For our New Jersey Fall TNT teams training for the Virginia Beach Half, Chicago, Marine Corps and Nike San Fran, our first team run is this Saturday.
Joining an organized team to train together can be daunting, especially for a beginner runner. But much like joining a gym and then never going, we find that a lot of runners will join our team, and not show up to the group runs.
It's quite understandable though. The beginner you is about to show yourself in front of a bunch of strangers. How are you feeling about yourself and your current level of fitness? Are you planning to skip that first team run? Not ready for it yet? Are you planning on getting a bit fitter on your own, and then going out with the team? You may be feeling out of shape, overweight, think you’re going to be too slow for everyone else? You don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of other people. Everyone else must already be a runner and you’re not. They will all be finished and waiting for you to come in. The coach will have to run with you at the back of the pack and everyone else will be on their own. Or worse, you’ll be on my own at the back. It will be terrible.
I’m sure you’ve had gym instructors, teachers, and parents telling you all your life, not to worry. It will all be OK when you get there. Unfortunately, you are all adults, and so I cannot get away with convincing you in such a simple way. Because it is not all going to be OK. This is going to be hard. This is going to be a challenge. You are undertaking an endurance program. You have signed up to do something that less that one-tenth of one percent of people in the USA has ever done. If it was simple then everyone would be doing it. Every single person that has ever done a Half or Full Marathon has found it hard. That is part of why we are doing it. It is a personal challenge for all of us.
However, what I can tell you is, by doing this as part of a team, the challenge does become easier. We get people drop out of our teams every season. It is very rare for anyone who is active in the team runs to drop out. That is because the team helps them through, not just the individual.
Team In Training groups typically run at around 12min/mile pace. Some run faster, some slower. Some run/walk, maybe running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute. We have large groups training together in Northern New Jersey, so there is a good chance of finding someone else running at a similar pace.
So... congrats again for undertaking your endurance program. Congrats on signing up to make a difference to people's lives. And I hope you are to join the team for the runs.
"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Let's Go TNT.
Coach David.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The Yahoo Group Experience
As part of our communications between our training team, we create Yahoo groups to share emails, photos, concerns and questions.... I often hear that new participants struggle with Yahoo groups to sign up for. So one of our coaches, Glenn Bachmann, did some research on the signing up process and put the following steps together in case any of you got lost (or frustrated) in the process.
1. The process starts when a coach adds a new member to the Yahoo group, this results in an automatic email invitation to the participant.
2. The recipient opens the email and clicks on the embedded link to gain access to the new Yahoo Groups web page
3. If the participant already has a Yahoo ID, they see a screen which guesses at their user ID and prompts them for a password. If the participant
knows their password, they enter it, and voila, they are in the new Yahoo groups main page.
4. If the participant does NOT have a Yahoo ID, they instead see a screen which allows them to sign up and get a Yahoo ID. Unfortunately the screen doesn't really tell them that they need to create a new ID in order to get to the yahoo group, but hopefully the participant will realize this. So they click "Don't have a Yahoo ID"
5. Now they see a screen that asks them for their name, password, security questions, and that they accept the terms of service. They are required to fill this form out.
6. If they are successful in filling out the form they are now at the Registration Completed screen which tells them their YahooID, and it also
lists their Yahoo email address (this latter is to me a point of confusion)
7. Now they click the Continue button, which brings them to another screen which requires them to agree to enable Web Access (don't know what this is but apparently its required for yahoo groups)
8. Now they are on the yahoo groups main page, BUT they need to now enter their email address. What is bound to be confusing is do they enter their real-world email address they use at work or home, OR do they enter the Yahoo email address which they were just given? The correct answer is to enter their real world email address so that they will receive yahoo groups communications, but the wording on the screen does not explain this.
9. Now they are prompted for their Yahoo password again. If successful, they are informed that a verification email was sent to the email address they just entered (if they goofed in entering the wrong email address they will never get this verification email). They still cant get into the group until
they go BACK to their email and open the verification email.
10. In the verification email is a link "Important! Please click here to verify this email address for your account!"
11. This brings you into the yahoo group web page, and when you click continue you are finally IN.
Wow, no wonder people struggle with Yahoo groups.
However, we haven't explored any other choices to Yahoo groups yet. Can anyone recommend an alternative that is pretty easy for signing up, using, sharing info and photos?
1. The process starts when a coach adds a new member to the Yahoo group, this results in an automatic email invitation to the participant.
2. The recipient opens the email and clicks on the embedded link to gain access to the new Yahoo Groups web page
3. If the participant already has a Yahoo ID, they see a screen which guesses at their user ID and prompts them for a password. If the participant
knows their password, they enter it, and voila, they are in the new Yahoo groups main page.
4. If the participant does NOT have a Yahoo ID, they instead see a screen which allows them to sign up and get a Yahoo ID. Unfortunately the screen doesn't really tell them that they need to create a new ID in order to get to the yahoo group, but hopefully the participant will realize this. So they click "Don't have a Yahoo ID"
5. Now they see a screen that asks them for their name, password, security questions, and that they accept the terms of service. They are required to fill this form out.
6. If they are successful in filling out the form they are now at the Registration Completed screen which tells them their YahooID, and it also
lists their Yahoo email address (this latter is to me a point of confusion)
7. Now they click the Continue button, which brings them to another screen which requires them to agree to enable Web Access (don't know what this is but apparently its required for yahoo groups)
8. Now they are on the yahoo groups main page, BUT they need to now enter their email address. What is bound to be confusing is do they enter their real-world email address they use at work or home, OR do they enter the Yahoo email address which they were just given? The correct answer is to enter their real world email address so that they will receive yahoo groups communications, but the wording on the screen does not explain this.
9. Now they are prompted for their Yahoo password again. If successful, they are informed that a verification email was sent to the email address they just entered (if they goofed in entering the wrong email address they will never get this verification email). They still cant get into the group until
they go BACK to their email and open the verification email.
10. In the verification email is a link "Important! Please click here to verify this email address for your account!"
11. This brings you into the yahoo group web page, and when you click continue you are finally IN.
Wow, no wonder people struggle with Yahoo groups.
However, we haven't explored any other choices to Yahoo groups yet. Can anyone recommend an alternative that is pretty easy for signing up, using, sharing info and photos?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Joey Did Good
Joey Cialkowski, from Park Ridge, NJ, has been fighting leukemia since he was 5 years old. He was my honored patient in 2003 when I was coaching the Alaska team. He was in remission for several years but unfortunately, the very treatment that saved his life then led directly to the developing of a brain tumor.
He fought that off, but got another bought of brain cancer this year. He came out of surgery in February but was not given a good prognosis by his doctors. They haven't given Joey or his family much hope.
On the Sunday evening after the kickoff, I got a call from Pat Beck, our walking coach, who has been very close to Joey over these years. Arlene, Joey's mum, had called and said that at Joey's most recent check-up, the doctors said that he his tumor had reduced in size by 80%. It is no longer putting pressure on his spinal cord. It is wonderful news. The doctors were amazed.
The tumor is still carcinogenic. It is not begin. But we should celebrate along with Joey every piece of good news.
If you are a Team In Training athlete, or indeed, any cancer charity athlete, please think of Joey's fight and honor it in your way.
I'll try to keep you updated on his progress, and we all hope for the best.
"They were nothing more than people, by themselves. Even paired, any pairing, they would have been nothing more than people by themselves. But all together, they have become the heart and muscles and mind of something perilous and new, something strange and growing and great. Together, all together, they are the instruments of change". - Keri Hulme, The Bone People
He fought that off, but got another bought of brain cancer this year. He came out of surgery in February but was not given a good prognosis by his doctors. They haven't given Joey or his family much hope.
On the Sunday evening after the kickoff, I got a call from Pat Beck, our walking coach, who has been very close to Joey over these years. Arlene, Joey's mum, had called and said that at Joey's most recent check-up, the doctors said that he his tumor had reduced in size by 80%. It is no longer putting pressure on his spinal cord. It is wonderful news. The doctors were amazed.
The tumor is still carcinogenic. It is not begin. But we should celebrate along with Joey every piece of good news.
If you are a Team In Training athlete, or indeed, any cancer charity athlete, please think of Joey's fight and honor it in your way.
I'll try to keep you updated on his progress, and we all hope for the best.
"They were nothing more than people, by themselves. Even paired, any pairing, they would have been nothing more than people by themselves. But all together, they have become the heart and muscles and mind of something perilous and new, something strange and growing and great. Together, all together, they are the instruments of change". - Keri Hulme, The Bone People
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Getting out of the Door
Hopefully getting out of your door will not look like this !The training season for our Northern New Jersey runners starts on June 2nd with a nice and easy 3 miler at the Sneaker Factory in Millburn. Before the training season proper starts, just like the baseball players it is always a good idea to get in a little Spring pre-season training.
Getting out of the Door:Whether you are a seasoned runner or new at this game, the key goal at the beginning of any training season is to make going out and running a habit, rather than a chore. Try and get out of the door and go for exercise at least four times per week, no matter whether it is simply a jog for up to thirty minutes or so. The key thing is to make it something you do regularly. Make it part of your routine. If it remains a chore, something you have to squeeze into your day, then it will be a battle for you from now until the day of the big event.
If you need a schedule, then the following would be a basic start for you, no matter whether you are doing a 10miler, a Half or a Full Marathon:
Warm-up: Before each workout, do a warm-up of walking 5 minutes easy pace.
Cool-down: After each workout, do a cool-down of walking 5 minutes easy pace, then 15mins of stretching
Mondays – An easy run at an easy conversational pace, for as long as if comfortable, up to 30mins.
Tuesdays – Cross-training; bike ride, swimming, gym workout, spin class, etc.
Wednesday – Rest day, go for a walk, recover
Thursday – Run at a faster pace than your Monday run. Whatever is comfortable for you, but something like this would be good: Slow for 10mins, faster for 20mins, slow again for 10mins.
Friday - Just like Monday, a nice easy run.
Saturday/Sunday – Here is your long run. Long run one day, rest the other day. Depending on your current running experience, do somewhere between 45mins and 1 hour. Increase by 10/15mins each week if you can. Take walking breaks if you need to.
Notice I've put five workout in here. This is ideal. If you can do four, you will be fine. Just make sure you don't skip the long run. That is going to be our staple diet.
Gear
Welcome to a sport where you really don't need a lot of gear. Whether you already own what you would consider a good pair of running shoes or not, I would recommend that you take a trip to a good running store and get both your shoes, and your feet checked out. Take your shoes with you, and the store will be able to 'read' your existing shoes, to tell how you have been wearing them down. They should then check your feet out, and be able to match you with a good pair of shoes for your foot type. If you cannot find a good running store, then get in touch, and I'll send you a list.
Last note... Take it easy. We'll start this slowly, and build up by around 10-15% per week. If you make jumps in mileage too quickly, you'll get injured.
Feedback, ideas, questions? All welcome?
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing"
- Abraham Lincoln
Let's Go TNT!David Leech
TNT Running Coach
Monday, May 21, 2007
Leukemia Facts 2006-2007
Facts about Blood Cancers
This is the serious end of what we are doing, and this is increase in the survival rates are a direct response to the fundraising efforts for people who care to make a difference; the doctors, the not-for-profits and the fundraisers.
- Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are cancers that originate in the bone marrow or lymphatic tissue as the result of an acquired genetic injury to the DNA of a single cell. The cell then becomes malignant and multiplies continuously. This abnormal accumulation interferes with the production of healthy blood cells.
- An estimated 785,829 Americans are living with blood cancers.
- In the United States, 208,080 people are living with or in remission from leukemia.
- Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.
- The relative five-year survival rate for patients with leukemia has more than tripled in the past 46 years.
- There are 519,473 people today living with lymphoma: 133,819 have or are in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma; 385,654 have or are in remission from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, and its age-adjusted incidence rose 76 percent from 1975 to 2003.
- The five-year relative survival rate for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma rose from 73 percent in 1975 to 86 percent in 2002.
- The five-year relative survival rate for NHL patients rose from 48 percent in 1975 to 63 percent in 2002.
- In 2006, 16,570 new cases of myeloma will be diagnosed in the United States.
- Overall five-year survival rate has shown significant improvement since the 1960's, but was still only 33 percent in 2002.
This is the serious end of what we are doing, and this is increase in the survival rates are a direct response to the fundraising efforts for people who care to make a difference; the doctors, the not-for-profits and the fundraisers.
Bone Marrow Drive
Christopher Barron
Another speaker at our Kick-Off, one of our assistant running coaches, Melissa Muilenberg, spoke about her 9 year old nephew, Christopher Barron, who has had leukemia since he was 3. His initial battle against Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has know regressed into a fight against the more aggressive Acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Doctors determined last month that he was no longer curable through chemotherapy, and that a bone marrow transplant would be his best hope.
The Marrow organisation provide swab kits in the mail for anyone that signs up for their registry. Melissa spoke about mother she had spoken to, whose child did not find a donor match, and passed away. But the donor drive to find a match for her son, ended up providing 10 matches for other people, who could get life saving transplants.
There are currently 6,000 people seeking a match on for a bone marrow transplant. Only 2 in every 10 find a match. What better way to make a real difference to the survival of a fellow human than to donate directly in this way.
I hope anyone that reads this at least checks out the Marrow donation webpage and hopefully signs up as a donor.
Another speaker at our Kick-Off, one of our assistant running coaches, Melissa Muilenberg, spoke about her 9 year old nephew, Christopher Barron, who has had leukemia since he was 3. His initial battle against Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has know regressed into a fight against the more aggressive Acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Doctors determined last month that he was no longer curable through chemotherapy, and that a bone marrow transplant would be his best hope.
The Marrow organisation provide swab kits in the mail for anyone that signs up for their registry. Melissa spoke about mother she had spoken to, whose child did not find a donor match, and passed away. But the donor drive to find a match for her son, ended up providing 10 matches for other people, who could get life saving transplants.
There are currently 6,000 people seeking a match on for a bone marrow transplant. Only 2 in every 10 find a match. What better way to make a real difference to the survival of a fellow human than to donate directly in this way.
I hope anyone that reads this at least checks out the Marrow donation webpage and hopefully signs up as a donor.
Why We Do This Running Malarky
The Fall Season kickoff was excellent. The TNT office gang made it interactive and fun as much as possible. The enthusiasm and energy was high. But so too was the message of why we are doing this. We had two of our three honored patients with us, Mary and Sami, and we heard from another young child searching for a bone marrow transplant, Christopher.
Mary Ascherl
Mary was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in Feb 2006. CML is a form of chronic leukemia characterized by an unregulated growth of cancerous cells coming from bone marrow (myeloid). One of the huge breakthroughs in fighting blood cancer in this century has been the discovery of the drug Gleevac, and fortunately for Mary, CML is one of the forms of Leukemia that Gleevac has turned from a death sentence, to a controlled status, but not cured. Before Gleevac, Mary would have had 3-4 years left to live. But now, although she'll have to take Gleevac forever, she'll be able to be strong, and help others understand about Leukemia for a very long time.
Sami Stanley
Sami was diagnosed with cancer in the stomach when she was 18 years old. When she was told she had cancer, she was part of her high school musical, not long before testing for her black belt, and living the life of a regular teenager. Sami's diagnosis was "Lymphoproliferation Disorder" which causes one cell to grow rapidly, causing huge immune deficiencies. Sami had 40-50 ulcers in her stomach from it when she was diagnosed.
She was hospitalized for much of the next two years.
During one release from hospital she went to her prom, wearing a wig to cover her bald head. The Lymphoma moved to her sinus and her eye was swollen shut. But she was able to be released again and attended graduation wearing a baseball cap (but no wig this time). She missed half of her senior year, but was admitted again, as her Lymphoma had turned into Leukemia and required a bone marrow donation from her sister.
After 18 months in and out of hospital, and after 3 relapses while going through treatment, Sami is in remission, and now after passing her 21st birthday, has realised what being a survivor means.
Sami's message to everyone was that the fundraising we are doing to beat these blood cancers, more than just putting money into research, it is giving people a second chance at life. There is a big difference to just living and being alive.
The new season for Northern New Jersey has over 100 athletes signed up to run and walk marathons and half marathon, to ride the 100 mile bike rides, and to take on Olympic distance marathons. If you are interested in joining one of our teams, whether you are from Northern New Jersey, or any other state in the US or in Canada, then check out our organisation's website.
Mary Ascherl
Mary was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in Feb 2006. CML is a form of chronic leukemia characterized by an unregulated growth of cancerous cells coming from bone marrow (myeloid). One of the huge breakthroughs in fighting blood cancer in this century has been the discovery of the drug Gleevac, and fortunately for Mary, CML is one of the forms of Leukemia that Gleevac has turned from a death sentence, to a controlled status, but not cured. Before Gleevac, Mary would have had 3-4 years left to live. But now, although she'll have to take Gleevac forever, she'll be able to be strong, and help others understand about Leukemia for a very long time.
Sami Stanley
Sami was diagnosed with cancer in the stomach when she was 18 years old. When she was told she had cancer, she was part of her high school musical, not long before testing for her black belt, and living the life of a regular teenager. Sami's diagnosis was "Lymphoproliferation Disorder" which causes one cell to grow rapidly, causing huge immune deficiencies. Sami had 40-50 ulcers in her stomach from it when she was diagnosed.
She was hospitalized for much of the next two years.
During one release from hospital she went to her prom, wearing a wig to cover her bald head. The Lymphoma moved to her sinus and her eye was swollen shut. But she was able to be released again and attended graduation wearing a baseball cap (but no wig this time). She missed half of her senior year, but was admitted again, as her Lymphoma had turned into Leukemia and required a bone marrow donation from her sister.
After 18 months in and out of hospital, and after 3 relapses while going through treatment, Sami is in remission, and now after passing her 21st birthday, has realised what being a survivor means.
Sami's message to everyone was that the fundraising we are doing to beat these blood cancers, more than just putting money into research, it is giving people a second chance at life. There is a big difference to just living and being alive.
The new season for Northern New Jersey has over 100 athletes signed up to run and walk marathons and half marathon, to ride the 100 mile bike rides, and to take on Olympic distance marathons. If you are interested in joining one of our teams, whether you are from Northern New Jersey, or any other state in the US or in Canada, then check out our organisation's website.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Here We Go Again
Tomorrow morning the 2007 Fall season starts... it's always an exciting time. There is a great deal of energy developed at the beginning of the season, and the challenge is to keep it as long as possible through the season. There is always a mid-season low, and it is a test of how well the team bonds that determines how far that low is pushed out.
Let's hope this blog will help keep the communication flowing and the fun higher. If it does, it will be a success.
Let's hope this blog will help keep the communication flowing and the fun higher. If it does, it will be a success.
Welcome to the Blog
For those of you visiting this blog, welcome. This is post number one. I thought it might be fun to try out a blog for the Fall Season 2007 for the Northern New Jersey Team In Training run and walk teams.
I've never blogged before, so this will be a fun experience.
We've used Yahoo groups in the past, and they've done pretty well. Maybe this will be better, maybe worse, but let's find out.
I've never blogged before, so this will be a fun experience.
We've used Yahoo groups in the past, and they've done pretty well. Maybe this will be better, maybe worse, but let's find out.
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