Run Smarter, Not Harder

Group run: tonight at 5:30 at OLP. (Within a couple weeks the time will have to move up to 5:00 for lack of light reasons.) The actual run? Whatever you are up for. I think I'm healthy enough to run intervals again, so I'll attempt to lead up a 4-5 miler with 1/2 mile intervals.

Some TRYers still have their fall laid out for them. Their ultimate test for this year is still to come and their training plan is in place. But for others, their big test is behind them. So what do they do now?

That's right Jacque*, I'm talking to you. You've had an awesome year, reaching new lengths in your running and keeping a great mood along the way. But now the pressure is off and I'm guessing that motivation might be lagging. So, what now?

Focus on some little things:
Think about your running form. Do you carry your hands higher than you need to? Do you come across your body with your arms more than necessary? Why not think about that when doing a short run? Make some minute improvements in your running efficiency that will aid your running for years to come.

Think about training smarter. Long, steady runs are perfect for training for long races. But they are not very good for cardio fitness or for weight maintenance/loss. So, start working on speed differentiation during your runs. Instead of doing a steady 8 miler. Go out and do a 5 mile tempo. Instead of a regular 4 miler. Mix in some 1/4 mile intervals. Get those legs moving, get that heart pumping and push yourself harder in your shorter runs. It'll pay dividends for any future running that you do of any length. Plus, its mentally rewarding. When you see those split times getting faster after just a couple weeks of pushing yourself, you know you are making strides. (Ummm, bad pun. :-)

Do some shorter races. There are 5ks and 10ks all the way through Thanksgiving (at a minimum). So, why not circle that local Turkey Trot held near wherever you will be on Thanksgiving morning and have that as a goal out there to keep you training until the snow flies. That speed work that you will be incorporating will help you maximize your performance in a "short" race. You'll gobble up the 5 kilometers in no time.

Enjoy your running. Not that you haven't been. But the pressure of building up to new lengths is over...so make sure that training is fun again. Enjoy having to run "only" 4 miles. Explore new places to run. Do some trail runs underneath fall foliage. Etc.

*Names have been changed. Any overlap with real TRYers is purely coincidental.

Celebration Week

We had another TRYer complete a half marathon this weekend. So, add Sue to the list of September half marathoners. Good job, Sue!

The run this week will be whatever you want it to be. I’m injured, so it will be slow and steady for me.

Reasons to celebrate this week:

1) All of the successful half marathon finishes in the last two weeks.

2) All of the TRY birthdays last week.

3) Since this is a bit of a transitional period…the summer runners might be calling it quits soon and the fall marathoners are starting to crank up their mileage.

4) We’re losing another TRYer – Annette is leaving the Syracuse area soon to move near New York City. She got engaged in August and is following her heart to be with her fiancé. At her going away outing for her work gang she told me that the Relay For Life event/run was her favorite/most memorable run of the year. Awww. (Thanks Annette! I’m still hoping you make it back for next years Relay weekend…we may need Bella and your legs to shine on camera again!)

5) There is more than one engagement going on in TRY. Amy (and Ben) just got engaged over the weekend! So, congratulations to those little love birds. :-) (You are NOT allowed to leave the area like Annette and Aubrey have! I’m starting to notice a bad trend with these women whose names start with “A”. Ally, any news for us?)

How to celebrate:

I know not everyone involved in the above 5 items can make it, but we’ll celebrate without them as necessary. The plan is to go to the Retreat after running and have dinner/drinks with a little special surprise for the birthday people. I am going to make a reservation tomorrow for 6:45 for “x” number of people since I’m hoping it will be more than a table full. So, please let me know if you will be attending so I can plan for the approximate turnout. If you can’t run but can still make it, that is fine – shoot for 6:45 at the Retreat on the dining room side. (Non-TRY guests are welcome.)

I know a couple (or more) of you bowl on Tuesdays, so I was thinking that for anyone that wants to keep the celebration going, we can invade your bowling alley to say hello. Flamingo Bowling has “1 dollar mania” going on tomorrow night starting at 8:30. And I need to practice. So, I am planning on saying hi to the TRYers at the bowling alley and then bowling a couple games for $1 each (plus $1 shoe rental if you need it). Hard to beat that price.

So, people can just join in for that too, if the earlier stuff doesn’t fit in.

Recapping today’s agenda:

TRY run at 5:30

Retreat dinner/drinks/dessert at 6:45 (Please give me a headcount for this.)

Flamingo bowling at 8:30 – 10? (Not as important, but if you plan on doing this it would be nice to know ahead of time.)

After hours – track down Amy’s dart team at whatever bar and make faces at them while they are trying to concentrate during darts.

So You Say Its Your Birthday?!!!

What is up with all the mid-September TRY birthdays? (I hesitate to do this, since I don't call out everyone's birthdays...but there are way too many to ignore this week.)

The birthdays that I know of:
Sunday - Kim (Hey, she showed up a time or two last year! She still counts as a TRYer.)
Monday - Brian and Malinda
Today - Lori (and my nephew Cory)
Tomorrow - Jen

Happy Birthday everybody! (And to the non-birthday people -- give your favorite birthday TRYer a birthday hug.)

So, I was thinking about the odds of 5 birthdays from a small group (20-something) falling within four calendar days. Seemed small until I thought about what happens "9 months" before mid-September. So a little research found that the human gestation period is 266 days from actual conception. And September 15th is 258 days from New Years and 265 days from Christmas.

I think we have our answer! Your parents were all feeling "romantic" around the holidays and as a result you came into the world in mid-September. Awwwww....holiday romance...something about those Christmas lights! :-)

Congratulations for all the half-marathon finishers this weekend (in Syracuse and Rochester). Brian, Terry, Ally, Lindsay, Aaron, Kelly, Jen, and Jacque (her first!).

Tonight -- I don't know. 4-5 miles with 1/2 mile intervals I suppose? People will be hurting from their races/long runs...so do whatever suits your needs.

After -- rollerblading anyone? The women rollerblading afterward a couple weeks ago reminded me that I haven't used mine all year. So, I've dug them out and put them in the car...figure it can help me get a better workout in while taking it easy on my kickball ravaged leg. So, plan on rollerblading some on the nice days in the next few weeks.

Fantasy Versus Reality

In honor of back-to-school time, this is my once-a-year TRY skip day. (For a fantasy football draft. I know, lame. But I have to do it.)

So, please do your best to coordinate your runs with the other people. Not many people have been doing the intervals, but if you want to, we are due for full mile length ones. But, do what you need to do tonight.

This coming weekend a couple TRYers are attempting their first ever 1/2 marathons. So, best of luck to Jacque and Lindsay (and others?) as they set their sights on a new length! And good luck to the other 1/2 marathon repeaters as you toe the line in Syracuse and Rochester. Trust in your training and don't forget to enjoy yourselves along the way!

And speaking of Lindsay -- her boy-bringing-milkshake-making was not enough for her at the fair last week. She also won a grill master award for her steak grilling ability. Congratulations (again) Lindsay! Here is the link and here is a glamour shot:

Fair Enough. Some people just don't get it.

The big news of the week is that a fringe TRY member is a milkshake making champion! Congratulations Lindsay on your continued culinary excellency. I don't suppose you have a donut to go along with that milkshake, do you? :-)



(And for those of you wondering, Lindsay has said that if her schedule ever changes, that TRY would be "one of the running clubs that she would consider joining". Thanks for the consideration Lindsay! That's very kind of you. ;-)

Anyone interested in going to the fair tomorrow night? Rick Springfield of "Jessie's Girl" fame is the free concert and a couple TRY members are going to be there. If you are interested, let me know and I can work out some sort of informal coordination on when and where to meet up.

The run for tonight will be whatever the heck you want it to be. Gosh! (The suggested group run will be 4-5 miles with 1/2 mile intervals.) Regular time and place.

Lastly, I'd like to share a piece of inspiration from one of our own TRY members (thanks for sharing your poem!):

Some people just don't get it…

Some people just don't get it…
How can she run so far so fast?
Some people just don't get it…
What is she nuts, has she lost her mind?
Some people just don't get it….
How can she find that fun?
Some people just don't get it…
Why on earth would you run?

Only a runner truly understands…
That feeling you get when you run like you are on top of the world
It's a high like no other, a mind-chemical high,
a perfectly legal and addictive drug
Only a runner truly understands…
There is no better way to escape the pressures and stresses of life,
And to enter that world of your own
where your only form of transportation is your legs and mind alone
Only a runner truly understands…
That joy you get from a handshake just before a race
Or the shouts of encouragement that make you push that much harder
Or the feeling of self accomplishment and self satisfaction when you finish
Only a runner truly understands…
That if you're willing to go the distance, go the extra mile
with determination and effort, you can often achieve even more...

For those of you who don't get it….
we run because we want it,
it's satisfying and because we prove to ourselves
We are capable of much more than we sometimes realize.

With that in mind, runner or not,
If you want something bad enough,
Push yourself and never give up.
Don't let insecurities get in your way.
If you believe, you WILL achieve
And you too will notice,
Some people just don't get it…

-Malinda A Greene