Welcome to this week’s edition of our weekly news and events roundup of all things Whippet-related.
– Rose, Matt and Simon
Team News
- We’re raising money for the sneaker drive again this year. Please see info here on how to donate! http://www.dashingwhippets.
org/2014/12/24/sneaker-drive/ - We are starting a new Thursday morning workout in Central Park on January 8th. This will follow the same Thursday workout plan as the track workout. Please RSVP here for the first one: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-
whippets/events/219340611/ - We will be moving our track workout from the track to Central Park in the evenings in situations when the track is unusable due to snow/ice.
- As a reminder, we also have morning easy runs on Monday and Wednesday:http://www.meetup.com/dashing-
whippets/events/219013351/ and http://www.meetup.com/dashing- whippets/events/219118814/ - We’ve moved up the open and masters standings for 2014! Here are the final standings: http://www.nyrr.org/charities-
clubs-and-community/local- clubs/club-standings - Make sure to check out our new site at http://www.dashingwhippets.org and let us know if you have any comments or suggestions!
- Check out last week’s wag for info on our sponsored runner initiative. We’d like to select people by mid-January, so please fill it out soon if you would like to be considered.
- Check out the Boston Marathon Plan here: http://files.meetup.com/
1454408/DWRT%202015%20Boston% 20Marathon%20Plan.pdf - Washington Heights 5k, NYC Half, and NJ Marathon plans will be out in early January.
Events
- Patricia is hosting a recovery run on Christmas Day. Details here: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-
whippets/events/219275096/ - The Joe Kleinerman 10k is nearing capacity. Register here: http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-
events/2015/nyrr-joe- kleinerman-10k - We will be running to the Coney Island Polar Bear plunge again on New Year’s Day. RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-
whippets/events/219304659/ - If you got into the NYC Half, RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-
whippets/events/212680482/ - Register for the Washington Heights 5k – what will probably be the first points race of 2015 here: http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-
events/2015/nyrr-washington- heights-salsa-blues-and- shamrocks-5k
Results – Fill out this survey to submit any non-NYRR results: http://bit.ly/1vpr8FV
Get to Know a Whippet: Elizabeth Mauiolo
1. When did you join the Whippets?
April 2010, after a few (many!!) emails from Matt through Athlinks. After a while, we all say yes, right?
2. Why did you decide to join the Whippets?
It wasn’t easy. I like to run alone and I already had a training partner, so I checked with Blaise first. If he was ok with it, we both would join. The first thing I did was one of the track workouts and I was in shock, horrified and, surprisingly, so so so happy. SOLD!
3. How long have you been running?
I started running around 2005, but I was running very little, after a complicated event: a heart attack. Instead of being scared and taking pills, I decided to run because, really, what would make my heart better than exercise? Crazy logic, right? I just couldn’t see myself as a heart patient and that scared me even more, so I ran in the other direction. I understand that this makes no sense to most people but it all sounded great in my head: I couldn’t see myself as a victim and I needed to regain some confidence in my body. A friend signed me up for the inaugural NYC Half within a year (in 2006), when the most I had run was 6 miles (just once!) and the rest is history! At this point, I am very glad it all happened, as scary as it all was.
4. Does anyone else in your family run?
My dad “powerjogs” now, after he stopped smoking when he was 65, and had a stent put in after an episode. My dad is the coolest! My mom just did a 5K two weeks ago. But it’s all quite new.
5. What is your favorite race?
The New York City Marathon bar NONE. And the NYC Half is a close second. I think I need to leave the marathon distance behind and focus on the half though; that pace feels a lot more fun and the training is not so crazy.
7. What are your running goals?
I want to start racing in the 70% AGs consistently. I have gotten up to a few 71% AG races but I really want to stay there and get better. It would make me feel like I am aging well 😉 Oh, and I just can’t wait to be called “master” in 3 months! Truth is, my A goal is to run forever, even if I am 110 and it’s barely a shuffle and I have lipstick all over my face.
8. Have you seen any famous people while running?
Yes! I’ve seen Sting (my childhood crush!), Ryan Reynolds, Ed Norton, everyone is always in the park!! Lately, I keep running into Hank Azaria in the bridle path and we nod. And, of course, Spitzer: yuk.
9. Have you run any marathons?
Yes! Ten marathons plus two ultras. That includes six NYCMs in a row since my first in 2008, two Bostons, one in DC and one Berlin (plus Bear Mountain and the Knickerbocker ultras).
10. Have you had any injuries in the past?
Yes, I have had them ALL. I used to get injured two or three times a year, quite MADLY INFURIATING really. Luckily, I figured out how to run efficiently and have been injury free since (three years ago/ knock on my own head!). Injuries are the worst thing, I’d get super-depressed, cranky, anxious and I’d overeat and never do anything to keep my fitness. I never learned how to deal with them, at all, so I really need to make sure they’re never back.
11. Any pre-race rituals?
It depends on the race… For a marathon I tend to get nervous the day before and try to spend the day indoors quietly by myself watching movies to relax and not think about the race. For any other race, I go about my life as usual; I might just not eat a steak the night before though. I don’t overeat, I have found I race better when my stomach is empty. I barely everywarm up for anything longer than a 5K.
12. What motivates you to run on days when you really don’t want to run?
I like to always have some race in the future or I can get really lazy, mostly on those really cold and dark winter mornings where I can take hours to get ready. Otherwise, thinking of boston cremes always gets me out the door faster.
13. Do you listen to music when you run? What is your favorite running song?
YES! Favorite song is Mr Brightside or Fireworks. But I have an album that always works like magic: Give Up, by The Postal Service. Their bpms are perfect to get me moving any day, or in any race.
14. What is your favorite marathon?
NYCM. Always. It was my first marathon ever, and I have done it every year since (minus one Sandy incident), no matter in what shape I am in. One year I ran it with a broken arm, neck, and two broken ribs; another year with piriformis syndrome, and so on. I just can’t not do it. I don’t care if it hurts, it’s my city and it’s my race.
15. Any races you really want to run?
YES!!! London, Big Sur, Eugene, Buenos Aires, Rotterdam marathons, plus Comrades and something in Paris and Prague. That’s the short list to get started. Racing is the best reason to travel!
16. How did your last race go?
just did a 5K in Puerto Madero, in Buenos Aires. I had overeaten all week (hey: vacation!) and it was hot and humid but I somehow did ok, 21:40 finish time and 5th woman, first in my AG. I loved passing so many people in the last mile and showing how that strategy and patience are better than fast legs 😉 I am old and I know these things now.
17. Any running or training tips you want to share?
May I??? I think learning where your strengths and weaknesses are is key. Use your strengths (for me, that’s pacing and strategizing/form, running relaxed) and address your weaknesses (legs and lungs, so… speedwork and drills!!). Figure out what’s going on with your running form and learn what to focus on, and when to do it, and just really relax. Get used to working hard, and find what makes you happy (whether that’s running with a friend/in the trails/with music/at dawn/etc…) because it will keep you running forever, and consistency is the most important thing. If you just keep running, you’ll keep getting better and faster. It really is all it takes.
Press Digest
- New Techniques For Treating Plantar Fasciitis: http://running.competitor.
com/2014/06/photos/new- techniques-treating-plantar- fasciitis_96398?utm_medium= whats-hot - First Look: Woodzee Sunglasses: http://www.runnersworld.com/
other-gear/first-look-woodzee- sunglasses - What’s the Women’s Equivalent of a Sub-2:00 Marathon?: http://www.runnersworld.com/
elite-runners/whats-the- womens-equivalent-of-a-sub- 200-marathon - The Easy-Day Pace: http://m.runnersworld.com/
race-training/the-easy-day- pace
