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Week 4: Extreme Heat, Morning Workouts, and the Women's 4 Miler!

Week 4 brought us what I hope was the last of the terrible heat waves of the season. The temperatures were in the mid to upper 90s all week, which led to many disrputions in our planned schedule. Our first meet, the Ragged Mountain Cup, had to be postponed a week, and we had to move our two workouts to the mornings to make sure we got them in due to practice restrictions. On Monday we met at 6:45am and headed to Henley for some repeat 1000s. Tuesday we managed to get our recovery run done in the afternoon, although it was brutal out, and finished with Tuesday Treat Day muffins. Wednesday saw us back at WAHS at 6:45am for a downward ladder on the track, and Thursday the girls played tag inside due to the heat! Friday morning quite a few girls showed up at WAHS (or met at Couch) bright and early to get their long run in, and Saturday a big group of us met at Foxfield to volunteer for the Women's 4 Miler! We blocked driveways, cheered, and danced for a few hours before heading off on our long weekend. 

Thank you, families, for being so flexible and dealing with last minute changes to the schedule. Because you were able to pivot to mornings, we were able to continue our training with little disruption, which will really help us down the road. Keep your fingers crossed for cooler weather in the next few weeks as we start our busy racing schedule. 

Week 3: Time Trial, Battle of the Bugs, the Evil Hay Monster Machine, Rotation Stations, Friday Night Swim Party, and Panorama Farms! 

What can I say: Week 3 of XC was another crazy, packed, and exciting one full of team activities for WAHS Girls XC! We started off the week with the annual TWO MILE TIME TRIAL at Henley on Monday.  Luckily, the weather was decent (about 78 when we started @ 5:15).  This is the first "race effort" the girls do the entire season, and it comes with a lot of nerves! The girls did great, and there were some impressive times. One of the main purposes of the time trial is to practice what a race experience will feel like: the nerves, the warm-up, the strides, etc. so that when the first real meet comes along they've already gone through that experience in practice. 

On Tuesday after our abs, recovery run and  weight room rotation we had Tuesday Treat Day: this week is was Sugar Cookies, which were quickly devoured. I may start wearing full body armour to hand out the treats...

On Wednesday we traveled to Mint Springs Farm for a hill workout. The entire time we were plagued by knats--relentlessly. And, unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the owner of the property, it was Hay Harvesting Day (happens once a year!) on both sides of the road. I had even been out to the property early that morning to scout out the workout route and had everything ready. Ahhhh, the best laid plans...  We got the workout in anyway, however. Luckily, the hay had already been cut, but there was a huge "Evil Hay Monster Machine" that was driving back and forth collecting the hay into bales and kicking up a bit of dust in it's wake.  The girls got in the workout, which consisted of pushing hard for about 30-45 seconds up a very steep, short hill and then jogging down the other side of the hill and back to the starting point and repeating in a continuous loop for 7-8 reps.  It was a challenging workout, but the girls worked hard and got it in, despite the difficulties. 

Thursday was a full recovery day: the girls did bands,  only 3 minutes of abs, and then a very easy 30 minute recovery run. I stress to the girls that recovery days are just as important as workout days, as that is when the real "work" happens in your body to build muscle and endurance after the stress the workout from the previous day put on it.  After the recovery run, we all met in the gym for Rotation Stations.  The girls were divided into 5 groups and moved from station to station, staying about 7-8 minutes at each one.  The stations were led by coaches and girls that have been on the team for a few years:

Tuesday Treat Day, Miller School, and Piney River: Week 2 had a lot of "firsts"

Week 2 of official Cross Country practice had a lot of FIRSTS! We had our first Tuesday Treat Day (we had it on Wednesday, though)--this week's treat was milk chocolate brownies! It is always nice to have a little pick-me-up early in the week, and what better way to do it than to indulge in some sweet treats with your teammates? These girls work so hard, and I love the fact that sometimes we just get to sit around, chat, and stuff our faces. 

Later in the week we had our first Off-Campus afternoon practice at Miller School. The girls all got to where they needed to be quickly and everyone arrived at Miller in a timely matter--this is no small accomplishment with about 30 runners. Great job, ladies!

Miller School has a wonderful, huge campus with lots of wooded trails, fields, and even a lake (which we did not swim in this time). The workout I had planned was to involve continuous hill running on a field circuit which has a fairly gradual uphill and a shorter, steeper downhill. Unfortunately, the grass loop wasn't mowed yet (Miller School hadn't started yet), so only the steep section had good enough footing to run. I had to change up the workout even before the girls started to out-and-back continuous reps on the same trail, and it turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticiapted. The girls worked so hard! It was fairly hot in the open field, and it got very steep the last 50 meters. I was so proud of how they maintained their good attitudes even during what turned out to be a very hard workout. These girls are rock stars!

Finally, on Saturday, the girls made their way down 151 to Piney River to do their long run on the Virginia Blue Ridge Rail Trail. This is a 7 mile fairly flat gravel path that runs along the Tye River, and is mostly shaded the whole way. The girls got in a quality long run, ranging in distances from 6-11 miles. It was nice to run somewhere new, even if it was a bit of a hike to get there! 

WE MADE IT THROUGH WEEK 1

The calendar below is designed to be an "At-A-Glance" overview of the season.  For the most up-to-date information, always check the Weekly Schedule tab as well. 

Although it was only 3 days at school, last week felt like one of the most exhausting possible! We had a great first official week of XC practice, though.  It was wonderful to welcome all of the new runners to our team, and get in some good training despite the heat and humidity.  Here are a few pictures from our first few days of the regular season.

Well, I'm not sure the lyrics of the Cure's song really applied to how the girls were feeling at 7am Friday for practice, but they didn't complain. They all did a very easy recovery run (just as important as a workout!) and we did our weight room rotation. It will be nice to get one of our weekly weight room sessions done on Friday mornings, as we have the place to ourselves. Great job, girls!

Here is birthday girl Kennedy Watson, along with some of the early arrivers, at Couch (Dick Woods Road) on Saturday. For her birthday, I gifted Kennedy an amazing 8 mile run in near 100% humidity! :). All kidding aside, yesterday was fairly brutal, and the girls got it done and got the miles in. 

We are slowly saying farewell to our amazing Super Seniors this week. Abbie and Anja are leaving soon, and I said goodbye to them yesterday at Couch. Emerson, pictured above, heads to college later this week. They will be sorely missed around here, and their legacy will continue throughout the years!

PRACTICE ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS

There are no cuts for Cross Country. However, attendance at all practice is mandatory. That said, I understand that it is not possible to be at all practices, every single time. The most important thing is that you contact me ahead of a missed practice, to both explain why you will be missing, but also so that I can explain to you the workout / run in the expectation that you will find a way to get it in, if possible, and communicate with me that you did complete the run. 

Here are some acceptable reasons to miss practice:

--A family event: a trip, special occasion, etc. Also, if a parent has a good reason for their daughter not to be there, just let me know.

--An appointment: please communicate ahead of time. Also, look ahead at the weekly schedule and try to arrange appointments not to fall on workout days, if at all possible

--An illness: obviously, these are not planned, so prior communication is not always expected

--A job or interview: please try to arrange to work / interview at times that don't conflict with important practices

--A club / organization meeting (We the People, etc.):  However,  this season the workout days will shift on a weekly basis, so be aware you may be missing key workouts, or have to make them up. Also, please realize that activities such as "decorating" or "setting up" should not take priority over practice (delegate these tasks). 

--SATs or other Saturday morning tests: You will most likely do your long run Friday morning

Here are unacceptable reasons to miss practice:

--Being sore / tired: Everyone is sore and / or tired. If you feel that you are too sore / tired to come to practice, please communicate ahead of time. Most likely I will send you home to rest. However, I might want you to see the trainer before heading home if you have an ache  or pain. Just reach out. 

--School work: Communicate with me if you are feeling overwhelmed, and we can figure it out together. 

Bottom Line: Missing practice without communicating ahead of time is not acceptable. Simply not showing up is not acceptable. Other sports do not accept this.  For XC you have 2 unexecused absences, and then I will bench you from the next meet, no matter who you are. I am taking attendace every day. There is a tendency to treat running with the attitude "Oh, I can always make it up on my own if I miss".   Yes, you can run on your own, and that is better than nothing, but missing practice means you are also missing the team-building that comes with being together.  

Come to practice, be present in all senses of the word, and let's have a fantastic season together!