Where's Jake?

Jake now has a pair of college races behind him. He appears to be running fourth on his team and has been covering the five mile distance in about 28:00. Nice work Jake.

Strategy ?

In reading through a recap of the Griak meet on Dyestat I thought the following detail was interesting:
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This race went out a bit quicker than Mead was used to, given the deceptively slow course. “I thought the guys would eventually slow down and that I could make it to the front,” he said.
He did that at the mile, passed in 4:59, with a group of about 10 with him. Then between 1.5 and 1.75 Mead started pulling away. “I didn’t really pick it up,” he said. “I just opened up my stride on the down hills.”

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Learning how to run downhill can help you run faster. Too many people shorten up their stride on the downhills because they are afraid to go too fast. If you are going to surge in a race, why not do it on the downhill ?

Honor roll

For what it is worth if you check out the state honor roll over in the links ...

Kevin is the fastest freshman in the state by about a minute and
Ben is in ninth place.

Two in the top ten is really impressive considering the size of our team.

Kevin was also the top freshman at Griak by about 60 places.

Congratulations guys!

Back from Griak

I am having computer problems ( my hard drive is shot) so posting will be light for a while.

The races were a lot of fun. It didn't rain during the day saturday but the course was pretty saturated already, The college races in the morning churned up the mud and several places looked like cattle crossings. Running through six inches of mud will take a bit off of anyone's time and the consensus is that the course ran about 30 seconds slow by the end of the afternoon. The results are up here :

http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45840&SPID=3297&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=612384

I won't go through all of the numbers here, just a few highlights. Dennis and kevin raced each other the last quarter mile w/ Dennis out leaning the frosh at the line. They were both in front of marquette's first runner and a few steps behind Sean Olson. David had another stellar performance as this is turning out to be his best season ever. Andrew and Brian struggled again. If they had run the same times that they did here last year we would have been third instead of 20th. Both should be able to recover by Conference. Sammy D. ran a PR and finally looked like he did last year. Christian gets a mention for throwing up in his sleeping bag.

Distinguished Alumni Alec Maduzza ran for Nebraska and finished five miles in 27:00.

The girls had another inspiring race. They ran very much together and it was fun to see them yelling encouragement to each other and exchanging high fives during the race. Becky suffered from bad shin splints and did well to finish; hopefully she will be back in form soon. Morgan led the team to ninth place; but the real story was Sarah who had a huge race. She looked like her old self for the first time this year. At this rate she could well be our number one runner by Conference. If the girl's times look slow it's because they rana 5K instead of the usual 4K.

There are some pictures up under the slide show link. Somehow the order of the slides got mixed up. I don't have time to sort them so they are in a somewhat random order. It's not a lame attempt at being artistic.

The next race is the Eagle invite at Parkside. This is the only course that we run twice, so this is where we measure how everyone is doing.

Once again the competition will be huge for this meet. I know I sound like a broken record with that line but keep in mind that just about every meet we run is an open or an invite which means that teams can choose whether or not to come right up until about the week before. For some reason this year a group of better teams have been running at the same events that we are at. This is not normal, but it will help us in the long run. Also keep in mind that we have been running against mostly top tier D1 schools. These guys are not in our section at State. The opposite of this will be the field at our own invite in two weeks which attracts mostly smaller programs and basketball teams.

Griak

This weekend the varsity teams will be at the Roy Griak memorial cross country meet. The meet is hosted by the University of Minnesota and is run on the Les Bolstad golf course.

The morning features the top ranked college teams in the country. This is a chance to see some of the best racing outside of the national meet. It is really amazing to see just how fast these guys are.

The afternoon features the high schoolers. Teams fly in from as far away as California and Florida but the best runners tend to be from the mid west. At the moment the minnesota teams are particularily dominate.

The course itself is very hilly. Times here can be a little slow.

If you are planning to come, come early and pack a lunch. They do sell food on the grounds but the lines can be huge.

Dennis and the boys on TV

Dennis was featured on preps plus TV yesterday the link is here:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=498805

I'm not sure how long the link will be good for. The useless intro and commercials take up the first minute and a half of the video so you have to be patient, but the footage when it comes is worth it. There are some nice shots of the whole team running together as well as a lot of nice things said about Dennis.

congratulations Dennis!

Marquette results

As most of you know by now the race on saturday didn't turn out quite as well as we were hoping. The course itself was in great shape and the competition was as advertised. The races however left more than a few runners with a few questions.

On the girl's side the team ran well together and placed 6th over all. They are excited about Griak this week end and seem to be on track for the season.

On the boy's side, Dennis had a great race. He placed just ahead of a number of top runners who had been pre race picks to win the whole thing. Kevin and David also posted solid performances placing 13th and 25th. Brian, back from a recent illness, was still working out some of the cobwebs. Andrew struggled with a sore hip that has been a concern. The result was that we got thrashed in the team scores, which may not be a bad thing if it takes some of the spotlight and stress off of the guys. We are a talented but thin team and we need all seven varsity runners to come through if we are to achieve our goals for the season.

I had a crazy week end so pictures etc. will go up some time if I can get caught up.

In the meantime, Dr Mahn has some pictures up under the slideshow tab "Mahn Files".

Griak is on saturday.

Race time

4:00 Boys Freshman 4000 M
4:30 Girls JV 4000 M
5:00 Boys JV 5000M
5:30 Girls Varsity 4000M
6:00 Boys Varsity 5000M

Marquette Invite Friday at 4:00

This week's race is the Marquette Invite. Please note that it is being held on a new course this year. It will be held at Washington Park (40th and Vliet). It is also on a Friday rather than the usual Saturday. The races will start at 4:00.

The course is a new variation of Marquette's alumni route. It has been described as two loops around the north end and then one loop around the south end with the finish at the ball fields. The pictures make it look flat but I am told that there are a number of short but steep uphills.

Based on last year, the top teams there could be: Marquette, Catholic Memorial, Craig, Mad West, Shorewood, Neenah, Tremper, WB West, South Milwaukee, and Madison Lafollette.

According to the latest coach's poll the meet will feature the #1, and #2 D2 teams and the #2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 15 D1 teams in the state. The top individual guys are Werve, Christianson, Lund, Lepkowski, and Walsh. It should be one of the best team invites of the season.

I lifted the folowing directions from Marquette's web site :
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The park is bounded by Vliet Street on the south, Lloyd Street on the north, 40th Street on the east and Highway 41on the west. The race starts at the east end of the lagoon. The northern most parking lot off of 40th Street, about a quarter mile south of Lloyd, is the best access. Look for the Training Academy sign.
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Mark your calanders and plan to be there !

Competition?

A quick scan of recent results shows that on Friday night there will be at least twenty guys who have already run under 17:00 this year and there will be at least two who have broken 16:00. There should be 11 guys under 16:30 if conditions are right. That is a very good group of runners.

If Brian comes back and runs close to his average, we have a better than average chance to win the whole thing; which would be nice.

Also, this race will determine who goes to Griak next week so there will be a little more incentive for some of the guys.

Friday, 4:00 Washington Park

New uniforms ...

Ultimate Frisbee ?

I'm not really sure why I find this amusing; but it seems to tie in with all of the Halo and Frisbee that the guys have been playing lately.

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002723.html

Solid start

It's hard to overstate just how nice the weather has been so far this year. Hopefully it will stay this way.

Both teams showed huge progress last night with just about everyone posting a meaningful PR. While Arrowhead is an unusually fast course we haven't always run our best there in the past so it was nice to see everyone where they wanted to be.

The boys ran without Brian who is recovering from an injury; that left Jon and Ben to hold down the fifth spot and hold it they did. Ben pr'd by over a minute and Jon held him off for his best ever as well. they were 50 and 51 overall which was just enough for the team to claim second. We were 5 points behind Arrowhead but we beat Whitefish bay and catholic memorial. The later was something of a surprise because they put all 8 of their runners ahead of Jon and Ben. The difference was that we put our top four ahead of their number two.

We had four guys under 17:00 and Dennis and Kevin both look like they could break 16 by the end of the year. If everyone can stay healthy and keep improving this could be a very special season.

The JV boys looked solid but not as solid as they were told. For some reason they were presented the second place trophy and actually took it home despite finishing dead last in the JV section. The irony is that CM is the school that should have won it. I don't think that I have ever seen that before.

The ladies had another stand out performance. I can't stress enough how amazing their pack running is. because of the way meets are scored it is almost as important to minimize the gaps between your own runners as it is to finish at the front. The girl's have been working really well together and they have been getting faster every week. They are certainly on track to surprise a lot of people at the end of the season. Kudos in particular to Morgan who finished second on the team. She is getting over her freshman nerves and running with a lot of courage.

All of the results are up at PT Timing the link is on the right as "PT results" I won't put everyone's time here because PT does it so much better.

Pictures will go up this afternoon.

Great Job everyone!

Arrowhead is this Thursday!

The Arrowhead invitational attracts some of the best competition every year because it is a very flat, fast course. This year will be no exception, with most of the top D1 runners committed to being there. The leaders in the boy's race will go out sub 5:00 and will probably still be under 10 at the 2 mile mark. The winners will definitely be under 16. The girl's race will go in the mid 14's. Runners circle this date because it is a rare combination of a fast course with a stacked field.

Don't let the fact that it is on a Thursday afternoon keep you from coming, this is a premiere event and we have a chance to place very well. This is also a fan friendly venue in that you can see most of the race without too much effort.

The races start at 4:00 and they are pretty punctual. Directions and details are on the schedule page.
see you there.

Missing your Claire fix?

Claire, as most of you know is attending the University of Colorado on a full athletic scholarship this year. What you may not know is that she has already been putting up some very respectable numbers. The women's team had their annual pre-season time trial last week. The course is an odd 5.8K or 3.6 miles and Claire finished 3rd in 23.12 which is just under 7 minutes a mile on a very hilly course. She was part of a five person pack that stayed together the whole way. She ran next to another freshman ( alisson). Together they are being touted as the core of what looks like a very dominate team in the next few years. I'll keep you posted on her times as they come up.

Tegenkamp on time ...

Tegenkamp has been posting some very interesting comments in his on line training journal. In this latest he talks about why he dropped out of a recent race :
CONTINUED

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Truth about Rieti: So I have a confession to make--the DNF at Rieti was not due to tired legs. I went into Rieti with one thing on my mind: .the 3K American record. When the gun went off until the time I dropped out, I never settled into the race. I was forcing the pace and not letting the race come to me. I got a good start, and was sitting in third until the second alley came in on us, and then I got shuffled back to about tenth. For some reason, I got very flustered by this, and sprinted around the group to get myself back into fifth. I don’t know what I was thinking, because it was so early in the race, and no one was going anywhere. That really hurt me, because it never allowed me to settle into a pace. I was pressing so much in the race that I kept running into the guy in front of me and getting spiked. I still have some huge marks on my shin.
Even before the mile, I was already looking at the lap counter, and I was very tight. My mind was everywhere, trying to figure out if I was on pace for the record, instead of competing and letting the time come to me. It is true that my legs were not feeling good, but it was not because they were tired from training--I went through 2K in 4:59! Once I knew I was not going to be able to hold onto the pace anymore, I lost it mentally and just stepped off the track. I do think I can handle that pace, but I need to let it happen, not force it.
It was smart to put another 3K on the schedule this season, but I got greedy after Monaco. Everything has been going so well this season, and I knew I could run faster after the 7:34. I thought I could just step out onto the track and grab the American record. Moral of the story is that no one should ever chase a time. If you get into the race and compete well, the times always follow!
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This is really a key point, especially for young runners. If you spend the whole race thinking about your splits and how you feel you will never improve. Races are for racing; save the analysis for the bus ride home.

Rebel Results

Both teams put in a solid performance Saturday. The weather was perfect and the competition was very very fast.

The boys took second overall thanks to a pair of well timed finishing kicks, however the results were skewed because catholic memorial pulled a runner in the last hundred meters because he was having an asthma attack. With him in, CM would have smoked us. On the plus side we did beat Tremper again along with a long list of other good D1 schools. Dennis finished first for the squad and 6th overall but just barely. He had to work to catch Kevin. Kevin posted what I think is the fastest time for a freshman in the state so far this year. His 16:49 would have put him 8th on the final list for all freshman last year. The bonus is that he did it on a real course too.
Andrew was third in 17:12, followed by david ( 17:22), Brian (18:07), Jon (18:42), Ben (19:16), and Sam ( 19:31). very solid.

Full results are up at http://www.wisconsinrunner.com/results/2006_rebel/index.htm .

The ladies were paced by Becky (16:27) who is looking very strong this year; Becca (17:20); and then a six deep pack of Erica, Morgan, colleen, Devon, and Devin between 17:26 and 17:29. If they can all stay together and move up that kind of pack running will win a lot of races.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a watch on the open race. Participants included Bill H, Chris S, Coach K, and mad dogg. If you watch the slide show they look like they had a lot of fun.

Speaking of which my pics are up now at Photo show. The Weir pictures will be up later.

Congratulations to everyone!