The CCHS Track Team’s Grind Never Stops

Photo+taken+by+Phoenix+Richard+

Photo taken by Phoenix Richard

The Carbondale High School Track team began preparing for the first track meet of the season on Monday, February 20th, 2023 and continued their preparation until February 26th, 2023, the day of the meet in Marion, IL. The Carbondale Track team prepares for their meets on their high school’s track and certain running routes in town, used by the distance runners on the team. The Track team is preparing for the meet so that their body’s are ready for meet day on Saturday.

The first step of preparing for the meet on Saturday was to attend the Monday meeting during practice and listen to the coach about important information about the meet. At the start of practice, the runners do warm-ups and stretches so that their legs stay loose. This helps them get prepared for the meet because their legs will not be as tight and they will be ready to run when it comes time to compete. 

 During practice the team does drills that help with their running form so that they get faster when competing in a race. During the week, there are workouts to help them get faster and increase their endurance level. At the end of a workout we do a cool-down to help their legs recover. 

Photo taken by Phoenix Richard

Another thing that they did to prepare for the meet was to talk with the athlete trainer about important things that they needed to do in terms of their health to avoid injuries and keep their body’s healthy for the track season. She told them that when preparing for meets this season it is very important that you drink plenty of water,stretch,and eat healthy foods outside of practice. These things are important so that they avoid injuries and pain in their body. Outside of practice, the members of the Carbondale track team prepare for the meet by drinking enough water, eating healthy foods, and by stretching/using devices that loosen their leg muscles to treat muscle soreness and stiffness after running at practice.

 The day before the meet is called pre-meet day/practice, it is one of the most important days of preparation for their meet and all meets in the season. The night before the meet, the athletes on the team make sure that they eat a meal that is going to give them nutrition for the meet. 

The head track coach, Coach Gary Mykel says the best meal the night before the meat is, “Pasta! but not heavy pasta…lean meats…nothing with heavy cheeses and dairy in it. We definitely want some nice clean carbs in us and load up on the fruits and vegetables. Gotta load up on some of those extra vitamins and minerals that come in all those things.Top it off with a big o gallon of water and you should be ready to go for the next day.”

 One of the most important aspects of preparing for a track meet is mindset. Ajay Altman, a senior at CCHS who has been running for the CCHS track team for four years says that the best mindset is, “Staying focused and not getting too absorbed in anything else going on.”  

The Carbondale track team has worked very hard to prepare for its first track meet of the season and their athletes are ready to go compete.