The Little Things . . .

a Going the Distance newsletter

Mid December 2017 || issue #64
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Personal Coaching with Coach Braz

photo courtesy of Glenn Simm

Tina Dowling Runs Chicago

I have been working with Fernando Braz to become a better runner for almost 17 years! Last year, as I joined the ranks of a new senior division, I decided it was time to take my running seriously again and see what I could accomplish in my new age division.

When I started training for the Boston Marathon in December 2016 I told Fernando my goal was to use Boston to get strong again, but more importantly, to be able to continue to train hard for the full year. I wanted to run another marathon that Fall. Fernando first prepared me for a perfect Boston Marathon execution that resulted in negative splits and a 10th place division finish! After that Boston finish I began training for my next goal, the Chicago Marathon, and a good race for the Grand Prix Series. As the year progressed I competed well in several races and snagged a age group division title for the 10K Lone Gull Grand Prix.

As for the Chicago Marathon, at the start I decided to run with the 3:05 pacing group. This was my first time out with a pacing group and it was quite entertaining for the first 8 miles or so. At that point I decided that the pace was getting a little too slow and left the group. I kept my pace on target until I hit a bit of a rough patch through miles 22 to 24. It’s a point in the race where I start to think, “I’ve gone this far but the finish seems so far away!” Because of my training with Fernando I knew I had the fitness and the training to let those thoughts go and push through strong on the those last miles. That’s exactly what happened as I finished the last 2k of the race with the fastest miles of the entire marathon! I finished Chicago with a third place division win and a time of 3:00:25.

[It's true that when Tina began training with Coach Braz the Dead Sea was only sick. It was a long time ago. What's the real message here? Runners who have maintained a coaching program with Fernando have the possibility of running at a healthy and often competitive level for many years.]

Ryenne Feeney Runs a Spartan

[Robin Feeney writes about Ryenne, a sophomore at Masconomet HS. She plays HS and club soccer, runs track, and never misses a summer at Braz Camp.]

Ryenne ran in the Boston Sprint Spartan race in Rutland, MA, last June and wore one of her GTD shirts (as she always does for a Spartan race). She finished that race in 1:40.02, ranking 585th overall out of 4800, 96th of 2047 women and 5th in the 15-19 age group out of 113.

Two different people came up to her during the day to ask if she runs in your camps. The first was a guy named Angel who ran for you at Peabody High and graduated in ’06. He sang your praises and said you made him a much better runner. The other was a woman whose children have participated in your camps in the past and also had great things to say.

It seems that every time Ryenne wears one of her GTD shirts to a track or Spartan event, she has people come up to her to talk about your camps. I told Ryenne to hit you up for an extra GTD shirt this year for all the free advertising she gives you during her races!

Ryenne at the Boston Sprint Spartan in June. Don't let the big smile fool you. Note the leap over the fire jump.

Holly Madden Runs New York

My first NYC marathon was quite the experience; loved the crowds and unique personality of each borough. As for the race itself, I tried to start out slower than usual and focus on a consistent pace, which I did fairly well until the 20 mile mark, when I slowed a bit. Around mile 21, the Bronx gave us runners a much-needed boost in the form of Grand Master Flash. After our little trip down hip hop memory lane, we were greeted by a roaring crowd (three rows of people deep!) along 5th avenue, which eventually fed us into the rolling adrenaline rush of Central Park.

There were a few little things that didn't help along the way (i.e., getting my asthma inhaler hit out of my grasp by a 6' 4" runner who had a rather wide arm swing and newish running shoes that hurt my feet from mile 8 on) . . . but all in all a good day for me; one I'll never forget!

Final result: 3:13: 32, 5th in age group, 207th women overall. And . . . I rather like that the time I got on Sunday (at age 51) was three minutes faster than my Boston marathon at age 32.

Race Results

On September 9 at the Progeria Race For Research in Peabody, Larissa Park was top woman (and 4th overall) in 18:01.

The New England 10K Championship was the Lone Gull 10K in Gloucester on September 24. Katie Cooper ran 36:37 and Larissa Park 37:19. Tina Dowling won the seniors division in 39:42, with Holly Madden 2nd in 40:40. Karen Durante won the vets division (60+) in 49:07. Although she runs in the 66-69 division, Karen's time beat all women 60 and over. Glenn Simm ran 47 flat, Anke ueckert-LaPlante 48:43, and Ana Gordon 54:11.

At the Bay State Marathon on October 22, Tammie Robie ran 3:11:46 and Anke Ueckert-LaPlante 3:50:05, both Boston qualifiers. Katie Cooper was 1st woman in the half-marathon in 1:20:40, and Holly Madden won the seniors title (by 13 seconds!) in 1:28:36.

At the Run for All Ages in Wakefield, Karen Durante won the 60+ division in 22:45. Karen also was unbeaten in her division in the USATF-NE Grand Prix Series. The Grand Prix races serve as the championship events for New England road racing.

Indoor Race Results

Missing

Sean Kay is a sophomore at Arlington Catholic. On November 11 he ran 16:28 at Wrentham for 6th in the Division 5 race. On the 18th at the State meet, Sean ran 16:20.
Ethan Snook is a junior at Marblehead HS. On November 11 he ran 18:03 at Wrentham in the Division 3 race.

We missed Sean and Ethan in the last issue's xc results. If we've missed anyone else, please let us know.

Indoor Results

We have some early indoor track results.

At the NEC Indoor Track meet on December 7, Leah Rudolph (Gloucester) ran the 1000M in 3:32.2. Caroline Johnson (Marblehead) ran the 2 miler in 12:55. The energetic Caroline was first female and 11th overall in 21:34 at the Essex Turkey Trot 5k on November 19. This race is based at Woodman's Restaurant in Essex and has transmorgified from an 8k to a 5k. Hoping it still features clam chowder and turkeys for age group winners at the finish.

For the Peabody track team at the NEC meet on December 7 -- Alison Dewsnap ran 11.4 in the 55M hurdles, Sarah Enes ran 3:56.5 and Victoria Lombardi 4:01.1 in the 1000M, Lilly Brennan ran 6:03.7 and Nicole Ruggiero 6:06.6 in the mile, and Isabella Ricciardi 14:59 in the 2 mile.
For the Peabody boys -- Joe LeBlanc reached 5.0 in the high jump and ran 8.3 in the 55M hurdles. Joshua Atemkeng ran 1:40.4 in the 600M, Ryan Buchanan ran 3:34.7 and Kosta Prousalis 3:40.8 in the 1000M, and in the mile Jacob Farhat ran 5:33.5, Noah Roan 5:40.1, and Noah Christopher 5:40.1.

At the 1st Cape Ann League meet on December 9, Kate Mitchell (Lynnfield) ran the 600M in 1:38.14 and Ryenne Feeney (Masco) ran it in 1:45.74. These were the two fastest times. Emily Enes (Essex Tech) ran the 300M in 50.25. Ali Pais (Essex Tech) ran the 1000M in 4:07.40. Lauren Waters (Ipswich) ran the mile in 6:16.49, and Brie Passatempo (Lynnfield) the 2 mile in 12:28.42. Jessie Harrington (Ipswich) was 1st in the 55M hurdles in 9.86 and 2nd in the long jump in 14-10.50.
For the boys, Kellen Waters (Ipswich) had the fastest mile time, 4:46.01, with Jack DeMarco (Ipswich) 3rd fastest in 4:54.02. Anthony Farago (Triton) ran 5:22.87.

At the first Tri County League Meet on December 12, Joy Wambui ran the 1000M in 3:36.86 for Bishop Fenwick. In the 2 mile, Kate DelTorchio ran 12:46:60 and Katie Loehle 14:38, both for Bisphip Fenwick. For the boys, Derek Blanchard ran the 1000M in 3:02.93 for Malden Catholic. In the 1 mile, Sean Kay (Arlington Catholic) was 1st in 4:42.83, Aiden Hill (Bishop Fenwick) 3rd in 5:10.98 and Zach Mizioch (Bishop Fenwick) 4th in 5:12.78. In the 2 mile, Jared Wardwell (Malden Catholic) ran 12:06.68.

At the BU Mini-Meet on December 16, Josh Atempkeng ran 25:48 in the 200M. In the 400M, Marc Alperen ran 53.76, Will Aylward 54.56, Josh 54.94, Jacob Farhat 56.34, Sam Magee 57.10, Ryan Buchanan 59.61, Lilly Brennan 1:03.93, Noah Christopher 1:05.78, and Noah Roan 1:08.82. In the 800M, Marc Alperen ran 2:04.20, Will Aylward 2:09.06, Sam Magee 2:11.22, Ryan Buchanan 2:18.30, Jacob Farhat 2:21.39, Ryan Nagy 2:27.88, Leah Rudolph 2:29.87, Noah Roan, 2:30.46, Lily Brennan 2:35.47, Nicole Ruggiero 2:39.41, and Noah Christopher 2:39.69. In the mile, Shane Braz ran 4:48.61, Sarah Enes 5:47.39, and Isabella Ricciardi 6:29.14. In the 3000M, Mike Weidenbruch ran 9:08.70 and Marissa Farago 10:59.24.

Personal Coaching with Coach Braz

Coach Braz provides personal, one-on-one coaching for runners at all levels who want to improve their performance or want a guided maintenance program.

If you are running a spring marathon -- for example, Boston -- you should begin your training now.

Registration Form

The program is designed for runners who have a specific racing goal, or a series of races to prepare for, or want to build or maintain their running fitness. Your personal program may include a weekly track session that may be done at a site convenient to you or with Coach Braz on Tuesday evenings at the Beverly High School track.

Program details
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Previous Issues of The Little Things

Please go to this link for previous issues of The Little Things.

Going the Distance is a coaching service for runners at all levels.
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Visit our website -- Going the Distance
Head Coach -- Fernando Braz
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For more information, contact Dave at dave@goingthedistancefb.com