Pick them up for all your friends & coworkers, too. You are absolutely permitted to pick up as many packets as you care to!

Here’s the scoop from timing guy Jim Lang who posted this on the Erie Runners Club Yahoo group earlier this week:

If you live in Erie (or within a reasonable distance), we would
STRONGLY encourage you to pick up your packet at the Community Blood Bank garage (2656 Peach, Erie, PA) between 7 and 9 pm on Monday and Wednesday.  Come early, and beat the rush.

Please do NOT come into the blood bank proper, don’t call them and ask about packet pickup - they have their own business to run. They are DONATING the use of their garage and need to be kept free to do their business (which is helping the community)

If you live out of town, or for any reason won’t be in town until
Thursday morning, that’s fine. You can pick up your packet on
Thursday morning at Beach 1. Come early and beat the rush.

The race will start at 9 a.m. regardless of the size of the lines. Once the race starts, there won’t be any way to get onto the park until too late.  So come early.  Pick up your stuff and sit in your car (or chat with friends) until the race starts.

- Race staging

10k run - pick up your packet and go into the North lot (to the
right).  5k run & walk - pick up your packet and go into the South lot
(to the left).  We’ll move the 10k out onto the start and let them go.
Then we’ll move the 5k out and let them go.  Once the race starts, the start line “disappears” as it has to go to the finish line.

Staging description - See this document:
http://www.erie-runnersclub.org/turkey/TurkeyTrotStaging.pdf
So when you show up on race morning, you have an idea of where to go.

P.S. If you see someone on the course holding a turkey feather…or someone hands you one…take it! It’s good for prizes at the finish line. Look for people standing around collecting the feathers (and handing out doorprizes). Find them fast, it’s first come, first serve and the good stuff (like wine and great gift certificates) goes fast.

To my surprise, they jumped on board.

A few weeks later, we gathered around the table on my back patio with wireless laptops all around and simultaneously searched for the best flight & hotel deals. We lucked out with a RT flight for $160 out of Pittsburgh — direct to Tampa — which actually dropping in price a few times. I think it ended up being less than $150  (Gotta love Orbitz!).

So, tonight the adventure begins. Five of us are traveling down to Pittsburgh and tomorrow we descend on Florida for some warmth, sunshine and a 13.1 mile run with 4,000 other fitness-minded women.

I’m a relatively sheltered runner and a bit of a homebody, so I’ve never done any really huge destination races except for the Cleveland marathon (half-marathon) each year. It’s always a rush to stand at the start line with thousands of other people at Cleveland, so I can only imagine how cool it will be to do that on Sunday with 4,000 women!

The course is filled with palm trees, beautiful water views and even a trip through Tropicana Center.  You can watch a fun little video of it here:

There’s a cool finisher’s medal that you can tell is designed by a woman who thought…hmmmm….how can we make this thing practical? Check it out:

That’s a charm in the middle…that comes out of the award (which still looks cool without the charm in the middle) and can be made into a necklace. And, I just heard the magazine will actually be selling necklace chains at the Expo for just $10.  Sweet.

Oh…and speaking of swag…the the “Ultimate Race Goody Bag” looks to contain lots of stuff to make a woman’s heart sing, including a pair of pink Crocs and a reusable shopping bag (oh..I am SUCH a sucker for bags):

I have only one goal on Sunday — to have fun — so I won’t be setting any P.R.s. In fact, I plan to carry my camera for the whole 13.1 miles so I can capture race moments and views to share with all of you.

As for the days leading up to the race…cause you might have done the math and realized we’re leaving a wee bit early… well, who knows what adventures await?

I’ll tell you all about it (well, all that is suitable for print) when I return.

Enjoy your run(s) this week & weekend — I hear the weather’s going to be great (for Erie, anyway). I’ll be sweating it out in Florida…and loving every minute of it.

I recently received the following note from Achilles Running Shop — hosting a special night just for the ladies. Hope to see you there!

Achilles Running Shop will be hosting a night devoted to women. We will have guest speakers, deep discounts, food and beverages, and plenty more.

When: Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 6:30 pm.

Where: Achilles Running Shop, 2309 West 12th St.

Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Darling, DPT, OCS, ATC — Physical therapist/athletic trainer for USA Gymnastics and the 2008 U.S Olympic Diving Team

Topic: “Going the Distance:Optimizing your race performance and prolonging your running career by addressing common muscle imbalances before they become injuries.”

Other:

• We will have plenty of special discounts only available this night.
• We will also have door prizes and other contests!
• So bring your mom, daughter, sister, aunt, or anyone else you would like, and join us for a fun and relaxing evening!

Please R.S.V.P. so we can plan accordingly.

Thanks and we hope to see you then!

By Theressa Miller

Vacation Over

Recently, I took a mini-vacation from running.  I am not even sure it could be called a vacation but since the half marathon in September, I had not been doing any long, hard runs.  My runs were about 3-7 miles normally at a tempo pace.  (I count this as talking but in choppy blocks of speech.)  Tempo because even though I was on vacation, Christine was still running hard.  Therefore when we ran together, it was a tempo pace for me.  Once we set our goals for 2010 and got an idea of what the training was going to be, I needed to get back to consistent hard running.  Not only running but the cross training.

So last Sunday we went on a new hilly 9.6 mile route.  Our pace was off but then it was not a good run for many reasons.  Then Monday began our 40 minute personal training sessions.  Tuesday, I skipped anything, but breathing and I really wanted to skip that.  But Wednesday came and I let one more day go by without running.  However, I did get some walking in, maybe a mile.  Thursday we headed back to the gym to work out on our own.  I knew that I had taken a vacation from working my muscles but the soreness is almost welcome because I know it will help with the marathons.

Thursday night is getting to be my favorite day and time.  Eleven of us met at Frontier Park to run together.  To run with anyone of the group is a tempo or a speed workout for me, yet it is so cool.  I get to hear about how people started running or about their day.  I get to know their kids and their pets.  All this information while we run.  I let them talk, mostly because at the speedier pace, I am working on breathing.  But what a blast!  After 5 laps, it is about time for everyone to call it a night, but we (Christine and I) needed another lap for our workout schedule.

Nearly everyone decided to do the last lap with us.  And I led (until the hill).  There I was the slowest person in the group and I was leading.  We laughed and ran and I tried to keep the group running strong.  I have to admit I wanted to turn and see how many were just walking, but they encourage me to keep running hard.  Talk about a group dynamic!!  Then some speedsters bolted up the hill, while myself and some others struggled encouraging each other not to walk the last 20 feet.

Friday, I needed another recovery run.  Saturday morning we tried the 9.6 hilly route again.  We had about the same time as last Sunday.  WEIRD?!?!  Yes.  Tired muscles.  Very tired.  But there is always the next time.  New routes are so much fun.  New challenges and new muscles.  Next weekend I will know the hills and the downhills a little better and I will react better.  I will know, “if I can just get past ‘that tree’ the hill is mine” and “the next mile is flat after this upgrade”.  Bring on next Saturday morning!

Like any vacation, it is way harder to come back than it is to leave.  But no more vacations until after September 12, 2010 and even then, we still have to keep training for something.

— Theressa Miller

CONTINUED from 11/13/09 post:

After finishing the New York City Marathon, it was a long process to get out of Central Park. You were given your finisher’s medal. You then went through an area where you could get your picture taken.

Next, they were handing out the HeatSheet blankets. Once I cooled down, I didn’t think that they really kept you very warm. Then you received a food and fluid bag that contained lots and lots of goodies.

It was wall-to-wall runners shuffling through this process.

Next you walked down the road until you located the UPS truck that matched your bib number. You were then able to put on the warm clothes you packed to have available at the finish. I exited the park and located my family.

What a great way to spend a Sunday in New York!

I finished in 4:36:39 and placed 526 out of 1,278 in my age group. There were 43,475 finishers. There were only 266 runners who started and did not finish.

A couple of other interesting stats: The 2009 budget was 22.8 million and there were 100,000+ applicants to this year’s marathon.

Would I do it again? Yes, “In a New York Minute.”

I’ve been bitten by the marathon bug and would like to do spring and fall marathons next year.

Thanks go out to Frank who kept me company during most of my long runs. Thanks also go out to Sue and Tom who kept me entertained and off the roads while running the trails every Thursday at Scott Park. Jim Lang’s Tuesday Night Running League gave me different places to run and I still managed to occasionally run out to Asbury Woods and join the Sunday morning group trail run.

I followed Hal Higdon’s program and it does work. Most importantly of all I inspired my college-aged daughter and her fiancé to start training for a 5K. They are using an “app” on their iPhones called ‘From Couch to 5K’ — a run/walk program. They use another “app” that shows them their route, running time, distance, pace, etc.

CONTINUED from 11/12/09

Once in the corral area, it was last call for the porta-potties. Because of the wait time and cooler morning temperatures, runners were advised to wear throwaway clothing. This area was littered with disposed clothing. There were piles of it on the ground, along with trash and even more of it hanging off the fences, an unbelievable sight. The throwaway clothes were to be collected and given to charity.

From the road I was on, I was able to look up and see the first wave with the elite men take off on the bridge. Each wave had the same announcement, the National Anthem was played, a cannon went off to signal the start, then the song “New York, New York” was played as the runners headed up the bridge.

I could hardly believe I was actually there and about to run this great race!

It only took me four minutes to reach the start line. It was cold and windy on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. There were runners stopping along the bridge to take pictures.

Once over the bridge, I was nice and warmed up and discarded my throwaway shirt. Someone now has a very nice long-sleeved red Erie Marathon t-shirt.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed every mile of this race. I ran the whole route, walking only to take fluids. The bridges could be considered hills and there were some minor inclines, but nothing difficult.

Most of the time you had plenty of room around you on the roads; however, there were some narrow streets where it did become congested.

Looking out at the sea of runners on the long stretches of road in front of you was an amazing sight. The crowd support was unbelievable. I don’t know how these spectators managed to stay so loud for so long.

If you want encouragement from the crowd wear your name on your shirt, it works. I had strangers cheering me on by name from start to finish.

I chose not to take my iPod with me. I did not miss it and would not have been able to hear my music a lot of the time anyway because of the crowds and bands along the route.

There were many runners running in costumes. I guess this is “normal” for this marathon, if running in a head-to-toe polar bear suit can be considered normal (and not just because Halloween was the evening before).

I saw many athletics with disabilities running with the help of members from the Achilles Track Club. I saw two runners running on prosthetics. I saw another runner who was missing both arms. I saw one man who was running with a sneaker on one foot, just his sock on the other, and he was carrying his other sneaker. Must have had some blister problems?

A lot of runners were running in memory of someone and had pictures on their backs. Mile 23 was run on Fifth Avenue along Central Park. This was a slight uphill and was rather congested.

The last two miles seemed the longest because my feet were starting to hurt and I knew I was almost there. The crowds were large and loud. The finish line was located on a slight incline.

I did it! I completed my first marathon.

TO BE CONTINUED ….

I was lucky enough to be able to participate in this year’s 40^th running of the New York City Marathon on November 1^st. This was my first marathon at 50 years young and it was an amazing experience.

I headed to the race expo on Friday morning. Packet pick-up was very well organized and I was through it rather quickly. I then wandered through the various vendors. The expo was busy and people were buying. Asics was a major sponsor and they had running clothes of all types and for all seasons available with the ING New York City Marathon logo on them.

I remember seeing one woman who was trying on a pair of running shorts and a top over her street clothes. She was standing in front of a mirror to see how she looked. Can you really tell if a pair of shorts fit you over a pair of jeans?

My daughter joined me in the early afternoon as I had signed us up for the bus tour of the course. This was the first year for this event and they need to work out some major issues. We started out 30 minutes late. Why, I don’t know as the buses where there. There was a tour guide on the bus to explain the different sights and neighborhoods along the way. The tour was informative and enjoyable, except for the fact that we got stuck in Friday afternoon traffic and were only able to finish the first 13 miles of the course before they had to head back to the convention center.

Saturday evening I signed myself and six family members up for the Marathon Eve dinner. This took place in a gigantic tent located behind Tavern on the Green in Central Park. When buying the tickets on line I picked the 6 pm dinnertime. We showed up around 6 and were surprised to find that we had to wait in a line about two blocks long! Lucky for us the weather was a balmy 70 degrees.

If you were planning on a quiet relaxing carb-loading dinner, this wasn’t the place to be. The atmosphere was very high energy. There were eight giant screen TVs showing highlights from last year’s marathon. All the tables had blue and white balloons on them. There was a DJ with a small stage for the dancers. There was disco lighting. The music was great. It got you pumped up to run the race.

After the dinner, we headed out behind the tent where the finish line was located. The actual finish line was blocked off. There was a band performing in the area and at 7:30 fireworks were set off above the finish line.

Sunday morning I got up at 5:30 am, ate a small breakfast and took a train into Grand Central Station. I was scheduled to take the 8 am Staten Island Ferry.

Once at Grand Central, I scrapped my idea to take a cab and followed all the other runners to the correct subway platform. It was while getting off the train that a very entertaining lady tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could follow me. She was a retired schoolteacher from Ottawa Canada and has run at least a dozen marathons. Once we arrived on Staten Island buses were there to take us on a short ride to the staging area at Fort Wadsworth.

We walked a few short blocks before entering the staging area. Then we had to find our assigned villages. I was in the green village and my new friend was in the orange village. We said our goodbyes and wished each other good luck.I called her later that evening and we have been keeping in touch by email.

What I noticed in the staging area were the runners lounging about on plastic, cardboard, blankets and there were even those who had brought sleeping bags and pillows! I should mention that the ferry started transporting runners at 6:30am.

Days earlier I had worried about having a lot of extra time before the race, since I was scheduled for the second wave start at 10am.

However, I very quickly found out that I had no down time. As soon as I arrived in my village, there was a last call for wave two runners to turn in their bags to the appropriate UPS truck. I turned in my bag and then located the water tent and got a drink. I then headed over to the corral area.

TO BE CONTINUED ….

John is an Ohio resident and is also a journalist for . He has built up some serious speed over the last couple of years — it’s been amazing to watch him get faster and faster race after race.

Follow along — if you can catch him —  at his blog “Running for Life, Liberty and Happiness”

File photo by Janet Campbell/Erie Times-News

It appears the Thursday night loop group has picked a winter home. Here’s a note from Christine:

With it being very dark by 6PM - we’ve been hunting for a ‘winter home’ for the Thursday Group.  We wanted the one mile loop so that as a group of varied paced runners we’d be able to keep an eye on each other for general safety as well as being able to motivate each other as the faster runners loop the strangles.  Encouragement and safety will hopefully keep us running solid all winter.

The group decided to try Frontier Park last Thursday.  I’ve never been down there before so I was a little worried about getting lost etc etc.  We missed the first loop and tried to shorten the route but Tom quickly adjusted our route to almost a one mile loop.  After a couple times around, we had a good solid run.

It’s got a hill in the route but it’s definitely wide enough for people to run 2 across without crowding.  Running with the group eliminated the temptation to short cut the run and go to Country Fair for something yummy of the chocolate variety…..

As Theressa has mentioned before, it’s a variety of paces and we run about an hour or so.  We’ll be running throughout the winter and at this point, this seems a good potential home through the winter.  Theressa welcome varied of paces to come out and enjoy the uniqueness of running in Erie’s fall/winter weather.  Thursday 6PM at the Frontier Park Tennis Courts - flashlights definitely a bonus/requirement.
-

Runners meet in the parking lot between the tennis courts & the playground.

]]> http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/runnersnotes/?feed=rss2&p=906 http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/runnersnotes/?p=903 http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/runnersnotes/?p=903#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:29:43 +0000 Heather Cass http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/runnersnotes/?p=903 Got the following notes from the folks at Achilles Running Shop — Erie’s specialty running store (2309 West 12th St. — in the Schall Plaza).

ACHILLES RUNNING SHOP IS HAVING ANOTHER SALE. IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR NEW MODELS, WE MUST GET RID OF THE OLD ONES.

THIS MEANS 25% OFF:

NIKE- FREE 5.0, SKYLON, STRUCTURE TRIAX

ASICS- 2140, KAYANO

SAUCONY- TRIUMPH, GUIDE

ADIDAS- GLIDE

NEW BALANCE- 769

STOP IN NOW WHILE SUPPLIES LAST

Also…if you’re doing the Turkey Trot be advised that Achille’s is going to open up that day — especially for you — AND…if you bring your bib #, you’ll get 25% off your purchases that day! Here it is straight from owner Mark’s mouth, er, e-mail:

We will open Achilles post race for a few hours and offer a sale of 25% on all items IF they bring their race bib numbers.