Email #11 from Coach Don

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. . . T.S. Eliot

As if you haven't noticed, the training has picked up a little bit. Longer miles (9 last week/10 this week for Novices, 13/14 for Intermediates). As we do longer miles we will invariable start doing courses that will involve a few more hills. Although you may mutter unfavorable things about the guy who designed the course while running it, remember this is about Training. What you are doing now is building strength in your legs. Strength that will carry you through the rest of your training and through the marathon. So carry that thought with you this weekend.

No man is ever whipped until he quits in his own mind... Napoleon Hill

The body cannot achieve what the mind cannot conceive....

Remember these to as you run. Running distance is not about speed, it is about endurance. You are building on your ability to run longer and longer distances. And being able to maintain you running speed for that distance. And as we get into these longer miles, not only do your legs need to get stronger but your mind does too. So much about distance running is putting into a corner of your mind the thoughts that you have when struggling on a run and putting strong mental images of you succeeding to the front. Think that you can do this run. You will do this run. The mind is a wonderful thing and it can help the body wonderfully if you just let it.

It is not about the destination, it is about the journey...

We have all in our lives become goal oriented. This training is about achieving a goal. But while we all have that goal in mind and we cannot, should not forget that goal, we do need to remember the journey. You will remember a lot about the actual race on marathon day. You will remember more about the training. Your new friends. Certain routes that came on good days or bad days. So make sure you are take time to enjoy the journey.

Administrative: On August 19 & 20, we are going to have another fun day. It is team dress up day. So start thinking of a running outfit that prominently features your team colors in you running togs. Same rules as 4th of July...Prizes will be awards.

Note: Because we are the "Rocky Mount Team", we do not have a color. Don had recommended that we all dress in our favorite school's colors instead. Sounds like fun if you are interest.

Pictures from 08/05

Here are pictures from last weekend. Thanks Jeff and Patti for the great water stop. It was a welcome site on a hot day. Hopefully everyone enjoyed seeing a few new roads on this run.

HANDOUT: Nutrition

Nutrition: Think of yourself as an automobile. If you don’t put gas in the car, it will not run. If you put too low of an octane in a high performance car, it will run but it will not perform at it optimum. The same is true of you body. As you become a regular runner, you are moving your body to a high performing, efficient machine. You need to put in the proper fuel to run at that level.

Food Consumption: As a runner, your diet should be in the following ratio’s:

• Carbohydrates 60 to 70%
• Fats (good fats) 25 to 20%
• Protein 15 to 10%

Attached (see links below) are several articles showing the best sources in each of these categories.

Why carbohydrates? The fuel for powering your muscles while running is glycogen. Glycogen is created when the body breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars to be stored in the body. (About 78% of the glycogen is stored in your muscles, 18% stored in the liver and the rest in your bloodstream.)

When at rest with plenty of oxygen, the body will burn fat in cooperation with the glycogen. But as you exercise, you will have a less ready supply of oxygen. In these situations, when you need fast fuel, the body looks for a better source of fuel. That is where the glycogen is needed.

The more carbohydrates you consume as you train, the more you can store. An untrained muscle can store 13 grams of glycogen for each kilogram of muscle. With proper training, this rises to 32. Thus more fuel for you as you run.

Pre exercise eating: Part of your training will be training the way your eating interfaces with your running. Use the long Saturday runs as a way of testing how you eat before running. Some people can eat a full meal and then go out and run. Some people get stomach issues if they try to run shortly after eating. Experiment to see what works best for you.

When you eat before exercising, it should be high is carbohydrates, low in fat with moderate protein content. Portions should be moderate and you should take extra fluids. To avoid sugar highs (and crashes), it is best to avoid sugars in the 45 minutes before running.

In regards to when to eat, the following chart may be helpful:

• If you are running 4-6 hours Eat a Large Meal
• If you are running 2-3 hours Eat a Light Meal
• If you are running ½ to 1 hour Eat a Snack

Eating while running: The body stores enough glycogen to allow you to run without issue for 90 minutes to two hours. Therefore as you increase the time of your training run (and run the race) you will need to resupply the body with fuel. This fuel can come from three sources. Solid food, sports drinks and energy gels.

Solid fuels least often used by runners. Two reasons. One, it takes a lot longer to digest solid food. Two, solid food has a higher likelihood of upsetting the stomach.

Sports drinks (Gatorade, Ultima and many others) are a mixture of sugars and water (many are now also including vitamins and important minerals). They range between 6 and 12 % carbohydrates. They are a quickly digested solution which supplies some carbohydrates. (See the later section on sports drinks)

Energy gels are a relatively new addition to the marathoning scene. They are concentrated mixtures of carbohydrates. They are more easily digested that solid food and easier to carry than sports drinks.

Several words of caution on the use of energy gels. By training, you can allow you body to adapt to store more glycogen. If, during your training, you start to use energy gels too early in your runs, you will fool your body into thinking it does not need to make the physiological changes that are required to store more fuel. Then when you do need the extra glycogen, it will not be there. The second caution. Gels are pure carbohydrates. Or put another way, pure sugar. Once you start using gels on a run, you will need to use them every 45 minutes or so to avoid a sugar crash.

When do you start using gels on a run? First, as said above, never use them on a run of less than 90 minutes. There are two trains of though on when to take your first gel. Some people take them after 45 minutes of running and then every 45 minutes thereafter. Others like to wait until 90 minutes or so into the run to start. See what works best for you.

Post run refueling: By running you use up your stored glycogen. In the first hour after you finish running, the body is best conditioned to reconvert ingested carbohydrates into stored glycogen. Therefore, you should try to eat/drink plentiful carbohydrates in that first hour, preferably the first half hour. Some suggested recovery foods are Apple Juice, Bagels, Yogurt, Bananas and sports drinks.

Sports Drinks: Sports Drinks come in many shapes and forms. Gatorade was the first, is the easiest to find and is generally the cheapest. Each type of drink has its own formulation and it own ad campaign. The bottom line is that you will need to drink sports drinks during your race. Each race picks its own drink and it is generally readily available at the water stops on the course. Get in the habit of drinking it as a part of your training as described above. One area that is getting greater attention in recent years is the use of recovery drinks. Endurox is the most widely known. These drinks help with the post run refueling.

Nutrition Handouts (links coming soon)

• Other info
• Post run recovery
• Nutritional Training tips

There is no such thing as a bad carbohydrate - Don Kardong

Richmond Marathon Merchandise

It looks like the Richmond Marathon updated their merchandise online. They have technical shirts for $15.00 like the one to the right. They also have long sleeve shirts, hats, running jackets, fleece, socks, gym bags and more. The shipping is about seven bucks, however I added 10 shirts to the cart and the shipping only went up to around eight. I wanted to put this information online just in case anyone was interested in ordering. This way we could do a group order and save on shipping.

Weekend Routes for 08/05

Maps: Here are the weekend routes. There is a 9 mile route and a 13 mile route. For those running 11, there is an easy adjustment to the longer route that will give you the distance you need.

• 9 mile route
• 13 mile route (and 11 mile)

Written Directions: This week we will still meet at the Harris Teeter at 6:00 a.m. The majority of the run will be on familiar roads, but I have added in some new roads that will take us back into Ketch Point too. So please take time to review the directions and map prior to the run. I believe the directions are correct, but having an extra set of eyes review them is always good. (See Routes in far right column)

Fluids & Bathroom:
I will have fluids at the Start, 4.5 miles, 6 miles, 9 miles, and finish (miles based on the long route). If you are doing the long route, plan for no fluids for your first four and last four miles. I strongly encourage you to take a bottle with you at the nine mile point to finish your run. Also, I checked with Harris Teeter this week and was told at no time should both sets of doors be locked. So hopefully we will not have any issues this week if we go to the doors to the left.

Hill workout Tonight:
Tracy Proctor and I are meeting at the Harris Teeter at 7:00 p.m. tonight if anyone is interested.

Coach Don Visit:
Don is planning on joining us in Rocky Mount for our run on 08/26. Some of you have met Don, but others have not. Please make every effort to be at the run this weekend.

Email #10 from Coach Don

Routes: Be sure you are going to the website and checking out your weekly routes before showing up for the weekend runs for several reasons. As the runs get longer they will by nature get more complicated, with more turns and they will be taking you to new places. If you are a visual person, there is a link each week on the message board to a map of the route.

But more importantly, with the size of the group, we are taking people on similar routes but each group has a slightly different route. So if you are just following the person in front of you, they may be on another team and take a slight variation in the route. So know where you re going.

Clinics: Nutrition is this Wednesday at 6:00 at CJW Medical Center (Chippenham). A good clinic to help you understand the impact of food on your training (Note: this is for the Richmond group. We are still working on a Nutritionist)

On August 23 (This date is different (Same week, different day) than shown in the training book) we will have our next clinic. This clinic will be about core strength training for running. It does not sound exciting but this is one of the best things you can do to improve your running. We will also have a short clinic on running form as part of this clinic for those of you who missed the running form clinic. I may even bee the guinea pig.....

T shirts: And now the most important thing in many weeks. The T shirts that are part of the program should be printed by Thursday of this week. So this weekend you will be able to pick up your Official SportsBacker's Marathon Training Team T Shirt for 2006. I am sure this will be a hot item (as the would not let me in on style design this year!!!!)

Visit From Richmond: I will be coming down to run with the Rocky Mount team some time in the month of August. We are working on a date which we have tentatively said to be August 26. I hope you can make the run that date. I will be bringing your t shirts that weekend.

Heat: No lectures this week. I have added another Sag stop this weekend. So make sure you stay hydrated. Start the night before your run. I'll sweat with you this weekend

Hill Workout Update

I had emailed Don today about hill workouts to make sure we are following the general guidelines. I had asked how many and how long should we be running now. He recommends starting with three hill repeats for those on the Novice Plan, and four repeats for those on the intermediate plan to start. Each week after that, try to add one more repeat to your workout (never to exceed eight).

The length of the hill work out should be between 1:00 and 1:30. Again, Intermediates may be uper end , and Novices on the lower end.

If you have not been adding an extra hill repeat, don't try to catch up all in one week. Just add one more to what you did last week. Remember, your last hill repeat should be just as fast as your first. If you are too tired, you ran to fast. Likewise, if you can sprint your last hill, you did not run hard enough.