Test of Endurance - Chicago Marathon

Post Race Review

2009-10-12T09:22:00.003-05:00

The Chicago Marathon was an amazing experience! The organizers have made it into a 26 mile cultural and cheerleading event as much as a marathon. The diversity of nationalities represented by the runners as well as the spectators throughout the route made this run feel at times like you were in a foreign country. The music and cheering along the water stops and in ethic villages along the route were so loud I realized my iPod was useless and I turned it off.

Out of the 180 runners from Springfield who registered for the Chicago Marathon, 122 made it to the starting line. 53 for reason's unknown did not make it to the start line. 5 of the 122 dropped out before the finish line.

I'm proud to say that those that ran with the Full Tilts from time to time AND started the race, finished the race. That shows that the training definitely works to build the stamina to persevere through the challenges.

Congratulations to all the marathon runners! Regardless of how it turned out for you, remember its the journey that teaches us the lessons rather than the finish line.

All the best,
Bill

Saturday Oct. 3rd - 8 mile run - Chatham Illinois

2009-10-01T08:53:00.002-05:00

Here's the route we can run before the Hero's Run for Hope race. This starts and finishes where we will be doing our Course Marshalling for the Hero's run.

Start time is 6:30 am.

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=327786

We should be done just in time to take our stations on the course.

Remember I'm bringing coffee, bagels and we'll have Gatorade too.

See you there,
Bill

Sandy's Quad-City Marathon Result

2009-09-27T18:24:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Sandy in your finish at the Quad-City Marathon!

Sandra Elliott
Division F 50-54
Overall 493
Division Place 9th out of 20
Female Place: 164th out of 278
Marathon Time: 4:36:59 (Fantastic!)
Pace: 10:35

Saturday Sept 26 - 12 mile Run from Moxo Cafe

2009-09-23T15:55:00.005-05:00

Hello Full Tilts! Feels good to have the last long run done, doesn't it. (Yippee!) Depending on how you felt at the end of that run, you might be thinking the Marathon is going to be easy or it maybe a bit of a challenge. Either way, you have got it in the bag! You can let the negative self-talk roll off the mind like water off a duck's back. Those thoughts don't mean "anything". You know why I know? Because you have prepared yourself with a qualified running program designed by one of the best in the running business!!! That's how I know. So step into the light this awareness and feel the confidence surge through your body!!!!

Here's this weekend's first taper-down-long run of 12 miles. Its got a lot of familiar roads on it and a few new ones so take a look and study the west side of it closely.

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=325968

Let's start at Moxo's at 6:40am since Moxo's opens at 6:30.

Have a great week!
-Bill

Last Big Run - A Big Hooray!

2009-09-19T15:51:00.003-05:00

Image by kimberlyfaye via Flickr

Congratulations Full Tilts! We completed the last long run on the training schedule. I know we had our challenges today but through perseverance and a lot of team support we all did it!

For most of us now the taper begins and the body will rebuild the muscles and give us all the strength we need to make it to 26.2. Imagine how good you'll feel when you arrive at the starting line on marathon race day knowing you've put in all the training "required" to run a marathon successfully.

This week's schedule calls for a 4 m, 5m, 4m and a long 12 mile run next Saturday. That's a about a 30% cut back on mileage over this weeks training. The following week cuts back another 27% in mileage and the week of the marathon cuts back another 64%. That's a lot of taper and I for one am so looking forward to it.

Enjoy the rest of the beautiful weekend!

Peace,
Bill

Saturday Sept 19th - 23 Mile Run - The Big Hoorah!

2009-09-16T17:17:00.003-05:00

Chatham, Illinois , Image by myoldpostcards via Flickr

Here's the new route reversed, revised and extended to 23 miles!!! The extra miles are a loop from the start of the Interurban Trail at Walnut Street in Chatham down through Chatham's South Park and back to same point.

Whether you think you can.... or you think you can't do it... you are right!

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=324279

Water stops have been picked out and Anne and I are going to place 4 of them. We need a volunteer to put out a cooler at Wabash Trail Head by Sonic.

Start time is 5:30 am at Panera West.

Weather forecast for Saturday morning at 5:30am:
Temp. should be around 57 and rising to about 67 by 10am, Skies Clear, Wind coming from the NE at 5 mph.

Running Pace: At an 11 minute pace with one minute walks every mile and 2 minutes at each water stop it will take between 4 hours and 28 minutes to 4 hours and 33 minutes for this 23 mile run.

Pace Setting idea: We chunk up the route into 3 mile segments and rotate a pace setter with a Garmin into the lead position every 3 miles. We pick a pace 11, 10:45, 10:30 or whatever and try to stick to it using a pace setter. If we have enough runners maybe two pace groups makes more sense. Either way I think we need running buddies and that makes a lot of sense to me.

Caution: An 11 minute pace will feel slow for us. Lately the folks I have been running with have been running "faster" than an 11 minute pace often staying below a 10 minute pace for 1/2 mile at at time then slowing down to 10:30 or so. This at best as produced some up and down experiences for just about everyone. Never-the-less I'd like to find a good pace for everyone and work to stick to it.

Send your comments if any.

Looking forward to our last long run being behind us!!!!
-Bill

Saturday Sept 19th Final 20 mile run

2009-09-13T20:01:00.004-05:00

The last 20 mile run is finally here. We have all been looking forward to this milestone!

We've talked about two routes now. Doing the Airport run again and last weekend we talked about a Chatham run that incorporates some country roads. Check out this route to see if it looks like what everyone had in mind. 9 miles of it is a combination of the Wabash trail and the Interurban Trail.

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=323544

Let me know how you feel about this. The alternative is a Airport Run with a few more miles added to it. Here's that 17 mile route: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=314353
We can add a distance at several points.

Another idea that came to mind this week is running the 20 mile route starting at 7:30 am so that we can be running during the time of day of the Chicago Marathon. The forecast for Saturday looks like it will be about 60 starting out and moving up to about 75 by noon. If you like the idea let me know.

Long Run Follow Up- Next Saturday's 12 mile Run (Sept. 12th)

2009-09-07T10:50:00.010-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Congratulations Full Tilts! We only have one more long run to go :-)

For me and perhaps for you, 2nd day after the long run: no joint pain - just muscle soreness - yeah!

The group I was with last Saturday (Joni, Sandy and Suzannah) punched through about 20.25 to 20.40 miles (depending on whose Garmin you use) on the Lost Bridge Trail route. On the second half of the route, we came across a Junior High cross country race in Rochester Park that was "energizing". It was great to see so many teenagers running in the race.

For most, if not all of us, the 20 mile threshold is behind us. The last long run a week from Saturday, will be much easier.

One of us will be running a marathon in less than 3 weeks. That's Sandy Elliott. She is now starting her cut back decent to run in the Quad City Marathon on September 27th. Good luck Sandy...we'll all be wishing you a successful result and one that you've worked hard to earn!

This week is 5/8/5 on the midweek runs. This holiday weekend probably is going to interfere with everyone's schedule a bit so good luck getting in the miles.

WEDNESDAY RUN: If anyone wants to join Suzannah and I for an 8 mile route on Wednesday starting at4:30 am please feel free to join us at Washington and Meadowbrook. The route has a few hills on Washington Street but it is a safe route for a nighttime run because for the most part it is well lit. Here's the link: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=318024

SATURDAY'S RUN (9/12) is scheduled for 12 miles. Here's a route we've all run before that starts at Panera's West. With such a short distance lets start at 7am (can't believe I said that). http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=305277

Have a great short Labor Day Week!

All the best,
Bill

Saturday September 5th - 19 Mile Run

2009-09-03T23:44:00.002-05:00

Hello Full Tilts! Two more long runs to go. This Saturday, it should be cool to start with the temperature warming up 15 degrees over the course of the 4 hours we will be running.

We are using the Lost Bridge Trail route again for this 19 mile run. Here is the map:

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=320857

We'll be going by the Rochester Park Restrooms twice as well as the Phillips 66 that was convenient last time.

Looking forward to a nice run.

See you at Panera East at 6am Saturday!

Happy trails,
Bill

Saturday August 29th - 13 mile run

2009-08-25T18:57:00.004-05:00

Hello Full Tilts! It was great seeing everyone at Abe's Amble. Seems this is the run that starts you off on your running career more than any other run in town. It did for me and I bet many of you can say the same.

Last Saturday's long run of 18 miles was fun and challenging. As I recall we were all over the place withour pace. From sub 9 minutes at times to our normal 10:30, the cool weather and the Lost Bridge Trail created the opportunity for us to "kick it in" at times. I'd like to see is try to stay on pace this weekend.

I over heard someone say they would like to do the Airport run again or that they would like to try the airport run so that's what I laid out for this Saturday's cut-back run.

Image via Wikipedia

Here's the route that starts and ends at Moxo's. Let's start at 6:10 from there.
www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=318017

See you Saturday morning!
-Bill

Change in route in Rochester & the Start up to Lost Bridge Trail

2009-08-21T21:18:00.004-05:00

I drove out to Rochester this afternoon to make sure Lost Bridge Trail went out as far as we needed. It doesn't... so here is the change in route out in Rochester:

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=316843

Lost Bridge Trail is 5 miles out and 5 miles back. I put 5 miles on top of that in Rochester so we need to be at about 3.5 miles by the time we get to the entrance to the trail on the south side of IDOT. That will give us 7 miles on an out and back from Panera's East. I worked that out too. Here's the route from Panera's to the entrance of Lost Bridge Trail:

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=316850

If you add that up that's 18 miles.

See you in the morning.
-Bill

Week 11 - Saturday August 22 - 18 miles

2009-08-19T10:47:00.009-05:00

Hello Full Tilts!
You may have already started to become aware that the training is working, because after completing the long run last week we "feel" like the 26.2 is doable. It is a wonderful feeling, isn't it?!

This week is scheduled for 18 miles. Sandy suggested an east side route so I've set the route leaving from Panera's East. With the cool weather we can start at 6am this Saturday and stay in the sub 70 temps throughout the run.

Its an out and back on the Lost Bridge Trail. This route lends itself to getting in more distance if you are running 20 miles this weekend.

Check it out: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=316120

With an out and back route we can get by with just 3 water stops since we'll go by all three twice. All of them are on the trail close to intersections with Route 29. How convenient is that?!

For those who are skipping the run so they can do Abe's Army Run, you might consider picking up 8 to 10 miles of the route Saturday morning. If you couple that with the a few miles before and after Abe's and you'll end up with the 18 total for the weekend. According

Image via Wikipedia

to Joe Thiel from Fitness Together, a hard run 10k is going to give your body about as much training as doing the full distance of an 18 mile run (especially with a 2 mile warm up and few miles following the 10k).

See you Saturday morning at Panera East at 6am, I'm looking forward to it!

-Bill

Saturday August 15th - 17 mile run

2009-08-12T22:03:00.003-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Hello Full Tilts, Congratulations on finishing the Half Way point in the 18 week training! Seems like it went by pretty quickly to me.

Now we start to stretch out to that distance that builds the muscle memory we need to go the distance in the marathon run. At an average pace of 10 to 12 minutes on this 17 mile run, it will take us 3 to 3.5 hours.

If we start at 5:30 am from Moxo's we'll be done between 8 and 8:30 am and the temperature should still be under 70 degrees. If we start at our usual 6:30 am, the temperature is likely to "feel like" 75 to 80 degrees by 9:30 am.

So I'm recommending we meet at Moxo's to start at 5:30 am this Saturday.

Since we'll be running earlier we can do the Airport Run and be in the shade part of the route by the time the sun comes up.

Here's the route: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=314353

At this distance we'll need 5 water stops so I'll do my best to put them out about every 3 miles as long as I can find a "safe" place.

Good luck to the those running tomorrow in the Parade Run.

See you Saturday morning,
Bill

Saturday August 8th - an 11 mile cut back run

2009-08-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

Hello Full Tilts- Did you realize this Saturday is the "half-way" point in our 18 week training? We are proving once again that step by step we can achieve our goals.

I thought I'd send us out around the Airport for this 11 mile run but when I looked at the weather forecast for Saturday I changed my mind. The temp for Friday night will be a low of 70 degrees so its likely to be a little warmer than we've been used to the past few weekend runs. I'll save the Airport route for when the forecast is more favorable for a no-shade route. I think it would be kind of fun to see a few planes taking off while we run around the airport. I'd like to thank Anne for looking over the route to see if it would be safe. We both have concerns about a 1/2 mile stretch on the northeast side along Rt 29 and the 1/2 mile stretch along Browning Rd., so we thought we'd get comments from everyone else and see. Let me know if its something you might like to do on one of our long runs later in the training. (see link at the end of the blog).

Anyway here's another Moxo to Washington Park to Leland Grove loop that should be shady and a little challenging in spots. Pay attention to the turns since this isn't a standard route.

We'll start at 6:35 am in front of Moxo's Cafe.

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=311803

Oh, by the way, I've got the 20% off coupons from Springfield Running Center. I realize that no one wants to run back to their car before a run and put the coupon away so I'll email a scanned copy to each of you (I'll let the Running Center know what I did). Just print it out and take it in with you. They had an expiration date on them originally but when I picked them up Derek told me to cross out the date and we could use them anytime. Fantastic!

See you Saturday!
-Bill

p.s. here is the Airport route. If you have any comments please post them to the Blog.
www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=311727

Today's 15 mile Run - Tips

2009-08-01T15:08:00.001-05:00

For those who might be running the 15 mile route I posted on the blog, tomorrow morning, I thought I'd give you a few tips about it.

First, there was 3 of us this morning... Sandy, Connie (Sandy's friend who ran with us last week) and me. Sandy ran 5 miles before she met us at 6:30 at Moxo's so she ran 20 miles today. Wow!

Here's a link to the route again: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=310145

1. Restroom stop opportunities are at

Washington Park Pavilion by the playground. You could cut over to it before you leave Washington Park at about 4.6 miles or as you come back into Washington park at about mile 6.2
If they are open tomorrow, at mile 10 you can stop, as we did, at the Medical Clinic at Koke Mill and Old Jacksonville Road. There are pubic restrooms and water fountains in the hallway between the two entrances.
Fit Club on Lawrence agreed to let us use their restroom. I talked to Jim Copelin the manager there. If you aren't a member just mention you are running with the Full Tilts Marathon Runners and Jim gave Bill Stokes permission to use the club as a pit stop.

2. On the run back towards downtown after leaving Fit Club, I have the route going down Lawrence to just past Pasfield Golf Course where you turn right on Feldkamp. I recommend you turn right on Chatham on the Westside of the street and go down to Fayette beside the Carillon instead running down and up the big hill on the north side of Pasfield Golf Course on Lawrence. It is just too big to tackle that late in the run. We took the Chatham road turn and it worked out to be the same mileage.

3. The route is nearly a perfect 15 miles according to my Garmin.

That's all. Have a great run and I'll see you next week. Remember its a cut back run to 11 miles next Saturday the 8th.
-Bill

A 20% off Coupon from Springfield Running Center

2009-07-30T18:44:00.000-05:00

Hey Full Tilts! Derek and Matt at Springfield Running Center, in support of our running group, has given us 20% off coupons for any regular priced apparel purchase in their store. These guys are the best and I always get great customer service when I'm shopping in their store.

They have the kind of apparel we all like to wear when running and now you can save 20% when you buy your next outfit.

I'll make sure everyone gets a coupon when I next see you on a Saturday run. If you see Derek or Matt be sure to thank them for their support!

See you soon,
Bill

Week 8 - 15 Mile Run - Saturday - August 1st

2009-07-28T17:14:00.000-05:00

Nearly all parts of this route will be familiar to this group. It will be shady for most of the route but with Friday night getting down to 61degrees we may not care.

Lincoln Presidential Museum is on the route of this Saturday's run. Image by myoldpostcards via Flickr

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=310145

For those who like hills we have the hill on the west side of Washington Park in this route and the one on the northeast side too. Otherwise it is a long flat route.

15 miles is only .75 longer than last week if you ran the mapped route. So this should be just slightly more challenging.

See you on Saturday morning at 6:30 am at Moxo Cafe!

Have a great week!
-Bill

Week 7 Behind Us!

2009-07-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Congratulations Full Tilts! We have just finished week 7. The upcoming 15 mile run seems like a piece of cake now. For the first time I "really" did a cross training today instead of needing an extra day of rest. I got in about 19 miles on my bicycle at a fast tempo. I liked it and its nice to see the training working for me!

Hitting the wall is inevitable from time to time if you do long distance running and I got to experience it twice on Saturday. Two times during the run yesterday I ran out of fuel. Getting my timing right on refueling should make a difference.

Two new energy gels were in my SPIBELT. One called Honey Stinger. It was 120 calories of honey, salts and B vitamins. It went down easy and got into my blood fast. My only complaint was that it seemed like I burned through it pretty fast (I took it towards the end of mile 7 and by mile 11, I hit the wall again).

The second energy gel didn't kick in fast enough. It was called Hammer Gel. 90 calories of maltodextrin and real fruit ingredients plus a few amino acids. I ran / walked mile 11 before it kicked in. Joni Stahlman gave me half a Nutribar as well at the end of mile 11 and those two carried me through to the end. LESSON: Remember to refuel "before" you hit the wall.

I'll post next weekends route by Wednesday night. I leaning towards starting at Moxo cafe again and taking us over to Washington Park and looping through Leland Grove and west of there, then heading us back to Moxo. I like the shade and there's plenty of it in the older neighborhoods plus by looping through Washington Park a couple of times we have a safe place for our water stops.

BTW there's a cool video on the Chicago Marathon Web Site of the entire route in fast motion. There also is a video promo of the marathon that is fun to watch. Here's the link: http://www.chicagomarathon.com/CMS400Min/Chicago_Marathon/inspiration/video/index.aspx?id=526

Week 8's mid-week runs are 4m, 7m and 4m just like last week and also the next.

Have a great week!

-Bill

Hal Higdon's Long Run Strategy

2009-07-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

I found this information on Hal Hidgon's Advanced Training web page:
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/advancedint.htm

Notice that he sees no advantage in doing 23, 26 or even 31 mile runs prior to race day.

Long Runs: The key to all my marathon programs are the long run on weekends, which builds from 10 miles in the first week (Week 18) to a maximum of 20 miles, done three times in Weeks 11, 13 and 15. Although some experienced runners do train longer, I see no advantage in doing 23, 26 or even 31 mile runs. (I've tried that myself in the past, and it just wore me out.) Save your energy and concentrate on quality runs the rest of the week. Consistency is most important. You can skip an occasional workout, or juggle the schedule depending on other commitments, but do not cheat on the long runs. Notice that although the weekly long runs get progressively longer, every third week is a "stepback" week, where we reduce mileage to allow you to gather strength for the next push upward. Rest is an important component of any training program.

Saturday July 25th, 14 mile run stars at Moxo Cafe

2009-07-21T20:51:00.000-05:00

Hello Full Tilts! Its good to be back in Springfield for some good running weather. It should be cool again this Saturday morning.

We are on track for 14 miles this Saturday. We have trained for this and it will be challenging but doable.

I modified the Lincoln Memorial route to add an extra mile and in doing so I took out the heartbreak hills on the southwest side of Lincoln Park.

Pay attention to the change on the northside of Washington Park and the switch-up on the southside of Lincoln Park. Everything else will look pretty much the same.

Take a look and let me know if you have any questions.

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=308306

Start time 6:30am at Moxo Cafe.

You should have noticed that this week is 4 miles today, 7 mile pace run Wednesday, 4 miles Thursday.

See you Saturday!

-Bill

p.s. Anyone heard of the Galloway System of running? I discovered from my brother in Florida (runs a 7 minute pace on 5k's at age 52) that it is what many of the elites are using to run marathons. He said the last 1/2 marathon he ran many were running 3.5 minutes and walking 30 seconds. The interval system is catching on....

Saturday July 18th, a 9 mile Run from Moxo Cafe

2009-07-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

Hello Full Tilts!

Start time will be 6:30 am as usual this Saturday. You should have some perfect running weather according to weather.com.

Moxo Cafe will be the starting point for this easy 9 mile segment of the Lincoln Memorial route. I added a few little changes on the north side of Washington Park so study the route.

Here's the link:

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=306745

Nancy Sutzer has agreed to handle the water stops along the route this weekend. I suggest you put one at the Williams Blvd and Walnut St. intersection and another one on the north side of Washington Park just past Lincoln Ave. That's at about the 3 mile and 6 mile points.

I'll be in sunny Winter Haven Florida for a short visit to my mother this weekend. Also Suzannah and Kelly are still down in Florida this weekend and I think Joni may still be somewhere in the Grand Canyon.

CONGRATULATIONS: This Saturday's 9 mile run, completes the 6th week of the 18 week program!

See you on the 25th for our 14 mile run ... Did I say 14 miles? Oh my!

Bill

Start Time Sunday July 12th 6:30 am

2009-07-10T13:07:00.000-05:00

Opps did it again... Start Time is 6:30 am Sunday morning at Panera

New Route for Sunday July 12th, starts at Panera West

2009-07-10T12:21:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

After hearing a few Full Tilt comments and agreeing with them, lets move Sunday's run back to Panera West since Moxo is closed on Sunday.

Here's the route. It adds one mile to last weekend's run. I heard a lot of positive comments about the route so let's do it again. The extra mile is on the front end.

http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=305277

Good luck on the Women's distance festival.

See you Sunday!
-Bill

Sunday, July 12th, a 12 Mile Route

2009-07-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

The Lincoln Half Marathon Route: Here's a route that's fun to run because we all know it well and by cutting out a mile I was able to get rid of the heart break hills on the SW side of Lincoln Park.

Here's the link to the route: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=304158

Since its likely to be in the 70's on Sunday morning we could be faced with sunshine on the second half of the run adding to the challenge. This route might be a good one since we'll still have some shade along the latter part of the route.

Since Moxo is closed on Sunday, which is our starting point, we could do another route from Panera's West.

Let me know what you think tomorrow and I'll go with the flow on this one.
Thanks,
Bill

The Rain Was Nice For A Change (from the heat anyway)

2009-07-04T17:39:00.000-05:00

4 Full Tilts braved the rain this morning. Ron, Karen, Sandy and me. The beauty of the run was that the temperature couldn't have been better for an 11 mile run. The rain was barely a factor until we got done then we wanted a hot shower to "warm-up". Sandy said she was going to try to run a few more miles since her scheduled long run was supposed to be 16 miles today. She was having second thoughts about trying to fit it in when we separated at Panera's. I know 11 miles in the rain was enough for me today!

For those of you who waited for Sunday to do your run have a great one!!! If you choose to do the route I posted, it was a good one. You've got a few small hills and elevation rises but otherwise its nice and flat.

IMPORTANT: Next week I think we should move our long run to Sunday so that anyone who wants to run in the Women's Distance Festival (or volunteer to help out) can do it and still run with the Full Tilt's on our 12 mile long run next weekend. So unless I hear otherwise from the group that's what I'll do.

After a long nap I'm good to go again.. I think... anyway... Happy 4th of July.

All the best,
Bill

Photo of a few Full Tilts - Saturday 6/27 - Fairgrounds Start Point

2009-06-30T11:07:00.001-05:00

Let me see if I got the names right, help me out if I remembered incorrectly.
From left to right: Connie, Stacey, Kim, Sandy, Suzannah, Bill, Kelly, Joni.

Taken with an iPhone by Kara. We are missing 8 other runners who have joined us on past runs and 5 other runners who showed up a few minutes latter. We'll have to try to snap a picture every weekend and post to the blog to make sure we get everyone.

Route for Saturday July 4th -11 mile run

2009-06-30T09:41:00.000-05:00

This is week 4 on Higdon's schedule. We have 3 miles today, 6 mile pace run tomorrow, 3 miles Thursday and an 11 mile slow long run.

Yes that's right, Saturday is the 4th of July and we get to celebrate with a nice easy long run through Springfield's west and southwest side neighborhoods. I picked this route so we could have as much shade as possible. Parts of the route could be new to most everyone so pay attention to a few of the turns in case you get ahead or behind the group.

With the weather forecast for Saturday morning we don't need to get started too early. So lets start at 6:30 am at Panera's West. It is about a two hour run.

Here's the link: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=302559

NOTE: I moved the plan to run part of the Lincoln Half marathon after I learned that downtown will be problematic due to the Capital City Celebration & Taste of Downtown on the 3rd and 4th. Make sure you forward this on to anyone who might have heard that plan last Saturday at the Grandstand.

Wednesday's 6 mile pace run: Feel free to join a group of us on Wednesday morning at 4:45am at the Washington Park playground pavilion. We are starting early to finish by 6am. We also will be doing a group run at 5:15a.m. on Thursday morning that starts at the northeast corner of West Washington and Meadowbrook Rds.

See you on the trail,
Bill

Saturday 6/27 Run - 6 miles - Easy Run

2009-06-25T20:32:00.000-05:00

Hello Full Tilt's! This is our first cut back Saturday slow run. It is going to be the SRRC's Abe's Amble run. Its probably one of the most famous 10k's in Springfield and has the reputation of being one of the most challenging because of heart break hill on the west side of Lincoln Park as well as the smaller hills throughout the course.

Here's the link to the course: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=301550

We'll start off at the starting point on the west side of the Grandstand at 6:30 a.m. Since this is the course that the Abe's Army is training to run I would expect to see a lot of the Army around the course during our run.

Even though its only 6 miles, I've put two water stops on the course because of the heat index.

This run will mark the END of our 3rd week of the eighteen weeks of training. The 4th week will be 3miles on Tuesday, a 6 mile Pace run on Wednesday, 3 miles on Thursday and finish the week with an 11 mile long slow run.

Have a great day off tomorrow!
-Bill

Are you a "Full Tilt"?

2009-06-23T07:52:00.000-05:00

For those of you who ran the 9 miler the past Saturday you'll be happy to know that this Saturday's run (6/27) on Higdon's Novice 2 program is only 6 miles. For those running the Quad City Marathon you might be a couple weeks ahead of us so if you are using Higdon's Novice 2 program your distance for Saturday is 12 miles. You might consider doing our route twice .

Also you'll be happy to learn that Allyson Strauch, SRRC's newsletter editor, asked that I write an article on our running group. Either she or myself will be taking a group picture at the start of the Saturday's run so it would be nice to have a good turn-out.

Without asking everyone to vote, I stepped out on a limb and named us in the article the "FULL TILTS", which means "at top speed; with maximum energy". Seems fitting to me since without maximum energy you just can't do this and balance the rest of your life. I'd love to hear your comments on this and even some other ideas. It might not be too late to edit that part.

The heat this past Saturday really took a toll on me so I suspect it did on others as well. I know we thought that starting at 6:30 would be early enough but it wasn't. My heart rate monitor jumped up 5 bpm when I moved from the shade to the sun during the runs. This made that last mile in "mostly" sun the hardest. I paid for it the rest of the weekend.

This Saturday morning's forecast is more favorable so we can start at 6:30 am again without getting into the heat of the day.

I'll post the route on the blog tomorrow.

Is anyone up for doing the Abe's Amble course Saturday?

If I don't get enough votes I'll set up a flat course starting at Moxo's Cafe.

Have a great day!
-Bill

Saturday 6/20 Run - 9 miles -

2009-06-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hello Endurance Runners. This Saturday's run is just one mile longer than last so it should be another easy one (wink).

We discovered last week (accidentally) that we can add one extra mile onto the 8 mile trail from last week just by going over to Koke Mill through Shopko's parking lot and left on Robbins Rd to Progress Dr, turn right and then right onto Koke Mill.

This week we will do this route in reverse. Leaving Panera and going south to the Wabash Trail.

Here's the map: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=299585

We start at 6:30 am from Panera's. Panera opens at 6am on Saturday if anyone is wondering.

See you Saturday,
Bill

The mind / body connection in marathon training

2009-06-15T07:40:00.000-05:00

With week 1 of 18 behind us I thought it would be useful to review the ups and downs of last week. Perhaps our sharing will help others find inspiration to endure. Feel free to use the comment link below to post some of your experiences.

I should have known about the psychological impact of endurance training but as in all things in life you can only have so many thoughts at one time. This one slipped by without a moments thought until Saturday afternoon.

The Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday runs this week seemed to add to my excitement about the training program, after all it was only 3 miles, 5 miles and 3 miles. I usually run that much a week anyway (just not 3 days in a row). Even Saturday's long run of 8 miles wasn't that much compared to the training for the Lincoln Half just a little over 3 months ago.

As most of us do with only 2 days off we stack up Saturday with a list of things to do that starts early and ends late. I was no exception. My list: I had a 9am meeting with a former business partner just minutes after the 8 mile long run, go home to mow the lawn, a flight to Lincoln to practice "touch and go" maneuvers on a grass landing strip, go to Menards to buy materials for a project on Sunday and then have a nice relaxing evening with my wife Miriam on he patio. If you are reading this you probably said, "yep that looked a bit like my Saturday".

I noticed that my challenges started showing up in my meeting 9am. I just wasn't thinking "normally". It required more effort to keep things positive and stay focused. By the time got to the airport I was looking forward to the flight but started noticing that I my linear thinking was off. I could do what I needed to do to fly the plane but couldn't think 10 minutes ahead which is critcal to prepare for airport approaches. When I got to Menards I started having doubts about the project on Sunday even though I'd planned it a week before. I left the store without buying anything and decided to do that project later.

By the time I got to my nice relaxing evening at home I was aggitated, disconnected and just not a pleasant person. Good thing for the wine or I'm sure the evening would have ended with me having to retire to my "man" cave downstairs to shut the world out. I decided that Sunday's cross training would be putting in some landscape timbers (a project Miriam wanted me to do which got me back on her good side ;-). Mentally I wanted to stay in my "man" cave and veg out. But I pushed through and got started about 10am with my self talk reflecting the prior day's craziness. Even today (Monday) I still can hear and feel all those thoughts flowing through but they are more distant and my "normal" thoughts are starting prevail.

It is obvious to me now that a "mental" strategy as well as a physical strategy is going to be a part of the marathon training. So I started reading what I could find at Professor Google. I didn't find much about the post-run mental fatigue challenges that goes with the physical fatigue. Almost all the articles focus on the thoughts and images you need to make it through your training runs and the race itself. I've posted those below.

Thankfully today is a rest day. Perhaps by tomorrow morning's run, I will have forgotten the mental fatigue and will back on track for week two.

See you on the trail,
Bill

Examples of Mental Strategies During Your Training
from: http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_psycho.html

Self-Talk Thoughts

Think and say to yourself…

"If this was easy, then everybody could complete a marathon."
"Keep running . . . Maybe I'll feel better when I have some Gatorade."
"If I quit now, I'll be very disappointed in myself later this afternoon."
"I'm not really physically tired; I'm more fatigued mentally."
"Completing this important training run will give me confidence and enable me to finish the marathon comfortably."
"In just one more hour this run will be finished and I'll be in at home...showering, relaxing, eating, etc."

Imagery

Imagine…

Imagine that you are a world-class runner and are in the lead of the Boston or Olympic Marathon.
Imagine that your running form is smooth and graceful.
Imagine that your a running effortlessly and very relaxed.

Visualization/Mental Rehearsal Strategies

Visualize…

Picture yourself running every mile of the marathon for which you are training.
Visualize what the finish line area will look like (e.g., with the clock displaying the time you're shooting for).
See in your "mind's-eye" the spectators who will be cheering for you.
Think of all your friends back at home who will be thinking about you and pulling for you while you'll be running.

Reminder about the 8 mile Run Time Change

2009-06-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

Most of those I know running on Saturday morning want to start at 7am. So lets move the "official" start time for the Saturday morning runs to 7am starting tomorrow. The inserted map is the route starting at Panera West. For those who ran in the Frost-Toes training it will be familiar.

Suzannah Bartos has agreed to help with water this week so we'll set up two water stops. The first will be at Iles and MacArthur (NW corner parking lot). Look for a thermos with water, Gatorade and cups. Also another stop at the Wabash Trail Head.

Hydration guidelines are now based on your sweat rate at the temperatures in which we will be running. Sounds complicated but at least there is a science around it now. Here's a link to a test from runnersworld.com: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-302--10084-0,00.html

If you can't be bothered, then this advice from RunnersWorld.com might help:

Sports drinks are ideal before, during, and after runs over 30 minutes. Runners bored by the taste of water may also want to experiment with sports drinks during shorter runs.
Some runners--particularly weight watchers--avoid sports drinks because they contain calories. That's a mistake, says Suzanne Girard Eberle, a sports dietitian and author of Endurance Sports Nutrition. "When you're training long and hard, you should not minimize your caloric intake. Don't work against your body while you're asking it to perform." Besides, research indicates that consuming carbohydrates during exercise may suppress appetite later in the day.

Week 1 of 18 starts this week

2009-06-07T22:52:00.000-05:00

Hal Higdon's Midweek Training Program:
Training during the week also should be done at a comparatively easy pace. As the weekend mileage builds, the weekday mileage also builds. Add up the numbers, and you'll see that you run roughly the same mileage during the week as you do during long runs on the weekends. Midweek workouts on Wednesdays build from 3 to 10 miles. (I call these my Sorta-Long Runs.) There are similar slight advances on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The program is built on the concept that you do more toward the end than at the start. That sounds logical, doesn't it? Believe me--as tens of thousands of marathoners using this schedule have proved--it works.

Novice 2 program week 1 of 18:
Tuesday 3 miles, Wednesday 5 miles at pace, Thursday 3 miles, Saturday 8 miles.
Rest on Monday and Friday
Sunday cross train.

Walking Breaks:
Walking is a perfectly acceptable strategy in trying to finish a marathon. It works during training runs too. While some coaches recommend walking 1 minute out of every 10, or walking 1 minute every mile, in the CARA Marathon Training Class, we teach runners to walk when they come to an aid station.

Week One - 8m Saturday Jun 13th Run

2009-05-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

The first long run of Higdon's Novice Level 2 program is Saturday June 13th. We can use an 8 mile route from the Frost Toe's training program starting at Panera West at 7:30am. If its too hot by the end of the run we can try to start at 7am the next weekend. Here's the link to the map: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=170430

I'll be looking for some volunteers to help out with water stops as we go forward.

Hal Higdon's Training Program

2009-05-25T21:22:00.000-05:00

I"ve set up my calendar on Hal Higdon's Novice 2 plan. His intermediate program drops the Monday rest day, moves the long run to Sunday and puts a duplicate of the Wednesday distance on Saturday as a pace run. Here's a link to his training programs: http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/novices2.htm

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	rest	3 m run	5 m pace	3 m run	rest	8	cross
2	rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	rest	9	cross
3	rest	3 m run	5 m pace	3 m run	rest	6	cross
4	rest	3 m run	6 m pace	3 m run	rest	11	cross
5	rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	rest	12	cross
6	rest	3 m run	6 m pace	3 m run	rest	9	cross
7	rest	4 m run	7 m pace	4 m run	rest	14	cross
8	rest	4 m run	7 m run	4 m run	rest	15	cross
9	rest	4 m run	7 m pace	4 m run	rest	11	cross
10	rest	4 m run	8 m pace	4 m run	rest	17	cross
11	rest	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	rest	18	cross
12	rest	5 m run	8 m pace	5 m run	rest	13	cross
13	rest	5 m run	5 m pace	5 m run	rest	19	cross
14	rest	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	rest	12	cross
15	rest	5 m run	5 m pace	5 m run	rest	20	cross
16	rest	5 m run	4 m pace	5 m run	rest	12	cross
17	rest	4 m run	3 m run	4 m run	rest	8	cross
18	rest	3 m run	2 m run	rest	rest	2 m run	Marathon

Chicago Marathon

2009-05-25T21:11:00.000-05:00

October 11, 2009