Marathon Training Program Makes Magic

Rachele A

With the arrival of cooler weather and the return of the "pumpkin-spiced everything," there is no denying that Autumn has arrived and with it, the fall marathons are just around the corner.

Over the past four months, I have been working with the coaches of the Flyers Marathon Training Program (MTP) with my eyes on the NYC Marathon this November. In fact, the Marathon Training Program was what sealed the deal for me to join the Flyers this spring! When my guaranteed entry from my NYRR 9+1 was confirmed, I faced the sobering realization that I was going to need some help preparing to make my marathon "debut" and the MTP approach just made sense – with its top-notch coaching staff, manageable work-out schedule, and potential for camaraderie with a group of fun and quirky people who also love to run.

The summer felt brutal. All of our scheduled runs were either in the crushing humidity or the skies would just open and it would rain. And not just a little rain, but flat out pouring rain. Little by little, we fell into the rhythm of the cycle of speed workouts on Wednesdays, long runs on Sundays, and all of our "homework" in between.


MTP Coaches Kari, Will, Todd and Joe are All Smiles
Before Yet Another Rainy Weds Speed Session

Personally, it has been fantastic for me to work with such a great team of coaches and also one-on-one with Coach Will B who was able to cater to my style of learning (i.e., the more information up front, the better).  A program was tailored and personalized for me to keep me running as much as possible without burning out.  And careful monitoring gave me a better idea of what I was capable of than when I received my initial 17-week plan overview at the start of the program, which has since been adjusted accordingly.

But while I wasn't burning out, it was hard to judge what exactly was happening. My runs were definitely getting longer, but I hadn't really run an official race since the spring (with the exception of the brutally hot and muggy Queens Half... yuck!), and so I was anxious to see how our MTP speedwork was changing my running.

And then, it happened.  On the morning of the NYRR Fitness Mind, Spirit, and Body Games 4-Miler, the heat ran away and took the humidity with it.  I made the decision that I would use the new weather to my advantage, run like we'd been practicing in our loops of the Great Lawn and hill repeats, and just see what would happen.

When I looked down at my Garmin coming into the last mile, I noticed that I was on target to come close to a personal record. I let the downhill on the west side of the park help as I went "all out" (a relative term coming from one of the slowest members of the MTP... haha!) and shaved a healthy 11 seconds off of my previous best for the four mile distance! All the hard work and humid runs have been paying off and I swear I did not stop smiling (and occasionally bragging to anyone who would listen) all day, before resuming training as usual on Sunday morning.

Fun on the Run
-MTP Pace Group Running Long-

I feel that I've been privileged to be training with such an amazingly talented group of runners (and coaches) because while I've been working hard and slowly seeing the improvements in my own workouts, I also benefit from getting to learn and (literally) follow in the footsteps of the faster MTP-ers. Speaking as the girl who is usually bringing up the rear in most MTP workouts, a large part of the motivation to keep pushing comes from seeing the successes of the other members of the program. With a little over six weeks until the New York City Marathon, I cannot wait to see what everyone is able to accomplish!

-Rachele A.

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Yonkers!

Francine A.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of my first marathon. While I’m no Marathon Maniac, I’ve run my share, both here and abroad. But I had never run the out-of-town marathon which is closest to home: the Yonkers Marathon, established 1907. This year, just for fun, I did it.

What a hidden jewel! It reminded me of the races I ran in the early years, when running was still a local affair. The baggage and registration signs were hand-painted. You could register up to a half-hour before the start. Someone played the Theme from Rocky on a boombox at the start. There was no National Anthem and no starting gun or horn. A guy told us to go, and off we went. The Half was one loop, and the Full was two.

There were hills, sure, but nothing we hadn’t seen before. Boy Scouts handed out water and Gatorade. Smiling traffic cops stopped the cars for each runner. The roads were not closed, but they weren’t busy, and the shoulder was generous. There were no medical tents. However, the townspeople were so encouraging that I’m sure any one of them would have fetched me anything I needed, whether a band-aid or an ambulance. The mile markers were tacked up to the light poles. There was no course nutrition, so runners shared their extra gels with one another. One guy was offering cups of flat Coke. I hadn’t seen flat Coke on a marathon course since the first Bush administration.

After the run, finishers lounged at an outdoor bar by the Hudson. I greeted runners that I’d seen around races for years. Nearly a dozen Flyers turned out for either the Half or the Full. A total of 140 men and 37 women finished the Marathon, and a few hundred more did the Half. Many were using Yonkers as a long training run for New York.

The Yonkers Marathon wasn’t always so casual. For much of the 20th century, Yonkers and Boston served as the de facto U.S. Olympic Trials. John J. Kelley ("The Younger"), the legendary Boston Marathon champion who died last month, holds the Yonkers course record of 2:20:13 among his eight consecutive victories at Yonkers. Gary Muhrcke won Yonkers before he won the inaugural NYC Marathon.

In the early years, the last miles were run on the former Empire City Track (now Yonkers Raceway). In 1908, the race drew 20,000 spectators. In 1909, the race was cancelled when police, patrolling the Empire City Track on horseback, refused to make way for the runners.

Today, Yonkers is known as the Marathoner’s Marathon. I can’t believe it took me 20 years to discover it.

- Francine A.

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Interesting Races in Interesting Places -- The Reykjavík Iceland Half-Marathon

Annie B

On a crisp, clear August morning, I found myself trailing a red balloon attached to a grinning bald man with an enthusiastic gait. He was a pacer, and I was negotiating how to keep up with him while dodging the unpredictable bops-to-the-face from said balloon. We had just passed a guy in a gorilla suit dancing to techno and I was in the process of high-fiving two jolly older gentlemen blaring ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ from a box truck. I could hear at least three different accents singing along in the pack around me- Monty Python transcends language barriers- and I was laughing so hard I forgot I was racing. My watch told me I was 30 minutes into a half marathon, but my brain told me I was in the midst of a party. The tourism bureau had it right -- Reykjavík: Pure Energy!

Only a week before this multilingual sing-along in Sauconys, I was finishing a Flyers Marathon Training Program practice and everyone was discussing upcoming races. A large contingent was running the Bronx Half Marathon, while others were going to a race in Pennsylvania. I, thinking myself pretty clever, announced that I was also running a half next weekend…in Iceland.

The response? ‘Me too!’

I had clearly underestimated this bunch. Two other Flyers were planning on running in Iceland. Dave K was running the Reykjavik Half Marathon, and Celia K was running the Reykjavik Marathon (and she subsequently came away with a killer PR)! I was with a friend who was a first-time halfer, and we were all there for an Icelandic adventure, which is exactly what we got.

Dave K, Annie B and friend Gareth

I genuinely cannot say enough about this event. It was the friendliest, funniest, and most pleasant race I have ever run. After sweating myself within reach of a new dress size each weekend in the heat of this New York summer, the brisk Icelandic weather was a welcome reminder that running is actually fun. As we ran through downtown everyone seemed to be out on their front steps cheering.

Family Fun - Break Out the Trombones!

Children were banging pots and pans, locals shouted encouragement and there was even what appeared to be a family band playing ‘When the Saints Come Marching In’ with an elementary-aged moppet wailing away on the trombone. We ran over medians, across roundabouts and along beaches. As the pack spread out, I realized I hadn’t even seen any of the mile markers, only to look down and spot an 8K sign attached to a traffic cone. We were already at 8K?!

The official entrant tally was 12,481, but as we all ambled into the corral at about 5 minutes to the start, it only felt like 200 runners. I crossed the start line seconds after the initial horn, and didn’t even get my heels stepped on. This clearly was not Manhattan.

The course was truly stunning. It was mostly flat which made the runners with pace balloons clearly visible, and went along the coast with some of the most striking scenery I have ever had the pleasure of running in. Think of the Rockies without peaks, or in Seattle on a really nice September day. There was only one hill -- a switchback at about the 16k mark, but it had a Mars Bar pit stop right before you hit it which distracted me from the fact that it was, you know, a hill. I’m convinced this was border-line genius.

Heading Straight to the Atlantic Ocean
with Volcanic Mountains in View

Even though this is a huge international event (1,400 of the entrants are from outside Iceland) I really felt like I was out for a morning run with a lot of very friendly neighbors. Everything about it felt lighthearted and fun. Toward the 19K mark, as the halfers turned for home and the marathoners split for the long haul, a local radio DJ was blasting ‘Living on a Prayer’ inducing another mass sing-along and making the final 3K kick seem almost inspired. Crossing the finish felt pretty great, and there were plenty of high-fives and Powerades to go around. I even found my friend in the post-race mêlée without any trouble.

Over the weekend, I met many other travelers who had come to Reykjavik specifically for this race. In fact, all of people staying at my small guest house ran, and my flight over was packed with a group from Marathon Tours & Travel. The whole weekend is an annual festival for Iceland. Reykjavik’s birthday is celebrated with fireworks the night of the race, and downtown was full of live music, street performers, and food for Culture Night. Also, a major perk of running this race is that your number gets you free admission to any local geothermal spa for a post-run soak. And there are many to choose from.

I would absolutely run this race again, and strongly encourage others to run it, too. In less time than it takes to get from New York to Boston on a Friday night, you can be in a beautiful country with a lively athletic culture, active nightlife, and a local spa. They also happen to have really good beer (Try a Thule. Trust me.). Everything about this trip was good-natured. Twice over the weekend, people pulled over on the side of the road to ask if we were lost and offered to drive us to our destination. We even squeezed in a breathtaking mountain trek and a glacier climb, and I was back at my desk by Tuesday morning.

Run in Reykjavík. I can promise you will not regret it.

Annie B.

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A Summer to Remember, and Flying Into Fall!



Julie W

Hello, fellow Flyers, it’s me again...your Social Events Coordinator, bringing you a recap of the fun events we’ve shared this summer, and whetting your appetite for a fabulous fall.

It’s been a terrific summer for the Flyers. We’ve done a lot of hard running, but had a lot of fun as well! It seems like just yesterday that we kicked back on the Beer Island beach after running 13.2 in Brooklyn, rode the Cyclone, and dipped our toes in the very cold waters of May.


Lara K, Julie W, Nina T and Andrea K


We had a mysterious run through lower Manhattan and over the Brooklyn Bridge in June, and took in a baseball game and enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks on Staten Island.  We also drank a lot of beer and sangria in Tribeca, Queens, and the Upper West Side, scavenged for treasure in Central Park, and cheered on our fellow Flyers at the Team Championships (not to mention devouring the yummy bagels at the post-race picnic orchestrated by Fran O!).


TGIF at Studio Square

On Sept 9th, we officially bid summer adieu with an awe-inspiring harbor cruise aboard the Zephyr. With great friends, great music, and of course great boat drinks, we partied hard. We also took time on what was the Friday before September 11^th to acknowledge all those brave souls who gave their lives and continue to do so for our freedom. As the sun set, we had Lady Liberty on one side and the lights of Manhattan on the other, with the new One World Trade Center lit up in red, white, and blue. And to top it all off, a beautiful moon above…truly inspirational! After docking, the party continued at the Beekman Beer Garden and Beach Club, where we met up with more Flyers for fun in the sand. What a great way to cap off the summer!

Richard B, Lara K, Charlotte N, Kenny H, Mio, and Dorian D'A

Although summer may be over, there's no need to despair.  There are plenty of fun events on tap in the upcoming months. 

Thursday, September 22nd will bring the fall edition of our New Flyer Social. This always popular event will be held at the Mad River Bar and Grill on the Upper East Side. It’s a great chance to meet new folks and catch up with the not-so-new, while we learn more about one another.
Of course there will be fun to be had in October and November as well (in addition to that little race on November 6th!), including at the Marathon Nutrition Workshop on October 13th, and at the Central Park Horticultural Event on November 19th.

I also want to take this opportunity to officially announce that our Holiday Party this year will be held at The Rockefeller University Faculty Club at 64th and York, on Saturday December 9th, from 7-10 pm. So mark your calendars now, because you don’t want to miss this one!

And finally, a special thanks to all the Social Events Committee members, without whom I would be lost. Special shout-outs to Heather M and Fran O (and their crew) for organizing the wildly successful scavenger hunt and team champs picnic respectively…we couldn’t have done it without you! And to Lara K and Stephanie P for heading up many past and future events this year...your dedication and hard work is much appreciated. And as we bid farewell to summer and hello to fall (the best running season!), I want to thank you, the members, for showing up and making all of this planning worth it! Party on, folks!

Julie W.

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