State Meet Recap - Successful Day in Columbus!

Competing as individual qualifiers at the Ohio High School Athletic Association's State Meet this past Saturday, both freshman Maggie Wagner and senior Alesha Vovk took advantage of their first trip to this prestigious event.  Both runners ran lifetime best performances in less-than-perfect course conditions to wrap up the season.

Maggie rallied the last half mile to be just the third runner in school history to break the 19:00 barrier.  Her time of 18:57 placed her 17th, good enough for All-Ohio status.  That time also makes her the fastest SJA runner in state history and her place makes her 2nd fastest SJA finisher ever.

Alesha improved on her all-time best effort with a finish time of 19:33, good for 66th place out of 154 runners.  She finishes her cross country career as the 15th fastest runner in school history.

A big thanks to the current teammates and alums who fought through construction and traffic to watch the girls succeed in the last meet of the season.  The support was greatly appreciated and the experience was amazing for all.

Week of October 28, 2013 - the last week!

Week of October 28, 2013

Monday, October 28 – workout at French Creek Reservation.

5.5 miles total with a 1.5 AT effort.  Coach Kieser drive and return to SJA by 5:30

Tuesday, October 29 – 4 miles easy at Mastick.  Done by 4:45.

Wednesday, October 30 – for now lets aim for doing a light workout at SJA on the track and plan on being done by 4:30.  This is subject to change depending on Maggie and Alesha.

Thursday, October 31 – Happy Halloween!  Cross train and meeting day at SJA done by 4:30

Friday, November 1 –

12:00 - leave for Columbus after lunch run at 2:30.

3:30 – leave for hotel

6:00 – head for dinner

8:00 – meeting

Saturday, November 2 – meet day!

8:00 – wake up and jog/stretch, eat breakfast

10:00 – leave for the course (we have to leave early because traffic is terrible)

10:30 – arrive and make camp

11:40 – begin warm-up

12:15 – go to start line

12:30 – Div I girls State Meet

Sunday, I suppose you can have the day to yourselves…J

State Meet Information can be found here: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/cc/default.asp

Hotel Information here:

Fairfield Inn & Suites Columbus East 2826 Taylor Road S.W.,
Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Phone: 1-614-864-4555 

2 Jaguars Qualify to the State Meet!

The Saint Joseph Academy cross country team will be well-represented at the State Meet next Saturday at National Trail Raceway when freshman Maggie Wagner and senior Alesha Vovk line up against the best state.  Both runners qualified to the state meet by finishing in the top 16 at last Saturday's regional meet at Boardman High School.  The entire team came close to qualifying as a group with their 6th place team finish.  The top 4 teams earn a qualifying spot to Columbus.

Wagner finished a very impressive third place overall with a new personal best time of 19:10 on the cold and blustery day.  Her time moves her to 4th fastest in SJA history.  Maggie will be joined by Alesha, an individual qualifier to regionals last year, who ran a huge personal best this year by 43 seconds and moved to 15th all time on the SJA list with her 19:34.  Both girls attended Lakewood Catholic Academy.

Not to be outdone was another inspired personal best by senior Rachel McGuire who ran 19:50 and finished 23rd overall.  Rachel's time gives her sole possession of 20th on the SJA all-time list.  Lauren Marconi ('15) and Mary Hyland ('17) rounded out the team scorers which helped secure the team's 6th place finish.

District Runner-ups!

Saturday at the Lakeland Community College Division I district, the SJA Jaguars finished 2nd place to the Mentor Cardinals by just 6 points to earn a trip to the regional tournament next Saturday.

On a cold, rainy day the Jaguars had 5 girls finish in the top 20 including freshman Maggie Wagner's runner-up finish overall.  She was followed to the line by seniors Rachel McGuire (6th) and Alesha Vovk (9th).  Junior Mallory Fahey ran her best race of the year to finish as the 4th Jaguar in 17th place (and earn team athlete of the meet honors).  In 20th place was sophomore Lauren Marconi.  Freshman Mary Hyland and senior Maddie Zimmerman rounded out the regional qualifiers for SJA.

Next the Jaguars compete at Boardman High School for the regional competition.  The top 4 teams at Boardman qualify to the state meet.

Week of October 21, 2013

Week of October 21, 2013

Please fill-out and bring in your Fall Sports Banquet Form to the A.D. MONDAY!  If you already deleted the email, its posted on the website as well.

Saturday was a fine day for SJA cross country.  With a 2^nd place finish at districts, the team has qualified to the regional meet for the first time in 3 years (its something we used to do every year and take for granted).  The team – all of you – rose up to the occasion the way we have for so many years.  I was proud to wear SJA colors and I was proud of all the runners, supporters, and family who were part of the District Runner-up trophy.  Congratulations!

The work is not over!  The JV has a meet Monday and the varsity runs again this Saturday at the Boardman regional.  There are 4 regionals in the state, each with 16 teams.  That means there are 64 teams left in the state now.  The top 4 from each region gets to go to the state meet.

The plan for this week…

Monday, October 21 – meet at Walsh for JV (full team travels).  Dismissed from class at 1:50 (talk to teachers of classes you’re missing and get assignments!). 

EVERYBODY bring plenty of clothes to stay warm, varsity this includes you too after your run – bring extra clothes for AFTER your run!

2:00 – bus leaves

2:40 – varsity dropped off at towpath for workout

3:10 – all frosh and sophs warm-up

4:00 – frosh/soph race

4:10 – junior/senior warm-up

5:00 – junior/senior race

6:15 – leave Walsh

7:00 – return to SJA

Tuesday, October 22 – JV now done – only varsity + Molly needs to continue.  Mastick 3:30-4:45.  Easy mileage then drills.

Wednesday, October 23 – school test day – practice at Memorial.  3:30-5:00pm

Thursday, October 24 – standard cross train day with a team meeting before in 331.  Done by 4:30.

Friday, October 25 – varsity team to Boardman after school in team van with Coach Kieser.  Travel to Boardman, jog the course, go to hotel, get dinner. 

Saturday, October 26 – varsity race at regional meet.  Race time 12:30.  Return to SJA by 3:45

Sunday, October 27 – no planned anything (Open House at SJA from 1-4:00pm)

Senior Night a Success!

The SJA cross country team hosted the 3rd annual "senior night" at South Mastick Picnic area with a jv meet against Mentor and Lakewood high schools.  The boys also competed with St. Ignatius competing instead of St. Joes.

In all, 22 senior runners were honored with a flower then a race on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon.  In the competition, the Jaguars finished behind Mentor, but well ahead of Lakewood.  The individual winner was SJA senior Maeve Kroeger, who used a big sprint at the end of her race to over-take a runner from Mentor.  Maeve's time of 21:18 was her best race ever by 40 seconds!

The team next competes at the district championship at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, then to Walsh Jesuit on Monday for the final JV competition of the year.

For week of Oct 14

Week of Monday, October 14

Do your PR survey please!

Dress properly for practices – be prepared for cold and warm weather.  Hydrate and eat properly.  It appears we are getting bit by the anemia bug a little again.  With all the pre-season warnings I was hoping this would not be the case.  Eat a smart, balanced diet every day.

This is a BIG week for our team/program.  We will celebrate our seniors by Wednesday with a JV race, a “senior night”, and a picnic after on Wednesday and the varsity will be running in the post-season next Saturday at the district meet. 

Wednesday’s meet will include ourselves, St. Ignatius, Mentor, and Lakewood.  In my eyes the microscope will be on us for an evening, so its important to be enthusiastic, well-prepared, and focused on putting together a quality event for all the athletes.  That is our job as hosts.  This will be addressed more in a separate email.

The district 7 is tentatively set but will be officially announced at Tuesday’s practice so that those not running districts can focus on their Senior Night Race.

Monday, October 14 – after school at Memorial Field.  Done by 5:15.

Top group 3 x 1600 of 400 on/400 off

Tuesday, October 15 – at Mastick after school until 5:15.  pre-meet and easy mileage for all.  We will also learn the course and get it clean.  Be ready to pick walnuts off the ground!

Wednesday, October 16 – Senior Night at Mastick.  Get rides to Mastick as usual.  Don’t forget your stuff!

Schedule

Boys race 5pm

Seniors introduced at 5:30

Girls race 5:50pm

Team picnic starting at 6:30

Hope to be done and gone by 7:30-7:45. 

Thursday, October 17 – at SJA.  Team stretch and go home.  Done by 4:00pm

Friday, October 18 – no school for students, but teachers have retreat.

3:00pm – varsity/district squad with Coach Kieser to Lakeland to view district course.  Return to SJA by 6pm (traffic dependent).

Rest of team to Mastick at 3:30 for easy mileage with Coach McHenry.  Done by 4:45.

Team dinner at SJA hosted by Biehls.

Saturday, October 19 – Districts!  Full team travels.  (JV jog the district course as soon as we get there). 

9:15 – bus leaves SJA

10:50 – start warm-up

11:25 – report to start line with spikes on, ready to do strideouts.  Keep gear on.

11:40 – Div I varsity race

Sunday, Oct 20 – no practice.  Relax

Monday, Oct 21 – meet at Walsh.  We will be leaving school near 2pm, so be ready for that!  Full team travels, only JV races.  

This week and weeks to come

For the week of Monday, October 7^th.

Please note some significant dates coming up.

Thursday, October 10^th – Pride Bowl and Cookout after school

Friday, October 11^th – 5^th, 6^th, 7^th grade visit day (no school)

Wednesday, October 16^th – CC senior night – we host!! (more below)

Thursday, October 17^th – Parent-teacher conferences (after school)

Friday, October 18^th – Faculty retreat (no school)

Saturday, October 19^th – District Meet (varsity – full team travels)

Monday, October 21^st – Walsh Last Chance (JV – full team travels)

Saturday, October 26^th – Regionals at Boardman HS (varsity)…may do overnight Fri

Sunday, October 27^th – Fall Open House 1-4pm…

Friday, Nov 1^st – All Saints Mass Day

Saturday, Nov 2^nd – State Meet, Columbus

Tuesday, Nov 5^th 6:30pm – fall sports picnic at Brennan’s (mandatory for athletes)

Monday, October 7^th – mastick 3:30-5:15…mileage with 60 second pick-ups – you need a watch!

Tuesday, October 8^th – SJA – 3:30-5:15… ice cream run to East Coast Custard

Wednesday, October 9^th (2pm dismissal)…memorial field – 3:00-5:00pm 6 x 800

Thursday, October 10^th – SJA – 3:30-5:15 typical cross train day

Friday, October 11^th – mastick – 3:30-4:45 – light mileage run

Saturday, October 12^th – SJA – 3200m paced run 9:00-11:00am. 

Sunday – on your own!

For senior night, here are some basics

3:30 – course set up by coaches, team, parents

5:00 – boys race (St. Ignatius, Mentor, Lakewood)

5:30 – introduction of seniors

5:45 – girls race (St. Joseph, Mentor, Lakewood)

6:30 – team cookout and campfire (if weather permits – we will decide on Monday 2 days before)

We will need parents, especially parents with powered backpack leaf blowers, to help prep the course for the races.  This typically means removing walnuts and raking leaves (yes, leaves will be on the ground).

For the first time we’d like to have a cookout for all the athletes, parents, and alums afterward if the weather permits.  This maybe would last until 7:00pm or later if all goes well.  We will divide food needs as necessary beforehand.

Thanks!

Fast final tune-up for cross country at Legends

The cross country team travelled this past weekend to the Legends Invitational with hopes of running some fast times on a fast course.  Some great performances were turned in as the Jags finished 2nd to Brunswick in the final meet of the season before the post-season begins.

Highlighting the day, and earning team athlete of the meet honors, was the performance of Maggie Wagner ('17).  Running a brilliant race, Maggie worked her way up through the field to earn second place, just one second behind the overall winner.  More impressive was her time of 19:17, which makes her 6th fastest in school history and the fastest freshman ever!  Not to be outshone was the outstanding run by senior Rachel McGuire, who made her own history by breaking the 20 minute barrier for the first time ever.  She finished the 5k race in 19:52 tying her for 19th fastest Jaguar ever.  Senior Alesha Vovk, freshman Mary Hyland, and senior Molly Moore were the next 3 jaguars to cross the line.

The Jaguars next compete at senior night, a celebration of the seniors and a JV meet with St. Ignatius, Mentor, and Lakewood high school on Wednesday, October 16 at South Mastick Park in the Rocky River Reservation.  Three days later the varsity will compete at the District Championship at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland on the east side.

The Legends Invitational is a meet hosted at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds and brings back "legendary" runners from Ohio's rich past.  More information about this year's and previous years' legends can be found at www.gopherarun.com/legendsmeet

Below is 2012 Olympian Bridget Franek (3000m steeplechase) with a group of 2017 Jaguars;
Zoe Miczak, Maggie Carroll, Polina Bufogle, Narupa Dabydeen, Hue Tran, Grace Kanary, Kaylyn Johnson, and Liz Renner

Successful day at Gilmour

Last Friday the cross country team traveled across town to Gilmour Academy for the Paul Primeau Invitational, heralded as the "state's oldest cross country meet" going on 54 years running.  In a field of 18 teams, the Jags came home with a 3rd place finish losing only to the host Lancers who are ranked 1st in Division III and Bay Village ranked 2nd in Division II.

Employing a team strategy of starting together for a mile then trying to catch people the last 2 miles, the team score looked bleak early.  However freshman Maggie Wagner moved all the way from 51st place to 6th place in the last 2 miles to tie her lifetime best of 19:51.  Seniors Rachel McGuire and Alesha Vovk also moved up from the 50's to 14th and 21st places respectively.  Running in her first varsity race in 3 weeks, senior Maddie Zimmerman finished 4th for the Jags in 45th place and junior Lauren Marconi was 5th in 49th place.

The JV team defended their title from last year, dominated their race with a paltry 30 points vs 82 points for runner up Bay.  Junior Mallory Fahey and freshman Mary Hyland finished 2nd and 3rd overall in the race followed by sophomore Bridget McGuire (6th), seniors Shannon Stauffer and Molly Moore (9th and 10th), and freshmen Katie Pellegrino, Alana Vovk, and Ellen Vichell finishing 11th, 12th, and 15th.

Freshman Annie Wolodzko was voted team runner of the meet for her big break through.  Annie took nearly 2 minutes off her all-time best and broke the 30 minute barrier (and the 29 minute barrier) for the first time ever in 28:59.

The team next competes at the Legends Invitational on October 5th at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds.

Week of September 30th!

We are heading into the final 3 weeks of the season for most of the team, so the majority of you will be tapering, which is the process of cutting back your mileage to make sure your legs feel as fresh as possible.  It won’t be a lot of mileage cut back, but enough to help.

It is supposed to be warmer this week – not hot, but warmer.  You need to hydrate all week so that it doesn’t sneak up on you.  Also, don’t slack off on your multivitamins, iron, or anything else you should be doing on a daily basis.  Take care of business!

In case you didn’t know, the team website is constantly updated after meets.  www.sjaxc.blogspot.com

This week the all-time list, the all-time class record list, the season results list, and the “All-time All-Catholic” list have been updated.  Saturday’s itinerary for Legends has also been posted. 

Don’t forget you should still be executing your perfect month (freshmen welcome not withstanding).

Week of September 30, 2013

Monday, September 30 – practice at Mastick 3:30-5:20

(injured runners can be picked up by 5:00)

AT run broken up

Tuesday, October 1 – practice at Mastick 3:30-5:00

Easy mileage with sprints after

Wednesday, October 2 – repeats at Memorial Field 3:30-5:30

1600, 2 x 800, 4 x 400

Thursday, October 3 – cross train day at SJA – meet in room 331 first to view video first from last weeks workout. 

Groups 1, 2, and frosh done by 4:30.  4 and 5 done by 5:15

Friday, October 4 – pre-meet day at Mastick.  3:30-4:45

Saturday, October 5 – meet at Legends…see itinerary.

Bus leaves at 10:00am.  We have a longer bus ride so be prepared.

Pictures from All-Catholic

Here is a link and some info shared by the host school from the All-Catholic meet pasta dinner.  The photographer listed has the rights but you may use pictures of yourself or contact him to purchase something if you like.

Jeff Unroejeffunroephotography@yahoo.com


Please share this link with your runners:
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32786572@N02/

Enjoy!

Week of September 23

Week of Monday, September 23

Monday, Sept 23 – practice at Mastick – done by 5:15…medium mileage day plus sprints or Frisbee after

Tuesday, Sept 24 – practice at SJA – reformatted repeat LT thousands behind the school.  NEW AND IMPROVED!  Muwahaha  done by 5:30

Wednesday, Sept 25 – practice at SJA – Today will be typical Thursday since this is an early dismissal day.  Groups 1, 2, injured and all frosh done by 3:30.  Rest done by 4:15

Thursday, Sept 26 – pre-meet day at Mastick done by 4:45.  Team dinner by Battistoni’s – they are looking for co-host still.

Friday, Sept 27 – meet at Gilmour (its called the Paul Primeau Invitational). 

Remember its Freshmen Welcome Friday – please do NOT give yourself sugar comas and ignore your proper eating habit.  You will have to be wise about WHEN you eat your meal.  Save something to eat around 2pm, especially if you’re in the open race.

Schedule – 3:20 – bus leaves SJA

5:30 – big school varsity  – Wagner, R. McGuire, Vovk, Marconi, Zimmerman, Butterfield, Fibbi

6:30 – JV/open – rest of team that is available.  This IS a scored race and DOES have a trophy for first.

8:30 – return to SJA

Saturday, Sept 28 – practice at Mastick – “long” run.  Longest group 8 miles.

Sunday, Sept 29 – OFF!!!!!!!!!!!

Split Squad Success for Harriers

The rains fell across Ohio Friday night making everything wet except for the spirits of the SJA cross country team as they spanned the state in two different meets this weekend.  The top 7 runners traveled to Dayton for the Midwest All-Catholic Championships where they finished an excellent 4th in a field of 21 teams.  The rest of the team competed at the Valley Forge Invitational at Tri-C west and finished 3rd of 11 teams.

In Dayton, the top 3 Jaguars finished 7th, 8th, and 11th to pace the team's score.  Maggie Wagner ('17) was the first across the line and the first Jaguar to break the 20 minute barrier in 3 years.  Seniors Rachel McGuire and Alesha Vovk both ran tremendous races to support Wagner's lead.  Junior Lauren Marconi ran the best race of her career to finish 4th for the Jags and sophomore Katie Butterfield rounded out the top 5 scorers for SJA.  Freshmen Mary Hyland and Alana Vovk also traveled as varsity on the trip.

At Valley Forge, the second 7 runners for SJA competed against other schools' varsity teams and still finished 3rd place behind Field and Madison high schools but ahead of 7 other teams.  Senior captain Maddie Zimmerman had her best race of the season to pace the Jaguar squad with junior Clare Fibbi, seniors Molly Moore and Shannon Stauffer, and junior Bridget McGuire rounding out the scoring.

Lauren Marconi was named athlete of the meet at the All-Catholic meet while freshman Grace Kanary earned that recognition for the squad at Valley Forge.  The team next competes at Gilmour Academy on Friday September 27th.

Fast Times at Open Door!!!

When the level of expectation is met by weather, competition, and a flat, dry course great things can happen.  That is just the case with the SJA CC team Tuesday night at Open Door's Patriot Invitational.  Being a smaller school invitational, the Jags sat out their top 12 runners to balance the competition and still nearly defended their title from last year.  Losing by just 3 points to West Geauga's varsity team, Saint Joe's had 29 runners out of 32 earn season best or personal best times.

In the varsity race, the trio of Katie Pellegrino ('17), Clare Fibbi ('15), and Shannon Stauffer ('14) all ran big PR's and finished 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively to pace the Jags.  A second trio finished up the Jaguars' scoring by placing 13-15th place - they were Alessia Saul ('14), Ellen Vichill ('17), and Karley Mullins ('14).  
As in the past 2 years, the depth of the Jaguars overwhelmed the rest of the Open race field.  This year the Jags took 15 of the top 18 places and accounted for 23 of the 37 competitors in the field.  Senior Sara Hurley blasted her old PR by running 22:56 for the 5k and finishing second overall.  First year senior Julia Nebbia finished 3rd overall with a 23:00, and freshman Maggie Carroll was 4th in 23:56.

Youth Movement at McDonough for CC teams

While saving the top few runners for the weekend and sitting a few others for injuries, the SJA cross country team had some younger runners emerge for the program at the McDonough Invitational hosted by VASJ.

With a split squad of many newer runners taking center stage in the varsity race, SJA "A" finished 10th and SJA "B" finished 11th out of 19 teams.  Katie Butterfield ('16) and Lauren Marconi ('15) were the first Jaguars across the line with a personal best times of 21:45 and 21:46 respectively.  Not far behind were freshmen first time varsity runners Alana Vovk (21:58) and Mary Hyland (22:01).  Second year runner Maeve Kroeger ('13) and Clare Fibbi ('14) wrapped up the top 6 in 22:08 and 22:21 for SJA.

In the open race, freshman Maggie Carroll was the top runner for SJA with a big personal best time of 23:53.  In the reserve race, senior Maddie Zimmerman returned to the line up with a solid 5th place time of 22:21.  Butterfield was named the team's athlete of the meet for her efforts.

Next week the top 7 will compete in the Midwest All-Catholic meet in Dayton while the reserves go to the Valley Forge Invitational at Tri-C west.

Week of Sept 16

Believe me when I say I hated not being at the meet on Saturday, but it sounds like all of you really gave a big effort for each other and for Coach McHenry.  I know she appreciates the cooperation!

The injuries are starting to mount and its not fun for any of us.  The biggest thing we've noticed is that many of the injured people are those who did not have a full spring track season of consistent/real running.  Of course there are exceptions, but that is a common theme among most of the wounded.  We can't beg you enough to understand how important off-season training is, so upon getting healthy please remember that in the off-season!

We have quite a busy week, so please pay attention to all that is happening.

Monday - practice at Mastick.  AT workout for non-Open Door people, regular mileage for Open Door runners.

Tuesday - meet at Open Door (please see itinerary - the varsity has changed a LOT for this meet).  Full team travels.  Non-racers run 3-4 miles depending on group.

Wednesday - practice at Memorial field...repeats for non-Open Door people, mileage and some LIGHT work for Open Door people.

Thursday - typical Thursday

Friday - pre-meet day at Mastick, team dinner at Marconi's house.

All-Catholic Info to be posted soon

Saturday - meets at Tri-C and All-Catholic

please see itineraries for more info.  Line ups have NOT been set yet but will be soon.

Sunday - day of rest!

Please remember the following week there is a Friday meet at Gilmour.  We will have workout on TUESDAY of that week.

Tiffin Recap - lots of PR's!

The SJA cross country team traveled to Tiffin for the annual Tiffin Carnival, the largest cross country meet in Ohio each year.  Competing against many of the very best teams in Ohio, the Jags finished 18th out of 34 teams.  While hoping for a high place and an overall stronger showing, at least 22 on the team achieved all time personal bests in the meet.

The top 3 runners for the varsity team faired well, with freshman Maggie Wagner leading the way for the second week in a row with a solid 20:07 time.  Seniors Rachel McGuire and Alesha Vovk also performed well running 20:36 and 20:59 respecitively.

The varsity B team finished 15th out of 33 teams in their race, which featured many schools' top varsity squads.  First to the line for the Jags in this race was senior captain Molly Moore, who ran a big personal best of 22:04.  For her effort, as well as last week's effort, Molly was named the team's athlete of the meet.

In the open race there were over 600 finishers.  Senior Maeve Kroeger finished 16th in that huge field to lead the Jaguar runners.  In the process she broke 22 minutes and earned a varsity letter.  As a team, the Jaguars were 9th of 37 teams in the race.

Next week the cross country team will participate at the McDonough Invitational in Cleveland Heights.

Schedule change Wed and Thurs

Due to expected temperatures in the 90's on Wednesday, we're going to flip flop Wednesday and Thursday's practices.

Wednesday will be at SJA - it will begin at 2:15 (early dismissal day).  Groups 1 and 2 done by 3:30.  Groups 3, 4, 5 done by 4:30.

Thursday will be the time trial at Mastick.  Practice will be dismissed by 5:30.

thank you!

Week of September 9, 2013

A reminder that all practices and meets are mandatory to attend even if you have an injury.  Only exceptions are ACT’s, extreme family circumstances, and a few other rare circumstances.  Please communicate with the coaches clearly.

Mentality.  We want you to believe you belong in every race as a team, and that you should get faster from week to week.  YOU have to believe and YOU have to want it.  Running and racing is not supposed to be easy – it’s a mental battle of overcoming discomfort (not an easy thing to do, but you can practice it).

Monday – Sept 9, practice at SJA – 3:30-5:20

Strength work

Tuesday – Sept 10, practice at Mastick – 3:30-5:15

Easy mileage

Wednesday – Sept 11, practice at Mastick – 3:30-5:15

Time trial #2

Thursday – Sept 12, practice at SJA – 3:30-4:20 (for 1 and 2) 5:15 for 3, 4, 5

Standard cross train day

Friday – Sept 13, practice at Mastick – 3:30-5:00.  Team dinner info TBA

Pre-meet

Saturday – Sept 14, meet at Forest Hills Park

3 races – varsity, JV, and open.  Some varsity will be held out this weekend for a rest, so we do not know who will be on which teams.

Sunday – Sept 15, Heroe’s Run at SJA.  Optional but encouraged.  You get service hours for this!!!!   Please arrive between 7:30-8:00am.  Probably done between 10:00-11:00.  Various jobs include; reading mile splits, passing out water, working the finish line, etc…you’ll get a free t-shirt.

Week of September 2

Again I want to thank ALL for a GREAT trip to Hilliard.  When the team carries themselves in the manner that you did I swell with pride.

This week we will be racing at Tiffin - a very BIG and very FAST meet.  Continue to focus on doing what you need to do to become a faster/better runner (not to mention a GREAT teammate).

Monday - long run at towpath/Rockside Road in Independence.  8:30-10:15.  Directions are easy - from SJA take I-90 east to I-490 east to I-77 south.  Exit at Rockside road and turn left (east) and follow down into the valley (about a 1/2 mile past McDonalds on the right).  Directly across from Lockkeepers, Yours Truly and Malleys.

excused from this run are: Jamieson, Farris, Johnson...rest up and be healthy for Tuesday.

Tuesday - practice at mastick after school. 3:30-5:15 It is very important we all travel down together to make sure every athlete has a seat belt when riding to mastick.  

Wednesday - repeats at Memorial - same rides at Tuesday!!  3:30-5:30

Thursday - cross train at SJA.  Groups 1 and 2 done by 4:45.  Groups 3-5 done by 5:15

Friday - pre-meet at Mastick...done with run and back to SJA by 5pm for team dinner hosted by Hurleys.

Saturday - meet at Tiffin.  Bus leaves at 11:30.  

Div I B race (our JV team) at 3:05

Div I A race (our varsity team) at 4:00

girls open 4:55

Sunday - on own

SJA enjoys Hilliard Davidson's Hot Summer Bash

Living up to its name, the Hot Summer Bash cross country meet in Hilliard, Ohio brought temps well into the 80's.  For the Jaguars, they kept things heated up by placing in the top 2 in all three races they competed in.  The varsity team finished second overall to host Hilliard Davidson, ranked 4th in the state, while also defeating 3 other ranked teams in the process.  Leading the team was freshman Maggie Wagner, who was 5th overall with a time of 20:02.  Seniors Rachel McGuire and Alesha Vovk were close behind in 8th and 11th place.  Finishing the scoring for SJA were junior Mallory Fahey and sophomore Bridget McGuire.

In the 9th/10th grade race, SJA were the winners.  The top 5 scorers for the Jags were led by 4 freshmen; Olivia Battistoni (2nd overall), Mary Hyland (4th), Alana Vovk (7th), Katie Pelegrino (16th), and sophomore Corinne Baker (18th).

In the 11th/12th grade open race, heat conditions forced the race to be cut to just 2 miles instead of 5k.  The Jaguars overcame the heat to finish 2nd overall led to the line senior Molly Moore.  The pack of Maeve Kroeger ('14), Clare Fibbi ('15), and Shannon Stauffer ('14) finished 10th-12th place.  The final scorer was newcomer Karley Mullins ('14).

The athlete of the meet was Alana Vovk who took almost 2 full minutes off her time from last week and helped the 9th/10th grade team win their race.

Next week the Jags travel to the fast and prestigious Tiffin Carnival.

Week of Monday Aug 26

Be sure to check results from your meet in the results section at the top of the website AND the meet review in the post previous to this one.

This week will be hotter all week than you are used to.  Please take care to hydrate properly.

We will not have practice on the Sunday before labor day, but we WILL have a long run scheduled at the towpath (no bus provided) on Labor Day morning (will labor a little on labor day).  More on this in next Sunday’s missive.

Monday, Aug 26 – at Westlake Rec 28955 Hilliard Blvd Westlake, OH 44145 3:30-5:30

Tuesday, Aug 27 – at Mastick 3:30-5:15

Wednesday, Aug 28 – at Mastick 3:30-5:30

Thursday, Aug 29 – at SJA – Groups 1-2 only 3:30-4:30…Groups 3,4, 5 3:30-5:15

Friday, Aug 30 – team trip to Hilliard (west side of Columbus).  Bus leaves at 2:00pm

You may bring your bags for the overnight to Room 331 and store them in the back of the room.  Please do NOT pack for a week-long stay.  It is one night and your purpose is to run!!!!  You don’t need 3 outfits, etc…J

There IS a t-shirt exchange at the meet.  If you want to be involved, bring a team/school shirt for this.  I am told this is a very fun thing to do, and we’ll be the only school from Cleveland at this meet.

We will be taking 52 girls – that is exactly 13 rooms of 4 girls each – begin figuring out who your 4 are because I’ll need to send a room list by Thursday.

We are staying at La Quinta Inn

6145 Parkcenter Circle
Dublin, OH 43017-3584
Phone: 1-614-792-8300

The hotel will be paid for, but you are asked to bring $5 toward the pasta we will order for dinner Friday night.  Coach will collect that on the bus ride down.  The hotel has breakfast available.  If you don’t like hotel breakfast bring your own extra food.

Friday itinerary (rough)

2:00pm – leave

4:30pm – arrive at Hilliard Davidson to preview the course/practice

5:45pm – leave HDHS for hotel to shower, etc…

7:00pm – team dinner in the hotel then team meeting

Saturday itinerary (rough)

7:00am – wake up, loosen up, fuel up

8:00am – bus leaves for the meet – set up camp, etc…

9:45am – 9^th/10^th grade race (8:45 warmup)

10:40am – varsity race* (9:40 warmup) see varsity roster below

11:40am – open girls race – all non-varsity 11^th and 12^th graders

All-teams pot-luck after – see separate info below on this!

Hope to leave the meet at 1:30 and return to SJA by 4:00pm.

*varsity = R. McGuire, Wagner, A. Vovk, Zimmerman, Farris, Marconi, Fahey, Marconi, B. McGuire (in a few meets we are allowed to run 9 in varsity instead of 7)

Some notes regarding the Berkshire Meet

Meet Review – Early Bird

Overall I was very pleased with the team as a whole.  I thought your spirit, attitude, and effort was inspiring.  The first meet is always exciting and a little nerve-wracking for everyone, so you handled the anxiety well.  Running with teammates like we do on workout day makes racing a lot easier – hopefully you found your group and worked with them!

A big lesson needs to be learned from this meet regarding scoring and how an inch can change a team place by a LOT!  Team scores are calculated by adding up the places of the top 5 runners from each team (only 7 runners are ever part of official results).  We finished tied for 5^th, but won the tie-breaker with Aurora because our 6^th finished higher than Aurora’s (thank you Mal).  Even more shocking was we were 1 point behind 4^th and one point AHEAD of 7^th…4 teams within 3 points of each other!  Many of you were close with other runners right at the finish line – imagine if you were passed by 3 people in the last straightaway how much that could affect our score and therefore the team place.  We easily could have been 4^th or 7^th just depending on such little things (like Maggie Wagner edging an AURORA girl at the line by .3 seconds!). 

I’m hoping after the first meet you can see why we emphasize getting longer mileage on our recovery days and pushing yourselves on your workout days.  You need to teach your body to run faster and further – get it more efficient in practice so you can race better!  I’m also hoping for you all to BUILD more confidence from week to week.

Some things to look for now that you have a race under your belt.

1.    Where are you on the all-time list?  (see the link on the team website) How far can you move up?

2.    How far up within the team can you run?

3.    Is lettering possible?  See the standards on the team website.

4.    Do you have a chance to make a mark on the class level records?

Also, be a little self-critical and consider what you can do better, not just in meets, but in your workouts, pre-race preparations, and mental effort.

Always, team comes first.  Please remember that every time you want to make a selfish decision regarding your training, behaviors, or interactions with others.

Go Jags!  Build!

Early Bird Review

The SJA cross country opened up the 2013 campaign at the Berkshire Early Bird Invitational in Burton, OH once again, and once again the Jags finished near the top.  This year the Jags were 5th out of 22 teams.  A school record 53 girls competed in the race including 26 first time runners!

The team was led across the line by senior Rachel McGuire who finished 8th overall in the race.  The other 4 scorers for the Jaguars were Maggie Wagner ('17) 13th, Alesha Vovk ('14) 31st, Maddie Zimmerman ('14) 39th, and Anna Farris ('15) in 41st place.

Senior Katie Waters was chosen team athlete of the meet for her efforts.  As a 4th year senior Katie ran over a minute faster than her previous best time ever.

Team results can be found in the tabs at the top of this website.

Week of August 19th

Hi all!

We continue to build toward the first meet next Saturday!  Last week was a VERY solid week for us and I hope the girls continue to grow together as a team and get fit together as well!

Monday Aug 19 - 3:30-5:15  at Mastick - Repeat AT miles.

Tuesday Aug 20 - 3:30-5:15 at Mastick - over-distance run

Wednesday Aug 21 - 3:30-5:30 at SJA - uniform hand out then workout behind the school in the park.

Thursday Aug 22 - 3:30-5:15 - Mastick mileage...GROUPS 1 AND 2 OFF

Friday Aug 23- 3:00-5:30 - at SJA - Fall Sports Picture Day!  Have your uniform and order forms (to be passed out this week).

Team dinner at Butterfied house in Lakewood.  Please plan your night around this as its the first team dinner of the season and a great time to bond!

Saturday Aug 24 - Early Bird meet at Kent State Geauga Branch in Burton.

Bus LEAVES 7:00am.  Full team races at 9:30am.  Likely return to SJA by noon.

**note - we have more girls on the team than can fit on the bus.  If any parents don't mind driving their daughters out early enough to warm-up then please let me know.  I absolutely positively cannot let students drive themselves though.  

Sunday Aug 25 - no team practice BUT at 3:00pm there is the fall sports picnic at SJA for ALL sports and ALL coaches.

Week of August 12th

Hi ladies - we have just 2 weeks until the first meet, so if you needed incentive to get out the door on the weekends maybe that thought will scare you into going for a jog right now.  :-)

On a quick side note, I was very happy with how the canoe run went, and I grow more excited about this coming season with each passing day.  Help me and help each other continue to BUILD!

**NOTE we have an athlete who lives near St. Bernadette's who needs help getting to and from practice this week.  Please email or text me if you can help with this!  216 252-7866   fieser@sja1890.org

It turns out everyone needs to have the concussion paperwork filled out - please go to http://www.sja1890.org/?_athletics for the form (sorry).

It would also be very helpful if everyone had a watch!!!!

All-in-all this is a simple week - all practice times at 8am (we begin 3:30 practices next week)

Monday, August 12th - at South Mastick 8-10am.

time trial - no spikes needed

Tuesday, August 13th - at Second Sole Shoe Store Rocky River (19341 Detroit Rd  Cleveland, OH 44116)

We will meet in the parking lot behind Second Sole and go for a run at 8am into the Rocky River Park and have a shoe clinic in the store at 9am - they will provide bagels and juice.

You do NOT need to purchase anything, but if you need new shoes or spikes feel free to bring a credit card.  Discounts will be offered.

Done by 10am.

Wednesday, August 14th - at South Mastick - 8-10am

Groups 1 and 2 stay home - you do not need to come to practice.

mileage day

Thursday, August 15th - Memorial Field - 8-10am

workout (repeat 800's)

Memorial Field is found in the Rocky River Metroparks roughly 2 miles south of Detroit Road.  It is just south of the Rockcliff park entrance and north of the Hogsback entrance.

Click here or go to the team website, click on "directions folder" and look under "practice locations" for Memorial Field.  

Please leave early if you're not sure where you're going, but its only 2 miles from SJA, so it shouldn't take longer!

Friday, August 16th - South Mastick 8-10am

mileage day for all

Saturday and Sunday - run on your own!!!  You are given the weekend off because it is the LAST weekend you'll have off during the season.

First week - its go time!

Its go time!

I've always held the belief its important to be ready to go when  a season, school year, or anything has a set start time/date.  Be ready, be excited, and help everybody move forward toward a successful year.  If everybody is on the same page then great inertia can begin together, however if there are a handful that don't buy into this or show up late then the team is held up and everyone is on a different page.  From there its always hard to get them together.  Solid starts are important!  Be at practice, have your paperwork printed and signed, and please be ready to go!

We currently have 60 girls on the roster, only 22 of them have up-to-date physicals in the school's possession.  You cannot practice if you do not have the OHSAA physical updated!  Reminders and links for this have been given since before summer started.

Here is a link to the team roster and the dates of physicals  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvtDf2KdJGRIdFpsVGYtN044ZjdacGpoY19kSmZ4Nmc&usp=sharing

yellow means expired, red means soon-to-expire

Please remember to have the EMA form and handbook forms turned in as well for the first practice.  A link to print these can be found on the SJA "athletics" website - http://www.sja1890.org/?_athletics

There is a mandatory fall sports parent meeting this Thursday night at SJA at 7:00pm.  This is held by the athletic director for all fall sports.  It is NOT my meeting so any conflicts or concerns must go to her.

Monday, Aug 5 - location SJA, 8-10am.  

paperwork turn in

season opening talk

drills

medium distance run

hip mobility

team stretch

Tuesday, Aug 6 - location Mastick park, 8-10am

warm-up

longer run

push-ups/sit-ups

drills

hip mobility

team stretch

Wednesday, Aug 7 - location SJA, 8-10am

workout day

warm-up to Stinchcomb

repeat 400s on dirt trail at easy pace, but short rest

a few hills to follow

warm down to SJA

stretch

Thursday, Aug 8 - location Mastick, 8-10am

warm-up

longer run

push-ups/sit-ups

drills

hip mobility

team stretch

Thurs night - 7pm - mandatory parent meeting

Friday, Aug 9 - canoe run at Canal Fulton http://www.canalfultoncanoelivery.com/

Bus leaves SJA at 9am - expected return of 3pm.

The gist.....

bust leaves sja at 9am and arrives at the livery at 10am.

please have $14 for canoe rental and the waiver form signed before we get there

line to waiver form - http://www.canalfultoncanoelivery.com/release.html

you will partner up with someone and canoe about 5-6 miles down a lazy river that is not even 5 feet high.

We will run on a towpath back to the canoe livery.

We will have a simple picnic when done.

Saturday and Sunday - we will NOT have practice on these days, but athletes will be expected to run on their own if they are scheduled to.

Future date notice - August 25th, 3pm at SJA - ALL SPORTS (including winter and spring) sports picnic.

--

"Don't be afraid to give up good to go for great"
www.sjaxc.blogspot.com

www.sjatrackandfield.blogspot.com

 

Week of July 29th...1 week until first official practice!

Hi Jaguar fans and families...

The time is getting close for our first official practice.  Its a magical time of year that the athletes only get to experience 4 times in their lives - when teams across the state come together to relive old traditions, begin new dynasties, and let the rubber meet the road/trail with the enthusiasm that new beginnings bring.

Last week was a solid week for the team as Coach McHenry had great turnouts at Mastick and the campers in Orangeville ran exceptionally well.  The biggest key now is to keep building up without breaking down.  Camp athletes should keep running, but bring the mileage down 5-10 miles, but keep working on improving your average pace.  Get faster.  Those who weren't at camp should keep building.

This week conditioning days will be Monday, Wed, and Friday all at 6:00pm at Mastick.  There may or may not be a coach in attendance, so if parents are uncomfortable with captain led practices please stay nearby or of course keep your daughter home.  I will try to have some alums, etc...come down to provide stability.  Coach McHenry WILL be at Friday's practice for certain.

Remember, for next Monday (next week's schedule will be sent early enough) you MUST have the following!!

Reminders:

First practice August 5th at SJA from 8-10am.

You MUST have multiple forms/paperwork completed, but primarily the OHSAA physical HAS to be done.

OHSAA 6 page physical form (the physical is good for one year)

EMA form (these only need to be done once each year now)

Student Handbook Signature Page

Scroll to the bottom of the athletics page for the links to all the forms.  Print them up and sign them PLEASE!  Especially all the signatures on the physical.  Be responsible and have it done and ready for August 5th (or whenever your first practice is).

http://www.sja1890.org/?_athletics

Please also get a simple watch with a stopwatch feature on it!  It does NOT have to be fancy.

Get good shoes on your feet too!

Contact me if you have questions or problems or concerns.

thanks!  Coach Kieser and Coach McHenry

this week

Hi all,

We have some necessary things to take care of, so please be aware!

This week conditioning will be on Mon, Wed, and Fri at South Mastick.  Please meet Coach McHenry in the pavilion at 6pm.  You should be done by 7:15ish.

You will be asked to run a mile more than you have been OR run the same distance you've been running but do it noticeably faster than you have been.  You can alternate what you choose to do each practice.

Reminders:

First practice August 5th at SJA from 8-10am.

You MUST have multiple forms/paperwork completed, but primarily the OHSAA physical HAS to be done.

OHSAA 6 page physical form (the physical is good for one year)

EMA form (these only need to be done once each year now)

Student Handbook Signature Page

Scroll to the bottom of the athletics page for the links to all the forms.  Print them up and sign them PLEASE!  Especially all the signatures on the physical.  Be responsible and have it done and ready for August 5th (or whenever your first practice is).

http://www.sja1890.org/?_athletics

Please also get a simple watch with a stopwatch feature on it!  It does NOT have to be fancy.

Get good shoes on your feet too!

Contact me if you have questions or problems or concerns.

thanks!  Coach Kieser and Coach McHenry

PS - 5 weeks until our first meet!!!!

this week and the weeks to come

Hi all!

Included below is a brief outline of things/dates to keep in mind as the summer conditioning season begins.  Do the best you can and please communicate with me as needed!

Monday, July 15-Thursday, July 18 - SJA Youth CC Camp - 9:00-12:00 noon.

Please show up a couple of minutes early each day to greet the campers - we have over 20 coming this year with a couple of boys.  Please mind these are sons and daughters of alumni, my friends, employees of the school, and hopefully future Jaguars!  Be great like you always are.

YOU do not have to sign up for camp.  You will get service hours for the days you show up.  ALL of you are asked to be counselors all week.  You will be running, so bring a water bottle and your running shoes/clothes.

NO practice Friday, but of course you should run on your own!

Week of Monday, July 22

21 girls will be at CC camp with me, but that leaves 40 girls on the roster still in town.

Conditioning runs will be held at South Mastick park at 6pm on Mon July 22, Wed July 24, and Fri July 26 with Coach McHenry at 6:00-7:15.  Same deal as all of our morning conditioning runs.  She can't do mornings, so that is why they are at night.

Week of Monday, July 29

The 21 girls will be back from camp, but I will not be, so the same routine will exist.

Conditioning runs will be held at South Mastick park at 6pm on Mon July 29, Wed July 31, and Fri Aug 2  at 6:00-7:15 with Coach McHenry and/or the captains or myself if I sneak back to town (which may happen!)

Monday, August 5th 8:00am (not 9:00am) to 10:00am - first official practice.  OHSAA physical must be up-to-date!!!!!  No exceptions!

practices this week will be at 8:00am.

Friday, August 9th - this is expected to be the canoe run day in Canal Fulton.  We'll hopefully have a school bus take us to Canal Fulton where we will canoe down a river 5 miles, run back, then eat a simple picnic.

Week of Monday August 12th

practices in the AM all week

Week of Monday, August 19th

practices in the AM all week

first meet on Saturday the 24th

Week of Monday, August 26th

practices in the afternoon all week (3:30)

overnight trip to Columbus leaving on Friday August 30th, coming back after the meet on the 31st

Week of Monday, September 2nd

Mon, Sept 2nd - Labor Day long run at towpath in Brecksville in AM

Tues-Fri - afternoon practices after school!  yay!!!

For week of July 8th!

Parents...as a side note....
If you are not receiving emails, please email me at fkieser@sjastudents.org so I can add you to the list.
If you are receiving duplicates...
1.  It could be because you have two daughters on the team
2.  It could be because you are receiving an email on behalf of your daughter who is on a separate list than my parent email list.  For frosh, they will get new emails the first week of school through SJA - at that point I'll stop using your email on their behalf.
3.  I am stupid could also be a reason.

Hi all,

This is early but its your schedule for the week of July 8th.  It is essentially the same as last week.

Monday July 8, 8-9:30am at South Mastick

Wednesday July 10, 8-10:00am at SJA

Friday July 12, 8-9:30am at South Mastick

We have had 48 girls out of the 62 that have signed up attend at least one conditioning day already in the first 2 weeks.  A few of you have also contacted me letting me know your circumstance.  If you have not come yet, please attend or email me letting me know your schedule.  It is very exciting to see so many people interested!!

Reminders of things to do:

1.  Get your OHSAA physical scheduled and done BEFORE August 5th (first practice).  Print the form from this link. 

http://www.ohsaa.org/medicine/PPE_2013-14.pdf

6 pages total...have all signatures ready and done!

2.  Run on your own!

Effort should be 6 out of 10 for most days, 7 or 8 if you're feeling good.

Distance should be the same or a mile less than when you meet with the team.

You can use www.gmap-pedometer.com to help measure your runs from your house.

3.  Have good reliable running shoes on your feet.

4.  You'll need a watch (not phone) next week.  Get a $10 type at Kmart, Wal-mart, etc...and remember to bring it.

5.  Sign up for our team account on running2win.com - after you create an account search for our "team" (SJA distance crew) and apply to be accepted.

6.  Do the survey for the team if you haven't already.  See this link

https://docs.google.com/a/sjastudents.org/forms/d/1L9iCGChNAwyFo3nHg7j-k6AZECE1dGGqb5BbPhaeSKA/edit

thanks!!!

--

"Don't be afraid to give up good to go for great"
www.sjaxc.blogspot.com

www.sjatrackandfield.blogspot.com

 

Week of July 1st

Below is the plan for this week plus some reminders.  Last week was a pretty good week for attendance and attitude.  We are going to try to add a mile to each run this week.  This is how your build!

Reminder #1.  From year to year you should be running a little bit more and running a little bit faster.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing year after year but expecting different results.

Reminder #2.  I would like for you to join our online training log community on running2win.com - look at this blog in a previous entry for instructions on how to do this.

Reminder #3.  Schedule your physicals now.  Parents of frosh - just reminding you this is NOT the same physical as what the main office needs. Please have good shoes on your feet!

Monday, July 1st - 8-9:30 at South Mastick Park

Wednseday, July 3rd - 8-10:00am at SJA!  We are going to do some extra activities at the school, learn some running routes, and do a little team building with the captains.

Friday, July 5th - 8-9:30 at South Mastick Park

Signing up for online training log

It is good for you to keep track of your mileage.  Over time you can see your progress and keep yourself honest in your training.

You can keep track of your mileage online.  Our team uses a website called www.running2win.com
You will need to register (its free) - be sure to keep track of your username and password!
Once you have registered go to "community" and browse teams looking for "saint joseph academy cross country"...this code may help

T-3940062212-29

You'll have to apply to be on the team and I'll have to accept you.

Please be diligent and start keeping track of all your runs, even if its just 1 mile!

First week!

Monday marks our first conditioning day of the summer.  We will be meeting at South Mastick park in the Rocky River Reservation from 8:00-9:30am.  Directions can be found in the "directions" folder on this blogsite.  We will also be meeting at South Mastick from 8:00-9:30am on Wednesday and Friday of this week.

Please come dressed properly, with good RUNNING shoes, etc...bring water, a spare shirt for if it rains or you sweat excessively, a towel, and maybe even dry socks.  Eating something light an hour before may help too (toast w/peanut butter, bagel, crackers, Gatorade, etc...).  

We WILL run if its raining, we will not run if its storming.  There is a chance of rain every day this week, so look for good windows of opportunity to run between storms when on your own.

You will each be asked to run distances that YOU are ready to handle - new runners will not be asked to do the same amount at the same pace as 4th year seniors.  With that being said, you are all expected to start building the best possible base you can by the end of August.  

For example...

late June, July, and August should be dedicated toward building up your overall endurance by simply running.  NOT jogging super slow to the point its confused for a walk, but by running.  We'll discuss exact paces and distances later.  On occasion we'll mix in other things, but your primary goal is to build up your runs from week to week.

New people may start around 2-4 miles per run at 3-5 times per week.  That would be a range of 6-20 miles per week.  By the end of August I am hoping you can all handle 3-6 miles per run 4-5 times per week (that is 12-30 miles per run).  Its a big range, but we have a large range of abilities in the new group.

Older/most experienced may start around 4-6 miles per run at 4-6 times per week.  That would be a range of 16-36, although starting at 25-30 miles the first week should be plenty.  By the end of August (not including camp week) I am hoping you can handle 5-8 miles per day 5-7 days per week (25-56 mpw).  Again this is based on the individual.  We may not have anyone over 50 mpw this year.

By September school has started and we'll try to hold our mileage throughout that month, but we'll be adding more pace to the runs with workouts.

In October we will cut back our mileage allowing the legs to really rejuventate, but we'll continue to pick up the pace with the workouts as we prepare for the end of the season.

Most importantly stay healthy!  Let us know of any real concerns injury-wise.  And get your physicals done before August 5th!

2013 season is nearly upon us

Track and field is nearly done and its time to think about fall cc at SJA!

Before you/we do that a few things need to be taken care of...
1.  Recover mentally from school, sports, and everything else (I've intentionally put this first on the list)
2.  Recover physically.  If you have any injuries, "hot spots", or other ailments that require attention and rest, get those fully taken care of
3.  Get new shoes for the summer.  Please don't wait too long and get injured for no reason.
4.  Start devising your motivations.  Find reasons to push yourself on hot days, rainy days, and lazy days.
5.  Get organized with your parents.  Cross country is a full varsity sport that requires a full family effort.  Whether it is your driving schedule to practices, having good food in the house, taking SAT's, etc...everyone needs to be on the same page.  Start now!
6.  Think of ways to make this team better and to make your experience, and everyone's experience, the best it can possibly be.

The summer conditioning days and fall meet schedule are now posted to the far right.  Please look them up, set those days aside, and commit to it!

Go Jags!