Home of the Lancers

Here’s the Plan for This Week

• Monday @ Wildflower Park, 2:45 – 4:30 PM
• Tuesday @ Lang Ranch, 2:45 – 4:30 PM
• Wednesday @ Wildflower Park, 2:45 – 4:30 PM
• Thursday @ Greenmeadow, 2:45 – 4:30 PM
• Friday @ Oakbrook Park 7:30AM
• Saturday @ Old Agoura 8AM

 

Additional Dates

• Dead Period: Weeks of 6/21, 6/28 and 7/5, see below for details
• 1^st Summer Time Trial – Monday July 12^th
• Alumni Run Saturday July 24^th

Weeks of 6/28 and 7/5

In normal years, CIF mandates a dead period of no organized practices by the Coaches.  This year we aren’t required to have a dead period due to the impact of covid, but we are still going to take one as this Coach needs a break.  Since it’s not required, I can give some guidance on training during this time:

• Please run in a safe location with a teammate or a parent
• Please find soft surfaces to train
• Base / Long Run: The foundation of your aerobic development as a runner, these runs should be comfortably hard where you are going at a solid pace and at the end feel as if you could go another 10 – 20′ at that pace.  These runs are the focus for the next 3 weeks.                                                                               
• New Runners
  • 3 – 5 days per week
  • 20 – 30’ per day, try to build up to continuous running
  • Add on 4 x 10” Flat Strides
  • Long Run once per week of 40’ if you are able to run 30’ without walking
• Returners
  • 5 – 6 days per week
  • 30 – 40’ per day
  • Add on 4 x 20” Flat Strides, or 2 Flat & 2 Hill Strides
  • Long Run once per week 50 – 65’
  • Please Note: This is a minimum suggestion for our returners, if you are looking to take the next step or make Varsity, feel free to add more onto this

 

Physicals Required prior to starting practice

• All returners need to go into Athletic Clearance to create a new record for the year 2021-22, it does not automatically switch over
• Please CLICK HERE for instructions on how to transfer your physical over for the 2021-22 school year
• Some of you have transferred it over to 2021-22, but your physical has not cleared yet, please confirm

2021 Schedule – SEE BELOW FOR UPDATES

• • Summer Kickoff Meeting

• Monday 6/14, 5 PM @ Library Park
• This is for ALL New & Returning Athletes and Parents

• • • Practice for Returners beforehand at 4 PM

• Intro Week for New & Returners
  • Mon 6/14, @ Library Park 4 PM practice only for returners
  • We are not meeting Tuesday as we have our Track banquet that day
  • Wednesday & Thursday @ Wildflower Park, 2:45 – 4:30 PM
  • Friday @ Waverly 7:30 – 9:15 AM
  • Saturday @ Greenmeadow 8 – 9:30 AM

• Dead Period
• CIF mandates a dead period of no organized practices by the Coaches, however athletes are encouraged to keep training to prepare for the upcoming season, dates to be finalized by next week!

• 1^st Summer Time Trial – Monday July 12^th
• Alumni Run Saturday July 24^th

Interested in Future Track Running Club 2021 Scholarship? Due by 7/15 – Click for flyers ONE & TWO

Photos from Mr. Kajita!

Please see the below note from Mr. Kajita

Google will soon be ending their free photo storage service so I will be using Smugmug going forward.  Therefore, I created the following website and added all the photos I took at the XC and track meets from this season:

https://www.ekgalleries.com/

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.

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

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.

 

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.