With the advent of the time change, I officially started "Spring" training this weekend. On Friday, I did about 5K of cross country skiing (not very spring-like, but it was fairly warm, and I had to ski around the grass patches), then 5.1 miles on Saturday at an 8:15 per mile pace, and 5.17 miles yesterday at an 8:17 pace. Yesterday was windy in the 20s, but I still maintain that I have started "Spring" training!!
Mark
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It's rather awkward to begin a conversation with classmates who at this stage are somewhere between 58 and 63 when the last time we were in the same locker room together we were still dealing with adolescent acne.
Anyway for all who remember me managing the track team for some time between 72 and 76, hello!
You must be wondering why I have resurfaced for air some 38 years later. Well, Eric and I have exchanged greetings on occasion the past few years and he encouraged me to post about my recent breakfast with Coach Truce.
My wife and I stopped off in Binghamton to meet Gary for breakfast on our way to a B&B in Rochester. I must say it was one of the most uplifitng and inspirational few hours I've experienced in many years. First, he is a man after my own heart in still pursuing his dreams. Gary is publishing his book on interviews with a family who were haunted by a ghost. He continues to teach, function as a sports psychologist to some SUNY athletes and is the captain of his ballroom dancing. team. I loved the fact that he has preserved his boyish enthusiasm for life and has aged with the utmost dignity and grace. In truth, he still moves with that same bounce in his step, and is pretty much the same weight he was when I met him in 1972 when I was 18 and he was 29. Gary turned 71 a few days ago. He was sincerely moved by me telling him how much he meant to me as a young man as her infected me with the passion to run after taking his class: Running to Awareness.
Merritt Hartblay is back in town working as a drug and alcohol counselor. He gives talks on campus and Gary meets with him from time to time.
Thanks to all of you for inspiring me to the get the most outof my meager talent as a runner. If you wish to chat please do not hesitate to contact me at mhmilch@gmail.com. Best wishes for good health and happiness!
Warm regards,
Mitchell Milch or as some of you playfully referred to me, "Coach Mitch."
Epilogue
I forgot to share some of my reminiscences with Coach Truce. You may have been on hand for some of these memorable moments.
1)Rich Seidman portraying "Timmy Calloway" on the team bus.
2) Gary Wallace tending to his blisters after running a marathon on our indoor track.
3) Gary Wallace running as if in a steeplechase event and stepping over the hood of some shocked motorist after the driver stopped in an intersection during The King of the Mountain Race.
Take care.
Mitchell
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