PEMI Youth 5k/10k

Good day everyone!

I hope you are enjoying the summer, it is in full effect! I ran another local race this past weekend in Plymouth, NH… In fact, I ran two races! I ran a 5k in 14:44, setting a new course record by 25 seconds then ran a 10k 15 minutes later in 31:26, setting another course record. I had an 8 mile tempo on my workout schedule and discovered these races online so Broe gave me the option to do the tempo by myself or hop in and get the hard effort in on the race course. It was a no brainer for me, and much easier to do the work with other runners around me. It was a fun local environment too and met some new people.

The races were both hosted by the PEMI Youth Center, who has after school programs going on in Plymouth. One of the people I met was the coordinator at the Youth Center who I’m meeting with sometime in August to talk about how they got started and what they’ve got going on down there. I’m hoping that our meeting will give me some ideas for how to get even more involved in the communities surrounding the Upper Valley and maybe even creating something from scratch.

Other than the recent races, there hasn’t been a whole lot of action in Hanover. I’ve just been training hard, recovering, and trying to enjoy all the nice weather we’ve been getting. I have my training plan all set up from now through the US 5k - complete with a couple time trials. So between the time trials and Falmouth I should have plenty of ammunition for future blogs.

This weekend I am heading down to Ocean City, NJ to meet up with my family for a week at the beach. My grandma lived there for 35 years and I have been to the jersey shore every summer of my life. My parents rent a place down there now and all of my relatives from my mom’s side will be there, so it’s somewhat of a family reunion. I am looking forward to getting a macaroon from George’s on the Boardwalk, the world’s best cheesesteak from Voltaco’s, and seafood from Smitty’s and The Lobster House! I honestly think there is some of the best food in the world there. I didn’t even mention the sticky buns from Mallon’s, Uncle Bills pancake house, Donuts from Brown’s, Johnson’s Caramel Corn, Soft-serve at Kohr’s, Pizza from Prep’s/Mack & Manco’s, and the Polish Water Ice… Unreal! This is a dangerous trip… but to give you a hint of how great the food really is, my sister and bro-in-law named their dog “Manco” after the second best pizza place on the island (I’ve always been a fan of the Prep’s pie)… 

-Lex

@lexwllllams

Days of Travel

It seems that since I have finally moved into my new house I have spend more time on the roads traveling than I have in my own bed.  This past weekend I drove up to Bar Harbor, Maine for my cousin’s wedding.  Anytime I can find an excuse to visit Down East Maine I jump at the opportunity.  If you have never been to Acadia, I highly recommend you find the time to explore one of the most beautiful National Parks in the country.  Miles of pristine dirt packed carriage trails meander throughout the park creating a runner’s paradise.  Combine that with the rocky Maine coast and the rolling mountains of Mount Desert Island and you find yourself in an outdoorsmen’s utopia.  Oh the wonders of Maine.  But yes, the wedding was nice and it was great to see the family and catch up with friends.  But even after a packed last few days the travels cease to end as tomorrow I will board a plane and fly to Davos, Switzerland and begin my European adventure.  While the notion of cramming myself into what can only be described as an iron maiden for hours on end doesn’t immediately cause me to sing in delight- I am excited to get over to Europe and munch on some of their delicious crusty bread and enjoy the sights and sounds of the high Alps.  I would love to say that I am flying over to Europe because I have been blessed since my last blog post and have finally found races for me to chase the illustrious Olympic ‘A’ standard but the reality of the situation finds me in the same position as before with only the faint outside chance of being able to open up the throttle and race.  But the trip to Euro-land should be a good one, as I will spend a week in Davos before trekking to London to watch the US Olympic Trials for triathlon.  I look forward to visiting the land of army knives, Swiss Miss, and clocks and relish in the opportunity to see the land of Le Corbusier, Jacob Amsler, and Ursula Andress.  Begin the crazy European adventures and wish me luck in finding a race to run.

Until next time, 

Ben

Its HOT!!

I hope everyone is drinking lots of water and staying hydrated over the next couple of days. It looks like 90's all the way through Saturday and if you don't pay attention to your water intake you could find yourself in a lot of trouble!  Besides the heat this has been a very good week. We had a few recruits come up and visit. We did our best to show them all that the upper valley had to offer in hopes that it will persuade them to join our group. Luckily the weather was perfect so we were able to take them out fishing and swimming and all the fun stuff. Now that the recruits have gone home to think over there their decisions me and coach are hard at work painting the rest of the barn! It's a very tedious job but I enjoy it and it gives me something to do while we take a break from our community work with the kids. Speaking of that, I am really excited for this fall when we start our own middle school cross country programs in Canaan and Lebanon. But I will save that for another blog because although I'm excited for the programs to start it also means the end of summer! So I will wait a little bit longer and try to hold on to whats left of summer before I start counting down the days till fall cross country.  Besides the recruits and painting up at the barn theirs not much else new to report on my end! As for my training I am currently taking a few days off to get my legs back under me. They just havent felt very good as of late. Hopefully with a few days off they will feel as good as new!

I hope everyone enjoys the warm weather but remember keep drinking water!!

Brian  

Bill Luti 5 Mile Road Race

Yesterday I ran a road race – The Bill Luti 5 Miler in Concord, NH. Compared to the races I’ve been running in lately, it was a very small race… In other words, there were not 60,000+ people there like there were at Peachtree, but nonetheless it had a very fun atmosphere. A race sponsored by a local dentist and local restaurant chain, there was an inflatable tooth near the finish and registration and restaurant gift certificates given as prizes. A good amount of the participants had run for the local running coach legend Bill Luti, who fired the gun for the race. I had the pleasure of speaking to Bill after the race, who turns 90 this year. He doesn’t look any older than 65 and reminded me of the legends from my home state of Michigan who defy the aging process by staying active and engaged in the world of running and track and field. I’m referring to Kermit Ambrose (a coach and official in Michigan) and Red Simmons (coach that started women’s track team at the University of Michigan, and now attends every Michigan athletic event), who are 100 and 101 years of age respectively. It was pretty awesome to be part of a race dedicated to such a legend here in New Hampshire, and made me feel a little more like a local to New England.

Only an hour drive from Hanover, the race was a perfect distance to get in a good effort without having to use up everything in the tank. Broe wanted me to find a small race in the area, and this was the perfect fit. I took the race from the gun and ran 24:35 for the win and a new course record by 35 seconds. The first mile was downhill, but after that the course was fairly challenging as it presented a 600m hill right after the mile mark, and rolling hills the last 2 miles. Plus, I made a wrong turn at the finish! You see – the race finished at the High School track and they had a clock set up at the finish line. So when you turn off the road at the end of the race, a row of cones lead you around the fence that lines the outside of the track… So I’m thinking, ok, which gate is going to be open to let me in?? As I passed 2 gates, locked, I kept scanning the fence line and finally saw an opening around the 100m start line, so I took it. Now on the track, I finally look up and see that the finish is actually outside the track where I had just been running!! I checked over my shoulder and saw second place was still on the other side so I backtracked and ran the final straight properly. Everyone was yelling at me, but you know how that goes when you’re late in a race… I thought they were cheering for me, until that moment when I looked up and actually saw that I was running the course wrong… Then I just felt dumb.  It was definitely my fault for not knowing where the finish line was, but I could’ve sworn the announcer said the race finished on the track, not on the outside of the track. I’m just glad it didn’t come down to a sprint finish! I am also glad I learned my lesson for future tricky road races…

Happy Gilmore Check.

Next on the agenda for me is undecided. The most likely scenario is another local road race sometime in-between now and Falmouth, which is a big 7 mile road race in Falmouth, MA on August 13^th. There is also a mile attached the night before the road race, so maybe even a double..? I have to decide soon so Broe and I can properly adjust my training schedule, but all of what I’m doing now is geared toward the US 5k in mid-September. That will likely be the last race of my summer season.

-Lex

The Dog Days of Summer

Well summer is officially upon us.  The heat, humidity and cookouts that are filling our days serves as pure evidence of its arrival.  Amidst all the festivities and fairs, I still sit in limbo, both in terms of living arrangements (although that will be remedied by the end of the week) and in terms of racing.  You see, in a perfect world I’d be over in Europe right now with a long list of races lined up for me to compete in- but unfortunately the reality of the situation finds me still stateside, begging and pleading race directors and agents to allow me a spot on a starting line.  It is one of the more frustrating aspects of being an athlete- the notion of being fit yet unable to find a race.  The truth of the matter is that I am still an unknown in the world of running and with the absence of an agent, it proves nearly impossible to convince race organizers that I deserve to toe the line at their race.  While Tim and I were aware of this possible dilemma earlier in the year, we thought that my year’s results would help persuade my cause, but to no avail.  So instead I wait, eager for the chance to race, bags packed, ready at a moments notice to fly across the Atlantic to race in the far outside shot that someone lets me in or there is a last minute scratch.  It is a tough way to navigate through a race season, but I know that I am fit and I know that I am ready to race, just biding my time until the limbo is over.

Until next time,

Ben

Heading to canada eh!

 I was told that my grammar was very poor in my previous post. I apologize for the poor grammar and will do my best to clean it up. I was never a fan of English papers and I viewed my blog as something informal were I could write carefree. Unfortunately I think someone got sick after reading my "messy" blog and that's the last thing I want! So from here on out I will do my best to make sure my grammar and punctuation are correct. Again I may miss a few things here and there so "Reader Beware". :)


That's right I am heading to Toronto to compete. I will be racing the 800m on Wednesday. I am fired up to race again especially after the whole fiasco at USAs. The last few weeks of training have been going well. Actually last week I ran 3:43.99 in a road mile. It was said to be the fastest mile time ever run on US soil... and there was even a hill in it!! and it was up hill at one point. But in all honesty it was a downhill mile but I still won and beat some really tough competitors and I felt very good doing it. They day after running the downhill mile I raced in a local 4th of july road race in the town next to my home town. The race was called the John Carson  2 miler. Unlike the downhill mile this course had it's share of uphills! Things went well and I won. I ran a time of 9:11ish.... They clocked me at 9:15 but said they had timing issues and that I was closer to 9:10. Either way its a big Pr. My personal best on that course was 9:34 and its my best two miler ever. My best track two miler was 9:43. I ran that time when I was a junior in high school and I haven't run a two mile track race since. Hopefully I feel just as good on Wednesday and I can continue my winning streak and run a fast 800m time. But enough of this blog everyone should be outside enjoying this beautiful summer day! I will post back later with results.

Gags

US Champion, 3:44 mile, Black Sheep, Independence Day

I hope everyone had a great 4^th of July weekend! For ITA, the weekend was a great success. Ben and I traveled down to Atlanta for the Peachtree road race, which also served as the USA 10km Road Championship; Brian raced a road mile in Manchester on the 3^rd and doubled back in a 2mile road race in his hometown of Lowell, Mass.

I have to say, I am absolutely the Black Sheep of the group this week after the extraordinary performances of my peers. Brian won his mile race in 3:43.99, yes – read it again folks – 3:43.99 for the mile - as it stands, that just so happens to be the fastest mile ever run on US soil… I guess I should say that there was a slight downhill portion of the course, but nonetheless, a very cool title to hold! Ben finished as the top American at Peachtree, was 5^th overall, and just steps away from a podium finish at one of the World’s most prestigious 10km road races. Pretty phenomenal considering that he raced a tough 5k at the US Track Champs last week and bounced back to such a great race. And then there’s me - I continued on my comeback trail with my third race back and was the 15^th American this weekend at Peachtree.  Overall, I am happy for another race in the books but left Atlanta wanting more out of myself. And with performances like my teammates had… I have to step my game up!

Link to RunnerSpace Coverage of Peachtree

Link to Manchester Mile Results

After Ben’s big race, he was kind enough to treat his teammate (yes, me) to dinner at a restaurant down the street before we went to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I highly recommend the movie to anyone 6 years old and younger… It was fun being in a city for the 4^th of July - something I’ve never done before. Right outside the front of our hotel, there was a huge festival set up in the mall parking lot. The festival surrounded a firework display being shot off the top of the parking garage. Whenever I’ve gone to see fireworks for the 4^th, it’s always been in a park or a field. Buildings add a whole new dimension to a firework show… Maybe even more intriguing than the buildings was the lightning storm that accompanied the firework display. We elected to avoid the rain and watch from the comfort of our hotel room, which wasn’t the best view, but definitely the driest!

To cap off the weekend, we jumped right back into our help with the Middle School Hershey Track Program. They had the Regional meet today to qualify for the State meet on Friday. We spent the day out in the sun and had a successful meet as a good amount of kids qualified and get to compete again for a chance to go on to the National Hershey Track Meet in Hershey, PA. Here is a picture of the Opening Ceremony that happened this morning at 9:15am..!

Hershey Track Opening Ceremony

The Big Move

Thursday, with sweltering heat and t-shirt sticking humidity, the guys of ITA packed up all of our belongings and crammed them, jammed them and rammed them into the back of a UHaul and trucked them a mile across town to the new runner house.  Caked with dust and with sweat dripping down my face and back I could only shake my head about the misery of moving.   The lugging of furniture, boxing of clothing, and gathering of thousands of useless pieces of junk that you have somehow hoarded throughout the years is overwhelming.  The discovery of these worthless trinkets, ones which you have never used, never will use, and yet seem never to be able to throw away is astonishing.  Clutter, mindless stockpiling of whose-y-whats, doohickies and thinger-a-boppets seems to be a commonality that plagues us all.  It could be an article of clothing that- while we haven’t worn in over two years- we just can’t seem to part with, or an object, which once held some profound significance but now gathers dust in the corner, it’s significance forgotten.  It is the realization of these items, their rediscovery, that gives moving its silver lining.  Once you are reunited with their existence, you are able to relive old memories and then, most importantly, able to move on and decide once and for all that you no longer need that t-shirt from high school, it’s time has past, and you are able to move forth anew.  Unfortunately for me, this entire process of moving has only just begun, for while I have moved out of the old house and into the new (temporarily in its garage), I still have yet to move into my new house- an event which will take place in two weeks, allowing me to partake in all the joys of moving just one more time.  Shucks.  But before moving day part II, I will be able to escape Hanover for a bit, as Lex and I leave tomorrow for Atlanta, Georgia to race in the USA 10km road Championships (in conjunction with Peachtree) on July 4th.  Brian will also be racing this weekend in a downhill mile in Manchester, New Hampshire as well as a two mile road race in his home town of Lowell, Massachusetts.  We are all excited to race this weekend and glad to have the move behind us (at least for the time being) and we wish you all an ex-true-berant happy Fourth of July.

Until next time,

Ben