The Race-by-Race Journal by Paul Poiesz…
Plus the thinking outside-of-the-box training that went into the 8:51.49
- an overview by Phil Grove
The Race-by-Race Journal by Paul Poiscz.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
9:28.05 New School Record
3rd Place
1/24/14
New Balance Games
Our goal here was simply to get a time that would serve 2 purposes: qualify for indoor states and possibly for Penn if we later chose to run the 4x8 at Penn Relays. Early in the year I was of the mindset that the DMR had the possibility of being our stronger event and one that we could qualify for the Penn COA in. Certainly, the DMR was very much in play in my mind for indoor states.
I expected that we would run about 9:35 here. Kate had only 2 races (mile both times) under her belt since her hamstring pull at XC states. Brianna had just come off of a week of rest for a tendonitis problem in one of her knees and had not raced the week before. (This would be the only thing that even resembled an injury through the 2 track seasons for any of them)
I was not at the race because I was working at Princeton that day. Amber and Alexa both ran 2:19, which is the part that I did not expect, and why they ran so much faster than we had seeded them at. The 3rd place finish certainly gave them confidence. Also, it was the first time that 3 of them had run at the Armory ever. Kate had run the EE mile there last year at Nationals. The environment and getting used to the venue I think played a role in how well they would do there in subsequent races.
This race truly set everything else for the year in motion. From getting into Millrose, this would shape our thinking for the rest of the year.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
9:17.44 Another New School Record
2nd Place
2/15/14
Millrose Games
“Stay calm and run fast” became the message from me—focus only on yourselves.
They would hear this often from me as the season progressed. They quickly learned how to relax immediately before a race.
Their result from 1/24 got them invited to run at The Collegiate Invite 2 weeks later. While that was nice, the decision was made to forgo that meet in order to focus on their training leading up to the state meet. So, a couple days after turning down the Collegiate Meet, the invitation for Millrose arrived. This was too big of an opportunity to pass up, of course, so training was altered slightly to allow for a minor taper that week. The experience would certainly be something that they would be able to remember forever. I felt that 9:20 was possible.. All 4 girls ran sub-2:20 as they finished second. The race spread-out fairly quickly, as I recall and they were up front from the beginning, therefore being able to run without congestion to deal with, making things easier. Additionally, they got to spend time being track fans, watching some great pro races, getting a high-5 from Mary Cain and then their picture taken with Bernard Lagat after their race. (They saw him in the hall and went up to him and asked if they could get the pic taken). We started at this point to talk about being “in the moment” when they ran, enjoying the experiences that they could have and recognizing that they had opportunities to share some really fun and cool stuff with each other. They proved that they would not allow themselves to be intimidated by atmosphere of event or other teams and also that they could compartmentalize things. They were very focused before the race, but were able to enjoy everything else about being at such an historic meet and all that goes with it.
They had run 12:26 in the DMR at Lehigh 2 weeks earlier, but after Millrose, the decision was made to stay with 4x800 for states. How could the fastest team in the state not run the event, right?
Confession: After this race the first thoughts of sub – 9:00 minutes started being discussed by Mike and I for outdoors. I truly believed then that an 18 – 20 second improvement over the rest of the year was realistic. I began to ask them “How big can you dream?” to get them to realize FAST could become a very relative term as the year progressed.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
9:12.80 Another New School Record
(and faster than CB South Outdoor Record at the time)
3rd Place
3/1/14
2014 PTFCA Indoor State Championship
The 9:17 had certainly drawn the attention of a lot of people and now they had to run as favorites in a race that would have 2 other excellent teams in it. I had no doubt that this would a 3-team race and we would have to run faster if we hoped to win. Early in the race, it was GV and us, but as I stood watching the race, my head was on a swivel as I tried to watch SH as well, knowing that they would storm back into things – and storm they did! Miller and Wilson ran absolutely unbelievable races that day! All 4 for us ran sub 2:19 and gave their best, but we got beat by 2 better teams. Fortunately, as our attention was always on us running well and knowing that GV and SH had excellent runners as well, the girls walked away from the State meet feeling that they had run well and simply, others had run better. I saw no hint of them feeling crushed by the defeat. They respected the 2 teams that beat them and knew they had nothing to feel bad about. After the winter everyone had to deal with, finishing 3rd at 9:12 made the quality of all 3 teams very apparent. I can’t hesitate to think that Coren and Hadzor were thrilled with their times. After all, these times regularly are fast enough to finish in the top 5 at outdoor states. Add that to the fact that SH and GV have a history of success in the 4x800 and I knew it would take something very special to win at Shippensburg.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
9:07.08 Another School Record PLUS PA Indoor All-Time Record
4th Place
3/14/14
New Balance Nationals Indoor
We decided after states that we thought Brianna had grown into the opportunity to be the anchor leg. While there was no concern with Alexa, I thought that Brianna would be the one that would in the long run blossom into that huge anchor that we needed, even though at the time, there was nothing split-wise to separate them (or Amber for that matter, as she actually had the best split with 2:17 at states). It was Brianna’s 400 superiority that made us believe that her potential drop in time would likely be the greatest.
So, how do you place so much emphasis on States, know that you have to get outdoor training started and still run well 2 weeks later at Nationals? This is why I hate the National meet. If you goal is to run well in late May and you have come off of the worst weather any coach can recall dealing with for indoors, you have to begin the transition, right? We did. More than prior to any other race all year, I was concerned with how they would do at Nationals. They had certainly earned the chance to go back to the Armory again, but I must confess that I was worried. If they did not run as well as they had at States, would it hurt their confidence? Yes, they had already raced most of the teams that would be there, but they would not be rested for this one. We were going to train through it! Monday of that week, they did 2x(5x200) @ 32 with 1:00 recoveries and 15:00 between sets. If I am not mistaken, we were still working out in the parking lot because the track was not clear of snow and ice yet.
Freehold, NJ broke away from everyone on the first leg and did not look back. After a very crowded hand-off for the first exchange where Amber worked some of that magic I referred to before, there was a large group that settled in for the battle to finish in the top 6. Their success in this race came from their competitive spirit and guts more than anything. Their determination for a top 6 finish made all of the difference. They were all absolutely shot after the race, barely able to each make it off the track after finishing. Alexa helped us separate a little bit from the 5th and 6th teams on the 3rd leg and Brianna focused on what was ahead of her rather than behind her, chasing to within .02 of 3rd place. As they hugged each other and kept each other upright after it, they saw the scoreboard results and had one of those, “oh my god look at the time” moments—as did I. It took Lex less than a couple of minutes to inform us that they had broken the PA All-time best. The party started for real then. This was their biggest moment prior to outdoor states where they were shocked at how fast that they had run! Also, having been able to beat SH and GV in the same race became very important as they went into outdoors. They now knew that they could do that.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
9:04.59 New School Record
5th Place (3rd American Team)
4/24/14
The Penn Relays Carnival
9:12.57 in qualifier was new Outdoor School Record
One race at a time, one goal at a time, stay in the moment.
Trials: They knew that there would be no COA if they did not run well in the trials. Getting beaten by Edwin Allen in the trials did not surprise anyone and certainly was not disheartening. Kate spent a good portion of the race boxed-in, but Amber ran 2:16 (best split of the day for us) to put us in a good position. CB West helped us a great deal in the trials with how well they ran –they gave Alexa and Brianna something tangible to focus on I think because they were still ahead of us going into the last leg, and the spirited respect for each other and desire to not lose to a sister school were important. Mission accomplished, they warmed-down and went home. No 4x400 that day, and we have discussed that. If we were going to focus on the 4x8, I wanted them to have every chance for great success each time they would run it—the COA would be their last chance to face competition from outside of PA and I wanted them to run fast and see how they still measured up to the best of the best after 5 pretty intense weeks of training.
Finals: At Penn (as with Millrose and Nationals) I have little opportunity to speak with them before a race due to my starting responsibilities. I saw them before they went into the paddock, reminded them to stay in the moment and enjoy every minute of it all.
Amber again runs our fastest split and all 4 of them drop from 1.6 to 2.8 seconds off their splits from the day before. Their goal was again not based on time, but on finishing in the top 5, which they did (3rd fastest American Team). They again focused on racing people, and this was the race where I think that paid-off tremendously for them. Seeing their splits after each leg, I knew they were running fast. I wasn’t certain that they would run faster than the time from Nationals, but we again had built in a minor taper that week. There were hugs all around—especially for Amber’s 2:14, and they were thrilled that they had beaten Freehold. The belief that they were truly among the nation’s elite teams was fully in place. Among them in their workouts, sub 9:00 was firmly taking shape in their minds and their “big dream” of being state champions was becoming tangible. They had again beaten the 2 teams that had beaten them from PA indoors.
Some might begin to question why Brianna was anchoring through all of this when Amber regularly was our fastest split. Simply, I loved Amber as the 2nd leg. I have talked about her before, including her handling of the hand-off. And we truly believed Brianna was going to be that FORCE when it came time.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
9:02.68 Another School Record
1st Place
5/9/14
SOL Continental Conference Championships
The race we almost didn’t run—and they still don’t know it. It was a tough decision—we did not really need to run the 4x8 at the league meet. With that race Friday and everything else Saturday for them, my original thinking was to let them have one good last chance to run fresh in individual events, then come back at the end to run a fast 4x4. They all ran open events at Henderson the week before and did well, and I was thinking about more of the same. The problem was that I knew that they wanted very much to be league champs after they had won that race last year as well. We continued to train hard through that week and I thought rest on Friday would be a good idea. I had no fear of them being able to run fast on back-to back days at district’s and state’s, as Penn had put that worry to rest for good. This was the one time that my thinking was influenced by what I knew they were thinking. Alexa went to the trouble of moving her AP Statistics exam to the alternate testing date which was available in order to be able to run on Friday. So, if they wanted to run it, they would run it. They had earned that from how they had been all season long. If there was going to be a race that broke their streak of dropping time, this would be it. What a great race! With absolutely no backing off in their training, no huge crowd, like Penn or the Armory, nothing but wishing to be back-to back league champs, they went out and ran a time that brought even greater focus to things for them. North Penn had a great lead-off leg and ran 9:12 and deserve a lot of credit for their performance that day. They gave Kate and Amber plenty to run against on the first 2 legs. CB West did not run their 4 best, but had been on their minds in the days leading-up, knowing that if they loaded up, they would be formidable. We never discussed the meet record. Alexa and Brianna had no one to chase on the last 2 legs, but they ran as if SH was chasing them like they did at indoor states. Brianna’s 2:12 solidified what we had been expecting since the end of indoor. She would be the force to be reckoned with by all other teams if it came down to the anchor leg in the next 2 weeks.
I think we all were more than pleasantly surprised by the 9:02 that day. None of it was planned to run that fast that day—they once more just knew only one thing when they stepped on a track together—it was time to race and run as fast as they could.
“How big can you dream, girls?”
F 4x800 Meter Relay
8:58.18 Another School Record
1st Place
5/16/14
PIAA District 1 AAA Championships
9:26.95 in prelims
I was more nervous for this one than I was at states, or possibly any of the other times they had run together all year. The week leading up to it was extremely hot. We changed our hard workout to deal with the heat on Tuesday. Rather than an all out 600 and a couple of 200’s, we would break it into 3x200 with short recoveries and the last 200 would be followed immediately by a 100 jog, then all-out 100. (a 211 we call it). Then the rains came, as everyone knows. First the meet was pushed back to Saturday/Sunday, and then there came a rumor in the afternoon Thursday that it might still be Friday/Saturday. Training was not what we wanted it to be due to the uncertainties and harsh weather. The senior prom was Friday evening, so proper rest for Kate and Alexa was a concern. We considered asking them to leave the prom early to get home and get a good night sleep, but in the end, simply asked them to go straight home when it was over at 11:00. (This was infinitely easier to ask as coach than it would have been as dad.) If there would be fallout from the prom in terms of being tired, it would come 2 days after the prom, so Sunday became the concern.
There were many reasons not to run the 4x4 at districts: one was the same as at Penn. Another was the rest issue. If we ran the 4x4, they would be at Coatesville all day. It was better to send them home to rest after the trials. Also, even though we had run very fast in the 4x4 (3:65.40) and I knew they could qualify for states in it, I knew we would not run it at states. I did not want to make the finals and then have some other team essentially lose out on their chance to run at states.
So, they ran exactly as I asked in the trials. When Brianna went by me at the 200 mark, I gave told her to win the heat, which she easily did, so we could be on the up-stagger for the finals start. (see previous email).
The finals race was going to be another opportunity for SH and GV –I felt we would run faster again, but was not certain. Kate ran the 2nd 100 meters down the back to perfection, tucking in on the shoulder of the leader. Strath Haven moved Wilson the 2nd leg and that move by them definitely influenced the rest of the season for us. Amber never backed down to anyone and even though she knew what was in store, she again ran a great leg. The girls knew they would have the upper hand for the last 2 legs over anyone then. Alexa ran (as she did at states) brilliantly, not settling behind the 2 leaders, but also, not going out too fast in an attempt to do it all in the first 400. She went 66 on the first lap and put the hammer down on the 2nd. As she hit her final 100, I knew we would win. I was not looking at splits; just watching them race—as I would also do at states. Every one of them ran the race that they had to in order for them to win. Their jobs were well-defined by then and they handled them perfectly. It didn’t matter what anyone else would do out there. Each would race and know how to do it under any circumstance. I went pretty nuts when I heard the official time announced. That 9:00 barrier was a huge one as everyone knows. To now know that they were among the all-time elite for PA was very satisfying for them. They had a great day and enjoyed every minute of it.
F 4x800 Meter Relay
8:51.49 Not Just a School Record - a State Record as well!
5/24/14
PIAA T&F State Championships
9:16.98 in prelims
No good deed goes unpunished. Why does the state not put both heat winners on the up-stagger for the start of the final? I wish someone could tell me. You win your heat as the 2nd fastest heat winner and get put on the back line where there is so much more danger of something happening. I should have known not to worry. I had a lead-off runner who had been that person for 4 years at meets all over the place and she had never once faltered. Don’t worry, I told myself. Kate hold onto that baton for dear life please! Of course she did, and of course she hit the 200 in 2nd/3rd place, boxed-in, but looking confident and relaxed. I knew at the 200 that her leg would turn out fine. Coren again changes his order, but again, Amber responds. She had given all she could by 700 and slowed coming-in to the exchange, but we had Alexa. The previous week had filled her with loads of confidence and it showed. Totally in control, this was her race now and she grabbed it by the throat (see previous email). Brianna would not be caught. I knew the race was over when she came around the 2nd turn. She was totally focused on just running FAST. I have not asked her, but I suspect she never once considered what was going on behind her. When they announced 7:43 with 400 to go, I know I said something unprintable but I also knew then that the record would be theirs also.
They learned so well how to focus on the race at hand and block out all distractions. Their goal was to win, period. They knew it may take a record to do that, but knew also that they were capable of doing that. Kudos to Strath Haven and Great Valley. Without their presence and talent, who knows if a record happens. I have always respected the job that Paul Hadzor does. We have become pretty tight over the years (decades) He had nothing but a smile and hug for me after the race. Yes, you have to feel for the Haven girls. They are great kids with great coaching as well. You can always reverse things and also ask if those 2 would have run as fast without South there all year long. Everyone had to step up their games and expectations in order to keep up with each other. It was one heck of a race, one heck of a year!
We talked about her chasing the Ghost of Henderson around the track and she was able to internalize that. Henderson was, in fact, the 13th team on the track that day. Brianna had no way of knowing if they were ahead of or behind her when she got the stick, but I knew she would get the job done. When I was told she had gone out in 61, I was not surprised. Strath Haven and Great Valley, in her mind would not be able to consider running her down. How many people know that she has also split 56.5 on our 4x4? Maybe 2 or 3.
The thinking outside-of-the-box training that went into the 8:51.49
- an overview by Phil Grove
There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
The aforementioned proverb couldn’t be more true when it comes to training young track and field athletes. Multiply that times 4 if you are in the process of developing an up-and-coming relay team, and you have a recipe for disaster - or – as in this case, unbridled success… That is, if you get a little creative and think outside the box.
The game plan that Paul Poiesz put together this season for Central Bucks South’s 4x800-meter relay definitely was not a run-of-the-mill strategy. Recovering (and rebuilding) from injuries, one of the worst winters on record and a fast learning/racing curve necessitated an extra dash of this and a pinch of that. However, staying committed to a vision resulted in the tenth-fastest eight-lap relay in history (and fastest-ever in PA) for seniors Kaitlin Poiesz and Alexa Kwapinski, and junior twins Amber and Brianna Stratz.
“The specifics were managed week by week depending upon weather, adjustments for schedule of meets, etc,” Coach Poiesz said. “It was a plan which was generally adhered to, but certainly was seen and used in a fluid manner with adjustments made as the season evolved.
Coach Cox (CB South boys’ coach and co-architect of the plan) and I agreed that workouts would take priority over most meets early in the season … especially dual meets.”
South was not exempt from the harsh weather conditions that walloped the East coast this winter. As a result, base-building workouts – even distance days – stayed very close to home as the school’s parking lot proved to be the area with the best, most consistent footing.
“My biggest fear was shin splints and stress fractures, so we tried to do quality over quantity as much as we could,” Coach Poiesz said. “The rest from days off from school probably helped a good deal in avoiding injuries under the conditions.”
Winter training consisted mostly of sets of 300s, 200s and 211s for the squad’s speed and speed endurance work. Kaitlin Poiesz did not join her teammates in strenuous speed work until late January to give her some extra recovery time from a cross country injury.
A sub-9:30 effort at the New Balance Games in late January got the competitive ball rolling, and the Titans never slowed during a well-orchestrated eight-race march to history. Three weeks later at the Millrose Games, Poiesz, Kwapinski and the Stratzes chopped 10-plus seconds off their season best before running 9:12 in the state indoor meet. A 9:07.08 at New Balance Nationals Indoor brought the undercover season to a close as the weather slowly started to turn in favor of the runners and more intense training.
The chart below describes each week of the outdoor season, with general workout descriptions and training phases:
|
Week |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
3/17/14 Build |
Recovery |
Tempo |
Pace |
Sprint |
Recovery |
Critical Zone |
Long Run
|
|
3/24 Build |
Tempo |
Dual Meet Pace |
Recovery |
Sprint |
Recovery |
Critical Zone |
OFF |
|
3/31 Recovery |
Tempo |
Dual Meet Pace |
Recovery |
Sprint |
Recovery |
Invite-skip Critical Zone |
OFF |
|
4/7 Build |
Tempo |
Dual Meet Pace |
Recovery |
Sprint |
Invite-skip Rec |
Critical Zone |
Long Run
|
|
4/14 Build |
Tempo |
Dual Meet Rec |
Critical Zone |
Recovery |
Sprints/Pre-meet |
West Relays (4x1 mile, 4 x 400) Pace |
OFF |
|
4/21 Recovery |
Recovery |
Dual Meet Pace |
Recovery-Pre-meet |
Penn Relays Race |
Penn Relays Race |
Invite-skip Long Run |
Off
|
|
4/28 Maintain |
Rec-Pre Meet |
Dual Meet Critical Zone |
Tempo Recov(Low-end LT) |
Recov-Pre-meet |
Henderson Invite (All open 8 or choice) Sprints |
Long Run |
OFF |
|
5/5 Maintain |
Recov-Pre Meet |
Dual Meet Critical Zone |
Tempo recov (Low-end LT) |
Rec-Pre-meet |
Leagues Sprints |
Leagues Race Choice (individual) |
Long Run |
|
5/12 Taper |
Rec |
Critical Zone (Final) |
Tempo Recov (Low-end LT) |
Rec-pre-meet |
Districts |
Districts |
Recov |
|
5/19 Taper |
Tempo-Recov (Low-end LT) |
Pace |
Pace |
Rec-Pre-meet |
States |
States |
OFF |
Winter runs in parking lots wasn’t the only deviation from the norm as the schedule also focused on workouts immediately AFTER dual meets. Those sessions – 4x200 at race pace with usually 30 seconds or less recovery – happened no matter what the quartet ran during the meet.
“One thing that amazed me as the season went on was how quickly they could all recover between sets and after races,” Coach Poiesz proclaimed. “There was never a time when they said, ‘No, we can't go yet.’ They were always ready for what came next.”
Another interesting facet of the CB South plan was removing the relay mates from 800s of any kind for about a month. Beginning with the team’s third-place finish at the NBNI, the next time any of the foursome ran an 800 was in the Panther Classic on April 11. A blanket finish for second through fifth in the open 800 (2:18.10 to 2:19.40) showed they hadn’t forgotten how to run fast for two laps.
“Coaches, of course, have varying philosophies about these things,” Coach Poiesz said of their racing schedule. Over-racing is, in my mind and Mike’s, a great danger in high school track. So I was as careful as possible in meet and race selections.”
From Coach Poiesz’s perspective, a watershed moment came on the morning of Neshaminy’s Lady Skins Invitational on April 5. With the weather cooperating, the group had a 7 a.m. workout that focused on critical zone training – a balance of aerobic maintenance running, VOx max, anaerobic threshold training and “speed” work – that helps prepare a multi-lap runner for the demands of the final quarter of a race, no matter the distance.
The workout was a success, and the future state champions were able to rest up, re-fuel and then finish second at Neshaminy in the 4x400 in 4:06.68.
Coach Poiesz also believes that weekly pool workouts in the morning (6 a.m.) and flexibility- and relaxation-building yoga sessions also contributed significantly to the training and recovery periods for his quartet. Despite the occasional breaks from conventional wisdom workouts, one thing was consistent: not too often with the hard stuff.
“There were very few times all year that we would go really hard twice in one week,” the South coach said. “Taxing their bodies more than that would have broken them down too far. We were very focused on them running fast and improving their speed – fast 400s make faster 800s.”
Big payoffs in faster 800s and 4x800s continued April 24 at Franklin Field and reached their peak at Shippensburg. Their 9:04.59 at the Penn Relays transformed into the historic 8:51.49 run for state gold.
“We did not see any value to them racing slowly just to get points or whatever,” Coach Poiesz said. “They knew that when I asked them to race, it was expected to be fast, so I tried to make sure there would always be value that they could see in every race and they had to compete hard.”