Last Week of Spring Practice!

I apologize to my frustrated commenter... I have had a very, very busy week! Sarah had her dance recital this weekend, so we had company in town along with lots of activity going on. The state track meet was re-scheduled for Monday due to weather, so I decided at the last minute to ride along with New Albany to do some recruiting. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Today, Tuesday, we will have practice at Ballard XC trail at 3:30. This is our last spring practice!!!!

Everyone has done so well this spring, and I am very thankful to have some of our new runners! Things are looking good for fall!

A few announcements before the workout list:

1. Camp reservations need to be made THIS WEEK... not kidding, y'all! If you are planning to go, Mrs. Lynn Mims needs to know, pronto! :) Otherwise, you will get stuck eating stale bread, sleeping outside, and drinking out of a paper cup rather than a Spartan water bottle!

2. The TIE DYE race is this Saturday at Ballard Park. Race starts at 8:41 a.m., so plan to be there by 8:00-8:15. You can register at Healthworks, and probably still get the cheaper rate.

3. Another alternative: There is a TRACK MEET this Saturday at THS track. It starts at 10:00, and they have changed it... It is FREE to participate (parents and non-runners pay a $1.00 gate ticket price). Also, I was under the impression that runners had to be in the Tupelo school district, but I was wrong. It is for ages 7-14, and runners can enter up to 4 events. This would be a fun opportunity to do some speed stuff and have a track experience. There is no 3200M, but there is a 1600M race for the older age groups.

4. I will have summer mileage charts this afternoon for you. We will talk a lot about our summer running plan, and I am going to make some announcements concerning changes for the fall season. Parents, if you can stick around to hear this, that would be great.

OK, OK... Here is the plan for this week!!!

WEDNESDAY: Everyone do CORE WORKOUT #2
Groups 1-2: off
Groups 3-5: 3 miles easy

THURSDAY: Strength training of your choice!
Group 1: 30 minutes steady
Group 2: 3 miles
Groups 3-5: 4 miles

Friday: CORE WORKOUT #1... NO RUNNING

Saturday: TIE DYE or TRACK MEET

May 10-15

Easy Week! This is going to be a back off week, b/c I know we have had some over-training going on. For those of you who ran 3 races last week, you even have my permission to take the week off.

Everyone gets a break from full strength training. However, I would like you to do push ups and crunches 3x this week.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: PRACTICE AT NA PARK ALONG THE RIVER. We will have a LIGHT day of running and have some fun at the playground or doing crochet/crafts under the pavillion. Bring a ball, frisbee, craft, or whatever for when we finish our group run.
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Everyone 30 minutes
Friday: off
Saturday: Long run, depending on where you are... 3-5 miles.

If you want a summer training manual in hard copy form, email me or tell me at practice tomorrow, and I will get you one next week. I will not require any practices over the summer. I will let you know the locations of my BMC runs, and you are welcome to come run with us. We have runs scheduled in a lot of different locations on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday each week. I WILL BE RUNNING WITH THE GROUP AT THESE PRACTICES, so moms of younger or slower runners will need to stay.

Also, if you are interested in a service project for your children, I will be doing a LOT of work on our BMC cross country course this summer. We will be building bridges, cutting limbs, and doing a LOT of raking. If you ever want to help, let me know... I will be there a few days each week.

RE-GROUPING/ This week's running

Ok, everyone, it is time for new groups. Instead of listing everyone, I am going to give general guidelines.

Group 1: Still working on running 3 miles under 30 minutes or 30 minutes w/o walking. (Do not worry if you are still in group 1... some of you have no intention of leaving group 1, and that is FINE! Remember, you are getting exercise and working on getting fit! Great job!)

Group 2: You CAN run 3 miles in under 30 minutes. You are either 6th grade or younger, OR you have JUST started running, OR you have recently gotten under 30 minutes for your 3 mile time.

Group 3: You can run 3 miles in under 30 minutes, and you have been able to for a while now. You are 6th grade or older. You have been running (CONSISTENTLY) since the beginning of spring practice.

Group 4: Experienced runners, grades 7-12, who have been running consistently for a while now. This is the varsity group. Groups 4 and 5 are holding steady on mileage until group 3 catches up. This will happen by the end of May, and you will be ready for summer training together.

Group 5: Forrest


SO, here are this week's workouts:6

Monday: Core workout #2
Group 1: 30 minutes
Group 2: 3 miles
Group 3: 3 miles
Group 4: 3 miles
Group 5: 3 miles

TUESDAY: NO PRACTICE!!! INSTEAD, THE NIGHT 5K IN RIPLEY WILL BE RUN AT 8:00 PM. IF YOU CAN JOIN US, GREAT! I AM PRETTY SURE ALL SPARTAN RUNNERS CAN PARTICIPATE FOR $15.

If you are not planning to participate in this 5K, then do your long run on Tuesday.

Wednesday:
Groups 1-4 Rest day

Thursday: Strength Training #1
Group 1: 30 minutes
Group 2: 3 miles
Group 3: 4 miles
Group 4: 4 miles
Group 5: 4 miles (b/c you are doing Gumtree, I think)

Friday: Core work #1
Everyone Rest

Saturday:
Group 1: optional 30 minutes
Group 2: 3 miles
Group 3-4: 3 miles