WFR #18: Hands (keep the eggs in the fridge) | Wed 15th Apr, 7:30pm | Prospect Park Weekly Form Run

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When: Every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (run leaves at 7:37 abouts).

Where: Find The Big Red Pointer(TM) (center of the map, click here).

Distance: A single figure 8 lap of Prospect Park, ~4.6139 miles.

Optional Distance Sub-group: 3 miles or less if that's helpful (please let Run Leaders know).

Today's Direction: Left as you face the park at startup.

Pace: Welcome to all. Fun.

AQI: We're monitoring Air Quality Index here and have been asked to not run if the local index exceeds 125.

Where this week's topic fits in:

I dragged this week's bubble ("Hands") to the top of the topics hierarchy and gave it a good shake. The result was this diagram. "Hands" supports "ArmSwing" and "Relax". 

Just in case you'd like to explore, here's a pretty QR Code for Week #19:

Towards the end of Week #19 Notes (below "The Mantra"TM) there are links to all the WFR weekly topics.

This week's focus: Hands (efficiency, speed, endurance - week 18 of 19)

TL;DR: Channel an egg-carrying train while pushing the world behind you, without making Woo Woo (train) sounds. Try to avoid doing all this with your elbows out.

Special Week Dispensation: Just for this week you can make the Woo Woo sounds (see above)!

As a touchy-feely yoga instructor should always warn a class beforehand, this session is going to be very hands on. Or at least focused on hands. We're getting ever more specific in our focus, soon focusing on each metacarpal. 

This week, though the idea is to keep your hands loose. Not like Rocky! 

Clenching your hands can affect the swing of your of arms, and work its way up, causing tightness in shoulders, and neck. Loose hands guys. If you notice that your shoulder or arm muscles feel sore and tight after (or even during) a run it may be from clenching and holding tension in your hands. Keeping your wrists loose can help maintain a good hand and shoulder position as well.

A common suggestion from running coaches to alleviate clenched hands is to imagine you are holding something delicate like an egg in each hand. If you were Rocky this wouldn't work because then you would crack them open and eat them raw. That would really mess up your neck. 

So move your hands forward and backward, not across you (not side to side see Gifs for what *NOT* to do... https://www.weckmethod.com/articles/running-technique-3-hand-positions-for-better-running ... seriously *none of these*).

Let your hands swing far enough back so they reach where your back pockets would be (if you had them). This extends your reach further in a straight line with less (none, that is) crossing in front of you. Also, try not to make like a chicken with your elbows out (even if you're carrying eggs).

Keep your hand movement low - in the region of your center of gravity and not above your chest - so that, in the motion of your arm swing, your hands brush your hips. If you need a boost when you're finishing a race, cup your hands (but loosely) and angle them like a swimmer pushing the world back behind you as your hands reach your back pocket. If you have some energy to spare you'll be surprised at the speed boost it gives you.

Most important: keep your hands, fingers and wrists loose and free of tension, almost limp.

Related WFR Topics
"Arm Swing" #4 (bubbles), "Relax" #5 (bubbles).

Reading Bubble Diagrams:

Bubbles in the pictures are individually linked to the most recent notes. They are now no longer pictures (hooray), they're auto-generated scalable vector drawings.

Topics are related to each other. Some more or less directly than others. Bubble Diagrams (e.g. this week's topic bubble diagram) illustrate how they are related. Bubbles nearest the top are more directly related to this week's topic. The path to the top illustrates a chain of related topics. Topic bubbles are expanded once in their highest position (most closely related to this week's topic) and are colored blue (or colored black if this is a topic's only appearance). Duplicated bubbles are colored green, which is no less important than a blue colored bubble at the same vertical distance from the root.

Lines that join topic bubbles have been colored. Blue connecting lines illustrate a child topic (lower) supported by its parent topic (upper... think waterfall). Purple connecting lines illustrate the child topic supporting its parent topic. Black connecting lines indicate bi-directional (mutual) topic support. Lightly colored connecting lines indicate topics that are pulled out of the way, as the level they occupy is too crowded. One day 3D (AV) will allow us to walk through bubble diagrams (like tinkling mobiles hanging from your ceilings) and currently lightly-connected bubbles will just be viewable at a different angle (by spinning the view) and not colored differently. One Day... ahhh... One Day.

📢 ANNOUNCEMENTS 📢

 

What are you doing April 26? How about doing good?! We’re looking for volunteers for the NYCRuns Brooklyn Experience Half at Fluid Station 2 right here in the neighborhood. And, if you volunteer, get $35 in gear credit! 

When: Sunday, April 26 @ 5-10am

How: Sign up on nycruns and use passcode TEAMNBR2026

Wednesday Night Road Run (WNRR) is looking for additional run leaders. WNRR starts at 7:30 PM at McCarren and is generally 4-6 miles with paces from 7:30-10:30mm. Email Run Coordinators at training at northbrooklynrunners.org 

with your conversational pace and a brief intro by EOD, Saturday, 05/02.

Clean up the neighborhood to celebrate Earth Day! On April 25, join our Community Outreach coordinators and the Bushwick Track Lady & Clean Bushwick Initiative at the Montrose L stop. Sign up on Heylo! 

Or, celebrate nature with a trail run in Rockefeller State Park on April 25! Carpool with NBR and run one of 3 routes. Nobody gets left behind, and everyone gets bagels! Find details and transportation signups on Heylo. 

Apply for team spots at the 2026 NYCM! Thanks to NBR’s Mile 12 Water Table volunteer effort at last year’s race, the club received 5 spots for non-complementary guaranteed entry to this year’s marathon. Apply by May 1! https://forms.gle/4tSsW35mKHvx62AK7 

What races are you running? Let us know here!

📢 Weekly Daddy Joke 📢

Q: Why are hands so reliable?

A: ...you can always count on them!