Monday, January 20, 2014

(1/20-1/26): Awards Banquet, Road Relays, Coaching, and Leadership!!

Intro

The GSTC Weekly Email is a collaborative effort to bring club membership an accurate and entertaining update on all team events, runs, results, workouts, quotes, and even mishaps every Sunday night.  It is also often referred to as "The Email" or, by more prominent members of the running community, "error-fraught spam."  If you'd like to submit anything that would contribute to any of these sections, please email us! 

 

2014 Yearly Club Dues

If you haven't paid them….please do before they go from $30 to $40 on February 1!  This is our club's lifeline, and it's really helpful to get them in January.  We offer our members many services, and such dues helps us maintain the website, purchase team insurance, etc.  Please do so right here!  Thank you.


Road Relays IV: February 23

The fourth running of the GSTC Road Relays is just one month away!  It's the club's first team event of the year,  a big fundraiser, a fun after party at Mike's Courtside Bar and Grill, and a fun way to get 2014 up and going.  Get a partner and sign up here!!!!


 

2013 GSTC Awards Banquet

New Brunswick- The Garden State Track Club held its third annual Awards Banquet Saturday night at Rutgers University.  Over 120 attendees were treated to a three hour program of dinner, awards, and four guest speakers: CSI Hall of Famer Jeff Benjamin, Olympian Donn Cabral, Big East Champion Heather Wilson, and World Championship qualifier Ashley Higginson.  Learning of the event on Twitter the night prior, 4:00 miler and former Texas Longhorn Pat McGregor attended, as well.

 

Watch Ashley's speech and award presentation here , Donn's speech here, and Donn's award presentations for most valuable performers here

 

The 2013 highlight video was released for the first time, and is now publicly available on the GSTC YouTube Channel.


 

Ken Goglas and Cheyenne Ogletree were voted Most Valuable Performers by their teammates, while Ricky Garcia and Erin LaCosta were selected as the club's Most Valuable Sprinters.  All other awards, including "Bonus Awards," are listed below.  All awards, except the bonus awards, were voted on by GSTC members over the past month via Surkey Monkey links.

 

Like any award banquet, there were several entertaining moments.  Some included Peter Bolgert stating, "And now for the Self Absorbed, I mean Selfie, Award," Aysha arriving 1.5 hours late and announcing to everyone, "I broke a nail and had to get it redone!  Sorry I'm late!", and Jaris Rousseau receiving the "Highland Park High School Toilet Frequent Flyer Award."  

 

Most Dedicated, North Enclave:  Brian Harris

Most Dedicated, Jersey City Enclave: Norbert Kuter

Most Dedicated, Beach Enclave: Zak Kudiak

Most Dedicated, Central Enclave: Edsel Flores

Most Dedicated, South Enclave: Joe Zeoli

Most Dedicated, Morristown Enclave: Allie Dublinski

Most Dedicated, Princeton Enclave:  Katie Chaput

 

Newcomer of the Year, North Enclave:  Joan Darnsteadt

Newcomer of the Year, Beach Enclave:  Sean Donohue

Newcomer of the Year, Jersey City Enclave:   Shanna Beairsto

Newcomer of the Year, Central Enclave: Kristen Prazenica

Newcomer of the Year, Morristown Enclave: Ted Doyle

Newcomer of the Year, South Enclave: Brittany McCann

Newcomer of the Year, Princeton Enclave:  Stephanie Donatone

 

Life of the Enclave, North Enclave: Ruscel Kirkland

Life of the Enclave, Beach Enclave:  Will Alston

Life of Enclave, Central Enclave: Josh Neyhart

Life of the Enclave, South Enclave:  Adin Mickle

Life of the Enclave, Morristown Enclave: James Lothian

Life of the Enclave, Princeton Enclave:  Mike Fonder

Life of the Enclave, Jersey City Enclave: Will Appman

 

Tim Morgan Award:  Steve Mennitt

Steady Strider Award: Sakina Namazi

Best Dressed, Male: Dan Teichmann

Best Dressed, Female: Erika Meling

Behind the Curtains Award (unsung hero): Cathy Stutzman

Most Likely to be at a GSTC Event:  Karen Auteri

 

Most Improved Male: Mike Anis

Most Improved Female: Erika Meling

Rookie of the Year, Male: Chris Croff

Rookie of the Year, Female: Robyn Evangelist

Rutgers Athlete of the Year: David Fett

 

2014, Her GSTC Breakout Season:  Nicole Salge

2014, His GSTC Breakout Season: Timmy Terrific Paziora

2014, The Masters Breakout: Matt Baker

Selfie of the Year: Aysha Mirza

Cutest Club Couple: Ken Goglas and Cheyenne Ogletree

Recruiter of the Year: Angela Dunn

Jeff Perrella Excellence in Injury Award: Rob Nihen

 

Half Miler Award: Tony Harris, Alyssa Douma, Mark Parisen

Miler Award: Chris Heibell

Steeplechase Award: Kyle Price

Most Valuable Performer, Male Masters: Marty Doherty

Most Valuable Performer, Female Masters:  Sandi Kaspszyk

 

Most Valuable Sprinter, Male:  Ricky Garcia

Most Valuable Sprinter, Female:  Erin LaCosta

Most Valuable Field Athlete, Male:  Stephen Mozia

Most Valuable Field Athlete, Female:  Shene Davis

Most Valuable Performer, Male: Ken Goglas

Most Valuable Performer, Female: Cheyenne Ogletree


Most Energy at Sprint Practice Award:  Kaseem Jackson

Watch Out for The Dumpster Award: Rob Marczydlo

20 Degrees and Shirtless Sprinter Award:  Kevin Persson

Biggest Surprise Performance at Nationals Award:  Dennie Waite

Highland Park HS Bathroom Frequent Flyer Award:  Jaris Rousseau

Someone Get This Guy a New Paid of Shoes Award:  Mo El Hedi Bahri

Most Dedicated to the GSTC:  Steve Mennitt

Most Dedicated Sprinter Over Three Years Award:  Quanisha Booker

It's Time to Get a Real Email Address Award:  Matt Eder

I Can't Come to Practice Because I Have to Drive Three Hours to Pick Up a Puppy with My Family Award: Carson Keers-Flood

The Only Human on Earth to Rollerblade to Sprint Practice Awards:  Sergio Oconitrillo

 

Quote of the Year Awards

 

Watch Dennie Waite and Adin Mickle presnt these awards here.

 

"I logged onto Facebook and saw 40+ notifications and felt like the prettiest girl at the prom. When I went to check why I was so popular I remembered it's because…of the GSTC page." -Mike Obsuth

 

"I guess 'Let's meet for a run at the strip mall by her house' just wasn't specific enough directions for New Jersey.'" -Peter Bolgert

 

"That's a thick sausage you got there." -Tim Morgan

 

"I'm trying to decide if I should wear clothes or not." -Karen Auteri

 

"only on the GSTC can a guy get his picture in a national running magazine and then get torn to shreds by his teammates on facebook."-Steve Bonica

 

"Got an email from some nerd named Ashwin...something about a nerd star." -Chris Croff

 

"We all know it's hard to run with a Woody." -Woody Kongsamut

 

"You north jersey guys steal all of our south jersey culture. You even named a hockey team after our demons.' -Adin Mickle

 

"I was running with one of our girls and was gonna ask her for her number, but then she outkicked me and I said eff it." -Norbert Kuter

 

 

Team Runs

Monday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 track workout at Highland Park HS

Tuesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ Rutgers Student Center (RSC)

Wednesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Wednesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 track workout at HPHS

Wednesday: (Morristown Enclave) 6:15 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Thursday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Friday: (Central Enclave) 4:00 group run @ RSC

Saturday: (Morristown) 9:00 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Saturday: TRACK MEET: @ Tiger Invitational (Princeton University)

SUNDAY TEAM RUN:  9:00am @ MANASQUAN RESERVOIR (311 Winbdeler Road, Howell 07731)


GSTC Leadership Shifts

After the January Leadership Team Meeting, the LT voted on some new leadership positions.  Here they are below; feel free to contact them with any questions you may have about team stuff.  They're all great, and they'dlove to hear from you.

Central Office

President- Chuck Schneekloth (gardenstatetrackclub@gmail.com)

Vice President- Ken Goglas (ken_goglas@hotmail.com)

Women's Co-Captains 

Angela Dunn (angelardunn77@gmail.com)

Cheyenne Ogletree (c.ogletree@hotmail.com)

Erika Meling (emeling816@hotmail.com)

Men's Co-Captains

Mike Fonder (michael.fonder@gmail.com)

Dan Teichmann (dteichs19@yahoo.com)

Ashwin Anantharaman (new member outreach)

Track and Field Co-Captains

Ricky Garcia (rickyricardo07@yahoo.com)

Erin LaCosta (ecl_march94@hotmail.com)

Mark Parisen (markparisen@aol.com)

Chase Pack Co-Captains (for the recreational, middle of the packers)

Bri Teichmann (bteichmann@gmail.com)

Woody Kongsamut (twkongsamut@gmail.com)


GSTC Coaching Shifts

As the club evolves, so must its infrastructure that supports its members.  This isn't always easy, as very few clubs in America are as big, diverse, and inclusive as the Garden State Track Club.  That said, there is really no accepted model that works for all clubs; we are a very unique organization with a very unusual high percentage of awesome people.  In December, the LT voted to standardize the club's coaching, enabling every member to have complete control over their own training.  An old adage in education is "control=motivation", and that is our theory of action here.

So here's the deal.  Every week, we offer a training plan that many of our best runners follow.  Chris Tafelski, our long time coaching whiz who prduced many state champion teams as Westfield HS's head coach, has been writing training plans for membership following the GSTC's racing schedule of the USATF-NJ Grand Prix.  It's flexible, sound training advice that many of our members follow, including the club's president and vice president.  However, we recognize that many members train for marathons or simply have other needs.  For those folks, we offer you a grand buffet of coaching options for dues-paying members.  While we will have bios coming shortly, here are the coaches who now comprise the GSTC Coaching Staff.  If you'd like to reach out and communicate to one....please do.  They have all been vetted, agreed to the "GSTC Coaching Agreement", and are all, quite honestly, pretty rad.  Do people still use that work?  They should.


2014 GSTC Coaching Staff

Carmine DeNicola (distance): carmined4@gmail.com

Michael Fonder (distance): michael.fonder@gmail.com

Ken Goglas (distance): ken_goglas@hotmail.com

Jim Greer (distance): jimreggreer@yahoo.com

Ryan Grote (distance): grote16@comcast.net

Jason Kilderry (distance): coachjason@etscoach.com

David Lado (jumps): dml03857@yahoo.com

Erika Meling (distance/personal trainer): emeling816@gmail.com

Mark Parisen (distance/personal trainer): markparisen@aol.com

Chuck Schneekloth (sprints): chuckschneekloth@hotmail.com 


Steady Striders

By Amy Denholtz

Our next steady striders run is set for this coming Saturday, Jan. 25 at 9am, beginning from Grove 5 of Johnson Park in Highland Park/Piscataway.  Grove 5 is across from the Rutgers football stadium and off of Landing Lane.  The Grove 5 parking lot is the first parking lot on the left and has a picnic area with bathrooms (for directions and park map, see: www.co.middlesex.nj.us/parksrecreation/johnson.asp).  Please email Amy, at adenholtz@gmail.com, with any questions or to RSVP for the group run on Saturday.

 

TEAM STUFF

Sunday Morning, 2/23: Road Relays  www.roadrelays.org

Buy team gear here------->  http://phenetix.com/lab2/#top

Team website--------------->  www.gardenstatetc.org

Team Facebook Fan Page---->   https://www.facebook.com/groups/159501487397707/

Team Blog---------------> http://gardenstatetc.blogspot.com/

Team YouTube Channel---> http://www.youtube.com/user/GardenStateTC

 

 

Quotes of the Week

"Being able to commit to self-improvement on a daily basis is what sets great athletes from good athletes.  It is those who are committed to the daily grind, to putting in the work each day, and doing all the little things to get just one second faster, one inch higher, or one inch further that reap the real rewards of the sport."  -Heather Wilson, 800m Big East Champion, during her speech at Saturday night's banquet

 

"I can't believe they didn't steal my books!"  -Prudence Jones, Monclair State professor of the classics, discussing the unfortunate break-in of her New Brunswick home.

 

"I still owe for 2013."  -James Lothian, in regard to paying 2014 dues, a perennial contender for the TMA

 

"What else do you call it?"  -Tim Morgan, when awarded the quote of the year award for his quote, "That's a thick sausage you have there."

 

"this past year has been full of setbacks…but I have come out of sll of this a better and happier person..ready for my comeback"  -Alyssa Douma, via FB

 

"I am the luckiest, most happy runner girl in New Jersey!  I have supportive teammates and a demanding coach…Something GREAT will happen in 2014."  -Ayanna Keller, via FB

 

"The video was excellent, the speakers inspiring, and the décor perfect, but the company was the best part."  -Amy Denholtz, via email, regarding banquet

 

"Running and friends fix everything."  -Claire Browne, via FB

 

"I'm gonna start recycling more in hopes that I get back on mother nature's good side and she doesn't throw me any more ice patches or tree branches."  -high jumper Giuseppe Francesco, via text, after crashing his car from black ice weeks ago

 

"While success in track and field is largely determined by an athlete's drive and determination, the support system they surround themselves with also plays a considerable role.  That is why organizations like the Garden State Track Club are so greatly appreciated."  -Heather Wilson's speech

 

 

TMA: Totally Misunderstood Award

The letters "TMA" just roll off the tongue way too easily when we see a bonehead decision.  Thus, changing the club's entrenched lexicon may be a battle not worth fighting.  We have therefore, for now, accepted Ricky Garcia's spin on renaming this award from Tim Morgan Award to Totally Misunderstood Award.  After all, sometimes it is all one big misunderstanding, correct?


That said, there isn't much misunderstanding around Josh Neyhart throwing away his paycheck in the garbage this week (d'oh!), nor is there one with Steve Mennitt telling everyone a 10:30am Saturday run is at 10:00am.  However, nothing beats Sergio Oconitrillo, who we learned from Princeton University's meet management that he submitted seed times of 20.0 in the 200 meters (making him a world leader) and 10.0 in the 800m.  The current 800m world record is 1:40.91 by David Rudisha.   

 

Gold Star

By Ashwin Anantharaman

 

Tim Creelman

Tim joined GSTC Thursday 1/16/2014.  He started a new job at Merck in July and volunteered to run the corporate DMR at Penn Relays with the Merck team in April. He hasn't done any workouts on the track since college and was looking for a training group to help get him get reacclimated to the track and to push him so that he can reach my goals. His pre-race ritual is to stop at Wawa get a big Gatorade, gallon of water, and Cheerios. His PRs are: 800m (1:59 in high school), 1600m: (4:28 in college), 5000m (16:03 in college), and 8000m XC (27:48 in college)

 

His goals for GSTC is to train for the corporate DMR at Penn Relays with goal times being 2:15 (800m), 3:30 (1200m) or 5:15 (1600m) since he is not sure which leg he is running yet. Also he is looking forward to running other races with GSTC after the Penn Relays. Besides running, his hobbies are going down the shore, sleep, and he plans on learning how to golf once the weather warms up.

 

Lisa Jones

 

Lisa joined early January 2014. The GSTC lingered in her mind for a couple years.  Angela and Robyn used to be her teammates in the past and hinted the idea of her joining.  She is a competitive mid/long distance runner looking to participate in races, experience competition on a different level, and hopefully gain a new positive experience in her life. This is a great opportunity to join a new team that shares the same passion and dedication to the sport.  She is impressed with what this program has to offer and is excited to be a new member! Her goal is to continue improving her running economy.  She hopes to PR in the 800, 1500, 3k Steeplechase, and 5k this year.  Her current PRs are 2:17 (800), 5:18 (mile), and 18:54 (5k).

 

Her coach, Nick Barkley, produces personal training plans on a monthly basis and comes to most of her meets.  So far, she has managed to PR in all my events in the past year. She runs 6 days/wk and does plyos on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Currently, she is running 42-45 miles/wk this month. Long days are on Mondays. Right now her training is geared toward the spring track season. The future months will focus on thresholds, intervals, hurdle work, and more plyos. She takes off on Sunday's to recover. 

 

Spring HS Coaching Position Open

A competitive, large central Jersey high school is looking for an assistant coach with background in sprints, horizontal jumps, and/or hurdles.  The head coach is a good friend of the GSTC, so if you are interested in learning more about the opening…please send us an email, and we will introduce you accordingly.  



Pre-Game 4 Miler

On Sunday February 2nd, the 3rd annual Pre-Game 4 Miler (formerly known as the Super Sunday 4 Miler) will be taking place in Morristown.

 

Superhero Events is offering GSTC members a 15% discount. Just use coupon code GSTC when you sign up online at www.superheroracing.com.

 

Obviously, early February isn't prime racing season, but the race is a ton of fun and a great opportunity to score lots of USATF grand prix points early in the year. Here are a few more reasons to run:

    Long-sleeved technical shirts to the first 1,500 registrants!

    Prizes for age group and overall winners! 

    SPECIAL Polar Bear prize for runner wearing the least amount of clothing! (last year GSTC's Chris Croft was a finalist)

    Post race party at a local bar with great drink specials to warm you up!

 

 

If you have any questions, please email Heather at superheroracing@hotmail.com

 


This Week in Training

By Chris Tafelski (cjtafelski@yahoo.com)

 

More buildup this week.  You want to hit 85-95% of your goal mileage this week.  We're going to work in some more structured threshold work this week.  Remember that you have to be willing to adjust the T pace for the conditions.  Cold, wind, shoes, running surface, etc are all things to consider.  When in doubt, err on the slow side.

 

Monday - comfortable run + 5x8-10s hill sprints on 2:30-3:00 rest.

 

Tuesday - fartlek run of 2:00/3:00 cycles.  Pickups should be at T pace, recoveries should be about T pace + 30-40 sec

 

Wednesday - medium run of 15-20% of weekly mileage

 

Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins or OFF.

 

Friday - mile reps.  Start at T pace + 30s, then cut off 10 secs each time.  Do 4-5 reps, so you'll either be ending at T pace or T pace -10s.  Take 1:00 recovery.  If your miles are 7:00 in duration or longer, you can either do one rep less, or run 1200m reps instead.

 

Saturday - same as Monday.

 

Sunday - long run!



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