We Got That Power

Another post that I'm way behind on, but don't fret, I'm getting it done systematically.

Early January is like a desert for races. Someone asked on a run recently "are there any big races coming up?" We said no. "Any races like 5-10km?" No. "Any races with good competition or money?" NO.

It's freaking January on the East Coast. Nobody wants to race. And if you're competitive, you're probably content with training through until spring, when there ARE big races! Unless you are racing indoor track, there ain't shit.

And that's why Ed Aramayo ran the Gotham Cup at the Armory in NYC on Friday evening. Against a field of mostly college kids and a handful of post-collegiates, Ed, who isn't getting any younger, ran the 1000 meter event. 5 laps around the track up there, and he hasn't raced on the indoor oval in 20 months. That season was pretty good though, when he ran 2:32 for 1000m and ultimately went onto a number of outdoor track PRs.

But what could he expect of himself after such a long layoff? He hasn't been doing "track specific" workouts, and his 2 months of working out on the West Coast left him in the red in terms of running mileage. He toed the line and let the race happen. And happen it did. A kid in front of him just after the 2nd lap stepped on the rail and went down, causing a chain reaction of fallers. Ed deftly hurdled them, and went onto win the heat in 2:38.09. Far from a time he would have been happy with, but he followed the #1 rule of racing indoors: RACE THE RACE. Note: he did not get beat by Mary Cain.

Kevin McGrath headed back to Central Park to run in the Joe Kleinerman 10k, a full lap around CP. The torrential rain of Saturday stopped just before the race and held off for it, and apparently it was warmer up there than here (where it was 37 and rainy). A couple of folks ran the BRRC Frozen Finger 5M, including winner Jack Flowers (don't you go to college?!), PJ Anderer, Johnny Lyons, Terry Decker and Denise Knickman, who was 2nd for the women.

Ed earned this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

Hopefully next week I'll put a little more time into giving everyone some fun stuff to read on the blog.

Tacos y Burritos

The title has nothing to do with this post. I was just thinking to myself, does this group run anymore? Not that it's a bad thing, but I feel like all our activities revolve around drinking (usually while running or riding a bike), birthdays and drinking. Also I do realize everybody IS running, just seems like turnout has been small for "group" runs.

With that in mind, the spring season is done, and for those of you are are physically able to run, let's see some chatter about running plans again! I know we suffered a blow (too bad he didn't) when Ben left, but we need some new blood to lead some runs now that I'm retired.

Suggestions from me:

Mondays - they're fun, come on out and run. Great way to start the week.

Tuesdays - even if you don't do the workout, come up, run, then eat Chipotle. Not a bad Tuesday.

Wednesdays - don't make Cheese run by himself!

Thursdays - entirely possible the return of Thursday Night Swims at Gunpowder is right around the corner...

Fridays - I used to run Patapsco every Friday with guys like Kris, Kip, Prada, BG, Jake, Justin, Travis, Steve Levin, Arjun, Alex, Chrissie. Is it possible we can bring this one back??

Weekends - now that fall marathon training is about to begin, I'm sure more long runs and workouts will be done. Let's get a post on the blog about them. Conversely, if that's too much effort, send me your run plans and I'll even do it for you.

Some things to look forward to in the weeks to come:

Columbia/Bike Jam: This Sunday! Columbia's a wee bit early, but Bike Jam is at Patterson Park and Dr. K races at 2pm and Alex is at 4 maybe. Then perhaps Kisling's or pizza party after??

Dreaded Druid Hills: A truly unique race in Baltimore, and one of the hardest you'll ever run. That's why none of us ever run it. Traditionally we all volunteer, and since Wire to Wire will be timing and Pete is RD, let's get those of you who are around to come out and help Saturday June 5!

Hubs of Fury 6??? That's right, it's about that time. Tentative weekend plan right now is Saturday June 26.

Rockville Twilight: The race of the summer, there is no better event. I know some of you will be going to the Jack Johnson concert that evening but this...costs less. Saturday July 17. Always a fun time.

So sound off! The blog's been fairly quiet lately. Any suggestions or comments can be directed to the comment section or to me!