Friday, January 30, 2009

Quick Mets report

Late night last night, after a long weekend in Boston. A few quick highlights:

-- Biggie was freshman Kathryn Sheehan winning the 3k in 10:14.63, which based on past years is a Jr National qualifier (10:15.00 has been the standard). She joins freshman Matt Flint, who presumably qualified with his 8:33 3k in Boston (8:40.00 has been the standard). USA Juniors is at Heyward Field, Oregon. We're pretty excited, pending the posting of qualifying standards ...
-- Joe McElhoney showed off some wheels with his 4:20 mile, just a few nights after a strong 5k in Boston. And JoeMac was ragged after working 16 hours of hard labor -- plowing, shoveling, de-icing on the farm he works for down in Putnam County. Solid stuff.
-- Freshman Curtis Jensen had a strong debut at 3k with an 8:50.
-- Junior sprinter Colin Frederickson continued his resurgence with a strong 400 and anchor of the 4x4, which went 3:26 despite missing Mike Cocca due to a stomach bug.

Another quick note: We will be at the Armory on Friday for the New Balance Collegiate meet. We will be running a men's and women's DMR. The men's DMR got in the championship sections, which will be around 6 p.m. or so. We also have a few individuals in the 3k earlier in the day: Girma and JoeMac, and freshman Addie DiFrancesco, all in the college sections. Hope to see some of you there. Nice to see Parenti, who showed up and hung out for several hours at Mets.

Mets splits to be posted at a later date. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow day

Marist was closed today because of the winter storm. A closed college does not mean a closed practice. It's another day, which means another run or two is required.

However, I do have one hard-and-fast rule. If the roads are dangerous for motorists, they are extremely dangerous -- maybe deadly -- for schmoe runners like us. And so my rule on snow days is: If you must run outside, you do NOT leave campus.

Other than Keegan and McMullen -- who did repeats of Campus Mile -- everyone opted for the treadmill, laps in the fieldhouse, or some combination thereof. I went to check on the treadmill brigade, and there was Captain Keenan running 7:00 pace while wearing a winter hat and a long-sleeve running shirt. What gives? Trying to make weight there, buddy?

Anyway, the men and the women got in their tedious miles, as this winter trudges on.

We bring a limited squad down to Mets at the Armory Thursday night. Meet starts at 4, if any alums are in the area and interested ...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Why Mike Nehr matters

Among all the strong performances on Saturday at BU, one little piece of Marist Running historical trivia was nearly overlooked. In Adam Vess' landmark 3k race, he demolished the 6-year-old school record in that event, which had been held long and proud by Mike Nehr (8:24.42).

Nehr had a distinguished career with the Running Red Foxes. He led the team to the 2000 IC4A University title in cross country, when he came out of the woods in the lead and won the race (25:58.7). That Nehr-led team had the VCP overall time record for several autumns, and Mikey always checked back at Vanny to cheer on the team and also make sure his team's record stood strong.

His 3k mark has been embattled for years, as several groups of runners scoffed and said it would go down. But it never did go down, until Vess tore it down on Saturday.

Here's why Mike Nehr mattered then, and matters now:

When he came in here as a punky freshman in the fall of 1998, all he had was a bad nickname (Air Nehr) and a dream. His high school PRs were not all that noteworthy -- I believe it was 10:15 for 3,200 meters, before he was kicked off his high school team for having an attitude.

Well, he had an attitude here, too, and that was to break records and run faster than anyone ever thought he could. He did just that, although I know he was hoping for more out of his senior year. Still, he left here at the time as one of the best who ever wore the Marist red-and-white. He went on to have one excellent 5th-year indoor season at CW Post, and then did some amazing post-collegiate running as well -- winning the Long Island Marathon! -- before settling in, getting married and coaching high school track.

Mikey Nehr matters because he affirms my belief that any schmoe 10:00 2-miler (or 10:15 2-miler, for that matter) can achieve greatness if he believes it and is willing to put in the hard work necessary to get there. It doesn't mean that every one of those guys can do it, but it can never hurt to dream. I maintain that philosophy in my recruiting, and I'm forever in search of the "next Mike Nehr" -- a kid with minimal high school credentials hungry enough to become a quality D1 runner. They're out there. Oh, they're out there.

Who knows? Now that he's coaching at Syosset, maybe he'll send the "next Mike Nehr" up our way in a few years ...

Slam the door!

Ah yes. Somewhere on Long Island, Rickie-San Ambrosio is cringing as he reads this. I'll explain why in a minute ...

Today's topic is finishing speed in races. Kicking. As I was developing carpal tunnel syndrome typing up the splits to the BU meet last night, a recurring theme popped up, especially in the 3k/5k races. The current Running Red Foxes closed the races strongly. I have always stressed kicking from 1k out (5 laps to go, on an indoor track), and many of the guys did just that. It's not easy to do; it's a credit to their hard work and toughness that they did it.

I believe that strong finishes to races boil down to several factors. In no particular order:

-- Smart pacing. If you go out too hard, it's difficult to close fast. Flint disproved that in his 3k to a point, but he did make some mid-race adjustments. The point: Going out too hard is almost always a recipe for disaster.
-- Mental toughness. My buddy and blog follower Coach Perks dubbed it "RunTuff" (his license plate!). It's not easy to teach, and most runners inherently learn mental toughness from racing and training hard. There comes a point in almost every race where you push through the pain or succumb to it. That usually can be seen in the last 1k of a long race.
-- Confidence. The merging of the first two. If you go out smart, you feel good and it gives you the confidence you can close strongly.
-- Do Work. The 2007-2008 team motto. Nothing replaces high mileage, quality workouts and strong training. It's harder to do in the winter, but it must be done.

Back about 7 or 8 years ago, we were at an indoor meet at Colgate. Marist alum Mike Melfi was running a 3k or a 5k, can't remember which. His club coach was there, yelling out splits and encouraging him. I was standing there with team member Rickie Ambrosio, and we were cheering on Mike as well. Several times toward the end of the race, Mike's coach implored him to "slam the door!" ... meaning, finish the race strongly. Or something like that.

Well, this turn of phrase really irked Rickie. I found it funny. I was especially pleased to find something that annoyed Rickie, since he liked to needle me from time to time himself.

And so, as a way to annoy Rickie -- then and forever -- I simply say "SLAM THE DOOR!"

Hopefully, you too will SLAM THE DOOR in your next race.

Monday, January 26, 2009

BU splits, take 3

5,000-meter run

Girma Segni, 14:18.42. Personal-best. School-record. IC4A qualifier.
35.4, 69.5 (34.1), 1:44.2 (34.7), 2:17.5 (33.3), 2:51.3 (33.8)
3:25.5 (34.2), 3:59.1 (33.6), 4:33.4 (34.4), 5:07.5 (34.1), 5:41.3 (33.8)
6:15.9 (34.6), 6:50.8 (34.9), 7:25.3 (34.5), 7:59.7 (34.4), 8:34.2 (34.5)
9:08.7 (34.5), 9:43.3 (34.6), 10:18.2 (34.9), 10:52.5 (34.3), 11:27.6 (35.1)
12:01.7 (34.1), 12:35.5 (33.8), 13:09.6 (35.1), 14:46.1 (36.5), 14:18.42 (32.32)
1k: 2:51.3; 2k: 5:41.3 (2:50.0); 3k: 8:34.2 (2:52.9); 4k: 11:27.6 (2:53.4); 5k: 14:18.42 (2:50.82)
Comments: Considering you were less than 100 percent, a phenomenal effort. One bad lap and that was it, the penultimate one, and then you kicked anyway. Great job!

Joe McElhoney, 15:05.91. Personal-best.
36, 73 (37), 1:49 (36), 2:26 (37), 3:02 (36)
3:38 (36), 4:14 (36), 4:50 (36), 5:27 (37), 6:03 (37)
6:39 (36), 7:16 (37), 7:53 (37), 8:30 (37), 9:06 (36)
9:43 (37), 10:19 (36), 10:57 (38), 11:34 (37), 12:11 (37)
12:47 (36), 13:24 (37), 13:59 (35), 14:32 (33), 15:05.91 (33.91)
1k: 3:02; 2k: 6:03 (3:01); 3k: 9:06 (3:03); 4k: 12:11 (3:05) 5k: 15:05.91 (2:54.91)
Comments: Way to nail the last 1k! You only had one mediocre kilometer, and you more than fixed it at the end. Nice job!

John Keenan, 15:06.54. Personal-best.
36, 73 (37), 1:49 (36), 2:25 (36), 3:01 (36)
3:37 (36), 4:13 (37), 4:49 (36), 5:26 (37), 6:02 (36)
6:39 (37), 7:15 (36), 7:52 (37), 8:28 (36), 9:04 (36)
9:42 (38), 10:18 (36), 10:56 (38), 11:34 (38), 12:11 (37)
12:47 (36), 13:24 (37), 14:00 (36), 14:35 (35), 15:06.54 (31.54)
1k: 3:01; 2k: 6:02 (3:01); 3k: 9:04 (3:02); 4k: 12:11 (3:07); 5k: 15:06.54 (2:55.54)
Comments: Great PR. JoeMac really helped you as you started to fade, and you kicked strong (of course). Nice effort, I was really happy for you here.

Nick Webster, 15:16.11. Personal-best by nearly 30 seconds.
36, 74 (38), 1:51 (37), 2:28 (37), 3:05 (37)
3:42 (37), 4:19 (37), 4:55 (36), 5:31 (36), 6:07 (36)
6:44 (37), 7:20 (36), 7:58 (38), 8:35 (37), 9:12 (37)
9:48 (36), 10:26 (38), 11:04 (38), 11:41 (37), 12:19 (38)
12:56 (37), 13:33 (37), 14:10 (37), 14:45 (35), 15:16.11 (31.11)
1k: 3:05; 2k: 6:07 (3:02); 3k: 9:12 (3:05); 4k: 12:19 (3:07); 5k: 15:16.11 (2:57.11)
Comments: Awesome effort, running most of the second part of the race by yourself. Sub-15:00 is now in the conversation.

Sam McMullen, 15:36.73. Personal-best.
37, 75 (38), 1:54 (39), 2:31 (37), 3:07 (36)
3:45 (38), 4:22 (37), 5:00 (38), 5:35 (35), 6:11 (36)
6:49 (38), 7:27 (38), 8:04 (37), 8:42 (38), 9:22 (40)
10:00 (38), 10:38 (38), 11:15 (37), 11:52 (37), 12:30 (38)
13:09 (39), 13:48 (39), 14:26 (38), 15:04 (38), 15:36.73 (32.73)
1k: 3:07; 2k: 6:11 (3:04); 3k: 9:22 (3:11); 4k: 12:30 (3:08); 5k: 15:36.73 (3:06.73)
Comments: Fantastic debut at this distance!

Pat Duggan, 15:38.04. Personal-best.
37, 75 (38), 1:54 (39), 2:31 (37), 3:07 (36)
3:45 (37), 4:21 (36), 4:59 (38), 5:34 (35), 6:11 (37)
6:48 (37), 7:26 (38), 8:04 (38), 8:41 (37), 9:20 (39)
9:58 (38), 10:36 (38), 11:14 (38), 11:51 (37), 12:30 (39)
13:09 (39), 13:48 (39), 14:26 (38), 15:04 (38), 15:38.04 (34.04)
1k: 3:07; 2k: 6:11 (3:04); 3k: 9:20 (3:09); 4k: 12:30 (3:10); 5k: 15:38.04 (3:08.04).
Comments: A lovely race, great PR. And I think you can go sub-15:30. Great job.

Brian Townsend: 15:44.11. Personal-best.
37, 75 (38), 1:54 (39), 2:31 (37), 3:08 (37)
3:46 (38), 4:23 (37), 5:01 (38), 5:36 (35), 6:12 (36)
6:49 (37), 7:28 (39), 8:06 (38), 8:44 (38), 9:24 (40)
10:02 (38), 10:40 (38), 11:18 (38), 11:57 (39), 12:35 (37)
13:12 (37), 13:51 (39), 14:30 (39), 15:09 (39), 15:44.11 (35.11)
1k: 3:08; 2k: 6:12 (3:04); 3k: 9:24 (3:12); 4k: 12:35 (3:11); 5k: 15:44.11 (3:09.11)
Comments: Very proud of this effort, considering you are not at 100 percent. I knew you could PR. With a solid three weeks of training, sub-15:30 is in the conversation. Big time. Great job.

Alex Emerel: 15:45.19. Indoor personal-best
37, 75 (38), 1:54 (39), 2:29 (35), 3:06 (37)
3:43 (37), 4:20 (37), 4:57 (37), 5:34 (37), 6:10 (36)
6:48 (38), 7:26 (38), 8:04 (38), 8:42 (38), 9:22 (40)
10:00 (38), 10:39 (39), 11:16 (37), 11:56 (40), 12:24 (38)
13:13 (39), 13:51 (38), 14:30 (39), 15:07 (37), 15:45.19 (38.19)
1k: 3:06; 2k: 6:10 (3:04); 3k: 9:22 (3:12); 4k: 12:24 (3:12); 5k: 15:45.19 (3:19.19)
Comments: Let's make a deal. You don't run anymore laps in 40 seconds, and I won't write that number down in my handy-dandy notebook again. You can do better. And will.

NOTE TO ALL: Thanks to Geist for helping with the splits, and sorry for not being able to pay more personal attention to your splits during the race. It was difficult, but you all ran like champs and I'm proud of each and every one of you guys. Let's aim for bigger PRs at Valentine!

BU splits, take 2

3,000-meter run

Adam Vess, 8:05.89. Personal-best. School record. IC4A qualifier.
33.4, 66.2 (32.8), 1:38.8 (32.6), 2:11.1 (32.3), 2:45.1 (34.0)
3:18.4 (33.4), 3:51.8 (33.4), 4:24.5 (32.7), 4:56.5 (32.0), 5:29.2 (32.7)
6:01.2 (32.0), 6:33.2 (32.0), 7:04.6 (31.4), 7:36.0 (31.4), 8:05.89 (29.89)
1k: 2:45.1; 2k: 5:29.2 (2:44.1); 3k: 8:05.89 (2:36.69)
Comments: Excellent last 1k! Strong debut at this distance collegiately.

Matt Flint, 8:33.45. Personal-best. USA Junior Qualifier for outdoor steeple, 5k, 10k.
31.8, 66.7 (33.9), 1:40.1 (34.4), 2:13.6 (33.5), 2:48.0 (34.4)
3:23.2 (35.2), 3:57.8 (34.6), 4:33.2 (35.4), 5:07.8 (34.6), 5:42.7 (34.9)
6:18.1 (35.4), 6:53.3 (35.2), 7:28.0 (34.8), 8:01.2 (33.2), 8:33.45 (32.25)
1k: 2:48.0; 2k: 5:42.7 (2:54.7); 3k: 8:33.45 (2:50.75)
Comments: Too fast at the start, but you adjusted accordingly and closed well. Awesome effort, since the goal was simply a sub-8:40. 11-second PR. Nice.

Tom Lipari, 8:48.25. Personal-best.
35.5, 71.2 (35.7), 1:47.6 (36.4), 2:23.6 (36.0), 2:58.4 (34.8)
3:33.2 (34.8), 4:08.9 (35.7), 4:44.4 (35.5), 5:19.4 (35.0), 5:55.7 (36.3)
6:31.4 (35.7), 7:07.4 (36.0), 7:43.2 (35.8), 8:17.4 (34.2), 8:48.25 (30.85)
1k: 2:58.4; 2k: 5:55.7 (2:57.3); 3k: 8:48.25 (2:52.55)
Comments: An excellent close, as we expected. Some clunky midrace laps, but that will improve with experience. A lofty goal would be sub-8:40 by season's end. Let's go for it!

Zak Smetana, 8:53.58. Personal-best.
35.1, 71.8 (36.7), 1:47.9 (36.1), 2:24.2 (36.3), 2:59.7 (35.5), 3:35.5 (35.8), 4:11.6 (36.1), 4:47.2 (35.6), 5:23.0 (35.8), 5:59.1 (36.1), 6:34.5 (35.4), 7:10.0 (35.5), 7:45.3 (35.3), 8:20.4 (35.1), 8:53.58 (32.98)
1k: 2:59.7; 2k: 5:59.1 (2:59.6); 3k: 8:53.58 (2:54.48)
Comments: Magnificent! Lovely! I was really pumped to see this. Great job for your first sub-9:00!

Ryan Brown, 9:20.22. Personal-best.
36, 73 (37), 1:51 (38), 2:30 (39), 3:09 (39), 3:46 (37), 4:24 (38), 5:02 (38), 5:39 (37), 6:16 (37), 6:53 (37), 7:30 (37), 8:08 (38), 8:49 (36), 9:20.22 (31.22)
1k: 3:09; 2k: 6:16 (3:07); 3k: 9:20.22 (3:04.22)
Comment: Obviously a lot left in the last lap. Let's see how much faster you can go with a longer kick! Great job.

Greg Masto, 9:37.08.
39, 72 (38), 1:51 (39), 2:30 (39), 3:10 (40), 3:48 (38), 4:28 (40), 5:07 (39), 5:45 (38), 6:27 (38), 7:07 (40), 7:47 (40), 8:25 (38), 9:02 (37), 9:37.08 (35.08).
1k: 3:10; 2k: 6:27 (3:17); 3k: 9:37.08 (3:10.08)
Comment: Solid first effort, let's build on it.

Mike Holinko 10:13.01
37, 75 (38), 1:55 (40), 2:34 (39), 3:13 (39), 3:53 (40), 4:33 (40), 5:15 (38), 5:58 (43), 6:40 (42), 7:23 (43), 8:05 (42), 8:48 (43), 9:30 (42), 10:13.01 (43.01)
1k: 3:13; 2k: 6:40 (3:27); 10:13.01 (3:33.01)

Alex Lombardozzi 10:47.52
38, 76 (38), 1:57 (41), 2:40 (43), 3:22 (42), 4:05 (43), 4:49 (44), 5:34 (45), 6:19 (45), 7:03 (44), 7:50 (47), 8:35 (45), 9:30 (45), 10:05 (45), 10:47.52 (42.52)
1k: 3:22; 2k: 7:03 (3:41); 3k: 10:47.52 (3:44.52)

BU splits, take 1

800-meter run

Colin Johnson: 30.0, 60.1 (30.1), 1:31.0 (30.9), 2:03.72 (32.72). Comment: Not a bad shake-off-the-rust effort for first track race in nearly a year.

Alex Cuesta: 30.5, 62.8 (32.3), 1:35.2 (32.4), 2:07.52 (32.52). Comment: Slow time, but solid effort.

1000-meter run


Kyle Havard, 2:33.92. Personal best. 29.9, 60.9 (31.0), 1:31.8 (30.9), 2:03.0 (31.2), 2:33.92 (30.92). Comment: Excellent close and best race of the season to date.

Brian McCormick, 2:35.99. Personal best. 29.9, 60.8 (30.9), 1:33.0 (32.2), 2:04.7 (31.7), 2:35.99 (31.29). Comment: Excellent close. Sloppy third lap. Otherwise, very strong effort.

Mile run


Will Griffin, 4:17.79. Personal best. 33 (209 meters), 65 (32), 1:38 (33), 2:11 (33), 2:42 (31), 3:14 (32), 3:46 (32), 4:17.79 (31.79). Comment: Excellent last quarter, especially since you were leading by a lot. Strong, strong effort. Nicely done!

Matt Janczyk, 4:22.00. Personal best. 34 (209 meters), 67 (33), 1:39 (32), 2:13 (34), 2:45 (32), 3:17 (32), 3:50 (33), 4:22.00 (32.00). Comment: Interestingly, you closed in 65.00 -- which is fantastic -- and I think you can do better. Having said that, a very solid race for you.

Curtis Jensen, 4:27.42. Personal best. 32.9 (209 meters), 66.2 (33.3), 1:39.5 (33.3), 2:13.9 (34.4), 2:46.1 (32.2), 3:19.1 (33.0), 3:35.9 (33.5), 4:27.42 (34.52). Comment: Started too fast, closed too slow. Let's bounce back in 3k this week.

Kris Geist, 4:35.81. 35.4 (209 meters), 69.2 (33.8), 1:43.8 (34.6), 2:18.8 (35.0), 2:54.4 (35.6), 3:28.2 (33.8), 4:01.4 (33.2), 4:35.81 (34.41). Comments: The makings of a strong kick fizzled on the last lap. Still, a positive effort.

4x400: 3:28.88


Mike Cocca 52.2
Colin Frederickson 50.8
John Kristie 53.9
John Carabetta 51.8
Comment: Fastest time in more than 2 years for this relay. Will get faster.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Strong night at BU

Well, the plan was to go up to the BU Terrier meet and run some fast times. And the guys did just that. They should be proud of their efforts. It may take me some time to type up the multitude of splits (thanks to Geist, I got 'em all!), but here are the highlights, in event order from short to long:

400-meter dash:
Derrick Powell 50.93. First Marist race, nicely done!
John Kristie 52.50, PR

500-meter dash:
Colin Frederickson 1:06.16, PR less than a second away from IC4A qualifying
John Carabetta 1:06.51, PR, closing in on ICs as well

1,000-meter run:
Kyle Havard 2:33.92, PR
Brian McCormick 2:35.99, PR

Mile run:
Will Griffin 4:17.79, strong PR
Matt Janczyk 4:22.00, five-second PR, continuing great season
Curtis Jensen 4:27.42, indoor PR

3,000-meter run:
Adam Vess 8:05.89, PR, school record, IC4A qualifier, missed NCAA provisional mark by less than a second. Strong kick. Nice job.
Matt Flint 8:33.45, PR, USA Junior Qualifier (Juniors are at Hayward Field, Oregon)
Tom Lipari 8:48.25, huge PR, great kick!
Zak Smetana 8:53.58, PR, first time under 9:00
Ryan Brown 9:20.22, PR
Greg Masto 9:37.08, PR

5,000-meter run:
Girma Segni 14:18.42, PR, school record, IC4A qualifier, despite not being 100 percent fit coming off knee injury; nice job
Joe McElhoney 15:05.91, indoor PR by 30 seconds
John Keenan 15:06.54, PR by over 20 seconds
Nick Webster 15:16.11, PR by 30 seconds
Sam McMullen 15:36.73, PR
Pat Duggan 15:38.04, PR
Brian Townsend 15:44.11, PR, still coming off foot injury, strong effort
Alex Emerel 15:45.19, indoor PR

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Update Terrier meet schedule

From the BU Web site ...

Updated schedule adjusted for entries received:

Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 - all women's events except distance medley relay

FRIDAY FIELD EVENTS
3 p.m. - Long Jump, Shot Put
4 p.m. - Pole Vault, High Jump
Triple Jump will follow Long Jump
Weight Throw will follow Shot Put

FRIDAY TRACK EVENTS - all sections fast to slow
2:50 p.m. - Men's Distance Medley - slow heat
3:03 p.m. - Men's Distance Medley - fast heat
3:15 p.m. - Women's 400m
3:40 p.m. - Women's 55m Hurdles - trials
4:10 p.m. - Women's 55m - trials
4:40 p.m. - Women's 500m
5:05 p.m. - Women's Mile Run
5:50 p.m. - Women's 200m
6:20 p.m. - Women's 800m
6:50 p.m. - Women's 1,000m
7:10 p.m. - Women's 4x400m Relay
7:50 p.m. - Women's 3,000m
8:50 p.m. - Women's 5,000m

Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009 - all men's events except distance medley relay

SATURDAY FIELD EVENTS
11 a.m. - Long Jump, Shot Put, Pole Vault, High Jump
Triple Jump will follow Long Jump
Weight Throw will follow Shot Put

SATURDAY TRACK EVENTS - all sections fast to slow
10:45 a.m. - Women's 4x800m Relay
10:55 a.m. - Women's Distance Medley
11:20 a.m. - Men's 55m Hurdles - trials
11:45 a.m. - Men's 55m - trials
12:20 p.m. - Men's 400m
1:00 p.m. - Men's 500m
1:30 p.m. - Men's Mile Run
2:40 p.m. - Men's 200m
3:10 p.m. - Men's 800m
3:45 p.m. - Men's 1,000m
4:10 p.m. - Men's 4x400m Relay
4:50 p.m. - Men's 3,000m
6:00 p.m. - Men's 5,000m

Ruff Ruff

It'll be interesting to see how things go at the Terrier meet at BU this weekend. It is a great meet and has been for years. We are hoping for some fast early-season performances there.

However ... in talking to a few coaches at the Gotham meet last week, budgets are tight. One coach told me his budget was slashed 10 percent and that he was to expect another 10 percent slice in the summer at the beginning of the new fiscal year. As a result, he is foregoing both Terrier and Valentine, meets that he has brought his team to in the past.

Some schools are traveling less and staying closer to home. The Great Dane (UAlbany) meet at the Armory, which has been an excellent meet the past few years, could be really hot this year as powerful local teams stay home and do not venture to BU.

We have been on a tight budget for years, so I cannot anticipate too much being trimmed from us. But you never know. We'll keep doing what we are doing until told otherwise.

In the meantime ... be sure to vote on my Super Bowl poll over to the right of this post. I will give you my Super Bowl prediction next week.

Gotham splits

Sorry for the delay ... here are the splits in the order the races were run.

Mile run

Matt Flint, 4:26.40. 33.1 (209 meters), 65.7 (32.6), 1:38.4 (32.7), 2:11.6 (33.2), 2:45.4 (33.8), 3:19.6 (34.2), 3:54.0 (34.4), 4:26.40 (32.40). Comment: Hey, what do you think you are, a miler or something? Early pace was way too fast, especially on the heels of a heavy week of training. Still, a good work day and solid early season time.

Sam McMullen, 4:31.29. 36.1 (209 meters), 70.4 (34.3), 1:43.6 (33.2), 2:17.0 (33.4), 2:51.6 (34.6), 3:24.5 (32.9), 3:56.8 (32.3), 4:31.29 (34.49). Comments: Weird race. Some slow laps, you had the makings of a great kick and then the last lap wasn't there. Like Flint, a good work day.

Zak Smetana, 4:34.78. 34.3 (209 meters), 68.4 (34.1), 1:43.8 (35.4), 2:18.0 (34.2), 2:51.8 (33.8), 3:26.3 (34.5), 4:01.4 (35.1), 4:34.78 (33.38). Comments: Pretty solid effort, even split race.

800-meter run

Brian McCormick, 2:01.09. 29.2, 59.8 (30.6), 1:30.1 (30.3), 2:01.09 (30.99). Comment: Nice PR, solid effort. Looked a little flat from increased training volume, but things are coming around.

1,000-meter run

Adam Vess, 2:29.88. IC4A qualifier. 29.7, 59.8 (30.1), 1:29.8 (30.0), 1:59.8 (30.0), 2:29.88 (30.08). Comment: Chuck said it best. If this were the leadoff leg of a DMR, you split 3:00. You were locked in to 30s, which is nice for 1200 or mile, but not that effective at this distance. You were flat coming off an extremely hard workout a few days prior. Life goes on.

Tom Lipari, 2:33.19. 28, 59 (31), 1:31 (32), 2:02 (31), 2:33.19 (31.19). Comment: Pretty strong effort overall and a nice PR at this distance.

Matt Janczyk, 2:33.33. 29, 59 (30), 1:30 (31), 2:01 (31), 2:33.33 (32.33). Comment: Excellent PR, but we should not be satisfied since you did not close strong enough. However, this bodes well for a leadoff DMR and/or a strong mile ... both of which may be upcoming soon.

Will Griffin, 2:34.31. 29.4, 60.0 (30.6), 1:31.7 (31.7), 2:03.0 (31.3), 2:34.31 (31.31). Comment: Strong PR but you still looked flat. This is OK. Bigger and better goals are ahead of us, not behind.

3,000-meter run

John Keenan 8:51.21. 35, 71 (36), 1:45 (34), 2:21 (36), 2:56 (35), 3:32 (36), 4:06 (34), 4:42 (36), 5:19 (37), 5:55 (36), 6:31 (36), 7:08 (37), 7:44 (36), 8:18 (36), 8:51.21 (33.21). 1k: 2:56. 2k: 5:55 (2:59); 3k: 8:51.21 (2:56.21). Comments: Pretty solid effort and a 6-second PR, on a day when you looked and raced tight. You made some surges to force the pace, which is never smart but often necessary. I do not dispute these moves and it enabled you and the race to get moving.

Joe McElhoney 8:52.29. 34, 71 (37), 1:45 (34), 2:21 (36), 2:57 (36), 3:34 (37), 4:08 (36), 4:45 (37), 5:20 (35), 5:57 (37), 6:32 (35), 7:08 (36), 7:44 (36), 8:18 (34), 8:52.29 (34.29). 1k: 2:57; 2k: 5:57 (3:00); 3k: 8:52.29 (2:55.29). Comments: Excellent race for being sick, and you showed some extended wheels over the last 1k. Step in the right direction.

Pat Duggan 8:56.45. 35, 73 (38), 1:47 (34), 2:24 (37), 2:59 (35), 3:35 (36), 4:10 (35), 4:47 (37), 5:22 (35), 5:59 (37), 6:34 (35), 7:10 (36), 7:47 (37), 8:22 (35), 8:56.45 (34.45). 1k: 2:59; 2k: 5:59 (3:00); 3k: 8:56.45 (2:57.45). Comments: Performance of the evening. Nicely done. Weird splits, but bottom line is you closed very strong. You had JoeMac in your sights the whole way. I think that helped. Great job.

5,000-meter run

Tim Keegan 15:30.95. 36, 73 (37), 1:50 (37), 2:25 (35), 3:01 (36), 3:36 (35), 4:11 (35), 4:47 (36), 5:23 (37), 5:59 (36), 6:36 (37), 7:12 (36), 7:49 (37), 8:27 (38), 9:03 (37), 9:39 (36), 10:17 (38), 10:55 (38), 11:34 (39), 12:13 (39), 12:52 (39), 13:32 (40), 14:12 (40), 14:51 (39), 15:30.95 (39.95). 1k: 3:01; 2k: 5:59 (2:58); 3k: 9:03 (3:04); 4k: 12:13 (3:10); 5k: 15:30.95 (3:17.95). Comments: Good through 3200m, then the wheels came off. Lack of quality workouts was probably the culprit. Time to get to work and get back where you ought to be. You are not far off, just a few weeks and you'll be there.

Alex Emerel, 16:01.45. 38, 75 (37), 1:51 (36), 2:27 (36), 3:04 (37), 3:39 (35), 4:15 (36), 4:53 (38), 5:30 (37), 6:08 (38), 6:46 (38), 7:24 (38), 8:02 (38), 8:42 (40), 9:22 (40), 10:02 (40), 10:42 (40), 11:22 (40), 12:02 (40), 12:43 (41), 13:23 (40), 14:04 (41), 14:43 (39), 15:23 (40), 16:01.45 (38.45). 1k: 3:04; 2k: 6:08 (3:04); 3k: 9:22 (3:14); 4k: 12:43 (3:21); 5k: 16:01.45 (3:18.45). Comments: Blah. This was not good.

3,200-meter relay: 8:06.17

Kyle Havard: 29, 60, 1:32 (32), 2:02.1 (30.1). Excellent closing lap and a step in the right direction.
Matt Janczyk: 28, 58 (30), 1:29 (31), 1:59.9 (30.9). "That was easy," he said after this fine double.
Brian McCormick: 28, 58 (30), 1:30 (32), 2:03.1 (33.1). Too fast to start, but I like the aggressiveness, especially on a double.
Will Griffin: 28, 58 (30), 1:29 (31)), 2:00.8 (31.8). Solid anchor leg.

1,600-meter relay: 3:30.32

Mike Cocca: 52.8
John Carabetta: 51.6
John Kristie: 53.5
Colin Frederickson: 52.2

Won the section. Everyone doubling back. Nice way to end the meet.

Next up: Terrier at BU, Saturday.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Making it sound good

I should be in public relations: Here is what I wrote for the Web site (www.goredfoxes.com).

Sounds a lot better than it was, but again there were some solid performances there. Glass half full.

Vess' subpar race (for him) proves how relatively weak the 1k IC standard is.

Splits forthcoming when I can get to it.

NEW YORK -- Freshman Adam Vess (Cromwell, CT) qualified for the IC4A Championships in 1,000-meter run, leading a parade of personal-best times, as the Marist College men's track team competed Friday night at the NYC Gotham Cup, hosted by NYU at the Armory Track and Field Center in Washington Heights.

Vess, who has already qualified for the IC4A Championships in the mile run, placed sixth in the five-lap race in 2:29.88, just dipping under the IC4A standard of 2:29.95.

Three other Marist runners set personal-best times in the event. Freshman Tom Lipari (Greenvale, NY) ran 2:33.19, junior Matt Janczyk (Bristol, CT) finished in 2:33.33 and freshman Will Griffin (Columbia, CT) was next in 2:34.31 -- all personal-bests in that event.

All three Running Red Foxes in the 3,000-meter run set personal-best times. Senior captain John Keenan (Centereach, NY) was fourth in the unseeded section in 8:51.21, lopping six seconds off his previous best. Senior Joe McElhoney (Beacon, NY) was right behind in 8:52.29. But it was sophomore Pat Duggan (Rockville Centre, NY), who stole the show, breaking the 9-minute barrier for the first time in dominating fashion with his personal-best time of 8:56.45.

In the 500-meter run, all three Marist sprinters earned personal-best times in the distinctly indoor event. Junior Colin Frederickson (Colonie, NY) continued to blaze a comeback trail with a strong time of 1:08.19. Sophomore John Carabetta (Park Ridge, NJ) had a strong 2009 debut in 1:08.75. Greg Dubois (Long Valley, NJ) ran the event for the first time and clocked in at 1:10.12.

Freshman Brian McCormick (Wilbraham, MA) also earned a personal-best time of 2:01.09 in the 800-meter run. He came back later in the evening on the sixth-place 3,200-meter relay team that clocked 8:06.17. Janczyk highlighted that relay with a strong 1:59.9 800-meter leg after his 1,000-meter performance.

The Red Foxes will return to action Saturday afternoon at the Terrier Invitational at Boston University.

60-meter dash: Michael Cocca 7.47, Mike McCloskey 7.53, James Boylan 8.21
400-meter dash: John Kristie 53.80, Neal Veits 56.19
500-meter dash: Colin Frederickson 1:08.19, John Carabetta 1:08.75, Greg Dubois 1:10.12
800-meter run: Brian McCormick 2:01.09
1,000-meter run: Adam Vess 2:29.88 *IC4A qualifier; Tom Lipari 2:33.19, Matt Janczyk 2:33.33, Will Griffin 2:34.31
Mile run: Matt Flint 4:26.40, Sam McMullen 4:31.29, Zak Smetana 4:34.78
3,000-meter run: John Keenan 8:51.21, Joe McElhoney 8:52.29, Pat Duggan 8:56.45
5,000-meter run: Tim Keegan 15:30.95, Alex Emerel 16:01.45
3,200-meter relay: Marist (Kyle Havard, Matt Janczyk, Brian McCormick, Will Griffin) 8:06.17
1,600-meter relay: Marist (Mike Cocca, John Carabetta, John Kristie, Colin Frederickson) 3:30.32

NYC Gotham Cup

Kind of a "blah" night for the Running Red Foxes at the Armory.

Some solid performances -- specifically Duggan in the 3k with a major PR of 8:56 and Janzo in the 1k/4x8 -- but otherwise I believe the team was feeling the effects of a hard week of training, specifically a very hard Tuesday workout.

No excuses, just reality. We're hoping for better days in Boston at Terrier next week. Again, not an awful night, but not a lot of big highlights either.

Will update with complete results and splits in a few days or as soon as I can. Full results can be found at www.directathletics.com and probably www.armorytrack.com. The DA site has the results up, definitely.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Cold, cold feeling

I mentioned this at Monday's practice, but it is worth reiterating here for current team members (and for alumni in the Northeast that still feel like listening to their old coach ...):

We are heading into a 3-4 day period of bitterly cold weather and wind chills. If you plan on running outside, this means you cannot be cavalier about how you dress.

In other words:

-- You'll probably want to wear more than shorts, unless you want your legs to freeze and you want to reduce your chances of procreating later in life. Penile frostbite is a serious thing!
-- You should definitely wear a winter hat, cover your ears, and wear gloves.
-- Make sure you are wearing enough layers, and that your top layer is wind-resistant.

It's only going to be for a few days, starting Wednesday and lasting into the weekend. By next week, temperatures are supposed to moderate a bit.

Be smart out there.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Metro meet splits

Sorry for the delay in posting. Too busy chopping ice, shoveling snow and writing about a pathetic Giants' loss! Click here to see what I had to say about it ...

Anyway. The splits. In the order they were scribbled in my handy-dandy notebook and the order in which they were run ...

Mile run

Adam Vess. 4:10.11. School record. IC4A qualifier.
32 (209 meters, long split), 65 (33), 1:35 (30), 2:06 (31), 2:36 (30), 3:07 (31), 3:38 (31), 4:10.11 (32.11). Comment: Silly slow start by the field, Adam reacted nicely but didn't close as strongly as usual. Not bad for Jan. 9.

Will Griffin. 4:24.93.
33 (long split), 66 (33), 1:38 (32), 2:10 (32), 2:43 (33), 3:17 (34), 3:51 (34), 4:24.93 (33.93). Comment: Kind of a blah race. Will said he was overly nervous beforehand; his first Armory experience. It'll get better.

Tom Lipari. 4:25.10. Personal-best time.
33.5 (long split), 67.3 (34.8), 1:40.4 (33.1), 2:14.2 (33.8), 2:47.9 (33.7), 3:21.7 (33.8), 3:54.4 (32.7), 4:25.10 (30.70). Comment: A nicely-done PR and wicked neg split. Many of you may be familiar with Tom's famous sister Emily (one of the best girl hs runners in the country). Well, Tommy's got some wheels too, and he showed them off on Friday.

800-meter run

Kyle Havard. 2:02.19.
29.5, 59.0 (29.5), 1:30.0 (31.0), 2:02.19 (32.19). Comment: Blah. Not a great start, but it will get better.

Ryan Brown. 2:06.52.
30, 62 (32), 1:33 (31), 2:06.52 (33.52). Comment: Solid personal-best time and excellent effort in an out-of-event race.

Greg Masto. 2:12.32.
30, 62 (32), 1:36 (34), 2:12.32 (36.32). Comment: Back to the drawing board!

Sprint medley relay: Quick comment about this. This is a rarely run relay and Coach Terry Horton had some fun putting his sprint crew through two SMRs for the early-season work. The SMR was run 200-200-400-800. The first relay exchange was absolutely crazy!

SMR A, 3:43.70: Mike Cocca 23.6, Colin Frederickson 23.7, John Kristie 53.3, Brian McCormick 2:02.8 (29, 61, 1:31).

SMR B, 3:49.32: Mike McCloskey 24.3, James Boylan 25.1, Neal Viets 55.7, Greg Dubois 2:04.2 (sorry no splits available).

Distance medley relay

DMR A, 10:52.40.
Matt Janczyk 3:11.6. 32, 64 (32), 1:37 (33), 2:10 (33), 2:41 (31), 3:11.6 (30.6)
John Kristie 55.9
Greg Masto 2:11.0. 29, 61 (32), 1:35 (34), 2:11.0 (36.0).
Sam McMullen 4:33.8. 32, 66 (34), 1:40 (34), 2:15 (35), 2:51 (36), 3:27 (36), 4:02 (35), 4:33.8 (31.8).

DMR B, 11:03.78.
Kris Geist 3:23.4. 33, 66 (33), 1:38 (32), 2:13 (35), 2:46 (33), 3:23.4 (37.4)
Neal Viets 57.2
Ryan Brown 2:07.7. 31, 62 (31), 1:34 (32), 2:07.7 (33.7)
Curtis Jensen 4:35.7. 29, 59 (30), 1:33 (34), 2:09 (36), 2:46 (37), 3:23 (37), 4:00 (37), 4:35.7 (35.7).

3,000-meter run

Matt Flint 8:44.91.
37, 70 (33), 1:45 (35), 2:19 (34), 2:55 (36), 3:31 (36), 4:07 (36), 4:40 (33), 5:16 (36), 5:54 (38), 6:30 (36), 7:05 (35), 7:39 (34), 8:14 (34), 8:44.91 (30.91). 1k: 2:55; 2k: 5:54 (2:59); 3k: 8:44.91 (2:50.91). Comment: Nice kick! As you can see (and will see), it seemed like the whole race field was shaking off the rust and didn't really know how to race. Fast. Slow. Fast again. Then see who can finish strong. Most didn't. Flint did, as the Armory sound system blared out "Eye of the Tiger." If it was 1982, when that song was relevant, such a scene would have given me chills. In 2009, it's just cheesy.

Joe McElhoney 9:01.94.
38, 71 (33), 1:45 (36), 2:18 (33), 2:55 (37), 3:31 (36), 4:07 (36), 4:41 (34), 5:14 (37), 5:49 (35), 6:25 (36), 7:03 (38), 7:43 (40), 8:22 (39), 9:01.94 (39.94). 1k: 2:55; 2k: 5:49 (2:54); 3k: 9:01.94 (3:12.94). Comment: One of JoeMac's favorite sayings is "shit show" and these splits can certainly be described as such! He was all over the place. However, if you WATCHED the race, there were far more positives than negatives here. JoeMac faded badly at the end of xc, which we now know was due to a severe iron deficiency. His mid-race surge to the lead here proves that he's got the giddyup back in his legs. His final death march 1k proves that maybe that move wasn't so smart. But I have faith that we'll see some faster times later this winter and spring.

3,200-meter relay (4x800)

Marist A 7:59.69
Kyle Havard 2:04.6. 29, 60 (31), 1:32 (32), 2:04.6 (32.6)
Tom Lipari 2:00.0. 28, 58 (30), 1:28 (30), 2:00.0 (32.0) (Note: Coach Horton had Tommy at 1:59.9. Whatever. It's a relay split, so it doesn't 'count')
Adam Vess 1:55.4. 27, 56 (29), 1:25 (29), 1:55.4 (30.4)
Will Griffin 1:59.4. 27, 57 (30), 1:28 (31), 1:59.4 (31.4)

1,600-meter relay (4x400)

Marist A 3:32.43
Greg Dubois: 54.1
Mike Cocca 52.3
Colin Frederickson 51.7
Brian McCormick 54.1

Friday, January 9, 2009

Fab freshmen at the Armory

Just back from the season-opener at the Armory. Freshmen distance runners provided many of the highlights:

-- Adam Vess got 2nd in the mile, lowering his SR and IC mark to a sterling 4:10.11.
-- Tom Lipari PRed in the mile in a solid 4:25.10. Will Griffin ran 4:24.93, not a PR but a solid first run at the Armory, where he never raced in hs.
-- Matt Flint, who never ran an indoor track race in hs as he cross country skied for Queensbury, won the 3k in 8:44.91. A nice start, I would say!
-- The all-freshman 4x8 of Kyle Havard (2:04.6), Lipari (1:59.99), Vess (1:55.4), Griffin (1:59.4) won in 7:59.69. Not bad since all were doubling back.
-- Max Carow was 3rd in the PV in 4.10, just .05 off his SR in the event. Not bad for no practice!
-- Lost in the results shuffle was a sterling 1200-meter opening leg in one of our DMRs by Matt Janczyk. Janzo made a killer move with 400m to go and blitzed the field, handing off well in the lead in 3:11.6. Check out his boss splits: 32, 64 (32), 1:37 (33), 2:10 (33), 2:41 (31), 3:11.6 (30.6). Killer. I loved every second of it.

I'll update with splits from the meet later in the weekend or early next week.

We are back at the Armory next Friday for the NYU Gotham Cup. Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Morning practice

One of the beauties of winter intersession is the ability to practice at any time of the day. The young and current Marist Running Red Foxes may not agree with this assessment, but their old coach does.

In an effort to squeeze an indoor workout in today before setup for tonight's big women's basketball game vs. Iona, we called a 7:15 practice. That's a.m., for those keeping score at home.

And for college students on their winter holiday break, 7:15 a.m. is beyond early. After all, most college students (men, at the very least) are spending their days and nights engaged in the very important activities of playing video games, watching football and sleeping. Especially, sleeping. And so, a 7:15 a.m. practice, and a hard workout to boot, did not go over well.

Based on what my eyes witnessed this morning, though, the boys apparently did some training in between holiday meals, parties, video games and football. A very nice welcome-back-to-Poughkeepsie-and-the-McCann-Center effort this morning, boys!

For those that are interested ...

The majority of the guys in attendance did a turnover-type workout to get them ready for the turnover they will do in the workout-style meet we have Friday at the Armory. No need to shock their systems into racing on race day. This workout was literally an early-morning wakeup call:

3 sets of: 400 meters hard (60-66 for most), short jog recovery (30 seconds), 200 meters hard (27-31 for most), short jog recovery (30 seconds), 200 meters hard (same). Full recovery. Repeat twice. Long warmup. Long cooldown. Double later. Not a bad day's work in between video games, eating and sleeping.

A few of the longer distance boys did: 2x1k at 2:57-3:03; 1x800 at 2:19-2:22; 1x400 at 66-67.

As we always do, we started the workout with a "stride" 400. Today's "stride" 400 was comical. Judging by the half-asleep body language, I joked that I could have done the stride with them. As it turns out, I probably could have made it for at least 200 meters of their pathetic, 82-second shuffle.

But alas, it did seem to wake them up into a worthwhile morning workout, which no doubt was followed by a lengthy mid-morning nap.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happy New Year

Hello all. Back to the grind after the holiday break. Hope yours was a good one. Much of the team returns to town today for the resumption of practice. Several athletes are staying home, working and training.

Our indoor meet schedule begins in earnest on Friday. At the Armory. Where else? Our entire meet schedule is at the Armory and BU. Just how I like it.

Hope to see you at some Armory meets on Friday evenings.

The posts and updates will come more frequently around meets, as always.

Take care and blog at ya again soon ...