XC=Home
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Here we go.
Its not going to be easy. Its not going to be clean. You may not really get to do the things you would rather do. Instead, its going to be one of the toughest things you’ll ever do, you are going to get dirty and sitting down to a movie and beer would be so nice. Its Cross Country season. Not only here, but in all of North America. A shit load of skinny people are getting ready to hurt a whole lot. I’m one of them. One out of so many with lofty goals, one of the many who is doing the work to achieve them, one of the few who has the experience, but the one who will get there.
This season is my last with Concordia. Its the University I’ll be leaving, but not the group. Not the family I’ve become apart of. Ill always be a part of this team.
The past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. Getting back into the fold of leading a team has brought some challenges. Thankfully we have a team this year that has some vets who know whats up, and some rooks who want it. The Concordia group is tight this year, keep it going folks.
After Wednesday’s workout I took a second to look around. Montreal Endurance and Concordia have had a solid week of training together. The group on Wednesday was awesome. In John’s words “there were no absences up front” everyone had someone. I dare say that what I saw this week was one of the strongest training groups considering size and depth east of Ontario. I can get lonely in front sometimes, but right on my heels on Wednesday was a group of five or so men, no… stallions, nipping at my heels. TIL Stallions bite. So, not so lonely. The message is clear. If there is anyone out there looking for a group, a club or a team to join, who wants good training-smart training… this is the group to run with. Look at the PB’s. Look at the smiles. Look for a gaps, there aren’t any. We are going to continue to grow in numbers, strength and speed. #getonthetrain.
For a second I thought I’d try and look for a stat John threw out at some point about how many minutes of PBs this group has run this year. I’m too lazy, so I’m just going to use myself. They say that as you get better and faster, it becomes more difficult to drop your times. I’ve said this before in my last blog but only my new PBs. All totalled, I’ve dropped my times by 1:35s (over all distances). The biggest drop came from my 10k which is down around30:46 from the road. The overall picture remains positive, and I think if you look at anyone else in the group, you’ll see very similar results.
On an entirely different note I’ve finished seasons one and two of Game of Thrones in the span of nine days. Good thing I got it out of the way before school started. (SPOILER) That show is awesome! Dragons guys. How can you not like Dragons? And Swords guys.
This weekend I’m racing the Mcgill Open XC 6k.
See you there.
Rawdge
Sep 14, 2012 @ 19:30:57
Your remarks harken back to my Varsity X.C. days in the early ’70′s at UNB, just before coach John, as it happens. I know live across the street from the park where I made my debut, Odell Park, where I won the Maritime Junior X.C. title as a relative unknown from Quebec. I miss those days and the comeradery of what was to become a very tight unit of guys that won 4 consequetive Atlantic Division XC titles! All the best for your team Ryan & give my regards to coach John.
Sep 14, 2012 @ 21:29:07
Ian: “just before” that is funny. We will be down to race in Odell Oct 13. Alumni are encouraged (I will likely be racing) so you should come cheer, or maybe even race!
Thanks for the support.