Tuesday, December 16, 2008

AWARDS NIGHT

The 2nd Annual Team That's What She Said Awards Night was another great success. I think the change in venue from the kitchen in my house to the store was a solid move, and I thank everyone for making the drive up to the store in the rain.

I would also like to sincerely thank all of you for your thoughtfulness in presenting me with the aero helmet and wetsuit. Even though I feel like what I do doesn't merit gifts like those, it's a wonderful gesture and I hope that you all feel like you benefit from being part of the movement.

One thing that is left over from Awards Night is the fact that I completely forgot to give out my favorite and pretty much the most important award - the Coach's Award. This was an award our coaches gave out in high school, and was designed to acknowledge a member of the team who you could always count on. The person would be selfless, enthusiastic and above all a great teammate. Last year Joel Gladfelter received this award for his spirit throughout the year, and this year's winner exemplified what the award is all about.

He was always there to lend a hand, pacing others and putting their efforts ahead of his, whether it was running 6min pace for a bunch of miles, or walking, or making shirts and signs and driving all over creation to attend multiple races in the same weekend - all while also getting back into serious shape himself, and finishing up the season with some pretty sick times.

So Brennan, please accept this award on behalf of Team TWSS, and I apologize for not remembering to bring it up tonight. I had a whole speech and everything and now I'm upset because this is, to me, the most meaningful award.

Congratulations also to all the award winners, particularly the Male and Female Athletes of the Year: Justin Gerbereux and Alyssa Godesky, and the winners of Performance of the Year in Lee DiPietro and Will Knox. I'm really excited for what 2009 has in store, and it's apparent everyone is pretty motivated right now. Always remember to feed off each other's energy, and that when morale is low Alex and I will come up with another sick idea to bring everyone back up.

It's not always about the times that you run, but the times that you have while running. I think our trip to Philadelphia this year (which one? any of them) shows that we're all capable of going somewhere, having a fun time and still racing really well - and even if you don't race well (cough*ryan*cough) you don't worry about it because of how awesome the rest of the time was.

All the best to everyone in 2009, and if you signed up for Cherry Blossom let me know so I can add you to a team/the calendar, or add yourself to the calendar (double click the box, hit ctrl+enter to add a new line). We'll get some pictures up on the Interweb from Awards Night soon. Thanks again everyone!

4 comments:

RM said...

Also, let the record show that Brennan ran a 16:37.14 at Santa's Sleigh 5k. Now, I presume there was no chip timing used at this race? If that's the case, then this is his gun time, and I would also presume a reaction time of greater than 0.14s.

Arjun ran a 16:37 at Shamrock 5k. They do not go to the hundredths, but his gun time was 16:38 with the chip time being 37.

Therefore, as long as Brennan confirms the non-usage of chip timing, then he will be #9 on the 5k top times with Arjun at #10.

THE KRIS said...

damn, arjun got jacked at that race.

congrats bren.

brennan said...

I appreciate the recognition. It’s a great team we have out here and I’m just glad to be a part of it. As you all know it is very difficult for me to be around during the baseball season, so I try to do all that I can when I’m available. It’s been a lot of fun and I look forward to a successful ’09 with all of you!
As far as Santa’s Sleigh 5k goes…there certainly was no chip timing. I can’t believe they actually had times to the hundredths. That is ridiculous. However, their 16:37.14 isn’t far off of what I had for my watch time which I believe was 16:36.86; which if you add the .24 which is the converter from hand to auto timing it is pretty damn accurate. Regardless, Arjun & I are Bert & Ernie…we can share the #9 spot.

RM said...

So cute!