Get Faded

There was more fading going on at Saturday's Terrapin Invitational at the PG Sports and Learning Complex than Kid and Play's haircuts...

The morning's first event was the 5000m, which saw Tristram Thomas take a brief stab at the lead, bringing the field through 1600m in 4:49, before slowing down to hit 3200 at 10:00, and ultimately finish 10th at 15:53.16. 

The mile was up around noon, and Arjun Majumdar, racing in his first indoor race since March 2008, ran a fairly even split 4:46.28.  In the next heat, Ed Aramayo was in a battle for position from the gun.  He came through the half (809m) in 2:11.5, which had him in a good spot to challenge his 4:23 from last year's Terrapin Invite.  Unfortunately, a brief mental lapse around the 3/4 mark saw his split slip a little, and he finished up at 4:28.62 for 12th.  Chris Snyder, who ran a 4:40 1600 just two weeks ago at the PG Meet, apparently gets into shape real quick, as he finished 3rd in 4:21.76.

Later in the day, after I left, Greg Jubb took 3rd in the 800 with a 1:56.50, and Louis Foudos ran 2:06.50 for 35th. In the 3000m, Liz Laseter finished 4th in 10:34.31. 

Somewhere on the ultra circuit, Dave Ploskonka finished 2nd at the winter edition of the Beast of Burden 100 miler.  In the summer version of 2010, Dave won and ran a PR of 16h19m.  This weekend, with a snow covered path, he ran 17h20m.  The winner was an astounding 14h56m or something insane. 

Out in sunny Carlsbad, California, Andy Gell ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon (a race we've been talking about going out to!) in 1:33:09 to finish 198th.

With a great race on Saturday, this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week honor is going to Chris Snyder.  20 seconds in two weeks?  One way to assure yourself a PDAW is to set the bar low and then rise above it!

We had an awesome showing yesterday on the Club Challenge course - 22 people did some kind of workout, which was run in 26 degree temps.  Very chilly in the hills of Columbia. 

We're on the track tomorrow at 6:30 (warmup) and there will inevitably be a zillion different workouts so you can figure out what you want to do tomorrow.  I know Dustin is doing 40 minute tempo starting at 5:40/mi and working down to 5:20/mi.  He plans on arriving at 6:15 to do a 30 minute warmup and then starting his workout around 6:50pm.  So if you usually work out with Dustin, plan accordingly.  I am going to start getting back into running again, so I'll be starting with something light, perhaps 2-3 miles of 200 on/200 off a la Brennan's "workout" last week.

Seriously, are they Black Simon and Garfunkel?

A Place Called Kokomo

In the Florida Keys, Arjun Majumdar ran the Miami-Key West Ragnar Relay with some friends.  While we were here, suffering through spring-like temperatures, Arjun got to run 3 legs of varying distances, at high rates of speed, with friends, surrounded by quietly beautiful scenery. 

This weekend also kicked off the indoor season for those athletes not averse to running fast around a small oval.  Ed Aramayo traveled up to NYC's Armory for the Metro Coaches Invitational.  Ed raced the 1000m, running 2:34.61 and finishing 3rd in his heat (10th overall).  He therefore established a Team record for the distance.  Later in the meet, he was tapped to run a leg of the 4x800m relay for Central Park Track Club, where he split 2:02.  In the same meet, Alan Webb made his return to racing, finishing 2nd in the 800m.

At the PG Complex on Sunday, Tristram Thomas (4:32), Tim Burns (4:38), and newcomer Chris Snyder (4:40) ran the 1600m.  Results may never show up for this one, as Potomac Valley Track Club no longer puts on these meets, but that was the report I received from TT.  And they channeled their inner Spider Sillery, arriving just 5 minutes before the gun.

Dave Ploskonka clearly feels no need to sit on his laurels, as he headed to Texas for the highly competitive Bandera 100k.  According to an ultra insider, Dave's 10h17m race and 11th place finish is "very, very good."  I'll take it!  Editor's note: I just found out that this event served as the 2012 USATF 100k Trail National Championship, so even cooler!

The BRRC was holding its Frozen Finger 5M on Saturday, but there were a few inconsistencies: 1) it wasn't 5 miles and 2) it was hardly frozen.  With morning temps in the 50s, and a course change to a more cross-country style loop course at the Park School, it wasn't quite the event some were expecting, but I did hear that Denise Knickman took the win.

In a land Down Under, Kevin Frick started his year off with the Sydney Resolution Run 11k, running 50:20 for 29th place. 

But the big result(s) of the weekend belonged to Pete Mulligan.  A few of Pete's long run friends were going to do two marathons this weekend.  The first was the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS, on Saturday.  Pete described the course as "Baltimore from 16-22, except starting at mile 2 and not ending until 24"- in other words, very hilly!  With temperatures well into the 70s, combined with the course profile, Pete's goal of getting under 4 was scaled back.  He finished just over 4:08, and after a short break, hopped in the car for the 3.5 hour drive to Mobile, Alabama, for Sunday's First Light Marathon.  While the course was pancake flat, with a marathon already in the legs, and the temperature hitting 76 degrees, Pete was not feeling it.  Physically, he said, he was alright, but mentally it was a long day for him, as he finished in 4:12:35 for 135th place.  But, for doing the double, Pete was rewarded with an EXTRA medal, and with his bib from Sunday's race, he earned a complimentary ticket to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, featuring Arkansas State and Northern Illinois. 

With 52.4 miles of racing, 3 medals, 2 t-shirts, and a Bowl game appearance, Pete has earned the first Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

This week is an exciting one as Chrissie Ramsey heads down to Houston for the 2012 US Olympic Trials Marathon.  And the Houston Texans head here, to Baltimore, in the NFL Playoffs.  I predict Houston is going to get blazed coming and going.  Go Chrissie!

TRACK WORKOUT UPDATE: While it looks like the popular vote is to do a workout Tuesday, Ed and Arjun are going to look to Wednesday as their preferred day at the track.  If you generally do your workouts with them, get in touch with Ed for details.

Party Like it's 2012

Remember that song that came out at the end of 2010?  Nikki Minaj was on it.  Did their label just not realize that 2012 was a year away?  Did not hear that song ONCE this year. 

Anyway, there was a lot of running going on as we left 2011 and said hello to 2012:

Brennan Feldhausen ran the Run into the New Year 5k in Milwaukee, with his sisters in tow.  He felt that the race distance was accurate, but the mile markers were not, as he hit 3 miles in 16:30, but didn't finish until 18:11.  That's an RM style last 0.1. 

In York, PA, Stacie Wentz, who seriously never races, ran the Double Deuce, a 2 mile run that starts at 11:45pm.  She didn't get to the finish by midnight, but her unofficial time of 16:24 would be a team 2 Mile record (road)!  But rules are rules and I need to see official times for it to be ratified.  Stacie technically was the first race finisher of 2012 that means. 

Collin Anderson did some 24 hour Run Through the Years in AZ, where he ran 100k and then called it a day.  Then he texted "I ran 63 miles yesterday and now I'm rdrukn."

Our 2nd Annual NYE Run had a terrific showing of something like 15 or 17 people, I couldn't believe it!  Meeting at 2pm from THE Washington Monument (yes, that's right, Baltimore had it first), we took a scenic trip along the Jones Falls, through Clipper Mill, up into Druid Hill Park and down through Hopkins. 

The next morning was a whole new year, which meant clean slate Top 10 lists.  Dan Miranda set a great early mark for the 5k, running 16:44 in a 3rd place effort at the Resolution Run 5k.  Jack Flowers was 5th in 17:25, and Joel Gladfelter rounded out the top 10 in 18:30.  On the ladies side, Christine Trzcinski took 3rd in 21:42, Emily Keyes ran 23:16, and Karen Menge, getting her 2012 goals cracking, 23:46.

At the BRRC Father Time Frolic 5 Miler (Prediction Run), Tristram Thomas unsuccessfully predicted that he would run 37:30.  He got to the line, knew he was quick, jogged around a little, but still finished in 35:39.  His miscue landed him in 41st place. 

I found a few other results from 1/1/12, including Luke Belford's 5th place finish at the RASAC New Year's Day 10k (37:53) and results from the Winfield Mile, where Ryan Stasiowski won in 4:47.10 and Louis Foudos won some oreos, running 5:14.80.

Meanwhile, our Sunday Long Run group consisted of myself, Dusty, Nate, Seth, and Conrad, who drove up from Bethesda following a late night 007-themed party.  Boss.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week was for the 6-day week ending 12/31, and I took into account the voting that took place in the TWSS Christmas picture contest.  It was a tie, 4 votes apiece, for Joel and Brennan, so the tiebreak went to Brennan for racing on Saturday.  It was Brennan's first PDAW of 2011, and our last.  This week will include races from 1/1. 

Most impressive, perhaps, was the 18 person showing at the first track workout of the new year (it was 18, not 17, Tristram was right).  With temperatures barely clipping 23 degrees, and a wind chill far, far below that, I was impressed by the showing.  Truly, Winter Track Warriors. 

Tristram and Tim Burns are looking to head down to PG on Sunday for a track meet.  The BRRC Frozen Finger 5M is on Saturday.  Sunday Long Run will be in effect, and I hear a group of girls will be going this week so there will be lots of people to run with!

Your Mom Reads the Blog

And I'm not even kidding. 

What a GREAT showing of Winter Track Warriors last night, although, with mild weather conditions, it really wasn't too bad.  Too people, Cheese and RM, even went shirtless.  Many, many wet butts though.

This little post will contain a few tidbits of information.  First and foremost, by virtue of racing on Christmas Day, notching a win, and setting a Course Record at the Biggest Christmas Day 5k in the US, Ed Aramayo was our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.  Ed won the Joyful 5k (untimed) in Minnesota in 16:30.  The race could potentially be the only race run on Christmas Day anywhere.  I guess you could say Ed was really "Joyful and Triumphant" - get it?  That's a little O Come All Ye Faithful humor for you.

But the fun part of the day was watching the tweets come in with the hashtag #TWSSChristmas.  It was a great way to keep us all connected over the weekend and see where everyone was, and what they were doing.  As mentioned in the email, THIS week's PDAW is going to be awarded to the popular vote winner for the photo submission contest.  The voting will be open until Saturday, and it will be the last PDAW of 2011.  January 1 races will count towards the first full week of 2012. 

Of course, I have received no votes yet, so I may have to take my 4 or 5 favorites and put them in a poll and see if that works better for voting.  Otherwise I'll just have to do it myself.  Sigh.

There will be a New Year's Day "Hangover" Run, this Sunday starting from Gilman.  We have tentatively awarded a start time of 11am, so unless there is a compelling reason to adjust that time, we will stick to it with probably a 90 minute run (with optional 2 hour as Dusty/myself are going 2).  This will enable anyone who watches NFL to get back in time for games.  Apres run we will likely patronize a food establishment of some kind. 

We haven't finalized plans for NYE Run, but will likely start in the more downishtown vicinity, afternoon, maybe an hour run or so.  Chill.

Here is the link to the TWSS Christmas Photo Album, cast your votes!

TWSS Christmas 2011

Tib Bits

I will post an Awards Night/weekend recap, but first I wanted to get a few things up here:
1) Cherry Blossom: did you get in?  If you didn't, let me know.  I can't promise I can get you in, but if I'm able to, I will let you know.

2) Celtic Solstice post race soiree?  Obviously we've got the actual post-race events to be at, including awards, whatever, but after that, we should get something going.  If anyone has a suggestion, please make it in the comments.  I open my house to gatherers, we could find a place to kick it and get lunch, whatever.  Most importantly, TERENCE is going to be in town, so we obviously have to celebrate.

3) Tuesday Night Track aka Winter Track Warriors is on tonight, same bat time, same bat channel.  400s is what seems to be the plan, Tristram's workout is 4x(4x400).