Stepping Up In Style

Joyce S

Blogmaster's Note: This is a slightly updated version of Joyce's post from about 2 years ago to highlight that registration for the 2014 Empire State Building Run Up opens today (click HERE to register).

As some may say, a typical New Yorker has never been to the top of the Empire State Building. Well, I guess I fell into that category. Growing up in Long Island and living the last 25 years or so in the New York City area, I am one of those people that never visited the top of the Empire State Building.

That all changed a couple of weeks ago, when I not only made it all the way to the top, I ran the whole way up -- all 86 flights, 1576 stairs, two at a time (in the beginning anyway) -- in completing the NYRR Empire State Building Run Up. Okay, so maybe I didn’t actually run. I am not quite sure what it was I did but I managed to keep a steady pace the entire way, and clocked in at 21 minutes 40 seconds.  Five other Flyers also made the climb to the top.

Not bad for a first-timer with no real strategy, except for some training in my apartment building, going up 30 or so flights a couple of times a week. Of course, looking back I start to think of what I could have done better, smarter and more efficiently to get under 20 minutes. There’s always next year. Here’s what I learned:

• Start slow, don’t lose your breath, or you will burn out quickly. I got this training tip through friends and from online reading. A good tip. During my first 20 or so flights I was passed by a number of people, all guys. On the last 20 flights, I passed a number of people, mostly women, but yes some men too!
• Hand over hand on the banister. This tip was given to me by a gal I met waiting on line who has done the stair run for several years. I am really not too sure how much this tip helped or hurt me. During my training I never held onto the banister. But then again, during my training I had to stop to catch my breath a few times. This never happened during the actual event. 
• Take two stairs at a time. For someone with long legs, this method probably works well and saves time. For someone at my height of 5’ 4”, this worked well for about the first four flights until my quads started burning and I went back to single steps.
• 
  



• Don’t carry anything in your hands – you need both hands. This is good advice. During my training I always had my apartment keys, my phone, and usually a bottle of water. Knowing there would be a bag check and 2 water stops along the course, I was grateful to have a hands-free experience.
• A little anxiety is good. The adrenaline is definitely needed to get you through the event.
• It's not so hard.  It is over before you know it, it is really easier than it sounds, and there is no reason to overestimate the complexity of completing a stair climb.
• Doesn't Anyone Dust? Expect to have a dry, sore throat for a day or so. It is dusty in those stairwells!

The actual event was almost a blur, and I think I blocked out all the pain. It was over so quickly. Even a 5K takes me longer. What I remember most were all the great people I met that evening. They started the participants alphabetically, and my last name begins with an “S." There was well over an hour wait to start my wave, so I had the chance to chat with a lot of participants. Most of us got in through the lottery and most of us were first-timers not knowing what to expect. There were, of course, a few veterans happy to give us their advice. It was all good.

When I got to the top, I really didn’t care about the view, which was a good thing because it was a very foggy night. I was so just happy to finally make it to the top of the Empire State Building, giving high fives to all the people I just met that night, and getting my medal. It was definitely a night to remember.

To register for the 2014 Empire State Building Run Up, click HERE.

-Joyce S.

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Stepping Up In Style

Joyce S

As some may say, a typical New Yorker has never been to the top of the Empire State Building. Well, I guess I fell into that category. Growing up in Long Island and living the last 25 years or so in the New York City area, I am one of those people that never visited the top of the Empire State Building.

That all changed a couple of weeks ago, when I not only made it all the way to the top, I ran the whole way up -- all 86 flights, 1576 stairs, two at a time (in the beginning anyway) -- in completing the NYRR Empire State Building Run Up. Okay, so maybe I didn’t actually run. I am not quite sure what it was I did but I managed to keep a steady pace the entire way, and clocked in at 21 minutes 40 seconds.  Five other Flyers also made the climb to the top.

Not bad for a first-timer with no real strategy, except for some training in my apartment building, going up 30 or so flights a couple of times a week. Of course, looking back I start to think of what I could have done better, smarter and more efficiently to get under 20 minutes. There’s always next year. Here’s what I learned:

• Start slow, don’t lose your breath, or you will burn out quickly. I got this training tip through friends and from online reading. A good tip. During my first 20 or so flights I was passed by a number of people, all guys. On the last 20 flights, I passed a number of people, mostly women, but yes some men too!
• Hand over hand on the banister. This tip was given to me by a gal I met waiting on line who has done the stair run for several years. I am really not too sure how much this tip helped or hurt me. During my training I never held onto the banister. But then again, during my training I had to stop to catch my breath a few times. This never happened during the actual event. 
• Take two stairs at a time. For someone with long legs, this method probably works well and saves time. For someone at my height of 5’ 4”, this worked well for about the first four flights until my quads started burning and I went back to single steps.

• Don’t carry anything in your hands – you need both hands. This is good advice. During my training I always had my apartment keys, my phone, and usually a bottle of water. Knowing there would be a bag check and 2 water stops along the course, I was grateful to have a hands-free experience.
• A little anxiety is good. The adrenaline is definitely needed to get you through the event.
• It's not so hard.  It is over before you know it, it is really easier than it sounds, and there is no reason to overestimate the complexity of completing a stair climb.
• Doesn't Anyone Dust? Expect to have a dry, sore throat for a day or so. It is dusty in those stairwells!

The actual event was almost a blur, and I think I blocked out all the pain. It was over so quickly. Even a 5K takes me longer. What I remember most were all the great people I met that evening. They started the participants alphabetically, and my last name begins with an “S." There was well over an hour wait to start my wave, so I had the chance to chat with a lot of participants. Most of us got in through the lottery and most of us were first-timers not knowing what to expect. There were, of course, a few veterans happy to give us their advice. It was all good.

When I got to the top, I really didn’t care about the view, which was a good thing because it was a very foggy night. I was so just happy to finally make it to the top of the Empire State Building, giving high fives to all the people I just met that night, and getting my medal. It was definitely a night to remember.

-Joyce S.

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How West Ham United Got All Over the New York Flyers

Terence B

Many people ask me, What's that West Ham thing? And what's it doing in the New York Flyers newsletter, Website, etc.?

That West Ham thing is a weekly recounting of the fortunes of my football team, and we do say "we," as in "We played really well last week," as opposed to the American "The Giants are 4 and O with the puck on the third base of the end zone," or some such speak.

Fact: Did you know that according to Google search-engine optimization, four times as many visitors reach the New York Flyers Website by typing in West Ham United than they do by typing in New York Flyers. Incredible, and true.

So, how did it all come about?

Many years ago president Amy S of the Flyers (at the time she had a Volkswagon beetle that was named the Presimobile (little known fact)) had just assumed the Highest Office in the Land and could no longer compile the weekly newsletter (now fortnightly), too, which in those days, days before people actually slept with Blackberries, was all done by the wondrous technology called e-mail, which was in its infancy...it really wasn't long out of nappies, what you call diapers. So, she asked me if I'd have a go, so I did, on one proviso, a small chunk of it might be dedicated to my other true sporting love, the East London football (you know, you call it soccer) club called West Ham United, which I have supported through its downs and more downs since 1973...and as I write we just lost 1-0 to Southampton.

Initially, there was some confusion. I went down through the news, the results, the upcoming social activities, the bemused wailed, and then came across news of strange people called things like Yossi Benayoun, Marlon Harewood, Bobby Zamora and Dean Ashton. Are they Flyers I've never met? No, they were West Ham players, and you'd just reached the VIWHUI section, an acronym for Very Important West Ham United Information.

This is Marlon Harewood of Hammers Fame (of course)

Some Flyers ignored it completely, but slowly, others, a flowing flock of Flyers, went directly there and by reading between the lines and reading the lines actually learnt the secrets of Life and how to run faster. Some scurrilous bunnies that will remain nameless tried to have the section dismantled, saying, spuriously, that it had nothing to do with running. That's not true. On five occasions in the late 90s, when balls were pumped upfield in the great British hoof-it-and-follow-it technique that means we will never ever win the World Cup again, some West Ham players were witnessed actually running to get the ball before the opposition did. I cannot remember if they succeeded.

Then, for reasons still unfathomable to me but I think caused by an outpouring of sympathy connected with the English Mad Cow Disease epidemic, I was awarded Flyer of the Year in 2001, which I remain eternally proud of and grateful for, and so after that no one could take the VIWHUI away without seeming very mean. Very mean. And so it remains. The stats since we started it are encouraging it, despite us currently playing in the second-highest league, not the highest, that being the Premiership.

Games West Ham have played since VIWHUI started ... 422

Games West Ham have won since VIWHUI started ... 165

Games West Ham have drawn (tied)* since VIWHUI started ... 112

Games West Ham have lost since VIWHUI started ... 145**

Games West Ham have played since VIWHUI started in which Terry Baker scored ... 0

* I know this is a painful, confusing, almost treasonous idea to Americans, except for one crap year of ice hockey

** most of those I seem to remember were last year

I still get asked at races how West Ham are doing and where VIWHUI is, and there is an anecdote of another past president Ed A going to London only to be told by some tiresome irk that Americans do not know anything about the Beautiful Game, only for Ed to reply, yes, I do, Paolo di Canio (one of West Ham's greats and oft-mentioned in VIWHUI) and thus was bought a pint as the tiresome irk happened to be a Hammer, so VIWHUI has also down its bit speading World Peace, and by association that means you have, too. Hurrah!

Ed A Knows Much
About
Hammers and Beer

Today, you have to sort of seach for VIWHUI, but it is still there, still proud, on the font page of the the Flyers' Blog, which can be reached by clicking on the Club Communications link on the Home page.

Now I'll just go and update it.

Come on you Irons, as we say at West Ham. Come on you Flyers, read it!
 
-Terence B

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Yoga for Runners -Soothing Stretches for Mischievous Muscles

Nearly a year ago, I posted a Yoga for Runners entry on the Flyers Blog that I'm quite certain was critically acclaimed, plus read (and re-read) in rapture and awe by each and every Flyer.

No? Well, even still, as we’re approaching the fall marathon season I'm thinking it's a good time follow-up with some additional info. The focus here is on how to prevent and patch up misbehaving muscles that tend to be sore spots for runners.

This summer, Flyer Deirdre M. and I have been participating in a fantastic class at New York Yoga led by experienced yoga instructor and accomplished runner Tanya Namad. The class is on-going up until the NYC Marathon, and we'd love other Flyers to keep us company.

Specifically, Tanya recommends the following as among the essentials for runners.

Hamstrings, Calves, Achilles and Plantar Fascia

Downward Facing Dog stretches all of the muscles of the back of the legs, as well as the feet. This is the first stretch that I do after nearly every run even though I don’t look nearly as graceful and flexible as Tanya does in the photo below!

To get into the correct alignment for this yoga basic, start first in a plank position (as if you are about to do a push up) with your hips and shoulders and ankles in a straight line. Then keep your hands and feet where they are as you pull your hips up towards the ceiling. Relax the shoulders away from the ears, let the head and neck dangle (no tension) and gaze towards your navel. Focus on pulling your heels down towards the floor while you pull the hips up towards the ceiling and tilt the pelvis forward. You can lift the toes up to strengthen the arch of the foot to help relieve/prevent plantar fasciitis. Hold for one minute.

Back and Spinal Alignment

When we run, all the pounding, plus gravity, compresses the spine. It's important to re-lengthen our spines in order to improve our alignment. Also stretching the spine helps to prevent back issues for those runners who are prone to backaches.

Seated spinal twists are good for lengthening the spine and creating more space between the vertebrae. As you inhale, don't just turn but also allow yourself to "grow taller," and as you exhale try to twist a bit further into the pose. Repeat this breathing cycle 3-4 times and then take a counter-twist before switching and doing the other side.

Since I’m not comfortable keeping both legs bent in this position, a recommended variation that Tanya has me do is to straighten the bottom leg (in this photo, it would mean Tanya straightening her right leg).

IT Band Stretch

IT Band injuries can be painful and debilitating, and tight IT bands also put stress on runners' knees.

For a good IT stretch, fold over as far as you can, then bend one leg. Turn toward the side of the straight leg. If you can't touch the floor you can rest the left hand on a block or a prop of some sort (shoe box, foam roller stood up on its side etc.). You’ll feel this stretch on the outside of the straight leg. Hold for 30 seconds and then do the other side.

Hip Openers

Hip openers provide runners with improved range of motion, which is especially important for not losing stride length as we age.

Pigeon Pose is a great hip opener, including for stretching the outer hip muscles and glutes. If using a mat, try to get the front leg's shin as close to parallel with the front edge of the mat as possible. You want the hips to be even, so push the right hip down towards the ground. You may need to adjust the angle of the front knee to do this. Then lower the upper body down over the front leg. You will feel this in the left outer hip. Breathe to relax into it. Make sure to push the hip forward (the right one in this picture). Hold for 30 seconds then switch sides.

Piriformis &Outer Hip Stretch

A recent thread on the Flyers Forum highlights that piriformis pain (i.e., glutes) can shut a runner down. Piriformis syndrome is a condition in which the piriformis muscle becomes tight or spasms, and irritates the sciatic nerve. This causes pain in the buttocks region (my wife says I generate a similar impact for her with my mood swings) and may even result in pain in the lower back and thigh.

For a piriformis and outer hip stretch, stack the shins on top of each other, lining up the knees and ankles (if doable for you, don't tuck them "Indian style"). Then fold forward as far as you can go. Try to relax the hips as you breathe deeply and concentrate on relaxing. Hold for 1 minute and then switch sides.

Hip Flexors

Hip flexors get worked hard, especially when doing speed work, so it's important to stretch them afterwards so they don't tighten up. Lunges are very effective for stretching the hip flexors. Get into a lunge position, then push your hips forward and lean back. In this picture, leaning back towards the right leg really gets into the hip flexor. It also works the calves and achilles, which is helpful for preventing and alleviating plantar fasciitis. Hold for 30 seconds on each side.

Thanks, Tanya!

Thanks to Tanya for sharing all of her great information, which she put together specifically for this blog posting, and thanks also for Tanya kindly allowing me to photograph her in yogi-action to illustrate the poses. For those who'd like to know more about Tanya (no, I don’t mean if you want to know if she’s single!), her personal yoga website is www.yogitanya.com.
- Dave K.

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Open Water Wisconsin!

Bob C.

Recently, a group of Flyers and I headed up to Wisconsin for a long weekend of running, swimming, water skiing, birling (log rolling), eating, and relaxing. Fellow Flyer, Pat D., grew up in the area and owns a lakeside cabin up there.

One of the events was a swim race in Lake Superior from the town of Bayfield (near the northern tip of Wisconsin) to Madeline Island, just over two miles away. Eight of us decided to take on the challenge!

Bayfield is about 90 miles from Pat's cabin, and the race started at 7 AM, so we were all up very, very early. In a three-car caravan, we had to slow down several times for deer crossing the road. The sun was rising over the lake as we got near. It was beautiful. The water was calm, but we expected it to be pretty cold.

Once we got to the start we picked up our race packets and got ready. Siggy T., another Flyer, was not swimming and was kind enough to take care of my camera for me and got some really great pictures. We thought we would be the only New Yorkers there, but were surprised to see a couple from one of the NYC triathlon teams there as well.

The Flyers take Wisconsin!

The course was simple in theory: from Bayfield, we swim straight across the river to a house on the other side of the river (two miles away!).

The men started first with the women eight minutes behind. I have not done a lot of swimming this year, especially open water swims, but thought I could get through this if the water wasn't too cold. As I got my wetsuit on I needed help zipping it up. Another Flyer friend, Noel C., was helping me and it was so tight he asked how I could breathe in it. I've put on a few pounds since buying it eight years ago.

As the time to start was approaching, the guys headed into the the water, which was surprisingly very warm. That was going to make the race a lot more enjoyable. At least as enjoyable as a two-mile swim open water can be! The beach and shallows were really rocky and it hurt walking out. I dove in as soon as it was deep enough.

When the horn went off, I stayed with the group for a little while, but was eventually dropped and I was pretty much on my own for most of the way. Although they had a few buoys out there to be used as guides, I felt as though I just swam straight across the river and never saw any of them.

I tried to settle in during the swim, but couldn't get settled into breathing every other stroke. I couldn't get enough air and had to breathe on every stroke. Then I realized that maybe the wetsuit really was too tight and was restricting my breathing. Another good reason for a new one!

The water was warm, clear, and calm. Once in a while I'd get the taste of diesel in my mouth (just like the Hudson!), but most of the time it was really pleasant. There were many kayakers guiding us and there to rescue anyone if needed (five people were pulled out and did not finish).

The finish was hard to see from the water, so once I felt I was headed in the right direction, I used the sun to navigate by. Unfortunately, I guess my navigation technique wasn't working too well and at finally one of the kayakers said that I was off course and pointed me in the right direction. After I felt like I'd been swimming quite a while I made the mistake of turning around to see how far I had gone. The finish didn't look any nearer, and the start looked really close! Ugh, this was going to take a long time!

I was able to breathe eventually, and I thought I was swimming pretty well, but it was taking forever. That finish never seemed like it got any closer! I wondered how they were able to move the whole island further and further away.

Most of the time, I had no idea how I was doing. I seemed so far away from everyone, but I didn't know if I'd be waiting for people to finish or if they'd be waiting for me. I knew several in our group were really good swimmers, others I thought were a little faster than me, but I didn't think that there was much in it.

Each time I checked my direction and to see how far away I was from the finish, a kayaker would ask if I was OK. So I was getting the idea that I wasn't going to be waiting for anyone at the end. As the finish slowly got closer I seemed to have my own kayaker with me. This probably meant that I was the last swimmer!

After what seemed like forever, I finished! As I struggled to get upright and walk out of the water, I checked my watch: one hour, 54 minutes and change! That really did take a long time. Siggy, who had taken the ferry across to the island, took photos. Pretty much everyone else in the group was already finished, dried, changed and had finished eating by the time I got there! But I had completed the longest open water swim I've ever done!

Bob finishes his longest Open Water Swim ever!

The winning times were amazing! The first man finished in 45:49; the first woman, who was third overall, finished in 47:52!

There were a few swimmers behind me, and when all were done we headed into the local town on the island for breakfast and then took the ferry back to the mainland.

I placed 275th out of 282 finishers! One out of our group, Jeanine H., was second in her age group. Her trophy was a cup of local blueberries!

Next year I'll be back and do much better! –Bob C.

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"She’s SKIING!": A Runner Relishes Winter's Last Hurrah

“Look, Mom, she’s SKIING!”  That’s what the little girl said about me, which would be exciting enough since typically when skis are strapped to my feet I’m not upright long enough to actually be skiing.  But it was especially impressive a few days ago because I was not in Vancouver, or even Vermont or New Hampshire; I was in mid-town Manhattan, headed towards the running path on the East River.


It was almost seven years to the day that I had last used the cross-country skis that compete with my running shoes for space in the closet; that was in Manhattan also, after a late-season storm similar to the one that dumped over a foot of snow over the city this past Friday.  I’d been sliding my way through Central Park then, and was interviewed by a NY Times reporter who quoted me in her story the next day. 


The skiing was harder this time around; the 12 hours of hours of rain and slushiness that had accumulated before the fluffy white stuff had moved in made for a very uneven ride once my skis sunk past the surface.  Not to say that a smoothly-groomed trail would have helped me any – there was no smooth shushing going on and most certainly none of that graceful gliding seen recently at the Olympics.  In fact, as you can see by the photo, I wore my bright red NY Flyers jacket to make sure I’d be found in case I got stuck in a snowdrift.


I was getting a great workout, though – you can burn almost as many calories cross-country skiing as you can running, and without the impact.  Until you fall down, that is.  (Yes, some people fall down cross-country skiing.)  I could certainly feel a great stretch in my hamstrings and my arms.  In fact, my hands are still sore as I type this, from the death grip I had on my poles (to keep from falling down.) 
And then I hit it – cross-country skiing nirvana, or as close as you can get in Manhattan: a ¼-mile stretch of virgin snow carved through by the treads of a very big truck.  So big, in fact that the track left by each tire was almost exactly the width of my skis.  In another words – a packed trail!  It didn’t last long – to the credit of the city sanitation crews, by early afternoon, the East River running path was almost clean enough to run on.  (Indeed a handful of intrepid runners were seen hurdling snow drifts and picking their way around ice patches.)  I ended up spending almost as much time walking between snow-covered areas as I did actually skiing.  So I did what most runners do when they can’t find a place to work out – I headed to the local track, in this case at 10^th Street.  Certainly they weren’t going to plow THAT.  Turns out fourteen inches of virgin snow is nice, but impossible to cross-country ski through.  Made falling down softer, though . . .

It was on my way home from the track, skis hoisted over my shoulder, that I saw the young man with a camera bag coming towards me, notepad in hand.  I laughed as he approached; he was a free-lance photographer for the New York Times.  Turns out he’d spotted me because my bright red NY Flyers jacket contrasted so nicely against the snowdrifts . . .   - Uli H.

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