The Last Word

Greetings, ITA NH Blog Readers:

Many thanks for checking in on the team and for your support --both implicit and explicit --over the past year. For reasons that might bear discussion in forums other than the electronic, we have suspended operations of the ITA NH Team, though In the Arena (ITA) will maintain both an athletic and a civic footprint here in the Upper Valley through local staff and board members as well as through the appointment of Ben True to the ITA National Roster.

Since making this decision, Head Coach Tim Broe has headed back to the Midwest where the deer are bigger and the water fowl more plentiful; Lex Williams has followed Tim to Ann Arbor; Jeff Schirmer has returned to his Illinois roots; Brian Gagnon has headed South where he is in the best possible middle-distance hands with Coach Frank Gagliano's NYNJ Track Club; and, as stated above, Ben True has set down roots in the Connecticut River's Upper Valley, where he will continue to mentor area youth as well as work towards his goals of hitting the Olympic A-standard and taking a run at the US Olympic 10k Team.

ITA is proud of all that the ITA NH Team accomplished, including Ben True's capturing of two national titles (5k and 10k road) and the overall USA Road Racing crown and the launching of two extraordinarily successful middle school XC programs, both of which will morph into winter training groups and spring track teams in 2012.

To keep up with ITA's Upper Valley-based Arena Athlete Ben True, please visit his blog; and you can always keep up with the parent organization, ITA, by visiting our site, too.

Onwards and upwards.

Mayor's Cup and the State Meet

The New Hampshire State Meet was yesterday and both the Indian River School program (coached by Ben and I) and the Lebanon program (coached by Brian and Jeff) competed very well. The meet was down in Londonderry, NH and there were TONS of kids there. They had scored races for Girls and Boys, Large and Small Schools, and un-scored races for 5/6, 7^th, and 8^th grades. It was pretty cool seeing our kids compete in their first big meet. Everyone was a little nervous (some even said scared!) before the start, but we had some great performances and everyone overcame their initial fear and will have some good experience for the next time they’re racing in a crowd like that!

Some of the highlights of the day were our 5^th grade girl finishing as the fastest 5^th grade girl of the day, and one of our boys running faster over the 2 mile course than he ran over 1.55 miles just 1 month ago! We had several other personal bests and great performances and everyone should be proud of their first season of cross-country!

Earlier today Jeff, Brian, and I ran in the Mayor’s Cup Cross Country race at Franklin Park in Boston, hosted by the Boston Athletics Association. It was perfect weather for a cross country race, partly cloudy, crispy-cool autumn weather, and just a little sloppy with some pits of mud scattered sporadically around the course. That was my first time running at Franklin Park, and it’s a fairly challenging rolling course with one big hill you run twice over 8k. It’s a nice course for spectators because it’s a bunch of loops that extend out from a main field that you keep swinging back by throughout the race.

The race went out in 4:40 through the mile and I’d say it took me 2 miles to hit any sort of rhythm, then by mile 3 the pace started to pick up and I started fading off from the main pack. The last couple miles I ended up running in no man’s land. I put in a bit of a surge at one point back in the woods in an attempt to reconnect myself to the main pack, but never gained any ground and ended up settling in. I ended up finishing 10^th in 24:14, which is only 12 seconds off my 8k cross-country PR. I wish I had been able to pin the ears back and stick with the lead group a bit longer to perhaps drag me to a PR, but I guess it’s not too bad for my first XC race in two years!

Jeff was 2^nd overall in 23:48, and Brian PR’d by a minute today – 24:45!!

Here is a cool Video a friend from FOSS Running Camp put together:

Mayor's Cup Results

‘til next time,

-Lex  

A New Year

Monday was a big deal.  Why you might ask?  Well, Monday was the first day of my new year of training.  And this is not the commencement of just any year, but the lead up for the 2012 Olympic games.  There is a lot on the line this year, and this past Monday, I starting the ball rolling after successfully surviving my two week break of running.  Taking the time to allow the mind and body to fully recover after a long year of training and racing is essential for continuous improvement. The body can only take so much abuse before it needs quality rest to get fat and become lazy.  Well, after my two weeks and gaining a good thirty pounds (this figure has not been proven, only speculated) it’s time to get to work.  Things will heat up quickly, as my first race back will be a 5km road race in New York City as part of the marathon weekend on November 5th.  Being able to be apart of one of the major marathons is a pleasure and honor and I am very excited to be able to watch the marathon live from the lead vehicle, allowing me a rare view of the race and insight to possible future endeavors.  From there, the rest of my fall will consist of miles upon miles strengthening the legs and preparing myself for the goals ahead.  I am eager to get back to work.  No more sitting around on the couch, it is time to get up and get out the door.  For this year is going to be tough, and I am going to work harder than anyone else out there.

Until next time,

Ben

The beginning and end of two seasons...

Tomorrow is the beginning of our last week of cross country practice at Lebanon Junior High.  Saturday the team will travel to Londonderry for the state championship, and all of the kids are extremely excited.  It has been a great experience to witness these kids develop over such a short period of time.  All of them have not only been steadily improving their times on the course but have developed a love for the sport.  Brian and I have seven runners on our roster, and they have all been asking if we can continue to meet for practice after the state championship.  That is awesome!

As Lebanon’s cross country season comes to an end, the ITA’s season is just beginning.  The day after the Londonderry state championship Brian, Lex, and I will be racing at the Mayor’s Cup in Boston.  It has been over a year since my last cross country race, and I am extremely excited to get back in the cross country mode.  Training has been going really well.  I had a small hiccup with my hamstring being overly tight this past week, but after a well rested day off I am feeling much better and have had a couple good workouts since.  One final side note... the St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series!!!  It has been an amazing September and October for the Cardinals and I have enjoyed watching their games.

-Jeff

Off Day

Hello all

Today was an off day for me. I usually go about 3 weeks straight followed by an off day. Today’s off day couldn’t have come soon enough! It’s been a solid three weeks of training but it’s been a lot of mileage. I Hit 76 miles last week and 70 miles the week before.  I am feeling great but my legs definitely needed the rest. So today I had my deep tissue massage and then grabbed a Dunkin Donuts pumpkin coffee and relaxed for the rest of the day. Now I’m watching the Bruins game.

I’m getting pretty excited for next weekend! It will be my first XC race in a few years. I’m racing the 8k at the mayor’s cup down at Franklin Park in Boston.  My 8k PR on the course is 25:42. I ran that my softmore year in college and I look forward to blowing the PR out of the water! I know I am in a lot better XC shape now and I am confident that I will run well. Im excited for next weekend because it’s also the Middle School XC state meet. Luckily the state meet is on Saturday and my race is on Sunday so there’s no conflict and I will be able to watch my middle school team race! It’s also going to be sad because it’s the last race of the middle school XC season. The kids have already asked if I could make next year’s season long and if we could meet five days a week opposed to the 3 days a week that we meet now. I told them I will see what I can do. I think it would be a great idea to have practice every day and hopefully next year we will be able to do just that. Speaking of middle school XC we have our last “regular season” meet in Thetford tomorrow at 4:30. So if you are in the area please stop by and cheer on the Leb XC team as they shoot to improve their times from the last time they raced on this course. It’s going to be wet so if you do come an umbrella and a rain jacket and maybe some rain boots would be a good idea.

Well my day off is almost over!

Goodnight 

BGags

I used to hate running

Good Day Blogospherians,

Yesterday Ben and I became certified safe hunters in New Hampshire. We learned about tree-stand safety, and heard about various hunting rules and regulations from a local conservation officer. I think we are both pretty psyched to get a bit of waterfowl hunting in this fall as a break from all the miles we’ll be logging.

I’ve been on a build back into the fall since my last race at the US 5k. I’ve taken a few days off here and there and a couple weeks off from any hard workouts. Nice to get the mind and body recharged and fired up for a solid block of training to work the ol’ aerobic system. This fall I’ll get in a couple cross-country races, and then have an indoor season! I love indoor track and I get to run a few shorter distances, so I’m excited. I like to say I’m a miler that runs the 10k…!

It’s hard to believe, but the cross country season at the Indian River Middle School is rapidly approaching its end; we only have 2 meets left! One of the meets is this Thursday up in Thetford, VT on a course that we’ve already visited twice. The first time was early in the season, and the second time it was pouring rain and super muddy – so it will be interesting to be able to compare performances from early in the year to now on the same course (Just hope for good weather!). Everyone has been improving throughout the season; it’s not just times dropping, or being able to run longer, but the mentality of the kids and the way they look at running now has changed dramatically when you compare it to the first day of practice. One kid, during the completion of the longest continuous run of his life, told Ben “I used to hate running, but now I love it!” Comments like that make me love coaching.

IRS XC Team Photo with New Adidas Shirts!!

Until next time,

Lex

A day in the life of a non-athletic Ben

After a long season, I am finally able to take some down time and much needed R & R.  The days are filled quite differently than while training.  Here is a rare inside look at a day in the life of a non-athletic Ben:

7am: Wake up, drink coffee.  Not hungry- this is a weird sensation- the constant craving for food has disappeared.

7:05am: Run outside to put trash and recyclables out.  Shoot, forgot again.

8am: Finally decide to eat.  I fall to the beck and call of blueberry pancakes.

8:45am: Start twiddling my thumbs.  What should I do today?  Try and watch TV.  Quickly become bored and recommence my thumb twiddling.

9am: Drive Sarah insane.

9:30am: Decide to make something of myself, go upstairs, brush teeth, put on a clean t-shirt.

10am: Back downstairs, try watching TV again.  Getting fidgety.  Load my car up with the remaining (forgotten) recyclables.

10:20am: Decide that the back deck is dirty and begin sweeping it.

10:22am: See the picnic table is broken.  Decide to fix it.

10:25am: More leaves fall onto the back deck, have to sweep it again.

10:45am:  Fed up by the constant barrage of leaves falling on deck, give up sweeping and go inside.

11am: Telephone interview with Runner’s World Magazine

12pm: Telephone interview with USATF

12:30pm: Make lunch.  Takes about 40min to figure out what I want.  I choose spaghetti and way too much garlic.

2pm: Leave the house and drive to the dump to drop off the left over (forgotten) recyclables

2:20pm: Grocery shop

2:40: Donate various items to the Haven (www.uppervalleyhaven.org)

3:05pm: Return home, annoy Sarah some more.

3:27pm: Exhausted.  Take a nap

4:45pm: Wake up.  Large puddle of drool on pillow.  Decide to mow the lawn- but don’t make it outside.  Oops.

5pm: Putz around on computer

6:07pm: Annoy Sarah again.  Get stern look.

6:48pm: Write a to-do list and cross off items I already completed to make myself feel better.

7pm: Ask Sarah if the green peppers should be cut.  Get yelled at for being an annoyance

7:10pm: Finish making dinner.  Watch movie Max and Mary.

9:49pm: Brush a disgusting amount of fur out of the Otz-man.  How can he shed that much?

10:03pm: Walk the Otz-man around Wilder

10:44pm: Roommate walks into house.  Everyone high fives each other

10:45pm: Eat a dozen cookies right from the oven.  Feel great, then stomach feels sick.

11pm: Sit down and write blog

11:20pm: Fall asleep after long day of not running

Until next time,

Ben