Celebrate National Running Day with NYRR's Young Professionals Committee!

NYRR's Young Professionals Committee (YPC) is a group of volunteers, of which I am a member,  dedicated to New York Road Runners’ mission to transform lives through running. Specifically, the group raises funds and awareness for NYRR’s community-based youth running programs which promote physical health, emotional well-being and personal achievement in schools and community centers in New York City, across the United States and around the world.

Please join us in our next event!!

What: 3 or 5 mile Fun Run and Happy Hour at the Gin Mill
When: Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Fun Run 6:30 p.m.

Happy Hour 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Where: Meet at 81st and Central Park West, just inside Central Park for the run.

Happy Hour is at the Gin Mill (442 Amsterdam Avenue)

How: Get your ticket today! Space is limited! $20 includes fun run, appetizers, cash bar featuring drink specials, and two raffle tickets. We will run, rain or shine. Bag watch will be available.

Proceeds support NYRR's Youth Programs which impact nearly 100,000 underserved children each week. To learn more, visit www.nyrrf.org.

Buy your ticket here!!!

Sneak peek of my next race course!!

Washington DC....ME.....50 Miles..... and this wonderful scenario!!!

  

The Trail goes through  Algonkian Regional Park, Great Falls Park and the Potomac Heritage Trail. The course keeps runners on their toes with ever-changing terrain. Overall, it consists of 50% singletrack, 30% dirt or gravel doubletrack, 10% gravel carriage road and 10% paved road.

The Great Falls sections are highlighted by some intense elevation changes, with steep-but-run-able climbs up to 300 feet. The River Trail covers what is widely held as the marquee section the event: up to three miles of tip-toeing and hopping along bluffs high above the Potomac River. The tedious-but-scenic time it takes to cover this section is more than offset by cruising sections of undulating trail in the river basin. 



Elevation Chart



North Face Endurance Challenge 50K - Personal report

I cannot hide my "love" for ultras and for trails so trail ultras and me are just mean to be together!! I have been a runner for almost 3 years but before that I used to be a hiker. Unfortunately between work and running,  I haven't had much  time to ralso keep hiking, weekends are just not long enough for both hobbies but I think that now with trail running I can just do the two together!!





We ran up that mountain!!



 It was a very early start, a friend picked me up at 4:45 AM ( yeah...that early!! which means I woke up at 3:30AM to get ready!!!) and we drove to Bear Mountain. The race started at 7AM but the parking lot was not in the starting line so we needed to arrive on time to take one of the school buses from the parking lot to the place where the race started. It was a cloudy morning and it was expected to rain but fortunately for us they weather forecast was again wrong and the day ended up being sunny and nice. For me it was a perfect running day. We were running on the woods so even though you could see the sun it wasn't really warm and I didn't get any sunburn this time!!

In general I am not nervous about the races, I guess I have a lot of condidence but jsut 5 minutes before starting I always feel these butterflies in my stomach...and this time wasn't different. I wondered What  was I doing there and repeating to myself  "you are going to start this and you won't be done for at least 9 hours, do you understand ?? are you sure you want to do this?   To calm myself down I kept thinking that it was a short ultra, 50K....you have already run 50 miles ...you can do this!!!  

Soon after arriving we met some friends and we all started running together in the back. And when I say in the back...it was really the back!! we were the last ones...once again as in my  previous ultra my strategy was to start slow and pick up the pace in the second half. 

By the time we arrived to the first aid station we were not the last one anymore. I didn't feel great during the first half of the race so I decided to slow down my pace for some miles.  I was now behind my friends.

I just ran my own pace and started to focus trying to recover my energy. In the next aid station I met them again. At this point I was felling energy less so I ate some chicken soup!!! I have never eaten soup in a race before but I thought the salt and something warm could help me...and wow it did!! not sure what that soup had but I started running a completely different race!!

I was feeling so good!! After that everyhting was different. I was feeling really well and focus in my goal (yes I had a very specific and competitive goal!! I always do!! I need a motivation...but sorry can't share it!!).

My stops in the following aid stations were very brief, I just didn't want to lose the moment !!   Some people stop a lot in the aid stations and also to take many  pictures but I don't....I am in and out as soon as possible. This might be an ultra and we might run slow but for me it is still a race and I still care about time so aid stations are just to refill my water, grab some food and keep going as soon as possible!! Also if I stop for  a long time then it is tough to start running again.

I remember the last 2 aid stations because the people there were particularly friendly and they all told me how good and strong I was looking  (we all say this when volunteering right? LOL). The truth  is that I was feeling really strong!!!

The last couple of miles were pretty runable and I was really excited and happy about the race so I ran it as fast I could considering the rocks and mud :).

I finished felling strong and when I asked myself  " Do you think you can keep running??" the answer was YES!!! and that was the moment when I finally felt that I am ready for the next big challenge!!! 

Some pictures!!

 

John and Matt, they ran the Marathon relay

Courtney and me, we ran a huge part of the race together

Are you ready for your next challenge??

 I AM!!! 

North Face Endurance Challenge 50K, race report and tips for beginner trail runners

This is a draft report I am writing  for the New York Flyers' Blog (my running club).  I will write a more detailed report about my race soon!!!

The North Face Endurance Challenge offers a unique running experience that allows people to push and exceed their personal limits on the trail. These events are held in different regions across the country and last weekend it was the turn for the Northeast. For the past five years, the chosen place was Bear Mountain, NY.

The event follows a two-day format featuring a 50 miller, 50K, Marathon and Marathon Relay on Saturday, and a 5K, 10K and Half Marathon distance on Sunday.

The North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain is the perfect event for the trail runner who is looking for a supreme challenge.

It is described in their website as “a serious, hardy test for trail runners of any level”. The course consists of “technical terrain and rocky footing, with some trails heading steeply uphill rather than zigzagging at a gentler grade.”

The course has difficulty ratings as follows: 4 out of 5 stars for “elevation change”, 5 out of 5 starts for “technical terrain”, and 5 out of 5 stars for “overall difficulty”.

Several Flyers participated in the different events, special shout out to Scott M. for running the 50 miler in this difficult course. Jessica R. had a great race winning her age group in the half marathon and Nora S. ran the 10K also in an amazing time for this course.

Running the 50K were Ray S. who was unstoppable and PRed in the course, Noel C. who had an amazing performance, Siggy T. running his first ultra-marathon after not even tapering for a day and me running my first trail ultra-marathon as a training run for my next ultra. I will be heading to Washington DC, on June 4th to run the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler.

Crossing the finish line

Firstly, I must give credit to the organizers as they did a fantastic job. The level of organization is comparable to what you might find at a major city marathon. The registration was online and easy, all the races were caped but the ultras and marathon races did not fill out while the shortest distances were sold out pretty quickly, just something to take in consideration if you plan to attend in the future.

The entrance fee is also very reasonable and you recover the full price in goodies!! You get a technical t-shirt, arm warmers and a nice bottle. The fee also includes a beer and hot food (with a gigantic brownie!) at the finish line festival.

On site, every single detail was taken care of. The shuttles bus from the parking lot to where the race started, heaters all around the waiting area, plenty of porta potties, water, bag dropping, cool music, plenty of chairs and tables to sit and rest, coffee, etc.

Course Description 

Running in the woods is lovely; you can feel connected with the nature and find peace. It is a great way to free your mind and spirit. Not to forget that getting dirty is so fun and makes you look much more hardcore than you really are!!

“Endurance challenge” is by sure the term that best describes the North Face events. Looking at the winners’ time you know they didn’t walk that much and that they ran really fast even in the very rocky parts but for most of us it is a combination of hiking, running and mental challenge! It is not easy to keep you motivated to run for 8 ,10 or more hours in an ocean of rocks!



@Mile 30



A lot of time was spent walking up and down steep rocky slopes and climbing cliff faces that required both hands but we also ran every single yard that was runnable to make up for the time lost climbing. We jumped streams from rock to rock and we ran in old wooden bridges. We ran with friends but also many miles where we had to run alone in the woods.

There are many hills and climbs and as we all know, after a huge hill there is a huge downhill and of course in Bear Mountain there are rocks too!! Running a downhill in a mountain it is not the same than running on a road, sprinting could be very dangerous more when the leaves cover the ground and you are not sure whether there are rocks or roots underneath. 

Just passing the marathon mark there was the rockiest part of the course, The Timp Pass Road. This section is not only the rockiest part but it is also a long gradual climb. A combination of huge and small rocks that forms a long wall of concrete where you need to watch out for your ankles!!

At this point the first thing you think is “Do they really expect me to run here?” Well, I have to say that I did. I ran it all the way up, slowly of course but I did it and believe it or not some runners from the 50 miler passed me running at a considerable high speed. Sometimes I just need to stop and watch them doing their job! It is amazing how fast they can run in such uneven terrain. I guess it takes years of experience to do that.

Soon after the Timp Pass and when you think that nothing worst can be ahead…there it was…a very long steep single track uphill. It was so long that you couldn’t even see the end of it!

The last aid station is just 2.8 miles away from the finish line and the course here is a combination of two climbs and two down hills, if you still have some energy this is a good moment to go for it because the terrain is less rocky here and you can run the whole section without walking or climbing.

Racing Tips for Beginners

•Start slow!! And if you think you are going slow…then go slower!!! This course is tough and will catch up with you. Take it easy in the beginning and pace yourself. If after half-way you are feeling good, then is the time to push it.


•Walk the hills and when you feel you are hitting a wall. Let your body recover and you will come back stronger. It is amazing what just 3 minutes of walking can do in an ultra. Don’t feel ashamed -- some of the best ultra runners in the world sometimes walk; it is part of the experience.


•When to walk? If you see that everyone else is walking a hill, that is a good signal that you also should walk it. Some people walk all the hills, and others use a walking/running combination by miles or minutes (i.e. run 20 minutes, walk 2 minutes). It is important to practice trail running before your race, including to find out which approach works best for you.


•Watch out for slippery roots and rocks. When you are running trails, you need to pay close attention to where you step. Continuously scan the ground a few yards ahead of you while you’re running. If it looks dangerous, just slow down or walk. It is better to lose a couple of minutes than to sprain your ankle and need to stop.


Course Markings

When trail running, you don’t have miler marks every mile, you don’t have watches along the course and sometimes you don’t even have a real path to follow. Most likely, your watch will die after 8 hours, and you cannot just trust to follow other runners because sometimes there aren’t other runners around. These factors make the course markings essential.

During the race, there were colored ribbons placed every 30-50 ft along the entire 50K course. Each distance had it owns color and courses were sometimes shared with the 50 milers and marathons. It is important to know which color you have to follow. At intersections huge signs in the ground pointed the way. Some ribbons were placed way up high in a tree so they were at times difficult to see but not a major issue. I don’t think anyone could have gotten lost here. It happens that sometimes you are too focused on your running or you are looking at the ground to avoid rocks and roots and you can miss a signal but it was really very easy to go back and figure out the right route.

Tip for beginners:

•Think ahead. You will find yourself running alone, sometimes for many miles, so always consider the distance and try to visualize the next 2 or even 3 marks ahead. This way you always can be sure you know where you are heading in advance.

•When in doubt, go back a marker. In major events, markers are placed very close to each other, so if you are running for more than 1 minute without seeing one then you should go back to the point where you saw the last one. You don’t want to run extra miles!!

Aid stations

In road races we are used to have aid stations each mile or so but in trail and ultra running the aid stations are far from each other. Most of the times they are every 5 or 6 miles but it can be even farther. During the 50K there was one section where we didn’t have any station for 7 miles which in a warm day and considering the slow pace it can be a very long time to be running without water.

The aid stations were amazing, from the food to the nice volunteers that were trying to help you and cheer you on all the time.

I carried 1 bottle with water on my hand because it is easy to refill and also like to splash water on my head on warm days. I personally don’t find the hydration backpack comfortable. The stations had everything you could need, chicken soup, potatoes, bananas, oranges, chips, brownies, water, sodas, Gatorade, GU, etc. They also had a complete first aid kit and many volunteers ready to help you.

Tip for beginners:

•Know the distance. Be sure to know how far away the next aid station is so that you can ration your fluids and food.

•Think small. Break the ultra into small races and just think about getting to the next station. This is a good technique to keep you motivated and focused.

•Try to eat food as part of your long runs. Don’t eat for first time on race day. You need to know what your body can handle and what works best for you. I combine food and gels as energy sources, so I ate something at the aid stations and then I'd complement the food by having a gel while running to the next one.

This is a tough course and I am proud to say that all the Flyers did a great job!! Congratulations to everyone!!

Are you going to take the challenge next year? I know I will!!

  

What is it healty??

As the day of the Bear Mountain ultra approaches I am hearing more and more questions/comments from people about how crazy it is to run this much.

I am starting to be annoyed about this because  people speak without knowing what they are saying and or looking at their own life before judging me and my hobby.

I was wondering the other day how come I have to listen people telling me that running a marathon/ultra is not healthy when they do not exercises at all?? or when they eat junk food every day or they are overweight?  The other day this person in the office was having a regular coke and chips for breakfast (she is also overweight) and she told me that it is not good for my body to run this much.

I am not slender but  I try to eat healthy, maybe I eat more that  I burn :) but I watch the quality of my food and I consider myself relatively fit.   Is it more healthy to be overweight or have blood pressure, or not exercise than running a marathon??? 

I agree that many people go too far, as keep running while injured or getting many shots to keep running etc, this is not healthy neither!!! but it is not my case and not the case of most of the runners I know.  We are all very conscious about these things.

Why is it ok for them to tell me " you are crazy, you are going to hurt your knees, it is not good to run that much"  but I am sure I could be judge in a very bad way  if I tell them that it is not healthy  to eat or weight  that much ??

Do people realize that these comments bother us (runners) as much as it can bother them if we comment about their non-healthy behaviors?....  just saying

The Easter Marathon long training run

Last weekend I ran the Easter Marathon in Van Cortland Park. If you have run there you know how hilly it is!!  The marathon was organized by "The Holiday Marathons " , a group  that wanted to promote healthier habits on holidays and started these races. They wanted to bring together the local running community and promote exercise, nature and healthier habits instead of BBQ on holidays. They don't charge you a fee, rather the races are on a donation based system.

You can run a 10K, a half marathon, a marathon...or what ever you want!! There are not "chips" instead you track your own time and when you finish you write it down in a book :) ...but please don't cheat!!

This was my last long run before Bear Mountain and a major test for my "trail" skills since I don't get to run in trails as much as I should. 

The race gave me the opportunity to  practice the feeling of an ultra...there were only 1 aid station every 6 miles which means that you need to carry your own water and  also food. They were offering bananas and other food but not gatorate so you needed to carry it too. Quantities were also limited and I only got to get 1 banana at the end of the 2nd loop :(  everything else was gone when I finished the 3er loop.

1st Loop:  I forgot to mention that Scott Jurek was running :) so I had this little dilemma...Start slow as I always plan or....STALK Scott and try to run beside him....:)  I was a lucky girl and he started slow two...so I didn't need to stalk him....5 minutes after we started  he was running just beside me ...seriously!! I didn't stalk him!!  I was really focus on my run so I didn't even speak to him....everyone was asking questions/tips and I just listened. I was a very good girl!!!.

Half the way in the loop I started running with Coach Sid ( if you don't know Sid...well you are not a runner!! I will "give you Sid" soon). We ran together the rest of the loop and he was all the time making sure I was doing ok!!  First loop done and I feel good but it is getting a little hot!!! 

2nd Loop: the disadvantage of running loops is that you know what it is coming and you can feel a little discouraged about it...paradoxically this is also the advantage!! Once you know the hills you know when to push and when to keep your energy! I ran the 2nd Loop mainly alone but I could see other 4 guys that were running a very similar pace to me and we were passing each other all the time. There were still many people in the loop as many were doing the half  (2 loops). Scott was doing the half but he stopped  for pictures  after the first loop so now he was behind me....not for long though.....I have to admit that it is a pleasure to see him running...he knows what he is doing and the way he runs the uphills and downhills is just fantastic!!

I was running in a very technical downhill (see picture) when he passed me so fast and in such a gorgeous way that I needed to stop just to watch him going all the way down....wow..."that is how you do it!!" 

By the end of the 2nd loop I was still feeling strong and without wasting a minute I just refilled my water and kept running...missing all the fun with Scott again :( he was shirtless and taking pictures with everyone !! but I had work to do so I didn't stop!!!!! I kept running.

3er Loop:  I was running with this guys who was also training for Bear Mountain and we were running a very similar pace....pacing each other time to time and running together others. Anyway, I was decided to beat him :)....yeap when you are running distance and you are alone in the middle of nowhere...you need every motivation you can find!! and mine was to beat this guy! LOL 

I was feeling tired and knew the hills and the heat were taking a lot of my energy.  My bottle was empty half way in the loop and I knew there was no more water for the next 3 miles....:(   It was a good practice tough .....I took some electrolytes, chewed a newton and kept running but now I started to do some walking breaks in the uphills.  It even sounds as a "sin"  ...yes I did "walk"!! I still feel weird about the fact of walking during ultras but it is part of the game and you also need to practice it.

For most runners walking could be considered as a "weakness" but in some cases, like it or not, it is necessary. I don't really like the idea but I am not in the level where I can run a complete ultra without walking, nevertheless I try to keep my walking to the minimum. I have to admit that it is a powerful recovery technique for me...with just a couple of minutes walking I can revert a serious fatigue. It does work.  I finished the 3er loop behind the guy, but one loop is not the battle!!!  There were very few people left after the 3rd loop and there were not more food :(

4th Loop: I was tired and it was ridiculous hot for a day that was supposed to rain :( . Some people decided not to keep running and for a moment I wondered myself whether I should stop too but I decided to keep running because I knew that I needed to feel confident for the race...If I hadn't finish it I could be now wondering whether I am able to run next weekend or no. It is all part of the game....we were not expected that weather as you don't know what it is going to happen on race day so ...you need to keep going!! Also I was tired because that was my 4 consecutive weekend running 20+ miles and my legs were really tired...again, this is what a training for an ultramarathon is about "learning how to keep running on tired legs!!!" This loop was very challenging in many ways...not only I was tired but there were only a few people running so you were practically running alone, they started to take out the marks so in the middle of the  loop I found no marks of the trail and needed to use my memory and orientation to get to the finish line...I even stopped a couple of time because I wasn't sure about the next turn....good practice though!!

After  2 miles in the loop I passed my "friend" the guy I was competing against LOL...and I never saw him again until the finish line ( he finished 10 minutes after me)!!

I am getting smartest about keeping my energy and during the last loop I ran much faster than the 2nd and 3rd loop I passed some people and I didn't walk that much in the hills. The mission was accomplished and I felt good and strong at the end.

Last week my legs were really tired and my runs were slow, I even kept one day of running and I bike instead. I am sure I will recover for the race.  I know my body and I just need a couple of days and good food to be ok again. Furthermore, I went biking today and  I can now feel my legs are pretty loose. 

This week I will take it easy and do just 2 easy more runs and will try not to do any  other activity!! I need my energy for Saturday!!! 

The challenge is getting mentally prepared because as I always say...

YOU FIRST NEED TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE WITH YOUR MIND  THEN YOUR BODY WILL FOLLOW!!!!


I CAN DO IT!!  I WILL DO IT!!!!