Social Scenes

Please read to the end for a request for runners for a team race. (Or just skip past the photos and read from that point on.)

I cannot tell if we will get away with another too perfect fall day or if the chance of rain will materialize, but either way, I encourage you rare or never go out after TRY to join in for a planned social night. The regular socialites go out almost every week but several others (including me) rarely join in. It's been a while since we've done a "let's all go out night"...so it's time. And if you want my wife and kids to go in, then we can do Whitewater Pub or The Barking Gull as somehow those pass the "not a bar" test that The Cobblestone fails. Plan on some extra time and grabbing a bite and getting to know your fellow running club members!

For the run - pick your partners on the fly - just like we've been doing all year.

Thanks for your feedback on how to make a local run stand out. The best (most usable) idea I received was to give running socks out instead of a shirt. (With a thought of providing the option, it seems like a lot of runners would love the idea. The downside is that it does not allow for sponsors to be advertised on the back of the shirt. But really, has a sponsor on a shirt ever caused anyone to seek them out?)

In my never ceasing quest to provide you all with details on the trends in the running community, I attended the "Insane Inflatable 5k" on Saturday morning. It was at the Fairgrounds - but now how I expected. They took over the upper lot and made what may be the worst 5k course ever: it just took a serpentine path through the whole parking lot. Around the outside and back up the middle and back again down the middle and finishing along the other side, just cones marking some semblance of a path that might have actually added up to 3 miles? Every so often a usually giant blown up monstrosity would await you. Slides, bouncers, climbers, huge blue balls as tall as a person, and all sorts of things I did not even know were possible just by forcing air through them. Did it look like fun? Yes. Did I want to do a few of the obstacles? Yes. Would it be worth the $50 or more dollars to do them? I think that is where the "insane" part of the name came in. It's definitely not meant to be for runners. It's meant for the kid inside of you. Run, if you want, but mostly people walk, with their silly costumes and team themes. Young, old, in shape and out of shape. A lot of people were going through it on Saturday and they were announcing that it was set up for Sunday as well. It proved again that social "gimmick" runs are all the rage.

My little sister and her team had a good time. I did hear from them (and random comments) that there were some rug burn type hazards from all the sliding on plastic/canvas. So, if you do an inflatable run - be sure to protect those parts you care about from the burn.

Here are photos from the two obstacles that most caught my eye.

An awesomely big bounce house - 6 or 8 feet of air underneath you:


And the final slide - I'm guessing about 30 feet high with a 20 foot slide then a jump down and you bounce down the last part on your feet.


You got a shirt, you got a medal (for some reason I cannot explain) and you got burns on your butt, back and elbows. What's not to love?

To end on - an appeal for a different type of social race. The Adirondack Ragnar race was this past weekend and I sought out reports from two different first time participants (on different teams). One report was very short and along the lines of "It was awesome", while the other was more detailed but came down to the same conclusion of being "so much fun" and "would definitely do it again".

So, despite repeated failures to get a team race together, I am going to aim for another one, but aiming a little lower this time. Who wants to do the "Seneca 7" next spring?

What is it, you ask? It's a 77.7 mile race that gives 7 runners total 13 hours to finish running around one of the finger lakes. I assume it's Cayuga lake but am not sure?

The race is on Sunday, April 19th, starting at 7 in the morning. Each teammate runs 3 legs and you end up with a total distance of 10ish to 12ish miles. Each leg is roughly 4 miles in length from a quick glance. As a team you have to maintain slightly slower than a 10 minute mile pace to finish in time.

There is a lot of details that would matter eventually but it's overkill at this point, the least you need to know is that registration is on October 31st and it's a good bet it sells out that weekend. So, we would need 7 teammates at that point willing to pay about $75 each to register. (You can trade out runners later, so there are ways to get in a spare or two if something goes wrong.)

Who is seriously interested? Who is possibly interested? It would be great to have a team from TRY do this. (Even if I'm not involved - It seems like a unique way to celebrate the bond of a running group and to work together for a shared goal.)

That was a joke about which lake, by the way - it's around Seneca Lake and is supposed to be very scenic.

Here is the website with all the dirty details. (I fully admit that other TRYers know a lot more about this race than I do...but since I'm writing the blog I did the best I could getting the key points out there.)

FYI, I'm not considering the "bike team" option, but I guess there are enough bikers (triers) in the group, that you could pull that off? In which case I would not be involved, but I would be that much more impressed by your efforts!

Don't Fall For It

Come on out for lovely fall weather. We will split up into like minded running groups during the pre-run chit chat session.

I looked it up and the beautiful, almost summer like, weather we will have the next few to several days is way too early to be called an "Indian Summer". (For those who don't want to click the link it turns out that should not be used until November - or, at a minimum, after a hard frost.)

As you may have noticed, I've struggled for meaningful content in the blog this year almost every week. My attempts to get guests posts have mostly failed and the sources of my running information just keep recycling the same information again and again. (It could be that I need to seek out new sources?)

I did somewhat like this article that once again debates the most effective workout for runners. It's a wishy-washy conclusion - "the benefits of the various training intensities are complementary to a degree" and goes into how to best balance the ratio of low, moderate, and high intensity running. The short answer - limit your high intensity running workouts to only about 20%. (As with most things I've wrote about lately, this may only matter for 1 or 2 of the people in TRY, but just because you don't train at a near elite level, doesn't mean you can't gain a little bit of a performance boost by being wise about how you do train.)

On the feedback front, I could truly use some input from you jaded, veteran, 5K runners in the group. What does it take for you to come out and run a random 5K race? I know you have more shirts than you could ever want and the race length and experience is boring to you. What WOULD get your attention? Why would you do a random 5K? Do age group awards or finisher awards entice people? Is there something you've seen or heard done elsewhere that could be incorporated locally to make a race stand out?

The reason I ask is because I will be helping with a race next April. But I see the crap-ton of races on the local race calendar and I think it is something that is totally overdone right now. Have we reached a saturation point yet? At what point are there not going to be enough interested people to support all these runs? Are they counting on new people continually taking up running and being excited about races? I know personally I support ones with causes close to me or done by people I want to support, but really could care less about doing another short race. (Well, except for stretchy pants, I suppose. Those are still fun at races!)

Anyway, the Inflatable 5K is this Saturday and I see another glow in the dark run is being done somewhere nearby (Ithaca, I believe). Perhaps the only way to stand out is to do these major gimmicks? (Color, mud, glow, foam, inflate, zombies, etc.) Compared to those types of races, it seems like any "normal" 5K is going to seem boring?

What else? I was hoping for more photos from the Tuff e Nuff from two Sundays ago now, but all I have is these two screen captures from a news story that Escalade, our friend Katie P, and I were briefly shown in. We borrowed a Team Beef shirt for Katie and represented in the 10K portion of the race.

It was refreshingly local compared to the Tough Mudder which has everything sponsored up the wazoo (it's to the point that every wall you climb over, jump off or swim under has a corporate sponsor on it - this morning I just saw photos with Dos Equis bottles floating on top of their ice water obstacle). Ugggh! Enjoy your arctic enema, proudly brought to you by Dos Equis. ("I don't always freeze my labia majora off by jumping into ice water, but when I do, I prefer to take my mind off my frozen 'flappy wet bird' with Dos Equis.)




But I've given up on getting TRYers to care about obstacle course races so I'll just stop now. Well, after I recommend the "Tuff e Nuff" as one to do, if you want to see what they are about, but don't want to pay a fortune or get shocked by live wires or risk excessive injury to get through one. It's as safe as one can be, natural, and has some nice scenery when you get near the top of the ski hills. (And kudos to the organizers for doing one that is based all around being alcohol free.)

Last one - if you are involved in the Empire State Marathon this year, you should know this already, but for those who are not - they just announced a course change last week and will no longer be running into Baldwinsville. They are taking advantage of the lengthened west shore trail and will be using that instead of the loop through the village. I'm sure it is a lot easier, logistically, to not have to close roads or worry about intersections, but it also means that hundreds of less spectators will be along the course. A logical, but not necessarily good change there? It is going to be a battle with boredom for the marathoners and marathon team participants. (The third leg of the four person team is entirely done on the west shore trail. (You better hope for family members cheering you on, because I cannot imagine any random spectators supporting you there.) The half marathon course remains unchanged from what I can tell.

Map is here for anyone who cares.

A Bit More Science

Let me start out this weeks post by admitting that I just had 15 seconds where I could not remember our own website name! Ouch. It might be time to put me out to pasture?

Tonight's weather forecast is beautiful, so I'm hoping for a banner turnout. I may even show up myself. I'll let someone else decide if it is time for a visit to Faith Hill or not.

This weekend - we have a race that several of us have supported over the years, thanks to Escalade's dedication to the cause. (And it was her first 5k with us. Awww, good memories.) The Teal Ribbon Run or "Hope for Heather" as I tend to call it has changed dates and location. This year it will be in Lewis Park in Minoa instead of at the inner harbor. Website details are here. You can still pre-register for $30 for a couple more days or do day of registration for $35. The race itself is Saturday morning at 10:30. I plan to be there jogging with a double stroller and rumor has it that a rare Escalade sighting will be possible!

Thanks to quick-courting-Corey's wedding photographer we have a fun RUNder Construction "reunion" picture to share. (Note, we had to swap in at one spot, but consider this close enough. God only knows how many times Kelly has day dreamed about swapping them in the opposite direction!) I wish I was more concerned about the camera and less concerned about the signs and Berms probably wishes that photo bombing was possible for short people, but, that said, it is an instant classic:



Plus it does prove that during the summer you cannot avoid construction! No matter how well you plan your route.

Thanks to Aaron here is a much more detailed and thoughtful article on running cadence (and footstrike as well). It is hard to summarize here and this all is too much for some of our beginner runners to even worry about. I do encourage the midlevel to experienced runners among us to read through that and discuss the topic in the next week or two. And I can use the metronome app I have to give you an idea of what the "magic" 180 cadence feels like. If it seems significantly faster to you, then you are a candidate for slowly increasing your cadence. (I realize the article says it is not magical - but it will be the easiest way for us all to quickly self-measure against it and can think about future form adjustments from there. For people above that rate - good for you.)

Lastly, I could use some input. Several of you met David and Ellen at Catherine's house and pool party...well they have made the mistake of letting me help them with their neighborhood 5k race for next year. So, I am sort of on the committee for "Paint Westvale Purple", which will be run next April. It is only 2 years old, but has been an immediate success with almost 400 runners and walkers this year and around $9000 raised (this year) for relay for life. When next spring rolls around I may encourage participation or volunteering or, in Ron's case, FINALLY getting him playing music during a road race...so consider this some advanced warning. Right now, I will take any informal inputs you want to give me on "small" local races that you like or don't like how they do things. Especially if you have a race website that you either really like or really do not like, since my first main task will be to give them a "real" website feel instead of the simple google site they currently have.

A MishMash of Blah

Tonight: there is a chance of severe storms in the area, so check your weather app before you drive out and choose wisely. If storms are eminent we will be wise and run Angela's TRY-angle loops to stay near our cars.

I really thought I could pull together an interesting and useful post today but the articles I was stockpiling really disappointed me as I looked through them in detail. So, I'll still post a few links and let you glean what you can from them.

First, not related to running, but related to TRY since I push local baseball on you a couple times a year. The Syracuse Chiefs have made the playoffs for the first time in my era here (first time since 1989) and will be starting their playoffs on the road on Wednesday, against the Pawtucket Red Sox. It is a best of 5 series, with games 3 through 5 scheduled for Syracuse. They are guaranteed a home game on Friday at 7 PM and then can have up to two more this weekend depending on how the series goes. It is a bit of an odd way to do it, but they are being rewarded for being the higher seed by only getting one guaranteed home game. The other oddity with minor league baseball playoffs is that they will not being putting their best product on the field. The parent team - the Washington Nationals are in a playoff push of their own and starting in September can expand their rosters for a month. So, as major league teams tend to do, they poached a lot of good talent from the Syracuse roster. Syracuse can in turn grab some players from the level below them to help them out, but it makes for an odd mix of players that haven't played together all year, but now will be fighting to get through up to three playoff rounds. Syracuse.com has some recent articles, but nothing I could find that was playoff specific yet, so just go to syracusechiefs.com if you need a baseball fix or want to order tickets ahead of time.

Now, running related, here I have culled through some of the most recent active.com articles to see what was worthwhile. Nothing groundbreaking, but good reminders and proof that TRY somewhat keeps you on the right path.
10 "secrets" to take your running to the next level - includes mixing up your runs, doing some hills, changing your pace, using partners, setting goals.
A quick read about when it is time to switch your shoes - the only surprising thing here was how sometimes a new shoe may need to be given up on right from the start. (Remember that a place like Fleet Feet typically takes shoes back if you instantly have buyers regret in the form of pain or blisters - one of the benefits of buying local.)
Here is a set of simple (can be done at home on the floor) core exercises good for runners and triathletes. Some planks and variations. Nothing ground breaking - but simple enough to start or restart your core training with.
Finally, a slightly more complicated one - a little more involved set of three exercises that can help improve your running form. You need some partner help with this one, but one thing I can do is get out my cadence app and remind people what 180 steps per minute feels like. Hopefully I remember to do that in the next couple of TRY sessions - let a few people at a time hear it while we do our warm up mile.

That's it. Hopefully Katie rescues this blog next week with stories from her foray into the world of rowing.