November, 2006

Teammates & Friends:

This Newsletter was a bit delayed because I have been waiting on some meet entry information. I have some listed in this Newsletter and will be back in touch with everyone as soon as I get additional meet entry info. It's hard to believe that the Indoor Season is just a few weeks away.

Now is the time to get everything in order. If you are not yet a member of Mass Velocity and have been tempted to join, now is the time. This team is really coming together and by March at the Indoor Nationals, Mass Velocity Track Club will prove we're a national-caliber club. Now is the time to order your uniform. Come Nationals, I'd love to see the Reggie Lewis Center awash in red and white. Now is the time to start getting back into shape and in this Newsletter, Warren will provide all the details on discounted Reggie memberships and MVTC practices.

So let's get going!

Sorry, but I forgot to include these photos in last month's Newsletter. They were taken at the USATF New England Association's Annual Meeting where the past year's Athlete of The Month Awards were presented prior to the BOG meeting.

As more folks stream into the meeting room at the Newton Marriott, Mass Velocity
members stake out the seats in the rear. See if you can spot Mike Travers, Charlie Kelley,
Tucker Taft, Warren Graff, Roger Pierce, Carroll Blake and Bob Segal.


Here USATF-NE Vice President John Oleski presents yet another Athlete of The Month
award to Roger Pierce.


Mass Velocity friend and general Masters T&F gadfly, Mary Harada receives her award


Bob Matteson came all the way from Bennington, VT to pick up his award

Laura Barre Cochise McBride James Morton Bob Brown


Elizabeth Riordan

THE INDOOR SEASON IS AT HAND

Dec 2 - Northeastern Winter Carnival - at Reggie Lewis - Entry Form on DirectAthletics
Entry Deadline: 11/28/06

Dec 9 - Harvard Invitational - at Harvard - Entry Info as MS Word Document
Entry Deadline: 12/4/06

Entry information for the following meets will be e-mailed to everyone on our mailing list
and posted on our website as soon as the information becomes available:

Dec 9 - Smith College Invitational - at Smith College

Dec 16 - BU Mini Meet - at BU TTC

Dec 23 - BU Mini Meet - at BU TTC

Dec 30 - BU Mini Meet - at BU TTC

Jan 5 - Dartmouth Relays - at Dartmouth

Jan 13 - Wesleyan Invitational - at Wesleyan
Jan 20 - GBTC Invitational - at Harvard
Jan 26 - BU Terrier Invitational - at BU
Feb 09 - BU Valentine Invitational (Men) - at BU
Feb 10 - BU Valentine Invitational (Women) - at BU
Feb 18 - USATF- New England Indoor Championships - at Harvard
Mar 23-25 - Masters Indoor Nationals - at Reggie Lewis

Note: Meet dates and information are subject to change

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Mass Velocity Uniforms

Our friend Laura at JLTrack (800-729-5563) would like to remind everyone to place uniform orders soon to ensure you'll get yours as soon as possible and way before Indoor Nationals. The usual turn-around on orders is 3-4 weeks but starting in February, orders could take up to 6 weeks. When you call Laura and tell her you're with Mass Velocity, don't expect her to say "who?" Laura is a frequent visitor to our web site and might be using some shots from our photo essays to show off her uniform handiwork on her soon-to-be updated web site.

For those interested in having a real track to workout on during the winter season, here is how to join the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center located in Roxbury (Boston).

We gave the RLTAC an initial list of MVTC members who were interested joining in order for us to receive a discounted rate of $90 for the entire indoor season vs. $130 last year, or if you don't join until Jan 1 or later, $45 per quarter vs. $65 per quarter last year. For anyone not on the original list, just say you are from MVTC or show one of the new club cards (Note from Larry: "I'm sending them out by mail or see me at any indoor meet. More on these cards below.") in order to receive the discounted rate.

Registration can only be done Mon-Wed-Fri from 2pm to 8pm. Registration will involve completing a form, having a photo taken, and you will be issued a membership card - don't lose it or you will be charged $5 to replace it. Payment is via personal check or credit card; the checks are debited from your account immediately.

The track is busy from December through March. Once the high school meets start, they will generally run every weeknight until around 7:30 pm. Check this link for an exact schedule: http://www.rltac.com/Schedule/Track/track.html

A 'no spikes' rule was put into place this season except for weekend or major meets since they recently resurfaced the track. There is plenty of parking in the rear of the building. Also keep in mind that this is a shared facility and in the evenings there will be plenty of company on the track, especially the 'distance' clubs, so speed workouts are a challenge. Most of us run in only one or two lanes, follow-the-leader style.

There will be an attempt to coordinate weeknight workouts, so let either Carroll Blake (cwblake@comcast.net) or Warren Graff (WGraff@vicr.com) know if you want to be included on the distribution.

Directions to Reggie: http://www.rltac.com/Directions/directions.html

Since Warren mentioned the new MVTC business cards, I guess I should give just a bit more information. Although I am probably the busiest recruiter for the club, everyone should be recruiting on and off the track. In the past I'd usually scribble down some club information on a scrap of paper. Later I printed out business cards on my printer. The problem with the old method was the ink would run, the card or paper would get crumpled, and it just looked amateurish.

Now, thanks to the graphic design talents of MVTC member Karan Parkin (visit her web site) who volunteered her time and skills, we now have professional-looking business cards that can be given to any prospective club member. They are printed on both sides and coated in rain, sweat and spike-resistant plastic.

They are not membership cards, although for the purposes of receiving the discounted Reggie rate, they could be used as such. If you haven't received yours yet and would like a few to carry around, please drop me an e-mail, and make sure I've got your mailing address.

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"Hi Larry how are you? Hope your training is going well and looking forward to seeing you and other members at future events." - Bob Davis, Albany N.Y

"I've been browsing through your club's website and enjoy the content of the site and the spirit of your club. You saw my reply on the subject of national clubs on Mastertrack.com. The website is current, with tons of useful information, and the club members seem to have a great social relationship as well. I plan on competing in the indoor nationals in Boston in March. If everything can be worked out, I'd like to compete as a member of Mass Velocity." - Ken

"Larry, As always, a great and inspiring collection of information and tidbits in our newsletter. You're amazing. Thank you for continuing to keep us excited about the sport of track & field." - James Morton

"Hi Larry. Yet another great newsletter! Look forward to the monthly update. Congrats to everyone on recent accomplishments." - Gail Johns-Rees

"Congratulations to Bob Pomeroy on his masterful bit of heel to toe running at the BAA half marathon. Bob's Somerville Road runner's master's team entry finished a strong third place in this national caliber event. Bob, who occasionally masquerades as a sprinter with the Mass Velocity Sprint org, ran an impressive 1:29:30 for the half marathon distance. Way to go, Bob!" - Charlie Kelley

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I've been called a lot of names over the course of my life and have been on the receiving end of all manner of wise cracks and snide comments, but the one I received the other day really cut me to the quick. Sammy the Wonder Dog and I were out on one of our many daily rounds of the neighborhood. I usually work on short sprints when Sammy takes off after a squirrel and I hang onto the leash that gives me a few seconds and about twenty feet before he pulls me into the overspeed phase of my workout.

For the past few weeks I've been running very cautiously while my knee heals from my recent arthroscopic surgery and follow-up sodium hyaluronate injections in both knees. Sammy & I are accustomed to sprinting across a busy street near my house but on this particular day I was taking it very easy. As a FedEx truck zipped by behind me the driver, wearing a big grin, shouted out "Hey mister, don't run so fast!" I turned and waved before it sank in - the guy just insulted me! He might have shouted out "Hey gramps, you run like crap."

I never saw it coming. I didn't have time to respond appropriately. He was gone before I had a chance to explain that the feeble jog wasn't all I was capable of. I know that everything is relative and that, other than the times I compete against my fellow Master sprinters, I still consider myself faster than the average guy my age (or even younger). But slow? To the point of being ridiculed by a delivery guy? Ouch, that really, really hurt.

So if I didn't have enough incentive to get back out on the track again, this insult is surely it. Next time I see that guy, Sammy and I will be running alongside his truck - and it won't be a baton sticking out of my extended hand either.

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