Team Champs was on a perfect late July morning.  That is, if your idea of perfect is hot and humid.  Great for the beach but not ideal for fast racing.  However, the 40+ men defied Mother Nature on this day.  We finished 2nd, finally breaking our 3rd place streak. This 2nd place finish, in an important double points race, put distance on the 4th place team chasing us and places us in a virtual tie for second place (details below).
 
Our Scorers:
 
Peter Brady, 27:40, 2nd in age (45-49), 84.26%
Jeremy Shingleton, 28:22, 5th in age (40-44), 78.47%
Cary Segall, 28:38, 6th in age (40-44), 80.11%
Brad Kelley, 28:44, 3rd in age (50-54), 85.15%
Mark Lindrud, 29:29, 4th in age (50-54), 81.63% 
 
Peter Brady, despite being a bit under the weather finished as our 1st scorer:
 
I picked up some kind of virus from my kids, so I was a little under the weather for this race. Normally heat and humidity don’t bother me that much, but I think it affected me on Saturday because I wasn’t feeling 100% to begin with. Given the circumstances, I’m happy with my result. At times during the race, I felt bad enough that I contemplated dropping out, but I told myself “just make it to 3 miles and then jog the last couple if you have to.” My last two miles did indeed end up being much slower than my first three, but I’m glad I managed to keep going and finish in a respectable time, albeit much slower than I’ve run the last several years in this race. Great to see Brad Kelley and Mark Lindrud both contribute to the M40 team past age 50. Andre it’s always amazing hearing so many teammates cheer all along the course. 
 
Jeremy Shingleton, a huge 28:22 5 miler PR according to the NYRR database and scoring in his second straight race had this to say and about his training leading up:
 
The heat and humidity definitely had a negative impact on the race. I think it’s especially difficult for masters runners – our bodies aren’t as resilient as when we were younger. Personally, I am finally feeling 100% after a collection of injuries lingered from last summer. I have been training consistently for about 6 months, emphasizing my weekly track workout, while holding off on racing until recently. This kept me fast, fresh, and healthy going into the hot months. Tactically, I’ve tried to incorporate my easy runs during the hot hours of the day, to help acclimate. Also, during the race, I grabbed two cups of cups of water at every station: the first to pour over my head. 😉  There are other small things I’m doing differently, like 10-15 minutes of daily cross-training, biking more, and eating healthier. 
 
Cary Segall returning to club racing after his tough race in monsoon conditions at Boston:
 
After eight weeks at the track with two great CPTC teammates, Jonathan Chapman and Felipe Nazar, who are rising stars in their mid-30s for the men’s open team, I felt my speed come back indications that I could break my Cental Park 5-mile PR of 27:52.
 
The x-factor is always the weather for Club Champs in late July/early August and the forecast for this year was looking challenging with mid-70s temps and 90% humidity.  Clearly, I was going to have to adjust my race plans as these conditions don’t make for PR days and it becomes a race of effort and running very smart.  However, what generally gets the best of everyone is the strong field and fierce competition that throws a smart race plan out the window.
 
My goal approaching the race under good conditions with to break 27:30 but revised that quickly to sub 28 with the forecast.  The course layout of the lower 5 mile loop heading counterclockwise starting and finishing on the 102nd transverse means that you have a tough first mile and 4 mile.  I revised my plan to go out 10 seconds slower for at least the first mile and see if I could keep it together and finish strong.  Unfortunately, I got caught up in the spectacle and ran the first two miles at 5:30 pace and the third mile around the bottom of the park in 5:43 (probably closer to 5:30 pace adjusted for terrain) and then and really hit the wall.  I struggled up Cat Hill slightly under 6:00for mile 4 and then only picked it up slight on mile 5 and that was just because of the flat/downhill terrain.
 
So, I definitely didn’t follow my revised plan and paid for it.  Fortunately, I was able to hold on and try my best to keep Jeremy Singleton in my sights during those last few miles.
 
In summary, I was very happy to be able to participate in Club Champs this year and it’s always great to see all my teammates and enjoy running with the best local runners at the same time.  I am glad that my training continues to go well and I was able to finish as the 3rd scorer for the 40+ team.
 
Great job to everyone and hope to see you all out there again soon!
 
This from Thierry Soudee who ran a 31:06 PR as per the NYRR database:
 
Well I guess it was a 5M PR. I don’t think I’ve raced that distance many times in the past, and this was my first Team Champs. It came on back of a few long runs so probably not fully rested. I was hoping to finish under 31 but, like many others on that day, I kind of hit the wall at mile 3 or so! The finish felt like a marathon, and if it wasn’t for the CPTC team mates cheering up I might have dropped out! Overall I’m happy with my time. It’s definitely one of the best races of the year in CP. The atmosphere is great. And the beers at Boat Basin were worthy too!
 
Rounding off our finishers:
 
Osvaldo Martinez – 11 second PR as per the NYRR database
Brenn Jones
Zebulon Nelessen
Kimihiko Oishi
Mohammed Lahseni
 
 
2018 Standings:
 
West Side: 90
Urban Athletics: 68 
CPTC: 64 
NBR: 36
Dashing Whippets: 36 
 
With 2 races dropped:
 
West Side: 60
Urban Athletics: 44 
CPTC: 44 
Dashing Whippets: 28
NBR: 26
 
So with 2 races dropped we are in a dog fight tied for 2nd.
 
Osvaldo Martinez has pulled ahead in the Participation Cup Standings:
 
Osvaldo Martinez — 5
Gerd Zeibig — 4
David Alm — 3
Stephen Curtis — 3
Mohammed Lahseni — 3
Duncan McVerry — 3
Robert Peszkowski — 3
Thierry Soudee — 3
Peter Brady — 2
Vincent Corso — 2
Larry Go — 2
Brenn Jones — 2
Eric Lattin — 2
Herve Megras — 2
Zebulon Nelessen — 2
Cary Segall — 2
Jeremy Shingleton – 2
Brad Weiss – 1
Jacob Cooper — 1
Shane Campbell — 1
Franz Hinojosa — 1
Landry Da Teresa — 1 
Joe O’Leary – 1
Kimihiko Oishi – 1
 
Great job guys! Let’s build on this and see if we can grab that elusive first win of the season at Percy Sutton. Go Orange!