Gary Brode, left, and Mike Guastella of the Warren
Street Social & Athletic Club do stretches at the New Balance Track
and Field Center at the Armory in Washington Heights.
It’s possible to hit a track on your own for any kind of run, but a
number of clubs offer group workouts to make the drills more exciting.
THE WARREN STREET SOCIAL & ATHLETIC CLUB Founded in
1978, this organization has weekly sessions in the evening that range
from 60 to 90 minutes. Members meet indoors during the colder months at
the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory in Washington
Heights. Come warmer weather they gather at outdoor tracks like the one
at the East River Park on East Sixth Street at the Franklin D. Roosevelt
Drive. Club membership is free.
“We have everyone from casual, slow runners to people who are training
for marathons,” said Mike Guastella, a club captain.
Because the membership is diverse, so are the workouts, which vary every
week and can be adjusted for individuals. Those wanting to run faster,
for example, might do a set of 200- or 400-meter sprints. More
experienced runners preparing for races would do more sprints and have
fewer resting periods. Beginners would have longer stretches to recover.
Gary Brode, a 43-year-old club member who lives in Midtown and works in
finance, said the track workouts helped him shave nine minutes off his
marathon time from a decade ago. “You push yourself way out of your
comfort zone when you’re doing speed work with others than you would on
your own,” he said. “They are really effective, and the group is very
tightknit, so it makes doing them fun.” (warrenstreet.org)
THE CENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB This group also offers
weekly track workouts, usually at the Armory in winter and the East
River Park otherwise. The meetings can run up to two hours, including
warm-up and cool-down periods, said the head coach, Devon Martin. Drills can include mile-long intervals or 800-meter sprints eight times in a row.
No comments:
Post a Comment