• 5 milers: 3 mi 
• 6 milers: 3 mi
  
• 7 milers: 3 mi
  
• 13 milers: 5.5 mi, 9 mi & 11 mi
  
• 14 milers: 5.5 mi, 9 mi & 12 mi
  
• 15 milers: 5.5 mi, 9 mi & 13 mi
  
• 16 milers: 5.5 mi, 9 mi, 14 mi
  

• 4 milers: n/a
• 5 milers: n/a
  
• 6 milers: 3 mi
  
• 7 milers: 3 mi &  4 mi
  
• 9 milers: 3 mi & 6 mi
• 10 milers:3 mi & 7 mi
  
• 12 milers: 3 mi & 9 mi
  

ATP

 Bueller? Bueller?

"Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. And what we did was wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us."

That is the opening to the John Hughes 1985 movie "The Breakfast Club". (They had lunch, but I don't remember any breakfast) This movie set the standard for teen movies. Everyone can identify themselves in one or a combination of the characters:

The Princess, The Jock, The Criminal, The Brain and The Basket Case. They were in detention on Saturday for things they had done in school, though Ally Sheedy's character confessed that she really had done nothing wrong, that she just didn't have anything else to do with her Saturday. These five strangers thought they had nothing in common, but by the end of the movie they know a lot about each other's lives.

Some Saturday mornings when I'm driving to RGR before our run I wonder what I did wrong to be stuck in this running detention.  I did not tape that ATP runner's buns together, but gosh darn it, he was not doing those lunges right. We all show up and wonder around waiting for our running click to show up. You look around and think... Those green runners are speed snobs. Those orange runners are too cheerful for Saturday morning, orange zest, orange zest, makes me want to... And what are the ATP crazies doing over there? You see each group as you want to see them.

Then you start running. You come back week after week. The mileage gets longer. You start having aches and pains. But what you find out is that the people in the other groups have the same aches and pains. And they are willing to show you a stretch to help with that pain. Or recommend a water bottle belt. Or talk about their favorite gu flavor. Or tell you about their favorite massage therapist. They will even show you how their toenail fell off. (no thanks on that one) Soon you find out that the other runners have families, jobs, went to different schools (hook'em horns) and are really nice caring people.

So enjoy your time with SA Fit. You might make some good friends for a lifetime.

I did ask Ashley why she makes us run each weekend and she told me that "she didn't have anything else to do with her Saturday."

Keep Smiling.

Larry Graf - ATP Coach  

Blue / Green

Greetings Blue / Green Group:

Okay, we talked about running in the heat a couple of weeks ago, but I'd like to readdress the matter. I'm fortunate that in my business, I often get to travel. Sometimes the places I have to go are not so great, but sometimes I get to go places that are pretty cool (literally, and figuratively). This week, I'll be in one of the places that fall into the second category, as I'm in Ghent, Belgium. I arrived here Monday morning, and around 5 p.m., I went out for a run-still feeling a bit out of sorts due to the time change / jet lag. The high temperature on Monday was in the low 70's, w/ low humidity. I told myself to try and get an easy 5, but then I wound up feeling so good during the run that I made it an easy 7 miles. The other pleasant surprise was that while keeping my heart rate in an easy to moderate range, I was a good 30-60 seconds a mile faster than I usually am back home running in our heat and humidity.

I say this not to make you all jealous, but to try to give you all some hope-eventually, it will cool off in Texas, and when it does, you'll be able to notice this in your runs.

Happy Running!

Coach Rudy

Yellow

When I first started running, I heard about people who got massages and didn't give it much thought.  One day while I was on vacation, I got one.  Wow!  It was awesome.  I've been hooked ever since and now have a monthly membership.  So, what does this have to do with running?

For me, it's all about the recovery.  I like to schedule my massages after the long runs where we increase our distances.  I definitely noticed that I recover much faster when I have a massage.  In addition, they always seem to find knots in my muscles that I didn't know were there.  I truly believe it helps me be less injury prone.  I don't have any data to back this up.  All I have is personal experience.  But, my suggestion is this:  Try it one time and see if it works for you too.

Ross

Red

We are almost midway into our training program.  You are all doing a great job dealing with the heat and humidity.  We are really happy to see you out there working so hard every Saturday morning.  The training will be more intense as the program progresses and you may begin to experience some aches and pains you have never had before.  Your muscles are getting worked hard every week and sometimes they require some extra special attention.  Massage therapy is a great way to treat those sore and stiff muscles.  Message therapy has become an integral part of the athletic regimen for many athletes.   Many trainers believe that it provides an extra edge to athletes who perform in high performance sports.  Incorporating massage into your conditioning program has many benefits.  It helps you get into shape faster, and with less stiffness and soreness. It can help you recover faster and relieve some conditions which may cause injury. 

It is important to find a massage therapist who works with athletes and their special needs.  They should be familiar with each muscle, the muscle groups and how they are affected by the specific movements and stresses of each sport. You may find it effective to use massage as part of your maintenance program and overall well-being.  Tight muscles lose their flexibility and can develop trigger points.  An experienced massage therapist can zero in on these trouble spots and improve range of motion and flexibility.  Some athletes find a pre-event massage improves their performance and helps reduce their mental tension as well.  A post-event sports massage is geared to recovery and reducing the muscle spasms and metabolic build-up that occur with vigorous exercise.  Massage will help shorten the recovery time between workouts  by improving the blood and lymph circulation, muscle relaxation and general relaxation.  Give it a try!  See you Saturday, Red team Coaches.

Orange

Hi Orange! A few quick notes: early registration ($25) for our Sunrise 10k benchmark ends Wednesday August 19 - this walk-in registration can be done at Fleet Feet, Roger Soler's, Run Gear Run, or Run Wild running stores.  If you wait to register the morning of the race, you'll pay $35.  The price of the Rock 'n Roll marathon goes up from $105 to $115 on August 31, 2009.

Rest up and be prepared for our 14-miler this week!

See you Saturday,

-Sonya

--

Hey, Orange TEAM!  Is everyone excited about going above and beyond the Half-marathon mark this week?  Remember that we are only running 1/2 a mile this week.  Ok, 1/2 a mile farther than we did when we ran 13 miles. We can do that, right?  We know that we can run 1/2 a mile out and 1/2 a mile back, and we know that we can run 13 miles, so put that all together, and we've run 14 miles!  Easy, peasy, lemon squeazy, as Cassady Kreusing likes to say.

This week's topic is massage for athletes and believe me, nothing feels better! However, not massage might not be for everybody, so I thought I would suggest an alternative.  I was reading in Runner's World mag that Scott Jurek, a physical therapist and coach in Seattle who has won the Western States 100 miler SEVEN times and also won the Badwater Race three weeks after winning the Western States 100,  (Badwater is the world's toughest race, a 135-mile run that starts in Death Valley and climbs 8,500 feet up Mount Whitney) recommends an ice bath after each run.  He says that it makes a huge difference in recovery and "It's like giving yourself an internal massage."

Brian Shumaker, Orange TEAM member and time-keeper extraordinaire recently shared his tips for how to tolerate an ice-bath without freezing your...fanny!

Thanks for the tips, Brian! I'll be heading over to Valero on my way home this week.

Coach Kathy S.

Hey Group!  I admit, last week was what I call a "bad run", and that's putting it lightly.  HOWEVER, when the going gets tough... well, you know... the tough takes an ice bath and chalks it up to "at least I was training".  With the summer heat and humidity, it was a struggle to even finish last weeks run.  A HUGE thank you to Lori who helped support me and even sacrificed her own time to slow down and encourage me.  I made it, and am more ready than ever to tackle tomorrow's run!

Which brings me to the actual point and topic of this post... the Ice Bath!!!  There are a lot of questions around taking ice baths, especially for "first timers".  How much ice, do I wear clothes, how long, do I do it after so many miles, etc???  All great and valid questions.  I'm certainly not the expert, but did want to start this thread to share, and hear some other experiences.

As we head into longer runs, I am a HUGE fan of the Ice Baths. Although only recently started them, it's made a big difference in my recovery time.  I used to think that I would only take an ice bath after a 14 miler or longer, but I'm finding benefits in the shorter runs (10+ miles) too!  So how do I do it?

Since I'm not a doctor, I won't claim to know all of the medical benefits, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night (sorry, bad joke based on the commercial) but seriously, I have read quite a few articles on how it help push the lactic acid out, helps swelling, aides the muscles in recovery... but whatever the reason, it's definitely helping me.

I get two, 10 pound bags of ice.  Especially in the summer, the water out of the faucet melts the ice quickly.  Get a cup of hot coffee or hot tea ready.  Perhaps a good book, the latest edition of Runners World, or the iPod for some relaxing tunes.  I wear a sweatshirt for the top, and my sport shorts for the bottom. Here's the steps I've found so far that make it "easier" to take an ice bath.

1. Get in the tub first, before you start the water.  This allows your body to get used to the cold gradually, rather than a nice HOLY COW THAT'S COLD shock.

2. As the cold faucet water is filling up, begin adding the first bag of ice all around your legs.  After last weeks run, I couldn't WAIT to get into the cold water.  Also helps give you something to look forward to on hot runs :)

3. Relax and let the water fill to wherever you are comfortable.  I let it fill just above my waist.

4. Add the 2nd bag of ice once the water is done filling, so its a nice cold temperature and there are still ice cubes floating.

5. Get your book, magazine, iPod, or just piece and quiet for the next 10-15 minutes.

6. Drinking the hot beverage helps keep the rest of me warm, and the caffeine has benefits

7. Set a timer or stop watch.  If I wear a watch, I'm constantly looking at that, and the time drags on.  Instead, just set the timer or alarm, and relax until it goes of.

8. When done, BE CAREFUL GETTING OUT OF THE TUB!  If you have someone to help you, you might want to consider that for the first time or two.  Your legs will be cold and tired from the run, and you need to be extremely careful to see how your legs will react with an ice bath the first few times.  You definitely don't want to slip and injure yourself now!

Well, that's my 2 cents worth.  I'd love to hear other experiences of Ice Baths, or your "process" for your perfect ice bath... Happy Running and I'll see you all tomorrow for an easy 9 miles!!! (We are running 14 this week, Brian!-k)

Brian- 

Purple

Hi everyone,

Massage therapy is one of the earliest known hands-on modalities used to relieve pain and discomfort. It's been used in China for healing since 2598 BC, and in virtually every civilization since then. Olympic athletes received massages prior to their events in 776 BC. These days, sports massage is often used throughout training: prior to racing events (in addition to warm-ups); post-event as a restorative; and as a regular form of maintenance during training for injury prevention and recovery.

Our daily movement patterns are often repetitive; and their habitual nature can cause us to become less aware of how we use (and misuse) our bodies. Since we don't always have the self-awareness to determine where our problems originate, working with a professional can educate us to understand and resolve them. A skilled licensed massage therapist understands what the function of each muscle group is, and can offer feedback about which muscles may be overused or under-utilized in training. For example, sometimes we cause ourselves injury by using a smaller muscle group to do the work of a larger set of muscles. In running and walking, it's easy to overuse the smaller muscles of our feet to power us down the road, when it would be more efficient to engage our larger, stronger core muscles to do the majority of the work. If we compensate by using the wrong muscles to get the job done, we can risk injury.

Sports massage can enhance recovery and improve athletic performance by:

• Improving circulation, so that nutrition and oxygen are more readily available to muscles for efficient functioning (as well as to repair 'worn out' or damaged tissue)
• Stimulating the lymphatic and circulatory systems to facilitate the removal of waste, other metabolic by-products and reduce inflammation.
• Alleviating muscle spasm and nerve irritation
• Breaking down adhesions and scar tissue
• Accelerating recovery caused by fatigue
• Improving the range of motion in joints and the shock absorption capabilities of the muscles to reduce the risk of injury
• Stimulating the central nervous system to provide pain relief throughout the body
• Providing relaxation and stress relief, which are important for recovery. Stress and insufficient rest slows recovery and increases vulnerability to fatigue, illness or injury. Rest and recovery repairs and strengthens your muscles.
• Promoting body-mind connection and kinesthetic awareness

Be sure to sign up for a mini sports massage after your Saturday workout!

Stay toned, not tense,

Coach Nancy

Aqua

The most beneficial aspect of massage therapy for runners is it will decrease the heaviness feeling in your legs from the mileage endured from training. It helps with the recovery process by helping the blood circulate more easily. This transports oxygen and nutrition to the areas needing it and transport the by-products of muscular contraction away to the areas in the bodies system that filter and get rid of waste like the kidneys, liver and lungs. Lately we've all heard about different injuries or pains we're having whether it is ourselves or some of the othe runners/walkers. "My shins hurt" or "My heel is killing me!" The right pair of shoes will not always help. Some of us skip a few runs and think that we can simply jump back into the mileage that the rest of the group is doing. DON'T DO THAT!! ☺ Massage therapy is extremely helpful when it comes to injury relief and prevention. If a therapist is ever at the Saturday runs, take advantage and wait around 15 minutes so you can get a beneficial massage and great tips on how you can stay injury free. Ice is a runner's best friend......besides body glide. Use it after a run but don't wait longer than 20 minutes. Bring a small ice chest to your group runs if you will not be home 20 minutes after you stop running. Make sure you are stretching and icing after your runs.

Have a great run on Saturday!!!

Coach Laurie, Coach Rose, & Coach Andy