You Sly Devil You....

regional 1600 picture

This might be one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen.

3 Rivers 12K 2006

Here is the group we had out at the 12K....Casey wasn't there for the group picture but we somehow fit him in there.

Mans Best Friend

Hello all. This is the first time that I've posted on this blog, even though Casey told me a very long time ago to start posting. Outside of running, I'm pretty lazy. Anyway, I finally felt the need to post on here for a few reasons. First off, thanks Mitch for the ridiculous picture of me that you posted. I really appreciate that. Next, I want to give a much deserved congratulations to Eric and Casey. They both had huge races down at the Mini yesterday. I was at the race cheering the guys on (and helping Eric and another friend with some pacing during some tough stretches of the race). Watching them up there cranking it with some studs made me very proud to be a member of the ETG, as well as a friend of these two guys. Again, well done.

The Mini wasn't the only good race in town yesterday though. The Butler Twilight went down last night at IUPUI, and IPFW turned in some nice results. I want to express how proud I am of the job that the IPFW men did last night in the 5k. Brandon Reichert ran a gutsy race in his final collegiate meet and came away with a solid season's best in 15:55. Wes Kuhn also raced very well and fought to a PR of 16:35. Garret Bradtmueller also raced, and though he wasn't able to match his effort from last week's meet, he ran with some heart (like he always does), and I'll never fault anyone for that. I have thoroughly enjoyed coaching these guys this season, and I look forward to coming back next fall for some more fun.

Finally, I want to say how excited I am about the upcoming summer. For the first time in a long time the ETG will be training together at full speed. Everyone is healthy and looking for some big miles. I have been clicking off some solid miles lately and am feeling like my old self again after a rather disappointing winter. I'm really looking forward to making my racing comeback here in the next few weeks (it's been WAY too long), and I'm hoping to step it up a notch this summer. The ETG will be a big part of that. Here's to a big summer.

Wonder Boy

Eric and the 15k

Eric recently travelled down south in his quest for the Indy Mini to run the 15k portion of the racing series. He finished second overall with a time of 50:11, right behind former Bulter University star (and sub-14 5k guru), Thomas Frazer. The pace went out fast rolling 5:19's through the start of a semi-wet course from the nights rain before. Former Taylor University star Gabrielle Rop was also in the race, but unfortunately his shoe laces came untied around the mile mark and he was forced to slow to tie them, thus throwing him off pace. Eric paced a 32:06 on the six mile mark and crossed the 10k in 32:48, making him wonder the accuracy of the course mile marks. In the end his side cramped slightly and Frazer took full advantage leaving him ninteen seconds back, but a full fifty seconds ahead of his teamate Olly Laws (another Butler stud). No t-shirts were given, but a hefty seventeen dollars was shelled out to the race organizers. Good thing Panera bagels where at the finish for him.

VTG: Back on Track

The workout for this coming Monday will be back at North Side at 5:30. It's once again time to hit the oval. Many of our runners are recoverying from races, once again congrats to all the Boston runners, or gearing up for the mini. Since we are two weeks out, I thought it was time to break back into the half marathon training mode with a 8 x 800 workout. However, instead of active recovery (which I am a huge fan) we will be doing full rest. The rest should be around three minutes between each set. The 800's will start at goal pace plus ten seconds, decreasing ten seconds per mile for each set of two. If your goal is 8:00 per mile then your first two will be in 4:05, the next two will be in 4:00, the next two in 3:55 and the final one in 3:50. We will follow up the workout with an easy two mile cool down. If your coming out for the first time, I may limit you to six sets depending on your fitness level and goals. Once again great job to the Boston Crew and I hope to see you all out this coming Monday.

Also, I am still looking for someone who would want to lead a Tuesday night group doing the same workouts. If you know anyone interested please get in contact with me so I can give more people options on the VTG workouts.