Monday, December 1, 2014

Olympian Shalane Flanagan returns to Marblehead

I got to interview Olympian and Boston Marathon elite runner Shalane Flanagan after the Back the Track 5K in Marblehead, Mass., on Saturday. (Photo / Mike Fitzgerald)
Shalane Flanagan, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters who has finished in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon the past two years, returned to her hometown of Marblehead, Mass., for a fundraising 5K on Saturday. I was there to cover it for the Lynn Daily Item. Here's my story.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Interview with Shalane Flanagan

My interview with Olympic runner Shalane Flanagan ran in the Lynn Daily Item today. She's returning to her hometown of Marblehead, Mass., for a fundraising 5K to benefit the track complex. Here's the link: http://www.itemlive.com/sports/flanagan-talks-of-happy-homecoming/article_3d0dbb36-745f-11e4-a8c9-9f88a7d076f0.html?mode=jqm

Monday, November 24, 2014

Warm day heats up in Nahant

Running on Nahant Beach in Nahant, Mass., on Sunday, with a Westie catching up. (Photo / Laura Arena)
Sunday afternoon, Laura, Daisy and I went to Nahant Beach for a 2-mile walk. We parked in one of the spots along the causeway and walked across the sand. A gentle surf meant practically no waves on the light-blue waters.
With the Tides Restaurant behind us, we walked toward Lynn, passing the Halfway House on our left. Daisy found her friskiness, exchanging sniffs with an Irish wolfhound that leaped up to paw me. This friendly red dog was one of many we saw with their human companions.
Quite a few runners and walkers also showed up, some in sweats like me, but others in shorts. I did a few sprints and Daisy joined me for at least one. It was good to see the little ball of white fur scampering over the sand.
I have fond memories of this beach from summer running clinic sessions with James Green of Marblehead, who placed second in the 1959 Pan Am Games. I told Laura that the Ward Bathhouse on the Lynn side always seemed to hang in front of me forever on the run back during those clinics. I also enjoyed the swims through the surf and the runs along the causeway at the Thursday-night Nahant Beach Triathlon, not to mention the pizza from the Tides at the end-of-the-season party.
A few kites fluttered in the sky as we neared the Lynn bathhouse, with seagulls riding the waves. We decided not to go all the way across. I pointed out to Laura the stone steps along the seawall that marked one end of Coach Green's own training runs ... three miles to the Tides and back, four times total, for 12 miles. She said she thought Nahant to Swampscott along the beach might make a good run and maybe I will try that sometime.
Well, we did get to Nahant to Swampscott, albeit by car. We parked by the Swampscott Yacht Club and stepped out onto the beach. A friendly dog wagged its tail at Daisy, then ran at full speed over the sand. The setting sun cast an orange glow onto the clouds and over the water and Laura took a sunset shot.
It was good to revisit a favorite running spot in Nahant, and to see the sunset in Swampscott!

The sunset by the Swampscott Yacht Club in Swampscott, Mass., on Sunday. (Photo / Laura Arena)

Monday, November 17, 2014

Great trails on Great Lakes

This past weekend, we had the chance to visit Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the five Great Lakes. Irondequoit Bay, on the southern shore, offers a beautiful spot for a trail run.
Laura and I were in Rochester, N.Y., for my nephew's baptism. We decided to go to Abraham Lincoln Park, a 20-minute drive away. The 182-acre park was renamed (from Irondequoit Bay Park East) on Feb. 12, 2009 to honor the 200th birthday of Honest Abe. Among its amenities are running trails.
Greeted by a bearded collie mix named Sarah at the parking lot, we walked the steep concrete hill down to the trails. Concrete changed to earth and the familiar natural obstacles -- rocks, ruts and roots -- that I remembered from the Lynn Woods Reservation back home in Massachusetts.
The descent was difficult but we were rewarded by the sight of the bay and its gentle waves running across to the shore. The water was clear as we looked down from a boat ramp. It felt colder along the shore, but the sun came out for a stretch to glimmer on the water.
I did several sprints to a nearby tree and back. I didn't want to go further on the trail because it was waterlogged. At least the running warmed me up. It also felt inspiring to run along one of the inland seas of North America.
Later, we drove along the Seaway Trail, a National Historic Byway, to the Webster Park Campgrounds for a wider view of the lake. It was amazing to see no shore on the horizon as larger waves crashed onto the beach.
Running is popular in the Rochester area in general. We saw runners along the Erie Canal the next day, as well as on the roads. There's a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot and a 5K at the springtime Lilac Festival. We look forward to our next visit!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Drink Your Veggies

Diet for runners, and for people who exercise in general, has always been one of the areas on the fitness spectrum that is a source of mystery to me. I have always been fond of the McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts food groups.
That said, for the past few mornings, Laura has returned to making her famous "green drink," and we have been drinking it as part of breakfast.
"It's supposed to be a cleansing drink," she said. "It gives you energy. It's refreshing, hydrating, with essential nutrients that are easily absorbed by the body." These nutrients include vitamin K and bioflavonoids.
She compares it to a smoothie, and there are times when it definitely feels more solid than liquid (including Wednesday, when the air made it bubble). Its cool taste makes it
a refreshing, cleansing way to start the day.
She said you can play with the ingredients, but remember the fundamentals: a green, a healthy oil and a protein.

Laura's Green Drink Recipe:
1 cup apple cider, fruit juice or water
1.5-2 cups raw kale or other uncooked greens
1/2 to 3/4 cup blueberries or other berries
1 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
1 tbsp deep sea fish oil
1 tsp agave nectar or honey, or to taste
1/2 cucumber (optional)

Put everything in a blender. Yields 6 cups. It's good for a couple days. Or you can make a smaller amount.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Drumlin Dash

Dexter Drumlin is a 311-foot hill rising gently over historic Lancaster, Mass. I visited the hill, part of a 38-acre Trustees of Reservations site, with Laura, her mother and Daisy the Westie on Sunday afternoon. We followed the footpath to the summit, and they stayed there while I walked downhill to the edge of the reservation, which borders the Nashua River. Laura encouraged me to run back uphill. So I did.
While gentle to walk, the hill is more challenging to run, and I felt myself leaning into the hill and feeling the push-back of the wind. Near the end of the run, I had company, as Daisy decided to race me to the finish line.
Back at the top, I had the chance to admire the far-off mountaintops resplendent in fall foliage and the covered bales of hay on a neighboring farm -- one of many in this flat section of central Massachusetts. The total trail loop is one mile, but we opted not to do it and instead went for a late lunch at nearby Kimball Farm.
What is a drumlin, anyway? It's a hill formed by an Ice Age glacier, with the term itself derived from the Irish word droimnin (littlest ridge). While this hill was indeed little, it was still breathtaking to climb, in a scenic way and in a running-challenge way. I hope my progress up it wasn't too glacial.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Planks for the Memories

Ah, the Plank Pose. It's a good stretch for runners, you can do it in yoga, you can do it for strength training, you can test how long you keep yourself off the ground. But can you do it with a pug reading Tolstoy on your back?

Monday, October 27, 2014

Star light, run bright

Saturday night, I went to the Rocky Neck art colony in Gloucester, MA with Laura and our Westie Daisy. A solitary runner did a hill climb in reflective vest and sneakers. I could see why this peninsula holds an attraction for night runners.
First, the hilly ground will test your legs. That seems true of the area in general, based on reports I heard about the Lone Gull 10K at nearby Good Harbor Beach. Second, the colony offers an inspiring view of the evening sky. Laura and I picked out the constellations of Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper, not to mention a crescent moon, as we passed art galleries, restaurants and houses (one of which boasted a baby grand on the second floor!).
It's a good idea to make yourself visible here at night. Cars whiz by at speeds considerably faster than the posted 15 miles per hour. Still, there is a good amount of foot traffic, both two-legged and four-legged. Daisy met a sheepdog named Niles -- "like the beach?" Laura alertly asked -- and they exchanged sniffs.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

All together now...

One way to get yourself out the door for a run is to join a group run.
Group runs offer a chance to meet new people, get in a 3-5 mile training run and enjoy some socialization afterward.
In the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, for example, I found groups that run each week: the Somerville Road Runners' Bur-run (Mondays) out of The Burren in Davis Square; the Runfellow apparel company's run club on Tuesdays; and the Marathon Sports run club on Wednesdays in Boston, Brookline and Wellesley.
Running on local roads with a group can acclimate you to the terrain in your neighborhood -- where the flats are, and where the hills are. You'll also learn about safety precautions; the groups I looked at all stress wearing reflective clothing at night, a good idea on congested streets and sidewalks.

Monday, October 20, 2014

A chip off the old block

Part of the Stone Tower Spahtens' obstacle-race group workout in the Lynn Woods Reservation on Sunday mornings involves chopping wood.
So, early yesterday, I chopped away at a log -- kindly provided by organizer Nakri Dao of Lynn -- as splinters showered in the late-fall chill. I never managed to split the log, or even make it halfway through. But it felt good to raise and lower the yellow-handled axe. Every now and then the blade would get stuck and I had to pry it loose.
Chopping wood, they say, is good for your upper body. You get to lift and lower the weight of the axe, and you descend into a squat position for the actual chop. I believe it is also good to be out in nature, and to engage in work that might also benefit the environment, chopping wood that needs to be chopped. Fellow Spahten Joe Armstrong of Lynn once told me of a log so big it required six or seven people to clear it from the trail and roll it up Burrill Hill to the Stone Tower.
Wood chopping figures big in life and literature, too. Leave it to Robert Frost to actually know, in "Two Tramps in Mud Time," what kind of wood he was toiling away at -- "Good blocks of oak it was I split, As large around as the chopping block." And last Monday, when I went to the Topsfield Fair with Laura and her mother, the groups performing at the Grandstand included the Axe Women Loggers of Maine. (We caught the end of the show.)
The Spahtens do many kinds of workouts at Stone Tower -- 450-pound tire flips, rope climbs and spear throws. But because of its connections to the earth, chopping wood just might be my favorite.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Sunset, Sunrise

Almost four years as a running columnist for The Daily Item of Lynn, MA have come to an end. Here are some closing thoughts, on everything from the Boston Marathon to the Lynn Woods Summer Cross Country Races to, ahem, cartoons about mountain goats.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Southie Serenade

We have been going to Carson Beach in South Boston on summer nights. It's a great scenic spot and running venue.
Laura, Daisy and I walked the boardwalk recently and I went for a run from the bocce courts to an empty lifeguard chair and back. I like running on sand in general, and the Southie surface felt fine, as did the refreshing sea air. Ahead lay Castle Island, the old fort where the USS Cassin Young, a World War II-era destroyer, went for turnaround cruises from the Charlestown Navy Yard back when I was a National Park Ranger in the late '90s/early aughties.
Carson Beach is not just for runners and walkers. We have also seen volleyball games, including repeated two-on-two battles between four intense fellows one night. The losers of each game would drop and give 20 pushups on the sand!