The race started out at a reasonable pace. Derek Nakluski was up front and out of sight within minutes, but behind him a group of alumni and current athletes bridging three different eras of Warriors cross country worked together and chatted in the early stages. I tried to keep in contact with the pack but had to let them go before the 1K mark, and instead former captain Rob Bark and myself worked off each other for a full circuit around the course.
At around 3K I found myself feeling more confident that I could latch back onto the Warrior peloton that was now comprised of Devon Briggs, Justin Spalvieri, and Waterloo legends Scott Arnald and Stephen Drew. I finally slotted myself behind them before coming into the hills on the backside of the course, and was content to sit until the start of the third lap, at which point I decided to move off the front to try and track down the 8K leader, alumni Kevin Smith.
It was futile effort, as Kevin's lead only seemed to grow as I chased, but the pack behind splintered as Stephen and Devon fell off. Scott and Justin took turns leading our 3-man pack as we moved into the final lap. The pace seemed to slow mercifully as we approached the hills in the final circuit, and I was hoping to save a little for a dash to the finish. Justin had other ideas, making his move much earlier than expected coming into the first hill. "Go get him Scotty…" was all I could muster as we headed towards crab apple hill. Scott was evidently as taxed as I was, and I put a few strides between us as we rounded the pine trees heading down to the long finishing straight. Justin's stride rate had noticeably increased towards the finish, so I focused on something more realistic- keeping the distance between Scott and myself. A hard finish to the line and I made my way to the pasta salad table- exhausted yet satisfied. Not a bad effort, but better things to come.
Before the race, there were a number of speakers that talked about Terry before the unveiling of the plaques on the course dedicated to him. Most of us were noticeably choked up. One thing that really struck me was how consistent every description of Terry was with my own. I wrote the following earlier in the week (I don't care if it doesn't flow with the rest of the blog), and nearly all of it was referred to by former team members this morning:
I wish I could write something about Terry that would do him justice. The bottom line is that he was just a remarkable human being. Take away how great of a coach he was and you would be left with no less of a man. But I think it's important to speak about that side of him because that is how I knew him best. Every running coach I've ever known has had their quirks. Terry's quirks were his total lack of aggression and overwhelming positivity regarding the ability of his own athletes. He'd mention some crazy time that you would be running in the 1500 by the summer and you'd laugh and nod, but he'd insist you were capable of it. With that small bit of confidence he had just instilled in you, you'd be ready to attack the next workout with vigour.
When talking race strategy, Terry had a simple mantra: "If you can see them, you can catch them!" We still like to joke about that advice. But when it came down to the later stages, having Terry speak softly under the crowd, "you can catch him!" put a bit of fire in the belly when the legs were ready to give in.
He took guys like Chris Hartman who had under-performed their entire CIS career and turned them into OUA All-Stars. I can remember asking Chris back in first year about what he thought of Terry, and his response being simple but earnest: "Terry's a great coach."
Terry was great. I can't believe it's been two years that he's been gone...
Sunday: ~13 miles- Wilmot- Foot very sore
Monday: 3.5 miles (30 min) am, bought new shoes in PM
Tuesday: 4.8 miles am, 2.5K w/u + 2x(4x4min w/ 1 min jog b/w), 2.5k c/d- New shoes helped a ton
Wednesday: 7.5 miles am + 8.4 miles PM
Thursday: 4.8 miles am + 4.8k w/u, 2x(600, 200 jog, 4x300 w/ 100 jog b/w) with 200 jog b/w sets, 4.5k c/d
Friday: 7.5 miles am + 7.5 miles PM
Saturday: ~2k w/u, 7.8k race: 27:32, 2.5k c/d
Total: 83 miles (short of 100 mile target, but satisfied now that foot is coming around).
- Patrick
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