Thursday Track Report: Two-A-Day Vitamins
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
August 25, 2011
Our irenic late summer training is about to be disturbed, and not by the inappropriately named hurricane that will likely only deliver a glancing blow to our area. No, our peace will be disturbed, already has been disturbed, by mOUnTaiNBACK training and trash talk. Tom Cali, John Domico, Ken Davis, Jim Moore, Bob Cornwall, Lance Bland, Costas Maranas, Marv Hall, Andy Maguire, Esther Prins, newcomer Elizabeth Desser, Kirk Rager, John Ake, Rich Harter, Dana Todd, Jim Laudermilch, Rob Peterson, and Marty Mazur headed for the track under drab skies with light breezes.
Bwana announced that he'd be doing two-a-days on Thursdays, as is his usual practice once the mOUnTaiNBACK Discovery Series training runs start. He quickly scanned the group to see who was likely to do the same, and who was missing whom he'd see in the evening. Then he gave the workout: 6X400 with short rest (200 m jogging). So the 400s would be done at slightly faster than a race clip and the workout would build on you because of the short recovery. Everyone bought into it and did well by it.
Bwana made it to Tussey in the evening and saw that Jim Moore, Andy Maguire, and Tom Cali from the lunch Crew were also ramping up their training by doing a two-fer. Meira rested on her not-inconsiderable laurels at noon, but took the mountain by storm in the evening. And several other erstwhile Trackers still haven't bought into the value of two-a-days for a race where people will be running at least two legs in one day: Amy Blake, Sarah Noss, Rob Shaver, Joe Montenegro, and John Sheakoski are still only up for one workout. Let's hope for their teams that that's enough...
Thursday Track Report: Stepping It Up Several Notches
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
August 18, 2011
The Track Crew decided to take advantage of the last summer Thursday before the hordes descend. John Domico, Ken Davis, Costas Maranas, George Lesieutre, Bob Cornwall, Lance Bland, Andy Maguire, Frank Zaffino, Jon Thurley, Meira Minard, Beth Kempton, Lee Culver, Jim Laudermilch, John Wilcock, Mark Lee, Rich Harter, Ron Cunfer, Rob Peterson, and Marty Mazur headed for the track under blue skies with warm temperatures.
Though in July we had our first 100+ degree day here in State College in several years, and a 3 week dry spell to boot, the summer has been pretty mild overall. Mild days, cool evenings, and rainy weekends have been the norm the last few weeks. This is nothing like the weather that visiting Beth Kempton has to deal with in Las Vegas. Beth will be doing the mOUnTaiNBACK with the DCR this year, and with her boyfriend. She claims she's out of shape, but Bwana thinks she was sandbagging. It's mOUnTaiNBACK season. What else?
Bwana gave the mini-front-loader workout: 800 at better than race pace, followed by 3X200, hard, with only 100m rest after the 800 and between each 200. You're recovering from the 800 as you work through the 200s and should be doing each 200 faster as you go. And did I mention? Do that whole thing twice.
Bwana can see that some people are starting to up their mOUnTaiNBACK training, but some are still working off summer chalupas. Greg Luna has been going to Tuesday Evening Track, but can't seem to make it twice in a week. He was seen plodding down Porter right after the workout. Rob Shaver, who also is also a Tuesday regular, was probably tying flies, or tying one on. Bwana seems to be the only one who has stepped it up to the next level: two regular speed workouts a week. And next week he'll kick it up yet another notch by doing a Two-a-Day every Thursday! Yep, next Thursday starts the Discovery Series training runs for mOUnTaiNBACK! See you there! (After the track!)
Thursday Track Report: Habemus Duces!
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
August 4, 2011
Several of the Trackers had been sequestered for the last several days. Our leader, Cardinal "La Zanna" Sheakoski sealed us in a stuffy chamber deep under ground in order that we could complete the sacred task of choosing Captains for the Draft Challenge Relay. There was much acrimony, gnashing of teeth, and near fisticuffs as the assembled Graybeards toiled ceaselessly to choose and order those august nine who will lead teams through the woods in a mere 11 weeks. So it was with great joy that a puff of white smoke was seen over the brick chimney at ARL Science Park, signifying that the Captains had been chosen.
And it was with much relief that Cardinals Tom "La Calidonna" Cali, Costas "Il Greco" Maranas, Ken "Il Verde" Davis, Jim "Il Cavaliere" Moore, Judd "Occhio Morto" Michael, Meira "L'Innocente" Minard, Marty "Carne Focaccina" Mazur and John "Capo di Tutti Capi" Sheakoski headed to the track with mOUnTaiNBACK Race Director Mike "Il Fantasma Amichevole" Casper, Meghan Mason, Esther Prins, Jon Thurley, Rob Shaver, Marv Hall, Forrest Briscoe, Dana Todd, Kirk Rager, Adam Smith, Frank Zaffino, Matt Degges, and Ron Cunfer. There were several sacerdotal man-hugs exchanged among the Cardinals for a job well done.
Cardinal Bwana doffed his red hat to give an unholy workout: A downward, accelerating descending ladder: 1K-800-600-400-200, getting faster each step. The only thing harder is an accelerating ascending ladder. How many steps to heaven?
Some of the Cardinals were too exhausted from their deliberations to attend the workout. John "Il Sudore" Domico was sitting in a cold bath up to his tonsured noggin. Tara "La Regina delle Colline" Murray was in a cavern (or tavern?) in "La Bella Fontana". And several others were hearing each other's confessions. But for the rest of you, no more excuses! Now is the time to start mOUnTaiNBACK training! There are 45 of you DCR runners who are NOT captains and only about 5 of you were at the track!
Thursday Track Report: Could Fall Be Far Behind?
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
August 11,2011
Summer seems to be winding down. State College woke to a "Fall Feel" morning, and dew points dipped as the day went on, down into the 40s by the afternoon. And while the trees have not really started to change, some of the sumac bushes around town are turning blaze orange. Many trackers are taking one of the last two weeks of available vacation before the Penn State schedule kicks in. All the same, a fair sized crew including Tom Cali, Lance Bland, Jim Moore, Ken Davis, Costas Maranas, Bob Cornwall, Mark Traband, Rob Shaver, Michael Goldfine, Dean Capone, newcomer Joe, Ann Landers, Esther Prins, Hannah Grubb, Rich Harter, Adam Smith, Dana Todd, Rob Peterson and Marty Mazur headed for the track.
Bwana welcomed a newcomer, Joe (I'll get his last name next time) to the Crew this week. Bwana explained the drill and Joe started out with the lead group and pretty much hung with them for the entire workout, which was 3X1000 at a pace between 5K and 10K race pace. Bwana was a little faster than that, even, though that still meant he brought up the rear.
This is the time of year when Bwana can't tell who's on vacation and who's just slacking. Ever magnanimous in spirit, Bwana will assume the former, but the true test will come with the Fall racing schedule, including the mOUnTaiNBACK. Don't forget, you can run while on vacation!
Thursday Track Report: Separated At Birth
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- Written by Bwana Bwana
July 28, 2011
Everyone remarked with relief that the heat wave that afflicted us last week, as well as the mini-drought, have abated. Jim Myers, John Domico, Tom Cali, Jim Moore, Judd Michael, George Lesieutre, Ken Davis, Meira Minard, Doreen Chesterfield, Mike Casper, Mark Traband, Emily Herring, Hannah Grubb, Dana Todd, Rob Peterson, and Marty Mazur headed for the track in mild conditions under drab skies.
Bwana welcomed Emily Herring to the workout. Emily is a Penn State student who is gung-ho about running. So much so that she has it in the back of her mind that she'll be following the path laid out by her big sisters and running the mOUnTaiNBACK, all 50, all by herself. She met one of her big sisters today: Doreen Chesterfield. The weird thing was how sisterly they were. In Doreen's absence at last month's NVRC meeting, Bwana gave Emily the job of Picnic Planner (at her request), having forgotten that Doreen is Awesome Picnic Planner For Life based on her job last year. And Emily and Doreen showed up today wearing nearly identical running attire: pink shoes, pink and black shorts, pink top...spooky. The sisters got on well and were last seen conspiring on Bwana's demise.
The workout was something we tried last month: 3X(2X500). There was 200m rests between each 500. The first two were run at a relatively slow (10K race) pace, but each pair thereafter was run at a 5 seconds faster pace. A nice pace building workout.
Track attendance always dips mid-summer. Bwana counted 18 today, and knows that people are camping, beaching, woodsing, drinking...hiding. He'll see who was conscientious come the Fall...