DPRunners’ & DPWalkers’ eNews
Issue 3, 1/05

-About Deaf Power Runners & Deaf Power Walkers
-Latest Buzz
-A message from our Public Relations Chair
-DPR&DPW's Training Schedule
-A message from our Captains
-Health Tips (General, Running, and Walking)
-A message from our Safety Chair
-DPR&DPW's Fundraising Events (Next Up, Upcoming and Previously Thrown)
-A message from our Fundraising Chair
-Crew "Gossip"
-DPR&DPW's Crew Members
-Team DPRunners
-Team DPWalkers
-Related Links

Our organization was reformed in 2000 with a goal to allow our signing individuals to compete in the Hood To Coast Relay Race and its popularity has grown to include three teams from various communities and businesses. Our organization was originally formed to participate in the Hood To Coast/Portland To Coast and it has broadened to include other events to promote health and fitness within our deaf and hard-of-hearing communities and outside. Anyone who is interested in health and fitness is welcome to join as a member and have an opportunity to race with us.

With your support, we can continue this tradition and further strengthen our bond and move towards our goal of bringing the community closer together and expose our Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing related businesses to the public thus eliminating the cultural and communication barriers we occasionally encounter.

-Check out our latest DPR-H2C and DPW-P2C participants for this year!  Scroll down to the bottom for the who’s who on our teams.

-Check out our current fundraising event calendar…we have a busy year!

-Finally a training schedule for the year.  It is subject to change but PLEASE feel free to contact any of us if you have better ideas or suggestion for improvement.

-Please be sure to read Rita Wallberg’s safety message – some good wintery advice!

-Lastly don’t miss our stretching tips under “Health Tips” to prevent injuries and to increase your strength/speed.

The PR Crew gives a huge gratitude to those who have helped us send our announcements more efficiently.  If you have a friend or a family member that would like to be on our mailing list, please send an email to publicrelations@dprdpw.org and we will be sure to send our announcements to your friends and family. 

Here’s the news on website and design:

Website

Hello Web Users!   Hope you have a great New Years Holiday of 2005!

We want to say "Thanks for using our website!" again.   We are still working on our 2005 new website and hope we could finish it soon and release it by end of this month.  We will collect and add many photos that we took pictures from our trainings, events, HTC and PTC, etc. into our new website.  Also, we will get rid of the "membership only" so everyone could access it to get more information without struggling with passwords.  Our goal is we want all web users feel comfortable, feel more friendly and easy to use it.  

If you are wondering about how many people visited our website since November 2004, here's our website stat:

November 2004:

Unique Visitors: 122
Number of Visits: 190

December 2004:

Unique Visitors: 92
Number of Visits: 150

I think that is pretty good amount of visitors we had them to visit our website during the busy holidays.

Total Unique Visitors in 2004 (Our website was started on May 2004): 746
Total Number of Visits in 2004 (Our website was started on May 2004): 1432

DPR&DPW Webmaster

Design

Hello everyone!

Want to let you know how we are doing with our designs for DPR&DPW so far. We did so well. Welcome Tracy Buckner to join our new design team!  We (Michael Rakozy, Patrick Fischer, and our new designer, Tracy) are still continuing to design more flyers, postcards, etc. for supporting our events like: we just done to design the eFlyers for our DPR&DPW's "Sign Mime" event this month, Dingo event in November 2004, and Holiday Bazaar last month, also for 2005 events - lot more to design!  But we enjoy our designs!  We are very appreciated for your huge helps and supports our organization!

Looking forward to design for 2005!

Design Team

A ‘friendly reminder’ is sent out one week before each training along with the confirmed dates, place, directions and times. Subject to change.

All training starts at 8:45am (We meet at 8:30am to gather and stretch)

February
2/5, Saturday – Mini workshop on Stretching Techniques @ McCall
2/13, Sunday – Event – Valentine’s Run @ Olympia, WA
2/26, Saturday – Mini-workshop on Run/Walk Techniques @ Hare Field in Hillsboro

March
3/5, Saturday – Training @ Thurman
3/13, Sunday – Event – Shamrock Race @ Waterfront
3/20, Sunday – Training @ Glendoveer

April
4/2, Saturday – Training @ Minto-Brown in Salem
4/17, Sunday – Training @ Fairmount near Council Crest

May
5/1, Sunday – Event – Bloomsday Race @ Spokane, WA
5/14, Saturday - Mini workshop on Stretching Techniques @ Mt. Tabor
5/26, Thursday - Mini-workshop on Run/Walk Techniques @ NW Fit Right

June
6/4, Saturday – Training @ Mary Young in Lake Oswego
6/9, Thursday – Training @ NW Fits Right
6/12, Sunday – Training @ Marine Drive
6/23, Thursday – Training @ InSport in Beaverton

July
7/9, Saturday – Training @ Duniway
7/12, Tuesday – Training @ Kelly Point
7/21, Thursday – Training @ InSport in Beaverton
7/29, Friday – Training @ Nike’s Campus in Beaverton

August
8/7, Sunday – Training @ Marine Drive
8/11, Thursday – Training @ NW Fits Right
8/16, Tuesday – Training @ Hare Field in Hillsboro
8/21, Sunday – Training @ Thurman

September
9/10, Saturday – Training @ Glendoveer
9/24, Saturday – Training @ McCall

October
10/8, Saturday – Training @ Duniway
10/16, Sunday – Training @ Fairmount

November
11/5, Saturday – Training @ Hoyt
11/20, Sunday – Training @ Minto-Brown in Salem

December
12/3, Saturday – Training @ Mary Young in Lake Oswego
12/18, Sunday – Training @ InSport in Beaverton

All training dates and directions are online at www.dprdpw.org under members.

For more info contact our captains:
Greg Coughlan-(runningcaptain@dprdpw.org)
Howard Hammel-(walkingcaptain@dprdpw.org)

It’s been a great ride for our Deaf Power Runners team running the Hood to Coast relay last summer! I was very pleased and thrilled on our finish time where we were very close to our estimated finish time!  Everything went very well and smooth.  I looked back I often think about how much fun we had.  I love to see each DPRunners at the exchange and see them go off!  As my first time being a captain, it has been a great experience for me.  I learned my trials and errors from every runner (as well as the walking team).   I look forward to my second time around and establish a new running team for 2005 Hood to Coast!  There will be some new faces on our team as well some experienced runners.  I’m excited to say there are 11 runners signed up for the 2005 Hood to Coast! (One more slot left to become a full team). I ponder to think maybe we can set up 2 running teams in the future to match the walking teams!
The DPR team and I have some new goals for our training every month and run racing events. Plus, stay healthy and get around with our busy times in our lives.  The main goal is to set up good rapport and relationship with each runner and walker.  I can be available to help each of the runners’ training and needs to be a successful runner!  I look forward to our 2005 Hood to Coast Relay!

Captain Greg Coughlan - Running

Health Tips #3 – How to stretch?

For EVERY SPORT:
(Pulled from www.runnersworld.com)

On stretching:  "Stretching is a fine preventative measure when done regularly. But when you have a case of tendonitis or some other overuse injury, too much stretching can prolong rather than speed recovery. Instead, schedule a deep-muscle massage in the muscle group immediately above or below the affected area." - Ed Eyestone, men's cross-country coach at Brigham Young University

For WALKERS:
(pulled from www.thewalkingsite.com)

Important rules for stretching:

1) Never stretch cold muscles. The best time to stretch is after your walk. If you have problem areas they can be stretched prior to your walk, but only do this after you have warmed up.

2) Do not bounce. Go into a stretch slowly and hold gently. Stretch to the point of feeling a gentle pull, but never to the point of pain

3) Hold each stretch for 30 to 40 seconds. If you have problems with a particular area stretch that area twice. (hold for 30-40 seconds release, then stretch again.)

There are so many stretches it is impossible to cover them all. Be sure to stretch all the major muscle groups, and put extra focus on any areas you have trouble with. Find a few recommended stretches below:

Calf Stretch -- Stand on your toes on a step or curb. Hold on to something for balance. Remove your left foot and slowly allow the right heel to move down. Hold this position. Be sure to keep you body upright and straight. Release and repeat on the other side.

Another calf stretch -- Take a big step forward with your left foot, keeping you right heel on the ground. Hold the position and repeat on the other side. Be sure to keep your body upright and your abs tight, do not arch your back.

Shin Stretch -- Standing up, hold on to a stationary object. Stand with your weight on one leg and straighten it. Place your other foot on the ground, with toes pointed and your toenails toward the floor. With the tops of your toes touching the ground, roll your foot and leg forward, from the ankle. Release and repeat on the other side.

Hamstring and Lower Back -- Slowly bend forward from your waist with your knees slightly bent. Reach for the floor and hold. Only bend as far as comfortable.

Outer thigh and buttocks and spine -- While lying on your back bring your right knee up. Place your left hand on your thigh and gently pull it over to your left side. Do not pull at the knee. Your shoulders, left leg and back should remain flat. Pull gently. Then repeat on the left side.

Lower back -- While lying on your back, bring both knees up towards the chest with the hands. Round the lower back and relax into the stretch. Don't do this stretch on a hard surface...it will bruise the spine!

Quadriceps Stretch -- Standing up, hold on to a stationary object. Bend your right knee, bringing your foot toward your buttocks. Keeping your left knee slightly bent, grasp your right ankle with the opposite hand. Slowly pull your leg up and back, bringing your foot at high as comfortable. Repeat with other leg. (To protect your knee... think of pulling the quads back rather than pulling the foot toward your buttocks.)

Shoulder Stretch -- Standing upright, cross left arm over chest. Place your right hand on your upper arm and pull arm in tight to chest. Be sure to keep shoulders down and do not pull at the elbow. Hold, and then repeat stretch with other arm.

Neck Relaxer -- Turn and look over your right shoulder and hold. Repeat on the left side. Don't hyper-extend the neck, or tilt it backwards.  Next, gently drop the head so that the ear goes towards the right shoulder and hold. Return to upright position. Repeat forward and on the left side. Keep the spine in an upright position and don't hyper-extend the neck, jerk, or tilt the head backwards.

For RUNNERS:
(Pulled from www.runnersworld.com)

Flexibility is important to runners. Running relaxed is the secret to running faster. In order to improve (and maintain) your flexibility, you need to do some stretching. 

When to Stretch

The best time to stretch is after your muscles have had a chance to warm up. That's why most track athletes jog a mile or two, then do some stretching before the hard part of their workouts. You can do the same. Here are the different times you might consider stretching:

BEFORE RUNNING: Your muscles will not be warm, so don't overstretch. Just before running, do one or two easy stretches just to signal to your body that you are ready to go. Don't stretch anywhere near your limit. You should not feel pain.

WHILE RUNNING: Run five or ten minutes, then stop to stretch. Your muscles will be warmer, thus stretching will be easier. You still don't want to stretch to the point where it is painful. Stretching should be gentle.

AFTER RUNNING: Finish each workout with some easy stretching. If you have access to a whirlpool, the warm water will make stretching even easier. Stretching at different times of the day is another option.
There are dozens, even hundreds, of stretches that you can do to loosen your muscles. Entire books have been written on the subject. One of the best is Stretching by Bob Anderson. Go to any road race, and you'll see runners doing stretching exercises before running. Here are a few:

HANG TEN: Stand arms at your side. Keeping your legs straight, bend forward and reach for your toes. Hold and repeat. Don't feel that you need to touch your toes. Whether or not you can do so may depend as much on the length of your legs vs. your torso than your flexibility. This is a good stretch to loosen your torso and stretch your hamstrings.

WALL LEANER: Stand facing a wall, your feet a few feet away from the wall. With hands on the wall and keeping your heels on the ground, lean forward with your hips, stretching the calf muscles. You can vary this exercise by stretching first one leg, then the other, or by moving your hand positions from side to side.

HEEL HOLD: Stand sideways to the wall, one hand against it for support. Reach down with the other hand and grasp your ankle, pulling the heel of one leg up against your butt. This is a good stretch for the quadriceps.

BUTTERFLY: Sit on the floor with your back straight. Pull your legs together so the soles of your feet are touching. Your knees will be pointing to each side. Wrap your hands around your feet and press outward with your arms against the inside of your thighs, extending the stretch. This will stretch the muscles around the groin.

Whether or not stretching prevents injuries is difficult to prove. If you stretch too much, or too hard, you actually can increase your risk of injury. Various experts will tell you to hold each stretch 15 to 30 to 60 seconds and repeat a certain number of times. Don't spend so much time stretching that you never get out to run. A well-balanced workout routine, however, includes flexibility exercises. For certain injuries, stretching may speed recovery. Every runner should develop a regular stretching routine.

Exercising in a Winter Wonderland

Hibernating is for bears, not runners/walkers. Here are the best tips to keep exercising no matter what the weather.

FIND A GOOD ROUTE:
Select routes that are cleared of snow or ice or do not have standing puddles or mud slicks.

Because of icy road conditions. Motorists may not be able to stop at traffic signals or slow down for pedestrians. Before you step off of the curb into the street, make sure that any approaching vehicles have come to a COMPLETE stop.

Check the local tracks like the Y or fitness centers, to see if they may be a good outdoor or indoor alternative to the sidewalks or streets in poor weather conditions. Consider mall walking as a cold-weather alternative.

DRESSING FOR COLD WEATHER:
Wear several layers of loose fitting, bright-colored and lightweight clothing. Wear mittens instead of gloves. Wear a thermal cap that won’t block your vision.
Wear footwear designed for winter, with rubber soles and treads.  Leather and hard plastic soles are dangerous on icy surfaces.
Be sure to wear sunblock and sunglasses because reflections from snow, ice, or winter sun can be unforgiving.
ONE LAST THING -- Don't forget your water and high calorie food like Power Bars..

USE YOUR CAR TRUNK AS A SECOND CLOSET:
While exercising in the winter, be sure to take extras of everything for changing before driving home. If it rains or sleets or snows while running or walking, have a dry sweatshirt; sweat pants, pair of socks and shoes ready in your car trunk. That would put a big smile on your face when you are driving home dry and comfy.
Be sure your car/truck is in good shape with good traction tires, heater/defroster working properly, and a full charged battery.

WINTER PACE:
A sidewalk completely covered with ice may require travel along its grassy edge for traction. Bending your knees a little, and taking slower steps can greatly reduce your chances of falling.

BE PREPARE TO FALL --  Falling is no fun! Keep both hands free for balance, rather than in your pockets. If you fall, fall with sequential contacts at your thigh, hip, and shoulder to avoid using your arms to protect against breakage.
Bend your back and head forward so you won't slam your head on the pavement as your feet shoot out from under you.

Excerpts from: SafeUSA Organization; WeatherEye station; walking.about.com; and a few from myself.

So, there you have it, and enjoy your warm “less crowded, bug free, stress free” workouts in a winter wonderland!!

Rita Wallberg,
Safety Chair

Next Up…

Saturday, January 29, 2005 – Sign Mime, hosted by Patrick Fischer.

DPR&DPW is having a different kind of fundraiser...
A "Sign Mime" workshop and performance which is open to the public, anyone and whoever is interested in learning more about Sign Mime through a "hands on" workshop and/or performance is welcome! 

For more info go to www.dprdpw.org and click on events

Upcoming…

-February – Baja Fresh, Deaf Social Night, Host:  Jennifer Hummel.  Date to be announced. 
-March 5th, Saturday - 3rd Dingo Night, Host: Mikey Wilton
-April 3rd  Annual Pancake Feed, Host:  Sandra Kindblade.  More details forthcoming...
-May – OPEN.  Do YOU have an idea for a fundraiser? Contact Teresa Finnigan.
-June 4th Annual Zoey’s Doghouse Party along with Cat’s Meows, Host:  KatyBeth Anthony.  More details forthcoming...
July - Open.  Do YOU have an idea for a fundraiser? Contact Teresa Finnigan.

Previously Thrown…

-December 5th, Saturday – Holiday Bazaar, Host: Rita Wallberg
-September 18th – Pizza Schmizza Party chaired by Jennifer Hummel
-August 7th – Zoey’s Doghouse Social chaired by KatyBeth Anthony
-July 24th – 2nd Dingo Night chaired by Teresa Finnigan
-July 11th – 3rd Annual Pancake Feed chaired by Sandra Kindblade
-June 12-26th - Baja Fresh Event chaired by Jennifer Hummel
-April 24th - Dingo Night chaired by Teresa Finnigan

For General fundraising information, please contact our fundraiser chairperson, Teresa Finnigan, at fundraiser@dprdpw.org.

Happy New Year 2005 to you all! Hope you had wonderful holidays to spend with your loved family and friends. Let's kick off to a good start for 2005 Fund Raise! 

Why is a fund-raiser so important?

If we don’t have a fundraiser, our members will have to pay for van rental, gas, & team uniform out of their pockets. What that means is you have to pay for your share of the van rentals, gas, uniforms, food, drinks, camping, etc.   

Get the idea? So that’s why we need to have fundraisers to raise at least $ 3,000 to cover all of our needs for 3 teams to successfully complete the Hood to Coast Run Relay and Portland to Coast Walk Relay in August 2005. We have 2 walking teams and 1 running team which means 36 people. Wow!

Your help can make it a difference. How?  We have some awesome events to help raise funds:

Can Collection:
Collect cans/bottles from your home, your neighbors, work & church and all goes to Mikey Wilton, our Can Collection Chairperson,  After Mikey deposits all the cans, he makes a money order to DPR & DPW and then gives the check to the DPR & DPW Treasurer, Kathy Bernunzio. We hope that EACH of you, 12 Runners and 24 Walkers, Members and Contributors can help us! For Example - Some from outside of Oregon like Seattle, California or Boston, MA can do this job – simple like after depositing cans yourself, and then send the money to our DPR & DPW treasurer, Kathy Bernunzio. A small collection like $ 5.00 can make a big difference!
Our 2005 Can Collection has met the goal of $ 200.00 already so we decided to double it by the end of July 2005. Begin your collection NOW!

Garage Sale:
Collect any unwanted stuff (not like big furniture) you want to donate and give them to Jennifer Hummel, Host of Garage Sale. She will have a garage sale at her home in May 2005. Start saving stuffs now! Need more info, please email Jennifer at jennhummel@tmail.com

Bazaar 2005:
We will have another bazaar next year so we need your help by starting to make any kind of crafts NOW. Once your crafts are to be sold, the money will be split – 50% of the profits goes to the crafter and the other 50% goes to the DPR&DPW fund. It can be crafts related to Valentine, St. Patrick, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Rita Wallberg will be in charge of this exciting event. Please give your crafts to Rita and she will take care of them for you. Any concerns or questions, please email Rita at safety@dprdpw.org   

Cook Book:
Jennifer Hummel is rolling up her sleeves to work hard on her Cook Book fund raise.  If you have any of your favorite recipes, please send it to her at jennhummel@yahoo.com.  More information will be forthcoming.

You want to Host an event?
You can contact DPR & DPW Fundraiser Chairperson for more information how to set up an event. Email Teresa at fundraiser@dprdpw.org.

Fundraising REPORT:

Holiday bazaar:

The holiday bazaar final earning is $176.50, $76.50 more than original sale prediction of $100.00
A round of hand-waving applause to the people who donated their handcrafted items for the bazaar:

Theresa Coughlin - colorful patterned gawking roosters
KatyBeth Anthony - Cat/Dog treats stuffed in paws shaped stockings, handmade knit caps
Patrick Fischer - cute little edible marzipan figurines
Howard Hammel - nicely scented jar candles
Lisa Peters - beautiful hand stamped holiday cards
Teresa Finnigan - brand named candies bars
Sue Teague - holiday-colored magnetic knitted butterflies.

A very gigantic thank to the people who sacrificed few hours off from work to volunteer their time at the bazaar: Kim Braun, KatyBeth Anthony, and myself Rita Wallberg

And the final thanks to the people who donated canned foods to help cover the cost of our booth. "Hand waving" to all who were involved in the bazaar fundraising event.
~~Rita

Thank you Rita for a wonderful job!!!

Thank you for your support to this organization. Without your help, we wouldn't be here!

You have any Fundraising Event Ideas?

To all members, volunteers, crews, walkers and runners - If you have ANY ideas and want to host a fundraising event, please contact Teresa Finnigan and we can discuss on how to plan from there.  We need your help – we couldn't do it all by ourselves!  We hope to hear from you soon…Teresa Finnigan

Not much this time around but stay tuned for some after our crew meeting this coming February!

Captain – Greg Coughlan
Assistant Captain - Michael Rakozy
Patrick Fischer
Marianne Decher
Debbie Kanen
Susan Pool
Tom Oslund
Samae Horner
KatyBeth Anthony
Beth Cordy
John Davis

Runner Back up:
Cathy Lee-Saxton
Elaine Coughlan
Mark Harrison

If you don’t see your name on this list and should be, please contact your captain, Greg Coughlan.

Captain - Howard Hammel
Assistant Captain –Susan Cunningham
Theresa Coughlan
Rosemary DiSiervi
Larry Everett
Teresa Finnigan
Jennifer Hummel
Victoria Johns
Bonnie Johns
Mae Johnson
Sandra Kindblade
Tim Kindblade
Becky Kindblade
Steve Perdriau
Mark Rosenblume
Wendy Schlitz
Linda Schmiel
Mikey Wilton
Christy Wood

If you don’t see your name on this list and should be, please contact your captain, Howard Hammel.

www.dprdpw.org
www.hoodtocoast.com
www.runnersworld.com
www.thewalkingsite.com
www.runningbarefoot.org
www.insport.com