12/26 update

Phoenix,

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that you enjoy the rest of the break. There was talk of doing organized practices this week, but due to a few factors we aren't going to be able to do anything official. Therefore, you should check the workout schedule here for workouts this week. 

I encourage you to get together with friends and family to run and workout. This is a very important time to build fitness so that you can reach the goals you have for yourself this spring. The old cliche is true, that champions are made in the "off-season", or rather, reaching your goals comes from the work you do now, and future you will appreciate all the work you put in now to get you to that point. 

Enjoy the time off of school and we'll be ready to rock and roll when we get back. 

Thanks,

Coach Jacobson

12/18 update

Phoenix,

We had a solid first full week of indoor track, and we are looking forward to what is next. This week we will only be practicing after school on Monday at 2:40. Tuesday is a short day, and those in 8th period will simply be doing a quick workout to get you done before lunch.

During the break we may have a few practices, and they would be the week after Christmas. We are still finalizing those details, but I will update it here when they are done. If they happen they will likely be Tuesday/Thursday (27th/29th), but it is possible we won't be practicing together over the break if we don't have enough interest.

Please check the workout plans during the break to know what you should be doing.

Distance runners:

Here is an explanation of our mileage progression. If you are behind these numbers, start where you are presently.

12/5: 50-60%

12/12: 60-70%

12/19: 70-80%

During volume increases, the vast majority of miles should be done through easy running so that the body can adapt. The week of 12/26 will be 80-90%, and by January we want to be in the 90-100% range, with mostly easy miles. Through the fall you built a level of fitness and mileage that allows you to return to that mileage fairly easily without increased risk of injury (it's not like you lost ability/fitness with the break, rather you allowed yourself a bit of recovery). Still, the buildup returning to that volume is controlled with approximately 10% increases. (Although you don't need to build up 10% starting from 0 miles (10% of 0 is still 0), but beyond that, one can go right back to 50% without issue, because, again, you have a level of fitness earned through the summer/fall, and with the miles being low intensity, recoverability isn't really an issue under normal conditions.)

The volume will prepare you for an increase in intensity in late January early February. The max volume will decrease as we get into outdoor. Right now we are simply building a base for outdoor track while mixing in some speed and tempo work, none of which is overly difficult to recover from. Once we begin outdoor, the intensity of intervals and repeats (hills and others) will make recovery more challenging, which will lead to a slight decrease in volume (due to slower/shorter recovery runs, and fewer long runs). Therefore, we want to have a strong base of volume right now to help us be able to handle the intensity increase, and aid in our recoverability later on. 

 

On another topic, those doing lower mileage need to take the easy runs a bit slower so that you don't max out your miles early. Aerobic development isn't only done by miles alone, the other side of the coin is the total time running. A 30 minute easy-ish run at 8:30 pace isn't necessarily better than a 30 minute run at 9:30 pace - both develop the aerobic system, and the latter will better prepare you for subsequent hard sessions by reducing the recovery needed. If the slower pace doesn't allow you to reach your weekly volume goal, then you can run on the longer side of the range given for distance and/or easy runs , while still running easy, to get to that point. 

There is a temptation to run our easy runs or distance runs at a certain pace, thinking it directly affects race performance, but the reality is that the adaptations and development earned from these runs are what will affect your race, not just the pace. And a harder pace doesn't necessarily equate to greater development, especially if it negatively affects recovery and your ability to be prepared physically for your next hard practice. Therefore, I encourage you to not push the pace on these regular distance or easy days. Make sure it is conversational, with no struggling to talk, and with limited or no stopping.

See you this afternoon,

Coach Jacobson

12/11 update

Phoenix,

We officially began indoor track last week, with our first practice on Thursday. If you are looking for indoor track info for the first time, please scroll down to the post immediately below this one.

We enjoyed a great first practice, and are looking forward to a great week ahead. With only one week before the winter break, it is paramount that we use each day wisely. Do all you can to be at every practice this week (Monday-Thursday). Consistency is the name of the game, and now is he time to create good habits.

As a reminder, we are going to try to be outside as often as possible, especially the distance runners, so come prepared to be outdoors with warm/water proof clothing, if necessary, and proper footwear. (Distance runners, come prepared with flats or spikes for some of the faster workouts we will be doing; for instance, Wednesday might be a good day to have them).

You can find the workouts for the week here: Workout schedule - they are subject to change so you may consider checking occasionally if in doubt.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Coach Jacobson

Indoor Track 2022

Phoenix,

Welcome to FHS indoor Track and Field! We are going to meet for the first time on Wednesday, 12/7 at 2:30 PM on the cafeteria stairs. Our first practice will be Thursday 12/8 at 2:40, meeting at the same place.

Please register for indoor track here. There is also an option to order a shirt at that link - if you aren't sure yet about the shirt, you can come back and resubmit before it closes on 12/12.

What is Indoor Track?

Indoor track is so named because the meets are held indoors. The locations of those meets vary and will be explained below. Practices, on the other hand, will be held outdoors whenever weather/event conditions allow. For distance runners, we will be outside quite often, whereas throwers and jumpers will be outside less frequently. 

Indoor track is one of my favorite seasons of the year, because of the uniqueness of the sport, and the dedication of the kids who are involved. It is a great opportunity to build relationships with your teammates and build your skill and fitness level before outdoor track begins.

Indoor track is an unofficial sport at the high school level, so therefore this is considered a "club sport." Because of that, there won't be buses to meets, 9th graders are allowed and encouraged to participate with us, and there aren't district, transportation, or drug testing fees. 

Goals

Team outcome goals:

1. State Champions
2. Region Champions

Team process goals:

1. Track a place that is enjoyable for all of your teammates
1. Be encouraging
2. Get to know your teammates
2. Everyone is a valued member ad contributor to the team, not just the best athletes
3. Consistent practice attendance
1. Getting better at something comes from training, not just doing the same thing in competition over and over
4. Give your best effort every day
1. This applies to you as an athlete and a teammate
5. What other elements will help us reach our goals?

Cost

The cost for indoor track is $50, which can be invoiced to your mydsd account once you fill out the form below. All funds go to paying your coaches - because this is a club sport, coaches aren't paid by the school for time spent at practices or meets.

Each meet has a cost to enter as well, and individuals will be responsible to register and pay for themselves - because it isn't a school sponsored sport, we can't pay for individual meet entry. The meet costs are generally in the $10 range, give or take a few dollars.

Coaches

Coach Jacobson - Head Coach, Distance events, but will help with Sprints and Hurdles when needed

Coach Farrell - High jump, long jump, sprints/distance when needed

Coach Cragun - Shot put, Discus throw (no discus indoor)

Coach Day - Hurdles

Coach Johnson - Sprints

Coach Munk - Sprints, throws, distance

Coach Halls - Pole Vault

Coach Lynch - Distance

Practice schedule/8th period track class

Overview

Indoor track goes from 12/7 until 2/18. There will be 20 after school practices in that time frame, with another 20ish in class, in addition to the 5 possible indoor meets. During the indoor season we will not be holding official practices after school on Fridays. (Once the outdoor season starts at the end of February, we will meet Monday-Friday).

Track class

During 2nd semester, 8th period will become a Track Class. While it isn't "required" that you join the class to be on the team, it is recommended. A big part of that is the space needed for our and other sports. Another element is time: you'll miss fewer class periods in the spring for meets, and you'll be able to get home earlier to work on whatever you need. I encourage you to join the class if you can make it work. 

2nd term practices - now until 1/14

Until the end of 2nd term, we will meet after school at 2:40 Monday-Thursday. (This excludes Tuesday, 12/20, which is an early out day before Winter Break, and will be considered a "Friday"). We will hold two optional practices over the break, with dates TBD.

3rd term practices - 1/17-2/18

Once 2nd semester begins, we will only hold after school practices on A-days, beginning at 2:40, but excluding Fridays which land on A days.

On B-days we will only practice during the class period (which might go slightly longer than the class period). Obviously, we will be practicing on those Fridays when we have class.

Those who are in the class also get the benefit of more organized practices. Those not in the class will still have the workouts available to them, but coaches won't be able to run those practices.

For those who aren't in the class, or are out of town for any reason, we are going to post the weekly workout schedule at the top of this page, which can also be found here. It won't have much for this week, since we are just getting started, but will be updated every Monday during indoor track.

Practice locations

We will always meet at the cafeteria stairs to begin practice, following a team warm up, the location will split up based on event group. Always come prepared with the proper attire in case we are outdoors. Some practices will be outside, inside on the track, inside the gym, inside the hallways, etc. Locations will vary based on day/workout design/weather. The hope is to go outside as often as possible. So be prepared or that.

Meet Schedule

Indoor Track Meet Schedule

Jan. 20-21 – BYU Meet 

Jan. 27-28 – Weber State Meet - https://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1004427

Feb. 3-4 – UHSTCCA State Championship (Olympic Oval) 

Feb. 10 – Distance Challenge (Olympic Oval) 

Salem HJ/SP – Feb. 11 (1:00) – Salem HJ/SP (Salem ALC) 

Feb. 16-18 – Simplot Games (Idaho State University) *limited spots available*

Other items

Nutrition

Make sure you are eating enough. Eat a lot, as you will be training a lot. In your eating, make sure you also include fruits and vegetables, an a variety of food items.

Sleep

Get into a routine where you go to bed and get up at similar times each day. This means planning your days more effectively to have everything done at a reasonable time.

Academics

You are a student first, and therefor must be caught up with schooling. This isn't an excuse to miss practices, rather, you need to make sure you are on top of things so you don't have to miss practices to catch back up. 

Buhrley Bible

This includes a collection of items that my coach used to share with us.

9th graders

9th graders participating in indoor track should come to the school as quickly and safely as possible once they are out of class. That generally means around 3:15. They will then warm up and join their event group as quickly as possible. In order to find the location, I have set up a "remind" for freshman updating the location of practice each day. The join code for that remind is @ea3fef

9th graders are also not eligible to join the track class except by invitation. 9th graders generally do outdoor track with their school; the only exception to that is when there is a 9th grader who is running at a varsity level, which then would prompt us to invite them to join us at the high school, in the class, and for outdoor. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Coach Jacobson bjacobson@dsdmail.net

Coach