Valley Stream Running Club
News
133 Arlington Street
Valley Stream, New York 11580
Stanley Friedlander, President
Donna Hahl, Vice President
Carol Drucker,
Treasurer
Joe Tito, Secretary
Aphorisms from various running thinkers:
Ø ‘Good
health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die’ – Charles
Ø ‘Jogging
is very beneficial. It's good for your legs and your feet. It's also very good
for the ground. It makes it feel needed’. - Charles Schulz, Peanuts
Ø ‘I don't
jog. If I die I want to be sick.’ - Abe Lemmons
Going the
distance
Runners are amazing people.
Runner s are not the best looking at the party, but
they have a lowest pulse rate and nicest running shoes. Runners tend to talk
about ‘black toes’, shoe glue, and how many miles I ran today. Many runners
have trained their bodies to go the distance of a marathon. Some have pushed
themselves to exhaustion and never tempted to slacken the pace. Why do runners
put their bodies through this? Many say it; is the rewards of winning a race,
still other claim it is the health benefits of being physically fit.
For me it comes down to a
self awareness of life. The quiet hours on the road allows me to reflex on
life’s issues. It is this time alone that enables me to view the early morning
sky, hear a bird call, feel the rain on my face, see a deer run gracefully
through the field and stop and watch Rambo my running dog friend do his thing.
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
A change in shoes, an increase in mileage (25 miles per week is
the dividing line; at 50 miles per week the injury rate is doubled), hill or
speed work, or a change in surface. Almost always there is some associated
weakness of the foot, muscle strength/flexibility imbalance, or one leg shorter
than the other. Use of heel lifts, arch supports, modification of shoes and
corrective exercises may be necessary before you are able to return to
pain-free running.
What’s
happening by Stan
Why fewer of us run NYC every year:
People have remarked to
me that there are fewer and fewer members who run NY Marathon each year. Here
is why and you will understand that this is not the club’s fault but it is
caused by the policies of the NYRRC. All local clubs have the same problem.
Basically the reason so
few locals can run the NY Marathon is that the NYRRC makes it extremely
difficult to get into the race. It makes it hard for two reasons:
First the NYRRC wants to squeeze
every buck it can out of local marathon wannabes so it puts only a few in by
the lottery and the rest have to pay for many qualifying races to get admitted.
Second the NYRRC wants more and more
out of towners in the race so as to bring the city
lots of tourist business and hence make the mayor's office happy. The city
subsidizes the race with their police and sanitation departments and the NYRRC
needs to pay them back by getting a lot of out of towners
entered in the marathon.
So it is not that we are not dedicated runners: We are a club of avid runners and
that there are fewer of us every year going to the NYC Marathon is not our
fault.
Why you should do it once and go on
to better things:
You should do it once to
satisfy all the relatives, friends, work mates, etc who will not think you are
a runner unless you do it. Then try some other marathons and see the
difference:
I have done the NYC
marathon maybe 5 or 6 times and over 50 other marathons and ultramarathons:
NYC treats its runners the lousiest of them all. It is an aggravation and a
drain on your wallet and time for you to run this race. From paying for the
lottery and no refund if you are not selected, then time and expense for
running the qualifying races, then paying the high entrance fee, then the time
going in to register, then leaving so early to get to a race starting in the
late morning, getting to SI and waiting hours in the cold, running in a crowd
(some people like that – I don’t), and finally getting back home so late it is
in my opinion not the most fun race you can do - by far.
By the way it is not a
challenging course. The hills are minimal and the support is incredible. I have
run marathons and longer in bad weather (heat or cold or snow) with no mile
markers or even sometimes no idea which way to turn at a corner, only two or
three aid stations, and many huge hills to boot. And I loved them more than
NYC. This was mostly in the late 70’s and early 80’s. My first ultra was the
JFK 50 mile trail run in 1979 where there was one water stop at 10 miles and a
stand selling sandwiches at the 40 mile mark and just pumps to use muscle power
to get a cup of water in between. They have gentrified this race since – wimps!
So if you don’t get into
NYC, please check out the so many other races at all distances where you can
compete and have a great time without all this aggravation.
Next Meeting: I copy here the email
I sent out on October 9, 2008:
START of email:
The marathon pasta party
had always been a fun night for the club for a meal, conversation, and a good
send off to the marathoners. Let’s cooperate in making the party succeed this
year. We usually meet on the Friday night before the NY marathon. However that
is Halloween night this year. Donna pointed that out to me Halloween night
would not be a good night for the meeting. Parents have to be with their kids
or supervising them and there is much craziness going on and I agree with her So le t us meet on the night before.
You can help a lot by letting me know if you can get free on Thursday
evening, October 30th. Once we have an idea for the head count we can pick a
place nearby
Please reply yes or no so we can proceed to find a suitable spot.
END of email
Bless all as the holiday
season approaches
Stan
Race
Results
Donna Reports on July 4th
Joe: I finished the July 4th 4-miler in a little under 40
minutes. I think it was 39:40. I ran it with Mary Ostop. Once again, it was such fun for me to run and talk
with Mary. I usually find the last 1-1/2 of that race a little boring. This
year that was not the case. When I run with Mary, the miles seem to fly
by. Thank you, Mary for helping me gets through yet another race. There
was a light rain that began right at the start of the race. It felt very good
to me because it helped cool me off a little. It did make the road surface a
little slick in spots. It was a fun morning. After the race a few of us went to
a local diner (cafe) and had breakfast. Stan ran as did Tom Zullo
(33:22 and was a minute faster than Jose’ – Way to go), Dorothy, Liz,
Bernadette. I never knew Stan's time, but I don't remember what Liz, Tom,
Dorothy & Bernadette did. I'm sorry I can't give you their results.
I forgot to mention that Liz Zullo was
there to cheer Tom and the rest of us=2 0on. Terry Blyth was also there
to cheer for each of us as we went through the finish. Pam Lee also was there
and did the race. I'm not sure what her time was. I know she isn't a
member of the club, but she helps us out whenever we need someone to complete a
team, so I consider her an unofficial member.
Donna Reports on Arrow
Exterminating Women's 5k in Farmingdale
The morning of, 7/19, I ran the Arrow Exterminating Women's 5k in
Farmingdale. It was a very, very hot and steamy morning. I finished
in 31:30 and placed 3rd in my age group. I guess not a lot of women in my
age group showed up. I was very pleased with my time because I kept stopping to
drink water and then walking a little. The heat really was intense at
9:00 am. Mary Ostop was also at the 5k. She was
running very well. At one point I was able to catch up to her. Then, I couldn't
keep up and I saw her a gain at the finish. I don't know her time. After the
5k in Farmingdale, I drove to Bayville to participate in the American Red Cross
one mile swim. It's a fundraiser for them and its
fun to do. This year was extra fun because Lara joined me there. She
brought Zach and her mother-in-law, Anita. I don't know my finish time
for the mile, but Lara finished in 36 minutes. That's very, very fast. Lara is
an excellent swimmer. I think it took me around 45 minutes or a little
longer. I should pay more attention to the time.
Donna Reports on the 9-mile
race was part of the Lightfoot Summer Series
On 7/26/08 I went to Norwalk, CT to meet my son to do a 9-mile race.
It was held at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, CT. It was a gorgeous beach
and park. There were kayak races going on and an arts
and crafts fair. It's a busy place on a summer weekend.
& nbsp;This 9-mile
race was part of the Lightfoot Summer Series. The course was a loop that
you did twice. The scenery was beautiful and very serene. There
were 3 hills on the loop. By the second time around, they seemed to be bigger
and longer. It was my son's first race. We finished last and next to
last. I was so excited that he asked me to accompany him. We
walked/ran/talked for 9 miles. It was a wonderful way to spend a
Saturday morning. My daughter-in-law, Brenda, was there to cheer for us. I plan
on doing another race with him on 8/16. I'll do another race report.
Donna Reports on Wednesday,
8/6. I was at Eisenhower Park for the Long Island RoadRunner
5k in memory of Eunice Harris. There were over 200 runners/walkers.
Mary Ostop and I finished in 32 something. I forgot
the exact seconds. It was a fun night as well as a fitting tribute to
Eunice. Although I didn't have a hot dog after the race, I heard they were
pretty darn good.
Donna and Carol
participated in the Oyster Bay triathlon 8/24.
The event took place in Theodore Roosevelt Park. It
consisted of a 3/4 mile swim, 9.5 mile bike and a 5k run.
Carol Drucker 1:38
something (5 minutes faster than last year)
Donna Hahl 1:58
something(51 seconds faster than last year) AND first
in age group
Donna on the Hamptons half
Saturday, 9/27. Dorothy & I did the Hamptons
Half Marathon. I highly recommend this race. It was the most well
organized race I've ever been to. The shirts are great and the goodie bags are better than any other I've received.
There was no junk in them. It was first class all the way. They had
coffee and bagels before the race and delicious ices after the race......and
more coffee, water, and a few bananas. They could have planned for better
weather though. On the drive to the Hamptons, it was dry but
very foggy and hazy. It was difficult to see. About 5 minutes before the
race, the rain came down in buckets. It didn't last very long. After the
initial downpour, there was some light drizzle. At times, it rained again and
then it would stop.
The course was very scenic. There were some small hills and
beautiful water and beach views. I finished 2nd out of 6 in my age grou p. I was shocked to see that when I looked at
the overall results.
Dorothy finished in 2:21
Donna finished in 2:27
Tom Zullo
reports on the summer series. EZ and I went to
the Belmont Lake Summer Series Race Monday evening. The SS Parkway
was backed up at Exit 38 as it took over twenty minutes to get to the
parking lot. Once inside things went smoothly at the registration. There
were over 1700 runners and Katz had the race go off on time at 7 P.M. I did
well for the first two miles but faltered the last mile. I was disappointed
because Jose finished ahead of me by a good margin. My time was respectable:
27:53. I didn't see any other club members but searched the
results. Stan and Ed also made the trip. Ed finished in 34:33
and Stan finished in 37:31, EZ was happy because it didn't rain, but it
rained twenty four hours later.
My Long
Beach 5 mile – Jack Horowitz. I did the "club"
race today (no VSRC members observed). My time was a disappointing 57min, 15
sec. I took second place in my age group (75+). I ran each mile slower than the
one before. My first race in almost 2 years.
Ocean to Sound – Stan
The team did well. I thank all the runners and I give an extra
thanks to Donna, Maria, and Mike Phillips who went the whole way giving support
to the runners and an extra thanks to Rich for helping so much.
team race number 137 team name
VALLEY STREAM RC
team total time and pace 8:00:22
9:35 team final position 100/118
here are the results for each runner in leg order with name, time, and
pace
Ron Holt 1:06:58 10:28
Michael Phillips 55:35 9:16
Mike Gillen 55:24 8:40
Donna Hahl 1:01:00 10:42
Maria Ferraro 1:00:55 9:31
Tom Zullo
52:38 9:14
Luke Cummo 1:02:23
9:11
Jennifer DiGaetano 1:05:33 9:39
Carol Drucker
reports on her M usselman 1/2 ironman - Hello
fellow valley stream running buddies. On July 13 I completed the Musselman 1/2 ironman distance triathlon in Geneva, New
York. I thought about the 1/2 ironman distance since last October and decided
on Musselman in November. I changed my training at
the beginning of the year and had to stop running with my buddies in the early
am. I saw Dennis a few times while riding my bike in the neighborhood and
enjoyed some time with him. I ran to Atlantic beach one morning while Donna -
once again - was my support crew. I went to a race in queens with my VSRC am
buddies and ran for an hour and a half while they raced. The following race
report was written to my triathlon team, team total training, and just wanted
to share the experience with all of you. Thank you all for all your good wishes
and support.
See you on the roads.............
Details of her report: I must preface my race
report by letting you all know that without everything I get out this team, my
accomplishment would NEVER have been possible. There are teammates that rode
with me and told me great stories and encouraged me. There is a teammate that
drove six hours with me to ride and run the course. Another teammate gave up
his pace on a hilly bike ride to help me get the hills in - he also gave up
part of his ride, pulled over and fixed my mechanical brake
down. (I didn't even know where I was and certainly didn't have a
"tool" or the knowledge to attempt to fix my own bike.) the support I receive from the coaches along with the well
wishes, phone calls, e-mail and text messages I received are what helped me get
through this incredible journey and made it FUN! Teammates, you're the best and
I could never have even thought about doing such a distance with team total
training! Going into this race my biggest concern was making the cut-off times.
8 hours total and back into transition from the bike by 12:30 p.m. that was
going to be a challenge and I didn't have a lot of time to spare and I just
wasn't sure and thought that I was going to cut it close! starting
out, the strategy for the swim: survive - well, survive
- I did do that, but barely.....thunderstorms were predicted and the lake was
NOT the calm before the storm! prior to entering the
water another participant said, If you just add salt, you'd have the ocean. he was wrong. this choppy lake was
worse than any ocean I've ever swam in! at the
pre-race meeting it was pointed out that you could hang on to the kayaks
without cheating. I never thought I would need that, but..............the
course was triangular. the first leg, not bad, a
little choppy, going good. the second leg of the
triangle was VERY L O N G and VERY, VERY CHOPPY. I never felt sea sick while
swimming before. I tried to get on my back, but that only made it worse. I
tried bilterial breathing, but that only made it
worse. I actually thought about quitting at that point, (something I've never
done before - either quitting or thinking about it) but I just had to survive
this sickening experience. When I actually hung on a few kayaks, the swells
were coming over my head. I made it to the last turn and was so happy thinking
I would cruise into the beach, but all the new direction did was tossed me in a
wavy fashion towards the beach. I'm really sick at this point and start to
heave and eventually throw up in the water (something I've never don e before).
After that I just swam the hell out of there................
T1 - smooth, slow and calm. I'm not rushing off the land at this point! onto the bike: I'm trying to stay calm for a bit and trying
to eat. Neither is working as the headwind is strong and my stomach feels like
shit. after an hour I'm feeling better. the winds have changed and now I'm trying to make up some
time. Unfortunately for me about half way through the bike I start to feel
raindrops. a short time later it starts to downpour,
thunder, lightening..............what was it a teammate told me? oh, yeah: keep smiling. I remembered to keep smiling and
started to sing that song outloud! the
storm is okay - kind of fun actually - the only not-so-good part are the downhills - they're scary! I'm able to push anyway and pull
into T2 with half an hour to spare, and I'm feeling good! I get out on the run
course - by the way, the winners are coming in now - almost immediately Jim (58
year-old-local) starts running with me and makes it clear that running together
would be best for both of us. I inquire about the hills. we'll
walk up he tells me. Sounds good to me! Jim turns out to be a great running
partner. we're chatting it up in the downpour, and
it's going well. Hey, this is a 1/2 ironman. why is
this so okay? that goodness lasted 11 miles. the last two miles were tough for me, and I start to slow
down a bit and told Jim to go ahead because he's better than I. I crossed the
finish li ne, looked around and said out loud, What do I do now? I was approached and handed a medal and a
water bottle. a very kind man told me I did great and
then I spotted Gordon Drucker and the rest is a
blur................. Well, the moral of the story is that without the support
and friendship and caring of others I never would have become half an ironman! Carol aka mother Drucker
Stan runs for 12 hours - I am
very happy to have competed at the Crocheron Park
Queens 12 hour run. The race is on a loop which is 1709 yards long which is 51 yards less than a mile. The race started at 7:36 am
and finished at 7:36 pm.I ran 45.3 miles to my great
joy. Here's a report: There was rain and thunder on and off for the first 6
hours and at the 6th hour there was a torrential downpour. The runners were=2
0stopped with the clock still running. So everyone ran for somewhat less than
the full 12 hours. I was the last one to be stopped so I could finish a whole
lap before I was stopped but I was totally soaked and due to the ankle deep
muddy water my shoes and socks were soaked and dirty. My spare stuff were drenched so I ran the last six hours that way so I
developed two big blisters on each foot. Also not having my orthotics meant my
feet hurt a lot anyway all the time. My wet clothes did dry a few hours later
but I was chapped on my body the rest of the race. My goal was to finish
40 miles and my top goal was to do 45 miles to get an award. There were no mile
splits but I did find out that I had finished 50k at about 8 hours. I realized
at this point that I had to push very hard to make the 45 miles so I raced as
fast as I could. For the last four I stopped smiling and making
jokes and just ran my butt off. For the last half of the race, there was no
part of my body that wasn't hurting but I finished and made my top goal. Please
don't get me wrong. I was happier all day in a way that I haven't been in a
long time. I love long running and I met a lot of friends in the ultra
community and I was constantly meeting, talking, and getting "good
job" encouragement for old friends. I like giving my all and I feel great
inside when I do that.