This Running Life

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

Early in the 16th century Ponce De Leon spent his time traveling around Florida looking for the "Fountain of Youth". Since that time many seniors have traveled to Florida in search of the magic waters but failed to find it. In the 21st century there is emerging proof that "Running" is the long sought after youthfulness elixir. By this we mean that at an advanced age we still possess the characteristics of vigor, flexibility, bounciness, smooth body surfaces, and baby faceness.

How does running become the elusive "Fountain of Youth"? Is it because of the extra doses of Vitamin D, or the improved circulation, or the abundant oxygen? Or is it a combination of these things which provides us with an extremely powerful Immune System that delays the aging process? It really doesn't matter as long as it works. One thing is certain though, the the results from current products in the marketplace cannot live up to the basic characteristics of youthfullness; running stands alone.

I have been a member of the North Jersey Masters since 1980. My observations over the years indicate that as a group our running club appears significantly younger than the general population. Many of our "older" members seem to be 10-20 years younger than their actual age. Today, when I look at people with whom I ran 30 years ago, it is hard to believe that they are more than 60 years old.

The most difficult characteristic of youthfullness: vigor provides some proof. In the last two years we have seen two sixty year old club members run a marathon in under four hours. This year we have also seen more than a half dozen 70 year olds in New Jersey run 5Ks in less than 8 minutes per mile; 5 years ago there were none. As we age the the bar keeps moving up, to where the 70s are now the new 50s. Therefore, I must conclude that we have found the "magic Fountain". It didn't start that way. We began by doing something that we enjoyed and accidentally found something that has eluded humans for centuries.

To support my thesis, recent empirical evidence (2008) from Dr. James Fries and his Stanford University School of Medicine team indicate that "Running" may help you live longer and healthier. In 1984, Dr Fries began a study of 961 older runners (age 50 and up); 538 were runners and the rest (423) were non-runners. The researchers collected yearly questionnaires from all subjects to help explain their ability to perform daily activities such as bathing, dressing, walking, ability to grip objects, and maneuver out of a chair. Twenty-one years later the results showed that runners were healthier and happier and remained independent longer than did non-runners. Running delayed the onset of age-related disability and frailty by a whopping 16 years.

How lucky are we? It's great to have been proven right in making one of life's great decisions, and to be running at a time where those of us above 50 can count on many more years of fun. Also it is important for the club's newer and younger members to keep running, so that they too can lead a long and healthy life of new discoveries and records. Unlike Ponce De Leon they have, just like us "older" types, stumbled upon the Fountain of Youth.

IN PURSUIT OF 2 MINUTES - Continued

At the most recent Dunkerhook workout, Jose Fernandez queried about an article that I posted on "This Running Life", on May 20, about improving my 10K race times by 2 minutes. I was stunned! Not only did somebody read my article but three months later was inquiring about the status. I thought that no one had seen it, and if someone saw it they would have forgotten it by now. C'est la vie, I can't hide anymore and must now respond .

Since May the 20th, I ran a disastrous 10K at Ridgewood and then devoted June and July to running 5Ks for the Grand Prix Mini-1. Currently I am using the August lull in the racing calendar to prepare for the upcoming Fall Grand Prix races, which includes several 10K races. At the same time, I continue my main goal of developing a perfectly aligned body. It should translate into the proper biomechanics followed by the elusive 2 minutes improvement in the October and November 10Ks. I believe that my hard work is on the verge of paying off. Below is a list of the Fall races which will be used to evaluate failure or success, they include the 2009 results for future comparisons.

• October 3 - Mahwah 10K (53:55)
• October 10 - USATF-NJ XC 8K (44:50)
• October 17 - Paramus Run 10K (56:06)
• November 14 - Giralda Farms 10K (54:25)
• November 25 - Ashenfelter 8K (42:28)

The two minute target (1 Minute for 5Ks) is based on a study by Dr Nancy Hamilton at The University of Northern Iowa which concluded that aging is not the main culprit in slowing us down after 40. It is not age but a shortening stride length which leads to poor running biomechanics. According to the study, we should be able to run into our 90s by improving flexibility. It is the "flexibility of the hip and knee joints, as well as the quadriceps that are the key factors in preserving stride length" and running times.

The question still remains about how to do it. That must be left for another time. But if you wish more information on biomechanics, check the following two sources: The "Peak Performance" website at www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0122.htm, and the PDF file at www.tswong.net/hkpe/others/multiapproach_eng.pdf.

Can't Change the Weather So I Changed My Shoes

Do red cars go faster? Some say yes, especially law enforcement. Do yellow shoes go faster? A fellow runner asked me and I tried to explain that one should never underestimate the deep bond between a runner and his yellow footwear.

For the past month of June, I tried four times to break 24 minutes in 5K's, but could not break the pattern. I wasn't in a rut because my results were competitive in my age group, but not in my mind. The heat was wearing me down and I was ready to wait until Fall, or the Jingle Bell, or whatever. I needed a change, but was it training, diet, stretching, or what?

My spirits needed a lift so I purchased a pair of yellow racing shoes just in time to run on my company's team in the Teterboro 5K. I looked out my window and scouted the course that was still hot, flat and straight. I would be at one in the hot sun flying over 100 degree tarmac in my magical (metaphysical) yellow shoes. They made me cheerful and happy as I dripped in sweat at the crowded start wondering if this was my day to break 24.

Flat and fast felt good with a little headwind from the north for the first mile. Turned 180 degrees at the cone which draws out the Teterboro monster which is convection heat from all directions. Kept the zen thoughts streaming, because there are no songs written about yellow shoes. I passed a guy I never passed before but recognized from all the championship runs in June. In the last mile, where the finish line radiates like a mirage in the hot desert, realized am not getting passed. Sprinted through the finish line where the EMT's were treating runners like an Express Lane at Shop Rite.

Yellow shoes were my lift when I needed it most, what lifts you?

Kevin Burns
23:22

A View from the Middle of the Pack

It’s July and one race is hotter than the other. Instead of saying hello, runners ask if is hot enough for you? It’s 8 weeks since the Our House 5 Miler, and my tolerance for the heat has improved along with my pace, but the 2010 burn continues. President’s Cup cooled off to 84 degrees while Pine Beach climbed to 85 with 85% humidity, and the jellyfish were stinging in the Toms River.

It was so hot Tuesday, Coach Joel moved his chair under a nearby shrub for partial shade and relief from a 90 degree start at Paramus Catholic. One of his observations was NJM runners are still getting acclimated to the heat which meant better race times for all the sweat.

Fourth of July is here already, and expect abundant sunshine. Highs in the upper 90s. Think I will practice my hydration intervals, raise the flag high, and taste some of Jersey Shore’s finest.

Kevin Burns

IN PURSUIT OF 2 MINUTES

Several years ago, in my late 50s-early 60s, I had a bout with lower back Sciatica which radiated pain throughout my body. After much trial and error to correct the problem, I developed a plan which eventually corrected it. Soon I began running again but exhaustion always creeped into the last part of a workout or race. For example, my running time of a 5K would be split in half at two miles, of course the last mile was mostly marked by the embarrasment of watching people go by.

Originally I excused my failure on getting old or not working hard enough. But soon I realized that there was a limit to working harder, and began surfing the web for another solution. A British running website suggested that by using the proper running posture (biomechanics) I could improve running time by as much as two minutes in a 10K. This had to be my problem, because at the time, my body ran in different directions at the same time. All I needed was to change my biomechanics, but how?

The answer was to use the same tools that I had used for eliminating the earlier Sciatica problem. Simply square the shoulders and hips, straighten the spine-neck-head, use gravity to drop the arms and legs in a straight line towards the ground, and loosen all my joints. The rebuilding of my body is reaching completion, but my pursuit of the two minutes is now threatened by age. Last year I entered the "Bermuda Triangle of Life"; I became a septuagenerian and wondered if age deterioration would offset the gains from my improved biomechanics.

Well, now is the time to test if the 2 minute goal will provide me with continued running into my 80s. There have been good indications from time to time, but setbacks like the Newport 10K two weeks ago have dimmed my hopes. There is only one thing to do, try my new body in a series of races like the USATF-NJ Grand Prix racing circuit and see what happens. There will be about 15 races by Thanksgiving which will point to success or failure. I look forward to checking my running times against the historical information that the website provides. Hopefully the times will be significantly faster than those in my late 50s.

Wish Me Luck.

Race Day Journal

Our House 5 Miler, Summit, NJ
Sunday, May 2
Weather: Sunny, 88 degrees, 59% humidity
Pain Index: 10

Back in my Harley Running Club days, Shawn Gallagher and I would drive just about anywhere in the state to run a "TAF" race. We lived on the same block in Bergenfield so carpooling was a cinch, but we missed one spot in the Garden State, Summit, NJ. When you ask a fellow runner about an upcoming location, you tend to get a minimal answer based on the old adage, if you have nothing good to say, don't say it. Always heard nice things about Summit from my friend who was the building inspector and he would go on about how the old houses were out of code, but he never talked about the hills.

Got to the 1:00 PM race in just enough time, but the 92 degree readings on the Garden State Parkway spelled trouble ahead. At the start, greeted a few familiar faces from NJM, but very few for a 700 point extravaganza! Summit's Village Green was the staging area and the only flat spot I would see all day.

Clean start and settled into a pace when NJM's Bettina Garber ran by with a purpose. We have trained and run in many races over the last year so this seemed like a normal race. These were the last coherent thoughts I had for the next 4 miles. Bettina had disappeared in mile three and I was just hanging on. One hill followed another and I remembered to give myself permission to walk 10 seconds in mile 4, but the worst was still to come.

Dousing my head at the water station provided little relief from the heat and my lack of training in April. Finally a wake up call in mile 5 when another NJM runner passed politely and silently by. Shawn and I always talked about getting picked in the final stages of a race and those thoughts propelled me. The same NJM runner picked me in mile 7 last December, so I had to make up my mind to settle on the outcome or make my move. Am sure I looked like a tortoise climbing the last hill but never looked back after I repassed my NJM friend.

Coming down homestretch, another NJM voice broke my thoughts of pain as John Foster encouraged me to finish strong, and so I did, breaking 45 minutes, my worst 5 mile USATF race ever. Limped over to Bettina, John and Greg who offered me an icy bottle of water and congrats on finishing. How could Bettina look so refreshed after a day like this? The comforting truth was we all suffered together enduring this record breaking heat wave in May. My journal reminds me why I joined this club. The People.

Runners Come Together To Aid Haitian Victims

An event occurred on Saturday February 6 that, once again, emphasized what we have always known – runners are good, caring people who are always ready to lend a helping hand.

Sponsored by the Ridgewood Running Company, a three mile ‘casual’ run was held in windy 25 degree weather to raise money for the suffering people of Haiti. Approximately 60 runners were on hand for the cause which raised $562. That figure will be matched by the Ridgewood Running Company, according to the store manager Beth O’Conner, making a total of $1,124.

Athletes from high school age to masters runners in their sixties made the effort and several North Jersey Masters members were in attendance. The prize at the end of the run was an array of donuts and bagels as well as hot coffee. Although it was a cold day, all who participated left with a warm feeling in their heart.