Howdy Lakeland Runners!

NEW INFORMATION: 

For those of you wondering when our next team practices are, mark your calendars & see details below:

Wednesday July 20th, 5:30pm-7:30pm at Moose Lake Provincial Park + swimming after, for cool down!

Saturday July 23rd, 9:00am-11:00am at Muriel Lake MD Park Campground + swimming after, for cool down!

Invite your friends from other sports to join us!

If you are not able to join us for team practices, run them on your own, close to home, early in the morning.

Develop your own 1/2/3/4/5 km cross country running trail course at a park close to your home.

Please email or text Coach Les with your recorded times for your Cross Country Running & Track Time Trials.

Weekly Training: Our training program below is simply a "Base" schedule for your reference. 

We encourage all runners to modify & adapt your training schedule, based on your family schedule.

We encourage everyone to take one day off each week as a rest & recovery day. 

Slow biking or hiking or swimming is an excellent alternative for rest & recovery days.

Progression: Prevention of injuries is a key priority for all of us. 

To prevent impact injuries from running, slowly & gradually increase the number of minutes you run each week.

We coach new runners to start with 5 & 10 &15 minute runs for a few weeks.

Then, gradually increase the numbers of minutes your run each week.

Morning Training: To avoid training in the heat of the day, train early in the mornings when the weather is cool. 

Wake up early; drink lots of water; eat a light breakfast; drink more water; go for a 15 minute walk.

Then, drink more water and start your training.

Water-Water-Water: Proper hydration is super critical in the hot summer months. 

Drink lots of water all day long. Avoid sport drinks & energy drinks. Drink plain water.

Drink a full water bottle the hour before training. Take two water bottles to every training.

Drink a half water bottle on the drive to practice. Drink a full water after training.

Breakfast is the Key Meal of Champions!

Dorset Cereal: Go to your local grocery store to buy Dorset Cereal, in the breakfast cereal isle or organic food shelves. 

It is THE healthiest breakfast cereal, with no sugar, and full of delicious nuts & fruits & grains.  

Plus Dorset is a tasty & healthy substitute for sugary granola bars, and is low cost to help with family budgets.

Eggs: Eat a couple of eggs every day = complete amino acids to help meet your protein needs.

Sleep-Sleep-Sleep: Be sure to discipline yourself to go to bed early every night, and wake up early every morning.

Everyone needs about 8 hours of sleep minimum...young growing athletes need 10 hours.

OLD INFORMATION:

Parents...please share our information with your youth, giving them the responsibility to develop their athlete schedule of personal organization & time management.

New athletes/families are welcome to join us any time. Please invite other youth to join us, whom you know who are interested in running.

Summer Screens or Summer Sports? As your coaches, we are extremely concerned about screen technology impacting our society, especially the reality of screen addictions on our youth. Screen dependency damages developing brains, lives & relationships. We encourage you to "Swap Screens for Sports!"

Information & Communication: All of the information about running with our team can be found at: http://www.coachles.blogspot.com 

To contact me, please email lesparsonsgreen@yahoo.ca 

If your communication is urgent, text me: 780-691-6912 I'll phone you back as soon as I am able.

I will be updating my blog next week, with the following information: Training Journal Scribblers, Kenyan Warm-Up & Cool-Down Routine; Strength Training Circuit, Running Technique Key Words.

SAFETY FIRST is always our #1 concern:

Cycling is our most high risk activity. Parents MUST approve of bike routes on roads that are safe for cycling, with low traffic. The reality of distracted drivers on phones makes cycling even more risky. Wearing an extremely bright white shirt is mandatory, for optimal visibility for vehicle traffic. Never cycle into the sun, when drivers have poor visibility of sun shining through their windshields into their eyes. Helmets are mandatory. Adjust bike seats, by raising the seat so that your knee is almost straight when your feet are at the bottom of your pedal rotation.

Bears/cougars are a concern. Run or mountain bike with a friend on wilderness trails. 

Dehydration causes physiological damage, especially in hot weather. Pre-hydrate before training, by drinking 2 or 3 glasses of water 15 minutes before exercise. And, always bringing extra water with you when traveling to & from practices.

"Track Running" is around a school track or grass sports field, training us to run at a fast pace speed over shorter distances. We can challenge ourselves to improve our running technique and tempo.

"Trail Running" is on a grass trail in a park or forest, training us to run up & down hills, over longer distances. We can discover nature trails around our Lakeland wilderness, making running a fun adventure. 

Parents are encouraged to take part with our team, and/or walk along to observe practices. Or, parents are encouraged to walk or jog with other parents during practices, or play with the rest of your family play at nearby playgrounds while our team is practicing.

Car-Pool to travel to practices. Arrange car-pooling with other team parents from your community, to share transportation to practices, and to make travel more FUN for youth to socialize.

Self-Training: We only meet for team training once or twice per week. Athletes are responsible for your most important training...your "Self-Training" by yourself or with a teammate friend. The training you do 5 or 6 days per week on your own, will make a greater improvement on your fitness, compared to the training we do as a team, 1 or 2 days per week.

Rain or Shine: Try to schedule your running in dry weather. If that is not possible, running in the rain once in a while is FUN! But, rain & water do deteriorate your running shoes, so try to keep your feet as dry as possible.

Cross-Training: It is good to do a variety of exercise & sports, for cross-training. Ask your family & neighbours to give you the chores that require the most physical exercise, around the house, yard & farm.

Bottom Line about Training: IF you are very busy with family commitments or summer jobs, simply plan to exercise every day, alternating between running and riding a bike. 

Bottom Line about Attitude: Stay Positive! Do not compare yourself to other athletes. We only compare ourselves to ourselves. We encourage you to be fair and kind to yourself, by starting where you are at with your current fitness level today, and progressively build up your fitness over the next few months & years.

###-July practices include: welcome & introduction to team; team talk; safety talk; warm-up routine; running & jogging technique; training principles; training programs; preparation for races/practices; athlete lifestyle; questions & answers. Dress to be active. Bring your old running shoes, 2 water bottles, snacks, pen & paper note book, clothing for hot sun or cold rain, and insect repellant. For after practice, bring a healthy bag lunch and a change of clothing for travel home. 

Mon July 4th: trail run; jog slowly on a grass sports field or park trail in the forest; 8-10 years x 15 minutes; 11-12 years x 20 min; 13-14 years x 25 min; 15-16 x 30 min; 17-18 x 35 min + Strength Circuit

Tue July 5th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 20 min; 11-12 x 30 min; 13-14 x 40 min; 15-16 x 50 min; 17-18 x 60 min. 

Wed July 6th: run track intervals, around a 400 meter school track; run medium speed intensity intervals at 66% effort of your race pace

Warm Up: for all ages; jog slowly for 800 meters = two times around the 400 meter lap

Intensity Intervals: run 400 meter intervals at 66% effort of race pace around 400 meter lap and jog very slowly around 400 meter lap to recover

ages 8-10 = repeat two intervals; 11-12 = repeat three;13-14 = repeat four; 15-16 = repeat five; 17-18 repeat six 

Cool Down: for all ages, jog slowly for 800 meters

Thu July 7th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 20 min; 11-12 x 30 min; 13-14 x 40 min; 15-16 x 50 min; 17-18 x 60min + Strength Circuit

Fri July 8th: trail run; jog slowly on a grass sports field or park trail in the forest; 8-10 x 15 minutes; 11-12 x 20 min; 13-14 x 25 min; 15-16 x 30 min; 17-18 x 35 min 

Sat July 9th:10:00am-12:00pm Team Practice at Walsh Field 49th ave - 46 st Bonnyville, or Self Train at home. See ###-July above for practice outline, including preparation for practices/races to help you develop your individualized prep for any team sport like hockey, soccer, basketball, or individual sport including cross country running meets and track meets.

Athletes not able to attend, ask your parents to use their phone to record your time for your 800 or 1600 meter time trial.

Track Time Trial: everyone will have a chance to run an 800 meter (ages 8-14) or 1600 meter (ages 15-18) track time trial, for one reason;

to learn "pacing" and how to pace oneself for a running race;

to record your personal best base time for these race distances;

so that you can compare yourself against yourself;

when we repeat the same track time trial distance in August, September, October & November.

Motivation? Measuring improvement of personal best performance is a real motivator. If that doesn't motivate athletes, special chocolate awards will recognize the athletes who improve their times with the greatest percentage decrease between July and November.

Sun July 10th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 30 min; 11-12 x 40 min; 13-14 x 50 min; 15-16 x 60 min; 17-18 x 70 min 

Mon July 11th: 5:30pm-7:30pm Team Practice at Walsh Field 49th ave - 46 st Bonnyville, or Self Train at home. See July 9th above for practice outline. For athletes who attended practice last Saturday, or those who are not able to attend today, we will coach the introduction to Track Intensity Intervals. 

Warm Up: for all ages; jog slowly for 800 meters = two times around the 400 meter lap

Intensity Intervals: run 200 meter intervals at 10% increasing efforts of race pace and jog very slowly for 200 meters to recover;

ages 8-10 = repeat three intervals at 60-70-80%

11-12 = repeat four intervals at 60-70-80-80%

13-14 = repeat five intervals at 60-70-80-80-80%

15-16 = repeat six intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80%

17-18 = repeat seven intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80-80%

Cool Down: for all ages, jog slowly for 800 meters

Tue July 12th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 20 min; 11-12 x 30 min; 13-14 x 40 min; 15-16 x 50 min; 17-18 x 60 min + Strength Circuit

Wed July 13th: trail run; jog slowly on a grass sports field or park trail in the forest; 8-10 x 15 min; 11-12 x 15 min; 13-14 x 20 min; 15-16 x 20 min; 17-18 x 25 min 

Thu July 14th: 5:30pm-7:30pm Team Practice at Muriel Lake MD Park Campground, a 20 minute drive southeast of Bonnyville Muriel Lake Campground - Google Maps and park by the main entrance to the park. See July 9th above for practice outline. 

Athletes not able to attend, ask your parents to use their phone to record your time for your cross country running time trial.

XC Run Time Trial: everyone will have a chance to do a XC Run time trial, for one reason;

to learn "pacing" and how to pace oneself for a running race;

to record your personal best base time for these race distances;

8-10 x 1km; 11-12 x 2km; 13-14 x 3km; 15-16 x 4km; 17-18 x 5km;

so that you can compare yourself against yourself;

when we repeat the same track time trial distance in August, September, October & November.

Motivation? Measuring improvement of personal best performance is a real motivator.

Fri July 15th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 15 min; 11-12 x 15 min; 13-14 x 20 min; 15-16 x 25 min; 17-18 x 30 min 

Saturday July 16th: 10:00am-12:00pm, Team Practice at Muriel Lake MD Park Campground, a 20 minute drive southeast of Bonnyville Muriel Lake Campground - Google Maps and park by the main entrance to the park. See July 9th above for practice outline. 

For athletes who attended practice last Thursday, or those who are not able to attend today, we will coach the introduction to XC Run Intervals. 

Warm Up: for all ages; jog slowly along the trail for 10 minutes

Intensity Intervals: run 1 minute intervals along a grass path or trail, at 10% increasing efforts of race pace and jog very slowly for 1 minute to recover;

8-10 = repeat four intervals at 60-70-80-80%

11-12 = repeat five intervals at 60-70-80-80-80%

13-14 = repeat six intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80%

15-16 = repeat seven intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80-80%

17-18 = repeat eight intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80-80-80%

Cool Down: for all ages, jog slowly for 10 minutes 

Sun July 17th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 30 min; 11-12 x 40 min; 13-14 x 50 min; 15-16 x 60 min; 17-18 x 70 min 

Mon July 18th: trail run; jog slowly on a grass sports field or park trail in the forest; 8-10 years x 15 minutes; 11-12 years x 20 min; 13-14 years x 25 min; 15-16 x 30 min; 17-18 x 35 min 

Tue July 19th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 20 min; 11-12 x 30 min; 13-14 x 40 min; 15-16 x 50 min; 17-18 x 60 min + Strength Circuit

 

Wed July 20th: 5:30pm-7:30pm, Team Practice (and swim) at Moose Lake Provincial Park, a 20 minute drive northwest of Bonnyville Moose Lake PP Parking - Google Maps When you enter the park gate, instead of driving to the campground, take your first left hand turn & drive down the gravel road for 15 seconds. We are parking beside the boat launch. See ###-July above for practice outline. 

For athletes who are not able to attend today, we will coach the introduction to XC Run Intervals. 

Warm Up: for all ages; jog slowly along the trail for 10 minutes

Intensity Intervals: run fast 1 minute intervals along a grass path or trail, at 10% increasing efforts of race pace and jog very slowly for 1 minute to recover;

8-10 = repeat four intervals at 60-70-80-80%

11-12 = repeat five intervals at 60-70-80-80-80%

13-14 = repeat six intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80%

15-16 = repeat seven intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80-80%

17-18 = repeat eight intervals at 60-70-80-80-80-80-80-80%

Cool Down: for all ages, jog slowly for 10 minutes 

Bring your swim suit & towel for a cool down swim in the lake after the end of practice.

Thu July 21st: trail run; jog slowly on a grass sports field or park trail in the forest; 8-10 years x 15 minutes; 11-12 years x 20 min; 13-14 years x 25 min; 15-16 x 30 min; 17-18 x 35 min + Strength Circuit

Fri July 22nd: bike slowly; 8-10 x 20 min; 11-12 x 25 min; 13-14 x 30 min; 15-16 x 35 min; 17-18 x 40 min 

Sat July 23rd: 9:00am-11:00am Team Practice (and swim) at Muriel Lake MD Park Campground, a 20 minute drive southeast of Bonnyville Muriel Lake Campground - Google Maps and park by the main entrance to the park. See ###-July above for practice outline. Athletes not able to attend, ask your parents to use their phone to record your time for your cross country running time trial.

XC Run Time Trial: everyone will have a chance to do a XC Run time trial, for one reason;

to learn "pacing" and how to pace oneself for a running race;

to record your personal best base time for these race distances;

8-10 x 1km; 11-12 x 2km; 13-14 x 3km; 15-16 x 4km; 17-18 x 5km;

so that you can compare yourself against yourself;

when we repeat the same track time trial distance in August, September, October & November.

Bring your swim suit & towel for a cool down swim in the lake after the end of practice.

Motivation? Measuring improvement of personal best performance is a real motivator.

Sun July 24th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 30 min; 11-12 x 40 min; 13-14 x 50 min; 15-16 x 60 min; 17-18 x 70 min 

Mon July 25th: trail run; jog slowly on a grass sports field or park trail in the forest; 8-10 years x 25 minutes; 11-12 years x 30 min; 13-14 years x 35 min; 15-16 x 40 min; 17-18 x 45 min + Strength Circuit

Tue July 26th: bike slowly; 8-10 x 30 min; 11-12 x 40 min; 13-14 x 50 min; 15-16 x 60 min; 17-18 x 70 min 

Yeee Haaw!  Les  780-691-6912