Dial-a-Dunn

Who you gonna call? 274-DUNN!



Even in California, the writing is on the wall...and it says that Allyson Dunn is the real(tors) deal. (And reAlly annoying! Or not. I had to "fix" the poll and put in a second vote that was something other than "not annoying". Sorry Ally, but I had to make you wonder who the second negative responder was. It was just me, from a different computer.)

For those of you that don't know -- Allyson and I (Terry) go back for years, and in no way do I find her annoying. We just like to joke around with each other. And even if no one else found the poll amusing, I know that her and I did. For the record, Ally is one of my favorite people. And that's why I'm writing this.

An ode to Allyson Dunn:
Allyson is running her first marathon this coming Sunday in Philadelphia. Two years ago at this time, Ally had yet to run a race. Ever. To my knowledge her first ever running race was the Corporate Challenge in summer of 07. The following Tuesday a little running group called TERRY, uh, I mean, TRY met up for the first time. In the year and a half since, there have been a lot of great achievements from TRY group members. From Brad and Ally finishing their first ever half marathons last fall, to Aubrey finishing her first Corporate Challenge, to several people finishing their first ever Boilermakers, to Katie qualifying for the Boston Marathon this fall.

So many people have reached new achievements alongside of TRY that it is hard to choose one, BUT if I had to choose the star pupil of the TRY group, it would have to be Ally. Partly because she's been there both years, but mostly because of what she has dunn and the transition she has made as a runner. To go from never running a race to running a marathon within 17 months is amazing to me. She's always been very dedicated and always willing to listen to more experienced runners. And not only does she listen -- but she actually applies what she hears! Amazing.

So, best of luck to you Allyson. I'm sure you'll have plenty of inspiration running in the city where your mother grew up and where there will be plenty of Phillies references to make you smile and think of your mom and me. (I'm not sure about the cowbells though -- they might be sparse thanks to Tampa ruining the concept of the cowbell for the people of Philadelphia).

It sounds like you've trained reAlly well and reAlly smartly, but that doesn't mean that there won't be tough parts during the race. So when that tough stretch hits late in the race, remember that you're not running by yourself. You have TRY there with you. Think about Katie. Think about Timmy. Think about Amy. Think about Brad. Think about me. Think about all of us that you've trained with in the last year and a half. The freezing days last winter, the hot days this summer. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I'm very proud of you and I'm sure many others are as well. So, do TRY proud. And do it with a smile on your face. If you aren't smiling and enjoying it, then you aren't being the Ally we all know and like. So, smile at the cowbells, smile at the Phillies shirts, and smile at yourself for such a great accomplishment. Remember, you have an advantage over 99.99% of the other runners -- you'll be Dunn before you even start the race. :-)

Good luck, kiddo. I know you'll do well!
T

Winter Running

I'm now going to face the reality that very few, if anyone at all, are going to show up throughout the winter at OLP on Tuesday afternoons. I know many of you simply can't get out of work early enough, and lets face it, Syracuse winter weather can really make it easy to not go running. Last week, Katie and I made it about 200 ft in a very cold, windy, driving rain before we said "to hell with this." Therefore, I'm not going to bother posting weekly workouts for the rest of the winter. That being said, I plan on being at the park just about every Tuesday. Some days I'll be doing speedwork, sometimes (like today) I'll just be going for an easy run. So, if anybody would like to join me, that would be great. For now, I plan on starting my run about 4:15/4:20ish. I'm sure I'll have to move that time up a little earlier in a few weeks.

Terry, thanks for letting me TRY to keep things going in your absence. If you're not back in the spring, I'll be happy to get things going again until you return.

Ally, if Terry is not back by then, I promise to get better with the polls, and I'll do my best to not make them about you.

To everyone, good luck this winter, and do your best to keep running on at least a somewhat regular basis. It'll prevent you from having to start all over again in the spring. A lot, if not all of us, have made tremendous progress with our running throughout this past year, and at least for me, this group has definitely been a part of it. It's been a pleasure! Hopefully I'll see some of you throughout the winter, and if not, I'm sure I'll see all of you again in the spring.

Thank a Veteran

First off, to any Veterans reading this, my sincerest thanks for all you have done and will continue to do for this country. We are all in your debt. As for the rest of us, make sure you take a moment to reflect on the significance of today, and of course, thank a Veteran!

Okay, now for the running, which looks like it will be in about a 30 degree (if not colder) wind chill with a good chance of rain/snow showers. Regardless of the weather, I will be there. My plan for today is to do 800 m (1/2 mi) intervals with 400 m (1/4 mi) recoveries as follows:

• 1 mi warm-up
• 800 m on/fast
• 400 m recovery
• repeat 4x
• 1 mi cool-down

This adds up to 5 mi. As always, feel free to adjust the workout to fit you. I'm still looking at a 4:30 start time at least for this week.

For those of you looking for other day/time options, I know Aubrey and Sue are always looking for people to run on the weekends, and I believe Ally is pretty much looking for anybody to run another night. I don't really expect attendance to be very high on Tuesday's, especially with the early time. The important thing is to just keep running throughout the winter, even if it's only a couple times a week. Therefore, if anyone would like to get in touch with another TRYer to attempt to work something out for another day, let me know, and I can put you in touch with them (if you don't already have their contact info).

TRY Earlier

Okay, due to it no longer being daylight savings time, it's dark out by like 5:00 now. Therefore, for at least this week, we'll have to move the start time to 4:30. I realize that many of you won't be able to accommodate this, and I apologize. I've heard a few (but not many) suggestions on how to avoid this dilemma. If any of you have ideas and haven't already shared, please do so. I'd like to talk to a few more people before compiling the ideas and trying to figure it all out. Terry, what did you/the group do last winter? That being said, many of us do still run on days besides Tuesday (e.g., I know Sue's looking for people to join her on Saturday or Sunday). So, search around, and I'm sure you'll be able to find something that suits you.

Anyway, like I said before, tempo run tomorrow starting at 4:30 in OLP. I recommend 3-5 miles, with 2-3 at tempo pace (i.e., a pace that's not "all out" but one that is difficult to maintain for the given distance). For example, I'll be doing a 1 mi warm-up, 3 mi at tempo pace, and a 1 mi cool-down. Since it should be warm tomorrow, feel free to cut the warm-up and/or cool-down down to 1/2 mi if you're looking to cut down on the distance a little.

Hopefully at least some of you will be able to make it.

I May Not Be Helping You, But You're Still Helping Me

Guest post by Terry:

Just wanted to say hi to my TRY peeps...and to let you know that you are still on my mind, even though I abandoned you all and moved a couple thousand miles away. Today was the worst weather day I've seen in San Diego...it was only in the low 60's and was actually what I would call overcast and it even rained! (Well, rain is a strong word, more like a heavy mist.) Anyway, I totally didn't feel like running, but then I thought of TRY and all the hard work that a lot of you have done:

Katie ripping through her marathon after training so hard throughout the summer.
Aubrey and Christine building up to and finishing their first 10-k's.
Mark doing his hardcore speed workouts and improving his pace significantly.
Brian doing whatever it is that he does.
Catherine showing up for TRY the last two weeks in the middle of wind and snow storms and currently running at her fastest pace ever.
Amy pushing the length and pace of her runs to new limits.
Allyson doing the longest runs of her life in preparation for her first marathon.
Sue reaching her goal in her half marathon (including a potty break!).
Kris doing whatever it is that she does.
Annette doing crazy trail run half marathons and doing the longest runs of her life in preparation for her first marathon.
I'm sure there are others that I'm missing...

The point is that I thought to myself - "Self. How can you be lazy and sit on your bum just because the weather isn't ideal when the TRYers are back in Syracuse in sometimes miserable weather and pushing themselves to new limits. How can you look them in the eye next spring if you let yourself get soft on the west coast?"

So, I got of my buttocks and went out and suffered through a hilly run that turned out to be 11 miles. It wasn't quite mountain goat worthy, but it did have a Colvin equivalent hill 7+ miles in. And I don't think I could have done it without you guys. With thoughts of you in my head, a drenched shirt, chafed nipples (Annette -- I still get THO's out here!), and tough hills cannot deter me.

Thanks for inspiring me from afar! Now, bundle up and keep training! (Or else I'm going to whoop your butts at the Jingle Bell Run.)

-WCT