Monday, May 7, 2012

(5/7-5/13): Capizzi Leads Gold to Gold; adidas Grand Prix Invite; Expo Wheel a Hit for College Ave Mile

Capizzi Leads Black and Gold to Gold
Bonica Ducks Decarlo in Five Mile Championship
Summit, NJ-- In his first race wearing the Black and Gold, Ramapo grad Andrew Capizzi made it a memorable one.
 
A former athlete of GSTC member (and today's #2 runner Ken Goglas) while in college, Capizzi rolled to a 26:38 clocking, or 5:19/mile on a very hilly course, placing him 5th overall in a deep competitive men's field.  The Men in Gold had an overall team time of 2:17:02, beating the second place team by over twelve minutes, and put their scoring top five in the top eleven spots  The other four scoring runners were Goglas (7th, 27:08), Ashwin Anantharaman (9th, 27:34), Mike Anis (10th, 27:49), and Chuck Schneekloth (11th, 27:51).  Most of the team's heavy hitters trained through this weekend, in preparation for the USATF-NJ 10k Championships next Saturday.  
 
Several others turned in outstanding efforts for the GSTC:  Edsel Flores (29:39, 1st in age group), Wilfredo Benitez (31:05, 2nd in age group), Rob DeCarlo (32:05, 3rd in age group), Nick Waclawski (35:06, 3rd in age group), Kenny Huryk (32:54), Charley Schneekloth Sr (36:59, debut GSTC race!), and Mike Habib (50:48).
 
It must be noted that, in a team of growing rivalries, Steve Bonica ducked out on today's competition against team-rival DeCarlo.  Claiming he had a track meet, his absence was duly noted for this self-proclaimed "Heated Geriatric Rivalry."  Will we see them go head-to-head in this Saturday's 10k USATF-10k Championships? 
 
Women a Close Second @ 5 Mile Championships
Summit- After finishing 2nd at the 20k and 1st at the 15k, the GSTC women fell less than a minute short of taking the lead of the USATF-NJ Open Women's Team Title Race, a close contest that will heat up twice more this spring before the summer break: the USATF-NJ 10k Championships Saturday, and the USATF-NJ 5k Championships in late May at the Run for Rachel 5k.
 
Cheyenne Ogletree continued her excellent season, finishing 6th overall with a time of 31:11, or 6:14/mile.  Coming off a minor foot injury, Kristin Cupido ran well as the #2 women, beating the winning team's top woman by one second; Kristin ran 32:49 .  Finishing third and fourth were the team co-captains, Meghan DeCarlo and Cathy Stutzman, who ran 34:04 and 38:15, respectively.
 
 
 
Other GSTC Results
Congrats to Prudence Jones for continuing her fantastic spring season, as she recorded her third straight PR in yesterday's NJ Half Marathon.  Hoping to crack 2:30, she ran 2:20:45; this 13.1 miler was also a PR as her longest career run.  Great job Prudence!
 
Our main man Timmy Morgan placed third in the Clinton 15k last weekend, averaging 5:41/mile and finishing in 53:03.  He also ran in a relay today at the NJ Marathon, running his leg in 6:00/pace, using it as a workout for next weekend's 10k!
 
 
 
GSTC Accepts 4x400 Invite from adidas Grand Prix
After winning their heat of the Olympic Development 4x400 at Penn Relays last weekend (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs_NiOsfm5A&feature=share) in 3:17.72, many heads turned...including those in charge of the adidas Grand Prix.  Four days later, the meet director contacted the club about taking one of eight lanes in the 4x400 relay!
 
For those that don't know, the adidas Grand Prix is part of the IAAF Diamond League Series.  It encompasses 32 events over 14 meets around the world, two of them beng in America: the adidas Grand Prix (NYC) and the Prefontaine Classic (Eugene, OR).  The selected "Diamond Races" are scored based on a year-long series, and the winners receive not just a diamond trophy and cash prize, but the "unchallenged honor" of being ranked #1 in the world.  These are the best track meets on Earth, as four world champions will be competing in NYC on June 9th....along with the GSTC 4x400 relay!  More info here: http://www.diamondleague-newyork.com/Home/.
 
 
USATF-NJ 10k Championships on Saturday!
Jersey City- The USATF-10k Team Championships are THIS Saturday!  The men will bring out their big guns, and the women will look to even up the race for the USATF-NJ open women's team championship. Here's the website: http://www.newport10k.com/   
 
 
College Ave Mile: Update
First,a big thanks to those who helped out at the NJ Marathon Expo this weekend: Tim Morgan, Sarah Fairbrook, Amy Denholtz, Michelle Tuchol, Prudence Jones, Megan McGlynn, and Erin Higgins.  As evidenced by the attached picture, we had some serious fun spinning the wheel and talking up our upcoming team race on June 10th: the College Ave Mile! 
 
The other attached picture is from Tuesday's Leadership Team Meeting, whereas 19 GSTC members discussed a game plan over pizza and fine New Brunswick tap water.  We agreed that all GSTC team members could do the following four things:
1.  Like the FB page, and post it once a week!  (http://www.facebook.com/sarah.fairbrook#!/CollegeAveRoadMile)
2.  Be there- either running or volunteering.  Sign up here!  http://raceforum.com/registration/EventDetail.aspx?e=5075
3.  Get Two People to Come.  We all know two people who can run a mile--fast or slow.  Go get 'em!
4.  Distribute Applications at Work/School.  We all have co-workers (or peers at school) who may be interested.  Do more than hang up randomly; give an application to a few people personally and talk it up.  Who knows what might happen, but it's an easy step we can all take.
 
More info on NJ's first road mile here:  http://www.gardenstatetc.org/college/mile.html
 
 
Tim Morgan Award Update
This week's Tim Morgan Award is a self-nominated, yet well-deserving nomination.
 
Michelle Tuchol signed up MONTHS ago to run the NJ Half Marathon this weekend.  After attending several GSTC Tuesday night workouts, puting in lots of miles, and even helping us out at the expo, she showed up Sunday morning (with her parents!) ready for her first half marathon.  Yet, there was just one small problem: she forgot her running shoes. 
 
While we feel very bad for her, we also agree that this, indeed, embraces the true spirit of the Tim Morgan Award.
 
Speaking of which, we were informed that this link exists of our fellow teammate: http://www.stac.edu/stac_admissions/meet_the_team.html.
 
 
Welcome to the GSTC
Let's welcome some new folks to the GSTC this week, as it's a very talented and awesome group!
-Rob Nihen, a former standout for TCNJ, with PRs of 14:47 and 3:58, is also a former All-NJAC is cross country.
-Alyssa Douma, a former Lock Haven star, with PRs of 3:07 (marathon) and 2:14 (800) - now that's a range
-Andrew Capizzi, a recent Ramapo graduate, with PRs of 25:30 (8k) and 32:28 (10k), who kicked some serious butt this afternoon
 
Welcome to the GSTC family! 
 
Quotes of the Week
"Would the Garden State Track Club mile relay be interested in a lane at the adidas Grand Prix on June 9th?" - Race Director of adidas Grand Prix Diamond League Series in phone call Tuesday night
 
"sorry i didn't read this weeks edition of "old man weekly" so this is the first i'm hearing of you running the 1500."  -Chris Heibell, via a group email, responding publicly to the news that 35 year old Chuck was entered in Thursday's Ironman Invite 1500m.
 
"And your team champions are the Garden State Track Club.  They won by...wow....twelve minutes!" -meet director of today's Five MIle Championship race
 
"The van is parked, locked, and even the lights are off!" - Mark Parisen, after driving teammates to practice in the team van (a clear reference to a certain someone who drives the van and either leaves lights on, doesn't lock the doors, or....both!)
 
"Is this like spin the bottle?"  -one NJ Marathon runner who played the GSTC's College Ave Mile Game Wheel at the race expo on Saturday
 
"Is that a science fair project?" - Jeff Perrella, in a text after seeing the GSTC game wheel at the expo
 
"How about me?  I bet I could throw down a solid 56..." -Adin Mickle, on Facebook, offering his services to the 4x400 team invited to race at the adidas Grand Prix
 
"I think Michelle should be a "shoe-in" for the Tim Morgan award this week for forgetting her shoes." - Prudence Jones in an email after the half marathon
 
"ever since i started running more, my life has been all sorts of exciting. just today, for example, Chelsea and i fended off a wild snake AND i found a dollar!" - Rutgers sophomore Megan McGlynn on a Facebook post (yes, we are constantly stalking)
 
Congratulations!
This week, we had an unusually high number of very cool things happen to some of our very cool members, so let's recognize them!  Congrats to Nicole Corre for landing a new job, Kristin Cupido for getting into graduate school (Monclair State), Pat Lestrange for getting into graduate school (University of Washington), Adin Mickle for getting his first movie credits in the movie business, Cathy Stutzman for landing a role as a speaker for the yearly National Council for English Teachers (NCTE) convention, Ken Walsh for getting into graduate school at Penn State, and Tim Morgan for being a finalist for a new job.  Apologies if we left you out....send us an email and give us the update!   
 
Team Runs this Week
Monday: 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center
Tuesday: 6:15 @ RSC
Wednesday: 5:30 @ RSC
Thursday: 5:00 @ RSC
Thursday:  6:30 @ Sneaker Factory w/ Jeff Perrella & Nicolai Naranjo (email jeff.perrella@gmail w/ questions)
Thursday: 8:00-9:00 Yoga w/ Shawnee @ Cook Rec Center
Friday: 4:30 @ RSC
Saturday: 10k Championships @ Jersey City
Sunday: 9:00am @ River Road
 
Run with the GSTC-Rutgers ladies!  Mon & Wed @ 4:30, Tues, Th, Fri @ 1:30 (meet @ Rutgers Student Center)
 
Athletes of the Week: Capizzi and Cupido
Andrew Capizzi is this week's GSTC Male Athlete of the Week thanks to his outstanding performance in today's USATF-NJ Five Mile Championships.  A bit about Mr. Capizzi: he is the distance coach at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, NJ.  They recently won the county relay championships!  His pre-race warm-up routie includes a 15 minute run, 2x200 and 2x100 five minutes before the race, and an "energy item" fifteen minutes before the race.  His PRs are 25:30 (8k), 32:28 (10k), and 9:41 (steeple).  For breakfast, he eats the same thing daily: a bowl of cereal, two pop tarts, and a cup of tea!
 
Kristin Cupido is this week's Female Athlete of the Week for her first race back after a nagging foot injury.  She was the GSTC's #2 runner in today's Five Mile USATF-NJ Championships.  A 2011 graduate of Kutztown, her PRs include 36:40 (10k) and 17:24 (5k).  A Bridgewater resident, she currently works as a manager ay Shop Rite, but just got into graduate school at Monclair State University!  Woo hah!  
 
 
This Week in Training
Distance
Monday - comfortable run + 8x80m strides/hillsprints
Tuesday - 10x800 at 5k race pace with equal rest.  You can use your heart rate as a gauge - once you get below 140, you're ready to go again.
Wednesday - Progression run of 75% long run duration.
Thursday - Super easy 40-60 minutes
Friday - Tempo run of 4-6 miles at T pace.  Follow it up with 4x200 at 800m pace.  Those competing should go for a 40-60 minute fartlek run with a few race-pace pickups thrown in there - nothing crazy, just touch on race pace and groove on it a few times.
Saturday - Shakeout runs for those competing OR comfortable run + 8x80m strides/hillsprints
Sunday - Race OR long run.
 
Sprinters 
Monday    5:30 @ HP   400:  2 x (8x100) @800m (walk 50 back);  800: 3 x (3x300) @ 1600pace
Tuesday   400: 8x150 stride; 800: 40min recovery run
Wednesday  5:30 @ HP  400: 2 x 300 @ 400m    800:  2 x 500 @ 600m 
Thursday 400: 16x50 stride; 800: 40min recovery run
Friday  OFF
Saturday   Noon @ BA   400: 2x100 @ 400 (over hurdles if hurdler), then 4x50 @ 200m; 800: 2 x 200 @ 600pace; 2x100 @ 400m (full)
Sunday  400: 6x100 gentle stride   800: 2-3 miles shakeout run
Monday SWARTHMORE LAST CHANCE INVITATIONAL @ 5pm

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