From Jacy Kruzel of the Open:

Congratulations to all the ladies who raced last Saturday at the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run.  With many teammate away on summer plans, the women’s team was still able to come out with a 4^th place team showing. Teamwork was evident with the 5 scorers separated by just over 40 seconds.

Jacy Kruzel, Alysia Dusseau and Lauren Carter were the first ones to cross the line.  They all considered themselves grateful that they did not get caught behind a mid-race ambulance! A 5K is way too short to have to stop for traffic 😉

The fourth scorer was a new face to the team and we are very lucky she has joined.  Katie Greifeld ran just under a 1 min PR in 19:09 (besting her previous PR by 58 seconds!) ! Congrats Katie!  Lidia Garcia also had a strong race in 10:24, keeping the scoring gap pretty tight!

The hills, humidity, and heat didn’t stop Tara Ellis, Andrea Burdett, Irma Bribiesca, Sarah Richardson, Melodie Fratt, and Debbie Lee from all having great days as well.  Congratulations again to all who raced.  Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next scoring race – The Bronx 10 Miler!  More than triple the distance, so triple the fun J

From Ani Go of the 40+:

LADIES!

Masters 40+ ladies take the gold at Percy Sutton 5k! This race is unique–another rare 5k–and another opportunity to challenge our talents in a place other than Central Park.

And we have talents in spades! Birthday girl Colleen McG runs 19:43, places 2nd in her new age group, and leads our scoring team. Colleen has this to say about her race:

“This was by far one of my worst times I’ve had in a race this year BUT there’s something really positive coming in this race report so hang on…:)

I was thinking of skipping the race because of allergies and slight chest tightness combined with a later than usual night for my birthday. I felt ok when I got to the start and got to Mile 1 in 6:12, which is a little slower than usual for a 5k. It also just seemed so much harder than usual. My breathing was really off and legs weren’t turning over. Mile 2 was just a pure struggle, it was all about trying to breathe and stay relaxed.

I knew when I hit mile two it was just going to be a race with the main goal of getting to the finish line. The last mile was downhill which I really appreciated but I was miserable, chest hurt and honesty just wanted to stop. I got to mile 3 and saw I was about 25 seconds off my pace, which is a very awful feeling. At this point, I just kept my eyes on the finish line and tried my best to get there as quickly as I could.

It’s not a great feeling when you run a race and the time you finish in is not even close to what you’re trained for. However, when I saw my teammates strong times, I knew we had a shot at top 3! WELL  40+ came in 1st and 50+ 2nd and after all it’s a points race and this is what counts in team effort races!!

Thank you to everyone I heard on the course- Fred, Tony, John – I was so miserable but I heard you and it helped to plow through!!

The lesson I learned is that in team sports and races, even when you want to stop because you’re off, feel awful and not making your splits and really discouraged, if you just hang in there until the very end and focus on working as a team, the results are very rewarding!!! And that’s what happened today – we worked as a team and held our 1st place standing!! That’s what it’s all about!!!

Serious Teamwork is what makes us the strongest teams in NYC! I am so proud of my teammates! CPTC Masters has the most dedicated, talented, supportive women out there and it shows on the course and in our results! Go Orange!”

Superstar Elizabeth Lopes made a special trip coming back early from her vacation to tear up the road in 20:04, placing 5th in her age group.   Elizabeth has always scored on our winning team, and is key in our success!

Amy Kvilhaug was the 3rd scorer of our winning team, her 20:27 places her solidly in the top 10 of her age group. Amy says: “The greatest thing about these points races is that whether you have a good or bad day, you have a team behind you who has your back. I’m so happy the 40+ team was able to maintain their place in the standings – which has been the goal all year.  Great job to Colleen and Elizabeth for securing us with the win.  And nice work to all who ran well today.

I’m going to say this was a decent race for me – I thought it was well executed although mile 2 was pretty tough. I wanted to break 20 but just wasn’t in the cards today.  I finished strong with Coach Tony’s awesome support.  He gave me two pieces of advice today on the course and they were both on point.  My favorite was “you have 150m left to go – use your speed and run!”  The other was at mile 2: “Come on, don’t be lazy! Stay bouncy!”

Your little Captain Ani ran hard, 21:48 being her best time in the 5k this year, but took a left turn into the med tent after finishing. Inside she found Dr. Jake Chanin who took care of her and even made sure she got the orange Gatorade.  Win!

And let’s welcome Meg Blake, new to our team, and here to represent, debuting in 22:59.  Great work!

Jennifer Ranck‘s journey towards the 60% AG grows closer with her 27:51 (56.93% AG). Upwards and onwards!

Congrats to all!  GO ORANGE!!!

Next points race–BRONX 10 MILER!

Captain Ani

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Masters ladies were dominant at the inaugural Brooklyn Mile–Amy Kvilhaug and Roberta Little both stood on the podium at 2nd and 3rd in the masters mile, with Roberta running a 2 second PR!  We also had Sue P repping hard, and Colleen McGurk and Judy Stobbe in the Fast Movers heat!  Here’s the official report from Captain Amy for the Masters Track:

The Inaugural Brooklyn Mile – Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Sunday, August 14, 2016)

The heat index was rising up to 100+ degrees for the Inaugural Brooklyn mile but it didn’t stop our masters runners from blazing up Kent Avenue to some spectacular PR’s on Sunday.

Kicking the day off at 9am were the Master’s Women.  Roberta Little, Sue Pearsall and myself (Amy Kvilhaug) were representing the Orange in that heat and did so in force.  The three of us finished in the top 4, including two podium finishes.  I came in second with a 5:52.30, Roberta was right behind me with her 2 second PR performance of 6:13.70.  (Congrats Roberta!  That’s awesome) and Sue was right on the heels of Roberta rolling in at 6:19.68.  As an aside on Roberta, some of us masters women are part of the Facebook group known as Masters Milers. There are some really amazingly fast people in there.  It’s rather humbling.  I watch Roberta post workout after workout, amazed at her dedication, talent and determination to continue to improve.

How can you not be inspired by masters women setting lifetime PR’s!!!  I mean seriously!

Pre-race photo shoot from left to right – Amy Kvilhaug, Sue Pearsall, and Roberta Little (photo cred – Herbie Medina or Jerome Robinson)

Roberta and Sue cruising up Kent Ave. (Photo cred – Jerome Robinson)

As far as my race goes, I will be honest – I was disappointed.  I thought I would run much faster.  I was so anxious and nervous and approached the starting line with a dreadful feeling. Gun goes off and about 500 meters in, my mouth went completely dry.  It had to be the stress.  I was right behind a woman who told me she would be dropping out at the 800m mark so I didn’t go out as fast as she knowing this.  Ran my first split in 82 which was pretty close to where I wanted to be.  Once that woman dropped out, I was exactly where I thought I’d be at the 800m – 2:47 and in the lead.  Then the wheels fell off the wagon.  I slowed down tremendously, felt like a million cotton balls were in my mouth and it was just a death march to the finish.  The eventual winner passed me after about 1000m and I had nothing in the tank to go with her.  It was so frustrating.  Best part of my day was sharing in the happiness of my teammates performances and for them giving me a shoulder to cry on.  My teammates and friends on CPTC-NB are just awesome.  Thank you!!

Roberta said, “This was my first race back since I hurt my Achilles’ tendon at Club Nationals in June. I’ve been coming back slowly and just started getting in some quality workouts. I don’t train for the mile per se , but was excited to get an over distance race in for fun!  I felt strong throughout the race and it was good working with Sue for most of the race and I had a good kick with 400 to go.  My 2 second PR was a HUGE surprise and I’m very excited to keep working hard and pushing myself to places I thought I could never go.”

Your PR was no surprise to us Roberta! You are a talented and hard working person.  Well deserved.

Sue stated, “Brooklyn mile was such a great event. It was not my best time- might actually be a personal worst but that is ok. I love running road miles – maybe not when the heat index is at 100 but we all had to deal with the same thing. I went out right where I wanted to be 88/3:03 and around 4:43 at the 1200 (oops). And then it just got uglier. Hoping it was just the weather. If not, I know I need to work on the second half of the race. That is clear. As I always say, the race may not always be what you wanted it to be, but there is always something we can learn from the experience. There is always a lesson in there. Back to the races…So great to try to hang onto Roberta and then watch her kick it in that last 400 on route to a PR. And then Judy and Colleen. WOW! Congrats to Amy who came in second place in the masters heat. Such a great day to cheer on teammates and spend time with everyone.”

There’s a recap that contains so much good insight!!  Thank you Sue.  I took some a lot of what you wrote to heart because I felt very similar about my race.  Always a lesson learned and a chance to figure out how to improve.

Now onto the Nike Fast Movers Invitational Mile where we had Colleen McGurk and Judy Stobbe racing – this race did certainly not disappoint and it was so cool to watch it unfold at the ¾ mile mark where we waited anxiously for them to pass.  Colleen and Judy were literally locked at the elbow (reports state that Colleen may have even thrown an elbow, but we cannot confirm at this point).   The two essentially finished together as Colleen came in with a PR of 5:27.24 and Judy alongside of her in a lifetime PR of 5:27.26.  This is photo finish type material!!  Great teamwork ladies!  Way to pull each other along!

Colleen said, “What a GREAT day in Brooklyn with the most amazing teammates! Loved that we had a great Master showing and a special shout out to Audrey Kingsley for coming all the way to Brooklyn to cheer us on and just be her awesome self! And what an amazing Master crew we had racing – Roberta, Sue, Amy, Judy! Lot’s of PR’s and Podiums! I had a great race and set a 6 second PR. I was nervous going in because I haven’t been training for a mile but jumped in at the last minute. I worked the whole race with Judy – we pushed each other the entire way which resulted in a 6 second PR for me also a PR for her. It truly was teamwork at it’s finest!!”

Never underestimate the power of supportive teamwork – you see it at all levels from olympic level runners (think Farrah and Rupp, Flanagan and Hastings, etc.) and I can vouch that we have it at CPTC-NB and it’s a beautiful thing.

Judy stated, “A really good day for me, and I could not do it without my team-mates!  Colleen and I were neck and neck and pulled each other the entire mile.  Both of us set lifetime PR’s.   At this age, I am super happy to celebrate that!!  Honestly, the heat and humidity HELPS me in these ‘shorter’ races….less warm up, muscles ready to go.  It’s the ‘cool down’ that I now reference as a ‘burn up’ that hurt bad…had to get a few extra miles in and that 5 miles after really hurt!!  Looking forward to 5th Ave and cross country this season with the orange ladies!!! Happy Running!!”

It certainly was a good day Judy!  And she wasn’t kidding about the cool down being a “burn up”.  The sun was scorching and the air was just stifling as the day went on.  Very funny, yet very accurate description of the post race jog.

For a complete listing of Brooklyn mile results, click here – http://www.brooklynmile.com/results/

Would like to give a shout out to Audrey Kingsley who ran over to Brooklyn and set up shop all day to watch and support the races.  Having experience as a spectator, I know that often times that is more grueling than the race itself.  Thanks for the fancy sparkling water post-race too!  Your support meant a lot to all of us!

Audrey Kingsley wins the “supporter of the day”.  From left to right Amy Kvilhaug, Allan Dias (Master’s Male Age Group winner), Audrey Kingsley, Megha Doshi (CPTC supporter, Strava employee and our good friend), and Colleen McGurk (photo cred – Colleen’s camera and can’t remember who took the photo)

This was a great tune up for the Fifth Ave mile – looking forward to racing with everyone!!  If you haven’t already signed up, please do so ASAP.  These races have a tendency to fill up fast.  The race is Saturday, September 3 (Labor Day Weekend).  Go to NYRR and register now!  It’s a really fun day.

Captain Amy

From Lynn Blackstone of the 60+:

From Lynn Blackstone of the 60+:

Our team, four members strong and minus our “captain” Sylvie among others, took second place in this fun, hard run:  Barbara Byrne led with a time of 24:17; Barbara Fratta next, 32:33; and Lynn Blackstone, 34:33 – running a little quicker than Rebecca Gunther.

In their own words, First Barbara B:

Glad the four of us showed up and did our best….was pretty happy that we were able to score 2nd place against a strong VanCortland Park team.  This race was new to me.  I thought I didn’t like 5ks but perhaps I’m changing my mind.  There is something to be said for the fact that it’s over relatively quickly.  Congratulations to every one who turned up despite feeling less than ready and perhaps under the weather.  Everyone’s effort makes a difference.

Second Barbara F:

Today was my first race and fairly decent run since my disastrous marathon attempt in WA, where I stupidly fell 3x. That, coupled with nagging IT band issues,  has compromised my running. Had a cup of blood drained from my leg a week ago, so I am ecstatic to be out there running again. It was hot and humid, but I shut down my head and focused on keeping my tortured legs moving. Obviously , I was slower than last year but finished at a faster pace than I thought possible. Our age group placed 2nd, but I think we still maintain our 1st place standing…60+ women rock!!!!

Third, Rebecca G:

I had a really bad day— with no energy and various pains (not running related though). And it was hot and humid (but it is August). I was way off from last year’s time in the race. As far as the race itself goes, I like the course (and being only a 5K I was sorry I didn’t feel good for it) and the highlight was this incredible singer on the stage near the start— I think she performed in The Color Purple. I liked the enthusiasm of the locals in the neighborhood and they were all really friendly and helpful on the course. And great to get out of Central Park.

And in my own words, I love this 5K, especially when it’s over!  I look forward to CPTC have a 70+ women’s team, may be next year!