www.VSRunningClub.org

Vol. 24 No. 8 August 2004

Ø August 1 – Rotary 4 Mile Run – We need you - please arrive at 7:45 am for support assignments.

Ø August 8 - Come to the Valley Stream Park for the 3^rd Fruit Relay Race – 7:30 am for team selection.

Aphorisms from various running thinkers:

Ø ‘The most beautiful motion is that which accomplishes the greatest results with the least amount of effort’ – Plato

Ø ‘No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life’s most rewarding experiences. My times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged’ – Dr. George Sheehan

August- My Running Log Book

My log book is ‘The complete Runner’s Day-by-Day Log and Calendar’. I have been using this journal since eighty three (my sister gave it to me as a Christmas gift); the log was created by Jim Fixx, who later died in 1984, John Jerome continued the log but sadly passed on in 2002. The log is currently being edited by John’s son Marty Jerome. I love entering my daily running activities into this journal written by dead people. I enjoy the weekly saying such as ‘Live each day as if it was your last – someday you’ll be right’ and the wonderful training tips such as ‘When buying a running bra, jump up and down in it and twist your torso from side to side’. (This is something we men can understand and appreciate).

At the end of the year, I copy all my race results from the log into my ‘Official J.T. Summary Sheet’ which I also began in 1983. I have noted that each year I get slower and win a few trophies only when I enter the new age group. Just these two facts alone make me into a complete person.

… Joe Tito

What’s happening by Stan

Bananas, Corn, Now what? We had our second relay early on the 18th of July. At the relay, each team took its ear of corn for a run in the park. Fun was had by all except me who was struggling to finish my mile. That corn got real heavy at the end. You will find the results in the rear of this newsletter. The next relay will be at the next meeting which will be in the park on August 8. We will gather at 7:30 to set up the teams. From now on, we will use prior times to set the teams so we should have no more people handing in an estimate that they will run a 9 minute mile and then pounding out a 7 minute mile. The relay will start at 8. You are welcome to guess what will serve as batons for the teams. It might be watermelons or it might be ice cream cones or maybe it will be something else. The August meeting will follow the relay. Rain date will be the following Sunday, August 15.

BBQ: It kept threatening to rain but it held off except for a downpour while I was singing “Happy Birthday” to Ellen and Fred. Someone up there didn’t like my singing. The barbecue went great, for which thanks are due to the many that helped out. A special thanks to Joe and Carol for organizing, Rich for being the chef, and to the many who cleaned up leaving me with a spotless home.

Windbreakers: As of this moment, [Saturday morning, July 24] I have orders for 32 windbreakers. I will get the price on Monday or Tuesday and put the order in. Sorry, but orders received after that can not be filled.

Rotary 4 Mile Run: The Rotary 4-Mile Run will be on August 1. Boris is busy working on it. Please save the date as we need volunteers to work the course. The race starts at 8:30 so please get there by 7:45 so I can give out assignments without too much “agita”.

Ocean to Sound: At the barbecue, I collected the names of 16 people who want to run the relay. I also know of at least four more who want to run but weren’t at the barbecue to sign up. Currently we have sufficient runners for two teams. A third team is possible but with injuries and other problems it is more likely that we will field two teams. Please contact me if you wish to run for us. We will tap the treasury so runners will not have to pay $37.50 each for the relay. Losing the Franklin race hurts our financial outlook, but I think we should still only charge $10 to each runner and pick up the remaining $27.50.

Best of health and a speedy recovery to all who are injured or ill, Stan

Franklin Race Cancelled by Stan

The Franklin Race is cancelled forever. I got a vague message yesterday from Linda Rodriguez at Franklin saying that there would be a race called “Heart and Sole” to benefit the Plainview, Syosset and Franklin hospitals on August 29 and that's all it said. (The three hospitals are all part of the North Shore – LIJ - Health System.) I couldn't reach Linda at Franklin for a while, so I called Mike Polansky and he said that they came to him and he is helping them put it on. That's all he said. More on what Mike knew and did is discussed below.

I then was able to get in touch with Linda, and here is what happened as she explained it to me, and as I believe it did happen, although I don't know many details. The way I understand it is this: A doctor from Plainview named Dr. Mensch [don't know the exact spelling] ran in the Franklin race last year and he liked it a lot. He knows Mike, and Mike and him got together to put on a race for Plainview Hospital on a course in Plainview. Mike recommended that they use the last week in August and told them he could help them get big money sponsors -$5000 or so. Pretty soon it was decided to include Syosset and Franklin in the race (in name only) while eliminating the Franklin race completely. I don’t know what part the higher ups in NS/LIJ had in this but clearly Mike did nothing to help us. I assume the promised sponsors by Mike were a big factor in the decision to cancel our race. The joke on us is that Mike’s promised sponsors never appeared. (You may ask if they ever existed.) The upshot is that the Franklin race is kaput. VSRC will not be involved in the August race except if we run in it as individuals.

A race is a big benefit to a club in terms of recruitment, prestige, and money. It also is a way to give back to the running community. I was called into Franklin when they first had an idea for a race and I shepherded them through the process. I race directed and by last year that race was on its way to becoming a major player on the Island. The snow was a setback but that was hardly our fault. The club and especially Bob Croon and Donna Hahl put much effort into this race, and after doing it for free for the first few years when it was getting off the ground, the club got about $300 per race. We will miss having this race but we will survive and thrive without it. Many small clubs have vanished in the County (the Sandpipers and South Shore Striders are examples) and a major factor is a certain large club which never stops trying to dominate even though it is already immensely bigger than clubs like ours. We can only keep chugging along knowing we have the warmth and closeness among the members that makes us special.

By the way Linda assured me of what I knew already: The cancellation of Franklin does not reflect in any way on our performance. We did a great job.

Note: It is more important than ever to us that the Rotary run be a success, so please come on August 1 by 7:45 and help out. Stan

Tip of the Month

Keeping a training log of your daily runs may seem compulsive or boring, but charting your distance, pace and course, the weather and how you feel can give you an important perspective. With a running log, you can trace your progress and detect errors accurately and objectively. You can see if you've been training too little or too much. Review your log weekly with a critical eye. Pretend that it's someone else's training program you're reviewing and that you're checking how effective and safe it is. You may be amazed at the training errors you find. Correct these errors and you'll become a better runner—and one more likely to stay injury-free.

The Jump Start Triathlon – Ed Pettinato

Race Report: Donna told everyone in last month's newsletter what a great experience it was to participate in the Jump Start Triathlon, held at Hofstra University. I liked it so much; I went home and entered my next race, the Mighty North Fork Triathlon to be held two weeks later in Southold. It seemed to be a natural progression from a 225 yd. pool swim to a 500 yd. swim in the Peconic Bay. Both the bike and run were approximately the same distances, eight miles for the bike course and 3 miles for the run.

So, it's the night before the race and I’m trying to figure out times. The race starts in the morning at 7:00 o’clock. I want to get there early, an hour and a half early, 5:30 AM. It will take at least an hour and a half to get there from Valley Stream, 4:00 AM. and maybe an hour to get ready, 3:00 AM. I have to get up at 3:00 AM!!!!! Maybe this was not a great idea after all.

The race went off on time. Perfect weather and a very scenic course. My main concern was the swim, which turned out to be the easiest part of the race. I've never swam 500 yards continuously before, so I took my time (the equivalent of a slow jog) and actually enjoyed it. The “experts” recommend the use of a wetsuit for older beginners like me. The day before, I went to Runner’s Edge in Farmingdale and bought myself an Ironman model. It definitely helped. Not only does it keep you warm, but the extra buoyancy helps to keep you in a horizontal position in the water increasing your efficiency. It helps make you a better swimmer.

The bike and run legs had those "rolling" hills. Not too bad. The run after the swim and bike started on the beach in soft sand (a couple of hundred yards worth). This really knocked me out. I didn't recover my normal stride till about the two mile split. My overall time was 1:23:46. I was a lot faster at Hofstra. This race was another learning experience. I can't wait to do another one. I’ve already sent in my application for the Vytra-Tobay Triathlon to be held on Sunday, August 22 at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay.

A Side Note: I joined the Aquafit Masters program at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in Eisenhower Park about three or four weeks ago. It's a combination of swimming lessons and a training program. So far I haven't participated in any of their training sessions; I've been sticking to the lessons. Thursday night they had a "field trip" to Tobay Beach Park (down the road from Jones Beach) for an open water swim practice at 6:00 PM. It was on the bay side. I really didn't think I was going to go. Then I decided to go to just watch. I got there early and when I looked at the water I was sure I wasn't going to go in. Then more and more people started to show up and before you knew it, I had on my wetsuit and was swimming. This had to be the furthest I ever swam, but I don't know how far it was. The swim on the way back was into the wind (you know, the same wind like at Jones Beach), so the water was very choppy. Every time I would try to take a breath, a little wave would splash in my face. Lisa, the coach, swam with me on the way back giving me plenty of advice along the way. It wasn't easy, I took a lot of breaks but I did learn a lot and got much more experience than I bargained for. I'm glad I joined the Aquafit Masters. I could never do this on my own.

From left to right: Donna Hahl, Rochelle Holden and Me at the Jump Start Triathlon at Hofstra University. Take care, Ed P.

Race Results

Long Beach July 4^th 4k

Denis Brazil 16:53 ( 4^th ), Tom Zullo 18:54

LIRRC Wednesday Night 5k Summer Series

7/08 Tom Zullo 23:50 (3^rd), Ed Pettinato 24:01, Joe Tito 27:12

Liz Farrell 27:30 (1st), Donna Hahl 36:34 (1st)

7/14 Joe Tito 27:11

Massapequa Fire Cracker 5k 7/11

Tom Zullo 24:00 Joe Tito 27:50

The 2^nd Valley Stream Summer ”Corn” Run (in winning order)

Team D 1^st 20:24

Denis B. 5:59 Joe T. 7:36, Ed P. 6:49

Team E 2^nd 20:50

Lara M. 6:47 Rickie O. 7:08, Mike G. 6:55

Team A 3^rd 22:40

Dave F. 5:54 Donna H. 9:48 Dave F. 6:58

Team C 4^th 23:27

Tony C. 6:02 Stan F. 10:11 Fred P. 7:14

Team B 5^th 23:47

Jon F. 6:09 Kathy O. 9:36 Dorothy R. 8:02