Team Spot Check-in: Aldo Ceresa
NBR: Tell us a little bit about how you came to be a part of NBR. What was your first run? How long have you been involved?
AC: My first NBR run was in April, 2015. I’d started running in 2013, and remembered dodging herds of NBR bridge runners on several Saturday mornings while running with my girlfriend at the time. After we broke up, I was looking for some motivation to increase my running game, as well as a way to reintroduce some social aspect into running. NBR has provided both of these in spades.
NBR: How is marathon training going? Are there any specific workouts that are really moving things along for you? Tell the NBR world a good long run story.
AC: I only started doing races late last year, and have never run a marathon, so I’ve nothing to compare it to, really. However, I just posted my first week of 50+ miles, and logged my first 20-miler while visiting family in Michigan. It was great to survey neighborhoods I’ve known since childhood and to revisit my old high school grounds, though sadly the track was fenced off. Having grown up as a not particularly athletic kid, it felt triumphant, somehow. Anyway, temps were in the 80s, and I had to stop for Gatorade three times, but I didn’t feel completely destroyed afterwards. Hooray! Besides adding some longer runs, I’ve also been mixing in cycling and strength training a good bit. Monday night plyo has been an essential ingredient in this. More skipping and squatting and lunging and conga lines, please!
NBR: Which NBR runs are you attending regularly to train? Are there any NBR members who inspire you to train hard(er)?
AC: I’ve been a regular on Monday nights and Saturday bridge runs since I first started running with the team, but often add Doves, Tuesday night tempo, Thursday night track workouts, and weekend long runs as my schedule allows. NBR has no shortage of talented, hardworking people. Some folks who’ve been particularly helpful and inspiring to me include Tom Virzi, Russell Wight, Quang Ton, Drew Reynolds, Jeff Skaar, Jessica Boucher, and Nancy Lin. Of course there are many others as well.
NBR: What does it mean to be chosen by your peers for a coveted NBR marathon team spot?
AC: As a relative NBR newcomer with no marathon experience, I was surprised when I got the word from Logan that I’d been awarded a team spot. I’m honored to have been given the opportunity, and appreciate all the work that goes into all the great things the club does. I look forward to running with friends and teammates, and to greeting the NBR cheer squad at Mile 12. Volunteering at the water table last year was a great experience, and the spirit of camaraderie that pervaded throughout the day’s events cemented my own relationship with the group, I think. It will be fun to see the table from the other side this time around!
NBR: What do you plan on eating post-marathon? What about the night before?
AC: I’m sure I’ll do some serious carb-loading the day before. Salt bagels. Maybe some cinnamon cranberry walnut bread from the Northside Bakery while I’m at it. I expect I’ll have to wait a bit before I begin to replenish afterward, but hope to be ready for pizza and beer by the time the party kicks in on Sunday night.
NBR: What is your running spirit animal and why?
AC: Hmm…What animal is it that gets a late start, but once it gets going, revels in in its newfound ability, and can’t imagine how it managed even to breathe before this discovery was made? Some kind of formerly pent up horse, or maybe an antelope set loose upon an open prairie after a comfortable but unfulfilled life at a petting zoo? Yeah, one of those…
