Monthly Meeting Recap: March 2020
(Apologies in advance for any misspelled/misheard names. We’ll happily correct any errors.)
The Prospect Park Track Club has members-only meetings the first Monday of the month at Da Nonna Rosa.
The pizza selection tends to be as diverse as it is delicious, and today was no exception. It came out of the kitchen early, at 6:58 p.m., and a line of hungry runners immediately stretched halfway into the meeting room.
At 7:07, Captain Adam, filling in for President Tom, called the meeting to order.
Opening Statements
“I don’t have Tom’s whistle so you’re just going to have to listen to me yell. I don’t normally do this, so if I do this poorly, I apologize.”
(He did just fine).
Adam summarized the meeting ahead: The usual new member introductions, followed by announcements, and finishing with a guest speaker who would start at 7:30 p.m. sharp.
New Members
Six new members introduced themselves and shared why they joined the club, as well as any running goals they currently have.
Reasons for joining included:
Speed classes
“I moved to Park Slope yesterday.”
Volunteered for Cherry Tree
“Signed up for more than I should be signed up for because it’s addicting, man.”
Proper training & socializing
Group runs
Goals included:
Lots of race goals!
Turkey Trot
Brooklyn and New York Half (sad face)
First marathon in November
Recent Races
Adam invited people to share stories of their recent races.
Michael RAN (emphasis on ran) the Washington Heights 5K.
Richard recently raced a 1-miler.
Erica, Pete, and the person telling the story about Erica and Pete (sorry I don’t know your name!) did a Valentine’s Day 5K: “We drank Murray’s trail juice—only a sip! It was a very cold day, but Erica and I both placed in our age groups.”
Noah gave a recap of the first Club Points Race since PPTC started a training group geared toward these races. At the Washington Heights 5K, 69 PPTC members showed up, we got 6th place in the men’s open division, and 10 people finished in under 18 minutes. “The level of performance of the club is really increasing.” Ashleigh H. got under 20 minutes for the first time, and Tom A. ran under 17 minutes for the first time since high school.
Oren gave a shout-out to the Cherry Tree: “Volunteers were awesome, the race went off without a hitch, and I had a PR.”
Announcements
John mentioned that there will be a 5K on May 31: 10 a.m. at Bay Parkway and Shore Road Promenade. Anyone can register with him at the next meeting: $25 for the 5K, and $15 for the 1-mile walk.
Adam took a moment to remind everyone about the club’s code of content.
“Generally speaking don’t be a jerk to anyone. Treat everyone with respect. If you have a problem with anybody, the place to reach out is conduct@pptc.org or the team captains team@pptc.org. I would highly encourage everyone not to specifically say to any other member that they have violated the code of conduct. That being said, anyone should feel comfortable bringing this up.
In short:
Don’t bandit a race
Don’t scream at people like a madman
Be a good run citizen
Use the port-a-potty
Adam had another announcement: The Queens Marathon is March 22 and the organizers are asking for clubs to set up a water table. Look out for a post on the forum.
Eric announced that the sign-up for the Boston Marathon bus is still open. “We have several spots left but not many.” What is the Boston Marathon bus? Adam described: “We go to mile 18.6, scream our faces off for six hours, then come back.” [Note: Eric is likely looking into changing the reservation, in light of the marathon’s postponement until September 14. If you can’t attend on the new date, please update him accordingly!]
Michael shared with the group that there is a 5K on Governor’s Island on June 7 put on by the Harbor School. “It’s an inaccurately measured 5K with poor timing but you get to go to Governor’s Island and it’s pretty cool over there.”
Crystal made social committee announcements about the Women’s Day run (since passed and very successful), the Pie Day run on March 14th, the NYC Halfter Party (since canceled because the race was canceled), the NYC Half cheer zone (I mention these things to show how great the social committee is despite my tardy blog post and uncontrollable circumstances), and the new member run on March 22. “Old members are obviously welcome.”
Oren gave a clothing committee update: They’re going to try to order some socks for purchase (the ones given away at Awards Night.)
Speaking of Awards Night: Adam noted that the captains are putting together a working group for feedback on awards night. So stay tuned for that.
He also mentioned that the club is raffling off a bib to the NYC marathon, which we got for coordinating a volunteer station at the 2019 marathon. Anyone who has volunteered on the club’s behalf in 2019 can enter.
Anna, Rachael, and Lisa announced that they would be hosting a discussion of “ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life” for Women’s History Month.
Adam concluded the announcements portion by saying people are already reaching out about the Marathon Training Group: “It will be the first week in July. You don’t need to be quite freaking out yet.”
Guest Speaker
Captain Lillian introduced this month’s guest speaker, Caitlin Phillips, a Brooklyn resident, two-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, and co-founder of the women’s running collective Distance Project NYC. Phillips, 37, talked about her background as a runner before entertaining a Q&A from the club members about her experience at the 2020 marathon trials in Atlanta. She captivated the group for about 45 minutes, but here are some highlights:
Running background
Caitlin started running when she was 10 years old because track was the only sport she could sign up for as a fifth grader.
After running in high school fairly competitively, she ran at the University of Kentucky. After graduating, she moved to New York to get her MFA in photography and did some of her first NYC running in Prospect Park. Her favorite portion of the park is Center Drive.
Marathon background
Trained for her first NYC marathon in 2010. She dropped out (“I probably went out too fast, I was undertrained, I didn’t have a coach, I was under-hydrated, and I didn’t really eat anything during the race), and struggled with marathon training her first few years.
“It was probably a good four years before I started to figure it out. Coming from a competitive running background it was really frustrating. It requires a lot of patience because you can’t come back and run another one next week.”
She has been with the same coach for six years now, and during that time she qualified for the 2016 and 2010 marathon trials.
Typical marathon training
Does a lot of training at marathon pace
Gets up at 5:30 a.m. most days and tries to get 7 hours of sleep
100-115 miles per week during marathon cycles, but getting there was a gradual build over six years
Usually runs 20 miles two times a week
Runs almost every morning and often run commutes
Doesn’t do a lot of cross training
Has a recovery routine of chiropractor visits, the occasional massage, Normatec boots, and Epsom salt baths
What do you like about running?
“I ask myself this question a lot. As a competitive runner it’s easy to get locked into this, you just want to run fast times. But: The joy of movement and being outside, and also being surrounded by so many amazing women that I train with. There is no running community like the New York City community.”
Text by Christine DiGangi
Produced/Edited by Alison Kotch