In January, before I became club president, I nominated a volunteer coach in a couple of my training programs for club volunteer of the year for 2008. I am publishing the nomination I sent in to the selection committee because it shows my thinking about what was important for the club. Let’s call my choice Rae, not her real name. All names have been removed for privacy sake.
Rae’s notable accomplishments:
Volunteer Coach for the club’s 10M/10K Program, summer 2008.
In this capacity, Rae created (along with two fellow coaches) and ran the Alternate Tuesday evening track workout program at the Yorktown High School track for the 10M Program. She created the track workout schedule, sent out regular e-mail updates about it with tips and encouragement, offered rides to it and regularly led the group on its runs.
Rae also organized a mid-Program Happy Hour, reserving a gathering place at a Clarendon restaurant for it, as well as a pre-race pasta dinner at a Ballston restaurant and a post-race bash at the Clarendon restaurant, complete with a cake. She set up a schedule of three speakers for the Program, who came to address the attendees before training runs on the importance of stretching, the choice of proper equipment, and injury prevention and physical therapy. She of course led her own small group of runners, working in close coordination with another coach to prepare the runners for the ATM, which several in her group successfully finished. She sent out weekly e-mails to her participants, each one of which contained an article on or summation of some important aspect of running such as hydration, nutrition, or preventing injury and icing and heat applications.
Rae's Extraordinary Intervention:
Most importantly, when her fellow coach brought in a runner after a nine-mile run who was acting a little strangely (he had purposefully and carefully kept running by her side and rested with her before they finally returned), Rae recognized the symptoms of dehydration, even though it wasn’t a hot or humid day, and assessed the runner, eventually taking the runner (along with the other coach) to the hospital when the runner exhibited some confusion. At the hospital, the runner received an IV infusion to replenish her fluids. A potentially serious situation was averted by the dedication, awareness and acquired knowledge of Rae and the other coach.
Both coaches took First Aid and CPR certification training in preparation for becoming club volunteer coaches.
RRCA Coaching Certification, Fall 2008.
Rae participated in a two-day training session along with several other club coaches to obtain her coaching certification. Rae participated in an informal group review session two weeks afterwards where the attendees carefully went over the test to ensure that they all understood the proposed answers and collectively submitted a passing test (a recommended study-session).
Volunteer Coach for the Reebok SunTrust National Half-Marathon Training Program, powered by the club, Fall 2008 & Winter 2009.
In this capacity, Rae volunteered to go to the Fleet Feet (Adams Morgan) site, a brand new Program location, and help that site director create the Half-Marathon Program running out of there, occasionally taking Full Marathon participants along with them on their training runs.
Rae created, along with two other coaches, the Tuesday Evening Beer & Burritos Run, a mid-week recovery run for Program participants that is well attended and has the potential for being a regular offering for the club as a whole. After a four mile loop run from Iwo along the Georgetown Waterfront, the participants have the opportunity to relax at a Rosslyn restaurant, enjoying a beer and some Mexican fare. Rae sends out weekly e-mails to the Fleet Feet participants (and anyone else who wants them) chock full of advice, training recommendations and well-researched running related articles.
Administrative Assistance:
In addition, Rae interfaced on behalf of the club with the Greater Washington Sports Alliance and Reebok, the race and Program sponsors, to create the early January "Test Ride" program, which included a Friday night gathering of Program and race participants at a District restaurant where information on the club, the race and running apparel was dispensed in an informal social setting. Attendees enjoyed appetizers (chosen and budgeted by Rae) and discounted drinks as they listened to a series of speakers, including two premier runners and the club president.
Rae spent dozens of hours organizing this joint project, finding the location, meeting with race personnel, offering creative ideas and proposing itineraries. She kept club Program directors [name] and myself fully informed along the way.
Although she recently has had a reoccurrence of an old nagging injury which prevents her from currently leading a group out on training runs, she regularly attends the Saturday morning gatherings anyway and assists in any way possible. She has lately taken on the task of ensuring that all club volunteer coaches receive their full allotment of Reebok technical apparel in the correct size to wear on Program training runs, and that all participants get their Program technical training shirts, in coordination with the GWSA and Reebok.
For Rae’s uncommon, productive and inspiring dedication to volunteerism at and for club functions, and especially for Rae’s alert, correct and caring monitoring and highly competent handling of the dangerous situation a distressed runner she encountered found herself in, I nominate Rae for the club 2008 Volunteer of the Year Award.
Peter
Club VP of Training
[I thought she was worthy. She didn’t win; rather, a board member won the award, which is a pretty regular occurrence.]
Showing posts with label TMG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TMG. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Synthesis
As I went by the Mall's World War II Memorial alongside L on my last training run as a coach for my club, I told L that carved into the wall over by the Atlantic column were two battles that the father of a close friend had fought at, the Bulge and the Rhineland. This old Patton warrior had passed on mere weeks ago, another American hero gone away. L, being a Navy veteran, was non-responsive in talk about a soldier.
Then I said that carved into the wall over by the Pacific column were two battles that my father had fought at, Peleliu and Okinawa. L suddenly became animated.
"Really?" he said, with respect in his voice. "My father was a Marine also, and was at Guam and elsewhere and fought at Iwo Jima."
"Really?" I said with respect in my voice. "Me and my brother, who was a combat Marine in Beirut when they blew up the barracks, had an argument once. I said Peleliu was the worst combat in World War II, perhaps in history, since the First Division had to dig entrenched Japanese soldiers out of fortified caves blasted into mutually-supporting steep coral ridges in 112 degree heat with no cover. But he said that Iwo was even tougher, and I had to admit that it probably was."
L is black. In World War II black Marines, who received the same training as white Marines, were kept in segregated outfits and used as supply service troops given the dangerous task of unloading ordnance and other supplies on the beaches while their white brethren fought on the front lines a few miles away. Such was the racism of America in the forties.
At a few desperate, terrible battles in the Pacific, including Peleliu and Iwo Jima, these black troops were called up into the front lines as combat replacements because the fighting was so horrific that there were no other troops available to restore the decimated units to a semblance of combat effectiveness. These Americans, who were fighting two enemies at once, the common enemy and society's prejudice, proved themselves to be worthy of the hero's mantle that cloaked all combat Marines in the Pacific.
L told me that his father is 93, well and living nearby in Maryland. He sees him daily. I asked L to pass my respects on to his father, and tell him that there are young men in our society who read books and know the terrific sacrifices that he and his friends went through. I lied about the young man part. L said that he would pass on my sentiments to his father, who would appreciate hearing them.
With our conversation finally charged, as we ran by the Pentagon near the end of our sojourn, L told me where he was on 9/11/01. He worked in the Pentagon then and lost friends there, but that morning he was on a detail at Bolling Air Force Base. He was out for a run when suddenly security at the base came alive and emergency vehicles started going everywhere. He went into the post and found out we were under attack. He said he wished then that he was at sea in a battle group, because they all would have gone to battle stations instantly and been ready to defend themselves within moments. On the base, however, there was no defense, only chaos. They could only stand by and wait to see what would materialize. It was awful, he said, we were totally unprepared for what hit us that day.
Our interesting conversation at an end, we ran up to our end point, Gotta Run, and the end of both the run and my coaching career. We had gone 8.6 miles in 1:21:59, a 9:32 pace. Mark my word, L is gonna rock his hoped-for 9:30s tomorrow at Army.
Then I said that carved into the wall over by the Pacific column were two battles that my father had fought at, Peleliu and Okinawa. L suddenly became animated.
"Really?" he said, with respect in his voice. "My father was a Marine also, and was at Guam and elsewhere and fought at Iwo Jima."
"Really?" I said with respect in my voice. "Me and my brother, who was a combat Marine in Beirut when they blew up the barracks, had an argument once. I said Peleliu was the worst combat in World War II, perhaps in history, since the First Division had to dig entrenched Japanese soldiers out of fortified caves blasted into mutually-supporting steep coral ridges in 112 degree heat with no cover. But he said that Iwo was even tougher, and I had to admit that it probably was."
L is black. In World War II black Marines, who received the same training as white Marines, were kept in segregated outfits and used as supply service troops given the dangerous task of unloading ordnance and other supplies on the beaches while their white brethren fought on the front lines a few miles away. Such was the racism of America in the forties.
At a few desperate, terrible battles in the Pacific, including Peleliu and Iwo Jima, these black troops were called up into the front lines as combat replacements because the fighting was so horrific that there were no other troops available to restore the decimated units to a semblance of combat effectiveness. These Americans, who were fighting two enemies at once, the common enemy and society's prejudice, proved themselves to be worthy of the hero's mantle that cloaked all combat Marines in the Pacific.
L told me that his father is 93, well and living nearby in Maryland. He sees him daily. I asked L to pass my respects on to his father, and tell him that there are young men in our society who read books and know the terrific sacrifices that he and his friends went through. I lied about the young man part. L said that he would pass on my sentiments to his father, who would appreciate hearing them.
With our conversation finally charged, as we ran by the Pentagon near the end of our sojourn, L told me where he was on 9/11/01. He worked in the Pentagon then and lost friends there, but that morning he was on a detail at Bolling Air Force Base. He was out for a run when suddenly security at the base came alive and emergency vehicles started going everywhere. He went into the post and found out we were under attack. He said he wished then that he was at sea in a battle group, because they all would have gone to battle stations instantly and been ready to defend themselves within moments. On the base, however, there was no defense, only chaos. They could only stand by and wait to see what would materialize. It was awful, he said, we were totally unprepared for what hit us that day.
Our interesting conversation at an end, we ran up to our end point, Gotta Run, and the end of both the run and my coaching career. We had gone 8.6 miles in 1:21:59, a 9:32 pace. Mark my word, L is gonna rock his hoped-for 9:30s tomorrow at Army.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Coaching on the Waterfront
I was running with L halfway through my final training run as a coach for my club, in the last long run before the target race, the Army Ten-Miler. Running down the Georgetown Waterfront four miles into the run, we were behind three other Program runners who had formerly been trailing us, thanks to an impromptu stop I had made. The five of us were leading the main body of runners, who were half a mile back with the other Program coaches.
Passing runners in a race, I explained to L, was all about attitude. You have to put them away so they don't hang around.
(Left: The Program runners who ran on Sundays out of Fleet Feet in the District. In the middle, I'm the old-timer in white tank top on the left, Bad John Braden, a terrific coach, is the one on the right.) We came up on the first runner and I told L to follow me. We surged past her in a sustained burst and didn't settle back into our natural pace until we were 10 yards in front. The other two runners were a little ways ahead and when we caught them, we took them the same way, putting distance on them immediately while we passed them.
"See?" I said. "That way in a race, they have to work to get back up to you, and they might expend all their remaining energy or just get discouraged. If you merely cut in front of them, they will hang around behind you and let your energy work for them, drawing them forward. They will pass you back at any time."
We came upon another runner, wearing headphones so I knew she wasn't part of the Program. We smoothly moved around her but she sped up as we went by and we didn't establish any separation. Some runners don't like to be passed and this was definitely such a runner. She started driving us from behind.
She hung with us, pushing us forward into an uncomfortable speed as we labored to stay ahead of her. After a few hundred meters with her on our heels, she suddenly went on by us a
nd we let her go. (Right: Program runners stream down the Georgetown Waterfront this summer led by Bart Yasso, in red.)
"See what I mean?" I said to L. "We didn’t put her away and she passed us back."
We emerged from the waterfront and ran down Rock Creek Park past the Kennedy Center. I could feel the tiredness starting to emanate from L and I slowed down, hopefully imperceptibly, to accommodate his diminishing energy. We did a 9:40 mile, and then fell into the ten-minute-per-mile range as we passed by Lincoln. We were in the homestretch of our run, running down the Mall to round the World War II Memorial before heading for the Memorial Bridge and home, two miles further on.
Passing by World War II, I found the key to unlock L and get him to open up a little, conversationally. All people have interesting tales, sometimes you have to draw them out.
Passing runners in a race, I explained to L, was all about attitude. You have to put them away so they don't hang around.
(Left: The Program runners who ran on Sundays out of Fleet Feet in the District. In the middle, I'm the old-timer in white tank top on the left, Bad John Braden, a terrific coach, is the one on the right.) We came up on the first runner and I told L to follow me. We surged past her in a sustained burst and didn't settle back into our natural pace until we were 10 yards in front. The other two runners were a little ways ahead and when we caught them, we took them the same way, putting distance on them immediately while we passed them.
"See?" I said. "That way in a race, they have to work to get back up to you, and they might expend all their remaining energy or just get discouraged. If you merely cut in front of them, they will hang around behind you and let your energy work for them, drawing them forward. They will pass you back at any time."
We came upon another runner, wearing headphones so I knew she wasn't part of the Program. We smoothly moved around her but she sped up as we went by and we didn't establish any separation. Some runners don't like to be passed and this was definitely such a runner. She started driving us from behind.
She hung with us, pushing us forward into an uncomfortable speed as we labored to stay ahead of her. After a few hundred meters with her on our heels, she suddenly went on by us a
nd we let her go. (Right: Program runners stream down the Georgetown Waterfront this summer led by Bart Yasso, in red.)"See what I mean?" I said to L. "We didn’t put her away and she passed us back."
We emerged from the waterfront and ran down Rock Creek Park past the Kennedy Center. I could feel the tiredness starting to emanate from L and I slowed down, hopefully imperceptibly, to accommodate his diminishing energy. We did a 9:40 mile, and then fell into the ten-minute-per-mile range as we passed by Lincoln. We were in the homestretch of our run, running down the Mall to round the World War II Memorial before heading for the Memorial Bridge and home, two miles further on.
Passing by World War II, I found the key to unlock L and get him to open up a little, conversationally. All people have interesting tales, sometimes you have to draw them out.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Just Me 'n L.
Last Saturday as we left Gotta Run on the training group run after I announced my retirement from coaching for the club, my Garmin as usual was slow to pick up any satellite signals. (Look in the sky, Dummy.) It asked me if I had moved 500 miles since the last reading. I snorted disgustedly and just started running, because I don’t know which of its four button and two bars to push to answer in the negative.
A quarter of a mile into the run we entered the long pedestrian tunnel running under an elevated eight-lane interstate highway that debouches into the South Pentagon parking lot. Charmin picked up the signal while inside that concrete tube. There must be powerful satellite signal boosters around the Pentagon.
I was following H and another woman, running alongside L while a third woman followed us close behind. We were the front running group, swiftly separating ourselves from
the main body. With our two fast coaches absent, I pulled front running duty last week. I thought I could probably handle it, having run 1:14:34 (7:27) in my last ATM in 2006. (Right: Program Director Emily leads a discussion in front of a rapt audience. A Certified Outdoor Fitness Instructor in addition to being a certified running coach, this dedicated volunteer devoted half a year to designing, implementing and running an outstanding Program for my club, which also brought the club about $12,000 in revenue. She found the contract for us to be the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler Race and brought it to us. It would be a no-brainer for my club board to wholeheartedly support Emily's appointment to direct almost any club training program.)
The first mile was in the 10:30 range as we ran by the Pentagon and headed to the river bank along the Potomac. L kept right beside me every step. He had come the furthest in the Program. He used to run mid-pack but lately, although he never pushed the pace, he was always up front.
The two of us forged ahead of H and her companion as I slowly stepped on the gas to drag everyone along in my wake.
L told me that his goal for Army was 1:35 (9:30). He said he’d only done one other race, a 10K in June in 1:03 (10:10). He was running much better than that now and I told him he had an excellent chance of meeting his goal.
The three w
omen behind us remained in sight but started to fall away. No one else was in view but I knew that by design, there were two coaches back there mid-pack with the main group, with yet two more further back acting as sweepers. My task was to lead the strong group out. (Left: Heading out past the Pentagon. This is the corner that was struck on 9/11/01.)
For the first time in sixteen weeks I was out in front and free. Being the Site Director, usually I rove and I always wind up running or walking back with a runner experiencing a problem that day.
We pushed a 9:20 second mile and L didn't get nervous when I announced it. We burned the third mile in 8:48 mile and he didn’t blanch then either.
As we approached the hill on the Mount Vernon Trail which surmounts the bluff leading up to Key Bridge, I explained my theory of hill running to L. Whenever I encounter a hill on a run I attack it in order to derive the maximum benefit from the expected or unexpected occurrence of a hill during a run. A hill is a place where you can take down a faster runner in a race, if you practice it.
L was game and we both labored up the sharp hill, a circular switchback concrete ramp that passes over the GW Parkway and goes up the bridge. We didn't exactly sprint up it but our effort was sharply elevated. We were both winded by the time we gained the bridge. We recovered our breath as we ran into Georgetown across the level expanse of Key Bridge as far below us the dancing azure water of the Potomac sparkled in the bright sunlight.
I coaxed some information out of the naturally taciturn L. A retired Navy officer who now works for a private contractor on a satellite integration system for battle groups, he has never been married. Stationed overseas most of his Navy career, he spent considerable time in Italy, Germany, Japan and the Mid-East, with Rome being his favorite post. He spoke some Italian and German. I love coaching small groups because it enables me to run alongside different people every week and chat with them. Everybody has an interesting story.
Once over the bridge, I ducked into the Georgetown Running Company to thank the proprietor there for opening his store early every Saturday morning to accommodate the Program runners who meet in Georgetown under Site Director Katie. Katie's trainees just adore
her and she keeps up with every single one of them, both on and off the trails. Program Director Emily made an astute choice in picking Katie to be a SD. (Coaches Rachel and Jerry at one of two social hours planned by Program Director Emily and organized by by Rachel, who will replace me as Site Director at Gotta Run.)
With L in tow, I identified myself as club president and told the store owner who the club Vice President of Operations is, saying that she would take over if anything happened to my presidency. He looked at me curiously as we left the store.
Outside, we descended the steep hill going from K Street to the Georgetown Waterfront, passing over the C& O Canal halfway down. My last training run as a coach was halfway over. Counting our brief stop, we were at a 9:22 m/m pace for the run. The three Program women who had been trailing us were ahead of us now. I told L my theory of passing runners as we set out to reel them in.
A quarter of a mile into the run we entered the long pedestrian tunnel running under an elevated eight-lane interstate highway that debouches into the South Pentagon parking lot. Charmin picked up the signal while inside that concrete tube. There must be powerful satellite signal boosters around the Pentagon.
I was following H and another woman, running alongside L while a third woman followed us close behind. We were the front running group, swiftly separating ourselves from
the main body. With our two fast coaches absent, I pulled front running duty last week. I thought I could probably handle it, having run 1:14:34 (7:27) in my last ATM in 2006. (Right: Program Director Emily leads a discussion in front of a rapt audience. A Certified Outdoor Fitness Instructor in addition to being a certified running coach, this dedicated volunteer devoted half a year to designing, implementing and running an outstanding Program for my club, which also brought the club about $12,000 in revenue. She found the contract for us to be the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler Race and brought it to us. It would be a no-brainer for my club board to wholeheartedly support Emily's appointment to direct almost any club training program.)The first mile was in the 10:30 range as we ran by the Pentagon and headed to the river bank along the Potomac. L kept right beside me every step. He had come the furthest in the Program. He used to run mid-pack but lately, although he never pushed the pace, he was always up front.
The two of us forged ahead of H and her companion as I slowly stepped on the gas to drag everyone along in my wake.
L told me that his goal for Army was 1:35 (9:30). He said he’d only done one other race, a 10K in June in 1:03 (10:10). He was running much better than that now and I told him he had an excellent chance of meeting his goal.
The three w
omen behind us remained in sight but started to fall away. No one else was in view but I knew that by design, there were two coaches back there mid-pack with the main group, with yet two more further back acting as sweepers. My task was to lead the strong group out. (Left: Heading out past the Pentagon. This is the corner that was struck on 9/11/01.)For the first time in sixteen weeks I was out in front and free. Being the Site Director, usually I rove and I always wind up running or walking back with a runner experiencing a problem that day.
We pushed a 9:20 second mile and L didn't get nervous when I announced it. We burned the third mile in 8:48 mile and he didn’t blanch then either.
As we approached the hill on the Mount Vernon Trail which surmounts the bluff leading up to Key Bridge, I explained my theory of hill running to L. Whenever I encounter a hill on a run I attack it in order to derive the maximum benefit from the expected or unexpected occurrence of a hill during a run. A hill is a place where you can take down a faster runner in a race, if you practice it.
L was game and we both labored up the sharp hill, a circular switchback concrete ramp that passes over the GW Parkway and goes up the bridge. We didn't exactly sprint up it but our effort was sharply elevated. We were both winded by the time we gained the bridge. We recovered our breath as we ran into Georgetown across the level expanse of Key Bridge as far below us the dancing azure water of the Potomac sparkled in the bright sunlight.
I coaxed some information out of the naturally taciturn L. A retired Navy officer who now works for a private contractor on a satellite integration system for battle groups, he has never been married. Stationed overseas most of his Navy career, he spent considerable time in Italy, Germany, Japan and the Mid-East, with Rome being his favorite post. He spoke some Italian and German. I love coaching small groups because it enables me to run alongside different people every week and chat with them. Everybody has an interesting story.
Once over the bridge, I ducked into the Georgetown Running Company to thank the proprietor there for opening his store early every Saturday morning to accommodate the Program runners who meet in Georgetown under Site Director Katie. Katie's trainees just adore
her and she keeps up with every single one of them, both on and off the trails. Program Director Emily made an astute choice in picking Katie to be a SD. (Coaches Rachel and Jerry at one of two social hours planned by Program Director Emily and organized by by Rachel, who will replace me as Site Director at Gotta Run.)With L in tow, I identified myself as club president and told the store owner who the club Vice President of Operations is, saying that she would take over if anything happened to my presidency. He looked at me curiously as we left the store.
Outside, we descended the steep hill going from K Street to the Georgetown Waterfront, passing over the C& O Canal halfway down. My last training run as a coach was halfway over. Counting our brief stop, we were at a 9:22 m/m pace for the run. The three Program women who had been trailing us were ahead of us now. I told L my theory of passing runners as we set out to reel them in.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Giving Back
After explaining that morning's run, an eight mile jaunt past the Pentagon, up the Virginia side of the Potomac, over Key Bridge, down the Georgetown Waterfront to Rock Creek Park, past the Lincoln Memorial and onto the Mall, around the World War II Memorial and back over Memorial Bridge into Virginia for a return to our starting location at Pacers Running Store in South Arlington, I announced my retirement from coaching fo
r my club to the 32 runners waiting expectantly. (Right: Four coaches actively engaged.)
"After four years of being blessed with the ability and opportunity to run with persons such as yourselves, good folks working to bring running into your lives and striving to bring fitness to the community, I am stepping down as a coach for the running club. I will coach further, if at all, only upon a drop-in basis for the benefit of my friends. And all of you standing here, about to go on a run with me on this beautiful, sun-dappled morning in our nation's capital, are my friends."
They applauded me. After so many early morning hookups in all kinds of weather, sunny days, col
d drizzle, bright but cold dawns, sweltering humidity, it was over. Being the current president of my club had showed me that other duties awaited me.
(Left: Coach of the year Lauren leans back and talks easily to questioning runners, approachable, open, friendly, concerned, but fast.) The pleasure of running along with eager friends, and imparting to them what little modicums of running wisdom and racing lore that my nine years of running, three hundred races, RRCA coaching certificate and experience directing or coaching ten training programs allowed me to, had come full circle to this bright, warm morning.
Interestingly, in an hour I would be running past the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on my way back to Pacers and the end of my coaching career for the club twenty minutes after that. By my side would be the lead small-group runner with several more burgeoning athletes close by behind me as we progressed past the place where it all started for me on a similar morning so long ago. Then my very first running group was anxiously forming up and I was about to head out with it, embarking upon a long and productive journey of s
elf-development and giving back.
(Right: A coach giving back, having arisen at 5:30 on that weekend morning so that he could run alongside newer runners and offer them encouragement.) I actually believe that running is about giving back. I also believe that there are runners who don't give back, who descend into the grip of hubris, narcissism and ego and impede the giving back of others. Have you ever noticed how critical some runners are? But that is another post, one that perhaps will never be written.
Embarrassed by the small but sustained applause, I started out on the run and everyone fell in behind me, twenty-seven trainees, raw runners three months ago who were now nervously but confidently awaiting eight days hence when they would line up for the Army Ten-Miler Race, and overcome the largest physical activity many of them had ever attempted. I took the lead that morning, the four other coaches strung out along the giant moving group. Several of the faster runners fell in beside me and I adjusted my pace to theirs. My Garmin told me 10:30 m/m and I subtly picked up the tempo slightly, imperceptibly I hoped, in order to draw the aspiring athletes along.
(Left: Rachel, program person of the year, listens patiently.) I suddenly remembered that my car was parked at an expired meter in front of Pacers and Arlington's aggressive parking enforcement would start in half an hour. No matter, I was running alongside four or five runners bursting to let their inner selves out and hang with me, the fast coach today. This was by far the greater good than abandoning my lead role for the group in order to return to my car to feed the meter.
Perspiration was just starting to bead upon my face as we headed towards the Pentagon at a steady lope, chatting easily but breathing raggedly in the throes of the first mile of my last training group run. I was going to miss this so.
r my club to the 32 runners waiting expectantly. (Right: Four coaches actively engaged.)"After four years of being blessed with the ability and opportunity to run with persons such as yourselves, good folks working to bring running into your lives and striving to bring fitness to the community, I am stepping down as a coach for the running club. I will coach further, if at all, only upon a drop-in basis for the benefit of my friends. And all of you standing here, about to go on a run with me on this beautiful, sun-dappled morning in our nation's capital, are my friends."
They applauded me. After so many early morning hookups in all kinds of weather, sunny days, col
d drizzle, bright but cold dawns, sweltering humidity, it was over. Being the current president of my club had showed me that other duties awaited me.(Left: Coach of the year Lauren leans back and talks easily to questioning runners, approachable, open, friendly, concerned, but fast.) The pleasure of running along with eager friends, and imparting to them what little modicums of running wisdom and racing lore that my nine years of running, three hundred races, RRCA coaching certificate and experience directing or coaching ten training programs allowed me to, had come full circle to this bright, warm morning.
Interestingly, in an hour I would be running past the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on my way back to Pacers and the end of my coaching career for the club twenty minutes after that. By my side would be the lead small-group runner with several more burgeoning athletes close by behind me as we progressed past the place where it all started for me on a similar morning so long ago. Then my very first running group was anxiously forming up and I was about to head out with it, embarking upon a long and productive journey of s
elf-development and giving back.(Right: A coach giving back, having arisen at 5:30 on that weekend morning so that he could run alongside newer runners and offer them encouragement.) I actually believe that running is about giving back. I also believe that there are runners who don't give back, who descend into the grip of hubris, narcissism and ego and impede the giving back of others. Have you ever noticed how critical some runners are? But that is another post, one that perhaps will never be written.
Embarrassed by the small but sustained applause, I started out on the run and everyone fell in behind me, twenty-seven trainees, raw runners three months ago who were now nervously but confidently awaiting eight days hence when they would line up for the Army Ten-Miler Race, and overcome the largest physical activity many of them had ever attempted. I took the lead that morning, the four other coaches strung out along the giant moving group. Several of the faster runners fell in beside me and I adjusted my pace to theirs. My Garmin told me 10:30 m/m and I subtly picked up the tempo slightly, imperceptibly I hoped, in order to draw the aspiring athletes along.
(Left: Rachel, program person of the year, listens patiently.) I suddenly remembered that my car was parked at an expired meter in front of Pacers and Arlington's aggressive parking enforcement would start in half an hour. No matter, I was running alongside four or five runners bursting to let their inner selves out and hang with me, the fast coach today. This was by far the greater good than abandoning my lead role for the group in order to return to my car to feed the meter.
Perspiration was just starting to bead upon my face as we headed towards the Pentagon at a steady lope, chatting easily but breathing raggedly in the throes of the first mile of my last training group run. I was going to miss this so.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Goodbye
I've been real busy lately. Maybe someday I'll tell you about it.
Today was the last day of training for my club's Ten-Miler Training Program, which is the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler Race next week. I am a Site Director under Program Director Emily, who brought us the contract from Army in the first place. Registration for the Program was three and a half times what it was last summer when I directed it, thanks to us being the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler. This translated into well over ten thousand dollars in additional revenue for the club. Do ya think my club wants to keep Emily happy? (You probably have no idea how clubs actually run.)
I picked Emily to be Program Director because she was ready to step up from coaching, where she had excelled. She is also a Running Boot Camp Instructor and directs a 5 a.m. workout for that. She has a terrific background in web programing and she also has an art degree.
She excelled in the job and took the Program to a higher level, despite its greatly increased complexity. Emily devoted half a year to it and managed three Site Directors meeting on both weekend days, and she usually ran along at the sites on a roving basis. Along with assistants Katie and Rachel, Emily helped create for the Program a series of programs that benefited the entire club like the Jump Start Program, a Monday night run on the Mall, a Tuesday night run over bridges in the District, a weekly email dispensing training tips and an Alternate Track Workout that wouldn't be too intimidating for the newer runners as the club's regular workout has been wrongly reputed to be.
What a great job Emily did. She is the most qualified person in my club to run a high-visibility complex training program by far. I should know, having directed, or created and run a component of, the last eight run-along club training programs. Only two other persons in my club have ever directed a run-along program that I know of. I don't believe that anyone who has never run a small program or been a Site Director could do anywhere near as good a job as Emily did handling a complex program like this one. The results she achieved were of tremendous benefit to the club.
These programs sometimes get scorn as "chaperoned running" from club members who train hard to improve their times and place in race standings. It's true, we run with new runners at their p
ace and draw them along as they work on their base, and Emily is very good at it. (Left: Chaperoned running along the W&OD Trail in the Program. Does that look like a perfect morning to you?)
Yes, it hurts our conditioning and our times but we want to increase the pool of runners out there by reaching out to the mid and back-packers in a spirit of inclusion. When we hear scorn sent our way, we realize there is another side to running, running for one's own aggrandizement. To these runners, coaching is all about ego. They don't run with slower runners, rather, they tell them what to do and then wave goodbye. As club president, I have tried to foster a spirit of inclusion within the club. I cannot say that I have been successful.
I have been coaching (running along with) small groups for about four years now. As I said, today was the last day of training in the Program that Emily so masterfully put together. Army has so loved what Emily accomplished that they want her to do it again next year. I believe they would follow Emily anywhere.
After our pre-run discussion this morning, I said goodbye to the assembled runners and announced my retirement from coaching for my club, even though I love it so. I'll still do drop-in coaching for friends. (All of the coaches in the Program are my friends.) But it was time to move on, as other obligations beckon. They a
ll clapped appreciatively for me. Aww...
(Right: Bad John Braden, a good coach of Emily's. Doesn't it look like Bad John is drawing out the best in the other person he is running with? Bad John could go faster and leave her behind if he was only concerned about his own training. But then Bad John wouldn't be coaching in one of the club's run-along programs, not if I had anything to say about it.) Next I'll tell you about the beautiful morning and the great eight-mile run that wound up my coaching career for the club. It's why we run.
Today was the last day of training for my club's Ten-Miler Training Program, which is the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler Race next week. I am a Site Director under Program Director Emily, who brought us the contract from Army in the first place. Registration for the Program was three and a half times what it was last summer when I directed it, thanks to us being the exclusive training partner for the Army Ten-Miler. This translated into well over ten thousand dollars in additional revenue for the club. Do ya think my club wants to keep Emily happy? (You probably have no idea how clubs actually run.)
I picked Emily to be Program Director because she was ready to step up from coaching, where she had excelled. She is also a Running Boot Camp Instructor and directs a 5 a.m. workout for that. She has a terrific background in web programing and she also has an art degree.
She excelled in the job and took the Program to a higher level, despite its greatly increased complexity. Emily devoted half a year to it and managed three Site Directors meeting on both weekend days, and she usually ran along at the sites on a roving basis. Along with assistants Katie and Rachel, Emily helped create for the Program a series of programs that benefited the entire club like the Jump Start Program, a Monday night run on the Mall, a Tuesday night run over bridges in the District, a weekly email dispensing training tips and an Alternate Track Workout that wouldn't be too intimidating for the newer runners as the club's regular workout has been wrongly reputed to be.
What a great job Emily did. She is the most qualified person in my club to run a high-visibility complex training program by far. I should know, having directed, or created and run a component of, the last eight run-along club training programs. Only two other persons in my club have ever directed a run-along program that I know of. I don't believe that anyone who has never run a small program or been a Site Director could do anywhere near as good a job as Emily did handling a complex program like this one. The results she achieved were of tremendous benefit to the club.
These programs sometimes get scorn as "chaperoned running" from club members who train hard to improve their times and place in race standings. It's true, we run with new runners at their p
ace and draw them along as they work on their base, and Emily is very good at it. (Left: Chaperoned running along the W&OD Trail in the Program. Does that look like a perfect morning to you?)Yes, it hurts our conditioning and our times but we want to increase the pool of runners out there by reaching out to the mid and back-packers in a spirit of inclusion. When we hear scorn sent our way, we realize there is another side to running, running for one's own aggrandizement. To these runners, coaching is all about ego. They don't run with slower runners, rather, they tell them what to do and then wave goodbye. As club president, I have tried to foster a spirit of inclusion within the club. I cannot say that I have been successful.
I have been coaching (running along with) small groups for about four years now. As I said, today was the last day of training in the Program that Emily so masterfully put together. Army has so loved what Emily accomplished that they want her to do it again next year. I believe they would follow Emily anywhere.
After our pre-run discussion this morning, I said goodbye to the assembled runners and announced my retirement from coaching for my club, even though I love it so. I'll still do drop-in coaching for friends. (All of the coaches in the Program are my friends.) But it was time to move on, as other obligations beckon. They a
ll clapped appreciatively for me. Aww...(Right: Bad John Braden, a good coach of Emily's. Doesn't it look like Bad John is drawing out the best in the other person he is running with? Bad John could go faster and leave her behind if he was only concerned about his own training. But then Bad John wouldn't be coaching in one of the club's run-along programs, not if I had anything to say about it.) Next I'll tell you about the beautiful morning and the great eight-mile run that wound up my coaching career for the club. It's why we run.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Another good run...
Today the club's Ten-Miler Program ran out of Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan. Local running legend Phil Fenty and his wife Jan opened up the first Fleet Feet franchise east of the Mississippi in 1984 and the store has thrived due to their hard work despite a lack of parking. Now it is owned by Shawn Fenty, their son (brother of the mayor), and he carries on in the family tradition of deep commitment to the running community. Several training programs run o
ut of the store on weekends, including ours. (Right: Joseph Castro, Director of Training for the Army Ten-Miler Race and Shawn Fenty, owner of Fleet Feet, confer outside of the store.)
We went 8.3 miles on a double loop through Rock Creek Park. I am a "drop-in" coach and I enjoy the relative dearth of responsibility on these runs. I started in the far back, chatting up some runners back there. I gradually worked my way forward, talking for awhile with almost everyone I passed. By the time I made it up front, the lead runner was too far ahead to catch but I fell in with Jay, a coach. He's twenty years younger than me and deceptively fast. He hides it until late in runs when he puts the hammer down.
We ran along, pushing the pace until it seemed to me that we were doing sub-eights. I don't do those much anymore. The run was hilly because Adams Morgan sits on a high point in the District and Rock Creek Park, a half mile away, is far below it. We had to climb out of the park twice after dropping into it on each loop. We would pause at tricky turning points on the course until the next runner came into view and wave to show him the way. When he waved back, we'd take off again.
Regaining 16th Street two miles from Fleet Feet, we flashed down the road. Jay kept pushing the pace but I was game, mostly. Whenever I lagged behind by eight feet he'd lighten up just a trace and I'd catch up again. I knew what was coming but the hard running felt good after weeks of running with back-packers.
Half a mile out Jay engaged a higher gear and I had to let him go. He beat me back to the store by a block and a half. My overall pace was just over 9:40 for the run but that included a lengthy stretch of 10:30 running during the first half of the outing and some pauses at directional points.
Afterwards many in the group bought bagels and coffee from a nearby shop and we sat around on the sidewalk outside of Fleet Feet eating, drinking and talking.
ut of the store on weekends, including ours. (Right: Joseph Castro, Director of Training for the Army Ten-Miler Race and Shawn Fenty, owner of Fleet Feet, confer outside of the store.)We went 8.3 miles on a double loop through Rock Creek Park. I am a "drop-in" coach and I enjoy the relative dearth of responsibility on these runs. I started in the far back, chatting up some runners back there. I gradually worked my way forward, talking for awhile with almost everyone I passed. By the time I made it up front, the lead runner was too far ahead to catch but I fell in with Jay, a coach. He's twenty years younger than me and deceptively fast. He hides it until late in runs when he puts the hammer down.
We ran along, pushing the pace until it seemed to me that we were doing sub-eights. I don't do those much anymore. The run was hilly because Adams Morgan sits on a high point in the District and Rock Creek Park, a half mile away, is far below it. We had to climb out of the park twice after dropping into it on each loop. We would pause at tricky turning points on the course until the next runner came into view and wave to show him the way. When he waved back, we'd take off again.
Regaining 16th Street two miles from Fleet Feet, we flashed down the road. Jay kept pushing the pace but I was game, mostly. Whenever I lagged behind by eight feet he'd lighten up just a trace and I'd catch up again. I knew what was coming but the hard running felt good after weeks of running with back-packers.
Half a mile out Jay engaged a higher gear and I had to let him go. He beat me back to the store by a block and a half. My overall pace was just over 9:40 for the run but that included a lengthy stretch of 10:30 running during the first half of the outing and some pauses at directional points.
Afterwards many in the group bought bagels and coffee from a nearby shop and we sat around on the sidewalk outside of Fleet Feet eating, drinking and talking.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Charmin Garmin
Guess who got a Garmin. A factory refurbished 205 from Amazon for $120.40. It came on Friday.
I broke down and bought one because I need to zero in on a 9:00 M/M pace for when I'm the 1:30 pacesetter for the Army Ten-Miler Race in seven weeks.
I used it on Saturday, and now I know I went 7.1 miles on my training group's supposed 7-mile run. (I create the route.) Some folks got a little lost and went 7.6 miles. They were pissed when they got back, like it was my fault. But what's an extra half mile anyway?
Even the folks who didn't get lost were grumbling though. What's an extra one tenth of a mile? They all have Garmin's so they all know exactly how far we go. More than one came over to me afterwards and said, "You said we were doing seven today. We went 7.1!"
I told them to stop at the end of the block next time, before they reach the finish point, as soon as their Garmins chime.
What's 500 extra feet? Excuse me, 520 extra feet. These are new runners, for the most part.
This morning at 7:30 I went to Fleet Feet in the District to do a 7-mile route in Rock Creek Park with Sasha's training group. That group was late in getting going, so I said I was leaving and that anyone who wanted to do 8:30s could come with me. I had no takers so I ran alone, ahead of the pack.
Sasha had devised kind of a complicated route but I thought I knew it. Run 3 miles north up 16th Street from Adams Morgan, drop into Rock Creek Park by Carter Barron Amphitheatre and double back south towards Fleet Feet again. How hard could it be?
My Garmin kept me occupied on this solo run. Sometimes it showed my pace to be 8:10, then a few seconds later it would tell me my pace was 9:40. I think I need to read the directions. But I enjoyed watching the mileage tick off. When my Garmin got to 6.5 miles, and I didn't see anything I recognized in Rock Creek Park, I exited the park and got into some residential streets I didn't recognize. The route was supposed to be 7 miles so at 6.5 miles, I figured I had to be near Adams Morgan. I asked some suburbanites I encountered how to get to Adams Morgan from there. They looked astonished.
"Uhh, you're in Maryland. Adams Morgan is, like, six miles from here."
I had been running north in Rock Creek Park the whole time, instead of turning back south in the park. I was terribly lost and now I was in a confusing complex of suburban cul-de-sacs in Chevy Chase. That's a long way on foot from Adams Morgan.
I am thankful for my Garmin though. It told me I only had a half-mile to go and when I absolutely didn't recognize a thing, even though I'm a guy, I asked for directions.
It was the most lost I have ever been on a run.
But I did my seven, in 1:01:21 (8:46), not too bad. I took a taxicab back to Fleet Feet.
I broke down and bought one because I need to zero in on a 9:00 M/M pace for when I'm the 1:30 pacesetter for the Army Ten-Miler Race in seven weeks.
I used it on Saturday, and now I know I went 7.1 miles on my training group's supposed 7-mile run. (I create the route.) Some folks got a little lost and went 7.6 miles. They were pissed when they got back, like it was my fault. But what's an extra half mile anyway?
Even the folks who didn't get lost were grumbling though. What's an extra one tenth of a mile? They all have Garmin's so they all know exactly how far we go. More than one came over to me afterwards and said, "You said we were doing seven today. We went 7.1!"
I told them to stop at the end of the block next time, before they reach the finish point, as soon as their Garmins chime.
What's 500 extra feet? Excuse me, 520 extra feet. These are new runners, for the most part.
This morning at 7:30 I went to Fleet Feet in the District to do a 7-mile route in Rock Creek Park with Sasha's training group. That group was late in getting going, so I said I was leaving and that anyone who wanted to do 8:30s could come with me. I had no takers so I ran alone, ahead of the pack.
Sasha had devised kind of a complicated route but I thought I knew it. Run 3 miles north up 16th Street from Adams Morgan, drop into Rock Creek Park by Carter Barron Amphitheatre and double back south towards Fleet Feet again. How hard could it be?
My Garmin kept me occupied on this solo run. Sometimes it showed my pace to be 8:10, then a few seconds later it would tell me my pace was 9:40. I think I need to read the directions. But I enjoyed watching the mileage tick off. When my Garmin got to 6.5 miles, and I didn't see anything I recognized in Rock Creek Park, I exited the park and got into some residential streets I didn't recognize. The route was supposed to be 7 miles so at 6.5 miles, I figured I had to be near Adams Morgan. I asked some suburbanites I encountered how to get to Adams Morgan from there. They looked astonished.
"Uhh, you're in Maryland. Adams Morgan is, like, six miles from here."
I had been running north in Rock Creek Park the whole time, instead of turning back south in the park. I was terribly lost and now I was in a confusing complex of suburban cul-de-sacs in Chevy Chase. That's a long way on foot from Adams Morgan.
I am thankful for my Garmin though. It told me I only had a half-mile to go and when I absolutely didn't recognize a thing, even though I'm a guy, I asked for directions.
It was the most lost I have ever been on a run.
But I did my seven, in 1:01:21 (8:46), not too bad. I took a taxicab back to Fleet Feet.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The 2009 Reebok SunTrust National Half Marathon Training Program was a great success.
You might know that I am in charge of training programs for the DC Road Runners, a duty I am about to turn over to fellow Board Member Kenny Ames when I assume the club presidency next month. There are exciting training prospects in store for the club during the upcoming year.
With the running of the fourth SunTrust National Marathon and Half Marathon last weekend, the race's second Reebok Training Program, "powered" by DCRRC, came to a successful conclusion (hop
efully not for good--Reebok is having some issues in this economy like everyone else). Outgoing club club president Ed Grant was in charge of the Program and directed the Marathon part of it while I directed the Half-Marathon side. Both were well-run programs, if I do say so. (Right: Samia Akbar, last year's winner of the SunTrust National Half Marathon, addresses the Reebok Training Group on the first day way back in November.)
Including volunteer coaches, during the Program at least 63 Program participants came to at least one meeting of the half marathon group at Gotta Run, the normal meeting place for my part of the program. After 19 weeks of rigorous training stretching back to before Thanksgiving, with runs that ranged from the 6-mile opening day lumber up the C&O Canal Towpath to a couple of runs of about 14 miles on the Mall near the end, at least 38 Program participants ran in the SunTrust National Half Marathon on Saturday, March 21, 2009, with times ranging from 1:22:58 to just over two and a half hours.
Additionally, one HM Program participant ran the Full Marathon. Two participants served as race staff during the race. At least two more participants spent the morning cheering on the runners. Another participant ran a half marathon in Virginia Beach that weekend while another participant ran a half marathon in California. Yet another participant ran a club Marathon and took third in her age group. Another participant ran a
10-mile race instead while one more did a Marathon Relay. (Left: The very first track workout. Jon, the third runner from the right, ran a sub-1:40 half marathon five months later.)
In addition to the Program member who finished the half marathon in under 1:25 (coach Matt), two trainees finished in under 1:40. Yet another trainee finished in under 1:45 while four more finished in under 1:55, which is a sub-9:00 M/M pace. Two more trainees finished in under two hours. One coach (the beloved Ellen, her trainees love her), who was a trainee last year, took over 11 minutes off her PR.
The Program offered the normal Saturday group long runs, held at two different locations, one in Arlington and another one in the District directed by coach Sasha, and also offered regular Monday night runs of 6.5 miles on the Mall, regular Tuesday night runs of 4 mile runs on the Georgetown waterfront, track workouts every Wednesday evening in Arlington plus a weekly morning track workout in the District. Speakers came to lecture the runners before runs at least three times. There were two social get-togethers set up by coach Rachel, as well as a pre-race dinner in both Arlington and the District. Participants formed relay teams for a club Marathon one week and the schedule incorporated two other club races, a 10-miler and a 20K race. Several coaches regularly met with participants on informal runs such as other club races
or various fun runs around town. (Right: The first Monday Night Footmall run. Jay, the second runner from the left, threw down a 1:40 half marathon four months later.)
The Reebok SunTrust National Half-Marathon Training Program’s success was directly attributable to the dedication of its outstanding staff of volunteer DCRRC coaches. In addition to those already mentioned, they were John, Lauren, Emily, Bob and Jeannie. At least seven of the coaches have RRCA coaching certificates. One is a certified Fitness Bootcamp Trainer. Several coaches came from the ranks of trainees in prior Programs. Invaluable assistance was received from Full Marathon coaches Kenny, Ed, Andrew, Katie, Eric Phillips (the current director of DCFit Marathon training) and Ben.
(Left: Coach Ellen (looking at her watch) leads her group out on a Saturday morning run. Ricardo, the runner on the left, ran a sub-2-hour half marathon four months later.) Thanks to all, and especially to Reebok (Keith), the Greater Washington Sports Alliance (Britton), Fleet Feet (Shawn), the Georgetown Running Company (Max) and Gotta Run (Andre).
The club's 10K Group Training Program is currently in its fifth week, and the club's training program for the Army 10-Miler starts this summer.
With the running of the fourth SunTrust National Marathon and Half Marathon last weekend, the race's second Reebok Training Program, "powered" by DCRRC, came to a successful conclusion (hop
efully not for good--Reebok is having some issues in this economy like everyone else). Outgoing club club president Ed Grant was in charge of the Program and directed the Marathon part of it while I directed the Half-Marathon side. Both were well-run programs, if I do say so. (Right: Samia Akbar, last year's winner of the SunTrust National Half Marathon, addresses the Reebok Training Group on the first day way back in November.)Including volunteer coaches, during the Program at least 63 Program participants came to at least one meeting of the half marathon group at Gotta Run, the normal meeting place for my part of the program. After 19 weeks of rigorous training stretching back to before Thanksgiving, with runs that ranged from the 6-mile opening day lumber up the C&O Canal Towpath to a couple of runs of about 14 miles on the Mall near the end, at least 38 Program participants ran in the SunTrust National Half Marathon on Saturday, March 21, 2009, with times ranging from 1:22:58 to just over two and a half hours.
Additionally, one HM Program participant ran the Full Marathon. Two participants served as race staff during the race. At least two more participants spent the morning cheering on the runners. Another participant ran a half marathon in Virginia Beach that weekend while another participant ran a half marathon in California. Yet another participant ran a club Marathon and took third in her age group. Another participant ran a
10-mile race instead while one more did a Marathon Relay. (Left: The very first track workout. Jon, the third runner from the right, ran a sub-1:40 half marathon five months later.)In addition to the Program member who finished the half marathon in under 1:25 (coach Matt), two trainees finished in under 1:40. Yet another trainee finished in under 1:45 while four more finished in under 1:55, which is a sub-9:00 M/M pace. Two more trainees finished in under two hours. One coach (the beloved Ellen, her trainees love her), who was a trainee last year, took over 11 minutes off her PR.
The Program offered the normal Saturday group long runs, held at two different locations, one in Arlington and another one in the District directed by coach Sasha, and also offered regular Monday night runs of 6.5 miles on the Mall, regular Tuesday night runs of 4 mile runs on the Georgetown waterfront, track workouts every Wednesday evening in Arlington plus a weekly morning track workout in the District. Speakers came to lecture the runners before runs at least three times. There were two social get-togethers set up by coach Rachel, as well as a pre-race dinner in both Arlington and the District. Participants formed relay teams for a club Marathon one week and the schedule incorporated two other club races, a 10-miler and a 20K race. Several coaches regularly met with participants on informal runs such as other club races
or various fun runs around town. (Right: The first Monday Night Footmall run. Jay, the second runner from the left, threw down a 1:40 half marathon four months later.)The Reebok SunTrust National Half-Marathon Training Program’s success was directly attributable to the dedication of its outstanding staff of volunteer DCRRC coaches. In addition to those already mentioned, they were John, Lauren, Emily, Bob and Jeannie. At least seven of the coaches have RRCA coaching certificates. One is a certified Fitness Bootcamp Trainer. Several coaches came from the ranks of trainees in prior Programs. Invaluable assistance was received from Full Marathon coaches Kenny, Ed, Andrew, Katie, Eric Phillips (the current director of DCFit Marathon training) and Ben.
(Left: Coach Ellen (looking at her watch) leads her group out on a Saturday morning run. Ricardo, the runner on the left, ran a sub-2-hour half marathon four months later.) Thanks to all, and especially to Reebok (Keith), the Greater Washington Sports Alliance (Britton), Fleet Feet (Shawn), the Georgetown Running Company (Max) and Gotta Run (Andre).
The club's 10K Group Training Program is currently in its fifth week, and the club's training program for the Army 10-Miler starts this summer.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Lauren & Rachel
I was gratified to receive the welcome email that came in last night.
It said in essence, Please forget my crazy rambling this morning. I'm all right now. I had a heat related illness but the coaches took me to the ER and now I have a clean bill of health. Thank you.
Who would have suspected heat-related problems yesterday morning? It was beautiful for running, cool and overcast with a low dew-point. A remarkable August morning for the nation's capital.
My club's ten-mile training program which I direct is more than half-way over. We ran eight miles on the flat W&OD Trail, a beautiful 40-mile long paved-over railroad bed that marches westward from near the banks of the Potomac to past the bucolic town of Leesburg.
This strong runner had led most of the way but pulled up, fatigued, a half mile from the end. She sat for awhile with the volunteer coach who had been running with her in a shaded glen beside the trail.
Then they returned the rest of the way where there was water, Gatorade and cool pops. It was so cool and breezy that as I stood there in my damp running tanktop after my 72-minute run, I wished I had brought along a sweatshirt.
This runner started talking oddly. She said she was going to ace the club's 15K race next weekend. She became mildly insulting, looking at me and saying, Last year I ran straight 7-minute miles there, although that's not in your league.
Well, straight sevens for multiple miles is known to be beyond my ability, and I knew this runner's bio. While she is strong and fast, she has never run straight sevens in a race.
The runner lay down in the grass and still talking non-stop, reached up and started rhythmically clapping her hands above her head. The volunteer coach kept her engaged in conversation. Soon that coach and another one had coaxed her into a car where they ran the A/C and gave her water. After checking that they had a cell phone, I left. She was in good hands with these two.
Coaches Lauren and Rachel are great boons to the Program. Not only do they commit their time to run with slower runners and endeavor to give them a quality, learning running experience, but they had recognized this runner's slightly erratic behavior and acted. They stayed with her until her situation was resolved, in this case, by a precautionary trip to the ER where she received an IV solution.
A simple run in beautiful conditions can be on the margin of catastrophe, or even tragedy, without anyone noticing.
My lifelong search for heroes? Here are two.
It said in essence, Please forget my crazy rambling this morning. I'm all right now. I had a heat related illness but the coaches took me to the ER and now I have a clean bill of health. Thank you.
Who would have suspected heat-related problems yesterday morning? It was beautiful for running, cool and overcast with a low dew-point. A remarkable August morning for the nation's capital.
My club's ten-mile training program which I direct is more than half-way over. We ran eight miles on the flat W&OD Trail, a beautiful 40-mile long paved-over railroad bed that marches westward from near the banks of the Potomac to past the bucolic town of Leesburg.
This strong runner had led most of the way but pulled up, fatigued, a half mile from the end. She sat for awhile with the volunteer coach who had been running with her in a shaded glen beside the trail.
Then they returned the rest of the way where there was water, Gatorade and cool pops. It was so cool and breezy that as I stood there in my damp running tanktop after my 72-minute run, I wished I had brought along a sweatshirt.
This runner started talking oddly. She said she was going to ace the club's 15K race next weekend. She became mildly insulting, looking at me and saying, Last year I ran straight 7-minute miles there, although that's not in your league.
Well, straight sevens for multiple miles is known to be beyond my ability, and I knew this runner's bio. While she is strong and fast, she has never run straight sevens in a race.
The runner lay down in the grass and still talking non-stop, reached up and started rhythmically clapping her hands above her head. The volunteer coach kept her engaged in conversation. Soon that coach and another one had coaxed her into a car where they ran the A/C and gave her water. After checking that they had a cell phone, I left. She was in good hands with these two.
Coaches Lauren and Rachel are great boons to the Program. Not only do they commit their time to run with slower runners and endeavor to give them a quality, learning running experience, but they had recognized this runner's slightly erratic behavior and acted. They stayed with her until her situation was resolved, in this case, by a precautionary trip to the ER where she received an IV solution.
A simple run in beautiful conditions can be on the margin of catastrophe, or even tragedy, without anyone noticing.
My lifelong search for heroes? Here are two.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Been Running?
In case you're wondering if I have been running since I got back from my summer vacation a month ago, you're not the only one. I have been wondering too.
Clearly there was no running in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. But what's my excuse since I got back?
I been running some, but not much. In all of July I ran 52.7 miles, and only one race (my monthly noontime 3K dash around the Tidal Basin). That's it. My one long run was ten miles of sightseeing I did along the Mall with a visiting RBFer.
When I'm not running much I cheat and get in my five times running per week by running solitary miles. I can always fit those in. Six of my "runs" in July were of the solitary mile variety. Although they were all under eight minutes, only one was under seven minutes, my desired goal.
Why the slackard month? Life is complicated. That's the sum total of my wisdom after 56 years.
I came back from my "trip of a lifetime" down the Grand Canyon and running suddenly seemed less important. I took greater pleasure in writing about the trip than in running on the roadways. All of my running buddies have moved away or gotten hurt. The ten-mile training program I direct for my club has started up and that keeps me busy, basically running with novices. I realize that people see me as a Johnny-One-Note, a running nut, so I have been working on being more variegated.
Yeah, my running currently sucks. I think life is intruding. It's either that or advancing age.
Clearly there was no running in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. But what's my excuse since I got back?
I been running some, but not much. In all of July I ran 52.7 miles, and only one race (my monthly noontime 3K dash around the Tidal Basin). That's it. My one long run was ten miles of sightseeing I did along the Mall with a visiting RBFer.
When I'm not running much I cheat and get in my five times running per week by running solitary miles. I can always fit those in. Six of my "runs" in July were of the solitary mile variety. Although they were all under eight minutes, only one was under seven minutes, my desired goal.
Why the slackard month? Life is complicated. That's the sum total of my wisdom after 56 years.
I came back from my "trip of a lifetime" down the Grand Canyon and running suddenly seemed less important. I took greater pleasure in writing about the trip than in running on the roadways. All of my running buddies have moved away or gotten hurt. The ten-mile training program I direct for my club has started up and that keeps me busy, basically running with novices. I realize that people see me as a Johnny-One-Note, a running nut, so I have been working on being more variegated.
Yeah, my running currently sucks. I think life is intruding. It's either that or advancing age.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Some Year-End Ketchup
End of the year hodgepodge.
Awhile ago I told you about H's nice first marathon, a fine 4:07 at the MCM in October here in DC. I ran with her for awhile near the end, picking her up on the 14th Street Bridge near MP 20. She came up on me very fast amidst the swirl of runners going by and I was only able to snap a herky-jerky picture of her as she approached that only caught half of her. Here is a better picture of my friend H, taken a few weeks later following an early Saturday run on the Mall. (Photo credit B.)
Soup's on! I told you earlier that unbeknownst to me, I was pictured inside the October issue of the epicurean magazine Cooking Light, in a Healthy Living feature on DC (the third best-rated city, behind Seattle and Portland on the Left Coast). The full-page photo on page 75 used two anonymous joggers running by the Jefferson Memorial to illustrate DC's "walkability" (go figure) and I was one of them. Here is the photograph, generously sent to me by the magazine and used with the gracious permission of the photographer. (Photo credit Douglas Merriam.) The actual moment captured on film didn't register with me at the time, but when I saw the picture months later while perusing the magazine rack at Union Station, I instantly remembered the situation and vaguely remembered the encounter. The photograph was taken early in the morning on Saturday, July 21st, during the second outing of the twelve week dcrrc 10-Mile Training Program leading up to the Army 10-Mile Race in October while Mary Ellen and I were running counter-clockwise around the Tidal Basin on a 3.7 mile training run at a 9:20 pace. I know I saw the photographer because I have my there's-a-tourist-shooting-a-picture fake smile plastered upon my face. From racing experience, I have learned to look up and smile whenever I see a photographer snapping pictures.
Details, details. My former running buddy A, who moved out of town last summer, has been posted on a work detail to Tokyo for a year by her law firm. She is leaving next month for Japan. Here is a picture of her on the left in DC fooling around with her friend H, who spent many hours helping her pack up her Capitol Hill apartment. She looks good running or slumming. Have a safe journey and a good year, A.
Awhile ago I told you about H's nice first marathon, a fine 4:07 at the MCM in October here in DC. I ran with her for awhile near the end, picking her up on the 14th Street Bridge near MP 20. She came up on me very fast amidst the swirl of runners going by and I was only able to snap a herky-jerky picture of her as she approached that only caught half of her. Here is a better picture of my friend H, taken a few weeks later following an early Saturday run on the Mall. (Photo credit B.)
Soup's on! I told you earlier that unbeknownst to me, I was pictured inside the October issue of the epicurean magazine Cooking Light, in a Healthy Living feature on DC (the third best-rated city, behind Seattle and Portland on the Left Coast). The full-page photo on page 75 used two anonymous joggers running by the Jefferson Memorial to illustrate DC's "walkability" (go figure) and I was one of them. Here is the photograph, generously sent to me by the magazine and used with the gracious permission of the photographer. (Photo credit Douglas Merriam.) The actual moment captured on film didn't register with me at the time, but when I saw the picture months later while perusing the magazine rack at Union Station, I instantly remembered the situation and vaguely remembered the encounter. The photograph was taken early in the morning on Saturday, July 21st, during the second outing of the twelve week dcrrc 10-Mile Training Program leading up to the Army 10-Mile Race in October while Mary Ellen and I were running counter-clockwise around the Tidal Basin on a 3.7 mile training run at a 9:20 pace. I know I saw the photographer because I have my there's-a-tourist-shooting-a-picture fake smile plastered upon my face. From racing experience, I have learned to look up and smile whenever I see a photographer snapping pictures.
Details, details. My former running buddy A, who moved out of town last summer, has been posted on a work detail to Tokyo for a year by her law firm. She is leaving next month for Japan. Here is a picture of her on the left in DC fooling around with her friend H, who spent many hours helping her pack up her Capitol Hill apartment. She looks good running or slumming. Have a safe journey and a good year, A.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
I Been Runnin'
Yeah I been running. I haven't been posting, but I've been commenting on posts. I dispense all sorts of advice to posters, who should always remember what the advice cost them before they follow it.
I've been busy at work. You know, work, the curse of the running class.
Last weekend I went to Colorado on business. After running six miles with my Ten-Mile Training Group last Saturday, which capped off a forty-mile week including a track W.O. and a 6K run home from that, I flew out to Denver and drove about 600 miles around the state that evening and on Sunday, visiting my 88 y.o. uncle (my dad's brother), my 90 y.o. aunt (my mom's sister) and three cousins. I went over Wolf Creek Pass twice and remembered how beautiful the Rockies are. (I used to live in Colorado.) I was glad it wasn't snowing, which sometimes happens in September out there. Monday and Tuesday I was doing work stuff in Denver. Way too busy to run. (Below: My Uncle Harry. He earned the Bronz
e Star in the war against Japan.)
e Star in the war against Japan.)On Thursday I ran during the noon hour at work. I jogged to the Tidal Basin where I ran a virtual 3K race around it in 13:58 (7:30). You see, from the Tidal Basin you can see the Pentagon, which the terrorists struck with a commercial plane at great loss of life on September 11, 2001. Every year since then I have run a memorial 3K race around the Tidal Basin on September 11th. This year I was two days late because of my travel, but I ran it when I could.
Friday evening I left my office near the Capitol at 6 pm to run the bridges, something I had never done before. I ran into Georgetown via the C&O Canal and went over the Key Bridge into Virginia. Running south on the Mt. Vernon Trail, I ran over the footbridge onto Roosevelt Island and circled it. Hurrying down the trail again in the gathering gloom, I ran back into the District over the Roosevelt Bridge, then re-entered Virginia by the Memorial Bridge. Finally gaining the District one last time by running over the 14th Street Bridge, I ran up Capitol Hill in the dark and got back to my office at a few minutes past 8 pm.
I achieved a 10 minute per mile pace for the thirteen miles that I ran, pretty slow, but my friend Bex tells me that that should be my training goal pace on long runs
, because it is 90 seconds slower than my hoped-for marathon race pace of about 8:30 minutes per mile. But my feeling is, if I can't do it now at half the distance, how can I do it later at the full distance? Time will tell. (Left: Bex packing her car like a glove minutes before she drove away from the east coast for good enroute to the left coast.)
, because it is 90 seconds slower than my hoped-for marathon race pace of about 8:30 minutes per mile. But my feeling is, if I can't do it now at half the distance, how can I do it later at the full distance? Time will tell. (Left: Bex packing her car like a glove minutes before she drove away from the east coast for good enroute to the left coast.)Yesterday morning I ran eleven miles in the District with my training group, covering the second through ninth miles of the Army Ten-Mile race course. We were doing 9:30 miles. The members of my group are three weeks out from their goal race and all of them are looking terrific as they get ready for Army. (I will be running Chicago on that day.)
This morning a cool crisp note was in the air, a certain indication that fall is at hand. At 8 am I found myself lining up in my village for the start of a 5K race. Talk about a hilly course! The brand new race course runs up the hill that I use for my hill workout. But the official race clock was off by more than four minutes so I had a killer time. (What, that doesn't count?) More on that in the next post.
Even as I write this, NBTR is running in the Philly Half-Marathon. Good luck, Jeanne! [Added later.] NBTR ran a strong race that placed her in the 48th percentile according to her age-adjusted grade. Congrats! (Right: Not Born To Run finishing eight miles in a recent Ten Mile Training Group run on the W&OD Trail.)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Journey
My journey started with the 2005 Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Race in DC. I ran terribly, 1:27:24 (8:44 pace), a backwards slide of 5:51 from the previous year.
As a result, that summer I joined my local running club’s 10-Mile Training Program, pointing towards the Army 10-Miler in October. I put down as my goal a 1:20 (8:00 pace).
I learned how to run in a group. Before that I had always run alone. I discovered there was a synergy in running with a group, that slower runners got better by trying to hang with faster runners, who in turn got stronger by running conscientiously for the benefit of the group.
My reward was a 2:19:44 Metric Marathon (16.4 miles) (8:35 pace) upon "graduation." Even though it was hilly, it went down easy.
The next spring I sent in my application for the 10K Training Program. The program director sent it back and asked me to be a coach instead. I was flattered and readily agreed. I enjoyed planning out a training program, having runners seek my advice (as though I knew stuff) and watching them all get better.
I coached the fast group during the 10-Mile Training Program last summer. My runners did very well at Army, with one at 1:19:15 and several more in the low 1:20s. I PRed by over three minutes in 1:14:34 (7:27 pace). I was in the best shape of my life.
Almost a year later, things are a little more complicated now. New responsibilities, as well as an injury, have intervened. I took on directorship of the two training programs this year and learned what a headache ultimate responsibility is. Everyone has a pet idea, and you gotta make ‘em all work.
The 10K Training Program in the spring went well. We had 39 participants, of whom 19 ran the target race. Four finished under an hour and one finished under 50 minutes. Uhh, that was me. The program received great help from Bex, who finished fourth in the target race’s accompanying 3K race, and Not Born To Run.
On Saturday the first meeting of the 10-Mile Training Program was held. The two wonderful run/walk coaches had unexpectedly bowed out of the program at the last moment. I was expecting disaster.
But Jeanne pitched in to help again. (Bex is moving away.) Last year’s program director showed up with her coaching certificate to help out. Three other wonderful new coaches came as well, with one or two more coming next week. Forty runners showed up hoping to get a quality workout.
The three large groups that went out ran from three to six miles on the National Mall at a good pace. The weather cooperated as the morning wasn’t too hot or humid. The National Parks policeman who joined our group as it gathered to keep an eye on us didn’t shoo us away from our meeting point at the Lincoln Memorial. Everybody was talking excitedly upon our return from our runs, forming new friendships and rekindling old ones. Can the journey get any better than that?
As a result, that summer I joined my local running club’s 10-Mile Training Program, pointing towards the Army 10-Miler in October. I put down as my goal a 1:20 (8:00 pace).
I learned how to run in a group. Before that I had always run alone. I discovered there was a synergy in running with a group, that slower runners got better by trying to hang with faster runners, who in turn got stronger by running conscientiously for the benefit of the group.
My reward was a 2:19:44 Metric Marathon (16.4 miles) (8:35 pace) upon "graduation." Even though it was hilly, it went down easy.
The next spring I sent in my application for the 10K Training Program. The program director sent it back and asked me to be a coach instead. I was flattered and readily agreed. I enjoyed planning out a training program, having runners seek my advice (as though I knew stuff) and watching them all get better.
I coached the fast group during the 10-Mile Training Program last summer. My runners did very well at Army, with one at 1:19:15 and several more in the low 1:20s. I PRed by over three minutes in 1:14:34 (7:27 pace). I was in the best shape of my life.
Almost a year later, things are a little more complicated now. New responsibilities, as well as an injury, have intervened. I took on directorship of the two training programs this year and learned what a headache ultimate responsibility is. Everyone has a pet idea, and you gotta make ‘em all work.
The 10K Training Program in the spring went well. We had 39 participants, of whom 19 ran the target race. Four finished under an hour and one finished under 50 minutes. Uhh, that was me. The program received great help from Bex, who finished fourth in the target race’s accompanying 3K race, and Not Born To Run.
On Saturday the first meeting of the 10-Mile Training Program was held. The two wonderful run/walk coaches had unexpectedly bowed out of the program at the last moment. I was expecting disaster.
But Jeanne pitched in to help again. (Bex is moving away.) Last year’s program director showed up with her coaching certificate to help out. Three other wonderful new coaches came as well, with one or two more coming next week. Forty runners showed up hoping to get a quality workout.
The three large groups that went out ran from three to six miles on the National Mall at a good pace. The weather cooperated as the morning wasn’t too hot or humid. The National Parks policeman who joined our group as it gathered to keep an eye on us didn’t shoo us away from our meeting point at the Lincoln Memorial. Everybody was talking excitedly upon our return from our runs, forming new friendships and rekindling old ones. Can the journey get any better than that?
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