LET’S GET STARTED RUNNING FOR LIFE………YOUR LIFE

MOTIVATIONAL ARTICLES

My Story by Derrick Roberts

Overcoming All Obstacles

You will run slower and slower in absolute speeds. But using age graded results your time can actually improve.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY running has always been second nature to me. I have been an avid runner since I was a very young boy. Running gave me tremendous freedom and control of my mind, body, & spirit. Every-day I would run 3 – 6 miles to loosen up mentally, physically, & spiritually to think my life choices through. Before I would make any and all decisions when I was growing up, I would go for a long run and once that run was completed I would have constructed a creative solution to whatever problem I was challenged with. Unbeknownst to me I was learning strategic & critical thinking. Running taught me disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

As we all know habit becomes lifestyle and running was my lifestyle. As a College Football player I was one of the fastest running backs on the team at a bodyweight of 218 lbs. I maneuvered through my college years and into my young professional life through running. Running gave me discipline, desire, determination, and my drive to succeed in my extremely challenging life. It kept pushing me to always be the best that I could be and I was grateful for such an unforgiving taskmaster.
As I entered my 20’s, 30’s 40’s throughout all the years of character building and hard work, running kept telling me too work even harder, faster, and smarter. Running appeared to be within my DNA. So much so that my first born son – Dominic Berger took up running as a child and became All – American Hurdler at the University of Maryland. He won numerous USATF Junior National, NACAC & ACC Championships. as well as taking 2nd place in the 60MH at 2014 USATF Indoor Nationals and making the World Team in 2014. Dominic graduated from the University of Maryland in 2009 with a BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In 2002 running convinced me to become an entrepreneur and I opened my own corporation. By 2006 my accomplishments were recognized by Martha Stewart and I became a contributing Editor for Oprah Home magazine. I would spend hours running and thinking how to enhance my product and revolutionize my industry. Running became this drug that totally focused my mind, body, & spirit. I remember once trying to explain to my father in law the emotions I felt while running. My wife at the time kicked me under the table and said shut before my father starts thinking that you are crazy. I guess it was a missed opportunity for me to share my devout passion of running. To this day I have never been able to truly share my thoughts aloud regarding this love I have for running. Even as I am writing this article I haven’t run yet, and my mind is like why don’t you go running and then complete your article?

I guess there is running and then there is addiction. I am very grateful that I am addicted to the wonderful activity called running. In my eyes there are no negative consequences from creating a healthy mind, body, and spirit. In 2008 – 2009 the financial market crisis sunk my business and I turned to running to comfort me once again. Financial Markets worldwide were collapsing and the world was financially hurting. Through running I was able to think through my problems and survive the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

Then in June of 2012 tragedy came knocking at my door again. This time instead of my finances being attacked again it was my health.

I got up that morning and ran 10 – miles without stretching or cooling down. I immediately hopped into the shower as I normally do and ran out the door. It was a sunny June day and I was teaching my son who was 8 yrs. old at the time to ride a bicycle. As I was running behind him holding his seat, a baseball rolled under his bike and I stepped on it falling awkwardly. As I was falling I could hear the tendon rupture in one of my quadriceps. The injury is technically called a bilateral quadriceps rupture. I watched right before my eyes as my kneecap just dropped and my nicely developed muscles were no longer attached to the bones.

As I am laying on the ground I am saying to myself, oh God first my business and now my health? The guy who is a dedicated runner is now unable to walk. As I fast forward – I was taken by ambulance to the local hospital and had surgery two days later to reconnect my quadriceps muscles. The process of rehabilitation was all I was thinking about. Remembering that running instilled in me discipline, desire, determination, and the drive to succeed. This to me was just another obstacle I needed to endure, learn from, and then hurdle over. I had to quickly find a way to adjust my mindset. I was losing something more valuable than life itself in my eyes.

I had to study up on my injury and then plot my plan of attack from a mental and physical point of view.

If you’ve ever experienced a sports injury, you’re probably familiar with that sinking feeling after hearing a pop or tear followed by a sharp pain. Your mind races as you consider recovery time and the impact it will have on your life. But if the stress and frustration turns into long-term feelings of hopelessness, being upset about your injury could escalate to depression. I lost my physical outlet of running as well as an immediate change in my day-to-day life schedule. I spent my teen years to adulthood focused on training and preparation. Now living with an injury that changes my daily routine is a MAJOR adjustment. I said to myself, every athlete has some sort of physical obstacle in their professional career. So it is really just a part of your identity now…

The fact that I had been running for the majority of my life, and this was the first time I had had it taken away from me, it made me realize how much I loved the running, and that was the valuable strategy I used for coping with my injury and not allowing depression to sink in. I had to channel my athletic energy in another direction: through what running had initially taught me as a teenager. Visualization – I used mental images to influence my bodily process of controlling my pain and healing. I refused to take the pain meds prescribed to me. I was taking control back from my physical setback. I felt, if you’re more grateful then you’re more likely to work harder in rehab and enjoy it and appreciate it. Through it all a greater sense of self-worth and purpose was found within me.

In conclusion – I will never be the physical athlete that I was, but I am 10 times mentally stronger than the athlete I was. I am back at work, running 8 – 12 miles per day and still pushing it to the limit every-day while pursuing new career opportunities in media & broadcasting.

My Late Start

Featured Article: "My Late Start at Age 74"

PART I: GETTING STARTED

By Ellin Grossman

I should amend this to read: Running 74-90. It could be any age, the age that you decide to walk or run. First you must decide that you want to get fit, get in shape, and become active. In my case, it was a gradual realization that I needed to take some positive steps for better health and appearance. Don’t discount looks. This is a powerful motivator.

I retired from my university teaching job at age 65, spent the next 10 years focused on my family and my young grandchildren, and then at 74 looked at myself—and my life style—with a critical eye. I had done Pilates for many years—so I was flexible and reasonably strong—but I had gained about 15 pounds and was, essentially, inactive. My knees were very swollen (from inflammatory arthritis), my blood pressure and my cholesterol levels were high, and I was inactive. I had never run, never played ball sports, and did not have a clear idea of what to do, not even what I would like to do or could do. Running never crossed my mind. It had never been an option for me, growing up in New York City, attending a public high school. Running? It was never in my consciousness; girls didn’t run. Remember that this was before the running and fitness revolutions of the late 1960s and 1970s changed the way we looked at sport—and particularly of girls and women.

By luck or good fortune, I started working out at a local gym with a personal trainer, David Segal. After a year of walking and weights, he invited me to run the length of the gym, a distance of 25 yards. Wow! That was fun. Could I do this again? I was ready for a new challenge. That is how I began to run. It was running as a reward for consistent strength training, regular walking, rest/recovery days and thoughtful, energizing eating. Running can be a casual activity or it can be goal-centered. In my own case, I like having a goal, or rather, goals of the way to fitness, better looks, endurance, and speed. Now I am on the st those extra 15 pounds. My blood pressure plummeted and remained in the low normal range, my cholesterol level also fell to low normal. Most people think that I look much younger than my actual age.

verge of turning 80. It’s scary, worse than Halloween. What will happen? It’s a page in my logbook, I like to think, and I expect to run a PR (personal record) in my next 5K race (3.1 miles). This week my coach said I had a breakthrough run—and I’m counting on running faster. Along with running and eating (better and more frequently) I lo

WHENEVER YOU DECIDE TO GET STRONGER, FITTER AND LOOK BETTER.… FIND A COACH!

Inquire at your local gym and talk to fitness instructors to see if you are compatible. If you want to run, be sure that your coach will transition you to running (in addition to a strength and fitness program).

WALK, THEN RUN

Get your doctor’s approval before starting a running program.

Be sure that you can comfortably walk before your run. A common objective is to walk 10,000 steps a day as a prelude to running. That’s roughly the equivalent of 5 miles, counting all the steps you take in an average day plus whatever walking you add for exercise. Buy a pedometer to count your steps. Choose the least expensive pedometer because you will certainly break it. It will work for a while and then you will either drop it, killing its mechanism or drown it in the bathroom. One trick to add steps to your day is to choose the parking spot farthest—not closest—from the target grocery or other store. I still do that from force of habit. Walk up stairs

Start by running short distances at a slow pace. You may want to try the RUN/WALK method, in which you run for a short distance (lamppost to lamppost, for example) and then run the same distance. You could also run by time, say, run for two minutes and walk for 3 minutes. This increases your heart rate while also allowing for recovery. As you become stronger and increase your fitness, run more and walk less. Running can be a casual activity or it can become goal-centered. In my own case, I enjoy having a goal that I work to meet, even though the progress may be slow. I never appreciated the challenge of running faster by 60 seconds over 3.1 miles. I thought that this would be easy to do. Not so!

MY 5-YEAR PROGRESS REPORT

For me, and to my surprise, running proved to be a good fit. It took alI my courage to race in a crowded field of almost all younger runners. I persisted, and have completed 55 races in the past 5 years, almost all 5K (3.1 miles) distance. I frequently win or place in my age category (sometimes a challenge to do when the highest age group is 60 years and over). I have a wall full of ribbons, trophies, plaques and cups, and I love every one of them, as a record of what I have accomplished. I learned what All-American means and qualified through USA Track & Field and National Masters News, in long distance running in 2011, 2012 and 2013. I also earned the Phidippides Award for Outstanding Performance and Endurance in Long Distance Award (gold in 2011, silver in 2012—2013 is not over). If you are interested in reading about older runners (in general over 40 years), subscribe to National Masters News.

READ FOR INSPIRATION AND KNOWLEDGE

Read about running in running magazines and books for fun, inspiration, knowledge and history (see Reading About Running)Keep a record of your walks, runs and exercises to chart your progress. There are a number of print or online logbooks that help you organize and track your progress. Over time you can see how temperature, humidity, sleep, nutrition and hydration affect your runs. The best running gift I received from my coach was a running journal. Once you begin, you will want to continue to track your running and strength. This is in effect a training book—a dated record of my running activities and how I felt during that training (or racing) run.

My coach gave me my first running log (Run Log: Diary and Guide for the Runner, by Tim Houts –McGraw Hill). I had no idea at the time what it was all about; now I appreciate the value. You do not need to share your training book with anyone; feel free to be brutally honest. The training log is for YOU and for your improvement!

Many “older” runners ran in high school, college or beyond. They have the advantage of “muscle memory” which is a big help, and cannot be duplicated. On the other hand, they may also have the disadvantage of past injuries that re-emerge as sore knees, ankles or shins, and of less than ideal form. I had never run on a track until a few years ago; now it’s my absolutely favorite place to train. I love the fact that it is a known distance and I can compare my times. Sometimes I regret that I don’t have those early track memories that many runners have. At the same time, I appreciate how vivid these recent running events are to me.

RUNNING AS AN OLDER RUNNER

If you start as an older runner, you will probably run with younger runners. They may be 20 or 30 years younger. Embrace the idea, it’s much more fun as long as you understand and accept the fact that they have an age advantage (which could be modified by age-grading). The fact of the matter is that men run faster than women, and younger runners are faster than older runners, with some notable exceptions. Work on the principle that I hear from my coach, to be the very best that you can be.

Before you start a running program, find a good coach who can guide you, teach you proper running form, and help you with a strength program as well as your running. He or she can also guide you in good eating. You will be very happy that you have an experiences, unbiased coach watching you progress without injury. Don’t try a do-it-yourself running program. Virtually all elite, professional runners, who know a great deal more than beginners, have coaches; if they need coaching, certainly you do.

PART 2: RUNNING FUNDAMENTALS FOR RUNNERS OF ALL LEVELS

CONSIDER YOUR WEIGHT AND BODY FAT

This is a good time to monitor and adjust your weight. Running alone does not automatically lead to weight loss, which is what most of us desire. A rough estimate is that you burn 100 calories for each mile run, which seems unfair (too little) to anyone running to lose weight. If weight loss is a goal, you will need to monitor what you eat. Try an online APP such as LoseIt, which I follow, to chart calories, nutrients, percentages of protein, carbs and fat, as well as calories expended in exercise. This is an easy and efficient way to track your food intake and calories expended for the day, week or over a longer time period. As you exercise, you will tend to gain muscle and lose fat (muscle weighs more than fat so you may see a slight initial weight gain).

HYDRATION

This is a challenge but necessary. Lots of water! Take your weight in pounds, divide in half to arrive at your approximate water goal in ounces for the day. It’s a high number but absolutely necessary, particularly on hot humid days. Don’t try to tank up on water the day before a race, instead start 3 or 4 days earlier to hydrate properly. On days when you sweat a lot, and expend high energy, consider replacing some of the lost water and electrolytes with a sports drink.

(Note: you will find that if you do not hydrate properly you will look more wrinkly than usual. In addition to keeping your running body well primed, water keeps your skin smoother. Furthermore, if you run hard when dehydrated, you may experience muscle cramps in your calves or legs after running. This is a very painful learning experience)

ON EATING (SEE PART 3 FOR A MEAL PLAN)

I eat three meals a day plus a mid-morning snack, and afternoon snack, and an after dinner snack! There may be an additional recovery snack after a run of 45 minutes – 1 hour. Following a formula, we calculated my maintenance calories (approximately 115 pounds and 1500 calories). I follow an amazing meal plan written by my coach — see PART III MEAL PLANS. It’s easy to follow, flexible, satisfying and energizing. Lots of interesting and tasty foods and combinations included. DO NOT EAT A BIG MEAL the night before racing. Instead, ease up on eating for at least a day or two prior to racing so that your digestive tract is not too full! It is a necessary challenge to eat enough to keep energized but not too full, and hydrate enough – but not too much.

REST DAYS ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. At first I resisted the idea of rest days (why give up a run that made me feel good?). Eventually I accepted the idea that I needed rest days, and could enjoy them, usually after 2 or 3 days of challenging running. You will need rest days to stay energized and uninjured. This equates to 1-2 rest days per week. I have not had any problems or injuries in 5 years of running.

PHYSICIAN’S OK

Visit your doctor before you begin walking or running for an official approval. Your doctor will check your heart, blood pressure, blood count, weight, knees, legs, feet and the rest of you. Don’t skip this step.

WEIGHT TRAINING AND STRETCHING

Running involves your whole body, arms and shoulders, your core muscles plus legs, hips, knees, ankles and feet. It seems counter-intuitive when you are told to strengthen your arms in order to run fast—but it’s true! Your arms propel you forward and increase your leg turnover. If you haven’t used weights and machines to increase your strength, resolve to do so—with proper instruction. In my opinion, this is not a do-it-yourself casual activity. It’s important to do this correctly and not get hurt in the process—your coach will guide you.

RUN SAFELY

I always wear an identification bracelet when I run alone (see ROAD ID). This gives my name, city, address, phone number, and two emergency contacts. If you have particular medical problems, order your ID tag with medical information.

I do not run with music although many runners do. I want to be able to hear approaching runners, bicycles, baby strollers, hostile dogs, cars, as well as stalkers or potential pickpockets. Even a “safe” neighborhood is not always safe.

RUNNING SHOES

You need good shoes that fit! You may have to try numerous brands and models to solve this fundamental requirement! Be sure to find the best specialty running store in your neighborhood and get properly fitted. There are many choices of shoe brands around, and each model is updated frequently. A good running store will let you try several shoes for comparison, and go for a short run in the store or on the street. They usually have a generous return policy. It’s impossible to judge the fit from the way the shoes look. Be open to the gorgeous current color combinations that are available but concentrate on fit , comfort and function.

SPEED WORK ON THE TRACK (ADVANCED)

As you advance in your running experience, and you are lucky enough to run on a track, you may need track shoes, those lightweight flat shoes with impressive spikes on the bottom. Try them on and you become Wonder Woman! You can fly, no matter your actual age!

RUNNING CLOTHES

I must confess that I buy more running clothes than regular clothes these days. But don’t forget that you must occasionally dress for activities other than running. For running: think shorts, tights, socks, sports bras, shirts, jackets—there’s an enormous selection out there, light weight technical fabrics that dry fast, and keep you dry, cool or warm, depending on the season and the temperature. The array of bright or dark color schemes with zingy color combinations is motivating! Take the time to try them out! Men, also: don’t forget that the new fabrics keep you cool in summer and warm in winter. You can also look snappy. Treat yourself to new running shoes or an outfit as you progress! I believe that you ran faster if you are comfortable and feel and look your best. On cold runs, add gloves and a cap to retain body warmth.

Take a look at Lululemon clothes, a relatively new Canadian based company, offering stylish, comfortable running clothes, as well as standbys like Nike, Adidas, etc. Avoid heavy cotton shirts and baggy shorts that weigh you down and look dated.

RACING

After you are comfortable running, you may benefit from racing. I had to gather my courage to race with hundreds, even thousands of runners, virtually all years or decades younger than me. I resolved to run against my own prior performance or against master’s age standards.

Most communities today offer a variety of races or fun runs. For me, the ideal distance has been the 5K (3.1 miles). It’s long enough to be a challenge, require fitness and endurance, but short enough to finish. I now have in mind the Mile race, a classic but often neglected distance.

I found that just getting to the start line is a challenge in itself. You must be organized, look for an appropriate race, find the location, scout the race course, sign up (often you can register online in advance), pay the entrance fee (usually $20 to $30) and pick up your race packet on the designated day at the listed place (typically at a local running store). Start a notebook and stay organized. The packet contains parking directions, often the race route, a race number with safety pins to attach it to your shirt, and an electronic timing chip, generally attached to the reverse side of your race number. If you are being timed, the chip will register the exact time that you cross the start line and the finish line, and will calculate your chip time (minutes, seconds, and fractions of seconds that you ran between the start and finish lines). If it is a large race with hundreds or even thousands of runners, there is often a significant difference between the times that different runners cross the start line.

You will become sensitized to the difference in minutes and seconds if you are trying for a PR (personal record) or comparing yourself with other runners in your age group. You may be the only runner over 60, or 65, or 70. Do not let this age barrier discourage you. Run your best!

WARM UP AND COOL DOWN

You would not think that this is a controversial subject but it is! Passions run high between the Warm Up followers and the faction that believes in minimal or no warm up before and after running. I follow my coach’s substantial warm up routine. I know from experience that it takes me considerably more time to warm up than runners 15 or 20 years younger. Without warming up, I do not have enough air and lungpower to keep me running fast. Before hard running, I jog ½ mile and follow a stretching routine, run with high knees and then strides (short distances at a good speed). The cool down routine incorporates ¼ mile jog minimum. I believe warm ups and cool downs have kept me running injury free and it’s like brushing your teeth in the morning—just do it, don’t think.

After you run, you should shower, change, and have a snack such as chocolate milk or a banana. If you are at a race, eat up and stay around for the awards ceremony. A cold drink, a banana, and a bagel with cream cheese taste their best after racing. If you win an award, enjoy your coffee mug or ribbon, and start your collection. This really is fun.

For information on Masters Athletics, contact National Masters News

www.nationalmastersnews.com

nminfo@nationalmastersnews.com

You can find the standards for races of different lengths for men and women, in 5-year brackets from age 40 and up (in certain events, age 30 and up). You can then determine your relative ranking.

For example, the USATF Road Running Standard of Excellence for Women Age 75-79 is 38:38. At 80 the Standard becomes 43:05—a huge difference. Also, the Gold Phidippides Award for 70-79 requires 16 points (or 16 5K races). At 80+ years, only 8 points are required (e.g. 8 5K races—exactly half the number required below 80).

I have finished approximately 53 5K races with a PR of 37:46.32. I am trying for 37:45 or better this year!

To keep an online accurate record of your races, log on to

http://athlinks.com

then follow the prompts.

For identification tags: www.RoadID.com

SAMPLE RUNNING WORKOUTS

Some of the running workouts I often complete are: run 3 miles (approx.); run 4 miles; run the distance alternating fast running with jog segments etc. I follow my coach’s overall schedule. On my own, I would not know how to balance long, short, intense, easy, hill, track, speed and other factors, plus modifying them for heat, humidity, cold, rain, wind and other conditions in a rational and productive way. I could come up with some sort of scheme but I am not objective enough or experienced enough to do it so that it would achieve the results I want. I probably would not even know exactly what results I should attempt.

What am I trying to achieve? Should I aim to speed up by seconds or minutes? What value should I assign to 1 second or to10 seconds? Virtually none, and yet I am looking for an improvement of 1 second right now, to beat my current best time for the 5K. (This is not to deny that, in my heart, I am looking to run 1 minute and not 1 second faster). How to achieve that? Here’s where I need an unbiased coach.

BREAK-THROUGH DAYS!

You never know when this will happen. This week at a track workout I felt stronger and faster, without any particular reason. I just felt it. And yet…my coach also saw something…he said I was running, NOT PLODDING (the absolute worst criticism). Maybe I am getting there, wherever there is and how fast…

Running is a living process and I’m still living, still running.

I do my best to RUN, not plod.

PART 3: MEAL PLANS BY DAVID SEGAL

by David Segal

Here are ideas for meals, based on eating Breakfast, Mid- morning snack, Lunch, Afternoon snack, Dinner and Snack. Eating this way, your exercise and running will be fueled – and you will never become ravenously hungry. The trick is to eat the appropriate amount of food– spaced throughout your day. Make 1 selection from each group, such as breakfast—NOT all the selections. There is a separate listing of Eating Suggestions after Strenuous Exercise such as Spinning or 45-60 Minute Run. Eating this way, you will find that you are never hungry, that you can reach—and maintain—your goal weight, and that you are properly fueled for your runs.

Along with the Meal Plan, you should calculate the number of calories you need simply to live (see the following formula). You need a certain amount of calories to live and to maintain your body weight. Strenuous exercise demands additional calories. You will certainly lose weight with running; however, weight loss will be greater if you appreciate that 80% of weight loss takes place in the preparation and selection of the foods that you eat!

You should record calories consumed daily using an APP such as LOSE IT, which not only counts your calories and records your exercise expenditures, but also provides a breakdown of your daily percentages of CARBOHYDRATES, FATS and PROTEINS, as well as your goal weight and progress toward that goal.

After a few weeks of using LOSE IT, you will have your favorite exercises in your profile, along with your preferred foods and meals, and keeping track will be quite simple. You will be able to compare your food intake, exercise calories consumed, and weight from week to week. In this way you can track your progress over weeks and months.

How to Calculate Your Daily Calorie Requirements and Consumption

How many calories a day do I need to consume to maintain my weight?

If I exercise how does that affect that number?

If I want to lose weight how should I adjust the daily caloric intake?

Basic premise: to maintain weight, calories in should equal calories consumed.

To gain weight I should eat more than my Active Metabolic Rate (AMR) —- what’s that? See below

To lose weight I should somehow use more calories than my AMR — by running, walking, working out with my nice trainer at the gym or elsewhere!

To do the necessary calculations you will need:

Your weight in pounds

Your age

Height in inches

Your sex

First of all we need to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate); these are the calories your body burns for you just to stay alive. Here’s the formula for females:

BMR = 655 + (4.3 x Weight) + (4.7 x 78)?

Next we need to factor in your lifestyle by calculating your AM (Activity Modifier). If you exercise pretty much 4-5 days a week your AM is 1.40 (for females).

Don’t get too excited about this number; just accept it as we will be using it in our final formula.

Finally we will calculate your AMR (Active Metabolic Rate).

Your AMR represents the calories you need to consume daily to maintain your current weight. Don’t forget in my third sentence above I indicate that you can alter this total calorie consumption to either lose weight or gain weight by eating less and exercising more, or eating more and exercising less.

AMR = total (BMR) X (AM)

= calories/day

Note that this number does not reflect extraordinary exercise such as running 3 miles, walking 10,000 steps (approximately 2.5 miles), or riding the elliptical trainer for 45 minutes.

A very rough rule of thumb is that you will use approximately 95 – 130 calories per mile or for every 15 minutes on the elliptical if your weight is between 110lb and 140lb.

If you do any of these exercises you should ADD their caloric value to your daily calorie total. Your resulting number will tell you how many calories you still need to eat to meet your daily goal for either weight loss or weight gain.

These calculations are NOT as difficult as they appear IF you use the calculator on you iPhone or smartphone to help with the arithmetic. Please take the time to go through the 18.

AFTER you have gone through the calculations, you can do a rough check by using an online calorie calculator such as the following:

www.mayoclinic.com

calorie calculator

There are many tools on the internet that explain these concepts. Do a Google search. Download the free application called Lose It.

After you initially set up the app you can populate the program with your specific daily food consumption and exercise regimen. It can become your conscience and daily eating record.

BREAKFAST — Select ONE

Irish Oatmeal (such as McCann’s instant Irish oatmeal made with whole grain oats; NO sugar): ½ cup cooked oatmeal
With banana, strawberries, blueberries
Drink: hot tea, low fat chocolate milk, small fresh squeezed
Orange juice
½ cup of low fat cottage cheese or 0% or low fat yogurt with same fruit as above and choice of drink
2 boiled eggs, English muffin or whole grain bread (cut into toast fingers)
4-6 oz. vegetable juice, ¾ cup of egg substitute, with spinach, onions and 1 oz. reduced fat cheese such as Laughing Cow Light flavor French Onion or Garlic & Herb (35 calories per wedge)

MID MORNING SNACK—Select ONE

1 part-skim mozzarella cheese stick
2 slices of turkey breast wrapped in a lettuce leaf with non-fat mayo, strips of red bell pepper
1 celery stick with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese + one whole grain cracker
½ grapefruit and ½ cup of 2% low fat cottage cheese

LUNCH—Select ONE

One slice whole wheat bread or English muffin,3 oz. turkey breast, veggies to nibble—tomato, celery, carrots, lettuce
4 oz. cooked shrimp with a mountain of salad greens and veggies. 1 TBSP low fat dressing. A 100- calorie cup of low fat yogurt
Chef’s salad with 1 oz. ham, turkey, low fat cheese on mixed greens
4 ozs. grilled 96% fat free hamburger or 4 ozs of tuna with a large tossed salad and mixed veggies + low fat salad dressing
4 ozs. chopped or sliced chicken on salad greens with low fat dressing. Choice of fresh fruit

AFTERNOON SNACK—Select ONE

½ cup low fat cottage cheese with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers
3 oz. Hummus (store bought) to dip with mixed veggies
Up to 10 cherry tomatoes or 10 slices of cucumber with ½ cup low fat cottage cheese
2 slices of turkey breast (see morning snack)

DINNER – Select ONE

Choice of 4 ozs. steak (trim the fat), chicken, or 4 ozs tilapia, salmon, tuna or other white fish with
Steamed broccoli, 3 ozs. Yams (sweet potatoes) OR brown rice OR mashed cooked cauliflower (great substitute for potatoes or rice), grilled tomato
Salad with any of the above dinner entrees plus choice of veggies

SNACK/DESSERT—Select ONE

½ cup part-skim Ricotta cheese, ¼ tsp vanilla extract or coffee flavoring
100 calorie non fat dessert
½ cup low fat vanilla or chocolate pudding
5 dates
2 ozs. walnuts

OTHER CHOICES

You can also put together meals with almost any amount of the following CARBS:
Apples,oranges, pears, peaches, berries, bananas, pineapple.
These should be fresh fruit NOT canned because of the added sugar
Ok veggies are any of those mentioned above plus eggplant
Other good carbs in moderation include Cereals (sugar free), pasta, beans, and energy bars
Protein sources include anything mentioned earlier plus peanut butter (in moderation), seeds, protein bars, low fat chocolate milk

Please note that these are just a few random ideas to help you in your meal planning

EATING SUGGESTIONS AFTER STRENUOUS EXERCISE

such as spinning or 45-60 min run

Goal is to eat high glycemic foods that digest quickly—ideally within 35-40 minutes after exercise

Amount of carbs to fat is 1 – 1 ½ grams per kilo. For an approximate idea take weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 and multiply resulting number by 1 – 1.5. Add some protein, as suggested in following food ideas:

SELECT ONE

1 Non-fat Greek yogurt with fruit
2 Banana with 1 TBS of almond or nut butter
3 8 ozs. low fat chocolate milk
4 whole wheat sandwich with (canned) tuna in water
5 whole wheat English muffin with sliced turkey and hummus
6 Protein shake (22 grams) with a banana: include 8 ozs. of water with protein

Thanks to….

My coach, David Segal, a sprinter and Olympic bronze medalist, who competed for Great Britain in the 1960s. Fortunately for me, he then came to the US and ran for Furman University, before embarking on a business career. After he retired, he became a personal trainer at The Next Level Fitness in Houston. That is how I met him, and became a runner.

My husband, Robert G. Grossman, MD, who drives me to all my races. He is also my race photographer.

READ ABOUT RUNNING

FICTION

The Other Kingdom by Victor Price Written 1962; c 1964 Breakaway Books, New York City, 1996
Once A Runner: a novel by John L. Parker, Jr. Scribner c 1978, 1990
Again to Carthage by John L. Parker, Jr. Scribner, copyright 2007
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner By Alan Sillitoe Vintage Books 2010 c 1959
The Runner’s Literary Companion: Great Stories and Poems about Running Edited by Garth Battista, A Penguin Book
The Quotable Runner: Great Moments of Wisdom, Inspiration, and Humor Edited by Mark Will-Weber Breakaway Books Revised 2001

NON-FICTION

Bowerman and The Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon’s Legendary Coach and Nike’s Co-Founder By Kenny Moore c c 2006
The Four-Minute Mile by Roger Bannister c 1955 50th Anniversary Edition, Lyons Press
The Principles of Running: Practical Lessons from My First 100,000 Miles By Amby Burfoot Rodale, St. Martin’s Press, 1999
Why We Run: A Natural History by Bernd Heinrich Ecco Paperbook , 2002

MAGAZINES

Runner’s World
Women’s Running
Running Times

One of the best female masters runners of all time. (F55)

Tatyana Pozdnyakova

F55

April 20, 2010

At first I would like to ask people:

Do you love to run? Do you want to run for life? Do you want to improve your performance?

If your answer for these questions is yes, no experience needed for fast or slow; for beginners or old runners. Running is the perfect exercise for anybody. From beginners to professional runners, training programs are built to get everybody across the finish line. So make running part of your daily schedule and pick a regular running time that works best for you.

Your endurance will improve but you have to train it. We can’t train our endurance by sitting on the couch and watch a sport channel. So we need to run. It’s hard but if you lace your shoes and open the door you will go to run. It’s easy.

I have a couple of suggestions from me and my husband who is a coach. These apply from beginners to veterans:

COACH. Without a coach you never train properly.
TRAINING PARTNER(s). This will help you push yourself in your training program.
REGULAR TRAINING. Run long and hard. Run on trails, grass and other soft surfaces.
RECOVERY. Between long and hard runs, run slowly on your easy days. Sleep more and you can also do a massage and use a sauna. If training, then train. If resting, rest. Don’t mix these.
AVOID INJURY. If something is bothering you don’t be greedy. Take a day or two off from training. Tend to any injury immediately. Take time off to heal and then resume training.
Eat healthy foods and drink plenty of water both during workouts and between them.
Emphasize a mix of family, daily exercise and happiness. Be sure to smile. And remember running improves physical fitness, strengthens the heart, lungs and major muscles but running also reduces our stress.

I wish to bring some passion for your running, fitness and exercise! My goal: Running is the best way to stay young! I am running from 18 years old till now, almost 36 years and I love to run. Running is my life. It doesn’t matter how old are you. So go for a run and you’ll see how possible it is.

Tatyana and her husband Alex Zagoruyko moved to the US in 1997. They have lived and trained in Gainsville, FL and currently reside in Eugene, OR. For many years, Tatyana came and ran in our 1/2 marathon often bringing several other excellent runners with her. We have known her for many years and respect her as a worldclass runner but also as a wonderful person and true ambassador for the sport.

Final note. Some thought was given whether to Americanize the English and we opted for the “true version” as it was kindly sent to us. Thank you Tatyana for your contributions to the web site.

Health issues come with growing older but they need not stop serious running. (M67)

Jim Derham

M67

Dec. 28, 2009

Over the past five years, because of medical challenges I have had four extended periods of not being able to run. It would have been easy to have retired from running after any one of these. I chose not to and am convinced that I recovered quicker than my contemporaries would have because of my running and desire to be competitive again. Each time has required a greater adjustment as I have found myself starting out slower and running at double the pace I use to complete marathons in and the people further down the field look a lot different from the runners up front. However, each time I regard the initial build up period as temporary and know that I will eventually become competitive again.

In my younger years I was a useful runner, 1957 to 1966 achieving 1:58 for 800 m to 2 Hrs. 25 Min. for the marathon.

I got tied up in my career, quit running and smoked as many as four packs per day. I had to have ear surgery when I was 40, quit smoking so the skin graft over my ear would heal. I quickly ballooned in size and weight and took up running again to reduce weight. Naturally, once I was running again, I had to race. I entered a 10k and did not believe the splits that were called out to me. Having told my wife what I expected to run the 10k in, she thought something terrible had happened to me as I didn’t show up for a long time!

From this initial restart of running, I worked at it and became competitive again. For the next 22 years I was an accomplished racer while managing a stressful career.

At the end of ’04 when I was 62, I had my first episode with my heart. In early December I did a 5k race and started to really struggle after the first mile and finished very slowly. I thought I had the flu so did not worry too much. I had my annual physical the following Monday and as I had some slightly irregular heartbeat, had an EKG as part of the physical. My doctor got really excited and told me to stop running until I could have an echo cardiogram. This subsequently showed an electrical problem which caused my heart chambers not to function properly. Hence my struggle to run. Before I could keep an appointment with the cardiologist I started to get grabbing chest pains which got progressively worse. I conceded that I had a problem and my wife took me to the ER even though she wanted to call EMS. I was admitted to the hospital. After a cardio-catheter examination for blockage which was normal for my age, I had an ablation to correct the electrical problem. Afterwards I was not allowed to run for three months. When I finally got the “all clear” I started back running wearing a heart monitor. It was several months before I felt I could go fast enough to raise my heart rate over 150.

I completed a 260 mile hike in England that May and progressed over the rest of the year, winning my age group in the 2005 Jacksonville Half Marathon and the 2006 Gasparilla Half Marathon. I then completed a 220 mile walk across Scotland.

In March 2007 I was diagnosed with aggressive prostrate cancer. I had it surgically removed in April. I was not allowed to run again until July. I wanted to prove something to myself, so I competed in the Tour de Pain in early August (three races in 24 hours) and finished third in my age group. At the end of August I completed 100 miles of hiking around Lake Tahoe. In October, while running a 5k race I felt awful but was in denial. I subsequently had to admit I had a problem and saw my cardiologist who with an EKG confirmed I had heart flutter again. He stopped me running and put me on Coumadin to stabilize my blood before they could do any procedures. After finally getting my blood stable, I had a cardio-vent in January 2008 and a second ablation in February. I was allowed to run again in March and decided to give shorter track events a try. I qualified for the 2008 Florida Senior Games and in December won the 1500 meters and finished second in the 800 meters. I followed this up with some longer training runs and won my age group in the 2009 Marco Island 10 miler and finished second in my age group in the Hooter’s Half Marathon in March. In May I completed a 260 mile hike in 13 days.

In July 2009 I had some follow-up prostrate surgery and was off running until the end of August. I started to come back in September and have progressed well enough to win my age group in the Senior Games 10k and recently finished third in my age group at the Jacksonville Half Marathon.

In my older years I’m dedicated (as you can see) but not a completely dedicated racer. I do enjoy a martini and fine wine. Running is an important part of my life for health and sanity reasons. Competing is a critical part of my running as a means of comparative measuring and keeping score and a motivating reason for training effort and training goals. I am now setting my sights on catching Larry again!!!! (ed.: not completely dedicated you say?)

Why do I run? (M70)

Larry Eaton

M70

October 1, 2008

It’s not uncommon when people find out I am a runner that they ask me why I do it. The answer is not so simple but I’ll try to explain.

Let me begin this way, however. Several years ago while standing in the starting line of one of my favorite races the Twin Cities 10 mile, I asked another old-timer next to me if he could explain to someone why we do this to our bodies? His answer: “If you have to, you can’t”.

Well then, just why do I do this? The answer quite simply is: I run to race.

But like many, possibly most serious runners I have a love-hate relationship with racing. Mostly I enjoy the hard work required to properly train for races. And interestingly I enjoy the bio-engineering aspects of racing: mechanical, chemical, heat transfer, oxygen transport, energy efficiency, etc. However, a day or two before major races I often wonder, why am I doing this? After all, soon I will be asking my aging body to perform to its very limits, sometimes even exceeding them. In fact, in the few minutes before most races I look to the sky and repeat these words: “Lord, forgive me for what I’m about to do to my body”.

As the race begins a surge of adrenalin pumps my blood and drives me onto the early parts of the course. Soon reality sets in. How do I feel during a race? I hate it. I want to quit over and over. But, I keep going. The challenge of battling my age group peers and trying to reach as close as possible to my full potential keeps me picking up one foot after another, trying to forget the growing stress by mostly thinking of nothing mile after mile until that finish line finally comes into sight.

When I finally do cross that finish line unfortunately I’m almost always greeted with a violent reaction from my stomach. Invariably, I throw up. Hopefully, it’s just the dry heaves but sometimes it’s not. Soon however, I look back at the discomfort that I have just experienced as a mere fleeting moment. Instead of dwelling on how much stress and pain I have just gone through I have the feeling of accomplishment. I’m motivated and inspired to train and race once again.

Before I’ve recovered and before I can start the process all over again, something happens I find totally disgusting: those race photos arrive! I’m not good looking…I’m an old man. I race hard…I look it. I can hardly pick up my feet…you can see that, too. And worse, those finish line shots show me about to throw-up…that is all too evident, too. To all race directors: please take photos of only good looking women and young elites. At the very least, please forget shots of all us old men.

I’ve had many people tell me they will run when they see runners smile. They’ll never see me smile. Why should I when I feel so bad? Likewise, I run with people who talk and talk and talk. Not me. There’s no excess air to waste on idle chat. My muscles need every milliliter I can bring to them.

To better understand these people even when they can’t explain themselves, this little story may be helpful.

At another starting line I was telling yet another “old-timer” my story of throwing up after every race. His simple response: “small price to pay!” Well, so it is: a small price.

My running career began in high school and college. That was followed by 42 years of mostly work until a “rebirth” in 2002. In rather significant ways I owe my education, my marriage and the start of my job/ career to having run in college. All of these have worked exceeding well for me and our family. Yes, so it is and so it has been: a small price.

October 1, 2008

The general idea of a love/ hate relationship with racing comes from the book: “The Competitive Runner’s Handbook” authored by Bob and Shelly-lynn Glover. It has been significantly modified to better describe my own case and experiences but to give credit where credit is due, the original idea comes from the book. By the way, for serious runners it’s a great resource.

Can I reach 1000?

Joe Connolly

M85

March 29, 2010

I am 85 years young with lots of passions. Like every other runner I know, I have an ego that needs to be fed (constantly). I never saw Mother Teresa’s name on entry forms. She spent a lifetime helping others. Meanwhile we runners think of ourselves, which ain’t all bad.

As of last Saturday March 27, 2010 I have completed 960 races from marathons to 5 Ks. I have saved most of my bibs and you can look me up on Facebook to see them scattered all over the den floor. From 1971 to last Saturday, there was an experience every week forever etched in my mind.

As I have said, I have a lot of passions and playing piano is another. Every Monday I play at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and I play professionally the rest of the week.

Monday’s are busy. I get up early and go to CSX gym, my employer of 40 years. I come home and arrange a program of songs I’ll be playing later in the day at Mayo Clinic. After I go across the street and play for an hour at an up-scale retirement home; have dinner and play for another retirement home later that night.

With regards to running, it’s now a walk-run situation having blacked out at the 2005 River Run. I wear two stints and my cardiologist doesn’t want my heart rate to go over 130.

I’ve got more to say, but tomorrow I’m up early playing golf with friends. Tonight, I’m going to hug my pillow early.

Oh yes, by the way, another year from now I will have done my 1000th race. And that is my goal.

Short Stories

Story #1. At the Gasparilla (Tampa) 15K spring 2009, I was fortunate to receive a starting position up front with the elites. Just a few minutes before the start a guy probably in his late 20s or early 30s was obviously getting his game face on. He looked to the sky and yelled “Bring on the pain!”. I don’t suppose this guy ever smiles too much, at least not during races.

Story #2. A few years ago one of my running buddies called to ask if I was going to run the next morning and how far I was going to go. I told him 10 miles. He showed up with one of those new fangled GPS watches. We had a good run and I stopped in front of our condos as usual. He screamed at me “What are you stopping for, we’ve only done 9.8 miles?”. Oh yes, he was serious.

Story #3. As reported by the local radio and press, at the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon, an 81 year old guy took over 5 hours to run the race when the previous year he took about 4 hours and set a US record for the distance. What happened? Well it seems he had to pee at the 23 mile mark but couldn’t go due to a urinary track blockage. At the medical area he’s telling of his predicament when a bystander over hears the discussion. The bystander says, “I have a catheter in my car” whereupon he goes and gets it; the runner performs the task at hand and then goes on to finish the race. Oh yes, he finished first in his age class. Later, the question was asked did he get outside help as defined by the US Track and Field? He didn’t.

Story #4. Cross Country is a team sport, possibly the ultimate team sport. Five places count for each team and seven from each team can displace runners on the other teams. In many other sports one or two superb athletes can make or break the entire team. This is not so in cross country where every team member counts and runners 3, 4, 5 (and 6 and 7) can be more important than the top runners on the team. Every place counts one point regardless whether it’s 1st or 2nd or 21st, 22nd or worse. At the Collier County 2009 Championship two teams tied with 45 points each. The winner was decided by runners number 6 where by sprinting home a runner from Naples won by 7 seconds. Nobody ever said only the elites are real runners. It’s all about doing the best you can do in preparation and on race day.

Story #5. Well, this is not really a short story but it is a great read. “What I talk about when I talk about running” by Haruki Murakami. It is an easy read and one all runners can relate to. Serious runners will enjoy his perspectives very much.

Story #6. Secretariat set the record for the Kentucky Derby in 1973. It remains the record. I, for one, have wondered why no horse has broken his record given what should be improved breeding, training, etc. There’s a simple answer according to a NY Times article: he ran each quarter mile progressively faster while most horses run fastest at the beginning and gradually slow as they tire. You see, for horses and for runners negative splits will lead to the best results.

Story #7. Two recent newspaper articles on the subject of obesity:

Families don’t eat together anymore. They don’t sit around the table sharing the day’s stories of successes and failures, learning from each other. According to the author, some homes don’t even have a table. Yet almost all had a large flat panel TV….. with a screen big enough if it could be turned on its side, would make an excellent table! They had to eat so we can guess where and what they ate.

Inflation adjusted prices covering 30 years showed sugared carbonated drinks cost less today, while fresh fruits and vegetables cost more. Again, this is in inflation adjusted terms. The suggestion was to tax the drinks and apply the income to reduce the cost of healthy fresh food.