Final Preparations

Yesterday I ran an easy 40 minutes out and back from my house. Then I did a 4x200 at mile pace to test the gears for Sunday. Today, I had the typical pre-meet practice except I wasn’t on the course. I ran 4 miles then got a real good stretch in.

Tomorrow morning I’ll leave at around 6:45 with my dad and Coach Traughber. We have to be in Terre Haute by 11:30 (Eastern Time) to get my number and stuff. The race isn’t until 2:15 so I will have plenty of time to check out the course and get warm-uped. The forecast looks good: upper 40s, low 50s, mostly sunny, probably about 53 at race time.

In keeping with how we’ve done things all year Potter sent me some questions.

Last week, you raced against a huge field. This week will be even bigger, is there anything to change from last week?
Yeah, there are supposed to be over 350 kids racing in the Championship Race so it will be packed. I’m going to try and run my race. Get out smart, probably a little faster than last week, then compete the rest of the way and pass as many guys as I can. I just have to be very aware of where I am the whole time and be sure to not get caught in the wrong pack. I’m going to look for some familiar faces like the Everetts and Lambert so I have a feel of where I am. With it being a flat course I’m going to try and run a faster second mile because there aren’t all the hills to worry about in the third like State. I’m ready. I’m excited.

What does it mean to you to be able to race against the best from many different states?
It’s really special. To think back to my humble beginning in the DeSmet XC program as a sophomore and to be in a race like this against great runners. It’s incredible. And besides the guys from the other States its cool to be able to race from the Missouri guys another time, too. I can’t wait. It’s going to be an awful lot of fun.


Do you know what to expect from the course at all?
Well, I know it’s the same location as the National Championship this year, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve checked out the course map and a preview video from MileSplit. It’s all wide open grass that reminds me a bit of the first part of Rim Rock. What’s makes the Laverne Gibson Cross Country Course different is that it’s flat for the most part. And flat means fast, especially the first mile. I think Boyle might have ran there earlier in the year with Maryville so I might try to talk to him tomorrow and get some thoughts. The preview showed haybails, which would be awesome!!

Runny Hall

When the season started to wind down, Coach Traughber starting getting more runs in. That meant he’d go run during Period 7 leaving Scherping and I alone in 204 for study hall. Today was a block day with Period 7 right in the middle. Perfect for a run? Oh yeah!

So Dr. Klug, Coach Traughber, and I went out for a run. On the doctor’s order we did a reverse Greaser. It’s been a long time since I have done a reverse anything, so it was cool. It was different to be out running during the middle of the day like that and I enjoyed it. Dr. Klug dropped out at 5 miles and T-bone and I went another two with some laps on the track and an E2E. I just in time for last lunch, ate and then went to AP Gov like it was any other day. But I won’t forget today. Today I ran during school.

In the News: On MileSplit there was a story about friend of the Milk Table, Krista Menghini. You should check it out; it’s a great story. And she gave an awesome shout out to fellow Blogmaster, Alex Potter. Potterman is mentioned in the “November 5, 2010 10:45pm Friday” section for the help he gave Krista. Truly a Man for Others—Way to go Potter! And congratulations to Krista for her incredible weekend.

Quote of the Day: “You always seem to take me on the worst runs.”- T-bone to Dr. Klug. They were talking about a winter run from some years ago when there was, as Dr. Klug recalls, “a wind chill of -17.” An exaggeration but that was just one of the many rough runs these two have shared.

Title: A play on Study Hall.

Be sure to read yesterday's post and the State Trip post. They were just added.

And I'm liking the comments!

Army of One

It’s not the same without all of you. Today, I ran to Conway Park for my 5k workout. It was a little lonely. Part of the time it was the good, peaceful kind of lonely. The other part was the “wow I wish someone else was here” kind of lonely.

I asked some guys where they thought I should go for the workout before I left DeSmet. The options became Malcolm, Des Pres, Conway, or the track. I decided to stay with my original thought and go to Conway. We started the 5k workouts at Conway so I had to go back there to finish it off.

The workout was 800 repeats on short rest. It was quite the battle. I was completely alone. Yes, I’ve run other workouts by myself, but it was really different without anyone at all there. It’s amazing how much seeing your teammates out there doing the same workout and hearing words of encouragement from coaches helps in a workout. That’s something that can often be taken for granted. In no way was it easy, but I bared down and fought through. I wasn’t right on pace, but still got quality 5k work in. Ready to rock in Terre Haute on Sunday.

I missed you guys on the way back. It was weird to run hard and then not have a good talk on the cool down. When I got back I had flat sprints. It was once again so nice out and I took advantage by doing the sprints barefoot on the turf. Just another solid day at the office.

Title: I chose that because it was what I was thinking about during the workout. I was out there fighting all on my own. But the one man army prevailed.

Under the Crescent

NXN Training Day 2. Today, I had to get my license renewed so I did a solo evening run. It was great. The weather was absolutely fantastic and running in the dark is so cool. I brought my iPod, Isabella, along for the run. We rocked for 45 minutes to a solid mix.

I had a special moment on my run today. I was running in my neighborhood and I thought about all the hours and miles I had spent all these streets thinking about being All State. It was pretty amazing to finally be out there running those same streets as All State runner. The pure joy of achievement.

I spent some of my other time thinking about all people outside of the team (not runners, alums, or parents) who have reading the blog this year. It’s cool and I thank them. The girlfriends like Katie and Jessica. A fellow All Stater Krista Menghini from S.J.A. The DeSmet teachers. And all the others.

The date for the Milk Table’s Cross Country Party & Awards has been set. It will be Friday the 19th since we are off school. It will be at DeSmet but we’d don’t have a time yet. It will be like the one we had after track: we’ll eat, hang out, play games, and give of the Milk Table Awards. All are invited to attend. Stay tuned for more details.

Milk Table Shout Out to Glen McGann who was back at school on Monday after missing two weeks. Glen even ended up in the hospital for a couple days with pneumonia. It was great to see him back at school and feeling healthy.

Quote of the Day: “Good, btw, you are still ALL STATE!” then “Enjoy that feeling, it is something special, I am honored to be a part of it.”- Coach Traughber’s texts to me after my run.

Check out the new stuff that has been put up in the last two days if you haven’t already:
Last Wednesday- Practice
Last Friday- State Trip It's not done yet. I'll get it up tomorrow.
Saturday- State Meet
Monday- Kabes’ Practice
State Week Pictures on Facebook

Leave some comments!!

A Team of Heroes

This cross country season has been so great that I don’t want to end. So I’m extending my senior campaign by entering the Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regional. I race on this coming Sunday in Terre Haute, Indiana against the best runners from Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan.

Patrick Callahan joined me for my mile warm-up. He and some of the other runners are starting on their winter training with 20 minute jogs. Rob used his work break to join me for my 60 minute run. We went out and back east on Ladue. The weather was great: low 70s, so different from Saturday and all the layers we were wearing in the morning.

It was a great run. We a lot talked State Meet and the season as a whole. We then moved on to track season and next year’s cross country team. It was nice to look back and reflect with Rob. So much fun and tons of awesome memories. In discussing, we talked about all the heroes the Varsity team had this year:

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Jacob Seiler—His senior leadership was central to the team’s success. He led the pack on and off the course. Everyone could always count on Jacob to be on pace and run with everything he had. He used his experience to guide the young, unproven pack. Without him, the pack, which was the strength of this team, would have been lost. Jacob was also able to balance fun and hard work leading to memorable, effective practices. Jacob Seiler, hero.

Alex Potter—He was an extremely important part of the team despite never lining up in the box with us. Even though he was sidelined with back issues, he still gave everything he had to this team. Whether he was taking splits, helping the coaches, giving encouragement, or taking care of us, Alex was always there. The days he did run with us were some of the best days of the season. The team was infected by his attitude & presence, and we would have been vastly different without him. Alex Potter, hero.

John Madey—He truly was a bulldog, battling all 5,000 meters every week. He came back after over a year and a half away from running to be the crucial 5 man. I can’t bear to think about where we’d be if JC didn’t return. His racing was selfless as he always went out with the pack to help the team and then did his best to hang on and stay close in the last mile. Also, he was much more than the 5th man. He had a great attitude and presence all year long, and he added a lot to the team. John Madey, hero.

Brian Scherping—He had a great rookie season, earning a varsity spot after playing 3 years of soccer. It was well deserved recognition for his hard work. We liked to joke about how he always had questions, but that just showed his commitment to improving, and he improved a lot. Brian’s greatest value was in his character. He brought a goofy, fun-loving attitude to the team that kept us relaxed and made the year a lot fun. There would have been a notable difference if he remained on the soccer team. Brian Scherping, hero.

Matt O’Connor—He bounced back in a big way after an injury ridden sophomore season. Instead of being discouraged by last year he worked hard and was able to meet the high expectations that were placed on him at the beginning of this year. Matt did more than score in every race; he was an integral part of the team’s chemistry. Often his attitude was absorbed by the rest of the varsity. A good day for Matt meant a good day for the whole team. Matt O’Connor, hero.

Nick Martini—He quickly fit in with the rest of the Varsity guys, and he was huge part of the team this year, scoring in every race. His biggest performance was Sectionals. He ran a great race, qualified for State as an individual, but more importantly raced for his teammates. His 18th place finish was key in securing DeSmet’s 16th straight appearance at the State Meet. Nick stepped up when it mattered most. Nick Martini, hero.

John Waller—He ran top 7 all year. I don’t know if anybody saw that coming. That’s really impressive as we’ve had guys who have scored at the State Meet in the last few years that haven’t done that. John was instrumental in what could be considered a turning point of the season. At Rim Rock, the race when the pack “clicked,” he carried them through the first two miles. The guys raved about his performance afterwards and made sure John got recognized as the Runner of the Week for Rim Rock. John Waller, hero.

All pieces of the 2010 DeSmet XC Puzzle. All heroic in some way. All irreplaceable.