Chill Track Friday

Thousands of businesses all over the world are trying to navigate the current COVID-19 public health crisis during government-mandated closures of “non-essential” businesses. How do you serve your clients though, when your business is all about physical touch, and manual therapy and manipulation? Custom PT is a leading physical therapy business in the heart of New York City…and the heart of the running world. Always at the forefront of therapeutic technique and innovation, Custom PT has adapted to this new virtual world in ways that allow them to support and empower their patients in creative and engaging ways. If you’re an athlete wondering what to do with your training during this pandemic, this episode is for you. Custom PT’s virtual programs extend beyond the boundaries of geography and athletic experience. This is a really wonderful conversation that reminds us that we are not alone, that our support teams are eagerly and quickly adapting to a new world, and that wherever you are in your journey, both in life and in athletics, there are wonderful people running small businesses who are excited to help.

Lauren Antonucci is a nationally recognized nutrition expert and Registered Dietitian who founded her private practice, Nutrition Energy, in 2003. Lauren and her team provide practical, scientifically proven nutrition advice to thousands of clients in the New York City area and beyond. Lauren is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (C.S.S.D.) and a Certified Diabetes Educator (C.D.E.). She has served as Nutrition Consultant to NYRR/ING NYC Marathon for 10 years, the New York City Chapter of Team in Training for over 10 years, and wrote a monthly column for Triathlete Magazine for the past three years. Lauren has presented at conferences across the United States. Lauren is a frequent contributor to both print and television news, and enjoys helping make sense of the latest nutrition trends.

Lindsay Crouse is the Senior Staff Editor and OpDocs Producer at The New York Times. In 2016, two weeks before the U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Los Angeles, Lindsay asked 'New York Times Sports' to send her to Los Angeles to cover the race. She took a vacation day to do it and credits this trip with helping her to shape a career covering women's sports. Four years later, Lindsay is breaking some of the biggest stories in the industry and helping to change the landscape for women in sport. Among some of her most popular pieces is her Equal Play video documentary series that exposes the injustices in women’s running that are the product of a structure of gender inequality in sport.

A graduate of Harvard University, Lindsay is also an incredible athlete, herself. She ran cross country and track in college and then moved to New York where she started working at the 'New York Times' as an assistant secretary. Lindsay has run thirteen marathons and recently set a new personal record at the California International Marathon, December 2019 where she ran 2:53.

This is an inspiring conversation about working hard, leveling the playing field, and taking accountability for your own journey, in running and in life.

Providing women an equal position in sports is a conversation that goes well beyond athletics. It is a conversation that is happening across industries and spurring real and sustainable change. We are grateful to be part of the conversation. Thank you for speaking with us Lindsay, and thank you for the work that you do.

This episode is the audio from our first ever LIVE recording of the Chill Track Friday podcast on Sunday, February 9 at Custom Performance, with four women from the all-female, New York City based running collective, Distance Project NY. Angela Ortiz, Megan Foster, Lauren Perkins, and Ana Jonson have all qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the marathon and they sat down with us and Gordon Bakoulis, who is a five-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon, and one time qualifier in the 10K, to talk about all things “women’s distance running.” This is a conversation about qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, but it’s also a conversation about friendship, a shared commitment to racing, chasing goals, self-belief, and the power of teamwork. This is an empowering conversation with five extraordinary women. Please be patient regarding the audio - this is recording captured from six microphones at a live event.

Anthony Peña is the guy you always hope to find and run with in a race...IF you can keep up with him. Anthony is a calm, steady, decisive, intelligent and wise runner. These qualities make him a superlative coach as well. If you know Anthony then you know he is a wealth of knowledge and also kindness and encouragement. He is always willing to share his experience and tips with anyone who asks. Ever offering a positive take on events and experiences, Anthony nurtures runners in a way that inspires confidence and growth. Anthony takes the same approach in his own running. Because he understands the value of patience and consistency, he does the work, respects the process, and also respects his body and how it reacts to his training and goals. This is a valuable conversation about adapting along the way, delayed gratification, and the importance of keeping perspective in the interest of long-term goals. Thank you, Anthony for leading with such integrity and intelligence.

Celebrate! It’s the end of 2019 and the end of an expansive year for our ourselves and for Chill Track Friday. In honor of this amazing year we have a very special episode and we are so excited to share it with you. As our first production year draws to a close, we compiled all the episode Training Tips into one, inspiration-filled episode. We hope you enjoy this gift and that it provides humor, inspiration and a feeling of community. We also hope that the episode inspires you to take a moment to reflect on what YOU have accomplished this year, in your running, and in your life. We encourage you also to reflect on what you want to bring with you into the new year. Thank you to all of our guests who have helped us build Chill Track Friday into what it is today. Thank you also to our listeners who have provided so much encouragement during our first year. We cannot wait to see what 2020 has in store! // 

In her application to be a Featured Athlete during her training for the TCS New York City Marathon on November 3, Andrea posed many of her marathon goals as questions: “Can I still get faster? How much of that is mental and how much is physical? How do I push myself and still stay on the right side of injury? And how do I balance the time demands of training with parenting?” These are questions that so many runners ask. We ask them ourselves, and so we knew we wanted to do whatever we could to help Andrea, even the slightest bit, to find her answers at this moment in her journey. Andrea’s curiosity, commitment, and willingness to get as much out of her training cycle as possible was, and continues to be, inspiring to us. This is a wonderful story about the fruits of setting goals and taking advantage of a window of opportunity. This is a wonderful account of what ultimately turned out to be an ideal training cycle…and race. Andrea had the race we all hope for but don’t always get. Thank you Andrea for your hard work, accountability, and steadfast commitment to yourself and your goals.

Brian is an experienced and skilled runner. He is also a coach and an important mentor to the Chill Track Friday coaches. When Brian applied to be a Featured Athlete we were delighted, yet surprised. We wondered what more we could offer him than what he already has. That’s one of Brian’s defining characteristics, though: he maintains a beginner’s mindset and is willing to learn from whomever he can. This quality defines the spirit of Chill Track Friday and the goals of our Featured Athlete series so we were honored to accept him. In his application, Brian highlighted that his desire to be a Featured Athlete was to have accountability for his own goals. Because he was coaching many runners and pacing many races, his training was suffering. Brian’s journey is one of expansion, heart, and dedication to a higher purpose. This is a beautiful story of how running can be a tool of service and love for others. It was truly a privilege to have the opportunity to help someone who has helped us so much. Thank you, Brian.

In her application to be a Featured Athlete while training for the BMW Berlin Marathon, Melissa described herself as someone who had been running on-and-off for years. Initially she ran once a week to lose weight; she did not yet understand what “training” was. After running a few races with friends however, Melissa realized that she loved the race atmosphere and wanted more. She was still showing up to these races without preparing for them though, and with a new commitment to running more she decided to start training with a group. Melissa joined NYRR Group Training in September 2017. Every step of Melissa’s journey has demonstrated commitment to self, as well as a sense of curiosity. These attributes are the fibers that run through endurance athletes. They are what bring us back to the starting line time and time again. They are what bind us as a community and they serve as the foundation for a common language.