January 17, 2009 Newsletter

THIS SATURDAY AT-A-GLANCE

Mileage: 15

January Volunteers:
Set-up – Naomi Kress
Breakdown – Rafael Gonzales
Supplies – Tom McKiernan, Naomi Kress
Aid station/s – Tom Monahan

Pace Leaders:
9:00 group - Mike Miskel
10:00 group - Ed Burnett and Luz Lyon
11:00 group - Mira Reverente
12:00 group - Caroline Connolly
13:00/14:00 group - Tom McKiernan

*Please don’t forget to thank our volunteers and pace leaders for their time when you get the chance.

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

LSD Run

Saturday’s distance calls for 15 miles, our first increase in mileage in over a month. We are now off to the races with mileage increases every other week. Be sure to faithfully follow the mid-week speed and hill workouts and rest as directed to avoid injury. Seven and half out and seven and half back; Tom’s water/Gatorade station should be near the turnaround. Don’t miss it!

I will be out of town but I’m sure I will not be missed. Tom, with assistance from Leo, will be there to take care of the refreshment table. Have a good 15-mile run.

10:00 Pace Group

We have been without a Pace Leader for the 10-minute PG. The newly appointed PL for this group is veteran marathoner Ed Burnett. His backup is Luz Lyon, also a veteran marathoner. Give both a cheer on Saturday.

Essay: Final Kick

Last week’s essay was about the first mile. My essay below is about the last mile or thereabouts.

We runners are competitive. Initially, we may not start out being competitive, or at least we may not admit to it, but as we progress in our running experience or after we participate in a race or two, we eventually become competitive. We begin to time our “leisure” runs or we start to carefully check our race times. Not too far in the back of our minds, we are thinking of doing better next time. We take notice of the times of other runners, especially those in our gender and age groups, and we think about “beating” them in the next race. Yes, we runners are competitive, whether we admit to it or not.

How can we competitive runners, accomplish our goals of finishing faster or “beating” other runners? We train. First of all, we train properly by following our training schedule. We run long and slow on Saturdays to develop endurance. During the week, we run hills on one day to develop strength and do Fartleks or intervals on another day to develop speed.

Let me add another training strategy to develop that final kick to the finish line to “beat” the competition. During the last half-mile, quarter-mile, or 200 meters of your training runs, when you can see the finish line or when you know that the finish line is “just around the bend”, start to pick up the pace and continue with the faster pace all the way to the end.

How fast should the pace be? Depending on how far from the finish you start your kick, your fast pace can be as fast as or faster than your 5K pace but not faster than an all-out sprint. You should start slower and closer to the finish line if this training strategy is new to you. Then, as you progress in your training, you can start further out and/or run faster. Be sure to maintain proper running form at all times.

The benefit of this type of training is that it teaches your body (and mind) to run harder and faster even after you had already run your normal training distance and your legs, body and mind are already tired (but not exhausted!). In a race, you will usually be tired or tiring as you cover the last mile. But with this training, you will be able to turn on that “Final Kick” to beat your competitors to the finish line.

As with all training strategies, be reasonable and listen to your body. You don’t want to suffer from injuries!

CLUB NEWS

*Attention: Napa Valley Marathon-bound Folks!!!

Denise Ellison would like to organize a pre-marathon dinner. Please e-mail her at: dmecnm@gmail.com and give her your contact information, arrival, departure and hotel details.

*Run Ventura Now On Facebook

Just a note to those socially networked folks in the group, or those who want to be more socially networked – Run Ventura is now on Facebook Groups! With discussion boards, picture sharing, and more, we welcome all to join and share. See the link to join on the “About Us” page or look us up on Facebook Groups. And you need a Facebook account to join.

*Birthday greetings
Jan. 7 – Pat Romero
Jan. 10 – Brad Guevara
Jan. 12 – Rick Kanatzar

*Anniversary greetings
Jan. 12 – Lisa and Al Anderson (18th)
Jan. 21 – Naomi and Sterling Kress (20th)