 | The Little Things . . . a Going the Distance newsletter Late September 2018 || issue #72
Share on Facebook | [It's not only for college runners. If you're a competitive high school or middle school runner, you probably were in a focused conditioning program all summer. Is it all hard work? No. Riley Dowd (thumbs up on right) and some his GTD summer training partners demonstrate their post-workout recovery discipline. Riley is a senior at Stonehill College. He is a captain of the cross-country team.] GTD: While you’ve been in college, how many summers have you used the GTD xc program for summer conditioning?
Riley: I have used the GTD program every summer I have been in college. |  Riley often arrived earlier to get in a couple miles before the others. When you have 12 on your schedule, you run 12, not 10. Anthony joins him on this one. | GTD: You could run on your own during the summer or with friends What’s the advantage of the GTD program for a college runner?
Riley: As a college runner, summer training is so important for success in the fall. While anyone could do it on their own, it isn’t the same quality of training as being with a group of guys doing the same thing. Camp puts you on a more regular schedule, gives you company on runs, and gets you doing the drills and other extra stuff on top running that every runner needs, but often struggles to complete on their own. I know if I was on my own all summer, I would get lazy with drills, my miles would end up being sloppy, and I would run at different times every day. Having camp provides me with just the right amount of structure and company to bring my training to a whole different level of quality. GTD: Tell us how about a typical morning at Braz XC Camp for a college runner.
Riley: College runners show up a little earlier than the rest of the camp in order to get our volume in. After the run, we sync up with the rest of the XC camp and we typically do hurdle drills, band work, medicine ball work, and finally core. After core, a lot of runners stick around and stretch. GTD: How do you connect your college workout guideline with the GTD.
Riley: Coach Braz is really great at connecting the summer program my college coach gives me with camp. When I received my program, I gave a copy of it to Coach Braz and every week, he sends me an outline for the week. Being in the college group, we go out and run on our own and every runner knows what they need for the week. Typically, workouts are similar and Coach Braz will adjust them so people can do them together. GTD: How many colleges are represented in this summer’s program?
Riley: I’m not exactly sure how many colleges are represented, but I know there are runners from Umass Lowell, Umass Dartmouth, Franklin Pierce, Merrimack, Worcester State, Boston College, URI, and obviously, Stonehill. GTD: The college runners know how to use the core segment of the morning. As the core work ends, the runners sit, and stretch, and continue their recovery from the morning’s workout. Almost all runners know this post-workout and post-race magical moment. Tell us about it.
Riley: After all the work is done, it’s nice to just unwind and stretch with everyone. We somehow still manage to find things to talk about even after running so many miles together. | Shacklette Invitational (St. Anselms) on Sep 1: Tia Foglietta (Merrimack College) was 3rd overall in 19:45. Back on July 31, Tia won the 5K in 19:35 at Yankee Homecoming in Newburyport. Roger Williams Invitational 2 Miler on Aug 31, Mackenzie Picardy (Bridgewater State) ran 16:48. UMass Dartmouth XC Invitational on Sep 15, Sydney Packard (WPI) was 2nd overall in the 5k in 18:14. Tia Foglietta (Merrimack) was 11th in 18:52. Marissa Farago (Franklin Pierce) was 42nd in 19:38. There were 318 finishers.
In the men's 8k race, Jason Karakaedos (UMass/Dartmouth) was 16th in 25:38, Anthony Pizzo (Franklin Pierce) was 56th in 26:46. Will Aylward (Franklin Pierce) was 104th in 27:37. There were 295 finishers. Mount St. Mary's Univ. (Emmitsburg, Md.) 5k on Aug 31, Anthony Pizzo ran 16:55 and Will Aylward 17:55. On Sep 8 at the Smith College XC Invitational 8k, Anthony was 4th overal and 1st for Frankln Pierce in 28:03. Will was 7th in 28:15. In the women's 5k, Maissa Farago was 24th in 20:11 (and first Franklin Pierce). Olivia Horgan (George Washington) was 26th in 20:15. Jim Sheehan Memorial Alumni Cross Country Meet 8k in Leominster on Sep 1, Jason Karakaedos (UMass/Dartmouth) was 4th overall in 26:44. Sam Magee (Worcester State) ran 31:20 and Joe Hamilton (UMass/Dartmouth) 36:03. 2018 UNH Cross Country Invitational 5k on Sep 1, Kathyrn Montgomery (Holy Cross) ran 21:03. Shawn M. Nassaney Memorial Invitational in RI on Sep 8, in the JV 8k Shane Braz (Stonehill) was 6th in 27:z48. Sean Conlan (Stonehill) was 8th in 27:54. For the women, Tia Patterson (Boston College) was 12th in 19:37. In the varsity race, Riley Dowd (Stonehill) was 23rd in 26:04, and Kevin Wheelock (Stonehill) 32nd in 26:19. Sarah Freeman (Bryant) ran 20:00. 2018 Worcester City Cross Country Meet on Sep 8, Sam Magee (Worcester State) was 31st in 32:30. st Annual Endicott XC Invitational 5k at Bradley Palmer on Sep 8, Emma Johnson (Endicott) was 14th in 21:41. In the men's 8k, Tyler Thornton (Endicott) was 14th in 32:42. Kutztown, PA, on Sep 15 at the 2018 Division II/III Cross Country Challenge (8k), Kevin Wheelock was 5th in 26:38, Riley Dowd 11th in 26:58, Shane Braz 26th in 27:44 (and 5th freshman), and Sean Conlan 38th in 28:28. Battle of the North Shore 5k at Gordon College on Sep 1, Emma Johnson (Endicott) was 11th in 21:31. Brooke Robishaw (Endicott) ran 23:09 and Maddy Conrad (Endicott) 24:44. In the men's race, Tyler Thornton (Endicott) was 11th in 18:54. Reed Dolan (Vassar) ran 13 flat at the Season Starter 4k on Aug 31. On Sep 8 at the Vassar Ron Stonitsch 6k, Reed was 8th in 20:04. At the Sundodger Invitational 6k in Seattle on Sep 8, Emily DeMarco (Boise State) ran 23:31. | [After graduating from Peabody HS in May, Sarah headed to Boston College to study nursing. She was the salutatorian of her graduating class. In her graduation speech she said “I don’t believe that I am by any means the second smartest person here wearing a graduation cap. Our intelligence as a class cannot be confined to just our GPAs, and you guys have truly exemplified that and humbled me with your brilliance and capacity beyond the textbook.” Sarah won the Moynihan Lumber athlete of the year award for 2018, and the Marie Curtis Barry Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Character, and Athletics. She earned scholarships and multiple awards that recognized her hard work and accomplishments, mainly in math, science, and athletics. She was a three-sport varsity athlete – soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse – and was captain of her hockey and lacrosse teams, with both qualifying for the state tournament in her senior year. Academically accomplished? Check.
Athletically gifted?, Check.
Knowing that both are meaningless without hard work? Double check. See the quote above from her salutatorian speech, and read her comments on Braz Camp below.] GTD: Sarah, how many summers have you trained in Coach Braz’s program? What got you started doing it?
Sarah: I have trained at Braz Camp for about eight years I would say. I started (I believe) when I was heading into middle school, and did so because I was beginning to join sports teams that were becoming increasingly competitive, so I wanted to become a better athlete in order to succeed at the next level. GTD: You played soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse. How did the program help you?
Sarah: Whenever my season begins, whether it is soccer, hockey or lacrosse, I can feel the results of summer training. Each drill for the all sports camp has a specific purpose for aspects of all sports; for example, Fireworks (alternating acceleration and deceleration) prove to be essential in all three of my sports. I can feel the explosive power I gain from camp in game situations, whether it’s changing speed in soccer, or stopping and going in hockey. Doing ladders helps with agility, and we do core almost every day to enhance our balance. The all sports camp introduces new drills every day to build on the skills and conditioning and work up endurance. One of the most obvious benefits I have found from doing the camp is my endurance. I find that I can go for increasingly longer times without getting as fatigued and “flat” so to speak. GTD: Will you be playing a sport in college?
Sarah: Although I am not playing a varsity sport at college, I plan to play club hockey and possibly lacrosse as well. I mainly did the camp to stay in shape going into college given that club sports are still very competitive. Doing the camp is extremely rewarding; it builds up physical and mental strength, and keeps me healthy, so I decided to do the camp for those benefits as well. I all around like to challenge myself and try to become the best athlete I can. | GTD: How do you keep your focus during the drills?
Sarah: I keep my focus during the drills in a number of different ways. If I am doing a drill and begin to feel myself become tired, I like to picture a game situation and how I will benefit by continuing to push myself. The coaches always ask us during especially tough drills if we want to play in the fourth quarter of a tie game, or sit on the bench. That mantra has always stuck with me and pushed me to give 100%. I am extremely competitive (sometimes my friends tell me I am too competitive haha) so imagining an intense game situation leads me to tell myself that if I do not finish the drill and push myself harder, my team will lose the game. I kind of try to make myself angry at the thought of losing (because there’s nothing more I hate than losing) in order to keep myself going no matter how tired I am. Other times, like during core for example, I try to put my mind in another place. Core is almost completely mental, so I try to imagine myself sitting on a beach or in a cold pool or something silly that helps distract me from the physical pain I am feeling. GTD: Are there any drills you love? Do not love at all? Why?
Sarah: My favorite drills at camp are probably hills and fireworks. Although I do not necessarily enjoy them in the moment, the benefits of each one is very evident when it applies to actual game situations. For example, running up and down hills builds up lower body strength, and when in season, I can feel the strength in my legs, whether it is cutting and stopping quickly in hockey, or enhancing an explosive stride to build up my speed on the ice. Fireworks proves to be very beneficial for almost all sports, because it teaches how to change pace quickly. GTD: How do you handle nutrition on Brazcamp mornings?. It’s the heat of summer, you’re starting at 9am and you have 90 intense minutes of work.
Sarah: Usually I will have something light before going to camp, such as a banana or granola bar. I make sure to hydrate the night before and morning of each session as well. After camp I almost always have a protein smoothie to build up the muscles that I just worked so hard. I also drink gatorade to replenish my electrolytes, and try to stay hydrated as much as possible all the time in general. GTD: Long range plans after college?
Sarah: After college, I plan to work as a nurse for a while (it has been a prominent goal of mine for years), then I hope to possibly go to grad school to become a Physician Assistant someday. | Coach Braz provides personal, one-on-one coaching for runners at all levels who want to improve their performance or want a guided maintenance program. The program is designed for runners who have a specific racing goal, or a series of races to prepare for, or want to build or maintain their running fitness. Your personal program may include a weekly track session that may be done at a site convenient to you or with Coach Braz on Tuesday evenings at the Beverly High School track. Program details
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