Valley Stream Running Club News

Box #212 Valley Stream, New York 11582

Stanley Friedlander, President

Donna Hahl, Vice President

Lois Timpanaro, Treasurer

Joe Tito, Secretary

www.VSRunningClub.org

 

Vol. 26 No. 11                                              November 2006

Ø      See Stan’s column about the coming club events

Aphorisms from various running thinkers:

·        ‘Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories; those that don’t work, those that break down, and those

that get lost’—Russell Baker

·        ‘Running doesn’t make you live longer; it just makes it seem longer’ – Harry Feigenbaum

·        ‘Hills are speed-work in disguise.’ – Frank Shorter                                                                        

 

November - Daily Life

Daily life is hazardous to your health. That’s the thesis of Laura Lee’s book 100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What You Can Do about Them. It’s a tongue-in-cheek look at unnoticed threats in life, such as shopping carts (which annually cause 27,600 injuries in the US).

 

Carol and I are planning a move to Ridge, N.Y. from St James. We found this cute detached 2 bedroom home in a 55 and over community called Leisure Knoll. The buying, selling and moving can cause a great deal of stress and fear. We are taking these events – ‘One Day at a Time’. With all that going on, we are also balloon handlers for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We will be holding on to ‘PIKACHU’ which is a creature that is known only to kids!

 

Our lives as runners are also filled with all sorts of fears; the fear of dogs, injury, and inability to finish a race comes to mind. If one approaches life as a joyful runner, one can live in the now and let tomorrow take care of itself. A runner needs time off from the pressure of the rat race and a moment to enjoy the simple things of life.

 

‘Happy Thanksgiving’ from the Tito’s. If you have any articles, thoughts, or race results you wish to included in the VSRC newsletter, please e-mail them to me    … Joe Tito

 

Tip of the Month

Keep a record of your morning pulse. Lie in bed for a few minutes after you awaken and then take your pulse. As your training progresses, it will gradually become slower and after three months or so plateau out. From then on, if you awaken and find a rate of 10 or more beats higher, you have not recovered from your previous day's runs, races or stresses. Take the day or more off until the pulse returns to normal.

 

What’s happening by Stan

Hi Everyone,

N. Y. Marathon report: Congratulations to our club marathon finishers Carol Drucker and Eddie Pettinato. Carol Drucker ran her first marathon at the Marine Corps marathon in D.C. and made her goal time of 5:30. Eddie hurt his knee before the N.Y. marathon and could hardly run but persevered and ran it anyway in pain: Here is an excerpt from his email to Donna after the run:

 “I was very happy to finish in 5 hours and 20 minutes. I took three walking breaks of at least 30 seconds every mile. I could not run fast or my knee would act up. This was actually a great way to experience a marathon. I enjoyed it.”

Carol and Eddie sure did great and we are proud of them. Donna and I walked the last ten miles of the N.Y. marathon with our friend Pam Lee who has walked the Corrigan relay for the club. It was great fun for me and a good workout. Pam hadn’t had time to train so we were at the back of the pack and all along the way people were saying encouraging things to her. It was a great thrill for me to meet so many nice people.

 

Here is a list of upcoming events: As I did last year, I am giving the club schedule through the end of the year as many have to fit our get togethers into busy schedules.

Lara and Luke marriage celebration: We will meet for dinner at the Lucky Duck on Sunday, November 12 at 4:30 pm. The cost of the dinner will be equally shared except that all liquid refreshment will be served at a cash bar. There will be no additional charges and gifts are not expected. RSVP as soon as you can to Donna or me.

Next club race and Club meeting will be at the Lynbrook Fly with the Owls 4-mile run on Sunday, December 3. The race starts at 9:30 am and the meeting will be after the race. I have heard very good reports on this race: They treat you well and the course is fast and flat. Information and pre-registration is at www.flywiththeowls.com . You can run off any weight you gained the night before at the All Clubs Holiday Party: Saturday Dec. 2nd - 7 PM to 11 PM - $38 per ticket at the American Legion Hall in Massapequa: Call 569-4949 or visit www.lirrc.org . This is always a great party. I know since I have been attending for more than twenty years. Note that the price is the same as last year.

Last club race will be the Ho Ho Ho race. Look for details at on the glirc web site.

Holiday Run and Breakfast: The breakfast and the end of year meeting and nomination of officers will be on Sunday, December 17, at the Colony Diner, 2019 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, at 9 am. The diner is a bit East of Eisenhower Park on the North side of Hempstead Turnpike. This will be our December meeting. Before the breakfast/meeting, there will be a group run through the EAB plaza [among other spots] which you may join, or you may bike, walk, or do your own thing before the meeting. Of course, you may just come for the breakfast/meeting. We will meet at 7:30 am in Eisenhower park field #1 for the running, walking, or whatever. No reservations required.

New Year's Eve Champagne Run: Last year torrential rains spoiled the planned events so hopefully this time we will have better weather. We will meet in the pool parking lot at 7 pm. We will have champagne (Jamaica Bay/2006) and cookies, walk or run about the park, and get a little raucous and maudlin. No reservations required.

The Central Park New Year’s costume parade, midnight run and fireworks: We will go together on the LIRR from the Valley Stream station.  The time will be determined later since train schedules sometimes change. You can walk the run if you wish. I have done so in the past when injured. Many people stop after the run starts to watch the fireworks so you can see that many if not most treat this as a run and not a race. Times are not recorded except for the first few. 

Best wishes: We are entering the holiday season and amid all the rush and activities let us remember those who are ill, bereaved, alone, or otherwise in need of cheer.

Warmest regards to all,

Stan

 

The Six Hour event - Stan

Here’s Donna and me at the six hour: I look again to see if there is a picture of Ellen or anyone else we know. You can see a bit of Ellen in Donna’s picture. I am waiting for the official results to see what I did – It was about 22 miles. Donna did about 14 with Ellen. Lots of other club members walked with Ellen.

Stan

 

The other club members are: Ed P – 16.56, Tom Moore - 14.49, and Ellen Moore – 17.99 miles at the ‘Greater 6 Hour Sunken October Race. Stan and Donna official mileage was noted to be 21.96 and 13.56. A Great Effort by all  – Joe Tito, Editor.

 

 




One race. 37,000 stories. Here's mine. Edward Pettinato

    Due to a knee injury, I didn't even think I would make it to the starting line, no less finish. A few weeks ago while running downhill, I felt a pop in my left knee. Fortunately tapering for the marathon was about to start and I figured with easier running to look forward to, I should heal up in time. Then this past Wednesday, I went out for an easy run and had to stop twice due to a sharp pain in my knee. I didn't think there would be any way I could run the marathon at this point. Saturday morning, the day before the race, I tried an easy two mile run. Alternating short periods of running with walking breaks, I managed to finish without stressing my knee (this is also a great way to warm up). So now I had an alternate plan to run the marathon doing exactly the same thing repeatedly for 26.2 miles. I knew if I had to drop out I would, rather than risking more damage to my knee.

    It was a great day for a marathon. In Staten Island it was 38 degrees out but after the cannon went off, things warmed up pretty quickly. I was able to run with the long sleeve tech shirt they gave everyone, running shorts and a wool hat. I was never cold during the whole race.

    What is there to say about the NYC Marathon that has never been said before? The first mile of course is on the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. I was on the lower deck. This bridge has A LOT of spring to it. I think they built it using bungee cords! The roadway was bouncing up and down so much I tried to time the bounce with my foot strike, not wanting to hurt my knee any more. It was impossible. I was glad to get off the bridge.

    I was feeling good. At mile eight I decided to pick up the pace. That's went my knee problem kicked in. So I eased up and it went away. Any time I tried to run faster, especially on the downhills, I had to back off.

    For the last mile and a half, I had to fight off cramps in both of my legs. I couldn't stop to walk. If I did, I knew I would never be able to start again. The running at this point was no problem. I just had to concentrate on keeping my legs relaxed.

    My finish time of 5 hours and 20 minutes is short of my original goal of 4 hours, but I'm very happy to finally say that I ran the NYC Marathon.

 

A walk in the sun by Joe Cataldo

Eighteen hundred women and sixty men completed the 60 mile 3 day walk for Breast Cancer, raising 4.6 million dollars.  The Florida sun was hot, the feet were sore and blistered, but there was a smile on everyone's face because we knew that something good was happening.  The support staff of 250 including the Girl Scouts (one of which helped me with my tent because I was so tired after the first day), the people in the streets cheering us on and thanking us for walking, all were inspiring.  I'll probably lose a couple of toe nails but it was all worth it!

As much as I love running, just running a race "for me" will not ever be the same again.

Joe

 



Fun Runs, Speed Work, HILL WORK and Long Runs

·        Wednesday evenings. Group Runs / Walk at the Valley Stream pool at 6:00 PM.  Check with Donna, If new to club.

·        For Hill Work in Alley Pond Park on Sunday mornings we meet at 7:00 AM.  At Alley Pond we have a standard 8-mile loop and a lake loop which adds about 3 miles. For those who go directly to Alley Pond Park, parking is on Winchester Boulevard just off of Union Turnpike.

·        For Long Runs we will meet on Saturday mornings, time of 7:30 AM at the bridge in the park.  Be on time though, because after one loop in the park we sometimes go off to places hither and yon. Bring water as we often leave the safe confines of the park.

 

Race Results

·                    Inwood 5k 10/22/06 - a Club race

Denis Brazil 21:51 (1st),      Mike Gillen 24:04 (2nd),        James Hogue 25:35

Liz Farrel 29:06 (1st) Jack Horowitz 29:52,            Carol Drucker 30:16 (2nd),   Stan Friedlander 31:21                    Donna Hahl 32:35,                Joe Tito 32:49

·                Donna ran 1:10:24 in the 10k and Carol Drucker ran 5:29:10 in the marathon at the 2006 Marine Corps. Races in Washington D.C. on October 29.

 

Upcoming Races 

Sat. Nov 11     Rockville Ctr 10k                                 Rockville Ctr                            10:00

Sun. Nov 19    Mineola Mustang 5k                            Mineola                                    10:00

Thur. Nov 23   Port Washington Thanksgiving 10k    Port Wash                               8:30

Sun. Nov 26    Rob’s Run                                           Syosset                                   9:15

Sat. Dec 2       Seaford Hot Chocolate Run 5k           Seaford                                   9:00

Sun. Dec 3      Lynbrook Fly with the Owls                 Lynbrook                                 9:30                            

Sat. Dec 16     Ho Ho Ho Run 5k                                Bethpage HS                           9:00