December 6, 2008 Newsletter

THIS SATURDAY AT-A-GLANCE

Mileage: 15
*download revised training schedule for 2009 LA Marathon at www.RunVentura.com

December Volunteers:
Set-up – Denise Ellison (Dec. 6), Mira Reverente (Dec. 13, 20 & 27)
Breakdown – June Muller (Dec. 6, 13 & 27), Naomi Kress
Supplies – Tom McKiernan, Mike Miskel
Aid station/s – Tom Santangelo

TRAINING CORNER
By George Arita, Training Committee Chair
Georgerunvta@aol.com

Training Run

Winter will be visiting us in a couple of weeks with the shortest day of the year on Dec 21. Then we can look forward to a gradual lengthening of the daylight hours. In the meantime, we must deal with the cool temperatures and possible rainfall (What! It never rains in Southern California!). There was some mud just past the rec-vehicle park which probably will be dried up unless more precipitation occurs before Saturday as was the forecast.

Our long run this week is for 15 miles, 7.5 miles out and 7.5 mile back. As always, take the run slow and comfortably and continue to religiously do your hill workout (this week) and speed workout next week. You will be rewarded on race day following this routine (see the copied article below).

Those who are new members or are returning following recovery from injury, be sure to follow the mileage posted for the early months of our training calendar. Don’t start by running too long! Talk to me before heading out if you’re not sure how far you should run.

Antibiotic Caution

I read in the “THIS JUST IN” column in the November issue of Runner’s World of a warning by FDA that fluoroquinolone antibiotics increase the risk of tendinitis and Achilles tendon rupture. Following my recent surgery, I was prescribed Cipro (Ciprofloxacin HCl), which is in this group of antibiotics and which I had taken for several weeks. I looked up looked up Cipro online and sure enough, the latest cautions mention tendinitis and Achilles tendon rupture. I immediately called my doc and changed to a different antibiotic.

I always check with my Johns Hopkins Consumer Guide to Drugs but my 2002 issue is dated and did not mention these particular side effects. I recommend that you google your prescribed meds to be aware of the side effects. In the past, I had prescription drugs that affected my running performance. I quickly had my doc switch me to something else that was without such unacceptable side effects.

In Place of My Usual Essay

There are those who are dubious of my training strategies of running the Saturday LSD run comfortably to prevent injury and burnout while doing the mid-week speed or hill workouts to develop speed and strength. Some runners still insist on running fast on Saturdays. During the last month prior to our target race, we will do tempo runs and marathon pace long runs that combine our endurance, speed and strength and will demonstrate our abilities to run at marathon race pace. Save yourself for the marathon.

I borrowed the following passages from Coach Brad Hudson’s 2008 book Run Faster From the 5K to the Marathon to show you that I’m not the only runner advocating this training strategy. Pay special attention to the third paragraph.
Progression from General Training to Specific Training

One of the most important principles of sports performance is the principle of specificity. It refers to the fact that the body adapts very specifically to the demands placed upon it in training. Due to the principle of specificity, there is no such thing as truly all-around running fitness. The running fitness of every runner is always limited, reflecting the specific nature of the training he or she has done.

The most important ramification of the principle of specificity for competitive runners is that race-specific fitness requires race-pace training. Doing highly race-specific workouts in your peak weeks of training will ensure that your body is specifically adapted to your particular race time goal.

The principle of specificity only goes so far, however. If you took this principle to the extreme, you would perform challenging race-specific workouts throughout the training cycle. The problem with this approach is that the body can progressively adapt to this type of training for only a few weeks before it reaches a temporary adaptive limit, or peak. Therefore it’s crucial to have a very high level of non-race-specific running fitness before you start to do race-specific workouts. By taking the time to build your fitness to a high level with an emphasis on the types of training that serve as a foundation for race fitness, you can perform your race-specific workouts at a higher level and therefore race at a higher level. But if you start trying to do race-specific workouts in the first week of a training cycle, when your base fitness level is relatively low, you will not be able to perform these workouts at a high level, and when you reach your adaptive limit four to six weeks later, you will not have made much progress from your starting point.

RUNNER OF THE WEEK

Name: CAROLINE CONNOLLY
Why you know him/her: 12:00 group pace leader; club secretary
Marathons completed: 6
Favorite marathon and why: Disney marathon in Orlando is one of my top marathons. I went to Orlando with several friends and after running the half marathon together the day before, four of us stayed together for the full marathon and finished together. We talked the entire way and just enjoyed the day.
Proudest accomplishment: Watching my son grow up and every time he responds in kindness and confidence.
Little-known facts: When running (especially a marathon) were first recommended to me, I thought it was a crazy suggestion. When my friends would run a few miles, I would ride a bike alongside knowing that running was just plain silly and I was NOT going to do THAT!
Greatest weakness: Oh gosh, rather focus on my strengths and not waste my time on weaknesses – anyway should the term “weakness” be changed to “opportunity”?
Pre-race rituals: Spaghetti for lunch the day before and for breakfast on the day of the race.
Post-race recovery strategies: Beer, duh!
I would rather be a little faster/a little richer/a little smarter (choose one)…always smarter – I just love to learn!
What do you like to do when you're not running? I’m currently in a Lego phase.
Funniest thing that has ever happened to you during a run or race? I’m willing to bet that all of us have stories that relate to nature – well, I’m not telling.
What made you want to do a marathon? I just wanted to see if I could do it – and now that I know I can, I want to see if I can enjoy a marathon all the way through.
Is there anybody in our group that you admire? If so, what/why? I admire everyone in our group – they set a goal and even for those who don’t make the goal of running a marathon, they come out most weeks and run. For many of us, showing up to run is a huge accomplishment. I respect everyone for their efforts and how they push their personal limits.

FINANCE CORNER

Did you volunteer recently and purchased supplies? If so, please don’t forget to turn in your receipts for reimbursement.

Contact: Yinyin Goh at yin2goh@gmail.com if you have any questions

SOCIAL EVENT ALERT

Next Friday, December 12th, is the 1st Annual RunVentura Holiday Celebration. It will be at Rick Kanatzar’s House, beginning at 7:30 pm. Rick’s contact info plus what dish to bring is in a separate blog/e-mail. Flyers with all the party info will also be available this Saturday.

CLUB NEWS

Birthday greetings
Dec. 9 – Eduardo

Anniversary greetings
Dec. 26 – George and Harriett (44th)
Dec. 30 – Mira and Jimbo (12th)

Good luck to our runners who are racing this weekend (Las Vegas, Sacramento and Lasse Viren)!