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Join Our List
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| Local Sponsors | Interested in becoming a sponsor? We are now accepting applications for the 2011 season.
Send us an email for more information!
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National Sponsors
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Issue: Week 2
| June 2, 2011 | |
Greetings!
Welcome to all of our new members! Week 2 was another large group of new registrations, and we are glad to have you! We have three more weeks of open registration so be sure to bring a friend on Saturday!
- Roger, Ashley, John & your USA Fit SA coaching team
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Week in Review
| |  Thins to remember...
On Saturday we heard about the importance of hydration. This is KEY for everyone, especially us training through the South Texas Summer.
Here are the guidelines our nutritionist recommends:
Proper Hydration- Most important nutrition concern for athletes
- Heat Stroke - Heat Cramps - Decrease in perfomance
- Decrease in blood and oxygen
- Start each workout well hydrated
- 8 oz/hr
- 16 oz in the morning (sports drink)
- Drink on a schedule - Begin Early
- 4 to 8 oz every 15 to 20 minutes mile / mile markers
- ~ 1 water bottle per hour
- Sweat Rate Test => 1 lb lost weight = 2 cups of fluid
- Sports Drinks and Electrolytes
- 1 hr Practice/Race 800 mg/quart
- Acclimate!
We strongly recommend that EVERYONE do the sweat rate test on a workout this week. Weigh yourself before and after your workout to see how much water weight you lost. For every pound lost, you need to be drinking 2 cups of fluid!!
Remember the goal is to replace just what is lost -- you don't want to gain weight, either!
Hydration Policy
Because of the critical importance of hydration for all members, it is USA Fit's policy that all runners and walkers carry their own hydration system on all workouts. This can be a hand held bottle, a belt, or a bladder system -- you just need to find a system that works for you.
All of our workouts with mileage over 5 miles will have refill stations available on the course with water, but you must carry your own container to refill. You are expected to carry enough water to hydrate for 5 miles or less.
Appropriate Gear
We also heard about the importance of appropriate gear. The most important points to remember:
- You need to have the correct type of shoe for your biomechanics. Make sure you are in the right shoe or you are risking injury!
- Shoes are meant to last about 500 miles. Make sure to replace them when they wear out.
- No cotton in your socks or sports bras, especially!
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Building Blocks
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| Running & Walking Form 
This Saturday we will be talking on running & walking form. This is probably one of the topics that we hear the most questions about, so it should be an interesting talk!
To get you thinking about your form, here are some general guidelines for proper form:
- Your stance line (shoulder, hip, ankle joints) should all be in alignment and nearly vertical.
- The majority of your movement should be forward; eliminate side-to-side (lateral) and up-and-down (vertical) movement.
- Neck
- Head neutral, not up or down
- Face muscles relaxed
- Shoulders
- Relaxed & loose
- Not forced or hunched forward
- Arms
- Elbows in, arms in front of body
- Hands relaxed and loosely cupped
- Hips
- Hips forward, as if being pulled by a rope
- Feet
- Try to plant foot under your body
- Short strides, don't reach with your feet
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| Paperwork Reminders | |  Don't forget to turn them in!
As we begin the season, there are a few pieces of information we need from everyone. Please help us to get the paperwork in early!
Member Info Sheet
This is a must-have from every member, and includes emergency contact information as well as information about any allergies or medical conditions. This sheet is kept on file at every workout in case of emergency. Please make sure to turn this in as soon as possible. There is a copy in your packet, and we will have blank forms available on Saturday as well. You can also download it now [DOC][PDF] and get a head start!
Group Rosters
Don't forget, we will have check in /out rosters for each color group on Saturday mornings. We ask all members to check IN and OUT each week -- this helps your coaches to keep track of who is on the course.
If you are not listed on the roster, please just add your name and we'll get it updated for the next week. Keep in mind, however, that only registered members appear on the roster. Don't worry if you need to switch color groups or change locations, just make a note on the sign up sheet.
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| Midweek Workouts | |  Join us around town!
Are you looking for some group-time during your week to keep your training going? Would having some training buddies during the week help you to stay on track? (no pun intended!)
Soler's Sports offers free mid-week workouts that are the perfect solution! These organized workouts line up with the schedules for USA Fit and are a great way to work on your speed and stamina. They are free and open to anyone outside of USA Fit, too. All paces are welcome and no registration is required. Just pack your shoes and join us!
The Advanced Training Program (ATP) group also meets two times during the week in addition to Saturdays: Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 6:30 pm at the Alamo Heights High School track. These workouts are more rigorous and are intended for those with marathon experience who are interested in focusing on a specific time goal for November. Registration is required for the ATP program; please contact head coach John Ruibal for more information.
City of San Antonio Employees also have a team workout on Tuesdays (6:30 pm at Lions Field) beginning next week (June 7th). This workout is for CoSA employees and their registered guests only.
To summarize, here are the various midweek options:
- Soler's Sports Alamo Heights: Monday & Wednesday @ 6:00 pm (free and open to all)
- Soler's Sports Stone Oak: Tuesday & Thursday @ 6:30 pm (free and open to all)
- Soler's TriSports Helotes: Tuesday & Thursday @ 6:00 pm (free and open to all)
- Brandeis High School: Wednesday @ 7:00pm (Crossfit-type track workout; free and open to all)
- Alamo Heights High School: Tuesday & Thursday @ 6:30 pm (restricted to ATP members)
- Lions Field: Tuesday @ 6:30 pm beginning June 7th (restricted to City of San Antonio employees and guests)
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| Bagel Break | |  First Saturday of the Month!
This Saturday is our first Bagel Break, which we host on the first Saturday of every month. After the workout we will all have a chance to carb up on some yummy bagels, visit with each other and your coaches.
We also invite our medical and massage sponsors to participate, allowing members to have informal Q&A with various medical professionals. This month we are pleased to welcome sports medicine physician Dr. Annette Zaharoff (www.drzmd.com) at the Stone Oak location. Next month we hope to have medical partners at all four training locations.
We encourage you to take this opportunity to talk to your coaches about how things are going, and to get advice about any aches & pains you may be having. Please don't ignore any signs of stress -- it's better to treat them early so you can keep training! We will host Bagel Breaks the first Saturday of every month for the rest of our training.
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| Safety Tips | |  Always use caution!
We talked about rules of the road during week 1 and there are basic guidelines in your packet as well. However there are a few items we need to draw attention too:
- As much as we love both pets and children, our insurance policy does not allow for strollers or pets on our Saturday training runs & walks. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes!
- We know that many folks enjoy running or walking while listening to music, however we ask that you not be completely "plugged in" when you are with us, particularly on open roadways. If you want to workout with headphones, please at least leave one ear open so that you can hear traffic and any instructions given to you by your coaches or fellow runners & walkers.
In addition, as we increase our mileage and head on different routes, we want to emphasize the importance of being a Defensive Runner or Walker when we are out on the roadways. While pedestrians have right of way, cars are bigger, faster, and will win any confrontation.
We also need to be aware that our group is large and we can have a serious impact on traffic flow and noise levels in nearby neighborhoods. Please be respectful of our neighbors!
Here are the Rules for the Road that we ask you all to follow when you are with the group AND when you are training on your own!
· Always run in the opposite direction of traffic. If there is a sidewalk, utilize it. If there is only a sidewalk on one side of the road, use it, even if you would now be running with traffic, instead of against it.
· Always check for vehicles at every intersection. Even if there is a traffic light giving you right of way, you need to check for traffic before entering into the intersection. Make eye contact with the driver of any approaching vehicle.
· Never assume that vehicles are looking for you / at you. Particularly on one way streets, drivers are only looking for traffic from one direction.
· When running when it is dark, use reflectors, lights, reflective clothing, etc. Again, assume that vehicles cannot see you.
· Wear your shoe tag, and have your emergency contact information, drug / food allergies, etc. listed on your toe tag.
· If you're running or walking alone, carrying mace / pepper spray, and a cell phone are wise ideas.
· We strongly discourage the use of headsets during your walk or run, particularly if you are on the street. Being "tuned in" to your music can keep you "tuned out" of what is going on around you.
· Do not congregate in intersections, in the middle of the road, or in private yards.
· Keep two-abreast, especially in the presence of cars. If people are on both sides of the road, drop down to single file in order to allow room for traffic.
Thank you! Stay Safe! |
| Race Registration Discount | |  Save $10 on the full or half Don't wait too long to sign up for the Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon & Half Marathon! It is possible that it will sell our before race day.
USA Fit San Antonio has guaranteed entries for our members as long as you register by August 31. But don't delay, register now before the price goes up!
And don't forget, you can save money with our discount code! Use the code USAFITSA to save $10 on your entry to either the full or half marathon! The discount does not apply to the relay.
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| Looking ahead... | |  Here's what's coming up next!
Next meeting: Sat. June 4
Time: 6:30 am
Locations:
Alamo Heights - Spectrum Clubs Concord Plaza
7700 Jones Maltsberger Rd
** Participants are asked to park on the 3rd floor or higher of the parking garage adjacent to the Spectrum Club
Call for info: 210-930-3148
Helotes - Soler's Tri Sports
14405 Old Bandera Rd
Call for info: 210-695-6430
Stone Oak - Soler's Sports
18720 Stone Oak Pkwy #150
Call for info: 210-490-9987
New Braunfels - New Braunfels Family YMCA
710 Landa Street
Call for info: 800-306-8974
Seminar: Running & Walking Form
Workout: Group run/walk
Extras:
It's Bagel Break this week! Stay after the workout to chat with your training buddies!
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Thank you for joining San Antonio's premiere marathon and half-marathon training program!
Sincerely,
Roger Soler, Ashley Rosilier & John Ruibal
Organizers, USA Fit San Antonio
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