Greetings Winter Runners; Week #9
Disney Report – I did not get to see Stacey but Disney is a pretty large marathon with over 13,000 runners to try and find someone. I DO know she did a blazing 4:13!! CONGRATULATIONS STACEY!!
Disney is a GREAT destination race. You will not find a better organized (after all it IS Disney), it is great course (read NO hills) and you can’t beat the support and distractions along the way, like the fireworks at the Start, Magic Kingdom (“It’s a small world after all…..”) and the multitude of Disney characters. I ended up taking 22 minutes making stops for photo ops and pit stops. I had my picture taken with Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother and Step Sisters. I told them it was my birthday and they wanted to take me back to the castle to celebrate. I graciously declined J I felt good enough (I guess from all the stops) to pick up the pace at about 17 miles. I matched pace with a young lady, Lauren, from Australia doing her first marathon. We were doing 8:30’s until we got separated at a Water Stop. Then I started running with Adalina, from Mexico also doing her first marathon. We held 8:45’s until a Water Stop at 23 miles where we got separated. Lynn busted my (ego) bubble by saying they were trying to ditch me L With no one to help pace (pull) me, the last 3 miles were a steady F-A-D-E. I finished in 4:44 but was pleased with the effort. I did see Nancy Cooper and her sons/friends after. It was a lllllong day for them – something called ‘lack of training’.
Wednesday Track Session - It’s tough to get out there, but it works!J This Wednesday at AHS at 6 pm we will be doing 4 x 400 at Threshold pace and 4 x 100 at Econ pace.
Saturday Run – 7 am. 16 miles for Marathoners and Ultra runners; 7 miles for Half Marathoners. Paula had a good run on the Mastline loop and out to the Arundel Sign Stop last week for her 7 miles. This is a jump up week but I still want you to try do the last 3 miles at race pace. Okay, how about from the Arundel Signs Water Stop to the top of Momma Bear? It should feel a little uncomfortable at first but more natural toward the end. This is an important aspect of getting your body to adapt to a higher intensity (pace) when it is already tired. It will help reduce the “fade” toward the end of a hard race – like the last 10k of a marathon. Just make your mind up to JUST DO IT J
Sunday Trail Run – 9 am. AHS Trails – for one or two loops. This should NOT be a tempo run. You ran long on Saturday and do not want to overdo it Sunday, even if it is on the trails. If you are up for some cool down laps, join us with the New Year Beginning Runners on the AHS Track at 11 am. I know they would love to hear encouragement from others who have “been there, done that” trying to get started running.
For 2009, whether your incentive is winning your age group, earning a whole new set of PRs, or being the hottest mom or dad on the PTA, running not only allows you to age gracefully, it enables you to redefine aging. While your friends dread the big "4-oh” or 5-0 no!" you can say, bring it on. Still, if you want to stay healthy and keep accumulating finishers' medals, you do need to realize that you aren't the young colt you once were. Stick with your program, do not overdo h your mileage, take rest or “active rest” days (walking, rough-housing with the kids/grandkids, easy swim or bike), and cross-train, strength train, and stretch religiously. I recently read that starting at age 40, your kidneys are less likely to conserve water as you dehydrate. And the nerves in your mouth and throat that tell you you're thirsty don't function as well. So remember to hit the water stops in races and carry a bottle while training. Bones are deteriorating faster than they're forming. The loss hits women harder (from 30 until menopause, women lose one percent a year), but men aren't immune. Researchers studied the bone density of runners' spines and found that males had similar density losses as females. Take note: Those who strength trained had the best density scores.
“Most people need a coach to tell them to work hard. I need a coach to tell me to ‘ease up’. Sometimes I need a coach to say, “Okay, stop working, you’ve done enough,” because if you tell yourself that, you will feel guilty and guilt is what keeps a lot of runners going after they should back off.” Marty Liquori, 1975.
From his mouth to your ears – you know who you are J
Stay Healthy;
Ron
Ron Bowman
BLUEPOINTTIMING.com
410-573-1929
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