Home of the Lancers

Practice Locations Sept 21-26

• PLEASE NOTE that we need you to head straight to your pod upon starting practice
• Please wear a mask for all activities aside from Core & Conditioning and running
• Mon: 2:50 – 4:50 PM @ Waverly Park, Pod Map
• Tue: 2:50 – 4:50 PM @ Acorn Acres (TO Community Park), Pod Map
• Wed: 2:15 – 4:15 PM @ Janss Soccer Fields, Pod Map
• Thurs: 2:50 – 4:50 PM @ Waverly Park, Pod Map
• Fri-Sat: On your own (see Google docs for further info)

The “Big Picture” Plan

As we’ve been saying, the season we are in is the “Mental Season” allowing us to answer the question, can we do this on our own?  The hardest part of that is over as we are back to meeting 4 x per week.  But, can you get out there on Friday & Saturday to get your runs in?  We have 4 more weeks in our Mental Season.  This allows us the opportunity to get back in the habit of being an athlete, and re-engage the bond of being a teammate and striving for something bigger than yourself.  Thursday October 15^th will be our last time trial.  At that point, we will take 10 days off from running and re-charge for our October 26^th official kickoff in the march to state March 27^th!

Attendance

We are required to submit attendance every week.  If you will be missing practice, please email me.  If not, you will be marked absent.

If you are opting out of practice, and not calling Coach Julie back, you will be marked absent.

Needed for IN-PERSON PRACTICE:

1. Upload Your Physical: Set up an account on Athletic Clearance, CLICK HERE for info
2. New Consent Form: Sign & Scan the Parent Consent form, CLICK HERE, email to Booster President, kaycejdaniels@gmail.com
3. Opt In Or Out: Please let us know if you will be joining for in-person practice, please email kaycejdaniels@gmail.com

Practice Schedule

• Mon/Tue/Thu: 2:50 – 4:50 PM
• Wednesday: 2:15 – 4:15 PM
• Friday & Saturday: On Your Own
• Practice locations will vary across Thousand Oaks
• We are STILL PRACTICING on our own until then, keep the ball rolling!

Neck Gaiter

I’d like to suggest you purchase a running neck gaiter for practice, you can wear it around your neck when you’re not near anyone and pull it above your mouth when passing people on the roads, trails or parks.  Here are a couple options:

• Tasc Performance
• Buff USA

CIF has released the dates for our season, to begin in December / January with the State Championships March 27^th.  This is very exciting news!!!  Official CIF release HERE.

Iron Deficiency – Time To Check Again

• The aerobic energy demand of a 1600m race is approximately 82%. The remaining 18% is an anaerobic energy demand.  The 3200m is 90% aerobic, and the 800m, often thought of as a sprint event, is even 60% aerobic.
• Recognizing that all distance Track races are primarily an aerobic challenge, oxygen transport is crucial.
• Approximately 99% of human oxygen transport is mediated by the binding of molecular oxygen to an iron-containing molecule (within red blood cells) known as hemoglobin.
• If an athlete is iron deficient, their endurance performance inevitably (and, likely, significantly) suffers.
• Accordingly, we strongly encourage twice yearly iron testing for our student-athletes in order to support the maintenance of optimal iron status.
• Standard blood panels include the assessment of both hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit, and most importantly FERRITIN.
• By analogy, hemoglobin and hematocrit are equivalent to “money-in-your -pocket” while ferritin is correspondingly equivalent to “money-in-the-bank.”
• If hemoglobin and hematocrit appear normal yet ferritin is sub-optimal, one might extend the analogy to suggest that subsequent to spending all available “money-in-your-pocket,” an individual is essentially “bankrupt” consequent to minimal iron reserves (i.e. minimal ferritin or, again, by analogy … minimal or no “money-in-the-bank”).
• In summary, the opportunity to periodically analyze hemoglobin, hematocrit, and ferritin enables our coaching staff to quantitatively appreciate a student-athlete’s current iron status and to potentially recommend (to parents / guardians) a reasoned iron supplementation strategy (if appropriate) in order to contribute to ALWAYS maintaining performance-supporting, healthful iron status.

Photos to Share?  Upload Here!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pkayobtphmHFFAan6

Come and see why students describe our Cross Country program as the best experience of their high school lives.

TOHS Cross Country is a combined boys and girls program that has a tradition of excellence including many Marmonte League, Ventura County, and California State Championships and many runners that go on to compete at the collegiate level.

Whether you’ve never run a step in your life or you enjoy running youth track and local 5k’s, we would love to have you come join the Lancer Cross Country program.  We are the most decorated team at TOHS and you will have the time of your life making friends and lasting memories in this wonderful program!

We’re excited for another year of Lancer Cross Country and invite all of you to join us for our first week of practice and activities to see if cross country is right for you! We are busy making plans for our summer training program, which will include pool parties, beach trips, and much much more.