newsletter

BPC Newsletter

Issue 013
May 2010

May has been a race filled month and our BPC athletes are logging big miles in preparation for many upcoming races! This past month highlights our first Cape Relay, the Hopkington Sprint (brr), many 5K and 10K races, and the great accomplishments of not only athletic endeavors, but also one major accomplishment. Robyn Metcalfe has finally graduated from her PhD program, congratulations to Robyn, that's Dr Robyn to us now! Also, Amy and Todd Gochman welcomed Henry Leonard Gochman into the world, congratulations!

Look into this newsletter for the next series of races by our BPC Coaches and Athletes, specifically coming up: Mooseman Half and Oly Races, Escape the Cape, Hyannis Sprint, Patriot Half to name just a few. Also, included are several race reports from our athletes and coaches-check out Natalia Reynoso's race report on Hopkington, as she made it both in and out of the water! Also, a fantastic race report from Brenda Chroniak about her success at the Boston Marathon.

Aaron Brooks, our BPC injury specialist writes a particularly strong article about running with chronic pain. If you haven't seen this posted on our BPC facebook page, be sure to read and think about his article. Aaron has been helping several of our athletes get back on the roads with much success.

Lastly, be sure to check our BPC facebook page! We post daily updates about training, coaching and any last minute changes to our classes or clinics. Below is the information on our NEXT online group coaching program for the " In Season" athlete. Classes will begin mid June, with weekly swim and run workouts.

Happy Training and Racing:)
Ali

Upcoming BPC Coaches Race Schedule

John Kelly Half Marathon and 7.2M: Ali Winslow
San Diego Marathon: Christina Taddei
Mooseman Oly: Ali Winslow

Upcoming BPC Athletes Race Schedule

Mooseman Oly: Natalia Reynoso, Heidi Siegal, Patty Murphy, Andy Bruna, Aurore Jobert, Brad Ewald, Dave D'Abrosca, Laura Miyakawa, Laura Van Orden, Liz Dial, Bret Fortenberry
Mooseman HIM: Silas Bauer, Kyle Geiselman
Hyannis Sprint 1: Jeff Tassi, Jeff Naylor
Escape the Cape: Ron Ulich, Liz Kennedy, John Fox, Michael Yenke
Patriot HIM: Laura Miyakawa

Upcoming Classes and Clinics

Open Water Swims: NOW IN SOUTH BOSTON!!!
June 2nd 6:30-7:30am
June 30th July 28th

Bike Clinic:
Wednesdays 6:30-7:30pm in Cleveland Circle
June 23rd
July 21st

Group Online Coaching Program:
12 Week in season phase online plan Begins June 11th!!!
$150 for 12 week plan, plus discounted rate for group swim and run classes

Swim Class Series:
10 week swim class
June 11-Aug 13th
Fridays, 6:30-7:30am

Run/Track Workouts:
10 week run coaching
June 15-Aug 17th
Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30PM

Sign Ups now available on our website!

by: Ali Winslow
I have been training and racing multisport since 1996. Prior to this, I was a collegiate lacrosse and field hockey player, as well as a general athlete. In my youth, I managed to play 3 major sports, dance competitively, and frequently ski. With all this activity it would appear that I was a healthy teen and college student. However, in 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1994 I had to have both my right knee and left knee operated on successively.

See, I did train, I did race, I was a very competitive athlete. At the same time my body was breaking down. First, I tore my right ACL skiing, followed by a massive blowout on my left ACL. Then my left knee continued to be a problem and I had to have the ACL and MCL repaired 3 more times. Each surgery required 9 weeks of complete immobilization, full leg cast, crutches and then months of physical therapy.

By the time I graduated college I could have had a minor in physical therapy for ACL reconstruction. I knew more about knee problems than most recent PT graduates! At that time, our high school and collegiate coaches didn't really know and understand how to do proper strength training for athletes. The mind set was still enclosed in traditional strength training and lacked an understanding about stability work and periodization. When I moved to Boston in 1996 I found a fantastic long distance running community and began training for marathons. I had no experience in endurance sports, so I read books and asked questions to other "experienced marathoners." I put together my own 18 week program to qualify for Boston, because of course I was not going to just run my first marathon, but train and qualify to run Boston. I managed to put together a decent training plan and followed my 5-6 days per week of running and strength training. I was also teaching spinning and working full time as a nutrition consultant at MIT. I ran my first marathon- in a great time for me, 3:29, and qualified for Boston. On top of the world, I came back from my marathon and immediately registered to run the Boston marathon, a mere 11 weeks away.

So, with little down time between these key races, I started right into my Boston marathon training. I had no real knowledge of overtraining and knew very little about periodization. My strength training was, at best, mediocre and I still had to contend with 3 days of spin classes plus a full time job. I knew my volume should decrease a bit and perhaps I could not keep up with the intensity of my prior 18 week program. However, as we all do in our lives, I was caught up with the Boston area training groups. I jumped right back into all the long runs, the track workouts, the tempo runs...and then 4 weeks before Boston, I sprained my ankle on a nightly tempo run (darn black ice).

I should have halted my run training right there altogether. If I could turn back time, I wish I was a younger and smarter me, who could see into the future. See, what I didn't know then, which I am well aware of now, is that more is not always better, and even though I was supposed to run Boston, I needed to stop running, stop beating my body into the ground with training and let the injury heal. I did not, I continued to train, and I ran Boston successively (although much slower than my prior marathon) and then I was completely burned out and physically exhausted. I had to see a sports chiropractor 3x week, plus physical therapy, plus take copious amounts of pain relievers in order to continue with my daily routine.

I remember a physician that I was working with at the time say to me- "don't you want to be able to continue to run for the rest of your life?" I was only 24 years old and now had 4 knee surgeries and a severely sprained ankle. I didn't know too much about stability training- as athletes we are more focused on mobility/flexibility. Who worries about stability? Well, I wish I were smarter then. I wish that I didn't self coach or use books, or fall prey to the group training around me. I wish so much that I was smarter and had hired an experienced coach who I could have trusted. I am sure this coach would have never let me run 2 marathons in 11 weeks (especially since it was my first marathon). I know now that if I had found a coach to create a proper training plan, with measurable and achievable goals, that I would be much less injured today.

Fast forward into 2010, 2 children later and now a successful career as an endurance coach. What do I think about my training now? I still need a coach. I can create and write plans for my athletes, I can put together challenging and interesting bike, run and swim workouts. I can put together strength workouts to improve my athletes movement patterns and increase their overall speed and stamina. However, I don't do the same for myself. Instead, over the past 2 years my training has been all over the place, sneaking in run/bike and swim workouts when I can, barely keeping up the minimum to compete. And now, I realize more than ever why it's so important to have a coach. The ability of a coach to ask you the right questions about your training and the ability to look at your training logs and create a periodized plan to help you peak at the right time....all so worth it and so valuable.

If you have never worked with a coach, you are not living up to your potential. Coaches are not just for people who are fast, or people who are winning their age groups. Coaches are for everyone and anyone who wants to have guidance and support in their training plans, who want a different perspective on their training and also, most importantly, to be that devil/angel on your shoulder who will push you when you need it most/pull back the reins when you need it.

by: Aaron Brooks
Have you ever wondered why you experience pain either during your run, following your run or maybe during the first 10 minutes of your run? You may say or have been told that you are over training or that your shoes are worn out or maybe that you need orthotics. Those are good points, however, more times than not I have had clients come to my office and say those exact things to me. Most of those clients have already taken time off from running to let the body heal. They have also spent countless dollars on different types of inserts and orthotics for their shoes and on new running shoes. Why do they still have pain? The answer lies in one basic fact: muscle imbalances. If your body has muscle imbalances these imbalances will create skeletal misalignments. Once your body is put in to motion these skeletal misalignments cause incorrect joint motion. Faulty joint motion causes compensated movements. These compensated movements cause premature breakdown and pain. This includes conditions such as fasciitis, tendonitis, bursitis, meniscus tears, ligament sprain/strains, nerve pain and many other types of hip, knee, ankle, pelvis and spinal injuries. As an analogy, let’s say that you are driving your car down the road and feel the car pulling off to one side. You compensate by turning the steering wheel off to one side to make your car drive straight. After a month or two you notice the tires are wearing out. At this point you have two options: you can buy new tires every couple of months or you can have your car realigned. Most people are going to opt for the realignment to save money and to protect their car from other potential breakdown. With most current health care protocols they address the tire not the alignment. The tire is the symptom. In order to fix the symptom you will usually get a brace, a shot, pain meds or other “fix the symptom” strategies. Until you address the muscle imbalances your body will not be able to heal properly. If you continue to run you are essentially strengthening the muscles and compensated movements that are the cause of your pain. Yes, sometimes the pain may get better using the “fix the symptom” strategies but the body did not heal properly. In this case you feel better but a different symptom may appear shortly down the road due to compensated movements. To summarize - If you fix the muscle imbalances you will properly address the skeletal and joint misalignments. And in return take the stresses off of your body which will allow proper healing and prevent future injuries.

by: Brenda Chroniak
I was never athletic by any stretch of the imagination, and when friends and family learned I was running the Boston Marathon in 2008, there was quite a bit of incredulity. That year during training, I suffered shin splints that turned into stress fractures, finished in 4:40, and went back for more in 2009. That year, the shin splints manifested even earlier in my season and I suffered through more indoor workouts than I’d like to remember, but still made it to Hopkinton in one piece and finished in 4:16.

This year, I signed on with Vic Brown to train for Boston 2010, with two goals: staying healthy throughout the season and hopefully breaking 4 hours as a result. I was skeptical that anything would keep me on the road and off the ArcTrainer, but as I faithfully stuck to the workouts, one month without injury became two, which turned into four and ultimately I made it to Hopkinton without missing a single day of training.

Along the way, I learned the importance of appropriate pacing, monitoring my heart rate, and strength training. Vic’s Monday night strength class showed me just how badly I needed it, too! I dreaded the leg drops and the words “Hammy Time” made me wince, but week-over-week I felt my overall strength and fitness improving, along with my running abilities.

What started out as goal to break four hours on April 19 became not a question of would I, but by how much, and when I completed my longest training run right at my goal pace and feeling strong, I marveled at just how far I had come in such a short time.

Marathon Monday wasn’t perfect, and I learned that even the best prepared runner can still have an “off” race day, but while my preparations didn’t yield a flawless race, they gave me the stamina and strength I needed to grit my teeth, push through the pain and finish in 3:50:43 – a 26-minute personal best.

I couldn’t have done it without Vic’s guidance and support, and even though I just started walking properly again, I’m already setting my sights on a fall marathon and looking forward to seeing just how much farther I can go with his help.

by: Natalia Reynosoa
May 9th. For the rest of the world is Mother's day, time to be corny and cheesy. For a few chosen ones, is time to come face to face once again with the first triathlon of the season in New England. Why is this so important? Because is New England, no less.

This is my second year in the triathlon world, and to be quite honest, my first racing. Last year while I completed 5 sprint triathlons and 1 olympic -or "Oly", as the insiders call it- I was merely participating in them. This year, after months and months of hard, horrible training; after more 5 am wake up calls than I care to count and more hot Epson Salt baths at night than is probably healthy, I finally raced my first triathlon.

Day starts at 4:30 am, time to gather all bags that have been pre-packed the night before and the water bottles with pre-race, race and post-race drinks.

As I drive to Hopkinton I can't help but remember where my mind was last year and how much I've changed. As I start to recognize the roads, I begin to feel giggly and nervous. I'm about to do this. Again.

READ MORE...

Cape Relay
Clock finish time: 30hr 41 min. 125^th finish overall

Robyn Metcalfe
Ali Winslow
Max Metcalfe
Natalia Reynoso
Barbara
Colin Kipping-Ruane
Andy Bruna
Laura Van Orden
Carrie Batra-Gale
Jess Douglas
Christina Taddei
Kelly Cassidy

16th Annual Sterling Road Race - Sterling, MA (SAT 5/8)
Vic Brown, 18th, Cat 4

New England Season Opener - Hopkinton State Park (SUN 5/9)

TRIATHLON
0:58:41 Coach Vic Brown (9th OA, 1st M30-34)
1:23:53 Coach Kelly Cassidy (12th F25-29)
1:33:51 Natlia Reynosa-Mota (17th F25-29, PR!!!)

BIKE-RUN (swim cancelled due to weather conditions)
0:53:50 Andres Bruna (4th OA, 1st M25-29)

DUATHLON
1:09:54 Bret Fortenberry (9th OA, 2nd M30-34)

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TRIATHLON TEAM
0:59:45 Colin Kipping-Ruane (11th OA, 2nd M20-24)
1:01:03 Nick Wendel (19th OA, 2nd M0-19)
1:05:40 Chris Tommila (6th M20-24)
1:09:42 Kayle Shapero (10th OA Female, 2nd F20-24)
1:10:53 Katie Weller (12th OA Female, 3rd F20-24)
1:21:28 Claire Hardy (8th F20-24)
1:27:07 Katrina Tomecek (11th F20-24)

M.O.M.'s 5K - Somerville, MA (SUN 5/9)
20:16 Noah Manacas (PR!!!)
23:46 Kate Blumberg
24:03 Laura Miyakawa
24:30 Brenda Chroniak