June 28-July 3 (Week 4)

This summer is zooming and our team growth has been exceptional. We are really setting ourselves up for great things this year. Let's take a look at how we are doing on the little things (reading, recording minutes, weights, recovery) and refocus on them knowing that each thing we do is a piece of the puzzle we want to put together for a successful season.

• take a look at the 2021 schedule and start making some plans.
• registermyathlete - registration has got to be done tonight if you haven't yet! Go to registermyathlete.com - physical needs to be complete and on file at PVHS before camp.
  Fees can be completed later. Here's the list of people who have done something with registation, the rest PLEASE do it NOW!: Carson, Diego, AJ, Spencer, Gary*, Kyler, Reese, Bridger, Westley, Allen, Gianno, Parker, Talmage*, Adri, Karli, Kennis, Macy, Roxy, Zoe, Brecken*, Laney, Kate, Brinley, and Alianna (those with an * need to go back and click through all the paperwork)

Purpose of the Week's Workouts: This week's workouts. We'll continue to grow our Foundation this week (more minutes) including a longer run Saturday (please be there if you can) and doubles for some of the team. We'll also use our Baseline test to get into some Pace work. Paces are posted on the workout spreadsheet; know yours for Monday. 

This Week's Schedule:
This week, we'll keep having practice at Washington Elementary Monday through Thursday this week at 7:00a. We will meet at Sullivan Park at 7a on Friday. And on Saturday, run on Turkey Farm (meet at the top of the S Turns at the top of the big hill at 7a). Weights on Tuesdays and Thursdays after our run, we will go (as a team) over to PVHS and spend 30mins in the weight room going through our routing (please do your best to build this into your schedule).

Monday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) 

Tuesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Youth Summer Running Club 8:30-9:45 (everyone) - Weights after Summer Club (everyone) / afternoon - short run on own (Silver & Black required, Maroon optional)

Wednesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Book Club after the run 

Thursday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Weights (everyone) / afternoon - short run on own (Silver & Black required, Maroon optional)

Friday: regular practice at 7:00a Sullivan Park (everyone)

Saturday: long run on Turkey Farm at 7:00a (everyone), meet at top of S Turns at top of big hill

Upcoming Events:

Run a Thon - TBA

24th of July 2 Miler - July 24th at the Harvest Lane Park in the Fields, race starts at 7:00a, PVXC will be racing and we want to invite all family, friends, neighbors of PVXC to come join us (cost... donations accepted to fundraise for the team)

High Altitude Camp - July 26th-29th; cost $90 pay to PVXC Club (not the HS), payment due by July 2nd (cash or Venmo @Dave-Holt77) 

Minutes:
Fill out this form for our 3rd week of practice. This is how we will earn our minutes awards for the season as well as tracking goals and progress.

Book Club:
We will be talking about Week 3 on Wednesday and then getting the reading for Weeks 4 and 5.

PVXC Thought of the Week: 
?
-Matt Fitzgerald
This week it is going to be the thought that you bring to the book discussion on Wednesday. Each of you will be asked to share (at least) one idea from this week's reading that was impactful to you. You have a few days to read and find something... so get to it.

June 21-26 (Week 3)

Another week down... before you know it the summer will be over, school will be starting, and we'll be racing. Not saying that to bum you out, but just remind you that time goes quick and NOW is the time to be preparing for a successful xc season. You don't set PRs or make Varsity or win titles in the summer, but NOW is the time you prepare the body and mind to do so!

If you haven't yet:

• take a look at the 2021 schedule and start making some plans.
• registermyathlete - registration has got to be done tonight if you haven't yet! Go to registermyathlete.com - physical needs to be complete and on file at PVHS before camp.
  Fees can be completed later.
• One last week of these videos for our weights. Take a look at the slide for the Panther Distance Crew Weight Program - each has a video linked to it to help you learn the correct form. Watch these and get a sense of what you would like to do for our first days in the weight room this week.

Purpose of the Week's Workouts: This week's workouts. We'll be doing a "baseline" test on Monday, so please be there. Nothing to stress about, but helps us figure out our paces for workouts for the next month. If you are out of town, you can replicate it by running hard as you can for 15mins and recording (and reporting to Coach) the distance you cover - it would be best to do it on grass, but road or track is fine if you can't.

This Week's Schedule:
This week, we'll keep having practice at Washington Elementary Monday through Thursday this week at 7:00a. We will meet at Confluence Park by the Dixie Center at 7a on Friday. Saturday will be a run in your own organized groups run.. Weights on Tuesdays and Thursdays after our run, we will go (as a team) over to PVHS and spend 30mins in the weight room going through our routing (please do your best to build this into your schedule).

Monday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) 

Tuesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Youth Summer Running Club 8:30-9:45 (everyone) - Weights after Summer Club (everyone) - Team Goal Setting BBQ and swim at Coach Holt's house at 5:00p, please be there if you're in town!

Wednesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Book Club after the run 

Thursday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Weights (everyone)

Friday: regular practice at 7:00a Confluence Park (everyone)

Saturday: organize your own group run

Upcoming Events:

Team Goal Setting BBQ and Swim Party - Tues. June 22nd 5:00p, Coach Holt's house, 630 E. Springhill Dr. in Washington - PLEASE BE THERE!

24th of July 2 Miler - July 24th at the Harvest Lane Park in the Fields, race starts at 7:00a, PVXC will be racing and we want to invite all family, friends, neighbors of PVXC to come join us (cost... donations accepted to fundraise for the team)

High Altitude Camp - July 26th-29th; cost $90 pay to PVXC Club (not the HS), payment due by July 2nd (cash or Venmo @Dave-Holt77) 

Weekly Challenge:
Look at your first two weeks and decide what you've been doing well at and what you could refocus/recommit on. Be ready to share this with your teammates on Monday.

Minutes:
Fill out this form for our 2nd week of practice. This is how we will earn our minutes awards for the season as well as tracking goals and progress.

Book Club:
We will be talking about Week 2 on Wednesday and then getting the reading for Week 3.

PVXC Thought of the Week: 
"When athletes really want it, they are able to tolerate a higher level of percieved effort than when they are comparatively unmotivated."
-Matt Fitzgerald
Do you think this is true? Have you ever experienced it? Have you ever been able to "get up" for a race and run well compared to a race that maybe wasn't as important and you didn't do as well? What about in other aspects of your life... have you ever done something a really well when it was really important to you? Then how do you explain the times we don't do as well when it is a big event? How do you explain Jenny Barringer-Simpson's race described in the book? Think about those ideas and have some thought about them and the other points made in this week's reading for our book discussion on Wednesday.

June 14-19 (Week 2)

One week down already... It was really great to be back together with the team and seeing all the new faces as well. This is going to be a very exciting year. Let's keep the positive vibes going everyday this week.

If you haven't yet:

• take a look at the 2021 schedule and start making some plans.
• registermyathlete - get it done! Go to registermyathlete.com (the registration part needs to be done this week - physical needs to be complete and on file at PVHS asap.
  Fees can be completed later.
• We will be doing the lunge matrix, leg swings and SAMs daily. These are great strengthening exercises that will help you get and stay healthy and injury free. So take a look at the videos and learn them.
• Lunge Matrix video
• Leg Swings video
• SAM video
• We are changing things up a little for our weight program this year. Take a look at the slide for the Panther Distance Crew Weight Program - each has a video linked to it to help you learn the correct form. Watch these and get a sense of what you would like to do for our first days in the weight room this week.

Purpose of the Week's Workouts: This week's workouts. We've changed up the week just a little. We will delay our Baseline test (probably just one week) because last year we were coming off Covid where most everyone had been running for a few weeks before practice; this year we are just coming off our two weeks off and could use a little more time to keep building. Overall our goal is still building our foundation.

This Week's Schedule:
This week, we'll keep having practice at Washington Elementary Monday through Thursday this week at 7:00a. We will meet at Middleton Park at 7a on Friday. Saturday we will also meet at Sullivan to run on the grass at 7:00a. Weights on Tuesdays and Thursdays after our run, we will go (as a team) over to PVHS and spend 30mins in the weight room going through our routing (please do your best to build this into your schedule).

Monday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone)

Tuesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Youth Summer Running Club 8:30-9:45 (everyone) - Weights after Summer Club (everyone)

Wednesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Book Club after the run - Team Activity at the Boiler's Park 5:00p

Thursday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Weights (everyone)

Friday: regular practice at 7:00a Middleton Park. (everyone)

Saturday: regular practice at 7:00a Sullivan Park. (everyone)

Weekly Challenge:
Our first challenge was to get someone to come to practice or the team activity with you. Some of you did well at that... others, maybe not. Let's keep that one going all the time! For this week, our challenge is going to be to do your Week 1 reading. Reading and participating in the book club can/will be such a beneficial thing for you. We promise it will not only make you a better runner, but will contribute to improvements in all aspects of your life. Like everything, you're going to get out of it what you put into it.

Shoes... Shoes... and more Shoes...: We don't have a lot of equipment in running, but what we do have is very important - shoes. Parents and athletes take a look at this short guide to running shoes and when to replace them. There's a lot of places you can get new shoes (specialty store, online, etc.); however, the key is to get a right fit for your particular foot, not necessarily just the cheapest. A specialty story will help fit you to the correct shoe. You can also get some help from Coach Decker and Holt who have some experience in identifying various foot types and get you in the correct type of shoe (neutral, cushion, support, stability).

Minutes:
Fill out this form for our first week of practice. This is how we will earn our minutes awards for the season as well as tracking goals and progress.

Book Club:
We will be talking about Week 1 on Wednesday and then getting the reading for Week 2. Here's a little clip of one of the sections that book talks about (watch it... it's pretty amazing!). 

PVXC Thought of the Week: 
"There are two ways to win a race. You can win by bringing greater physical capacity to the race, or you can win by utilizing a greater portion of a slightly lesser physical capacity within the race.
-Matt Fitzgerald
Like we will do all summer, this quote is taken from our Week 1 reading section of "How Bad Do You Want It?" Let's go beyond the "win" a race idea and put that to "do your very best" in a race because, truthfully, not a lot of us get to win races (I've lost way more races than I've won, but I've done my very best in many races. Then that doing of my "best" opened the door for me to do a new "best" in future races.). So thinking of this quote, some people do very well because they really are just better. However, we want to get to the second part of the quote, where we can do our best because we are improving on utilizing a greater portion of physical capacity - even if it isn't as amazing as the most talented runner. The reality is, I could probably count on one hand the number of truly talented runners we've had on the team in the past 2 decades. How then have we had numerous All-Region and All-State runners, State Champions and State Championship teams? How have we become the most decorated program at Pine View HS and one of the most awarded programs in Utah history? The answer lies in the getting the greater portion out of everyone of us. Think about this idea a bit, connect it with what you've read (or are going to read!) from the intro and Ch. 1 of this week's reading, connect it with you're own running and why you are out here doing this difficult thing. And then come Wednesday ready to talk about it for a few minutes.

XC Starts Monday! June 7-12 (Week 1)

Excitement is in the air! Practice will start for high school (incoming 9th graders through 12 graders) XC on June 7th at Washington Elementary at 7:00a!

Youth Summer Running Club is back and will also be starting this week on Tuesday! Check out the info on the previous post and please share it around with families and others who might be interested in participating in our summer club. It's never too late to sign up and join us.

Things you need to do to be ready for practice:

• take a look at the 2021 schedule and start making some plans.
• registermyathlete - get it done! Go to registermyathlete.com (the registration part needs to be done this week - physical needs to be complete and on file at PVHS asap.
  Fees can be completed later.
• We will be doing the lunge matrix, leg swings and SAMs daily. These are great strengthening exercises that will help you get and stay healthy and injury free. So take a look at the videos and learn them.
• Lunge Matrix video
• Leg Swings video
• SAM video
• Now about this stuff, why do them? No doubt, some of us who know this stuff realize the benefits of these exercises and others aren't so sure about them. Like everything in life, you won't really do a great job with them until YOU buy in. So until you start to realize the benefits of these exercises, maybe you'll just take my word for it - these will help you be stronger; a stronger runner is a healthier runner; a healthier runner is a faster runner...

Purpose of the Week's Workouts: This week's workouts. The goal of this week is to just get us going a bit. We'll start building our foundation and prepping us for an exciting, successful, and injury-free year.

This Week's Schedule:
This week, we'll keep having practice at Washington Elementary Monday through Thursday this week at 7:00a. We will meet at Sullivan Park at 7a on Friday. Saturday we will also meet at Sullivan to run on the grass, time TBA. No weights this week, but we will jump right into those next week on Tuesdays and Thursdays after our run, we will go (as a team) over to PVHS and spend 30mins in the weight room going through our routing (please do your best to build this into your schedule).

Monday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - get summer reading Week 1.

Tuesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Youth Summer Running Club 8:30-9:45 (everyone)

Wednesday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone) - Team Activity at the Skim Park 5:00p

Thursday: regular practice at 7:00a Washington Elem. (everyone)

Friday: regular practice at 7:00a Sullivan Park (everyone)

Saturday: regular practice time TBA Sullivan Park (everyone)

Weekly Challenge:
Our very first challenge this year is going to be to bring someone to practice and/or the team activity. Call up your friends... bring someone that would benefit from being part of this great team.

Also...

There is this Summer Mile Club put together by Hoka and Athletic.net. Might be a way to earn some prizes and stuff this summer by just doing the thing we are always doing - running! Check it out and see if you want to participate.

Minutes:
Take a look at this form. This is how we will earn our minutes awards for the season as well as tracking goals and progress. You'll fill out your first week info at the end of this week.

Book Club:
We will be getting the first section of our book on Monday. We highly encourage you to take a few minutes each day and read and reflect on the assigned reading for the week. We promise that doing so will help you become a better runner as well as influence you in positive ways in other areas of your life.

PVXC Thought of the Week: 
"I came away from this experience having learned a fundamental truth about endurance sorts. While my legs and lungs had put in a position to win, it was my mind - particularly my ability to absorb the shock of the novel sensations I felt and my willingness to suffer a bit for the sake of winning - that had carried me over the top. The essential challenge of long-distance racing, I understood, was mental."
-Matt Fitzgerald
This is our first quote from our book this summer. We've really enjoyed reading this book and think you will too - especially as you search for the connections found in the stories to your own running and life. The big idea of the book is no secret... anyone can run, you just put one leg in front of the other; however, the real challenge, the thing that separates those who achieve goals, PRs, make Varsity teams, and beyond, is learning how to make the mental side of this activity work in your favor to unlock your true potential. A goal this year is to help you do that!