Long Distance Archives - 2001

(Workout of 12/27/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION

• Jog south and being 3 times 3 lamppost pickups after Tavern On the Green to get warmed up.  Coming to East 72nd Street (and watch out for the cars!), run a half mile pickup uphill to the obelisk (colloquially known as Cleopatra's Needle even though the named queen was born about a thousand years after this obelisk was crafted).  Recover half a mile to East 90th Street.  Hop on the reservoir and run a full mile pickup to finish at the West 86th Street exit.  Jump back on the road and recover for four lampposts.  Run another 1000m pickup back to the Daniel Webster statue.  This completes a four mile run.  Continue south to do a lower loop with the same three times three lampposts as the start.  The total distance is 5.7 miles.

FIELD NOTES

• This is the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  Lots of offices were almost deserted this entire week.  Given the coach's edict that people should run either Wednesday or Thursday, we had twenty people at the start of the workout.  For the people who came here for the first time, this is an exception and not the rule.  Usually, we get at least forty people at the workouts.  

• This was the first time this season that a Thursday workout did not feel like a summer heat wave.  Does that mean it was cold?  Well, we don't want to make the Canadians laugh, do we ... ? 

• Let us also say that this time of year is not the best time to run.  As Glenis Frank remarked yesterday, "It's all that food, cakes and wine ..."

• We did not include Rich Joseph among the twenty people.   Rich showed up at 7pm looking for Tony Ruiz, and was disappointed not to find him.  So he left this message: "I came here all dressed to run.  I was all set to kick Tony Ruiz's butt.  He was lucky that he was not here."  That was his version of the story.  The real story was that he is now an upstate hick who was trying to show some people where he used to run.  P.S.  He was dressed like a tourist.

• In Tony Ruiz's absence, we have Stuart Calderwood as our coach tonight.  Stuart ran the track workout last night, so he was not supposed to run in the workout tonight.  To make sure that Stuart behaves, Audrey Kingsley (who also ran the track workout last night) was supposed to keep track of him.  That was the theory.  What was the reality?  Audrey said, "Stuart and I sent the groups off one by one, and then we ran with the fastest group.  Of course, that was not supposed to have happened ..."  Eventually, Audrey slowed down to assume the sweeper role to keep company with the slowest runner, who kept asking, "Audrey, tell me ... why are we racing ...?"

• The story whose ending we were not sure about: "The Asterisk Girl Visits The Boathouse ..."

• Please stop complaining to us about the fact that the workout descriptions were not posted this week beforehand.  We only post that which we know about.  So you should direct all your complaints elsewhere.

• Please note the following holiday schedule is in operation next week:
   
  Tuesday (New Year's Day): No workout because the Armory is closed
  Wednesday: No workout because the Armory is closed
  Thursday: Road workout at 7pm.  

• And now for something completely different ...

          IL N'Y A PAS D'AMOUT HEUREUX

Rien n'est jamais acquis à l'homme Ni sa force
Ni sa faiblesse ni son coeur Et quand il croit
Ouvrir ses bras son ombre est celle d'une croix
Et quand il croit serrer son bonheur il le broie
Sa vie est un étrange et douloureux divorce
     Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux

Sa vie Elle ressemble à ces soldats sans armes
Qu'on avait habillé pour un autre destin
A quoi peut leur servir de se lever matin
Eux qu'on retrouve au soir désoeuvrés incertains
Dites ces mots Ma vie Et retenez vos larmes
     Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux

          (Louis Aragon, La Diane Française)

(Workout of 12/26/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• 3 x 200m to warm-up
• 2 x (800m, 400m jog)
• 2 x (600m, 200m, jog)
• 4 x (400m, 200m jog)

Here is a quick quiz.  The official rules for the Armory Track & Field Center are

1. NO GUM, FOOD OR BEVERAGES ALLOWED INSIDE OF TRACK AREA.
    
2. NO SPIKES OR PLASTIC BOTTOMS ALLOWED IN PRACTICE.

3. NO SPITTING ALLOWED ON TRACK FLOOR.
     
4. THOSE RUNNING AT 32 SECOND OR SLOWER 200-METER PACE, USE LANE 2. LANE 3 IS FOR PASSING ONLY.
    
5. THOSE RUNNING FASTER THAN 32 SECOND 200- METER PACE, USE LANE 4. LANE 5 IS FOR PASSING ONLY.

6. RUN IN SINGLE FILE IN GROUPS OF 8 OR LESS.

7. LANE 1 IS NOT TO BE USED IN PRACTICE.

8. NO COATS, BOOKS OR OTHER GEAR ALLOWED ON MATS.

How many rules have we broken so far? #1, #4, # 6, #7, #8, but not #2 ("Can't afford them!"), #3 ("Too dehydrated") or #5 ("Too slow to ever run 32 seconds").

FIELD NOTES:

• Question:  Why are we having a workout on December 26th?  Does the coach realize that it is a national holiday in Canada?  As it turned out, we had only sixteen people at our workout tonight,  so at least some people paid respect to Canadian sentiments.

• The middle distance runners do their workouts earlier at 630pm.  Their weekly workout schedule is delivered by email on Mondays, so people may not feel the need to visit their web page.  However, just like this page, that web page carries weekly photos, which should be quite alarming because YOU may be the subject.  We have a lode of unpublished photos that are in the pipeline, so we would suggest that you check these pages diligently.

• Tip from Sid Howard on how to handle the recovery jog: "I complete the jog as quickly as possible, so that I have more time to stand around."

• Tip from Jeff Wilson on how to handle an aggressive panhandler on the "A" train: "I don't have a single cent on me.  Not a single cent!"

• What is the pace of the 800m's?  They should be at 5K race pace.  The 600m's should be 1 second faster per 200m.  The 400m's should be another 1 second faster per 200m.  That's the theory.  What's the actual practice?  As Norman Goluskin said, "Well, I think I can run 6:30 min/mile pace for a 5K, which translates to 3:15 for 800m.  I ran the first one in 2:53!"  As part of the grand scheme, our men 60+ is aiming at the world record of 4x800m relay early next year.  The current record is about 2:38 per 800m per person, and we have five team runners of that caliber --- Sid Howard (WR holder), Jim Olson, Jim Aneshansley, Dan Hamner and Norman Goluskin.

• Happiest person tonight was Audrey Kingsley, who had one of her best workouts in two years (2:50 800m's, 80 second 400m's).  As a teammate suggests, "Bring on David Pullman!"

• Woe!  Destruction!  Death!  We accidentally deleted the field notes for December 13th, so we'll never have the collective memory of that one workout.

• Last week, we reported that we were at 48 individual road race wins.  Over the weekend, we discovered that Darlene Miloski won the Shoreham Wading River Thanksgiving Day Race on November 22nd.  When we asked Darlene today why she never told us, she said, "Oh, I didn't think it counts!"  Well, the rule is ANYTHING COUNTS --- all we need is an organized race with some running and we have included major events such as the Massapequa Park Bicycling Club Duathlon, the Lake Wononscopomuc 8K and the Yokohama Monthly Time Trials.  Darlene also pointed out that her time did not reflect the fact she got a late start and had to come from way behind to win that race.

• So here we are at 49 individual road race wins.  In desperation, we checked the Arizona Road Runners Desert Classic and saw that John Prather did not run in either the 30K (winning time of 1:56:47 (6:16 min/mile page)), the 10K (winning time of 36:05) or the 5K (winning time of 17:13) last weekend.  Given those published winning times, he could have won any one of them.  So there went another golden chance.  John sent in this excuse slip: "As for the races on December 23, it was my birthday for crying out loud!  I just wanted to run easy and drink beer."  By the way, John's presence was felt at the Armory tonight as Stuart Calderwood wore the t-shirt for John's coached runners.

• There is still one more weekend left to get win #50.  As usual, Paul Stuart-Smith will have a good chance at the Serpentine Running Club Last Friday of the Month 5K (he finished second in November and won in October).  But otherwise the pressure is on Josh Feldman when he has to take on the Snowball Series 20K in Chesterfield, Missouri this weekend.  Josh said, "I don't know if I can win the race.  I may have a better chance if I just recruit the winner after the race and pay for his $75 dues myself."  Well, we'll have to do what we have to do ...After all, winning is everything ... or maybe NOT!!!

• Please note the following holiday schedule is in operation for next week:
   
  Tuesday (New Year's Day): No workout because the Armory is closed
  Wednesday: No workout because the Armory is closed
  Thursday: Road workout at 7pm.  
   

• DISCLAIMER:  Toby Tanser expects to be out of the country in January, and so he tells his readers that "you will have to tune in to CPTC web site to find out what is what in NYC ."  Well, let's not raise the expectations too high now.  We do not promise that we will tell anyone 'what is what in NYC.'  In fact, our coverage are highly biased and opinionated.  
   
  Here are some things that you will definitely find
  (1) A lot of photos and stories of fast women that your mom warned you about
  (2) Split times for the various stops on the downtown A train after the Armory workouts will be provided
  (3) History lessons about Canadian ice hockey (yes, we love Paul Henderson!)
  (4) Precise head counts at Central Park Track Club road runners' workouts, with all technical inclusions and exclusions being annotated
  (5) Regularly updates about our reading materials
  
  and here are some things that you won't find
  (1) Champions League coverage will not be resumed until February.  We do not offer regular coverage of the Premiership unless Manchester United loses (note: six times so far this season).
  (2) Laudatory reviews of your favorite restaurants (unless you pen them)
  (3) Photos of anyone who is not a member of the club (with exceptions being granted if they are married to or dating someone on the club; or if they are Canadian and/or French; or if they are triathletes; and so on and so forth)
  (4) Stories about Kenyan runners whose names are not Isaya Okwiya

• Ramon Bermo has a cute baby who gets a lullaby tonight:

Del Cabello Más Sutil
(music: Fernando J. Obradors
voice: Kathleen Battle)

Del cabello más sutil
Que tienes en tu trenzada
He de hacer una cadena
Para traerte a mi lado.
Una alcarraza en tu casa,
Chiquilla, quiesera ser
Para besarte en la boca,
Cuanda fueras a beber.

(Workout of 12/20/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• Warmup thru the cutoff to E72 St
• At E72 St start 1 mile pickup going south (clockwise) on the lower loop around to just below Tavern on the Green ("S" mark)
• Recover thru cutoff back to E72 St (~600m+)
• At E72 St start 1 mile pickup going north to E90 St 
• Recover from E90 St to E97 St (~600m)
• At E97 St start 1K pickup going W thru the 102 St cutoff to W102 St
• Recover from W102 St to W97 St
• At W97th St start final 1K pickup going south to W86 St (reservoir entrance)
• Warmdown back to the Daniel Webster statue
• TOTAL DISTANCE: 5.7 miles

FIELD NOTES

• With Christmas and New Year's Day coming up, many of us are scheduling for extended holidays (up to two weeks) to use up all those vacation/personal days.  From where we are, we can easily pick up the signs.  First, the weekday website home page counts dropped to around 280 today, being the first time in a long, long while that we had fewer than 300 per weekday.  Second, the workout attendance was just 35 people (note: Harry Morales was late and did not make the count).  But, of course, it pleases us greatly to announce that our people do have other lives.  So how many of these people will stand up and be counted on the next two Wednesdays?
• Welcome message:  This is what passes off as a greeting: "What the f*** is Charles Allard doing here?  This is a really small world."  Charles is our Tokyo member who uses the website as his lifeline to running, and he is here for family visits (and the workouts, of course).  Meanwhile, Sid Howard has been going around telling people that he memorizes teammates' birthdays as a hobby.  But when asked to provide Charles' birthday, he drew a blank.  Back to the books, Sid, ...
• The senior member of the team filed his personal workout report: "I could not hang with my group for the first two mile pickups.  People like Audrey Kingsley just go out as quickly as possible.  I need to work myself into it gradually and then I can hang with them.  So after the second mile, I cut across the park and waited for them at West 97th Street.  Then I was able to put in a good final 1,000m."  Not to mention the real workout which begins after West 86th Street ... As for the ethical issue: "Cheating?  I wouldn't call that cheating.  I was just giving myself a fair chance ..."
• Query: "Why does Paul Sinclair get all these mentions in the workout description these days?"  Who wants to know?  Who needs to know?  Do we sense a touch of jealousy here?  Maybe, maybe not, maybe, maybe not ...
• Live news report: Harry Morales said, "I just spoke to someone in Buenos Aires.  The situation is worse than what you read in the newspapers."
• Photo tip:  Thursday road workouts take place in the dark during winter, which means no cameras are present.  Therefore ...
  (1)  Joe Tumbarello brought a newspaper in which his photo appeared on the front page.  The euphoria carried into the workout, until someone yelled out, "Joe, there is no camera here tonight!  There is no point in putting up a show!"
  (2)  Audrey Kingsley received a nice Christmas present tonight.  Unfortunately, the rest of you will never get to see it.  All presents should have been brought to the Tuesday indoor track workout, where ALL proceedings are photographed!
• Social observation:  You know you are in really bad shape when you run a 5.7 mile workout, and you see a teammate at  West 90th Street heading home in the other direction.  A quick calculation shows that she was 2.1 miles ahead of you in a 5.7 mile workout and you were ahead of her after the first 600m!  Arrrrgggggghhhhhh!  Yes, it was one of those fast women that my mom warned me about ...
• As much as we liked to, we can't claim 100% complete coverage of race results, because some people have rather idiosyncratic notions about what ought to be reported.  Tonight's case in point: Josh Feldman, who is going to St. Louis for the holidays.  It goes without say that he was pressed to find a local race to run out there, because we would really like to make it 50 individual road wins for the year.  Josh said, "But you never published the 20 mile race that I won in St. Louis back in February this year."  Yeah, so what if he never told us and so what if that race does not publish its results on the internet?  Josh promises to send in the missing information, so our current count has moved up to 48 individual victories.
  More immediate on the calendar, Josh Feldman went up to Boston to run in the MIT Alumni Cross Country 5K.  He had this report: "I  planned to drive up there from New Jersey.  I planned to leave at 8am for this 3pm race, which should be plenty to time to spare.  Unfortunately, my car battery died.  By the time it got fixed, it was 1030am already.  Anyway, I arrived at 255pm, pinned on my number and went into the race immediately.  Not that I would have won it (the winning time was 14:50), but I might have finished third overall.  The only consolation is that no other MIT alumnus finished ahead of me."

• Please note the following holiday schedule is in operation:
   
  Tuesday (Christmas Day): No workout because the Armory is closed
  Wednesday (Boxing Day):  Track workout at the Armory starts at 8pm.
  Thursday:  The Armory is closed.  Road workout at 7pm.  You have a choice of EITHER Wednesday OR Thursday but NOT BOTH!
   
  Tuesday (New Year's Day): No workout because the Armory is closed
  Wednesday: Track workout at the Armory starts at 8pm
  Thursday: The Armory is closed.  Road workout at 7pm.  You have a choice of EITHER Wednesday OR Thursday but NOT BOTH!

(Workout of 12/18/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• 3 x 200m w/ short jog to warm up
• 3/4 mile w/ 600m recovery
• 4 x 600m w/ 200m recovery
• 3/4 mile
• warmdown
• GOAL for A Group & B Group runners racing indoors: 3/4 mile @ 5K pace, 600m @ 3000m pace, 3/4 mile @ 5K pace

FIELD NOTES:

Another one of those fast women that your mother warned you about

• It was raining in the morning.  By noon time, it was sunny and bright outside, but a cold northwesterly wind (from Canada) had picked up.  Margaret Schotte cleared up the myth of Canadian cold weather as follows: "Not all of Canada is freezing cold.  Some places are cold --- all of Quebec, for example.  Winnipeg is the coldest city.  The Maritime Provinces are cold, wet and nasty.  Buffalo (USA) is cold because it is on the wrong side of the lake.  Toronto is on the right side of the lake, and my mom was still raking leaves in the yard last week.  Oh, it snowed yesterday but it was all gone by today."  Of course, none of any of this mattered to us because the workout tonight took place indoors at the Armory, with thirty-eight people in attendance.

• Please note the following holiday schedule is in operation:
   
  Tuesday (Christmas Day): No workout because the Armory is closed
  Wednesday (Boxing Day):  Track workout at the Armory starts at 8pm.
  Thursday:  Road workout at 7pm.  You have a choice of EITHER Wednesday OR Thursday but NOT BOTH!
   
  Tuesday (New Year's Day): No workout because the Armory is closed
  Wednesday: Track workout at the Armory starts at 8pm
  Thursday: Road workout at 7pm.  You have a choice of EITHER Wednesday OR Thursday but NOT BOTH!
   

• James Siegel said that he will be running a 5K somewhere at an undisclosed location.  The top secrecy is necessary because nobody else had better show up.  Of course, all of this is being done for the collective good of the team, which currently has 47 individual road wins and has two more weeks to get to 50.

• A word of advice: this is cold flu season again.  If you feel a bit under the weather, please do not insist on doing a full workout.  This is definitely not in your best interest.

• The conversation on the downtown "A" train was all about ... hockey, because we have a couple of Canadians with us (David Smith and Tim Evans).  After listening to Tim Evans describe how his math teacher brought in a television set into the classroom so that everybody can watch the 1972 Russia-versus-Canada series, Paul Sinclair observed dryly: "I wasn't even born yet."

• Running shoe fetishism is not restricted to this website.  This pair of running shoes worn by a famous person was enough to elicit an extended interview from a total stranger on the "A" train tonight.

• Sideline comment from Mary Spera (MILL): "Ramon Bermo has a cute baby."

(Workout of 12/11/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

FIELD NOTES:

"No, we're not looking at the Playboy centerfold.
We're looking for new team shorts in the catalog."

• The atmosphere in the Armory is DYNAMITE these days!  At the start of last week, we had ninety-three people registered.  At our 630pm session tonight, we had almost forty people.  At out 800pm session, the starting count was thirty-seven people.

Indoor Track Rules

• This week's front page personality is Glenis Frank, who said, "A friend told me to look for myself on the website."  She had no idea that someone had taken a picture of her the week before.  She agrees that the best photography work is the unobtrusive kind --- stealth technology rules!  Well, we just promise you that we'll have yet another surprised person next week!  Remember, it may be YOU!

• Meanwhile Sue Pearsall on the middle-distance side was also surprised to see her photo on their workout description page.  She said, "What a photo!  I had two watches, one in each hand, working two groups simultaneously!"  In both of our sessions, we have fairly large groups.  Volunteer timers are important to conduct our workouts smoothly and safely.  So if you can spare the time, please come down and help out.  Last week, Sue was the timer because she was running the American Heart Association 4 Miler on Wednesday, whence she finished second place overall.

• Timers have different styles too.  Some are all business --- they just look at their watches and read out the times.  But Sid Howard provided the total experience by designating pace leaders.  As he instructed Chris Kennan: "Chris, I have never asked you to lead a workout.  But on this 600m, I want you to take the lead.  You don't have to lead all the way, but I want you to lead through the first lap."  The pace leader position is not a matter of public spotlight, but it is an important way of making sure that the workout is run at the designated pace instead of people flying out there as if they were Michael Johnson.

• In reviewing the results from the last scoring race of the year, the two breakthrough performances were from Kevin Arlyck (33:58) and Kevan Huston (35:27).  In the case of Kevan, here is someone who just began running earlier this year.  When told that he should be running with the "A" group tonight, he said, "Hmmm ... not tonight!"

• Rob Zand was present at the workout, explaining "I am here to train the sprinters.  I had to have a printed copy of the description.  I cannot believe how long a break they get between sets."

• Toby Tanser said, "I just go through two hours with my physical therapist earlier today.  I had elbows stuck in me and magnets applied on me."  Then he proceeded to do a 630pm session and a 800pm session.

• Let it be duly noted that the fire alarm went off at 8:55pm tonight.  A short while before that, there was a public announcement to the effect that we should just ignore the fire drill conducted for the building next door.  So far this year, this aspect of the Armory was nowhere as exciting as last year, when the fire alarm was going off all the time and people were looking at each other as suspects ...

• Within the last couple of weeks, we have been receiving loads of viruses through our email system.  In particular, someone named 'degani tzvi' in Israel sends about one every two minutes, resulting in hundreds every day.  We have tried to inform this person about this situation, but our email was returned by his/her ISP as 'User Quota Exceeded'.  Yes, we can understand how the quota gets exceeded.  We became the victims because these virus transmitters had visited our website, so that a copy of the home page was stored on their computers from which the virus programs picked up our email address.  Of the many virus transmitters, we note that there is a disproportionately high representation from France, including people whose last name is Bois (note: a common family name in France).  Of course, we really do not believe that these people are loyal fans of our club; rather, they are most likely checking out the many photos of a certain Frenchman who wears the wrong team colors.  We really don't mind because we are simply doing what we have to do to gather traffic.  The word scruples is not in our working vocabulary.

(Workout of 12/06/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• Jog across the east side and continue north to the needle. At the needle you will start your first pick up which will be from the needle heading north and through the 102 street cut off. (1 1/2 miles).  Recover south to W 97 and turn around back to W 102 where you will do the same pick up in the opposite direction back to the needle. you'll start at W 102 go through the cut off and head south.  Recover from the needle to E 72nd street and do 5 lampposts pick up with 3 recovery.  Do this sequence 3 times. The 1 1/2 miles should be run at 10k pace and the lampposts are primarily for form work.

FIELD NOTES

• This is December 6th, so why do we have summer here?  This is winter, and the temperature is a balmy 65 degrees.  Normally, this kind of temperature would have drawn a mob scene at the workout, but there is a scoring race this weekend.  As it were, the attendance was forty-six people.  It is tiresome to report by now, but once again we have to amend the count with the fact that Margaret Schotte materialized out of nowhere in the middle of the workout.  Yes, we had forty-seven people.
• One person who was NOT at the workout is Ramon Bermo, because "beautiful Amanda Bermo was born December 5th at 10:02 am, weighted 7.7 pounds and measured 20 inches.  Pictures will be available soon ..."  Today, Audrey Kingsley demanded to know, "Where are those pictures?"
• Olivier Baillet sent us a friend Sylvie.  Elle est française et très sympa, ça va sans dire.  
• Here is a refreshing thought from someone who is not going to the indoor track --- "I just got out of college, and for each of the last eight years, I had outdoor track, indoor track and cross country seasons.  I think I want to take a break."
• Andrea Ostrowski and Sandra Scibelli thanked the person standing at the 97th Street turnaround point: "If you didn't tell us where to turn around, we would have keep going."  All the way straight back home ... ?
• Larry Thraen was present after the workout to explain just what the job title 'Intrepreneur of Sheep Meadow' means.  According to him, an intrepreneur (sic) is a person who makes the company better from the inside.  That was about as clear as mud.  Larry then proceeded to give an example of a company that supplies 1 Gigabit ethernet network connections ... That was like pouring black ink into the mud.  As far as the Sheep Meadow reference goes, he was out of work and spent the summer laying out there.  Well, at least that explains that very striking suntan.  For his part, Larry wanted to know how we find out so much about our people.  Well, whatever that may be, we really ought to run a D&B on all applicants since there are still 150 people who are delinquent on their 2001 dues!
• A senior runner showed up and asked, "Where are those famous fast young Ivy League women that are coming on the team?"  Well, here is a picture of one of them --- she is so fast that you can't even see her!  She was the first person to finish the full workout tonight (never mind all those people who took short cuts!).  She is also the one who wears the t-shirt that says, "We are the fast women that your mother warned you about!"  P.S.  Kitty was here tonight.  Can Cat be far behind?
• After the workout, Harry Morales was looking for Alan Ruben.  "I want to thank Alan for organizing a great party.  It is about time that someone should recognize that we have all these great cooks like Kim Mannen on the team!"  
• This Sunday, we have the last club scoring race of the calendar year, the Joe Kleinerman 10K.  Our current positions are:
  - Open Men, 3rd place, can't move up or down
  - Masters Men, 1st place by 61 points (and this race is worth only 15 points for winning), so this will be a celebration
  - Veterans Men, 4th place and 10 points ahead of 5th
  - Open Women, 3rd place guaranteed and 9 points behind 2nd
  - Masters Women, 4th place guaranteed and 6 points behind 3rd
  - Veterans Women, 4th place, can't move up or down
  But whereas NYRRC ends its year in December, our year ends with the New York City Marathon.  So, by our count, this is the first race of the year of us.  Get out there!
• After the race on Sunday, group brunch is set for Dorrian's Restaurant at 1616 Second Avenue (84th Street).  John Gleason said, "I'll be there!"  From the back of the crowd came this female voice: "... don't let that stop you from going!"  Comedian!

(Workout of 12/04/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• Tonight's workout will be indoors at The Armory (168th street and Fort Washington Avenue) as will all Tuesday night workouts until April.  Anyone who wishes to run at any of these workouts will need to purchase an Armory ID pass for $150, see our home page for details.  Because tonight is the first workout indoors it is vitally important that you get a good warm-up and warm-down before and after the workout. You will be using new muscle groups to run on the smaller track.
• Tonight's workout will be
       - 3x200m
       - 4 x (800m, 400m jog)
       - 4 x (400m, 200m jog)
  The 200m are a further warm-up.  The 800m should be done at 5K pace (or 3K pace for the A and B groups).  The 400m should be done at 3 seconds per quarter quicker (e.g. if you run the 800m in 2:30 - i.e. 75 second quarter, the 400m should be run in 72 seconds).
• The following list of people have IDs ready for pick up:

FIELD NOTES:

• As this will be the first indoor workout for the distance runners, the following rules are useful to remember:

1. If you have sent in your check/photo already, you can pick up your ID at the front desk at the Armory.  
2. If you have not sent in your check/photo, you will not be admitted.  You will have to go through the procedure that is described on our home page.  You can register as late as January, but you won't be getting your money's worth.
3. You will have registered for either the early (630pm) or late (800pm) session.  Late session people will not be admitted until 745pm. 
4. For the first timers, the Armory has large bathrooms in which you can change from your fancy office wear into your running gear.  Our belongings will be placed in a CPTC area, for which we have no theft issues in the past.  However, we have occasions on which someone took someone else's stuff by mistake, and it takes a web posting to straighten things out.  So check your belongings before you depart.
5. Never run in lane 1.  That lane has orange cones placed on it, precisely to indicate that you should not run there.  The reason that we don't train in lane 1 is that the distance events are raced in that lane, and it is necessary to preserve them from wear and tear as much as possible.
6. You will run in either Lane 2 or Lane 4 in the counter-clockwise direction.  Lane 2 is for the 'slower' runners (meaning, running slower than 32 seconds per 200m lap), while Lane 4 is for the 'faster' runners (meaning 32 seconds or faster per 200m lap).  Your coaches and timers will tell you exactly which lane to run in.
7. You will run in groups of no more than eight.  Our coaches and timers will divide all our runners into such groups based upon their speeds.
8. When your group runs, it should be in a single file.  Running even two abreast is not acceptable, because you are impeding and endangering the runners coming up from behind you.
9. If your group comes up to a slower runner or a slower group of runners, you may pass on the right-hand lane.  Thus, you pass the Lane 2 runners by running in Lane 3; and you pass the Lane 4 runners by running in Lane 5.  As soon as you pass them, you should swing back into your designated lane (2 or 4) and maintain your original file.  Always be alert about what is in front of you, and also about what may be coming up from behind you.
10. When you finish your set (e.g. 400m), you should step off the track immediately (but always peek behind and around you, and do so in a safe manner).  Never stop dead in the middle of the track because you can be run over from behind.  This may not be a slight bump, but a major crash course by Craig "The Body" Plummer and you won't remember what hit you!
11. Any pre-workout warmup should be done around the track in the clockwise direction on the floor and off the track.  You should be able to see many other people doing the same.
12. Any between-set jogs should be done off the track on the inside floor in the counter-clockwise direction.  Stay together in your group to make sure that there are no stragglers.
13. Always stay alert because all sorts of other things are going on (e.g. sprinters on the straightaway track in the middle, the pole vaulters on the side, the weight throwers in the rear, etc).
14. No spitting on the track!
15. The Armory atmosphere is dry and warm, so please make sure you re-hydrate appropriately.  There are water fountains and beverage machines just outside the track area, but perhaps you should bring your own bottled water.
16. We have been asked about eateries around the Armory.  The most famous place is Coogan's Restaurant and Bar located at 4015 Broadway (169th Street).  These are the folks who sponsor the 5K road race from the Armory to the Cloisters and back in Spring.  Please bear in mind that they have karaoke on Tuesdays, if that is to your taste.  The owner is a pal of our teammate Ellen Wallop.  And under-aged-looking people (e.g. Isaya Okwiya) need to carry IDs that don't look fake ... tsk tsk tsk ...

• The latest list of registrants contained 52 names from among the road runners.  Today, we had thirty-two people at the start of the workout at 8pm.  Since the middle-distance runners had 25 names when they started, our current total combined with the sprinters will be nearly ninety in total.  Thank goodness we don't have to all run at the same time!  Even so, for the 8pm session, we were running packed from one end to the other with no other team on the track at the same time.  So those safety and courtesy rules are important.
• We admit to being ambivalent about advertising the track workouts.  On one hand, we don't want to hype it up to the point that hundreds of people come out to run at the same time.  On the other hand, we do want to see the sport being popularized and loved.  On the balance, we come out wanting to give more airtime to the sport, and the overcrowding issue can be addressed readily in time.  Therefore, as part of our effort, these workout pages (both the middle-distance and the long-distance groups) will carry more colorful photos. 
• For quite a few of our road runners (namely, David Smith, Jeff Wilson, Kevan Huston, Neeraj Engineer, Chele Modica, Jesse Lansner, ...), this was the first time in this gorgeous indoor track.  This is billed as the fastest track in the USA (or, to put it more humbly, at least equal to Reggie Lewis Center and the Harvard track in Boston), and will be the host site for the national championships early next year.  The first thing that people should do is to wear racing flats instead of their heavy training shoes, because this will be a lot easier and less dangerous.  Next, you should ease into running around on a smaller, banked track, instead of flying flat out as you would on the bigger, flat outdoor track.  Here are examples of light shoes worn by some famous people ...

These two pictures drew this comment: "I think you may possibly have a thing for shoes...it worries me..."  But we are not the only ones who have a thing for shoes ... see SHOE 4 AFRICA

• 'Tis is the start of the indoor track season.  It would be a good idea to get a hold of the indoor track meet schedule, and lay out a plan so that you can have certain focus points for the season.  Even if you don't think that you are highly competitive, just remember that those Thursday Night At The Armory meets are low-keyed, no-pressure events that are designed to ease people into the jouissance of track.
• Although Audrey Kingsley made it to the honor roll of timers today, she did not provide time for all the sets.  In particular, we have no splits from her on the A-train stops ...  she'll just have to pay more attention in the future ...

(Workout of 11/29/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• Tonight's workout will be four lower loops of the park.  The first two should be done at marathon effort and the last two should be done at half marathon effort.  Total distance of workout 6.8 miles.  Stuart Calderwood will be selling tickets for this Saturday night's awards banquet at $40 each.  Bring check payable to CPTC or cash.

FIELD NOTES

• Excuse us ... but could this be London?  I mean, the fog was pea soup-thick tonight ...  We are happy to report that we must have thirty-five native Londoners who did not mind running out there ...
• Tonight's workout takes place around the lower loop, which was not the best situation due to the fact that cars are permitted in the park for next month or so.  Therefore, safety is a paramount issue during this period.
• Heard on the first loop around Seventh Avenue: "What is this?  WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"  Yeah, what is this ... ?
• You are no doubt aware that we are moving indoors next Tuesday.  Please make sure that you have the check/photo delivered before hand and that you will be admitted, or else you may be wasting your time going up to the Armory.  For the first timers, the Armory has large bathrooms in which you can change from your fancy office wear into your running gear.  Our belongings will be placed in a CPTC area, for which we have no theft issues in the past.  However, we have occasions on which someone took someone else's stuff by mistake, and it takes a web posting to straighten things out.  So check your belongings before you depart.
  What is of greater concern is the track safety rules.  Noah Perlis wrote: "I am very concerned about the dangerous situation on the track with the increased number of sprinters and new people not used to the importance of the awareness factor.  We have already witnessed some minor collisions and I am afraid there may be more serious injuries awaiting the runners in the future.  We have many new faces not used to the track and the need for alertness and proper procedure to reduce the risk of injury. In addition to awareness, there needs to have some time elapse before it becomes a regular habit to absorb and follow simple, but important, guidelines for safe use."
  Here are some of the safety rules.  You will be reminded of them constantly by a very loud voice over the public address system:
  (1)  Never run in lane 1.  That lane has orange cones placed on it, precisely to indicate that you should not run there.  The reason that we don't train in lane 1 is that the distance events are always raced in that lane, and it is necessary to preserve them from wear and tear as much as possible.
  (2)  You will run in either Lane 2 or Lane 4 in the counter-clockwise direction.  Lane 2 is for the 'slower' runners (meaning, running slower than 32 seconds per 200m), while Lane 4 is for the 'faster' runners (meaning 32 seconds or faster per 200m).  Your coaches and timers will tell you exactly which lane to run in.
  (3)  You will run in groups of no more than eight.  Our coaches and timers will divide all our runners into such groups based upon their speeds.
  (4)  When your group runs, it should be in a single file.  Running even two abreast is not acceptable, because you are impeding and endangering the runners coming up from behind you.
  (5)  If your group comes up to a slower runner or a slower group of runners, you may pass on the right-hand lane.  Thus, you pass the Lane 2 runners by running in Lane 3; and you pass the Lane 4 runners by running in Lane 5.  As soon as you pass them, you should swing back into your designated lane (2 or 4) and maintain your original file.  Always be alert about what is in front of you, and also about what may be coming up from behind you.
  (6) When you finish your set (e.g. 400m), you should step off the track immediately (but always peek behind and around you, and do so in a safe manner).  Never stop dead in the middle of the track because you can be run over from behind.  This may not be a slight bump, but a major crash course by Craig "The Body" Plummer --- you won't remember what hit you!
  (7)  Any pre-workout warmup should be done around the track in the clockwise direction on the floor and off the track.  You should be able to see many other people doing the same.
  (8)  Any between-set jogs should be done off the track on the inside floor in the counter-clockwise direction.  Stay together in your group to make sure that there are no stragglers.
  (9)  Always stay alert because all sorts of other things are going on (e.g. sprinters on the straightaway track in the middle, the pole vaulters on the side, the weight throwers in the rear, etc).
  (10)  No spitting on the track!
  (11)  The Armory atmosphere is dry and warm, so please make sure you re-hydrate appropriately.  There are water fountains and beverage machines just outside the track area, but perhaps you should bring your own bottled water.
• About getting a new singlet --- Jerry Macari will be bringing them on Saturday, Dec 1st to the  CPTC Awards Party, 593 Columbus Avenue (bet 88th and 89th) 7pm - midnight".  This year's Awards Party promises to be great because (1) Noel Comess (Tom Cat Bakery), Kim Mannen (Saveur magazine) and Ramon ("The Spaniard") Bermo are catering the food; (2) the Year-In-Review slide show arranged by James ("Who, me?") Siegel; (3) a program that will go on time because there is exactly 90 seconds allocated for each award winner; (4) and, most of all, because this has been one of the strongest growing and self-transforming years ever ...  

(Workout of 11/27/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

• Jog up the West side to the Reservoir at 84th Street. Continue warm-up on Reservoir to E90th Street. 1st pick-up is 1 mile to 86th Street. Recover one quarter mile to Southern pump house. 2nd pick-up is one quarter to E90th Street. Recover half mile to 1st Northern pump house. 3rd pick-up is half mile to 86th Street. Recover one quarter to Southern pump house.  Complete the 3rd Reservoir loop (One and a quarter miles) with series of 10 lampposts on, 5 recovery back to 86th street. Then recover back to the statue.  First three pick-ups (mile, quarter, half) should be done at 5K effort.
• Alan Ruben will be selling tickets at the early-bird discount rate of $40 at this Sunday's 15K XC race at Van Cortlandt Park and at this week's Tuesday night and Thursday night road workouts. 

FIELD NOTES:

• Summer is back in town again, warm and humid night.  Tony Ruiz, being the only person not running, was handed off a whole load of clothing to watch over from over-dressed people.  What are coaches for anyway?
• The results of the Peter McArdle 15K have not been published yet.  Those results were tallied by hand, but they used to be able to score and tabulate manually immediately after the race, but that was another era.  The best individual results came from Josh Feldman (3rd place overall), Tom Phillips ("this is my key race of the season" for this Bronxville resident who trains in the trails up there) and Kevin Arlyck.  But the best race report comes from that Toby Tanser: "I was hoping that 5 club members would pass me so I could drop out with a clear conscious and not feel bad about letting the team down as I limped from 5-k to the finish. Running with my condition is no fun I can tell you.  Audrey from CPTC asked me if I'd care to run to the other side of the park and get the #4 train home, she must be kidding - the last time I tried to get through that jungle of a park I cut myself in numerous places, ripped my clothes to shreds, and left more blood in the woods than a gutted elk. More team news from CPTC, The Sc's took the wrong train and had to jump in a cab, and Jos F. led the team home to what is thought to be a second place finish. The Master's Master Mr. Rube had a bad race, was it something to do with getting the mule number?"
• This was our last Tuesday road workout of the year.  Next Tuesday, we will move into the nice and warm Armory track facility.  Sign-up information is posted on the home page.  If you are procrastinating like Kevin Arlyck, then you better hurry up and get your check/photo over ASAP.  If you are  practicing a new sport (something called 'being a couch potato') like Eric Aldrich, you better hurry up extra fast!
• The sprinters and middle-distance runners have already been working out at the Armory for a couple of weeks.  Here is Noah Perlis' report: "You would be very surprised at the many members we are seeing at the indoor workouts.  Many new faces in the middle distance group, an average of 25 per session so far.  Devon is doing a great job.  A lot of good spirit going on there. Hope to see you soon."  To get a taste of what goes on, you should check out the middle-distance runners workout page.
• Lee Shearer was asked today: "According to the middle-distance runners workout page, you are in their Group #3 doing 1:32, 2:18, 3:04, 2:18, 1:32 (46 per lap for 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m).  Why do I see you running around the reservoir now?"  She said, "I got home late and the park was closer than the Armory.  In fact, I have not been up there yet."  Well, she won't have a choice any more next week. ...
• Alayne Adams was spotted with Tim Evans at the reservoir after the workout.  Since running the Philadelphia Marathon (4th overall, 1st master for $500), she has only ran lightly a couple of times.  But she promises, "I will run the Joe Kleinerman 10K scoring race.  I want to help the team if I can."   How about that for team spirit?
• The following APB was issued on behalf of Guenter Erich: "About a year and a half ago, I lent a picture to somebody in the club and it got lost.  It is a 4 inch by 12 inch panoramic picture of the 1974 or '5 start of the NY City Marathon. It shows many top runners of that time. On it are Miki Gorman, Katherine Switzer, Kim Merritt, among others, since the race was also the women's National Championship.  Some of the men, that are shown are: Sheldon Karlin, Tom Fleming, (with back to the camera) Fritz Mueller, Alan Kirik, Dr. Norbert Sanders and many more!!! Of course, yours truly is on it too.  As I get older and older, this picture becomes more and more valuable to me, and, I am sure, to many other runners of those days too.  I would appreciate, that anyone who has recently seen it; my name and address is on the back, to please contact me, or in any case send me a copy of it, which should be no problem with today's technology. Any information will be handled confidentially. Thank you, Guenter."

(Workout of 11/22/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

FIELD NOTES

• About the new singlets --- the order was processed by Jerry Macari, who had unfortunately lost access to his Urban Athletics store in the World Trade Center complex after September 11th.  These are his sale times and places for the next week:
  Sunday, Nov 25th    Pete McArdle XC 15K, Van Cortlandt Park
  Wednesday, Nov 28th  416 East 85th St, Apt 2B (bet 1st and York) 5pm - 7pm
  Saturday, Dec 1st  CPTC Awards Banquet, 593 Columbus Avenue (bet 88th and 89th) 7pm - midnight"
• Of all our years with the Central Park Track Club, this may be the one time that we should all be sure to count our blessings and appreciate our lives this Thanksgiving!  Remember, we still have each other ...

(Workout of 11/20/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Stuart Calderwood)

• Warm up to the Reservoir entrance across from 86th Street, then run three laps of the Reservoir as follows:
• Lap 1: Alternate between three light-poles striding and three poles recovery;
• Lap 2: Alternate between ten poles at approx. 5K race-pace and five poles recovery;
• Lap 3: Alternate between four poles striding and three poles recovery.
• The first lap should be a moderate effort; not too fast on the pickups and not too slow on the recoveries. It's basically a long warmup for the second lap.  The ten-pole pickups should be hard efforts but not all-out. It's a good idea to alternate leaders in each group, both so that more people can learn to set a pace and because it's hard to run behind people on the Reservoir in the dark--you step in holes with no warning--and leading is very pleasant in comparison.  The third lap should be easier than the second, with quick but short pickups and slower recoveries (but your momentum will take you about one pole into the recovery!) This lap should be for sharpening only; no killer efforts.  
• This workout is geared primarily toward people--we hope a lot of people--who will be running the Pete McArdle 15K cross-country race at Van Cortlandt Park on Sunday, 11/25; this is a scoring race for the men's teams.  The workout should be slightly less intense than last Tuesday's session (1000/800/1200/1000/800); the hard work for Sunday's race has already been done at this point. You should feel like you've done some work after the second lap, but then still be able to recover quickly and feel sharp on the third lap. (The very specific goal of the workout is to get the lead out of Kevin Arlyck's legs during the final stretch at Van Cortlandt.)  We'll finish up with a recovery run back to the statue.
• For those people at tonight's workout (Tuesday, Nov 20th) who have not yet purchased tickets for our Annual Awards Banquet (Saturday, Dec 1st) Alan Ruben will be present to collect checks payable to 'Central Park Track Club' for $40 per person.
  This party is the club's social highlight of the year, where awards for outstanding performance during 2001 will be made. Check the website for the full list of nominations.
  The food at this year's party promises to be extra-special with Noel Comess and Kim Mannen providing the culinary expertise and Ramon Bermo the Spanish flavor. Drinks and DJ are also included to make this an exceptional deal for all our members.

FIELD NOTES:

• This is the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, which normally means that a lot of people would be away already.  Nevertheless, the attendance tonight was 52 people!  The most underdressed award was claimed by Jerome O'Shaughnessy, now that Jeff Johnson no longer runs the workouts.  P.S.  Both Margaret Schotte and Fritz Mueller showed up before the group took off, so there was no issue of census undercount tonight.  P.P.S.  No, we didn't count the dog-walker!
• About this past weekend's race results, Stuart Calderwood had only one thing to say: "We are not worthy!" as the group paid homage to Alayne Adams, fourth overall female and first female master at the  Philadelphia Marathon in a time of 2:51:12.  Alayne did not particularly have this marathon in her planning, but only ran it to see what she could do after failing to get into the New York City Marathon (shame on them, because that time would have been good enough for 4th NYRR open female money!).  When asked if she wants to run another one to see what she can REALLY do, she said, "Oh, I don't know if I have the toughness?"  What?  Alayne, you have three kids!  Talk about being tough!
• Heard on the road --- Audrey Kingsley: "Everything I say in this workout is OFF THE RECORD!  ... (pause) ... Hey, but that's going to affect my google rating ..."
• George Wisniewski showed up today with a color photo of the 1988 Central Park Track Club team taken right underneath the Daniel Webster statue taken after the Club Championship (yes, at that time, the race ended at Tavern On The Green).  Roland Soong, Stacy Creamer and Frank Morton looked at the photo and were deeply disappointed because they all joined the team a few months afterwards and never made it into this photo.  That photo had many very young-looking people --- Betty Marolla, Mary Ellen Howe, Bob Meighan, Tom Phillips, John Kenney, Candace Strobach, Wendy Wisniewski, Tony Ruiz and obviously includes George himself (according to his own photo-analysis today, "I had no tummy back then!").
• Speaking of Mary Ellen Howe, your webmaster had this strange experience.  Last Thursday, he went down for a meeting at the WPP corporate offices on Park Avenue and 42nd Street.  He has never been there, and will likely never go there again.  On this day, he was listening to a presentation whereupon the public address system declared a fire drill.  Upon going out to the lobby, he saw Mary Ellen Howe among a hundred other dislocated WPP employees.  Well, well, well.  A few years ago, they had worked on the same floor at Worldwide Plaza where they came across each other often outside the ladies room.  It's a small world, and we mustn't keep meeting this way ...
• Although this was designated as the Kevin Arlyck workout, the man himself was AWOL!
• The second last scoring race of the year will be the Peter McArdle 15K cross country race this Sunday.  Our current standings are:
   
  3rd Open Men --- cannot be caught from behind, 13 points behind 2nd place
  3rd Open Women --- cannot be caught from behind, 9 points behind 2nd place
  1st Masters Men --- three-peat champions, winning 8 out of 9 so far, 57 points ahead
  4th Masters Women --- still in a tussle, 16 points ahead and 6 points behind
  4th Veterans Men --- can be caught from behind, 4 points ahead and 21 points behind
  4th Veterans Women --- can be caught from behind, 15 points behind and 18 points ahead and we have been either first/second or no show
   
  Now, we all know that there is a bit of a letdown after the New York City Marathon.  But the same will be true for all teams.  So if we have a large turnout, we may surprise people out there.  See you out there on Sunday!
• Sid Howard told a teammate about how he got a Sony Playstation so that his grandchildren won't get bored when they visit him.  He was explaining this game in which people take driving tests to earn a license, when this teammate interrupted him with a dose of reality --- the latest Sony Playstation game is titled Grand Theft Auto 3, in which you try to steal all manners of vehicles (e.g. sports cars, SUVs, vans, 18 wheelers, ambulances, police cars and even tanks) by any means possible under many different circumstances (e.g. day, night, crowds, etc).  Not sure if Sid wants his 17-year-old grandson to learn this game ...
• On December 4th, we will be moving onto the Armory indoor track on Tuesdays.  You will need to have paid your user fee and have a ID ready before you can go there.  Sign-up information is posted on our home page.  Just so there is no misunderstanding, we remain on the Central Park roads on Thursdays, now and forever.
• As the weather gets colder and darker, we offer you a verse of a poem by Ingeborg Bachmann, so that we can sit back, spend this short, horrid time with thoughts only and make a resolve to act with less misanthropy in the future.  By the way, playing Johannes Brahms' Alto Rhapsody on the stereo helps ... 

So, is there another running club website out there as strange as this one ... ?  A rhetorical question should require no answer.  But in this case, there is an Other and its name is obviously RU.

(Workout of 11/15/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

FIELD NOTES

• Forty-six people were present at the start of the workout.  At 76th Street, we were joined by Fritz Mueller who then shot to the head of the group, just like old times.  As we gathered together at 110th Street, of course Margaret Schotte materialized out of nowhere.  What did we expect anyway?

• We were happy to see Stephanie Gould, back for the first time after making the trip in the New York City Marathon and looked none the worse for it.  As a bonus, we offer you a photo of her in a different look.
• For those newcomers who were shocked at the brutality of this workout, please remember that it occurs only once every quarter for the purpose of shaking people up.  You will now be on easy street for the next three months.
• Apart from the long-term problem of the AOL lusers being blocked from receiving the Coollist mailing, it would appear that nobody else got anything this week either.  No, we won't blame this on September 11.  But until we figure out what is going on, we should point out that the workout descriptions posted on the website.  So if you check after noon today, you would have seen the description of today's workout published on the workout description page.
• By the way, if you were not corralled by Audrey Kingsley to sign that Car Free Central Park petition, you can still fill out the on-line petition.  As for the person who asked, "I've already signed this petition five different times before.  Should I sign another one?" the answer from the official liaison person was a very frank "I don't know."
• You may have read on our home page today that a former CPTC member Victor Diaz perished on American Airlines flight #587 this Monday.  John ("The Fireman") Gleason said, "I was called to the crash scene.  It was a sight that was sheer horror.  It was not anything that anyone would ever want to see."  Our coach Tony Ruiz recalled that Victor Diaz often ran with him in Prospect Park and, after finding out about this, it was hard to even come out to the park except for two cups of black coffee and the thought that this group of people would be there for him.
• This was an unusually warm night, almost like summer.  Unfortunately, this means that the cyclists are out en masse before winter takes over, so you have to watch out for them because you are likely to be lose in any collision (unless you are built like a certain unnamed brick house).  There were also three cyclists whom we kept seeing again and again doing their own thing apart from the big pack.  On the first time at East 66th Street, the lead female cyclist in this trio was heard to say "... and you run over the runner ... " and then she looked and recognized an actual runner --- "... oh, hi, it's you!"  On the last time at Harlem Hill, the trailing male cyclist was heard to say (in a Russian accent): " ... I see an orange jacket ... WALKING!"  Stay away from those bikes!
• The man who preaches "Keep the jog alive" is the most ardent practitioner too.  The first person to reach 102nd Street after finishing the last hill sprint was Sid Howard, of course, in a near sprint.  Meanwhile, the woman who preaches running at one (and only one) speed was asked by the coach, "You are not racing back again, are you?" (actually, it was not a question but a statement) on the way back to the Daniel Webster statue, and was therefore forced to restrain herself.
• Apart from running, your teammates actually have other lives, which are often quite surprising.  Tonight, for example, Sid Howard found that Josh Feldman could give him an explanation of how insurance rates were set in New Jersey.  Did you know that Hudson county has the highest density of automobile per capita in the whole country?
• Thirteen.  Eight thirty.  What does the meaning?  Hint:  Those numbers were in a Paul Sinclair-Audrey Kingsley conversation.
• No shoe inspection jokes tonight.  No 'Kitty Cat' jokes either.  We are not in a jovial mood, so James Siegel says.
• APB:  Kim Mannen, you owe coach Tony Ruiz US$1 ... just a friendly reminder ...

(Workout of 11/13/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION

FIELD NOTES:

• Exactly forty people were at the start of the workout.  Fritz Mueller appeared before the workout and asked, "What are you doing here?  Aren't you supposed to be at the indoor track?" and then he vanished, saying "I can't hang around until the workout starts.  Maybe I'll see you on Thursday."  Maybe, maybe not.  Also Margaret Schotte mysteriously materialized at the reservoir, so that the aforementioned tally is a census undercount.
• Yesterday morning, an American Airlines flight bound for Santo Domingo crashed in Queens minutes after takeoff.  So far, the known facts suggest that this was an accident.  As far as we know, none of our team members were on that plane.  Our former coach George Wisniewski has been teaching high school in Washington Heights for over twenty years, and so it was nearly impossible for him not to know someone on that plane.  In particular, the person featured on television today --- Francisco Diaz --- was his student nine years ago.  So, in a time like this, George showed up at the workout tonight for some personal warmth with the other group of people that he has known for a long time.
• George Wisniewski also brought with him a favorite drawing of his --- the statue of Daniel Webster.  Of course, George was actually not aware of the significance of that particular drawing in the development of this website.  So tonight, we had to explain to him that the first ever page that appeared on what would become the top running club website in this universe is in fact that drawing.  Of course, you can follow the link on that page to get to the second page ever.  On a very sad note, according to George, the artist of that drawing is an heroin addict living on New York subways right now.
• For the distance runners, the club tradition has been to take one month off each year away from the track.  In this case, the month is always November, from the end of the New York City Marathon to the start of the indoor season in the Armory.  During this month, the Tuesday workouts take place on the reservoir (weather permitting).  With due respect, this is not the most pleasant set of circumstances --- it is dark, the footing is uneven, the wind is strong and the temperature is cold.  Among all these unpleasant factors, the biggest concern is the slightly uneven terrain, which forces one to soften the landing of the feet because one can never tell how far down it is, and that slight discrepancy of a fraction of an inch can have a bone-jarring effect.  In fact, the only places where one can accelerate without fear are the short concrete sections in front of the pump houses!  But how else are we going to become tough runners?  And on Thursdays, we will go back onto the familiar asphalt roads in Central Park.
• Paul Sinclair filed this protest note: "I looked at the NYRRC Cross Country Championships photo album and saw these notes: 'Paul Sinclair.  How about this cross-country race as a tune-up for the Philadelphia Marathon?'  So I happily clicked on the link and saw a photo of someone who was anyone but me.  Just to be sure, I printed the photo and examined the printout in detail.  None of those people was me!"
• Shoe inspection was not held tonight as Lauren Eckhart had to work late tonight ...

(Workout of 11/08/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

FIELD NOTES

• Thirty-six people were present at the start of the workout, to be reinforced at West 90th Street by a wildly cheered (and slightly embarrassed?) pace pusher.  The attendance was not bad in a time of post-marathon blues.
• Spotting Norman Goluskin among the attendees, coach Tony Ruiz said, "Norman, you must not have received the workout description by email.  If you did, you would not be here."  Although this is the week after the New York City Marathon, this was also the final preparation week before tapering for the Philadelphia Marathon.
• Last week, Lauren Eckhart was wondering how a teammate could keep his new shoes sparkling clean after several weeks.  This week, that teammate made a point to approach Lauren and show her the now dirt-covered shoes.  Plenty of running in the last seven days?  NOT!  He said, "These are my old shoes!  Just trying to fool you!"
• Josh Feldman reflects on this New York City Marathon: "I was in St. Louis!  I felt so far removed from it."
• As we lined up to depart by groups, there was a newcomer.  Trying to see if this person should leave with the 42-minutes-plus 10K pace group, Tony Ruiz asked, "How fast can you run a 10K?"  The answer was: "30:30."  Ooops!
• Margaret Schotte got off work late and arrived at West 102n Street in time to start the run the second loop.  Whom should she run with?  Here was a piece of advice: "Wait for your Harvard buddies to come by, jump in and make sure that you hurt them by pushing the pace!"  We will note that this self-appointed advisor is a not a member of the coaching staff.  P.S.  The person is also obviously not a member of the social committee.
• We were glad to see a couple of people who were away for some time.  This was Andrea Ostrowski's first team workout after a PR at the Chicago Marathon.  And then there was Darlene Miloski, whom we last saw outsprinting someone at the Club Championships in August.  By the way, this is an obscurantist inside reference, which you have to be there to understand. 
• Tony Ruiz was running back with Margaret Schotte from West 102nd Street to the Daniel Webster statue when he noticed that the pace was a bit ... hmmm ... unusual.  So he asked the pacesetter in front of them, "Are you racing after the workout, just like Audrey (Kingsley)?"  Actually, not really, because the real Audrey Kingsley was about a quarter mile ahead already.
• After the workout, Jerome O'Shaughnessy appeared with his big bag of orange jackets.  Sales was brisk this evening, as Dave Howard bought three jackets.  Dan Sack liked the orange jacket a lot, and so went to withdraw $50 from the Central Park ATM to make an instant purchase.  What ATM?  There's an ATM inside Central Park?  Sorry, but this is another obscurantist inside joke, which you have to be there to understand.  
• Earlier, Dan Sack could have earned $50 in consultation fee from Harry Morales for an impromptu examination of a foot injury underneath the street lamp.  We will omit the rectal exam joke ...
• As a reminder, the long distance group will move indoors on Tuesdays.  To gain access, you will have to pay a user fee.  Please bear in mind that it takes a few days to process, so you should do so as early as possible.  Last year, people thought that they could just show up at the Armory with money and photo, but were turned away.  All sign-up information is posted on our home page.

(Workout of 11/06/2001)

WORKOUT DESCRIPTION (from Tony Ruiz)

FIELD NOTES:

• Sorry about the quick change of location, but those are on the email list as well as those who checked the website would have found out.  To repeat, during the month of November, the distance runners will run their Tuesday workouts in Central Park, mostly interval runs around the reservoir.  The start time is 7pm and the meeting place is the Daniel Webster statue (West 72nd Street and West Drive).  After Thanksgiving, the Tuesday workouts will move indoors into the Armory Track facility.  Sign-up information for the Armory is on our home page.
• Thirty-three people at the start of the workout, not counting Frank Schneiger and Kai Michaelsen.  The count included Stuart Calderwood on a bicycle, Roger Liberman in civilian clothes and Margaret Angell on heels, so it may not be totally fair.  But so what?  What is unknown is the number of people who are beginning their training for next year's marathon ...
• We know that it is cold out there, but how could we not go through the list of marathon finishing times?  After the coach went through the list, Jerome O'Shaughnessy had to interject, "Don't forget the 'wall of orange' supporters!"  That marathon list was complemented by a win across the Atlantic by Paul Stuart-Smith.  Yes, we are a global power.
• Not official as yet is if Margaret Angell will be the fifth NYRRC member finisher (after Jeanne Hennessy (TRR), Gordon Bakoulis (MOVC), Leteyesus Berhe (WTC) and Gillian Horovitz (MOVC).  This is a non-trivial question because fifth place is worth US$1,000.
• Not everybody is happy about our marathon coverage.  In particular, James Siegel said, "The only mention of me was my encounters with law enforcement officers!"  What did you say that you did that day, James?  According to the photo below, you were standing off the curb on the road, thus impeding the progress of the runners.  And there was also the matter of what happened in the bushes ...

• We will note in passing that the World Series ended on the night of the New York City Marathon, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in the seventh and final game of the series.  This may not be a bad thing, because we might never be able to get John Prather to sign on the dotted line otherwise.  But this is an obscurantist statement that only three people will understand ...
• During the month of November when we run our Tuesday intervals around the reservoir, the normal rules of engagement are superseded by the 'every person for himself/herself' principle.  Whereas the slower group starts first while the faster group waits, we go as soon as we organize ourselves as there was no point standing in the wind coming in over the cold water.  Today, Bill Haskins found out the hard way as he emerged from the bushes to find his group long gone and had to play catch-up all the way.  He did manage to pass everyone but Kevin Arl