R.Y.B.O. – A.T.S.

Winter comes early, and lasts long, in Syracuse, NY.  Usually, by the last week in October the first flakes of snow have fallen.  Those harbingers of winter don’t disappear until sometime in April.  In between are over five months of cold, grey bleakness.  

I bring this up because I witnessed the first frost of the year this Saturday.  The Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting a harsh winter.  In anticipation, I fished my winter running clothes out from the depths of my closet. 

In the fall of my freshman year, after the crew team retreated from the boathouse on Onondaga to the tanks and weights in Archbold Gymnasium, we began the first of four winter training cycles I experienced at SU.  The freshman crew team had (thankfully) shorter workouts than the varsity team, but we were aware of their workouts because they were posted, each day, on the wall outside of Head Coach Sanford’s office.

At the bottom of each workout, after the weights to be lifted, minutes in the tanks to be rowed and stairs or miles to be run, were the letters ATS.  I assumed those were coach’s initials until I realized his name was William E. Sanford.  It wasn’t until I became a varsity oarsman the next year that I discovered those letters stood for And Then Some.

ATS was Coach Sanford’s shorthand for some additional calisthenics.  ATS was always the same:  100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 200 back arches and 200 sit-ups.  It was the athlete’s option to determine what order, or how many sets, it took to reach those numbers, but we held each other accountable to complete those exercises.

As I talk to other runners I am hearing common themes.  “My racing season is over.”  “I am taking some time off.”  “I’m running fewer miles.”  “I’m trying to figure out my next race and what I want to do to prepare for it.” 

This all fits the concept of periodization which is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training.  It involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period.  It is a way of alternating training to peak for racing season. 

I am in the recovery phase of my training.  My training volume is still pretty high, but the intensity is not.  In addition, I am doing some calisthenics to help build core strength and general fitness.  I have my own daily ATS ritual:  10 pull-ups, 120 lunges, 20 push-ups and 1 minute planks.  This won’t lead to a Schwarzenegger-esque body, but even after one week, I feel a fullness in my muscles. 

Thinking of the spring will help me through the winter months.  There is a cheer Syracuse crews gave as we pushed off from the dock on our way to race - R.Y.B.O.  I’ll let your imagination come up with what those initials stand for, but it is PG rated. 

You can adopt a variation as you head out for your next race - R.Y.B.O.

Sometimes

Two and half miles, as the crow flies, from the house I grew up in Montclair, NJ, on the crest of the third Watchung ridge, sits the Eagle Rock Reservation.  It is notable for the Essex County September 11th Memorial.  It was from this vantage point that citizens gathered to watch the events unfold 17 miles away on that fateful day twelve years ago.

Last Sunday I was in New Jersey and ran one final lap around my hometown.  I ran up Crest Dr. (aka Snake Hill Road) arriving at the ridge about 30 minutes past dawn.  It was a stunning sunrise and a photographer was there capturing the skyline.  The temperature was about 47 degrees with a still, cloudless sky.  

It was a run down memory lane for me.  I ran past landmarks that held importance to me including the Montclair Art Museum where I once worked checking coats.  I ran past houses I had painted and lawns I had mowed.  As I passed houses of old friends I wondered if the families still lived there. 

I ran past my old high school, stopping at the amphitheatre where my graduation was held.  I paused at the George Innes Annex, where freshman had their classes, with its segregated boys and girls gyms.  I ran past my old elementary and middle schools as well.

My spirits were sinking as I moved on.  Montclair is a beautiful town and I’m proud to have grown up there.  I’ve run along these streets many times, but this time the scene was tinged with sorrow.  I didn’t know when, or if, I would run this way again. 

It was at that low point when I spotted a figure running about 200 yards ahead of me.  There is no joy quite like gaining on, and passing, another runner.  I overtook that runner quickly and saw another runner, which I passed as well.  I was soon passing small groups of runners when I hear a voice call out “Hey, I know the Boulder Running Company!”  The shirt I was wearing had that store’s logo printed on my back.  The runner who spotted the logo had been to the location near South West Plaza Mall. 

I had stumbled into the tail end of the Fleet Feet Fall Marathon Training Run which was a supported 20 mile group run that crisscrossed Montclair.  The runners in this little pack were training for the New York City Marathon.  Entry into that race is about as hard to come by as a Rockies victory.  Meeting the runners broke my preoccupation and put me in a great mood.  

Friday night I cashed in the gift certificate to the Buckhorn Exchange that I won at this spring’s Platte River ½ Marathon.  Mary and I had dinner guests and I brought home three Dutch Lunches and three Dutch Apple Pie slices.  We savored the spoils of my victory.

An Active Insider email I received this week issued a 30-Day Lunge Challenge, so I printed out the 30-Day Lunge Tracker calendar started the program.  Today I was able to do 100 lunges (30 front, 20 right side, 20 left side, 30 reverse plus 10 scissor lunges) at one time, though I had to rest between sets.  This will give me something new to obsess about. 

Clocks Don’t Lie

So, I competed in the American Discovery Trail Marathon last Monday.  It was a sunny day.  There had been severe thunderstorms during the week and the trail was soft and loose.  The soft trail, coupled with the warm temperature and a strong head wind, contributed to slower times for most of the competitors.

Gerald Romero, who last year set a Masters course record of 2:49:57, finished this year’s event just two minutes ahead of me.  When asked for his assessment of the eleven minute difference between this year’s result and last year’s he just shrugged his shoulders. 

My time was 3:02:57, which placed me ninth overall, third place amongst the Masters Men, and earned me $100.  That money will buy me a new pair of running shoes from Runners Roost. 

I snaked around the course a fair amount.  My Garmin Forerunner indicated I had run 26.7 miles, about a half mile longer than the stated distance.  If the marathon route was a straight line, and I had run at an angle to that straight line, I would have run about 5.15 miles off course. 

As we awaited the awards ceremony, Jonathan Drout (Masters winner – 2:55:54), Courtenay Brown (first female – 3:07:08) and I discussed the race.  This was Courtenay’s first marathon.  She competes in triathlons and loves to run.  Jonathan was lamenting that he he’d only recently started running. 

There were many photos taken by Christian Murdock of The Colorado Springs Gazette. 

Mentally preparing for the race.

The start delayed five minutes for late arrivers.

The hounds are released.

200 meters to go.

Tuesday’s Phidippides track workout was a fartlek run in Cherry Creek State Park.  I had the privilege of running out with Mike Chessnoe.  Mike is 72 years old and regularly places in his age group.  We talked about competing and how much fun it is to train for events.  We are all at an age where an accident or injury could end our racing.  Each race is something to be cherished.  Mike is a role model for many.

I had the equally distinct privilege of running the return leg with Noah Turbyfill who is 12 years old.  Noah is just starting to compete and also places in his age group.  We said very few words.  He has a whole lifetime of races awaiting him.  What a thrill.  Noah is wide-eyed and fast.