Doing my hill repeats and felt a bit tired, even feeling sorry for myself . . . are we finished yet?! Then I began to have some kind of bizarre dream that said to me, "Summer running is tough, imagine the cool breezes of Winter." Yeah, that made it much easier.
On July 30th, 2024, Coach Shaklee "sponsored" a hill workout at Cherokee and our photographer showed up to make it an event! Loops around the campus using every semblence of a hill -- including the first and last hills on the Cherokee Challenge course -- strength drills on the football field, and stretching drills in the shade by the Shot Put circle. A warm and humid day . . . a good practice!
Basically, a good practice is one that challenges you, works up a sweat, makes your legs and lungs ache . . . and makes you want some ice cream and a nap when you get home! Phew . . .! The bad ones are those where you slack off, cut the distance, cut the speed, that kind of stuff when you should be working! What a waste, and you know it! No nap needed and no ice cream, for sure! Let's stick to the good side! GO CHIEFS!
Our photographer had a tough time making it to the top of the Cherokee Challenge hill and then watching and shooting all those young guys doing repeat loops around campus, strength and stretching drills! . . . Phew! After a good shoot, he went home, had no ice cream, and took a nap!
Here are a few pictures using filtering effects just for grins. All of the pictures are available on our Google link!
"A Thousand Hills Day" at Cherokee and I'm waiting for the endorphins to flood my brain and relieve the pain. . . !
Just saw a New York Times article that says there's even more "feel-good" chemicals produced by exercise and I'm waiting for those too!
Some professor, who probably never did hills at Cherokee, says there are endocannabinoids similar to THC, that give you a buzzy, calming feeling when exercising. I can't remember feeling that, except maybe when I'm grossly dehydrated and about to collapse . . . and it's probably illegal anyway!
Then there's dopamine, a chemical that "creates a feeling of reward, and conditions you to pursue that reward." I think Shak feels that because he's at least 100 and still exercises vigorously every day! I run every day because it's on the schedule and it makes the Coach happy! Maybe it's the "dope" in me?
The professor goes on to say "exercise spurs the release of serotonin, which helps you feel focused and calm, and oxytocin, a hormone that helps you bond with other people and feel a sense of social connection!" Maybe I should run with the girls?
Anyway, all of this happened, the prof says, "partly to help early humans endure hours of gathering and hunting food for their survival." They didn't have WaWa's back then, I guess.
So how do I get all of this to kick in? They say, get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes -- yes, the first 20 feel crappy -- because it takes at least that for the "endocannabinoid system to kick in and start to lift your mood. The longer you workout at at least a moderate level, the more your endocannabinoids will be flowing, and the higher your boost will be!"
I read all this sitting in our air-conditioned living room, drinking Boost, snacking on Twinkies and watching a "Laverne and Shirley" rerun, and I feel pretty good. But maybe I'll look into this and maybe I'll get out and do a bit more running. I can deal with those feelings, and maybe some social connections . . . WTH, I may be a better runner too!
A "few" years ago, Shak and Ringo racing with "endocannabinoid systems" kicking in . . ..
(Repeated from last year!)
By now, even Cherokee's beginners should know how to deal with "race day." One key "rule:" plan to be early for everything! (BTW, that's not a bad "rule" for your entire life!) The coach will tell you when to be at school and you must plan on how long it will take you get out of bed, bathe, brush your teeth, eat an appropriate breakfast, etc. and get to school on time! If the bus leaves at a certain time and you're not there, the bus will leave without you (and the coach and the team will hold a grudge against you because you're important to the team)! The second "rule" is to chat with others about their pre-race plans! It's amazing what the more experienced runners know!
The night before, you prep by eating a normal meal that stresses carbohydrates but not "carbohydrate loading" . . . load nothing! -- maybe some spaghetti with marinara sauce, a salad, some bread, maybe just a few pieces of pizza, a reasonable dessert -- but don't pig out! Hydrate! Before bed, put your kit together: everything you imagine you'll need to be ready to race. Just in case, don't depend on the coach for anything: bring water, recovery bars, snacks, pins, etc. Check the weather and, if it's cool, consider "layering' because you can always remove extra layers but, if you don't have them and need them, you're out of luck! If rain is in the forecast, pack for it: don't be one of those losers who spends a rainy day in a wet t-shirt and shorts because he planned badly!
Sleep well! That's up to 8 hours and, when the bus leaves at 7:30 AM, it ain't easy getting there when you go to bed at 1:00 AM!
The morning of the race, breakfast should be timed properly and light: you never want to get to a starting line with a full or an empty stomach! If hours early, have a normal breakfast -- normal, not 3 Egg McMuffins! If you're up a little later but still hours before race time, maybe a bagel with jelly, cream cheese, a piece of fruit . . ..
At the course, learn the course THAT DAY! Yes, you may have been there before but changes happen and sometimes overnight. Focus on your race and not your opponents'. Plan your race: have a decent start but don't try to be first at the 400m mark (no medals there!); work hills but don't sprint up the hills; take advantage of the downhills; on serpentine courses try to leave your opponents behind at every turn; RACE the course and don't just cover the miles; RACE THROUGH the finish line and don't get passed at the last moment, etc.
In the race, be tough but have fun! At the start, you'll be somewhat nervous, the adrenalin will be flowing, but you should be anticipating great things! Have confidence! You've been working really hard and now is the time to show others how you've improved . . . how really good you are! Enjoy it!
That said, if things aren't going as you expected, don't lose faith! Don't look at runners who may be pulling ahead, maybe far ahead of you, and lose faith in yourself! Instead, break the race down into smaller pieces: make it you against the three guys within 20 meters of you and pass them! Then look at the next three guys and go after them! Don't get depressed and quit! Keep your focus: you're RACING! You may not be in the top 10, 20 or 50 but you're still RACING to the finish! (And, just an aside, when our photographer takes your picture sometime during the race don't let him see a whipped dog . . . head up, arms swinging, knees lifting! RACE! ; < )
Afterwards, go home, look in that mirror again and be able to say, there's a champion in the making!
GO CHEROKEE! GO CHIEFS!
This past weekend, New Jersey's Climate Ambassador, Ben Realley traveled to Florida to discuss with the residents the possibility of having water shipped to our drought-stricken state and they gave him more than he was prepared for! Hurricane Debbie struck the west coast and, after shrinking to a Tropical Storm, dropped 20 inches or more on the Sunshine State. Ben studied the impact -- could we handle this in New Jersey? -- on his evening run and decided that, by the following day, it would be no trouble at all!
Early the next day, he considered a beach run and first rejected it but later had a nice run. Then he joined other volunteers -- the celebrated broom people -- and swept the streets of storm debris.
GO CHEROKEE! GO BEN!
On August 7th, 2024, the New York Times noted that American Cole Hocker, the Olympic 1500m Champion, wore a somewhat unusual "Speedsuit" (generally, distance guys didn't wear "speedsuits") in his race! Check out the article in the NY Times and decide if you're a Speedsuit Man! Let's be real here: who will look decent in a "speedsuit" and who won't? Do we have the entire team race in the suit all season long or just the Varsity in big meets? Should our coaches (maybe our photographer?) wear one as they speed around the courses? Talk to the Captains and Coaches! Your vote counts! [For the record: no, it doesn't!]
The English artist Banksy "opened" this summer's RunningWorks Camp with an original piece of graffiti designed to reflect the mountainous terrain found in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains and the goat-like athletes in them! Thanks, B !
Camp opened on Sunday, August 11th and will continue for a week. Founders of the camp, Coaches Marcus O'Sullivan, Steve Shaklee and Cricket Batz-Shaklee will be there: O'Sullivan to give the keynote talk, and the Shaklees to make sure the Cherokee athletes are ready for the week. Our photographer, who did all the pictures for 23 years and served as the S.L.J.O for the same period, is unavailable for camp but another well-qualified photographer, Seawon Park of Haverford College, will take over those duties. His Cherokee pictures will be downloaded soon as part of our historical record. Stay tuned!
Camp ended a few days ago and we expect the guys have recovered from the blistering schedule of runs, ga ga and other games, and just hanging out. Tiring it may have been but it should have been engaging in a half-dozen ways and, we hope, fun! Our photographer was unavailable and he is waiting for the camp pictures to appear on their website. While he waits, for grins, he went back to check Middle School Camp pictures from 2021, 2022 and 2023 to see our most recent Freshman and Sophomores as "camp babies."
Our photographer has been unavailable for awhile and hasn't heard much about camp. Judging from weather reports, however, it was one of the coolest camps on record! During his 23 years there, there was only one camp where the temperature went down to the 40's and, apparently, this one matched it! Great training weather! Very cool, indeed!
Seawon posted over 1,200 pictures from camp and our photographer selected (and sometimes edited) all those where he recognized a Cherokee athlete! Unfortunately, Seawon knew no Cherokee runners so there is no emphasis on Cherokee runners, and our photographer had trouble finding our runners in the pictures, especially those he barely met! If you don't see yourself below or on our Google picture link, and you find yourself on Seawon's Flickr file, send the ID/location to our photographer (RunningWorksPics@aol.com) and he'll post it as part of our team history. If the picture makes you look as unpleasant as steaming bear poop in the morning, forget it! ; < )
Weekly throughout the season, NJ.MileSplit ranks the teams based on their performances throughout that particular week. There are lots of variables and they're not always right . . . and that's especially true in the first pre-season ranking of the year before the first gun sounds! As usual, CBA gets all the love for 1st in the state (probably so!) but, after that, the field is wide open and certain to change after the first or second week!
This inagural week, September 2nd, CBA tops the rankings, followed by (2) Ridgewood, (3) Haddonfield, (4) Cherokee and (5) Cherry Hill East!
The SJTCA did their first week South Jersey ranking as well, listing Cherokee 1st; Haddonfield 2nd; Cherry Hill East 3rd; Shawnee 4th and Paul IV 5th!
Let the racing begin! Let the blood flow!
On September 7th, 2024, the Cherokee Cross Country team welcomed a thousand plus athletes to our 28th Annual Cherokee Challenge and this time the competition was somewhat one-sided! Coach Shaklee summarized the day:
"The Boys Cross Country Team got the season off to a good start on Saturday at the 28th Annual Cherokee Challenge! In cloudy, humid conditions, similar to last year, the results showed a significant improvement!
"The Freshman race got things started for the team and, as expected, Jack Tindall came out on top! Not only did he win the race by a huge margin, he also broke the old freshman course record by 15 seconds! Jack's time of 9:54 was the third fastest time of the day and was accomplished in what amounted to an individual time trial, with the 2nd place finisher 49 seconds behind! Our second freshman, Dylan Weiner ran very aggressively over the opening 400 meters and held on to finish in 19th place, with teammate, Evan Amato, showing tremendous improvement with a 20th place finish! Evan finished 60th in the Middle School Race last year and has come a long way since! Both of our new freshmen, Trayce Slumsky and Colin Dickinson, ran very well in their first ever cross country race! Trayce placed 45th and Colin was 59th in the field of 319 runners!
"Next was the Sophomore race and Ben Realley used his finishing speed to put away the competition over the closing stages of the race! With 400 Meters to go, there were three athletes still together until Ben began his kick. At the finish, he was ten seconds in front of the 2nd place athlete! His time of 9:58 was the 5th fastest of the day out of all the races! Not far behind Ben, Sean Sooy was running a great race of his own! After finishing 17th in the Freshman race last year in 11:20, Sean took 4th this year, running 10:14! Gavin Danielewicz and Jack Finley also showed improvement from last year. Gavin improved his time by over a minute and finished twenty places higher this year, taking 33rd in the field of 356 runners! Jack improved even more, taking almost three minutes off of his freshman time and finishing 136 places better, in 54th!
"In the Junior race, Logan Bromley ran a patient race, moving up gradually over the race to finish 2nd, six places better than last year with the seventh fastest time of the day! Charlie Wasserott was our only other junior in the meet and he ran well to finish 182nd in the field of 320 juniors!
"The Senior race was the last to take to the course, at high noon, and the Cherokee team showed its depth with five runners in the top thirty in the field of 314! Enzo Corona was the team's top senior in 5th place with a time of 10:02 (a 32 second improvement!), the 9th fastest of the day! Close behind Enzo, in 9th pace, was Ben Weiner, who knocked almost a half minute off of his time from last year! Liam Tindall and Tate Midora finish in 19th and 20th respectively, with Tate knocking forty seconds off of his time from last year! Anthony DiBattista was next for the team in 30th! In addition to those five, Liam Daimler and Sam Wright also both ran faster than their times from last year!
"With so many excellent performances, picking the Athlete of the Meet was not easy. However, the coaches settled on Jack Finley based on his huge improvement from last year to this year! Jack trained consistently all summer, came to all of the summer practices, and has worked very hard since the start of daily practice three weeks ago! His efforts deserve to be recognized! Congratulations Jack!
"Cherokee won the Boys Team Championship, which is the score of your top runner in each race, totaling a very low nine points! They also teamed with the girls to win the Combined Championship. More importantly, in the Merged Results, Cherokee won with a low score of 38 points, 108 points ahead of second place North Penn! In the New Jersey School Merged Results, the win was even bigger as the team scored only 24 points, 158 points better than second place Pingry! That score of 24 means that, in a Batch Meet -- Cherokee versus the rest of the teams in the field -- we would have come out on top by nine points! All in all, a very good start to the season! However, it is early and we need to remain focused on the important goals we have for the Championship season! Go Chiefs!"
Many details are available at: NJ.MileSplit.
NJ.MileSplit also featured a special comment on two young stars at the Challenge: Riley and Jack.
Reuben Frank, NBC Sports Commentator and Writer for the SJ Track Coaches Association Blog, wrote several articles associated with the Cherokee Challenge including:
1. Cherokee's Jack Tindall and
2. Cherokee Boys Record Five Fastest Times.
Our photographer shot almost 3,000 pictures at the meet for our website and for MileSplit and it took quite a few days to edit and post most of them! Some pictures of our athletes are posted here and they and the rest of the Cherokee pictures are posted on our Google site!
On September 10th, 2024, Batch Meet #1 was scheduled at DREAM Park down near the Barry Bridge to Philadelphia. Years ago, these meets, then called "Dual Meets," were scheduled as many as 11 times a season -- dual meets Tuesday and Thursday, Major meets on Saturday, long, slow distance in between -- they dominated and ruined Cross Country training! Indeed, the dual meets determined the local Conference Championship but did little to condition athletes to win on the weekends and at the end of the season! Now, things are different. The Batch Meets are cut to three a season and have nothing to do with determining championships of any kind.
Coach Shaklee does not want to shape his training schedule around these three meaningless Batch Meets set-up by the Conference. This time he sent a segment of the team to DREAM Park for the meet (and to meet the Conference requirement that they attend) which they ran as repeat "threshold" exercises, and kept the rest at home for even more rigorous training. He'll do something similar for the remaining two Batch Meets this season.