| The Flyer - Spring 2003 |
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| For Women Only 5K Run/Walk and Women on the Move Mark your calendars now for the 21st Annual For Women Only 5K Run/Walk, held Sunday May 18 at Gallup Park! The For Women Only is a celebration of fitness that inspires, empowers and strengthens women of all ages and athletic abilities. In 2002, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports awarded the regional Amateur Athletic Event of the Year to the FWO. The race features a 5K run/walk, as well as post- race refreshments, music, awards ceremony and raffle. Need a refresher course, or know someone hoping to kick off the spring season with a new commitment to fitness? Join the “Women on the Move” training program, which started March 5. The 10-week program, facilitated by Eva Solomon and Melissa Sundermann, will prepare women to complete the For Women Only 5K Run/Walk. Each session includes hands-on training advice, as well as guest speakers talking about such topics as proper clothing, shoes, and stretching techniques. The program meets on Wednesday evenings, 7-8:00 pm at the University of Michigan track building. There is plenty of space available, so spread the word! The $20.00 fee includes entry into the FWO. New this year! The team categories have been expanded. Added to the competitive team category is the Grandmother/Granddaughter team. We have also added an “Open Team” category. Teams of 10 or more who register for the race before May 1 receive discounted entry fee. Gather up your co-workers, family members, or friends to take part. Unique to the For Women Only 5K Run/Walk is the FWO Honoree. Each year the race acknowledges a local woman who exemplifies the mission of the event. The race committee is pleased to announce Susan Jones as this year’s honoree. Susan is not only dedicated to her own personal fitness goals, but is passionate about inspiring and encouraging women of all ages and athletic abilities. A University of Michigan Hospital Nurse and mother of 4 girls, Susan is a coach for both the Saline cross country and track teams. Actively involved in the Ann Arbor Track Club, she has served on the AATC board, is currently co-director of the AATC volunteer program, and has been a director of the Dexter Ann Arbor Kids’ Runs. Susan has put in countless volunteer hours for many community events, and her passion and dedication to healthy living make her an inspiration to everyone around her. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s race will go to the nonprofit organization Girls on the Runâ of Southeastern MI. The mission of Girls on the Run is to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. The 10-week program focuses on personal goals, peer relationships, and community involvement. Spring GOTR participants will participate in the For Women Only 5K Run/Walk. Not only is the FWO a premier athletic event for women, but it is also provides a great opportunity for men to volunteer! Please consider helping out, whether as a course marshal, finish line volunteer, or just to cheer the women on! We look forward to seeing you all on May 18th. For more information, or to volunteer, please call Carolin at 663-5680, call Lisa at 930-9813, email fwo2003@aatrackclub.org, or visit our website at www.aatrackclub.org. The For Women Only…the finish line is only the beginning! Dexter-Ann Arbor Run: 30 Years and Counting Twenty-nine years ago this coming June 1, Mickey Lolich was the Tigers’ ace and on his way to losing 21 games. The Vietnam War was officially over, but Woodward, Bernstein, and Senator Ervin were closing in on a cornered Richard Nixon. And eight days earlier, 173 intrepid souls had set sail from downtown Dexter in the first-ever Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. Young, sprightly, enthusiastic Dan Gamble was one of them. Fast-forward to the present. A somewhat portlier Lolich runs a donut shop in suburban Detroit, Woodward and Bernstein are grey eminences on the talk shows, and Sam Ervin has passed on to that great cloakroom in the sky. But Dan Gamble goes on . . . and on, and on, and on. And on Sunday, June 1, 2003, you can expect him on the line for the 30th straight time in the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. He’s the only one who has done them all. There will be much to remind Dan of days gone by. The signature half-marathon – which replaced the original 15-mile in 1983 - still starts in Dexter, and follows Huron River Drive to a finish in downtown Ann Arbor. The 10K, which has called a number of courses “home” over the years and was even cancelled for 2002, returns to its classic start near the historic Delhi bridge. The 5K remains the same as in recent times and there will again be a two-person half-marathon relay . . . but to emphasize the nostalgic streak in all of us, the organizers are working on a set of vintage cars to lead the races. Who doesn’t have a soft spot for a modern-army green 1974 Chevelle, purchased new from the showroom for $2,100 cash? Not everything is the same, of course. In 2002, the race left its traditional date on Memorial Day weekend, opting to form a new partnership with Taste of Ann Arbor. That “new tradition” continues . . . and with the races starting at 8:20 a.m. and Taste at 11:00 a.m., you can run your own pace, enjoy the post-race carnival atmosphere, then walk the family less than two blocks down Main Street and sample the fare of Ann Arbor’s famed “restaurant row” in a lively festival setting. Discount tickets to Taste will be available at the finish line. Want to walk one of the courses? The organizers invite you to do either the 10K or the 5K . . . but ask that you stay away from the half-marathon unless you can hold a 12-minute per mile pace. The roads in the western part of the long course are just too important to close for lengthy periods of time – so they will be reopened to motor vehicle traffic on a very tight schedule. Those and many other details are available on the event’s website. The organizers encourage online registration; it is faster, eliminates the problems of data entry and illegible handwriting, and makes sure all critical information is secured (you have no idea how many otherwise bright people would otherwise fail to indicate which of the four races they planned to enter). As additional incentive, the online entry fee is set at a significant discount to the traditional paper “route”. Finally, if you don’t plan to do the event, consider helping on race day. The organizers need lots of hands to make things go smoothly. The volunteer coordinators are Susan Jones (429-0097) or Kathleen Gina (668-4760). For complete information go to www.dexterannarborrun.com.
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Like Hal - The Corporate Cup Relays (Love’em!) Corporate America. (yick) What does it stand for? The pinnacle of free market capitalism (ha), or the morass of Machiavellian manipulation? (The latter) Possibly somewhere in between (but closer to the latter). Sometimes my job drives me up the wall (try daily), but it does pay my bills for the time being (choke chain), so I put up with it generally and try not to bite my boss’s hand (paw) quite hard enough to break the skin (fur) while graciously accepting my paycheck (blood money). Yeah, I guess you could say I have a love hate relationship with corporate America. (Hate, it’s hate I say!) (Ok, enough of the diatribe and subliminal parenthetical clauses (bridled rage)). But apart from the paycheck, corporate America has given me one thing that I truly enjoy, the Corporate Cup Relays (CCR). If forced to confess I must admit I am a part of corporate American. I work for Ford (found on road de-, wait, sorry) and for the last 10 years of so I’ve been a member of the Ford Runners Club. It’s a good group, with strong camaraderie fostered by a real sense of purpose. And we owe that mainly to the CCR, and also to coach Paul Mayer (fat Paulie! (sorry… sorry)). The CCR is an all day track meet involving morning road races, followed by a few of the non-lethal field events, and then a lot of relays on the track. It’s a great event and a heck of a lot of fun, and I enjoy it so much I bought the company! Or, at least I joined the organizing committee (control freak (hey, leave me out of this ‘bliminal boy!)). The best part about the event is the relay aspect of it. That takes away most of the pressure and anxiety of a traditional track meet, gets more people involved, and adds the X factor – you never know for sure what’s going to happen in a relay. It also adds the teamwork aspect. A few or the races are close and exciting, many aren’t, but in every one there’s 3 or 4 other people with you legging the ol’ baton around the track. It forces you to deal with them, cooperate, and pull together. I think it’s safe to say it’s the best bonding experience you can get without running through swamps or getting lost in the woods. Possibly another part of the reason I’ve enjoyed the meet so much stems from the fact that the Ford team has won it the past 8 years in a row, and in all those years I’ve never once gotten caked in mud or been stung by bees. The relay’s certainly do add something special to my calendar every year – it’s the only competitive running event I still get juiced up for - and it helps give the Ford runners something that I’m yet to find with the AATC. It took me a while to put my finger on it, as I’d long wondered why I never felt quite the same about the AATC as I do about the FRC. True, given the mutual bonds of a common employer, the FRC has a little more common ground than a more diverse group like the AATC, but mostly, with the CCR to thrive on, it’s team vs. club, simple as that. And as I’ve helped Paul put the line-up together the past 5 or 6 years, the event often takes on a larger portion of my work day than my real work does in the week prior to the race, but I guess that’s my way of biting back a little. I don’t take winning nearly as seriously as I used to (but GM still sucks! (whoops, sorry again - I couldn’t resist!)), but I still give it everything I’ve got when I’m out there. Most everybody does. It’s fun, and the energy from teammates can be infectious. So why the big rundown on something our club can’t participate in? I thought you’d never ask! I’ve been working on trying to get the other organizers to agree to open the meet up to area clubs, so far without success, but I did convince them to allow small teams to participate this coming year. Employers of less than 1000 people can now compete in the new Division III category, and with as few as 4 to 5 runners, you could fill the four Div III events in the meet. The events range from a 5k run, to a 4x100 relay, with a few middle distance events in between. The meet is June 14th this year at the Canton High School track. If anyone wants to consider putting a team together, let me know and I’ll give you the rest of the details. So think about it. I don’t know how crowded the new Div III is gonna be this year, but my guess is it’s going to be pretty popular eventually. I hope so. We also raise money for the Special Olympics, and we invite some of their athletes to join us for the S.O. 100, so that’s another good reason to come and try it. I wish the AATC had a big event like the CCR to peak for as a focal point of our calendar, but then there are some great things about the AATC for sure as well, the indoor and outdoor workouts, and for me, writing my silly little column is also one of them. So thanks for reading, and ask me about the CCR at any workout you happen to see me. I’ll give you an ear full if you want it, or the website ID if you don’t. Now grab a couple of co-workers, get out there, and get crackin’! Note: the CCR website is currently under construction – it should be up by mid March: www.mwccr.com On and Off the Track Compiled by Robin Sarris-Hallop Get ready, set, go! The 2003 John Rogucki Memorial Kensington Challenge is celebrating its 20th birthday on Saturday, September 20th, 2003. The 5K has been chosen to be part of the Michigan Runner Championship Series for 2003. Registration and information will be up on the website shortly. Look for the new Galyan’s Northville Solstice Run on Saturday June 21, 2003 at Ford Field (Griswold St, north of Main St) near downtown Northville, MI. Some
For more info:contact
Northville Parks and Recreation at 248-349-0203 or www.northvilleparksandrec.org.
Race forms are also available at Tortoise & Hare and Running Fit running
stores in Ann Arbor. Ira Fried ran the Houston Marathon as a qualifier for Boston, finishing in 3:24:26. This in spite of the fact that he broke his collarbone will training in December – and still came back strong enough to run in Houston! News from Florida: Neil Longhurst now lives in Florida and invites any visiting AATC members to the workouts held by his new club, the Bradenton Runners Club (west coast north of Sarasota and south of Tampa/St. Pete’s). Tuesday night six mile runs start from the Manatee Public Library at 6pm. Sunday morning 11 mile routes from the Manatee Public Beach, Anna Maria Island (7:30am in winter and 7am in summer). Both runs have a wide variety of people and paces and there is usually a social get-together following. Contact Neil at (941-778-1171) neillongh@yahoo.com or Club President Alan Meyer (941-761-9069). He also offers to help anyone interested in locating a race or two while on vacation in Florida. Racing in Florida, Marie Muehlenbein (40-44; 26:10) and Sandra M. Larson (50-54; 31:28) ran the Race for the Cure 5K in West Palm Beach. Over 14,000 women participated. Doug Goodhue was the USATF Runner of the Year (60 year old) and was ranked #1 for 2002 by Running Times in the 60-64 age group. Way to go Doug! My apologies to Delma Bartelme whose Chicago Marathon finish(4:01:05) was missed in the last issue’s marathon round-up. She was excited to qualify for Boston but finds the winter training less fun than she remembered from the last time (twenty years ago!) Local Winter Race Recaps: At the Sweetheart 10K/5K/5K relay in Flint, Ellen Nitz won the W60-64 division (25:07). In the 5K relay Doug and Cindy Goodhue won the combined 111-120 age division (18:36/25:48); Ann Forshee-Crane and Jim Forshee won the 121-130 group (21:03/23:56). At the Snowflake 10K, Jonathan Miller won the M25-29 in 37:24; in the 5K, Joanie Rogucki took home top honors in the master’s division in 22:08; Julie Wagner won the W30-34 in 20:15; Ellen Nitz won W60-64 in 25:32; and Jim Forshee won M75-79 in 24:43. At the Flushing Christmas Stocking 4 Mile, Julie Wagner won the W30-34 (27:57); Jim Forshee won the M70-89 in 31:27. At the Jingle Bells Run for Arthritis 5K, the club was represented by Susan Deutsch (22:34), Kathleen Summersgill (23:16), Jeanie Dodge (26:26), Liang Shao (30:05), and Ren Farley (34:03). Proud father Larry Graves reports on his two children’s success in the youth program and the meets at Macomb Community College. Katie ran 3:03.96 for the 800m in early January and improved to 3:02.94 by late January. Jeff ran 3:21.75 for the 800m. World Cross Country Trials: Former UM NCAA Cross Country Champ, Katie McGregor, qualified for the 8K team and current UM runner, Rebecca Walter qualified for the Junior 4K team. The world meet will be held in Switzerland next month. News From Susan Jones: “In the last issue of the
AATC Flyer, Hal Wolfe wrote a very compelling article about bike adventures
last summer in the Pacific Northwest which inspired me to share a few
highlights about the 2002 DALMAC bike tour over Labor Day weekend that
I had the good fortune of participating in. I am transitioning from marathon
training and road racing exclusively to a fitness life-syle that embraces
a variety of sports. Training on the bike is quite different from running
but very satisfying. I rode many miles from early spring through the summer
culminating in a 340 mile bike tour spanning 4 days originating from the
MSU campus in East Lansing to St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. The average
daily mileage was 80 miles the first three days while the final day encompassed
100 miles including a trek across the Mackinac Bridge to our final destination.
We took a bus back to E. Lansing and arranged our rides home from there.
A lot of people stayed over in St. Ignace to participate in the famous
“Bridge Walk” on Labor Day. It was a challenging journey but
the sites were spectacular and we had perfect cycling weather the entire
trip. The terrain was rugged as we got further north but rich was
the beauty in places like Petoskey, Boyne, Torch Lake, Lake Michigan,
Harbor Springs to mention only a few of the wonderful areas we explored.
We camped at night and group meals were prepared for us. There were
support vehicles and aid stations the entire route. I met so many
interesting people and will definitely ride in this event again someday.
I am planning to do the BON TON ROULET in upstate NY in July if I don’t
run the Great Lakes Relay. This is a 7 day tour through the Finger Lakes
and promises to be a splendid adventure. I am a fledgling triathlete and
discovering new things about fitness while training for my first triathlon
in June. It is awesome running on Tuesday mornings with an extremely successful
group of triathletes in the area who are generous with their knowledge
and eager to share their finely honed skills with our group of “neophytes”
as Lew Kidder refers to us. It really feels good to be trying new
things. It brought back that fire in my belly that generates the
desire behind all the training. The variety seems to be good for
my body as I have no injury problems and my running is actually getting
better. Up Close and Personal with Tim Fraleigh “I was born in Ann Arbor and grew up the 4th son of a landscape architect living on a tree farm just outside the city limits on East Delhi. My father and mother, Versile and Judy Fraleigh, started a landscaping business in the late sixties. I think growing up in a farm based, family business helped shape a dedicated work ethic as well as entrepreneurial confidence that’s helped me in my running and career.” “I attended Pioneer High School and graduated in 1985 after winning two state championships. Ron Warhurst recruited me and I decided to stay near home and run for U-M. My college running career was disappointing, filled with illness, injuries, and finally just mental burnout for racing. Luckily though, after finally realizing that I wasn’t going to attain the boyhood dream of an Olympic Team, I didn’t just stop running. I found that I truly loved running. The fierce competitiveness may have been dramatically diminished, but I was left with a lifestyle where running and activity are in integral part.” “I currently have an avocation that allows me to help others attain an active lifestyle – I’m a sales rep for Mizuno Running. I’ve been married, live alone and share a yellow Labrador retriever, named Marmie, with my former wife. Running is also a big part of Marmie’s lifestyle; you might have even seen us running around town. I’m taking family life slowly, but if things work out, it’ll hopefully be in-the-cards some day.” When and why did I start running ? “In the 5th grade I had a teacher named Paul Bjorndstad who gave our class an interesting assignment. We were to not watch television for a week and keep a diary of the things we did instead. My father had gotten the running bug a few years earlier, from our own Elmo Morales, so I decided it would be fun to jog with my dad. That spring we ran bandit together in the Dexter—Ann Arbor Seven Mile and I barely made it. My dad was kind enough to walk with me and go my pace. But a year later, in sixth grade, we entered the race and I sprinted past him finishing on the old Huron High track. The spring of seventh grade was my first real organized running experience when I went out for Forsythe Middle School Track. Of course, I ran the mile.” Best Running Moments / Accomplishments, and Nightmare Race: “This is hands-down my second state championship, senior year in cross-country. I can still remember every step of the race, it’s crystal clear as if I had run yesterday. It was one of those extremely rare days you have racing where everything was right. No one could have beaten me that day. I ran a 15:24 5K. I haven’t had many nightmare races because I don’t usually race unless I’m in shape.” How do I spend my time other than running ? “Running and work often ‘run together’ so my lifestyle is built around it. Lately I’ve gotten into Bikram Yoga, a type of eshtanga yoga that’s practiced in a really hot room. I love mountain biking on Potowatami Trail and alpine skiing. I enjoy eating out in Ann Arbor for Japanese and Chinese food. I wouldn’t classify myself as a big internet junky; first-run movies and rentals are more my entertainment staple of choice.” Training: “I mostly run slow mileage, averaging 65 a week. I’ve never responded to shorter fast stuff. Tempo runs, longer - moderately paced intervals, strength and volume type workouts have always proved the best for me. I find that as I get a bit older, more patience is required because it takes much longer to get in really good shape.” Contributing Factors to running successfully / Biggest Challenges: “I break this up into two groups, one is my really competitive early career, and the second, my post-collegiate running. The biggest factor in racing competitively for me was training properly. When it was time to race I had the confidence in my ability, but also enough left in the tank, from not training too hard, to lay it all on the line on race day. My post-collegiate outlook is much more recreational – quite simply put, I love to run. Sure I run fast now and again, but I would still run even if I never raced again. I like to be in good enough shape so if I feel like pushing it, I can.” Favorite Race: “This is a tough one. I have to admit there’s something special about Boston. There’s a certain electricity from the hype, the crowds and tradition of this race. Each year – it must be eight years in-a-row now, I’ve gone up to the Mackinac Island Race in September. Again, there’s a certain feeling you get, just getting away from it all and going up to the Island. In high school and college I always loved running on the indoor track because you were so close together that strategy was very important. I remember in eighth grade while my mom and dad were on vacation, I skipped a band concert to run on the banked board track down in Detroit at Cobo Hall; I was first chair trombone.” Worst injury / setback: “I had mononucleosis twice – I kind of attribute this as the beginning of the end of my really serious career development. I had it as a senior in high school, which derailed my spring indoor and outdoor season. I had it again as a freshman at Michigan. For the next couple years, training so hard at Michigan, I was never able to remain healthy for long stretches.” Favorite Music / Last book read: “I don’t read many books, but prefer magazines and industry periodicals ranging from The New Yorker to Footwear News and Runner’s World. Music’s a big part of my life. Ever since playing trombone in the Forsythe Junior High Jazz Band, I’ve had an appreciation for jazz and improvisation. Not a big fan of RAP or Heavy Metal, but love R&B and Smooth Jazz. A couple of my favorites in smooth jazz are Rick Braun and Boney James. On the R&B side, I dig funky like the Whispers, Chaka Khan, and Earth Wind and Fire.” The Runner that Inspired me the most: “Growing up my running hero was Steve Ovett. The Runner that most influenced me though was none other than Pete Hallop. He’s been my running guru and close friend since my middle school days.” |
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| Setting Up Your Own Personal-Best Training Course to Break Your PR! Part of this article was published in “Muscle & Fitness HERS” magazine by Debbie Kiefiuk, M.Ed., C.S.C.S. Debbie shares her advice on excelling and being your own best competitor and can be reached for questions at Debbie@excel-fitness.com. Train to break your own personal record and run your best race ever—against yourself! Today you might not think of this as an immediate goal, but if you set up your own 5K or 10K scenario from home, when the opportunity presents itself, you’ll be ready to run. Setting up your “personal best training course”: Beginners should start with a walk and/or walk-jog route of an achievable but challenging distance. Intermediate and advanced athletes should set up a running course based on their training. Unless you have a training base of at least 20 miles per week, choose to start with the 3.1 mile (5K) course. Otherwise, opt for the 10K. Commit to running or walking this “personal-best training course” at least twice per week. When setting your pace, shoot for a “5-6” rating of perceived exertion (RPE) on a 10-point scale. This means working at approximately 50% to 60% of your maximum heart rate. This should not be an “all-out” effort; you want to have reserves. You’ll be working toward a progressive “all-out” effort at a later time. Use the time you run at first as your initial personal record (PR) and expect to see your pace improve 10%-15% over the next eight weeks. (For more information on training programs or to calculate your training heart rate, contact Debbie@excel-fitness.com). Setting your goals: Next, when running or walking your personal-best training course, set a workout goal. It may be to run at 70% of your training heart rate, or it may be to just complete the course. Be sure you set a clearly defined S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound) goal such as running two minutes faster in eight weeks. Each month, strive to beat your own PR. Keep a record of your PR progress, including weather conditions, RPE and average heart rate. Sometimes your legs may feel like lead when you start, and a RPE of “7” will only be 60% of your MHR (maximum heart rate). But remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. One other days, you might be at 85% of your MHR, but it feels like only a “6” on your RPE. At that time, you can look back in your log and see how far you’ve progressed. In time, you’ll see results add up as you move toward your ultimate destination. Of course, there is no finish line, so if you are looking to enhance performance, read more about cardio challenges published in the December 2002 issue of “Muscle & Fitness HERS” or contact me with any questions you may have about your training at: Debbie@excel-fitness.com. |
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