Thursday Track Report: Looking Forward Too Far?
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
February 20, 2014
Everybody’s complaining about this winter. Yeah, like always. Bwana ceases to be surprised anymore by the “short weather memory” people have. He hears the same whines every year. And earlier this year, memories were playing tricks again. “It’s so SNOWY this winter!”. Well, up until a couple of weeks ago, it had actually been a pretty dry and not-so-snowy winter. Yet it was cold, and with few thaw breaks, so whatever snow we got stuck around. But then the snow came, and we caught up to “normal” pretty quickly. (“Normal” being a lot more snow than we’ve been averaging the last 6-8 years.) And so now the whines are justified. But Bwana wouldn’t listen to any whining from Judd Michael, Lance Bland, Lee Culver, Ron Cunfer, Costas Maranas, Michael Goldfine, John Sheakoski, Mike Martin, Andy Maguire, Mike Renz, Jim Laudermilch, Frank Zaffino, Kevin Becker, Jeff Welsh, Rob Peterson, Alex Wouden, John Iceland, Joe Bollinger, David Lloyd, Jaimie Wright, Sara Noss, and Marty Mazur as they headed for the track. Why? Because it was warm! The snow was melting, though not yet nearly enough to clear the foot-and-a-half of snow on the outdoor track. Does this mean spring is coming? Yes. Of course. But it’s not here yet, and we’ve got about 6-8 weeks of "oscillating toward nice”.
But let’s prepare for spring. Just in case it’s warm enough start going outside (for good?) next week, Bwana gave the season ending benchmark: NX3X300. That’s N sets of 3X300 meters at close to mile race pace (or faster!) with just over 100 m rest between each 300 and about 300 meters rest between sets. N should be at least 3, as Bwana did. He didn’t see anyone tacking on another. It’s a draining, low recovery workout, but it’s over quickly, unlike this winter!
Hey, guess what! Bwana’s favorite spring race, one which he’s run every one of its 10 years, is the Run Around Egg Hill 10 Miler and Relay, and it’s only 5 weeks from Sunday! Think spring!
Thursday Track Report: Snow Day To Slack Off!
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
February 13, 2014
Despite Snowmageddon XLVIII or whatever the count is now, a healthy crew of Lance Bland, George Lesieutre, Mark and Natasha Fedkin, Mike Casper, Dean Capone, Michael Goldfine, John Sheakoski, Ron Cunfer, Marty Klanchar, Jon Thurley, Mike Renz, Meira Minard, Alex Wouden, Sara Noss, David Lloyd, Dana Todd, Jake Clements, Joe Bollinger, and Andy and Marty Mazur headed for the Mulit-Sport Facility for the regular workout. Bwana had decided to hold his tongue earlier by not quoting (*) Coach Harry Groves when one of Bwana’s supposed regulars asked if the weather would cancel the workout.
The track was crowded today. The entire Penn State team was there, doing a last workout before heading to a big meet in Cleveland. (Who heads to Cleveland during a snow storm? Well, supposedly the weather is not so bad there as on the East Coast. This thing we’re dealing with is a Nor’Easter, which usually don’t pummel the Great Lakes.) The Crew was granted permission to carry on in the inner lanes. Bwana gave the workout, a pyramid: 2-3-4-3-2 laps at 5K+ pace, where just how much “+” to add depended on whether you could keep it consistent after a measly one lap rest. Most people got the idea pretty quickly, though were thankful that the workout was done in the inner lanes rather than, as usual, the outer, which shortened the repetitions by almost 30 meters per lap!
The Crew was treated to the presence of N-Tash, as we call Natasha Fedkina, off from school on a snow day. Ever since grade school, Natasha has been showing up at local races, slowly being able to pick off older kids, then older gals and guys, in our local 5K races. Soon, she was winning regional track meets for middle schoolers, and now she’s a star at State High. It’s hard to believe that she’s just a sophomore right now, tall as she is, and FAST. N-Tash was burning through some 200s, blasting past everyone else. Is the middle distance really the right distance for her, or are the rest of us just plain slow? It’s really gratifying to see the results of the Nittany Track and Field Youth Group’s development program, currently marshaled by N-Tash’s dad Mark. And it’s something the NVRC should be proud of, supporting that group since it’s inception. The future of local running is secure!
(*) Coach Groves was once asked by one of his Freshmen if their track workout would be cancelled due to some impending bad weather. Harry looked at him and said, “Son, if you see a blinding flash and a mushroom cloud, wait till the shock wave passes and GET YOUR ASS TO THE TRACK!” Harry may have used more colorful language.
Thursday Track Report: We Came Inside To Wreck Rec Hall!
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
January 30, 2014
Cold again, but this time with a twist. Our usual Winter Thursday Track venue was closed to us this week. The guys at Flotrack were stringing cables in the rafters at the MSF so they could livestream this weekend’s big Penn State National Meet. The Crew needed somewhere else to go. We’ve been spoiled by access to the MSF for 15 years now! Could we go back to the Rec Hall track, with its hard floor, clueless students, and power-walking sneaker ladies? Well, if Greg Fredericks and the track teams of the early 70s could do their workouts there while dodging linebackers doing wind sprints, we’d have to give it our best try.
Tom Cali, Michel Goldfine, John Wilcock, Mark Lee, Mike Renz, John Affleck, Mike Zimmerman, John Iceland, Mike Casper, Aisling Ryan, Amy Blake, Sara Noss, and Marty Mazur headed to the track. Bwana gave two workouts. For those doing the Indoor Mile on Friday, the order was NX2 laps at a little faster than mile race pace with 1 lap recovery and N enough to get your legs tuned up (3 or 4). Two laps at Rec Hall is the same as two laps in lane 6 at the MSF, about 460 meters.For those ready for a longer workout, 2-3-4-3-2 laps at 5K+ pace and 1 lap recovery.
To make sure the Crew was doing the workout in the Bwana-approved fashion, Bwana did some livestreaming of his own. Tethered to a chain and wearing nothing but a pair of Nittany Valley Running Club 70s-style skimpy shorts, he swung from the rafters, loudly exhorting the Crew:
We moisturized our legs in vain
We swore and cursed the sky
We ran outside in “cold as hell”
The sting made us want to cry
Pre-chorus:
And then on the day, the one and only day
We could work out inside
Flotrack called to say, “Please, please stay away"
We just want to be inside!
Chorus:
We came inside to wreck Rec Hall!
We never hit those laps so hard
All Bwana wanted was to break our balls
And all he did was wreck me
Yeah, he, he wre-e-ecked me
Etc...
Thursday Track Report: Searching For That Mojo
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
February 6, 2014
It’s still winter, and hard to get motivated for running outside. Despite a few long Game Lands runs in every kind of weather we’ve had since Christmas, Bwana has spent more time at the Indoor Track this year than any year over the whole time since he moved here from sunny California. (Oh, why?) There’s an upside to that, as most of the runs at the track, not just the Thursday runs, have involved at least a little speed work. Today, Tom Cali, Bob Cornwall, Lance Bland, Judd Michael, Costas Maranas, John Sheakoski, Ron Cunfer, Lee Culver, Dean Capone, Meira Minard, Jon Thurley, Mike Renz, Dana Todd, Rob Peterson, Jeff Welsh, David Lloyd, Jake Clements, John Iceland, and Marty Mazur headed to the Track hoping to find something, even if it was small, to get them through till Spring.
Today’s Crew was looking to put the last bit of polish on their speed for Friday’s final Indoor Mile Series meet, which includes heats of the mile and the 3K. Some runners are doing both! No mojo deficit there! Bwana prescribed NX2 laps at just faster than mile race pace, with 1 lap rest. For those running the meet, N would be 3 or 4, just enough for a light tune-up. For the rest, N would be 6 or more. Tom Cali did 10! Or at least that’s what he said he was going to do…
Jon Thurley had the hardest time with his lost mojo. Jon seldom does the full workout at Track these days, and today in particular he spent a lot of time on the infield, crouched over and looking for something he’d lost. Bwana couldn’t make out what he was saying he was looking for. It sounded like he had marbles in his mouth. He was kind of going nuts, scanning the mat pretty closely, as if he was looking for something really small and hard to spot, like contacts. He even asked Bwana for help, but Bwana was too intent on getting his mojo back. Meira’s got better eyes, anyway. Jon, I hope you found whatever you lost!
Thursday Track Report: Honing The Edge
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
January 23, 2014
Winter is back for the long haul. It was barely 10 degrees, and the forecast calls for just one day over 20 before the end of the month. But that did not deter the Crew, since most of them drove to the *indoor* track. Tom Cali, Judd Michael, Lance Bland, Bob Cornwall, Marty Klanchar, Randy Jepson, Michael Goldfine, George Lesieutre, Dean Capone, Mike Renz, Dana Todd, Fred Wright, John Wilcock, Alex Wouden, Meira Minard, Jaimie Wright, Andy Maguire, Mike Martin, Rob Peterson, Kevin Becker, Jeff Welsh, newcomers Kaitlin Kramer and Chip Kogelman, John Iceland, David Lloyd, Ron Cunfer, and Marty Mazur made for a big turnout.
The Indoor Miles are keeping people focused in these disheartening months. Will Mitchell, who currently leads the Men’s Series, has been doing a lot of workouts on his own these days. And he was there again today, working out out as the Crew punched their ticket. Will knows that Masters Record Holder Nick Berra will try to pass him at the next meet. Will had to run 5 seconds faster in his second meet than in his first to beat Nick last week. And speaking of Masters, Newly minted Women’s Masters Mile Record Holder Meira Minard is being challenged on all sides to lower her record to sub-5:30 next week. So she put in a quality workout. And Masters standout Chip Kogelman, who is looking to go sub-5, ate up the laps. All told, at least a dozen of today’s Crew is “all in” for this Indoor Mile Series.
Bwana’s workout, by popular demand, was relays. Two-person 6-lap relays. Each person in the duo runs 2 laps in lane 5 (a bit more than a quarter mile) at a bit faster than mile race pace, then rests while his partner runs. Bwana has no idea why this workout is so popular. It sucks!
Spring seems a million miles away, but when the weather starts to break, the Spring 5Ks will follow fast and furious. The best way to stay ready is to come to the track!