USA Fit San Antonio

Hi blue/green,

How did you all feel after running 14 miles? Congrats to Linda, Bruce, and Veronica for conquering 19 miles last weekend. It's great to see you guys supporting each other out there. If there is one thing that makes marathon training less crazy is the support you get from other runners.

This week our topic is race goals. As runners we always seem to want to have an ultimate goal for ourselves, whether it's qualifying for Boston or finishing under four hours. When I ran my first marathon I didn't have a goal in mind, I just wanted to finish and survive. I liked the idea of completing the distance and I really thought that after I was finished I would be done with the distance. Well that didn't happen I became addicted like most that run marathons and I had new race goals in mind.

My advice for first time marathoners is to just go out there and enjoy the race. Just go out there and enjoy the crowds and the other runners. If this is your last marathon at least you know that you went out there and had a good time. If you plan to run more after then I would start setting goals for yourself. Just make sure that your goals are realistic and remember to have fun.

Your coaches,

Jessica, Gina, Mike, Frank, and Lupe

Yellow

Howdy Yellow Runners,

This is another big week for you guys. Long Mileage on Saturday morning. Make sure to check your e-mail as I sent you some things to remember for this week. What I did not tell you about yet, is that this is a very good week to test out what you plan on wearing for the actual race and what you plan on carrying, as well as how you can establish good race goals from your performance this coming week.

Starting with your race day gear, always remember one thing: NEVER TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY. I know it is hard to go to the Expo and see all the cute shirts and maybe shorts, socks or even shoes. Trust me when I say that they will be great for an upcoming race, but not the one you are running a day or two later. This weekend we are running 19 miles and it is a great opportunity to try out what you are thinking about running the race in. This will show you whether or not you may get chaffing from those clothes - they seemed fine for a 10 miler, but at 19 you are exposing raw skin. Trust me it happens and believe it or not, the weather plays a big role in this. Last year I wore the same outfit for the 21 miler (to test it) and the actual Marathon. During the 21 miler everything went great, no chaffing, I was comfortable, but then after the San Antonio marathon I had chaffing in uncomfortable places that I never thought I would have. Come to find out, the increased humidity was causing this. Most of you have seen me run in pretty much the same shirts on Saturdays. This is not because I don't own other running clothes, it is because these are the outfits that work for the long run. Same goes with your watch, your water belt, and your Gu's and other things such as salt tablets that you are taking. Make sure you stock up before the run and get everything ready the night before, and again, trying a new flavor or brand of Gu on the day of the race may not be a good thing.

As I mentioned above this 19 miler will also give you a good indication of what to expect in terms of your pace for your marathon. Keep in mind that this is a training run and you should run at a comfortable pace, but then after the run analyze it and really think about how much more you can push yourself and if you can do that for another 7 miles. This will help you set realistic race goals. My first marathon training season I had a miserable 18 miler, where I sat on the side of 1604 crying with 4 miles left to run - and thought there was no way in the world I would finish this run. Thanks to two awesome USA Fit members I finished that day, but it altered my race goals significantly and I changed my approach to long runs completely. My first marathon I walked through every water stop, starting with mile 2. I felt pretty good when I finished and I still reached my goal of finishing around 5 hours. My point is, you can try to set realistic race goals, based on all the training runs that you have done, on race day, you have to take what is given to you and make the best of it. So, just because you have a race goal, make sure that if the day is going better or worse, you are flexible to adjust your goals.

See you out there on the road on Saturday.

Happy Running

Svenja, Michelle, Sarah, and Vidal

Red

"Race Goals"

Last week we looked at how pace can help predict race day finish time. Trying to maintain the same consistent pace seems simple but we often overlook bathroom breaks, hills, water stops, or the heat & humidity of last year. Instead, try combating a decreasing pace and an increasing heart rate with the strategy of starting slower from the beginning, keeping your heart rate low, conserving necessary energy for the higher mileages. Holding back early even a fraction of a minute may seem counter intuitive but could make the difference at mile 20+. So now is great time to look at what your goal is for race day.

It is important to have a goal in mind in order to know how to execute race day. You don't want to be "running blind". You should already have an idea what you want to accomplish and why. Have a clear attainable goal and you when you cross the finish line your dream will have come true and you will feel like you can do anything. So, do you want to improve upon a past marathon and set a new personal record "PR"? Or is this your first attempt and you just want to finish and have fun? It is wise to have more than one goal so you can adjust on race day as needed for those things out of our control. Set a conservative goal, a "hopeful" goal, maybe a "don't sweat the small stuff" goal, and above all be proud of accomplishing it no matter what the day holds.

Still don't know what your goal should be? Our 18 mile long run this weekend and the benchmark long run of 21 miles on Sunday October 24th can be good gauges for you. Keep track of your pace, how you feel during & after, how you prepared and assess how it all came together (refer back to "long run preparation" newsletter July 14th). Take an honest look at how your training has been over the last several months. Evaluate past runs and races to see how your pace is holding up to what you expect on race day. Our regular Saturday runs are typically slower than race day because we have traffic to watch for and congregate at water stops. My example I use for a Red Team runner hoping for a 4:35 marathon which is 10:30 minute per mile average is probably training on Saturdays at 11:00-11:30 average. Also to consider is the marathon route, elevation and possible weather conditions. I like to always be prepared by driving a new course and research weather history. Take the unknown out of the equation by getting to know your race and the area.

Just getting here is an accomplishment and be proud of that! Look how far you have already come! "You also need to look back, not just at the people who are running behind you but especially at those who don't run and never will... those who run but don't race...those who started training for a race but didn't carry through...those who got to the starting line but didn't in the finish line...those who once raced better than you but no longer run at all. You're still here. Take pride in wherever you finish. Look at all the people you've outlasted." Quote by Joe Henderson, long time runner, coach & author.

~ Signed, Your Red Coaches

Orange

As a former teacher, I like to think of training for a marathon in terms that we can all relate to. San Antonio Fit is our version of

Marathon Training 101. This week's 18 miler is a major test grade.

The marathon itself is your final exam. Weekly runs are homework.

Eat right and get plenty of sleep, just like you are supposed to do in high school. What we are missing are the pop quizzes. Quizzes are important to assess your progress throughout the season and allow you to practice your race strategy for the final exam.

Let's sign up for a pop quiz on Oct 2 at the St. Peter's Fall 5K Run/ Walk at 8:00 am in Boerne! It is a fast and easy 5K which will allow you to recover from our 18 miler and still give you a good workout to help you prepare for the marathon. There will be chip timing and age- group awards and a very open field, so it won't be crowded as you run through historic Boerne. I want to encourage all of you to get in a good, fun race in before the marathon, especially if you missed the sunrise 10K, and I know that there are lots of ATP/Blue/Green/Yellow/ Red runners who enjoy collecting 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place age group awards after their races.

There are sign up forms at RGR or you can sign up online at http://www.stpetersboerne.com/Fall5K.html

There will be lots of food, music, and goodie bags/tshirts for the participants in a really pretty historic town, so I hope you come on out!

It will be a fun way to celebrate our A+ score on our 18 miler this Sat!

Bring on the Zest!

Kathy Seastrunk

Purple

Hello Purple Walkers,

Despite the humid weather you all did awesome this past sat. I hope that many of are starting to get excited because you are so close to achieving your goals. Can you believe we now just 7 weeks away? I can see it now -- all of you standing there looking so proud and happy with those medals just glistening in the sunshine. I see an after party! Remember you got to see it to achieve it.

Since our goal is getting close, now is a great time to really start thinking about the race. If you're going to try any new shoes, orthotics, clothing, nutritional supplements etc. Do it now so you can break them in. When you get ready for your race you want to feel confident knowing how your body is going to respond and feel. Also remember that the marathon is not a race of strength or speed, it is a race on how well you manage your energy. Practice now what you intend to do during the race. I like to start slow and build up speed. I think of it as I have 13 good miles in me, and the last 10k will depend on what I do before and during the race. This is why race prep is so important. You don't want to leave your best days of training at practice. You must plan your race week prep. This is especially important for all of our full marathoners. See some thoughts below:

Training

This isn't the time to do long, hard runs and rides. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the race, warm up, and keep you activity level moderate. Take Thursday off altogether. The day before your race, exercise enough to break a sweat, 15 to 20 minutes

Sleeping

Concentrate on getting some good rest the entire week. It's going to be hard to sleep the night before, but one night's deficit will not hurt much. One week of less-than-ideal sleep will

Eating/drinking
Do not skip meals race week, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate throughout the week. Don't eat a late-night meal the night before the race. Your biggest meal should be on Wednesday and even on that day don't go pasta crazy. Check out these links:http://walking.about.com/od/marathontraining/f/carboloading.htm

If you have any questions regarding upcoming benchmarks, races or the marathon in general please utilize your coaching staff. I'm happy to say I work with some of the most caring, supportive, and committed group of people. We are here to make sure that you succeed healthy, strong, and pain free. So please pick their brains. There is a lot of experience out there.!!! Good luck to everyone this week and to my Tri-point and COSA peeps who I've missed dearly. Even when I'm not there I'm there...lol . Stay motivated.. and stay on track. Luv you all

Asst. Coach Janel

Aqua

Well how was that 9 miles this past Saturday? Unless you turned around early, you did 9 or more! How many of you are running this distance for the first time? Besides hard to fathom, how was it? When you started this program, could you even grasp the idea of running this distance? The training continues!! We are gearing up for additional mileage during the week and on Saturdays. Monday's easy run is 40 minutes now, Tuesday's speed work is increasing and Thursday's tempo run has jumped to 35 minutes. Saturdays will continue to climb until we reach our benchmark on October 24. Are you still with us?

We have heard many concerns about falling behind and not being able to catch up with the group. No worries! A week of rest will not destroy what you have built up with your last four months of training. It may take a few runs to get back into the groove, but you will. For some, a well needed rest and recovery week might bring you back stronger. If you are nursing shin splits, aching heels or knee pain, take a few days off and rest. If you have missed a week or two, give it another try. There were a few us struggling last Saturday with injuries - the hills definitely created a challenge - but we were there at 6 am! If you just feel like you are losing motivation, remind yourself of everything you have accomplished over the last 4 months, and that you only have 2 months to go! Not to mention that you did it during the worst summer ever and the weather is getting better and better for running. Pull on other members of the group to keep that motivation up. Don't try to do it alone.

Your ultimate goal should be to complete the half marathon. It's that reward you will have earned by all your hard work getting to the start line and crossing the finish line. Gives you chills thinking about it!

Here are some other goals for the race to make the experience positive:

1. Enjoy the whole race-from start to finish. Take in the scenery and talk to runners around you. Sing along with the bands and dance if you want!

2. Finish strong, wanting to run another half-marathon. This may require a little restraint the first half of the race. If you start breathing heavy early on, slow down immediately. If you make the correction quickly you'll avoid a greater slowdown later in the race.

3. Run a realistic time. Your time should be better than your Saturday easy runs, but may not be what you hope for depending on various factors (weather, injuries, rest, etc.).

We have at least eight miles Saturday morning and are getting closer and closer to our goal - 13.1 miles. See you at 6 am!

Coach Laurie, Rose and Mary