They’re worth another mention. As part of my Grand Island Half Marathon recap I mentioned a couple of breakthrough performances. A little more today.
Natalie Como came to us early this year with not a whole lot of running background. Gymnast, climber, hiker, camper, yoga, fitness running, all around athlete. She joined up and began doing her long runs with us on the Mo-Pac as she prepped for the Oklahoma City Marathon. She would go on to finish 5th in 3:11:27. She is entered into the Chicago Marathon and we are all expecting another Big Drop in her 26.2 personal best. And with good reason. Her 2nd place finish at Grand Island was a 4:00 pr. In any runner’s world, that is huge. And you may or may not find it remarkable that she chose to pitch her tent at Hall Park the night before, preferring to sleep on the ground to the relative comfort of a hotel bed. Speaks to the strength of her mind as well as her body.
Carolyn Meyer approached me after running a modest 1:37 at the Lincoln Half in May. Wanted to join the club and during the interview process revealed she was running twice a week, “about 15-20 miles per week”. She took a much different path as hers was one of a trial of miles. She began working out with the mates every Wednesday, making every weekend run, and earned her singlet. And is currently running ~45 miles per week. On Saturday she lowered her half marathon pr by an amazing 7:00! Just missed the 1:30 mark by a few ticks, that will go by the by soon enough. She has been diligent about Killer Coach’s workouts. When I saw her goal times for the 2 X 800 scheduled for yesterday I was skeptical that she could hit the prescribed 2:28s. My skepticism was misplaced. 2:28 and a 2:26. Only a handful of ladies in Nebraska capable of hitting those marks. She too has a strength of mind and body.
Team Nebraska= Athlete Development.
Other weekend races: Justin Mollak finished 5th (28:09) at the Labor Day 5 Mile in Charleston, SC. Driving half way across the country, working 16 hour days, and still squeezing in a race. Good job Justin! Matt Heesch was in Yankton SD for the Augustana Twilight 4 Mile XC race. He finished in 21:00, 5:15 pace, good to see some glimpses of speed returning to Matt.
Cory Logsdon finished last week at 110 miles, his highest ever. Most were done at altitude in Colorado. He should be ready to roll at Twin Cities next month.
I hit 40 miles for last week. Thanks to the good folks at Alegent Health Physical Therapy. Was even able to throw in 2 X 800 (3:49, 3:58) during this morning’s 8 miles. Am happy to be losing some of this baby fat, Stacy Shaw commented on Saturday that I was looking “beefy”. Long way to go and loving every step.
Some great performances at this past weekend’s Hy-Vee Triathlon 5150 National Championships. I’ll present some of the superlatives from our Wednesday Night Track Work group manana.