I hope everyone is having a good wrap up to your school year as the season is winding to a close. We've got some runners going to nationals from PA, but other than that the 2014 Spring season has come to a close meaning... you guessed it... CROSS COUNTRY SEASON is just around the corner. And by around the corner, it's 2 1/2 months away until any racing starts, but as I begin my training for the XC season I will begin some posts. I will be doing a top 50 individuals list with explanations along with a top 10 teams list. I'll be doing write-ups on the top 10 teams as well with a discussion on each of the runners on the teams. I may put together some district previews together as well for the smaller districts to get some more runners into the discussion.
If you have any suggestions at all for posts that you guys would be interested over the summer please e-mail me at fk246898@muhlenberg.edu or post up your ideas on here. I'm willing to write about anything in the track world. I will also be doing some posts about the professional scene as well, just to get some track talk out there.
I'm hoping to have a top 50 out by next week around Friday (8 days), but we shall see. There are a lot of fantastic runners that I'm going to need to shift through, but I sure am getting excited for the season!
--ForrestCRN
Is it too early to start training for XC? I'm anxious to start but don't want to burn out.
ReplyDeleteFinding the balance is always tough, and I'm not sure when the best time to start is to be honest. My team started yesterday (sunday) on our build up. Depending on how late your season went, taking a week to two weeks totally off, and then a week to two weeks of active rest (my coach defines it as 15-20 mile weeks). We finished in early May, so we're not starting our build up to higher millage.
ReplyDeleteJumping Millage gets even tougher, and it would really depend on your history of how much you run to determine what your body can handle. My body is known for breaking down easily, so despite the fact that I have run multiple 70+ mile weeks (highest 83) I rarely go above 60 now-a-days because my chance of injury exponentially increases.
I would talk with your coach however and see what he/she has to say. Also note that this is only distance runs for the first month to two of training. I won't do any tempo work until July and barely any striders until then as well.
My e-mail has been broken, but if you e-mail me with more specifics I can offer better help.
Summer training is simple - Get your mileage base in. No need for killer hill workouts or tempo runs. Just have a consistent build up in mileage and don't take time off for vacations. Start 8 weeks out and come into camp in running shape so you're ready to train for racing shape under your coaches program.
ReplyDeleteMight as well do some predictions while waiting for Forrest..
ReplyDeleteTeams:
1. O'Hara- They finally get their win..
2. Conestoga- Return a strong team+some solid track times
3. North Allegheny-Return some solid runners, struggle with the back of their pack
4. Henderson- Not completely convinced that they'll just fall off the face of the earth just yet.. I might be completely off with this though
5. CRN- Decent returners and a historic program. Should be able to put something nice together.
6. Pennsbury- Returns almost their whole varsity. Could be very dangerous and maybe move up quite a bit.
7. DWest- Inexperience hurts them a bit, but they'll still run well
8. Freedom- Returns everyone+more experience. Same story as pennsbury but lacks a strong front runner as of now
9. Twin Valley- Not completely sure with this.. Mostly seniors for next year so they may be extra motivated.. who knows
10. Cumberland Valley- Return a decent amount of guys from last year. Experience should help as well
No way for O'Hara, they lose too many pieces and just can't seem to put it together at the state meet for XC or track. N/A for the win, Conestoga a close 2nd, then DWest.
DeleteIf Malvern wasn't an independent school team, where do you think they'd place? Also, what can we expect from the older Hoey over the next two years, and what about his younger brother?
ReplyDeleteMalvern would be number 1, no doubt about it. Jaxson can be expected to continue running extremely well as I believe he is still on quite low milage and if he increases it and doesnt get injured, he will continue to improve. While jaxson is more track oriented, josh (younger brother) is more of an xc runner, so he can be expected to run quite well for a frosh barring injury. Also, I believe they're both training with henderson again over the summer
DeleteThis season for xc will be interesting because there isn't 1 or 2 teams that are head and shoulders above everyone else like it has been the last couple of years... Going to be an exciting season
ReplyDeleteMy predictions from district 7 would be as follows
ReplyDelete1. Matt McGoey - North Allegheny
2. Jeff van Kooten - Central Catholic
3. Ethan Linderman - Canon McMillan
4. Todd Gunzenhauser - Mount Lebanon
5. Hunter Wharrey - North Allegheny
6. Nick Wolk - Peters Township
7. Shaun Hay - Peters Township
8. Scott Seel - North Allegheny
9. Tanner Quiggle - Seneca Valley
10. Ian Baun - Mount Lebanon
11. Mike Kolor - Seneca Valley
12. Jonathon Weese - Canon McMillan
13. Eric Kennedy - Kiski Area
14. Elias Graca - Fox Chapel
15. Noah Smith - Ringgold
16. Dennis Doyle - Baldwin
17. Jake Susalla - Plum
18. Duwon Terrell - Penn Hills
19. Shane Rumbaugh - Trinity
20. Mike Burchlaw - North Hills
Obviously it's quite a ways away, but if I were to guess how that race is going to turn out, it would be like that.
Team standings, in my opinion, would go something like:
1. North Allegheny
2. Mount Lebanon
3. Peters Township
4. Canon McMillan