Nike Nationals

Here's my two cents worth.

First of all, I believe that before anything else our team goal should always be a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. If families didn't have to make plans because of the date of the Nike Meet right after Thanksgivings, I wouldn't be talking about this until after State meet.

The fact of the matter is our girls team is very good. It is also reasonable to assume that we could get even better. [This does not mean that we can just mail in our state championship performance. I think the girls know that from last year.] However, I believe it is reasonable to assume that everyone of the girls has a significant opportunity to better their personal best time. It is hard to compare cross country times, but we match up well with all of the other teams in the southeast. There is not one other team that I can look at and say there is no way we can beat them. We do need our top five runners to compete. (Or we need Alex or Stephanie to move up with the top five. And they are both capable of that.)

I think it would be a great experience. I know one of the parents from Winter Park and their boys team went in 2004 and they said it was great opportunity and not to be missed.

You never know from year to year. Injuries occur. I hate to miss this opportunity for incredible competition against the best of the best from Alabama to Delaware.

Below are results from 2007 Nike Regional meet in Hoover, Alabama. Episcopals girls came it fourth place. Yes, they didn't get to go nationals, but they represented well in our region. Below are their times from state meet at Little Everglades for last year. And then the results from Nike.


1. Episcopal High School
918 6 Kathleen Traylor, 10* 19:00
919 10 Margaret Traylor, 12* 19:19
916 11 Mariah Loop, 10* 19:22
917 13 Laura Steel, 12* 19:27
913 17 Leslie Blackshear, 10* 19:34


GIRLS TEAM RESULTS 5K 2007 Nike Southeastern Regional Crosscountry Meet Director: Steve Bledsole Veterans Park, Hoover,AL Saturday November 24, 2007 School/ Individual AVG Time Total Time Place PTS Finisher Time of Top 5 of Top 5

1. 68 Suwanee XC Club (19:24.7 97:03.1) ===============================================
1 2 Amanda Winslow 18:35.7
2 6 Nicky Akande 19:06.9
3 10 Allyson McGinty 19:28.0
4 15 Briana Crawford 19:37.3
5 35 Sydney Williams 20:15.2
6 ( 45) Alexa Maring 20:43.6
7 ( 54) Katie Gezon 21:21.3

2. 79 Tatnall RC (19:32.0 97:39.6) ===============================================
1 3 Juliet Bottorff 18:40.3
2 13 Molly Parsons 19:36.9
3 14 Kallie Fehr 19:36.9
4 24 Katie Buenaga 19:51.8
5 25 Katie Kershner 19:53.7
6 ( 27) Katie Oldham 19:55.2
7 ( 37) Lauren Blackwell 20:24.1

3. 88 Caution TC (19:31.3 97:36.4) ===============================================
1 1 Madeline Morgan 18:26.2
2 7 Marie Demedicis 19:11.1
3 18 Brigid Carey 19:43.5
4 28 Leslie Boozer 20:03.9
5 34 Catherine Diethelm 20:11.7
6 ( 38) Mary Catherine Farrar 20:25.1
7 ( 41) Reed Ellis 20:31.3

4. 100 Episcopal RC (19:48.0 98:59.7) ===============================================
1 12 Kathleen Traylor 19:35.4
2 16 Laura Steel 19:42.2
3 17 Leslie Blackshear 19:42.8
4 26 Margaret Traylor 19:54.3
5 29 Mariah Loop 20:05.0
6 ( 47) Brooke Hardington 20:52.4
7 ( 59) Katie Ladd 21:41.3


Let's keep this all in prespective because the main goal is a State Championship. But, lets not give up without a fight. Besides wouldn't you like to get another shot at CSN.

Quote of the Week

"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."

Vince Lombardi
NFL Hall of Fame Coach

Growing Up

Spencer Carrollton Invitational 2007

Spencer now.

Daniel Ross and Andrew McWilliams time trial 2006

Daniel Ross 2007

Daniel Ross now.

And now.

Guess who these girls are?

Fractured Quote of the Week

"Cross country running is great if you live in a small country."

Steven Wright

Boys times at Panhandle

26 Lingerfelt, Branden Chiles HS 17:10.42
27 Sutton, Sam Chiles HS 17:11.04 27
40 Buzzard, Taylor Chiles HS 17:19.62
43 McWilliams, Andrew Chiles HS 17:25.78
46 Ross, Daniel Chiles HS 17:33.69
61 Schrowang, Spencer Chiles HS 17:55.87
75 Massey, Andrew Chiles HS 18:15.60

21 Vannoy, Joey M Timberwolves Run 18:15.74
26 Machin, Christian M Timberwolves Run 18:31.74
28 Buenrostro, Eric M Timberwolves Run 18:37.07
29 Vannoy, Reid M More Otters 18:40.15 24

Some good times with some PRs. Taylor, Spencer, Joey, Christian all new PRs. And everyone smoked Reid Vannoy. That is an accomplishment!!!

Obama Wins!

Obama wins the Chiles-XC-Our-Cross-Country-Trip-Who's-Going-to-Win Presidential Poll.

Thanks for voting early and often!!!

Girls Dominate at Panhandle

Last Completed Event Event 2 Girls 5k Run CC=========================
Name Year School Finals Points ==================================

1 Williams, Lily Chiles HS 18:02.66 1
2 Stolting, Jana Maclay 18:34.78 2
3 Thomas, Carly Chiles HS 18:41.28 3
4 McGuff, Jodie Chiles HS 19:10.31 4
5 Andrews, Kendall Chiles HS 19:14.68 5
6 Hampton, Kaia Chiles HS 19:18.66 6
7 Salimone, Shelby Maclay 19:29.75 7
8 Stodghill, Claire Leon HS 19:41.41 8
9 Sweeney, Kristin Maclay 19:42.33 9
10 Keel, Morgan Niceville HS 19:47.27 10
11 Nelson, Laura Niceville HS 19:49.70 11
12 Scanlan, Iolani Fort Walton 19:53.32 12
13 Day, Lauren Crestview HS 20:10.31
14 Pearson, Alex Chiles HS 20:15.43 13
15 de Vaux, Sarah Fort Walton 20:20.52 14
16 Reynolds, Stephanie Chiles HS 20:21.79 15

Girls dominate at Panhandle! Great race girls! Sorry, I couldn't be there to document the victory. Lily set a course record, and we are talking about a race that has been around for a long time and had a bunch of really good runners compete. I can think of two right now in Zita Maglore from Chiles, and Kara Newell from Maclay. Zita went on to run at Mississippi State and Kara went to Boston University and then FSU.

Now lets talk about team domination. The girls had the top five in the top six. That's amazing! This wasn't a weak field either. Fort Walton, Niceville, Leon and Maclay are tough teams. Here's a good comparison from the 2003 boy's team that won State and was rated in the top 20 nationally.

Boys 3 miles Race 8:00 a.m. Cool, Rainy, poor footing
1.Miletich chiles 15:07
2.Mayes wash. 15:38
3.Smith chiles 15:44
4.Andrews chiles 15:48
5.Blocker chiles 15:49
6.Hutchinson f.w.b. 16:01
7.Savery chiles 16:04
8.Mason wash. 16:07 9.Hoover wash. 16:10
10.Obernier chiles 16:10
11.Haag fwb 16:13
12.Cook chiles 16:23

That's pretty impressive company girls. Keep up the great work.

SWEAT

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."

Colin Powell

Girls get second at Prestate

The 7:30 am start with all of the best teams in the state.


Lily Williams battles to a second place finish. Her time is 18:09. This is the finish with the dew on the grass and the field lined up behind her.



Carly finishes 5th ahead of Satelite's first runner. Great race Carly!

This is at the middle of the grandstands on the first pass. Kendall and Jodie running together.

Kaia doesn't have her best day, but still runs 19:41.

Kelley and Alex moving through the pack at about 2 1/4.

Post race conference.

Girls, we are very proud of you. Yes, it is disappointing when you don't win, but that is an expectation thing that just shows how good we think you can be. It is a team sport and it is likely in every race that not every runner is going to have their best day. The team from Naples was very good. Two set of identical twins! (Just think if we could get Ryann out there.) : )

Lily and Carly, you both are amazing. It is going to be fun watching you. Jodie, your first real race of the season and you set a PR and hang with Kendall who again sets another PR! Kaia, not your best race but you held on and ran with a lot of guts. Kelley and Alex keep working and getting better. Let's learn from this race. Let's keep things in perspective and remember that our goal is a state championship on Novemeber 22. There are still a number of weeks left and more work to do.

[ Okay, I'm done. I've always wanted to do one of those post race coach talks. ]

Next week, Panhandle. A great course and a lot of history to compare yourself to.

More Boys

After the race



Taylor coming by the grandstands the first time.



Taylor at about 2 1/4. He finished fourth man in 17:50.

D. Ross with a strong kick and a time of 17:56.

Spencer is getting stronger and stronger goes 18:19 with much heat and humidity.

Eric and a strong kick.

Chris at the finish.

Tomorrow the Girls and Tuesday Sweat Pictures. (Can't Wait!!)

Varsity Boys at Prestate

It was a beautiful day at Little Everglades Park. Lots of people, lots of runners, great competition on a tough course and the smell of hamburgers drifting through the venue.

The boys go first this week since last race I was driving around St. John County looking for Bartram Trail High School. We had a good pack with some new PRs. We still have some work to do. I don't think anyone is satisfied with where they are at right now. But there is still plenty of time to drop some minutes off. Next week we meet most of the other schools in our district. Lets get focused guys!


Sam finishes first for the team in 17:15.

Flet 50 yards from the finish.

Andrew ran 17:28.

Andrew Massey finished in 18:19

Joey with a PR at 18:45.

Christian Machin runs 19:07.

After the race with the coaches.

Quote of the Week

"Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger."


Arnold Palmer


It's easy to understand the importance of concentration in golf. Ask yourself whether concentration is important in racing? If so, then "confidence" comes through preparation, and "hunger" - you're in charge of that.

Fractured Quote of the Week

"Buddy: [panting after chasing Michael] Wow, you're fast. I'm glad I caught up to you. I waited 5 hours for you. Why is your coat so big? So, good news - I saw a dog today. Have you seen a dog? You probably have. How was school? Was it fun? Did you get a lot of homework? Huh? Do you have any friends? Do you have a best friend? Does he have a big coat, too?"

from the movie "Elf"



It must say something that this movie was voted the team's favorite Will Ferrell movie. Hmmm? Who is the most like Buddy? Have you seen a dog today?

Kara at FSU

This is from an article on the Seminole Cross Country website. I've added a couple of photos from the FSU Invitational. Here's the link:

http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/c-xc/recaps/100508aaa.html

Kara Taylor was the Seminoles' top finishers at the Auburn Invitational with a 52nd place finish.

Oct. 5, 2008
AUBURN, Ala. – Several members of the Florida State men’s and women’s cross country teams competed this weekend at the Auburn Invitational, held at the Indian Pines Golf Course. The men’s race was an 8K event while the women’s race was 5K in distance.

Only two members of the men’s team competed in the event, with no team score being recorded. Tyler Price finished in 71st place with a mark of 24:40.72 while Daniel Silva was 189th with a time of 27:48.69.

The women’s team finished 13th in the field of 23 teams. Individually, Kara Taylor’s time of 17:52.78 was good enough for 52nd; Jennifer Dunn covered the course in 18:17.16 for an 80th place finish; Emily Ness recorded a time of 18:57.07 for 121st place; Mary Magee’s time of 19:31.19 put her in 150th; Meredith Kelly posted a time of 19:38.71 to finish in 155th place; Jen Hillis was 158th with a time of 19:47.25; Amanda Skillen’s mark of 21:18.86 was 190th; Nicole Kenna recorded a time of 21:22.44 to finish in 193rd and Briana Walker’s time of 21:42.71 was 194th.

The full varsity teams completed an impressive sweep this past weekend as well for the Seminoles as FSU swept both the men’s and women’s races at the Notre Dame Invitational. The teams combined to down 16 nationally-ranked squads on Friday (Oct. 3) afternoon.

Next up for Florida State is a trip to the NCAA Pre-Nationals on October 18 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Way to go Kara!!!

Prestate Information

Here's a copy of a post from the host of the Prestate Meet. NOTE that there is a parking and entrance fee.

Coaches,

Just some reminders and information to share with your teams and families.

-Race Times -

7:30 – Girls Elite-7:50 – Boys Elite-8:10 – Small School Girls Varsity-8:30 – Large School Girls Varsity-8:50 – Small School Boys Varsity-9:10 – Large School Boys Varsity-9:30 – Girls Small & Large School Junior Varsity-9:50 – Boys Small & Large School Junior Varsity-10:10 - Community Open (No uniforms please)-Open Race -Is for those teams who cannot field a team of 5 in the JV Race (No uniforms please)-Anyone else wishing to run will have to pay $10.00 (per the Steeplechase)-Times will be responsibility of coaches

-Fees
-$5.00 parking for every car
-$3.00 Gate admission for everyone over the age of 6
-Entrance & Exits-Friday-Everyone uses Ashbrook as an Entrance & Exit

-Parking -

- Teams-Use Ashbrook
- Spectators-Enter on Gould and exit on Jordan-Infield Access

-Directions-Use the following link for directions to the site and then follow the correct roads -

http://www.fhsaa.org/cc/map.htm

Awards ceremony - Elite race at 9 and 9:30, other ceremony at 11:00

Alex has a new baby boy!!!

I'm sure this will be a surprise to many of you, especially considering how well she has been running lately, but I'm happy to report that Alex is the new proud parent of a new baby boy. Here's a photo of the new boy. His name is "Frank" and he is definitely a cutie.


Congratulations Alex ! !

Extra Sleep Improves Athletic Performance

Here's an interesting article from ScienceDaily. I know this is hard with your schedules, but keep this in mind as important races approach.

Extra Sleep Improves Athletic Performance

ScienceDaily (June 10, 2008) — Getting extra sleep over an extended period of time improves athletic performance, mood and alertness, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 9 at the SLEEP 2008 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) in Baltimore, Md.

Participants in this ongoing study were five healthy students on the Stanford University men’s and women’s swimming teams. For the first two weeks of the study, the students maintained their usual sleep-wake pattern. The athletes then extended their sleep to 10 hours per day for six to seven weeks.

Athletic performance was assessed after each regularly scheduled swim practice. After obtaining extra sleep, athletes swam a 15-meter sprint 0.51 seconds faster, reacted 0.15 seconds quicker off the blocks, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds and increased kick strokes by 5.0 kicks.

“These results begin to elucidate the importance of sleep on athletic performance and, more specifically, how sleep is a significant factor in achieving peak athletic performance,” said lead author Cheri Mah of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory. “While this study focuses specifically on collegiate swimmers, it agrees with data from my other studies of different sports and suggests that athletes across all sports can greatly benefit from extra sleep and gain the additional competitive edge to perform at their highest level.”

The study also monitored daytime sleepiness and weekly changes in mood. Daytime sleepiness decreased significantly with extra sleep, while mood improvements related to getting extra sleep included higher ratings of vigor and lower ratings of fatigue.

Over the years Mah also has worked with the football, tennis, golf, cross country, and track and field teams at Stanford. Now she hopes to expand the project to work with athletes at other colleges, as well as professional athletes who are seeking a unique competitive advantage.
“It is interesting to note that many of the athletes in the various sports I have worked with, including the swimmers in this study, have set multiple new personal records and season best times, as well as broken long-standing Stanford and American records while participating in this study,” she said.

“Many of the Stanford coaches are definitely more aware of the importance of sleep,” she said. “Coaches have even started to make changes to their practice and traveling schedules to allow for proper sleep habits. For many athletes and coaches, this study was the first time they truly understood how large of an impact sleep can have on their performance and results.”
Mah offers these tips to help athletes improve their performance by maximizing their sleep:

(1) Make sleep a part of your regular training regimen.
(2) Extend nightly sleep for several weeks to reduce your sleep debt before competition.
(3) Maintain a low sleep debt by obtaining a sufficient amount of nightly sleep (seven to eight hours for adults, nine or more hours for teens and young adults).
(4) Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same times every day.
(5) Take brief naps to obtain additional sleep during the day, especially if drowsy.

Quote of the Week

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."


Mahatma Gandhi

Running Calculator

Here’s an interesting website. McMillanrunning.com has a “running calculator” that takes your time in one race and calculates what the equivalent performance would be in another distance. For example, let’s say your PR is 10:15 in a 3200m on the track. If you put that time into the running calculator (you have to convert it to a 2 mile time approximately 10:18), then the calculator says that your equivalent 5K time would be 16:43. If your best 800 meter time is 2:05 then the equivalent performance is 16:00.

There are a number of other sites that have similar calculators. Here’s the website address:

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

And here is a quote from the site talking about equivalent performances.

What is an Equivalent Performance?

When I say "Equivalent Performance", I mean what would be an equivalent race time at one race distance based on your recent race time at another distance. For example, if you run 31:24 for 10K, you might wonder what you could run for a 5K or for the marathon or for a 30K or 15K. Using my Running Calculator, you'll now know. Of course, I must say that these are "estimates" of what you can run. Actual results will vary depending on the course, the weather, if it's your day or not and a myriad of other factors. However, I think you'll find that within a small variation, these estimates are accurate. (Do keep in mind that a 5K runner is unlikely to run the equivalent time in the marathon off of 5K training. The runner would obviously need to train for the marathon to accomplish this equivalent time.)

Naturally, knowing what you could run at an upcoming race based on a recent performance can help take the guesswork out of your race planning. You'll be able to set more realistic race goals and judge an appropriate race pace better. The results are performances that are more consistent and fewer crappy races.

It’s an interesting idea. So much of running is mental. The great Olympic champion runner Lasse Viren once said: “Dream barriers look very high until someone climbs them. They are not barriers anymore.” This site takes advantage of the barriers you may have already crossed to apply them to other barriers. It doesn’t mean you just have to start the race and you will automatically run the time. You still have to do the work. But it affirms that if you approach one race with the same training, attitude and competitiveness, then you should be capable of a equivalent result at another distance.

(Remember do not listen to any advice without consulting your own coach to see whether it applies to you. )

Fractured Quote of the Week

Forrest Gump: [running] I had run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours. [he stops and turns around]

Young Man Running: Quiet, quiet! He's gonna say something!

Forrest Gump: [pause] I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now.

Non-running photos from Bale and Trail

Stephanie and Kelly celebrate.



Carly and her fans.

Bonnie contemplates 3.1 miles.

This was one I hadn't seen before.

Kaia and Kendall with their hardware.

The girls posing with their trophy.

Red Skittles Win!!!

Red Skittles held on for an impressive win against tough competition. The reds started off a little too fast and really got in trouble on the first hill. Their training and experience made the difference against the blues and sour greens. With a bold kick Red Skittles wins!!!

JV Performances

Spencer ran a good race finishing in 18:23.



Joey keep your head up. It reminds you you're in race, the person ahead of you is a good target, and the photographer can't ever get a good picture.

Jodie wins the JV race in 20:55. Here she is at about the half mile mark looking to Coach Gowan and asking with her eyes whether she has to go this slow the whole way. It was fun being on the sidelines listening to the comments of the other spectators.

Here's a photo of the Bishop Kenny girl's JV team. Yes, this is one team.

Emily in the pack.

Bonnie finishing.

I took a bunch of photos of the JV race and they are on the Andrewsphotogallery. com website.

Unfortunately, I drove all over St. Johns County and missed the boys varsity race and the start of the girls race. The boys finished 9th in a stacked field. They did well against our rivals in 3A Region 2. Brandon ran well finishing in the 17:14. Andrew 17:23, Sam 17:33, and Taylor 17:40.