Entries for Hartford Public Meet

I just wanted to post the entries for the Hartford Public Meet. This is an extremely competitive meet and we are limited in entrants (1 team for relays and 2 athletes per event). Athletes must also make the standards which are based off the LL/L state standards. Many coaches believe in "skewing" times or seeding athletes with unrealistic times. I do not believe in that and all athletes made the standards at some point (I had to go back and look up performances from last year indoor and outdoor). All of the following athletes will not compete at the Developmental Meet this Thursday. Unfortunately, the Developmental meet was scheduled at a not so great time. I want to make sure those competing at Hartford Public are fresh and ready to race. I hope everyone enjoys their New Years and we will return to normal scheduling on Monday. Make sure you run the next several days. Remember, fitness and endurance diminishes at far greater rates than what it takes to obtain it.

*Note-I put in alternates for both relays.

Entries

• Girl's 4x400m Relay - Team with 6 athletes:
  Athletes: Taylor A, Caitlyn C, Kylee M, Casey N, Ashia W, Jillian J
  Entry Mark: 04:18.15
• Girl's 4x800m Relay - Team with 6 athletes:
  Athletes: Amanda C, Sarah F, Caitlyn C, Julie H, Jennifer J, Kathleen K
  Entry Mark: 10:16.40
• Girl's Shot Put - Rachel A:
  Entry Mark: 40-04.50
• Girl's 2-Mile Run - Amanda C:
  Entry Mark: 12:40.00
• Girl's 600m Run - Sarah F:
  Entry Mark: 01:44.40
• Girl's 1-Mile Run - Julie H:
  Entry Mark: 05:38.20
• Girl's Pole Vault - Jennifer J:
  Entry Mark: 08-06
• Girl's 55m Dash - Jillian J:
  Entry Mark: 08.00
• Girl's 2-Mile Run - Kathleen K:
  Entry Mark: 12:02.21
• Girl's High Jump - Kylee M:
  Entry Mark: 05-02
• Girl's 300m Dash - Casey N:
  Entry Mark: 44.04
• Girl's Pole Vault - Sarah S:
  Entry Mark: 08-06
• Girl's Long Jump - Alisha W:
  Entry Mark: 15-00
• Girl's Triple Jump - Alisha W:
  Entry Mark: 30-06.25
• Girl's 55m Dash - Ashia W:
  Entry Mark: 07.57

Workout Schedule for The Week

Here is what we are looking at for the workout schedule this week. Again, we will practice at 9:45am to roughly 11:45 am Monday Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. We will be meeting in the Commons as usual.

Monday
Sprinters/Hurdles/Jumpers- Workout outside. 6xElmwood Circle. 80% effort for the first half 90% effort for the second. There will be a diminishing rest starting with 2 minutes and decreasing by 15 seconds after each interval. 4x100m Accelerators
Distance/Middistance- 5-6x3 minute threshold/tempo with 1 minute recovery. Extended Strides

Tuesday
Sprinters- Easy distance 2-3 miles with accelerators. Practice Handoffs/Starts
Hurdles/Jumpers- Warm-up with team. Work on individual events. Practice Handoffs/Starts
Distance/Middistance- Easy distance 3-5 miles followed by strides

Wednesday
Everyone is doing a hill workout. Amount and location TBD.

Thursday
Sprinters/Hurdles/Jumps- Easy distance 2-3 miles followed by 4x75m accelerators( 75 meters is roughly 25 strides counting on 1 foot, 50 strides counting on 2 feet)

Distance/Middistance- Easy distance 3-5 miles followed by 4x75m strides (see above for explanation)

Friday
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Everyone-Optional easy running day anywhere from 2-5 miles

Saturday
Sprinters/Hurdles/Jumpers- 1 mile warmup.6x1 minute bursts at 90% effort with 2 minute JOG recovery. 6x50meter bursts with 1 minute JOG recovery. 1 mile cooldown.
Distance/Middistance- Long run anywhere from 5-9 miles. If you would like to swap Thursday's workout with Saturday's you may. Just make sure you get a long run in.

Sunday
Everyone- Optional easy running day anywhere from 2-5 miles.

I will end with a quote I came across and I think it is appropriate as we begin the New Year

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...not going all the way and not starting"
~Buddha

Splits and Post Race Feedback

Sorry it has taken so long, I got caught up with some unexpected holiday happenings that I needed to take care of. You will find all of your splits here with a time. Coach Dvarskas and I did our best to be as accurate as possible, especially in the sprinting events.

4x800m A
Julie H- 35.72 37.56 37.37 36.5 2:27.60 Very nice split and solid time to start the season
Sarah F- 32.8 35.32 38.12 40.0 2:28 Went out a little fast, that's ok though. Came back nicely in
the 600m
Amanda C- 37.78 39.0 42.19 42.34 2:41.2 Solid race
Kathleen K- 37.1 40.3 42.03 40.78- Last minute change of order and out of event. Was expecting
a little faster but it is something to work on. Solid start and came back nicely in the 2
4x800 B
Caitlyn C- 39.07 41.25 45.38 39.87 2:46- Solid time, struggled with that 3rd lap but good start
Hayley- 43.0 44.2 44.8 43.3 2:54.4- Consistent laps, this time will come way down.
Meghan- 39.12 42.69 46.53 46.44 2:55- Hoped in last minute. A little quick to start. This will
come way down
Amanda M- 38.9 42.0 46.5 46.6 2:54.1-Same as Meghan, this time will improve greatly. Went
out a little hard. First race, it will come with time.

4x800m C
Abby- 39.0 44.3 47.5 48.9 2:59- Went out a little fast. Again, like many, this time will go way
down.
Veronica C- 42.2 50.1 53.5 51.0 3:16- Same as Abby. This time will get faster
Shreya 42.6 45.3 47.7 46.2- 3:01- Somewhat consistent laps, this will get faster
Hannah 37.5 44.1 47.6 44.4 2:53- Fast first lap then settled in. This time will improve

High Hurdles
Emily W- 10.97 Solid start. We will work more on hurdle specifics.

55
Casey- 7.74. Excellent start
Jill- 8.03 Good first race
Ashia- 7.22 Very impressive start
Courtney- 8.28 Solid beginning. This will improve
Kayla 8.58 Same as Courtney
Emily 8.71 Not a bad start, will improve
Elena 8.47. Solid start for getting over illness
Theresa 8.15- Good beginning race
Ally B 8.02- Nice first race
Saparja- 8.09 Good first race
Carla 8.02- Nice way to start things off
Jenna 9.44- This will come down
Veronica- 9.49- Same, this will improve
Akorfa- 9.16. Very good race, a wobbly start in the beginning but we will work on this

1000m
Julie 36.8 38.2 40.4 38.35 36.25 3:10.01 Very good race after the 4x800. You have a nice finish
and it will get better. Good race
Hayley 42.96 45.09 48.47 48.83 35.26 3:43.61- You had a nice finish as well. We will work on
spreading that speed over more of the race. Solid start.
Hannah I have your 800m split and final, sorry about the others. 3:09(800m) 3:48. Solid first
race. This will improve drastically.

600m
Sarah 31.67 35.86 36.62 1:44.15 Excellent race. I was very impressed. This time will get faster
too.
Taylor 33.87 39.59 38.75 1:52.21. Very good start to the season.
Amanda M- 37.47 41.94 45.2 2:04.61. Pretty good for first time racing. Again, you will get faster
Shreya 38.91 43.37 48.52 2:10.8 A little quick to start. We will work on running more evenly.
Akorfor 42.27 53.56 1:03.08 2:38.91. We will work on this and you will get a better feel once
you start racing more
Due to a strange watch we were using. The laps were not recorded individually, it was an ongoing time so take that into account when reading the following times
Wendy 36 1:19 2:03.17- Nice start, you will get faster
Veronica 43 1:32 2:22.78 This will improve
Sharon 36 1:17 2:01.9 Solid start to the season

3200m
Kathleen 41.9 43.7 45.8 45.5 45.18 44.8 45.9 46.1 45.6 45.6 45.8 46.4 45.7 46.0 46.1 41.4 12:02
Excellent first race. As you can see, extremely consistent laps. This time will drop as well.
Amanda C 42.6 46.0 48.3 49.3 48.8 49.6 48.8 49.7 48.8 49.1 48.02 48.7 47.9 47.6 46.8 41.5 12:42.2 Excellent race and very impressive for having to run alone. Should have gone in the first heat but you live and learn. Excellent job.
Abby (timed on the strange watch) 43.8 1:32 2:24 3:18 4:12 5:02 5:56 6:51 7:47 8:43 9:41 10:38 11:34 12:31 13:29 14:22.88 Nice start. This will get faster.

4x200m A

Jill 30.57
Ashia 27.39
Kylee 26.57 nicely done
Casey 27.85
1:52.38 Excellent start ladies. Very impressed

B
Emily 31.76
Meghan 31.42
Courtney 32.50
Alisha 30.19
2:05.65. Solid performance

C
Taylor 30.50 nice
Elena 31.74
Ally B 30.48 very nice
Emily 32.28
2:05.00. Same as above

D
Wendy 33.50
Jenna 35.85
Veronica 36.94
Saparja 32.50
2:17.63 Need to work on handoffs. Good beginning race though

E
Kayla 31.83
Sharon 31.75
Theresa 33.62
Carla 31.5
2:07.8 Nicely done.

I believe that is all the races. I will try to get all the field event info when I can. As I said, I think it was a great first meet.We had state qualifiers and girls running PRs. You can never go wrong with that. Some things we do need to go over are entering the proper heats. I think some of you girls would have done better in a different heat. We also need to work on handoffs and starts. I was actually impressed with most of our handoffs since we have not spent too much time on them. We will be doing that this week as well as spending time on individual events. I think this meet is a good starting point for all of you. I think it has motivated some to maybe work a little harder. As you can see in the relays, no one's spot is guranteed. The thing about running is it's black and white. The fastest person will be in the race. I hope this creates a little friendly competition on the team and motivates you to work for your spot. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Practice is Monday-Wednesday starting at 9:45am in the Commons.

"The Importance of Making Sure You Love It"

I came across this article as I perused through my, what some would call, nerdy running magazines/websites. However, I would like to offer my thoughts to the question many of us get, "Why do you run?" I have been asked this question countless times by my friends and others who are not "runners." I never really had an answer until one random night my senior year at Marist when my roommate and I stayed up until the early morning hours discussing this question. As a side note, all of you who are off to college soon will enjoy these nights of random philosophical discussions with your roommate. It is part of the college experience. We came up with something very similar to what this article discusses. We run because we love it. For me, it is part of who I am and part of my identity. There have been many many times when I have debated quitting or stopping. I was a pretty decent runner in high school and was lucky enough to make it on a really good Division 1 team in college. However, I struggled all through college. Between making the transition to college life and college running and battling random illnesses and injuries at inopportune times, I never really put things together. I remember countless times asking myself "Why am I doing this?" Why am I running 60-80 miles a week, waking up at 5:30-6:00am to go to our first practice of the day. Even now, there are days when I wonder why in the world did I want to run a marathon. Why am I going to do it again? Deep down the reason was and is, because I loved what I was doing even though I wasn't running the times that I wanted. Luckily, I was able to put things together my senior year cross country season and I ran some respectable times. Out of 12 seasons of college running, I had 1 successful season. Now looking back on things, I wouldn't trade it for anything. The life lessons I learned and the friendships that I made with my teammates will last forever. So my advice to all of you. Reflect on what you are doing. If you don't love what you are doing, than you shouldn't do it. Of course there are going to be ups and downs, that is how life is, but make sure you take a good look at the whole picture. I will end with a quote I liked from the article...
"I love how raw running makes us. We are so vulnerable and exposed when running; sharing that time and experience with friends forms amazing bonds. Running creates a common ground between people who otherwise might not have anything in common."

Developmental Meet 12/22/09

Again, I just want to point out how pleased I am with our first meet. I was very impressed by all of you and it was an extremely good start. We're only going to get better. You can find the results of those who met the minimum state qualifying marks here. I have all times and splits from everyone but it will take me a little while to put everything together and analyze. I will have the post-meet analysis hopefully by the end of today or by early tomorrow. I would like to point out all those who met the Class LL&L standards, nicely done! I would also like to thank Kathleen K and Meghan F for putting the team first and helping out with the 4x800m at the last minute when we had some athletes have to pull out due to illness/injury. Many people think track is an independent sport. This is just not the case. The team as a whole will always come first and I'm glad to see that mentality. That is what make teams great. Also, a thank you to Tesni P for helping me time.

4x800m Relay 10:16.4
Julie H
Sarah F
Amanda C
Kathleen K

55m
Ashia W 7.57
Casey N 7.99

1000m
Julie H 3:10.18

600m
Sarah F 1:44.4

3200m
Kathleen K 12:02.21

4x200m Relay 1:52.59
Jill J
Kylee M
Casey N
Ashia W

Long Jump
Alisha W 15-00.00

High Jump
Kylee M 4-08.00

Pole Vault
Sarah S 8-06.00

Shot
Rachel A
40-04.5

The Week Ahead and Beyond

I just wanted to go over things as we look at the week ahead and beyond. Tomorrow will be a "Pre-meet" day. Everyone will be doing light running and strides and will be going over starts, handoffs, and jumps if they apply to your event. Again, in terms of events, these are the events that will be run on Tuesday December 22nd. Please think about what events you want to do and remember you must compete in at least 2 events. Since this is our first meet, I will basically allow everyone to choose the events they want to compete in.

Running Events
4x800
High Hurdles
55
1000
600
3200
4x200

Field Events (I'm not exactly sure the order of these events, I will find out tomorrow from Coach Bennett)
Pole Vault
High Jump
Long Jump
Shot

The bus leaves at 3:00pm and the meet starts at 4:30pm. Here are directions to the fieldhouse in New Haven. If I had to take a guess, we will be returning to school around 8:45-9:15. That is a rough estimate however.

Some random things to keep in mind... All athletes MUST take the bus. You cannot drive yourself or a fellow athlete to the meet. If you and your parents decide, arrangements to be picked up at the meet can be made with the athletic department. You need to submit a note no later than tomorrow with Mr. Trifone. This also applies to any other meet. The note needs to be in the athletic department a day before a contest. While I understand the need to sometimes leave early, I would like everyone to remain at the meet to cheer each other on. I do not know what my responsibilities will be at this meet if I am going to help officiate or not. With that said, I am going to rely on the captains to help the underclassmen with warming up and checking in for a particular event. Each meet is different, but you should receive at least 2 calls before an event is run. It is the responsiblity of the athlete to listen for a particular event. Since athletes are not previously seeded for this meet, there is no way of telling how many heats of each event there will be. That is why it is imperative to be listening closely for your event and to warm-up/cool-down as appropriate. If I am available, I will give reminders. But as I said, I will either be helping with the meet or trying to record times. Everyone should wear a school issued Cheshire High School Uniform. I distributed most uniforms on Friday, I will have the uniforms available tomorrow for those of you who did not receive them. When we are at the meet, we should be sitting together as a team. Make sure your valuables are secure including any jewlery, electronics, wallets, uniforms, etc. Bring school work or something to do while you are not competing.

Training for the rest of the week.
Wednesday- Light workout for distance and sprinters
Thursday- Easy day on your own. Sprinters 2-3 miles with 4x150m accelerators. Distance 3-5 miles with 4x100m strides
Friday- Merry Christmas! Optional Easy Run
Saturday- Sprinters Pushups/Abs (What we have been doing),Plyos. 1.5 mile warmup. 6x 1 minute bursts at 90% effort with 2 minute jog recovery.6x50m bursts at 90% effort with 1 minute recovery. Distance-Pushups/Abs Plyos. Half mile warmup.4x5 minute Threshold/Tempo with 1 minute recovery. Recover fully.4x1 minute bursts with 2 minute recovery between each one. Half mile cool-down.Mid-Distance-Pushups/Abs Plyos. Half Mile warmup. 3x5 minute Threshold/Tempo with 1 minute recovery. 4x1 minute bursts with 2 minute recovery between each one.4x30 second bursts with 1 minute recovery between each one. Half mile cool-down
Sunday-Optional easy run/off day.

We will meet at Cheshire High School for practice from the 28th-31st. We will be doing workouts on the Monday and Wednesday. I will bring breakfast one of those days to make up for this weekend. Practice will run from 9:45am to roughly 11:45am. As usual, we will meet in the commons. Everyone is expected to be at practice these 3 days. For now, this is everything. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and the snow. I will have more announcements/reminders at practice tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I will see you all tomorrow.

"The Hardest Part is Almost Always the Very First Step"

I came across a very interesting article which I would like to share with everyone. I think it is extremely appropriate for our sport and in particular, indoor track. We all know running and track is not an easy sport. If it was easy, everyone would do it. It takes a lot of self determination and motivation to be a runner, thrower, or jumper. As the article discusses, and all of you have seen, it requires enduring the elements of Mother Nature and getting outside in less than ideal conditions. There are always a million reasons and excuses not to get out there (it's cold, rainy,snowy,windy, hot) but if you give in to them, you will never improve. There is always so much more to gain by getting out there versus saying its too cold, hot, rainy, etc and giving up. This leads me to two quotes in the article that I would like to touch upon. The first,

"That’s the way it is when you’re facing something difficult. The hardest part is almost always the very first step. Once you’re moving in the right direction, momentum becomes a friend."

and...

"When you do dream, paint a picture of yourself in the fulfillment of your vision. Let that picture preside over the days ahead because, rest assured, you’ll need the motivation when the cold rain comes. And it will come, forming an obstacle between you and your dream. Move ahead in spite of it. Its sting is temporary, but the gratification that comes from running through it endures."

I have always believed, and still believe, running has allowed me to deal with and overcome all the obstacles that I have experienced so far in life. Not only do I want to share what I know about running and track with you all, but other things that you can apply to your daily life. Not all of you are track stars, you don't have to be. However, take the lessons and what you learn from training and competing and apply it to your life. I guarantee it will put things in perspective and hopefully allow you to overcome the obstacles that you all will face at some point in your life. Remember, in running or life, the hardest part is always the first step.

Training for the Week

Date	Workout	Workout
12/14/2009	Sprints-8x50m teams of 4. 8x200m teams of 2 Hurdles/Jumps- Event specifics. 4x50m 4x200m	Mid Distance/Distance- Easy distance 3-5 miles. 5x100m strides
12/15/2009	Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps-Easy 2-3 mile run. Accelerators	Distance- 5 mile Progression Run. End on track with last mile at 2 mile pace. 4x100m strides. MidDistance-4x800m w/1 min rec 2x200 full rec.
12/16/2009	Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps-10x150m out of blocks	Mid Distance/Distance- Easy distance 3-5 miles. 5x100m strides. Handoffs
12/17/2009	Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps-6x400m ins and outs. Event specifics	Distance/Mid Distance- Hills. Location TBD
12/18/2009	Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps- Friday Tradition Workout	Mid Distance/Distance- Long Run (5-8 miles)
12/19/2009	Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps- Easy 2-3 miles with strides	Mid Distance/Distance- Easy distance 5x50m strides
12/20/2009	Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps- Off	Mid Distance/Distance- Off

What a Finish!

The Footlocker Cross Country Championships took place this weekend in San Diego. I did end up watching both the girls and boys races via the internet, and I am glad I did. The girls race was the closest in the 30 or so years since this event was first run. Check out this video of the finish. I share this video as a little piece of motivation and to remind everyone to always give it your best. The girl who ended up winning overcame a 15-20 meter gap with less than 800 meters to go. Even when you feel as though you want to give up or you think you're out of the race, think again. This girl ran with heart and left everything she had on the course, and it ended up paying off. Watching this video reminded me of a quote with which I would like to share with all of you.

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more."

~Steve Prefontaine

Workout Schedule for the Week

I just wanted to give a heads up to everyone in terms of workouts this week. Sprinters are going to have their 2 hard workouts tomorrow (Monday) and Friday. Tomorrow will actually be a fun workout indoors, I think you will like it. Mid-distance and Distance, you will be working out Tuesday and Thursday.

We are also going to be getting into event specifics this week. Hurdlers/Jumpers, you will be in the commons working on your particular events Monday and Thursday. We will also be going over starts and hand-offs. More details will come at practice but I just wanted everyone to prepare mentally.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and I will see you all tomorrow.

Ouch!

One issue that I would like to take a moment to touch upon is track safety. This video is a perfect example of what can happen if you are not careful or are not paying attention. I remind you these are elite/professional athletes. Luckily, I believe no one was seriously injured after that. While it is a little humorous to watch, it is important that we are always paying attention and are aware of our surroundings. Unlike most other sports, Indoor Track is not confined to one single area. On any given day, we can be in the commons, in the halls, on the track, in the gym, or on the roads. We have a lot of athletes completing various workouts at various speeds in various locations. We need to be aware of each other as well as everyone/everything around us. This includes teachers in the halls, drivers on the road, ice, moving objects (shots/discuss/javelin during outdoor), and fellow athletes. Taking a couple extra seconds to check the halls or track before starting a run can really go a long way and prevent incidents like the one above.

Schedule

Here is the girl's schedule from the CIAC website.

Welcome to Cheshire High School Indoor Track!

I would like to welcome everyone to the team blog! The purpose of this blog is to provide athletes and parents a one stop location to find important team information and updates. I will also try to include other resources and motivational material. I would like to remind everyone to be appropriate if making comments. I will not tolerate insults or put downs in any manner. I want this to be a fun and useful resource. If I feel that there are inappropriate comments, I will remove them and shut the blog down. I would also like to remind everyone of internet safety. Do not refer to anyone by first and last name.

Now that that's out of the way...I think we are off to an excellent start. Everyone is working very hard and I have been impressed with the team's ability so early in the season. Our first meet is the 22nd so we still have a little more time to prepare. Keep up the hard work!

"Citius, Altius, Fortius"