Week 9: GMC Conference

Three men in the top 11. Joshua 1st, Liam 10th, Cole 11th.

Men in the first race set the tone. Alex White 13th and Carson Shane 18th overall both in personal best times.

Weekly Recap

Monday was a gorgeous day, and we were able to get the entire squad out to a 2 mile gravel loop in Wauwatosa for our tempo workout.  The guys brought some solid intensity, especially the group up front.  That day created a good energy among the men.  The runs the following two days were very up tempo pace, and guys are starting to feed off one another's energy.  Our selfless development is really coming to fruition and it's creating some powerful moments and very fun practices and races!

That team energy carried into the invitational on Thursday at Mccarty Park.  On a beautiful day to race, the first race kicked us off in a big way.  As a team, we look to learn and improve each day, and with each race.  We many times have intentional focus for each race as we build toward a complete race during the end of the season.  The men executed this week's race plan very well.

Alex White ran patient early with Carson, and really hit the pedal at the mile to finish in a huge personal best time of 18:12 en route to a 13th place finish.  Carson fueled by his teammate, was close behind in 18th place.  In our post race meeting on Friday, the men got to share about their teammates and how they fueled each other, and many referenced the effect these two had on raising the level of the varsity guys in the second race.  This is why I say it so often, every man makes such an impact on the whole.  So all those days you avoid excuses, and bring max effort, and many times overcome pains or illness, those are the days that your teammates improve.  That's why our individual efforts are so important, because no matter what kind of day you have, if you're following our team standards and driving with every ounce of energy you have to suffer for your teammates, you are providing a huge impact to the success.

Joey Elliott finally shakes off an old personal best set at the (short course) Chocolate City a few years back.  He now has a legit 5k personal best that crushed his old Chocolate City time.  He looked phenomenal finishing as our 4th man, and it was the the last time he will cross the finish in the Hale uniform.  Joey brings maximum effort and a positive quiet leadership to the group.  He's also one of the best musicians in the state, playing as a co-principal violist in the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and is part of the WSMA all-state orchestra.  He's also the student leader of the school orchestra.  His music career is sure to be fun to watch and he's done a great job committing to our role.  With his amazing talents, he will unfortunately miss his last invitational due to state competition, but he will be with the team the rest of the way helping other men step up and fill his scoring role!  

We had a nice run of all time bests for the rest of that crew.  I told Robert Petrovick he'd break 20 minutes this week, and he did that with plenty of room to spare.  Starting points in this sport, whether you are running 17, 20, 23, or 26 minutes your first year, really mean nothing.  All of the most successful runners build off wherever they start and commit to getting better.  Robert is beginning that phase with a nice breakout season, and if he commits to some daily off season work, he can be a big contributor!  Nathan Bentti earned blood and guts honors for stepping it up all week and coming away with a huge breakthrough race.  He asked me if he could move up a group, and by the way the answer to that is always - YES!  He came in Saturday morning and ran with our top group.  Confidence is contagious, keep believing and remember you all have no limits.

Chase Witty had another personal best and has shown flashes of even a bigger breakthrough these last two weeks.  He can definitely join the guys in the teens and also is a guy that can be a big contributor as he grows in mental confidence.  Tucker Sander is starting to figure out racing more and more and will keep moving up, along with Kyle Steele who was close on his heels.  It was great to have Kyle finish smiling with a personal best after having to drop out of the Lourdes Invite with a foot issue.  

The second race showed our patient progress as well.  Joshua Truchon has been a joy to watch and shows amazing intuition and knowledge when racing.  He understands his body well and ran a very smooth race finishing in 15:41 well ahead of 2nd.  The coolest moment was when I saw him after the race.  He came jumping up and down to greet me saying how awesome it was to have his teammates coming in right after him.  That gave me goosebumps as it reinforced the power of the team.  It was great to see Liam back racing up front along with his teammate Cole Orlowski, finishing in a solid 10th and 11th in a tightly packed group.  Those 3 are really fun to watch.

Also fun to watch will be that whole group we have that can fill scoring roles.  Joseph Hertel had a solid race as our 4th man, and with improving health and back to his old self, we know he has the ability to really move up these next 3 weeks.  Cole Konczal had a rough first mile that affected his placing, and will improve on that in the coming week being out more confident and racing fearless.  Keesy and Raschka have the firepower and are gaining confidence in their ability to really produce.  Brennan is fit as can be and will overcome some calf issues to a big finish as well.  Having a group of 10 men up front, all with untapped ability, makes these last few weeks very fun.  I expect to see all of them helping one another, suffering together and living a selfless lifestyle.  Together, this whole group is amazing. 

They understand that how we progress works, but none are settled or content.  We preach no limits and mean it.  We run loose and get after it daily.  The men will keep having fun, taking care of each day and surrendering the results.  We are fearless and running with love.

One last note, we had the pleasure of having Thomas Breitbach join us for practice Saturday morning!  He coaches Coach Dewitt along with 19 other professional individuals.  Along with that, he's now the assistant women's coach at UW Madison.  He shared some amazing life advice that I hope many guys took inspiration from.  Thank you Thomas for joining us!!

This week

Our team banquet will be on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:00 p.m.  All guys should be there!  Family and friends should come celebrate and keep progressing the program.  

We will do a potluck again, thanks for anyone willing to contribute.  Don't feel obligated!
​
Potluck Sign up


​The week is mostly normal for practices.  I will again post the workouts in the locker room.  We expect every guy in the program to live our standards and commit to being great.  The coaches don't settle for average, this group of teenagers is way too powerful to settle for anything less than our best.  Each day is an absolute joy, I never take for granted this group and neither should any of you guys.  What a special sport and special collection of young men.  Make the best of each day!

The pasta dinner this week is at Braeden's on Friday!  His address 12021 W. Ohio Avenue.  Thank you to all the parents who have hosted and to those that will host.  Also thank you to helping support us and our high standards for this program and these men.  It's what sets us apart and is creating one of the best team's in the state, both in running and environment.

Saturday is the GMC Meet.  I flippin' love this conference.  I love going against great athletes and competing with the best.  Our men are ready to compete at a very high level and will focus on our builds and standards.  The link to the meet info sent by the host is in our dates link click below.  There's also info for the JV meet, sectionals and state.  

Meet Info 

Team Info/Bus Time

Continue to bundle up, and have dry clothes in case of rain.  Eat healthy and get consistent sleep, both will help a ton these next couple weeks.  Trust in our training, let loose and know all we need to do is give our best.  The rest will take care of itself.
​
Make it an amazing day!