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Submit photos, stories, or video links for publication, via email to Dave K., our Blogmaster, at blogmaster@nyflyers.org
Who We Are
ABOUT OUR CLUB
The New York Flyers, established in 1989, is the most vibrant running club in all of New York City. Membership is open to all runners regardless of experience or ability.
To contact us, please send an email to our Member at Large at mal@nyflyers.org, or visit us on the web.
My fine friend Ilana S, a Dashing Whippet and Friend of Flyers, is generally a solitary and very speedy runner, a writer, a psychologist, and an otherwise seemingly interesting person. Lately, she's been creating short multi-media presentations as a means to express herself. She combines her thoughts, drawings, voice, and music to conjure up short videos. Some of the videos she's posted pertain to the novel she's been writing.
Recently, Ilana posted a short video that she calls On Running. I think it's delightful and powerful. There's a stream of consciousness about it that resonates with me as it brings to mind my own thoughts, feelings, epiphanies, ramblings, nonsense, brilliance, purposefulness, pride, playfulness, peacefulness, loneliness,aggression, curiosity, and other happenings that I sometimes experience when on the run. Yet, while her video seems to open a window into my own mind it also let's the viewer into the very intimate and personal perspective offered by Ilana by allowing entrance into her mind.
Click on the picture please, above (or click HERE), to view Ilana's video.
I hope you may enjoy it, too. Including as a bit of a tribute to Ray Manzarek of the Doors who died in May.
The Flyers annual Toys for Tots Run is one of many longstanding
Flyer traditions. For years Sandy A arranged the toy drive to benefit
children with serious illnesses staying in the PediatricCenter
at Mt.SinaiHospital
on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Participants would typically gather at
the Engineers’ Gate, put their donated toys in Jerry F’s car, run down Central Park’s East
Drive, exit the Park, stroll past the holiday
windows on Fifth Avenue,
and sing holiday songs underneath the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree with
Laurent N conducting. Then the singers would run north through Central Park to Mt.
Sinai, go room to room singing for the appreciative children (and their
parents) and distribute toys as they sang.
The event concluded with a celebratory holiday brunch.
This Year's Singer's Show Off Their Dance Moves, Too!
Several years ago, for the sake of the health of both the
patients and the singers, Mt.Sinai forbade the Flyer
choir’s singing in the children’s rooms. Instead, the Flyers were ushered into
the hospital’s new internal television studio, where the singers would perform
live for approximately half an hour. Children were able to call in with their
requests, which inevitably were dominated by songs the Flyers had just sung,
songs the Flyers didn’t know, or everyone’s favorite musical tribute to holiday
sadism “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Thankfully, the mellifluous
bagpipe stylings of Flyer Patrick D kept the singers’ holiday spirits
bright.
Unfortunately, the toy drive was canceled in 2011 when the
Flyers and the Mt.Sinai staff could not
agree on a suitable time for a visit (“could you come in at 6:30pm on the third Sunday in December?”)
However, this venerable Flyers’ holiday tradition returned this year thanks to
Sandy A’s tireless efforts. She arranged a toy drive to benefit kids
affected by the recent Hurricane Sandy and coordinated with the Central Park
Zoo to accept the donated toys (no, we didn’t sing for the animals). As an
added benefit, those who gave toys were given a ticket good for future
admission to the Bronx Zoo (note: Sandy
also volunteers as a guide at the zoo, so be on the lookout for a Flyer day at
the zoo in 2013!).
Jodie F, Laurent N, Laurie H (with her dog Paco), Steve K, Debbie P, Robert B, Scott S, Amy S, Jennifer B, David W
The Flyer singers met near the Central Park Zoo entrance at
the appointed time – this year’s participants included Sandy A, Jennifer
B, Robert B, Maribeth C, Jodie F, Laurie H and her
dog Paco, Laurent N, Steve K, Debbie P, Amy S, Scott S, and David W. After introducing ourselves to each other and posing for some
group photos, the singers dropped off their toys at the Central Park Zoo, then
headed out of the Park and down Fifth
Avenue to see the 2012 holiday windows.
Laurent was waiting for us underneath the RockCenter
tree when we arrived, but as has been the case the last several times the event
has been held, our group was prevented from singing directly underneath the
tree by the Center’s crack security force. Apparently, there’s now a formal
sign-up process in place for groups wishing to perform underneath the tree, and
groups that attempt to circumvent this process are threatened with eviction,
incarceration, and forcible removal of vocal cords with a sharp instrument (my
apologies to any junior Flyers who may be reading this). After posing for
several group photos underneath the tree, we found an unguarded area across the
street and belted out several up-tempo holiday favorites before the wind and
steady rain conspired to dampen our spirits.
A new venue was chosen, brunch was
ordered, and a good time was had by all. Thanks again to the hearty souls who
chose to participate this year, and special thanks, as always, to Sandy for organizing the
event and Laurent for leading us in song!
Blogmaster's Note: This blog entry was written by Polina Savelieva, the instructor who generously guided the free Flyers Self-Massage Class discussed below. For prior entries on the Flyers Blog about massage, please click HERE. -Dave K, NY Flyers Blogmaster.
On Monday night, December 19th, the JackRabbit Sports UWS community room was filled with NY Flyers eager to try their hands at learning self-massage. When it comes to self-massage, the best way to learn is by doing!
So after a brief overview of the many benefits of massage, the runners were
ready to learn and practice the techniques.
Using a foam
roller and a tennis ball, Flyers were shown a series of movements to release
the tension and tightness in the body, muscle by muscle. Everyone got to practice the movements while focusing on good technique and body mechanics.
The workshop focused on muscles, tendons and ligaments most heavily used
by runners. The participants left the class with a program to make them feel
better and help prevent common running injuries. Two lucky Flyers took home prizes:
Colleen R won a foam roller courtesy of the NY Flyers by winning a heated competition when Flyers were instructed to try to spend exactly one minute foam-rolling their hamstrings (she came the closest!), and Siggy T was the
lucky raffle winner of a gift card generously donated by JackRabbit Sports.
Smiling Flyers Feeling Good At the End of Class
THE BENEFITS OF SELF-MASSAGE
We've all heard
that recovery is an important part of training and that a sports massage is an
excellent choice to maximize your days off. We also know that despite our best
efforts, sometimes there just isn't enough time left in the day to see a
professional. The Self-Massage Workshop was created to empower athletes of
all levels with skills to reduce pain and
fatigue, prevent injuries and speed up recovery time.
The physiological benefits of self-massage are essentially
the same as the benefits of seeing a licensed practitioner. The myofascial
release performed with a foam roller is endorsed by sports doctors, physical
therapists, athletic coaches, and personal trainers as an
effective tool to prevent and treat injury!
With quality training, good
technique and practice, regular self-massage can reduce the need to see a
massage therapist. Of course in case of severe, lingering or undiagnosed injury
an appointment with a professional is still recommended.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of starting a
Self-Massage Program:
Decrease post-exercise soreness by reducing inflammation in the affected muscle tissue
Promote faster recovery by stimulating cells to replace damaged muscle tissue with healthy, new muscle
Prevent restriction in flexibility and restore range of motion to normal levels
Decrease hypertonicity (stiffness) of muscles and tendons
Reduce muscle cramps and spasms
Increase circulation to target muscles and warm-up the tissue before event
Nourish and hydrate the body’s fascia, the connective tissue that binds together the muscles, the skeleton and all internal organs
A short list of common running injuries that respond well to self-myofascial release:
IT Band Friction Syndrome
Chondromalacia Patella
Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome
Achilles Tendinitis
Plantar Fasciitis
Shin Splints
Low back pain
WHAT TO FOCUS ON
The areas to focus on will vary from athlete to athlete,
based on previous injuries, type of training (speed or long-distance), body
mechanics and skeletal structure. It is a good idea to meet with a practitioner
before starting a self-massage program.
A good massage therapist can easily identify the tight problem areas that
are unique to you. With time and experience, working on yourself will help you
more easily detect the areas that need attention.
In general for a runner, these are the muscle groups that
need the work: hips and glutes, hamstrings, quads, IT band, adductors, shins and calves, feet, deep abdominal flexors and the diaphragm.
TECHNIQUE! TECHNIQUE! TECHNIQUE!
Self -massage should be relaxing.When working on a tight spot, keep the rest of the body nice and relaxed. This will allow you to focus in on the target area and prevent tension build-up elsewhere. Use your breath to help release tight hot spots (trigger points).
When using the foam roller, pay attention to body mechanics and posture. The tension in the shoulders, low back and wrist joints should be kept to a minimum. Instead, direct the bulk of your weight into the foam roller.
To get maximum results, the roller should be your strongest point of support to allow for most counter pressure at the area you are working on. Avoid holding yourself up by using your arms and letting your shoulder rise when on your side. (Your arms should not be shaking!) Keep core abdominal muscles strong to avoid excessive arching of low back. Maintain good alignment of the spine. Do not bend at the waist or round the spine when working on the IT band. Think strong clean lines from head to toe. Practice in front of the mirror to improve body mechanics.
Work the entire length of the muscle. A
common mistake is to grind the same painful spot over and over. It is okay to concentrate on tight areas,
but be sure to work the whole muscle from origin to insertion for best results.
Don’t Rush! Most
people start out by doing the exercises too fast, which reduces the benefits. It also is easier to pay attention to your body
mechanics when you slow down. Spend at least 1-2 minutes per muscle group
(more if it feels tight). Use a timer to make sure you are not rushing through
the movements.
Self-massage can be
done everyday!It can be done before you run as a warm-up, after you run as
a cool down/stretch, and on your days off for recovery. Go through the complete lower body sequence at
least once a week. If you are training, you may find that daily use of a foam
roller and tennis ball on problem areas is not too much!
Self-massage is an effective and inexpensive system to help you stay healthy. Give it a try today!
VIDEO CLIP FROM THE WORKSHOP
The following video clip was taken during the workshop. The instruction shown in this clip focuses particular attention on the IT Band, lower back, hips and glutes.
INSTRUCTOR'S BIO
Polina Savelieva is
a runner, triathlete and NYS licensed massage therapist, trained at the
Swedish Institute. She has a full-time private practice with a strong
client base for sports massage and injury recovery/prevention. Polina is also currently employed by Eastside
Massage Therapy on the Upper East Side. Her previous clinical and volunteer
experience includes Jacob Perlow Hospice, NYC Triathlon, NYC Marathon and
Crossfit Games.
Polina is available for massage sessions and private
self-massage instruction by appointment. For more information and to schedule a
session, please e-mail polina.savelieva@gmail.com
or call (646)283-4657. For updates and
special promotions visit Facebook page: Polina LMT.
Former NY Flyers Blogmaster Eric S, who escaped to the Great White North, posted this in January 2012 and I think it merits re-posting. Enjoy!
-Blogmaster Dave K
"This is a little jab at us runners (you probably shouldn't watch if your feelings are easily hurt). Very funny!
I didn't create the video, and as much as I'd like to give the creative person credit, that person would like to remain anonymous. Given the humor, you might be able to guess!
Hope everybody has a great holiday, and enjoy the Gala! - Eric S."
PS: If the link below doesn't work, you can also see the video here."
This is a little jab at us runners (you probably shouldn't watch if your feelings are easily hurt). Very funny!
I didn't create the video, and as much as I'd like to give the creative person credit, that person would like to remain anonymous. Given the humor, you might be able to guess!
Hope everybody has a great holiday party, and I'll see you all at the Gala! - Blogmaster
PS: If the link below doesn't work, you can also see the video here.
