Let's Get Going For Hawks' 2024 Track Season!

This is it, the start of our 2024 track season! This Monday, March 18th is our first practice, and we can’t wait to see how all this off-season training is going to turn into success!  For the first practice, we will meet at the Bridgeway Lakes Boathouse near the intersection of Marshall and Southport Parkway at 5:30pm. Practice will be until about 7pm. 

Our regular running practice schedule is Monday and Thursday evenings, and we meet either at the Boathouse (on Thursdays) or at the McClatchy High School track (most Mondays).  The weekly schedule will be posted on this Coaches’ Blog each week.  The coaches have put together a training schedule to make some fast track runners!
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Beginning March 27th, on top of our running practices, we are introducing a new practice for throwing events on Wednesday evenings at 5:30 at Bridgeway Island Park in West Sacramento. Hawks can get their 30-minute Wednesday run in as a warm up and then Coach Blake will introduce and help us learn the skills of the throwing events. We will talk more about this exciting opportunity at practice this week!

As a reminder, we always start each season with a two-week trial – a time for the coaches to get to know our runners and also for the athletes to decide if they are ready to commit to this team.  The Delta Hawks Racing Team’s mission is to develop the next generation of confident and competitive elite distance runners in the Sacramento Region.  That confidence is derived from effort, and the effort is only put in when there is commitment.  What we mean by commitment is two-fold: (1) showing up to practice ready to do the work, and (2) doing the runs on non-practice days when the coaches aren’t there to encourage you. Without real commitment, there is increased risk of injury and the potential to be left behind by more dedicated teammates in practice and races.  So everyone gets to try out the Hawks and see if this is what they want to do, hassle-free; if it doesn’t feel like a good fit, no worries.  If you are ready to commit to our system, then we’d love to have you be part of this awesome team and community.

And a little about community - the Delta Hawks work hard and race hard, but we also support each other and seek first to be a team and then to be champions. Because without each other, we are all just free agents traveling in a stream of other runners. Together, we are a community of athletes and families who look out for each other, work hard for each other, and believe in each other.

So let’s get going; next week's practice schedule is as follows:
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Monday:  5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
Card Run 1-5 min, 4-5 Hill Sprints
10 min cool down, strength

Tuesday: rest and stretch

Wednesday: Easy 2-3 mile run on your own*
(*Ask the coaches if you are unsure about whether you should do this extra run)

Thursday: 5:30pm at the Boathouse
10 min warm up, drills
20 min Lake Loop Fartlek, 15 sec hard/45 sec float
15 min cool down, strength

Friday: rest and stretch

Saturday: Long run on your own
3-6 miles, depending on fitness level

Sunday: rest and stretch

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday!  Bring your running shoes, water bottle, and positive mental attitude, and be ready to get to work.  We’ll post more information on the coming season in the next few days, but if you have any questions, contact us any time!

Run with Heart,
Coach Eric