Duke Liver Tri Course Pre Ride: June 24th

I am planning to ride the Duke Liver Center Half Ironman course again on the morning of June 24th. Anyone who is planning to ride in the Tri in September is welcome to join me. Here is a link to view the course:

I rode it for the first time last month. My plan is to get a relatively early start from Rocky Mount (6 to 6:30AM). It is about an 80 mile ride to the overlook, about an hour and 15 minutes. There are public facilities. I would anticipate the ride to take around 3 hours depending upon the group speed etc. I have the ability to carry up to 8 people and bikes, but I think 6 would be more comfortable for all involved. I would like to be back in RM by 1PM.

Please let me know if you are interested. - Eric Seale

Interview with Kristin Price

Some of you may not be interested in this at all, but Elite Running did a pretty good interview with Kristin Price. You may be wondering, who is Kristen Price? Kristin lives in Raleigh and attends NC State. She entered Boston, and ended up taking 10th place, and was the 3rd US woman to finish. Although she has amazing talent, she is pretty much an "average joe" with her approach to running. She does not train with a coach (yet), and also enjoys competing in triathlons. Thanks for sharing the link Scott.

Group Bike Rides

Several bike rides are scheduled for this week beginning tonight. Most of these start at the dentist office on the corner of Winstead and Michael Scott. Eric Seale is organizing these, and does an excellent job of working with riders, so no one is left behind. Ursula has ridden with him several times.

• Tonight: 6:15 dentist office, 30 mile Elm City Loop
• Wed: 5:45 AM dentist office morning ride - 18 miles
• Thursday: 5:45 AM dentist office morning ride 18 miles
• Friday: 5:45 AM dentist office morning ride 18 miles
• Saturday: 7:00 AM dentist office 25-30 miles (UPDATED)
• Sunday: 7:00 AM dentist office 50-60 miles (UPDATED)

If you want to start riding more, or are new to the sport, come join them for a ride!

Information Meeting Tonight - 7:00 pm

Just a reminder that there is a meeting tonight at the YMCA to go over the Richmond Marathon training team. We are meeting at 7:00 pm in the "after school room". I am not 100% certain about which room that is, but head towards the racquetball courts, and you should be able to find us.

This will be a short informal meeting. I honestly expect a very small crowd, so it would be great if any repeat runners would like to come and share their experience from last year. At last count, our 2007 group is somewhere around 12-15 runners, with several new faces being added to the team. Things are shaping up to be a great year!

"Rookie" Biker Story

I got my new bike and went out for my "maiden" voyage. All was well, I mean I had Mary Whitwell to assist me with my new equipment. We started out from my driveway, no problems .20 miles down my street, we come to a stop and discuss bike safety regarding getting into traffic and right of way laws etc.

After that discussion, we turn on to Bend of the River Road and head toward 97. Right before the intersection at 97, Mary unclips her left foot and I do the same, unfortunately, I didn't unhook my right foot too!!! As you can imagine, I hit the brakes anyway and came to a complete stop. . . felt the bike lean to the right and. . . BOOM!

My right arm hit first, then my right hip, then my right knee and then my left calf was mutilated by the gear housing. Mary got off her bike amidst the horn blowing and heckling to help me up. With a gash to my right knee and four puncture wounds to my left calf, we were off! What fun, I kept thinking as cars were zooming by me. All I could think of was how out of control I felt, but at the same time, how much fun to have the wind in your face (or back as we prayed for).

I had the best time on my first ride. Despite the fall, I felt great. 15 miles later and some dried blood to my legs and socks. . .what more could I have asked for? I am glad I bought the bike and look forward to some great rides with all my friends and fellow Endurance Club Members. I am waiting for my padded shorts to come before my next ride however!

Tracy Hicks

Note: If anyone ever wants to add something to the blog, please shoot me an email. Thanks!

Richmond Week 1 Plan

Once we are signed up, you will all receive a training notebook with the full 23-week plan. For now, here is what the first week of the plans look like. If you have any questions as to which plan you should be on, please let me know. For the first few weeks you honestly could run either plan if you are comfortable, but in the big picture the Intermediate is a much more aggressive plan.

Here is a comparison of the two plans to help you decide:

Number of 20-mile runs:
Intermediate - 3
Novice - 1

Peak Weekly Mileage:
Intermediate - 50
Novice - 40

Average Miles per week (through the entire program)
Intermediate - 32.7
Novice - 22.8

Week 1 Training Schedule is below:

Intermediate:

• Sat: 6 miles
• Sun: 4 miles
• Mon: x-train
• Tues: 3 miles
• Wed: 5 miles
• Thurs: 3 miles
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 7 miles

Novice:

• Sat: 4 miles
• Sun: x-train
• Mon: rest
• Tues: 3 miles
• Wed: 3 miles
• Thurs: 3 miles
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 4 miles

RUN RSVP: 06/02

As mentioned earlier, I am heading out of town this weekend. Our plans changed slightly, and we will be here Saturday morning, but if a Forrester is running, it will be Ursula. For those joining the Richmond Training Team, your journey begins tomorrow! We still need to figure out the right plan for each of you, but I planned the routes based on the Novice and Intermediate plans. You will notice I have the written directions in the description of each run now as well (look below the maps).

Run Details:

• Day: Saturday
• Time: 7:30 a.m.
• Where: Harris Teeter
• Distance: Novice = 4 miles; Intermediate = 6 miles
• Routes: Novice ; Intermediate
• Supported: No
• Weather: Forecast

I know many of you are well ahead of the current plans, and will likely run a longer distance. I will ask you to use your best judgement on where to start. It does not hurt to keep your long run distance elevated, but I would be careful not to start ramping up miles yet. 23 weeks is a long time. Don't set yourself up to burnout.