Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Dirty Half Marathon

Not terribly much to report.
Here's the race website. I got up, biked over (just 3 miles or so), went to the bathroom, jogged 1/2 mile to the start. The first mile was too fast (6:50) and with no warmup I was toast for a while. The next two miles, where much of the climbing occured, were around 8:00 as I was just trying to get it back together.

Finished in 1:37:50 or so, so, 7:28 miles on average... I was hoping for 7-7:30's so it was just OK.

Little warmup, better first mile and I hopefully go 2 minutes faster.

That's all.

Monday, June 01, 2009

state champs!


well, not true. but we're the central oregon champs. no one from the valley would come play co-ed (it's tough: they start earlier, it's tough to juggle schedules, the tournament was pretty thrown together. i'm sure someone would have whomped us).

We split X-Y. So it's

Summit Green
Summit Black
(Both wore white)
Bend High
Mt. View.

Bend was missing their most dominant player... a great young thrower with a lifetime of family discing from an old darkstar (long term eugene team) dad.

Summit green went up big versus Mt. View early, then traded points to win. Summit lost the best thrower on the squad, and between that and Bend finally 'showing up' it could have been closer.

Summit silver scores easily to make it 1-0, then with our starters in (we probably had 12 per team)a literally 20 minute point ensues. When it ends, it's 2-0 summit, while it's 7-2 on the other field. It the terrible feel of one of those points that can make or break a young team. But we scored, and our subs scored easily to make it 3-0, and the team did a little better than trading points from there on out to win.

round two: Mt. View defeats Bend High, in what all my kids felt was an upset. I was never so sure, as Bend had better flow, surer flicks, and more depth. But mt. view was willing to huck, and had tremendous desire. Mt. View wins.

Summmit Green vs. Summit black. Missing the best thrower on the squad, summit green is no longer the favorite. blackworks by executing the 'o' and and involving everyone. Summit Green gets great play out of the new arrivals: The state finalists in tennis (last year's champs, lost to other summit doubles this year). The two boys can run and jump (varsity soccer/XC running) and it's a close game. Thrower shows up, and gets a break on a long throw, and i told my best defender to bring pressure on the mark, and make his life hell (he rolled an ankle, and so he's a little slowed up, but always wants to throw, not run). Time cap comes, game over, 8-8. I could have made them play a point, but, hey, what the hell.
I told them before the game that only half of them could be state champs. This lit a fire under the team, and at half, i told them, 'you don't have to cool down. but be aware. this is the intensity i expect at scrimmages. and if you scrimmaged like this, we'd scrimmage more.' and they got it.

round 3
Summit Green vs. Bend: Bend was on to our complicated endzone 'o'. Cut to a corner. So they covered the front of the stack, and poached from the 2nd spot, and which ever girl was in the back half. The first time they did it, i yelled at person one to cut to to the cone, and for josh to come forward uncovered. he flared a little, but we got away with it. Then i showed them what the 'd' was doing, and it was easy from there out. Again, Bend was without their best player, and rather than split into 2 teams, they played a deep roster, so i'm not gloating, just saying.

Summit black vs. Mt. View. A little Nip and Tuck in the early going (2-0, 2-2, 4-2, and then it was trading and extending) until they locked down on defense, and finally realized that against a hucking team, 7 players have to run to the disc. ONe of my seniors who is solid, but not super agressive, finally made the play. A huck goes up, he sprints 45 yards, and deflects the trash away from the open 3rd receiver. They catch it, we bemoan luck. You make your own luck there.

Play of the weekend: Brando, a wicked fast (JO skier, sub 17 5km runner, low 2's 800, you get it) is marking. HIs player swings it, and he runs it down and d's it before it gets completed. Just amazing.

So Summit Green 2-0-1
Summit Silver 2-0-1
Mt. View 1-2
Bend 0-3

I guess I could figure out pt. diff., 17-7 in favor of green, but, the tie in the head to head shows the value of fighting.

Great little tourney, done early,
missing some of my better players (say, 3 'a' team starters) and a couple more.

Season wrap up.
Week one
Mt. View d. Bend 13-10
Week 2
Summit d. Mt. view 13-5
Week 3
Summit A d. Bend B 15-10
Summit B d. Bend B 15-10
Week 4 Bend, d. Mt. view
Week 5
Summit A d. Bend A
Summit B d. Bend B
Summit mix d. mt. view.

So a nice little season.

Central oregon is growing. The other teams are good, and developing their own style. Summit is just a year or two ahead in development, but that gap should be closed by next year.

Personal:
Tuesday: 4x400 at about 85 with 1min rest, 6min mile (rest 2), repeat the set.
Wednesday: uninspired league play loss
Thursday rest
Friday: run one mile, 8 miles at 6:30 pace, cool off one mile
saturday: coach
sunday, 11.5mile run. probably 8:30's
munday, hour bike, very easy, mow the lawn.

tuesday, i'm taking off from race training, to hopefully have some steam for the first time ever at city league, and more significantly, i'm tapering for a 1/2 marathon in a couple weeks.