for all abilities chatter may/june
TRANSCRIPT
FOR ALL ABILITIES CHATTER
May/June
Congratulations to our newly elected board members Gary
Raby Sr. and Denise Kennedy. Also re-elected to two-year
terms were Tom Donnelly, Ray Ernst, and Russ Trippe.
Sandra Hebeler, Nancy Sheehan, Tom Droz, Greg Lavis,
Laurie McGorry, and Fritz Van Leaven round out the
current board.
The Grand Prix series was
explained by Ray Ernst.
Checkers apparel is available for purchase. Contact Roger
Roll at:
Could anyone have imagined a better first day for track? There
were mild temperatures and NO wind which is not a common
occurrence at UB! There were approximately 140 members.
Our 2012 General Meeting was a great success~
CALLING ALL RUNNERS
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN AND WOMEN TO JOIN OUR CHECKERS
RELAY TEAMS FOR THE BUFFALO MARATHON ON SUNDAY MAY 27TH.
IT DOESNT MATTER IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER, EXPERIENCED, SLOW OR A FAST RUNNER.
JUST LACE UP YOUR SNEAKERS AND JOIN TEAM CHECKERS FOR SOME
FUN ON THE SCENIC BUFFALO MARATHON COURSE.
WHAT A GOOD WAY TO MEET OTHER MEMBERS AND SHOW YOUR CHECKERS PRIDE BY
REPRESENTING THE TEAM!FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DENISE KENNEDY AT
OR TOM DROZ AT [email protected]
The Buffalo Marathon
Sunday, May 27
7:00am Herman van Leeuwen ([email protected]) is looking for
volunteers for the Checkers water stop. If anyone wants to work traffic or volunteer for anything else,
please contact Greg Lavis at his email address: [email protected]
Please come out and support the race. It will be our biggest Marathon/Half Marathon ever with numbers expected to exceed 6,000.
The Checker’s Grand Prix
Have you ever wanted to participate in a race series but never get a chance because your age group is
stacked against you? Or the cost of entering the number of races in a series is a bit more than you would like?
Perhaps the series is limited in the number or types of races to choose from.
Well have we got a deal for you. It’s called the Checker’s Grand Prix race series.
The Grand Prix is a series exclusive to Checker’s members. Your age or gender will not determine
your competition, your ability will. You have an opportunity to choose from a number of distances, from the
mile to a half marathon. We offer road races and trail runs. You have twenty-two races to choose from, nine of
which are discounted through the Race-to-Savings plan. Your best six race finishes will determine your final
score.
Prizes? If you’re looking to win a certificate or medal, look somewhere else. We’re awarding $25 gift
certificates from Runner’s Roost, your Checker’s headquarters for great running stuff!
For more information please click on the Grand Prix link found on the Checker’s A.C. homepage.
Thu 5/10 6:30 Springville Stampede Springville Fri 5/11 6:30 Crouse 5K Challenge Gowanda Sat 5/12 9:00 Moving Towards a Cure Buffalo Sat 5/12 9:00 Holland Tulip Festival 5K Holland Sat 5/5 11:00 Lou Reuter Scholarship Run Tonawanda
Sat 5/12 10:00 Nancy Price Memorial 5K Youngstown
Sat 5/12 10:00 Heritage Centers Foundation 5K Run/Walk Buffalo Sat 5/12 10:00 DeSales Race For Fitness Lockport Sat 5/12 10:00 Warsaw 5k Tiger Trot Warsaw
Sun 5/13 9:30 Elephant Run Buffalo Thu 5/17 6:30 Town of Tonawanda 5k Tonawanda Fri 5/18 6:30 Buffalo Greek Fest 5k Buffalo Sat 5/19 9:00 DNFBA Running with the Rapids Niagara Falls Sat 5/19 10:00 Chris Griswold 5K Race Lancaster Sat 5/19 10:00 4 for the Corps Arcade Sat 5/19 6:00 SSPP's Charge of the Knights Williamsville Sun 5/20 9:00 Take-Off For Learning Jamestown
Sun 5/20 9:00 Miles for Smiles Bradford Sun 5/20 9:00 Medved Lilac 10K Rochester Fri 5/25 6:30 Run 4 Justice Amherst
Sun 5/27 7:00 Buffalo Marathon Buffalo Mon 5/28 3:00 Telegraph Road Race Medina
Run Against Hunger, April 22 Shoes for Shelter, April 15
RUNNERS GO VERTICAL by Rick Queeno Normally runners set their sites on the horizon as they run. On March 10th 2012, twelve Checkers members looked up as they set their sites to the top of the HSBC Building. Led by Captain Donna Stone along with Jeff Riederer, David Spillman, Colin Gleason, Steve White, Rick Queeno, Beth Wolf-Glair, Laurie Wilson-Carpenter, Megan Nelson, Kim Chinquee, Lynn Dziadaszek-Miller and Mike Woltz, Team Dirty Mouth Breathing Zombies took on the challenge of the 2012 Stair Climb to benefit the American Lung Association. After we all signed up the soliciting for donations began. I don't think any of us claimed to be very good at fundrais-ing. We received several very generous donations and every dollar raised has been greatly appreciated by the team and the American Lung Association. We raised much more then I believe any of us had expected. As a team we raised $4901.00. Thanks to friends, family members and co-workers several who are reading this now. We thank you for your kind and generous support . You ask why we climbed? We climbed because we are a part of the fight for air. We climb because we want research that will find a CURE. We climb for those who can't quit smoking and for those who shouldn't start. We climb so that we can have lungs that burn from exercise, not from ozone. We climb because no child should die of an asthma attack. We climb for the millions who face lung disease every day. We climb for those who have won the battle and for those who have lost. We climb for all those who cannot and because WE CAN. Best inspirational comment from our fearless Captain (Donna Stone) So I've just been informed our team goal has been reached! Looks like every-one on the team can climb now, even if there is some difficulty hitting the personal goals. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. It IS for a good cause, "We're not sell-ing Girl Scout cookies - we're selling hope." Oh - and thanks to your hard work, ZOMBIES ARE #2 in fund raising! Not bad for a bunch of reanimated corpses with no functioning brains. As the climb approached we really started to try harder with our fundraising as we were near the top in amount raised and the com-petitive nature in us as runners came out and we wanted to be the top fund-raiser. When we started we didn't think we'd get to $1000. To actually think were close to $5000.00 was unbelievable and more then any of us expected. The climb itself was an a** kicker as I am sure everyone can imagine. Climbing up 38 flights of stairs. To say the least it was an adventure. The climb and the weeks leading up to it. Thanks again to everyone who donated to the Team Dirty Mouth breathing Zombies. We all enjoyed the climb, it was fun, different. Did it kick our A** ? Yes. When it was all said and done, we won first place as the fastest team. Donna took first and Steve second and Colin third in age group awards. We all enjoyed the day. The American Lung Association benefited from this as what we did hopefully will help others be able to breathe a little easier. Thanks again to everyone who helped support us. We compared it to running a mile hard. Afterwards, I be-lieve we just had sore throats. This is from the email received 3-29-12 confirming us as top fund raising team: Hello Dirty Mouth Breathing Zombies! You are our TOP fundraising team, raising a total of $4901, way to go! Roswell Risers are currently at $4679 and my team, Mini Steppers didn’t stand a chance to get top place, LOL—we raised $4146. CONGRATULATIONS on cleaning up in our awards categories! I hope you all had fun and will consider coming back next year; your team brought a whole new level of competition to this event. Thank you to all for your hard work raising money for our cause. Three other Checkers members also did the climb, solo or as part of a team, Dave Ward, Tom Zelasko and Michael Moore.
Friend's of Night People Putting Hunger on the Run 5k 28:04 Patricia Baker Life
Glass City Marathon 3:26:04 Kingsley Haas Life
Nick Orrange Memorial Scholarship 5K Run 24:54 Lynn Miller Life
Shark's Tooth 10K 45:50 William Moore Life
Bunny Hop 5K Race 22:55 Donna Stone Life
25:11 Lynn Miller Life
Around the Bay 30K 2:24:20 Linda HAAS Course
2:52:40 Linda Sacco Life
Shamrock Half Marathon 1:43:45 Gene McDonough Life
Polar Bear 5K 22:45 Belinda Stoll Course
PERSONAL
RECORDS!
The Seneca 7 relay was held in Geneva, New
York along Seneca Lake Saturday, April 28. Each
relay team had 7 members which ran between 2.5
and 6 miles for each leg. The race equaled 77.7 miles. Transportation was needed for each team as
they proceeded around beautiful Seneca Lake.
Team Checkers AC. and The Checkers 5 o’clock team along with three Ionraic Triathlon teams sport-
ing Checkers members were running. Not all names
are listed but we thank everyone for participating!
And we thank our drivers immensely!
Joe Norris, Jerry Mangan, Darren Bell, Gary Lew, Tom Droz, Nancy
Campbell and Herman van Leeuwen.
Other Checkers' members participating on different teams were: Don
Seitz, Jerry Irving, Elizabeth Randell, Sabrina Baskerville, Amy Fak-
terowitz, Jim Figler, Guy George, Eric Graber, Correen Mccandless
Hooton, Deb Morrison, Michelle Rogowski-Adams, Laurie Carpenter,
David Spillman, Laurie McGorry, Diane Sardes, Kim Chinquee, Kathy
Reynolds, Brad Boyle, Danny Buckley, Ed Barauskas, Tim Dieffenbach,
Anthony Garrow, Lorinda Zent Buckley, Kate Horrigan Emery and Coleen Snyder.
Team Checkers AC
Ionraic Animals
Team Nutz and Boltz
The Checkers 5 o’clock Team
Kenyetta Rushing 5/1
Pam Tymchak 5/1
Rick Deren 5/2
Fred Luongo 5/3
Cindy Demske 5/4
Roger Roll 5/5
Joanne Cunningham 5/7
David Welby 5/7
Alia Zeid 5/8
Jonathan Emmerling 5/9
Christine Luongo 5/10
Scott Simon 5/10
John Shepherd 5/11
Alison Donnelly 5/12
Maura Seitz 5/12
Roseanne Wukovits 5/12
Sharon Linstedt 5/13
Garry Soehner 5/15
Michelle Fleck 5/17
Peter Hogan 5/17
Nancy Sheehan 5/17
Laura DePue 5/18
Timothy Frawley 5/19
Stanley Grzebinski Sr. 5/19
Theresa Palmieri 5/20
Maria Quebral 5/20
Catherine Haight 5/22
Bob Kolodziej 5/22
Don McMahon 5/23
Rachel Chicchi 5/27
Donna Shepherd 5/27
Michael Irish 5/28
Anne Reif 5/28
Joelle Luongo 5/29
Thomas Appenheimer III 5/30
Jeff Harvey 5/30 Doreen Strzalka 5/31
Mary Casey 6/1
Jerome Wojnicki 6/2
Valerie Sirianni 6/3
John Appenheimer 6/4
Mia Symoniak 6/5
Bill Harden 6/6
Kristen McGuinness 6/6
Tammy Messmer 6/6
Russell Trippe 6/8
Michelle Adams 6/9
Cameron More 6/11
Vicki Mitchell 6/12
John Niblock 6/12
Darren Bell 6/15
Beth Glair 6/15
Michael Stewart 6/15
Ted Paget 6/19
Michelle Appenheimer 6/20
Rick Schoellkopf 6/21
Jack Matheson 6/22
Toby Mazur 6/23
Samantha Appenheimer 6/24
Donna Stone 6/24
Mathew Friol 6/25
Mark Guasteferro 6/25
Nate Page 6/25
Amanda Phillips 6/25
Seamus Degan 6/26
Nicole Oliver 6/26
William Smith 6/26
Krista Grzebinski 6/27
Megan Stewart 6/27
Aleksandra Bykowska 6/30
Linda Gerbec 6/30
RANDOM, TANGENTIAL INTRO-
DUCTION TO MY 100 MILE ULTRA
So….
It is 32 hours since completing my first
100 mile ultra marathon, and I have to
say...I feel pretty darn good.
No surprise, legs are sore (mostly, quads,
knees and calves) and my energy level is
all over the place (Sleeping where I stand,
awake while trying to sleep) and let’s not
mention appetite or food choices .
Going into the event, I was quite anxious,
not about the distance or time, but more
about completion and what to expect…
Will I hallucinate…well just a little bit; saw some things crawling on white sur-
faces, a few glucose tabs…good as new
Will I become disoriented…just once, and
my husband pointed me in the right direc-
tion
Will I break down…The start of Mile 70
was a challenge…
First lap was great, new course, new ter-
rain no problems…
Since the course was (partially) an old railroad line, there were a few bridges in
need of repair.
The organizers did their best, but let us say
it was quite a challenge.
In the words of my father, I almost
went “ass over teacup” at least 10 times. I
spent the entire 27:41:41 looking at my
feet and the ground in front of me, chant-
ing “Toe up, heel up, knee up” as my run-
ning stride such, my feet are very close to
the ground, borderline shuffle. Given I run
(primarily) on roads, this is not much of a problem, trails, whole new game. I knew
running a 100 miles was going to be all
mental, I was prepared…I had several
mantra’s to recite and along with the
above about “toe up” my other was
“keep calm and carry on” and as I got
closer to the finish, the old standby “you
got this” worked like a charm.
Looking back and thinking about my mental state, my focus was sharp, I kept
my mind on form, eating, drinking and
taking my supplements (electrolytes and
anti-fatigue tabs). This is what I think got
me through (the intense focus on footing
and fueling); as the time flew by, I (now)
can’t believe it was 27 plus hours, (I am a
social worker and sometimes 30 minutes
with a client is torture).
RACE DETAILS
My pace (onset) was good, again, focus
great, some minor aches and pains but
they dissipated as I continued to run.
When nightfall hit, I slowed considerably.
I am a very cautious runner and given my
shuffle and the amount of rocks, tree roots
and make shift bridges (and the only light
being a head lamp) my pace decreased.
Around 9pm I started caffeine consump-
tion on a more regular basis (switching from decaffeinated perpetuem-the unfla-
vored-, to Caffe Latte) and my gels
switched to caffeinated as well.
At mile 70, I started to break down; I
found every piece of internal motivation
possible (not to stop)
What will I tell my students?
What did I spend a year training for?
And most importantly…
I wanted that F&^$%$^^ belt buckle…
I started marching, doing track drills, I
was able to identify spots in the course
where I was mentally breaking down, and
could then anticipate on the next loop (as
this was 10-10 mile loops).
I came back and was back in the game, I
followed my race plan, which was “do not
stop” longer then 1-3 minutes per fueling.
I did this throughout, with one exception,
end of lap 7 I switched to compression
tights, as my knees were asking my help,
and added a knee brace, worked like a
charm…game on. After that point, my stomach was getting mad at me, all I could
eat were bananas and m&m’s-I was able
to force down the perpetuem)
I was a woman on a mission. I knew I had
3 laps left and the last would be in the
sunshine.
At one point during the night, I jumped
right into a little pond (it was dark),
soaked my sneaker, sock etc… (Ok, I did
this twice-It was dark, cut me some slack!!!) the aid station folks were great,
giving me paper towels, Vaseline and bug
spray (I was prepared for everything, but
bugs-again-not a trail runner).
The dawn broke, and my pace quickened,
I was able to do a slow jog (much more
comfortable then a walk), I ran most of the
time. During day light hours I kept to my
17 run-3 min walk schedule (except in
places where the trail would not allow). At night, that changed and I ran as much as I
could (without fear of falling).
As I approached the finish, I felt tearful,
for many reasons...
1) It was over
2) The accomplishment
3) Realizing the power of the human
mind and what we are all capable of…
The Race Director, handed me the medal,
showed me the belt buckle (which is com-ing, engraved, and which I will wear every
day) and I went to the hotel.
When asked how I did it .., I will have to
say in addition to some smart training, the
biggest contributors are:
My excellent road crew (Chris (husband)
and Ben (brother in law), who met me 2- 3
times per loop, ready with whatever I
yelled to them for (and sometimes I
yelled, not so nicely) My nutrition (I worked with Jeff Detellis
on changing my diet to that of more paleo-
best decision ever made)
Overall Self care-massage
and chiropractor through-
out training
And focus….
Keep calm and carry on!
Lauren A. Idzik (Lorek)
A Brutal Boston by the
Numbers By Belinda Stoll
Runners for the most part are “about the num-bers.” Distance, speed,
split times, how many days we run or rest are
all counted. We keep track of the number of miles on our shoes. We
track time improvements against the distance cov-ered. PRs sometimes
come down to seconds, but those are the most
important numbers. You name it and we track it.
We base our goals on numbers and if we meet them that is how we measure our success. Right? Well,
not always. So forgive me for the amount of times I will use the word “number,” but you’ll soon see why.
The Boston Marathon is definitely about the num-bers, but in 2012, it was about more different num-
bers than usual. As it got closer to Marathon day, it became obvious
this was going to be a record-breaking day in terms of temperature. Predictions ranged from 88 to 90 de-grees. Great! A number none of us wanted to see —
or feel. The number of emails sent by the Boston Athletic
Association (BAA) to participants increased to an al-most panic level by the day before the Marathon. The BAA warned that even the elite runners were at risk
in this kind of heat. The emails progressed to asking people to not run at all. If participants picked up
their bib numbers and didn’t run, they could defer to next year. The emails escalated in tone to pleas that anyone
who had not run a qualifying time not run at all and even if they had qualified and had not run in a “warm” Marathon to please not run.
There are conflicting accounts as to how hot it ulti-mately got. By the time the first runners crossed the
finish line, it was 85 degrees. When I finished more than two hours later, I was told it was 89 degrees.
You know how we have the wind chill factor? Well, the “no shade and hilly marathon course factor”
made that number feel even hotter! The number of runners flat out on the ground (some passed out on the course) especially in the last two miles was proof
that the number of emails sent was warranted.
Here are some numbers from the BAA:
Of the 26,656 entrants, 22,480 started the race,
and 21,606 finished – that’s 96.1%.
According to the Boston Globe, there were 427 runners who claimed their bib and did not run making them eligible for the deferment
for next year. There were 3,863 numbers unclaimed by the
end of the expo. Those runners are not eligi-ble for the deferment. This represents 14% of the field; that number is typically closer to
8%. Some sad numbers compiled by the Boston Globe:
15 hospitals along the course treated runners. 152 runners were treated and 10 were in criti-
cal condition. One patient had a tempera-ture of 108.
2,100 were treated at medical tents along the
course and at the finish.
I knew by mile 14 that things were falling way off
course. I had to be smart and adjust my goals. Heck, I just threw them to the side of the road and
imagined the train going by rolling over my target numbers.
As I crossed the finish line, there were lines of peo-ple in wheelchairs waiting to be attended to as the medical tents were full. These numbers made Bos-
ton even more of a challenge than usual. I know I should have lowered my expectations. I should not measure this Marathon on my finish time of
4:31:38. But I still felt disappointed. We are about our numbers! We focus on them so much that at times we lose sight of the real measurements.
Looking back, I draw on the wise words (coach) Vicki (Mitchell) shared with me at track last Tues-
day: “To finish and complete that was a success that cannot be based on a number.”
I will remember the awesome number of spectators that lined every inch of that course, helping us out in any way possible. There was never a spot where
you couldn’t get some water. There were a number of other things offered, freeze pops, Twizzlers, ice, oranges, and spray bottles. There were open fire hy-
drants and water spray tunnels to run through, wet kitchen towels for our necks, you name it! The number of thoughtful things being done to help
each and every runner was staggering. For me, Marathon #11 is in the books. Boston fin-
ish #2 and no doubt one I will never forget. Can’t wait to go back for #3 next year!
N E W
M E M B E R S
Jonathan Amonia
Chris Blount Barbara Britting Heather Burger Tori DeLallo-Smith Doug DiGesare Shannon Dougherty Kate Duffy Caitlin Fitchlee Leslie Fogg Colin Gleason Jane Grzebinski Krista Grzebinski Correen Hooton Jake Hooton Mathew Hooton Mike Hooton Zach Hooton Rachael Isch
Kathie Jarvis
David Lagarda
Rick Landsman
Joan Malatin
Mark Malatin
Kristen McGuinness
Lynn Miller Craig Moriarity
Jake Needle
Christie Nelson
Michael O'Neill Nate Page
Bonnilyn Pangrazi
Elaine Petit
Nicole Piechowiak
Christine Quenneville
Kenyetta Rushing
Lawrence Strauss
Holly Suttell Jessica Welker Carrie Wert Nicholas Whitman
Paul Noe Bob Giza
Jennifer Acker First Female
GBTC HALF MARATHON May 5
A few words about Henry 7/7/1918-4/2/2012 …from Ray Ernst
As most of you know, Henry
Sypniewski passed away in early April at the age of ninety-three. You may not have known Henry, but if you’ve been around for a few years, you’ve known of Henry. It isn’t so much that he set, or broke, or even smashed records, it’s the age at which he did that amazes. He gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘long distance runner’! I didn’t know Henry personally, but he did leave a lasting impression upon me. I began running and racing in the spring of 2000. By mid-summer I was feeling pretty good about where I was at. I was a mid-packer over all, but mostly finishing in the bottom third of my age group. I will admit however, to feeling good when I finished ahead of folks younger than I.
July fifteenth brought the Subaru Four Mile Chase, my largest race to date. I don’t remember much about the race, the weather, or how I was feeling, but I will never forget the finish. Running down Elmwood, turning onto Bidwell toward the end, spotters catch your bib number and relay your name to the announcer, who calls you out as you approach the finish line. Nice touch except, as I came sprinting in I clearly heard, “here comes eighty-one year old Henry Sypniewski!” I didn’t hear my name called. Henry stole my thunder, as well he should have. You see, Henry finished one second ahead of me! 34:44 to 34:45. It took a few moments to process that. My dad was eighty-one, same as Henry. Put it in that context; think about your dad beating you in a four mile foot race.
You know what? It didn’t really bother me. In fact, I tell that story quite often, almost proud to have been beaten by someone thirty-three years older than me. I’ve run countless races since then, some special, many un-eventful, but I’ll always remember that one, and Henry.
This past December I turned sixty. Now, I’m in my ‘sixties’; a while back that would have sounded a bit scary, ‘sixties’. Thinking of Henry takes away the scariness. He ran into his nineties. Why can’t I? Now I’m kind of proud to be in my ‘sixties’. Thanks Henry.
French author Andre Maurios (1885 - 1967) wrote in The Art of living, “Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form.”
It’s quite obvious, isn’t it, that Henry was a busy man who didn’t have that bad habit.
News Release Roger Roll, Friend Volunteer Recognition Award By UB Alumni Association There may be no other person who has logged more volunteer hours for the UB Department of Athletics than Roger Roll, a friend of the uni-versity. And if he isn't volunteering at an athletic event, he is busy recruiting others in his vast athletic network to do so, or else in the stands cheering on the UB Bulls. Roll has worked every home track and field meet and every home cross country meet held at UB since 1998. He was also instrumental in starting an alumni reunion pro-gram for former track and field athletes, and helped put together the largest cross-country reunion in UB's history. His work is not limited to track and field events; Roll has also coordinated volunteers to work swimming and div-ing championships and on the sidelines for UB soccer games. A former wrestler himself, Roll has volunteered for numerous wrestling tournaments, and he also coordi-nates UB's Takedown Cancer fundraising event, named for a UB wrestler who lost his battle with cancer after his senior year. His efforts have raised more than $60,000 for cancer research to date. "Though not a UB graduate, my love for college athletics and UB will always have me bleeding blue and white," Roll said. Chuck and Michele Fried were Barce-
lona, Spain for her first marathon. Their son flew in from Budapest to
meet them at the finishline. Along
the marathon route Chuck heard a few
cheers for Checkers and Buffalo. Chuck mentioned “It was a gorgeous
day and a remarkable course winding
through the whole city. As we all
know, there's no better way to see a city then to run it, and what a
gorgeous way for Michele to
complete her first Marathon! I'm
not sure how many this was for me, but somewhere around 15 or
18 I think, yet easily the prettiest,
and most memorable to date! It
was great representing Checkers and Buffalo on the other side of
the world! This was on Mar 25th,
the same day as Around the Bay.”
Our condolences go to the family of
Henry Sypniewski.
We were also saddened by the loss of
Diane Donnelly’s mother, Myrtle. Our best goes out to you from all your friends.
Training: A Primer
Vicki Mitchell, MS
We are in Phase I of our 2012 Checkers Training Season. With that in mind, it is impor-tant to note the steps we are taking in training to produce better races. Here’s a brief recap
of what we have been doing and what we are working towards for the summer:
In Phase I of our training, we are focusing on workouts at REP (repetition) PACE work-outs which aim to improve running economy.
HOW: This workout is performance at CURRENT Mile Race Pace – a relatively
quick pace! The recovery between each REP is always active jogging to speed the muscle
recovery. FULL recovery is required (heart back down, breathing rate relaxed).
WHY: Improved running economy means running at the same speed with less effort and energy expended. It also de-
velops being able to sustain a faster running pace through the short, fast repeats on the track.
WHAT ELSE: We do this workout early in the season to learn to run quick and light on our feet. The secondary workouts in Phase I each week are TEMPO Runs done on Friday/weekend if not racing.
HOW: This workout is performed at a controlled pace of moderately hard efforts. The pace is about 25 seconds per
mile slower than your CURRENT 5k race pace. The effort might feel “too slow,” but be patient and controlled.
WHY: Tempo Runs develop the ability of the body to build, clear, and tolerate lactic acid, and thus leading to delayed
onset of fatigue. End Result: run longer without fatigue, run a faster pace before the onset of fatigue.
WHAT ELSE: Tempo runs can be done as continuous runs of 15 – 30minutes in duration, OR in segments of 800m up to
repeat 1miles or longer. The rest between work segments is SHORT – I use a ratio of just 1 minute (yes, only 60 sec-onds!!) for segments 800m – 1mile long. For each mile run, I use 1 minute rest. If you run 2 by 2miles at tempo, you
would take 2minute rest between.
Reminders:
Each week there is an option to adjust the Tempo Run workout in order to accommodate a weekend race.
Also, remember we have long runs suggested on the weekends that are based on a progressive increase in distance/duration with built in recovery weeks.
What you can look forward to down the road….
In Phase II of our training, we will focus on workouts at INTERVAL PACE which works to improve our aerobic power (VO2max) and really boost up your ability to race at the 5k distance (and longer & shorter!).
In Phase III of our training we will have a focus on a combined system of REPS and INTERVALS. The combination of two training systems in one workout teaches the body change of pace and the ability to increase speed when already fa-
tigued. This is critical to the final stages of a race where it often comes down to a final finishing kick. By switching the
training stimulus every 6 weeks (Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III), we allow the body to continuous develop without over-stressing one system.
The Boston Marathon, April 16 . From left, John Ende,
Kieran O'Loughlin, Elizabeth Randall and Jim Figler.
Ed Kamela (left in blue) and wife Laura, Denise Kennedy (in pink)
Scott Simon (far right in yellow). Congratulations EVERYONE!
Checkers Athletic Club 340 Puritan Road Tonawanda, New York 14150
President’s Corner by Tom Donnelly 2012: The Year of the Green What a winter that was. Or wasn’t. If you love snow sports, this past winter won’t rank as one of your most memorable. But if you make the best of whatever winter delivers, it was fantastic. The last five months, I ran in-doors a grand total of three times. When I ran outside, it was never a strug-gle (what elements?). The warmest March in U.S. recorded history made for a real comfortable transition out of winter into spring. I can’t remember the last time I did my early season intervals in 80 degree temps — unless I was vacationing miles away. Now, we’re well into spring and track is underway. The attendance num-bers tell me that a lot of others had a great time training this off season. We had a record turnout for our first day of track this year, with 139 in atten-dance. The second week, we had 126. We’re also on pace for record membership numbers. I feel this bodes well for Checkers. If you look at the broader picture, the Buffalo Marathon registration numbers are up by more than 30 percent over last year. I predict another record year for the sport in terms of overall participation. With Checkers, we can thank Mother Nature for our membership surge. But we also have a lot to offer. Track, marathon, cross country, and Zero to 5k training programs. Social outings, informal training runs through various neighborhoods, get togethers, parties, and the annual picnic. Discounts on running apparel at Runners Roost and on many local race entry fees. All at a very reasonable price.
As a member, you likely already know all this. Checkers is hopefully a significant part of your running experience. But why not pass along what makes Checkers great to your friends, co-workers, and family? Great camaraderie, train-ing programs, discounts, and value. What? Me biased? I’ll close with a couple of thank yous and welcomes. I’ve seen this club evolve over the past dozen years. I joined the board of directors in 2000 and there has been nearly a 100 percent turnover since then. While some very good people moved on, they were replaced with equally talented people with fresh perspectives. These kinds of changes are healthy and necessary for a club to stay vital. This spring, we see Sam Spritzer and Julie Donnelly step down from the board. They are replaced by long-time Checkers member Gary Raby, who amazingly has never served on the board before. Welcome aboard Gary, and it’s about time. Also, new to the board is Denise Kennedy. Based on conversations I’ve had with Denise, she will also be a welcome addition. I hope your running was successful this off season, and you are ready to come out and participate this year. As I said, we have a lot of things to offer, but it’s the people we have that make it so special. See you on the roads, and Go Checkers!