It's pretty likely that tomorrow you will eat more calories than you will burn. If your feeling ambitious, you're going to bundle up and head over to Hammo or Manchester for the Turkey Trot to try to put a dent into those extra calories. At least one of us at the race will be warm. The lucky guy that gets to wear the turkey costume will oh so toasty. It's a festive time of the year and we should all be thankful for many things. I could go through a long list of what I am thankful for, but many of you already know my mind. Giving thanks is not quite the same as being thankful. Giving thanks requires effort while the idea of being thankful suggest a state of mind. Instead of just being thankful, we need to act thankfully. To do this requires far more energy and more effort. How do we actively thank? It's pretty easy to do and it can change the entire mood of a place. So, take those excess calories and put them to proper use. If someone has made you a wonderful meal, roll up your sleeves and get scrubbing. When you cross the finish line, find the race director and thank him or her and then ask if you can do anything to help. If your mother drove you to the race, act thankful by doing something that will make her day easier or happier (like emptying the dishwasher). Do something... anything that shows you appreciate someone else's efforts by reciprocating with your own thoughtful actions. Thankful actions, both large and small make make everyday into Thanks-Giving.
We're all a bit guilty sometimes for taking our fortunate lives for granted in The United States. Think of this during your Veterans Day run today:
Photo by TODAY My husband Chris should be reaching his 100 marathon in the next few years. In his many years of marathoning, he has always said that he would be content if his drew his last breaths as a 96 year old while running what I am guessing would be his 250th marathon. He would be doing what he loves and knows best. While perhaps it may be a bit morbid in thought, it's not an unreasonable thought coming from him. On Monday, a news story broke about Joy Johnson and avid marathoner who at 86, decided to go lay down for a nap a day after the New York Marathon and passed away. She had spent the morning with her sister in New York visiting NBC news and having a nice chat with esteemed weatherman Al Roker. She had completed her 25th NYC Marathon just hours before in just under eight hours. Her daughter, Diana Boydston, told USA TODAY, "“I think she would be happy with this chain of events: to run her beloved New York Marathon, talk to her buddy Al, be there with her sister Faith. She told everyone she loved them before the race, and she was at peace.” So there you have it. Do what you love doing today and every day! Your passion may be running, knitting, photography, writing or dancing. The moral of the the story here is to seek out your passion and have no regrets. Wishing you godspeed Joy Johnson for a life well run.
See the article about Joy Johnson on TODAY here. Much like Star Wars...Strava Wars can foster an interesting relationship between a
father and son. My daughter and I came in from a run today and plopped down next to my husband who was watching the first finishers of the New York Marathon cross the line. While she was stretching (coaches be proud), Kate said, "Where's Peter, he's been out running forever?" After 10 more minutes, I looked out the window and saw Pete running up the hill. As he walked into the living room I asked, "Did you run to China?" He told me he was busy playing Strava. My eyes widened as I looked down at his iphone screen which said he ran 10.2 miles. Not sure whether to blurt out, "good job or you're just crazy", I just said "wow!", and then we all went back to watching the Kenyan kick everyone's heiny on the tv screen. My husband watched the top runners cross one by one over the line and I could see that squirley look in my spouses eyes, the same look he gets while watching the tour De France. It's the look of, "If I don't get out there and start riding (or running in today's case), I'll just about explode here in the living room." Peter then showed his dad his Strava route and the two of them pointed and conferred like they were Eisenhower and his cabinet plotting in the war room. Peter gulped down a glass of water and shook his fist at his father as he left the room and said, "Don't you dare run more than me today." The Strava game was on! As it turns out, my son has turned his real running life into a virtual video game. I guess he's no different from his dad, who's been doing this for years. Chris started logging his workouts onto Garmin Connect in 2006 and logged over 80,000 miles into that system(and I'm not talking about car mileage here). Now less than two years into Strava world, he has 15,000 miles logged there as well. Call it crazy, but there is great truth that comes in Strava numbers. While I may roll my eyes at the competitive Strava games my boys play with each other, I am pretty sure there is some validity to the results it fosters. There is no better tool (perhaps other than monitoring your heart-rate in training) to tell you how your training is going. The system gives you your splits, distances, courses, and times of you vs other Strava users on segmented courses. I swear the damn thing will even tell you how many snot rockets you can launch during your run! Anyway, my husband came home and ran 3/10 of a mile longer than my kid. Chris smiled as I shot him a look of disdain. Apparently, there is no mercy in Strava wars, even if your kid just turned 12 a couple of days ago. Chris remarked, "A real man never lets another man take his "KOM" without a fight( what's KOM?King of the mountain…see Strava.com) But I believe the revenge will be sweet when Peter turns 15 and the old man gets clocked by his kid's faster turnover. They often jokingly say to each other, "I'll crush your dreams" as they head out for their runs, but to be honest I think they are doing quite the opposite. They are somehow figuring out a way to come together. They have a father son relationship like few others and if Strava helps keep these boys together, this is one video game, I'll let them keep playing. By: CRHS Head Boys Coach-Dave Bellemere What you need to know... A while back, Susan Michaels, a teacher at CRHS helped create a group called the Coginchaug Track Supporters. This group was aimed at creating a track at the high school that could be a common ground for exercise for the residents of all ages and abilities in our community. Proudly, due to the efforts of this group and support from the community, Durham is now home to a world class track and field! Now the group is looking to aim its efforts at creating a closer running community that will not only take benefit from the wonderful new facility but also from their fellow runners. Running is a life long sport. There are many accomplishments and milestones that happen at different ages. While in the past, the efforts of this group has often benefited our high school running teams, it is clear that the more we support each other, the better all of our teams and individuals will perform. Were looking for members to support our initiatives. Here are some things on our to do list: To give proper recognition to the efforts of our runners for their accomplishments in their own wellness and for achieving milestones. To promote running as an important tool to a healthier and happy community. To get active running members of our community to join to make new friends and acquaintances. To create community wide running opportunities for all ages. To earn funds to supply track and field based equipment to maintain quality running teams. To have parents of children that run, including those from Go Far, Memorial, Strong and CRHS, to work together to empower our community of young athletes. To support and nurture the success of individual runners and championship teams. meeting on Tuesday November 5 at 6:30pm in the Durham Library.Submitted by Coach Dave Bellemere
Fifteen boys and their rookie Cross Country coach just closed out a season that was filled with fun, hard work, and results that covered the spectrum. As school started and our season got underway it was quickly evident that we would need to set realistic goals as to what we could accomplish. This was a young team and the majority of the returning runners were not able to log many miles over the summer. The exception was Christian Alberico who logged over 300 miles and attended the Green Mountain Running Camp. Captain Matt Fontaine worked hard to marshal the boys into summer work outs, but attendance was not stellar. I asked the boys to make steady improvement their main team goal and they did not disappoint me. Each race found individual runners progressing and lowering their 5K times. The gap between our #1 runner Christian and our following runners got smaller with each meet. I could not be more pleased with their effort. In the end the season was a Tale of Two Teams: Story 1 was that of complete dominance over the competition by Christian Alberico as he won 7 major meets and finished second in the prestigious Wickham Invitational. Story 2 was how hard the rest of the team worked to improve. This was a very diverse group of young men. Each athlete brought a unique perspective to the team, yet the mutual respect they had for each other was evident. They were a real pleasure to coach. Whatever I asked them to do they did without complaint. The boys have been discussing their plans and objectives for next season. Based on what I have heard I will predict that their competition will take notice of them. The fifteen athletes that have successfully completed the 2013 Cross Country season are Matt Fontaine, Ryan Gossart, Christian Alberico, Connor Stewart, Joe Ertle, Tyler McDonald, Alexander Staddon, Owen Tobin, Nate Sperl, Sam Marteka, Matt Woznyk, Josh Small, Faraz Harevi, Christopher Harlow, and Declan Keenan |
Jen schulten
Welcome to Archives
September 2015
Categories |