The Professor is "Going the Distance"

Goon Squad Announcement!! Our beloved Professor is Going the Distance... take a look at
Professor's coaching services gig http://www.goingthedistancefb.com/

Thank you, Warrior, for the photo of the studly Portuguese Coach... the Professor... great bow tie

Held Marathon World Record

I first met elite runner & Welshman Steve Jones at a party following Falmouth Road Race at Courtney & Caroline Bird's house.

Frank Shorter was there too, but Jones came off as more of a character... wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt, playfully telling people he got my phone number for a date and just behaving like any other runner enjoying a party with a few beers.

The next time I saw Jones was the night before Cape Cod Marathon 2007(see photo) and I had found out that Jones is a Welshman. My grandmother came to America from Wales in her late teens. Jones asked me what part of Wales my family is from and I replied "Swansea." The next day as I ran the marathon, Jones pops up at 4-5 locations on the course screaming, "Go, Swansea!!!"

At the post-race party, I told him I'd had a PR as we all drank some beer and danced... he seemed pleased.

Here's part of a great story about Jones by John Bingham.

"Of all the seminars I've worked with Jonesy, there's one that stands out. He was asked to define the difference between winning a marathon and setting the world record. His answer was simple. To win a marathon, Jonesy flatly stated, you only have to beat everyone who shows up that day. To set the world record, you have to beat everyone who has ever shown up."

"The room went silent. None of us had ever thought of it that way. And no one, except a former world record holder, could have explained it as such."

" To break the world record, Jonesy went on, you must train with a singleness of purpose. These are no cross-training sessions, easy days, or cutback weeks. You find your limit, then push against it--every day of your life. One day in his life--October 21, 1984--Jonesy was the best that had ever lived. He ran a world record 2:08:05, in Chicago. His relentless focus had paid off. But knowing Jonesy, I'm sure that even if he had run a 2:20, he would have still found satisfaction in the pursuit of absolute excellence."

"It's hard for me to imagine the courage it takes to pursue such a dream. Yet, having stood next to Jonesy, I believe the rest of us just aren't asking enough of ourselves. We are limited most by our imaginations--or more precisely, our lack of imagination. We tend to see ourselves only as we are, not as we might be. Most of us will never be the world's best anything. But we could all be better at something if we had the drive to push beyond our comfort zone, whether it be a 30-minute 5-K or a step up the corporate ladder. If Jonesy taught me anything at those seminars, it's that we're all capable of seemingly unattainable goals."

Here's the full article

Summer is over

I brought shorts to run yesterday but in contrast to last week, yesterday was freezing... good thing I had Brooks pants handy from walking over to teach class at the Y. The first part of the run is Elm Street (Manchester) which can be a huge wind tunnel... soon as I hit it, I realized summer is over. I also quickly realized that I probably could have used something warm on my head.

I am trying to think of the positives of training this time of year and came up with this one on Sunday:

'Need hardly any ice for ice bath'

In fact, the ice I added did not even melt completely after 10 minutes in the tub. Doc D advised me that I probably don't need the water to be quite so cold. Photo is Goat and Doc D... hot fun in the summertime at Ollie, 2007.

How about this logo for the Goons?

Or maybe this logo?

Goons Select 2009 Races

Goon contingent including Doc D, Goat and Judge went to Brandeis for the USATF NE Grand Prix race selection. Being Goons... and being hidden in the back row... our attention eventually moved to amusing ourselves. Had we actually been Brandeis students, Goons probably would have been considered the not so serious students in the back. Don't get me wrong, we put a lot of thought into race selection choices, but as athletic runner people, our legs want to move after 2+ hours of sitting still. Suffice to say, we decided Jon Pierson of Yankee Homecoming 10 miler deserves to be a part of the Goon Squad. When asked to elaborate about the time of year for the classic Newburyport race... he replied "It's July, it's hot." In other words, quit your whining.


Judge was the brain... he remembered to bring the pen. Doc D tossed warm, tasty Greek meatballs in our mouths before we hopped into the death mobile... Goat got to pick up 2 Baystate photos of her from the table, but unfortunately no Ollie beer glasses this year.

Surprises

Friday night, Doc D and I were at a charity Wine and Food Pairing event for Merrimack Valley Hospice House at Andover Country Club... sounded tragically yuppie (as HSR would say)... but one of the first people I saw when we walked in was Scot Martel... a fellow runner! Then the Pappalardos, Hames and Jim K, too... runner friends... it became fully fun. No pretentiousness, my kind of people. It felt good to be with my friends... I had been feeling a let down after the season. Another great thing came of it and surprised the hell out of me, Scot said he reads my blog! No kidding! Thanks Scot. Scot is looking lean and ready for more miles. Take a look at his blog http://runningscot.blogspot.com/

Tweaking

Old photo with Doc D at N.A. track. Photo credit Dave Smith.

At noontime yesterday, I started out my run with Mike, then headed to the track for a slightly tweaked version of the workout Professor (Fernando) gave us... damn goat girl. My problem was, I wouldn't get myself to do it based on just following time increments, like, "1 minute hard, 1 minute easy, 2 minutes hard, 1 minute easy, etc. " For me, I really need to focus and get into rhythm, which I have a problem doing if I'm checking my watch to see whenever a minute is done. It doesn't even help much when I set the count-down timer... either I keep resetting for each time, or think too much to remember which one I am on.

The "tweaks" got me through it. #1) I went to the track... so no dodging traffic or curbs #2) and I translated workout into 400, 600, 800, 400 sets calculating the lap pace Professor wanted us to stick to.

I even kept to the pre workout routine of zombie walk, high knees, butt kicks, carioca and strides... and just like summer track, I didn't even need a shirt yesterday. Another workout conquered.

Mighty Warrior

Wow

http://www.salemnews.com/archivesearch/local_story_309005058.html