Sept 26th-Oct1

We have another big week planned for the Cross-country team. Starting on Tuesday at the New Prague Golf course.

First of all I would like to thank all you parents for coming to meets and supporting the runners. Also I appreciate the fact that when you take your children home you make sure to tell me. We have the fortunate problem of a crowded bus and I understand if your child would rather ride home with you instead of a crowded bus. Thanks for keeping me informed.

Students dismissed at 2:30 bus leaves at 2:45

4:00 JV girls

4:30 JV boys

5:00 Varsity girls

5:30 Varsity boys

6:00 JH girls

6:15 JH boys

There will be no practice this Friday as we are leaving for the Swain Meet in Duluth. The top 10 boys and girls will be making the trip everyone else has the day off.

Vans leave at 12:05 Friday

Stay at the Comfort Inn West in Duluth on Friday night

11:45 JV girls

12:45 JV boys

1:45 Varsity girls

2:35 Varsity boys

Leave for home by 3:30 stop to eat on the way.

Arrive home 7-8:30.

We, the coaches, continue to be impressed with the efforts of the team. What a wonderful group of kids to work with. Feel free to email me about any questions you might have.

Spaghetti Dinner Oct 7th

First off I would like to say thank you for the terrific response to the email for help with the spaghetti dinner. This is what we need for helpers.

Publicity- Mariah Walsh and Corey Krautkremer are in charge and they could use about 3-5 people to help them make and distribute posters and get something in the news paper. We are planning on serving between 4-8 pm at Oak Crest. The menu includes spaghetti, bread sticks, salad, milk/juice, cookies. A donation of $7 for adults and $4 for children is suggested.

Pre-cooks- This is where we may need some parents since we can not make it over to Oak Crest until after school. I think 5 pre-cooks could do the trick starting as early as 2:30.

Then I have set up a schedule that may work. You are certainly welcome to come and work anytime for as long as you want.

3:00-5:00 we will need around 10 people to prepare food, begin serving food, and set up

4:00-6:00 another 5-10 people to continue

5:00-7:00 5-10 more to fill in serving, cooking, and cleaning up

6:00-8:00 another shift for serving, cleaning, and cooking if needed.

7:00-9:00 clean up crew 5-10 people.

We are also in charge of the kids run associated with the weekend 1/2 marathon. We will start registration at 5:00 pm until 6:30 when the race begins. It will be a 1/2 mile run 2 laps on the track before the football game. Cost for the race is $5. Each participant will receive a ribbon. Kiley Hallgren is in charge of the event and will need 5 people to help with registration and 5 more to help with the finish area and awards. It would be nice to have someone comfortable in front of a microphone to announce the race and winners.

Thank you for all your support. Email me if you have any questions

S'not just sniffles

Even though Runners are to have great immune systems because we workout we still get sick from time to time.  So, what is a runner to do? Listed below are some tips to help keep your immune system going strong and keep you healthy during your season.

1. Eat a Well Balanced Diet: I have discussed this before it is important that this gets done throughout the year it helps keep you healthy.
2. Eat your veggies, especially broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale. These are high in antioxidants that help protect you from viruses.
3. Have some yogurt. Yogurt contains good bacteria that helps protect the body from the bad bacteria and infections. Yogurt also makes a great medium in which to put some fruit and low-fat granola adding even more vitamins, minerals and fiber.
4.  Wash, wash, wash your hands! Simple, but washing your hands is one of the most effective ways to catching or spreading illness. Also, try to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unclean hands.  
5. Have a "spot of tea." Research shows that the immune systems of tea drinkers react much faster to bacteria and viruses than non-tea drinkers. They think it has something to do with L-theanine that's in the tea. Doesn't seem to matter what kind of tea, either. Just be careful not to load it up with sugar!  Try localized honey since it will also help with any pollen based seasonal allergies.
6. SLEEP! Be sure you're getting your Zzzzzzzzs. Your immune system actually does a lot of work while you're snoozing. If you cheat yourself out of sleep, not only will you not be well rested, you're body doesn't have the opportunity to release as much immune-enhancing compounds to keep you healthy when you're awake. The best way to make sure that you are getting enough sleep is going to sleep about the same time (+/- 30min) every day.  If you are falling asleep in less than 10 minutes it means you are not getting enough sleep.

Many of these tips are not only good to keep yourself healthy but also to let your body recover from the previous days workout.  Much of what your body needs to fight off diseases is the same that you as a runner need to recover from workouts.  

Here are some pictures from the Monty Meet last Tuesday. Click on the link.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110341424897176953711/XCountry20110908?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL2w7_SPpbrzOQ&feat=directlink

We have come to the beginning of the 5th week of the season. Doesn't seem like it has been that long. It was nice to see so many of you come to watch the meet. We had 10 people run personal records on Tuesday at the Gerry Smith Redbird Invitational in Montgomery. The girls placed 10th and the boys 11th which put us well in the top half of the 31 team field. Perhaps the best thing to see as a coach was the way teammates supported one another during their races. Another positive was the grouping of our runners near one another. In cross-country having your team in a pack helps tremendously with the score. A couple of things are rapidly approaching. First our meet on Tuesday the 13th at Norwood's Baylor Park. 2:15 students will be dismissed 2:30 bus leaves for Baylor Park 4:00 JV Girls 4000 m 4:05 JV Boys 5000 m 4:40 Girls Varsity 4000 m 5:10 Boys Varsity 5000 m 5:40 JH boys 1600 m 5:45 JH girls 1600 m 6:00 Awards Secondly, next Friday the 16th we travel to St. Olaf in Northfield for a meet on the state meet course. There will only be a boys 5000 m and girls 4000 m race. All varsity and junior varsity runners will run together. Junior high runners have three choices. They can either run with the varsity and jv runners in the 4000 or 5000, they can come along and cheer, or they may stay home and have an extra long weekend since we will not be having practice that day. 2:15 students will be dismissed 2:30 bus leaves for Baylor Park 4:30 Boys 5000 m 5:15 Girls 4000 m If you have questions about anything please email me. Have a great weekend. Running It's What We DO!

This Week 9/6-9/9

The cross-country team is working at the concession stand for the girls volleyball game tonight. We need volunteers to help anytime between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm.

Make sure to drink plenty of water during the day even though it is not real hot out you will still sweat.

There will be a leadership team meeting Wednesday after practice. We will be discussing the homecoming relay, spaghetti dinner and swain meet.

Tuesday Sept. 6th, Practice at 3:15 pm Wednesday Sept. 7th, Practice at 3:15 pm Thursday Sept. 8th, Gerry Smith Redbird Invitational at the Montgomery Golf Course Bus leaves at 2:50. 4:30 pm Girls JV 4:37 pm Boys JV 5:10 pm Boys Varsity 5:45 pm Girls Varsity 6:15 pm Boys JH 6:20 pm Girls JH 6:45 pm Awards Friday Sept. 9th, Practice 3:15 pm It has been really fun watching the competitiveness of the team this week. Who knew such nice kids could be so competitive. Please email me if you have any questions. Your communications helps tremendously.