For all of you out there who have been watching our season and might wonder why we have yet to take down meet records or dominate our rivals I say be patient. When the time is right, we will let loose and not even I can really predict just how fast we can run.

This year has been a new experience for me with regard to timing of workouts and phases of training. It is not so much an experiment (the data out there all supports what we are doing), but it is something new for me and it is exciting to watch... at least from my vantage point. This year I delayed our "hard" work until seven weeks before the state meet. Up to this point, we have focused on strength, volume training, running economy, and rhythmic intervals. There have been components of all the major training categories throughout the season, but not much emphasis was placed on VO2 max or explosive speed until now. Now we are getting down to business.

Our emphasis has changed this week. We are now fully invested in VO2 and speed sessions. Or threshold training is not gone, but it has taken a back seat. The goal is to effectively "turn the corner" with our training and strengthen our collective ability to pull away mid-race. So, is it going to work? Yes, but how well it works it dependent on each individual runner on the squad. There is no magic here, just good old hard work and confidence.

I cannot say how fast each boy will run by the end of the season (I could make some educated guesses). I really don't care what the clock says, I care more about how they compete and how willing they are to dig deep for that little something extra. What I can say with certainty is, no matter what, the rest of the season will be exciting and pretty fun.