I have really been pushing hard these past couple of weeks, which is my poor excuse for not blogging about my training.
My schedule for the past couple of weeks has been slight variations on this:
Monday -- bike or swim
Tuesday -- run
Wednesday -- swim or bike
Thursday -- run
Friday -- off
Saturday -- long run
Sunday -- long bike + swim
And best of all, I have REACHED MY FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR THE TRIATHLON, with a grand total of
$5023
Of course, I am still looking for donations for the marathon, so if you want to help me honor the memory of Prince Liam the Brave by making a donation to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, just click here!
Swimwise, things are going really well. Everyone who's done the event tells me not to worry, it's the easiest swim ever. That's good to hear, but one person's easy is another person's flaily-drowny. However, last week in the pool, I came to a realization, and maybe this will be helpful to any of you that are swimmers. I was doing a drill where I had one of those kidney floaties between my legs, so I was only using my arms to propel myself across the pool, and I was cranking out the laps like nobody's beeswax. No breathing problems, no exhaustion, nothing.
So I lose the floatie and start a regular crawl stroke. Sure enough, two laps, and my breathing is messed up and I'm exhausted.
Lightbulb -- must be something I'm doing with my legs! And that something was kicking like a crazy person, as fast and hard as I could. Instead of propelling me forward, it was only exhausting me.
I don't know much about swimming, but I feel that I do most of the work with my arms, with the legs providing just a small amount of propulsion. I'm not saying that that's how it's supposed to be -- I honestly don't know -- but that's how I feel I swim. So why am I knocking myself silly trying to get my legs to work harder, when they're not my main source of propulsion?
So instead of kicking hard, I relaxed my legs and kicked gently, and what do you know, I did ten laps easy.
Good thing I figured this out now! Can you imagine what my swim would be like had I got it earlier? Oh, well. The swim will be fine.
Bike will be okay. I am mainly worried about things like the hairpin turns at the turnarounds, and literally just getting onto the West Side Highway (up a steep hill almost immediately after getting on the bike.) Two of my Teammates told me the hardest part of the bike course is avoiding bottles and crap that fall off people's bikes. So I feel that with my training in Central Park, navigating around annoying tourists, I should be okay there, too.
And the run is, well, the run. It's only a 10K, but it should be interesting after the bike ride, and, of course, it's uphill for the first two miles.
Two Saturdays ago was the first NYRR Long Training Run. The LTR is an untimed run, with pace groups heading out for distances of 6-20 miles (a loop of 6, two loops of 5, and a loop of 4.) Do as many or as few loops as your training requires. It's a great way to pace yourself and see where you're at.
It was also the last day of a heatwave that sent temps soaring into the triple digits through most of the week. The night before, it only dipped down to 85. Despite NYRR's taking extra precautions -- extra water stations, adding Gatorade to the stations, slowing the pace groups, adding three misting stations and having cold sponges on the transverse -- Coach Ann and Jeff instructed the Team to do six miles instead of our scheduled 14, and go home. Better to scrap one long run then to knock yourself out to the point where your training for the rest of the week is affected.
Teammate Jonathan and I went out with a 9:30 group. He's a faster runner but is coming back from injury, and I'm, well, not a faster runner. The 9:30 group should have been running at a 10-minute pace. I'm not really a chatty runner, and neither is he, but we would thumbs-up each other every once in a while, and it was nice to have that companionship. Another good thing that they did for this run was to have the pace group leaders walk the water stations, which they sometimes don't do on these runs, and that means I lose the pace group.
My only quibble with the run was that all the extra water stations were on the east side of the Park. It seemed like there was one water station on the west side, and then one every 45 feet on the east side. Yes, I exaggerate, but the group did wonder where these mythical extra water stations were as we trundled down the west side.
Jonathan broke away on mile 4 and finished ahead of me. He told me afterwards that the pace group was actually going at a 9:20 pace, and he was feeling good, so if he was only doing 6, he was going to do it as his pace. So I'm happy, because I felt pretty comfortable with that pace. I don't think I could have sustained it for 14 miles, but it was fine for 6. And I feel that I could have done maybe another 5 in that heat, but I was starting to cramp up, and it has taken me a long time to learn to listen to what the coaches tell me.
We also had our first speed and hill workouts over the past two weeks (I have to do the step workouts on my own, alas.) Our first speed workout at Riverbank was one mile warm-up, 5 x two laps hard, one lap easy, then 3 laps cooldown. This was during the heatwave, so it was really exhausting. I had to hit the snackbar for some salt so I could keep going, because all the Gatorade in the world wasn't helping. I really tried not to slack on the hard ones, so my easy laps involved some walking. That's okay. If you don't push, you don't improve the way you want. I thought of sweet Liam every time I started to flag, and I swear to God, every time I thought of him, a breeze would come up and cool me off.
And lookit what we did -- the next day, Riverbank's sewage plant cought fire, sending millions of gallons of sewage into the Hudson a/k/a my swim course next Sunday. All because of the heat we generated on the track!
Same thing holds for the Cat Hill workout. We did a warm-up of the lower loop, then 2 sets of four hill repeats -- easy effort, easy, medium, hard. Break between set 1 and 2.
It's so tempting to hold back on the medium and the hard of the first set, because you're thinking you have another set of four to go. It's almost frightening to commit to doing what the coaches ask, because you wonder -- do you have it in you? And if you don't, what does that say about you? Ultimately, what you have to do is push until you can't push it anymore, whether you have completed the task or not. If you bonk, you bonk, but at least you do it in training, not on the day. The year I had a 30-minute improvement in my marathon was the year I did everything the coaches told me. And I would not be honoring Liam properly by slacking. Set 1, I felt I pushed the last repeat to maybe 90 percent. Sort of disappointed in myself. Set 2, I felt myself falling back in the last repeat, regrouped, and pushed to 100 percent up the second part of the hill all the way to the end, running full out the last 100 feet or so. Had to walk most of the way back down the hill, and could barely complete the cooldown.
This past Saturday was the infamous Great Hill run -- 10 loops of the wretched thing, for 15 miles. The first time we did this workout, we did it as a Tuesday night workout. Jeff didn't take the length of the transverse into account, and by the time we finished, it was pitch black outside. Sounds stupid, but I've been in love with this workout ever since. Last time I did this workout two years ago, I could not do the full ten, and I was crushed. So I was both anticipating it and dreading it.
Jeff and David told me to take it easy and cut it short, because apparently I get to have a little bit of a taper this week for the marathon! Hooray! Who doesn't love a taper? So instead of ten loops, I did eight -- and I definitely could have done the full ten, and done them strong. So now I'm back to loving this workout again.
Today was a nice 12-miler on the bike -- and completed in under 50 minutes -- followed by a really positive swim session.
Holy crap, I think I'm ready to do this triathlon!!
Showing posts with label Long Training Run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Long Training Run. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
On My Soapbox, More Lessons Learned, NYRR Long Training Run, and What is a Fartlek?
A few weeks ago, Liam's mom Gretchen asked everyone if they knew a way to get a hold of Mike Rowe, as "Dirty Jobs" is one of Liam's favorite shows. She hoped Mike would be able to come and visit Liam. I know a few friends who work in TV, and they gave me a number, who led me to someone, who led me to someone, who led me to someone, who led me to someone...anyway, I gave the info to Gretchen, and I don't know if the following picture is the result of those phone calls or something else, but does it matter?
Look at that smile!!
I haven't been receiving any donations lately, so the amount I've raised so far for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research in honor of my little friend Liam Witt remains at
$1742
which is a great number, but I want to double it! Triple it! Nay, TENFOLD it!!
Can you help me reach that goal?
Remember, the ultimate goal is to eradicate cancer. But we can't do it just by wanting it. It takes money. And the way I raise money is by doing stuff like running marathons for Fred's Team and having amazing people like you donate money to the Aubrey Fund, either because they believe in the cause, or support me no matter what stunts I pull (thanks, Mom and Dad!) or just think it's funny that a former pack-a-day smoker who would drive a car from the bedroom to the bathroom if she could fit one through the front door is running marathons. (PS: I don't "buy" my marathon entry through Fred's Team, I run the races to earn it, so that someone else can use the guaranteed entry and raise additional $$ for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. )
Almost off the soapbox. Here's how you can help:
-you can click here and make your secure donation via credit card.
-if you'd rather send a check, just leave me a comment and I'll be happy to email you my address and the check info.
Regardless of whether or not you can donate, please please please pass my blogsite (or merely my donation page if you find my blitherings dull) around to all your friends and family -- make me a viral sensation!! The more people get involved, the closer we get to a cure.
Onto the running portion of the show!!
Being the good little runner that I am (not,) I realized that I do need to get my arse back into the gym and start weight training again. Two years ago, the combination of weight training and biking on some of my days off from running led me to my PR marathon, and since my mom says I have to run 3:53, I thought it prudent to train like I did two years ago.
The day to pick weight training back up is not, however, the day before a 14-mile run.
Why must I learn every lesson the hard way?!?!?!
Saturday was the Long Training Run #1, an untimed run (not a race) in Central Park, where you can run between 6-20 miles, depending on where you are in your training. All loops start and end at the 102 Street transverse. You start with a six-mile loop (the full Park,) two five-mile loops (cutting off the Great Hill) and one four-mile loop (cutting off at the 72nd Street transverse.) It's broken down into pace groups, each group led by a member of the NY Flyers running club, and they do an excellent job of carving order out of the running chaos.
Walked up to the transverse and met my Teammates at bag check at 6:30am. Coach Ann advises me that where I am in my training, 13 or 14 would be good. I decide I'll do 14 -- start the third loop and walk it back once I hit Cat Hill. Or something like that. Was teased about bringing a Fuel Belt, but if you recall from this run last year -- and really, why wouldn't you? -- my only complaint last year was that there wasn't enough fl;uid on the course, and Gatorade was only available on the transverse. I sweat like a moose, and need all the electrolytes I can get.
Get into my 9:30 pace group and set my Nike+. I've got a few episode of Phedippidations saved up (an excellent running podcast, check it out!!) And we're off!
Sort of.
I had no hint of soreness as I was walking to the start -- and you'd think that in those two miles, I might have felt something -- but as soon as I started running, I knew I was in trouble. This was not the soreness of legs that just needed a few minutes to warm up. These were legs that were done for the day. Though I had only done two sets of the leg machines on the Nautilus circuit, and with barely any weight on them, just enough to recognize that there was weight, it took its toll. The correct term, as I stated previously, is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. The term I prefer is Holy Sh*t. Or Oh, Crap. Any fecal-related term, actually.
First loop -- spent most of that time fervently hoping that the soreness would, in fact, go away. No such luck. Fell behind the pace group fairly quickly. Also, the pace leaders don't walk the water stations, which dropped me further back. Decided during the first loop that I had runner's knee, even though I'm not exactly sure what it is.
Second loop -- After a slug of Gatorade and a stop in the loo, decided to drop back to the 10:00 group, but instead of waiting for them to come in, I went out at the tail end of a 9:30 group. My own 9:45 group. Funny, even though cutting off the Great Hill and running the lower loop makes for an easier five-miler, I prefer it the other way -- keeping the Great Hill and cutting off the lower loop. Don't know why. Masochist? Spent most of this loop trying to decide what I was going to do. I was fully ready to stop after 11 and call it done, but that nagging voice in my head kept saying no. I figured as long as I didn't have to run Cat Hill a third time, I would be okay to keep going, and spent much brain time devising a route. I would go out for the third loop and cut off at the transverse instead of continuing down the West Side -- no, that means I have to run Cat Hill again to get the 14 miles in. Okay, how about we do this? Or this? All that time, my body was saying, "Shut up and just stop at 11." And I was starting to listen. Decided to take a bit of a break at the 102 Street transverse and see how that made me feel...
...until I got there, and saw a group going out, and before I could realize what I was doing, I went out with them for #3.
I think my mind knew that if I took a break, that would be it for the day.
I started out loop #3, and decided to just make it 1 1/2 miles out-and-back, for 14 total. However, as I approached the mile 12 marker at the south end of the Reservoir, legs said, "done," mind agreed, and I stopped. I stood there, panting, for a minute or two. I saw the hill just past the Res and decided that I didn't want to go down it if it meant I'd have to go back up it. I could either cut across the Res and continue back up the east side to the finish (which I should have done) or simply go to just before the hill, then turn around and go back from whence I came (which I did do, because it was more downhilly than the other way.)
Thirteen miles in 2:10. A ten-minute pace. And a mile shorter than I wanted.
Not a great day, but I'm glad I did it.
Still sore now, but managed to get a speed workout in yesterday morning. When not with the Team (we haven't started Tuesday-Thursday workouts yet -- next week!) I do fartleks of the lower loop, using lampposts as the markers. "Fartlek" translates to "speed play," and it's a loose kind of speed workout where you use whatever markers you choose, and you go fast from marker 1 to marker 2, then recover to marker 3, then fast to marker 4, etc. etc. There are enough lampposts on the lower loop to get a good speed workout in, and I highly recommend fartleks as a great speed workout, and the lower loop of Central Park as a great place for NY runners to do them.
I did two loops. I started by doing the fast sections at barely pushing the pace, and by the middle of the second loop I was running them at an all-out sprint. I had to keep stopping for water, because I was panting so much my throat kept getting dry, and I also needed the extra recovery time between fast bits. I think this is a good thing -- Coach Jeff said that I would need to push past my comfort zone, and that might wear me out to the point where I'd have to stop and rest. While that wasn't such a triumph with the long run, for this workout, I felt good about having to stop.
Speaking of pushing past comfort zones, I don't have to be at work until 1pm today, so it's off to the gym for further punishment. More anon!
Look at that smile!!
I haven't been receiving any donations lately, so the amount I've raised so far for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research in honor of my little friend Liam Witt remains at
$1742
which is a great number, but I want to double it! Triple it! Nay, TENFOLD it!!
Can you help me reach that goal?
Remember, the ultimate goal is to eradicate cancer. But we can't do it just by wanting it. It takes money. And the way I raise money is by doing stuff like running marathons for Fred's Team and having amazing people like you donate money to the Aubrey Fund, either because they believe in the cause, or support me no matter what stunts I pull (thanks, Mom and Dad!) or just think it's funny that a former pack-a-day smoker who would drive a car from the bedroom to the bathroom if she could fit one through the front door is running marathons. (PS: I don't "buy" my marathon entry through Fred's Team, I run the races to earn it, so that someone else can use the guaranteed entry and raise additional $$ for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. )
Almost off the soapbox. Here's how you can help:
-you can click here and make your secure donation via credit card.
-if you'd rather send a check, just leave me a comment and I'll be happy to email you my address and the check info.
Regardless of whether or not you can donate, please please please pass my blogsite (or merely my donation page if you find my blitherings dull) around to all your friends and family -- make me a viral sensation!! The more people get involved, the closer we get to a cure.
Onto the running portion of the show!!
Being the good little runner that I am (not,) I realized that I do need to get my arse back into the gym and start weight training again. Two years ago, the combination of weight training and biking on some of my days off from running led me to my PR marathon, and since my mom says I have to run 3:53, I thought it prudent to train like I did two years ago.
The day to pick weight training back up is not, however, the day before a 14-mile run.
Why must I learn every lesson the hard way?!?!?!
Saturday was the Long Training Run #1, an untimed run (not a race) in Central Park, where you can run between 6-20 miles, depending on where you are in your training. All loops start and end at the 102 Street transverse. You start with a six-mile loop (the full Park,) two five-mile loops (cutting off the Great Hill) and one four-mile loop (cutting off at the 72nd Street transverse.) It's broken down into pace groups, each group led by a member of the NY Flyers running club, and they do an excellent job of carving order out of the running chaos.
Walked up to the transverse and met my Teammates at bag check at 6:30am. Coach Ann advises me that where I am in my training, 13 or 14 would be good. I decide I'll do 14 -- start the third loop and walk it back once I hit Cat Hill. Or something like that. Was teased about bringing a Fuel Belt, but if you recall from this run last year -- and really, why wouldn't you? -- my only complaint last year was that there wasn't enough fl;uid on the course, and Gatorade was only available on the transverse. I sweat like a moose, and need all the electrolytes I can get.
Get into my 9:30 pace group and set my Nike+. I've got a few episode of Phedippidations saved up (an excellent running podcast, check it out!!) And we're off!
Sort of.
I had no hint of soreness as I was walking to the start -- and you'd think that in those two miles, I might have felt something -- but as soon as I started running, I knew I was in trouble. This was not the soreness of legs that just needed a few minutes to warm up. These were legs that were done for the day. Though I had only done two sets of the leg machines on the Nautilus circuit, and with barely any weight on them, just enough to recognize that there was weight, it took its toll. The correct term, as I stated previously, is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. The term I prefer is Holy Sh*t. Or Oh, Crap. Any fecal-related term, actually.
First loop -- spent most of that time fervently hoping that the soreness would, in fact, go away. No such luck. Fell behind the pace group fairly quickly. Also, the pace leaders don't walk the water stations, which dropped me further back. Decided during the first loop that I had runner's knee, even though I'm not exactly sure what it is.
Second loop -- After a slug of Gatorade and a stop in the loo, decided to drop back to the 10:00 group, but instead of waiting for them to come in, I went out at the tail end of a 9:30 group. My own 9:45 group. Funny, even though cutting off the Great Hill and running the lower loop makes for an easier five-miler, I prefer it the other way -- keeping the Great Hill and cutting off the lower loop. Don't know why. Masochist? Spent most of this loop trying to decide what I was going to do. I was fully ready to stop after 11 and call it done, but that nagging voice in my head kept saying no. I figured as long as I didn't have to run Cat Hill a third time, I would be okay to keep going, and spent much brain time devising a route. I would go out for the third loop and cut off at the transverse instead of continuing down the West Side -- no, that means I have to run Cat Hill again to get the 14 miles in. Okay, how about we do this? Or this? All that time, my body was saying, "Shut up and just stop at 11." And I was starting to listen. Decided to take a bit of a break at the 102 Street transverse and see how that made me feel...
...until I got there, and saw a group going out, and before I could realize what I was doing, I went out with them for #3.
I think my mind knew that if I took a break, that would be it for the day.
I started out loop #3, and decided to just make it 1 1/2 miles out-and-back, for 14 total. However, as I approached the mile 12 marker at the south end of the Reservoir, legs said, "done," mind agreed, and I stopped. I stood there, panting, for a minute or two. I saw the hill just past the Res and decided that I didn't want to go down it if it meant I'd have to go back up it. I could either cut across the Res and continue back up the east side to the finish (which I should have done) or simply go to just before the hill, then turn around and go back from whence I came (which I did do, because it was more downhilly than the other way.)
Thirteen miles in 2:10. A ten-minute pace. And a mile shorter than I wanted.
Not a great day, but I'm glad I did it.
Still sore now, but managed to get a speed workout in yesterday morning. When not with the Team (we haven't started Tuesday-Thursday workouts yet -- next week!) I do fartleks of the lower loop, using lampposts as the markers. "Fartlek" translates to "speed play," and it's a loose kind of speed workout where you use whatever markers you choose, and you go fast from marker 1 to marker 2, then recover to marker 3, then fast to marker 4, etc. etc. There are enough lampposts on the lower loop to get a good speed workout in, and I highly recommend fartleks as a great speed workout, and the lower loop of Central Park as a great place for NY runners to do them.
I did two loops. I started by doing the fast sections at barely pushing the pace, and by the middle of the second loop I was running them at an all-out sprint. I had to keep stopping for water, because I was panting so much my throat kept getting dry, and I also needed the extra recovery time between fast bits. I think this is a good thing -- Coach Jeff said that I would need to push past my comfort zone, and that might wear me out to the point where I'd have to stop and rest. While that wasn't such a triumph with the long run, for this workout, I felt good about having to stop.
Speaking of pushing past comfort zones, I don't have to be at work until 1pm today, so it's off to the gym for further punishment. More anon!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Latest Honor Roll Inductees, Liam Update, The Straw Hat Circuit and Running on the Cape
Hello, everyone!
We begin, of course, with the latest and greatest members of the Fred's Team Honor Roll:
ADAM RATTRAY
and
TUCKER JOHANN and NOLA STUDIOS
(where all the cool people rehearse!!)
bringing the total going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Liam Witt to
$1,742
which is a terrific amount, but we've got a ways to go.
Don't you want to be the one who brings me over the $2000 mark? A prize to that person! I say, a prize!! Just click here, or on the links to the side and bottom of the page.
Let me just say that any amount you can donate to my marathon effort is amazing. Even if it's only $5, that's more than they had before. That $5 could buy the test tube that the medication that finally eradicates neuroblastoma is mixed in. Or it could buy decorations for the MSKCC pediatric prom. Over 80 percent of your donation goes directly to research and patient care. That $5 adds up in more ways than one.
Liam update -- he's been in MSKCC for the last couple of weeks with a fever that finally broke as of today, the writing of this entry, so he's on his way home! Hooray! For those who don't know, when you're in chemo and develop a fever, you have to go to the hospital, because chances are it could be something other than the flu.
Here are some pix from mom Gretchen's Facebook page:
His hair may be gone, but not his spirit. The second picture is him making snow in a throw-up bucket, which they then stuffed into latex gloves and passed around to people who, as Gretchen put it, "needed a hand."
Is it any wonder why I run the marathon in his honor? Please, once again, I ask you to click here and make a donation, whatever you can, in honor of this brave little guy.
Onto the what-the-heck-have-I-been-up-to portion of the show.
Firstly, my annual stint with Broadway Bares, the theater community's annual strip show for charity. The link will take you to the site, where there are a LOT of pictures to look at, like this one:
We begin, of course, with the latest and greatest members of the Fred's Team Honor Roll:
ADAM RATTRAY
and
TUCKER JOHANN and NOLA STUDIOS
(where all the cool people rehearse!!)
bringing the total going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Liam Witt to
$1,742
which is a terrific amount, but we've got a ways to go.
Don't you want to be the one who brings me over the $2000 mark? A prize to that person! I say, a prize!! Just click here, or on the links to the side and bottom of the page.
Let me just say that any amount you can donate to my marathon effort is amazing. Even if it's only $5, that's more than they had before. That $5 could buy the test tube that the medication that finally eradicates neuroblastoma is mixed in. Or it could buy decorations for the MSKCC pediatric prom. Over 80 percent of your donation goes directly to research and patient care. That $5 adds up in more ways than one.
Liam update -- he's been in MSKCC for the last couple of weeks with a fever that finally broke as of today, the writing of this entry, so he's on his way home! Hooray! For those who don't know, when you're in chemo and develop a fever, you have to go to the hospital, because chances are it could be something other than the flu.
Here are some pix from mom Gretchen's Facebook page:
His hair may be gone, but not his spirit. The second picture is him making snow in a throw-up bucket, which they then stuffed into latex gloves and passed around to people who, as Gretchen put it, "needed a hand."
Is it any wonder why I run the marathon in his honor? Please, once again, I ask you to click here and make a donation, whatever you can, in honor of this brave little guy.
Onto the what-the-heck-have-I-been-up-to portion of the show.
Firstly, my annual stint with Broadway Bares, the theater community's annual strip show for charity. The link will take you to the site, where there are a LOT of pictures to look at, like this one:
This is from the Living Art of Armando, a Las Vegas act that comes every year to perform in Bares. Bares is both beautiful and naughty, a really fun evening of dance and striptease, all to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the organization founded by the theatrical community that provides both grants for AIDS organizations and direct assistance to PWAs worldwide. There's a little something for everyone in the show. And I have a lot of fun working it -- it's my 8th year, I think. This year we raised over $800,000.
Can you see me in that photo? Hope not. I'm behind the panel to the far left of the photo.
After that (literally, the next day, or in my case, four hours later) I began rehearsals for SLEUTH, one of the productions for the Cape Playhouse. Even though I have somewhat bowed out of theater for the moment to concentrate on my steno, the Cape is something I love to do. Alas, no, we don't get to rehearse at the Cape, we rehearse in NYC.
The Cape Playhouse is literally the last remnant of the "straw hat circuit," where there used to be tons of theaters across the US that shared shows. In a nutshell, it went something like this: All the shows had a stage manager, who was responsible for the maintenance of the show, and each theater had its own stage manager, who was responsible for the running of the show. All the shows would rehearse at the same time, then fan out to their respective first stops on a Friday, and add all the technical elements (lights, sound, props, etc.) on Saturday and Sunday. The show would open on Monday. The show's SM, called the "advance" would take all of the information about the show, including how the show is run (the "calling script," which has all the sound and light cues, and the crew's sheets -- how the props are set, what the crew does during the show, etc.) and travels to the show's next stop. See, the only things that traveled with the show -- besides the actors -- are the costumes, the sound tapes, and any specialty props that would be hard to replicate at other venues. While Show A is playing at Theater 1, the advance is at Theater 2, looking at the set they're building, picking the props for the show,teaching the theater's SM how to call the new show, etc. On Saturday night, all the shows do their last performance. All the theaters strike the show Saturday night. Sunday, the actors all travel to their new locale, as the theaters install the new sets. Sunday night, the advance techs through the show with the crew. Monday afternoon, the actors tech through the show in the new locale, and Monday night, the show opens in its new locale. Repeat until every show has played in every theater.
When I first started SMing on the circuit, there were still three theaters doing this -- the Cape Playhouse, the Ogunquit Playhouse (in Maine) and the Westport Playhouse (in CT.) I was the resident at the Ogunquit Playhouse for four years, before switching over to advancing for the Cape. Now, the only theater still on this contract is the Cape, and they still use the advance/resident SM system.
One of the reasons I love working at the Cape -- and ultimately the reason I left the OP -- are traditions. It's corny and hokey, but I love it. For example, Gertrude Lawrence was a great friend of the Playhouse's, appearing numerous times on the stage and eventually settling in Dennis. Her ghost lives at the theater, and has been known to create havoc when disrespected. July 3rd is her birthday, and as her favorite flowers are hydrangeas, it's imperative that they are delivered to the Playhouse and put in "her" dressing room, under her picture. This year, the flowers were coming from the driveway of her house, which was extra-special, and everyone was hyped up about the flower delivery. It's stuff like that. I love that deference to tradition. When the Ogunquit traditions were paved over -- literally (long and dull story) -- I left.
Anyways, SLEUTH, the comedy murder mystery. Starring Malcolm Gets and Peter Frechette, two of the nicest and finest actors one could ever hope to work with. Go see them!!
One of my other favorite things about the Cape Playhouse is getting to run on Cape Cod. They actually brought us up to the Cape a few days early to rehearse on the set, which was erected in the shop, because there's so much action on the stairs and the second level, neither of which we had in the rehearsal hall. That gave me the chance to get in both a short run and a long run in the five days we had there (normally I'm only there three days, and only get the chance for a long run.)
For the short run, my favorite destination -- Chapin Beach. I tried taking some pictures with my phone, but it just doesn't do it justice. It's just so darn blue and gorgeous. It's about a six-mile trip from either the motel I stay in, or the theater, perfect for an outing. The only thing that's a problem is the complete lack of sidewalks, and the shoulder of the road is graded, to allow for run-off from storms. There's no safe place to run along route 6A except on the road itself, which is the major route to get from wherever one is to wherever one wants to go (if that makes sense.) And as for Massachusetts drivers, they don't call them "Massholes" for nothing.
Rant -- why are there no sidewalks anywhere? We lament about how fat America is getting, but how can they exercise if there are no sidewalks for them to walk on safely? No wonder we've become a car culture.
Once off 6A, it's onto smaller local roads to get down to the beach area. No sidewalks, but much safer. Chapin and Mayflower Beaches are right next to each other, with Corporation Beach just a little further south. I love all three, but Chapin is also next to some protected greenland, and there's a winding path from one end of the beach to about the middle that has dunes on one side and the preserve on the other that's such a treat to be on.
As for my long run, I decided to play it safe, especially as it was the 4th of July weekend, and stick to the one sidewalk I know -- Setucket Road. It's about a mile up to Setucket, then I stuck to the sidewalk all the way down to Rte 134, then up 134 until Bob Crowell Road, then up that until Old Bass River Road. I didn't follow that to its length, as I was only doing 12, and did it by time rather than distance -- turned around at the 1 hour mark, knowing I was doing about 9:30s, so finished a little more than 12 by the time I got back. Not as scenic a route, but there's a lot of good house porn. I love these gorgeous houses. I wish I could own one. Sigh.
The other thing I notice on these runs: I like to be hydrated. And for a long run, I need a sports drink. There are no water fountains on these roads, and the one time I tried to leave water bottles -- since they're all on private property and everyone at the Cape apparently wakes up at 5am -- they were all thrown away. So when I do a long run at the Cape, I wear my knockoff Camelbak with water AND a Feul Belt with sports drink (PowerAde rules! Hey, watch the commercial on the right side of my blog. It don't cost you anything, and it makes the Coca-Cola people -- Fred's Team sponsors -- happy!) I basically look like a friggin' astronaut instead of a distance runner. And there are other runners out there, and yet NONE of them have any water on them. None. Am I a wimp? Are Massachusetts runners made of hardier stock, or are they camels, or just fools? What's going on?
Twelve good miles and change, in just under two hours. Felt good.
I'll repeat that run next time I'm up there, probably adding a few miles.
Tomorrow's the first NYRR Marathon Long Training Run. Don't know how many miles we're supposed to do. Guess I'll find out in the AM. The longest Team run we've done is 12 miles, but I've already done two half marathons. The loops are 6-5-5-4. So are we doing 11, or 16? Hmm...
Lastly, because this is running quite long, I've taken the next podcast step, by getting hosting space at godaddy. The good folks from the second NYC Runners Who Blog and Podcast meetup, some of whom both blog and podcast, gave me some great advice at our last outing. I've got some transcripts to do this weekend, but I'm also going to try to put together podcast #1(!) and get it out there by the end of the week. Eek! I hate the way my voice sounds, and I'm a rotten interviewer, but I'm trying to be Zen about it. It will be what it will be. That's the main reason I haven't put one out yet -- I try writing it and recording it and I'm just too picky. I tried for the better part of two months just to put together a five-minute thing. No dice. This time -- damn the torpedoes!!
Okay, 'nuff chat. Out for a short something before tomorrow's long something.
Talk soon!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A Week of Running Ups and Downs, "A Race Like No Other" Hits Amazon.com, and My Continuing Paranoia
The latest honored members of the Fred's Team Honor Roll:
Jamie "Carboman" Pang
Jim Semmelman
and the money I got from the bake sale
making the total to date for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research
$2595
I'm not shy. I want your money. Not for me, though. For donations to my Fred's Team marathon effort. I'm running on behalf of an amazing cause, and even more importantly, for an amazing little boy, Liam Witt, who is battling neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I really would like to raise $6000 in honor of Liam, who is such an inspiration to me and to the people around him. And with the marathon just over a month away, now is the time. Please click on the links to the side and bottom of the page, and even here. Go on, click.
This has been a pretty good week of running, although it did end on a bit of a downer. After last Saturday's brutal 18-miler -- not brutal because of the mileage, but because of the super-humid soupy weather that we ran it in -- I was really looking forward to stepping it up a notch and proving that bad run a fluke.
Monday I decided to run down in Battery Park City after school. I left my stuff at the gym and took off west down to the park. I went up to about 28th Street and back down, going down a few piers along the way to see what's going on (my favorite thing about running on the west side.) My time was a little slow, which surprised me, as it didn't feel especially slow. Also, Nike+ is completely misbehaving again. It was fine for the 15 miler we did up and down Park Avenue as part of the Summer Streets program, but now it's at least two miles off either too many or too few. I don't get it!!!!!!
Tuesday was a hill workout on Cat Hill. Eight repeats in a row, no stopping. Tough. The key was consistency, and I was pretty consistent. My ups were all between 2:10 and 2:13 (except for one slower and one faster) and my downs were all 2:00 - 2:05.
Wednesday was too nice a day to cross-train. It was cool and windy. So I went for one of my favorite runs, the loop around the Rez in the early evening, as the sun was starting to set. I have to say, if you ever have the chance to run around the Rez in the early morning with the sun rise, or the early evening with the sun set, do it. It's so beautiful. The sky turns this brilliant, rich dark blue, and it's reflected on the water, and the buildings are sillhouetted against the sky and the water -- it's almost worth waking up early for. Here's the thing -- on the way back, I felt my "fast legs" returning. It was like how I felt just before and after the marathon last year, that all of a sudden I had speed without putting out extra effort. It didn't reflect in my run time, but it felt right.
Thursday was a step workout in Riverside Park. When I realized Coach Ann was going to lead it, I (half-jokingly) announced I was leaving, scaring all the newbies to the step workout. Underneath that pretty, mild-mannered exterior lurks the heart of a drill sergeant. She promised she wouldn't be brutal on us, and then proceeded to be just that. I exaggerate. She was half-brutal. Lots of "up the steps, up the hill, up the other hill," which is good for us. And, not to brag but I will, I was leading most of the drills. Yes, I was pushing the effort a little and maybe everyone else was holding back. But still.
So going into Saturday's run, I was feeling pretty good. Jeff had said on Tuesday that this should be a drop-down week, and only do 13. But as we were waiting to begin, Ann told me to try to do 20. (Jeff wasn't at the Thursday or Saturday run.) We were running alongside the NYRR Long Training Run, which was between 6-20 miles, depending on how many loops you wanted to do. Hmmm, what to do. I had mentally and physically prepared for 13. I didn't bring any gels, nor extra Gatorade. I knew that this run would have Gatorade or gels only at the 102nd Street Transverse, or every 5 or 6 miles, depending on what loop you're on (the first loop is 6 miles, the second and third are 5, the last is 4, all starting and ending at the transverse, and it's the one thing I hate about this run.) But I gamely set out for 20.
Liz Robbins, who wrote the book about the NYC marathon that I told you all about, A Race Like No Other, was at the start line, plugging her book -- and so will I! It's available for pre-order on Amazon.com! Get yours today by clicking on the link! Exclamation point!
First six, no problem. It was a little toasty. Stopped at fountains as well as the water stations, which were not as numerous as one would hope (the other thing I hate about this run -- the water stations are primarily on the lower loop of the park, with only one station on the west side and none on the east side after Cat Hill. ) No gels available until after the second loop.
First five mile loop, still feeling okay. My foot was starting to ache (okay, I'm calling Dr. Rock on Monday, this isn't right) and I was starting to feel the effects of not enough Gatorade or water. I drank at all the water stops, but still, I needed some carbs. It was still too early for the vendors to be out, so no extra Gatorade yet.
At the Transverse at the 11 mile (actually, the 11.5-mile mark for me, since we started at the Fred statue) I saw Liz again and she showed me the part of the book I'm in. I'm called "Glotzer," which always makes me giggle. She did one of the five-mile loops, but she's been injured and hasn't been able to run for a while, which sucks. She got to go to Beijing and report on the Olympics, and I'm psyched to hear about that. Drank two cups of Gatorade and took two gels with me. Saw someone from my Team (she was wearing Team shorts) taking a gel with Gatorade. I said "Stop, you'll make yourself sick doing that." She said she did it all the time with no problem. Urgh. To each his own.
Start of loop 3, and I was not happy. My foot was bugging me, and my legs felt like rocks. At the first water stop I took the first gel, and I noticed it was not going down well. I didn't feel sick, but I was burping it up (mmmm, yummy TMI!) which meant it wasn't getting into my system. For the uninitiated: when you run long distances, the body tends to shut down systems you don't need at the moment, like your digestive system, to focus blood and energy resources to your legs and heart. That's why they have these specialty gels and drinks that are simple to break down, so that your barely-working digestive system can process it.
Just before Cat Hill, I developed an urgent need for, as they say on "Car Talk," a haircut. So I headed to the facilities -- no chairs available. And then when one did open up, turns out I didn't need one after all. However, those first familiar pangs of a bladder infection started (as long as we're going for the TMI title, might as well go all the way) which, no pun intended, pissed me off. I was really hoping to make it through the season without one. Alas.
Headed up Cat Hill -- rather, shuffled up Cat Hill, and made it back to the Team spot, mile 16. I was wiped. Didn't want to quit, but the thought of tackling Cat Hill one more time gave me the twinges, so after I finished drinking the watered-down bottle of Gatorade that would've set me up fine for a 13-miler, I set out around the bridle path. Maybe I could finish up the 20 miles this way.
About 30 feet into this loop I realized it was a bad idea. I could barely pick up my legs, and I was dumping so many rocks into my sneakers I might as well have been running barefoot (speaking of which, there was a barefoot runner at the Long Training Run. Ouch.) I barely made it around the loop and called it quits.
Here's the thing. I could've done 20. I could've stopped, rested, bought Gatorade once the vendors came out, taken walk breaks. But I didn't. I ran until I wore down. For no reason. And I'm really disappointed in myself that I only managed to get 18 in, and it was in all honesty probably a little less than that. And slow, to boot. Where did my fast legs go? Where did my endurance go? I did 18 last week too, and wasn't even planning on 20, why should I be disappointed? But I am, because I didn't think it through better, and I knew I could've, and should've. As stupid as it sounds, I've let myself down. And it worries me, because the marathon is only seven weeks away, and I haven't run any 20-milers yet (though I'll have the chance to do three in the coming weeks, before the big taper -- the Tune-Up, the Palisades Run and adding miles to the Staten Island Half in what will be my revenge run for the miserable time I had last year.)
Wow, I just read my post from last year's Long Training Run. I had a much better time, even though that was the day I not only split my compression shorts down both sides of my crotch, I lost a major filling and ended up spending the rest of the weekend obsessing about it so much I went to the emergency room, convinced I was poisoning my brain. PS: I wasn't. I think.
Jamie "Carboman" Pang
Jim Semmelman
and the money I got from the bake sale
making the total to date for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research
$2595
I'm not shy. I want your money. Not for me, though. For donations to my Fred's Team marathon effort. I'm running on behalf of an amazing cause, and even more importantly, for an amazing little boy, Liam Witt, who is battling neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I really would like to raise $6000 in honor of Liam, who is such an inspiration to me and to the people around him. And with the marathon just over a month away, now is the time. Please click on the links to the side and bottom of the page, and even here. Go on, click.
This has been a pretty good week of running, although it did end on a bit of a downer. After last Saturday's brutal 18-miler -- not brutal because of the mileage, but because of the super-humid soupy weather that we ran it in -- I was really looking forward to stepping it up a notch and proving that bad run a fluke.
Monday I decided to run down in Battery Park City after school. I left my stuff at the gym and took off west down to the park. I went up to about 28th Street and back down, going down a few piers along the way to see what's going on (my favorite thing about running on the west side.) My time was a little slow, which surprised me, as it didn't feel especially slow. Also, Nike+ is completely misbehaving again. It was fine for the 15 miler we did up and down Park Avenue as part of the Summer Streets program, but now it's at least two miles off either too many or too few. I don't get it!!!!!!
Tuesday was a hill workout on Cat Hill. Eight repeats in a row, no stopping. Tough. The key was consistency, and I was pretty consistent. My ups were all between 2:10 and 2:13 (except for one slower and one faster) and my downs were all 2:00 - 2:05.
Wednesday was too nice a day to cross-train. It was cool and windy. So I went for one of my favorite runs, the loop around the Rez in the early evening, as the sun was starting to set. I have to say, if you ever have the chance to run around the Rez in the early morning with the sun rise, or the early evening with the sun set, do it. It's so beautiful. The sky turns this brilliant, rich dark blue, and it's reflected on the water, and the buildings are sillhouetted against the sky and the water -- it's almost worth waking up early for. Here's the thing -- on the way back, I felt my "fast legs" returning. It was like how I felt just before and after the marathon last year, that all of a sudden I had speed without putting out extra effort. It didn't reflect in my run time, but it felt right.
Thursday was a step workout in Riverside Park. When I realized Coach Ann was going to lead it, I (half-jokingly) announced I was leaving, scaring all the newbies to the step workout. Underneath that pretty, mild-mannered exterior lurks the heart of a drill sergeant. She promised she wouldn't be brutal on us, and then proceeded to be just that. I exaggerate. She was half-brutal. Lots of "up the steps, up the hill, up the other hill," which is good for us. And, not to brag but I will, I was leading most of the drills. Yes, I was pushing the effort a little and maybe everyone else was holding back. But still.
So going into Saturday's run, I was feeling pretty good. Jeff had said on Tuesday that this should be a drop-down week, and only do 13. But as we were waiting to begin, Ann told me to try to do 20. (Jeff wasn't at the Thursday or Saturday run.) We were running alongside the NYRR Long Training Run, which was between 6-20 miles, depending on how many loops you wanted to do. Hmmm, what to do. I had mentally and physically prepared for 13. I didn't bring any gels, nor extra Gatorade. I knew that this run would have Gatorade or gels only at the 102nd Street Transverse, or every 5 or 6 miles, depending on what loop you're on (the first loop is 6 miles, the second and third are 5, the last is 4, all starting and ending at the transverse, and it's the one thing I hate about this run.) But I gamely set out for 20.
Liz Robbins, who wrote the book about the NYC marathon that I told you all about, A Race Like No Other, was at the start line, plugging her book -- and so will I! It's available for pre-order on Amazon.com! Get yours today by clicking on the link! Exclamation point!
First six, no problem. It was a little toasty. Stopped at fountains as well as the water stations, which were not as numerous as one would hope (the other thing I hate about this run -- the water stations are primarily on the lower loop of the park, with only one station on the west side and none on the east side after Cat Hill. ) No gels available until after the second loop.
First five mile loop, still feeling okay. My foot was starting to ache (okay, I'm calling Dr. Rock on Monday, this isn't right) and I was starting to feel the effects of not enough Gatorade or water. I drank at all the water stops, but still, I needed some carbs. It was still too early for the vendors to be out, so no extra Gatorade yet.
At the Transverse at the 11 mile (actually, the 11.5-mile mark for me, since we started at the Fred statue) I saw Liz again and she showed me the part of the book I'm in. I'm called "Glotzer," which always makes me giggle. She did one of the five-mile loops, but she's been injured and hasn't been able to run for a while, which sucks. She got to go to Beijing and report on the Olympics, and I'm psyched to hear about that. Drank two cups of Gatorade and took two gels with me. Saw someone from my Team (she was wearing Team shorts) taking a gel with Gatorade. I said "Stop, you'll make yourself sick doing that." She said she did it all the time with no problem. Urgh. To each his own.
Start of loop 3, and I was not happy. My foot was bugging me, and my legs felt like rocks. At the first water stop I took the first gel, and I noticed it was not going down well. I didn't feel sick, but I was burping it up (mmmm, yummy TMI!) which meant it wasn't getting into my system. For the uninitiated: when you run long distances, the body tends to shut down systems you don't need at the moment, like your digestive system, to focus blood and energy resources to your legs and heart. That's why they have these specialty gels and drinks that are simple to break down, so that your barely-working digestive system can process it.
Just before Cat Hill, I developed an urgent need for, as they say on "Car Talk," a haircut. So I headed to the facilities -- no chairs available. And then when one did open up, turns out I didn't need one after all. However, those first familiar pangs of a bladder infection started (as long as we're going for the TMI title, might as well go all the way) which, no pun intended, pissed me off. I was really hoping to make it through the season without one. Alas.
Headed up Cat Hill -- rather, shuffled up Cat Hill, and made it back to the Team spot, mile 16. I was wiped. Didn't want to quit, but the thought of tackling Cat Hill one more time gave me the twinges, so after I finished drinking the watered-down bottle of Gatorade that would've set me up fine for a 13-miler, I set out around the bridle path. Maybe I could finish up the 20 miles this way.
About 30 feet into this loop I realized it was a bad idea. I could barely pick up my legs, and I was dumping so many rocks into my sneakers I might as well have been running barefoot (speaking of which, there was a barefoot runner at the Long Training Run. Ouch.) I barely made it around the loop and called it quits.
Here's the thing. I could've done 20. I could've stopped, rested, bought Gatorade once the vendors came out, taken walk breaks. But I didn't. I ran until I wore down. For no reason. And I'm really disappointed in myself that I only managed to get 18 in, and it was in all honesty probably a little less than that. And slow, to boot. Where did my fast legs go? Where did my endurance go? I did 18 last week too, and wasn't even planning on 20, why should I be disappointed? But I am, because I didn't think it through better, and I knew I could've, and should've. As stupid as it sounds, I've let myself down. And it worries me, because the marathon is only seven weeks away, and I haven't run any 20-milers yet (though I'll have the chance to do three in the coming weeks, before the big taper -- the Tune-Up, the Palisades Run and adding miles to the Staten Island Half in what will be my revenge run for the miserable time I had last year.)
Wow, I just read my post from last year's Long Training Run. I had a much better time, even though that was the day I not only split my compression shorts down both sides of my crotch, I lost a major filling and ended up spending the rest of the weekend obsessing about it so much I went to the emergency room, convinced I was poisoning my brain. PS: I wasn't. I think.
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