The Bus

The bus will leave at 7:30 AM saturday.

They have and will leave people who come late.

The schedule looks like this:

9:45 JV girls
10:15 Freshman Boys 4K
10:45 Varsity Girls
11:15 Varsity Boys
11:45 JV boys
12:45 Open 4K



Anyone can jump in and run in the open race.

Pasta Dinner

This week's dinner for the boys is at Dennis' house. It's too far to walk, so guys should plan to car pool or bring a bike to practice.

The ladies will be at Erica's house I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong). They are also on the near east side just past reasonable walking range.

Badger Miles

Tegenkamp explained the concept of "badger miles" in a recent interview :
---CONTINUED ----

Badger Miles Explained
Everyone seems to have a hard time with this issue; why, I don’t know. Everyone has their own way of counting miles, and at Wisconsin, we count everything at 7:00 per mile pace. There is a funny twist to it, in that we round to the nearest 5 minutes (e.g., 8 miles is 56 minutes at 7:00 pace, but gets rounded to 60 minutes, no rounding down). Even though we count everything at 7:00 pace, that does not mean that I go out and run that pace. Very rarely will I run 7:00 pace--I would not get very good doing that. Usually my runs are done somewhere between 5:40 and 6:20 per mile. That includes easy runs, which are more toward 6:20 pace. The only time I might go slower is after a hard race or on my way back after a break. I usually build into runs, starting out slow and ending faster, gives my legs time to warm-up. I almost always run on some sort of trail and make loops, and there is only one place for us to check out splits in the city, so it is easier to just have a fixed system for counting miles. Here is a Badger miles chart. I hope this chart is the answer that everyone as been looking for-- the secret to our training!

Miles Minutes
0-----------below 25
3-----------25
4-----------30
5-----------35
6-----------45
7-----------50
8-----------60
9-----------65
10----------70
11----------80
12----------85
13----------90 (this is our only break--should be 95)
14----------100 (1:40)
15----------105 (1:45)
16----------115 (1:55)
17----------120 (2:00)

A little extra: we figure for about every 60 miles during base training, you can add 10 miles to your total. That changes during the seasons because workouts are a more accurate account of mileage

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Notice that they don't even start counting miles until after 25 minutes of running and they don't consider anything slower than 7:00/mile. I know that this is a top ranked D1 college program, but it is interesting to see what their definition of "running" is.

Next race: Rebel Invite

This Saturday 9/2 is the rebel Invite at UW Parkside. This is the premiere course in the midwest, it is also the only course that we run twice every year. This will be a much bigger meet than last week and the competition will be much better. On the boy's side teams to watch will be Catholic Memorial, Tremper, and Marquette. Memorial has finished second behind us at State for the last two years. They are returning almost their whole varsity intact. They are convinced that this is their year to finally put us in our place. They have no idea how good our incoming freshman class is. Kenosha Tremper considers this to be their home course and they are not happy that we seem to find a way to beat them every now and then. Marquette splits their team in half because of it's size. I don't know if they will bring their A or B team.

The 5K course for the guys is very challenging. The first mile is essentially uphill and the grass can be long at this time of the year. The second mile has a lot of fast downhill back in the woods. The third mile consists of a series of rolling hills that separate the runners from the wannabees. The finish is slightly uphill for the last quarter mile.

The ladies run a shorter version that skips the rolling hills.

The schedule looks like this:

9:45 JV girls
10:15 Freshman Boys ( 4K)
10:45 Varsity Girls
11:15 Varsity Boys
11:45 JV boys
12:45 Open 4K

Anyone can jump in and run in the open race. In the past Bill H. and Dom have run and placed.

UW Parkside is a good hour away. There is a map over on the schedule page but mapquest seems to have an odd route. I prefer these directiions:

From Milwaukee take I-94 E to exit 339 (Hwy. E) on the north side of Kenosha. Look for UW-Parkside sign on freeway. Go east 4 miles to the stoplight. Continue about one mile to the first left turn. Look for the UW-Parkside parking lots on your right. The course is at the bottom of the hill below the parking lots.

The course is across the street from Petrified springs state park. Parents will want to get there around 9:00 especially if this is your first time. This is a course that requires a fair bit of moving around if you want to see more than just the start and finish.

See you there !

West Bend results

The weather was remarkably tame compared to past years. It was really only muggy for one or two races. The course was slightly different than last year which should have made it faster but the grass was much longer and the over all times were actually slower than last year.

The ladies put in a very solid day, led by Becky in 16:31; Becca 17:34; Morgan ( a freshman no less) 17:52; Colleen 17:53; and Katja 18:08. Everybody looked good coming in off of summer training and it was very nice to see a freshman break into the top five.

The boys also debuted a pair of fast freshman. Competeing in the sophmore race Kevin won the race outright with a time of 17:09 but was probably under 17:00 ( he had a little trouble staying on the course and finding the finish line). Ben ( not Flanders) ran 19:39 to make the varsity squad for saturday. The vets all seemed to struggle a bit finding fifth gear. Hopefully it was just tired legs from a long week of practice. Dennis 16:56; Andrew 18:03; David 18:07; Brian 18:29; and John 19:34. With the addition of Kevin, the top five looks good enough to go up against anybody at the end of the season.

Congratulations everyone.

Pictures are up in the slide shows, click the "2006 season" tab.

A very fast 5k

American Bernard Lagat is looking to set a world record in the 5k in Berlin next week. THis quote is from a recent interview with the IAAF:

“What makes Rieti so special for middle distance runners is that we have no big meeting feeling,” confirmed Lagat. “I do not feel pressure and I compete very relaxed. I ran badly in Zürich because I felt sick there. But after winning the 3000 metres in Birmingham I began thinking that I could run 3:29 in Rieti. I expect many things in the coming meetings. I will run the 5000 metres in Berlin next week where I face Kenenisa Bekele. I know that he can run under 12:50. If I ran 12:50, I would be very happy."

Bekele typically runs his last quarter in 51. Those are some fast boys.

Dinner tonight

Tonight's spahgetti dinner for the men is at the Erickson's.
The ladies are apparently going to a restaurant somewhere.
The tables will be outside so dress accordingly.
The house is three blocks from the HS; corner of Newton and Oakland.

The food will be ready at 5:00.

First race

The first race is this Saturday in West Bend. I believe it takes about an hour to get there legally. There is a map on the schedule page but the key exit you want to look for off of 45 is Paradise drive.

This is a "grade level" challenge which means that there will be 8 races. They are bookended by the freshman and the order looks like this:

8:30 Freshman Girls
9:00 Sophmore Boys
9:30 Sophmore girls
10:00 Junior Boys
10:30 Junior girls
11:00 Senior Boys
11:30 Senior Girls
12:00 Freshman Boys

The bus will be leaving the High School at 6:30 am according to Sarah which allows the freshman girls enough time to warm up. Parents can get at least another hour of sleep.

There will be medals for the top 15 in each race.

The course is considered to be very slow, but the competition is usually very good.

A "new parent" primer

This post is for parents who are new to the sport and is intended to answer the "dumb" questions that everyone has but no one asks.

1. Get there early. The pre-race environment can be chaotic, so you should leave some margin to be "flexible" if something happens.

2. There are no bleachers at a CC meet. If you don't want to stand the whole time bring a chair or a blanket to put on the ground.

3. Races cover 2-3 miles; most of which are out of sight of the finish line. If you want to see the race you will have to move around. This requires the proper shoes. I have run in wingtips before and I don't recommend it.

4.The scoring is like golf: Low score wins. The places for the top five runners from the team in each race are added up to arrive at the score. ( i.e. If Dennis is first in the race he gets 1 point, If David is 8th he gets 8 points etc... a perfect score is 15). The sixth and seventh runners do not count towards the score but they do displace other runners which can make a difference ( just ask the girls about last year's conference race).

5. Bring a pair of sunglasses or a baseball cap. The sun can be a real hassle, especially at the Arrowhead meet.

6. Bring a stop watch. It's nice to know what times people are running and to help out with splits.

7. Bring a range of clothing. The temperature can and does swing dramatically at some of these events.

8. Bring your wallet. The admission is free( except at State), but there are always shirts and snacks for sale.

9. Bring your camera and help me take pictures.

Parent's Meeting

The official pre-season "parent's meeting" is tomorrow night tuesday Aug 22nd. The event will take place at the middle school. The SIS commons is the lunch area just inside the main door.

Dom and Sarah will cover the basics and answer questions.

There will also be sign up sheets for the spahgetti dinners and other fund raisers.

This is a great event for parents who are new to the sport.

The meeting will start right at 7:00 pm and can last as long as an hour if there are questions.

What's a really good 5k time?

The oregonian filed this report on UW's Matt Tegenkamp last week:
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Tegenkamp came into the meet with the best U.S. mark this season in the 5,000: 13 minutes, 4.90 seconds two weeks ago in Stockholm, Sweden. He came to Hayward looking for some speedwork, and everything went as planned.
Pacesetter Jason Lunn, who had promised to take the field through the first 800 of the 1,500 in 1:54, delivered.
"He was dead-on at every split," said Tegenkamp, who competed for Wisconsin. "It was just easy to get in there, tuck in and follow."
Once Lunn dropped out, the race was Tegenkamp's. He took it, winning in a personal best of 3:36.07. Said Ahmed was second in 3:38.31.

----------
Update: He just posted a 7:34 3k in Zurich ( that = an 8:11 two mile ).

He gives a first hand account of the race here : http://www.kimbia.net/newsarticle000113.html

It is a must read !

Alumni in the news

I'm going to attempt a new "where are they now" type series to try and highlight past Shorewood runners that are still running and running well. First up: I found this recent clipping featuring Ben Schmeckpepper. I believe that I have the right Ben.

---------------------------------
June 5 2006

After several years of sweltering conditions, race day at the 2006 Rhody 5K produced quality racing conditions of low 60's and overcast The race squeezed in between weekend rains, which kept the overall numbers down but saw the largest number of teams scoring in the race. Among those teams, the Boston Athletic Association again led the fields. Construction on the Lincoln Park parking and access roads led to a new course that did not finish on a dog track.

In the men's race, run first, Ben Schmeckpepper (BAA) came from behind in the final tenth of a mile to over take Brian McGovern of Florida for his first New England Championship victory in a respectable 14:49.
-------------------------------------------
yeah, that's respectable.

Ben also had a respectable career at MIT, making it to nationals as an individual all four years. ( The men run 5 miles in college).

2001 157th 26:22
2002 32nd 25:47
2003 38th 25:55
2004 8th 24:49 - "All American"

If anyone else has any Alumni results please email me and I will get them up. Shorewood has a great tradition and we need to promote it.

Want a banana?

Okay, everybody knows that runners eat bananas because they have a lot of potassium, but why do runners need potassium?

Potassium and sodium ( salt) are the two main chemicals responsible for regulating the flow of water in and out of cells. Say what? Potassium keeps you from cramping up and feeling fatigued during and after a run.

Runners World has an excellent article on it here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-53-84-0-8955-1-1X2X3-4,00.html

Remember Alan Webb?

Webb is of course the skinny kid from Reston Virginia who pegged the US high school mile record at 3:48 a few years ago. He will be running a mile in Scotland tonight and had this to say to a reporter yesterday:
-----------------------
"I tweaked my hamstring just after that 27:34 at Stanford, which is a fast 10k for a miler. A couple of days later I ran 20 x 400 with a minute interval. I started with 61-62s and finished at 57 seconds, so I knew I was fit, but then I found I was iron-deficient. So I've rested, and now I am not at my sharpest. I was only third in the 800 metres at the Scottish Championships, so I'm not in 3:48 shape, but I should still be able to go below four minutes on Thursday.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/68054.html
------------------------

What caught my eye wasn't just the 20 quarters but the part about being iron deficient. It is really important to pay attention to what you are eating and how much you are sleeping when you run high mileage. You must listen to your body.

The keys to running your best are :

1. 8-10 hours of regular sleep every night. Get on a schedule and be consistant.
2. Hydration. Drink water all day long and then drink some more.
3. Nutrition. A good multi vitamin every day can cover a lot of bad habits
4. Bananas every day are the best way to keep your potassium supply stocked

Every world class runner when asked about their routine always starts by talking about how much sleep they get and then they talk about what they eat, and then they lie about how many miles they run.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Is track a fall sport?

well, no but there are some really cool meets going on right now as people are trying to sort out who will be running in the next olympics. last week was the "road to Eugene" meet where uw's very own Tegenkamp took the 1500 from a stacked field.

The recap in the Oregon Duck is pretty well written:

Men's 1500m: Jason Lunn goes directly to the lead, goes through 300m in 42.5. The runners are already in a long line. Lunn 56.3 at 400 meters. Andrew Bumbalough,Matt Tegenkamp, Said Ahmed and Anthony Famiglietti follow Lunn . AJ Acosta is 3rd from the back. 1:40 with 2 laps to go for the lead pack of 6. 800 meters in 1:54.5 for Lunn. The pack is now 4; Lunn, Tegenkamp, Ahmed, and Bumbalough. Acosta is now 4th from the last. Bumbalough drops out with 500 meters to go. Lunn drops out at the bell. Tegenkamp takes over and Ahmed follows through 1200 meters in 2:53.7. Gabe Jennings is moving well down the backstraight, trying to catch Anthony Famiglietti, who is 3rd, with 200 meters to go. Tegenkamp pulls away from Ahmed down the homestraight to win in 3:36.06. Ahmed, looking over his shoulder, holds on for 2nd in 3:38.31 over a hard-charging Famiglietti (3rd, 3:38.61) with Jennings 4th in 3:38.96. Acosta is 10th of 11 finishers in 3:47.48.

Those are some fast boys.

On a related note, these guys do run in local races and you can step up and run with them sort of.
Andrew ran in the "full moon 5k in madison" last night. The race was won by Chris Solinsky in 14:58. That's a little out of range, but a fair number of people ran the first mile with him (4:50). It's a good way to reset your mental pace and maybe move up a notch. A lot of running is mental, and a lot of that is just believing that you belong up front.

My bad

The Hank Aaron race I have been promoting conflicts directly with the new alumni run. My bad.

Of course everyone should go to the alumni run at Kern park. This is the first ever and it is important to start it off on the right foot. It is also an excellent way to show your support for the team.

So knock that mud off of your spikes and set your alarm for saturday morning. The weather is guaranteed to be perfect and "big bertha" will be happy to see you.

Race Tonight

There are a ton of good races this time of year. You should be in a couple before the season starts.

Tonight is the "full Moon" run in madison. It starts at 9:00 pm for those of you who work during the day. Details are here : http://www.movinshoesmadison.com/full_moon.htm .

Remember, the first official race of the season is now less than three weeks away.
What are you waiting for?

Looking for a good time?

There is a very decent race coming up this weekend over at Miller park. You can actually bike there on the new bike trails if you can't find a ride. We will unfortunately be in the twin cities at another event but I am sure Dom can put together a carpool if there is enough interest.

The run is at Miller park on the 12th, located by the suasage house in the south east parking lot. It is officially The Hank Aaron state trail 5k. It is all asphalt and tends to be pretty (very) fast. The last mile is all down hill. It is a small race but they hand out some pretty decent munchies and door prizes afterwards. The info is here.
http://www.hankaaronstatetrail.org/Fun%20Run%20and%20Walk%201.html

The run is in the morning (8:30) so you have to actually get up, the bonus for parents is that the last two years they had free bakery and coffee from Alterra in unlimited quanities prior to the run.

Sam D. ran last year (20:07); Andrew ran 17:19; Zach McFall ran 17:10

Learn from the best

Haile Gebrselassie is arguably the greatest living distance runner and maybe the best pure distance runner ever. In a recent BBC sport interview he offered a few tips.

What has been the best advice you have had in your career of athletics?

Actually, there are two important pieces that helped me a lot:

1. Work hard! This is what my father has always told me. Nothing comes for free, so if you want to achieve something you will have to work hard.

2. Take your time! This was the first advice of my manager Jos Hermens. He explained to me that if you work hard and make the right choices, things will come your way.
In the beginning of my career I thought I could run a race every week. I felt great and wanted to show people how fast I could run.
Jos taught me not to run too many races and to train and rest well. When I started to do this, my performances got even better!

What do you do to help you recover from your hardest training sessions? How much sleep do you have each day?

I go to bed early (9.30 pm), but also wake up early (6 am). During the daytime I try to sleep, but this is difficult as my daughters try to keep me awake.
For me it is not so important to sleep, as long as I can take a rest. In the afternoon, I try to rest for two hours.
Next to sleeping a lot, massage also helps to recover well from training. When I train really hard, I make sure that I have daily massages.

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Work hard and get regular sleep ... that probably sounds like your parents but it's the truth..

The Schedule 2006

The schedule now has it's own page to keep it from getting buried on the post page.
It is the second link over on the right. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You can of course bookmark it under favorites if you are using windows so you can get at it even easier. I will try to link driving directions and maps to each entry. I have most of them up already.

The season starts in less than a week and we actually have two meets before school even starts. Considering that there are only six meets before conference and sectionals that means that a third of the season will be in the books before the boys even get their books.

heh

Sparse

The summer classic at parkside was last night. Shorewood fielded three runners and a soccer player. Yes a soccer player. Come on people, that's pathetic.

It was a little hot and muggy but everyone who came had a good time.

Andrew ran slow but was still in the top 20.
Sam G. arrived after the start but jumped in anyway, no time but definite points for effort.

Heidi represented the girl's and averaged around 9 min a mile.

And Jordan W. ( sprinter/soccer) flashed his "legendary" kick at the finish.

The event ended with a picnic and prizes.
There was also a truck full of stuff from Pond's ( the premiere shoe store in Illinois). Emily bought a pair of very nice spikes for $10. That was worth the drive all by itself.

Plan to be there next year. This is a great event.

Results are up over at Wisconsin Runner ( link is on the right ->)

Amber Alert !!

Officials are still looking for a white van, reportedly full of distance runners from Shorewood High School. Alledgedly driven by one Dom Newman. The van never arrived at the Parkside summer classic last night. Any one with information on either the missing runners or the wayward coach are asked to contact the Shorewood athletic department.

The new lounge

Ben and others have asked for a "chat room". I have been a little hesitant to explore this because I don't want to police it and I don't have the time or expertise to build one.

I have been persuaded to try a limited version on a trial basis. You will notice a new link on the right cleverly titled: "The Lounge". This link is to a dummy blog that I set up just for comments. You won't be able to start any threads but you can comment on and join any that are there. I'll keep this up under two conditions:

1. People actually use it.

2. That it doesn't get abused ( by which I mean no excessive swearing, no unduly scatalogical syntax, and no personal attacks on people on or off the team.

I will be just slightly more restrictive than dyestat.

If this proves popular it can be expanded.

-The management