Remember When…

For starters, yesterday was a great practice. We had an awesome pack for a double Greaser. The run was packed with all of the classics: GTTG, Spotter, and See-Ya. Joining the top group was Austin DelRosso. He’s a freshman new to the team because he played soccer in the fall (maroon team). His first appearance was at camp over the summer, but now he’s part of the team and he got his spot up top with an awesome 5:04 at the time trial last week.

As for today, cruise intervals. We were joined by Potter!! He made his first distance team appearance to run some 800 repeats. It was so nice to have him back and I know Potter has been waiting for this day. Things just felt right having him with the squad. And he loved being able to do so "manly skips" today instead of that sprinter junk. Most importantly, the return of Potterman also means the return of the "Potter vs. Food" scoreboard. After one day its Potter=0 Food=1. Scherping was also running 800s. The rest of the guys had miles. And everyone kicked butt. Coach was really impressed with the solid performance.

With it being my first week back I had a long run instead of the CI. I was extremely grateful to be joined by my running mentors today. Joe Gibson and Kevin Lawder (Class of 2010), both on spring break, decided to come join me for a run. Just like the old days. It was great. So much fun to catch up and reminisce. There was no way we could have counted the number of times we said “Remember when…” I owe a lot to these two and I really appreciate what they did for me. They took care of me and got me started. We talked a lot about the 09 XC season. It could easily be turned into a sports drama on TV.

Today reminded me of all the fun of years past and why I do what I do. Its days like today that make running awesome. Just hanging out and remembering all the good times we’ve shared. I looking forward to the days I get to do this with the guys on the team now. Love what you do.

Quote of the Day: “We made the cake, but you guys pulled it out of the oven”- Gibby talking about the development of the close-nit team attitude of the DeSmet cross country team.

Joke of the Day: “So is that what that shire in our room is?”- Michael to Patrick after Pat said that there are people who worship Seamus.

Best Dressed: Kabes. He dressed to impress the Alums that came to run with him. Everything matched. He wore his classic orange shorts &hat and paired them with his brand new 2011 Miami Marathon shirt which has a sweet orange sleeve.

Theme Day Tomorrow: WEAR GREEN! It’s St. Pat’s Day.

Runnymede – The Greatest Neighborhood in the World

Typical St. Louis weather. Just when we think it will be nice spring time weather, we get snow. Again. Like we haven’t had enough already. To make it even better it’s supposed to get up to 70 on Thursday. The snow couldn’t stop us, but it did alter the practice plan.

With some impressive alterations Coach put together a good, safe practice today despite the snow. In a very unusual fashion we began with core. The sprinters beat us to the wresting room so we took over the hallway. Coach gave any passerbyers permission “run over” anyone who was in the middle of the hallway. Next we headed to Runnymede to knock out the hills instead of the typical Laude Hill. After the full loop warm-up groups took care of their reps in the sloppy mess.

It was incredibly awesome to be out there with you guys for the first time all year. I remembered why I run- all of you. Today was a blast. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week; it’s going to be so much fun! I’m feeling great and can’t wait for my first workout.

Today was special for another reason besides being a snow practice. It is the Traughbers anniversary . Congratulants Liz and T-Bone! The team roared into a thunderous applause when Coach mentioned this during our short 204 meeting.

Quote of the Day: “People thought we were going to cancel practice today. HA! Nonsense!”- Coach Traughber. He was on fire today. This was one of many good quotes.

Title: That’s what coach said about Runnymede (a neighborhood by DeSmet that is a team favorite especially after snow) during the warm-up today. He went on to mention that he once ran a half marathon there. If you want to hear a really good Runnymede story, talk to Rob- it’s unbelievable. Runnymede is considered the “Birthplace of Champions” as it is the typical location of the enormously important winter tempos and repeats.

Remember to enter the team’s bracket challenge. It’s going to be sweet! Trash Talk it up. And please come up with a creative name for your bracket.

Game Time

It is the most wonderfull time of the year. The March Madness Bracket will be released in about an hour. We will do a Yahoo bracket again this year. Track guys and alums are welcomed. Our scoring system is a little different, so check that out. No buy in, all bragging rights.

Click here to join

Past winners: Andrew O'Connor 2010