Today's practice went really well. We had about 10 kids there, and they all really ran hard. After a lap warmup and stretching (a couple of them voluntarily ran an extra lap b/c their friends arrived late and would have been running the warm-up alone!), we did several games of foxes and hounds. We did two short, two long, then two short games. On the short games, we started halfway across the field, and I had the kids really concentrate on running on their toes while leaning into their sprint. On the long games, we started most of the way across the field, and I told them to try to run at their 400m. race pace, which I described as sprinting but with a heel-toe running pattern, instead of toe-only. They really did well. I had them run a lap for a cool-down. I had to tack on an incentive of Popsicle on Wed. to get a couple of them to run the whole lap, but they all did it. They are building endurance, little by little.
A few of the kids have gotten, or are getting, new shoes. I have advised a few of them to get fitted for shoes at the local running specialty store. Trak Shak should start paying me for all the business I have sent their way. The right (or wrong) shoes really can make a difference to a runner, though. You pay a bit of a premium to go there and have them analyze your gait and foot structure, but in the end, it's worth every penny. If your feet hurt (or ankles, or legs--all can stem from bad shoes) , running is miserable. I want only happy feet on my team!
I ran on the trails, just over an hour for my workout. My legs were feeling pretty fatigued from Saturday, so I took it pretty easy.
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