 6th: Long Run! 6-9 miles at your normal distance pace. This is a tougher distance day. Do not skip it. Do not run slow. This is a crucial day in your training. Whatever you ran on Monday, reduce by 25% and crush it today. Bring a friend on a bike to keep you company.

(When I was in HS, I was a XC skier, and I used to do long 2+ hour ski workouts on rollerskis. My dad used to come with me, on the bike. And for those 20+ miles, he would ride behind me, on the bike, smoking a cigar, telling every who we passed that I was training for the Olympics. It was great, having company on those lonely long workouts. Find someone who will tag along with you, make sure the DON'T smoke, and enjoy the experience.)

July 7th: Day off. Relax. Hydrate. Take a nap. :)

See you all on Monday!

Coach SEP

June 28th: Weekend Homework

On a blank index card, the coaches would like you to reflect and update your goals. Look at the picture below to see the format.

NW corner: Name & Grade.

NE Corner: Reflect on your last goal. Was it too easy, too hard? Did you already hit it or are you making no progress towards it?

SW Corner: Let's come up with a new goal. It can be brand new, or a tweak on your existing goal.

SE Corner: What do you need to change in your preparation and training to achieve your goal? Be honest, this is how you get better by honestly accessing your weak pints and working hard to make them stronger.

These cards will be due Monday at the start of practice, see everyone there!

June 28th: News & Notes

Excellent job by everyone on the intervals yesterday. Coach Dusto and I are in the process of crunching the numbers, be ready for some slightly faster distance paces on Monday.

Make sure to train this weekend. One shake-out run day, one long distance day, one day off. Consistency is key!

No practice this upcoming Thursday, go to a 4th of July parade instead.

July 10th, we have a special practice. We will meet at Runner's Roost on Colorado & I-25 that morning. They will have bagels for us, we will run a loop around Wash Park, and then they have special shoe deals for the team. It is a super fun time, hopefully all you can make it there!

June 26th: Consistency

Everywhere you go in the fitness/athletic world, you hear the same exact message in one form or another: CONSISTENCY. "The best ability is availability." football coaches say. Personal trainers always say, "You need to come to the gym 4 times a week to see results", when they are trying to sell you a membership. And XC coaches are always preaching consistency. And if there is one thing Bill Belichick, Jane Fonda and Coach Dusto have in common, that is it. They all know the only way to see results is by showing up every day and doing your job to the best of your abilities. It is not easy, I will grant you that, but nothing worth doing ever is easy. But, it is the only path to improvement, there are no shortcuts.

Like I mentioned today, the hardest part of summer training is just getting out of bed and getting to practice. I woke up this morning and I was feeling horrible. Allergies, a brutal cough, dry mouth and throat, soreness from hills; there was nothing more I wanted to do than roll over and throw my phone alarm out the window. But, I knew I couldn't do that. I dragged out of bed, slammed a big glass of water, drank some coffee, and got to practice. The first mile, I was hurting, I was going 10:00 pace, my right foot/ankle was on fire, and my heart rate was through the roof. However, I eventually settled in. I found my pace, found my groove, got to run with some kids I don't normally run with (shout out Marin!), and I ended up having a great run. My legs were not sore anymore, my throat felt great, I wasn't coughing my head off. I knew that exercise would not only make me feel better physically, but also mentally. The hardest part was just dragging my butt to get there.

So, the next time you feel like going back to bed, don't do it. Force yourself to come to practice, and you will thank yourself the rest of the day.

Coach SEP

June 25th: Long Runs Strategy

There are a few ways to attack summer long runs to properly prepare yourself for a fast five kilometer race in the fall. Let's say we have a 7 mile long run. Ideally, you would take a mile or so to get loosened up, then run the last six miles at your prescribed pace. This is what we are shooting for for everyone. The second way that one can attack a long run day is to get through the 3 mile turnaround point feeling great, and then the last four miles of the run, just fall apart and slow way down. This is obviously not what we want, for a variety of reasons.

A compromise is this, run the first three miles or so at a pace slightly slower than what we want. Then, at the turnaround point, head back to camp at a pace slightly faster than what the coaches ask. Not at hammer pace, but at a little pick up over long run pace. We can't be running "junk" miles, it teaches us so many bad habits, so I think this is a good idea for those of you who are struggling with some of the longer distances we are attacking. We would much rather have slightly less mileage at a quality pace than big mileage as junk pace. If you have questions about this, ask your coach, we can figure out a plan that works best for you.

This is not very timely, it should've been posted yesterday, but hey, better late than never, right?

Coach Sep

June 21st: Weekend Training

The key to becoming better at anything is consistency. Doing something regularly will make you more competent at it. That's what On Your Own (OYO) weekend training is for. We suggest that today (Friday), you do a minimum of a 20 minute easy run. Just to keep the muscles loose and the running part of your brain activated. One day this weekend should be totally an OFF day, a rest day, and the other day should be some type of distance. It can be a super-long hike, it can be a long run, it can be an all day swim meet. Just do something that keeps the heart rate elevated for an extended period of time. We need to continue our practice throughout the weekend, to keep the gains we made through the week.

Caveat: My old Little League coach in the 80's had a saying, "practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent." And he is right, if you practice something wrong all the time, it will become permanent. For example, if you do high knees lazily, eventually that lazy style of high knees will be the only thing that you know.

Coach Sep

June 19th: Garmin Watches

While it is not a requirement to have a Garmin watch, if you do already have one, and you are on Garmin Connect, I would love to have a "connection" with you through that platform. Look me up as Brian Seppala, and send me a connection request. I will gladly accept it, then I will be able to see and work with you based on your training data. Pace, cadence, heart rate, exertion, etc. This will allow me to be a better individualized coach for you, and then you will turn into a better runner and racer.

The cool thing about Garmin Connect is, with a little work, you have an online training log that is already filled in for you. The only thing you really have to do is "edit your workout" which means to give the workout a descriptive name and then fill in how you felt qualitatively. It's a powerful tool that you can use to keep track of your training, and help you see where your strengths and weakness are. Working on those weakness is the only way you can improve, so knowing what they are is half the battle.

Coach Sep

June 17th: Summer Race & Pace Data

Under the HOME tab, I have created a new subpage. It has the data from last Thursday's interval session, as well as projected distance paces. As the summer progresses, and as your fitness improves, these paces will change. Training based on present fitness data, not on projected goal times, is what we are working on this summer, this will allow us to be at our fastest in the fall.

June 11th: Father's Day Five Race

We have been talking about it at practice, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the Father's Day Race that is happening in a couple days. The link is below, make sure to sign up for it and test your fitness. This is a big fundraiser for Cherry Creek XC!

Coach Sep

Father's Day Race Sign Up

June 6th: Message from Coach Dusto

Hey parents!

We have less than a week to the start of our Summer Running Camp! We want to get started right at 7:30 so make sure your athlete is there a few minutes early to check in. We will meet by the playground in Village Greens park. Make sure that your athlete checks in with me or one of the other coaches at the start of camp. The coaches should have clipboards for check in. The website says that we will be done at 9:30 but we are usually done closer to 9, and for the first week we may be done by 8:45. A few do’s and don’t’s for next week:

DO:

Bring water (though we will have some provided)

Bring a long sleeve shirt if it’s a little cold

Get a good night’s sleep

Eat a LIGHT breakfast (ex: peanut butter toast, banana, oatmeal, breakfast smoothie)

Put on sunscreen

DON’T:

Eat a huge breakfast

Bring music/headphones (we do not allow them)

Wear a pair of brand new shoes

Bring your phone (we will be done between 8:45 and 9:15; we do not have a coach dedicated to watching gear at the park)

Other than that, they just need to have gear that they are comfortable running and doing exercises in. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Cheers,

Ethan Dusto

June 3rd: Summer Camp starts in One Week

Training for the 2019 season starts in seven days. Details are: 7:30 am at Village Greens Park. Bring a bottle of water and a training clothes. (shorts, T-shirt, long sleeve T-shirt, good running shoes) Be ready for an easy distance run. Can't wait to see everyone there!

Coach SEP

Thursday Sept 20th: Liberty Bell Pics

As usual, if you want access to even more of these great pictures, shoot Steph's mom an email at sunny_mail@yahoo.com

Monday Sept 17th: Dave Sanders Invite Information

Our next big race is this Friday, at Clement Park (see Meet Directions tab for driving directions) for the Dave Sanders Invite. This race allows teams to enter 10 varsity runners and 10 JV runners per gender, so you might be running in a stronger division, which is pretty cool. We traditionally do pretty well at this race, and we hope to do well again this year, even though the course is different due to construction in the park.

Here are the start times for Friday (Cherry Creek is in Division 1):

ORDER OF RACES:

3:00 D1 Varsity Boys Run 10, Score 5

3:10 D2 Varsity Girls Run 10, Score 5

3:40 D1 Open Boys “B” Team Run 10, Score 5

3:50 D2 Open Girls Unlimited, Score 5

4:20 D2 Varsity Boys Run 10, Score 5

4:30 D1 Varsity Girls Run 10, Score 5

5:00 D2 Open Boys Unlimited, Score 5

5:10 D1 Open Girls “B” Team Run 10, Score 5

5:40 D1 Open Boys “C” Team Unlimited, Score 5

5:50 D1 Open Girls “C” Team Unlimited, Score 5

6:20 Presentation of Awards

**Clement Park has limited parking for spectators and parents. A large part of the parking lot will be designated for bus parking. If spectators cannot find parking spots at Clement Park they are welcome to park at Columbine High School which is located just south of the park. The walk is minimal, less than half a mile. All parking at Clement Park and Columbine High School is free. Please only park in designated parking spots!**

Finally, all varsity & junior varsity athletes need to leave school early on Friday to get to the race on time, especially the boys. Make sure you get your advance approval forms filled out!

Monday Sept. 17th: Scrimmage Results

The scrimmage results have been updated and are linked under the RESULTS tab on the drop down menus. Excellent work by all the racers, and huge thanks to all the booster club parents who hosted our scrimmage. Super fun!

Monday September 10th: Meet Directions

A sub-page was created for meet directions, but it seems like it was too buried for people to easily access. So, we moved that sub-page to the main set of drop down menus in the upper corners. All of our meets, as well as a Google map is linked under this sub-page called "Meet Directions". Hopefully this clears up any confusion..

Coach Sep

Monday September 10th: Liberty Bell Results

I have uploaded the results from Liberty Bell below. I have also archived the Milesplit link under results in our drop down menus. Great racing from everyone on Saturday!

Coach Sep

Liberty Bell Cherry Creek Results

Friday September 7th: Email

I have been debating on whether to share this email I received, as I am not sure this blog is the forum for it. But, I am just so proud of it, because it shows how our athletes really are great members of the community. Not just the A-squad kids, but every kid on the team. I know ALL our coaches stress to ALL our kids that being on this team is more than just running, it is an opportunity to represent yourself and your school to the best of your ability. We are the most public team in the school, if you think about it, as we are always out in the community running somewhere, and it makes me very proud to hear that the athletes are respectful and polite when they are training. I withheld the authors name out of privacy issues, but I think the body of the email speaks for itself. Great job, Creek, this truly means more to us than any race results.

Coach Sep

Principal Silva and Coach Seppala,

Today during my normal run in Bible Park, I was passed by members of your cross-country team twice, running in the opposite direction. At least, I assume they were from your school, as it appeared that someone had on a CCXC shirt.

Despite the number of kids in the running groups, they all made room for me to pass (not always a given with student groups) and several called out "Hi!" as I passed by. I try to always acknowledge other runners in passing, but it's not something I always see with students, so it was pretty refreshing.

38 years ago, I was in their shoes, running for my high school team. I've never stopped running in that time and it has served me very well in life. Though times change, runners are usually pretty good folks. These fine humans from your school reflect well on our community and you should be proud of any coaching (athletically and personally) that have helped them.

Wishing you a great, successful season (even though my daughter ran for TJ until this year.)

*** *******, Denver

Thursday September 6th: Arapahoe Invite Pictures (Updated)

More pictures from Steph's mom!

P.S. If you are interested in higher resolution copies of all the pictures Ms. Chen has taken, shoot her an email at sunny_mail@yahoo.com. She would love to share the online albums with you, and trust me, it's really hard only choosing 6-8 pictures a week to put on the site, they are all so good.