Treadmill Shuffle

Time: ~10 minutes
Distance: ~1 mile

I didn't get to recap much of the USATF Club XC meet in my Thunder Road Marathon entry and I won't really do so here. But, I can say that the ladies of CRC held their own against some firmly established club teams like the NYAC, BAA, and Atlanta Track Club. It was a great day for cross-country out at McAlpine and taking in the action was awesome. The men's race saw Dave Nightingale place 3rd overall and Queens' runner Mike Crouch one spot back in 4th. I struggled to get from the mile mark, to the base of the hill, to the backside of the hill on tired legs. At times I was so wrapped up in the running that I forgot about the stiffness in my quads.

The post-race awards banquet for the club race was at Whisky River (why is this place purposely misspelled?). I was in attendance with friends and got to mingle with some other buddies that I had completely forgotten to look out for in the race. It was good catching up with now Hansons-Brooks' runner Zac Hine (formerly of Cornell and was in Japan with me), Sam Luff now of the Georgetown Running Company (also went to Japan this year), Dave Burnham also of the Georgetown Running Company (attended Dartmouth but was on my recruiting trip to Brown when we were both seniors in high school), Lucas Meyer of the Boston Athletic Association (formerly of Yale and went to Japan two years ago) and of course Dave Nightingale who now runs for New Balance. The usual local suspects were in attendance including Caitlin, Meagan, Tanya, Mike and Sarah Porter (new local), Pezz, Paul, Compton, Thomas, Jenna and several more. I also met Ruth who helped Caitlin out at Twin Cities Marathon and her friend Addie Bracy. Lets also not forget Scott Simmons and Camille Herron (I know her from Oklahoma) who just won the Dallas White Rock Marathon.

Why all the name dropping? Well, with all the friends around things got a little out of hand. It was a fun time despite being in a terrible establishment. There is a definite reason as to why I don't patron the Epicenter. I was more surprised to see that people were paying the cover to actually attend a place like Whisky Dick. The whole night left me a world of hurt the next morning. I woke up feeling fine, just a little dehydrated. I didn't get to eat much of a dinner which was ultimately my downfall. I spent about an hour sitting in front of the tv drinking Nuun when things took a turn for the worse. I ended up driving the big white bus a couple of times before grabbing another hour of sleep. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal as I didn't have to run much today, but I did have to board a plane later in the afternoon.

I got my act together with enough time to shower, pack and get to the airport. I was destined for Philly where I would meet up with my boss and our rep from Chicago. We were all going to the GORE Running Wear and GORE Bike Wear sales meeting in Newark, Delaware. Delaware!? That's right the first state of the union. The night included a bite to eat at Geno's Steaks and a drop at the hotel. I got thoughts in my head that it would be good for me to shake out the legs on the treadmill and that's exactly what I did. While my boss was going to bed and the Canadian reps mingled by the fireplace, I hopped on the treadmill for an incredibly slow jog where I covered a mile in just over 10 minutes. By the end of it I was feeling a little less stiff and was able to stretch my tight calves.

Everybody loves a good cheesesteak.