A flurry of end-of the-year action

Wow, I thought that the end of the year would kind of fade out, and I would be writing some vague, philosophical essay about the meaning of it all, but instead, a bunch of people ran really fast yesterday and suddenly there's a lot to talk about.

Do the Brockton runners read my blog? A couple of days after wondering where the hell all their distance runners went, they all appeared to run at the Tri-County league meet Dec. 30th. Mass. Div I XC runner-up Kevin Gill ran 4:31 in the mile, to win his section easily, and Jose DePina ran ran 10:05 in the deuce to garner another easy win. And Brockton produced another talent, Michael Honsa, who wasn't on the radar during XC, but laid down a 10:09 for second place. I guess reports of Brockton's demise were a bit premature. (They still don't have any sprinters, though; what's with that?)

Meanwhile, at the same meet, Mark Amirault was reminding us that he is the best 2-miler in the state right now. After loafing through a 4:34 mile (letting his teammate Alec Bleday win), Amirault cruised a 9:34 two-miler to beat Catholic Memorial's Matt Dewey by three seconds. Will Amirault opt for the 2-mile at the state meet to avoid a showdown with Polgar? It also looks like Xaverian has the horses for a very good 4x800 relay with Amirault, Bleday, Dan Higgins, and Andrew MacIsaac (2:45 to win the 1000 yesterday).

The other big news yesterday came from the Brown Univ. Christmas Relays, where Dennis Yarmouth junior Colleen Wetherbee ran 4:57.61, finishing a few seconds back of one Footlocker finalist (Lindsay Ferguson) and seven seconds ahead of another Footlocker finalist (Hanna Davidson). There hasn't been much news among the state's top girl middle distance runners, but that time on Brown's flat track is very impressive. Dennis Yarmouth also ran a 4x800 team that finished 6th in the championship race in 10:08.22. But another Mass. team, Bishop Feehan, ran even faster, recording 10:06.83 for 5th place.

In the same meet on the boys' side, Lexington's Willi Ballenthin (2005 MA State Indoor runner-up in the 1000) ran 4:23.36 to squeeze into second, only 0.03 behind Saratoga Springs' Greg Kelsey and just ahead of Stephen Murdock. By my count, four Mass. runners have run the 1M under 4:30 so far this season. They are:

Dave Polgar (Newton North)       4:17.83
  Polgar                         4:22.62
Willi Ballenthin (Lexington)     4:23.36
Sam Horn (Reading)               4:27.70
Matt Dewey (Catholic Memorial)   4:29.29

Add Amirault and Gill to that mix, and it looks like a pretty good year for milers. Of course, we don't know who is going to run what at the big meets.

In the fine print of the results, Methuen recorded an excellent time in the Distance Medley relay, clocking 10:39. That means they have some outstanding distance talent, but haven't had a chance to show it in individual events yet.

A last note: As I write this it is 12:55 p.m., and over at BU, Noah Jampol is getting ready to break 2:00 for the 800 for the first time. Good luck, Noah!!

And Happy 2006, everyone!

Should you run when you're sick?

As I recover from a cold (and hope it doesn't lead to a sinus infection), it seems appropriate to consider this age-old question: when the body is fighting off illness, should the athlete keep training? Should he or she train differently? If rest is required, how much rest?

I truly wish there were simple answers to these questions, but in my own experience I haven't found anything simple about the experience of training and racing when sick. Let's say that there are two extreme positions: "old school" and "new school." The old school approach is to consider illness to be one more form of weakness that can be overcome by effort. An old school athlete runs when sick, and eventually gets better and is stronger for the experience ("what doesn't kill me makes me stronger"). The new school approach is to consider illness as a warning sign that the body needs healing before it can resume training. The new school athlete takes two days off, gets better, and gradually works up to hard training again. ("What doesn't kill me still leaves me in a weakened, compromised state that inhibits progressive adaptation and improvement.") So which school is better?

I have taken both approaches in my own running career, and have dispensed both "old school" and "new school" advice to athletes I have coached. The results are inconclusive. Worse than that, the results are contradictory. I once ran a brilliant half-marathon while suffering from the early stages of a cold, and recovered surprisingly quickly. I once ran a 10K race with a cold and developed a frightening case of bronchitis that kept me out of action for nearly a month. I have done track workouts while sick that seemed to hasten my cure, and I have done track workouts when sick that seemed to bring on far worse bouts of illness than what would have been expected. I have skipped track workouts when sick in the hope that I would recover faster, and then have failed to recover faster. It has been, as they say, a mixed bag.

One reason to train through illness is that NOT training doesn't always make you feel better. I mean psychologically as well as physically. One reason to AVOID training through an illness is that hard training has been shown to temporarily weaken the immune system, not a good thing when you are harboring nasty germs.

If I had to summarize the moderate approach, I would say that one should fore-go HARD training while sick, but not necessarily take complete reset. I'd also say avoid all racing when sick unless it is a really important race, for example one you have trained for all season. Thus, if you have a cold or a sore throat or a headache, run easy. Easy running means making it completely aerobic - nothing that involves really hard breathing or placing your body in extreme duress. I think there's little risk that such moderate exercise will lengthen the duration of a common cold. On the other hand, don't do that killer 4 x 1M workout that you had planned. Don't go out for a 15 mile long run in sub-freezing temperature. In other words, don't extend yourself. When you're sick, you're more likely to break.

I haven't even mentioned one of the other factors that comes into play: hypochondria. It turns out that many runners are hypochondriacs. When under mental stress, such as when approaching an important workout or race, they experience symptoms of illness without the actual illness. Far from being crazy, these athletes are actually rather typical. One of the important reasons to not automatically shut it down when you are feeling the early signs of a cold, is to counter this natural tendency to "worry yourself sick." Hypochondria, like other forms of self-doubt, needs to be understood and confronted to be overcome.

Finally, there is the rare malady of the athlete who refuses to take time off, even when continuing to train is obviously counter-productive, if not dangerous. If hypochondria is the result of one kind of insecurity, its opposite is the result of another kind of insecurity: the fear that taking any time off at all is an unacceptable form of weakness. This is where a coach can be very helpful in setting limits that an athlete might not want to set for himself or herself.

So, to conclude, should you run when you're sick?

What, do I look like a doctor?

Home for the Holidays

Is there life for runners after high school? Yeah, sure there is... but it doesn't always resemble the frenetic, highly-charged, week-to-week existence of the Newton North track and field athlete. It's never more evident than during winter vacation when so many Newton North alumni are home visiting friends and families. Let's catch up with a few of them to find out how their running careers have moved on since their days at North.

It was quite a sight on Tuesday afternoon to see Chris Barnicle and Dan King doing 200s together at Reggie, weaving around crowds of oblivious 15- and 16-year-olds. As readers of this blog know, Chris is running XC and track at Arkansas. He says he'll be racing the mile on January 13th at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville. No word on whether he and his mates might run a distance medley team at the Boston Indoor Games. Dan, a former state champ in the 200 meters, is now a junior at Duke, where he concentrates on the 400. On December 24, he ran 48.7 at the BU mini-meet to win against another former Mass. HS star, Mansfield's Terry Young.

Also working out at Reggie were former teammates and all-scholastics Liz Fulton and Simone Weisman. Liz attends Yale and is running indoor track, but admits freely that school is more important to her right now than track. Simone is attending Middlebury, where she has become good friends with former Wellesley standout Alexandra Krieg.

With my duaghter Joni home for a few weeks, I have had a chance to catch up with several of her friends from the Newton North class of 2002. Sam Ronfard, one of the captains of the undefeated 2001 XC team, is about to start his final semester at Tufts, and plans to spend at least a year teaching in the New York City Public School system after he graduates. Sam also ran the Paris Marathon last Fall with his dad, and has dreams of runnning in Boston in 2007. Two other members of that 2001 team, Ben Heidlage and Gerrit Albertson are also visiting this week. Ben is finishing up his senior year at Pomona and is in the process of applying to law schools. Gerrit is attending Vassar and is working in his senior thesis in Art History. Neither of them has admitted to doing any running lately.

Azuree Catledge, now a freshman at Howard University, was at Reggie last week doing a workout. I didn't have a chance to talk to her, so I'm not sure what event -- long jump, triple, hurdles, sprints -- she will be focusing on this winter.

Newton North assistant coach Shawn Wallace, an accomplished middle-distance ace at BC, made his return to competition after a couple of years off, running a 4:31 mile at the BU Mini-meet. Wallace, a former sub 4:10 miler, won his heat by almost 80 meters. Watch out Dave Polgar!

Where have you gone, Jose DePina?

Brockton Boys won the 2005 Div I Mass XC championships, and then they... disappeared.

Well, not exactly. I notice from the results of the latest Tri-County Indoor Track meet that super soph Carlos Montrond ran a 4:54 mile, and another soph, James DuBeau ran a very nice 4:44 in the same race. But where are all the other stars from that Brockton team? Where are Jose DePina, Kevin Gill, and Geovanni Timberlake? How can it be that Brockton -- a school of 5000 students -- doesn't have anyone breaking 3:00 in the 1000, or 10:40 in the 2-Mile?

It is a mystery where these Brockton distance runners go in the winter. Maybe they don't really consider indoor track to be a sport, but rather a training period that is preparation for greater glory in outdoor track. Maybe they take the long-term view, and start out very slowly while other teams are cramming in speedwork. Or maybe the seniors simply step aside and let the sophomores take over. (Brockton's top finisher in the 2-Mile is also a sophomore).

I would much rather think that Brockton's relative weakness in the early season meet results is evidence of some master plan, than think that their outstanding distance runners are hurt, burned out, or disaffected in some way. After all, last year Jose DePina (5th in the 2004 State XC meet) took the indoor season off completely, and then returned to run second to Chris Barnicle in the outdoor state 2M. Brockton's Kevin Gill started slow, but finished 6th in the 2004 Indoor 1M (as a sophomore!) and ran well in outdoor track. So maybe they're just playing possum.

Nevertheless, Brockton dual meet indoor track record stands at 0-2 after losses to Xaverian and BC High. Can you imagine if Newton North Girls or Boys had an 0-2 record? I'm not sure that's ever happened, at least not in the long tenure of the current coaches.

So if Brockton runners aren't putting up big times, who is?

Xaverian's Mark Amirault recorded a 2:35 1000 to take the State lead in that event. He'll almost certainly move up to the 1M or 2M for the State meet. We haven't heard from the Lexington boys yet, but Willi Ballenthin is one of the favorities for the State 1M title. Matt Dewey, a junior from Catholic Memorial ran a 4:29 mile on Tuesday, the fastest non-Polgar time this winter so far. After a rich year for 600 runners last year, no one that I know of has run faster than 1:27 this year so far, leaving that event wide open.

I keep telling myself, it's early. It's very early.

The last week of December is Indoor Track's last week of summer...

After several weeks of holiday-related stress and endless social commitments that culminated in my participating in a family tradition of sharing with my kids a truly nasty Christmas cold, I found myself limping (figuratively) toward the end of the year trying to keep some momentum in my training.

It's a tough week, this last week of December, with its vacation hours, its travel, and its family commitments. It's tough also because of the temptation to take it easy, to feel the need to take it easy (perhaps to recover from the holiday, or the days that preceded it?). I feel sympathy with the kids who come in at 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning every day during vacation.

The last week of December is like the last week of summer vacation before cross-country. This one week of training doesn't guarantee anything -- not records, not championships. But on the other extreme, the failure to continue training during this week can derail an entire indoor season. Not everyone trains during this time. Families travel. Schedules are turned upside down. Some people just feel the need to enjoy themselves without the added stress of running. It's a time when you really notice the difference between the athletes who want to train and those who view it as necessary, but not enjoyable.

I admit, I find training easier than being with my relatives. Both activities are stressful, but training makes me stronger and more confident, whereas family dinners with my in-laws leave me a broken man. But I digress.

Training is about making steady progress over time. Therefore, training tends to be most effective when it becomes routine, even boring. When training, an athlete wants to be free of distractions and able to direct energy into the sport. In other words, Christmas is a particulary difficult time to be training. Furthermore, to the outside world -- to friends and family, to holiday visitors -- training looks like an anti-social behavior completely at odds with the spirit of the season.

I woke up Christmas morning and I went for a run. It was just barely light and the eternal dull roar of the Mass Pike was reduced to an occasional distant rush of a single car on an obscure errand. I didn't feel great -- my head ached and my sinuses were bothering me -- but the run wasn't really bad at all. I had a chance to be alone with my thoughts, to have a little personal time before the onslaught. The next day, Monday, it was back to practice.

I was surprised at how few kids were there, but then I remembered how many of them were out of town visiting relatives during their week off from school. I also noted that others besides myself had caught colds ...or worse... and wouldn't be doing much. Outside, a light but persistent rain fell. It was just another day. Just the way I like it.

Dave Polgar - 4:17.83

When David Polgar ran 4:17.83 at the BU meet, there was a small but significant shifting of the the universe of Mass. high school running. Breaking 4:20 for the first time is always a big deal, but Polgar's run was about more than besting a numerical barrier. With that time, run early in the season off limited speedwork, Polgar staked his claim as the favorite to repeat as Mass. State indoor mile champion, achieved national attention as he tries to earn a berth in the Millrose Games HS mile, and probably achieved his goal of increasing the value of college scholarships he might be offered.

Of course, David Polgar is already a legend at Newton North for his talent as a runner, his prodigious appetite for junk food, his dreadlocks, his competitive fire, his generous personality, his leadership abilities... oh, and did I mention the dreadlocks? On any other stage, David Polgar would long ago have been the star attraction, but for three years he has run in the shadow of Chris Barnicle, and so this larger-than-life figure has, amazingly, remained somewhat unpublicized. But no more.

Polgar's national reputation actually began with his 3:05 1200 meter leg at the Penn Relay's last year. That was a revelation to those who thought that Newton North was "Barnicle plus three other guys." Now Polgar has an early mark in the mile that should put him in the top 5 in the US. The question is, can he bring that time down, and by how much?

Last year, 25 HS runners ran 4:17 or better indoors, but only 14 ran 4:16 or better. Improving by even a couple of seconds would be huge. It looks like Polgar will have his chances. Rumor has it he is planning to run in the Hispanic Games at the NY Armory on January 7th. Should he win that race, Polgar would earn an automatic entry into the Millrose Games HS mile, and a chance to run in Madison Square Garden. Of course, Barnicle won the Millrose HS mile last year.

Is it possible for Polgar to eclipse Barnicle's lifetime 1M best of 4:11.93? Although it's only six seconds, it looms as a large gap for Polgar to close. After all, Barnicle ran that time as a junior and never broke it as a senior. Barnicle also ran 4:16.58 as a sophomore (losing to Victor Gras in the State Indoor championships). It might not seem like much to improve six seconds with a whole season in front of you, but it is a formidable task. For now, Polgar is focused on training hard, staying healthy, and taking his shots. It's working out well for him so far, and it's nice to see him finally getting the recognition he deserves.

Winterfest

Some great performances for Newton North athletes at Winterfest. It's too bad the meet wasn't well attended by large schools (Brockton, Lexington, Xaverian, etc.). On the other hand, it was nice to see some of the Central Mass. schools like Wachusett, Algonquin, Shephard Hill, etc.

On the girl's side, Julie Blanchard won the 300 in 43.49, only a few tenths of her PR, and looking closer to her old self. That's good news for the Tigers because Julie is a potential state meet scorer in the 300, and also is a key on their 4x200 relay team, which finished 2nd today by only 0.02 out of the unseeded heat.

Kat Chiong also looked impressive, running 1:40.49 to win the 600, a much better performance than her opening 1:46 at the Brookline meet on Thursday. Lily Brown challenged for the lead at one point, but settled for 3rd in a PR 1:44.52.

The girls distance crew took the day off, but the boys distance runners were out in force, trying for the elusive "distance sweep" of the 1000, 1M, and 2M. David Polgar won the mile leading the whole way, running 400m splits of 64-66-66-66 for 4:22, about 5 seconds ahead of Reading's Sam Horn. Doug Brecher won the 2M in 9:59.9 and he also led the entire way. Noah Jampol made a great attempt to win the 100, but settled for 2nd in a PR 2:38.76.

In the 4x800 relay, the quartet of Peter Sun (2:09), Seb Putzys (2:10), Jampol (2:06), and Polgar (1:58), won fairly easily over St. John's Prep.

Once again the NN sprinter -- girls and boys -- showed great depth. Gordon Forbes, Caelin Robinson, and Khlale Pritchard finished 3rd, 4th, and 7th in the 55M dash finals, with Forbes running a 6.80 PR. In the 55 hurdles, Brendan Rooney had only the 7th best qualifying time, but ran brilliantly in the final to take 2nd in a PR 8.39. For the girls, Leah Weisman and Morgan Faer placed 4th and 6th in the 55M hurdle finals.

In the field events, David Smith won the shot put, breaking 50' for the first time this year (50' 1.75") and Nick van Niel placed 3rd in the Long jump at 19' 1.25".

Next up for the Tigers is Weymouth on Thursday. It should be the girls' toughest dual meet of the year.

Meet Recap: NNHS v. Brookline

The first indoor track meet of the year in the BSC is always an energetic swirl of competition and near-chaos. The cross-country kids haven't seen each other for a few weeks, and fraternize, while the football and soccer players try to remember how to run or jump without someone trying to haul them down or dispossess them of a ball.

The races are a lot of fun, even if they don't tell you too much. What I mean is that a lot of people don't run particularly fast their first time out, especially in the distance events, so it's hard to predict where everyone will be in 10 weeks. I have seen plenty of milers improve 15-20 seconds from their first race to their last indoor meet. I've seen plenty of two-milers improve by almost a minute.

A lot of kids run the first lap of their first race as though there were bonuses for leading at 200m, 400m, etc. That's ok, they'll learn to pace a little bit better, and it certainly shows desire and heart to go out really fast and then die a horrible, painful death in the later laps.

The Newton North girls are once again foridable. Their 76-5 win over Brookline last night was the most lopsided of all the meets, and it would have been an even greater margin had the teams decided to contest the 4x400 relay, which North certainly would have won. There is hardly an event in which North isn't favored. Yesterday, Haleigh Smith (1M) and Jess Barton (1000) recorded league bests in their events, while Kat Chiong (600), Lily Brown (300), Alex Blenis (HJ), and Morgan Faer (SP) recorded the second best mark in the league in theirs. Next week's meet against Weymouth will be a test, but it will be a test that the Tigers should handle fairly easily.

Performance of the day for the girls? Maybe Barton's 3:12 in the 1000, or Brown's 44.40 in the 300. Or Leah Weisman's 8.02 in the 55. There were also impressive performances from freshman, including Nora Barnicles 5:54 to take third in the 1M, Carolyn Ranti's 13:03 to win the 2M, and Michelle Kaufman's 8.04 to take 2nd in the 55.

The boys have undergone a transformation over the past two seasons from a team with tremendous depth in the distance events, to a team with depth in sprinting and hurdling - and shot putting - North always seems to have good shot putters. Of course having David Polgar (1M), Noah Jampol (1000), and Doug Brecher (2M) will earn them wins against most teams in the distances, it doesn't appear that they'll sweep many meets in those events. The Tigers DID sweep the 55 dash (Caelin Robinson, Gordon Forbes, and Anthony Ambrosi) with three of the top four times in the league, and they DID sweep the shot put (David Smith, Marvin Chan, Anthony Ambrosi). Those two sweeps, along with a league-best win in the 4x400 created a comfortable margin over rival Brookline.

Performance of the day for the boys? Polgar and Jampol won quite easily, but weren't really pressed. David Smith threw 49 feet, which puts him on top of the league -- for now. I 'd have to say it was Caelin Robinson's blistering 6.81 in the 55, followed by his opening leg on the winning 4x4 relay. Most impressive newcomer? Perhaps it would be Jared Plotkin, who ran 1:30 in the 600.

Next up: Winterfest on Sunday, Dec. 18.