 The Delta Hawks had a great showing at the SRA Meet on Friday! Almost all of our athletes participated, and everyone ran great. What was most remarkable was the way all of our runners fought through the adversity of the short start and tricky turn. Several Hawks fell during the race, but they got up, continued to compete, and finished with pride!
A special shout out to our medal winners SONIA BROWN (6th place in the 6th grade and under) and ADELEINE GLENN (9th place of 7th/8th grade). They both competed in races with hundreds of local kids and were able to garner top ten medals. But the truth is every Hawk had a great race, because every one of them started the race, competed, and finished strong. The coaches are so proud of you all! This coming week we can do some harder work, as we don't have a meet next weekend. We will be at Lock Hills on Monday and the Boathouse on Thursday. This will likely be the last week at Lock Hills as the sun will be dipping low and we don't want to run on the unevenness of the sand in the dark. It's a good idea to invest in headlamps now, as our practices will soon be in the gloaming and eventually in the dark. Here's this week's schedule: Monday - Intervals at Lock Hills (Meet at STONEGATE ELEMENTARY)
Tuesday - Rest & Stretch Wednesday - On your own
Thursday - Marshall Hill Fartlek (Meet at BRIDGEWAY LAKES BOATHOUSE)
Friday - Rest & Stretch Saturday or Sunday - LONG Easy Run
REMEMBER: What you put into your training will dictate what you get out of your races. Train Hard, Win Easy! Coach Eric
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 Another great week of training in the books for out Hawks, and for those who could join us up at Jenkinson Lake we had a good long run and a blast playing in the water!
This coming week, we have our second meet of the season on Friday afternoon. The Sacramento Running Association kindly hosts a series of youth cross country meets that have always been very fun and full of teams from all over the Sacramento region. This year, the location has moved to American River College, located at 4700 College Oak Dr, Sacramento. Parking will be $5 per vehicle, cash only. Please use the main parking entrance off of College Oak Drive and park in the garage located directly north of the ARC Track Stadium by proceeding straight at the roundabout. Parking fees will be collected by volunteers as you arrive; you do not need to pay at the kiosks. From the garage ground floor, you can access the course by proceeding west via the walkway between the tennis courts and the ARC Soccer Stadium. The first race is at 4:45, so I need all Hawks to arrive by 3:45 on Friday. Because the race is on Friday, our Thursday practice will be a little easier. However, come to work on Monday as we will be doing one of our hardest workouts at Lock Hills this year! Here is this week's schedule: Monday - Intervals at Lock Hills (Meet at STONEGATE ELEMENTARY)
Tuesday - Rest & Stretch Wednesday - On your own
Thursday - Marshall Hill Tempo (Meet at BRIDGEWAY LAKES BOATHOUSE)
Friday - SRA Meet #1
Saturday or Sunday - LONG Easy Run
REMEMBER: What you put into your training will dictate what you get out of your races. Train Hard, Win Easy! Coach Eric
The Delta Hawks Racing Team builds incredible young runners! Our three remaining OHs (Original Hawks from the 2019 inaugural Delta Hawks team) have developed into strong, competitive runners and amazing leaders. That is our mission - to develop the next generation of confident, competitive elite runners in the Sacramento region.
Outstanding performances across the board at the Josh Ruff Memorial Invitational were a demonstration of the Hawks' team accomplishment! We had four runners earn medals (Adeleine and Natalie, Elias and Pier) and the girl's team placed third overall. More importantly, we had younger runners boldly competing against bigger middle school athletes, representing the next generation of elite runners rising from the Delta Hawks ranks! On the girl's side, Josie was the fastest 4th grader in the race, Hadley was the fastest 3rd grader, and our new runner Mia Jackson was the fastest girl under 3rd grade! Meanwhile, our 9-10 boys really dominated for their age, with Pier finishing in 16th place, followed by David, Jack, newcomer Evan Jackson, Tyler, Cal, and Cameron. When Henry joins us, we will be a force to be reckoned with! We won't have another chance to compete for two weeks, but the next race will be a fun one where 6th-grade and under compete in their own race and then 7th/8th graders race each other - giving our younger kids a little more opportunity! This week, we focus on training. We will be at Lock Hills on Monday and the Boathouse on Thursday. Here's the schedule: Monday - Intervals at Lock Hills (Meet at STONEGATE ELEMENTARY)
Tuesday - Rest & Stretch Wednesday - On your own
Thursday - Swamp Relay Run (Meet at BRIDGEWAY LAKES BOATHOUSE)
Friday - Rest & Stretch Saturday or Sunday - LONG Easy Run
REMEMBER: What you put into your training will dictate what you get out of your races. Train Hard, Win Easy! Coach Eric Guest blog by Coach Alicia!
It is common for athletes to experience anxiety when they are participating in a sport. Your amygdala is the part of the brain that processes emotions and can cause anxiety and stress symptoms. The amygdala is also known as the “fight or flight” center of the brain as it will sometimes send signals to the rest of your brain that something dangerous might happen and pump stress hormones into the body. This is a really important part of our brain, but sometimes the amygdala gets it wrong and sends out alert signals to your body when they aren’t needed. Think about walking down the street and you see a stick lying ahead of you. You might not be able to tell right away if it is a snake or a stick. Your amygdala might interpret this as dangerous and cause your heart rate to increase and adrenaline to go through your body before the rest of your brain catches up and realizes that it is just a stick. Something similar can happen before a race or during a challenging practice. When your heart rate increases and breathing becomes more shallow, your amygdala might kick in and send messages to your brain and body that are not accurate. When we start to feel anxious, nervous or stressed while running, we want to be able to calm our amygdala and the rest of our body down as quickly as possible. One of the most effective ways to do this is with breathing exercises. Three simple breathing exercises to practice are listed below. It is important to practice these on a frequent basis and not only in the moment when we are trying to calm down. The more your brain and body get used to these breathing exercises, the easier it will be to use them before a race or anytime you are feeling anxious. Three Breathing Exercises 1. Titled Head Breath: inhale for a slow count of four and tilt head left (ear to shoulder) and exhale for a slow count of four as you center your head; inhale for a slow count of four and tilt your head right (ear over shoulder) and exhale for a slow count of four as you center your head again. Repeat this for 1-2 minutes. 2. Box Breathing: Inhale for four counts, hold your breath for four counts, exhale for four counts, hold your breath for four counts. Repeat this for 1-2 minutes. 3. Relaxation Breathing: Place your right hand on your heart and left hand on your abdomen with thumb on diaphragm (center of chest bone in the middle of the ribs). Let your belly rise and count 1-2-3-4 on the inhale. On the exhale, your belly falls and count down 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Repeat for 1-2 minutes. Again, practice one or all of these techniques on your own before race day. Then, if you start to feel that amygdala fire up and your anxiety start to rise, you can use one of these exercises to bring yourself back to a healthy feeling of nervous excitement - that is a natural way to feel before any competition and, if accepted, can actually help improve your performance! If you have any questions, let any of the coaches know. We are happy to talk through this with you one-on-one. Now let's get out there and fly! Coach Alicia Our second week of practice was a good one - let's keep up the good work!
The coming week is a big one! We have our first meet of the season next Saturday, the Josh Ruff Memorial Invitational in Folsom. This is an annual tradition, a big meet with youth races (everyone from 8th grade and under compete in boy's and girl's 1.5 mile races) followed by high school races with teams from all over the region. The course, Willow Hill Reservoir behind Folsom High School, is an iconic cross country venue (and a great place to just get in your weekend long runs when not in use). Find more details about the meet on the Team App under events. Also this week, Monday is Labor Day and so we are going to not have practice as a team - everyone needs to do their workout on their own. We will still meet on Thursday at the Boathouse, so see you there! Here is this week's schedule: Monday - Practice on your own or find a group
Tuesday - Rest & Stretch Wednesday - On your own
Thursday - Marshall Hills (Meet at BRIDGEWAY LAKES BOATHOUSE)
Friday - Rest & Stretch Saturday Josh Ruff Memorial Invitational - Folsom Sunday - LONG Easy Run
Run with heart! Coach Eric In past seasons, we talked about the “3 Ts” in distance running – Talent, Training, and Toughness . As we transition to the 3 Cs, I want to replace toughness with courage.
Steve Prefontaine is one of the most iconic American distance runners in history. At one point he held every American track record from the 2k all the way to the 10k. He never lost a college race in four years of competing in both cross country and track, and was undefeated his junior and senior years of high school. Of all the races he competed in his entire career, he won 120 of 152 races. But beyond his successes, he was really a phenomenon because of the way he raced (and lived). Click here for a great short video about Pre. Pre was confident (maybe a little arrogant) and he ran with incredible courage. He said he’d do amazing things, and then he got on the track and would do them. People said he was incredibly tough, because of the gutsy way he ran, but I believe more than that he was courageous. It takes real courage to stand in front of the best runners in the country (or the world) and tell them you were going to beat them because you were willing to hurt more than they were. Pre did just that. I know we cannot all be Pre – he was a very unique and gifted individual. But we can all be courageous. For some, it takes courage to even stand on a start line and anxiously await the gun. For others, it takes courage to trust the coaches and their parents when we tell them they can do something they’ve never done before. For everyone, it takes courage to commit yourself to the work with only a promise of success. Because it seems like it is far easier to slack off at practice, to skip long runs, to give in to the pressure in races and back off the pace, then it is to really give everything you have throughout a season and then come up short of your dreams. Some see trying and not succeeding as failure. The truth is, however, that the only way we ever really fail is if we don’t try, because the effort we put into our running (or any meaningful endeavor) is the true prize. As Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Because of the amount of work that goes into it, it takes courage, it takes toughness, to be a true distance runner. You embark on a journey at the beginning of a season without knowing how far you’ll get. If you aim for the stars you may not reach them, but you will get to the moon – and that’s not too bad. Don't be afraid to Dare Greatly, Coach Eric Alright Delta Hawks! Great work on our first week! We have a great set of returning kids, and another number of new athletes looking into our team. We had some relatively fun and easy practices this past week, but now the work begins.
This week, we will be practicing for the first time at the location we call Lock Hills (here). We meet at Stonegate Elementary at 5:30, run our warm up to the hills together, and then do our workout. We will begin doing intervals this week. It is important to understand how these workouts build on each other. We start with shorter intervals and week-by-week make them longer, then we work back down and make them shorter and faster. In this way we first build our strength and then our speed. Trust in the system - do your best on each workout and see how they turn each of us into better runners. All of our growth, however, is contingent on consistency. To make all this work, we all have to do our best to get to every practice, and to do our long runs on the weekend. If we do this, we will become the best we can be - Believe it! Here is this week's schedule: Monday - Intervals at Lock Hills (Meet at STONEGATE ELEMENTARY)
Tuesday - Rest & Stretch Wednesday - On your own
Thursday - Marshall Hills Fartlek Run (Meet at BRIDGEWAY LAKES BOATHOUSE)
Friday - Rest & Stretch Saturday or Sunday - LONG Easy Run
REMEMBER: What you put into your training will dictate what you get out of your races. Train Hard, Win Easy! Coach Eric  Well folks, Hayward Field in Eugene was everything we thought it would be! An incredible facility, in a great city, full of unbelievable talent. The seats were cushy for the spectators, while the track was smooth and hot and fast for the athletes. I would HIGHLY encourage everyone to go watch a track meet at Hayward Field if you ever get a chance.
I went back and looked at results from Junior Olympics in the last several years - the truth is all of the races this year were SIGNIFICANTLY faster than they have ever been. Is it the shoes? Is it the facility? My guess is that the chance to run at Hayward Field attracted talent that would otherwise have not made the trip. (And the shoes definitely helped.) That being said, everyone from our region struggled more in their races than is typically the case. Does everyone remember Kristin Chen (9-10 girl with a bright lime shirt who destroyed everyone all season)? She didn't even make the final. Nevertheless, our valiant Hawks took to the track and gave their all. First up, David competed in the 9-10 boys 800m qualifiers on Wednesday morning. Arriving with plenty of time to warm up and check in, David got a chance to tour the facility and warm up area and with Elias' help he was ready and checked in like a champ. One of the main challenges of this year's Nationals was that they didn't provide heats prior to the check in time, so we couldn't talk strategy based on who each athlete was going to run against. Last year, a time of 2:35 made the final, which was only 6 seconds faster than David's PR. With that in mind, David's goal was to run under 2:40 and see where he landed. Unfortunately, it took a sub 2:30 to qualify for the finals this year, and so David was unable to progress. He still ran hard and had a great time at his first track Nationals. Next up, Norah also competed in the 800m prelims on Wednesday. Again, without knowing who she would be racing against, it was difficult to coach her for her race, but she had her plan and knew she needed to win her heat to advance. Last year, a time of 2:21 earned a trip to the finals, and so Norah was aiming to improve by one second and run 2:20. Unfortunately it wasn't in the cards for her to improve, and though she gave it her all she was unable to advance in the 800m. On Thursday Norah ran her second race of the meet, looking to qualify for the finals in the 1500m. Last year, runners only had to break 5 minutes to get to the finals, and so we thought Norah had a great chance to advance. But the competition was fierce this year, and it took 4:51 to be in the top 12 and compete for All-American in the final. Norah, though not feeling her best, still bravely entered the field of battle and did her best but ultimately fell short of qualifying. Again, the times the kids were running in this meet were unreal. Not just the winners, but the depth of amazing times was something I've never seen before at a JOs - regardless of age. Elias also ran in the 1500m prelims following Norah's race. He was confident that he could make the final, and went into the race feeling good and ready to do his best. Despite taking second in his heat, however, he missed the 12th fastest qualifying time by less than 1 second, finishing 15th overall. Again, last year 4:32 was the last qualifying time - Elias ran 4:23 and was left on the outside looking in. It was a tough blow for him, but he knew he did his best and we were proud of him no matter what and so he shook it off and refocused on his next race. Finally, Elias competed in the 3k on Saturday morning. He knew by now that he was surrounded by faster, older boys and that they were going to go all out. He was determined to hold on as long as he could and hopefully finish top 8 in order to grab an All-American hat. Last year the 3k was won in 9:25, with second place finishing in 9:32. While Elias had only run 9:28 this year, he was confident he could improve on that and felt good about his chances in the race. Everyone knew the leaders were going to go out hard and keep the pace fast - no one would have guessed how hard or how many there would be in the front pack. By the first 1,000m, a lead pack of 10 all ran under 3 minutes (that is sub 9 minute pace), and Elias was right in the middle of it. As the group came through the mile in 4:41 (Elias' fastest mile on Strava) they were still 10 strong and moving like a runaway train. No one seemed able to break away and no one was willing to drop off. It was crazy. The group went through the 2k mark at 6:08, everyone jockeying to stay in as long as they could. With one lap to go, the pack finally burst apart and three kids pulled away from the rest. Elias fought with the last two in the pack, desperately trying to get on the podium, but was just too spent. He rolled into the finish with a 9:23 (5 second PR) and in tenth place. Ten seconds later the rest of the field started to finish, having been out of the race almost from the gun. When you watch the video of the finish of the race, one after the other runner just collapses to the track once they finally stopped running - it was clear they had all just run their hearts out. The winner ran 9:03, with 2nd and 3rd running 9:04. 8th place was 9:20. It was amazing, and I'm sure that every runner in that pack felt the way Elias did - just lucky to have been part of such an amazing competition with so much heart and drama and RACING; it was something to behold. So that wraps up the 2023 Delta Hawks track season - and what a successful and fun season it was! Now we move on to cross country, and for you dreamers out there - it is time to start thinking about Kentucky in December, the site for the JO cross country nationals. Let's see what the hawks can do this fall!  Our three regional qualifying Hawks did it again, placing in the top 8 at Regionals to qualify for Nationals at Hayward Field in Tracktown USA!
The weather could almost not have been better, given Merced and July. On a brisk, sunny Saturday morning Elias competed in the 3000m with a strong effort - not quite running a PR but improving on his time from the last meet in 9:32 to finish second again. He is hoping to improve his time at Nationals at the end of the month. David showed up to compete Saturday afternoon, running hard in his 800m to not quite reach his PR but finish with a time of 2:47 and seventh place to move on to Nationals. When he needed to push on the back stretch of the second lap, David responded like the veteran runner he is becoming, passing a competitor and pushing his time fast enough to keep the winner of heat 1 from snagging his ticket to Eugene! By the time Norah competed Saturday evening, there was a wind down the backstretch that made a PR difficult for her in the 800m, but she still ran with confidence and strength - leading the first lap and going for her PR. She unfortunately learned that head winds can sometimes be too much to overcome and was only able to run 2:24 but still finished in fourth place to comfortably move on to Nationals in the 800m. Sunday morning the weather was absolutely perfect, and our competing Hawks rose with on the warm summer breeze. Even though David wasn't competing, he and his mom came out to cheer the older kids on in their 1500m races. First up, Norah warmed up and felt fine when checking in to the clerking tent, but by the time she was crossing the field toward the 1500m start line she her stomach was very upset. Despite that, she got herself a little water, shook it off like a true fighter, and got to the line. Running hard from the beginning, Norah fought throughout the race to finish seventh and secure her spot in the 1500m at Nationals. She definitely looks forward to running with a settled stomach the next time she gets out there! Finally, Elias wrapped up the Delta Hawks competition this weekend with another blast-off in his 1500m. He took the lead after 200m and kept pushing his pace throughout the race, not running a PR but winning easily by 6 seconds to bring home the regional title and getting ready to take on the world at Nationals later this month. I hope everyone is getting their easy runs in this summer - the time to rest is over and we need to be building that base for cross country which is just around the corner! If you have any questions, or have any fast friends you want to bring to practice in August, let us know! Remember - champions are made in the off-season, let's GO! Coach Eric  What a spectacular weekend of racing for the Hawks! The weather was beautiful in Rancho Cordova, and our Hawks flew around the track in an effort to finish in the top 8 in their age group and qualify for the Regional meet in Merced.
Jai fought his heart out in the 800 and the 1500 (his first time running this distance all season!), but fell just short of qualifying. Henry ran his PR in both the 800 and the 1500, and Jack also PRd in the 1500, having great races but falling short as well. Lou also ran valiantly in his 1500m, but was unable to qualify for the next meet. Josie ran PRs in both of her races, finishing close to qualifying (only two spots short in the 1500!), while Natalie ran her best time of the season in the 3k. Adeleine ran strong in all three races this weekend, running a PR in the 800 and a season best in the 1500, while finishing only two spots out of qualifying in the 3k. David was able to qualify in the 800m on Saturday, running a great race and finishing in 7th place, but just missed out in the 1500m. Norah ran smart races to qualify in both the 800 and the 1500, finishing in 4th place in the 800 and 6th in the 1500. Elias ran conservatively on Saturday in the 3k, finishing 2nd, and then really took off in the 1500 on Sunday, winning with a new PR of 4:20. While David, Norah, and Elias are still competing, the rest of the Hawks need to be thinking ahead to cross country season starting in August! That means being sure to get those runs in each week - you don't want to lose all that great fitness you've built over the spring. Champions are made in the off-season, which means we need to run this summer. Only nine weeks until our cross country first practice. That’s not as much time as you think. So here’s the deal, we need to do some running. I am happy to send anyone his or her own workout schedule if you want, just let me know. In general though, everyone just needs to get some runs in each week. Studies show that you can’t just hope to fit in your runs and expect to be successful. You need to plan out your workouts ahead of time, setting time aside each week, and then follow through. Specifically, I want you to sit down at the beginning of each week and find three times over the coming week to do three runs. They don’t have to be long or hard, probably best to do them in the morning when it’s cooler. If you don’t put them on the calendar, you will have a hard time getting them done. And there is no good substitute – going for a hike or playing in a pool all day do not replace a 3-4 mile run. Some of you, the goal only needs to be two or three miles each run. For others, you need to get those 3-mile runs in and add a longer run on the weekend. Hawks who do the work in the next month or so will find more success this fall, and they will be positive contributors to their age group teams. Unfortunately, those who sit all week and don’t get the runs in will struggle and be at higher risk for injury. So let’s get out there and do our runs so we can set ourselves up for some real success this fall! Cross country is a team sport, and your teammates are relying on you. Practices begin on Monday, August 21st, so get yourself ready and invite a friend and let’s make this next season even more successful than our last! Any questions, please reach out to me any time. Hawks Fly! Coach Eric |
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August 2023
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