I hope everyone had a good Spring Break. Now we’re back at school for the final push to the end of the year and the end of our season. The state track meet is a mere 5 weeks away, and starting next week, the final invitational meets begin in earnest.
I. News & Announcements.
A. Racing this Week
Our team is schedule to compete in two meets this week. Aaron, Nate, Jeffrey, and Lily, you will each only compete in Region Relays. Carson and Mason, you will both have the option of competing at both Region Relays and Grizzly Invitational. Your training for the week will adjust based on your race schedule. We’ll finalize entries tomorrow (Monday, April 7, 2025) at practice. Here’s what I’m thinking for Region Relays on Wednesday:
| Runner | Planned Races |
|---|---|
| Aaron Eskelson | 4x800M Relay (Aaron, Nate, Jeffrey, & Eric) |
| Nate Eskelson | 4x800M Relay (Aaron, Nate, Jeffrey, & Eric) |
| Jeffrey Hazard | 4x800M Relay (Aaron, Nate, Jeffrey, & Eric) |
| Carson Fershtut | 800M leg of the Boys DMR (Parker, Carson F, Carson A, Mason/Addison) |
| Mason Smith | 1600M or 1200M/1600M leg of Boys DMR (TBD) (Parker, Carson F, Carson A, Mason/Addison) |
| Lily G | 4x800M Relay (Lexy, Evelyn, Lily G, Renee/Sophia) |
The principal goals for Region Relays are to have fun running in some relay races and to qualify the boys 4×800 team for the state meet.
For the Grizzly Invitational, Aaron, Nate, Jeffrey, and Lily G will not be running. I want to get in one more good week of training before we start racing in earnest next weekend at the Davis Invitational. Carson and Mason…you have the option of racing at Grizzly. I’d probably recommend it. Carson, we could get you in a 1600M, or even a 3200M, and Mason, I’d love to have you run an 800M there. But let’s talk tomorrow and finalize things.
B. Injury Management
This past week, we’ve had a couple athletes struggle with some minor injuries. They don’t appear to be anything really serious, but it is very important to be careful and proactive about how we manage our stress. So, if you’re feeling any pain, tightness, or discomfort, PLEASE let me know ASAP. Be careful about changing footwear too much at this point in the season, or doing anything drastically different with strength training. We want to keep the strength training going, but now is not the time to lift heavier weight or to add volume. Keep things at a level that you know is sustainable. And we’ll adjust training as necessary to keep you healthy, which may mean, for some, eliminating 30M flys or modifying some of the assigned intensity. As long as everyone is kept in the loop, we can manage this together and get you to your big races feeling as good as possible.
C. Academic Work
The end of the school year is always a stressful time. Please, please be smart and prioritize your academic work so that you can train effectively and get good sleep and nutrition. Also, for those who will be returning next year, remember, your eligibility for fall cross-country will be determined by your grades this term…so make sure all your academic work is done well and turned in on time!
II. Weekly Training.
I’m only providing one spreadsheet for this week’s training. But, if we decide that you’ll be racing on Saturday at the Grizzly Invitational, know that everything else will be the same, except that Friday will be a light pre-race workout with some strides or 200s. Then Saturday will be your race, with an extended cooldown for mileage.
Here’s the link to the training Excel file:
https://northridgetf.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Weekly-Training-040725.xlsx
III. Other/Points of Emphasis.
Here is this week’s video update.