City Coach | Coach Cane's Blog

My Name is Jonathan Cane and I'm a Coachaholic

Check out the first series of videos for Run for the Rabbit. There's an overview of the program as well as features on each of our six runners and their humble coach.

Easter Marathon Race Report

Undeterred by the logistical issue that kept her from running Boston last week, Leanne Elisha ran 4:01 at the very challenging Easter Marathon in Van Cortlandt Park yesterday.

In addition, after handily beating that slacker Scott Jurek in the half marathon, Francis, Stephen and Rui took the time to pose for this dignified photograph. I've never been more proud.

Run for the Rabbit Update

We ended the suspense and introduced the six Run for the Rabbit competitors at Friday's NYC Running Show. Each of the six is terrific. They're a wide ranging bunch in terms of experience, speed and background, but the unifying thread is that they're all excited, they're all going to be fun to work with, and they're all passionate about their chosen charity.

There's a great piece in the NY Daily News Running blog that features a bio for each of them, and you can get even more details about the runners and the program at the Run for the Rabbit website. Plus, please "like" my facebook page as I keep everyone updated on the program.

Back to the Track

All this talk of race results, the multimedia assault, and caption contests is fun, but let's get back to what we do. Training.

Spring's here, Boston's over, and now it's time to get down to the Red Hook track to work on your speed. Whether you're a sprint or Ironman triathlete, 5k runner or marathoner, track work can help you improve your form and speed. Drills, race paced intervals, and the reward of ice cream in ten weeks if you behave along the way. What could be better? 

The track is a short warm up jog from the F train, so Manhattan folks shouldn't be shy. Register through Jack Rabbit's website or contact me with questions. City Coach athletes contact us for a special discount code. 

 

 

JC in Women's Health Magazine

I was once quoted in an article about traithlon training for women. Training tip #1 was "train like the guys but wear a different swimsuit." While I stand by that pearl of wisdom, our friends at Women's Health were looking for some slightly more in depth input. They checked in with me as well as Dr. Jordan Metzl and a few others. Check out the online version of Yes, You Can Be a Triathlete.

Boston Marathon - Race Report

I've finally recovered from my attempts to overload Twitter's servers with my obsessive reports during the Boston Marathon. Now for a more thorough report. First, the simple stuff. Here are the times.

• Gary Berard - 2:45:45 (PR)
• Stephen England - 2:54:47 (PR)
• Terence Gerchberg - 3:02:16
• Sheila Monaghan - 3:13:21 (PR)
• Keila Merino - 3:14:06 (PR)
• Jessica Purcell Zebrak - 3:17:25 (PR)
• Bonnie Averbuch - 3:26:33
• Alisa Stern - 3:29:24 (PR)
• Jennifer Heister - 3:30:56 (PR)
• Deanna Culbreath (NYF) - 3:46:38

Let's begin with the obvious. Seven PRs out of ten racers is terrific. I don't care what the conditions were, it's still 26.2 miles. I'm impressed with the speed that was displayed, and proud of the hard work and dedication that they displayed on race day and in preparation. A little less obvious, but just as true, is how proud I was of those who did not meet their goals yesterday. Even the toughest, best-prepared athletes occasionally have bad days. That Deanna passed out on the course, got out of the ambulance, walked for a while, nearly passed out again, and still finished what she started says as much about her as a sub-3 hour race could have. Bonnie, at the ripe old age of 23 is far from a grizzled veteran. Yet on a day when she wasn't feeling up to par, she quickly recognized it, backed away from Keila and Sheila (with whom she planned to pace) before it was too late, and toughed it out despite fighting a variety of physical issues. It would have been easy for either of these already accomplished athletes to call it a day once they realized that they weren't going to meet their goals. That they adjusted midrace, fought through the pain and made the best of it impresses me as much as if they had set personal bests, which I have no doubt they will both do again soon. 

Also congratulations to all our other friends and colleagues who ran yesterday, including Brad Weiss (CPTC), Andrew Motola (Brickwell), Kwok Ming Cheng (Warren St), Angela Gonzalez and many more. 

Boston Marathon Tracking

We have ten athletes running the Boston Marathon on Monday morning. Each will be looking to put up a fast time and to try and supplant Gary Berard for the best finish line photo award. 

Keep an eye on our twitter feed - twitter.com/joncane - for updates on Alisa Stern, Sheila Monaghan, Jen Heister, Deanna Culbreath, Bonnie Averbuch, Jess Purcell, Keila Merino, Terence Gerchberg, Stephen England and Gary Berard. Sure you can track individual athletes online, but we'll have all that info, along with photos and info from our spies along the course, and my insightful commentary ("run faster") all in one convenient location.

Good luck to all the City Coach athletes as well as our friends and colleagues running on Monday.

The Multimedia Assault Continues

If you just can't get enough of me, or your wifi connection is too slow to watch the episode online, check out my appearance on Gotta Run With Will tonight on MNN. Time-Warner Channel: 57, RCN: 84, Verizon FiOs: 35

Run for the Rabbit

328 people with a wide variety of backgrounds, causes, and abilities applied to be a part of Run for the Rabbit. The winners will receive full support - including my coaching - for the Hamptons Marathon. To announce the campaign, JackRabbit selected footage from some of the sixty screen tests. Some of these people will be chosen as the six runners, some won't make it. Find out who the six runners will be at the JackRabbit NYC Running Show on April 22nd.

No Whining - Octogenarian Edition

As both of my faithful readers know, there are three things I don't like - excuses, self-imposed limits, and house music. So you can imagine how much I admire Ed Whitlock. Because of a lack of places to train, Mr. Whitlock has been known to do three hour runs on a 1/3 mile paved path in a cemetary, at age 70 he became the oldest person ever to run a sub-3 hour marathon, and (since he has shown no signs of deafness or drug use) I assume he's not a fan of house music. This past weekend at the Rotterdam Marathon he set the world record by running 3:25:40 at age 80!

Like many other masters athletes who excel in their 60s, 70s and 80s - Ginette Bedard, Rae Baymiller, and Sid Howard come to mind - Mr. Whitlock was not a competitive runner as a younger man, and is now setting records. I'm not suggesting that anyone can match the incredible times that Whitlock has put up, but I find it both fascinating and encouraging when I see athletes excelling despite their age or other perceived limitations. While I'm always happy with race victories, some of my proudest moments as a coach are when our athletes exceed their goals, even if it doesn't result in a win. In the words of the great scholar George Clinton, "free your mind and your ass will follow."

Congratulations to Mr. Whitlock and all of you who are out there working hard and doing your best.