Liberty Bell XC - Coeur d'Alene Invitational
Location: Abandoned weapons test site -- Just kidding. Some kind of private land slated for future development. Scary abandoned sheds scattered amidst the woods -- and we camped on site!
Date: 9.17.6
Distance: 2500m or 5000m Conditions: Maybe 60 degrees and wet ALL day. A mix of trail and mowed grass, one big rocky hill for Junior High - multiple hills for HS - and some nice long downhills. Rocks, gravel, single-track, double-track etc.
Distance: 2500m or 5000m Conditions: Maybe 60 degrees and wet ALL day. A mix of trail and mowed grass, one big rocky hill for Junior High - multiple hills for HS - and some nice long downhills. Rocks, gravel, single-track, double-track etc.
Junior High Extra Comments: Another great day of Liberty Bell Junior High XC — and the Triple Play experience wasn’t too bad either - Thanks Craig for setting that up!
JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS: Congratulations to our 12 girls who ran this team to a 1st place finish in the middle school girls division. It was so impressive to see so many green Liberty Bell uniforms in the top half or so of the race. SO many coaches came over to us to ask "where is Liberty Bell" and "how did you get a middle school program like that?" You made an excellent impression on Idaho, on the race course, and throughout the day - toughing out some inspiring cheering in some cold, wet weather. 121 girls in the race — that was quite a sight to see!
Liv: 9:15, 2nd place
You ran an exciting, smart, and fast race -- and you were fighting congestion and a cold! Way to get out there quick and establish a solid position. You make excellent surges in a race and you are savvy about when to make a move. When you are feeling 100% that kick will come back even stronger!
Jori: 9:41, 3rd place
Congrats on your first official middle school race and for such an inspired performance. You looked confident and comfortable from the start. You ran the downhills so well and still finished strong. Now, just get some superglue on that trophy and enjoy a good memory of a first race.
Keeley: 10:00, 7th place
Nice job running with a little more abandon this week and not overthinking things. You got out racing fast — and you've still got more to give in the middle. Find your groove and don’t let your head hold back your legs and lungs. Great job catching racers in the last 200m!
Lindsay: 10:17, 10th place
A super solid finish in one of the biggest middle school fields that we'll see all season. We know you didn't feel your best, but you should be proud of still running fast in spite of that. You are strong and tough and that will continue to serve you well each week of the season.
Eva: 10:46, 21st place
Watch out! Eva is on fire! And that was an incredible race! You looked so powerful and you were really pushing yourself out there. Great to see a breakthrough like this and hope you had fun passing runners!
Mariah: 11:00, 25th place
Another great week of running, Mariah. You do such an excellent job of balancing a sense of calm with your fierce racing. We appreciate that you keep cool but also know when to lay it on the line. Next time when you are in a big race, we'll make sure you get out a little faster so you have a little more room to run.
Anja: 11:03, 29th place
What a fun season you are going to have, Anja. This week you learned a little more about racing, you got yourself out a little quicker than last week, and you totally owned it. You enjoyed the hill, it seems, and you finished strong. We love that you surprised yourself!
Lena: 11:11, 31st place
You had quite a pack to run with this week and we hope that was fun! You do a great job focusing during your races and you used your height to your advantage running some fast downhills. Keep believing in yourself and let's work on picking your tempo up (just think music metronome!)
Elke: 11:52, 50th place
This course sure agreed with you, Elke! You ate that hill for breakfast and looked so smooth on the final downhill. Each week you are getting stronger and hopefully more confident. You just raced faster than more than 70 other middle schoolers! Amazing!
Payten: 11:54, 53rd place
You looked like you've been doing this racing thing forever out there, Payten. You maintained your calm and you really raced the girls around you. We love watching your grit and determination and hope you enjoyed flying down to the finish!
Stephanie: 12:11, 63rd Place
Another awesome race Stephanie, and you still had that smile. This was a tougher course than last week, but it also looked like you had even more fun with the hills (up and down) and all the twists and turns. That's the beauty of cross-country and it looks like you are catching the racing bug!
Stella: 12:19, 67th Place
You had an amazing kick--you took off at the "kicking corner" and never looked back. You charged through the finish line and looked so strong. Now you've experienced small races and big races and you are learning what you need to do to get yourself into the racing zone you want to be in.
JUNIOR HIGH BOYS: With 128 racers this was the largest middle school race that we will see all year — and we rocked it with a great team effort and a 2nd place finish. SO great to have 8 boys on the line and a complete scoring team to show our stuff. As mentioned above, Liberty Bell was the talk of the meet with so many Idaho and Spokane-area schools having no idea where we’d come from and why our kids were taking the races by storm. Congrats to all on a great weekend, and we don’t even KNOW what happened on the Laser Tag court :)
Travis: 8:25, 1st place
A good patient race with strong running on both the ups and the downs. Lots of time in the hills this summer is evident in your legs and it was great to see you cheering others on at the finish line as well!
Bode: 8:33, 4th place
Congrats on your first official middle school XC race! As we discussed afterwards, be patient for the next few weeks and that 5:20 mile from from track will slowly find its way onto the more rolling and unpredictable XC terrain. You ran VERY strong from the front to start and it’s to your credit that you were willing to jump right into the fray without even batting an eye.
Ian: 8:48, 14th place
Super smooth and even out there. You are racing well and will come on even stronger as the weeks progress. You and Dusty will match up well for the next couple of races. It’ll be great to put you two together and to move things as a group in both our bigger and smaller races in the weeks ahead.
Andrew: 9:10, 16th place
Wow! In the final turn and kick to the line, you were energy personified! A great bounce to your step and a definite focus on both the finish line and the racers ahead. Your 2016 XC season is off to an excellent start — and we didn’t even have to dig you out from the bottom of your sleeping bag this year :)
Zane: 9:12, 17th place
Tough running Zane and good to have you on the line for yet another race. Your determination and drive to compete are evident in everything that you do. Let’s keep rolling that hip and be patient with flexibility etc. 17th place out of 128 racers is good stuff all around!
David: 10:19, 46th place
You had energy to space right after the race, so let’s experiment with going our just a little harder to see if you can hold one through the middle part of the race. Your summer training has you stronger than you know, so trust it just for sure and see what happens.
A good patient race with strong running on both the ups and the downs. Lots of time in the hills this summer is evident in your legs and it was great to see you cheering others on at the finish line as well!
Bode: 8:33, 4th place
Congrats on your first official middle school XC race! As we discussed afterwards, be patient for the next few weeks and that 5:20 mile from from track will slowly find its way onto the more rolling and unpredictable XC terrain. You ran VERY strong from the front to start and it’s to your credit that you were willing to jump right into the fray without even batting an eye.
Ian: 8:48, 14th place
Super smooth and even out there. You are racing well and will come on even stronger as the weeks progress. You and Dusty will match up well for the next couple of races. It’ll be great to put you two together and to move things as a group in both our bigger and smaller races in the weeks ahead.
Andrew: 9:10, 16th place
Wow! In the final turn and kick to the line, you were energy personified! A great bounce to your step and a definite focus on both the finish line and the racers ahead. Your 2016 XC season is off to an excellent start — and we didn’t even have to dig you out from the bottom of your sleeping bag this year :)
Zane: 9:12, 17th place
Tough running Zane and good to have you on the line for yet another race. Your determination and drive to compete are evident in everything that you do. Let’s keep rolling that hip and be patient with flexibility etc. 17th place out of 128 racers is good stuff all around!
David: 10:19, 46th place
You had energy to space right after the race, so let’s experiment with going our just a little harder to see if you can hold one through the middle part of the race. Your summer training has you stronger than you know, so trust it just for sure and see what happens.
Aidan: 10:53, 66th place
A tremendous kick to the line and its really great to see you running strong and injury free thus far into the season. XC courses vary for sure, but your pace over 1.5mi on a challenging course was faster then your early season races last year by almost 2 minutes!
Eli: 11:33, 84th place
Also a good kick to the line. Super clear that you were listening to Sarah’s pre-race plan for the kicking corner and you looked strong and determined in the final 100m. Continued enthusiasm and a knee that is slowly coming around to cooperate will see you dropping even more time in the weeks ahead.
A tremendous kick to the line and its really great to see you running strong and injury free thus far into the season. XC courses vary for sure, but your pace over 1.5mi on a challenging course was faster then your early season races last year by almost 2 minutes!
Eli: 11:33, 84th place
Also a good kick to the line. Super clear that you were listening to Sarah’s pre-race plan for the kicking corner and you looked strong and determined in the final 100m. Continued enthusiasm and a knee that is slowly coming around to cooperate will see you dropping even more time in the weeks ahead.
High School Extra Comments: In the last four years of Liberty Bell XC, we have not run a more challenging course or been quite as wet :) It was XC weather for sure, and while not for the faint of heart, it was actually pretty sweet for running. Perhaps a little wetter for the varsity boys at the and of a long and dampish day, but overall great completion and a definite divergence from our normal slate of league and eastern WA competition.
JV GIRLS: Sage was our sole, but mighty, entrant in this field of 77 girls. The 5K course offered several big uphills, some long downhills, and quite varied terrain.
Sage: 27:43, 49th place, 9:00 first mile, overall pace of 8:55
You ran an even, steady race. You used your elbows well on the uphills — as always! Now you just need to figure out how to come to your own peace with racing. You are faster and have more to give - but you need to be doing it for reasons that matter to you. Keep talking to us and we'll figure it all out!
*****
JV BOYS - 12th place, 351 pts. (big and small schools combined) With 186 racers this was the largest field of the day by far. And for the second year running Liberty Bell can field a full scoring team in both the varsity and JV. So great to have this depth and so great to have such a willing and excited crew to put themselves out there each and every weekend.
Simon: 20:42, 53rd place, 1st mile 6:55 - 6:40 pace
Simon, you just ran your second fastest 5k ever. A terrific effort and just 8 seconds shy of your Spokane performance last year on a MUCH faster course. A great indicator of new strength as a sophomore and least year’s experience with racing. Keep pushing that first mile just a little more. You were moving faster over the second half so lay it out there a little more early and you get a bonus 15 seconds easy!
Tim: 20:57, 61st place JV, 1st mile 7:02 - 6:45 pace
Nice work Tim — but perhaps just a little too conservative early on. Tie yourself to that group with Simon and Henry just a little more this next week and then you won’t have to work so much on catching up during the middle part of the race. If you guys and talk a bit and spur each other on at different parts of the race, the whole group will benefit for sure.
Henry: 21:00, 64th place, 1st mile 6:55 - 6:46 pace
A great first race Henry, and just like Taya you did well to pace with some experience (Simon) and then see what you had at the end. You hung on really tough, and with another few weeks of racing and training under your belt that final mile won’t feel great… but you will develop your own personal sense of pace and kick etc. Awesome first race on a fun course.
Michael: 24:34, 158th place 1st mile 7:53 - 7:54 pace
A much better day in the rain and the cool vs last weekend’s heat in Ellensburg. Similar in time to your first 5k from last season in Moses Lake, so a good starting point for moving ahead. Let’s start targeting something closer to 7:30 pace for that first mile and see what happens. It might hurt for a week or two, but I know that you can get there as you see to lock in well on whatever pace you get after in the start.
Zach: 25:24, 169th place, 1st mile 8:28 - 8:11 pace
Just a fraction faster than your Spokane race from last year - on a much harder course with more challenging hills. You run great when your moving with a group, so let’s start challenging that 8min mark for an opening mile and then race with whoever you are with. You ran nearly 2.5 minutes faster than last years’ first 5k at Moses Lake, so the strength is there to carry you through!
VARSITY GIRLS: We talked this week about what it means to run as a team and how important it is to take strength and pride in each other. We also talked about being positive and believing in our own superpowers. You each met all of these goals with this race and it was flat-out impressive to watch you laugh with each other and support each other on the start line and be there for each other with kindness and generosity at the finish. So proud of you -- and we'll keep working at it! Oh, and yes...you ran fast -- not only winning the Small Schools division, but winning the whole thing no matter how you look at it (Had the race been scored as just one race, you would have had 66 points and Couer d'Alene high school would have been second with 94).
Novie: 18:56, 1st place, 6:10 first mile, overall pace of 6:06
According to the records we have, you just logged the fastest 5K time ever for a girl in a Liberty Bell uniform -- and the first to go under 19 minutes. You ran so smart -- patient in mile one, strong in mile two, and then you really opened a gap and closed the race with a very strong extended kick. You were also a great example of positive support for others on your team. A very good day.
Gretta: 19:54, 3rd place, 6:20 first mile, overall pace of 6:24
You just look stronger every week. Once again, you got out in a good position and then you raced the race around you. You had an inspiring last 800 meters, working on those two girls in the Vikings uniform. You are powerful and smart -- and just only at the tip of understanding your superwoman racing potential.
Athena: 21:24, 10th place, 7:02 first mile, overall pace of 6:53
Such a classic Athena race -- you just were relentless in moving up throughout. You looked peppy and strong and like the race could have gone on for another mile or two. You are finding your racing legs and your racing mojo and each week is going to be better and better. Patience and joy -- just keep thinking patience and joy.
Icel: 21:37, 13th place, 7:02 first mile, overall pace of 6:57
Love that you went out with Athena and worked with her through 2 miles. That makes us such a tough team. You held it together well on the 3rd mile and had some good competition around you to race from other teams. Your kick will get even stronger in the next few races!
Ava: 21:54, 17th place, 7:09 first mile, overall pace of 7:03
By far, you were the best 5th runner out there (actually if we want to be technical about it, you were the fastest 5th out there by almost 30 seconds — that's huge!). You did a phenomenal job getting out and into the race in great position and you worked it throughout. Section-by-section (aka bird by bird), you are learning to trust yourself.
Rivers: 22:11, 20th place, 7:19 first mile, overall pace of 7:08
Super performance, especially after a week of illness. You were the total 6th runner spoiler out there, displacing many other team's fifth and sometimes 4th runners. You moved up smartly but also got out fast enough to be in the right general place to make your moves. Excellent last mile!
Taya: 22:37, 26th place, 7:11 first mile, overall pace of 7:17
A very, very impressive effort for your first-ever high school cross-country 5K. You showed real senior poise as the quick first mile pace caught up to you a bit. That's ok -- we're learning about how you race best and each week will be a bit of an experiment for the next few weeks. This is just how it should be. Next week we'll try a different strategy and we'll learn some more. You're going to respond quickly and be setting new personal bests like crazy!
Love that you went out with Athena and worked with her through 2 miles. That makes us such a tough team. You held it together well on the 3rd mile and had some good competition around you to race from other teams. Your kick will get even stronger in the next few races!
Ava: 21:54, 17th place, 7:09 first mile, overall pace of 7:03
By far, you were the best 5th runner out there (actually if we want to be technical about it, you were the fastest 5th out there by almost 30 seconds — that's huge!). You did a phenomenal job getting out and into the race in great position and you worked it throughout. Section-by-section (aka bird by bird), you are learning to trust yourself.
Rivers: 22:11, 20th place, 7:19 first mile, overall pace of 7:08
Super performance, especially after a week of illness. You were the total 6th runner spoiler out there, displacing many other team's fifth and sometimes 4th runners. You moved up smartly but also got out fast enough to be in the right general place to make your moves. Excellent last mile!
Taya: 22:37, 26th place, 7:11 first mile, overall pace of 7:17
A very, very impressive effort for your first-ever high school cross-country 5K. You showed real senior poise as the quick first mile pace caught up to you a bit. That's ok -- we're learning about how you race best and each week will be a bit of an experiment for the next few weeks. This is just how it should be. Next week we'll try a different strategy and we'll learn some more. You're going to respond quickly and be setting new personal bests like crazy!
VARSITY BOYS - 6th place, 127pts. for small schools. 127 total combined big/small school racers, but scored with separate results. Some up and down performances on a tough course with sketchy weather, but each and every step of a season is on a continuum towards Districts and State. We are coming together as a group and with our first official 5k complete we have at least a little glimpse of how this team will fit into the greater context of mid-season competitions. We are in a nutshell, deeper then last year and right where we need to be. True interval work to begin this week. Ready. Set. Go!
Eli: 17:27.9, 9th place, 1st mile 5:29 - 5:38 pace
Unpleasant as it might be to get out strong and then get passed, you still competed well with a quality field — and for a season-opening 5k on a tough course this is an excellent result. A different kind of competition for the week ahead in Manson - with a smaller race and just a few front runners. A bigger field for Twilight again where you can adjust a little if desired for running in the larger field.
Walker: 17:59.2, 16th place, 1st mile 5:50 - 5:47 pace
A great start to the racing and typically poised and strong in the later part of the course. In right about 40th for the mile with a move up to 33rd overall by the end. It was a race well-suited to your strengths, but we are going to learn even more about how you like to run these 5ks in the weeks ahead. Manson, Twilight, Leavenworth - all very different but great for the learning curve.
Cade: 19:00.7, 31st place, 1st mile 5:49 - 6:07 pace
Curious to chat again today (Monday). Know you weren’t super pleased, but that kind of competitive spirit is worth its weight in gold. Rough races happen. You were out great in right around 40th overall and on a different day a top 40-45 placing in the 18:10-18:30 range was absolutely NOT out of the question. Tuck this one away as a training effort - even it it does still sting a little. Totally OK.
Emerson: 19:21.7, 43rd place, 1st mile 6:00 - 6:14 pace
Experiments abound across the season, so think a bit about food and drink, pre-race warm-up, etc. with regards to the side stitch. We’ll sort it out in due course, but a relatively more conservative 1st mile is not the likely culprit. A training effort still, that serves you well for late October and November.
Carter: 19:36.5,48th place, 1st mile 6:21 - 6:19 pace
A performance well worth of Athlete of the week — except for the sleeping on a hotel bed :) But seriously steady and strong — on a tough course that would not have jumped out as suited to your strengths. Talk to us more about the flow of the race and what was working well for you on a really solid day. Stay patient for that later race kick as you are still working/racing into shape - but this performance is a great indicator of things ahead.
Peter: 19:54.1, 51st place, 1st mile 6:21 - 6:24 pace
Steady again, but don’t underestimate your ability to hold form with an even quicker first mile. Break things up into little chucks and practice your speed by adding little surges - tucking into someone’s back - and then challenging yourself to move up to the next guy - especially early in that second mile. Work on “falling” down those hills and on not breaking too much with a longer stride getting out in front of you.
Lazo: 20:14.7, 59th place, 1st mile 6:31 - 6:31 pace
As mentioned on Sat. you continue to be leaps and bounds above a similar point in last year’s season. 6:42 pace at last year’s Spokane course at a similar point on a MUCH flatter course that probably measures short. Keep pushing and enjoy the racing in the second half. Challenge the runners around you and keep an eye to those ahead. Push that opening mile just a little more in the weeks ahead so that the later miles call fall into sync for Oct. and November.