MXC Weekly Update - Aug. 30, 2012

This Past week

We are putting this out early because of some special announcements on when and where we are getting together this weekend. But first, we have to give a few call-outs from this week so far.  

First, this is a really, really great team.  Every guy is putting forth some great effort.  And there is a lot of support for each other. Whether it is BWright letting us know that Vanaria is hopelessly lost and made a wrong turn and is likely in Cherry Hill still, or Morris making sure the pack was together on the thresholds today - all of these guys have the whole team in mind first and foremost.

We took the top 25 guys up to Holmdel on Tuesday.  What looked like a brutal rainy day turned out to be beautiful.  Everyone left a lot on those hills.  Ty Schneider made a case as one of the contenders for the Varsity 7 on The Bowl.  Horten, Seigel and Morris all looked very strong. Kramer started slowly as he usually does and finished looking like he was only half way thru the workout after 4 tough repeat miles averaging around 6 Minutes on rugged, wet terrain.

Today was a refreshing Threshold workout.  The guys are really getting a feel for what this about.  The top guys automatically go back to the line after 2 minutes rest and were packed tighter than sardines in a can. Cramer looked great from all the hard work he has been putting in, big Klawunn sticking, and Caffrey transforming his sea legs into terra firma monsters.  Hillman, LaLumia and Entwhistle looked awesome for the mid pack - nice and steady.  Special kudos to Travis Klawunn for leaving a bit of himself on the trail.  And it is amazing how far Marcus Topel has come since we first saw him this summer - a 6 mile day. Imagine what a bit of work is doing!

Saturday

We are doing a workout at 8AM in Haddonfield on Saturday to get hills in.  We are meeting at 5 East Upland Way, Haddonfield, NJ (type it into Google Maps.  There is a swim club parking lot there near the railroad tracks. Rough directions are Kings Highway to left on Warwick Road to left on Upland and just past the tracks on the right.  It takes about 25 minutes to get there, and we appreciate parents taking the effort to figure out car pools and getting the guys over there!

Monday

Yes, we are practicing on Monday at 8AM.  The good news is that it will be an Ultimate Frisbie practice.  We still run a warm-up and warm-down, and get a good speed workout in chasing Frisbies.

Tuesday and Onward

Practice shifts to 2:45 on Tuesday.

MXC Weekly Update - Aug. 26, 2012

This Past week (and a Half) The first week and half of practice has gone well.  We had our 2 mile time trial to establish baseline VDOT's for everyone. You can see the times and VDOT on our website - www.moorestownxc.org. We use VDOT to help us guide the pace and workout level capabilities of our various runners.  One of the great things about XC is that everyone can do it, and it does nto matter what level of runner you are.  The point we are after is how everyone can set goals, improve, and support the overall team.  So our goal for everyone is to improve over the course of the season, and over the course of multiple years.  You can learn more about our approach on these pages: Guiding Principles Training Philosophy Training Phases There is a lot of information on our website.  Sorry it is a bit out of date and the menus do not look so good.  I will get time someday to update this - but the basics are all there, and the front page will include the important information. For those who are new to the team, we break the team up into 3 general groups - High, Mid and Low mileage groups.  The goal is for these groups to get to about 9, 7 and 5 miles per day, 6 days per week.  The new guys who did not run over the summer are still working their way up, but most everyone did at least that much on Saturday. We will have a Parents Meeting the first week of school - we will likely announce that in next week's Update. Outlook The top 5 guys (Horten, Siegel, Inglis, Kramer, Morris) look very solid, and there a number of guys who will be competing for the 6-7 spots on the Varsity.  The Freshman class looks like it could be the best we have had in years.  Morris enters as a top 5 runner, with a great background and lots of racing experience.  Cramer and Schneider did great work during the summer and came ready to run - they are both doing most of their runs with the High guys.  And a bunch of guys who look ready to work hard and learn about this great sport. This Coming Week Tuesday Trip to Holmdel.  We are taking the high guys and some of the mid guys up to Holmdel Park on Tuesday.  We leave at 7 and will be back around noon-1PM. Holmdel Park is the site of the big Shore Coaches meet as well as the State Championships.  It has some great hills where will will be doing some mile repeats. This trip is not for the whole team - those not making the trip will run on their own.  Note we are only taking one bus, and the workout is meant to focus on the guys who have a shot at making the State Team (top 7), though we are inviting a number of other guys. Here is the list (if you have questions, please feel free to contact us): Horten, Inglis, Siegel, Morris, Kramer, Howard, Caffrey, Klawunn, Scheider, Munilla, Burns, LaLumia, Wheeler, Micro Spirgel, Saldutti, Entwhistle, A Topel, Godlstein, Harris, Insalaco, Argentieri, B Wright, Loveland, Vanaria, Dyer, Waldin, Voyack X2.