Winter bro-fest in icy Connecticut

 Thanks to Spencer Johnson for sharing these photos of a group run with Spencer, freshman Palmer Weimann and grad student Mark Valentino. Here is Spence's description of the run:

We went to Hubbard Park in Meriden, Ct and ran up to the top of the mountain where Castle Craig is, and the road was a sheet of ice the second half of the way up, but no one slipped! We got a solid 1 hour and 12 minutes in and it was some good uphill running, and there was surprisingly a good amount of runners despite the icy conditions going up the mountain! Too bad it was foggy we couldn't see the nice view it usually has.

Hall of a great way to end 2015

 My youngest son James and I made a pilgrimage to upstate Cooperstown for his first visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I made a similar trip to the Hall with my son Joey about 6 years ago. James is 10 years old, right around the sweet spot for the love of the sport, and we had a fantastic father-son time at the shrine to the national pastime. Above, James was thrilled to see his favorite player (Lucas Duda) is among the active leaders in fielding percentage for first basemen -- in a game dominated by statistics, those particular numbers mean pretty much nothing. To the left, you can see James and I displaying are best immaturity (hey, it comes naturally to both of us) in front of the Mets/Yankees lockers. And below, you can see me in front of the plaque for Big Dan Brouthers, Dutchess County's own Hall of Famer. Big Dan was a Wappingers Falls native and in fact is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery. Big Dan was the Babe Ruth of the 19th century, one of the best players of the early game. We spent a full day at the Hall of Fame, and it was worth every mile and every minute.

You wanted THIS?

I thought it was rather funny and curious how several folks last week were lamenting how it "didn't feel like Christmas" with the unusually warm temperatures. I just got back from my Stewart's coffee run, and winter has officially arrived here in the mid-Hudson Valley. There is a crusty inch of snow, covered by a slick layer of ice. Our short, dead-end road can easily be navigated on ice skates. Shoveling this "snow" is a futile exercise, only to reveal a nice sheen of ice underneath. What. You wanted THIS? I'll take 60 and sunny in December. You want your holiday chill and ice? Go to Maine. Or now? Just come to Poughkeepsie!

Orange is the new ... red?

Thanks to Coach Chuck for sending me this photo of an impromptu Marist reunion at a recent Syracuse basketball game. Coach Chuck is sporting his home school colors, along with freshmen Jess Howe, and Emily and Drew Burns. Sophomore Christine Gambell is in the neutral flannel. We'll forgive these Red Foxes for wearing Orange for one day up in Central New York. OK!

Baby's first Christmas

Several alums and friends have sent their "baby's first Christmas" cards, and there is nothing more magical than that. Thanks to my smart and beautiful wife Heidi, our babies' first Christmases are forever immortalized with these framed photos on our old, out-of-tune piano in the den. You'll notice the juxtaposition of the baby photos with their current school photos. File that into the "They Grow Up Too Fast" category.

An Upper Fulton Christmas

I meant to post this late last week: One of the most absurdly funny "nativity" scenes from our friends at Upper Fulton 6E -- featuring KB holding the precious "baby" Spencer Johnson, and the "wise men" (yeah RIGHT) gathered around them and the tree. They were going to make this into a house Christmas card, but never got around to it. This blog post will have to do.

Christmas Eve. In shorts and t-shirt

From left: Lawyer Dave, Santa Ken, Coach Pete, Neil (de la Hoya), Fast Tony (the Czar)

Normally, I don’t post group run photos that I am in. I mean, who cares about a group of middle aged men (and, in my case, painfully slow middle-aged man) who go jogging? We run several times per week, usually in the pre-dawn darkness for most of the year. Nothing noteworthy there. This photo is noteworthy because of the weather; it was taken after a 6-mile run from Starbucks in Poughkeepsie, across the Walkway and back, on Christmas Eve morning. Temperature close to 60 degrees, on Dec. 24. If you can forgive the chaotic and obnoxious mix of colors – hey, we run in the dark usually, so no one sees us – you’ll note the prevalence of shorts and t-shirts for most of us. On Christmas Eve! This is crazy! Typically, an early morning run in December finishes with temperatures 30 to 40 degrees colder than today. That’s a huge difference, and it felt GREAT. Our run start time was a relatively leisurely 7 a.m., as opposed to our usual 5:35 a.m. gun time (yeah, in my shape, those morning runs are feeling more and more like races these days; in fact, after one particularly brutal run for me, I told Ken that we needed bib numbers out there in the dark). But hey. Given the patched together nature of my body, after where I was back in March and April, getting out for 6 miles at 8-minute pace with the boys is my one true Christmas gift this year. Merry Christmas to one and all. 

Welcome to the jungle: ¡Hola! From Ecuador!‏

What a pleasant surprise to get an email from sophomore XC/track runner Jenna Robinson, who is spending her holiday break in South America with a small contingent of Marist students and faculty, studying species in the wild. She reported that she is having an “unparalleled time” in the jungle, having already seen wild capuchin monkeys, tarantulas, large snakes, and “many many more animals I have never seen before, let alone in the wild!” Jenna’s next stop are the Andes, with oxygen sucking elevations over 13,000 feet – her strong XC fitness will come in handy up there. We are hoping for more updates from Jenna, in the rare moments she has WiFi. 

Christmas cards: Yay or nay?

The conversation occurs every year now, as our mailbox fills up starting in late November and continuing for a month or more: Should we do Christmas cards? Heidi is on the fence on this one, but she mostly wouldn’t mind seeing that tradition slowly fade away. She said Facebook takes care of the need for Christmas cards, and hers is a compelling argument. Our kids, of course, have a vague concept of “snail mail” -- with the general feeling that it is something “old people” use and check. They kind of view snail mail the way we view rotary dial phones, as an interesting relic from the past that some people actually still use for some odd reason. Again, they are not far from the real truth there.

I’m old school (you could take the “school” out of that, of course) when it comes to this, and I hold steady to the idea of Christmas cards – mostly because I like to receive and generate mail. So the above pictured Christmas card may be coming to a mailbox (actual mailbox, not inbox) near you in the next day or two. Some of my old friends and acquaintances are not on Facebook, or are not “Facebook friends” with Heidi, and thus do not get to see photos of our family. The Christmas card acts as the once-a-year update in some cases, sad as that is to report. And, as I explained to our kids over dinner last night (before their attention clearly drifted as I rambled on, which I often do), even “younger” folks (you know, recent alums in their 20s and 30s) like to use the traditional Christmas card as a way to show off their beautiful babies or toddlers. Those “baby’s first Christmas” photos are indeed precious and only come around once in a lifetime. So yeah. If you are still sending us Christmas cards, keep ‘em coming. At least one old guy likes to check and open the mail.

Festive freshmen inside a Christmas tree

'Tis the season to be ... goofy! Thanks to Spencer Johnson for sharing this photo of some of our freshmen xc/track team members, posing inside the Christmas tree in front of the chapel on campus. That goofy looking elf in the Santa costume is freshman Palmer Weimann. Merry Fitness!

El Nino es muy bueno!

As a Certified Weather Geek, I can speak to this incredibly mild and lovely December weather we are having. At the Advanced SkyWarn Spotter Training Session that I attended last month at the Dutchess County Jail, the National Weather Service presenter told us that this year was a “strong El Nino” – which means a better than average chance of the following for the winter: milder than normal temperatures (check, so far) and above average precipitation (check, so far). I like what El Nino has presented us this month. After a cooldown to more normal temperatures this weekend, next week warms up again, and we could be wearing shorts for Christmas (forecast high, 65 degrees). It’s beginning to look a lot like … April! Enjoy it while it lasts. 

Doubling on a Saturday night

Last Saturday night, I took my two younger kids to the Marist men’s basketball game versus Delaware. Sports information director Mike Ferraro asked if I would be the halftime guest with Ed Weir on the game’s radio broadcast, and I gladly obliged. Eddie Weir has been broadcasting Marist football and basketball games for the better part of five decades. He’s an old friend and a very loyal supporter of all Marist Athletics, so it was the least I could do to give “Weir-do” – as he is affectionately known to his friends – a few minutes of my time.

After I was done with the interview, my kids wanted to get something from the snack bar, which is located in the lobby of the Fitness Center. It was now about 8:15 on a Saturday night. While I’m purchasing a box of popcorn, out of the Fitness Center walks one of our Loyal Men’s XC Athletes who shall remain nameless. What was he doing? Doubling. Getting in his bike double, one of three required for the week. On a Saturday night, with final exams looming. That, my friends, is dedication. And it runs in the family. A Marist Running generation ago, this young man’s older brother was a member of our team. I remember distinctly a moment during finals week of the spring semester of that year. Everyone was taking their time off after the conclusion of outdoor track season. Not this guy. I saw him coming in from a hard 8-miler on a hot afternoon. By himself. There was no reason for it, other than true dedication and love of the sport. The same reason some current college kid would pedal on an exercise bike for 45 minutes on a random Saturday night in early winter. It’s what he does; it’s what we do. Nicely done. 

Club nationals: Katie and Fitz shine!

Congrats to Marist Running alums Ryan Fitzsimons (Central Park Track Club) and Katie Messina (New Balance Boston) for their excellent races at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, held Saturday at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. And thanks to Fitz for sending me this wonderful picture of two great teammates and proud Forever Foxes.

Ryan was the CPTC A team’s third runner and ran a solid PR of 33:38 (5:25 pace) for 10 kilometers, notching an 8km PR of 26:25 en route. CPTC placed 38th out of 59 teams. Katie placed 113th in 22:13 (5:58 pace) and was the lead runner for the NBB B team, which placed 27th out of 41 teams in the field.

Also, a quick shout-out to my friend and local running legend Marisa Sutera Strange, who placed eighth overall in the women’s masters race and won her umpteenth National Championship by capturing the 50-54 division by about a minute in front of her nearest competitor. Marisa ran 22:37 (6:04 pace). It is not a stretch to say she is the most successful runner in Dutchess County history, as her stellar running career just keeps on going and going. 

Sun's out ...

My wife was stuck inside in a conference center all day, so she had no idea how beautiful it was out there for December 11. Here was our text exchange around lunch time.

Idiot Coach: So. This is what it's like to be a track coach in North Carolina.

Beautiful Wife: Is it nice out?

Idiot Coach: (with this photo attached). Yeah man. Sun's out, guns out.

Fortunately for us, she did not reply to the text of this "photo" of Rizzo (left), Deet (right) and in the middle The Man Himself, a one-man Cult Hero of the track team (even though he was never technically ON the track team!) ... and that would be none other than aspiring professional triathlete Nick Vandermolen (aka: DUDE or BRO). Nick was a record-setting swimmer at Marist and dabbled in track after his senior swim season was completed. He hung with the boys on a 4-mile progressive tempo on the Hudson Valley Rail Trail on this lovely day. Great to have him back. And great to have this weather!

If this is what winter is gonna be like, I'm gonna LIKE it. OK!

New laptop, 2015

It’s sleek. It’s modern. It’s lightweight and fast. It’s up-to-date, portable and very useful. OK! Now that I’ve got your attention, and now that you should be pretty certain I am not talking about Your Fearless Blog Author (me!), I’d like to introduce you to the vehicle that is now producing most of the blog material. And that would be? My New Laptop.

You may recall that every three years, Marist IT updates our computer equipment. The outgoing laptop, which I received sometime around the Disney Trip in the fall of 2012, has been replaced by this very fine, very lightweight machine. For those keeping score at home (and I KNOW you are … especially Joel?), according to the fine folks at IT, this is a “Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon, featuring an Intel i5 processor, a speedy solid state drive, a 14-inch full HD display and weighs in at a microscopic 2.99 pounds.” (Side note: Joel probably told Lenovo how to build this thing!). The “lightweight” part of this laptop has made for an odd transition for me, and that is this: I am actually “working” in my “office” now, since transporting this laptop is far easier than the previous, clunky machine. In fact! I am writing this post from my office right now. You know. The office in the McCann Center. The one with all the old sneakers in it? Yeah. There. Odd, I know. Most of the coaches in the vicinity are not used to having me around. Me. And my fancy new laptop. OK!

The Luty Hall of Fame

The distance men headed to Luty Drive in Hyde Park this morning for a workout that is not a favorite for those who have done it: 4xLuty Loop, which is a roughly three-quarter-mile neighborhood road that is all rolling hills – equal parts hard uphill and hard downhill. Traditionally, this has been a workout that we would do when all other options failed, usually because of persistent snow and ice. Today, on a relatively mild December day (cloudy, low-40s), it was the workout of choice since I wanted to have the men do some hill-based strength.

In the past, Luty Loops were run in the 3:30 (very fast end) to 3:50/4:00 range. It’s a tough, hilly loop – similar to the Back Hills at Van Cortlandt, but harder on the body because it’s all pavement. Previous members of the “Luty Hall of Fame” – guys who always excelled at this workout – included Salek and Fitz. They liked it, and they were uncanny in how they always ran it really fast. Well, after today, that Luty Hall of Fame just got a lot more crowded, as the vast majority of the team completed the loops between 3:15 (Deet), 3:20 (Rizzo) and 3:30 (yeah, it’s definitely a bit shy of 0.75 miles, but it’s close to that). The consensus among guys who had never done it was that it was a worthwhile workout, but that the downhills were a bit much on the legs. We agree with this assessment.

But! For what is normally an entirely forgettable December workout, the guys went after it and got a lot out of it on a steel-gray, gloomy morning.  

Imagine.

My favorite radio station, Radio Woodstock 100.1, was playing John Lennon music throughout their lunch hour today. It is the 35^th anniversary of his tragic death in 1980. It is difficult to fathom that it has been that long since he was killed by a deranged idiot, mostly because I remember clear as day when it happened. I was a junior in high school, and I had been home sick from school on that Monday with a bad cold or flu or something. I spent the entire day on the couch, watching TV. The 11 o’clock news broke with the story of Lennon’s being killed as he returned to his NYC home with his wife, Yoko Ono. It’s one of those moments where you remember exactly where you were when it happened, and I still remember it vividly to this day.

Thirty-five years! Damn. He would be 75 years old now, probably still making music and touring. The legacy he left in his relatively short time on earth was pretty darn good. You can debate as to whether he was the “best Beatle” or not; it is difficult to debate his lasting impact on music and on our world.

Metro Holiday Opener: Men's results, splits, commentary

A few notes and highlights from the men’s meet today:

--A month ago, Tim Johnson had a knee injury so debilitating that we were wondering if it were season- and career-ending. Note: It’s not. He has bounced back, better than ever, and we are thrilled at this. A solid double for Tim.

--We cannot state enough how much of a travesty it is if Hakim Cunningham’s 60-meter hurdle race is forever lost in the snafu of the timing system. It could have been a borderline school record effort. The start was great; the hurdling was great; just an overall strong effort that may never be validated by something so basic to what we do: A FINISHING TIME. Undaunted, Hakim went on to race twice more. Nicely done, captain.

--Our small distance contingent repped the XC crowd well. Grad student Mark Valentino raced in a Marist singlet for the first time in more than half a year, and it was well worth the wait. Tino ran a 14-second PR in the 3km, and a great early-season time. Kudos to Sami Ellougani and Ricky Willi for PRs in the mile – Sami’s by a lot. And how about Joe Miller, with the fastest 4x800 leg, despite no real speed training in the short interval since the end of XC. Good stuff. In fact! The 4x800 relay overall, a slapped together afterthought, ran a really solid time of 8:09.

--Two more random thoughts about Ocean Breeze: With the natural lighting, the facility is reminiscent of a modern-day Coxe Cage, the ancient but still useful track at Yale University. The one slight drawback of Ocean Breeze is that it is in a remote area with no restaurants in walking distance; the Armory is smack in the middle of Washington Heights, with plenty of street vendors, delis and restaurants in the area.

Metro Holiday Season Opener

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, Staten Island

Men’s results and splits

200-meter dash

24. Tim Johnson 23.26

26. Hakim Cunningham 23.37

42. Ethan Rodrigues 24.19

400-meter dash

53. Josh Hindle 53.71

62. Josh Siegel 55.77

800-meter run

10. Nestor Taylor 1:59.07

28, 58 (30), 1:28 (30), 1:59.07 (31.07)

15. Anthony Colasanto 2:00.95

28, 58 (30), 1:28 (30), 2:00.95 (32.95)

16. Nate Lungarini 2:01.03

29, 58 (29), 1:28 (30), 2:01.03 (33.03)

18. Tanner Senius 2:01.58

29, 59 (30), 1:30 (31), 2:01.58 (31.58)

20. Brian Henderson 2:01.69

30, 60 (30), 1:30 (30), 2:01.69 (31.69)

21. Drew Burns 2:01.99

30, 60 (30), 1:31 (31), 2:01.99 (30.99)

Mile run

13. Mark Vuono 4:30.22

31, 64 (33), 1:37 (33), 2:11 (34), 2:47 (36), 3:21 (34), 3:56 (35), 4:30.22 (34.22)

16. Sami Ellougani 4:31.86

34, 67 (33), 1:39 (32), 2:14 (35), 2:50 (36), 3:23 (33), 3:58 (35), 4:31.86 (33.86)

26. Ricky Willi 4:38.11

33, 68 (35), 1:44 (36), 2:18 (36), 2:55 (37), 3:32 (37), 4:05 (37), 4:38.11 (33.11)

3,000-meter run

8. Mark Valentino 8:44.25

33.4, 69.4 (36.0), 1:44.3 (35.9), 2:18.7 (34.4), 2:53.4 (34.7)

3:28.0 (34.6), 4:03.3 (35.3), 4:38.3 (35.0), 5:13.5 (35.2), 5:48.6 (35.1)

6:24.3 (35.7), 6:59.2 (34.9), 7:34.4 (35.2), 8:10.0 (35.6), 8:44.25 (34.25)

Kilometer splits: 2:53.4, 5:48.6 (2:55.2), 8:44.25 (2:55.65)

1,600-meter relay

17. Marist A (Nestor Taylor 53.4, Tim Johnson 51.5, Tanner Senius 53.1, Nate Lungarini 52.5) 3:30.77

23. Marist B (Hakim Cunningham 54.0, Ethan Rodrigues 52.9, Drew Burns 53.7, Anthony Colasanto 54.0) 3:35.02

3,200-meter relay

3. Marist (Joe Miller, Mark Vuono, Sami Ellougani, Ricky Willi) 8:09.90

Joe Miller: 1:59.7. 29, 57 (29), 1:27 (30), 1:59.7 (32.7)

Mark Vuono: 2:00.7. 28, 58 (30), 1:28 (30), 2:00.7 (32.7)

Sami Ellougani: 2:03.9. 29, 60 (31), 1:31 (31), 2:03.9 (32.9)

Ricky Willi: 2:05.2. 29, 61 (32), 1:33 (32), 2:05.2 (32.2)

Metro Holiday Opener: Women's results, splits, commentary

A few notes and highlights on the women’s results (UPDATED with official finishing places and times):

--Freshman Candhace Forrest burst onto the scene with a scintillating 60-meter dash, just 0.02 off the school record set by Danielle Asaro last season (earlier this calendar year). Nicely done, Candhace!

--Debbie Boerke’s first 60 hurdle race was 0.08 off the school record in that event. Very solid debut.

--Once again, we were thrilled to see our 4x400 relay break the school record. No one on the relay was fresh: Courtney Cartwright ran the open 400, Debbie Boerke ran the hurdles and her first-ever 500, Molly Weeks raced the 500, and Danisha Craig pulled off the extremely difficult 200-400 double with short recovery. We are extremely proud of these young ladies, and as mentioned previously, it’s just a matter of time before the team will dip under 4 minutes.

Metro Holiday Season Opener

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, Staten Island

Women’s results and splits

60-meter dash

11. Candhace Forrest 7.97

22. Ashley Haynes 8.23

39. Lauren Adams 8.48

200-meter dash

13. Danisha Craig 26.67

23. Ericka Stewart 27.45

33. Emma Schweitzer 28.39

400-meter dash

21. Courtney Cartwright 1:01.62

36. Olivia Jaquith 1:03.50

500-meter dash

7. Debbie Boerke 1:17.41

11. Molly Weeks 1:19.30

800-meter run

8. Alyssa Hurlbut 2:28.55

32, 67 (35), 1:46 (39), 2:28.55 (42.55)

15. Katherine Mellitt 2:34.16

34, 71 (37), 1:52 (41), 2:34.16 (42.16)

60-meter hurdles

11. Debbie Boerke 9.11

37. Alexandra Hernandez 9.92

1,600-meter relay

8. Marist A (Courtney Cartwright 61.2, Debbie Boerke 59.6, Molly Weeks, 59.6, Danisha Craig 59.5) 4:00.20 *school record, old record 4:00.60 set by Cartwright, Craig, Horner, Weeks, in 2015.

25. Marist B (Ericka Stewart 64.1, Alexandra Hernandez 66.7, Emma Schweitzer 63.2, Alyssa Hurlbut 66.8) 4:20.89

Metro Holiday Opener: 4x400 school record!

Congrats to our women's 4x400 relay team of Courtney Cartwright (61.2 seconds), Debbie Boerke (59.6 seconds), Molly Weeks (59.6 seconds) and Danisha Craig (59.5 seconds) on their school-record 4x400 relay of 4:00.20, breaking the record set last season (earlier this calendar year) of 4:00.60. Next time, when (not IF but WHEN) the record is set, it is a safe bet that the team will dip under the 4-minute barrier for the first time in school history. Nicely done, ladies!

Ocean Breeze: Team huddle

Here is a photo of the team huddle on the infield before Saturday's meet.

Ocean Breeze: A new view on indoor track

Today was the grand opening (in terms of meets) for the Ocean Breeze track facility on Staten Island. The place is beautiful. It borders the Atlantic Ocean near South Beach (no, not THAT one) on SI, very close to the Verrazano Bridge. The track is great; the practice track is great; warming up outdoors (it was 50 degrees and sunny on Saturday) on the boardwalk along the water is great. But! Like most new things, there were some growing-pain glitches. In this case, it was the timing system, which was ridden with snafus, especially during the 60-meter hurdle races (results from our athletes in that event seem to be permanently “lost in space” … which is too bad, because Hakim Cunningham had a phenomenal season-opener!).

Anyway! With a new facility like this, it’s really easy to compare – and possibly bash – the establishment facility in NYC, that being the Armory up in Washington Heights. Is this place “better” than the Armory? Well, not really. I mean, the Armory is a world-class facility. This place is certainly “newer” and equally adept at hosting great track meets. Ocean Breeze reminds me a bit of the BU Track and Tennis Center, which we love. The negatives of the Armory – from an old coach’s perspective – are the persistent, loud music and equally persistent (but sometimes entertaining) track announcers. BU has neither; Ocean Breeze, blissfully, has neither. It’s just a track meet. Might be boring to the general populace, but it works for us.

So yeah. This was a nice start to a new venue for us. It’s a bit of a longer drive, for sure, and we still have to get accustomed to it. But hey: It’s in Marty McGowan’s neighborhood, which means we get to see our Most Loyal Track/XC Alum. And the track is fast. We’ll take it. See you in 2016 and beyond, Ocean Breeze.