Thursday Track Report: Uncharacteristic Gauntlet
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
August 13, 2015
It was a fine, sunny, and uncharacteristically un-sticky mid-August day that greeted Bwana’s return from the Pacific Northwest (where it had been uncharacteristically warmer than State College, and uncharacteristically dry). Bob Cornwall, Tom Cali, Judd Michael, Rob Shaver, Mike Martin, Mike Zimmerman, Mike Renz, CJ Wagner, Jim Laudermilch, Torrie Raisch, Allison Machnicki, Carole Dudukovich, Alex Wouden, Rob Peterson, Kevin Becker, Ryan and (newcomer) Callie Burke, newcomer Patrick Krispen, Aaron Henrichson, Rich Harter, David Lloyd, and Marty Mazur headed for the track under sunny skies and mild temperatures.
Bwana got to the track uncharacteristically early because he had to leave uncharacteristically early. Already there were Torrie and Allison, who were done with their workout and uncharacteristically chatty. Well, Torrie was anyway. Torrie filled Bwana in on what their workout had been: 16X300 with 100 m walking rests. Allison, characteristically, filled Bwana in on their times, her PhD progress (“Comping" soon!), and her recent engagement (nice rock, delivered in front of a German castle as she took an uncharacteristic break in her uncharacteristically slow run (so that her fiancé could keep up on bike). Bwana is sure that Allison’s future ball and chain was breathless as he delivered his plea, for more than the usual reasons. Meanwhile, Torrie delivered an uncharacteristic throwdown: Have the crew do their workout. She was sure only Zimmerman could match their volume, and times. Bwana (uncharacteristically) complied, giving the workout: NX300, not broken into the usual sets, making the 300s at mile race pace and make N as big as they could. The crew mostly eye-rolled at the news that the early shift had done N=16. As Bwana watched the leaders, he was pretty sure that Alex and Mike Z were matching the girls’ times (high 50s), but could not verify that they’d met the challenge of N=16, since he had to leave early. Callie Burke (uncharacteristically young for this crew) did uncharacteristically well for a noob.
Bwana’s uncharacteristic spate of absences is over for now. He’s got to whip himself into shape! The other Cali (Tom) is back in his characteristic shape, having taken 2nd overall in a half-marathon in California last weekend, and back into characteristic regularity (showing at track despite being on the same flight as Bwana that arrived in State College the previous night at 11 PM). Dudka was there (as usual!). Her Thursday trail runner buddies have to make an uncharacteristic attempt at two-a-days if they want to run uncharacteristically fast in the coming Fall road races.
Thursday Track Report: Semi-Tough
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
June 30, 2015
Thursday Track has had a bit of a revival lately. Mid-Summer is usually the time when a good part of the Crew is on vacation an given week. Yet from week to week, we’ve had at least 20 runners, and sometimes close to 30. Today, despite the heat and humidity, 23 showed up: Tom Cali, Lance Bland, Judd Michael, Ken Davis, George Lesieutre, Carole Dudukovich, Dana Todd, Jim Laudermilch, Michael Goldfine, Rob Peterson, Kevin Becker, Mike Renz, John Ake, Mike Zimmerman, Andy Cunningham, CJ Wagner, Torrie Raisch, Jo Ohm, Tony Kwasnica, Rich Harter, Adam Ilgen, David Lloyd, and Marty Mazur all took advantage of a slight break in the weather, from horrid to just plain torrid.
When it’s sweltering, Bwana likes to shorten up the reps, but increase the pace. Today Lance suggested 400s, a good choice for the conditions. Anything longer makes each rep a puke risk. But the pace should be close to the red line: at least 5K race pace. So we did 6X400 with 200 meter rests. The rest was not enough for full recovery, but the pace was to be semi-torrid and consistent.
Bwana had a vacation a couple of weeks ago. Next week, and maybe the week after, he’ll be away on business. Puget Sound is a great place to run, and Bwana knows a nice shady place. Hopefully, the rest of you will stay semi-cool, and semi-torrid.
Thursday Track Report: Hello Dali!
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
July 9, 2015
Arts Festival weather is definitely upon us. It’s hot and oppressively humid. And a new twist is the mist, rain, or threat thereof that has been hanging in the air for the last two weeks like a limp pocket watch in a Salvador Dali painting. But that’s appropriate for the art that’s all over the streets of State College this week. Bwana’s week has been surreal: busy at work while getting ready for vacation. So he was late, but that was no BFD as the Old Master Jim “Vermeer” Myers played Bwana For a Day. Tom “Toulouse-Lautrec” Cali, Lance Bland Color Pallate, Judd “Grant Wood” and Davis “Basquiat” Michelangelo, Costas “El Greco” Maranas, Mike “Caravaggio” Casper, Carole “Georgia” and Tia "Kahlo” Dudukovich, Jen “Rothko” Roth, Jim “Lichtenstein” Laudermilch, Kevin “Breughel” Becker, Andy "Chagall” Cunningham, Alex “Durer” Wouden, CJ “Warhol” Wagner, Mike “Renoir” Renz, Mike “Man Ray” Zimmerman, Mike “Titian” Teece, Seth “Singer Sargent” Senior, Ryan “Bosch” Burke, Doug “Seurat” Schunk, Rich Harter Benton, Adam “Ingres” Ilgen, David “Leonardo" Lloyd, and Marty “Dutch Master” Mazur headed for the track.
Jim Myers called for relays, but rather than the broad brush of last week’s 400 meter repeats, Jim painted pointillistically with 200 meter repetitions, no easel workout considering the swampy conditions. Though the model athletes were nearly nude due to the high temperature, there were no still lifes. All was a blur of color, like a Leroy Neiman sports painting. As the runners were finishing up their short strokes, Bwana arrived ready throw paint all over the canvas like the cranky old Pollock that he is. But the runners gave him a good impression, so he applied a coat of varnish and told them they were ready for exhibition…at one of the Arts Fest Races!
Bwana is heading off to an artists retreat and won’t be at the track next Thursday. People tend to think it’s no BFD to be Bwana, but somebody will have to step up and be Bwana For a Day. Who will give the master stroke?
Thursday Track Report: Bring Back The Good Old Days!
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
July 23, 2015
It was sunny, but not humid; nice, like it was back a few weeks ago, back before Arts Fest weather. A huge crowd of over 30 gathered for today’s workout: Tom Cali, Bob Cornwall, Lance Bland, Judd and Davis Michael, John Domico and his two boys, Costas Maranas, Ken Davis, Mark Fedkin, Michael Goldfine, Carole and Tia Dudukovich, Andy Cunningham, Mike Renz, Mike Martin, Mike Zimmerman, CJ Wagner, Jen Roth, Jo Ohm, Jim Laudermilch, Dana Todd, Kevin Becker, Alex Wouden, Adam Ilgen, Doug Schunk, Rich Harter, David Lloyd, Ryan Burke, Ron Cunfer, Sara Noss, and Marty Mazur were all there. It was just like old times! A nice mix of the old and new, from Thurday Track Originals Cornwall, Cali, and Bland (but no Myers!), through old-timers Davis, Michael, Dudukovich, Maranas, Fedkin, and Todd, through their progeny and the more recent additions.
Today Bwana took a suggestion from a relative newbie, Adam, and gave a really old-school workout: 8 straight laps of “Indians”, or more properly referred to as Autochthonous Americans. Runners break into groups of 6 or so based on ability. The slow group takes the inner lane, the faster groups take progressively more exterior lanes. Runners proceed in a line at about 10K race pace, with the last runner in line continually moving to the front at a quicker pace. The workout seems slow at first, but by lap 5, the intermittent near sprints take their toll. But this is like a real race, where hills and duels with other runners take their tolls over the course of a long race.
Old-Timers Tom Cali and CJ Wagner have agreed to take on organizing the Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK Draft Challenge Relay (DCR). It’s good to see the old traditions continuing. Sooner than we think, it will be cooler in the mountains, and at the track, and training will start for the long Fall races. Until then, keep running!
Thursday Track Report: Rockets' Red Glare...and Relays
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
July 2, 2015
Don’t even think about calling this Arts Festival weather, at least yet, anyway. It was barely over 70 and only a little bit humid as Tom Cali, Judd Michael, Lance Bland, Costas Maranas, George Lesieutre, Jim Laudermilch, Carole Dudukovich, CJ Wagner, Seth Senior, Mike Zimmerman, Mike Martin, Alex Wouden, Scott Peterson, Kevin Becker, Tony Kwasnica, Charlie Vassey, Ryan Burke, newcomer Lauren Lacovera, Adam Ilgen, Rich Harter, David Lloyd, and Marty Mazur headed for the track. Mark Lee and John Wilcock also showed up just to check the box. We’ve had summers like this: starts hot as a firecracker for a part of May, then just kind of fizzles, for a while. This is usually due to water damage to the fireworks, and that we’ve had. But, guaranteed, by a week from Sunday, it WILL be unbearable, certainly for a 10 mile race, probably for a 10K, and maybe even for a 5K.
So how do we prepare for the race if we can’t have the conditions? Who knows? Bwana has been leading track workouts for over 20 years and has run a good 12-15 Arts Fest races, and still hasn’t figured out how to prepare for them. Hot weather is not like cold. At least with December’s NV Half, if you prepare well and it turns a little cold, it’s not going to suck the life out of you. There is a remedy: layers. At Arts Fest, you can only peel back so much, and even in the best of years, there’s just not enough time between snow and swelter to really acclimate. So let’s just roll the dice and do a workout. Bwana called (with encouragement from the cheap seats) RELAYS! 6X400 in two-person teams, each team doing 12 400s while switching runners, who are about of equal speed. Since the talent spectrum in our workouts is so wide, you and your partner are not racing to win, just to beat your closest rival. In most of our workouts, you’re keeping yourself honest. With this one, you get a double dose of giddy-up: you’re trying to beat the team just ahead of you, and you’re trying not to let your partner down. If you’re on one of the slow teams, you hope the team ahead of you bit off more than they can chew on the first few 400s and that you can play tortoise and slow-and-steady reel them in. That didn’t work for Bwana today.
So what are you doing for the 4th? The 4K? The fireworks? Beer and burgers, no doubt. That coupled with the nearness of Arts Fest means you’ll really need next week’s workout! See you then!