Thursday Track Report: Word Of The Day
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
March 15, 2012
It was unusually warm and sunny for the Ides of March as Judd Michael, Lance Bland, Ken Davis, Miles Smith, Esther Prins, Michael and Kelson Goldfine, Dana Todd, Kirk Rager, Jim Laudermilch, Kevin Becker, newcomer Beth, and Marty Mazur headed for the track. The light turnout was soon supplemented by runners from the NVRC Marathoners for Medicine team who had been at the MSF for Media Day, including John Domico, George Lesieutre, John Wilcock, Mark Lee, Andy Cunningham, Mike Renz, Andrew Maguire, Jeff Smucker, and Marty Klanchar.
It seems that everyone is training for a different race. The marathon teams are going long for a good cause. Bwana is going long in small chunks, running about 11 miles in 3 “legs”, as part of Michael Goldfine’s Seneca 77 team. And then there are the people who are tuning up for the slew of Spring 5Ks that start this weekend. Bwana didn’t want to mess up anyone’s training. Today’s workout was the old indoor standby exported to the great outdoors: NX3X300. But Bwana didn’t hold anyone strictly to that distance. Some of the marathoners did repeat miles in the outside lanes.
The Marathoners for Medicine have a new honorary coach. Joe and Sue Paterno and Greg Fredericks had acted as honorary coaches for going on 10 years. Sue and Greg are still involved, but with Joe’s passing, a new coach was recruited, someone with a very impressive record spanning many years. Russ Rose, perhaps the nation’s top women’s volleyball coach with many conference championships and 5 national titles, is stepping into Joe’s shoes. Bwana’s philosophy of coaching (if not his accomplishments) mirrors that of Coach Rose. After running back to Rec Hall after the workout, Bwana and company saw Russ walking in front of Rec Hall, smoking a big stogie, about to plant himself in his favorite people-watching bench. We asked him to impart some of his wisdom to his new team. Russ’s “word of the day”? Taking a big puff and relaxing, he replied: “Priorities.”
Thursday Track Report: Solar Flares
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
March 8, 2012
A gigantic expulsion of gas sent John Domico, Jim Moore, Lance Bland, Mike Casper, Mark Fedkin, Michael Goldfine, Marv Hall, John Wilcock, Andy Arndt, Dana Todd, Rich Harter, Blake Cohen, Frank Rodenbaugh, Rob Peterson, and Marty Mazur streaming for Van Allen Belt below the BJC.
Bwana, wearing his corona, gave the workout, the seldom run Front-Loader: 1 mile at faster-than-5K race page followed by 4X400 with short (200 meter) rests. The first 400 would be at about the same pace as the mile, but you are recovering from the mile as you do the 400s, which should get successively faster. Kind of like the charged particles of the Northern Lights as they scream through the atmosphere, shedding sparks of glory for all to see.
Well, again, there were no gaudy or glorious women at the track named Aurora, Gloria, or anything else for that matter. Nor did we see Dawn's rosy fingers (or Rosie, either). So the guys were left alone to deal with the sharp Harpies blowing their gusts over the top of the MSF. But Spring is around the corner. Flora will appear with her fauna. And all will be right in Bwana's Peaceable Kingdom.
Thursday Track Report: Remember, You Can Always Call Home For A Ride!
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
February 23, 2012
March winds were blowing in Track Hollow a week early as John Domico, Judd Michael, John Wilcock, Rich Harter, Michael Goldfine, Kevin Becker, Rob Peterson, Dave DeGroote, and Marty Mazur headed for their workout. But it was fairly warm and sunny, too, tempting several runners to attempt an outdoor workout. All but two came back to the MSF, leaving Ken Davis and George Lesieutre outside to combine a track workout with a resistance workout. The last time Bwana saw these two, they were struggling to run in place on the windy backstretch.
Bwana resisted a clamorous demand to run 300s. Too much of a good thing. Instead, the crew did a descending ladder of 5-4-3-2 laps at increasing pace each downward step.
Several of the Crew were taking part in a pre-State Patty’s Day “Run of Shame” (or “Run of Have No Shame”). That’s where some runners start out heading toward the track with the group and then, when Bwana’s not looking, dodge off and hit the bars. Then, rather than worry about getting the stagger right on lane 5, they proceed to stagger about, crossing lanes of traffic on College and Beaver Avenues. Bwana is on to them. But he doesn’t mind. Like anything else, if you're going to do them right, drinking bouts are something you have to train for. It’s better they do it now than Bwana gets phone calls at midnight!
Thursday Track Report: Planetary Alignment
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
March 1, 2012
A drab and breezy day ushered in “Meteorological Spring”, and weather appropriate to the season (It is March after all) greeted Jim Myers, Lance Bland, Ken Davis, George Lesieutre, Ron Cunfer, Michael Goldfine, John Wilcock, Travis, Blake Cohen, Frank Rodenbaugh, Constantin Schreiber, Rob Peterson, Kevin Becker, Joel Niemann, and Marty Mazur as they headed to the track. The Crew went inside yet again, this time more out of habit than necessity. But the planets are aligning themselves, pointing to that soon-arriving equinox. We'll regularly be doing our orbits outside before long.
Bwana decided to take advantage of the new markings on the brand new track surface today. It turns out that there are small black markings on white bars on the lane 4/5 divider that indicate exactly where to start for 400,500,600, and 800 meter runs in the workout lane (5). (Where to stop and how many laps to run is something that's assumed known, but doesn't take rocket science to figure out.) But you’d better fire you rockets exactly when you hit your mark, otherwise you’ll either spiral into the jump pit or end up out in the green-carpeted Kuiper Belt where all the big guys toss iron around in hyperbolic orbits. Bwana's workout du jour was 4X800 in lane 5. Unlike ladders, there is no build-up in tempo or intensity. You just pick a pace (and a good one, say a bit faster than 5K race pace) and stick with it, consistently. The Crew did well.
Bwana's hoping the birdies chirping will usher in consistent warm weather and also bring back some of the birdies who stay away from our workouts. I know Meerkat has sworn off all track, and the gravitational pull of her small frame and big smile suck away a few more of the major and minor planets. But we hope to hear again from Esther and Monika and Bree and Beth and maybe a few more of our asteroids.
Thursday Track Report: Senior Circuit
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
February 16, 2012
It was late March weather in mid-February: temperatures just over freezing, wind, sleet, and rain, as Jim Myers, Lance Bland, Judd Michael, George Lesieutre, Mike Casper, Ron Cunfer, Michael Goldfine, Lee Culver, John Wilcock, Andy Arndt, Dana Todd, Jim Laudermilch, Andrew Maguire, Constantin Schreiber, Frank Rodenbaugh, Kevin Becker, Rob Peterson, and Marty Mazur headed for the track. Despite the fact that most of the Crew ran to the MSF, turnout was pretty good considering the storminess.
Frank Rodenbaugh is convinced that Bwana picks the NX3X300 workout just for him, since (to his recollection) Bwana calls for it every time Frank shows up. Frank just has to show up more often! But he’s doing well with it. Frank is obviously getting back into his high school sub-10 two-miler shape, cranking his 300s out in well under a minute per. He’s also obviously trying to get back into his high school prom tux, having lost more than a pound or two since starting with the Thursday Track Crew (and running an Indoor Mile or two).
Trying to hit on a theme for today’s report, Bwana scratched his head several times. He already beat on the young guys Frank and Constantin the last couple of weeks. Then he looked at the list of attendees. Almost everyone was over 40, and about half were over 50, including newly-minted trans-geezer Judd Michael. And even with Meerkat in the mix of shirkers and excuse makers (Moore, Hilands, Capone, Cali), the average age there was over 50 as well. Is there hope for our Crew? Well, looking at Arnold Gasche, age 82, as he did his workout while taking time to hit on the PSU track girls, we’ve got a good 30 years left in us!