Dodging Isaac

Last year, Hurricane Irene pummeled our area. In fact, there are parts of Ulster County across the river that are still reeling from the after-effects of that terrible storm. Other than some soaking wet trails and a ridiculously flooded basement, Irene did not have a major, lasting impact on our lives here.

This thought is fresh in my mind as the remnants of Isaac get set to brush our area. Today, Tuesday, was a major Quality Day for our men's and women's cross country teams. I had heard the forecast this morning, calling for rain all day. Fortunately, the majority of the rain held off to allow our athletes to get their quality work in today.

The men did a great tempo run at the FDR/Cator Loop. This was the first time we did this workout, which featured multiple repeats of an 1325-meter grass and trail loop. Most guys did 7 or 8 laps -- a good length tempo run! Other than a few sprinkles during their warmup, the workout was held on a cloudy and very humid midday.

The women did Hilltop Repeats at Bowdoin Park. It was much more cloudy for this, and at the end of the repeats, it did start to rain rather hard. But a good soaking rain felt great after hammering hard up the hills. Upon arrival back to Marist, it appears that it did not rain too hard on campus. Tonight and Wednesday could be a different story; forecasts are calling for heavy rain.

Here's hoping tropical moisture stays away from us on Friday, our next Quality Day, and definitely Saturday, when we welcome back family and friends (and everyone else) to campus for the Red Fox Trot 5K race.