We Don't Walk Slow

Post Broad St

Yes. This is really corny but the Broad St run was an example of setting a goal and achieving it. I did so a tad unconventionally due to my lack of experience in longer road races compared to people I was running with. I finished under 60 minutes (59:44) and got about 160th out of 40,000. What I mean by unconventional is that I have more speed than the people I was running with, they however have more endurance. I started out the first 3 miles at 5:40 pace and was at least a minute under the goal of 60 minutes at 6 miles or so. However, after mile 7 I started fading pretty good. I fell off the 6 minute mile pace an into the 6:15 or so. At the ninth mile I had to do at least a 6:30 to break 60 and managed a 6:15. I really died during the last two miles and was getting passed repeatedly in that stretch. My race was taking it out too fast and dying at the end. More experienced runners run a steadier pace and are able to finish with a good kick compared to my limping in towards the finish. Overall though it was a perfect day for a run and I did what I set out to do. Success.

By Tom Stortz|2013-03-15T03:38:36-04:00May 6th, 2012|Running|1 Comment

Pre Broad St

It’s 6:08 and I’m just about to leave for the 10 mile Broad St Run which goes off at 8:30. My plan is to drive up to the stadium, take the subway to the start, run the race, and then leave before the masses finish. I ate 6 slices of pizza last night and only pooped out a tiny bit which has me mildly concerned. I feel pretty good though and expect to run well.

I went golfing yesterday at a really nice course called Broad Run in West Chester. It was only 39 bucks for a twilight rate. I managed a 90 and that consisted of getting up and down for pars on 3 straight holes. I wasn’t as magical off the tee as I am some times but the short game pulled me through. I wasn’t sure if playing a round of golf before Broad st was wise but I decided to keep my legs active. I’ve also been playing a lot of chess so any noobs out there who want to challenge me, chess.com, username rnningfool.

By Tom Stortz|2016-11-01T23:20:51-04:00May 6th, 2012|Running|0 Comments

Knock Knock

Who’s there? Not the Flyers in Game 2. I’m hoping people can appreciate this.

I watched last nights entire Flyers game for the first time all season. I think that it was a perfect example of why I don’t watch hockey. I found the game to be boring, slow, and lacking excitement. I think the Flyers had maybe 1 shot on goal in all of the second period. It was equivalent to soccer. The question on my mind the entire game was “how about them Sixers?”

I don’t consider myself an avid Philadelphia sports fan, I just consider myself a sports fan. I absolutely enjoy watching sports but I don’t enjoy getting behind teams just to get behind a team. Just because the Flyers are in the playoffs doesn’t mean you will see me wearing a Flyers jersey to watch the game. I didn’t support them during the season and I won’t support them now. I almost hope the Phillies have a terrible record this year to show how fake people are who I guarantee will stop watching them if they are out of the playoff race. I am all about the word “real”. If it isn’t real, it isn’t right. The sports world is filled with these fake fans.

By Tom Stortz|2012-05-02T13:44:11-04:00May 2nd, 2012|Sports|0 Comments

Necess for Excess

This was one of my more memorable weekends with the American Odyssey relay taking place described below. After that relay I got home at around midnight and woke up around 7 am so I could play golf with the Shee. We payed 75 bucks to play Lederach in Harleysville. The price seems pretty steep but it truly is a well kept course. We played from green tee boxes and the course isn’t properly marked with distance from the tee box to the greens which I will discuss in depth further on. The first hole pretty much set the stage for the rest of the day. Shee hit a nice drive down the center of the fairway about 50 yards out and I hit a bomb that went way over the green (a par 4 and yes marked incorrectly on the score card). Shee ended up with a 6 and I got up and down for a par after taking an OB stroke. I was even par through 4 holes and then sort of hit some bad shots on easy holes to finish with a 45 on the front. My driver was clearly working though and I had multiple drives on par 4’s that led to 25 yard chip shots to the green. My back nine was even better and even after hitting 2 balls in the drink on 18, I finished with a 43 for an 88. I had a tee shot on a 185 yard par 3 that I put within 6 feet and also a birdie on 17 which was the 2nd for the round. I played really well that I caught the golf bug.

In a move that I’m sure not everyone would do, I called Bala golf course, a private course, and asked if I could play a round because I was interested in possibly joining the course. The person working the pro shop told me to come over which I did. He let me off on the 10th tee for absolutely nothing. I walked the 18 holes in around 3 hours which is the proper way to play golf. The course was only a par 68, 5300 yards but an absolute doozy of a course. Everything is absurdly tight, the greens are tiny, and there is no forgiveness. I found myself punching out and hitting out of sand more than ever. I had one par on the entire 18 and finished with a respectable 99. Playing by yourself is also a little different as you get a lot of time to think while walking around the course. It was a lot of fun and playing 36 holes in one day (after completely 17 miles in 1+ days) has me beat tired. Nevertheless this was one of my more promising weekends with a few memorable things in my life.

By Tom Stortz|2012-04-29T21:34:36-04:00April 29th, 2012|Golf Course Reviews|0 Comments

American Odyssey Relay

I did something a bit different this weekend. I ran in a relay called the American Odyssey Relay. The relay consists of a 12 person team completing 200 miles starting in Gettysburg and finishing in Washington DC. Our team, Ambler Stampede, had two vans leave on Thursday afternoon to do the registration and we stayed the night in Gettysburg. We started the relay at 9:30am on Friday morning. The 200 miles is divided up in 36 legs that consist of somewhere between 4-10 miles. We designate the vans as van 1 & 2. The 6 people in van 1 complete their legs and at the 6th transition point, the vans meet up and switch for the next set of runs. Essentially, each person has 3 legs of their own, they do their leg and they have to wait for 11 runners to complete their legs before they run again.

I packed 3 running outfits and a bunch of sweat shirts and sweat pants because I knew it was going to be on the colder side. I put an expected pace time of 6:30 per mile. Each person gives their own pace time and this is what we used to know how long you have to get to each transition point. For example, if Bob (the runner before me) has an 8 mile run and expects an 8 minute pace, I know I (Van 2) have about an hour to get our van to the next transition point so I can be ready for when he finishes. This sounds easier said than done. It happened a time or two when our runner would finish and the next person wasn’t ready to go at the transition point. Coordinating 12 people really takes some managing.

Another key difference in a run like this is the rest time between your next run. I was a bit unsure how to approach this as I’m not used to only waiting 10 hours before my next run. I’ll briefly describe my experience with the legs. My first leg was about 5 miles and started in a trail area only to hit the main roads and turn into an out and back. I did a few shots the night before and wasn’t feeling fabulous but still finished my run in under my expected pace by a few minutes. My second leg was by far the highlight of my experience. It was about 2am, 40 degrees, and the sky was crystal clear with hundreds of glowing stars and a crescent moon to run under. Not to mention that I was running through where the battle of Antietam took place. Not knowing how my legs were going to feel I started off the run at a modest pace. After the first mile (and passing about 4 other teams) I knew this was going to be fast because it was all asphalt. The leg was only 4.7 miles and the conditions were that of a perfect storm. I started moving at a brisk pace and finished the run before my teammate was even able to meet me. The mile times, I think, were probably 5:30’s but I didn’t have a watch on them. Absolutely phenomenal experience. My 3rd leg was along the Potomac river (it was actually a canal) was my longest at nearly 8 miles and I beat the expected pace by a few minutes but my legs were really feeling the fatigue. I was happy with my personal performance.

Here are a few notable stories & findings from the trip –
– We left our runner at a transition point due to complete panic and miscommunication
– Nikkii was by far the best at designing our van
– I have a knack for directions
– I slept a total of 2 hours in the entire experience and did my best to keep Nathan awake on our drive from West Virginia to Poolesville at 4am-6am
– I had my reservations on how easy it would be to get lost over the course of 200 miles and I found that it wasn’t an issue. Our runner, Jeff, however did not have the same findings as he ran a full mile off course until he was rescued by the race director.
– Your eating schedule gets completely out of whack on a relay like this.
– Meeting 11 new people is truly a great experience and I’m happy I signed up for something outside of my norm.

By Tom Stortz|2013-03-15T03:38:42-04:00April 29th, 2012|My Life, Running|1 Comment

Huntingdon Valley Golf Course

Huntingdon Valley golf course is one of the premier private courses in our area. I believe the “C” course is regarded as one of the most challenging around. I had the wonderful opportunity of playing there on Tuesday afternoon, the “A” & “B” course. I know some people aren’t interested in golf but if you’ve read this far than maybe you care enough to continue reading. This was my 2nd time playing this course and I’d rate it an 9 out of 10. The only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because I don’t like to give out 10’s. The course, playing partners, pace, and how I played were all absolutely perfect. I hit the ball well off the tee and hardly hit any really terrible shots. I finished with a 93 and even blew a few shots in the sand and on various holes. The putting on this course is unbelievable. If I didn’t have my personal caddie telling me where to put I’d probably have been 10 shots higher at least. The way you land the ball on an area of the green and it rolls towards the hole is completely different than public courses. I just enjoyed myself to such a high level that it makes me want to get a country club membership and play as often as possible. Our round was 3.5 hours which was just about perfect. I’m going to stop raving and just close by saying it was awesome and a huge thank you to the Schmidts for the awesome invite.

By Tom Stortz|2012-04-10T18:27:35-04:00April 10th, 2012|Golf Course Reviews|1 Comment

NBA Tattoos

This is a must read. Worst NBA Tattoos. The Derrick Rose one was my favorite because Houdini wasn’t a wizard. Stephen Jackson is great too because he seems like the most violent person ever.

By Tom Stortz|2012-04-09T21:30:37-04:00April 9th, 2012|Sports|0 Comments

Rnningforum

In my constant search for internet success, I’ve created another webpage dedicated to running. There is an interesting feature that allows users to post articles and content. I’m hoping that this will generate some content from someone other than myself. This other site also have a focus which is much different than this page which just wanders around aimlessly. I’m hoping that other people who run will get the courage to submit something about their experience running. For instance, as a test I’d really like Laura to write an entry about her feelings regarding the upcoming Boston Marathon and then write again post race. I hope other people who read this and do something similar could post as well. I think this idea has potential if there is input from people other than myself. Whether that happens is up to you. I’m also in the beginning stages of getting the site up so I’m not even sure how operable it is. If you encounter any problems, let me know.

By Tom Stortz|2013-03-15T03:38:56-04:00March 28th, 2012|Running|1 Comment

Flopping

This article on Yahoo is why I can’t stand professional sports. Here is the video:

I know this is the Philippines but we see this all of the time in sports everywhere whether it be the NBA, NFL, or Soccer. This type of unsportsmanlike conduct ruins the integrity of the game. Athletes who do this deserve to be thrown out of games. I understand that the idea of a game is to win and do whatever it takes but acts like this are going too far. What’s worse is that the refs who fall for this type of behavior just prove that they have no clue what they are doing. So not only are the players making a mockery of the game but they make refs who fall for it look stupid. As a general sports fan, this type of behavior and mindset in sports makes me not want to follow the leagues because they are a joke. If the players feel the need to sink to cheap levels, I have no interest in watching. I think that’s why everyone prefers this time of year in the NCAA Men’s BBall tourney because they lay it all on the line without this undermining taking place. All leagues need to implement penalties for this type of behavior. Some good examples in all sports:

Finally one with some creativity.

By Tom Stortz|2012-03-21T23:24:18-04:00March 21st, 2012|Sports|0 Comments

Fore!

Shee and I decided to play golf today after work on this beautiful sunny afternoon. It was 16 bucks to walk at twilight which was a pretty good deal. The course was pretty shitty but at least I got to swing the club a little bit. I striped a ball down the middle on hole 1 and played to a reasonable level throughout the round. I only used my driver one time and hit a monster 300 yard drive which makes me 1 for 1 on good drives. My contact for the day was decent and I wasn’t hooking everything which is encouraging. The Shee and I had a pretty amazing battle with some improbable putts going in to keep things interesting. With a Dallesandro’s cheese steak on the line there was no holding back. I ended up prevailing which I’m sure the Shee wasn’t too happy about but we had a good time and played 16 holes in 2 hours for 16 dollars which is good value from a golf standpoint.

I’m gonna give 4 picks for the games tomorrow and give a few teams who I hope to see go far.

– I really like Vanderbilt against Harvard and also making a deep run. They are coming off of a SEC tourny victory with a strong win against Kentucky and they lost a lot of close games to give them the 5 seed.

– I wouldn’t be surprised to see NC state play Belmont in the second round and then NC state coast to the sweet 16. NC lost a close one against UNC in the ACC tourny and I think that should give them a lot of respect as an 11 seed. They are in a good conference and most of their losses are against good teams so them over SD state wouldn’t surprise me.

– I like VCU over Wichita State because they have final 4 experience from last year. They won their sub par division and don’t play a lot of good teams so I think their ranking is sort of questionable because they don’t play strong teams. I think they are better than they seem. Plus Wichita St isn’t from a great conference either so this game will be closer than it seems.

– FSU will be my wildcard. I’m fairly certain not everyone will take them to go to the final 4 and this team plays with all the best teams in the ACC and I have confidence that they will give Ohio St a tough game. I have a feeling the big 10 isn’t as good as they seem.

By Tom Stortz|2012-03-15T08:17:09-04:00March 14th, 2012|Sports|1 Comment