Had enough snow yet? If you are receiving this newsletter it is because you are already registered for the 2010 Capital City Half Marathon and Commit to Be Fit 5k or we think you might be interested in joining 10,000 of your closest friends for a 13.1 or 3.1 mile block party.

This snow is wearing me out. I had made some pretty good decisions over the past few months and was living in a bit of a "zone". Then a few weeks ago it came to a screeching halt. What little sense of direction I have (which is not much) went away, and my decision making went poorly. I was not paying attention to the details or the execution. My zone disappeared and I could not figure out why. Then this past Saturday I went for a run on a treadmill in a hotel in the middle of Cleveland and it hit me pretty hard. I was not exercising with the same intensity or regularity. All this snow and the lack of sunshine in Columbus was limiting my enthusiasm to exercise. As I continued to run a bit harder I was starting to figure it out. My thoughts were clearer and my "to do" list was back in check. I simply think better, feel better and make better decisions when I exercise often. I left the treadmill and went right to fixing some of the mistakes I had made. This week it feels like my zone is starting to come back.

The back of our event shirts say "Get Fit. Stay Fit. Live Fit". Now you (and I) know why.

Thanks to your commitment to getting and living fit, Cap City's registration numbers have exploded. Based on the current projections our registration numbers would exceed more than 15,000 participants! However, we want to create a "Remarkable Experience" for each of you and we will cap the field at 10,000.

Be part of the Celebration and Register Now!

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." Albert Einstein

We are proud to announce that registration for the St. Patrick's Day Four Miler now at Kinsale Golf And Fitness Club on March 13th at 5pm is filling fast. This is a brand new location for this event! This event is a huge celebration of St. Patrick's Day and finishes in the middle of a big post race party hosted by the Reganomics.

Register Now! as registration is limited to 1000 participants.

Every Participant receives:

1. Technical Event Shirt

2. Finisher's Medal

3. First Beer and Irish Whiskey Tasting Tulleymore Dew Style (over 21);

4. Ticket to see the Reganomics Concert at the Kinsale post race party ($8 value);

Sláinte! is Irish Gaelic for "Good Health" and is used as a drinking toast over frosty cold pints. Come celebrate with us!

Hi Ellen,

Congratulations on starting your running and deciding to embrace a healthy lifestyle. First, let me suggest you join a training group, like No Boundaries at Fleet Feet Sports, to find like minded people that are beginning as well and will motivate you when trying times come around.

Now that you have been training for a couple of months your body will start to show some changes. For example, I am sure you are finding it easier to simply run without being so fatigued. This is largely due to the increased fitness you now have, which is a way of saying your heart and legs are getting stronger. Your lungs have increased their ability to move oxygen to your muscles, and the increased blood flow your heart is now capable of producing is delivering the needed foodstuffs and removing the waste products.

You will find that your fitness will only increase from this point, and your enjoyment of the sport will likely rise. We know from years of research that aerobic fitness starts to increase dramatically around the tenth week of training and continues to increase for approximately three months. Many new runners often report that this is their most enjoyable time in the sport as every week you will see gains over the week before.

However caution is necessary for you at this point as an overuse injury is likely if you try to increase your weekly mileage or running pace to quickly. So, be cautious and never ramp up your mileage too fast. Skeletal muscles tend to adapt much more quickly to training than your connective tissue and bones, so my suggestion is to keep your weekly mileage steady for a few weeks. Try not to run any further than 4 to 5 miles to give your connective tissue and bones time to catch up with all of your newfound aerobic gains. Increasing miles and pace gradually is the mantra to remember.

Specifically never increase your pace or mileage by more than 10% per week. And I would encourage you at first to only worry about your mileage, your pace will take care of itself later. However, do not increase your mileage every week, at least once a month you should include a week of training when your miles are equal to your mileage from two months previous. Use the additional time or days you have to cross train (e.g., swim, bike, walk, elliptical). Once you have been running for three to four months you may want to consider your first race. Find a race that is no more than approximately 150% of your longest run. I tell all first time racers your goals should be twofold. First, is to finish and not even worry about your time. Second, and perhaps most important, is to have fun. When you cross the finish line I want you to think, yes, I would do this again. Enjoy the camaraderie, the sights and sounds of the entire event. When the race begins, hold yourself back as your desire will likely be to go out to fast. Start toward the back of the pack and go out slowly. If you are feeling good with a mile or so to go in the race, let yourself run and enjoy passing some of those people that went out to fast in the beginning.

Best wishes for your continued training success.

Dr. Devor

With our event growing to 10,000 participants, over 1,000 volunteers and thousands of spectators, I am going to provide you with tips that will help you plan for a remarkable experience.

Tip #2 - Where are you going to line up?

There will be self seeded starting corrals arranged by your estimated finishing time. In each corral will be pacers provided by MIT and Fleet Feet Sports. Yu should find your projected finishing time corral, find your pace leader and then get ready to have a celebration like no other.

The major glitch in this is that participants line up in a corral with participants much faster than they are and they are constantly trying to avoid the other walkers and runners.

Why? Because you want to get to the start line as quickly as possible. You see the clock and think that time is already moving against you. Relax. We have electronic chip timing which means that YOUR time does not start until YOU cross the starting line. Stay in the back, enjoy the music and have some fun! It is going to take many of you 15 to 18 minutes to cross the start line. What is the rush? You trained a long time to celebrate this accomplishment. Your time will be accurate from when you crossed the start line to when you cross the finish line and your Finisher's medal will be waiting for you. Slow down, be safe and have a remarkable experience.

There is no more valuable commodity than information! Make sure you follow the event on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, make sure you are receiving these newsletters and check the website on a regular basis.

Over the next few months we will Tweet, Post and email out a number of tips to make your experience more remarkable, we just want to make sure you see it!

We are looking for great Race Crew to volunteer to help us produce this event. It takes over 1,000 "Crew Members" to make this happen. For more information check this out

It's fun, feels great and you get a cool jacket!

No Boundaries is the official training program for the Commit To Be Fit 5k. No Boundaries is specifically designed to help you finish running or walking your first 5K. Go to No Boundaries Training for more details.

The spring 2110 No Boundaries program begins this week! Weather permitting, there will be an information session at Fleet Feet Sports tonight February 16th at 7:00 PM and another on February 17th at 7:00 PM.

The first group workout will be Saturday, February 20th at 8:30 AM at Thomas Worthington High School. Please plan on attending one of the information sessions to meet your coaches, to learn more about your training plan, and to see all the benefits that will come your way from No Boundaries. Fleet Feet is located at 1174 E. Powell Road - Lewis Center, OH 43035. 614 846- 5625.

Join Stacey and others from the M3S team this Thursday, February 18th from 6pm to 8pm for the 2nd Annual Endurance Sports Expo. I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the event last year and Carla Sokol has done another tremendous job pulling this expo together.

We are proud to have a partner like the ACC and all of its members supporting the Capital City Half Marathon and all of the M3S Events.

Get Fit. Stay Fit. Live Fit.
David