Happy Halloween! / NOT a Shocker

Kelly is an overachiever and posted while on vacation...so her post is now at the end of this one. Let me add some fluff to the top - since some of you like it fluffy.

Halloween weekend contained some shockers, but I would rather focus on the parts of it that were not shocking:

1) Tim and Lindsay throwing a great Halloween party. Thanks you two! For the generous sharing of your house with TRY and friends and the obvious huge amount of your time that you put into the decorations and the theme. I've been missing the heavenly harp music ever since. It was so tranquil!

2) Catherine (that crazy dare-devil) continuing her assault on every Syracuse area weekend race. This time she checked out the new location for the "AAA Halloween Run" at Jamesville Beach (which used to be the Brueggers Bagel Run at Beaver Lake Nature Center). They moved it to support the growing number of entrants but while Jamesville was more wide open, they definitely lost something in the switch. It wasn't as quaint. And was very muddy. So, it was a slow track that wasn't quite the same course as the Celiac 5k from two springs ago, although it used a lot of the same portions of the fields and trails. There were plenty of costumes, including a man in full pig attire (who did get a bit muddy just like everyone else) and some other fully committed costumes. So, it was still a fun event, just not as cute as it was at the cuter park that gets done up for Halloween.

3) Allyson continuing to be an expert, online fundraiser. In a time when it seems that requests on facebook don't get a lot of support, she threw out a quid pro quo offer that enticed the crowd. (Although one could argue that she would have gotten even better results if she offered more than baked goods?) Rumors from the walking event were that Allyson couldn't contain herself and broke into a run partway through. And the famously nutty Dunn sisters were the fourth largest team fundraiser for the entire event! Impressive.

4) Aaron and Kelly lighting it up in a frigid Marine Corp Marathon. Despite being harbingers of frost, they were primed for great performances at the marathon distance and they delivered. Aaron shaved close to an hour of his former PR and Kelly held off a late charge from him to beat him by a few minutes. (Her little running red woman was a bit too strong for his little running blue guy.) I'm not sure what Kelly's PR had been - so I'll await her comment - but I'm guessing it may have been a shared one with Aaron - in which case she took an hour off from that!

The point of #4 is that - if you put in the time that A & K have in your training and do as much speed work as they've done - good results and getting new PRs are not a shocker - they are expected. And while in a marathon anything can happen - it is great that ordinary happened - and that they both got what they deserved. Great job you two!

Final thought from Terry - I keep hearing more and more about lights on the lake running night. It's now just 2 more weeks away - and we'll be meeting at our normal time and place - 5 near the rental building. And then doing a relaxing jog at group pace (may need to split into two groups if we're too cumbersome) and attempt to do all 5 miles of a down and back. It's free! (But they do accept donations.)

Kelly's remote post (thanks Kelly for being a long distance overachiever!):

Happy halloween! I hope everyone had a fun and festive weekend. What costume did you wear this year?

Aaron and I both had good races at the Marine Corps marathon yesterday. Did anyone else race this weekend?

Aaron and I probably won't make it back in time to join you, but I recommend quarters as a goup to prep for those end of year 5ks. That would be a one mile warmup, 4 x quarter mile intervals with quarter rest in between (regroup after each quarter), and 1 mile cool down.

See you next week!

Getting cooler!

I read this on a blog this week, and I thought it was a great quote.

"...you don't have to run a marathon to be a runner. There is too much hype and too much pressure on the marathon. Running should be about enjoying it."
--Joan Benoit Samuelson

We are all runners whether we are doing a marathon, 5k, or just out there for a 1 mile jaunt. Make sure to enjoy your time out there!

This past weekend we had Terry and Catherine completed the Eastwood Park to Park 5 mile race. I think Catherine (and maybe Terry?) did every run in the Syrathon (http://www.syracuse.ny.us/parks/SpecialEventsSyrathon.html). Great job Catherine! [Editor: Catherine did indeed complete the 2011 Syrathon. Terry did not. He is a loser. Don't ever forget that. Going into the last race, only 67 people had completed the first 5 races of the 6 race series. So, Catherine is in select company. Please use peer pressure to get her to post a picture of her medal and to show off her shirt. She is too noble of a person to update her facebook profile picture, but maybe you can guilt her into a picture somewhere else? Shirts were available for runners who completed 4 to 6 of the races, so you'll see more of them then the 60 something who did the full 'thon.]

We are getting to chillier temperatures this week, so make sure to bring the right clothing. I know I didn't pack well last week :) We will be out there running at 5pm again. We had a great turnout last week and hope to see everyone this week, too.

I recommend 4 miles with a 2 mile tempo (1 mile warm up, 2 mile at an increased pace, 1 mile cool down).

See you tomorrow!

Give Me a Break

Kelly needed a much deserved break, so you are stuck with Terry this week. See the entry below for the latest meaty subject - foam rolling.

For this week - a reminder that the TRY meet-up time has been moved up to 5:00. For those of you who can no longer make it: Sorry. But mother nature is a fickle mistress and we are running out of daylight.

The group work-out will either be 1/4 mile intervals or hill repeats at the 3/4 mile mark in the park. It can be decided during the pre-game chat as we meet up.

A special commendation to Lindsay who completed her first marathon on Sunday at the Empire State Marathon! Congratulations on the completion of months of dedicated training. An alley-cat told me that Albany-area-TRYer (and one of the Four Asian Tigers) Kerri completed a marathon this weekend as well. Congratulations to her on once again posting a Boston qualifying time.

Completing the Empire state half marathon were Centipediatrician Bob (Dr. Findacache) and the newest TRYer Steve. Congrats to you both for being half the men of Lindsay and Kerri! (While still being about four times the men that I am!)

Seriously though - congratulations to all of you who have completed your first, your longest or your fastest long races this fall. I hope you take some well deserved moments to revel in your accomplishments! :-) And if you need a break from all those long runs, think about doing some faster, shorter runs (and races). You'll barely notice them compared to your long runs and your marathons and half-marathons and you'll be bringing all that fitness with you...and may be in for a PR without much more than some quick speedwork touch ups.

And a last thought - the former Beaver Lake Bruegger's Bagel Halloween Run, now seems to be the AAA Halloween Run at Jamesville Beach? I assume it got moved for size reasons? It's on Sunday morning October 30th. Anyone want to run that in a group uniform of some sort? Could be fun? Comment or get a hold of me somehow if you are interested...we can figure something out. (Or can do individual costumes...or none at all...just a thought on making a race more fun.) Warning - it's a cross country course - not a road race.

More Meat volume 4 - On a Roll

Tiffany has been without "the meat" for too long, so here we go with the fourth installment. This time we serve up the meat on a roll - a foam roll. The following is healthy serving of Foam Rolling 101:

We should start where all good stories start - with "myofascial release". Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue that provides support and protection for most structures within the body, including muscle. Myofascial release is a form of soft tissue therapy used to treat pain and restriction of motion. The goal is to relax the contracted muscles, increasing circulation and stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia.

Too scientific for you? I agree, just know that foam rolling is self-myofascial release technique. (Which could be a fun new euphemism for "slapping the dolphin".) Here are some informative articles:

This Running Times article calls it The (almost) Magical Foam Roller. It has some handy diagrams showing the key rolling areas for runners - IT band, Hamstrings/Quads, and a very painful looking middle back roll. Some fun quotes -

"But in the case of muscle knots, stretching alone is not enough. When stretching a muscle with knots, you are only stretching the healthy muscle tissue. The knot remains a knot, laughing in the face of the stretch."

"The best way to attack a troublesome muscle knot is direct pressure. A well-trained massage therapist can effectively apply pressure to break up and relieve muscle knots. These knots are pesky. It typically takes several treatment sessions to fix a well-placed knot."

Runner's World provides a similar article. (No good photos here though.) Quotes -

"Using a foam roller can provide similar benefits as deep-tissue massage. By increasing flexibility and decreasing muscle tension, it can help prevent injury and improve performance."

About.com provides a more spread out article that goes into a little more detail and shows all the stretches in pictures. Intro - "Foam rollers offer many of the same benefits as a sports massage, without the big price tag. The foam roller not only stretches muscles and tendons but it also breaks down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue. By using your own body weight and a cylindrical foam roller you can perform a self-massage or myofascial release, break up trigger points, and soothe tight fascia while increasing blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues."

This is written from a health providers perspective and includes some handy diagrams. It gets a bit more technical on how the how myofascial release things works. Some of it's non-technical quotes - "on a simple piece of foam, [you] can improve flexibility, function, performance, and reduce injuries. In a nutshell, [you use your] own body weight to roll on the round foam roll, massaging away restrictions to normal soft-tissue extensibility."

That's probably enough references. For a more personal take there are some TRY members that use foam rolling (or "the stick") and can give your their opinion. Mine is that foam rolling hurts like a sonofabitch! Which probably means that it works. I used foam rolling a lot this summer to get my newly injured leg back to usable. I have fallen out of the habit but intend to get back into. Even more so now that I've finally read the fine print and how and why it works.

Conclusions:

Foam rolls are cheap - and are a great way to perform some self maintenance for runners. (The old style ones can be less than $20 and the fancy new-fangled ones are $40-$50.)

Last Week at 5:30!

Terry will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this will be the last Tuesday of TRY at 5:30. Next week we will start at 5:00. The last TRY run of the year will be the Lights on the Lake Stroll on November 15 (http://www.lightsonthelake.com/). [Terry's comments - Kelly is exactly right...as always. Due to lack of daylight we have to move the start time for TRY earlier. I know this 5 o'clock start time means some of you aren't able to make it...but unfortunately, there is nothing else to be done. So, starting next week - we will start at 5 PM. Also of note is that there is only 6 weeks left of TRY. Lights on the Lake is starting a week early this year, so the final TRY outing will be on Nov 15th as Kelly pointed out...doing a "fun" group paced run under the lights.]

Today was the Chicago Marathon! We had two TRY members, Ally and Sue, complete the race today. It was a warm day, and I am looking forward to hearing about their races. Make sure to congratulate them both :) [Terry again - I would also like to note that "new girl Jen" ran her first half marathon two Sundays ago as part of the Wineglass Marathon race. Congratulations Jen on achieving a new goal!]

Tuesday will be a 5 mile tempo run. We will do a 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at a faster pace (15-30 seconds slower than 10k pace), and 1 mile cool down. If you want more information on tempo runs, you can start with this article from Runner's World.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--11909-F,00.html

For everyone skipping the tempo, I recommend trying to either increase your speed or distance from the previous weeks. You will see the improvements if you continue to work at it!

Special Oktoberfest Workout

Guten Tag Runners!

Since Terry appears to be too busy to post a workout, here is a special Oktoberfest work out for this Tuesday.  We've done quarter miles and half miles so it is time for miles.  Let's do three of them (wish we could be there guys...hahaha).  The first should be around a 15k pace, the second should be around 10k pace and the last at 5k pace; half mile warm up, half mile cool down and quarter mile recovery.

Some special advice for the workout...

Escalade - If the mileage is a bit high, just hop on Terry's back for the recovery.  He needs the extra work.

Duerr - No talking during recovery, only during the intervals.

Diego - Try to keep your heart rate under 220 this week.

ET - Don't bother with the sneakers.  We are working on a Tanqueray sponsorship for you for next year's stiletto dash.

Catherine - Slow down, Wegmans is not allowed to have any more fast runners.

Roger - Keep up with Malinda.

Malinda - Wear a 40 pound backpack so that Roger has a chance.

Sue - In the second half of your marathon, focus on how the Bills blew a 17-3 third quarter lead.  Embrace the speed of the darkside.

Ivy - If you decide to come, bring the game!

and finally....

Terry - define Tuesday's real workout already!

(c) Aaron's Drunken Publications