NPR - Day 2 - F.T.D.

Pat Tyson getting the morning groups ready to run. Look at that studs in the background.

Day two started with a firm knock on my door at 6:30 AM. I awoke went to the bathroom splashed some water on my face to wake me a little more. I returned back to the room, got dressed for a morning shake out run. I grabbed a bite out of a clif bar and took some swigs from my water bottle before heading down to the track to meet with the campers.Once at the track we regrouped into our training groups. The groups then head off for a 20, 30, or 40 minute run. We ran for 40 minutes which was a little over 5 miles, the pace was brisk but not too fast as we have a workout in the afternoon.

After the run the kids are free to stretch, stride and do some drills. Then they are to shower and get ready for breakfast at 8:15 AM. The food for breakfast is the basics, cereal, milk, yogurt, and some fruit. They also have some stations for pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and some egg sandwiches.

Breakfast ends at 9:15 and the kids move to the lecture hall for a seminar. This morning the lecture is from Pat Tyson, Steve McChesney and Bill Dellinger. They are talking to the camp about the 5 Principles of Oregon. Those guys were kind enough to let us in on the secret training that has been working at the University of Oregon since the early 1950's.

Moderation

Injury and burnout are the two biggest problems that any runner experiences. The most common cause is over training. It is better to under train than over train as a runner. "Less is more!"

Progression

This is when you make gradual changes in your training. This is where runners learn to increase mileage early in their training and gradually work toward interval training as the program progresses along.

Adaptability

Is learning to change in situations that are not ideal, but definitely common amongst training programs. Any circumstances that may affect your training like weather or your personal health for example.

Variation

Always change your training. At times you made need to concentrate on speed, endurance, hills and location of your training. By varying your workouts you can stay mentally fresher and strengthen your body.

Callusing

Doing things in your training that will make you mentally and physically tougher. You must be prepared to race in whatever condition you may encounter.

Pat Tyson continued the seminar by walking everyone outside to the nearest field. Here he showed the campers a quick yoga routine and core routine. It was one of the toughest things I have ever done. I felt like I was going to vomit, it was so freaking intense.

Here I am trying out one of the posses during the yoga session.

After the yoga and core, Steve McCee got on the mic and gave a quick speech about all this leads to what he likes to call FTD - Fight the Demons. Basically the demons represent the negative that you may encounter in your life for your training and schoolwork. These come in all forms, from friends wanting to go to the mall instead of running or your mental demons of 'do the core or don't do the core', just to name a few examples.

Then we were dismissed to lunch. If you thought the last two meals sounded good then this lunch wont disappoint either. I cant even remember everything that was on the menu but it started with a loaded salad bar, then moved to appetizers, entrees and desserts as the line progressed. So much food to try and not enough stomach space to try it all!

Lunch had some relaxation time and then some team wiffle ball. The wiffle lasted over the course of 2 days and since I am typing to you a day after day 2 I will let you in on the spoiler. My team finished 2nd in the tournament losing a sudden death bat off in the championship game. It came down to who could hit it the ball the furthest on one pitch. Sad to say that we lost that.

The Boys waiting for the afternoon workout to start.

Wiffle ball merged into the afternoon workout. The workout that the Men of Oregon laid out for the campers was a staple that they used in the 70's. It was a 2:30/1:00 fartlek session. It went 2 minutes 30 seconds hard, then 1 minute of jogging, then 1 minute harder and finished with 2 minutes jogging. We were to repeat the workout over the 5k course, most groups got in 4-6 sets of the workout. They also threw in a 10 minute warm up and however long of a cool down.

After the workout was finished we had an hour of downtime before dinner would start. Most went back to the room to shower and relax. From dinner, which was delicious again, we went to a seminar where there was more talk of FTD and that lead into a chat on Steve Prefontaine and his legacy. The evening wound down with a viewing of Fire on the Track, a documentary on the life of Pre. It was great because many of the speakers in the video are the men that are running this camp.

My head hit the pillow at 10:30 PM to get my body rested and ready for the next day.

Newport Running Camp - Day 1

I am heading up with the Boys and Girls of St. John the Baptist Cross Country for Running Camp 2010. I will give you readers insight on the day to day workings of the camp. I will share my experience with you.

Monday started early, 6:00 AM, had to make the bus at SJB. I arrived at SJB at 7:30 and the bus rolled out of the parking lot at 8:00. We had a long 4 and a half hour drive up to Newport Running Camp, in Newport RI.

The camp is put on by the Men of Oregon, Pat Tyson (Pre's Roommate in College), Matt Cetnrowitz (Previous American 5000 meter Record Holder) and many others that I will name drop throughout the week of camp.

The bus ride was surprisingly smooth sailing through New York, into Connecticut and into Rhode Island. According to the driver, David Wood, we made it in record time for a Monday morning departure. We stopped briefly at the last rest stop in Connecticut grabbed a snack and potty breaks.

We arrived at the camp at 12:30, just as camp registration was starting. By One O'clock I have been introduced to Matt Sr, Matt Jr, Pat Tyson and Steve McChesney (Teammate of Pre). While meeting these fine men they are trying to get a bed for me to sleep on. I am hanging out by the registration area and I meet some more running legends, Bill Dellinger (Bronze Medal 64, and Pre's Coach) and Nick Rogers (2000 Olympian 5000 meters). All the guys are very friendly out going people.

Finally at 3:30 I have a room and a bed? well not exactly someone stole the bed in my room so they can use it in a friends room. I quickly found the bed and got my room set up. We were meeting for a run at 4.

All the kids and counselors gather, Pat Tyson welcomes everyone to camp and we get grouped up and head out for a run. I get grouped with Group 1, kids that have run sub 17 minutes for a 5k XC. There is only about 10 of them so it is a nice small group. The kids want to run for 45 minutes, so that's what I do. After running with them for 45 minutes I added on to make it a full 10 mile run.

We are running around the grounds of a boarding school that has acres and acres of fields. So much land that they are able to make an all grass 5k XC course no problem. The loop turns around the fields, up and down hillside and through some wooded trail. Over all it is a very challenging fun loop.

After the run the kids are free to stretch and do strides if they feel up to it. They are also encouraged to mingle with the other campers and get to know one another. I so happen to be sitting next to Lauren Centrowitz, a post collegiate professional runner. I introduce myself, we get to talking about racing and other things. Extremely nice and friendly atmosphere, just like the others.

The evening wound down with a catered BBQ out by the basketball courts. They had biscuits, cornbread, salad, potato salad, Cole slaw, baked beans, corn, ribs, chicken, steak and ice cream. The meal was so good, I would have to argue that the baked beans were the best beans that I have ever eaten.

That led into a meeting with Intros of the staff, counselors and coaches that were with them this week. They even made myself and Coach Wood introduce ourselves. Then Nick Rogers spoke about his running experiences and other things. That prompted them to a video of the 1964 Olympic 5000 meter final were Bill Dellinger finished in 3rd. After the video there was a quick Q&A for Pat Tyson and he described how the next day would work.

Pat then broke all the campers into 12 teams, I was made Captain of team 11. There is 9 Campers and 2 counselors on the team. We tried to break the ice by coming up with a team name. That was very unsuccessful, one kid googled a bunch of names on his cell phone and came back with Buccaneers, Steelers, and Mighty Ducks. One kids spoke up and said Speedy Soles, I came up with We Are Here for the Food. In the end we voted on the name Speedy Soles.

The teams were dismissed to hangout till lights out at 10:15 PM. Woody arranged a SJB meeting at 9:45, it was meant to be "10 minutes". Anyone that knows Woody knows that's not the case. The meeting went more like 20 minutes, we were dismissed from that and I escaped back to my room to fall asleep and type this blog. Tomorrow looks to be a fun day.

**I have photos to add to this blog but have not uploaded them yet. Once I do that I will add them.**

Run to Cure CF 2010

July - A New Beginning

Last 2 Weeks of Training

June 28th - AM 3 PM 8

June 29th - 9 miles

June 30th - AM 3 PM Workout, 8x400 meter hills @ 5:40 pace jog down recovery 10 total

July 1st - AM 3 PM 5

July 2nd - Easy 7

July 3rd - AM 5 PM 5

July 4th - 16 miles in the trails of Connetqout Park

Week 74 miles YTD 1890 miles

Near the Start of Bellport Clipper Classic

July 5th - AM 3 PM 8

July 6th - 10 miles in crazy heat

July 7th - AM 3 PM 7x60 seconds with 60 seconds rest, 9 total.

July 8th - AM 4 PM 6

July 9th - 7 miles

July 10th - 8 miles

July 11th - AM 5 miles PM Bellport Clipper Classic 5k 9 total

Week Total 72 miles YTD - 1962 miles

Clipper Classic Race Report

At the start of the race a ton of High School and College runners jetted out in an all out sprint. I decided before the race that I would hold back and go through the mile in around 5:10. That is exactly what I did, I hit the 1st mile at 5:12. At that point I had over taken all but two of the HS and College runners that went out too hard.

After the 1st mile I put a surge in to break up the group that I was running with, it worked. I could see the other two guys start coming back to me as well. I spent all of t he 2nd mile gaining ground on the first 2 places. I went through 2 miles in 10:34, a 5:22 mile. I continued to push in the last mile, at this point the 1st place guy pulled away from 2nd place and left him in no mans land. I continued to reel 2nd place in.

As we approached the 3rd mile marker I pulled up on the 2nd place guy and momentarily passed him. We battled for 100 meters and with 100 meters left he found another gear that I didn't have. At that point I threw up the white flag and cruised in for 3rd place at 16:24.

This race I was way more satisfied with then the last one. I kept my shit together the whole time. I will be back in action at the SRC 5k Time Trial next Wednesday and after that who knows.

Weekend Ahead

In the weekend ahead Leonora Joy-Petrina will be running at the Long Island Women's 5k Road Champs in Farmingdale on Saturday. Also participating from SRC will be Katie Rees and a few other women.

On the following day Brendan and a few other SRC guys will be heading over to the Thunder Run 5k at Hidden Pond Park. I look for Brendan to take down my course record of 16:20 through the hills of Hauppauge.

June Update(s)

Sorry for being so slack with the updates, I have been caught up in the World Cup. However now that the USofA has been eliminated I am good to resume my blogging.

My training has been going, not well but not terrible either. Today I tested to see where my fitness is at the Run Around the Lake 4 Miler in Lake Ronkonkoma, NY. Talk about a tough course, for a South Shore Long Islander. I wanted to go out and run conservative at first and then try and work the back half of the course.

So I did the complete opposite of that. I went out in 5:15 and progressively got slower each mile after that. The hills hit me hard in that last mile. What I am taking from this is that it was a good rust busting workout.

I have a few more weeks till my next race and I hope to get in some solid mileage and workouts in to help with the leg turnover. Keep checking for updates on the blog.

On June 19th the 2nd race in the Sayville Summer Series took place, the Diamond Dash Race for a Cure 5k. Here are a few links to race video, results and much more, well not really much more.

Sayville Running Company

Race Video on SRC YouTube

Sayville Summer Series 2010

I know there is not much here to go on, I promise I will update with my actually training during the week, when I have a free moment. Till then Hit The Crete...

June 12th 2010 Recap

So this past weekend was a big one for the Sayville Running Company. The Keith Nintzel 5k, the 1st race in the Sayville Summer Series, came and went. SRC also had a staff member up in Boston running the New Balance Twilight Meet. Overall the weekend was a great success for the crew at Sayville Running Company.

Keith Nintzel 5k

Top honors of the race went to SRC team member Shawn Pollard, clocking in with a time of 15:50. Shawn took the race from the gun and led wire to wire. Check out the race video here:

Here are the results from the rest of the crew from SRC:

1-POLLARD, Shawn 24 PORT JEFF STATION ... Overall Male 15:50.676

4-GREEN, Christopher 24 STONY BROOK NY USA M20-24 16:10.155

5-BARRETT, Casey 20 SAYVILLE NY USA M20-24 16:30.229

7-SIEPIELA, Adam 30 LONG BEACH NY USA M30-34 16:38.713

9-MCCRISTALL, Mike 22 HAUPPAUGE NY USA M20-24 17:00.780

10-SOLTAN, Ryan 26 SAYVILLE NY USA M25-29 17:08.867

12-BARRETT, Brendan 26 SAYVILLE NY USA M25-29 17:15.374

13-MURPHY, Paul 46 SAYVILLE NY USA M45-49 17:16.087

14-GRABOSKY, Jeffrey 27 ALEXANDRIA VA USA M25-29 17:34.000

17-CONNORS, Matt 35 BRIGHTWATERS NY U... M35-39 18:13.173

23-HENDERSON, Tim 40 SAYVILLE NY USA M40-44 19:29.793

28-NOLAN, Michael 47 SAYVILLE NY USA M45-49 19:47.11

36-MULLANEY, Bill 45 SAYVILLE NY USA M45-49 20:04.047

65-CARVER, Eric 44 PATCHOGUE NY USA M40-44 21:13.967

...if I missed anyone I am sorry. Full Results Here

Also a big Thank you and Job well done needs to go out to Brendan Barrett, the guy bends over backwards for the race. I got to see him behind the scenes and he is as dedicated as they come. Great Job!

We also got some other sweet footage from the Race. Check out the finish line camera:

Finishers 15:50 - 26:10 Here

Finishers 26:10 - 36:00 Here

Finishers 36:00 - 45:10 Here

There will be more videos to come from the Keith Nintzel 5k 2010, you can find them on the SRC YouTube Channel. Here is a link to all photos taken at the race from Discover Sayville. Thank you for all the support and we look forward to 2011.

Keep a look out as I will be at the Diamond Dash 5k which is the 2nd race in the Sayville Summer Series on June 19th 2010.

New Balance Boston Twilight Meet 4

Also on Saturday June 12th was the NB Twilight Meet 4 where we had fellow staff member and my wife Leonora Joy-Petrina run in the Featured Women's 5000 meter race. Leo ran a 35 second personal best of 15:50 to win the event by 43 seconds. Check out the Results Here.

Interview with Leo from Flotrack.org

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

You can also check out my previous blog where Leonora ran a very fast workout the Tuesday before this race. Keep checking back to see what Leo decides to do with the rest of her season.

As for me my running is coming along, I will be sure to blog about it shortly. Until the next post Keep On Running!

Workout Tuesday

Workout Tuesday with Leonora Joy-Petrina. Saucony Hurricane and staff member at Sayville Running Company.

In this workout Leonora ran 4x800 in 2:30 with 3 minutes rest and then finished it off with 2x400 in 1:10 with 2 minutes rest. Her actual splits from the workout were 800's - 2:27, 2:29, 2:30, 2:29 and 400's - 1:10, 1:09. Leonora did this workout after she got back from Boston where she raced in the New Balance Invitational Women's Steeplechase on June 5th.

Here are the results:

1 Shayla Houlihan Women Talk S 10:03.73

2 Roisin McGettigan New Balance 10:07.36

3 Leonora Joy-Petrina Saucony/Sayv 10:11.16

4 Jacqueline Wentz MIT 10:13.28

5 Stephanie Reilly NB Boston 10:20.55

6 Andrea Parker Women Talk S 10:26.19

7 Dana Buchanan New Balance 10:55.66

8 Lesley Higgins New York AC 11:02.58

9 Lydia Willemse Canada 11:13.21

10 Stephanie Perleberg Women Talk S 11:44.38

The workout is getting Leonora ready to race at the final New Balance Twilight Meet running in the Invitational 5000 meter race on June 12th. Wish Leonora luck as she heads to Boston for the weekend race.