Kasımpaşa Sabah Koşuları

Kasımpaşa Stadyumu’ndaki koşu bandı hafta içi sabahları 07.30 ile 9.00 arasında herkese açık.

İngiliz Konsolosluğu’nun karşısından stadyuma inerseniz, Kasımpaşa Otoparkı’nın açık hava sanat sergisini gezebilirsiniz.

Biraz sonra ilginç bir uyarıyla karşılaşırsınız.

Diyorki, “AKILLI OL!!! HAYALERİN BİTİĞİ YER BURASI!!! VE BİZ BURDAYIZ” ve “WELLCOME TO HELL!!! KASIMPAŞALILAR”

. . . Düşüne düşüne ileri gidersiniz ve stadyuma içeri girersiniz. . . . Kasımpaşa’daki yürüyenlerin çoğu kadınlardır. Maalesef tartan (bandın yüzü) iyi bir durumda değildir. Kasımpaşalı koşucular, dikkat edin!

Sehir ne kadar kalabalık olursa olsun, bu köşede yer var yürümek ve koşmak için. İyi günler, iyi haftalar. Kasımpaşa’da görüşmek üzere.

Expert Advice: Listen to Your Body

Following a recent Saturday morning run in the Belgrade Forest, members of Adim Adim met with trainer Ahmet Ozmine, who offered tips on how to train efficiently and avoid injury.

Soft Strength. It’s all about warming up, stretching, and maintaining strength and flexibility for joints, ligaments and tendons. Don’t let yourself get stiff – keep your muscles strong and supple. This lowers your risk of injury. Ahmet Hoca also spoke about the stride – it should be smooth, not hard, rolling, not sliding – minimize the sound that your feet make, as sound increases with a harder impact of the foot on the ground.

Watch your back. The back begins to shrink after age 35 (as the ligaments between vertebrae start deteriorating). As they age, runners can start to feel pain/soreness in their backs – especially after longer distances. Ahmet Hoca recommended that runners stretch – especially while lying on the back – to counter this natural process of deterioration.

Crunches! The abdomen is important for runners. It’s a tender, weak area. The pain in the side comes from a lack of oxygen getting to those organs. It happens commonly when runners don’t warm up properly.

Listen to your body. As for warming up, Ahmet emphasized light stretching and warming up at least 12 minutes of easy running, jogging in place, jumping jacks, whatever – to get the muscles relaxed, to raise the pulse, and to get the body accustomed to taking in more oxygen. (Some experts also recommend some light stretching after the 12-minute warm-up. Remember: never stretch when your muscles are cold; this can cause injury.)

Before running at the maximum level of exertion, let your body tell you when it’s ready. That is, when you feel the body relax, when you feel the running become easy, that’s when you’re ready for the most vigorous part of the work-out.

Run hard, walk hard. Ahmet also noted that it’s important to push yourself, to get the most out of your work-out. It should make you tired. This is true for a runner or walker at any level: make sure you push your fast walk enough to keep your heart-rate elevated (within the appropriate range for your age group) and to work the muscles.

Why Not Meet at Noon?!

On Sunday we had a very wet, pleasant run in the Belgrade Forest. We even saw one man running with an umbrella! But we were only five. Someone suggested if we changed our time from 8:00 to 12:00, more people would participate. What do you think?

On Saturday we ran with Adim Adim, which has 50 people running various events in Antalya on 2 March. Alp set a grueling pace for us, and we now wonder what surprises he has in store. After 12 km, we went to Yenikoy for breakfast.

Speaking of the Antalya Marathon, the online registration and reservation are very easy, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the event comes off. So far, it appears well organized.

We also met early for a couple of mid-week runs – one along the Bosphorus from Kuruçeşme to Rumeli Hisar and another from Taksim to the Veli Efendi Race Track in Zeytinburnu. Parts of this second run were quite pleasant, especially along the sea in front of Cerrahpaşa. An area ripe for redevelopment? The race track is hidden from view by a high concrete wall, and the final leg back to the Zeytinburnu Metro station was terribly ugly.

Might the city upgrade the sidewalks in this part of town? Spacious, tree-lined pedestrian paths would undoubtedly encourage people of all ages to get out of the house, elevate the heart rate and take a new look at their surroundings. It only takes a plan and some persistence, right?

Ok, here’s an idea: pedestrian and bike paths linking Gaziosmanpaşa and the Alibeyköy Reservoir with Kağıthane and Eyüp, and, eventually, linking Zeytinburnu with Şişli, Mecidiyeköy, Levent and Beşiktaş. If Paris can do it, why not Istanbul? Is the city already planning something like this?

Running Belgrade Forest this Sunday, 10 February

Please join us this Sunday, 8:00am, in front of the Dia on Siraselviler. Necdet has hired a bus to take us to the Belgrade Forest. See you then!

Last Saturday, a couple of us joined Adim Adim at the Belgrade Forest (http://www.adimadim.org). We ran for a while with Cem Uçan, who has published two collections of short stories: Bambaşka hayatlar and Boşluğun izinde (www.cemucan.com)

On Sunday, five of us returned to the Belgrade Forest. Seeing the forest for the first time, our newest member was surprised to see so many people running and walking. Can critical mass for Istanbul’s running community be far away?

At the end of Sunday’s run, we also saw Roger Bejjani and Pia Nehme. Pia is one of the top female long-distance runners in Lebanon, and Roger founded the Inter-Lebanon Road Runners Association.

We also saw Zeki and Selçuk of Adim Adim, who told us the group runs on Sunday as well as Saturday mornings. They invited us to hitch a ride from 4. Levent anytime.

At least three of us have committed to run either the 10-k or the half-marathon with Adim Adim on 2 March. There’s still time to train, but the deadline for online registration is this Friday, 8 February (http://www.oger-maraton.com).

Back in Cihangir we had breakfast with Nassim at Van Khavalti Evi. Her novel, Aria, was published recently – http://nassimassefi.com. Nassim helped organize Afghanistan’s first 10-k road race, held in 2004.

Where Do You Run in Istanbul?

Today some of us walked from Cihangir to Ortaköy, and others ran around Sarayburnu. Istanbul, suggested Miguel as we ran, needs a runner’s manual for novices (where to run, running clubs in the area, a calendar of road races, etc.). So as we begin to put the guide together, we ask you, What are your favorite routes? Please let us know!

And join us each Sunday, 8:00am, in front of the Cihangir Sports Center (above the Dia Supermarket), on Siraselviler Street.

Now, back to our runner's guide to Istanbul . . . three of my favorite places to run – all accessible from Beyoğlu on foot. . .
THREE ROUTES from BEYOĞLU
1. Sarayburnu: Today’s run followed the side street from Tophane to Karaköy, crossed the Galata Bridge and then ran along the wide path that circles around Sarayburnu, below Topkapı Sarayı. We ran as far as the radar tower, where we turned back. One could as easily run to Atatürk Bulvarı and return to Beyoğlu by way of Aksaray, passing under the Aqueduct of Valens and crossing the Golden Horn on the Atatürk Bridge. The full circle from Tophane, around Sarayburnu and under the acqueduct and back is close to 12 km.

The springtime photos say nothing of today’s strong lodos wind!

Run It Any Time: Given that the Galata Bridge has a wide pedestrian way and the path around Sarayburnu is well protected from traffic, the path from Tophane to the radar tower is a decent route for any time of day. (Also, you can stretch at the radar tower, which is decorated with ceramic tiles by my friend Mustafa Pilevneli and his son Yavuz.)

2. Maçka Park: The lower end of Maçka Park has a well-maintained unpaved running path, and I like it for speed intervals. From Taksim, head down past Gümüşsuyu to the İnönü Stadium and stay right as you ascend the hill (on appropriately named Bayıldım Caddesi) to Nişantaşı, passing by the Swissôtel. You can enter the lower end of Maçka Park across the street from the Swissôtel, or for a longer hill work-out, follow the road (which now becomes Abdi İpekçi Caddesi) to the top of the hill – to Vali Konağı Caddesi – and enter the top end of the park at Harbiye (saluting the Sultans) and run back down through the park to the paths in the lower end.

Twilight Run: Maçka Park may not be the best destination for a run in the dark, but it’s not bad in the twilight hours. To avoid the evening traffic between Gümüşsuyu and Dolmabahçe, cut from Taksim to Harbiye on Taşkışla Caddesi – the road that runs behind the Hilton Hotel and in front of the Engineering Faculty. Careful as you cross traffic!

3. Eyüp: A series of smooth pedestrian paths leads up the Golden Horn from the Galata Bridge to Eyüp. This is an early morning or weekend run, due to congestion at the Eminönü bus stop and the need to cross traffic under Atatürk Bulvarı. After these messy spots, however, it’s a clear path (excepting occasional simit vendors) up to Eyüp and even as far as Santralİstanbul (the new Bilgi University Campus).

Where do you like to run? Do you get a good work-out on Istanbul’s streets? Or have you resigned yourself to the treadmill for mid-week runs?

Beraber yürüyelim bu hafta sonu!

Önümüzdeki Pazar sabahı tekrar buluşacağız Cihangir Sports Center önünde saat 8’de. Katılanların istediklerine göre Cihangir’den çıkıp bir yere yürüyeceğiz, mesela Yıldız Parkı’na, Kasımpaşa’ya ya da Haliç’e gideceğiz. Bir başka yol teklif etmek isterseniz, bana bir mesaj gönderin. Sizi bekleriz. Görüşmek uzere!

Yürüyoruz, koşuyoruz, bile de kayıyoruz!

Birkaç haftadan beri yazmadım ama yürümeye devam ediyorduk. İki defa Belgrad Ormanı’na gittik, bir defa Cihangir’de dolaştık, ve iki hafta önce yalnız Isaac gelmiş ve tek başına koşmuş.



Geçen hafta sonu ise Alp’la birkaç kişi Belgrad Ormanı’nda yürüdüler, ve Necdet bir grup kayak yapmak için Kartal Kaya’ya getirdi. Eğlendik! İstanbul’a kalktığımız saatte güneş batıyordu.

Hafta içi sabahları ise, koşmak istiyenler açık, güvenli bir yol bulmaya çalışıyorlar. Geçen Salı sabahı Isaac bizi yeni bir yolda koşturdu. Saat altıda sabahleyen Isaac’la CSC’de buluşup koştuk Mecidiyeköy’e kadar. Bildiğiniz gibi Isaac çok sert bir antrenör. Çabuk koştuk ve Cihangir’e geri geldiğimizde hava hala aydınlanmamıştı. Taksim ile Cevahir arasındaki yol güzel ve koşmaya uygun: trotuar düz, geniş, ışıklı ve boş. O saatte trafik yok.

Necdet başka bir yol tavsiye etti: Gümüşsuyu’ndan inip Beşiktaş’a kadar koşun. Barbaros Bulvarı’nı binip Cevahir’e gidin oradan da Taksim’e dönün. Biraz uzun ama maraton için antrenman yaparsanız hafta içi orta uzunlukla koşunuza çok uygun olabilir.

İyi haftalar, iyi koşular, tekrar Pazar sabahı görüşmek üzere!!