Sehome Invite @ Bellingham Civic Stadium - 9/11/21

RACE COURSE: Bellingham Civic Stadium, 2mi. The course is fast but challenging. Outer loop (run twice) includes a long downhill on trail/grass and a challenging uphill on trail. Grass start, middle loop around inner facility ends on the track. Fun early season running. Mid 60’s and overcast. Excellent running weather!

OVERALL: An excellent first day of racing and overall successful trip across the mountains! This race was about getting out and making a race day effort. It was also a good chance to remind ourselves of how to start, how to finish, and how to keep your mental game engaged at various points throughout a race. We don’t run 2mi races all that often, but it’s also worth noting that these were PR (personal record) finishes for ALL of you today. Great job all around!

JV1: 100 Finishers - The first race of the first meet of the season! It’s a time for nerves and excitement and a whole lot of learning about racing! An excellent show by our 3 LBHS runners -- all of whom have been working hard these last three weeks and who will continue to improve each race!

Malloch: 14:59, 24th place. 1st Mile: 7:15, Overall Pace: 7:30

It was great to see you confidently move up throughout this entire race. You charged up that hill the first time and found a rhythm that just kept you rolling along. I could tell you were not just running to finish, but you were racing. You had your eyes focused ahead and you even looked like you had some fun catching people. Excellent introduction to high school racing! And, hopefully a good end to a birthday week!

Madison: 15:53, 43rd place. 1st Mile: 7:20, Overall Pace: 7:57
We so appreciate your willingness to get out strong. You put yourself in a good spot in the race and while that made the second lap hurt a bit, you were strong and you finished with a good solid kick. Keep working hard like you have been at practice and in just a few weeks that 7:20 opening mile will become your average. You are so much stronger than last season!

Hunter: 17:58, 81st place. 1st Mile: 8:35, Overall Pace: 8:59
Congratulations! Finishing your first cross-country race is always a reason to celebrate and we sure hope you feel good and proud of this one. You navigated a big field of runners and found your race. You ran steady and with focus throughout. To have your first and second miles only about 24 seconds apart in your first try at this is great -- you showed you have patience and you understand pace. It was a joy to watch you kick into a whole different gear at the finish!!

FROSH BOYS: 87 Finishers

Dexter: 10:38.44, 1st place, 1st Mile: 5:20, Overall Pace: 5:19
Tough racing! A really nice job in being confident, getting to the front, and then responding each and every time the Seattle Prep runner wanted to push you a little further. You are strong from consistent summer miles - both on your feet and on the bike - and you had the mental tenacity to keep taking the fight and throwing it right back into his corner. Not every race will be this much of a dog fight, but it was awesome to see you handle one right out of the gates. Great lift and drive in your legs even late in the race. You held form really well over that final 150m and that made all the difference. An awesome first HS race!

Tristan: 13:25.21, 58th place, 1st Mile: 6:20, Overall Pace: 6:43
Congrats on your first HS race as well Tristan. And a crowded and chaotic one at that! You did an excellent job in navigating that early crowd on the track, and it’s impressive to see you starting this race in almost the same pace as you did for the mile TT just two weeks back. SO much to learn and build on in these next few weeks. This is a terrific beginning, and if your season in any way mirrors that of other 9th graders before you, then a 13:25 at this race should have you running in the 20 to 20:30 minute range for 5k very soon.

SOPH BOYS: 101 Finishers

Will: 11:13.03, 12th place, 1st Mile: 5:30, Overall Pace: 5:37
A few seconds slower than your track PR, but about a minute faster than your Moses Lake 2mi XC race last spring and a solid showing 12th place with 10th graders from MUCH larger no-slouch programs from the west side of the state! Next week we race as a team and you can push a few relativity buttons regarding your sense of place, pace etc.. You are fit from summer miles for sure, so we can push a bit at the start and trust that you will hold. Super happy with your finishing ‘pep’ on the track at Sehome and we just need to keep moving ahead with consistent work and racing. Tons of great stuff to build on here. Keep up the good work!

 
Aksel: 11:47.21, 24th place, 1st Mile: 5:42, Overall Pace: 5:54
A solid opening mile and comparable to your 1 mile TT. That being said, you were still running on tired legs from the week I think and you will feel better in the next couple of races. 11:47 also translates to about 18:50 for 5k, so regardless you are still ahead of where you were at this point last spring and you have MANY weeks ahead to find that racing groove that we know is in there!

SOPH GIRLS: 88 Finishers. Sandra represented our sophomore contingent-- knowing that Leki and Dashe were cheering from afar!

 
Sandra: 16:13.07, 51st place, 1st Mile: 8:05, Overall Pace: 8:07
Look at those mile paces -- that is the very definition of STEADY...and in about 10 seconds faster each mile than when you did the mile time trial! You’ve been working really hard at practice and that is all money in the bank that will pay off in the weeks to come. I think you are ready to go out harder. You are such a fierce competitor that I just suspect once you get in the race, you’ll just run--so let’s try setting that starting pace just a bit quicker next week and learn about what might happen!

JUNIOR BOYS: 90 Finishers, 4th place junior team w/ 89 points. Just 2 points behind Kamiak HS -- a 4A school with an enrollment of 2100 kids! ALL of you improved upon your times from 2019 and the pack/group running potential for this team as the season unfolds is awesome to consider.

 
Graham: 11:11.76, 12th place, 1st Mile: 5:25, Overall Pace: 5:36
Running on strength from summer biking and ski training, you are in an excellent place. Your endurance is super solid and like you already stated you just need to adapt a little to the running/speed training. Lots of time for that to happen and your own confidence as to how long and how hard you can push will grow as well. A great start! PS 46 sec. faster than freshman year.

Isaiah: 11:22.64, 15th place, 1st Mile: 5:25, Overall Pace: 5:42
An improvement upon freshman year, but even more exciting was the adjustments made mid-race to reconnect and the SO MUCH speed that you still had left for a kick at the end! Remember always that when you open up and let it roll, momentum eventually takes over. Little surges anytime you need to reset, and then start to trust that you can go from 400m or even 6-800m from the finish. Excited for this as your opener and very much looking forward to the next few weeks ahead. Let’s stay consistent with miles and just make sure that we keep getting in the work. The sky’s the limit for this team!

Carter: 11:24.18, 18th place, 1st Mile: 5:25, Overall Pace: 5:42
Another excellent start to the season and nearly a whole minute faster than freshman year. Really excited to have you and your brother back in the XC mix! You looked super comfortable and strong out there and I know that you like to race. The next couple of races you can test the limits a bit of that opening mile and it looks like you and Graham, Isaiah, Will, Dexter and Aksel will have an awesome pack to run with in these next several week of more wide open courses and slightly better sight lines. Just keep racing and being competitive out there. Great work!

Jackson: 12:06.23, 39th place, 1st Mile: 5:45, 

Overall Pace: 6:03
Pshaw! 1:40 faster than freshman year and an opening mile faster than the TT on the track. You had a good week of practice and it carried right over to race no. 1. Give it another week or three and you will be right in that 6 min pace ballpark for the 5k distance. This team is going to be deep no matter how you slice it. Excited to have you all back in one piece and running strong!

Tristan: 12:41.83, 56th place, 1st Mile: 5:55, 

Overall Pace: 6:21
Another side stitch I think but as per usual you are tough as nails and fighting through it no matter. And you showed that yet again with a final kick to the finish that was fun to watch. 40 seconds better than freshman year, plus your opening mile was just about the same as in our TT, but the race was twice as far. Another 2-3 races of adaptation to the 5k distance, but you will be dropping some serious time by Twilight. Super excited to see what this team can do!

SENIOR GIRLS: 84 Finishers -- As always, the Senior Girls start line was a composed, calm, and actually a pleasant place to be. Always a moment for me to reflect on where each of you were three years ago - I trust that each of you can sense that difference, too! Our LBHS women showed their leadership in their confident approach to racing AND reminded the 1B/2B girls across the state that, while we may not have a huge team in numbers, we have some serious depth.

 
Jori: 13:13.21, 13th place, 1st Mile: 6:25, Overall Pace: 6:37
What a nice way to start your senior year - a PR on this course. You ran 13 seconds faster than your sophomore year and two seconds faster than your freshman year - and both of those years resulted in some pretty terrific racing by November. You looked so strong and so focused from the start all the way through the finish line. And, that kick… oh my… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you kick quite like that - you’ve got some serious speed!!

Payten: 14:43.67, 29th place, 1st Mile: 7:12, Overall Pace: 7:22

As we’ve already discussed, this was a HUGE breakthrough - and I hope you’ll carry a whole lot of confidence with you after this race. A one minute improvement over sophomore year and a two minute improvement over freshman year - for just two miles of racing! You are just stronger and I can see your heart is all-in this season. So, keep getting that shin looked after and let’s be sure we can keep you running, because you are about to surprise yourself with just how tough you can run! (And, just for the record, your first mile was faster than your mile time trial on the track - that should make you smile).

 
Ayeanna: 15:08.49, 40th place, 1st Mile: 7:20, Overall Pace: 7:34
The epitome of senior poise, you ran this one with smarts and strength. 20 seconds faster than your sophomore year and close to 2 minutes faster than your freshman time on this course. Let that soak in for a second -- because your training this year is just getting started. I don’t think we should put any limits on what we think is possible for you by the end of the season. You are a key component of this team - as a runner and a leader - keep working hard and being a good example for us all of positive thinking!

The XC Running Season Begins!

XC running starts tomorrow, Monday 8/23! The HS team will meet at 7:30am at LBHS, the JRH at 7:45. Tuesday will also be a morning practice at 7:30/7:45, and then the rest of the week will be at 3:30pm after school.

Additional reminders -- and for some of you this is ALL brand new:
1.) Wear your running shoes :)
2.) Dress according to the weather. We will talk and stretch at the start so it may be cooler until we get running.
3.) Bring a mask to have if you need to enter the building.
4.) You need to register in order to be at practice. You can register HERE
5.) You need to achieve 10 total practices before being eligible to participate in the first meet on Saturday, September 11.

We'll talk more about this and other things on Monday and Tuesday. Parents, we will also pick a date/time for a parent meeting early in the second week of practice 8/30-9/3 and will communicate that shortly.

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Erik & Sarah, Liam and Haida

GRRR!!!

7/17/21 Practice Cancelled!

Sorry all,

It's SO hard to really tell, but the monitor systems say 150-170 in the areas around Twin Lakes/Sun Mt. and it smells pretty smokey out the door of our house.

I DO hope it clears a bit later on but we will NOT meet as a team again this morning.

Try to get an easy distance run of 40-60+ minutes in either later today or perhaps on Sunday.

Hope to see you soon!

GRRR!!!

7/17/21 SATURDAY RUN at Sun Mt. - 8am

Hi all, 

As mentioned in my email, any interested high school runners will meet in the Chickadee Trailhead parking lot of Sun Mountain on 7/17/21. Please let us know if you plan to attend and check back here by 7:15am on Saturday just in case there are any changes/cancellations due to smoke. 

See you soon!

GRRR!!!! 

7/13/21 TUESDAY PRACTICE CANCELLED!

Hi all, 

Due to AQI readings for Twisp and Winthrop in the 140-160 range we decide to cancel practice for Tuesday 7/13. 

Our focus for this time of year is still on building strength and some consistency in your running efforts, but at the same time we don't need to run around in the smoke and unreasonably stress our systems. 

We will hope to meet on THURSDAY at LBHS at 8am as originally planned but will communicate via email if something changes. 

****

A FEW WORKOUT THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

IF you can find some cleaner air a some point later in the day, try to get in an easy distance run of 35-50+ minutes. Depending on where you live in the valley morning or evening may be best. 

Try to run at least THREE days this week. 

If you've been running three days a week, try to add a FOURTH. 

Add 6 x 50-60m strides at the end of TWO runs this week. 

On one of your runs this week, at some point after the first 15min do 6 x 30 sec. ON/30 sec. OFF. Pickup to a comfortably quick pace and just count "one, one-thousand, two one-thousand..." in your head for both the pickup and the rest. OR...

Find a nice long hill near a run and mix in 6-8 x about 30 sec. hill repeats. 

****

Stay patient with the smoke, but try keep building on your work so far. 

Have a good week!

7/10/21 SATURDAY RUN at Lester Road! - 8AM

Another chance to meet in a new and different spot :) Meet us at the intersection of Upper Bear Creek and Lester road for a nice easy distance run on some dirt road and trails. See you on Saturday!

7/3/21 SATURDAY RUNNING for HS at Wolf Ridge Resort! - 8AM

For Saturday running this week I thought we'd try something a little different than Sun Mountain, but someplace that still has trails and shade and some river access for a post-run cooling.

8am at Wolf Ridge Resort

The link below should help with directions. It's basically 5 five miles of relatively flat on Wolf Creek road from Winthrop. For anyone coming from Twisp/south it'll be another 10 minutes total north and west of the school (Twin Lakes rd. to Wolf Creek road.)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wolfridge+Resort/@48.4983854,-120.2631202,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xa32a9fb90c4df602!8m2!3d48.4997197!4d-120.2638323

Let me know if you will try to come.

Let go for a run :)

GRRR!!!!

Erik & Sarah, Liam and Haida

6/26/21 SATURDAY RUN at Sun Mt. (Chickadee Trailhead) - 8AM

Hi all,

SUPER hot this next week - too hot really for June - but we DO still want to keep building into that summer running routine.

If you'd like to beat the heat and have some company on a run tomorrow (Saturday 6/26) meet us at 8am at the Chickadee Trailhead at Sun Mountain. We'll stretch a bit and go for a run. Based on how you feel, we'd love to see 40-60+ minutes or somewhere in the ballpark of 4-8 miles.

We will try to jump in the lake near the end of the run :)

Practice should be done 9:15-9:30.

See you there. Let's go for a run!

GRRR!!!!

Erik & Sarah

Summer Running 2021!

Greetings all,

Congratulations on the completion of such an odd and epic year! As a XC team we discovered butte climbs and post-race picnics, we ran frigid 5k races on snow-shoveled tracks, and we found new workout locations or routines that will carry over into many seasons to come.

We missed some of you due to the quirky timing of a Feb-March “official” season, but we were fortunate enough to have both a fall and a spring of experience to build upon, and we look forward to having a newly burgeoning roster in August. By all current understandings, we should be back to a more typical season schedule -- with the official starting date on Monday, August 23rd, just before the start of school.

For now however, THE SUMMER XC SEASON BEGINS THIS TUESDAY!

Summer practices (optional but highly encouraged) will run TUES 6/15 thru TH 7/29. For those of you new to HS sports. We are allowed to coach through the month of July, but then have a short “no contact” period until the official start of the season.

WHEN AND WHERE?:
Practice starts at 8am and should last about 60-80min.

TUESDAYS we will meet at the Winthrop Park (by the barn) and

THURSDAYS will meet at LBHS.

This is the same general schedule as the JRH, although HS practice will use more of the allotted time as we build fitness and run longer.

Each of our summer practice days will involve both running and strength/conditioning work. We meet at 8:00 to facilitate some sleep and to avoid the worst of the summer heat, but it can still be warm. Please dress according to the weather and bring your own water bottle.

SATURDAYS or other team runs?:
We are putting just two days per week on the calendar, but will post/convey information on a week-to-week basis regarding possible additional team runs (Saturday’s or otherwise) in different locations. There are SO many awesome options in the area and it’s fun to run in different spots when we can. We will check-in regarding interest on Tuesdays and announce any extra run day/location on both the team blog and via email.

GENERAL GOALS:
Summer is about building strength and fitness for the fall racing season. The more consistent and regular your summer running, the better you will feel when we start more speed-focused practices in the fall, AND the speed work will be more fun :)

Smart and steady summer running -- days and weeks that build on each other and allow your body to adapt to the sport -- is also the best way to avoid a disruptive injury. Start slow or for lesser amounts of time and build your miles with patience and regular practice. Make sure that your shoes** are not too old and that they are supportive enough for your individual needs.

Some of you will start from scratch -- totally awesome! And others will have a base from spring track/beyond that allows for longer runs or bigger weeks. Both are great and both can be a foundation for excellent seasons later this fall. We will talk to you individually, and will post some general outlines/goals for different kinds of summer mileage to the team XC blog.

And finally, we will, as usual, use both this email list and the blog to communicate. If you are brand new to the team you can bookmark this link for the blog: http://libertybellxc.blogspot.com/ but feel free to reach out via email if you ever have any additional questions or concerns.

Have a great summer and we’ll be excited to see you on Tuesday or whenever we can!

GRRR!

Erik & Sarah Brooks and JRH coaches Liam Daily and Haida Ikeda

** For questions about shoes or an assessment of current footwear, please ask Erik at practice or check in via email etc.. A decent pair of training shoes should last about 300-400miles and for most of you that would mean the bulk of summer and in-season running.

JRH Meet @ Okanogan 3/31/2021

 

Okanogan Meet – 3/31/2021

Distance: 1.4 miles

General Notes – The course is fairly rolling, with two large hills back-to-back right around the one-mile mark. Half of the course is on fairway grass, with the other half being a dirt/paved cart path. The weather was very warm, with some strong gusts of wind coming out of the South. The course was a bit short, but people still ran excellent paces despite the difficult hills. One-mile splits were likely not exactly accurate, so take them with a grain of salt. Overall, I thought everyone ran their best races of the season!

The girls’ team won, with a score of 22 points. 2^nd place went to Omak with 43 and 3^rd place went to Manson with 58. There were 28 athletes in the race.

The boys’ team did not have enough runners to count as a scoring team. There were 26 athletes in the race.

 

Marit – 9:34, 1^st place. Average pace: 6:50. 1-mile split: 6:26.

This race went a little bit differently than the previous one, as you found yourself racing with someone early on. Then, when you wanted to let off, you dug in deep and opened up a gap.  That ability to hang on in the middle of the race is very important, particularly if you’re on your own with no one cheering you on. Great job!

Congratulations on a great season, even if you missed a couple meets this spring! Maybe you knew this, but both races this spring you’ve had a faster pace than your best 1.5 mile time trial on the track last fall, which is fantastic! You’ve shown that you can run by yourself or in a pack, which means you can handle any scenario in a race. Thanks for coming back this spring!

Nella – 10:24, 3^rd place. Average pace: 7:25. 1-mile split: 7:07.

Running with Samra early on really seemed to help you in the long run as you were able to maintain your intensity down the stretch. Then, the two of you worked together with Marta to pick off runners in front of you, and you were still able to open it up for a nice hard kick into the finish. Fantastic running!

Hopefully you had some fun this year while you were doing such an awesome job! It’s been great having your energy around, and you definitely kept us on our toes with a few well-timed snowballs. You definitely beat your fastest time trial from the fall with the help of a little competition and a lot of hard work. Congratulations!

 

Samra – 10:27, 4^th place. Average pace: 7:27. 1-mile split: 7:07.

As is always the case with your running, consistency was key! Despite having a bothersome ankle, you looked super smooth in the beginning while running with Nella. Then, you kept up the pace as the two of you moved through the other athletes in the race. It’s so awesome to see some solid team running, and you’re definitely a driver of that camaraderie. Well done!

Cool, calm, and collected. That’s exactly the kind of energy that leads to a successful runner! Thanks for coming back this spring. We maybe didn’t tire you out quite enough at practice, but you showed major improvement over the course of the season, and you easily beat your best time trial from the fall. Hopefully you enjoyed participating as much as we enjoyed having you!

 

Marta – 10:41, 5^th place. Average pace: 7:37. 1-mile split: 7:05.

Despite not having raced in almost a year and a half, you looked like a natural out there! You maybe went out a little fast, but that’s ok because when it came to crunch time, you dug deep and pushed all the way through the line. And that was with an injured ankle, which is no small feat! It was great seeing you race again!

I know you missed a good portion of the season but thank you for finding a way to make XC work this year. We were so glad to have you back. Despite such a short season, in your only race you were going basically the same speed as last year, which just shows how tough and committed you are as an athlete. Good luck with whatever you do!

              

Zoe – 12:11, 12^th place. Average pace: 8:42. 1-mile split: 8:35.

The Grr faces strikes again! That, accompanied by the gold socks, helped you find that inner drive to power up the hills and push through to the line. You’ve once again shown how tough you can run as you gradually opened up the gap behind you then held off a last-second charge to maintain your position. Way to give it all!

Firstly, not only did you run a sub-8:00 mile this spring, but you also ran a sub-12:00 race for 1.5 miles! And even better, they were in the same race! You’ve always been a tough person, and this season you reminded us of that. Thank you for your steady leadership and your friendly nature. Good luck next year!

 

Greta – 14:21, 22^nd place. Average pace: 10:15. 1-mile split: 9:38.

Once again, it looked like you were smiling the whole time, which hopefully means you were having fun! You spent a large portion of the race running with someone, which really seemed to help you maintain your effort the whole way through. As is always the case, you worked as hard as you could the whole way and had a great race because of it!

You wanted to try something new. Well, between last fall and this spring, you basically got to try two completely different styles of running! Thanks for bringing a positive attitude to every practice and meet, even when you weren’t 100%. You had a super successful season, and we really hope to see you again next year!

 

Layla – 16:31, 28^th place. Average pace: 11:47. 1-mile split: 10:50.

You should be so proud of what you accomplished on Wednesday because it was seriously phenomenal! Not only did you bounce back, you bounced back in a huge way and ran what I think was your best race all year! Every day at practice you show how determined you are, and your final race was just the final step in a season-long process. Congratulations!

This season, you have shown how determined you can be. Everything you set your mind to you can accomplish. I’m so glad you decided to run XC this year, because you are genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever met. Keep being you!

 

McKenzie –

While you never got to race, we’re so glad you decided to try cross country this year. It’s always great to see new faces, and we welcome people onto the team regardless of why they want to participate. Hopefully you had some fun running with your friends, and best of luck with soccer!

 

Dexter – 7:40, 1^st place. Average pace: 5:28. 1-mile split: 5:15.

Welcome back to racing! It’s been a little while since your last running race, but you brushed the dust off like it was nothing. You got out fast, which meant you ran the entire race on your own, but you were able to maintain your solid pace and effort the whole way through. Was that the best course for spikes? Probably not. Did that slow you down? Definitely not. You ran a faster pace than last fall! So glad to see you out there racing!

While we didn’t have you around the whole season, it was great to see you this spring! You always make practices fun for everyone when they need to be. Plus, you make hard work look fun! Great job this season, and good luck in high school!

 

Bodie – 8:25, 2^nd place. Average pace: 6:00. 1-mile split: 5:45.

This was your most impressive race of the season. You went out early with a pack, then when you were ready, you made some serious moves to open an untouchable gap. Then you kept widening that gap the rest of the way, which shows how determined you can be. You were so fun to watch, and congratulations on a great race!

You showed some serious grit this season and last fall, going as hard as you could every single practice. And over the course of the season, you totally beat your goal of a 9:00 race. Well done! Now you get to use all of your racing experience next year to keep crushing your goals!

 

Tristan – 8:52, 5^th place. Average pace: 6:20. 1-mile split: 5:55.

As is always the case when you run, you looked smooth and in control. You were able to move up throughout the race and did a great job of closing at the end despite getting out maybe a little fast. Now you’ve shown that you can hang tough in the middle of the race. Fantastic!

You certainly improved over the course of this shortened season, which was great to see. Hopefully you were also able to get some more stretching done this year. Thanks for bringing your calm demeanor to practice every day. You genuinely seem to enjoy running and pushing yourself, which is so exciting! Hopefully you decide to keep running in high school, but best of luck with whatever you do!

 

Ethan –

We’re so glad you tried something new this spring. Even though you ended up playing soccer, it was great to have you around for those long runs in February. You’re super fun to be around, and your positivity is contagious. Congratulations on such a successful season!

 

Malloch –

Unfortunately you were injured for the latter part of the season, but you still found a way to come to practice every day and enjoy it! It’s always fun to have conversations about random things every once in a while, and you bring a plethora of knowledge to the team. Thanks for coming back last fall and this spring, and good luck next year!