Tomorrow is the Day

       The big day is almost upon us, my friends. We are less than 24 hours from finishing our first cross country race of the 2012 season. The location of this event, you ask? Parkway Central High School. The time? 5:00 p.m. The plan? Dominate. The Nike Cross Country Kickoff, which we will be running tomorrow, is a 2-mile race instead of the typical 5k for the first meet of the season, and the more support we have, the better!

       Today, the team circled up on the track (a very large circle) while Coach Traughber and the rest of the coaching staff laid out what the plan looked like for tomorrow, and unfortunately, informed us that we would not be practicing on the course at Central today. After they finished, everyone ran through the race day procedure with his training group on the track (warm up, stretches, etc.) minus the race part. The soccer team had a lot of pressure with the whole cross country team running circles around their practice the whole time, but they provided nice entertainment for us during our laps.

       During the cool down, different groups were running in opposite directions around the track, so we exchanged high fives as we passed. The enthusiasm in the high fives looks like our team spirit will be through the roof this year, but I have learned from some alums that this is a "no fun team," so we can't have too much fun along with the team spirit (not really). Then after our stretching in the cross country corner, we were devastated by the news that the milk machine was empty. Luckily, coach was prepared and had some throwback chocolate milk cartons for 25 cents, just like the old days.
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       Again, we have a meet at Parkway Central tomorrow, August 29th. JV and Freshmen run together at 5:00 p.m., and Varsity runs after them at 6:00 p.m.
       Runners, remember to bring spikes, uniform, warm ups, and snacks, just like coach said, and let's have a good start to the season!
     Here is a quote you have probably heard sometime throughout your DeSmet cross country experience so far. Hopefully it helps everyone run a bit faster tomorrow, good luck!

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine

On a side note, you can like the Milk Table Facebook page if you have not already to get updates whenever the blog is updated.

                      My work is finished for today, thank you and farewell.

First Day of Classes

      Today kicked off the first day of school.  The school bell rang at 12:18 today because we had a half day, so practice started around 12:35 instead of the usual 3:10.  We had a handful of new runners because of the start of school which was great.  The coaches gathered the team on the bleachers under the extra bright sun, and went over some basic ground rules.  Then came the passing out of the uniforms.  Everyone went into the cafeteria where the coaches passed out the brand-new, sharp-looking freshman and JV Nike uniforms.  They will be the best looking runners out there.  Unfortunately, the new varsity uniforms were not in yet and won't be until after the first race, so last year's uniforms will have to suffice until they arrive.

       After the uniforms were dispersed, the team embarked on an easy run, still recovering from Saturday's hills.  The different runs varied from 4 to 7 miles.  Two easy days in a row, today and tomorrow, will hopefully have everyone ready for the 2 mile time trial on Wednesday.

      The big news of the day was the arrival of a chocolate milk machine in the locker room, which happens to be right next to the cross country lockers.  It seems like the rightful place for a milk machine.  This new idea could come off as bad because the machine sells pint-size bottles for a dollar, instead of the usual carton for 25 cents, but it will become more convenient for everyone as we get used to it.

CHOCOLATE MILK MACHINE

REMINDER:  Any DeSmet runner who reads this on Monday, August 20th, needs to have their uniform for picture day tomorrow.  This will hopefully not be a problem because Coach Traughber told everyone to leave his uniform at school.  Also, if you have not claimed a cross country locker yet, do so as soon as possible.

Thank you for reading, I wish you a happy week.

We Meet the Hills

       The team met at 8 a.m. at Big River Running Saturday morning.  Unlike this practice last year, the weather was beautiful.  There was no lightening that forced us to run our strides under the stores' overhang this time.  Off we went to Queeny Park.  Inside the park, we did our stretches in a grass field next to the Washington University cross country team.  When we were done, Coach Traughber and Coach Williams brought the team to the base of the steepest, tallest, meanest hill in the park.  Anyone who has ran at Queeny Park knows of this monster.  The groans could be heard from miles away as coach explained the workout.  "200 meter hills at 5k pace."  We were split up into groups and everyone had either 4, 6, or 8 hills.  After the workout was finished and the pain subsided, the team ran back to Big River for team day.

       On team day at Big River, everyone on the team can buy shoes, apparel, or anything in the store and receive a 20% discount.  There was much commotion about the release of the new Nike Flyknit technology shoes, but no one besides Coach Tom has them.  Maybe he will share.  Thank you to the Big River workers, they were as helpful as always with suggesting the right shoes for everyone who needed them.  We should be geared up for another successful fall!

       Today was the last practice before school starts for everyone except the freshmen, who had Freshmen Orientation on Friday.  Good luck to everyone with school. 

Joke of the Day is back!! (for one day at least)

       "I might need to ban shirts from practice" - Coach Traughber after some runners had to run back to get their shirts from the park bench.  He could probably start a collection with all the shirts that are forgotten at parks we run at.

Thanks for reading, have a nice day.

Taking a Dip

       This morning brought more favorable weather on the track.  Everyone was asked to show up to practice determined to dominate tempos after an overall unsatisfactory workout last week.  During the warm up skips and stretches, all of the runners carried on the usual jokes and chatter, but when it came time to tempo, we were ready.  Last week's workout didn't phase anyone this time.  To Coach Traughber's delight, the groups rolled in, one after another, nailing each of their paces.  Also, we were even lucky enough to receive cross country race simulation! The varsity soccer squad (congrats to Justin Abernathy, Kevin's younger brother, for making the team) ran their 2-mile race while we were tempoing, so we were weaving and wiggling our way through their pack like a real race.  Hopefully this workout is foreshadowing what is to come later in the season: Domination.  But this will be no easy task, especially because we are going into the season as the complete underdog.  We need to keep up the fantastic workouts like these, great work runners!

       Shout out to Alex Potter for making an appearance today at practice!  It was great to see him again and talk with him before he heads back to Columbia for his second year at Mizzou.  We wish him luck as he will join the Mizzou Running Club. #freepotter

       After practice, most of the team took a trip over to Coach Boland's house for the beginning of the season pool party.  Coach Boland, accompanied by Coach Russo, Williams, Traughber, and Mahood, barbecued the most hot dogs I had ever seen, and good thing because a high school runner sure gets hungry after tempos.  The pool water was a bit chilly because it had not warmed up yet, but since when does temperature affect a DeSmet cross country runner?  Despite the cold water, we all had a great time playing in the pool.  The Boland family deserves a big thank you for their hospitality, so thank you!

Thank you for reading. Cheers, my friends.

Back on Track

        Our first official week of practice is complete, and we seem to be off to a great start. Monday kicked off the season with a mile time trial to make sure everyone is placed in the right training group. Coach Tom lead the team and finished in the 4:35 range. It looks to be a very promising start to the season with six runners under 5 minutes, and many more right above! After the cool down, Coach Traughber gave his welcome speech to the team and announced the two new additions to the coaching staff: Coach Stephen Schumacher and Coach Adam Boehm, both who are SLUH grads.  They will each be leading a separate training group, and we are looking forward to a great season with them.  After the speech, some of the runners hit the weights to top off some fast running with a new weight lifting plan made by Coach Williams.

        On Tuesday, the team had the first "long run" of the season. Two DeSmet alums and school record holders, Connor Callahan (Marquette University) and Kevin Abernathy (Drury University), ran a Double Spoede with the top group and deserve our thanks for visiting. Unfortunately, one of our sophomores who ran on the state team last year, Stephen Plassmeyer, has a foot injury, so he could not train with the team. Let's hope and pray that he returns as soon as possible!

        Wednesday brought the well known "tempo workout." With this being our third tough day of practice in a row, everyone got the message that we mean business this year. The workouts varied between a few tempo miles to a 2x2x1 mile tempo depending on the groups. Top to bottom, it was not the team's best workout, but we did have multiple standout performances including Glennon McGann, who hit all of his paces. Afterwards, Coach Traughber recognized that we may have been unprepared for the tempo and gave us tips and suggestions on handling multiple hard runs in a row such as stretching, icing, hydration, and nutrition.

        To everyone's relief, Thursday and Friday were declared recovery days.  On Thursday, Connor Callahan made another appearance and ran a Falaise with the top group, but he went for another few miles by himself when we were done because his easy days aren't quite as easy as ours.  After practice, a few runners stuck around to watch the soccer tryouts and listen to Coach Tom and Coach Mahood reminisce about their glory days at DeSmet. We all had a good laugh or two from their stories.

        Friday was going to be the most exciting day of the week. Everyone went to practice expecting a pool party at Coach Boland's house after practice, only to be informed that it was postponed until Tuesday of next week due to cold weather (70 degrees seems cold now). These weather complications did not hinder our run but arguably made for the best running conditions for as long as we can remember. While enjoying this rare weather, everyone ran to Malcolm Terrace Park for some trail loops and then back to DeSmet. Coach Traughber had put together a PowerPoint with tips on how to become the best runner you can be. Senior team captains Collin Sullivan, Michael Callahan, Glen Mcgann, and Jimmy Reid partook in presenting the PowerPoint along with Coach Traughber. They all did a superb job of informing the rest of the team with useful information.

       We all have high hopes for the team this year, and this week got us started on the right foot. I wish everyone in the DeSmet Cross Country program the best of luck this year, and here's to a good year!

EXCITING NEWS! 

        Coach Traughber has a challenge for all runners... anyone who runs under 17:30 during any meet this season will receive a customized DeSmet XC running hat! This should act as a good incentive for all runners, and hopefully the motivation will push all of us. So if you want to get a snazzy-looking hat for free, make running 3.1 miles in less than seventeen and a half minutes your goal.

        I would also like to remind everyone about the Annual Alumni Run tomorrow morning, August 11th. If you are interested in running or even just stopping by to watch, take a look at this link: DeSmet's Fourth Annual Alumni Run. We'd love to have you there!

                                    Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed :)

A New Generation

Greetings Milk Table Enthusiasts,
        The Blog has indeed been handed down by Waller Baller after the past year, and now it is time for the next generation of Milk Table bloggers to take control.  Michael Callahan, Glennon McGann, and myself, Austin Del Rosso, decided we will try to follow in the footsteps of many legends that came before and run the blog. As for now, it has been a successful summer of training for many cross country spartans, and we plan to continue.
        For this upcoming "Dead Week" we have decided on a plan for where we will meet to run.  We threw in a couple new places to run that are sure to spice it up a bit.  I am almost positive Castlewood will be everyone's new favorite place to run after this week.  If there are any questions about the upcoming runs, I'm sure we can get those cleared up during a familiar run like Monday.  Let's keep up the good turnouts!


Week of July 1st Running Schedule:

• Monday: Big River Running on Manchester at 8 a.m.
• Tuesday: the Lake House resturaunt at Creve Couer Lake 8 a.m.
• Wednesday: DeSmet 7:30 a.m. for tempos
• Thursday: Castlewood State Park 8:00 a.m. (1401 Kiefer Creek Road, Ballwin, MO 63021)
• Friday: Kirkwood City Park 8:00 a.m. (201 W Adams Ave, Kirkwood, MO 63122)

Thank you to all who read my first blog post.  If it was a little below par, don't lose faith because with Coach Russo being my new English teacher I will be sure to improve throughout the year.  I have a good feeling that this is the first of a bountiful collection of new posts.

One Last Time

As you all know the track season has been over for a few weeks now. Since I have posted since before the conference track meet I will post a few results in case you forgot or never heard. We finished second to SLUH at conference and scored points at the District, Sectional, and State track meet. Out top performer for the distance team was Austin Del Rosso who finished 3rd at the district meet at Marquette, fourth at the sectional meet at Poplar Bluff, and 15th at the State meet. Other strong performers on the team were the 4 by 200 team (5th at state and school record) , the 4 by 100 team (school record), the 4 by 400 team (school record), Tommy Brown in the high jump, Durron Neal in the 100 meter, and Justin Labelle in the triple jump. We had a great team this year that accomplished a lot of cool things.

Moving on...I'm sad to say that this is my last post because I will be leaving for college in the fall to attending Missouri University of Science and Technology where I will join the great Brain Scherping and teammate Josh Pribe to study mechanical engineering. I really enjoyed my four years at De Smet and had a blast. Some of my favorite accomplishments were those that I made on the track. Here they are in case you were wondering...

400 meter: 55 seconds
800 meter: 2 minutes and 1 second
1600 meter: 4 minutes and 40 seconds
3200 meter: 10 minutes and 23 seconds
5000 meter: 17 minutes and 10 seconds

To my fellow seniors: All of these records I accomplished this year in track and cross country along with my other three senior distance track teammates Nick Martini, Matt O'Connor, and Josh Pribe. I could never have accomplished them without my teammates support and I thank them for their hard work, motivation and love for the sport. They are all special people and I will miss them very much at college. We shared a lot of great memories together that will never be forgotten and I consider all of you my dearest friends.

To the underclassmen: I've gotten to know most of you very well over the years and unfortunately some of you I don't know too well. I thank all of you for your outstanding work and motivation to the sport and I wish you all the best of luck as you continue on in your high school career. I will be cheering for you and attending as many meets and practices as I can. A special shout out to Collin Sullivan, Glenn Mcgann, Michael Callahan, Patrick Callahan, Austin Del Rosso, and Steven Plassmeyer. You guys still have big things to accomplish and I know that you are going to dominate next year in cross country if you put in the work.

To the runners before me: Jacob, Seiler, Eugene Morganthaler, Ethan Stack, Connor Callahan, Zach Boyle, Black Bender, Joe Gibson, Kevin Laughter, Kevin Abernathy, Andy Mcwhorter, Alex Potter, Brian Scherping, JC Madey, and many more...Some of you I knew better than others and some of you I'm still close friends with today. You all taught me what It means to be a De Smet runner and I thank you for all that you have taught me and shown me how to become a Men For Others. We have had some great memories together that I will never forget.

Coach Rob: Rob you taught me what it takes to becomes a De Smet varsity runner and I can't thank you enough for all that you have taught me about running and helped me find the motivation to become the best runner that I can possibly be. Thanks for all the great memories and you will never be forgotten.

Coach Tom: Tom you picked up right where Rob left off and pushed me farther than I ever thought I could go. I would have never accomplisheed most of my Pr's without you and I hope you continue to be a leader to the men of the cross country and track team. Thanks for all that you do!

Coach Traughber: I can't say enough about what you have taught me not only about running but life in general. You have been a great role model for me through my four years and I enjoyed getting to know you and sharing a lot of good times with you. Your dedication to your runners is amazing.

All other coaches: A special shout out to Coach Leeman, Coach Williams, Coach Russo, and Coach Boland for all that you have done for me. You have all been great coaches and have taught me a lot while help keeping me motivated to succeed.

Finally to the readers: I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog posts and staying loyal even when I posted so very few compared to the previous blog masters Kevin Abernathy and Zach Boyle. I couldn't even compare with the time and effort that they put into that website and I tried my best to fill their shoes.

Cool stats we've accomplished as blogmasters and loyal readers...
204 posts
59 followers
116 likes on the Facebook page
567 comments
30,056 pageviews all time

One of my regrets in high school is not putting more time and effort into this blog but.....
Don't worry I am leaving the blog in good hands. Next years varsity runners Collin Sullivan, Glen Mcgann, Austin Del Rosso, and  Micahel Callahan have all received invitations to become Blogmasters and keep the tradition alive. I am no longer in charge and the fate of the blog no longer rests in my hands. I enjoyed writing but this is the end. Goodbye.

Quote of the day: "I am going now and I big you all a very fond farewell. I might not return. In fact, I plan not to." Bilbo Baggins