The Plan For November

The plan for this weeks group run is to attack Faith Hill again.  That means a mile warm-up, a slightly faster pace back to the bottom of Faith Hill and then a personalized set of hill repeats based on your fitness level.

This is the last week meeting at our normal time of 5:30.  With Daylight Saving time ending on Sunday, we'll shift the start time for the following two weeks to 5:00 (with an actual run start time of 5:05).  This always means some people cannot join in, but the park does not officially support after dark usage, so we do our best to comply.

Tuesday, November 19th, we'll meet up at 5:30 again (allowing regulars to join back in) for the Lights on the Lake Stroll and our last Tuesday night of the 2013 TRY season at Onondaga Lake Park. At that point we'll discuss continuing at another location.

A popular race among TRYers has changed a couple things this year.  Typically, the Jingle Bell Run has been on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but this year it is a week earlier - on Sunday the 17th.  An even bigger change is that it is now being held at OCC.  It had outgrown its most recent home at Longbranch park but it is still sad to see it moved along.  I guess growth comes at a price.  Perhaps having a building to use and a bigger course will make the event even more fun than it usually is?  I guess we'll see this year.

Lastly, Thanksgiving is a popular day for 5k and 10k races.  For you beginners in the group, think about getting in a "Turkey Trot", either around here, or look up one in the area you are travelling to for the holiday. It's a fun way to start off your day and leads to less guilt while stuffing in the stuffing later.

All the above date and time information has been updated in the TRY Google calendar.  (Which you can add to your calendars or always access at the top of the blog.)

Some personal updates: I've told many of you, somewhat randomly, about both of these things...but at this point I have no idea who I have not told yet...so I might as well get the news out to everyone:
My wife is expecting our second child.  The due date is right around the spring equinox.  So far everything is going well.

Also, something else that has been in the works for a while: We are moving.  It took an extra several weeks but "closing" finally happened last week on a house in the Westvale area...near but not quite in the Fairmount area.  It'll be a few weeks before we officially move in.

Now that we're all caught up on that...it's time to start looking back on our latest year of TRY.  The following are thoughts/quotes/remembrances on the 2013 TRY season passed on by TRYers:

"[I was] glad to find out Berman still has her overalls."

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for a normal running group.  So it has worked out well for me that TRY is anything but normal."

"Big turnouts and lots of new faces....and rarely skipping post-TRY festivities :-)"

"Live long and prosper."

"After not taking part for a long time, it was nice to be welcomed back like I had never left."

"I'm not sure how many other groups would debate the merits of and take a vote on the usage of the word 'moist'?"

"I honestly wondered at first what I had got myself into, but within a few weeks I could tell all the interval work was making a difference.  Thanks for making me a better runner."

"Camaraderie, friendships, fun, laughs, inspiration, and the ability to say . . . I did Faith Hill . . . on multiple occasions!"

"I came out for a running group, but found so much more than that.  I don't always take part in the activities, but having an opportunity to do everything from a polar plunge to an obstacle course race to a birthday celebration for anyone who has ever had a birthday, is great.  Thanks for everything that TRY is!"

Thanks for your inputs so far, let's keep them coming send me some more for next week.  (Message me to keep them anonymous.)