10 19 to 10 25

tues 3 at practice

weds goose 10 in 65:53. legs felt good, knee did not.

thurs/fri knee was too sore to run

sat knee still sore. ran around a lot at the state meet. i did some number crunching and figured it to be 2.1 miles. the kid ran 11:34 and got 7th in a race that was by far the most competitive top 10 in the 11 years that ive been there. he was only 4 seconds away from 3rd. i was really hoping he would get around them at the end, but i could tell he gave everything he had. he always does. really happy for him. not just because he worked hard this summer. also because of the disappointment he had to deal with last season. he worked hard that summer too and looked like a top 20 guy but got hurt and finished 74th. having that bad luck last year makes this year even better. he was fired up. hard work pays off. my other 8th grade boy ran the race of his life and finished 22nd. i didn't expect him to be any higher than 60th. my top girl was also 22nd, and my next girl was 49th. it might not sound very good but at this race, top 100 is solid, and top 50 is good, top 25 is very good, and top 10 is amazing.

sun knee doesn't feel good

10 12 to 10 18

mon 10 miles. 4 at practice, 6 with sontag, rocko and cookie. rocko was going crazy. within the first 5 minutes he treed something (probly a squirrel) and then caught up to us by running about 400m in what seemed like 15 seconds. he was on high alert the whole time and seemed like he sprinted almost all of it. i haven't seen him run like that in a long time. he didn't look like hes almost 9 years old. it was fun to watch.

tues 4 at practice. did some 800s on a dirt road near the school (252 249). i was tired and the kid didnt feel good either, so we didn't push it.

weds 2 miles at practice.

thurs felt good. 5 miles 32:42

fri the kids had a race. a lot of good times. the kid ran 1110 for 2 miles. i was surprised when he said he felt flat out there. maybe it means that after an easy week hes going to run out of his mind at the state meet. hope so. i also have two fast girls that ran 1308 and 1335.

sat felt good again. 6 miles 39 min

10 5 to 10 11

mon 3 at practice. sore and tired legs. knee was ok. if it stays like this i can deal with it and keep running.

tues worked on the xc course. big race for the kid against a kid who beat him by 1 second last race, and kid that was 6 sec behind him. im sure using 'kid' that many times is confusing but i can't use names.

weds the kid went out hard and held on pretty good but the kid who got him last time held on a little better. the other kid ran great too. their times were 1222, 1228, 1237. its way faster than it seems. our course is really hard. ive only run it under 12 one time and i was in good shape when i did it. all 3 guys have a great shot to be top ten at the state meet. i also had 2 girls that ran the fastest times for girls this year on our course (1457, 1523). everyone else on my team beat their best times too. im feeling good about it.

thurs 12 knee felt good by recent standards, so i went for it. i ran hard for 6 at the colony preserve, then did 6 at stonewall farm with sontag, rocko and cookie.

fri 3 at practice

sat 7 with the kid and rocko.

9 28 to 10 4

mon took advil and ran 3 at practice. knee was ok. pullups, pushups.

tues 7 with sontag and wolves (rocko, cookie). knee felt weird but not painful.

weds 3 at practice. the kid beat me in an 800.

thurs 3 at practice. the knee is feeling better. didnt have to take advil for this one.

sat good race for the whole team. 7 teams in all, one of them is a contender at states. we got 3rd for girls and 4th for boys. the kid ran 1104 for 1.9 miles and got 4th. that was a few sec faster than a kid i had who ended up 2nd in the state 5 years ago. safe to say the competition has gotten way better since then.

sun goose pond 10 in 68. felt good. bowling 628 series 216 197 215.