|
Quick bites... Weekly Runs- Join
us on Sunday Mornings - Thursday Nights or Wednesday Afternoons for a
club run - Check the website for times and schedules. www.sqrr.org
Mind the Chatter-
Make sure you're on the SqRR Yahoo! mailing list for all the lastest club chatter. Send an email to Chris R. or Mark G. if you need instructions or an invite.
This month's Brunch Run - Sue's moving to Vt.
I hope you can all make it to Harvard in a
few weeks. I can set up walking, running and biking routes, so please
let me know your pleasure and desired distance.
Also, for those of
you who don't know, I'm making some big changes in the next few months.
On July 28th I start a new job at the Chamber of Commerce in
Middlebury, Vt. Yup, another Squannie heads north. I'll be moving up to
a small apartment in Brandon, Vt. around 7/23 while Dave (and the
critters) will remain in Harvard until the house sells.
See you on the roads, Sue,
From the Editor - Hi Folks, Chris here, send articles, news, cash and complaints to me @cyktrussell@yahoo.com
|
| Summertime - and it's Hot Hot Hot! |
Get out on a weeknight!
You
are lucky enough to be living in the traditional hot-bed of running in
these hot summer months. Chances are there is race or run to join
on any given night. Check the calendar on CoolRunning or
ask around. There are plenty of local races every night of the
week around the Groton area. These are low key and
inviting. They are inexpensive and welcoming. So get out
and try them out.
Westford Summer Series - No website, just show up 6:30 Thur at Westford Acad - ~3.5 Miles.
|
|
What's coming up?
Check the Yahoo Group for the Squannacook Race of the month. These can be quite cool when 15-20 of us show up and win all the prizes! Join us - it's a hoot.
Time to start thinking about our fall schedule as well.
Two Club affiliated races coming up are the
and
Don't forget we will be looking for some new runners for the Fred Brown Lake Winnipesaukee Relay this
year. This is a beautiful relay race around the lake. The
club pays for the entry fees and all you have to do is show up and have
fun. Contact Howard Hersey for more information.
And not too long after that we'll be expecting everyone to join a team for the Mill Cities Relay in December. This is a must-do club sponsored event. See my video from last year. |
|
From the Runner's Kitchen!
Hey Chris,
As promised, here is the recipe for Anthony's Endurance Snacks
I
stumbled upon this mixture one day in the kitchen after realizing that
my body needed more than just gel during 4-6 hour races/workouts.
This
recipe seemingly provides a great balance of protein, complex
carbohydrates, fiber, flavonoids, antioxidents, sodium, and
potassium.
Ingredients:
Two (2) 18oz- 24 oz jars of all natural peanut butter.
Four or five (4-5) ripe bananas
Three (3) scoops of chocolate whey protein powder
Three (3) ounces of roasted cacao nibs
Three (3) ounces of finely chopped dark chocolate pieces of dark chocolate chips.
Process:
Mix
the peanut butter (after draining the peanut oil puddle), protein
powder, cacoa nibs, and chocolate peices in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate mixing bowl, mash the bananas into a paste. Then
add the banana paste to the peanut butter mixture. Place a peice
of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Form the final mixture into
ping pong size balls and place on the parchment paper. Once the
cookie sheet is full, place in freezer for 2-3 hours. Once the
mixture is frozen, the balls can be placed in a zip lock bag without
the fear of forming into a peanut butter brick.
These
treats can be used during prolonged exercise for immediate fuel or for
post anaerobic workout muscle repair. I wrap each little ball in
aluminum foil and they stay cold for 2-3 hours(longer in the winter)
when tucked in a pocket, fuel belt, or in an empty water bottle if
cycling. I usually add a few extra bananas to the mixture during
the summer months (added potassium). I will ususually pop one to
two treats per hour during prolonged exercise.
Again,
all natural peanut butter seems to work best. I use The Peanut
Butter & Company brand. I use Scharffen Berger Roasted Cacoa
Nibs, and Scharffen Berger's 99% Cacoa Unsweetened Chocolate. All
items can be found at Whole Foods.
Feel
free to tweak the recipe to your taste. Try different flavored
protein powders, different flavors of peanut butter such as maple
flavored(see link below), add almonds, eliminated the nibs, use white
chocolate, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Here a few links:
http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/
http://www.scharffenberger.com/
Enjoy,
Anthony,
Do you have an interesting recipe for us? Send it along! |
|
Q2 Race Wrap Up!
We ran a bunch of miles since the last newsletter - you've seen all the emails - so let's just summarize what we remember...
- Boston Marathon
- Groton Road Race
- Brian Irwin's "Get lost in the woods" Squannacook River Ramble and Brunch
- Mt. Wachusetts
- Mt. Washington
- Parker
- Harvard 4th of July
- Watatic
- Mark's BRSB - (and eat)
Looking at the results some of you have been sand-bagging!
Keep up the good work Team Squannie!
C-, |
Inspiration
Here's a good quote from Anthony
'Roasted cocoa beans could quite possibly be the first illicit street drug'
| |
|
|
|
|
Message from our esteemed, honorable, BFF, good-looking, affable, President
Welcome to the Q3 Newsletter!
Friends,
I
trust you are all enjoying the summer. The Club continues to come
up with fun and creative activities, and we've welcomed a number of new
runners in the past few months. I am pleased to see the
enthusiasm and participation so high. There is certainly no
shortage of races and events during this time of year. Take
advantage of them!
Our August "Race of the Month" will be the Thomas Chamberas 6K XC Race in Carlisle, MA on August 24th. Sign up, mark it in your calendar, and let's all show up as one big blue wave.
Wishing you all an enjoyable, safe, and injury-free time this summer!
Mark |
|
Welcome New Members!
In their own words...
Ryan McMeniman: I
joined your run the Sunday prior to the Marathon, which was a lot of
fun. I'm definitely a mid-pack runner looking for help motivating and
improving my pace. I'm also interested in the trail running, but it
would be completely new to me.
I don't have much to add for an
introduction other than I'm a Groton resident, and a recreational
runner looking to get involved in more road racing and trail running.
I'm also a ice hockey goaltender, so I'm also a little soft in the head.
Frank Mastrangelo:
From Shirley Frank found an SQRR pamphlet at the Groton 10K.
He enjoys long leisurely runs. Frank works as an EMT/licensed athletic
trainer.
Anita Gauntlett:
I am doing the "4 on the 4th" in Bridgeton, ME and the Littleton Triathlon on 7/20/08.
Running
3-4 times/week, and biking 1-2 nights. Slow now, but will be
picking up. Haven't hit the water yet, but hope to on 6/22 for
the BSRB if my schedule allows me to do that.
Welcome All! |
|
Groton Road Race 2008 (XVII) Wrap Up
OK, it's summer, the bills are all paid and I'm ready to put a lid on the 2008 Road Race. How'd we do?
· People had a good time, and took the time to say so!
· We had great running! Stephanie Reilly broke the women's 5k record; Benjamin Ndaya came daaaaarn close to breaking the men's 10k. Perennial champ Mark Mayall pulled off an incredible 2-3 finish in the 5k and 10k. Kerri continue her maternity-defying climb back to preeminence. Max LaChance
broke some sort of law of physics, and certainly broke the 5k
11-and-under-record for the solar system. (What kind of
sports-eugenics program is going on over there in Lunenburg?)
· Folks loved the t-shirts (hooray for Gina!)
· No injuries
· Minimal vandalism
· We made money
Mostly,
I was left with one nice feeling: our little race has
become a regular stopping point not only for the people of our towns,
but for runners of all caliber across the region. When
writing the race program, Sue & Susan and I
solicited stories from past runners. What I learned was
basically this: runners plan to come back to Groton year after
year, because it is "a classic", "a professional event", "a highlight
of our calendar", and so forth. Wow. We're a legacy.
I
might have not said this enough, but I want to be careful to heartily
thank the folks who stepped forward to share the workload of planning:
Anthony Mavilia
(note to self: always include a firefighter on your race planning
committee. Something about all that downtime at the firehouse)
Brian Irwin
(who should not be let impending fatherhood scare him away from a
repeat performance at the finish line. I think the club
will cheerfully buy him a day-glo Baby Bjorn)
Maria Noya, who took over the food line operation from Amy Schilp and managed to cause ALL of our runners to actually gain weight on race day. Oops.)
Sue and John Lachance (who now know the dirty little secret that you can set up water stops and still completely kick-a** in the races)
Mark Gerath
and family (our new multi-tasking course/clock/sign/tent/food wrangler,
who hustled an enormous amount of yogurt away from Stonyfield Farms,
and then threw a memorable post-race bash)
Our new 2k course architects, Jason and Kate Shamberger
Kim Sheffield
(Who cleverly relieved Maria of the application-distribution gig so
that she could make a vain attempt (hah!) to stop working so hard on
the race - and instead take over the food operation. Nice
lateral, Kim!)
Susan Preiss (memo to self:
if you want to get a whole bunch of really good, FREE publicity, just
throw a cheerful self-employed marketing consultant down a rock-strewn
precipice and then she'll spend the whole winter lying around in
traction, writing website copy!)
..and everyone else that I forgot. Thanks! Phew!
What's Next?
Well, we have a few little items to tie up.
· Mr.
Wilder probably needs a couple of strong backs (on of whom owns a
truck) to restore a few heavy items to their rightful owners.
· I have quite a few shirts left over - see me if you would like some
· We
need to have that hilarious meeting where we sit around our brimming
war-chest and decide what to do with the proceeds.
· Well,
then, I suppose we need to also spend our summer slurping frosty drinks
and deciding what each of us would like to be in charge of next
year. How about it?
Meanwhile, three cheers, thanks, and congratulations!
-gordon |
|
3rd Annual Hershey Track and Field Program
As Spring comes to an end and Summer begins, so also begins the 3rd Annual Hershey's Youth Track and Field Program.
For the last two
weeks Groton's 10 participants have sweated it out in the intense heat
learning basic track and field events Monday and Wednesday nights at
the high school track.
The young
athletes are working hard practicing a variety of events and warm-up
drills that correspond to each one. The program allows athletes ages
9-14 to participate in the 50M, 100M, 200M, 400M, 800M, 4x100M relay, a
softball throw, and a standing broad jump.
On Wednesday,
June 11th the athletes competed against Hershey participants in Harvard
and Littleton at a local scrimmage meet in Harvard. This gives them a
chance to see how a track meet is run and to improve their times and
distances.
Groton residents
Alexandra Sinnery, Tyler Leclerc, and Mitch Navetta competed in the
50M, 100M, 200M, and standing broad jump in the 9-10 year-old group.
Tyler also was the only one of his age group to attempt the softball
throw.
Siera Greco and Briana Bozkurt ran the 100M and 200M for the 11-12 year-olds and also competed in the standing broad jump.
Nick Matthews and
Nick Odell raced in the 100M and 200M for the 11-12 year-olds and
participated in the softball throw. Nick Odell additionally competed in
the 400M, 800M, and standing broad jump. He finished the day
participating in every event in his age group.
The Groton
program athletes will compete again on Thursday, June 19th at a local
meet in Harvard and aim to qualify for the state meet in Bolton,
scheduled for June 28th.
2008 Summer Track and Field Program
-Kerri- |
Summer Track & Field Progrms for the Kids!
(funded and supported by the SqRR)
Our
Track and Field program begins June 30th through August 20th. We
meet every Monday and Wednesday from 4:00pm -6:00pm at the Groton
Dunstable Regional High School Track. We have a great staff this
summer and we currently have 72 participants and hoping to get up to
120 participants (the number of participants in 2007).
Jenna Bessolo (College) and Matt Carter (Recent Graduate of GDRHS) are our Head Coaches, working with 10 other experienced runners.
Alex Fischer (College)
Emily Holmes (College)
Nina Hardy (Recent Graduate of GDRHS)
Chris Funch (College)
Brendan McCarthy (College)
Joey Biasi (Going into Sophomore Year @ GDRHS)
Lauren Carter (Going into Sophomore Year @ GDRHS)
Haden Martinez (Going into Sophomore Year @ GDRHS)
Steven Lunt (Recent Graduate of GDRHS)
Alison Macleod (Recent Graduate of GDRHS)
With Substitutes: Erika Bell and Holly Perrin (both in College)
Carole Carter (Matt & Lauren Carter's Mom) has been a great help the past two years, assisting me with advertising.
Please
feel free to drop in and say "Hello" and provide assistant where
needed. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate
to call or email Kerri Strauss (978) 870-8597 or SQRRtrack@verizon.net If you would like to find out more information about the program you can log on to SqRR.org, find Summer T&F and click on Download Now on the Home page.
-Kerri- |
|
2008 SqRR Scholarship Awards
The
week before the 2008 Groton Road Race, Tracy Christianson-Shea, Mark
Graf and Kerri Strauss met to review the Scholarship
Applications. It was a tough decision, but we feel that we chose
4 well deserving Awardees.
Mark Graf presented awards to the following recipients, where they received $250 each, on Wednesday, June 4th (Class Day):
Matt Carter ran 4 years of Track and Field and 2 years
of Cross Country. He volunteered with the Groton Road Race and
has been a great asset working for the Summer Track and Field program
for the past 2 years (and Head Coach this summer). In the fall he is
planning on attending Lyndon State College in Vermont for Sports
Management and Business. Matt also runs his own Home Service
rendering pet sitting, lawn cutting, leaf removal, wood stacking,
furniture moving and other similar tasks.
Steven Lunt ran 2 years of Track and Field and 4 years
of Cross Country. Steven would like to study Business and
Communications at a four year college. He was captain of the
Cross Country Team his senior year where he received three awards (All
star of Mid-Wachusett League Meet, Coaches Award and MVP of Cross
Country Homecoming week). Steven will be working the 2008 Summer Track
and Field program.
Laura Leahy ran 1 year of Track and
Field and 3 years of Cross Country. Laura will be attending Mount
Holyoke College in the fall. She was also the Captain of the
Cross Country team, senior year.
Alison Macleod ran four years of Track and
Field. She was Captain in Junior and Senior years. Alison
qualified for the state meet all four years. This past season Ali
placed 11th in the state for the 800M with a time of 2:20.27. Ali
also participated in the 4x400M with the team placing 14th in the state
with a time of 4:11.62. Alison will be working the 2008 Summer
Track and Field program.
-Kerri-
|
|
7 Hot weather running tips from the midpack Where we sweat a lot!
According
to the Smithsonian Magazine I just read we all originated in
Africa. The weather there a couple hundred thousand years ago was
hot and humid. Somewhere our common ancestor slogged through a
daily run in the hot and humid jungle. So you'd think we'd be
used to it.
Unfortunately I think my more recent ancestors were
digging in peat bogs somewhere in Northern Europe. I don't
perform well athletically in the heat. Neither does my Border
Collie Buddy. Give us a couple inches of crusty snow and a driving
sideways freezing rain and we're right at home. Drop us into your
standard Fourth of July race with full sun and 85 degrees and we
wilt.
What can you do to mitigate the effects of the sun and
the heat? First of all there's no real reason we can't have a
good run on a hot day. Humans are designed to cope with the
hot. Understanding the changes that your body goes through in
response to the stress of heat will help you to come up with strategies
to co-exist.
Failing a course of heat preconditioning I would recommend the following tactics to stay cooler.
1.
Avoid the sun and heat as much as possible pre-race. Keep your
core temp down. Stay in the shade until race time.
2.
Don't eat anything for a couple hours before the race. I've seen
some gruesome finish lines from people who 'fueled up' before the hot
race.
3. Manually
rub/spray/squirt water on your large patches of exposed skin while
you're racing. I carry a water bottle and I'll squirt water on my
exposed arms and thighs in a race to maximize the evaporation potential
over these large surface areas.
4.
Get a good hat. Something light, light colored and vented.
Lots of heat escapes through the top of your head - don't trap it in.
5. Less clothing is better - maximize the surface area of skin exposed to the wind.
6.
Lube up to prevent chaffing. When your clothing gets soaked with
sweat it will rub more. Sweat becomes a whetting agent.
7.
Help your body by visualizing. Picture the heat flowing from
inside your core and out to the skin to be whisked away by evaporating
water. Sounds hokey, but it helps.
What happens in your body
when it's hot out? Your body has a core operating temperature
range that it likes to stay within. When you rev up the engine on
a hot day through exercise your core temperature starts to rise and
your body initiates response mechanisms to deal with it.
You
start to sweat. Your body coats the available surface with a
glistening sheen of water. Why? Because water has some amazing
chemical properties (you may remember this from 8th grade
science). Water evaporates. When it evaporates it changes
chemical state from a liquid to a gas. This process requires a
whole bunch of energy. It sucks this energy from the environment
in the form of heat.
When you round that corner and feel
that welcoming breeze in your local 5K you are feeling thousand of
water molecules changing state and absorbing heat. Feels good doesn't
it? It's the same concept as the radiator in your car.
Why
is the radiator in your car so big? It is trying to present a
large surface area to the wind to maximize the cooling. Your skin
is your radiator. The more of it that you can expose to the wind
the more efficient it is going to be at removing heat through
evaporation.
As you continue to exercise your body starts to
move more blood towards the radiator - your skin. The small
capillaries in your skin will dilate to handle more fluid exchange -
moving more blood away from your core and into your radiator.
Your heart (the pump) will have to work harder to push this blood out
to a larger surface area.
Ever feel nauseous in a hot
race? That may be because your body has decided to reprioritize
blood away from your non-essential core systems to get more out to the
radiator. Our body thinks we must be being chased by a hungry
lion and reprioritizes blood away from the GI tract and head to the
muscles and skin. You become dizzy and sick to your stomach.
At
some point systems start shutting down and if you tough it out long
enough you can trigger a cascade of system failure that will end your
racing career by putting you six-feet-under in a pine box.
So -
What can a simple midpacker do about it? It really depends on how
long you intend to be running. In longer races you're going to
need to focus on staying hydrated and getting the proper electrolyte
balance, but the only real answer is to back off.
You can condition
yourself to run in the heat by training in it. One of the hottest
Boston Marathons on record was won by a furnace tender from Nashua N.H.
who spent his working days shoveling coal into a blazing fire.
All the other runners collapsed, but for him it was just another day at
the office.
You may not have the option of shoveling coal every
day, but you can take in some training runs in the heat and practice
your water rubbing and heat exchange visualization. You may find
that you enjoy working up a good sweat.
Be safe. Be
careful. Unfortunately in our despoiled modern world many of the
hot days also have bad air quality. Check the weather and use
your head to stay cool.
C-, | |
Got
an article to contribute? Something funny, sad, contemporary or
dramatic? Recipe? Favorite run? Rant? Epic heroic poem in
iambic pentameter? Throw a couple couplets over the transom and we'll
get you into print.
--->the editor's desk here at SqRR press!
See you out there,
Chris, |
|
Sincerely,
Chris Russell
Squannacook River Runners |
|
|
