Morning of MAC Champs

To subside my nerves, I went for a run this morning. All of the local schools are closed for a snow day due to high winds, blowing snow, and poor visability. Bowling Green, Toledo, and surrounding districts all closed.  Traffic was light on my run, which was good because ice pellets were hitting my eyes and I could not see a thing! Otherwise, it was a nice and peaceful run. 
The team is set to compete. We have many athletes in position to place and score well, and now it is about putting the last 6months of hard training to the test. 
Competition is the opportunity to create something special. It's the opportunity to achieve excellence. It's about the team, the environment, and the chance to compete at the highest level.
Live it up.

Thoughts on the MAC Championships

Two days until the start of the Mid American Conference Track & Field Championships... I am not sure if I am excited, nervous, or anxious.  Maybe a mix of all three.  We go in to the Champs with a great note on Jamiee, who was selected as the UB Athlete of the Week (http://www.buffalobulls.com/general/aow/2010-11/aow022111).  The women just need to believe that they can compete with the amazing talent in our conference. Looking over the seed times, it is clear that the MAC is stacked.  Gone are the days of running 5:10/mile and running in the seeded heat.  Sub-5:01 to make the fast heat this year! This should convince all of those that question the MAC conference in track & field that we are no "Mid-Major" conference. We are with the big-dogs - the Big East, the ACC, the PAC-10, etc. Just look through the results.

Back to my last post about the 7 great recruits on campus... they all left with smiles on their faces and great experiences while on campus. The sit and wait period has begun. Many still have more college visits to do, for some we were their first. As hard as worked in recruiting, it seems inevitable we sit and wait... and wait... and wait... When we start getting the "YES" for 2011 commitments, it will be worth it all (positive thinking... I know we will get "yes's" at some point... I know we will, I know we will...).

Next post will come from the land of Bowling Green State U.... Go BULLS!

The Weekend of UB Track & Field

What did you do this weekend?  A simple question with a series of answers all containing "UB" in some form.  Saturday our UB Track team competed at Cornell.  On the 200m track our UB sprinters blazed two new school records.  Jamiee McClary claimed another school record in the 300m.  She crushed the previous record that had been set way back in 1994.  Now, just to be clear, Jamiee holds the records in the 60m, 200m, 300m, and 400m.  Not bad for a sophomore.  In fact, we might say her performances have been impressive. Not to be outdone, Brian Smith (aka: Smitty) broke the men's 300m school record. UB = fast.

Today, our distance crew headed to the Ridge for practice. Bright sunshine, light winds, dry roads, and 22 degrees was the recipe for great running. The men cruised through 1:40 on the rolling hills of Orchard Park.  The women a little shorter.  I was able to get in on the action with a wonderful 6-mile loop. I do not run with the women; they are too fast. But, I held my own running the 6-miles on hills in just over 46minutes.  I was on a time limit, though... so I pushed my pace to get back to the lodge.  When the women finished we loaded back into the UB van and drove back to campus... just in time to meet our 7 high school recruits for their official visits to our program.  By this point, I NEEDED COFFEE!  No time for that, though... met the recruits, and headed to the Take Down Cancer event with the UB Wresting Team.  I almost felt bad for NIU as UB crushed them in the wrestling match.  In our efforts of cheering on the Bulls, we worked up quite an

appetite. Dinner was at Santora's.  Coach Todd & I enjoyed the company of our recruits and parents and look forward to seeing them not only tomorrow, but hopefully in the fall 2011!  Better really turn on the UB charm tomorrow.  Can someone order another sunny day, please?  And, a Venti Americano?

Welcome to the UB XC & Track Blog!

I am slowly learning more and more about the various social networks available.  Much to my surprise, and many of my friends' surprise as well, I recently got on Facebook.  Now, my next quest is to get blogging!  I want to share my UB team's successes with the rest of the world.  The ups, the downs, the personal bests achievements, and the challenging training runs completed.  This will be about my UB team, my own training (if I can call it that) and my other coaching and running related endeavors. I hope to establish a following of people that love running, that love collegiate athletics, and that just enjoy fitness, being healthy, and reading some humorous posts along the way.  Welcome to the UB XC & Track Blog!