June 5-10 (Week 1)

(Those who are looking for info about our Youth Summer Running Club, just scroll down another post or two and you'll find the info you need)

So, those that are new around here, each week we try and post some things for ATHLETES and PARENTS. Please read all the way through all the stuff and do whatever needs to be done, note important dates, and whatever else. We've left up the info we posted last week in case you haven't looked through it yet... Those who have, thanks! We've also added a few new things to check out this weekend as we prep for practice on Monday:

• read through the Parent/Athlete Meeting slides (if you weren't at the meeting... or even if you were and you want a little more detailed explanation of PVXC) - IF YOU AREN'T GETTING OUR TEAM TEXTS (parents and/or athletes) SEE THE INFO IN THE SLIDES
• get your physical if you haven't yet (turn in to the HS)
• get familiar with the Pre-Run Warm-Up stuff (vid below) and Post-Run (SAM vids on the side tab) stuff we do. Also check out all the docs on the right labeled under "XC Training System Info" and request access to those with your school google account.
• start running a little - if you run a few times this week 5, 10, 20-25mins it will make a big difference in how you feel next week
• GO GET SOME FRIENDS TO JOIN YOU! Running is a social activity and having friends out there with you is one of the very best things about XC. Call up some friends and invite them to come out with you
• Take a look at the slides for 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 during our 2nd week of practice.
• HOKA Summer Miles Program - if you want to win some free swag just for doing what you're already doing over the summer, check it out.
• We would also like to recommend those who are running with a smart watch to connect to Strava, so as coaches (and you as athletes) can view the data from your runs. Here's a quick video for Garmin; Here's a vid for Apple Watch; Here's one for FitBit (this one is worth it just for the voice!)
• Check out "Intro" tab on the workouts (found below) and start thinking about what Level you should be running as we start up the season - we'll help you with this for sure

Purpose of the Week's Workouts: Click here for this week's workouts (you have to request access on your school account to see the workouts, so get that done sometime soon). The goal right now is to build... a big foundation, a big engine... whatever you want to call it, we build! The summer is the most important time in XC. Without building a large base, you won't have anything to go from later. We will also be doing "something fast everyday". This is a philosophy we have held for many years at PVXC. Distance runners are slow - we aren't out getting ready for marathons, we race 3 miles not jog 26.2 - we push ourselves to run fast right from the start. To help emphasize the importance of summer, we will be instituting the Summer 60 Club... we have 75 days from the beginning of summer XC on June 5 to the end of the first week of school on August 19th. The goal of the Summer 60 Club is to encourage each of you (no matter your level or where you're starting from) to get in at least 60 days of running throughout the summer. We'll track this as we track our Weekly Minutes (do this at the end of the week). Our reward will be a cool running shirt.

This Week's Schedule:

Monday: First Day of XC! Monday 7:00a at Washington Elementary - bring water and a towel (for stretches and drills on grass). (Everyone)

Tuesday: Regular practice at 7:00a at Washington Elem. (Everyone) - Youth Summer Running Club 8:30-9:45 (everyone plan on staying and helping out)

Wednesday: Regular practice at 7:00a at Washington Elem. (Everyone) 

Thursday: Regular practice at 7:00a at Washington Elem. (Everyone)

Friday: Regular practice at 7:00a at Sullivan Park (Everyone)

Saturday: Form your own groups and get your run in

Book Club Reading: Each summer, we read a book and talk about it as a team. This summer we are reading The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance (a little more info in the quote below). You are totally invited to buy the book or find an online version to read or listen to. You can also download a pdf or google doc version of our reading sections here (You've got to request permission to have it shared with you): Week 1 Reading pdf / Week 1 Reading google doc 

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 the right fit for your particular foot, not necessarily just the cheapest of cutest. A specialty store will help fit you in the correct shoe. You can also get some help from the coaches who have some experience in identifying various foot types and get you in the correct type of shoe (neutral, cushion, support, stability).

Upcoming Events:

• Wednesday, June 7th, noon, OPENING SOCIAL AT QUAIL LAKE! BRING A FRIEND
• High Altitude Camp - July 17th-20th at Jacob Lake. Cost is $90. We will need to get this planned and figured out who is going, parents driving (staying for all or part). This is a VERY worthwhile event to be a part of... everyone on the team should make it a priority to join us. Those who are new, talk to your teammates about camp and see why you should plan on being there too. Please take a minute and fill out the following form for participation. Registration and Payment due by June 27th.

PVXC Thought of the Week: "Life is available in the present moment." 

-Thich Nhat Hanh

This is from our book The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance. We're pretty excited to delve into this book. There is some great stuff, and we implore you to read (ahh... reading over the summer) each week and come prepared to talk about your thoughts with your teammates. Without going too much into depth about this quote, this is an idea that I know helps (helped) me when I am running or doing anything difficult - stay in the moment, you can't change the past, and you can't predict the future; so do the very best at what you are supposed to be doing right now; stay in the moment.