Some of the most exciting events took place today. Here at DeSmet, I ran the 1500m Simulator. At the same time over at SLUH, the final meet of the year: The Highway 40Distance Classic.
Starting with a lonely mile warm-up, I was gearing up for maybe the biggest workout of the year. The 1500m Simulator consists of a 4x200 followed by an 800 with an 800 jog rest and a 300 with another 800 before repeating. The 200s and 800s are at race pace, 33 and 2:13 for me. The 300 is run a little faster. Intense! And let me tell you it’s as hard as it sounds. But after 30 minutes it was all over, and I had another great workout in the bag.
On the other side of town, our guys had a meet unlike anything we’ve ran before. The first ever Highway 40 Distance Classic had a meet schedule that looked like this: 1600 at 4:15, 3200 at 4:25, and 400 at 4:40. For a distance guy, it doesn’t get much better than that. The meet featured only the Spartan of DeSmet and the Jr. Bilikens of SLUH. In the mile, Goetz and Jack Husmann both broke 5 in the mile for the first time. Jack’s 4:53 is a very impressive time for a freshman. Way to go Jack! A couple of the guys lead by Seiler PRed in the 2 mile.
Title: As I was running my reverse mile cool down, Coach Williams pointed out some baby ducks and geese on our pond. Yes, our little retention pond has life. It was actually really cool seeing some ducklings out there. If you keep your eyes peeled you may see them too.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Odd Ratio. Odd People.
Quote of the Day: "If your name is not Abernathy then you don't have practice"- Coach Traughber at the Team Meeting.
As you know, the quote is normally at the end of a post, but today's quote summed up the whole day so it got moved up. We had a team meeting right after school for all the guys still practicing. It was the classic end-of-track-get-ready-for-cross-country meeting. This time it even included a movie clip! We got the run down on everything going on this summer with camps and group runs. Also received the golden packet, the key to success, the summer workout plan. Encouraging words were spoken by coach who said there is a great group of guys and that 2010 could be the best summer on record. The movie clip was from Running the Sahara a favorite movie of Coach. I think one simple phrase could encompass what this summer should be like: "Say Yes." Yes to running, yes to getting better, yes to following the plan. The incentives went unchanged: 80% will get you breakfast at the Traughber's and a dri-fit shirt, which I guarantee will be totally awesome.
On to practice. 3 Coaches, 1 runner. Yep, a very odd coach to runner ratio. But nonetheless practice was good. I did miss everyone, especially on the warm-up. It's weird to run 3 laps and stretch on your own. Being the only guy, I got to pick my run. I went with my favorite Chasselle. Rob, T-bone, and the Milk Man all accompanied me at the beginning. If you are thinking to yourself that must have been awesome, I will conform that thought: it was awesome! Finished up on the track at 50 minutes just in time to field a grounder from the baseball team who was taking batting practice on the turf forcing Coach Traughber and Leeman to play dodge the baseball. I still don't know why they cut me, I have soft hands and made a nice throw. But that doesn't matter, I love running Track. Finished up with some upper body lifts and light core.
Now, about the odd people. With Rob I had the craziest encounter while running in my life. We run in a populated area so of course we will run into people. Some are awesome like the nameless kid from Westminster. We had the opposite end of it today. A complete psycho jerk. So going down Ladue on the right side this guy in a conversion van probably from the early 90s slows down next to Rob and I. His window is down and he yells out, "You guys are on the wrong side of the road." He assumed he would have just carried on then, but not this guy. He went on to say that we were a bad example to his kid who was in the front seat looking like he would rather be anywhere else then between his dad and a couple runners. He said we would be killed; that we were breaking the law; that he was going to call the cops, and crazy stuff like that. He was holding up like 10 cars and filling drove away after Rob said that he graduated college when we were asked where we go to school. Yea, odd crazy dude. Completely true story. It was hilarious.
Best Dressed: Rob in full white out. White shirt, white half-zip, white shorts, white hat.
As you know, the quote is normally at the end of a post, but today's quote summed up the whole day so it got moved up. We had a team meeting right after school for all the guys still practicing. It was the classic end-of-track-get-ready-for-cross-country meeting. This time it even included a movie clip! We got the run down on everything going on this summer with camps and group runs. Also received the golden packet, the key to success, the summer workout plan. Encouraging words were spoken by coach who said there is a great group of guys and that 2010 could be the best summer on record. The movie clip was from Running the Sahara a favorite movie of Coach. I think one simple phrase could encompass what this summer should be like: "Say Yes." Yes to running, yes to getting better, yes to following the plan. The incentives went unchanged: 80% will get you breakfast at the Traughber's and a dri-fit shirt, which I guarantee will be totally awesome.
On to practice. 3 Coaches, 1 runner. Yep, a very odd coach to runner ratio. But nonetheless practice was good. I did miss everyone, especially on the warm-up. It's weird to run 3 laps and stretch on your own. Being the only guy, I got to pick my run. I went with my favorite Chasselle. Rob, T-bone, and the Milk Man all accompanied me at the beginning. If you are thinking to yourself that must have been awesome, I will conform that thought: it was awesome! Finished up on the track at 50 minutes just in time to field a grounder from the baseball team who was taking batting practice on the turf forcing Coach Traughber and Leeman to play dodge the baseball. I still don't know why they cut me, I have soft hands and made a nice throw. But that doesn't matter, I love running Track. Finished up with some upper body lifts and light core.
Now, about the odd people. With Rob I had the craziest encounter while running in my life. We run in a populated area so of course we will run into people. Some are awesome like the nameless kid from Westminster. We had the opposite end of it today. A complete psycho jerk. So going down Ladue on the right side this guy in a conversion van probably from the early 90s slows down next to Rob and I. His window is down and he yells out, "You guys are on the wrong side of the road." He assumed he would have just carried on then, but not this guy. He went on to say that we were a bad example to his kid who was in the front seat looking like he would rather be anywhere else then between his dad and a couple runners. He said we would be killed; that we were breaking the law; that he was going to call the cops, and crazy stuff like that. He was holding up like 10 cars and filling drove away after Rob said that he graduated college when we were asked where we go to school. Yea, odd crazy dude. Completely true story. It was hilarious.
Best Dressed: Rob in full white out. White shirt, white half-zip, white shorts, white hat.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Are you doing a Stoplight?
An easy, relaxed day for everyone. The freshmen that were not in the 4x800, which was run today, had a Stoplight before their last race of the season. But there were also a few that were "special." They aren't in the meet and Coach for some unknown reason allowed them to do whatever they wanted. So, Patrick, Collin, and Jimmy went on a fairly interesting run. I believe they called it Neighborhoods and Conway & back. The 800 guys minus Potter, who decided to take the day off, were lucky with only a 30 minute run.
Then there was the guys doing Conway-Mason: Stack, OC, me, and just home from Marquette Connor. It was a very enjoyable run. We did some catching up with Connor on how the season went. He told us about his 14:59.72 5k which by the way is insanely awesome. Talked about former DeSmet runners, college life in Wisconsin, all sorts of stuff. I even got a whole mile on the track with just Connor and me at the end. It was great.
We had some great weather to run in today. It was so nice out, almost perfect. As some of you may know, it was not that way all day. This morning, it was pouring. Being the hard workers they are, Coach Traughber and Coach Leeman braved this rain storm to get their run in.
On a side note, OC after starting off behind is now just dominating everyone in the Slug Bug count. He was the favorite coming in, but got off to a slow start. He rallied back yesterday with 3 on the 15 minute cool down. He then opened it up today adding a couple more.
The Milk Table would also like to congratulate Cross Country Standout Blake Bender on leading the Volleyball Spartans to the MCC title this evening. It was an outstanding match. Bender was setting up his hitters, as we would say, like a boss. Good Luck the rest of the way!
Quote of the Day: "No"- Patrick in response to Coach's question that grabbed the title of this post.
Joke of the Day: As practice was ending and everyone was heading inside for their much deserved chocolate milk Boyle noticed that Big OC had a gnarly scratch on his shin. Worried about his teammate's well being Boyle asked what had happened. OC responded that it was a gardening accident. To this Boyle asked "Did a hoe get you?"
Then there was the guys doing Conway-Mason: Stack, OC, me, and just home from Marquette Connor. It was a very enjoyable run. We did some catching up with Connor on how the season went. He told us about his 14:59.72 5k which by the way is insanely awesome. Talked about former DeSmet runners, college life in Wisconsin, all sorts of stuff. I even got a whole mile on the track with just Connor and me at the end. It was great.
We had some great weather to run in today. It was so nice out, almost perfect. As some of you may know, it was not that way all day. This morning, it was pouring. Being the hard workers they are, Coach Traughber and Coach Leeman braved this rain storm to get their run in.
On a side note, OC after starting off behind is now just dominating everyone in the Slug Bug count. He was the favorite coming in, but got off to a slow start. He rallied back yesterday with 3 on the 15 minute cool down. He then opened it up today adding a couple more.
The Milk Table would also like to congratulate Cross Country Standout Blake Bender on leading the Volleyball Spartans to the MCC title this evening. It was an outstanding match. Bender was setting up his hitters, as we would say, like a boss. Good Luck the rest of the way!
Quote of the Day: "No"- Patrick in response to Coach's question that grabbed the title of this post.
Joke of the Day: As practice was ending and everyone was heading inside for their much deserved chocolate milk Boyle noticed that Big OC had a gnarly scratch on his shin. Worried about his teammate's well being Boyle asked what had happened. OC responded that it was a gardening accident. To this Boyle asked "Did a hoe get you?"
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Get Your Bubbles Off My Track... Get Your Track Off My Bubbles
Practice today began with the medal ceremony where some serious Bling was given out. The MCC meets are the best time to turn in a great performance as the medals for this meet are BOSS also as opposed to certain medals given out in the past (All-Catholic). The MCC medals come with their own thick strap optimal for neck wearing purposes.
Practice today was split into several groups we had the easy run group, the mile time trial group, and the workout group.
In Mile time trial action Jacob used the power of the singlet to hold off Matt OC. It was a close race all the way down to the last 50 meters. In a close third was Martini who held onto the leaders throughout the race. It was a good race by all and showed how far many have come. KEEP UP THE TRAINING!
The workout group today had an excellent day on the bubble track as they did a ladder type of workout. It was a tough run but now a long rest will follow up until districts were the Desmet track team will Bring Tha Speed.
One of the biggest surprises of the day came from the appearance of Mr. Jordan Nikolaisen. A top 7 member from the 2007 Cross Country Team and now current Murray State student, Jordan stopped by practice today to bring back good memories of rolled ankles and Chris France.
Quote of the Day: “You have to use Hooked on Phonics rules”- Boyle explaining the rules behind his new diet which says you can only eat foods that start with vowels.
Best Dressed Award: Bumblebee, Lance, Banana... all words used to describe today’s best dressed award winner. If you did not notice the man decked out all in yellow then you missed one of Matt OC’s finest wardrobe moments. Matt used his yellow color scheme to do work like a boss in the mile time trial finishing with a sub 4:50 time behind Jacob the sailor.
Potter vs Food
Potter=1
Food=4
Practice today was split into several groups we had the easy run group, the mile time trial group, and the workout group.
In Mile time trial action Jacob used the power of the singlet to hold off Matt OC. It was a close race all the way down to the last 50 meters. In a close third was Martini who held onto the leaders throughout the race. It was a good race by all and showed how far many have come. KEEP UP THE TRAINING!
The workout group today had an excellent day on the bubble track as they did a ladder type of workout. It was a tough run but now a long rest will follow up until districts were the Desmet track team will Bring Tha Speed.
One of the biggest surprises of the day came from the appearance of Mr. Jordan Nikolaisen. A top 7 member from the 2007 Cross Country Team and now current Murray State student, Jordan stopped by practice today to bring back good memories of rolled ankles and Chris France.
Quote of the Day: “You have to use Hooked on Phonics rules”- Boyle explaining the rules behind his new diet which says you can only eat foods that start with vowels.
Best Dressed Award: Bumblebee, Lance, Banana... all words used to describe today’s best dressed award winner. If you did not notice the man decked out all in yellow then you missed one of Matt OC’s finest wardrobe moments. Matt used his yellow color scheme to do work like a boss in the mile time trial finishing with a sub 4:50 time behind Jacob the sailor.
Potter vs Food
Potter=1
Food=4
Saturday, May 8, 2010
A Man’s Workout
Today, the final Saturday practice for the seniors was a great one. It was the first of two pre-districts workouts. The 800 guys (Potter, Scherping, Boyle) were joined by 4-year Cross Country, 3-year Distance Track, now converted sprinter Gibby. It was awesome to have Gibby back on our side and we all look forward to him being around for the rest of the season. They had an all-out 400 followed by two 4x200s and finished with another all-out 400. Everyone else had an 800, two 4x200s, and the all-out 400.
The workout went extremely well. Everyone was dominating even the seniors on their prom legs. I finally got to run my 4x200s with other guys, and we were always hitting 30 or lower. It was great to run as a pack, lots of fun. On the 200s, we ran the second 200 because of the crazy wind as suggested by Matt OC. Also, Scherping perfected the “Scherping Cut”—a 4x200 but instead of the 200 jog rest you just run across the field. The Stack, Seiler, two OCs group looked great on the 200s with perfect shorts alignment.
After the nice 8 minute rest, it was time for the all-out 400. We remembered the good times of last year’s before we stated. In that one Boyle sat on me and beat me down the home stretch with both of us finishing in 58. There was a lot of smacking talking before this one so of course Zach went WWE when he won saying “Suck it!” Now to this year. Starting in lane one I took the lead. For the first 200m I was closely followed by Matt OC. He fell off a bit at the 200 as Scherping was making his move. My lead held to about the 300 when Scherping took. We finished bang-bang in 57, with Scherping a fraction of a step ahead. Boyle took the bronze and Matt OC finished fourth with a 5 second PR running a 59.
There was one more thing that set this practice out from all the others. Two words: Flag Shorts. We had seen glimpses of the awesomeness of this apparel, but today was finally the day it all came together. First there was Ireland. Next came U.S.A. and Germany. And then to complete the U.N. these nations were joined by Canada and Great Britain. Because you cannot envision how awesome this was we have a picture below. The Union Jack, the Star Spangled Banner, the Maple Leaf, the Irish Tricolor, the Bundesflagge.
Quote of the Day: “You guys ran a man’s workout today. Even Scherping.” – Coach Traughber as we began the cool down.
Best Dressed: Potter and Scherping. Yes, there were ten guys in flags shorts, but these two were set apart by the fact that they were wearing running shorts for the first time ever. Potter finally ventured into the unknown leaving his soccer shorts at home. The new running shorts could probably take credit for Scherping’s excellent workout. They were Team Canada wearing Maple Leaf. And the shorts- they were short. Normal for some guys, but very different for these two.
The workout went extremely well. Everyone was dominating even the seniors on their prom legs. I finally got to run my 4x200s with other guys, and we were always hitting 30 or lower. It was great to run as a pack, lots of fun. On the 200s, we ran the second 200 because of the crazy wind as suggested by Matt OC. Also, Scherping perfected the “Scherping Cut”—a 4x200 but instead of the 200 jog rest you just run across the field. The Stack, Seiler, two OCs group looked great on the 200s with perfect shorts alignment.
After the nice 8 minute rest, it was time for the all-out 400. We remembered the good times of last year’s before we stated. In that one Boyle sat on me and beat me down the home stretch with both of us finishing in 58. There was a lot of smacking talking before this one so of course Zach went WWE when he won saying “Suck it!” Now to this year. Starting in lane one I took the lead. For the first 200m I was closely followed by Matt OC. He fell off a bit at the 200 as Scherping was making his move. My lead held to about the 300 when Scherping took. We finished bang-bang in 57, with Scherping a fraction of a step ahead. Boyle took the bronze and Matt OC finished fourth with a 5 second PR running a 59.
There was one more thing that set this practice out from all the others. Two words: Flag Shorts. We had seen glimpses of the awesomeness of this apparel, but today was finally the day it all came together. First there was Ireland. Next came U.S.A. and Germany. And then to complete the U.N. these nations were joined by Canada and Great Britain. Because you cannot envision how awesome this was we have a picture below. The Union Jack, the Star Spangled Banner, the Maple Leaf, the Irish Tricolor, the Bundesflagge.
Quote of the Day: “You guys ran a man’s workout today. Even Scherping.” – Coach Traughber as we began the cool down.
Best Dressed: Potter and Scherping. Yes, there were ten guys in flags shorts, but these two were set apart by the fact that they were wearing running shorts for the first time ever. Potter finally ventured into the unknown leaving his soccer shorts at home. The new running shorts could probably take credit for Scherping’s excellent workout. They were Team Canada wearing Maple Leaf. And the shorts- they were short. Normal for some guys, but very different for these two.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Taste the Rainbow
With the majority of the team having completed the workout yesterday, today was a three man effort: Potter, who took the day off to ease his aching back; Matt OC, who went home with a stomach ache yesterday probably hoping to skip the workout, and Abernathy, who ran 41 laps on the track. It was test day; everything was going to be fast. Matt had the option to either run with Alex (two 4x200s) or me (8x400). Alex convinced him to do his first ever 800 workout because of the 8 minute rest in between the 4x200s.
It was defiantly a hard workout, but it went really well. I was knocking out 67s and 68s while Alex and Matt were consistently hitting around 30. They even dropped a 28 in there which was a 200 PR for Matt.
After practice, we discovered how many DeSmet runners it takes to tape ice to someone’s back. Being cautious Coach asked Potter to put ice on his back after practice. He had to go to the meet so I said I would do it. I had no idea what I was getting into. We went into the trainer’s room and Matt followed. Even his help was not enough; the three of us were defeated by the ice. Four bags of ice and lots of rap wouldn’t do it. Lucky, Coach Williams appeared and saved the day with so handy work. The secret was to do a couple raps in X form.
Quote of the Day: “It must be Skittles day” – Coach Traughber referring to the three of wearing colorful shorts. Alex had red, Matt had Yellow, and I had Orange.
It was defiantly a hard workout, but it went really well. I was knocking out 67s and 68s while Alex and Matt were consistently hitting around 30. They even dropped a 28 in there which was a 200 PR for Matt.
After practice, we discovered how many DeSmet runners it takes to tape ice to someone’s back. Being cautious Coach asked Potter to put ice on his back after practice. He had to go to the meet so I said I would do it. I had no idea what I was getting into. We went into the trainer’s room and Matt followed. Even his help was not enough; the three of us were defeated by the ice. Four bags of ice and lots of rap wouldn’t do it. Lucky, Coach Williams appeared and saved the day with so handy work. The secret was to do a couple raps in X form.
Quote of the Day: “It must be Skittles day” – Coach Traughber referring to the three of wearing colorful shorts. Alex had red, Matt had Yellow, and I had Orange.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A Dream Come True
Again this is another personal reflection.
Coming into today’s practice, I knew I had a unique opportunity. I was on a different schedule because of the double yesterday. The other Varsity guys had a workout, and the rest of the team had a simple AE run. Coach called me over at the beginning of practice and said I could pretty much do whatever I wanted for my run today since I was on my own. I had planned on this happening and decided what I wanted to do the night before. Coach said maybe a Spoede loop. A couple guys suggested the awesome new run they did earlier. I didn’t want any of these. Today was destined for greater things.
This greatness was the 40 Laps on the Track Day. Finally, my opportunity had come. As some people know, I have been asking for this run since the beginning of cross country. Seriously, what could be better than a long run (10 miles) on the track? I’ll answer that- Nothing! I had been waiting so long for and it was here; I was so excited.
Starting at the 300, I ran the first 4 laps with the guys doing the workout. The group atmosphere was nice, but it was gone after 7 minutes and 20 seconds. You’d think things would go done hill from here, but they only got better. Watching the workout get destroyed by everyone, I knocked out one lap at a time. After 10, I got in my first reverse. When you’re doing 40 laps on the track you have to reverse. Lap after Lap head on into traffic, and then boom- 20 laps done, half way, and time for a water stop. I was at 35:05 which was just about perfect as I was supposed to run about 70 minutes overall.
With another reverse, I was back out there. This was the big 10 laps. I was cursing. I didn’t have any idea how fast I was going so I decided to time on mile. So, I borrowed Potter’s watch and after 4 laps melted away, only 6 minutes and 29 seconds had ticked by. Just as I had thought, I was going fast. Hearing encouraging words from coach, who thought I was crazy, and other runners, I made another reverse. It was at last the home stretch. Only 10 laps to go before my dream was realized. This short gave me the added strength to press on. 38, 39, 40! I had done it. 40 Laps on the track – 10 full miles. 69:15, a big negative. And being under seventy, I even pressed on and surpassed the goal running a lap and quarter more.
After 41 laps and about 71 minutes, the workout was complete. I had finally accomplished what I had been waiting so long to do. You may ask how it was. Simply, it was awesome, so much better than I had expected. I had a blast. I ran in circles like a crazy man and enjoyed every minute of it.
Best Dressed: kabes. He wore the trainer shirt that he designed. But what made it best dressed was its perfect match with his shorts. The dominant gray of the shirt matched the accent gray on the bottom and the light-blue words matched the main color of the shorts. It was a fairly week field and this coordination was far above the rest.
Coming into today’s practice, I knew I had a unique opportunity. I was on a different schedule because of the double yesterday. The other Varsity guys had a workout, and the rest of the team had a simple AE run. Coach called me over at the beginning of practice and said I could pretty much do whatever I wanted for my run today since I was on my own. I had planned on this happening and decided what I wanted to do the night before. Coach said maybe a Spoede loop. A couple guys suggested the awesome new run they did earlier. I didn’t want any of these. Today was destined for greater things.
This greatness was the 40 Laps on the Track Day. Finally, my opportunity had come. As some people know, I have been asking for this run since the beginning of cross country. Seriously, what could be better than a long run (10 miles) on the track? I’ll answer that- Nothing! I had been waiting so long for and it was here; I was so excited.
Starting at the 300, I ran the first 4 laps with the guys doing the workout. The group atmosphere was nice, but it was gone after 7 minutes and 20 seconds. You’d think things would go done hill from here, but they only got better. Watching the workout get destroyed by everyone, I knocked out one lap at a time. After 10, I got in my first reverse. When you’re doing 40 laps on the track you have to reverse. Lap after Lap head on into traffic, and then boom- 20 laps done, half way, and time for a water stop. I was at 35:05 which was just about perfect as I was supposed to run about 70 minutes overall.
With another reverse, I was back out there. This was the big 10 laps. I was cursing. I didn’t have any idea how fast I was going so I decided to time on mile. So, I borrowed Potter’s watch and after 4 laps melted away, only 6 minutes and 29 seconds had ticked by. Just as I had thought, I was going fast. Hearing encouraging words from coach, who thought I was crazy, and other runners, I made another reverse. It was at last the home stretch. Only 10 laps to go before my dream was realized. This short gave me the added strength to press on. 38, 39, 40! I had done it. 40 Laps on the track – 10 full miles. 69:15, a big negative. And being under seventy, I even pressed on and surpassed the goal running a lap and quarter more.
After 41 laps and about 71 minutes, the workout was complete. I had finally accomplished what I had been waiting so long to do. You may ask how it was. Simply, it was awesome, so much better than I had expected. I had a blast. I ran in circles like a crazy man and enjoyed every minute of it.
Best Dressed: kabes. He wore the trainer shirt that he designed. But what made it best dressed was its perfect match with his shorts. The dominant gray of the shirt matched the accent gray on the bottom and the light-blue words matched the main color of the shorts. It was a fairly week field and this coordination was far above the rest.
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