Hi Potential Tino Runner,
You are receiving this message because
you indicated an interest in cross country. You will have many more activities
as well as sports to choose from in high school. It may be difficult for some of
you to decide what to participate in. You will spend a significant amount of
time participating in whatever you choose, so the only advice that I can offer
is to choose activities or sports that you have a passion for. High school can
be a bit daunting, but if you stay organized and apply yourself you should be
OK.
The official (when tryouts begin) cross country season begins on
August 15th at 9:00AM (we will meet at the track). We always start our practices
at CHS with a short warm-up jog, stretching, and then we do whatever the workout
is. We start off slowly, but by the end of the season, you'll be able to run at
least 6 miles non-stop in the hills without struggling (too much). One of the
keys to success is to come to the first day with a degree of fitness. You can
not sit around all summer and then expect to keep up with those who have been
working out. The high school cross country season is much longer than middle
school, more varied, and more rigorous so your fitness level needs to be higher. The shortest
race is 2.1 miles and the longest is 3.1 miles with hills.
During
the summer, I hold optional conditioning sessions for cross
country. The workout schedule for each week is posted on the web
site on Sunday. During the summer I determine the actual workout based
upon who is there. If you are working out on your own or with a group,
you should be working towards a minimum of 20 miles per week. If you
are involved in another sport, run when you can. During the summer, we
start at 20 miles per week and go up from there. The basic schedule,
there will be some variation, is Monday through Friday at 8AM at
CHS, and Saturday mornings at 7AM at Fremont Older. We start early
so you can have more of each day for other activities and it will be
cooler. Sometimes we will workout at 6PM. This will change
somewhat as my competition and training, and other activities
requires. Physical forms are not required for the optional summer
conditioning, however, if you have an issue like asthma, please let me
know beforehand. This summer I am requiring an emergency
card from any new runners to the program.
All athletes must submit all
completed forms to their coach prior to participating in their first
official practice as a CHS athlete.
Schedule your physicals now if you
have not already done so.
Physical forms are at:
http://www.chs.fuhsd.org/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1212445501961Scroll
down the page to Athletic Forms.
Code of Conduct/ Steroids Form
Athletic Participation and Emergency Form
Physical Form (Pt 1)
Physical Form (Pt 2)
Concussion Form
Emergency Card
*If you unable to download these forms, let
me know.
You will not be able to tryout or practice from August 15th on
without your completed and correct physical forms. The forms are due to me on
Monday, August 11th. I have to review them for errors before they are passed on
to the trainer to review for errors.
When schools starts, practice will
be from 3:15PM to 6:15PM (sometimes we may end earlier), Monday through Friday,
and Saturdays generally in the early morning (6:30-7:00AM start unless there is
a meet). Most of our Saturday morning runs are at Fremont Older. Sundays is our
mandatory rest day. You are not allowed to practice or race in any meets outside of
our cross country schedule (8/15- 11/29, unless your season is
finished).
A few words about running/racing shoes: Depending on how much
you want to spend, you can get by for as little as $50 on sale or as much as
$160. The best values are in the $70-90 range. The most important goal is to get
a good pair of training shoes with good impact absorption and arch support. I
strongly recommend that you buy your shoes at a reputable running store. The
stores that I recommend are Athletic Performance in Los Gatos and Willow Glen,
and Runner’s Factory also in Los Gatos, and Ryan's Sports in Santa Clara, especially if you do not have much
experience with running shoes. These stores have knowledgeable staff that will
help you find the right shoe for you and most will let you try it out before you
buy. The shoe may also double as a racing flat but will be heavier than if you
were to buy a separate racing shoe. A good training flat will cost $70 or more
but all of the above stores will give you a 10-20% - depending upon if you buy
trainers or racing flats- discount if you tell them you run for Cupertino High
School. Make sure the fit is comfy with toe room. A racing flat will be many
ounces lighter than trainers and make you feel like you're flying when you put
them on, but it's also another expense. I prefer to race in shoes that I do not
train in. I strongly recommend that you obtain a new pair shoes every running
season, because the shoes will breakdown over time and continued use will lead
to injuries. Also, Spenco inner sole inserts are recommended to help with shin
splint type problems, especially if you have them now.
The following
link contains the agenda for the pre-season cross country meeting I held along
with the current meet schedule.
2014 Cross Country
Pre-Season Mtg A little about me, I am Paul Armstrong, the head
coach for cross country and track and field. I have been at Cupertino High
School for thirteen years. This will be my thirteenth cross country season.. I have
a lot of running experience that includes cross country (2 years high school, 4
years college), many road races, and ten marathons (2:42 best), as well as track
(1 year high school, 4 years college, and many years of open, masters, and
corporate competition). I still run and race competitively occasionally and I
will run with you all some of the time this summer and fall.
Coach
Armstrong
TinoRunners.
org