Tuesday, August 28, 2012

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 (90th 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!

Monday, August 27, 2012

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.

Monday, August 20, 2012

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 102nd 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!

Monday, August 13, 2012

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!

Monday, August 6, 2012

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.