#ilovecorey

Thanks to you soccer loving freaks, uh, I mean, progressive American fans who are embracing the most popular sport in the world, there are two options for TRY this week.  (We are a country full of people that love to fall in love with new things.)

Option 1: Report as normal to OLP at 5:30 for the group run.  Pre-game-plan a bit to find like minded runners for maximizing your workout.

Option 2: Watch the entire US versus some tiny country World Cup "match" at the Cobblestone.  Starts at 4 and should last til around 6.  Perhaps a bit later if it ends up tied?  Then head over to the park at that point and Aaron will coordinate the run.  (Perhaps will start the run right from there?  Or from that closest access point to the park from there?  I will leave that in Aaron's capable hands to decide.)

(There is a combo option where you can watch the first 2/3 or so of the game at the Cobblestone and then come and meet up at OLP at 5:30.  I plan to do this myself, but I realize this means missing the most important part of the game, so this may not suit other people.)

Pick the plan you would most enjoy.  :-)

What else for this week?  Hmmm...

Not this week, but next week on Thursday afternoon (July 10th) we will do the first "TRY Fun Fieldtrip" of the summer.  Details to come, but it will be in the Westvale area and involve a neighborhood run, a possible dip in a swimming pool and some snacks provided.  Attendance is optional, but it is something to consider.

Please remember that tonight is Team Beef "stunt night".  We want to finally help that old lady figure out where the beef is:


I've been slacking off long enough, so tonight is the return to recommended interval nights.  Many of you have already been doing them, but many of you have not.  So, let's start out with some 1/4 mile intervals tonight for all the reasons that interval workouts are good for you.

Yesterday (Monday, June 23rd) would have been Angela's (of Angela's TRYangle fame) 27th birthday. With the news just recently about the obstetrician being indicted for murdering his wife, it seems like a perfect time to remind everyone that domestic violence can happen to anyone, even Jews.  (It it important to note that the doctor case is alleged domestic violence.  Even his children apparently believe he is innocent.  This sounds like an ugly case!)  As a group, we tend to joke about race, morals, sexual identity, domestic violence, and several other touchy topics, but really, if you can't joke about racism, sex, and beating up your significant other in a group setting, then why bother having a group?!  That doesn't mean they all aren't serious subjects though.  Speak up if you are or know of someone who may be a victim of minor domestic violence.  It usually only gets worse.  The above two cases are extreme examples, but minor cases happen all the time.

(Related, but not as important: Angela's mother considered and put quite a bit of time into almost organizing a 5k type race to honor her daughter's memory.  I was sort of consulting and helping Malinda with ideas for what they might do.  I always thought the name of the race could be something like the "You Can't Beat Me! 5k Run/Walk".  But honestly, I could never decide if that would have been a great name or a terrible name.  What do you think, appropriate, or crossing the line?")

Some actual running related information:
Apparently people keep figuring out new things and this fascinating article showed how out of date I am with recovery and how you can get recovery wrong.  (Like, no "ibu" after running now?!  Apparently NSAIDs can limit or cancel the gains we hope to make from training!  And ice baths and vitamin C should be reconsidered as well?  I can't handle ice baths anyway, but Vitamin-C?  I feel my whole life has been a lie!  It also mentions eating after workouts and the importance of dynamic stretching and even our favorite - Mr. Foam Roller.)

In honor of Sue's visit back to Syracuse this weekend, I'll call this article "how Sue trains wrong".  (I, and many others make the same poor choices, but let's pick on Sue because she is not here yet to defend herself.)  It talks about getting faster as a runner and says to make your hard days harder, your slow days shorter, and to get rid of "long, slow, distance" runs.  The very LSD runs that are (or used to be) the staple of almost every long distance training plan!  Well, Sue and everyone else needs to re-evaluate those and increase effort and vary your pace.  (According to this article anyway.  But I tend to believe everything I read on the internet.  Bonjour!)

Lastly, do you do planks with straight arms or on your elbows/forearms?  I liked these two front plank variations but I do not like doing planks up on my hands.  For those of you into the Insanity or P9X (Yes, 9, because who actually lasts all 90?), or just at fitness classes at a gym, how do they teach planks and arm position?  (I'm seriously curious.)

Lastly, the Paige's Butterfly Run gallery has been updated for 2014, but they also promise more photos coming soon. I plan to pick through the photos and put all of the TRY related ones into that same Facebook album that already exists from photos we took, but you can go and look for ones yourself if you are too excited to wait for me to find them. The gallery page link is here.  And you can see the way too happy "Running With the Devils" again right here:

DIY Sports Drink and Immortality for "Meat Loaf"/"Beefeater"

This Tuesday is the Chase Corporate Challenge.  So, we do not have TRY at the normal place and time.  If you would like to attempt a group run, we are meeting near the normal place - probably a bit closer to the 0.0 marker at 5.  (With a courtesy 10 minutes to allow for traffic and parking woes.)  I recommend on-street parking in Liverpool.  We will start running at 5:10 and be done in plenty of time to cheer on our fellow TRYers that are doing the Challenge - which starts at 6:20ish.  (If you are cheering, please bring a cow bell.  If you don't have a cow bell, then please buy one from me.  I've sold more cow bells in the Syracuse area than a cow store.  I will have my phone on me, so anyone attempting to meet up, please drop me a text if you are going to be late.

It often gets mentioned that my running blog has very little to do with running.  (I guess that makes anyone who reads it a sucker?!)  Well, this week I have a very good suggestion for saving some money when you are hydrating when running or biking -
I stumbled upon a recipe for a homemade sports drink which offers a profile similar to what the name brands have - 50 to 70 calories and about 110 milligrams of sodium per 8 ounces.  This is a skeleton that allows you to swap in whatever flavor juice you want.  (I am passing this along with changes - I have not made it with orange juice.)

This makes a quart:
Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup orange juice (not concentrate)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 1/2 cups cold water

Instructions
1) In the bottom of a large pitcher, dissolve the sugar and salt in the hot water.
2) Add the orange juice, lemon juice and remaining water; chill.
3) Use immediately or seal for storage.

I've made it twice (both times as a double batch, since I wanted more since I was going through the process) and it's "interesting". The ones I've done have more of that recovery drink type taste to them and I need to start experimenting to find out what contributes to the taste and what works well and what does not.  Supposedly you can leave the lemon juice out but then it won't taste as sweet?  And I'm going to try a weaker version to see what a watered down version tastes like.  What would honey do to it?  Maple syrup?

I've made it with an apricot/mango juice and a concord grape juice base.  I really thought the grape one turned out well and was the better of the two I've done.  I have no interest in an orange juice base (just seems odd) but should probably try it to make sure.  What would a lemon juice based one taste like?  Etc.

If you are like me and tend to get addicted to sports drinks when you exercise in the heat, this should give you control over what you drink, give you more flavor options, and also save a ton of money.  Assuming the prices I checked are typical, and the google conversions and my math were accurate, then the mix I made with grape juice cost me 38.2 cents per quart.  (Counting the water as free.)  I'll round up and call that 40 cents a quart, which makes me ashamed for the times I've broken down and paid gas station store prices for a Gatorade while desperate.  It's not like I drink Gatorade or Powerade for the taste anyway and the important part is the hydration and recovery.  (In case you care interested in the math, I came up with 15 cents for the lemon juice, 11 cents for the sugar, .2 cents for the salt and 12 cents for the grape juice.)  If you bought bulkier than I did, you could drive the price down a bit more.

Do try this at home and let me know how it turns out for you!

I saved this for last even though it should have been first.  Nothing I've done in the past few years of TRY has captured the current essence of TRY like this.  (And perfectly sums up the friendship between "Meat Loaf" and I.)  I can think of no better way to make sure that TRY leaves an imprint on the world.  And for Erin T. - who does not even get to use her own name with us - I give you the gift of immortality.  This is our very own term that TRY, Miss Tiffany and I have brought forth onto this world.  This did not exist in Urban Dictionary until I submitted it earlier this week.  Not just a new definition of a term, but a new UD team itself, here, in all it's glory.  (Yes, you have to click on it.  I promise it is legit and not a Rick Roll.)  Please read the example with Erin being the first speaker and me being the second (and back and forth).  I attempted to submit it with the names in place, but they rejected it, so I had to make it generic people talking.

Please vote it up while you are there, not that it matters since it's the ONLY definition...but might as well get the up votes accumulating in case someone submits a new definition in the future.

Could You Do It? I Know I Could Not.

Here is the song to play while reading this weeks entry:

The Essential Stuff:

Tonight is normal place and time.

BUT, next week is the Chase Corporate Challenge which means we get kicked out of our park.  Well, many of us usually are able to take part in the Challenge so are there anyway.  It really caught me off guard this week because I was naively thinking it was a week later.    

Last year, a few of us started a new tradition.  If you can get to the normal starting spot by 5, it is still possible to run in the park.  (All the Challenge people have taken over the parking lots, and car parkway area, so very few go beyond the bathroom building into the park itself.  The issue is fighting closed roads, increased Liverpool traffic and sparse parking.)  So, if you can get there "early", on-street parking will still be available in Liverpool and then we will do a small group run into the park.  After that (the Challenge starts at 6:25), we will venture out onto the course for the Challenge and form a cheering squad - probably just down from the Butterfly garden area.  Last year we were a festive bunch and had fun cheering on people and companies for a while.  Since the Challenge is such a crappy run in and of itself, I like to think that a Cowbell Crew helps a lot.  It actually makes for a fun night as afterwards we can mingle in and around the company tents with TRYers in and sometimes are able to look pathetic enough that we get some free scraps.  If you want to do the 5 o'clock "early" TRY next week, please let me know as I will coordinate with you so we do not take off if you are fighting traffic and parking but only a couple minutes behind sort of thing.

There has been a slight change for this Saturday mornings Joe LaGuardia event.  They have such a good turnout of volunteers that Joe's daughter has told me not to bother, but instead to just register and run in the race itself.  (And that would be the biggest help to her.)  So, that is what I'm going to do now.  I hope a couple of you are able to do that as well.  (Rumor has it that there may be a running stroller showdown in the race.  Which reminds me - all your mothers and fathers out there - strollers are welcome - so bring em out and have some fun.  Obviously I've trained with a stroller, but have not done a race with one...so will be interesting to see what pace I could do.)

From here on out, it's all about Paige's Butterfly Run:

Thanks to everyone who donated, participated, helped out with, or ran with the TRY groups on Saturday morning.  Some early photos have been all over Facebook so I am not going to repeat many here.  Once the event photographers and our own photographer get to them, there will be a ton this year that will get put into Facebook albums.  Hopefully everyone who was there for the first time enjoyed themselves and also realized what a special event this is and also noticed that our Centipede teams hold a certain place of honor around the event.  This all happened by accident, but now that the two-way bond is there, it is something that I do not take lightly.  (One of those, "with great power, comes great responsibility" things.)  So, yeah, obviously we could wear more comfortable outfits or could have less flair to go along with our costumes, but why run without wings, and flowers, and pitchforks, when adding all those extra things puts us over the top?  (And seemingly has made the Post Standard and Syracuse.com fall in love with us.  Or at least our women.)

I believe I was able to introduce almost everyone to either Chris or Ellen (or both).  But did you take the time to think about what they've done?  Like, REALLY think about it?  Their story is on their site, but it goes deeper than that.  I honestly do not know (you have to have a certain personality) how they do this.  I understand how they are honoring their daughter and how amazing that side of it is, but it also means that each year they have to harp on the fact that she is gone.  They watch all these other people grow up around them while Paige's face on that pretty banner always stays the same age.  Our very own Escalade was destined to overlap with Paige in the Baldwinsville school district but Paige never made it.  Knowing Escalade like we do, there is every chance they would have been good friends.  So, how does Chris handle seeing Escalade and her father crossing the finish line knowing that simple act was denied to him and his Paige?  I love what they've done and how they've turned personal tragedy into a local legendary success story...but I couldn't do it if it had been me.  Could you?  (They have a daughter that was a few years younger than Paige - so may not even have a memory of her - or very simple ones?  How much of her life was spent watching and helping her parents do this in memory of an older sister she never got to know?  Doesn't that put the surviving daughter in a really awkward position?  She's the one who lived, but gets put on the back burner for days and weeks at a time while they spend all this time honoring Paige.)  It hits really deep if you take some time to think about it.  Which I have.  And that is why as long as there is a TRY I plan to be over the top in our support of Paige's Butterfly Run.  Thank you for making that possible again this year.  Chris flattered me by mentioning my name as we went up to get the trophy this year, but this team goes well beyond me.  And these five years of Centipede fun would not be at all possible without you.  :-)

Here is John from 2014, doing a very simple thing that Chris never got to do with Paige.  Her finish line came way too early.

This last point is completely off topic.  So, stop reading now if you want to salvage any bit of respect for me: Meat Loaf - or other "cards against humanity" players, I need a ruling.  Look at this photo that made the paper online:

Is Berms giving us the legendary "tasteful sideboob" that the game refers to?  The Urban Dictionary definition does a criminally poor job describing it and leaves still uncertain?  Is it a boob seen from the side profile?  (Like our current example.)  Or does it have to be bare to the point that you see underboob, like with a fancy dress a celebrity would wear, or something you see in a PG movie where they don't want to show frontal so they flash a side?  Please help!  (I love the phrase but do not know how to correctly apply it and this photo was a serendipitous way for me to find out.)

You Can Now Find Me, Down By The River

That's right, as of late tonight I am a partial owner of a minivan.  So, I'm thinking of parking it down by the river and becoming a motivational speaker.  It seems like that is a void that has gone unfilled long enough.  Guard your coffee tables!



For this weeks workout - discuss and find like minded individuals at the start of TRY.  That seems to be working well, so why change it?  If you feel you are not having your needs met, please let me or an experienced TRYer know and we'll do what we can to help out with your current running regimen.

I fully admit, I have NOTHING for you this week.  So, just a couple of reminders.

This coming Saturday morning is TRY's favorite local fundraising race of the year - Paige's Butterfly Run.  We are fielding two centipede teams again and this years teams include 6 of the 10 slots as first time 'peders', so there should be a lot of laughs.  For everyone doing it, it is a good idea to read the 2014 centipede team rules.  (Even though I'll make sure we are street legal, so you do not HAVE to read it if you don't want to.)  The biggest change I see is that the antenna and the stinger are now "encouraged" and no longer mandatory.  The connection and the length have not changed over the years.  Something that continues to change from time to time is the course.  They are at the mercy of downtown construction, so it looks like this years course will revert back to what we ran the first year - starting and finishing on Franklin street.  Unfortunately I think this course is a bit narrower in key spots and will mean a little more coordination will be needed within the teams.  (It also means that we will not get to walk past Kristen's favorite "Five Sisters" houses.  :-(

In two Saturdays - on the 14th - is the "Joe LaGuardia Amyloidosis 5K Run/Walk".  As a friend of the organizer (Joe's daughter) I currently have signs out on my yard advertising the event but I also promised to attempt to recruit participants or volunteers.  Its starts and finishes at the Inner Harbor so will be a course that most of us have ran before.  (And will overlap slightly with the Paige's course, actually.)  Since everyone is on their own running schedule, is there anyone that would come out and volunteer with me and help get a local event with a heartfelt, family, cause off and running.  (Now in it's second year.)  Let me know and I'll provide details to you as we get closer.

Remember - it's great to be on the other side of races once in a while as a reminder of how much difference a friendly racer is versus a rude, inconsiderate, and only in it for themselves racers.  It definitely will keep you thankful of all the volunteers at the races you run in.

That's it.  Short and sweet and no photos of Berms - just as I promised.  If you need anything, come knock on my van, down by the river.  Here is a full version via Hulu.