July Reminders

Heat: The heat is coming back in full force. There is a chance of record highs in our forecast. Be careful. We will start our Saturday group runs at 6:00 a.m. now. Don't sleep in! Set the alarm, and take advantage of the early morning cloud cover. You will be glad you did.

Tues/Thurs: The Wednesday runs at Cliff's house have shifted to Tuesdays and Thursdays now. We have been meeting on Brassfield, near the intersection of Bell. For now, we are all running towards Dave's house from our own home. This means we normally have already done a 1+ mile warm up by the time we all gather around 5:55. Tuesdays we are doing speed intervals, and Thursdays we are doing tempo runs. You don't have to do those work outs to come join us. Everyone is welcome.

Recovery Week: For those of you following the planned long routes, this weekend is a recovery run. Some of you may not need it, but I do encourage you to cut back, and give your body a chance to recovery. If you try to increase your long run every week from now until your marathon, there is a high probability you will get injured. Whichever plan you are following, you should have recovery runs built in.

Motivation: Looking for motivation? Now is the time when it is easy to fall off your training plan. The weather is hot. . . vacations are going on. . . the runs are getting longer. . . Don't lose your focus! I often find myself checking out the course map of my next race for inspiration and visualization. The Marine Corps Marathon took things even further by creating a virtual tour of all 26.2 miles. Take a few minutes and "run" along with your computer.