SJ Weekly Workouts Episode 5 -Recovery Run With The
Cherry Hill West Boys XC
South Jersey Shoot-out preview(sorta)... The Wager
So I've been working with and for Moorestown Boys xc coach Bob Bickel at the moorestown Running Company for a little over two years, and although I couldn't be happier with my job, their is one thing that I sometimes neglect to do throughout the week on a pretty consistant basis. That is making sure the front of the store looks clean. So I decided that I wanted a break from the daily annoyance and since both the Camden Catholic and Moorestown boys are closely ranked this season, I figured it'd be fun to make a little wager... Their will be pay-up footage to follow.
For everyone else who will be competing this weekend, good luck and have a great time.
Until Wednesday afternoon (9/16) I would have spelled enthusiasm “E-N-T-H-U-S-I-A-S-M”. Not anymore; try, “S-E-N-E-C-A”. I stopped by the girls practice to see a day in the life of an Eagle and to say the least, I was impressed. Not only did they complete this tough workout, cheer their remaining teammates on as they finished, and cool down, but they went back to school and did drills. (which I would have stayed for but the battery in the camera died). Hard working and yes, enthusiastic as any team that I’ve ever seen, they definitely deserve their courier post preseason ranking of #2 in South Jersey.
Music by:
Some African tribe
Michael Jackson – ABC
Wednesday afternoon I joined the Moorestown girls xc team for their first threshold workout of the season on the teams' one year young cross country course. They used much of the neatly packed gravel/mulch trail section of the course that made an 800 meter loop. The benefits of having a soft surface course to run workouts on are huge. This means they can avoid monotonous laps of the track, driving to a course, and can acclimate to racing conditions in their own backyard.
This team is young and looks a bit inexperienced for the moment but packed with potential. if I were watching out, I'de look for a ton of steady progression from these girls throughout the season.
Until next time(Cherry Hill West Boys next week), enjoy this recent coverage.
Music By:
Radiohead - Kid A
Guster - Great Escape
SJ Weekly Workouts Episode 2 - Haddon Township Boys XC - The Long Run
Friday morning I had the pleasure of joining the Haddon Township boys XC team for their annual long-run over the Ben Franklin Bridge into the city to get Jim’s Cheese steaks. This run is a privilege to the guys on the team that have been completed the Haddonfield running company group run the week before without any trouble.
Normally, long runs aren’t the fun runs during the week but this one had kind of a refreshing feel to it. The pace was pretty relaxed and everyone finished together with ease… except for the guy trying to ride a bike while holding a video camera.(Don’t try it, it’s not safe.)
Anyway, hope you all enjoy.
Music by:
Rick Ross – Hustlin’
Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter
SJ Weekly Workouts Episode 1 - Moorestown Boys XC - The Time Trial
So I began our big project this tuesday (8/25) of traveling to various High schools to see what different cross country teams are doing to prepare for the season. But before I travelled too far I decided it might be a good idea to learn how to use a video camera. For this adventure I chose to crash our home-towm team's season opening team time trial. During the practice I got a little insight in the team's philosophy and coaching style, which is mostly our intent for the season. The primary training principle that the Moorestown boys (and many of South Jerseys teams)follow comes from excercise physiologist/coach Jack Daniels and his V-dot system. So here it is, a little shaky, but I hope you all enjoy anyway.
Dathan Ritzenhein Breaks 14 year old American record in the 5k!
This May not be a local Highschool workout or race, or even highschool level, but I had to include this video. Compared to some mainstreemed sports like football and baseball track and field can often be overshadowed and go alltogether unnoticed even when transcending performances happen... like last week. For the first time in our sport in 14 years, an American born runner dipped under the mythical 13 minute barrier for 5,000 meters. The last was Bob Kennedy in 12:58; then an american record. Friday morning(our time) in Zurich, it was Dathan Ritzenhein, in a new American Record of 12:56!
So what relavance does this have to the high school runner out there? This is our distance. 5k, 5,000 meters, 3.1 miles, call it what you want, but we can all relate. Anyone who steps on the line and plans to throw down for the whole distance knows exactly how tough it is. That being said, enjoy and appreciate... Races like this don't happen often.
