SEATTLE WRAP UP

More from Seattle.

Teamwork. I’ve stressed that until Blue in the face. And it starts at the very top. For most all the mates in Seattle the Top was Killer Coach Glen van der Westhuizen. Glen instilled a bond that allowed us to achieve far greater goals than would have been possible individually. A bond forged of sweat and lactic acid and demands we thought impossible. The track workouts that Kelly, Justin, Linda & I cranked out. The weekly communications utilizing his performance tables that kept every one of us in awe of each others progress. Gaining motivation and inspiration through efforts put forth from the fastest (David) to the lastest (me). It was the most difficult 6 weeks of training I’ve ever undertaken and yet each of us poured our hearts and soles into every workout knowing that if we did, then all would. And the results of the Entire Team showed us our faith was rewarded. Biggest thank you of all to Killer Coach, we could not have done it without your expert guidance.

Killer Coach. He asked for much and we delivered in our own measure on our way to the finest single day of post collegiate TEAM athletic performance in the 10 years of Team Nebraska, perhaps in the history of the state.

Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey! Another singular command from Glen. Steak the night before and bacon and eggs the morning of. While steak didn’t appear on our plates Friday night, there was an abundance of protein as we eschewed the typical pasta/gluten loading.

Oysters, clams, mussels, dungeness crab, hamburgers and a pint were the order of the evening on Friday night.

Kelly, Megan, David and Matt enjoying a sampler platter of the Pacific Northwest’s very best oysters. It was a first for all but Kelly and the mollusks were disappearing at an alarming rate. I’m giving Matty P. today’s Huge Kudos for his selfless work and sacrifice pursuing the necessary questions regarding Kelly’s medical treatment. He gave up his entire Saturday tying together loose ends so that the rest of the team could catch our breath. Matty, we love you!

Another Great Coach. Tom Cotner has been the head coach of Club Northwest for over 20 years, guiding his charges to more accolades than I can possibly list, both TEAM and individual honors. I’ve praised Tom in this column previously but I’ll take the opportunity to once again raise the heralds.

Tom took us out to his Greenlake Way training grounds. Here he stands on a 1/4 mile stretch that serves as a primary. A 1% grade down going North, back up going South, it has tested and refined the mettle of more national class runners than perhaps any park in the U.S., over the last 20 years at any rate.

Tom and his wife Helen were gracious enough to give Linda & I an in depth tour of his lovely city. He knows every nook, cranny, and runner in Seattle.

Tom, Helen, & Linda at the “rookery”, a nesting area for herons adjacent to the Ballard Locks. The Cotners are no one drum parade, birding and Native American art being among their passions.

The couple met while at MIT, both migrated to Harvard and have been on the faculty at the University of Washington for the last 20 years. Helen is a neuro-biologist and has the distinction of having identified two separate neural pathways from the eye to specific ganglia in the brain that control cognitive and motor skills, the only two such pathways known to man. Tom is an immuno-biologist who has mostly retired from research but still occasionally lectures at UW. Most likely the smartest couple you’d ever have as personal tour guides. I’ve know Tom for over 15 years but this was a cherished opportunity to delve into this man I have so long respected.

Good beer, good seafood, good coffee and good company. That was how we closed out our trip to Seattle, a top 10 trip for me altogether.

I expected to see John behind the counter here.