McDonald's Cross Country Festival at Maymont

Here is a link to the info.

List of guys who are running:

Andrew H.

Matt G.

Drew

Andrew S.

Keith

Nick

Tom

This is a varsity only meet, so only those 7 will be competiting. Details for those 7 will be handed out at practice.

Brentsville Results

Andrew H. - 8:52*

Matt G. - 8:52*

Neil - ?

Drew - 9:18*

Andrew S. - 9:19*

Nick - 9:20

Matt T - 9:20

Gary - 9:25

Keith - 9:30*

Tom - 9:30*

Frank - 9:40

John - 9:42

Curtis - 9:59

Peter S. - 10:02

Sam - 10:40

Kevin - 10:56

Matt K. - 11:27*

Peter C. - 11:27*

Dominic - 11:41*

* muddy conditions

I might be off on one or two splits and hopefully will correct them in the next week.

We are off from racing this weekend, but there will be practice early Saturday.

The following weekend is a varsity (top 7) only race. I will have details at practice.

Brentsville Relay Info

Here is a link to the list of teams, time schedule, school address, and past years results.

Here is a link to a google map from O'Connell.

We will leave O'Connell at 2:30 PM on Saturday and get back late, probably between 11:00 and 12:00.

Each relay team will have 5 members on it, and we will enter 3 teams. Anyone who is not on a relay will run in one of the "extra" races.

Relay A

Drew

Keith

Andrew S.

Matt

Andrew H.

Relay B

Nick

Neil

Matt T.

Tom

Frank

Relay C

Gary

John

Curtis

Kevin

Peter S.

- Coaches Meeting 4:00
- ‘B&C’ Mens Relay Race 4:30
- ‘B&C’ Womens Relay Race 5:20
- Open Race (parents/coaches/etc...) 6:25
- Middle School 2500 Meter Race 6:35
- Elementary School 2500 Meter Race 6:45
- ‘Extras’ Men’s 2500 Meter Race Section I 7:00
- ‘Extras’ Men’s 2500 Meter Race Section II 7:10
- ‘Extras’ Mens 2500 Meter Race Section III 7:20
- ‘Extras’ Women’s 2500 Meter Race Section I 7:30
- ‘Extras’ Womens 2500 Meter Race Section II 7:40
- Mens ‘A’ Championship Relay Race 7:55
- Womens ‘A’ Championship Relay Race 8:45
- Awards Ceremony 9:45-10:00

Varsity results

andrew h- 18:22
matt g - 18:46
drew f - 19:18
andrew s - 20:07
keith - 20:08
matt - 20:47
neil - 20:48

30 minutes!

Season is about to start! Fire up knights!

Dinner Tonight

I have had a few questions about dinner tonight. As I informed the guys at practice this week, we are going to Joe's (a pizza/pasta place) after practice. I would imagine we will be done there around 5:30ish. That is largely just a guess. I know the girls team is also going, so in theory there could be 30-60 of us there, and that might do some weird things in terms of service. Joe's isn't more than a 1/2 mile to a mile from O'Connell and we will carpool there. I will also have my cell phone handy so if any of the guys need to call and give updates on when to be picked up, we can do that. Also, if parents or anyone else would like to join us, they are welcome to.

The address is:

5555 Lee Hwy
Arlington, VA 22207

Also, I apologize if I have been slow on the google chat feature. I have been busy the last two times someone has used it, and I would like to think that is not the norm. I will try to be more careful about putting up my away status in the future.

Blog Features and More!

If you are new to the blog, you might not be familiar with all of the content as some other people are. I have added a lot of content over the past 9 months or so.

Google Chat - "Chat with Coach Butler"
Whenever I am signed into my google account, a green indicator light should appear next to my name. If you click on this "chat badge", google will send me a message a guest on the site would like to chat with me. So if you ever have any questions, this is a great tool to use. I would ask you identify yourself if you can, so I can figure out who I am talking to!

The Archives
If you look at the bottom left of the page you will find the archives for the blog. They are organized by month and display the title of the post. If you are looking for old posts, this is a good place to look.

Information Links
Towards the top/middle of the left side, you will find an area titled "Information". Under it is a bunch of links to google documents with a variety of information. The schedule, contact information, and general training information can be found there.

I would encourage you to poke around the site a little bit and see what it has to offer. There are some pictures, neat links, and more to be found.

A new feature I just created a link to is a "Google Group", which is like a message board. I am not sure how it will work, but the general idea would be for parents to use it to coordinate their actions, instead of having to use a "reply all" for a bunch of emails. If it is ineffective, I completely understand, but thought it might be worth a shot.

I also have created a new search option on the left side. In theory, if you type in a word, it will not only search the blog for relevant info, but also any sites I have linked to through the blog.

Feedback is always welcome.

Coach

Woot Mp3 player

If anyone is looking for a cheap mp3 player to run with, this might be a good choice. What is nice about electronics is they are becoming "disposable". I no longer have a giant fear about my mp3 player being stolen or getting wet in the rain! 2 gb for $19.99 plus $5 shipping at www.woot.com.

Upward trends, Snickers, Practice

The season is getting into full swing. Ideally I would write a long post about all of the great things going on, but I don't have the time. In a lot of ways, that is a very good sign. I will probably expand upon, and repeat this many times throughout the season, but I think the guys are much better as a team then they were when I started 8 months ago.

If I needed any more evidence, this Saturday was a perfect example of what I am talking about. The guys had an EXCELLENT hill workout on Saturday. At the end of practice I like to recap who had good workouts or impressed me, and normally 2-3 guys stand out. Saturday, the whole team stood out. From Drew leading the top guys up the hill and deciding to do 10 total (there was a quasi option to do from 8-10), to Keith hammering out a few repeats with the top guys, to the 5-10 guys working hard to stay bunched up and stick close to the top 4-5 guys. I know I forgot someone, as I didn't mention everyone's name!

"Off the track" Saturday was a great day as well. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher were great hosts for the guys! The highlight for me was pulling up and seeing a huge banner saying "Fire up Knights!" in the front yard. There was a ton of food and even a surprise from my own mother. A huge thanks to the Fletchers.

My mom is an avid reader of the blog and a big supporter of the guys. She probably knows just about everything there is to know about the team! Using the Snickers "Get Some Nuts" video as a starting point, she made some new wrappers for some Snickers and mailed them to Mrs. Fletcher. The included the motion "O", "It is a great day to be a knight!", and listed the key ingredients to the OCDP like "dedication, pride, and NUTS".

I could comment on the Olympics, but this is getting long already.

Practice is at 12:30 all week (I am assuming school gets out at 12:00 or close to it).

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

500 Mile Club!

The 500 mile club keeps growing. Gardner welcomes Moran into the club.

Bela Karolyi

I love listening to this guy. I don't care what he is talking about. He could be talking about paperclips and lint for all I care. He is always fired up.

Dream Big

Lomong is living his dream out, which is simply awesome if you ask me. This is a must watch. (HT: Letsrun)

Week in Review

For the guys who came to the optional runs this week, things went really well. The new guys continue to make a lot of progress, and the older guys are starting to focus in on getting ready for the big season they are about to have. I am very optimistic about the season as I write this. One week until official practice!

Next week there will be optional practice at the park just down the street from the high school at Charles E. Stewart Park (on Underwood) at 8:00 still. Friday we will have mandatory practice at the high school. Please remember to get in all forms and physicals asap.

A big thanks goes out to Mrs. Fletcher for providing us bagels this morning. Another big thanks goes out to Mrs. Stella for bringing us some Gatorade despite the fact Andrew is home sick (get well Andrew). Due to their efforts and other variables, Flapjack Friday happened once at the start of summer and not since then! If anyone has a problem with this, or with us eating bagels, for dietary reasons or just to be surly, please feel free to contact me so we can resolve any and all issues. Awesome. Thanks.

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

Warm and Fuzzy

If we ever start feeling too warm and fuzzy about how we are doing, we can always go look at what the rest of the state is doing. Here are the results from AAA last year. To get into the top 20 you need to break 16. If I were a freshman I would start thinking 3+ years down the road already about being able to compete with these teams. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of ahead of us this season, but the long term goal of the OCDP would be to have the ability to compete at this level.

Also, be sure to watch the video linked in the previous post.

1  #669 Jason Witt          SR Midlothian              4:53.2   15:10.92    1 
2  #698 Thomas Porter       JR Mountain View Hi        4:56.9   15:22.41    2 
3  #664 Miichael Hammond    SR Midlothian              4:57.0   15:22.76    3 
4  #941 Brian Landry        12 Thomas Jefferson HS     4:59.0   15:28.70    4 
5  #745 Joe LoRusso            Oakton                  5:00.5   15:33.52    5 
6  #661 Brayden Burleigh    FR Midlothian              5:01.7   15:37.16    6 
7  #744 Neal Hendricks         Oakton                  5:02.9   15:40.96    7 
8  #251 Nathan Richards     SR E.C. Glass High         5:03.1   15:41.53    8 
9  #241 Lewis McPherson     SR Douglas Freeman         5:03.3   15:42.07    9 
10  #254 Leoule Degfae       JR Edison High School      5:03.5   15:42.82      
11  #535 Robert Peavey          Kellam High School      5:03.7   15:43.28      
12  #323 Douglas Fenstermac  SR Gloucester High         5:03.9   15:44.12   10 
13 #1042 Blake Theroux       SO Western Branch H        5:04.1   15:44.69   11 
14  #397 Nathan Puckett      SR Hermitage               5:04.5   15:45.93      
15  #690 Brian Welch         SR Mills Godwin            5:05.2   15:48.03      
16   #36 Ben Dejarnette      JR Atlee                   5:06.1   15:51.01      
17  #938 Evan Heflin         12 Thomas Jefferson HS     5:06.3   15:51.44   12 
18  #935 Brian Davenport     10 Thomas Jefferson HS     5:06.3   15:51.63   13 
19  #255 Tihut Degfae        JR Edison High School      5:07.1   15:53.97      
20  #820 Davis Barry         SR Patrick Henry (A        5:07.2   15:54.24      
21  #785 Tyler Simmons       SR Osbourn Park Hig        5:08.8   15:59.37   14 
22  #466 Ted Richardson      SO James River (Mid        5:10.0   16:02.86      
23 #1062 Charlie Waltrip     SR Woodson High School     5:10.5   16:04.68   15 
24 #1045 Chris Werner        JR Western Branch H        5:10.7   16:05.04   16 
25  #694 Stephen Henry       SR Mountain View Hi        5:10.9   16:05.94   17 
26    #9 Luke Noble          JR Ablemarle High S        5:11.1   16:06.41   18 
27  #660 Darren Barlow       FR Midlothian              5:11.2   16:06.68   19 
28  #758 Seth Cunningham     JR Ocean Lakes High        5:11.3   16:06.98   20 
29    #8 Anthony Kotelac     SO Ablemarle High S        5:11.3   16:07.19   21 
30  #764 Drew Paisley        SO Ocean Lakes High        5:11.5   16:07.58   22 
31  #245 Chris Woody         SR Douglas Freeman         5:12.4   16:10.31   23 
32  #743 Brian Hendricks        Oakton                  5:12.4   16:10.59   24 
33  #697 Daniel Porter       SR Mountain View Hi        5:12.7   16:11.28   25 
34  #881 Abiy Mohammed       SR Stuart                  5:13.0   16:12.29      
35  #934 Aaron Bernstein     12 Thomas Jefferson HS     5:13.7   16:14.63   26 
36  #208 Griff Ashooh        JR Colonial Forge H        5:14.0   16:15.32      
37  #784 Josiah Renton       SR Osbourn Park Hig        5:14.1   16:15.70   27 
38  #267 Cameron Shaver      SR Forest Park High        5:14.2   16:16.12      
39  #693 Chris Brown         SR Mountain View Hi        5:14.3   16:16.46   28 
40  #477 Stuart Steen        JR Rams                    5:14.4   16:16.70   29 
41  #478 Martin Wester       SR Rams                    5:15.3   16:19.57   30 
42  #749 Chris Weil             Oakton                  5:15.5   16:20.06   31 
43  #244 Alec Ward           JR Douglas Freeman         5:15.6   16:20.55   32 
44  #777 Richard Arena       JR Osbourn Park Hig        5:15.7   16:20.84   33 
45  #701 Ryan Yingling       SR Mountain View Hi        5:16.7   16:23.67   34 
46  #759 Caleb Doan          SR Ocean Lakes High        5:16.9   16:24.43   35 
47  #943 Alex Witko          11 Thomas Jefferson HS     5:17.0   16:24.71   36 
48 #1037 Kyle Jacobs         SO Western Branch H        5:17.3   16:25.83   37 
49  #219 Booth Hornsby       JR Deep Run                5:17.5   16:26.43   38 
50  #470 Jared Berman        JR Rams                    5:18.3   16:28.91   39 

A few quick notes.

Drew got his 500 mile club tshirt today.

We had a good group of guys at practice today, the guys are starting to look fit.

Matt G. broke his longest run record by half a mile, so the new record is 12.

I put up a few pictures from Camp Fitch on the left hand side. Be sure to check out the luxurious bathroom.

UPDATE: IF YOU HAVEN'T SCHEDULED YOUR PHYSICAL AND YOU STILL NEED ONE BE SURE TO DO THIS ASAP. A few of the guys have recently found there is a long wait to get in at the doctor. Better to be safe than sorry.

Camp Fitch!

I am currently at a week long seminar put on by the Institute for Humane Studies. I am not certain of any particular scholarships they offer, but I do know they offer a lot for certain disciplines, so it could be worth a look for the college bound guys.

I have limited time so I thought I would directly quote what the guys had to say about camp:

Andrew H.:

I have to admit that when we first got to camp, I was a little freaked out and like "why did coach bring us out 6 hours to go to a camp in the middle of nowhere with 6 kids?" and stuff like that, but actually, it was awesome!

...

We got in a great week of training, 47.5 miles for 5 days, which is not a ton of miles, but Matt and I were running about 6:20-6:40 pace for our normal runs, and 7:09 pace for the 10 miler. They had great speakers, we got a ton of running articles and such, and it was a great experience. I feel like Matt, Keith and I all grew as runners greatly this past week. The speakers and other campers motivated us and made us even more hungry to win a WCAC and State title.

Yeah, the food was pretty bad, and there were a couple mice in our cabin, but it was very much worth it. I would highly recommend it to runners in the future.

Matt:

Camp was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. As you said the food was of a rather low quality, but we didn't starve. The motivational speeches were realy good, and I wish the rest of the team had heard them too. The gatorade after every run was good and the 10 mile run was fast and fun. We had at least 2 mice in our cabin.

Keith:

Camp was pretty fun even though the food was pretty bad. We got in a lot of miles in the whole week. we would do 2 runs a day. The morning run would be around 3 and the evening run would be about 6. one day it was pouring rain and lightning so we had to cut it short. And on thursday we had a 10 mile race in the morning which i did in 75 something which was like a 7:30 pace. We ran to get ice cream that night. It was good. The three other kids at the camp were two seniors and one freshman. The two other seniors said that their pr was around 16:30 but i was faster than the other freshman. The camp was good overall.

Sounds like everyone had a good time. Time to get fired up!

Coach

Camp and Matt

Last week Matt had a record breaking week. He recorded his highest mileage week ever at 63. On the way to that he ran a 15 mile day, consisting of a 7/8 double. Hats off to him on that.

Matt, Keith, and Andrew are all currently at Camp Fitch. Apparently the number of campers is down this year, as they consist of 50% of the runners for the boys camp. Hopefully they are still running a lot and having a good time. If not, I might have to get them donuts twice a week for a while until they forgive me.

Note to all those guys who I haven't seen at the track this summer... START SHOWING UP! I will be gone next week, but some of the seniors will still be running practice. 8:00 in the parking lot next to the track.

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

Drew Fletcher... 500 MILES!

Drew has now logged 500 miles, so welcome to the 500 mile club! He is in good company:

Drew
Andrew H.
Matt G.
Andrew S.
Manny

Tempo run went well today. The guys who have been logging miles are in a great position going into August. It is do or die time for the guys who haven't been at practice or logging miles. It is near impossible to make up for lost training time once the season begins. If anyone who didn't sign up for camp would like to go, let me know and we will see if we can still get you in.

Keep running!

Coach

Back in VA

I will hopefully get back on the schedule of blogging on a more regular schedule now that I am back from vacation. My trip included winning two races and logging some miles with my old college buddies.

The guys who have been coming to practice have been tearing it up. Matt logged a 15 mile total for 1 day on 2 runs and ended up with 63 miles for the week. Keith and Kevin are cranking out 6 milers. More to come for sure. Camp starts the 20th!

Time to catch up on work.

Coach

Trials 800

Watch it once. Notice who wins. Then go back and see what place those guys are in with a lap to go. Here is how big of a deal this is.

Amy Begley

Here is an article on letsrun about her. I suggest reading the whole thing.

But Hayward Field has been good to Yoder-Begley in the past. In her last race here in 2001, she won the NCAA 10K title by running herself to exhaustion as she collapsed on the track and needed two IVs to get her going again. And it was good to her again in 2008 as she once again pushed herself to the edge. Taking the lead with 3200 meters to go, and occasionally wiping sweat from her brow and on at least one occasion reaching for a cup of water from a track-side official, Yoder-Begley plowed ahead, Goucher right behind and Flanagan comfortably in third. With 1200 remaining, Flanagan and Goucher surged by. But despite 70 and 69 second laps by the two pre-race favorites that opened up a sizeable gap, Yoder-Begley was also able to manage to increase her pace. Needing 3:36 (72 pace) for the final 3 laps, she ran 73.9 and 73.9….and then surged home with a 67.3 final 400 to claim the third and final ticket to Beijing, 1.4 seconds under the Olympic A standard.

Coaching

Here is an interesting article about how to become a better coach. I think it is valuable to read and think about when looking at our program from all angles (athletes, parents, outsiders). As provided in the description of the blog, everyone is welcome to know what we do, but they have to be around us to truly understand how we do things.

If I as a coach, can answer more of the how type questions, the better our program can be. Joe Newton for example, has over 100 guys on his team. How does he keep the 100th guy motivated to keep working hard? Much of our success will depend on the how, because a lot of people know the what (there are still some who miss the boat however, but that is due to laziness). It seems like the great coaches are the ones who figure out both the what and the how in the right combination.

Alan Webb

One of America's top middle distance runners, Alan Webb, lives in Reston and trains on the W&OD. Feel special, very special.

LB

500 Mile Club

With a 6 miler today, Andrew Holleran joined the 500 mile club! Nice work Andrew, I will have your shirt for you tomorrow.

500 Mile Club Members:

Andrew Holleran
Manny
Matt G.
Andrew S. (edit: sorry Stella)

Will Smith

Go have a listen at youtube what he has to say about the secrets of life.

A preview...

Here are what I consider to be a few of the many intriguing paragraphs in Kenny Moore's Bowerman and The Men of Oregon book.

Before the war, that thoughtful teacher Lizzie Bowerman had sent a letter to Hayward. "I have asked my son which of his instructors he considered had done the most for him," she wrote, "and without a moment's hesitation he named you. I am sure there are many boys who feel the same as Bill does, and I hope they have told you so. You are a teacher who is a friend and who imparts a spiritual development and inspiration."

Bill had done as his mother had hoped. He'd told Hayward what he meant to him several times, in several contexts. So that week, as eulogy followed eulogy and masses of men that Hayward had escoreted from boyhood returned to voice their gratitutde, Bowerman was content that he had spoken while the man was alive to hear it.

He took from his scrapbook a photograph of Hayward, in shirtsleeves and suspenders, leaning on a hurdle. He had it framed behind glass, to preserve what Hayward had written on it: "Live each day so you can look a man square in the eye and tell him to go to hell!! ' Bill' Hayward." Then he hung it in a little alcove outside his office door, where he would see it at the beginning and end of the day. And where anyone waiting to speak with him might pause and reconsider.

Dreamers of the Day

This, therefore, is a faded dream of the time when I went down into the dust and noise of the Eastern market-place, and with my brain and muscles, with sweat and constant thinking, made others see my visions coming true. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T. E. Lawrence

You will find the XC schedule link posted on the left hand side of the page along with a link here.

The first week of practice isn't over and I am getting excited about this fall. Today we had 8 guys at practice and hopefully there will be a few more freshman next week after school gets out. It was hot out to start the week, but hopefully most of that is behind us for a while. As a quick aside, it is very important for the guys to keep up on their hydration all summer. I know I get busy and neglect to eat/drink enough (and properly at that) sometimes.

We are currently just logging miles. We will start to do maybe one workout a week once we get into July, but the key for now is just to run. Some of the guys who took more time off than others are noticing that they lost some of their fitness that they built up during the season. The quote I started the post with is quite true. The race for the VISC championship has already started, and we are doing our dreaming during the morning. By the end of October, if we stay true to our plan, we will be dangerous out on the course. I also feel some of the guys might have to start thinking about how high they can place as well. It is possible we might have 2-3 guys in the top 10 if things went really well in my opinion. It should be interesting to come back and read this post in November.

The first flapjack Friday is this Friday!

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

Books About Running

Here is a list of good running related books I would highly recommend (in no particular order).

1. Once A Runner - John L. Parker
It is the cult classic. Currently might be hard/expensive to get a copy of. There is a sequel to the book, but I would wait a few years until reading it. The book is a lot more powerful for the post collegiate athlete I think (the sequel that is). (link fixed 6/21)

2. Bowerman and the men of Oregon - Kenny Moore
Great book about one of the best running coaches in history. Co-Founder of Nike, coached Pre among others, and was a true renaissance man.

3. Gerry Lindgren's Book on Running - Gerry Lindgren
This book has a ton of practical knowledge in it despite being written in a very odd way. It is currently out of print, but as soon as it is available again I would suggest getting a copy. It is short and informative.

4. Running with the Buffaloes - Chris Lear
Follows the season of the CU team in a very interesting manner. Provides a great look inside one of the best college teams in America and their quest for a national championship.

5. The Perfect Mile - Neal Bascomb
Great look at the history behind the first sub 4:00 mile. Banister wasn't the only guy chasing after it. It was a race to see who would run the first one, and it almost happened on American soil.

Where are all the rock star runners?

"Where are all the rock star runners? He was this kid from Coos Bay, who wanted to run faster than any other human being in the world. A kid that was too small and not fast enough. A kid everyone kept telling to give up a foolish dream. They called him "Pre." The man who ran like fire every day, every race, wire to wire. The man who caused people to stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' A runner who never paced himself, slowed down or quit. But Pre wasn't a runner. He was a rebel who happened to run. Where is the next Pre?"

That is the text from a Nike advertisement, and it is fitting for this time of year as I am trying to get as many guys out on my team as possible in hopes of finding more good distance runners.

Will runs 2:09, Andrew 2:12/3, Nicholas 2:14

Andrew runs 4:48/9 and wins his heat.
Nicholas runs 4:49/50 and gets second in his heat.
Matt runs 4:50/51 and got fourth.

Excellent race by all

3200 was wiiiindy. Matt gets second in the slow heat with an 11:05, Dan 11:17 for 7th, Drew 11:45. We went out hard and went for it...

Guys ran alright for sixth place. Will and Matt run 2:13, Jay 2:18, and Andrew 2:11 for a 8:57.

we got second place as a team

Matt gets 4th in 11:03ish, Drew kicks for 6th in 11:1X, andDan gets 10th? In 11:20s

two of the three scored. NICHOLAS RUNS 4:54 For THIRD PLACE. 6 second pr for him. Andrew gets 5th with a 4:57. Will gets 9th with a 5:07.

2:11s across the board for Will, Nicholas, Matt, and Andrew. 8:46 and runner ups in the 4x8.

6:52 for matt t, frank 6:53 in the 2k

jack henry runs 4:52 in the 1200 and 1:53 in the 600

Championship Season

I live (perhaps thrive) on championship season. It is the part of the season where there are no excuses. Training cycles are wrapping up, everyone knows what is up for grabs, and there is no room to fake it out on the 1/4 mile oval. No place or reason to hide.

This is the line up for the Catholic State Meet (in order they are run). Also, I have included some lofty but obtainable goals.

4x8 - Perhaps a win or a top 3 finish?
Will Nyce
Nicholas Roberts
Matt Gardner
Andrew Holleran

1600m - A win or 3 in the top 6?
Andrew Holleran
Will Nyce
Nicholas Roberts

800m - Someone scores?
Andrew Holleran
Will Nyce
Nicholas Roberts

3200m - 3 guys under 11:00 and a W?
Matt Gardner
Drew Fletcher
Dan Welch

If the meet has similar results as last year and previous years (results found here) we have a chance to score at least 1 guy, if not 2 or 3 guys in every race.

Someone might say, "Why Coach, those guys are running 3 races! Why not have them build a pyramid while you are being a slave driver!". I would reply... IT IS CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON! We are going for a state title and want to get points when and where we can. The guys in the line up are our best shot. Plus, the 1600m is before the 800m, and perhaps our best chance to get an individual win and score 3 guys. Whatever happens in the 800 is purely calorie filled gravy. Depending on who shows up in the 4x8, we should have a shot at the title. Outside of the 800, I think we have an outside-good chance for someone to get the big W.

All I know for now is the bus leaves at 7:30 AM from the HS. I would advise packing food to eat and water to drink for the guys. Staying hydrated and out of the sun will be very important for us as I hear it will be a long day. It is also important for the guys to get plenty of rest this weekend and stay hydrated all week.

If anyone wants to come watch the meet for fun this weekend, get a hold of me and I will see if we can find you a ride down somehow.

Coach

Draper Recap

Sorry if this is brief.

I already did the 3200m recap. Nice job guys!

The 1600m went really well considering Andrew and Matt were up early to take the SAT and it was a little on the warm/windy side on the track. Andrew ran 4:58 and Matt 5:02. Look for them to roll when they get fully rested.

The 800m went excellent, probably the highlight event of the meet for us. Will ran a GREAT race. Tucked in the first 400 and absolutely crushed everyone in his heat the second 400. I think he negative split (hard to do) going 65 then 64. Andrew ran really well considering SAT, heat/wind, and doubling. We are going to wait for the official time, but he ran 2:08-2:10 range.

Overall you can see us maturing in terms of racing tactics. Pushing at the right parts of races, sitting back when the pace is too fast early on. We just need to become more aware of what is going on mid race. Do I need to be with that pack or should I run alone? How do I put myself in position not to lose momentum when I want to pass someone? These are things we will continue to get better at and don't always show up in the results.

To end with I want to thank everyone who cheered for me today. The Fletchers came out to watch the 5k and the 1600. It was great to see them. I BY FAR HAD THE BEST CHEERING SECTION from the girls team! I now know how it must have felt to be one of the Jackson 5 or some other more recent boy band. Those ladies can scream. I think my competition was jealous. Due to the nature of the race, the pace was fast early on, I was out at the 200 in 28, and the 400 at 65 (what Will was out in for his 800). I went through the mile in 4:48. I surged at the 2400m mark as there was some prize money for leading the race at that point. I felt I held on decently well and ended up running 3800m and got 4th place.

It is championship season! Many great things to come hopefully!

Coach

will wins his heat in 2:09ish.
Andrew runs a good duble with a 2:09ish.

Andrew 4:58, Matt 5:02

race was crazy. First 200 28, 400 65, 800 2:17, 1600 4:48, 3200 9:55. 4th and off the track at 3800m in 11:53.won $50 for leading 6th lap

3200 Recap

Drew was in the slower section of two and ran very well. He didn't get caught up in an early fast pace and moved up well through the whole race. He was out in 5:24ish. He officially runs 11:00, which is an 8 second PR.

Matt was in the faster section. He was out in the 800 in 2:33, the 1600 in 5:16. He went for it! Things didn't go as smoothly after that. He finishes in 11:06. Despite knowing he can run faster, it is still a 40+ PR for him. He gets another shot today in the 1600.

I am off to eat some toast and drink some water to get ready for this afternoon. Should be interesting to say the least.

Arlington County Championships

Lots of really good things on the track. Sorry if this is short, but much to do.

4x8 ran stellar. 8:44! PRs for everyone except Andrew, who was only 1 second off. The great thing about tonight was the guys ran hard from the gun. Hopefully running fast, hard, and tough becomes a trademark of the program (but still racing smart). The slowest first lap was a 63. Nicholas ran really well in his first fresh 800 of the year. His hard training over the past couple of weeks really showed tonight (5:02? double for him).

The 1600 was a little more of a grab bag, but considering it was close to the 4x8, those guys doubled pretty well. Most impressive 800/1600 double was Will Nyce who closed in excellent fashion on the last lap to get 4th. Hats off to him for his 5:00.

The 800 showed that Andrew Holleran is indeed the real deal. He ran his second 2:10 of the night. Jack Henry showed some of his speed in the last 200 of his heat to get a guy in the closing 50 of the race.

I had my final macro econ class of the semester tonight, so I unfortunately couldn't skip it and watch the 3200. I am really bummed about it. From what I can gather Dan got 4th with an 11:20 (which is a lot faster than he ran a few weeks ago), Frank got 5th! and outkicked Stella who ran the double and got 6th with 11:40ish. Nice job guys, I really wish I was there.

Frank getting it done on and off the track...

Coach

I am sorry to miss another day of practice but I recently won an award for a science fair to go to a banquet at the University of Maryland after school tomorrow. I'm really sorry, but my mom is making me go. Maybe I can run around the campus while I'm there.

Thanks for the email and heads up Frank! Be sure to give Frank a pat on the back the next time you see him and a "thata boy". Representing OCDP on and off the track. I guess if you are going to miss practice you might as well be winning things. Maybe we should get some OCDP sweater vests made up to wear to formal events.

Drew, get better. You are missed by everyone.

Great day to be a knight!

Coach

Matt 5:04 Nicholas 5:02 Andrew S 5:15 Peter 5:51 Will 5:00 Tom 5:23

4x8 runs well. Nicholas, Will, and , Matt run 2:11 and Andrew 2:10 for a 8:44. Great way to start the meet!

Boston Marathon!

After watching the OT yesterday, I spent the rest of the day hanging out in Boston. I went to the running expo and got to chat/autographs with/from Frank Shorter and Dick Beardsley. Dick was part of one of the most famous Boston Marathons ever, it was nick named Duel in the Sun.

The world record holder in the marathon right now is Haile Gebrselassie. He has decided not to run the marathon at the Olympics this year because of health reasons. There has been some speculation he is really skipping out because he is afraid of getting caught for taking banned substances. So who better to ask their opinion than the two men I met (Shorter won Gold and Silver at the distance).

Frank: "I can't comment on that" but added on the end with a smile "that is a interesting idea and you seem like a smart guy." It implied to me he thought that what Haile is doing, but can't come out and say it because his name still carries weight in the running community and people still pay attention to what he says.

Dick: He said something along the lines of "yeah, I think that is probably what he is doing, I mean, what does he have to lose, the conditions are going to be the same for everyone, it is actually kind of sad."

Both guys are very knowledgeable and can offer great advice if you ever meet them.

Off to watch the start then figuring out how to get home!

Coach

Frank Shorter is at the expo!

couldn't get to the finish to get a exact time but 2:52ish.

Deena dominates the last lap for the win. DOMINATES

crossing bridge for the loop then back across for the finish. She seems to have bounced back some

annoying girl standing next to me using noisemaker even when no one is around... Time to move.

Deena has gapped third. 5 miles to try and close a minute gap. Hansons runner in 4th and close to third

19 miles in just over 1:59

around mile 18 sarah is stopping/going. Looks like she has a cramp

that should be 1:21:07. People are going nuts for Joan.

Deena is starting to push. Pack is slowly breaking. Sarah hits the half in 1:27:07 and looks good.

leaded just went through in 1:14:45ish

sarah is looking smooth. Haven't counted her place yet, but she appears to be moving up. Looks like a lot of women went out too hard.

Sarah just hit 6 in a touch under 37 and looks smooth

WCAC Goals

We have a week or two to finish preparations for championship season. After looking at past years results, I think one goal might be to score at least one guy in every distance event at the WCAC meet.

2007 results are here - 2:07, 4:50, 10:30 were 8th place
2005 - 2:08, 4:59, 1o:39 were 8th.

I haven't found any results besides these yet. If anyone knows where else I might be able to find them please feel free to send them to me.

EDIT: Here is the start of a WCAC performance list I am starting to put together so we know how we stack up to the rest of the conference. It isn't complete by any means. I have about 1.5 meets in there so far, so lots of work to do yet. I might run out of time to get it done, but it already is giving a rough idea of what the top of the conference is looking like.

Dedicated to Matt "I am in love with pictures of myself" Gardner

Gardner has been hounding me all week to get on top of my game and get the most recent set of pictures up, and rightly so. So if you look on the left, there are some pictures from the Potomac Relays, special thanks to Mrs. Fletcher. While we are "doling out" (as Alex would say) Sweet Heart of the Week awards we also need to give a big thanks to Mrs. Stella for dropping off water and granola bars for the guys post run the other day.

Results from yesterday can be found here, and will also be on the left hand side under results. What I had and what the official times were are not the same. I am probably a little biased when it comes to getting our splits. Nicholas did not break 5, but ran 5:00. Some of the other times were off by a second, but all in all it was still a great day. Also, as a team, we WON the meet. Early today I was asked about the result and had no clue. I didn't think we were in the running since we didn't score in the 4x4, but lo and behold we won the thing. Every point counts.

I will hopefully write a more in depth post for future reference later, but I need to address an important running related issue. That issue is shoes. In terms of gear, we are a pretty low demand sport. No balls, sticks, hoops, court, pads, or anything else. The most important piece of gear we have is running shoes. They are the only thing separating our feet from hard man made surfaces. It is very important for the guys to keep an eye on the mileage of their shoes. Most shoes will hold up for about 350-500 miles. That is usually a pretty safe area. Running2win provides a very easy way to keep track, or another way to think about it is to take the weekly average mileage and just replace shoes every "x" number of weeks. Say, for example, I was running 100 miles a week in college. This would mean I would order a pair of shoes every 4-5 weeks. So if the guys are logging 50 a week (like Matt G), every 8-10 weeks we should be replacing shoes. Personally, if the guys find one shoe which works for them, stick with it. It makes them easier to break in, you don't have to mess with sizing, and all that other fuss. Plus, you can just order them online and usually find a decent price. It is also important to remember every runner has different shoe needs. I can run in lightweight, neutral, little/medium cushioned shoes with no problems. My friend Peter, who is 6'1" and 165 can not. So be sure to keep this in mind. Sorry if that was long winded, but it is very important. When in doubt, go to a specialty running store and spend the time getting in the right (and left) shoe.

Tomorrow there will be more to do and failure awaits those who stay with some success made yesterday; tomorrow you must try once more, even harder than before. - John Wooden

"So I just ran with reckless abandon after that."

Prior to this week I had weakly decided to go to Boston to watch the Olympic Trials. Monday night I decided I had to go, and booked a flight (thanks Priceline for saving me lots of money and not forcing me to drive).

The Boston Globe has a great article about Joan Samuelson (she won the first womens marathon in LA). Some of my favorite quotes...

"After a while, I realized that I could mature a bit more and handle it," Samuelson says. "So I just ran with reckless abandon after that."

"I thought I heard him correctly, but I wasn't sure," she says. "Then I said, 'Whoa.' " (bold added)

"To run a 2:50 at the age of 50 would be a good goal to shoot for," says Samuelson, who is the second-oldest woman (after 53-year-old Marion "The Flying Nun" Irvine in 1984) to qualify for a trials.

Blast from the Past

I probably reference a little too much back to my HS team, or things of the like. I came across some results from my senior year today and thought I might post them as to quasi prove my claims. Our 5th guy ran 17:20 and our 7th ran 17:26 that day (3 sub 17). To be invited to the meet I think your team had to finish in the top 7 of your respective state meet the previous year(Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana). HAHA, I just found a picture of me at this meet, enjoy.

Coach

4x8 9:07... Will 2:14, Alex 2:18, Matt 2:18, Andrew 2:14. Good race overall, one bad handoff. We have a better race in us still I think.

Two Meets and One Post

At the NoVA meet Drew and Andrew ran the late heat of the 3200m. They got out well, but fell off in the later stages. Drew ran about 11:28, and Andrew 11:38 (which is 22 seconds faster than indoors). Both of these guys have a lot more left in them.

At the C2 meet there was a lot of positive things. The 800 went well. Tom almost took his heat gun to wire, but got run down on the end. He ran (2:24) a really tough race and he has a lot of good things in store not only this season, but in many seasons to come. Kyle and Jack Henry ran even splits, Kyle ran a 2:30 and JH a 2:38. Manny went out more controlled this time, and looked a lot better the last lap, and finished with a 2:34. He too has more in him.

The 1500 was probably my favorite event of the night. Nicholas after joining us from lacrosse, ran a really respectable time for as little training time as we have had. He ran a 4:51 and got fifth? I think. The 4:51 is equal to a 5:13ish mile. I know I have been talking Frank up a lot, but there is good reason. Two weeks ago Frank was unsure if he could break 6, and he runs 5:40. Now he is unsure if he can run near 5:30. So what does Frank do? Goes out, runs really well from the gun (2:33 at the half) and finishes 5 seconds back of Nicholas in 4:56, which is about a 5:18ish 1600!!! Let me say that again, Freshman Frank ran the equivalent of a 5:18 mile! That should justify to anyone my excitement about Frank.

The 3k with Dan and Matt went alright. Dan ran a 10:56 (11:35-40ish 3200) and Matt ran 11:20 (12:00ish 3200). The 3200 is a race where we just need to become better at racing it and staying tough the second half of the race. I believe Dan might have got 3rd overall as well. There was a lot of big gaps, so I could be wrong.

What can we learn from Frank? Confidence. Pure and simple. We are working harder and smarter than a lot of other teams. When the tough part of the race hits, we are better prepared than most of our competitors. The next step for us to have huge leap in performance is not a physical one, but a mental one where we start to tap into our abilities.

Overall a great day, and hopefully tomorrow will go well too!

It is a great night to be a knight!


Coach

We Didn't Start the Fire...

Here is an article about the Olympic Torch. It goes through how they keep it lit while on a plane, what happens if the flame goes out, and who watches the flame at night. A good read for sure with the Olympics coming up!

The convoy accompanying the torch while it makes its way through city streets has more than 20 vehicles provided by the relay city and they escort the torch in a set order (a section of which is pictured above).

Most of this journey is on foot, but other modes of transport over the years have included dog sled, horse, canoe and camel.

In London, it will be carried on two boats, a bike, a bus and the Docklands Light Railway.

For a trip across the Great Barrier Reef before the 2000 Olympic Games, a special torch was designed to burn underwater.

Who is the fastest?

Here is an interesting article on some homeless people who run. The same core values of our program, hard work, dedication, and discipline, are the same ones that they learn by running and help guide them towards a better life.

The first day, Mahlum led nine shelter residents in a mile-long run. Today, Back on My Feet has teams in three Philadelphia shelters, including 54 homeless members and more than 250 volunteers. The group has logged more than 5,000 miles.

Requirements for shelter residents to join are simple -- they must live in an affiliated facility and be clean and sober for 30 days. Members receive new shoes and running clothes, and teams run together three times a week between 5:30 and 6 a.m.

The runners are diverse -- doctors, janitors, students and shelter residents -- but such distinctions aren't apparent.

"All you can tell is who's the fastest," says Mahlum. "You can't tell who's homeless and who's not."

Cheap Tunes

When I am on my own, I personally like running to music. "When I was in HS"... mp3 players had just come out. I got a 64mb mp3 player for just under $100. Today on Woot!, there is a 1gb mp3 player for $9.99. Not only is it 1/10 the price (not accounting for inflation), 16 times as much memory, it is also about 1/4 of its size. Electronics are becoming more powerful and disposable at the same time. Today's Woot! is only good for today.

Yes, Running Can Make You High

Interesting article in the New York Times, titled "Yes, Running Can Make You High", can be found here.

THE runner’s high: Every athlete has heard of it, most seem to believe in it and many say they have experienced it. But for years scientists have reserved judgment because no rigorous test confirmed its existence

...

But now medical technology has caught up with exercise lore. Researchers in Germany, using advances in neuroscience, report in the current issue of the journal Cerebral Cortex that the folk belief is true: Running does elicit a flood of endorphins in the brain. The endorphins are associated with mood changes, and the more endorphins a runner’s body pumps out, the greater the effect.

Winning Races and Running Miles

This weekend I visited one of my old college running buddies down in North Carolina. Saturday afternoon we ran a 8k (5 mile) road race in Greensboro. It was one of the best road races I have ever been to. The course was well marked, and they had a live band playing at the finish line. On top of that they had great prizes. I am no where close to being in the type of shape I used to be, but I was able to pull away in the final mile of the race to win it (approx 26:45). I picked up $200, shirt, hat, and a case of adult beverages. My buddy came in 4th, so it was a good day overall. Road racing is a lot of fun to do between seasons or after you are done with your competitive career (like me).

"Road racing is rock 'n roll; track is Carnegie Hall." - Marty Liquori

We got spring break off to a great start with our 1600/1000 repeat workout. Drew and Andrew S. (averaging sub 6:00 for 3x1600) worked well together, as did Will and Andrew H. Frank and Peter are getting stronger everyday. Manny had a bit of a tough time on the end of the workout, but on the plus side for him he is at 400+ miles of the year. The miles are also adding up. Here is a list of people over 100 miles:
Andrew S.
Matt G.
Manny
Drew
Dan
Will
Matt T.

I am sure some other people have, but they have yet to log it. As a team we have logged over 2200 miles for the year.

Coach

UPDATE: I ran 3x1600 with Alex today (3/25). He averaged 5:42, which is the best anyone has done to date.

Week in Review - Spring Break

We had an average week. Not our best, but not our worst. Mile repeats and 1000 repeats on Tuesday went well. Wednesday I was late to practice, but it seems a lot of guys went home before I was late, because of rain or thought we weren't having practice. IF THE GUYS GO TO SCHOOL, WE WILL HAVE PRACTICE AFTER SCHOOL. RAIN, SNOW, SLEET, HAIL, MUD, OR THE SKY FALLING DOWN unless I announce otherwise. Some guys left after waiting on me a little bit, which I understand. The time of practice might be adjusted, but the guys should always be expecting to run. In the event of no practice, we should still be logging some miles (4+). Todays tempo was a grab bag, as a team it wasn't what I was looking for.

No practice tomorrow on Good Friday. There WILL be practice at 9:00 everyday next week (M-F) during spring break. Only people who are out of the country, visiting colleges, or going to funerals are "excused" from practice. If anyone needs rides or has a conflict, let me know.

People not at practice should do the following:
Sunday - long run
Monday - normal mileage day
Tuesday - Fartlek (explained later)
Wednesday - mileage
Thursday - tempo (the distance you ran for your last one)
Friday - mileage
Saturday - mileage (lighter if needed)

Overall mileage should be equal to what you have been getting in. For the top guys this is 50+, lower guys it is 30+.

Fartlek means "speed play". I want a warm up of about 15 minutes, then go straight into this workout. It is like doing repeats on the track, but not for set distances, and it will be a continuous run. The best way to think about this is a straight country road with telephone poles. You would run normally to the first pole, then run tempo pace - mile/1000 repeat pace to the next pole, then ease back into your run to the next pole, etc, etc. So if you have a watch, go for about 20 minutes of this on-off-on-off style running. The segments don't have to all be equal, but I do want them to be at least 30 seconds up to 2 minutes long, with a total of about 10 minutes of quality running. After the quality section, 15 minute cool down. Total running time is about 50 minutes.

Overall we are making a lot of progress. We just need to stay focused on the task at hand, and the results will follow in a few weeks once we start racing. Andrew got his 500 mile club shirt today. A big thanks goes out to Mrs. Fletcher for taking the time and effort to put that together! Can't wait to start handing more of those out.

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

Week in Review / Sunday Long Run

We had a great week overall. The meet went really well (see post below, splits can be found here) and we had a lot of good things going on at practice. A big thanks to Mrs. Fletcher for taking excellent photos of this past meet. Some of them I uploaded online and can be viewed by clicking on the small versions in the upper corner or clicking here. There is also CD circulating among the guys with all 120+ pictures.

At practice on Friday we did a hill workout. I think it was our first "full team" workout of the season. Previously I held some guys out to give them an extra week or two to get in shape. Jorge and Brendan did a slightly modified workout and ran well. Drew led the way on a lot of the hill repeats which was great to see, and might have come close to the hill record if a car hadn't come along. Matt G, Andrew S, and Alex got in 10 repeats, which is the most we have done to date (we ranged between 6-10). Andrew H. and Matt G. set a new record on the hill, shaving 2 seconds off the previous time of 38. Overall the guys worked well together, ran tough, and had a great workout.

Matt Gardner reached the 500 MILE CLUB this past week. Hats off to him and his hard work. He and Andrew will soon be supporting some official O'Connell Distance Project gear!

I have asked all of the guys to go for a Sunday long run every week. To help facilitate guys getting together for the long run, which helps it go by quicker in my opinion, I will be hosting an optional long run on Sunday at 3:00 at the Chain Bridge, which is on the VA/DC border. There is a small parking lot area just off of the road which I have attempted to circle on the map shown (click to enlarge it or click here for a direct google map if you need directions). Just across the bridge is the C&O canal path, which is 180 miles of dirt path and is excellent for running. If there is a more central location for guys who would like to come but can't because of the distance, please let me know.

Next week in workouts will probably be a tempo run and longer intervals (1000-1600m) on the track.

As always, if you have any questions, content for the blog, or concerns, please email me at runsweetlew@gmail.com.

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

Week in Review

This week has been a busy and exciting one from my point of view. Although we have been preparing for outdoor for a few weeks now, this week was the first "official" week. Lots of new guys out, which is exciting to me, but also leads to me being slightly more disorganized, or at least I feel like it sometimes.
When I first started there were maybe 5+ guys running everyday, so it was easy for me to run between groups, get to know the guys, and make sure everything was going well with running. It also gave me a great change to interact with them more one on one, which I really enjoy. With 15+ guys at practice everyday, and rapid improvement (see previous post about Mandrew), it is a lot harder for me to do. My goal everyday is to start with the guys who are going shorter, then hammer out the gap to the next group, and then eventually 2.5-3 miles out catch the front group before I turn around with guys who are running 5-6 (I have guys going as little as 3 up to about 7 on average). It is a lot of fun, but I am always on the move, that is for sure.

The tempo run we did this week went really well. Outside of Mandrew's performance, Drew, Jack Henry, Frank, Tom, Dan, Will, and Matt T. all did their first workout with the team. One goal we have started to work on is our pack running, and they did a great job of working together during the workout. If guys are at about the same ability level, working together helps them to stay focused, push each other, and know they aren't the only one suffering! This will become very helpful come cross country. It is also nice to pack it up on everyday runs, as it adds a bit of the social aspect to the run, which in my mind always helps it go by quicker.
This morning we had practice with Will, Manny, Matt G, Drew, and Andrew H. We had a nice run and ate a few muffins, donuts, and capri suns afterwards. Eating donuts after a good run is one of my favorite things to do, hopefully the guys feel the same way.

The picture I am including is of Ryan Hall this fall at the marathon Olympic Trials. Hall dominated the trials, and is probably one of the top hopes for an American medal in the distance races at the Olympics. On this day in New York he ran 2:09 on a course which was not flat, and a slightly tactical race without rabbits. It is perhaps one of the best American mens marathon performances in recent history. What is striking about this picture (link to original)... well I think it speaks for itself. Enjoy.

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach

2008 Outdoor Schedule

Just so everyone is aware (mostly parents), I will be trying to stay as up to date as possible with the outdoor track schedule. Along with simply having a list of meets and dates up, I am going to put up the order of events and time schedules whenever possible. There is a link on the right hand side of the page, "2008 Outdoor Schedule", which will take you to, surprisingly enough, the 2008 schedule. Once there, you will notice some of the meets are linked to more information. Currently the Potomac meet and the NoVa meet are linked. As I get information I will be sure to post it.

If anyone has any trouble accessing the information, or would like to see some other content on here, be sure to let me know.

Fire up,

Coach Butler

Deliciously Quaint Episcopal Meet

So we're here at Episcopal, running the 1600m with Alex and Matt, and two guys box Ocampo. After a while he just got impatient so he broke through them when there was a small hole between 'em. Unfortunately, some officials of Dubious Quality DQ'ed Ocampo! Unbelievable. He ran 5 flat, which was a PR .

Matt, on the other hand, ran a PR, 5:11, and with a cold too! Props to both for good times.

"It's a great day to be a knight"

Andrew Stella

PS: I'll tell you when I'm Done Quoting coach...

Updates!

I just updated the splits spreadsheet (link under results on right) as well as linked to the final results of the meet from Georgetown Prep. They are online for now, perhaps I will save them in google documents so we have a copy of them a year from now as well. Ideally after this weekend I will have all of my updates done by Monday morning. Hopefully there are many good things to report.

Coach

1 Race = 1 PR

Alex just ran a good 1600m. It took him a few laps to get out of lane two into lane one and settle into the race. Through 1000m he was on sub 5 pace, just like last week. This week however Alex had some people to run with and stayed tough. He crossed the line in 5:01.1 according to the official results. That is his best time in '08 by 7 seconds and 8 seconds faster than last week. Manny is up next in the 1000m.

Billy Mills Video

The video on the right is Billy Mills winning the 10000m Olympic Gold . Mills went through the 5000m mark of the race 1 second of his 5000m PR! The last 10 seconds of the video are the best.

Week in Workouts

This week we were on the track twice. Once for a tempo run, and once for interval work. This week also marked the return of Drew Fletcher to the squad, but also had a downturn late in the week with Mark Moran injuring his ankle in PE.

The tempo run went really well for everyone. We could have done this on the roads/trails, but being on the track allowed me to get everyones splits and run a little bit too! All of the guys ran faster this week than they did two weeks ago, and ran a more even pace throughout the entire workout. Mark did a great job of leading the workout this week up front. While we want to continue to run them faster, the importance feature of a tempo is about running at a certain effort level. From what I could tell from their splits, and talking with the guys, this weeks tempo run was at the same effort level, and felt easier to some. So we ran faster with less/equal effort! I expect in a few more weeks when we do this workout again to see similar results. The ladies also had a solid 2 mile tempo (guys did 3). Ashley and Natasha worked well together the whole workout.

Wednesday was 400s on the track for most of the guys. To start gearing Andrew and Matt up for some 3200m events we did 2x800 at 3200m race pace with 1:1 rest, then 3x400 at 1600m race pace. I let them loose on the last 400, and they both ran really well for it being the end of the workout. Alex, Mark, and Manny did 400s only, 4-6 of them, with 1:1 rest. After they got done, they looked pretty tired, but the fact they were able to complete the workout signaled to me we are getting stronger and the miles are paying off. Two months ago they weren't in good enough shape to finish this workout. A couple of hundred miles later they are. Miles make champions.

The return of Drew has been great, because I now have one more guy to pick on, which I am sure Manny is a fan of. Coming back from stress fractures is tricky thing to do. Sometimes there is lingering pain or muscle weakness from inactivity which takes a while to over come. In an effort to keep him healthy I have started him off slow, no runs over 20 minutes this week, and had him run on soft surfaces like grass. Hopefully in a month he will be back training full time with everyone else. Perhaps even sooner.

Tomorrow the meet is at Georgetown Prep and starts at 9:00. Manny will be in the 1000 again hoping to break 3:30. Alex will be in the 1600 shooting for sub 5:00. Matt and Andrew are in the 3200 and hopefully looking for a low 11:00 or sub 11:00.

That is all for now. I am always looking for more guys to come out and run. We like to run, and we have a good time doing it. If you know of anyone who is remotely interested don't be afraid to shoot me an email at runsweetlew@gmail.com or give me a call day or night at 419-770-4622.

It is a great day to be a knight!

Coach Butler

Arlington County Championship!

There was a lot of good things happening on the track today. I almost titled this post, "I wasn't going to lose!", as the normally quiet Ashley boldly told me post race when we were discussing her race. That quote summed up an intangible observation of mine tonight about every one of our distance runners.

There was a lot of notable performances if you look just at times as well, and as always, sometimes there is more to the story too.

1600m

As noted earlier, Ashely was a tough runner out on the track tonight. Her time may not have been what she had hoped, but persistence will pay off for her in the long run.

The boys 1600m was a lot of fun to watch. All three guys had good races in my mind, and all for slightly different reasons.

I really wish we could have gotten Alex into the fast heat. The goal was sub 5:00 tonight, and he was on pace through the first 1000m of the race. After that running by himself caught up a little, and he faded just a tad. The great thing though is he went for it, and while he ran the same time as he did a few weeks ago, tonight he did it on his own, and was 3-4 seconds faster than the previous week with 200m to go. With a little more endurance, his time is going to drop fast.

Matt also ran a great race. He ran even splits and passed people at key points during the race. He ran about 10 seconds faster than his previous outing, and was only 3 seconds off his PR from the end of last outdoor season! More good things are in store for Matt both indoors and outdoors.

Andrew ran a great race at well. He responded to challenges by other runners late in the race, ran 14 seconds faster than last week, and it was also a PR!

1000m

Mark was put in a tough position. They ended up dividing the race into two heats. At first they had him in the slow heat, since he didn't have a time. Clearly he needed to be in the fast heat. So a last minute 800 time by me, and we get Mark into the fast heat. Bad news is he is at the back and doesn't have the extra few minutes to get loose. He still ran well, but got stuck out in no mans land. He still held on strong and never gave up, and by my watch sneaked under 3:00.

Manny, like Andrew, ran a PR today. Manny ran about 8-10 seconds faster than he did a few weeks ago, and looked strong on the end. The mantra for him tonight was be relaxed and have confidence, and it seemed to work out well.

Over all we had some PRs, near PRs, and great times considering how the races played out. Every single runner was tough and focused on the track tonight, which is something to be proud of.

All the splits should be updated by the end of tonight, and results will be posted as soon as I get them, hopefully in the next week or so. Also, splits are from my watch, and may not be 100% of what the official results end up as.

Coach Butler