GSTC Finishes 15th in USA; NJ-USATF Title Captured; Big Chill 5k & Jasper Invite are Rocked!

GSTC Men Finish 15^th at USATF Club XC Nationals

Fourth East Coast Team; Highest Place in NJ-USATF History

Seattle, WA- The Garden State Track Club men finished 15^th at the USATF Club National Cross Country Championships, the highest finish ever from a New Jersey team in the history of the meet.   Scoring 528 total points, their scoring five averaged 32:37 in the club's first appearance at the 10k championship event.  They also held off the Atlanta Track Club, Georgetown Running Company, Manhattan Track Club, and Greater Boston Track Club, making them the fourth finishing team on the East Coast.  The performance also made the GSTC one of three teams in America who finished in the top 20 in both the USATF club cross country and track national championships in 2011.    

After opening his first mile in 4:48, star miler Chris Heibell (Hillsborough HS) steamrolled through the 10k grassy course at Jefferson Park in 31:29, finishing as the Gold's #1 man.  Jeff Perrella (Westfield HS), fighting through a hip injury, came in as the team's #2 at 32:00, with Adin Mickle (Triton Regional HS) running brilliantly with a career best 32:36 at the team's #3 man.  Mike Dixon (Scotch Plains Fanwood HS), still plagued with an injury sustained from racing the Ashenfelter 8k and Philly marathon four days apart, was the team's #4 with a time of 33:07.  Mike Anis (Edison HS) was the surprise #5 man, rounding out the team's scoring five in 33:49.  Mark Del Monaco (St. Joseph's, Metuchen) was the 6^th man in 34:29.    

Results here: http://www.usatf.org/events/2011/USATFClubXCChampionships/results/openmen.asp

Race Start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S57HJVvMiPU

Wanna laugh?  Anis forgets license; TSA searches him, Chuck gets yelled at by TSA for filming it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2GoReWwv3A&feature=related

 

Men Capture First NJ-USATF Team Crown

Rutgers' Students Spiegel, Teichmann Put GSTC Over Top at 10 Miler

East Windsor, NJ- It was cold.  The year-long Grand Prix overall score was tied.  The team's strongest runners were 3,000 miles away.  Many others were hurt.  The Sneaker Factory won the Liberty Half Marathon months ago, the only NJ-USATF defeat suffered by the GSTC in 2011.  Indeed, this was no walk in the park, literally and metaphorically.

Despite the odds, a pair of unsuspecting heroes surfaced, making all the difference as the Gold locked down their first open men's team title, ending a come-from-behind chase that started in early June with GSTC's first Grand Prix race- a dominating win at the President's Cup.

Dan Teichmann and Zach Spiegel, a pair of Rutgers students with finals looming in one week, ran 57:34 and 58:34, finishing as the 3^rd and 5^th team scorers.  Not only was it their first ten mile race, it also marked the first time both youngsters were scoring finishers for the club and, quite honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time. 

Superstars Ashwin Anantharaman and Taylor Burmeister sizzled up front, finishing third and fifth overall, respectively.  Anantharaman closes out a record-setting season this fall, while Burmeister made a huge personal sacrifice to race the event, as he is still recovering from a huge effort in the Philly Marathon just weeks ago.

Also racing for the Gold was Tim Morgan (4^th man, 58:09), Alex Fowlie (6^th, 58:43), Ken Walsh (GSTC debut- 7^th, 59:06), Jeremy Stratton (62:51), Steve Bonica (62:59), Rob DeCarlo (GSTC debut- 65:16), and Kenny Huryk (GSTC debut- 67:53).

While final team results are not yet official, the GSTC's win over Sneaker Factory ensured the 2011 open men's team title, as both teams had fifty points entering into the Grand Prix's final team scoring event.    

Results here: http://www.compuscore.com/cs2011/novdec/utf10m.htm. Pictures will be on Facebook by tonight.

 

Ogletree, DeCarlo Lead Women to 10 Miler Silver Medal

 West Windsor, NJ- The GSTC women continued their late season rally at the Grand Finale Ten Miler, rolling to a second place finish in the final NJ-USATF Grand Prix race of 2011. Fresh off a convincing win in the NJ-USATF 8k XC Championships, the Lady Gold were led by a fierce 1-2 punch of Cheyenne Ogletree (66:19) and Meghan DeCarlo (66:41) up front.  Finishing second and third respectively overall, their team finished with a total team time of 4:40:15, just a few minutes off the winning team- a possible foreshadowing of what's to come from this group in 2012.

Coming in shortly thereafter were teammates Claire Tafelski (71:25 ), Nicolle Corre (75:48), Cathy Stutzman (81:41), and Karen Hill (99:13).

 

Warren Wins 200m at Brother Jasper Invitational

Bronx, NYC- Shay Warren opened up her 2011 indoor season in style, winning the open 200m at the Brother Jasper Invitational hosted by Manhattan College.  The former Long Island University standout, making her GSTC debut, beat an 11-women field with a 27.63 clocking, and also placed fifth in the 400m at 61.58.  These are both indoor club records.

Teammates Quanisha Booker and Ataysia Ingram also had a strong debut, as they placed 5^th and 6^th, respectively, in the open 200m.

 

Harris, Sewer, 4x400 Grab Gold in Track Opener

Bronx, NYC- It's a new year, but seemingly not much has changed.

The gold and black 4x400 closed out another track meet with a 4x400 victory, rolling over MAAC powerhouse Manhattan College in the meet's final event.  While winning by just a few tenths of a second, they lead wire to wire thanks to a tough lead-off by Ricardo Garcia.  The host Jaspers fought hard during the next three legs to catch up to Alan Brussard, Duval Sewer, and anchor Mike Brito- but all to no avail.  The Gold finished in 3:26.25...watch them rock the house here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJpPb5IXR0s&list=UUAKiBZbPVeWsH_Z7uk4PRrA&feature=plcp.

Tony Harris started the festivities with yet another outstanding race.  In his first career 1500m, he patiently sat on the lead pack.  With 100m left, he popped into lane two, swung wide, and dropped the field with his patented kick to win in 4:11.82.   Wanna see the kick?  It's right here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuUBPIw3ig0&list=UUAKiBZbPVeWsH_Z7uk4PRrA&feature=plcp

In the 800, 2011 outdoor club national championships qualifier Duval Sewer also opened his season with a gold medal, holding off teammate Garcia in the final 50m for a 1-2 GSTC sweep in the half mile.

The GSTC jumps crew also got out of the gates well, as Matt Sunga (21'-9") and Jason Staggers (21'-2") finished third and fifth, respectively, in the long jump.  Staggers came back and snagged a 5^th in the triple (42'-1"), breaking a club record like Sunga in the LJ.  Stags in the triple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt39XEoLbzI&feature=autoplay&list=UUAKiBZbPVeWsH_Z7uk4PRrA&lf=plcp&playnext=1.

Brito and Brussard finished 2-3 in the open 400m, with the B 4x400 taking third overall in 3:35.64.  The C 4x400 won the second heat in 3:39.90, and the D team finished 8^th overall in 3:43.52.  

All videos (from Seattle & Manhattan) will be here (http://www.youtube.com/user/chuckschneekloth) by tonight.  Some are already up...but they just aren't labeled.  Hey, I do have a day job, you know!

All pictures will be on Facebook page by tonight as well.      

 

GSTC Enjoys Big Chill 5k

New Brunswick, NJ- Eleven GSTC members ran in the Big Chill 5k this Saturday, enjoying the large crowds that both start and finish along College Avenue in New Brunswick.

Props to Chelsea Mapa's Couch to 5k runners (see attached), all of whom finished their first 5k that they've trained all fall for!   This group includes Sarah Eldaway, Megan McGlynn, Jami O'Leary, Patrick Parlej, Shawn Naughton, and Leslie Smith.  Congrats on starting the program and finishing it with an awesome effort in Saturday's 5k!

Other finishers were team captain Mike Obsuth (17:53), Kyle Flyer (17:43), Keith Flyer (18:39), Ryan Vance (19:00), Corey Smith (20:32), Nick Waclowski (20:55), Neil Verano (21:02), Lindsey Michaliszyn (22:41), and Tom Segear (22:59). 

Results here: http://www.compuscore.com/cs2011/novdec/bigchill.htm.

This Week in Training

Distance

From Coach Tafelski:

 

The plan for the next two weeks is to run as little or as much as you feel like.  At the very least, you should do 3 runs a week of 30 minutes or so just to keep the muscles and tendons in working order - this will make your return to training far easier.  Enjoy the down time, but watch your diet as the same amount of eating will probably lead to a bit of weight gain.

I would like to hear from each of you as far as what goals/event areas you have in mind for winter and spring so we can plan.

 

Congrats to all of you on the progress you've made - more great stuff to come!

 

 

Sprinters

It was great to watch the film of us defeating Manhattan in that 4x400.  One thing is clear: in the final 200m, every single GSTC runner was STRONGER than those green guys.  Where does that strength come from?  The long, aerobic workouts with heavy volume and little rest.  Congrats on a GREAT opening race....now let's get back to work.  We got bigger trees to fall, and we're gonna need a sharper ax....

 

Monday:  5:45 @ MHS 7 x 300 @ 800m pace (100m walk) + hurdle drills

Tuesday:  12 x 100 stride + lift

Wednesday:  5:45 @ MHS  6 x 150 (50/50/50) @ 400m, 200m, 100m 

Thursday:  12 x 100 stride + lift

Friday:   OFF

Saturday:  10am @ MHS  5 x (300/100) @ 800m/400m pace

Sunday:  5 minute shakeout run + 6 x stride + 5 minute shakeout run

 

Half Milers:

Monday:   7 x 500 @ 1600m pace @ 2min

Tuesday:  40 min recovery run

Wednesday:  6 x 150 (50/50/50) @ 400m, 200m, 100m

Thursday:   50 minute recovery run

Friday:       30 minute run + 4x100 stride

Saturday:   5 x 350/200 (1600m pace/ 800m pace) w/ 50m walk  

Sunday:   60-70 minute long run

--

Garden State Track Club

USATF & RRCA Members

2011 President's Cup &

Penn Relays 5k Classic Team Champions

www.gardenstatetc.org

http://www.facebook.com/#!/GardenStateTC

http://twitter.com/#!/GardenStateTC

http://gardenstatetc.blogspot.com/

GSTC Weekend Preview: 3 States, 4 Events!

If you're on the GSTC, you're bound to be doing something this weekend.  By far the biggest weekend in club history is just two days away, and here's a sneak peak, in chronological order, at what's just around the corner.  Jacket orders are being made at 1:00 today...so you have two  more hours to email an order!

 

 

Saturday 8:00am EST

Perrella Leads GSTC Charge to National Championships

Seattle, WA- For the first time in club history, the GSTC is sending a group to the USATF Club Cross Country Championships. After taking 7th overall at the USATF track and field national club championships in NYC's Icahn Stadium this past July, six GSCT'ers will board a flight this evening to head west.  Once there, they will lock horns with some of the best distance runners in America, including Oregon TC's Olympian Ian Dobson in the 10k championship race at Jefferson Park Golf Course.

 

Jeff Perrella, half-mortal half-myth, will lead the black and gold into battle Saturday afternoon.  4:10 miler Chris Heibell, one of the club's most exciting track athletes, will join him up front, as will team superman Mike Dixon, who is coming off two big PRs a few weeks ago.  Mark Del Monaco and Adin Mickle, elite distance athletes from LaSalle and Temple respectively, will round out the team's scoring top five.  Mike Anis will provide important insurance as the #6 man, as the group hopes for a top-ten finish in the USA.

 

More information about the event can be found here: http://www.usatf.org/events/2011/USATFClubXCChampionships/.

 

 

 

Saturday 9am EST

Big Group Set for Fun @ Big Chill 5k

New Brunswick, NJ- Rutgers engineering sophomore Mike Obsuth captains a sizable contingent of gold and black set to enjoy another Big Chill 5k race this Saturday.  With the entry fee being a mere holiday present of $10 or more in value, the event attracts thousands of runners, many Rutgers students, to the race that starts and ends on College Avenue.  Joining one of Fairlawn's finest graduate are Kyle Flyer, Mel Bandler, Lindsey Michaliszyn, Tom Segear, Nick Verano, Keith Flyer, Edsel Flores, Nick Waclowski, Corey Smith, Ryan Vance, and Jay Fuhrman.

 

We are also super psyched to announce that Chelsea Mapa's Couch to 5k runners will be running as well!  This group has gone from beginner runner to 5k-ready in just two months, and we're excited to see how they do after many weeks of consistent training and hard work. 

 

 

 

Saturday 2:00pm EST

Strongest GSTC Sprint Crew Ever to Open in NYC

Bronx, NYC- Club records will fall this Saturday, as the strongest ever sprint crew in club history assembles for its season opener, The Brother Jasper Invitational, at Manhattan College.

 

The day should start strong for the group, as long jumpers Matt Sunga (23'8" PR) and Jason Staggers (22'6") will surely make noise in both the LJ and TJ.  The club's best jumper, former University of Kansas standout Eric Babb (25'9" PR), looks to open up in January or February.

 

Hybrid Tony Harris will race his first 1500m, and a legion of half milers will look to crack 2:00 soon afterward.  Former Long Island University standout Shay Warren will race for the first time in black and gold, while all eyes will be on a superstar 4x400 relay of Mike Brito, Duval Sewer, Alan Broussard, and Ricardo Garcia.  After Saturday's time trial, they could eclipse the club 4x400 record (3:22.63) in their first attempt, while also looking to win the event as well.

 

Also competing are Fordham, So Conn. State, Manhattan, St. Peter's, Marist, Wagner, CCNY, ad Lehman.

Meet info is here: http://www.gojaspers.com/fls/12500/pdf/Track/GeneralMeetInfo.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=12500

 

 

Sunday 10:00am EST

10 Miler to Decide 2011 NJ-USATF Open Men's Team Title 

West Windsor, NJ- The GSTC will send a full men's and women's team down for the final event of the NJ-USATF Grand Prix, the Grand Finale 10 Miler at Mercer County Park.

 

The women's team, the defending 8k NJ-USATF XC Open Women Champions,  will consist of Karen Hill, Claire Tafelski, Cathy Stutzman, Meghan DeCarlo, Cheyenne Ogletree, and Nicole Corre.  Ogletree, after an impressive second place finish in the 8k race, should be the team's front runner with hopes to challenge for the win.

 

In the men's race, the outcome will decide the 2011 NJ-USATF Open Men's Team Champion.  Currently, both the GSTC and Sneaker Factory have 50 points each- despite the GSTC not even competing at the first two Grand Prix races of the year. 

 

The Garden Gold will look to Taylor Burmeister, Ashwin Anantharaman, and Alex Fowlie to storm the front pack.  All three have an excellent chance of placing in the top five, as all three are very fit after solid fall seasons of training.

 

However, team scoring is based on total team time, not place, so the top five finishers will all play huge roles in the team win.  Indeed, the team title may come down to two Rutgers students- Dan Teichmann and Zach Speigel- who both have had record seasons this fall.  Newcomer and post-collegiate Ken Walsh, seasoned veteran Jeremy Stratton, and GSTC marathon coach Rob DeCarlo all have a legitimate chance to break the GSTC top five and thus help clinch the club's first team title.  The presence of sub-2:30 marathon Ken Goglas would make this one a blowout, but he's still recovering from NYC and his status is undecided as of today.

 

More race info can be found here: http://www.usatfnj.org/ldr/2011_USATF-NJ_10_Mile.pdf   

(12/5-12/11): Teichmann PRs in DC; DeCarlos Race in Vegas; Road Relays II Announced

Teichmann 4th at Hot Chocolate 15k

Washington DC- The GSTC has around thirty Rutgers students who are members.  Some are sprinters, some are distance runners; some come every day to run with the group... others come once a week.  That said, Dan Teichmann (attached, racing NJ-USATF 8k xc race last month) , the RU-GSTC men's team captain, is having a career best season- thanks to his consistent training and ability to balance both his academics (he's pre-business) and his running.  A tall order for a college student, but alas- Mr. Teichmann is proving anything is possible.

In a final tune-up for next weekend's NJ-USATF 10 Mile Championship, Dan placed 4th out of- get this- 10,150 runners, finishing in 53:14.  Rolling through the 10k at 35:55, he averaged an impressive 5:43 a mile for 9.3 miles!  This performance makes him now a favorite for a top ten finish at next week's final NJ-USATF championship event, as the Gold seek the 2011 NJ-USATF team title- a first for the club.

The DeCarlos Race Vegas Rock-n-Roll Half

Las Vegas- After texting them for some results, I impatiently scoured the Internet for results after not hearing back.  After a closer look, no wonder there has been no word back- the race started at 5:30pm- or 8:30 Jersey time.  Well, as we are eating dinner this evening, GSTC'ers Rob and Meghan DeCarlo are out racing a half in Vegas.  We wish them well....and we hope that they didn't decide to run the Stiletto Dash instead.  We are not making this up: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/las-vegas.

(just got a text: Rob PR'ed for ten mile, and Meghan...went out too hard :(   )

Road Relays II: Find Your Partner ASAP!

New Brunswick- The Garden State Track Club has officially announced the details on the second annual Road Relays.  And, much like last year, it's like the prom all over again, with runners partnering up to take their best shot at enjoying the start of the spring racing season.  For those that don't know, each team runs a 10k total, with each runner racing a 5k that is split up into two 1.55 mile legs.  So Runner A runs 1.55m, hands off to Runner B who runs 1.55 miles...etc.  This is, indeed, one of the East Coast's most unique races...and it's hosted by the GSTC.

This year, there are a few new twists.  First, the number of divisions have been expanded; new ones include sibling, sorority/fraternity, and more master's divisions.  Second, the Greater Philadelphia Track Club (GPTC) has officially accepted our challenge, so much like Central Park TC in November, they will be trekking up to New Brunswick to mix it up with the GSTC.  Bring it on, we say...bring it on.

Rumor has it that legendary Jeff Perrella has teamed up with half miler Tony Harris just a few days ago.  While this means the all-time course record set by GSTC's Mike Obsuth and Hedolis Jaquez is in serious jeopardy, who knows if other teams form to challenge them.  Who will rising GSTC star Cheyenne Ogletree team up with to break the open women's relay record?  Will the records in the Rutgers categories go down with Mel Bandler, Zach Spiegel, Ryan Vance, etc. toeing the line?  Event details below.... 

http://raceforum.com/02/roadrelay.pdf  Props to team artist Mike Dixon for spicing up the event's logo!

Chuckles Loses to Racewalker in Jingle Bell 5k

Metuchen- The heckling has already started, as yours truly lost a jingle bell 5k (in his own hometown, nonetheless) this morning to...a race walker.  Now look, before you hit respond and douse me the Haterade, this guy has qualified for the Olympic Trials in the race walk, and I did move into a new apartment for six heavy-lifting hours the day before.  With any luck, after warming down with him, he may be wearing black and gold soon....so all is not lost.

Brussard, Sylvester Win Sprinter Time Trial

Metuchen- Alan Broussard won the 300m time trial yesterday (35.24), and Andre Sylvester won the 150m (16.84) as the sprint crew made final preparations yesterday for their indoor season opener at Manhattan College's Brother Jasper Invitational.  Upstart Tony Harris, after a breakthrough cross country fall season, will try his hand in the mile for the first time, while his teammates will target the 400, 800, and 4x400 relay.  Matt Sunga, the 2010 Golden West Champion in the long jump (23-8) will also make his debut for the GSTC, as will a host of others.  See the time trial results, along with the 4x400 lineups, below!       

Team Runs This Week

New Brunswick- Monday-Thursday 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center; 4:30 @ RSC.

GSTC Approaches Biggest Weekend in 2011

Why is that?  On Thursday, six runners (Jeff Perrella, Adin Mickle, Chris Heibell, Mike Dixon, Mark Del Monaco, and Mike Anis) board a plane to Seattle for Saturday's Club National Cross Country Championships.  On Saturday, numerous GSTC'ers will hit the roads for the Big Chill 5k at Rutgers, while the sprint crew jam up to NYC for their season opener.  And Sunday, of course, is the Grand Finale 10 Miler, where both men and women will be fielding a full scoring team.  For the men, the stakes are high: if we beat Sneaker Factory, we win the 2011 NJ-USATF team title.  If we don't....they win it.  

This Week in Training

Distance

Our coach, Chris Tafelski, is currently flying home from Oregon after his Westfield Blue Devils placed 22nd at the high school national championships.  He won't arrive home until midnight, so the week's plan will come tomorrow.  What he did say, over text message from the West Coast, was Monday's run should be a recovery one with the regular strides afterward.

Sprints

After an outstanding time trial, we'll put in a solid day of volume on Monday, then come back Wednesday with an alactic session to sharpen for Saturday.  Details on departure time, etc. will be shared at Wednesday's workout.

Monday:  5 x (3x150 @ 800m pace) walk 50m rest; walk lap/set.  Hurdle mobility.

Tuesday: LIFT.  16 x 50m (stride 50m, walk 50m) stride, full warm up and down.

Wednesday 3 x (30, 40, 50, 60) acceleration mechanics.  Open hand offs.

Thursday: light LIFT.  10x100 stride, full warm up and down.

Friday: OFF

Saturday: RACE @ Manhattan College.

Sunday: 5 minutes recovery run; 4x100 stride; 5 minutes recovery run.

Saturday 4x400 Relays (in running order: lead-off to anchor)

A:  Ricardo, Alan, Duval, Mike

B:  Arvid, Tyler, Mark, Tony

C:  Jaris, Christian, Daniel, Andre

D:  Ky, Jason, Norbert, Reggie 

Results: Saturday's 300m/150m Time Trial

35.24/ 19.97   Alan

36.06/ 17.01   Mike

36.39/ 17.18   Ricardo

37.15/ 17.18   Duval

37.18/ 18.01   Tyler

37.22/ 17.25   Mark

37.33/ 17.18   Arvid

37.30/ 17.53   Christian

37.66/ 16.84   Andre

37.76/ 17.77   Wismith

37.92/ 17.85   Jaris

38.28/ 17.47   Gleb

38.00/ 17.14   Daniel

38.59/ 17.97   Tony

38.84/ LJ'ed    Jason

39.16/ 18.83   Reggie     

39.76/ 18.69   Norbert

39.76/ 18.58   Eric

40.38/ 18.26   Ky

40.40/ 20.20   Zak

40.69/18.69    Brian

45.46/ 20.56   Quanisha

45.56/ 21.07   Ataysia

This Weekend's Festivities

Team Run: Sunday, 9:30am @ Westfield Running Company

C'mon out to one of our last Sunday team runs on 2011 (yikes) at the Westfield Running Company (123 Quimby, Westfield).

For those that live near New Brunswick, the team van will leave at 8:50am from 106 Bayard Street (New Brunswick).  Word?  Word!

Sprinter Time Trial: Saturday, 1:00pm @ Metuchen HS

We've been talking about this for weeks, and the time has finally arrived.  Bring your spikes, bring your speed.  Everyone will do a 300m followed by a 150m.  On the line?  4x400 spots for next weekend's season opener at Manhattan College...and trash talking rights, obviously.

Ten Miler, Big Chill 5k on Next Weekend's Horizon

Big stuff next weekend!  If you're runnig the Big Chill 5k, be sure to talk to the team's race captain Mike Obsuth (obsmike92@gmail.com) about being placed on or team for the event.

If you're running the ten miler, contact the men's race captain Ashwin Anantharaman (ashwin_anantharaman@yahoo.com) or women's race captains Claire Tafelski (claire.tafelski@gmail.com) or Cathy Stutzman (stutzone@gmail.com).  

(11/28-12/4): Tremendous Turkey Trotting!

Ashenfelter 8k: Unexpected Heroes as GSTC Sweeps 

Glen Ridge, NJ- The great thing about a great team is that, at any time, unexpected heroes may emerge.

Short on runners for the Ashenfelter 8k on Thanksgiving Day, GSTC newbie Jeremy Stratton responded to last-minute email begging for one more runner to complete the B Team.  While the A Team would surely be a lock for team gold, the B Team needed a complete five-person squad with hopes to displace Sneaker Factory's A Team.  Only problem?  Jeremy, a 51 year old master's runner, hadn't raced a competitive 8k in ages, despite coming off an NYC marathon weeks ago.

Sure enough, the road racing veteran came through, hitting the 8k tape at 29:03- or 5:50 a mile.  Finishing as the B Team's 5th man, this secured the much-needed 1-2 sweep of the top two team places for the GSTC.  While once trailing the Sneaker Factory due to missing earlier Grand Prix races, the Golden have overcome a twenty point deficit, and are now tied with them, 50-50.

Ashwin Anantharaman had a huge PR (25:43) and led the A-Team to a convincing win over the NJ-USATF field.  Just behind him were a-team'ers Tony Harris (26:15), Mike Anis (26:15), Mark Del Monaco (26:25), and Tim Morgan (26:35).  Rollin Deas made his black and gold debut, finishing as the 6th man in 28:16.

Stratton's B Team, finishing second overall out of thirteen scoring teams, also included Mike Dixon (25:22), Chuck Schneekloth (26:37), Pat Lestrange (27:04), and Edsel Flores (28:51).  

Results here:  http://www.compuscore.com/cs2011/novdec/a8k.htm

Heibell Wins "5k"

Flemington- Well, we'll never fully know the story behind this one, but Chris Heibell (see attached) won Thursday's CEA-Johanna Foods 5k Turkey Trot in an impressive 13:55.  While determined to erase teammate Jeff Perrella from the club record books, running a race 1:00 short of 5k isn't the best way to do it!  Sadly, it sounds like a volunteer guided the runners the wrong way, past a small loop in the course, resulting in the swift times.  Either way, congrats to Heibell for reppin' the gold with a gold medal...regardless of how long the race really was.

http://www.compuscore.com/cs2011/novdec/flemturk.htm

  

Morgan Finds Redemption

We stress never over-racing here at the GSTC, but Timmy Morgan went rogue Saturday.  Two days after the Ashenfelter 8k, he raced and won the Westfield Five Mile Turkey Trot.  We understand you wanted redemption after a certain very elderly teammate nearly beat you Thursday, so we'll give you a free pass.  Congrats, Tim, on being Top Turkey in Westfield!  

http://www.bestrace.com/results/11/111126WF5.HTM

Tafelski's WHS Punches Ticket to Oregon

Westfield- Congrats to GSTC Head Distance Coach Chris Tafelski.  After leading his Blue Devils to their third straight Group IV State XC Championship two weeks ago, Nike notified him TODAY that they were selected to compete in the Nike Cross Country National Championships.  As a qualifying team, Nike is paying for all expenses for seven runners and two coaches from Westfield HS to participate in the USA's most prestigious cross country high school event in Portland, Oregon!

10 Miler: The Clincher

New Brunswick, NJ- The NJ-USATF Open Men's Team Championship will come down to this final event, the ten miler, to determine the 2011 team champion.  After the GSTC finished 1st and the Sneaker Factory finished 5th in Thursday's Ashenfelter 8k, the team scores are now locked up at a dead-even 50 points to 50 points, with RVRR in third with 46 points.  Whoever wins the ten miler wins the team title....that simple.

Both the GSTC men and women will field teams in hope to sweep both the open men and open women team titles on December 11th.

Team Runs This Week

Monday-Thursday 5:30 @ RSC; Friday 4:30 @ RSC.  Sunday long run @ Westfield Running Company @ 9:30am.

This Week in Training

Distance

We'll have a few more workouts in these next two weeks, but the key is to top off the tank in terms of rest and nutrition. Be ready to roll!

 

Monday: Comfortable run + 8x80m strides.

 

Tuesday: if you're running the club nats 10k, go 10x800 at goal pace with 2 mins recovery.  If you're running the 10M, 5x mile at 10k pace +10 seconds.  Take recovery based on heart rate – when you get back down to 130-140, you're good to go.

 

Wednesday: Progression run.  Start out comfortable and drop it down to T pace with 15 minutes to go, then get down to 5k pace for the last 2-3 minutes. 

 

Thursday: Super easy 40-50 mins + strides

 

Friday: Tempo run – if you're running the club nats 10k, go 5 miles at 10k pace +15 seconds.  If you're going the 10M, go 6 miles at 10M goal pace.  Finish off by floating 4x200at mile pace.

 

Saturday – Comfortable run + 8x80m strides.

 

Sunday – 75-90 mins long run. 

Sprinters

Monday     5:45 @ MHS.  3 x (3x200) @ 45sec rest   (extensive tempo after saturday's alactic session)

Tuesday     recovery strides (10x100) + lift

Wednesday  5:45 @ MHS. 3 x (2x100) @ 30sec rest  (special endurance II: race prep)

Thursday     recovery strides (8x150) + lift

Friday        OFF

Saturday   1:00 @ MHS 300m & 150m Time Trial

Sunday      recovery strides 12x50 + lift