Sept 3 - 8 (Week 14)

We survived the Run-a-Thon (this is actually being written before the event, but let's assume we've survived)!  Get some rest this weekend and be ready to roll into a few very busy weeks.

Purpose of the week's workouts - We continue our Pre-Competition Phase this week.  As you've noticed, the workouts are tougher and everything (including schoolwork) is becoming a little more demanding.  Remember what you committed to working on for 5 Minutes during this week and actually make a conscientious effort to do it. 

PLEASE REMEMBER FOR ALL MORNING RUNS... 

YOU MUST BE WEARING A WHITE OR BRIGHT SHIRT!

Here's our schedule for the week - 

Monday: We will be meeting for a team run at 7:00a at the Maverick roundabout on Washington Parkway.  We will then carpool over to Hurricane for a trail run.  This is practice for the day, so everyone who is in town needs to be there. If you're out of town, get your run in.

Tuesday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  RACE: Dixie Invite - Held at Bloomington Hills North Park.  Youngsters races (for Elem and MS) start at 4:30p (no cost).  HS Girls at 6:00p, HS boys after (app. 6:40p).  Most Varsity runners will not be racing (not racing: Nathan, Julien, Scottie, Mikey, Cooper, Jessica, Alli, Rylee, Sylvia, Pyper, Gracie).  You will meet at BHNP at 4:00p for your workout.  There is no bus for this meet.  Everyone who is racing needs to be to the park by 5:00p for warmups.

Wednesday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Levels 3,4 and optional for Level 2.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Thursday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Friday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Levels 2,3,4.  RACE: Murray Invite - those invited to Murray will be leaving at 8:00a from the HS (no MS pickup).  An itinerary will be sent home to those who have met the qualifications to attend this meet.  Those not attending will have a workout to complete.  Race info (including schedule and location) can be found out murrayinvite.com
Saturday: Those with the team at Murray will have a practice on the State course and then travel home.  Those not with the team will have a workout assigned.
Next Week Races - Hurricane (at Sand Hollow GC) on Wednesday and Canyon View on Saturday.  Both of these are JV races (or a few Varsity who are working on some racing practice).  Most Varsity won't race, but will have a workout instead.

Weekly minutes can be found here.  Remember, Final Surge is a requirement for racing.  If you haven't set up and account yet, go back to the post from earlier in the summer and get your account created and notify Coach of the email you used.  An invitation to join the team will be sent to you, and when you accept that, your workouts will be added to you and you can update everything you need.

If you aren't getting team texts, text @a24b37 to 81010

If you haven't checked out the new plyos yet, please do.  We will be adding a short plyometric routine to our Wednesday morning runs.  Check out the 6 exercises here.

YOUNGSTERS - Regular practice schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays at 3:00p at the HS.  No practice this Monday as it is Labor Day.  But we will see you at the race on Tuesday (see info above).
Info and Risk Statement can be found here.  This must be complete to participate.

Week 12 Athletes of the Week - 
Tough at Practice - Syvlia, Sr.  Sylvia is about the toughest runner on the team.  Everyday and every run, she is pushing herself and those around her.  Everyone should take a look at her determination... it is contagious.
Team Builder - Scottie, So.  Even as a Sophie, Scottie is developing into a team leader.  He sets a high standard for the team and pushes everyone around him to work up to it.
Performance - Kyanne, Fr.  Kyanne had a great race at SUU.  She broke out of her comfort zone and pushed many girls who had been way in front of her.  It was a breakout race, and we expect to continue to see great improvement from her.

Take a look at the videos of the workout from last Wednesday.  As you watch, evaluate form.  Look at those that seem to have good for and notice what they are doing.  Take note of some of the weaknesses in form you see.  And then critique your own form and note what you can do better.  Then, do it!

Thought of the Week: "All life demands struggle.  Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life.  The very hard work and striving that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today."
-Pope Paul VI
Is there anyone of us who hasn't struggled?  In life, in running, in school, in relationships?  I highly doubt it.  Remember our mission to "LIVE AND RUN GREATLY".  Sometimes, I notice that we forget that struggle is actually good - maybe you had a bad stretch of workouts or are struggling to get to practice; maybe home life isn't so good; school is tough and math is a crappy class; whatever... all life is made of tough things.  And like the Pope says, these struggles are what make us who we are.  How do you respond to challenges?  Do you give up?  Do you get mad and blame others? Or... do you accept the challenge and work even harder?  Do you realize it might be a long road, but every day and every moment you give your best you are improving and becoming a better person?

Aug 27 - Sept 1 (Week 13) & SUU Recap

Let's keep digging Panthers!  Great things are out there for those that push out of their comfort zones.  You were challenged by Coach Robs to evaluate where you're at on the Pyramid of Success... Where are you after a week?

Purpose of the week's workouts - We move into our Pre-Competition Phase for the next 4 weeks.  During this time, we will be bringing in more Hill Circuits and race pace intervals.  Workouts are tough during this phase a demand that you take care of your body to be prepped (drink water, eating enough and healthy, rolling and massage, SLEEP, and letting easy and recovery days be just that).

PLEASE REMEMBER FOR ALL MORNING RUNS... 

YOU MUST BE WEARING A WHITE OR BRIGHT SHIRT!

Here's our schedule for the week - 

Monday: 5:30a at the HS for Levels 2,3,4.  We will be doing our long run.  If Level 1's want to come and get their long run in for the week that is okay.  Afternoon practice on Mondays will always be a team meeting in the lecture hall at the HS followed by a short run.  Practice starts at 3:00 (even with the short day).  Required for everyone.  

Tuesday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  Afternoon we will meet as a team at PVHS at 3:00p for our run.  Required for everyone.

Wednesday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Levels 3,4 and optional for Level 2.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.  We will carpool over to the Bloomington Hills North Park (BHNP) for this workout.

Thursday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Friday: Morning practice: 6:00a.  Required for Levels 2,3,4.  We will be doing a Hill Circuit workout.  We won't have afternoon practice because of the run-a-thon which will start in the evening (time TBA - probably 6:00 or 7:00p).

Saturday: finishing the run-a-thon.
Next Monday: we will be having team practice for everyone in town.  More info coming.

Weekly minutes can be found here.  Remember, Final Surge is a requirement for racing.  If you haven't set up and account yet, go back to the post from earlier in the summer and get your account created and notify Coach of the email you used.  An invitation to join the team will be sent to you, and when you accept that, your workouts will be added to you and you can update everything you need.

If you aren't getting team texts, text @a24b37 to 81010

We will be adding a short plyometric routine to our Wednesday morning runs.  Check out the 6 exercises here.

Overnighter to Murray - In a couple weeks we are headed to Salt Lake for the Murray Invite.  We will be taking around 45 athletes.  The #1 determining factor in who will be invited is attendance at required practices.  Those who miss practice (including mornings and weights if they are required for your level) will run the risk of not making the trip.  So... be to practice.  IF you are sick or need to be absent for some reason, text/talk to coach before.

YOUNGSTERS - Regular practice schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays at 3:00p at the HS.
Info and Risk Statement can be found here.  This must be complete to participate.
There is also a race this Tuesday at 4:00p (MS) and 4:20p (Elem) at Grandpa's Pond in Hurricane.  I'm not sure if there is a cost - if so it would be a dollar or two.  Hurricane will also host another meet on the 19th of Sept with the same location and time.  There will be a race at the Bloomington Hills North Park on Sept. 4th at 4:30p for Elem. and MS - no cost.

Run-a-Thon and Fundraiser - The Run-a-Thon is this Friday -Saturday for those that can attend.  We will start at 7:00p and go through 7:00a (that time hasn't been solidified, yet).  The biggest purpose of this event is team unity/bonding.  We have a lot of fun, eat, play games, run, act stupid...  There will be pizza throughout the evening and breakfast early in the morning.  Remember your $5 for food to Alli Baker.

Week 11 Athletes of the Week - 
Tough at Practice - Madeline, So. Madeline has been working extremely hard to close the gap up toward the top girls.  She often will push herself, and those around her, to be with the top girls as we head out on runs.
Team Builder - Carter, So. His enthusiasm and commitment are contagious.  Even through injuries and setbacks, Carter is always there for the team and bringing a great attitude.  And in his own running, this optimism is paying off as he is having some huge improvements of his own.
Performance - Cooper, Sr.  Cooper ran very strong at Cedar to earn the 5th spot on the boys team and help us earn the win!  He will tell you that there have been times that he questioned if his hard work and effort would pay off after a tough track season.  But perseverance always pays off, even if it takes a little longer than we would like.

SUU Invite Recap - A week with some strong improvements... Many of us really worked to KILL BIG GAP and saw big gains from that.  Both Varsity teams ended up with solid 2nd place finishes.  Jess (4th), Rylee (9th), and Alli (10th) earned top 10 t-shirts.  While Sylvia (12th) and Pyper (16th) rounded out our scoring.  The boys were led by Nathan in 3rd, then Scottie (11th), Mikey (13th), Julien (15th), and Cooper (21st).  Our JV's ran strong as well.  The girls finished 3rd and were led by Allison (5th), Jada (9th), and Jenna (10th) in the top 10.  And the JV boys placed 2nd with Luke (6th) and James (7th) earning a shirt.  Some other strong races were run by Tyler (finishing as our 4th man in the JV race), Carter (who had probably his best race ever), Pyper (previously mentioned scoring finish in her first Var race), Addie T. and Emma (in their first races), and Kyanne and Rayne (with big improvements from previous races).

Thought of the Week: "A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it.  It just blooms." -Zen Shin
Often we get caught in the vicious cycle of "competition" (however, we should remember the true meaning of competition - that taught to us by Coach Roberts - that were are working with those around us to become our best).  In this cycle, we only measure our progress or success by beating others.  Reflecting on this quote, I realize every flower can be beautiful and contribute to a breath-taking mountain meadow or spring garden.  No flower is pushing to be the most vibrant and dominate the scene and quitting and dying if it doesn't reach that standard.  If we all strive to be our own individual best self and our own best team self at that given moment, it won't matter what others (individuals or teams) do; we will be able to bloom.

Aug 20-25 (Week 12) & Cedar All-Comers Recap

The season and school year are in full swing now.  We had a good first week of school getting used to the new schedule, hotter temps, and a little racing.  This week we will see an increase in minutes and some big pushes to get us moving in the right direction.

Purpose of the week's workouts - We continue with the SWEP phase this week.  Our focus is long runs with some tempo, easy runs with some steady state and strong finishes, and 3K pace intervals.

PLEASE REMEMBER FOR ALL MORNING RUNS... 

YOU MUST BE WEARING A WHITE OR BRIGHT SHIRT!

Here's our schedule for the week - 

Monday: 5:30a at the HS for Levels 2,3,4.  We will be doing our long run.  If Level 1's want to come and get their long run in for the week that is okay.  Afternoon practice on Mondays will always be a team meeting in the lecture hall at the HS followed by a short run.  Required for everyone.  We will be registering for SUU - you must know if you are attending the race Saturday or not.

Tuesday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  Afternoon we will meet as a team at PVHS at 3:00p for our run.  Required for everyone.

Wednesday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Levels 3,4 and optional for Level 2.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.  We will carpool over to the Dirt Mile for this workout.

Thursday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Friday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Level 4 and optional for Levels 2,3.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Saturday: RACE - SUU Invite:  Bus is LEAVING the HS at 6:30a.  Race schedule: Var. Girls 8:00a, Var. Boys 8:30, JV Girls 9:15, JV Boys 10:00, awards 10:45.  You must ride the bus with the team to race. Athletes may ride home with their parent AFTER ALL OUR TEAM IS DONE RACING and checking out with the Coaches.

Weekly minutes can be found here.  Remember, Final Surge is a requirement for racing.  If you haven't set up and account yet, go back to the post from earlier in the summer and get your account created and notify Coach of the email you used.  An invitation to join the team will be sent to you, and when you accept that, your workouts will be added to you and you can update everything you need.

YOUNGSTERS - Regular practice schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays at 3:00p at the HS.
Info and Risk Statement can be found here.  This must be complete to participate.

Run-a-Thon and Fundraiser - The Run-a-Thon will be Aug 31-Sept 1 for those that can attend.  Any sponsors that want a sign, must be turned in by Monday!  About the SPONSORS: please remember that no personal checks are accepted, when you turn money into the finance office at the HS just tell them your name and that the money is your XC sponsor.  Then bring the receipt to Coach Holt and tell him where you want to use the money.

Week 10 Athletes of the Week -
Tough at Practice - Emma Ward, So.  All summer, Emma has displayed the physical and mental toughness that PVXC is built upon.  Awesome example Emma!
Team Builder - Yrene Heinze, Sr.  Nay Nay has one of the most positive and influential attitudes on the team.  Whenever you need to be uplifted, take a minute and talk to her!
Performance - Nathan Beitler, Sr.  Nate has had two strong runs to start the season.  At the time trial, Nathan set a school record.  Then at the Desert Relays, he won the Leg 1 bowling pin.  Very strong start to the race season, great job Nathan!

Cedar All-Comers Recap - Cedar All-Comers is a good judge of early season fitness as well as a benchmark for comparison to overall improvement throughout the race season since we race it again toward the end of the regular season.  We had a few Youngsters that came up and race, and they all did a great job.  In the girls' race, PV got out very strong through the first lap and was looking very good.  In the 2nd and 3rd miles, an excellent DH team closed those gaps and moved up a lot to take the victory.  Jessica and Alli took 3rd and 4th after leading much of the race.  Rylee also placed in the top 10.  Sylvia and Gracie rounded out our scoring in 14th and 15th.  On the boys' side, Nathan and Julien also placed 3rd and 4th.  From there the scoring may have gotten a little mixed up at the finish line, but our finishers of Scottie, Mikey, and Cooper were able to secure a team win in close fashion or very close fashion depending what was the correct placement.  The JV boys also saw a lot of great racing.  It was a good start to the regular season.  We challenge everyone to remember the purpose of early season racing: to learn and grow.  And then each of you need to be able to identify some areas of strength to continue and some areas of weakness that you can work on.

Thought of the Week: "If you no longer go for a gap which exists, you are no longer a racing driver." - Ayrton Senna
This is a quote by a famous F1 race car driver.  And although we aren't racing cars, the idea is very pertinent to us as runners.  After the race, Coach Roberts talked about The Gap and how he has been our biggest competition and enemy.  So we found this quote that fits really well with what is going to become our biggest goal.  So as we practice this week, as we race, remember if you aren't closing the gap and gaining/catching people, you really aren't racing - you are just out for a run.  This week... KILL THE GAP!

Aug 13-18 (Week 11), Desert Relays Recap and Youngsters (6th-8th Grade) Info

Are we ready for this?  It's always a little bummer for the end of summer, but many of us are actually pretty excited!  The end of summer means consistent team practice, a set schedule to get your body used to, a lot of team activities, and racing!
As we move into the school year, our schedule will change a little (see below).  Make sure you are prepared by drinking enough water throughout the day - 100+ oz -, be getting enough sleep - at least 8 hours a night -, and you are ready to keep up on your school work.

Purpose of the week's workouts - This is an important week and a difficult week.  Our biggest concern this week is helping everyone adjust to the new schedule: school, sleep, heat, and school work.  Because of this, we are toning down the week a little.  Our minutes will drop a little and we will see fewer workouts.  Because of this, it is very important that everyone get every run in that they are supposed to and to do them well.

Here's our schedule for the week -

Monday: 6:00a at the HS for Levels 2,3,4.  We will be doing a long interval workout (check Final Surge or the google doc for specifics - the google doc lists paces for you, so take a minute and find yours).  Afternoon practice on Mondays will always be a team meeting in the lecture hall at the HS followed by a short run.  Required for everyone.

Tuesday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  Afternoon we will meet as a team at PVHS at 3:00p for our run.  Required for everyone.

Wednesday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Levels 3,4 and optional for Level 2.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Thursday: Morning practice: 6:15a weights and short recovery run. Required for Levels 2,3,4 and optional for Level 1.  There is no afternoon because of the race.  RACE - Cedar All-Comers:  Meet at the HS at 4:00p for the bus.  Race schedule: Youngsters (MS race) 5:30, Girls 6:00, Boys 6:30 (app.)  You must ride the bus with the team to race (not Youngsters, of course; you travel with your parents).  Athletes may ride home with their parent AFTER ALL OUR TEAM IS DONE RACING and checking out with the Coaches.

Friday: Morning practice: 6:15a.  Required for Level 4 and optional for Levels 2,3.  Afternoon practice at 3:00p. Required for everyone.

Saturday: We will meet as a team for practice time in the morning.  Time and place to be determined. (Var. girls will probably be at Renegade Camp.)

Weekly minutes can be found here.  Please get them caught up.

YOUNGSTERS - Practice will begin on Thursday at PVHS at 3:00p (we know some of you may be heading up to the race on Thursday and that is great! But we will still hold practice for those who aren't).  Regular practice schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays at 3:00p at the HS.
We are still looking for a few people who would be willing to work with our Youngsters program.  We have an experienced coach who will lead the team, so no experience necessary; just a passion for helping kids love being active.  Contact Coach Holt by email at pineviewxc@gmail.com

A few calendaring items: 

Run-a-Thon and Fundraiser - It looks like we will pencil in Aug 31-Sept 1 for the run-a-thon.  You may want to start working on your sponsors, though.  If you don't have sponsor paperwork, it will be available at Monday's team meeting.  About the SPONSORS: please remember that no personal checks are accepted, when you turn money into the finance office at the HS just tell them your name and that the money is your XC sponsor.  Then bring the receipt to Coach Holt and tell him where you want to use the money (some people have missed this step in the past and then been fined because no coach knew that they had paid by sponsors).

Girls Varsity Renegade Camp - we are looking at the Friday-Sat of the first week of the school year.  Usually around the top 10'ish are invited to attend.

Desert Relays Recap - The Desert Relays is a fun early season duel meet with DH that has a very unique format.  Of course we want to run well, but the most important thing about this race is to see where we are doing well so we can keep growing and to identify areas where we might need to change a few things.  In the girls' race, we saw some great individual running: Alli set a new meet record for the 1st Leg, and we saw some great pushes from others like Kyanne, Allison, and Madeline who had strong races.  We weren't quite able to overcome a very good DHells squad and they beat us 25-30.  On the boys' side Nathan took home the bowling pin for his win in Leg 1.  It was a very tight race with DH and we were able to nab a 28-28 win with a 6th place tie breaker.  Strong runs by teams Silver (Cooper, Tavin, and James) and Grey (Boston, Luke, and Tyler - whose huge kick to the finish barely edged out a DH team) got us the tie.  Then the 6th squad (the White team of Caleb, Josh, and Dakota) stepped up big for the tie-breaker win.  It was definitely a total team victory.

Thought of the Week: "Failure isn't fatal, but failure to change might be." - John Wooden
First, no one failed at all at the Relays - some ran well, others maybe not very well.  But, the quote includes a very important idea, so we still wanted to use it.  In our meetings after the race, we talked about how winning or losing the Relays isn't the biggest deal in the world.  Really, the only thing that makes it important at all is what you learn from your race last week.  If you are able to take the good things you did and build on them, and if you are able to identify an area or two of struggles and implement ways to fix those, then you have truly grasped the purpose of an early season meet like this.  Change and Growth... that is what it is all about!

Time Trial and Rankings

Monday we had our preseason time trial at Bloomington Hills North Park.  With decent temps and humidity down a little, even very wet and long grass was bearable and some good performances were recorded.  For a full list of results check out athletic.net.  The boys started us off well with solid running from some of our top guys and a lot of good JV times.  (The following records and comparisons are based upon the preseason time trials only, not time trials run later in the season.) Nathan set a new record with a 10:30 and looked very strong throughout.  Scottie hit our 3rd fastest time on the 2 mile course with Mikey not far behind.  Comparative to 2015 and '16 (years where we placed 2nd at State) the team times were just 9 and 11 seconds slower, but we had a little larger spread that needs to be brought down with our 4 and 5, as well our 6 and 7 and our top JV guys.  The girls saw similar results as Jessica set a new school record (also by a second) and Rylee H. recorded our 3rd fastest time.  Alli pushed strong to make this the first time we recorded 3 girls under 13:00 on this course.  Again comparing to '15 and '16 years where we took 2nd (really?) and 1st in State we were around 20 seconds slower and 20 seconds faster, respectively.  Again a little larger spread held us back, but we saw great things from that 4-10'ish crew that leaves us very hopefully.  One of the best things is that our JV crews all put in times near or quicker than many of those same spots on the team from the past few years.  This progress shows what a hard summer of running will do.

Check out all the pics from CAMP and the TIME TRIAL

Rankings: Today Utah Milesplit Ranked our girls the #5 team in the state of Utah

and a couple weeks ago, they ranked Alli the #15 individual in the state

Aug 6-11 (Week 10)

A strong summer of running culminated with an awesome XC camp.  Thanks again to the captains and camp committee that did so much to pull it off and also to the parents who drove and those who helped cook.
Now we head into the final week of the summer and also start up some racing!

Purpose of the week's workouts - Last week we moved into our SWEP phase and we explained it a little in the week's post.  You can also find more info about it in the Big Book of PVXC.  This week we continue SWEP and bring in a bit of racing.  The goals of the races this week are to test where we are after a long summer of miles.  There is no need to stress about racing.  In fact, tonight would be a great time to think about all the progress you have made over the summer - the long runs, the Sand Hills, pushing through the heat and waking up early - and realize that the races are just an opportunity for you to show the great fitness you have already earned from this hard work.

Here's our schedule for the week -

Monday: RACE - PV Time Trial: Meet at Bloomington Hills North Park at 7:00a.  We will do our regular warm ups and then race at approx. 7:45a (parents/friends welcome to come watch; and Youngsters and even alumni are welcome to come run with us).  Afternoon run (for those who are doing it) is on your own.

Tuesday: Morning practice will be on your own!  Try and make it a grass run with striders.  Afternoon we will meet as a team at PVHS at 3:00p for weights and our afternoon run.

Wednesday: Morning practice at 7:00a at PVHS.  Afternoon practice on your own.

Thursday: Morning practice at 7:00a at PVHS.  Afternoon we will meet as a team at PVHS at 3:00p for weights and our afternoon run.

Friday: Morning practice at 7:00a at PVHS.  RACE - Desert Relays:  Meet at Bloomington Hills North Park at 5:15p (don't be late... we have to make the relay teams based on everyone who is there).  Youngsters are invited to run.  Race schedule - girls (and youngsters) 6:00p, Boys approx. 6:30p

Saturday: On own or organize your own group run.

Weekly minutes can be found here.  Please get them caught up.

We are still looking for a few people who would be willing to work with our Youngsters program.  We usually meet 2-3 times per week through the season (days can be determined by the coaches).  No experience necessary; just a passion for helping kids love being active.  Contact Coach Holt by email at pineviewxc@gmail.com

A few calendaring items: 

Run-a-Thon is usually after the Desert Relays.  However, since the relays are moved up a week this year, we will be delaying the run-a-thon to a later date.  You may want to start working on your sponsors, though.  Paperwork for sponsor will be passed out later in the week.

Girls Varsity Renegade Camp - we are looking at the Friday-Sat of the first week of the school year.   Usually around the top 10'ish are invited to attend.

Thought of the Week: "Running taught me valuable lessons.  In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline.  I applied this in everything I did." - Nelson Mandela 

I picked this quote for a number of reasons. 1) Some of you know I greatly admire Nelson Mandela for all that he accomplished and how he transformed his life for the betterment of all.  And to learn that he ran cross and applied its principles to his everyday life is SO RENEGADE! and 2) The idea of the quote fits real well with our race season starting up.  What you have done in training is determines what you do on the course.  Hard work in practice, pushing past your perceived limits, strengthening teammates, and all the other things you do in practice, all have the opportunity to shine in races.  Races are nothing to be scared of... they are opportunities to show your great self and all that you have earned!