USA Fit San Antonio

Yellow

Howdy Yellow Runners,

Well, the time has come and you are finally able to prepare for your final benchmark race - the 21 MILER. Come on, you know you have been looking forward to this all training season. In preparation for this, you should handle this week just like race week and prepare and plan accordingly. Typically it is good to have a plan after your last training run (the Saturday before the race weekend) for the whole week up to the race. This should include how much running you plan on doing (good thing you have a schedule to follow), what your meals will look like, and most of all rest and plenty of water. Those are some general guidelines and I urge you to follow them, however, I know life gets in the way.

For those of you running your first marathon, make sure you plan your meals, don't over eat, but rather drink some of your carbs, and make sure you get plenty of water. For those of you who have done this before, I trust that you have a plan in place, although it never hurts to get advice from fellow runners. One thing that I always find important is to make sure your big pasta meal before the race is around 3 or 4 pm the day before (so not too much for dinner) and not to walk around too much at the Expo. You don't want to wear out your legs.

In the past I have employed a NO ALCOHOL policy for myself during race week, but this past week I did not adhere to it. Since I participated in an uphill marathon, I can't say that drinking a little bit of alcohol made me more tired or less fast, that could have been the altitude or the fact that I was nauseated at the start (the nerves).

Nonetheless, be smart about your race week. Stick to the running schedule or run even less. I have been known to take two weeks off from running before a marathon. Listen to your body and try to plan for your race week just like you would for a long run. This includes having all your clothes washed and ready, having all your Gu's and sports drink ready to mix and making sure your shoes and fuel belt and sun glasses are ready and the Garmin is charged.

See all of you on Saturday. You will do great.

Your coaches - Svenja, Sarah, Michelle, and Vidal

Red

"Race Week Preparation"

Last week we talked again about carb loading and nutrition during the last week of your taper. With our benchmark long run this weekend this would be a great time to follow your plan and review your running log. Do not try anything new from here on out! Hopefully you have been practicing in your new USA Fit green tech shirt that you will wear marathon day. If you have been training it, go ahead and try out your full gear including your green shirt this weekend on the long run. After Sunday's long run we being our taper, so let's break down the final week before race day by "need to know", "good to know", and "it helped someone else so might help me to review it now". Make your own list and check it twice!!

A) "Must know info for every runner the last week before marathon day":

1. Follow your taper and get plenty of rest; no hard training as nothing will help your fitness now but could hurt you by over-doing it.

2. Follow your hydration, nutritional needs and carb loading menu; and plan your weekly meals ahead of time.

3. Do not try anything new nor too tiring; this applies to what you wear, eat, drink...and all non-running activities (i.e. no massage, no pedicure, no line dancing ect).

4. Get your race day gear ready and make sure your watch is charged and that you have enough gels/supplies/body glide/band aides/sunscreen.

5. Plan your race day gel stops, know when the water stops will be and when you will take your gels; if you know you use another sports drink than what the course offers or if the water stop frequency doesn't meet your gel needs, run with your fuel belt you've been training with.

6. Know your race day pace and plan for flexibility for whatever the day may hold; see simplified pace goals below this list.

B) "Good info it would be nice to know to ease your mind during race week preparation":

1. Know when and how you will get to the expo, do not spend too much time on your feet there and be sure to keep water with you at all times.

2. Visit the pacer table at the expo to see what times the free pacers will be providing on race day. Anyone can join a pace group on marathon day by looking for the banner or balloons. The pacer will stay right on track and give some motivation tips along the way.

3. Study the route and drive it if possible.

4. Plan how you will get to the start, parking and road closures, giving yourself extra time to find the porta potties.

5. Check the weather reports and plan ahead for cold weather with throw away clothes, gloves, ear muffs, scarf, hat, garbage bag.

6. Give your family your pace chart and course driving directions to know where to see you on the course, i.e. every 4 miles works great!

7. Plan on where you will meet up with your family after the race.

8. Pack your drop bag that you leave at gear check so you can have a change of clothes, shoes, camera, phone at finish line.

9. Write your pace on an arm band, on the back of your bib, with a sharpie on the inside of your arm.

10.Find out the wave start so you know how much time your watch will be off from the race clock; your race will be based on chip time, but if you start 10 minutes after the gun, your watch will be 10 minutes off from the course clock.

11.Always take the shortest distance while racing by cutting corners and not weaving around runners; this will save energy and get you closest to a 26.2 finish (the course is measured by the shortest route the elite runner will take and runners who weave or leave the course for bathroom breaks are known to get +.1 to +.3 extra).

12.Plan your recovery meal(s)!

C) "It was helpful to someone else so might help me to review now":

1. Write your name on your bib or shirt.

2. Give your family a back pack of things you might want/need during the race, i.e. more body glide, sunscreen, socks, coca cola, your favorite candy?

3. Brief your family on exactly what motivational cheers you want them to yell at you and all the runners.

4. Give your family the task to make some motivational and inspirational signs.

5. Find a cow bell or bull horn for your family to carry and instruct them on how to never keep it quiet.

6. Coordinate your family's bright colored clothes that will stand out or have them wear a hat you can spot easily.

7. Plan your motivational iPod music with songs like "Speed Racer", "Let's Get this Started", "This is What We Came Here For", "How Far We've Come", "Baby We Were Born to Run", "Chariots of Fire", theme song to "RUDY" (smile), and oh so many more!

Click on Pace Chart for an example of what you'd find at the expo for pacing bands.

It's all in the preparation ahead of time =) Have a great long run this weekend and all will fall into place marathon day! "The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat!" Quote by Bill Squires, ATF coach and was Greater Boston Track club coach who designed Heartbreak Hill training

~ Signed, Your Red Coaches

Orange

Planning Race Week

Three weeks to go and time to start thinking about race week. We've already discussed and written about nutrition and hydration, so here are some other tips. Of course, these all apply to this Sunday's long run as well!

** Decrease your mileage and effort to help repair muscles and prepare them to store the glycogen that you supply through your high-carb meals

** Drive the course, if possible, to familiarize yourself with the terrain

** Start visualizing yourself running - holding back at the start of the race, easing through the crowd, gliding through the water stations, running strong the last few miles to the finish, receiving your medal

** Get plenty of sleep the week before the race, relax, keep things positive

** Stick to your nutrition and hydration plan

** Organize your transportation to and from the event, mobilize your support group, agree on a post-race meeting place

** Check out the weather forecast and plan your race day attire

** Prepare for the unexpected and have a Plan B should last-minute crises occur

** Write down your splits on a sheet of paper and estimate your energy gel needs

** Pick up your race packet at the Expo and study the materials (pick-up areas, gear storage, etc.)

** Review your race day list (I'll send a list out through the Google group), lay out our clothes, equipment, band aids, body glide, sunscreen, and gels, etc. Attach race number and chip,

** Eat an early high-carb dinner, set your alarm for an early breakfast, and go to bed early

See? Not so hard... As John Pierpont Morgan said, "The wise (wo)man bridges the gap by laying out the path by means of which he can get from where he is to where he wants to go."

See you Sunday!

Coach Ute

Purple

Hello, marathon!
Greetings from Denver, Colorado! As you may have noticed, several of your coaches were MIA this past Saturday. We haven't fallen off the face of the earth, or over-slept; some of us are actually in this chilly, higher altitude state participating in the Denver Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon! By the time you read this, the race would have long finished and all the medals handed out...but right now, at this very moment, it is the Saturday night before and the race only hours from now. And I am as ready as I ever will be because I planned, planned, planned what I will need for Race Day and trained to ensure I was as ready as I could be.

We have been training towards your own Race Day all season. This week, we will be focusing on planning for your race week...because you really do have to start your week and prepare all week before a big race to make sure you are as ready as you possibly can be.

In preparing for Denver, we knew we would be racing in a higher altitude and cooler climate do we had to have a solid plan for not only Race Day...but Race Week! The higher altitude can drastically increase the probability of dehydration, so we've been very conscious of this fact and are constantly trying to drink water and electrolyte drinks all week. We've cut out caffeine and tried to monitor each other to make sure we each remember. We packed appropriately for the climate to make sure we didn't get sick, and made sure we brought the nutrition and support (proper shoes, socks, mixes, snacks, taping) that we knew we would need. What items we didn't bring, we made sure to purchase either locally or at the race Expo. This was only the beginning of our race week plan.

We had our Carbo meal Friday night to avoid having heavy meal the night before, and made sure to avoid any foods sure to trigger indigestion or nausea on race day. We all know what foods we can eat, what causes us stomach issues, what gives us energy and what slows us down. Use this knowledge to plan what is best for you to eat...not just the night before but leading up to the race for the full week.

If the race will be held somewhere unfamiliar to you, planning for race week can also incorporate knowing where you have to go on Race Day and how you're going to get there. If you know that you will need support while participating in a race, or leading up to a race, start now to make arrangements to have friends or family out on the course in case you need them.

We are actually staying at a hotel in downtown Denver, two blocks from the start line. This wasn't accidental. We planned it that way to make our race experience as easy as possible. We visited the race Expo early to make sure we had enough time to look and get anything we needed. We had an early dinner and are going to sleep early to make sure we get enough sleep. There are so many little things that go into preparing for Race Day that you have to start planning how you are going go approach it to make sure you don't end up at the starting line unprepared.

Of course, the more races you do, the easier the process. I've done several and plan to do even more in the future. It really does help thinking about what you'll need on Race Day and what you'll have to do to be at your best on that day. We will do everything we can to help you, but you will have to start planning what to do leading up to the big dau, too.

I always go into these races believing I will finish because I do my best to plan for every situation. Only time will tell how well I do. Wish me and the other coaches luck. See you all very soon...with a new medal if goings go well.

Aqua

Our topic this week is Planning Race Week. We will focus on this week's Benchmark Run. This is your chance to practice for the real thing.. First of all, I know you have probably read this several times already, but DO NOT forget that we are not meeting on Saturday for our run. We are meeting on Sunday at Eisenhower Park. That is on NW Military Hwy where we have turned around a few times when we have run 9.5 miles.

As we mentioned last week, by now you should know what you need as far as clothing, hydration, electrolytes, shoes and recovery goes so we will keep this simple this week. We can't stress enough...if it ain't broken, don't fix it. Here are some helpful tips:

· This Sunday, wear something you have worn before or plan to wear on race day. Remember to use glide or vasoline on areas that chafe and don't try to break in your new shoes on this one. Lay out your clothes and gear the night before so you won't forget anything or be stressed the morning of our long run.

· Carb up a little more on Saturday and hydrate well. Do not eat your last meal on Saturday night after 7:00 pm.

· Skip the wine or alcohol Saturday night.

· Get plenty of rest on Friday night, because Saturday night you might be a little restless and worried about the impending mileage, although you are all there and won't have any problem completing the course.

· Eat a light breakfast 3 hours before the run and bring along some water in the car for the drive down and back.

· Bring more than enough electrolytes with you just in case. Whether it is a drink, gels, beans, chews, or pills. It's better to have extra than to run out.

· There will be water stops along the route - about every two miles starting at mile 3. If you do not plan to carry or wear your water belt on race day, don't wear it this Sunday. There will be cups at each station.

Treat this benchmark as you would the race. This will be a great indicator of your endurance level. Don't go all out though - this is still considered an easy, long run. Start off easy and gradually build up. Save yourself for race day! The good news? We will have food and fun afterwards to celebrate our benchmark run. The best news? Mileage drops down the week after as we begin our taper. See you Sunday at Eisenhower Park!

Coaches Laurie, Rose, & Mary