All About It

Another week gone in January and all of a sudden we're almost in February! We're a month into official winter and compared to 2014, it really hasn't been that bad.

2015 is off to an amazing start. We've seen some of the best early-season performances we've ever seen. One that I missed last week was Matt Jablonski's WIN at the University of Washington Preview meet in the 3000 meter race. In this YouTube video posted by Loyola Blakefield, you can watch the last 45 seconds or so of the race, where Matty Blaze unleashes a massive kick that helps him take down none other than German Fernandez as he crosses the line first:


Then it was onto this past weekend, where I should have gone to Miami. Indeed, not only is the Miami Half Marathon one of my favorite weekends of the year, but Miami was also host to the MISS UNIVERSE pageant. Kicking myself for not going.

Pete Mulligan ran the marathon there, and I assume he was pacing the 4:40 group as he finished at 4:38 something. Then there's Megan DiGregorio. Earlier in the week I thought Meg D was coming to our Club Challenge workout. When I asked her if she was coming on Saturday, she replied with "I'm actually in Miami running the half tomorrow" - ?!?!?! Our little jetsetter friend must have booked a last minute flight and decided she needed a little Vitamin D. She finished 4th in the half in a perfectly fine time of 1:23:53 (chip), but still complained about it.

A Miami veteran himself, Terence Baptiste ran the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park. The conditions were cold and there was plenty of snow on the ground, but T ran a 1:22:16 - a great January time for him! And it was good enough to earn him this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

Saturday we saw the return of Denise Knickman to competitive racing, as she won the BRRC Frozen Fingers 5M in 34:10.

And out in Green Bay, a result I forgot to include in the email, Brennan Feldhausen was racing a marathon relay on Saturday. It was originally slated to take place on a 450m indoor track (it's around an ice skating track). Teammates could swap out whenever they felt like it. I think he said that they were going to do it on an outdoor track after the temperature hit 46 that day (warmer than here!)

That's How We Ball Out

All I see is signs
All I see is dollar signs
Money on my mind
Money, money on my mind

~ Rihanna, "Pour it Up"

The Ravens weren't the only ones taking the weekend easy; there were very few races going on. If you wanted to race this weekend, chances were you were traveling. On the docket were races like the Carlsbad Marathon and Half, and one of our favorites, the Miami Marathon and Half.

Out of curiosity, and habit, I checked results from both and noticed that Bryn Burkholder made the trip to South Beach to run the half in Miami. She finished 97th in 1:41:58 - a great time for early in the season. And since we've raced there before, we know that the warmer temps and humidity make the race deceptively tough!

Bryn's snowbird escape was well-timed as we experienced the coldest temperatures in a few years. Some of you hit the 'mills while others braved the roads, even after some wintry mix iced 'em up. Either way, it's great to see such strong running going on in January. There really are some awesome group runs these days. Wish I could keep up with them!

It goes without saying that Bryn earned this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, but it's worth nothing that Collin Anderson placed 9th at the Salt Lake City Winter Series 5k in 17:33, just 3 days after running a treadmill marathon. He's preparing for the Phoenix Marathon in a few weeks and feels good about the work he's doing.

Project 2012

By now you have probably read the email, but as we are now a month out from Club Challenge, we have unveiled a new mission: Project 2012.

Project 2012 represents the goal for our team, which is to put at least 20 men under 60 minutes, and 12 women under 70 minutes.  The team we have assembled appears to be the most talented we've ever fielded, and perhaps one of the strongest in Club Challenge history.  However, the nature of Club Challenge is to never assume, and results are never given, but rather earned, on the streets of Columbia.

Looking back in the record books, you will see that only once in the history of Falls Road Running competing in the event has it put all of its male scoring members under an hour (2010).  It is no coincidence that the team placed first among the male teams.  The Howard County Striders are more than prepared to protect their turf, and I expect they will have a formidable team ready to go on February 26th. 

For the women, I erroneously stated the only 4 count - instead, 6 women comprise a scoring team.  This makes our task no easier, as there is less margin for error.  One "off" day can mean the race, especially when the teams of Westminster RRC, Montgomery County, and the Striders, will all be gunning for us.  Our women have a target on their back, and it will take a number of PR performances to capture the title again.

It is no secret that this race is very important to our group, and that our goal each year is to win it.  And each year, the race gets faster and deeper.  It is the most competitive race of its distance, pound for pound, in the area.  By now, most of us have raced it at least once, but there will be a number of CC virgins competing this year.  The important thing to remember is that every runner counts.  In this cross-country style scored event, low score wins.  Every runner you can push back from an opposing team is less points in their pocket, even if you're not one of the scorers for our team. 

Our team is about as full as its going to get, I don't see too many names missing from the list, and based on who we have, the goal of Project 2012 appears to be something we can achieve, but far from easy.  We will need some women to step up big, as well as some men who have not historically run fast there. 

For those of you who feel that you are "too slow" and that you will hurt the team, that is absolutely FALSE!  You cannot hurt the team, believe me, I do the hypothetical scoring scenarios for this race well in advance.  It is, however, a great team event and a chance for you to bond with your other teammates over the challenging hills of the Columbia neighborhoods.  Besides, you never know what you're capable of until you get out there and do it. 

PROJECT 2012!

And now, a quick review of the races from over the weekend.  Chris Snyder and Tim Burns each doubled in the Mile/800m at the Bucknell Bison Open Meet.  Chris ran 4:29.96 and 2:01.28, while Tim ran 4:39.04 and 2:06.81.  At the Hagerstown Community College Invite, Alex Battaglino, fresh off a birthday, ran a 4:35.88 mile to finish 3rd.  And while we took a year off from the craziness of the Miami Marathon weekend, Emily Boss ran a 1:48:56 in the half.  We hope you enjoyed the trip, Emily!

While these performances were all perfectly fine, I had to stray from the beaten path a bit for this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.  The lowly Towson Tigers Men's Basketball team had lost 41 straight games - an NCAA D-I record - that is, until Saturday.  They were victorious by I think one basket, and snapped their supreme losing skid.  All it takes is one, fellas.  Great job, Towson, you are our PDAW for this week!

Kings of South Beach

Editor's Note: this piece was originally published by Scotty Doesn't Know, who apparently "doesn't know" how to delete posts. Just kidding, Tom. So instead, I'm hijacking the post for my own use.

Last Saturday, I detailed the results of Dusty's fake 5k and Dave Berdan's USA Half Marathon Championship race.

Of course, by now, you've all heard the story of the ING Miami Half Marathon, but it never hurts to retell it. The details of the trip are largely inconsequential; for Barf, Zero and myself, Thursday night was a late one. For me and Zero, so too was Friday night. Saturday we hit the Everglades for a few hours, and came back and all felt pretty tuckered out. By the time heads hit the pillows on Saturday, I was fully anticipating the same old story. Start out okay, fade by the time we hit Ocean Drive, suffer, barely make it to the line and feel terrible all day after.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Zero kicked things off for the crew, running a 1:20:08. His previous best half marathon was a 1:23:24 or something like that. Insane PR. Maybe it was the new shoes. Along the way he set a 10k PR, and also ran his 3rd fastest 10 miler. Kevin has run faster half marathons, but he has never run as fast in Miami as he did on Sunday. 1:39:04 represented a 5 minute course record for him.

But then came Joel in the marathon. Before the race he told us his plan of negative splitting, and running under 2:55. While I have supreme confidence in all of our group reaching their goals, this was quite lofty. I mean, nobody runs well in Miami. Nobody. It also would be at least a 13 minute PR for Joel. So he goes out and is running his race, Dusty jumps in from 6-14 and runs along with Joel, who at this point is ripping miles off in the low 6's. He comes through the half in 1:26:05, which would have been a half marathon PR until this past December. Surely he had to fade, he just had to. Rather than fade, he accelerated, negative splitting by 45 seconds or so, and coming through the finish in a glorious 2:51:21. This was not only the race of his life, but one of the best races I've ever seen in my life. And it all happened in Miami.

Needless to say, Joel was our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week. Then we enjoyed the rest of the beautiful Sunday before returning to windy, cold, snowy winter.

Dusty 2nd at Tropical 5k

Dustin gets the write-up!

Dusty breaks 16 en route to 2nd place. Solid early season race.

Meanwhile, in Houston, Dave Berdan finishes 38th in 1:08:21. The race appeared to be pretty slow all around, but I'm sure it's more than disappointing as he was looking to get under the Olympic Trials qualifying time of 1:05:00.

FREE MOJITOS

Now that I have your attention.....If you're ever having a bad day, watch this video of our very own Joel Gladfelter attempting an in-water catch of a nerf ball in Miami.
Happy Weekend everyone :)

MIAMI!

South Beach, FL - One year ago, a hearty group of TWSS members traveled to Miami for the running of the ING Miami Half Marathon. What ensued was a trip filled with energy, awesomeness and raw fun, so much so that when we were making plans for this year, the size of the group doubled.

Once again we would be staying in the heart of South Beach, Miami's oceanfront destination for fun and sun, at the picturesque Colony Hotel.

The weather upon our arrival Friday morning sure beat that of Baltimore. Gone were the freezing temps and impending snow; we were now treated to temps in the mid 70s and sun. Once our group was complete we headed out to Ocean's 10, our spot from last year, for dinner and to start the weekend of Mojito Madness. The night was late and Saturday most were slow moving. After some more time at the beach, everyone finally went for their runs down to the Expo Center, where Terence waited in line to meet Ryan Hall.

Later in the day it was time for dinner, after which most went home to snooze before the 4am wakeup. Jen, Justin and myself (the injured list) decided what the heck, let's go out again. And it became another late night. I woke up at 4 to make sure everyone was up and ready to go before falling back asleep, but as a result I almost missed the race go by! Our hotel front door served as the mile 5 marker, and I woke up at 6:36. Grabbed my camera and ran downstairs just in time to see the first few people go by. I spotted all of our squad. 5 miles in it's still dark, but everyone seemed to be in good spirits and looked dece to dece plus. Melissa and Nina managed to give pretty good smiles as they went by. After the race - well, that's another story for most of them.

With the race done and a full day ahead of us, we were hoping for pure debauchery with the Pro Bowl in town. Instead it was fairly quiet. After getting cleaned up we headed to Wet Willie's, known for its frozen concoctions. Everyone but T partook. Terence was completely wrecked (again) after the race and was mad sleep/sick. Then Alyssa and Melissa managed to make it on New Orleans TV, who was there doing some prep stuff for the Super Bowl. They come in about halfway through the video:

Once again, Alyssa makes it in the news.

Lunch, dinner and then it was time to go out again. The weather had been relatively un-Miami-like for the day, with cooler temps, lots of wind, and cloudy/rainy skies. This, and being a Sunday, kept the crowd down. Which was probably good for us. We hit up the Clevelander again, for the 3rd day in a row, and stayed out until late. Ended the night with another trip to Johnny Rockets, and woke up to a downpour on Monday. Perfect timing, as we were headed out.

The results from the race, which really didn't matter, were okay. The highlights really all revolved around how much fun we had. As I've said before it's an absurd time, you get to do a race somewhere else and more importantly have a vacation. Over the next few months I'll start preparing for our Winter 2011 trip, and we'll see if we can't up the ante. I took 450 pictures over the weekend, so I'm working on uploading them, but in the meantime Melissa took some pictures and I'm going to attempt to link to them on Picasa (not sure if it will work)

http://picasaweb.google.com/Melissa.Bosslet/MiamiHalfMarathon?locked=true&feat=content_notification#

Oh and in case you were wondering, our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, featured here on our PDAW Purple Chair presented by Crown Royal, is: