Marathon Training: Spring vs Fall

There is no season such delight can bring,

As summer, autumn, winter, and the spring.

William Browne (c.1591–c.1645)

Despite growing up in the north where seasons were very much a reality of my daily existence, in terms of my athletic life they played no role at all. As a figure skater, I had always practiced in an indoor rink, otherwise known as a perfectly controlled cool environment with very little variation. When I decided to run my first marathon, the NYC Marathon, last year, I quickly learned that training without the creature comforts of the indoors definitely comes with its challenges in the summer. Then choosing to do two winter marathons and then train for a spring marathon, I learned that (surprise!) the flipside has its challenges as well.


Many differences exist in terms of training for a fall marathon versus a spring marathon. One of the most obvious differences is the weather. Training for a fall marathon will have you training through the summer and it can get really hot and humid. It is essential that you drink enough fluids. However, it is encouraging when the temperatures start to cool and running becomes easier. On the other hand, a spring marathon necessitates training through the winter. Days are shorter. Winter brings ice, snow, and temperatures that can be terribly brutal making it essential to have proper clothing to stay warm and to take the time to let your muscles warm up. The quality of workouts can be drastically decreased if you are stubborn like me and insist on running outside no matter what because you cannot bear the thought of the treadmill. However, having never made the winter to spring transition as a runner, what worries me most about a spring marathon is that I will not be acclimated at all for the possible heat.


Overall, although I prefer cooler temperatures to run in, I think I prefer training for a fall marathon. Not that I loved some of the freezing temperatures, but I did not mind them that much. It is actually two things unrelated to weather that make me not crazy about winter training. I do not like the oppressive darkness that comes with winter and I found the lack of water fountains to be extremely challenging on long runs. I also think training in the heat makes you a stronger runner. I am not totally convinced that training in the cold makes you anything except crazy.


Despite the challenges, so many good things are associated with the different seasons. Beautiful snow-covered landscapes, flowers blooming and leaves changing color to name a few. The changes make you appreciate each season for its own unique beauty. As runners, we are so lucky we get to experience the beauty of the outdoors and nature even in a big city. I used to love circling the same indoor rink hour after hour, but I feel so incredibly lucky that running has opened up a whole new world for me.
- Celia K.

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The little blog that could...

Yep, that's us. I've gotten a lot of great, positive comments from people who have been reading and enjoying our Flyers' foray into blog-world. As editor, I really do appreciate it, but I also would like to remind all our readers to please, let our bloggers know they're doing a good job - by either posting a comment, or shooting them a personal e-mail (they can all be found in our trusty Online Flyer Directory). They deserve to know that their effort is recognized.

And the interest in our blog is growing. I have a list of people that have expressed that they want to blog, along with a whole bunch more that I'd like to prod into posting as the year progresses. There's a wide diversity of people and running-related interests in our club, and I'm trying to reflect that on the blog. Let me know if you think I can do better, and how.

So far, I'm pretty happy with the way things are working. In case you haven't noticed, a new blog post typically goes up approximately every other day or so, which gives each blogger his/her day in the sun, but also keeps things fresh and interesting as the month moves along.  With April coming up, the blog schedule for the month is looking great with topics like half marathon training, healthy eating, and volunteering with Achilles, along with our usual ongoing running themes. I've also just updated the link to the Flyer Spotlight at the top of the right-hand sidebar, and will continue to do so from month to month as, so keep an eye on it to learn about the many members in our club. This month, accomplished runner, Iris C. (pictured), is featured.

For everyone out in Central Park today doing the Colon Cancer Challenge, it looks like you've got pretty good race weather out there. Good luck and have fun! - Eric S.

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That's Life...

I sit here on a cold rainy morning, contemplating what happened to our glorious weather over the past week. Last weekend you guys were running in the NYC Half in balmy temperatures (for March at least). Remember last year? It felt as though we were in a sauna, rather then running down the west side of Manhattan. I actually got out of the northeast last weekend and took my daughter to Florida to see my in-laws for a few days. I had to acclimate my body to running in 80˚ weather with humidity levels in the 80% range. Not what I was actually prepared for.

The thing about running in temperatures that aren’t really in sync with what the calendar is saying is always a challenge. The first cold run, the first rainy cold run, the first really hot humid run. All these things tax our bodies, regardless of how well we’ve trained. For the speedsters, the time may only be a few seconds per mile pace, for us mid- packers and mere mortals, it may take off as much as a minute or more. Either way, it’s an adjustment.

Adjusting our running is something we’ve all had to do for various reasons, new job = new hours; new apartment = different commute; new relationship = well, that doesn’t mean too many changes, right? New baby = no sleep; preschooler = chauffer. Sometimes it seems that every change in life brings new challenges that we need to balance against our running. Or rather, we need to balance our running against those new challenges.

If you pick up any magazine that deals with staying in shape or exercise, one of the first pieces of advice they give you about any program that you embark on is to stick with and schedule it in. It sounds corny, but it works. Back in the old days (before Outlook), I would have my organizer and would pen (yes, pen, not pencil) in my lunch time runs. Once digital calendars came into being, I would block out my runs. There were plenty of times when I would get a call from someone trying to schedule a meeting, asking if I could move my “other meeting”. I would feel a tad guilty as I thought to myself, if they only knew… And yes, sometimes, I would move my run to later or earlier, but sometimes I wouldn’t.

Nowadays? Well, I still schedule my runs and workouts. It’s a little more complicated then declining a meeting about a general ledger issue. Somehow coordinating my husband’s calendar, my daughter’s and my own is trickier then setting up a meeting at a now defunct Wall Street firm. I think it’s because we’re not all on the same server and Outlook platform, but it’s also because it’s a little harder to decline a playdate for a 4½ year old or to postpone a swim because your husband had an unexpected meeting come up on the largest project he’s ever worked on (did you ever notice how every project is the largest ever?).

No matter what challenges we face as runners, as athletes, we all have our own way of dealing with the complications that arise. I would love to hear from some of you how you get your runs or rides or swims in. Do you block out time on a calendar? Do you tell you significant other that a certain hour or two is sacrosanct? Do you go to the gym at the same time every day and it’s just become accepted that if someone needs to find you that’s were you are?

Today’s challenge for me? Coordinating painting a bookcase with the 4½ year olds’ help, a yoga dvd (no way I’m making it to a class) and getting said 4½ year old to an ice skating lesson at 5pm. This all has to happen between noon and 5pm. Help! - Tha Gabster

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Dave K.'s Training Secrets

This title is a misnomer -- actually I have no training secrets; just some methods to my madness.  However, I do know a couple of folks who don't share their training methods.  Seems strange to me.  Olympic runners train together, and even share their water bottles with competitors during marathons, so why should running hobbyists keep secrets?

I'm sure glad us NY Flyers generally seem happy to share our training methods, water bottles, and most important, even our dance moves.

One way I learn about how other Flyers train is to raptly read the personal Blogs of various Flyers (see sidebar), especially The Running Laminator who blogs in fascinating detail about his training, travails, and triumphs -- including race-day details.   I've also benefited from the very helpful training tips found in the Flyers Newsletter, courtesy of NY Flyer Coaches Toby and Joe.

In that same spirit of sharing, I'm blogging here about some of my training methods.  Caveatting that it's buyer beware on heeding my approaches to training!

Also, I'd be glad to share the Flyers' secret handshake with new members.  And I'll mention that I think there should be a Flyers team song for all to share, but maybe that's for future blogging?

I hope any Flyers reading this posting will blog back details about your own training methods. Flyer D.J.V.H. told me that Coach Toby's speedwork made a huge difference for him.  Flyer Debbie M. credits her improved nutrition and protein shakes (but what's the secret recipe, Deb?:) 

Anyway..... here's some info on my training regimen, with emphasis on my marathon training.

How often: I generally run just four days/week.  Five days is really challenging to fit into my schedule, plus I feel I need the recovery days.  Kind of like those Flyers who limit binge drinking to 4 days/week to include recovery days?  However, the down-side to 4 days is that nearly half of my weekly mileage often comes from my long-run, which is not ideal.   I'll squeeze in 5 days per week sometimes during the height of my marathon training to help get my mileage up.

Miles Per Week: During the ~16 weeks of marathon training, I usually run about 40 to 45 miles per week during the middle 10 weeks, and  I get a bit above 50 for two or three weeks.

Super-Duper Long Run: I like running one extra-long run during the training period.  I think running the Yonkers Marathon (not racing it) 6 weeks prior to the 2009 NYC Marathon helped my performance (I PR'd). This year, seven weeks before my upcoming spring marathon, I ran a 27-miler in Central Park complete with Harlem Hill repeats during a brief sleet storm, and dubbed it "Dave's Inaugural No Frills Ultra Marathon" (recruits sought to join next time).  A conscientious Parks worker even trashed the unopened bottle of Hershey's chocolate milk I'd stashed for myself at Engineer's Gate, and yes, I fished it out of the trash and drank it!

Taper: I enjoy a 2-week taper pre-marathon.  I'd stretch it to 3 weeks if hurting or feeling especially exhausted, but otherwise I believe 2 weeks is sufficient.  During the taper I cut distance, not speed, per the conventional wisdom.

Typical Week: Each week during training I generally include:

• Speedwork. One day of speedwork -- tempo run or intervals/repeats both at varying distances, or hill repeat sessions. To prep for a hilly marathon, I also like to run hill repeats toward the end of my long-run.
• Long-run. I run 20-milers or longer for 7 or 8 nearly consecutive weeks pre-marathon.  Is that too many?  Seems to work for me -- I believe that as long as long-run recovery doesn't interfere with each coming week's training, then it's okay.
• Marathon pace run. I think that to achieve a marathon goal pace it's important to train sometimes at marathon pace. So, I like for one of my weekly runs to be at marathon goal pace, plus a portion of my long-run.

• Recovery-day run. One of my runs I usually try to go at about 45 secs to a minute slower than marathon goal pace.
• Strides.  If I'm not doing hill repeats during my long-run I like to include a set of strides toward the end of my LTR. That means for me pretty much sprinting for about 100 yards then slowing for the same distance, 5 to 10 times in succession.
• Strengthening runs/exercises. On a recovery run day, I like to try to do some strengthening exercises at the end of my run. Just for like 5 minutes or so.  Bounding, high knees, high heels, and the ever-embarrassing high-skipping and long-skipping.

Racing: Racing causes me to adapt my schedule. For example, if I race all out on a Sunday, then I count that as my speedwork (i.e., tempo run) for the coming week.

Cross-training: I try to catch a yoga class twice per week. I also do some abs work most mornings, and lift weights (upper body only, and only for about 20 minutes) maybe a couple times/week. I'd love to do more, but that's about all the cross-training I can fit into my life (Gabi, help! -- see her Blog postings on runner parents :)

Stretching: I'm not a proponent of pre-run static stretching of cold muscles.  Instead, I do a few minutes of body/joint-loosening (e.g., circular motions of hips, knees, ankles) and a couple of active-stretches that kind of mimic running movements. I am a proponent of plenty of deep static stretches shortly after each run. I have a little routine of primarily yoga postures.

Ice.... brrrrrr: I'm not into ice baths because, well, they're so darn cold.  Maybe they'd do me good, but instead, if something doesn't feel right, I stick a bag of frozen peas on the trouble spot.  Oddly, my family has since boycotted eating any frozen vegetables from our freezer.

Nutrition: I eat fairly healthy, but I suppose I could focus more on my nutrition. (Deb, since you sing the praises of your nutritionist, care to share some nutrition secrets?)

For supplements, every day I take a multi-vitamin, and also fish oil for the intended benefit of healthy joints and healthy heart. When my knees were hurting as a new runner, I started taking fish oil on the advice of a runner friend and upon reading about it in Runners World. The soreness immediately went away and never returned. Maybe it was just from adapting to running, or maybe it was the fish oil, but I'm sticking with it.

And there you have it. Highlights (and lowlights?) of my training regimen.

Comments/critiques? How does everyone else train?? Secrets, please...  - Dave K.

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The New York City Half Marathon: A Great Day In Running!

The weather gods were smiling down on the NYC Half-Marathon as it enjoyed its debut as a spring half-marathon instead of a summer half-marathon. The temperature was a comfortable 53 degrees, the sun was shining enough to be cheerful but not too bright, and over 11,000 people were ready to run at the early hour of 7:35am on Sunday morning. The field included several pro runners, local runners, more out of town runners than the typical Road Runners race, and of course many, many Flyers.

The course started out on the East Side of the park near 95th St., then took runners on a clockwise loop of the park plus an additional two miles before the exit onto 7th avenue. You could feel and hear the excitement as the course left the park because the hardest part of the race was over and it was time to enter the part of the course with all the entertainment and the part that was something different than regular loops of the park. The course then gave runners a chance to run down south through Times Square before heading west to go down the West Side Highway where almost at the end of the race at Canal St was the Flyers hydration station, which was great fun to pass.

Mara Yamauchi set an event record for the women with a time of 1:09:25 and Peter Kamais, the men’s winner, finished with a time of 0:59:53. The favorable conditions made it a great day for PRs all around and many Flyers set PRs. Despite having run several marathons, this was my first half-marathon so I guess the jury is out for if it was a PR for me. Is the first race you do of a certain distance an automatic PR or is it just a benchmark? Nevertheless, I had a fantastic time.

Congratulations to all the Flyers who ran the race and thank you to all the Flyers who were at the water station, cheering elsewhere along the course, and the Flyers running the race who cheered for me on the course! You were amazing! - Celia K.

Julie C. gets some refreshment at our Flyer-run water station in the last stretch of the race.

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Get Your Points On!

Blogmaster's Note: Often in our race discussions, both on and off the blog, we refer to the NYRR's club points races. But what is a points race? Why should I do points races? If we go back to our trusted forums, where intelligent discussion and good advice run aplenty, we find a great explanation by our own super-speedy Eduardo F., who himself has been quite a benefit to the Flyers, scoring points many times for our men's teams. Knowing I can't do any better in explaining how the points system works, I've taken the liberty to repost his great description here, with some minor edits to bring it up to date. Here's Eduardo, and hopefully after you read this, you'll check the points race calendar and sign up for the next one:

OK... everyone who is interested, the explanation is fairly long but I'll try to be concise. Here we go.

1- There is a team competition going on in the NYRR races; not everybody knows this.

2- Every calendar year, there are approximately 10 races designated as "points races". These are the only races that count toward the team championship. Points are awarded to each team according to their overall placement (see point 6 below for scoring). At the end of the year, each team's worst-scoring race is dropped, and the team with the most points of their 9 remaining races wins.

3- The points races for men are not necessarily the same as those for women.

4- The team competition takes place in 3 categories for either men or women: open (everybody), masters (40 years of age and older), veteran (50 and over) and super veteran (60 and over). Notice that a masters runner can score also for the open team, a veteran runner can score also for the masters and open teams, and a super veteran can score also for the masters, open, and veteran teams.

5- A team is composed of 5 runners for the men and women in the open category, or 3 runners in all other categories (men or women). Some races, notably the Club Team Championship, are designated as "double points" races. For these races, an open men team requires 10 runners, open women and masters men teams each needs 5 runners, and all other categories still need three runners. As its name suggests, a double-point race awards twice as many points as a regular race (see below for scoring).

6- I don't know all of the subtleties in the scoring system, but I will give you the general idea. Each Team (capitalized, as in the Flyers) can score one "team" in each category. For this, the fastest Team runners of that category are automatically chosen AFTER the race (i.e., we don't have to pick a team before the races). The total team score for that race is the sum of the overall chip time of each individual runner; this means that lower scores are better. For example, in one instance, the three fastest women for the Flyers in a 5 miler were timed at  35:31, 37:39 and 38:10, and when added together you get 1:51:20, our time for our Flyers women's open team, putting them in 10th place. (In this example, Central Park Track Club was in first place with a time of 1:30:10.)  To get the master's team, you do the same, but this time you cannot include runners under 40 years old. The veteran team is scored in an analogous manner, but the cut age is 50 (and 60 for the super veterans team).

For each points race, the first team gets 15 points; the second, 12; the third, 10; the fourth, 8; fifth, 6; sixth, 5; seventh, 4; eighth, 3; and the ninth, 2. From the 10th place on, every Team that has the required number of runners is awarded one point. This is important because it means that we all should show up for points races because anyone could be critical to complete a team and score a point, regardless of speed. As indicated above, in the "double points" races each team is awarded twice the number of points that I just described.

All this, for what? For the fastest teams, to get an award in the yearly NYRR award ceremony. For everybody else, just like in individual running, because it is fun. In addition, it promotes team spirit, which I think is good.

This was a long explanation, but I hope it was clear. So let's show up for points races. This might also earn you a "Frequent Flyer Award" from the Flyers at the end of the year. And yes, no matter how slow someone might think she or he is, everybody is important. We have had races where we don't have enough runners, at any speed, to score a team. 
-Eduardo F.

The Flyers Women's Veteran Team was honored with a 3rd place overall award at NYRR's Club Night in 2010

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 Editor’s note: Most People in the Flyers know Brian H., our 2009 Flyer of the year, Former Secretary, and current club Vice President, as a very accomplished runner. But did you know he’s also an architect? Brian graduated in 2004 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and now works for a well-respected architecture firm in Greenwich Village, NYC. Here he is:

There are two different passions in my life: running and architecture.  Each month I hope to educate you with my other passion in life, as both can be simultaneously intermingled in a vast city like New York.

Introduction: A Little History of Central Park 

America’s largest urban park is Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, at 3,845 acres. In New York City, the record-holder in the five boroughs is Pelham Bay Park in The Bronx, with over 2,700 acres.  The one we all love to run in, Central Park, Manhattan’s biggest park, is 843 acres.

The idea for Central Park started in 1844, when William Cullen Bryant, a poet and newspaper editor, first called for a large, public pleasure ground in the city.  Landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing further appealed for a park in 1848, and both mayoralty contestants finally made it a promise in the 1850 campaign.  The winner of the mayoralty, Ambrose C. Kingsland took action and land was acquired in 1856 for $5.5 million and surveyed. 

In 1857, the first Board of Park Commissioners decided that an open competition should determine the park’s design. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s “Greensward Plan", the last of 33 entries, won the competition.  It was a simple, uncluttered plan, calling for a picturesque landscape, and including the revolutionary design of the four sunken transverse roads for cross-town traffic. 

The Greensward Plan, 1857

The task was massive: millions of wagonloads of soil were hauled in, land was sculpted and rearranged, and tens of thousands of trees and shrubs were planted.  Streams, ponds, and lakes were created, and even glacial rocks were moved to more picturesque places than those Mother Nature had chosen. Even though Central Park was opened in 1859, construction wasn’t completed until 1873.

Many of us are familiar with this history of the Central Park landscape, where most of us spend most of our time doing long runs and daily group runs. But how much do you know about the architecture in and around Central Park?

The Architecture Of Central Park

New York is a very unique city as it stands as testament to what the hand of man can accomplish. Fine architecture is everywhere in New York City, including around Central Park. I hope to work my way through various buildings in and around our beloved park, showcase various districts, and formulate group tours around some of these districts.

Here, I begin with Architecture below the 65^th Street Transverse, which includes three different buildings: the Friedsam Memorial Carousel, the Dairy, and the Arsenal.

Friedsam Memorial Carousel

Location: Southeast Central Park (near the 65^th St. Transverse and Center Drive)

There has been a carousel in Central Park for more than a century, but the original was virtually destroyed by a fire in 1950.  The existing one was donated by the Michael Friedsam Foundation a year later, and the remains of the original were reassembled at Bronx Beach Playland.  The Foundation also rebuilt the carousel in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park the following year.  Both merry-go-rounds have horses that were recycled from Coney Island, when they’d outlived their usefulness there.  They represent a proud tradition dating back to the 1870’s, when animal carvers created the first-and the best- carousel horses in what was known as the “Coney Island Style.” The Central Park horses were hand-carved by Harry Goldstein, a master of the style.

The Dairy

Location: Southeast Central Park at 65^th St.

1870, Calvert Vaux

The entire southern end of Central Park was originally intended as the province of mothers and their children.  There were no playgrounds in any other part of the park.  The Dairy was used as a refreshment center for them back at a time where fresh milk was prohibitively expensive and of poor quality.  A heard of cows, which grazed in the nearby meadows and added to the park’s bucolic atmosphere, provided the milk.  It has now been transformed into the park’s information center.  The hilltop immediately to the west was originally called the Kinderberg, or “children’s mountain.”  In 1952, a small version of the carousel pavilion was built as a shelter, so that park visitors could enjoy games of chess and checkers out of reach of the noonday sun.

The Arsenal

Location: 5th Avenue at East 64^th St.
1848, Martin E. Thompson

This is the headquarters of the city’s Parks Department, which moved here in 1934.  Prior to that, it was served as a police precinct, and the office of the weather bureau.  For a time it was the home of the American Museum of Natural History, as well as the menagerie that later became the Central Park Zoo.  In the beginning, though, it was an ammunition dump for the city’s militia.  Reminders of those glorious days live on in the central stairway, whose newell post resemble cannons.  The balusters on the railings represent rifles, and the artillery theme continues with cannonballs guarded by a carving of an eagle.  Its eight crenellated towers complete the image.  Despite all that, this is a peaceful place within the city’s greatest sanctuary.

All information researched from:

One Thousand New York Buildings By: Bill Harris

AIA Guide to New York City By Norval White and Elliot Willensky

http://www.centralpark.com

-Brian H.

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Captain's Liaison Update

The New York Flyers Running Team, 2009

Hello Flyers!! It's me, Lara K., your friendly Captains' Liasion (a sorta fancy Flyer term for "head captain"?) So while I've been slowly coming back from injured reserve, I've had much more time on my hands to see what you all have been up to in the running arena and I've seen that not only were you all running strong towards the beer at Coogan's Restaurant, but hard for points too!! And here's a recap of the team results from Coogan's Salsa, Blues & Shamrocks 5K:

Open Men-13th
Open Women-10th
Masters (40+) Men-8th
Masters (40+) Women-6th
Veterans (50+) Men-11th
Veterans (50+) Women-6th
Super Veterans (60+) Men-8th
Super Veterans (60+) Women-NA (did not field a full team at Coogans)

We got off to a great start, and look forward to seeing the momentum continue at the Scotland Run 10K on April 3rd. I encourage as many of you to run as possible -- let me assure you, it can only help the team...the more the merrier to build that great comaraderie at the races that makes the Flyers so well-known. Can't race, have to do a long run or on injured reserve? Come out and cheer for our runners!! And let's not forget, since it's the Scotland Run, there will be plenty of kilts and skirts out for your viewing pleasure! Have I convinced any of you yet?

Looking for points races beyond Scotland? Full points race schedule can be found here.

Want to know more about points races? We'll have a detailed description in an upcoming blog, but for now: Talk to your team captain.

See you all on the roads (or at the parade on Wednesday! Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

-Lara K., Women's Sub-masters Captain, and Captains' Liaison

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Member at Large Report

Hello fellow Flyers. For my first post as Member at Large and leader of the New Flyer Run, I wanted to take a look at what makes us all a club. Let's take an informal poll about why we all joined. Everyone has a story, and I generally share mine with the runners at the New Flyer Run every month.

Some of us join for help training for a marathon. Some of us for the friendship that comes along the route. For me, these were two key factors. My running partner had just stopped running, which made it difficult to train for a marathon.  I showed up for the New Flyer Run, and the rest is history.

From conversations along the route with other Flyers, I can tell you that we all find something that keeps us coming back. Quite a few of us have join because we see the dedicated runners leading the Long Training Runs every summer. We can give back to the running community by joining.

And then there's everything we get for our dollars. For our yearly membership fee, we get the knowledge of an entire team. Training for a marathon or any other race distance with such a knowledgeable fleet is worth its weight in gold. The Marathon Training Program gave us even more and put our team on the map! Then we have speedwork with a coach. And the social events. And cleaning up the park. And the list goes on.

Running Saturday mornings at the New Flyer Run, I know it's hard for us to express to potential new Flyers all that the club has to offer. Even fitting the conversation into 4 miles is sometimes a challenge.

Stay tuned for future posts highlighting our New Flyers. I hope to introduce some New Flyers to all the Flyers. - Emily S., Member at Large

Flyers have long acted as pace leaders for the NYRR's Long Training Runs

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Mommy? No Problem!

I got my April Runner’s World on Saturday and what did they go and do? They wrote an article entitled “The Mommy Problem”. For those of you who read the article and thought “Gee, that’s too bad”, skip to the end. For those that read it and could relate on various levels, read on.

I’m like the first part –married to the non-runner husband. Now, he’s not exactly like Jack, he plays volleyball two days a week, never watches “Sports Center” and I’m the one who insists on going to 9am Sunday mass (long runs are reserved for Saturdays). But otherwise, I’m like Sarah Bowen Shea. I’m mommy. 24 – 7 (my husband is also a workaholic) and I tend to make dinner 4 nights a week (leftovers take up at least one and sushi is a family favorite another night – more on that another time)

I’m a terrible morning runner – terrible. In fact, I hate it with a passion. Tell me I can go swimming at 6am and I can do that (somehow getting wet that early doesn’t bother me). Tell me to put sneakers on that early and it’s just not a good scene. I don’t know why. But I digress. I’m back to running at lunch time; working part time for the hubby’s business does have some benefits. That works swell for me. However, unlike the days when I ran at lunch on the treadmill in the gym at Bear Stearns (remember them?), there’s no shower at this office. Luckily Target makes a great unscented baby wipe that I buy in bulk (what is the checkout girl going to think when I drag a teenager into Target with me and I’m buying baby wipes?). I’ll let you know how this goes in the summer – something tells me I’m going to have to learn to be a morning runner.

The second article, by Dimity McDowell had me laughing from the get go, but then nodding my head in agreement later on. My daughter, Elizabeth is 4 ½. She thinks running is cool. She runs everywhere, she rarely walks, unless it’s when I want to get one more thing at the grocery store, and then she literally drags her feet. She thinks running is so cool that this year she took my ING Hartford Marathon finisher medal to school for show and tell. Lord only knows what she told them (I probably won the race or something crazy) but that doesn’t really matter. She would rather come for a run with me then be left home, unless Daddy is making banana pancakes for breakfast (I would rather stay home then too).

She and I ran together for about 2 years, with her in the baby jogger. Now, she’s a little too heavy for me with the hills around here and a little too active to sit still for that long, especially when she would rather be running too.  This summer, we’ll probably do some fun runs together locally and maybe even a couple in Central Park. She’ll start her race finisher medal collection at an earlier age then I ever would have dreamed of. She’ll also start a life long (hopefully) trip down a path of healthy behaviors. As McDowell says “’force’ is not a verb that works well with kids.” I’m hoping that by ingraining activity in her brain, she’ll always be active and won’t have those super couch potato tendencies that her dad does (especially on a Sunday night).

So do we mommies have a problem? Other then the usual not enough time in the day to get everything done, nope, no problem, it’s just learning how to balance. Sometimes I wish they had a yoga pose for mommy balance. That would be a hit. In the meantime, I need to learn to be a morning runner, get my non-running spouse to be a tad more understanding, convince my 4 ½ year old, without seemingly trying to convince her, that being active is a good thing. Yep – all in a days work. That’s what runs are for – figuring out how to cram 25 hours of a day into 24. Piece of cake – especially for us mommies who have a problem. 
-The Gabster

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I Just Can't Find a Thing to Wear!

(a.k.a. Do My Running Shoes Make Me Look Fat?

So here's a question: what should or shouldn't us runners wear on our feet?

I certainly don't know, but I'll write a bit from my experience and would love to learn what others may have to share about this topic.

When I first started running several years ago, it hurt!  In retrospect, I realize that this was normal and that I could have just patiently let my body adapt.

But as perhaps a particularly naive and impressionable new runner, I tried just about everything that was suggested to me.  I followed the advice of runner friends, heeded the words of running book authors, altered my running form, delved into the wonderful world of podiatry and orthotics, and experimented with different types of running shoes.

Early on, a friend of mine who'd been running for many years told me how he'd experienced some rather serious injuries including a few stress fractures, but had been running injury-free since wearing orthotics provided by a certain highly regarded podiatrist.  So, I figured, I'd be a fool (even more than usual) not to pay this podiatrist a visit.

How excited he was, this Dr. Foot (name changed to protect the guilty) that here I was, Diligent Dave, seeking his help to protect my feet and body from the pounding of my new hobby. After only about a 10-minute exam he fit me for orthotics, and not only for my running shoes but also for my walking shoes, both of which he assured me were essential for my physical well-being.  So who was I to question this confident and caring physician? 

Well, I should have.  They cost a fortune.  Plus, every several months the running orthotics would wear down and have to be re-surfaced.  And when they were being resurfaced I couldn't run for several days because I risked injury if I were to suddenly run without them after having followed detailed protocol for getting accustomed to them.  On top of all that, when the orthotics were returned to me after resurfacing, several times I ended up with blisters due to the texture of the new surface.  Oy vey!

Eventually, it hit me that the orthotics not only were an annoyance, but that maybe they weren't necessary.  Maybe either I was supposed to ease into running more gradually, or it was supposed to hurt a bit until I adapted to running.

So I went to a running store that provides video gait analysis, and was sold a pair of running shoes that I was told would address my very mild pronation.  I then weaned myself off of the orthotics, and ultimately trashed them.  It's been about a year now since I dumped the orthotics, and I've been running comfortably and happily without them ever since.

But being Curious Dave, and impressionable, I also experimented with wearing running shoes that provided very little support and padding.  One recommendation espoused (don't you just love a good espousing?) by ChiRunning guru Danny Dreyer is to wear minimalist running shoes, including to enable one's feet to provide the body with important feedback.  Check out this brand new article about the minimalist shoe movement that quotes Danny Dreyer. 

Well, heeding the minimalist perspective, I went out and bought a pair of New Balance 709s.  They were extremely light and comfortable, and seemed to help me to land on my mid-foot, which is how I seek to run per ChiRunning principles. I ran on my minimalist running shoes once for just 3 miles on a boardwalk in Cape May.  But I didn't feel right toward the end of the run, with discomfort including along my IT bands that continued for several days.  I wore them again two weeks later for 5 miles, and the discomfort was worse than the first time.  I haven't worn them since.  Maybe I didn't ease into them properly, or maybe they just weren't the right shoe for me.

Yet I continue to remain intrigued about what to wear, or not wear, on my feet.  Recently, I read some Flyers posts about barefoot running and interest in Scott Jurek's Born to Run and I find it fascinating that barefoot running appears to be catching on.

I've also recently come across MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) shoes, such as Shugulis. The "B" in MBT is for barefoot, yet the soles of these shoes are massively thick and when I took them for a test-walk in a shoe store I learned that they're designed such that I should essentially rock 'n roll over them, and it felt almost like walking on wheels, or something like that.  I found them to be very comfortable, but also expensive.  I was told that they're supposed to strengthen the calf muscles, among the benefits.  Perhaps.  Or will I end up with over-stressed and strained calves that lead to running injury?

So, maybe I've evolved some from Impressionable Dave who'd try everything that anyone suggested to me, to now Slightly Cynical Dave.  But I do continue to wonder, including:

1. Does anyone else have buyer beware experiences with orthotics?  Do others want to sing their praises?
2. Is anyone having success with minimalist shoes and barefoot running?  Any disaster stories?
3. Do lighter running shoes make you run faster?  More important, will they make me run faster??!
4. What are the pros and cons of padding on running shoes?
5. What's the deal with MBT shoes?  Are they just another fad, and do they require Dramamine to get used to the rocking motion?  Or should I be wearing them, even to bed (yes, my wife is very tolerant :)?
6. And, seriously, do my running shoes make me look fat? 

-Dave K.

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Points and Pints...

Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run 5K was a great time all around this Sunday. A record field of over 5,600 runners made their way up to Washington Heights on this beautiful, warm, sunny day, and it seemed like a record number were at Coogan's restaurant for the after-party as well!

I am perfectly aware of how difficult this race is, and yet I'm still always surprised at just how brutal the course is. Hilly just doesn't describe it -- it is very well likel the most difficult race course in Manhattan. This is the little 5K that could, and does, to you agan and again.

But the party at Coogan's makes it worth it, coming equipped with a free Irish music, free Irish breakfast, and free Irish beer. A good time for all Guinness and shepherd's pie lovers.

The race is a points race, and Flyers were out in force to defend their points. Of course, so were all the other teams, too, but we're optimistic that our team will do us proud in the standings. Thanks to everyone that came out to represent the club. You can check out our top finishers in the scroll box on the home page. Full results are here.

Personally, this was my first foray back into racing after many months off, and I'm questioning whether I could have chosen a more difficult on to start with. I was spent at the mile 2 marker, and still had that one last hill on Ft. Washington to finish me off. Still, it was great to be back racing with my fellow teammates. Back at the restaurant, Sarah D. and myself parked ourselves on some seats (prime real estate in the crowded establishment) and many other Flyers came and went -- among them: Steve K., Brett S., Kathy K., and Kevin M.
Good times, and good Guinness, all around!  -Eric S.

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Club Night!

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) held its annual Club Night on Thursday night, honoring all of the 242 local clubs in the New York City area.  Many local clubs do not offer an awards gala like the Flyers do every year, so for them this was their time to celebrate.  The festivities were held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square for the second year in a row, providing a setting for a presentation of slide show photos and video reviews of the decade.

The NYRR honored some of the top scored teams and the greatest running athletes around the NYC area in each age category for team points races. Congratulations to the New York Flyer Veteran team, who took home the 3rd place or "bronze" in the 60+ division.  These ladies deserve a very special shout out for their effort through the past running season and in achieving this goal.  These ladies came behind only two powerhouse teams: Central Park and Greater New York, although word has it that they will overcome them in the 2010 season.

For all Team Award Winners:

http://www.nyrr.org/races/2010/clubnight/teamwinners.asp

For all Runner of the Year Nominees:

http://www.nyrr.org/races/2010/clubnight/nominees.asp

For a recap of the night:

http://www.nyrr.org/resources/photos/2010/club_night/winners/gallery.asp

The night was very awe-inspiring. All of these amazing athletes, young and elder, came together from different clubs to battle it out for the age group awards with their amazing times.  As each age group continued into the 50’s, 60’s 70’s and 80’s…it brings great hope to see these people stay so active through the years.  Probably most impressive was the amount of energy these winners projected at all their different ages.
Race after race, we mix within a wide range of runners from different teams, countries and cultures.  Even while we participate in healthy competition with each other, we foster long-lasting friendships with our fellow runners.  Although we all share one common goal with one another to run for each other’s respected club team and leave it all out on the race course, we also are out to just have fun.

Best quote of the night:

"Run happy and run with all your heart" - Gordon Bakoulis, NYRR Runner of the Decade winner.

Check out pictures from this year’s Club Night

http://nyrr.org/resources/photos/2010/club_night/event/gallery.asp#13

http://nyrr.org/resources/photos/2010/club_night/event/gallery.asp#15

Our own Lara K. lives it up 

with the rest of the NYRR Clubs

-Brian H.

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