Filed under: NBR Goings On, Workouts | Tags: fun, goal setting, health, injury, running, salon, winter, yoga
By popular demand, we’ve organized a Yoga for Runners Workshop! This is designed to introduce runners to the practice of yoga as an effective supplement to their training and races. Yoga instructor Maya Seidel will guide participants through a sample yoga session, focusing on poses which are specifically useful for runners. Special attention will be given to proper alignment, breath awareness, and balance. Following a period of guided relaxation and brief meditation, the workshop will conclude with a discussion about how to apply yoga to round out a workout.
Maya Seidel is a certified yoga instructor experienced with teaching yoga to children, adults, and seniors. For more information, please visit www.mayayoganyc.com.
This workshop will cost $2 for Greenpoint YMCA members, and $4 for non-YMCA members. We also will be collecting optional instructor tips to give to Maya.
Date: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Time: 1:30pm – 3:00pm
Location: Greenpoint YMCA – 99 Meserole Ave – Brooklyn NY – 11222
Hosted at the Greenpoint YMCA in the SACC room in the basement.
Also, you might want to bring your own mat if you have one.
See you Sunday!
Just in time for the Winter season we’ll be placing an order for NBR
Long Sleeve tees and Hoodies so you can represent NBR in the cold and
snow! Both the Long Sleeves and Hoodies are from American Apparel and
will be dyed with water-based paints from Fleaheart [go locally-owned
businesses!]. Discounted pricing is available to all NBRers who place
their orders by 1/1/10 so get on it!
Long Sleeve Tee’s $22.00 ($25 if ordered after 1/1/10)
The long sleeve tee’s are American Apparel 100% cotton and will have
the same pattern as the short sleeve ones. They are available in
Black and White sizes Small to Large.
Women’s Sizing: http://www.americanapparel.net/sizing/default.asp?chart=womens.shirts
Men’s Sizing: http://www.americanapparel.net/sizing/default.asp?chart=mu.shirts
Hoodies $25.00 ($30 if ordered after 1/1/10)
The Hoodies will have the North Brooklyn Runners logo in block letters
on the back and come in Black and White. Here is a link to what they
look like: (Ladies:: Please note they are unisex sizes so I would
recommend buying a smaller size than you normally would or trying it
on in the store if you’re not sure).
Women’s Flex Fleece Zip Hoodie
http://store.americanapparel.net/f497w.html
Men’s California Fleece Thermal Lined London Hoodie
http://store.americanapparel.net/5452w.html
How to Order
Email NBRgear@ymail.com to arrange a time to pay by cash before 1/1/09
or send a payment via PayPal to webmaster@6finger.com (please choose
to send as a gift to avoid extra fees!) or contact Anna McCusker or JP
McGarrity directly.
When will I get my gear?
If you order by January 1 your gear will be delivered around January
11th and can be picked up at practices/ other meetings. If you order
after January 1st, your gear will arrive in February.
What if I have suggestions for future gear orders?
Email NBRgear@ymail.com with your suggestions/ comments.
Here are some winter running tips from our recent running salon. Yes, it’s cold in winter, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay on the treadmill for three months out of the year.
General Winter Running Tips
- Layer it up – it’s key to keeping warm
- Wear a tshirt (wicking) under your layers
- Don’t overdress! Dress in less layers than you’d like — you’ll be cold the first few minutes, but you’ll warm up. (I can speak to this for this morning’s run. I almost ran back inside to put on another layer, but by the time I ran a few minutes, I was perfectly comfortable!)
- Technical gear is key. In the winter, cotton is your enemy. It gets wet, and wet=cold. With 15% off for all NBR members at JackRabbit next Monday, and the holidays approaching, purchase or ask for technical gear. I’m a big lover of EMS (get on their mailing list for coupons and notices of sales) and National Running Center (http://www.nationalrunningcenter.com/). Also, post-holiday sales are great for picking up good gear at good prices.
- I wear a mask like I’m robbing a store when it’s really cold. It’s made of technical gear, and just has holes for my eyes, and is really, really sexy. I’ve been honked while wearing it.
- Keep your neck warm. And your head. You lose a lot of heat through your head.
- If you’re an asthmatic like me, keep your inhaler on you during those super cold windy days — the cold can aggravate asthma.
- When it’s icy, I pull on my Yak Trax like a pro. (http://www.yaktrax.com/ProductsPro.aspx) Note: don’t run on non-icy/non-snowy roads/sidewalks with them b/c that is not comfortable at all and will wear them out much quicker. Douglas and I both own them so we’ll be running all snowy winter long!
- Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from harsh wind (I didn’t have any on this a.m. and my eyes were tearing a lot at the start of the run) and the crap that is flying around Kent Avenue and our permanently under-construction neighborhood.
- Keep drinking. Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you’re not getting dehydrated.
- If you aren’t sure if you can’t make it, do a loop course. Run a short loop, and you’ll probably be feeling great that you’ll do another few loops. Of course, there are those days like yesterday (pouring rain, windy, super cold) where you may just do one loop and go inside and drink some hot cocoa. I totally understand!
- Cross-train. When it sucks so bad, go on the elliptical, indoor bike, swim, treadmill if you’re coordinated enough. (I’m not.) You can also do things like cross-country ski or snowshoe. We talked abt having an NBR field trip to go snowshoeing or cross-country skiing for a day. Yay, fun!
- Mittens are warmer than gloves (b/c you can keep your hands together instead of having them separated).
Running Tips for Long Runs
- Wear additional layers. I find that my temperature fluctuates a lot, so I take layers off, put them back on, etc.
- Hand warmers make my long runs bearable…I put them inside my gloves or mittens.
- I put warm water in my water bottles. It gets cold, but it prevents it from freezing right away.
- If you run with a Camelback or some sort of backpack hydration system, get an insulator for the straw. I ran a 50k where my straw froze and I had no water for a long time. It was pretty miserable.
- Hold gels in your hands for a few minutes before eating to warm them up.
- Some running snacks, like shot blocs and Luna moons, get very hard and chewy. I skip these snacks in the winter.
- Wool socks keep your feet toasty in the long run.
- Be careful on trails – there can be icy spots covered with snow, mud, etc.
- Motivate yourself by training for a Spring race. Doing the Umstead 100 Miler in March is helping me get out of bed every morning. “I know it’s cold, but I have a race coming up!”
–Cherie
Filed under: NBR Goings On | Tags: club points, goal setting, group run, Races, running
And the results are…
NBR Men’s Team ranks 7th!
Out of 26 teams in the Men’s Open B Division! [link]
NBR Women’s Team ranks 12th!
Out of 22 teams in Women’s Open Division! [link]
NOT TOO SHABBY!
Way to go NBR, 2010 is gonna be awesome.
<3, Aja
Filed under: NBR Goings On | Tags: goal setting, meetings, running, volunteering
Hey All!
Sorry it’s taken me awhile to do this, I blame Thanksgivingitis.
The meeting went really well and we had a great turnout and a lot of great ideas and discussion.
There are a lot of awesome things in store for NBR and LOTS of things we could use help with, so please send your ideas, thoughts, or if there’s any help (big or small or teeny) you can offer. Please keep an eye out for the capitalized “NEED” notes.
Thanks!
Aja
——
MINUTES: NBR Town Hall Meeting 11/23
1. NBR Events Now Through the End of the Year
- Races: 12/6 NYRR Joe K. 10K Club Points! Race is Full!
- Member Events: 12/7 – Winter Running Salon @ Anita’s, 12/14 Jack Rabbit Club Night 15% off, 6-8pm – Union Square Location
- Spring Track Meet Meeting: 12/13 @ 7pm
- Socials: 12/20 – NBR Holiday Brunch @ Lidie & Erich’s
2. Educational Member Events
For More Info and/or Ideas, contact Cherie
- On the horizon: Sports Massage Clinic, Intro to Ultras/Adventure Races, Injury Prevention Clinic, Recovery Salon/Discussion, Sports Nutrition
- NEED: local (free) spaces to host events
3. Social Member Events
For more info and/or ideas, contact Lidie
- NEED Chairs for Holiday Brunch – who can bring some?
- NBR Prom: 1/30/10 – Need “Prom Committee” – email Lidie if you’re interested
- NEED: venue, award ideas, DJ
4. NBR Gear
- Next t-shirt order in January.
- Cafe Press Shop up soon
- JP researching winter gear options
- NEED: Someone to co-head NBR “Gear Department” w/Helen
- email Aja with ideas, etc.
5. NBR Group Runs
- Randy will begin a monthly or bi-monthly series of Beginner’s clinics in 2010
- Wednesday night beginner’s run absorbed into Road Run with several pace groups and a shorter run option available
- Possibly doing a beginner’s intro to Speedwork 15 minutes before 7:30pm Thursday workouts with a discussion on what speedwork is and a head start on the workout
- Cherie may lead occasional out-of-city trail runs
- NEED: 1 or 2 people to lead Tuesday 7:15AM road runs – email Sherry
- NEED: Coaches, people interested in helping/co-leading: Marathon Training, Beginner’s Runners Clinics – email Randy
- NEED: Co-leaders for shorter Wednesday PM runs, and longer PM runs at 8-10min/mi pace groups – email Matt
6. 2010 Race Schedule
- NBR’s targeted races for 2010 = All NYRR club points races, Brooklyn Half, and Brooklyn Cup races
- NYC Half moved to March 21, lottery application begins 12/1.
- Use the spreadsheet to let us know what races you’re doing
- We have 5-6 NBRs running Boston, and an ever-growing contingent of marathoners for NJ Marathon in May
- Brooklyn Cup 2010: A new program spearheaded by Sherry in cooperation with the Prospect Park Track Club to get our clubs to run in Brooklyn-based races throughout the year– at the end of the year points will be awarded for club participation and other points for speed– indviduals and clubs get prizes. Trying to get other Brooklyn or large running groups to participate. NEED to gather prizes from local businesses. Email Sherry with any ideas.
7. The McCarren Park Track Classic – 4/24/10
- NBR’s first super-big event! A community event to benefit the Park.
- We’re in the process of gathering sponsors, finalizing our budget, and permit paperwork.
- Next Planning meeting: Sunday, 11/13 – 7pm
- FYI: Marketing Team = Procuring Sponsors, Money, Website, Registration, Advertising; Operations Team = Day-of, Equipment, Set-up/break-down, Marshaling, race organization, etc.
- NEED: LOTS OF HELP! in Marketing/Sponsorship and Operations – email us.
8. Money Money Money
- Opting not to go officially non-profit at this time; NBR will continue to be fee-free
- Received a $500 donation to NBR, Cristina is applying for a $1500 grant
- Putting up a donation button on website by year’s end
9. NBR NEEDS…
Can you do any of these things to help out NBR? Email NBR, unless otherwise noted
- Website manager/synch: regularly update the events pages – Projected time commitment: 10 minutes/week
- NBR Gear Department Co-Head – Projected time commitment: 1-2 hours a week, when we have shirts in
- Track Meet Sponsorship Team and Operations Team - Projected time commitment: 2-3 hours/week, or less depending on your preferences
- NBR Prom Committee – Email Lidie
- Bloggers: Write blogs on the .org site! Anyone can do this! Email for the login info.
- Twitter Brigade: We need more people to Twitter on NBR’s acct.! Anyone can do this! Email for the login info.
- Google Calendar Manager: add any NBR events posted on FB or Google Group to our Google Calendar – Projected time commitment: 10 minutes/wk. Email for the login info.
- Graphic Designers: support for track meet, ongoing projects
- Flyer Brigade: Flyering on a regular (monthly) basis – Projected time commitment: 1 hour/month
- Ideas for spaces to have events: clinics, meetings, salons, etc.
10. Group Volunteering Initiative
In keeping with NBR as a group who is making a positive difference in our community, in 2010 NBR will have bi-monthly volunteering opportunities partnering with and/or to benefit: Northside Town Hall, Open Space Alliance, NB Compost Project, park cleanups, Greenpoint Soup Kitchen, etc. Ideas welcomed!
11. Website
- The new website is generally well-liked and Google Group well used.
- Working on expanding run descriptions with pace info, etc.
- Adding glossary of common running terms and what different workouts benefit/do
- NEED: someone to create said glossary
- Change name of “Speed Work” to “Track Work”?
- Possibly adding a simple calculator to determine pacing for workouts.
Black toenails. No toenails. These are two extremely frightening things associated with runners. Your friends may ask you if you have toenails when you tell them you’re a runner. Dates may shy away from giving you foot massages after seeing your hooves.
Black toenails are caused primarily by two main things:
- Wearing shoes with a small toe box (or shoes that are too small)
- Doing lots of downhill running (in which case your toenails are slamming into the front of your shoe repeatedly)
As an ultrarunner who does lots of trail running, I fit into the latter category. I currently have one black toenail (how depressing). The main reason people have black toenails is because they are wearing shoes that are too small for them. I wear size eight shoes when I’m not running, but size 8.5 running shoes. This extra half a size gives my toenails extra space.
Of course, you can always end up removing your toenails like the infamous Marshall Ulrich!
- Cherie
Filed under: NBR Goings On, Races | Tags: marathon, New Jersey Marathon, Races, running, volunteering
The road to the Marathon is long. The road on the Marathon is long. The road to recovery post-Marathon is long. Even those of us, like myself, who did not run the BIG RACE, are still reeling a bit.
So since everything to do with the Marathon is long, I’ll keep it short.
We had 19 ass-kicking North Brooklyn Runners members running the streets of NYC last Sunday and 20 or more NBR volunteers cheering, pouring water, and mixing horrifying quantities of sticky electrolyte fluid at Mile 12 on Bedford and N.12th on the Williamsburg/Greenpoint cusp for 8 hours straight.
We had no fewer than 3 or 4 people qualify for Boston (two of them first time Marathoners), and at least 6 NBRs who are planning to run that Marathon come April. This race got people sick. Sick with Marathon Fever. And the only cure is… MORE MARATHONS!
So whether you’re up for the rag-tag crew forming to run the NJ Marathon in May, joining the ever-growing Boston contingent, or have another spring marathon up your sleeve… you and your need for long, cold weather runs are well met here.
Some Mile 12 photos by Mike E. below and some photos by Karl here.
Also some local NBR Marathon press here.
Everyone is amazing. I <3 NBR!
-Aja
Next Monday, October 19, is Club Night at JackRabbit for NBR. Mention NBR or North Brooklyn Runners at the register and get 15% off all purchases!
This is just enough time to get a new pair of sneakers for the marathon. Ideally, shoes for a marathon should have 50-100 miles on them at most. Pick them up, break them in the rest of the week. You can also pick up various other delightful items JackRabbit has, like delicious energy gels (which you can use to sweeten your coffee like Nelson does), t-shirts to replace those stinky ones, watches, and more running geekiness!
This offer is valid only at the JackRabbit by Union Square between 6pm and 8pm.
42 West 14th St (between 5th and 6th Aves)
(212) 727-2980
New York, NY 10011
- Cherie
NBR rocked the Greenpoint 5K this past Sunday, picking up no fewer than 6 trophies and a case of Brooklyn Lager in the process! And yes, there were some dance-offs.
With a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place sweep in the Women’s 20-29 category, high fives to Beth, Jen, and Aja! Misha and Matt place 2nd and 3rd in the Men’s 20-29 category and Mike E. placed 3rd in the Men’s 40-49 category, woohoo!
Our friend Miriam B. was the top overall female finisher! Yeah! 
Thanks to all of those who came after the Staten Half or otherwise and cheered on the sidelines and hung out after. (And congrats to Karl and Anna M. who ran qualifying times in the Half that morning!)
Check out the photos and dance-off video!
Click here for full results from the Greenpoint Get to the ‘Point 5K.
