2012 NYC Marathon "Results".

So.  Hurricane Sandy happened.  We were all afraid that had we ran the 2012 NYC Marathon, we’d be attacked with sock full of feces.  Some of us called it a season and didn’t do any make up races, some of us braved the streets of Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Richmond, even Prospect Park. 

Now NYRR has decided what to do with the all the angry marathoners.  It’s expected that NYRR will send out a notice to NYCM 2012 registrants soon with the announcement.

You’ll have a choice of options here.

1)      Get a full refund. 

2)      No Refund, but guarantee entry into NYC Half Marathon 2013 (which costs $117).

3)      No Refund, but guarantee entry into NYC Marathon of your choice (2013, 2014 or 2015).  If you choose this option, registration fees for the future marathon will be “frozen” at 2012 rates. 

Earlier this month, we all got a one sentence e-mail from NYRR that almost made me smash my computer:

Post-Cancellation Updates
Please note that NYRR members as of January 2012 who entered the 2012 ING New York City Marathon will receive 9+1 race qualifying credit for their entry. Members should check their NYRR member profile starting December 11, 2012, to ensure that they've received the credit.

This e-mail we got is saying that the non-event NYCM 2012 will count towards one of the races for the “9+1” deal for NYCM 2013.  So even if you didn’t run the marathon, they will credit you with “a race” to meet your 9 races.  Most of us here at Agony (or any other NYC teams) have already ran like 20 races even before the NYCM 2012, so this was silly and more like a slap in the face than anything. 

Here are our thoughts:

Option 1)  Good idea. We like cash.  We especially like cash when it’s during the holidays.

Option 2)  I don’t get my $230 back AND I have to pay $117?!  No thanks.  Half marathon is half the distance but the price is MORE THAN HALF of the marathon.  This is a BAD DEAL.

Option 3)  We’re from NYC area and we are a NYRR registered competitive team.  We normally run more than 9 races a year, so we practically have guaranteed entry for the life of our running carrier.  Also, we’d have to pay another round of registration fees, albeit at the frozen 2012 rates.  WAIT.  WAIT. WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘FROZEN’ registration fee?  Does this mean this thing is going to be MORE EXPENSIVE in the future?  Are we going to see $300 registration fees!?  I have better, funner, cheaper, races that I can run than NYC Marathon…

So kids, choose your options wisely.  All things considered, smart money for most Agonites is probably cash back.  Go get yourselves a new pair of running shoes (2013 models are out, yo!) and maybe a nice pair of CEP socks or two.  We olds master runners need that sh!t to hold our sad calves together.

See You All When I Return

Hey, big CONGRATULATIONS to all 9 Agnoties who kicked butt on a rainy, humid Staten Island Half!  As usual, the Maharaja showed his dominance by unleashing his super powers.  It looks like Louise PR’ed and clenched Competitive Team Start.  GRATS GIRL!!  I wish I was there!

And guys, guys, I had an interesting conversation with Capt Chris this morning. 

Capt Chris:  What’s your bib number for Toronto?

Me:  I won’t have it until packet pick up.  They ghetto like dat.

Capt Chris: Make sure you send it to me.  And what you wearing?

Me:  Sure.  I plan to wear team singlet or T unless it’s long sleeve weather up there.  Right now it’s 60% Rain, 47F.  (sad face)

Capt Chris:  In that case wear a singlet.  I wore my singlet yesterday and it kept me dry except my arms and inside of my panties.

@##%?!   Why the hell is inside of Capt Chris’ panties NOT dry?  Hey fellow Agonites who ran the Staten Island Half with him…did you see what happened to him?  

Any ways for me, all the hot, humid, hard, annoying training has come down to coming Sunday - a drizzly, wet, humid weekend in Toronto.  The Toronto Waterfront Marathon is on its way and I’m freaking out.

My coach has ordered an impossible race:

Through the 5k mark: let's keep things around 8:15/mile (or 5:08/km) and no faster!  There's plenty of time to catch up later in the race, but taking the first 5k at around :30 slower than goal pace is ESSENTIAL.

If you do the math, you'll be 1:30 in the hole, but over the next 23 miles, that's just an average increase of 4 seconds per mile (ie. you have to run 7:41s in stead of 7:45s...pretty negligible difference). This race is totally flat, so it's going to come down to a lot of restraint and smart pacing at the start to set you up for the remainder of the race. From 5k-35k, you should be cruising. Try to relax and focus as much as possible, and keep your pace as consistent as possible.

From 35k to the finish, this is the race. If you've been smart this far into the race, you'll be able to dig and grind out the last part of the race. When things get difficult, keep your cadence up and spin your legs.

Slight problem.  This training season, other than a few races, I haven’t been able to hit 7:45min/mile.  7:41 for 18 miles is…Kinda Hard!  But then my Marathon Goal Pace is 7:47 so I guess I can go as slow as 7:43, if I kick up the first 5K to about 8:11, :12.  Wait, but the 8:15 is ESSENTIAL.  …and so I redraw and redraw my pace calculator.  YIKES. 

3 Weeks to Go: Time to put on my Crazy Pants.

You are probably already familiar with my super duper weird race superstitions, so now I will introduce you to my OCD behavior, known as “Crazy Pants Mode”.  This only happens before a marathon, and quite frankly, I ENJOY it.  (scary!)

Crazy Pants 1:  Diet.  With less than a month to go to my A marathon, this is where things get really spooky and crazy.  I don’t eat gluten, I don’t eat raw or refined sugar, I don’t eat dairy.  I used to quit booze, but I had quit booze in March in preparation for Boston Marathon, and haven’t had a drink since, so I don’t have to quit booze anymore.  I eat leaner protein and I eat much more vegetables.  Without ice cream or cookies, my diet becomes boring. 

Crazy Pants 2:  Piling.  I need to have my specific gear out and ready, so this is the time I start pulling out different gear.  I pick out my compression socks, shorts, T-shirt, panty, everything I would wear on race day and then make another pile of back up stuff for different weather conditions.  Hats, gloves, arm warmers, singlet, long sleeve shirt and pack them in neat piles as well.  Between now and travel day, I will go through at least 2 or 3 combination changes, and pile them and re-pile them in different areas of my home. 

The piling doesn’t end at clothing.  It will continue with number of gels, Imodiums, electrolyte powder, shoes, shoe strings, belts, registration forms, hotel confirmation forms, etc.  Piles will appear all over our house, and will slowly migrate from one corner to the other…

Crazy Pants 3:  “Don’t Try Anything New” – Extreme Version.  I stop crossing the street at red light and will frequently stop at even a blinking red light.  I stop running to catch subways and elevators.  I just stop taking physical risks all together.  Remember the “don’t try anything new” mantra?  I take it a step further.  “don’t take any risks”. 

Crazy Pants 4:  Image Training.  Somewhere during my self-taught marathon training programs, I read in some article that imagining the race course, conditions, people, crowds, etc., will help with your pacing.  Of course, this being Crazy Pants season, I take this to the far extreme.  Co-workers will notice all sorts of non-work related spreadsheets popping up on my dual monitor work station.  Strange colorful elevation maps, Google Earth Maps, marathon course maps and other fun stuff will take space all over the place.  With my my custom made pace planner Excel opened, I try to re-vision my course, my effort level, and past experiences.  I then mark where I would be taking fluids, where I would be popping EFS, and where I plan to kick butt.  I will tweak and re-tweak the pace planner until right before I leave work on my “last day” before marathon.

Crazy Pants 5:  Counting My Lasts.  Now that word “last day” has come up, this is also the time where I start counting my “lasts” before the marathon.  Last long run.  Last speed work.  Last tempo.  Last Marathon Pace mid-distance.  The list goes on.  There will be a series of my lasts, up to my last poop before the race.  Counting my lasts makes me feel like a caged animal, ready to take charge of the race once the gun goes off…which is not a good thing, necessarily, as that results in too fast half and too slow half!

Crazy Pants 6:  Extreme Superstition.  Walk across the street when you see a dude on a ladder.  Don’t open an umbrella indoors.  Donate. Donate. Donate.  Make a sign of the cross when walking across a church (I’m not Catholic, but whateves).  Don’t eat tempura with ice water, Unagi with umeboshi…avoid all Kui-Awase.  …anything that’s ever a saying or a fable, I believe…only during this time tho!

hmmm...I wonder why no one ever wants to go with me to Toronto Waterfront Marathon!

Alert more Media! It’s Rachana’s B-day!

It’s Rachana’s B-day and because there are same mount of A’s and N’s and there’s a “sh” sound, we are celebrating Rosh Hashanah as well.

A few things you may or may not know about Rachana.

·         She’s a Veggie.  That means she’s <-this-> close to becoming a crunchy-granola-yoga-sandal-barefoot runner.  Quelle Horreur!

·         Despite sounding like Rosh Hashanah, she’s not Jewish. 

·         She doesn’t like Border Patrol.  I’m sure she doesn’t like the TV show Border Wars, and probably dislikes Jan Brewer. 

·         She doesn’t like caffeine.  I’m sure she doesn’t like Starbucks or Red Bull. 

·         She’s running two marathons back-to-back this fall, and is aiming to out PR each other.  3:00 for NYC, and 2:50 for Philly. 

·         She’s an Brightroom vigilante.  If you are wearing a wrong race bib, she will come and assassinate you. 

·         At one point, she too, had fallen to the Curse of Maharaja.  We hear it was a nasty shin splints.

Now that we talked about Rachana, here are a few things about Rosh Hashanah. 

·         It’s a Jewish Holiday, celebrating the beginning of a new Jewish year. 

·         You need to eat apple and honey during Rosh Hashanah.  It symbolizes “sweet new year”. 

·         Contrary to western interpretation of the Genesis’ “apple” being an evil fruit, Jewish scholars believe that it was actually a pomegranate that made the first man fall.  (Hey, what's wrong with a pomegranate.  I love POM-Wonderful.)

·         During Rosh Hashanah, they blow a horn.  This prompts the Rabbi to start running mid-service.  Not a good move for a Rabbi.

And now the big reveal:  CURSE OF MAHARAJA

It’s not as blingy like the Curse of Koh-i-Noor, unfortunately.  But here goes:

Since our Maharaja is such a strong, fast runner, anyone that runs or trains with him will sustain at least one injury.  Really!  While not a detrimental, career ending injury, it’s enough to take you out of training for a couple of weeks.  And…since you can not train, you won’t get any faster.  Thereby securely securing Maharaja’s spot as the fastest male runner of our team!  If you don't want to fall to the curse, simply accept defeat:  you will never be as fast as the Maharaja.

Alert the Media! It's Xena's B-day!

Wishing you the happiest, fastest, most fabulous 21st B-day!
You can finally drink champagne! 

So.  Now that you are 21 years old, here are somethings you may want to be careful of:

1)  Don't Drink and Drive.  Actually, in your case, "Don't Drink and Run".  At your speed drunk running and subsequent crash can seriously injure people.

2)  Booze ain't Performance Enhancers.  I know some old timers may have done a shot or two to warm themselves up pre-marathon, but science has proven that alcohol and running don't mix well.  If you need a shot, stick to EFS Liquid Shots.

3)  Beer is a Recovery Drink. No really.  Drink away post race or a hard training.

Now that you have reached full adulthood with legal drinking, we here at AGONY suggest that you approach drinking just like you would a marathon.  Start conservatively then finish aggressively and strong.  It's OK to end up a hot mess as long as you have fun doing so.

So enjoy that cold pint after your PHILLY HALF.

NYRR Bronx 10 Mile Race Report

Coach Terry:  Do you want to race Bronx?

Me:  No.  I don’t have to race it.

Coach Terry:  OK.

So with 4 weeks to go to Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the weekend long run was scheduled as 18M long run, broken in to 3 parts.  6Ms at 8:30, 10Ms at 8:00 and 2Ms at 8:30 as recovery for Saturday.  Sunday was a Recovery Run of 4M.  hmmm? 

Turns out, I thought “race” meant “go all out, sprint the hell out of it and PR like no other”, while Terry thought “race” meant what it’s supposed to be:  A road race.

Now I don’t mind doing a 18M then a 10M race, but being that I’m susceptible to injuries these days, I had to get Terry’s permission.  Last time I didn’t listen to him I ended up with Shin Splints Round 2.  Well, the answer was an obvious “um.  No.  Can’t do 18M then a 10M.” 

After a bit of back and forth, we settled on 12M on Saturday at 8:30, then 10M on Sunday.  Having no pace direction on Sunday’s race, and Saturday’s 12M being one of the most humid runs ever (I ran before the down pour) I decided that marathon pace of 7:45 will be a good pace for Sunday.

Rabbi, Bobby and Jenny from the Block was at the race.  G-Man was supposed to run, but he had fallen to the Curse of Maharaja.  The weather was almost perfect.  It could’ve been colder, but the 63F weather was a big relief compared to the 90F weathers we’ve been subjected to.

I wished my team mates good race and entered my corral. 

Now.  People.  Please be considerate of other runners and wear deodorant.  If you don’t believe in chemicals and if you are crunchy granola “born-to-run” yoga vegan sandal runner, you can still wear the all-natural rock deodorant.  As soon I enter the corral, pungent smell hits my nose.  And it’s not even a hot day.  Ugh.  I can’t wait for the horn to go off, so that Mr. Sweatypits can leave me in peace.  The race finally starts after some opera-fied rendition of the national anthem that is way too scary for a Sunday morning.  Between the soperano voice and the tart, eye stinging smell, I am in censory overload - and not in a good way! 

When the race starts bunch of people pass me and I try to practice being Zen.  I have to keep my marathon pace so I tell myself it’s all part of marathon training.  “Your time will come…ohmmm”.  Stay clam, Pace yourself, Stay calm, Pace yourself.  I repeat like a mantra.  I’m Japanese, the people that invented Zen.  This Zen crap should come to me like second nature. 

But I suppose years of living in NYC has ruined me.  I’m all Zen’ed out by mile 4.  Something clicks inside my head.   “ZOMG!!! WTF!!!  I’m all FXXKING TIRED OF PEOPLE PASSING ME!!  SCREW ZEN!!!!!”  I’m like that GEICO commercial’s Angry Cyclist on the Brooklyn Bridge.  “YO YO WATCHOUT WATCHOUT!”

I take a hit of performance enhancing substance and decide I’m going to negative split this b!tch.  I catch up to Mr. Sweatypits so I pass him.  He’s more pungent than he was 5 miles ago!  YUM YUM!  I zoom down some hill and zoom back up the stupid hill.  I see the stupid ginger hair dude that pushed me at mile 2, so I push him out of my way on the hill.  I pass some chicks in skorts and cute hair bands.   A nice volunteer at a water station shouts, “YOU GO 1570!!!”  I give him a salute for some reason as I pass more dudes.  And before I know it, I’ve finished the race.   Heh.  I felt like I could do another round after getting my medal, so I guess that’s good sign. 

Strangely, I didn’t see any Frontrunner Queens near me.  Maybe Bronx aint their style?  Although post race, one sat down next to me and watched me stretch badly.  He looked like he wanted to ask questions, maybe he had proper stretching suggestions...?

Overall, I had a good run with decent numbers even though I didn’t try all that hard. 

Coming This Weekend:  20M. 

Coming Next Weekend:  23M. 

AND…more on Curse of Maharaja next week!

Hey Kids. It's Crunch Time.

As the fall marathon season begins, us Agony Runners all have our training plans to execute.  Some of us may have a personal coach, some of us may be taking tips from other runners, and some of us may be doing a training off a book or a website.  Either way, the training regimen becomes increasingly rigid, more strenuous and definitely longer than ever.

What I have noticed this season is that, I’ve been less generous with my time.  Before, if someone wanted me to do a race with them or do a random length run (short or long), I was like “sure, why not?”.  This season, I’m much less generous…or rather, selfish about my workouts.  OK, a better word would be more disciplined than ever before.

As an older runner, I have a very limited window where I can run at the level I am running now.  In about 2 years, I’ll start to decline.  My PRs will be far and few.  My time will fall.  I will get slower and slower.  Hey, it’s just the way it is.  I think this is why I’m more serious than ever before to get the good times while I can.  I need to work harder than ever before because I need to PR one last time.   A friend of mine once said, “you have to be a little bit selfish to achieve your goals”.  I fully understand now. 

I know it’s not very “team like” for me to not run a Team Points race or not spend time with my team mates.  I’m really sorry.  I just can’t afford it right now.  My “A” race is just 5 weeks away, and the summer heat and humidity has done nothing to build confidence.  I need the time to train harder.  But I promise.  Come December, I will be more team-like! 

Oh, and BY THE WAY…NYRR is reconsidering the Baggage Check Shi!t Show.  We may not be able to wear the fashionable Ponchos afterall!  Too bad, because I was actually warming up to the Little "Stinky" Orange Riding Hood look.  I thought it'll look awesome if I pinned my bib # on the hood part post race.  

 

Breaking Team News!!

Two very important team news updates that should have been posted yesterday.

Fall Speed Work Class

We will have two sessions in the fall. 

Monday Class:  According to rumor, this class will focus more on lactate threshold (tempo/steady state) runs.  Monday classes will start on Labor Day, 9/3 and will run through 11/5. 

Wednesday Class:  Shorter distance with focus on speed work.  So think quarter mile repeats, mile repeats and some hill work.  The classes have started on 8/22 and will run thru 10/24.

Both classes will start at 6:30PM, at Coach Alem’s hut, also known as the “Gazebo” at Engineer’s Gate (90^th Street and East Drive of the Park).  The cost of the class is $105 for 10 weeks. 
Read more in our forums: http://aodfnyc.boards.net/index.cgi?board=opentraining&action=display&thread=18#ixzz24qlox6ZS

Xena’s Van Cortlandt Park Invasion II

This will be our second Van Cortland Park invasion.  You can read all about our previous invasion here.  We are planning to hit the park this weekend (either 9/1 or 9/2).  For more information, check out our forums, under Group Social Runs in our forum.  We will post details as they are fleshed out.

This Van Cortlandt Park run is really fun refreshing change of pace.  I highly recommend everyone to take advantage of this run.  We'll be doing long run so you can incorporate this run into your normal long run schedule!

Random Acts of Running 7

Whoa what a week last week was!  2 big controversies that got me so worked up, I sped up on my mile 18 and 19 “recovery/cool down” part of the long run!!

+Sarcasm On+

Controversy 1:  ING NYC Marathon ditches the bag check. 

I think just about everyone in the world has now heard about this hot mess.  You can read about everyone’s concerns and points here. 

But since it’s not looking like NYRR is going to change their minds about this, we need to embrace the change!  Here are some GREAT tips on how to deal with this bait and switcharoo.

1)      Keys & Metrocard & Credit Card.  We all hate belts.  We hate fanny packs even more.  They are restricting, they hamper our breathing, and it's unfashionable.  We, the snobby elite team runners, don't do belts.  Period.  Belts are for 6+hour joggers!!  So how are we to carry all this stuff?  Easy.  GUM TAPE.  Tape your Metrocard, Credit Card and Keys to your singlet, preferably, behind your bib so you'll still look sleek and speedy!

2)      Phone. Are you kidding me?  We already spent $200 on this race.  What’s another $30 on a no-contract phone from the Best Buy conveniently located at 66th and B’way?

3)      Clothes.  Well…you will have to endure the temporary humiliation of walking around in stinky clothes covered by a disposable poncho, but as long as you stay in the Central Park vicinity pre-dusk, you won’t be mistaken for a homeless person.  So get in your stinky poncho and hull your bum over to Columbus Circle’s Time Warner Center.  It has everything you need!  From Benetton to Hugo Boss to Sephora to Running Store.  Can’t afford designer?  There’s Fashionista Maxxinista TJ Maxx on 57th and 8th Ave.  You can even window shop on your last mile to the finish line!  Again, what’s another couple hundred dollars?

4)      Food.  Sure, you burned 3000 calories running the marathon, but ate 5 packs of Gu and washed it down with a 100 calorie Gatorade per Gu.  You probably had few Gatorades independent of your Gu too.  How about breakfast?  Did you have that giant bagel pre-race?  This makes your caloric intake at about 1800, which makes the total calorie spending a mere 1200.  You didn’t even lose a full pound running the marathon.  So do you really need that 500 calorie snack?  Food is overrated anyways.  But if you must eat, there’s a Francois Payard Bakery on 57th and B’way.  Let them eat cake.

Controversy 2:  Lance Armstrong is stripped of his titles and banned from cycling and triathlons because he took man-made substances to enhance his performance, and trafficked the said substances to his team mates. 

…OMG...this is really disturbing.  You see, I pushed EFS Liquid Gels and Pre-Race to Mr. Tom.  I hooked Xena and Jenny from the Block on to 100mg Caffeine Clif Gel Shots.  None of these substances are naturally occurring and it certainly isn’t anything my body naturally produces.  It’s synthetic, artificial substances created solely to boost one’s performance.  I have promoted the use of performance enhancers and am a heavy user of said substances myself.  I better watch out or I’m going to get kicked out of USATF/NYRR!!

The strange thing is, even with performance enhancers, I haven’t been able to run a sub-3 marathon.  I tried cycling, but I haven’t been able to qualify for the Tour either…  I think there’s something called natural athletic abilities and some horrific amount of training required in the first place.

Random Acts of Running 6

Sunday was my first 20M long run this “season”, and it went relatively well.  Slower start with a stronger, faster finish.  But enough about myself.  Let’s talk about what we saw on the road in Central Park this Sunday!

Mr. Tom Has A Favorite Shirt:  For a while, every time Mr. Tom ran, his go-to shirt was his Philadelphia Half Marathon shirt.  You know the one!  It’s dark navy with the stars and stripes.  If you saw that shirt, it was Mr. Tom.  Then when summer rolled around his favorite shirt turned into the Brooklyn Half Marathon T-shirt.  He’s worn it to class, speedwork, to long runs.  If we didn’t have a AODF uniform for him, I’m sure he’d wear to all his races too!  Thank goodness he seems to have a good, functioning laundry washer.  He never stinks.

But Other People Did:  Now running in a pack of 15-20 people on a long run in the summer is awful.  You can’t breathe.  The temperature around you is at least 5 degrees higher in the pack.  But you say to yourself, “I better get used to pack running because in a marathon, I’m going to be in one giant pack!”…but girl…the smell, the smell!!!  Anyone that has ran the NYC Marathon will tell you that one purveying scent throughout the race is the funk of 50,000 human bodies.  While this past Sunday’s temperature was a much more tolerable low 70s, it was still plenty warm enough and we were graced with “that guy”. You know, that one dude that forgot to wear deodorant in the morning.  (It wasn’t Mr. Tom)  If you were wondering why I broke ahead of the crowd…well, I needed air and wanted to get away from Sir Funky.

NYC Marathon & the Funk:  OK, so now we’re talking NYC Marathon, my biggest pet peeve last year was the lack of deodorant wearing people.  I aint saying where they came from, but let’s say they put the le pew in Pepe le Pew!  But not all were human made…or at least I hoped so.  At one point in Brooklyn and another along First Avenue beyond 100th Street, I had encountered a poo-like smell.  I was horrified thinking one of the Pepe le Pews had leakage!!  It wasn’t until the following week, while running in Central Park that I realized that the poo-like smell wasn’t from Pepe, but was from a Ginko Tree.  So folks, if you encounter poo smell during your fall marathons, check to see if there is a Ginko Tree nearby.  If NOT, then it’s definitely poo – so watch your step!

Enough with the stinky.  Let’s talk fashion:  Seen on the long run course this Sunday was a leopard print skort with leopard print headband.  Carefully matched with neon pink Zensha leg warmers and top.  I’m going to leave it at that.

Headphones:  I’m not like some old fashioned coach so I’m not condemning these.  I do believe music brings your spirits up and it might be helpful for your cadence.  Hey, if “Eye of the Tiger” is going to help you push through mile 18, be my guest.  BUT.  BUT.  BUT.  Don’t sing off key out loud.  Don’t get so into your music that you become oblivious to your surroundings.  Because dude, I will shoulder check you down.  I watch enough NHL - I know how to do it.

Finally, seen at 102^nd Transverse was Coach Alem:  He false started my pace group and got in trouble with the NY Flyer lady who was non-too pleased.  “WHY ARE YOU SENDING THEM OUT?!”  awwww It’s OK.  My pace group broke apart for the last loop and everybody did 30 seconds faster than they were supposed to anyways. 

Fun Weekend!

Random Acts Of Running 5

Hot Weather & Giving It Your All:  Hot weather running has got us all bogged down, even the best of the best at the Men’s Olympic Marathon were taken out by high humidity and higher than expected temperatures.  I mean…at 11AM start for a full marathon in the middle of August is insane unless they’re talking Southern Hemisphere!  My Canadian hero struggled and just by reading his blog post, I know exactly how that “I better take fluids, but if I do I’d throw up” feeling feels like…it’s awful.  But he still clocked a respectable time and he’s still my hero!

We only have about 3 weeks or so of hot weather running left here in NYC, which is certainly a welcome thing.  Again, this is my go-to resource for hot weather running speed adjustment.  I’m looking for days where I can run according to my true fitness level and not getting handicapped by humidity and heat.  For now, every outdoor training is a experience in pushing my heart rate to the max!  Hopefully this will give me some endurance and speed come fall.

Hey Hey, we’re USA Track & Field listed!  We are now USATF registered team!  How cool is that?  That means we can now officially register as a team if we want to do a USATF relay race or a team race.  Also, it protects the team with a General Liability Insurance.  This was very important to us, so that we can continue provide you with safe, effective coaching and group runs/activities. 

NYRR Supported Long Run #2 is upon us.  Sunday, August 19 will be the second NYRR supported long run.  This is always tricky business because it’s great if you have an incredible and considerate pacer (Pacer Adam and Pacer Dave from NY Flyers are AWESOME), but it’s a bust if you get stuck with someone who just goes to their own fitness level.  I had one going 20-30 seconds faster than the prescribed pace one time and I just felt so slow and inept.  Total morale crusher.  I’m hoping I’ll get a good pacer this Sunday. The weather is supposed to be pretty decent, with lower temperatures and lower humidity!

Finally, let’s post more in our Forum!  What fall races are you doing?  Marathons?  Marathon strategies?  I know there is more that we can share.  It’s always more fun to interact with our fellow team mates and not all of us always see each other, so let’s start communicating more.  I’m going to start by posting my fall race schedule!

NYRR Team Championship 2012

How about that weather this Saturday?  80F, 87% humidity!  A buddy of mine declared that she lost 8lbs in water after a 12 mile long run.  That beats my 7lbs weight loss during 2012 Boston Marathon.  So, Tom, you were wondering which was worse?  Saturday’s Team Championship or Boston?  I’d say it came close! 

Hey NYRR, can you please fix Marco Polo’s race record?  He got a bad D-Tag and his race didn’t register.  And he’s one of our finest (and tallest)!  What gives?  We actually had 10 men kick butt this Saturday!  He's even on your website, you know!  (from left to right Gio, Capt Chirs, Victor, Hiro, Marco Polo)

2 brand new Lady Agonites braved the heat and took on the Team Championship this race.  We are so proud of you ladies!  Thank you for joining our weird Team!

It was fun to cheer fellow Team mates run, and I loved the expressions on everybody.  I should’ve brought my camera to capture everyone’s “Brightroom Moment”.  Hey, we need to do a collage of mid-race funny expression photos.  

I had to bow out of the Team Championship, due to a bad shin splints that started about 2 weeks ago.  Maharaja proceeded to scare me by saying that if I don’t rest it, my shin well fall off the bone a la Osso Buco.  I'm never running again.

Speaking of Osso Buco, fantastic tasty food was served at weekend’s first annual Agony Picnic.  Hey, we might not have scored highest points at the Team Championship, but we certainly had the winning spread amongst all the Teams!  We aren’t talking about mere doughnuts and coffee here.  We’re talking 5 star quality food, complete with delicious cheesecake desert and Mimosas!  Melissa’s “Cowboy Caviar” was quite the hit, as well as Marco Polo’s Summer Rice Salad.  Rachana’s giant container of fresh Mangos cooled us down big time.  Everything was major deliciousness!

We all had fun Saturday despite the sticky-icky weather.  It’s not about team points or silly bragging rights.  It’s about having a good time through running.  It’s not about coming in first or second, but beating that random targeted stranger.  I know Lisa was a major winner at Team Championship, as she beat out both of her two targets running ahead of her.  It’s moments like this that makes running fun.  Let’s try to remember why we started this running adventure before we get too wrapped up in points business!

Update on Xena.  The Warrior Princess is recovering well, but still having difficulty moving around.  It must be super frustrating for her.  I have a mere Osso Buco leg, and I’m about to pull my hair out.  So everybody, let’s send her photos of cute puppies.  She especially loves Border Collie puppies.

One last thing:  Not everybody has registered with our Team Forum.  It’s important that you do, so we don’t have to keep on sending out hundreds of e-mails to each other.  Also, the forum is a great place to post your questions and concerns.  We will always make the effort to respond to you as soon as possible.