(1/28-2/3): Club Records Break in Beantown!

Team Awards & Fundraiser

Saturday, February 9--less than two weeks away--from 6:30-8:30 at Road Runner Sports in North Brunswick!!!!!!  Your invitation is coming soon!

Remember, we need to pack the house with members and buy merchandise for that $2,000 check...and to keep you entertained, there will be pizza and an ongoing team awards night, including BEST DRESSED THAT NIGHT that we will vote on half-way through.

Oh, and don't forget to renew your dues or join the team here.

 

Road Relays 

Just one month away!!!  Grab your partner and sign up here!  Need a partner?  Email us and we'll help!

Couch to 5k/Beginner's Group

Beginner?  Little to no experience running?  Email Amy about our Couch to 5k/Beginner's Group at adenholtz@gmail.com.  This week, the group will meet at 9:00am at Grove 5 in Piscataway's Johnson Park.  They are training to particopate in some of the RRCA "Restore the Shore" Grand Prix events!

Club Records Break in Beantown

4x400 Ends in a CR and Three Wins for the Black and Gold

Boston, MA:  Despite the coldest week in years, the Girls in Gold and Boys in Black had plenty of heat this weekend as they competed in the Terrier Invitation at Boston University.  Twenty-two athletes competed as six club records and myriad personal bests shattered on the BU banked track, known as one of the fastest in the country.

Chelsea Callan set CR #1 on Friday evening, hitting the tape at 10:19.44 for 3,000m.  On Saturday, the ageless wonder and 400 hurdler Mike Brito set an indoor PR and the 400m CR in 50.43 despite a near fall at the 250m point, and his training partner Amr Gharseldin broke the club 200m CR in 22.45.  In the distance events, Tony Harris lowered his own club record in the mile to 4:19.64, while Chris Heibell set a new GSTC standard in the 1000m, as he finished in 2:28.87.    

The final club record broken was the men's 4x400 of Mike Brito (49.9), Ricky Garcia (49.6/indoor PR), Joe Lafleur (49.9/PR), and Tony Harris (50.2).  Their time of 3:20.36 chopped off two seconds from the old record set last year when defeating Zenith Velocity at the Thursday Night at the Races in the Armory.  Check out the record-setting relay and the GSTC props on Flotrack's coverage here.

It was an exciting day for the club's 4x400s, as the other three teams won their respective heats: B Team (Mark Parisen, Kevin Parker, Julius Samuel, Kaseem Jackson) in 3:27.36, C Team (Gharseldin, Tyler Foss, Jason Romsak, Jaris Rousseau) in 3:27.66, and the D Team (Ira Ford, Norbert Kuter, Zak Martins, Jibril Beamon) in 3:33.74.  Romsak had a huge day, running two life time PRs in the open 200m (22.93) and the 4x400 (50.9).

It ain't easy breaking club records--and it's also not easy running the fastest time of your LIFE, either.  Parisen lead a large group of those setting personal bests, as he PR'ed in the 800m by three seconds with his 1:57.57, while Erin LaCosta had a huge drop for the women, shaving two seconds off her 400m time in the 4x400 on Friday.  For their efforts, both have been named GSTC Athlete of the Week (see below).

Full results here.

Tim Morgan Award: A Big Week!

Look, once you meet this group you'll know what we mean: anytime you get the GSTC sprinters together for a weekend, some dumb-a@# **** is gonna happen.  And needless to say, they lived up to the hype this weekend.

EPISODE ONE

But first, an event the GSTC paparazzi forgot two weeks ago.  About a dozen GSTC'ers went out for a fundraiser dinner to support Chelsea Callan's Cardinal McCarrick track and field team.  Anyway, everyone around the table orders, an ordeal that took about ten solid minutes.  About fifteen minutes later, while we are awaiting our dinner, someone realizes.....s/he FORGOT TO ORDER.  Really?  That's like going into a bathroom, walking around it for a while, and forgetting to actually GO.  Who was it, do you ask?  Our homeboy and perennial TMA contender, Zak Martins.   

EPISODE TWO: Friday afternoon

Sprinter Jean Leblanc was kind enough to drive up our women's 4x400 Friday morning to Boston (men competed Saturday and thus left later Friday afternoon).  After maybe 400 emails and texts about race information this past week, he calls upon arrival to the track.  "Hey coach, where is everyone- are you sure the track meet is today?  All I see are people playing tennis in here!" This fool drove to the only other indoor track facility in Boston!

    

EPISODE THREE: Saturday afternoon

GSTC 4x400 record holder Ricardo Garcia hit the streets of Boston to warm up for his 500m race.  However, he never came back ten minutes later like he was supposed to, or twnety minutes later....in fact, he came back THIRTY MINUTES later, nearly missed his check-in, had very little time to do drills and strides.....yeah, the fool got lost in his warm up, and couldn't find his way back to Boston University.

EPISODE FOUR: Saturday night

At the conclusion of the track meet, around 7pm, sprinters Ira Ford and Kevin Parker stated, "We didn't get the memo about removing our bags from the hotel room.  Our stuff is still in there."  Evidently they have stayed in hotels before where check-out is at 8pm, not noon?  So much for jetting home to Jersey right after the meet! 

Team Runs: Come Out and Play!

Monday: 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center

Tuesday: 5:30 @ RSC

Wednesday: 5:30 @ Highland Park HS: track workout

Thursday: 5:30 @ RSC

Friday: 4:00 @ RSC

Saturday: 10:00am @ Highland Park HS: track workout

Sunday: TEAM RUN + TEAM BRUNCH.  Long Branch's Columbia Trail (soft and flat!):  Parking lot address: 24 Schooleys Mountain Road, Long Valey 07853.

Athletes of the Week

Men: Mark Parisen

Parisen joined the GSTC in 2011 with some average PRs after running for South Amboy HS and Middlesex County College.  Two years later, after dropping seven seconds off his 2011 800m personal best, he now has punched his ticket to the USATF Club National Track and Field Championships held this year at NYC's Icahn Stadium.  And....he's got five more months to go in 2013.

A senior exercise science major at Rutgers University, he currently works as a personal trainer for both the South Amboy YMCA and Retro Fitness.  His pre-race routine is three cups of coffee (just a few short of teammate Steve Mennitt) and a bagel with cream cheese, while his favorite food is: PB&J (yes, you read that right....that is his favorite food) and his favorite book is the Hunger Games.       

Women: Erin LaCosta

Erin joined the GSTC in the fall of 2012 because, interestingly enough, she sent in her application to Shore AC but....never heard back from them.  We're glad that happened, as the Rutgers freshmen majoring in biochemistry has improved tremendously since joining the GSTC.  The 2012 Somerville HS graduate split 65.5 on the GSTC women's 4x400 on Friday afternoon, shaving off two full seconds from her previous PR from the West Point meet three weeks prior.

LaCosta's improvements are impressive for someone who focused on the high jump (Group 3 Section Champ at 5'2" in 202), long jump, and high hurdles.  A huge Harry Potter fan,  her pre-race routine is to eat carbs ("and avoid chocolate") before competing.  Wen not studying, running, jumping, or hurdling, she enjoys playing with her dogs and listening to music.

This Week in Training

Monday - comfortable run* and 6-8 x 8-10sec hill sprints
Tuesday - 6x1000 at 10sec/mile faster than T pace with 3:00 of recovery running at 20sec/mile slower than T pace - I recommend you do this off of a track.  Basically you want to alternate time above and below threshold, and the pace should work out to averaging right around your T pace.  Remember to modify the paces based on weather and course conditions.  Even having extra layers will slow you down.  It's the effort you're going for.
Wednesday - steady-state run of 75% long run duration.
Thursday - super easy 40-60 minutes, 8x80m strides
Friday - 3x2k@ 10k race pace with 3:00 jog.  Take a full recovery, then go 4x200 at mile pace
Saturday - same as Monday
Sunday - long run!