WEDNESDAY NIGHT LAUNDRY RUNNERS'
Club Newsletter (published regularly) - Volume 12, Number 3
May 25, 2002
“ALL OF THE NEWS OF THE FIT IN PRINT”
WNLR HALL OF FAME: Jay Cook, Richard Leutzinger, Patty Selbicky, Glynn Wood, Nellie Wright, Jim Allen
Cramp in A Minor
By Jason Grose
(Jason Grose was a participant in the Big Sur Marathon Clinics. He is a first time marathoner and he wrote this after his Big Sur experience)
Mile 22 was a kick in the pants. Up to that point, I was on a 3 hour and 45 minute
pace, 15 minutes faster than my goal of finishing in 4 hours and feeling great. Somehow, I shot up Hurricane Point
with the help of a strawberry Cliff Shot and was pacing out a comfortable run (as comfortable as running 22 miles
can be, I guess). I had made it through some rough spots but now I felt that gliding in was well within my ability.
And then it happened. My legs decided that this foolishness had gone on long
enough and that a message needed to be sent. The message, which was received loud and clear, came in the form of
simultaneous cramps in both of my quads. It was my legs’ way of saying, “Hey Jason, guess what, we’re gonna slow
this down a bit and to make sure you understand, here is a little number we like to call ‘Cramp in A Minor.’ Hit
it, boys….”
Obviously, I have never given birth. But from what has been described to me, what I
experienced at mile 22 must have come close. Looking down, I fully expected to see the knots burst through the
skin of my thighs. Needless to say, my pace suddenly slowed to that of a sloth on valium.
I suddenly had a rush of thoughts scream through my head. Was this it? A year of training
and it comes down to this? Will these cramps go away? Will anyone notice if I wander off and slit my throat
to embrace the sweet release of death? (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating but damn if it didn’t hurt!). The muscles starting
convulsing, throwing my legs every which way but I tried to keep a somewhat forward motion as the cramps ravaged
my legs. I was terrified that the mental preparation I had worked so hard to master was going to be overtaken by
purely physical realities. I realized that “gutting it out” might not be an option if the 10% of long-distance
running, the physical part, came from behind and overtook the mental majority.
I was raising my knees high in an effort to stave off the mutiny of my leg muscles
when I noticed a total stranger, another racer, had stopped on the side of the road and was looking at me. I found
this strange because I had kept silent the enormous pain I was feeling and other than the likely grimace on my
face and the silly high stepping I was performing, there were no external indications of my precarious predicament.
Then something wondrous occurred. Somehow she knew. Call it intuition, call it
the unexplained link between marathoners, or call it a kinship of shared hardship but she was somehow aware that
I needed help and needed it quick.
Having my headphones on and having Sarah McLachlan serenading me throughout the race,
I was deaf to the sounds of the environment. She mouthed something I did not hear and pulled out a bag of candy
from her running pouch. I lumbered the two painful steps in her direction and thrust out my hand without shame
and she dropped what I found to be the most ironically appropriate items into my trembling hands. She gave me two
Lifesavers. Even in my questionable mental state, I found the humor in this and popped both of them into a smiling
mouth.
As fast as she appeared, she was gone. A drive-by humanitarian gesture. I wondered
if this would have any effect. I knew that a lack of salt, potassium, and/or liquids usually contributed to cramps,
none of which are ingredients in Lifesavers, as far as I know. But as they dissolved in my mouth, I could almost
feel the sugar absorb into my body and race to the emergency area. Suddenly, I could run again. Not only could
I run, but I could run comfortably and the cramps all but disappeared.
While I didn’t quite break the 4 hour barrier (4:16), I finished the race running.
Thanks to the eagle eyes of a passing runner and a selfless act of mercy, I was shown the true spirit of the Big
Sur Marathon and completed the race with a little help from my friends, all 10,000 of them represented by a kind
lady and two Lifesavers.
THE TOY STORE
by Donny Buraglio
My son has finally outgrown his toddler-sized car seat, so on a recent Friday afternoon our family was
at Toys R Us to shop for a new booster seat. We don’t go out to that area of town very often, and my son
had never been in a toy store that large before. He knew that we were there only to buy a seat, but his young
mind couldn’t distinguish the errand itself from the place we were going to fulfill it.
Getting out of the car in the parking lot, he took my hand and pulled me toward the front door. As
I slowed down to wait for my wife and baby daughter, his body leaned forward at a 45-degree angle, with his small
fist clutching my index finger, straining as hard as he could. Although he wasn’t moving any faster, he began increasing
the cadence of his steps, like he was preparing to receive the baton handoff in a relay race. The 50 yards
between our car and the front door must have seemed like some vast distance for his small legs to traverse.
As he finally entered the store, he suddenly stopped walking, and began scanning his head from side to side,
with his eyes darting up and down, taking everything in. I could tell that he wanted to race straight in,
but couldn’t figure out where to start. The store itself is immense, two stories high with toys stacked wall
to wall and up to the ceiling. The interior displays are splashed with marvelous color, while the sounds
of musical instruments and mechanical toys provide a constant sonic backdrop that overwhelms the senses of any
three-year-old.
The designers of the store are apparently well versed in marketing research, because the store is set up
like a maze, with only one main hallway. In order to reach the checkout line, you have to walk through almost
the entire store, passing by a countless number of flashy, luring displays, providing continual temptation to spend
just a little bit more money before you leave. As we made our way toward the car seat area, located very
far towards the back of the store, my son zigzagged between stuffed dinosaurs, toy trains, firetrucks, and a whole
display of his favorite books. At each section we stopped and played for a few minutes before moving on our
way. My wife and I showed fairly remarkable restraint, and we left the store with only a couple more items
than we intended to buy.
Approximately 30 hours later, I pulled into the parking lot of the Los Angeles Convention Center, to pick
up my race packet for the Los Angeles Marathon. As I drove around the buildings and parked my car, I was
amazed at the sheer size of the convention complex, which also incorporates the new Staples Center, and several
restaurants and nightclubs. The entire area is roughly equivalent in size to a small college campus.
I had to park in a structure across the main street on the opposite side of the building from the race expo.
It took me almost 15 minutes to walk from my car to the expo hall, and it seemed like an eternity. I wasn’t
holding anyone’s hand, but I could feel my body angled forward, urging my rational mind to get there as quickly
as possible.
As I finally entered the main hall for the expo, I stopped in my tracks and gazed all around me. The
hall is absolutely enormous, wide enough and high enough to fly a small plane inside. Banners hung from the
ceiling, and several hundred booths, with large signs and colorful displays, filled almost every square foot of
space. The background noise was a continuous din of running-related conversation — race tactics, PRs, mile
splits, proper footwear, new supplements, etc. It was an overwhelming scene, and struck me as a runner’s
Mecca, a place we should all visit once in our lives to commune with thousands of other like-minded souls.
It took me a few minutes to figure out which way to go to pick up my bib number and T-shirt. Of course, the
pickup area was in the back of the hall, so I had to weave through all of the booths and display areas to get there.
Along the way I bought some PowerGel, had my posture examined, shopped for new shoes, tasted about 10 different
energy bars, and grabbed several race entry brochures. I went back and forth between the booths, and revisited
many of them several times. I restrained my spending as well as I could, but by the time I left I had purchased
about five additional things that ended up in the goody bag with my t-shirt and bib.
I thought I had forgotten the feeling of being three years old, and racing around a giant toy store. It turns
out that the young boy is still inside of me, but my taste in toys has evolved. My son plays with cement
trucks, and I try on sweat-resistant sunglasses, but the underlying drive is the same. We’re both entertaining
the juvenile rationale that life might be much better if we just had all of the right toys. This is a somewhat
immature notion, but still valuable to our developing comprehension of the world around us. Eventually we
learn that the world is a place of unlimited possibility and excitement, and that there is more to behold than
we could ever purchase in one day. My son will gain that knowledge someday, but hopefully he’ll have periodic
reminders of the dreams that darted through his three-year-old head while running through the toy store.
I think I’ll start taking him to race expos with me soon.
Leukemia Team in Training
You can join The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program.
Expert coaches prepare you to complete endurance events including the Maui, Portland, and Chicago Marathons and
the Pacific Grove and Big Kahuna
Triathlons while you fundraise to find a cure for leukemia and other blood-related cancers. Athletes of all abilities
are welcome on our Monterey Bay-based team. Learn more at a local information session: Call 408-271-2873 or visit
www.teamintraining.com for details.
American Association of Sports Podiatric Medicine Recommends These Running Shoes:
Mild Motion Control
Adidas Cairo (M/W)
Adidas Brevard (M/W)
Asics 2070 (M/W)
Asics Gel Kayano VII(M/W)
Brooks Adrenaline (M/W)
Brooks Vapor (M/W)
Brooks Trance (M/W)
New Balance 854 (M/W)
New Balance 763 (M/W)
New Balance 999 (M/W)
New Balance 1220 (M/W)
Nike Air Structure Triax (M/W)
Nike Durham (M/W)
Nike Kantara (M/W)
Moderate Motion Control
Adidas Piedmont (M/W)
Asics Gel-Foundation III (M/W)
Asics Nandi (M/W) Trail Shoe
Brooks Addiction IV (M/W)
Brooks Gila (M/W) Trail Shoe
New Balance 587 (M/W)
Reebok Supreme Control DMX (M/W)
Saucony Grid Hammer (M/W)
Maximum Motion Control
Asics Gel MC+ V (M/W)
Brooks Beast (M/W)
Brooks Ariel (W) New Balance 1121 (M/W)
Saucony: Grid Stabil Classic (M/W)
Reebok Ventilator DMX (M/W)
Cushioning
Asics Gel-Cumulus III
Asics Gel Nimbus II
Mizuno Wave Rider
Don Bieber’s Health Report
A Positive Note on Peanuts
(HealthScoutNews) -- Peanuts, as any dieter knows, are remarkably fattening. A mere handful contains 13 grams of
fat -- and fat accounts for a whopping 70 percent of a peanut's calories. But when it comes to heart disease,
peanuts seem to have a built-in safety mechanism. One recent study found that people who ate nuts five times a
day
cut their risk of heart attack by 50 percent. Another study, of 40,000 postmenopausal women, found a connection
between eating nuts and a lowered risk of heart disease. The reason seems to be that peanuts contain resveratrol
, the compound responsible for red wine's apparent ability to offset the heart-harmful effects of a high-fat diet.
Lubricate your joints: Castor Oil, Cod Liver Oil, and Honey are sometimes suggested to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis under the theory that these fluids travel to the joints and lubricate them. NOT SO! They only travel through the digestive system. Joints are lubricated by synovial fluid which is mostly water. Because cartilage does dry out with age, you should drink 2 quarts of plain water daily. This makes all your organs and joints and tissues function as smoothly as possible.
The Fittest Survive the Longest: Reuters Health reports that a study of 6,200 men found that the risk of death over the next several years reduced by the amount of exercise capacity increased. Fitness is more important in longevity than high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or even smoking. Exercise has been confirmed to be a protective factor against death even among those with other health risk factors.
How do you know if you are overtraining? When you exercise you damage your muscles and they need time to repair. If they don’t rest long enough they become weaker, but if you allow them time to recover, the repaired muscle becomes stronger than before. For weightlifting, you need 48 hours between sessions. For aerobic-type exercise like running, it’s not as clear cut. 24 hours is usually enough but it depends on your age, fitness level, how hard you exercised. Listen to your own body. If you have 5 of these then rest: increase in resting heart rate, increased blood pressure, sleep problems, increased reaction time, loss of appetite, irritability, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle pain, apathy, joint pain, weight loss to the extreme, heavy legged, your friends tell you you are overdoing it.
"My Greatest Trophy"
By Rick Baca
I prepared for this event for many years. But nobody really ever told me how special this event would be. So,I plugged away reading "how to" and "what to expect" manuals to ease my worried mind as the big day approached. My wife also kept me up-to-date on the latest do's and don'ts. I listened to every word as gospel. As the months and days passed, I began to feel more confident about the big day. Well, this moment finally arrived, and my wife Judy said to me "It's time." I packed up the car and I tried to remember all the advice. It was a crystal clear night as I drove cautiously along Hwy 68, my wife remained silent as I drove. We both knew that our lives were going to change forever in just 24 hours.
Unexpectingly when we reached the hospital (the birthplace of our only child) things clicked along harmoniously. Yes, my Greatest Trophy, the birth of my daughter, can never ever surpass any event I've ever won, raced, or participated in in my running days. We've always been grateful for having good health and the miracle of life.
Dave Cech’s Recipe for Fruit Dumplings
6 large baking potatoes
8 cups flour
6 handfuls cream of rice
1 handful of salt*
5 jumbo eggs
10-12 unripe plums or peaches, or 40-50 cherries
Boil potatoes with skins on until tender. Let cool. Peel and put through a ricer (or mash them) in a large bowl. Sift flour into the bowl with potatoes. Add salt and cream of rice. Make a well in the center and break the eggs into the well. Mix everything together until all the ingredients are well blended. (It really helps to have a heavy-duty mixer for this step.) Pull off pieces of the mixed dough and wrap around a plum or peach, or 3-4 cherries. It is best if the fruit is slightly un-ripe, it holds up better. When wrapping the fruit it helps to wet your hands – the dough won’t stick so much that way. While wrapping the fruit set a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Drop the wrapped fruit into the boiling water and boil until the dumplings float to the surface of the water. Sometimes the dumplings get stuck at the bottom of the bowl, so you may need to give them a little encouragement to come up.
Serve with any combination of melted butter/ margarine, cinnamon sugar, ground poppy seed, or cottage cheese.
The dumpling mix also makes a great complement to meat dishes in place of other starchy foods such as rice, bread, or pasta. Simply roll several handfuls of dough into a cylinder and slice same size pieces, putting them in the boiling water. These will typically be ready sooner than the fruit dumplings, since they will be smaller.
WNLR Clothing
If you want running or casual clothes with the WNLR logo please e-mail Mike Dove at
mnjdove@aol.com or call 484-2309 and tell Mike what kind of clothing you want. If enough people show interest then
Simon at The Treadmill will place orders for what we want.
Significant WNLR Events and other News
WNLR TEAM
Absolutely incredible 1st place showing by the Senior Men’s team at the Big Sur 5K and a $50 winning for Michael Simons, Fred Menezes and David Cortez. It’s the first time a WNLR team has finished first in any of the USATF races. At the 50+ race at Stanford March 17th, the WNLR team of Fred Menezes, Michael Simons, Mike Dove, and David Cortez all ran well and placed 6th as a team. We were only a minute out of third. At Houlihans 12K in San Francisco on March 24th David Cortez managed to get up out of his sick bed to help the Senior Team to a 4th place finish along with Michael Simons and Mike Dove.
A TRULY GREAT showing at the CSUMB 1/2 marathon March 30th with Dave Cech, Dan Zulaica, and Charlie Engle finishing 1st, 2nd, and 4th OVERALL in the race. Jim Scattini was 7th overall and 1st local at the Big Sur Marathon. Jason Blank was 1st overall in the Heart and Sole 5K in Salinas on May 18th.
Amazingly, Dave Cech was 2nd Monterey County Runner at the Big Sur Marathon in a great 2:50 time but was also only 2nd on his street, as his next door neighbor is Jim Scattini. Has to be the fastest block in the country!
2002 USATF Grand Prix Races
Here is the remaining schedule for the 2002 USATF Grand Prix series. If you want to compete for the Wednesday
Night Laundry Runners (Team 133) and/or as an individual in the Grand Prix Series all you have to do is have a
USATF card and go and run. You should run with a team singlet or shirt. Contact your WNLR age/sex coordinator
(noted on the roster) if you are planning to do any of these so we will know who is going. You can enter
the day of the race on most of them, but try to find the website or entry blank before hand.
.
Next Time You Finish Fourth - Remember
(From the May 17th, 2002 U. C. Berkeley Commencement Address of Folklore and Culture Professor Alan Dundees)
Does the world really come in threes, or is that just the way we Americans see it? Our educational
system reflects the same pattern. There is primary education, secondary education, and higher education. You earn
a B.A., M.A., or Ph.D. and you can graduate cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. Ph.D. thesis committees
typically consist of three members. It's not just, as anthropologist Ruth Benedict noted, "we cannot see the
lens through which we look", but we cannot easily escape the restrictive limitations of our own native categories.
And limit it is. There is yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Same goes for kinship terms. We have parents, grandparents,
and great grandparents. The limiting nature of three in our culture permeates our culture. In the Olympics, there
are gold, silver, and bronze medals, nothing for a fourth place finish. (Just as in horse racing, there is win,
place, and show.) As a professor of folklore, I try to teach my students that native categories are easily accessible
in folklore. So there are three little kittens, the three little pigs, the three bears, three men in a tub, three
bags of Baa Baa Black sheep's wool? And in our folksongs: Row, row, row your boat....Mary had a little lamb, little
lamb, little lamb? Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man?
Third time's a charm and the game of "Tic Tac Toe" which one must get three
x's or three o's in a row to win. SOS, the distress signal, is composed of Morse Code with S consisting of three
dots, O of three dashes, and again S with three dots. Think also of our national pastime: baseball with its three
bases, three strikes, three outs, box scores of "runs, hits, and errors" and the goal of hitting
.300. Incidentally, I doubt the so-called "three strikes" law would have passed if it had been the "two
strikes" law or the "four strikes" law? You don't learn your "AB"s or your "ABCD"s;
you learn your "ABC"s. Names are important so it's no surprise that we prefer three names or organizations
with three letter acronyms.
Fourth or fifth or sixth is not so bad.......it’s just a matter of culture!!!!!
When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.
Once you are over the hill, you pick up speed!!!!
WNLR SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Our Scholarship recipients have been chosen and hopefully we will present the awards
and money to them at the Party at the Richeys’ house at 1:00 PM on June 15th. Party is open to all WNLR’s
and families.
Our recipients this year, and each will get $1,000 to go toward their college education,
are Carl Lostrom of Carmel High School and Cynari Harrelson of North Monterey High School.
Both meet and exceed the criteria of being great high school senior runners, outstanding leaders on their teams,
in school, and in the community. And they love running. Cynari will be going to Hartnell and Carl to the
University of California at San Diego.
Cynari was one of the girls hit by a car while training for Cross Country last year and
she has come back to compete successfully in both Cross Country and Track. She has run a 5:49 mile.
Carl has won the two mile at his league meet each of the last 4 years and runs a 4:28 mile and 9:30 two mile.
Come learn more about them at the Richeys’ on the 15th of June. Find directions
on Page 4.
HERD ON THE TRAIL
Dave Pratt, Marc Pritchard, Jeff Whitmore and Kelsey Jordahl were running on the trail
and talking about who knew the most redneck rules.
Dave said, “You always have to identify people in your front yard BEFORE you shoot at
them!”
Marc said, “Livestock is usually a poor choice of a wedding gift!”
Jeff commented, “Cleaning your ears should be done privately using your own truck keys!”
Kelsey added, “If you go to Church with a cooler, make sure the cooler is well hidden
and you don’t burp during the sermon!”
Just then Sari Luoma ran by in the other direction and said, “I’m Sari!!!”
HEY, THAT’S WHAT JIM ALLEN
HEARD, O.K.!
HERD ON THE TRAIL:
Glynn Wood, Doug Shankle, and Kevin Smith were at the Mucky Duck on a Friday Afternoon
and were having a good time. Glynn stopped in at a neighborhood liquor store and bought another bottle of
booze.
They were having a great old time when Sally came in and told Kevin it was time
to go home. Kevin and Sally got in the car with Kevin driving and about half way over to Pacific Grove he got pulled
over by a policeman.
“So,” says the cop to Kevin, “where have you been?”
“Why, I’ve been to the Mucky Duck”, said Kevin.
“Well,” says the cop, “it looks like you might have had one too many!”
“Not really, officer,” says Kevin.
“Did you know,” says the cop “that a few intersections back your wife fell out of
the car!”
“Oh, thank heavens!!” said Kevin. “For a minute there I thought I had gone deaf.”
HEY, THAT’S WHAT JIM ALLEN HEARD, OK.!!!
Believe it or not! Your last issue of the communique said that Flintstone Vitamins had no Betty Rubble vitamin. Tiffany and Dominic Buraglio mailed me one, teaching us again not to believe everything you read in the Communique. But here is a true one about the Flintstones. Who were the first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV? You are correct if you said Fred Flintstone and Wilma.
WNLR Balances:
Members: 179
Regular Account: $760.72
Scholarship Fund: $2356.37
Jim Allen - WNLR Hall of Famer
Who is that driving up in the huge yellow cadillac, and with the different color gloves on each hand, and colorful shirt and the good words to say to everyone and still running very fast at age 64? Well it has to be new WNLR Hall of Famer Jim Allen. No one deserves this acknowledgement more than Jim. He single-handedly revived the WNLR club and gave it a spirit of fun and accomplishment. He kept the newsletter going and had frequent parties to get everyone together. He made everyone realize the reason we run is to have fun and to enjoy our friends. But he still wants to run as fast as he can and beat them every race.
Who else would have invented an
all downhill 10K called the Every Dog has its Day 10k? Jim was having trouble breaking the elusive 40-minute
mark in the 10K even though he was still improving in his late 50’s. He decided to have a race on a course that
he could break 40 minutes so he created a downhill 10K in Carmel Valley and ran an incredible 36-minute 10K the
first time out. He had learned to run fast and then broke 40 minutes several times on regular courses.
And of course, he put on a great party after that race, and every Dog Day Race after that.
Take a look at the banner page on the first page of this Communique, and you’ll see Jim Allen there under the Hall of Fame list and just seeing the name makes you smile and feel younger. Thank you Jim from all of us.
The Treadmill features the latest styles in athletic shoes, apparel and accessories for running, walking, aerobics, yoga, swimming, endurance sports as well as outdoor adventure wear.
This summer The Treadmill is featuring the BOWERMAN'S Series of shoes from NIKE:
AIR KANTARA—for the serious runner looking for the maximum blend of cushioning and stability. Firmer
medial side foam and Nike footbridge provides industry leading in rear foot control.
Reg. Price: $120.00
Your Price: $95.99
AIR MAX MOTO—the ideal combination of cushioning and support in a lightweight training shoe. Air
Max cushioning and firmer medial foam offers great protection and comfort.
Reg. Price: $85.00
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AIR PEGASUS—for the runner looking for a lightweight cushioned training shoe. Full length Nike
Air unit and the traditional waffle outsole ensures a smooth cushioned ride.
Reg. Price: $80.00
Your Price: $63.99
The Treadmill is a longtime supporter of the Wednesday Night Laundry Runners club and a sponsor of ALL the local running events. The Treadmill provides discounts for the WNLR club. Come visit the Carmel location in the Crossroads or the Monterey store on Washington Street just two blocks from the Sports Center.
HERD ON THE TRAIL
Well, last week Jim Allen was driving down to L.A. and made a rest stop. He decided to use the facilities.
The first toilet stall was occupied so he went into the second one. He was no sooner seated when he heard
a voice from the next stall:
"Hi, how are you doing?"
Well, Jim answered, a little embarrassed:
"Not too bad"
And the stranger said: "And what are you up to?"
Talk about your dumb questions! Jim was really beginning to think this was too wierd so he said, "Well,
probably just like you I'm driving to L.A."
Then, he heard the stranger all upset, say:
"Look, I'll call you right back, there is some idiot in the next stall answering all the questions I'm asking you. Bye!"
Hey, That’s what Jim Allen heard, O.K!!!!!!!!!
If you must choose between two evils try the one you’ve never tried before!!!!.
Dogs have owners....cat’s have staff!!!
Not one shread of evidence supports the theory that life is serious!!!!
We cannot change the direction of the wind but we can always adjust our sails!!!!
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed!
Your $10 yearly membership gets you 5 or 6 newsletters a year, free pizza sometimes, 20% off shoes at The Treadmill,
membership in the only USATF adult running club in Monterey County, the best team web site in California, great
parties, regularly scheduled runs, inclusion on the group e-mail list, team clothing, travel to races with other
WNLR’s, promotion of running in the area, WNLR scholarship fund, fun and more fun.