Looking for a Run Clinic in Whistler?
Join our lead trainer Christine Suter for her twice weekly run clinic starting in March. You will be able to add this on to your online registration for the half or 10km event. Click here for more information.
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Special Participant Offers!
We are very proud to be working with the Crystal Lodge and Suites as our host hotel once again. With rates starting as low as $99 and a bonus for booking a 2 night stay - you will want to get on this offer before they are all gone. Click here for more information.
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10km Run Added
New for 2013 is a 10km road run that will offer the same breathaking scenery at just under half the distance. Due to such high demand for runners to get spots at our past events here in Whistler, race management has moved forward with plans to offer a 10km option on June 1st, 2013. For more information on the 10km event please click here.
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Butternut Squash Soup
One of Melissa Spooner's favourite recipes to get more colour in your diet! Click here to download the recipe or visit Mel's website for this and more great recipes. |
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How are your New Years resolutions treating you?
We are now almost one month into the new us - right? That is to say that those plans for living healthier and happier should now be in full swing. Personally, mine have been off to a bit of a slow start, but I am upping the ante now, and getting closer to feeling like I may reach my personal goals for health and fitness for 2013! That feels good.
I would like to send out a big thank you to everyone who has already registered for this year's event. We are well on our way to being sold out in the half marathon distance, in fact we have fewer than 300 spots left! Our previous years events sold out early, so be sure to grab your spot before they are gone. We increased the cap of runners this year to accommodate more of you, so it may take a bit longer to sell out this year, but I really wouldn't wait too long as we have always seen the last 100 spots or so disappear in a flash. We will be providing registration updates regularly on our facebook and twitter pages, so be sure to follow us there.
We have also increased the overall event capacity with the addition of the new 10km distance for 2013! Registration is moving along at a wonderful pace for that too! The 10km is capped at 500 runners, and we now sit at 22% of that event being sold out.
Little Rippers kids run is also filling quick and is nearing 50% sold out. So get your kids registered if they want to run! All kids also get a great race kit to help them celebrate their accomplishment!
We are very pleased to have both Christine Suter and Melissa Spooner back on our newsletter team, providing training and nutrition tips (and some great recipes too).
Christine is a personal trainer and coach based here in Whistler, BC and has guided many athletes to achieve goals beyond their wildest dreams in running, cycling, swimming, and triathlon A multi-year Ironman competitor and ultra distance runner (including Miwok 100km, and Whistler 50 solo), Christine is a force to have on your side - her tips will lead any runner to run faster and run stronger.
Melissa is also a Triathlete, and has 3 Ironman titles to her name. She also happens to hold a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition, and supports you with great diet tips and some amazing recipes. Clearly we should all follow what Melissa has to say as she is her own personal proof of success.
Embrace 2013, embrace your training, embrace the pain and glory of your journey to race day! Get out there and run!
Cheers,
Dave Clark
Race Director
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Your Nutritional Plan Towards a Successful Half Marathon with Melissa Spooner
Congratulations on signing up for The Whistler Half Marathon! It is going to be an awesome journey and I am happy to be part of it with you.
As you move through your training, you will need to rely on a good foundation and now is the time to build that foundation. I believe that your running foundation does not only include a training plan (like when and how much you run/walk) but also a good foundation of nutrition.
I believe that in order to work towards your goals, the initial steps need to be realistic and quite honestly - very simple. For example, "I will run or walk 20 minutes today" is a realistic goal. In addition to "I will ensure that in every meal I eat today will have some form of color in it" is also a very realistic and simple goal.
I see color as the foundation of your nutritional plan towards a good half marathon. Most colorful foods will contain a good amount of water and fiber to help aid with healthy digestion as well as contain high amounts of micronutrients such as Vitamin C and Magnesium to help with muscle firing and recovery. Most contain loads of anti-oxidants that have been proven to decrease inflammation often associated with exercise. These are just a few of the perks of ensuring that you are including color in your diet every day all day!
So a simple question to ask yourself when you are preparing meals or snacks is "Do I have any color on my plate? Is it all brown? Or is there red? Is there green? Is there orange?"
A tasty and easy way to add some color to your plate includes:
- Adding berries to your hot or cold cereal
- Adding red peppers and spinach to your favorite egg scramble
- Adding lettuce, sprouts or tomatoes to your daily sandwich
- Having a daily salad
- When having nacho chips or crackers, add some cut up veggies or use a Pico De Gallo dip with avocado
- Vegetable soups are great winter options
- Grabbing an energy bar before your after work run - ensure you also have a piece of fruit such as a banana or apple
- Having chicken tonight? Bake it with diced tomatoes and broccoli
It is hard to pinpoint the exact number of servings of fruits and vegetables one should have, with daily averages between 7-12 servings/day based on size and activity. One thing I find rather interesting is the trend seems to be more about getting the minimum than how good could one feel if they ate a bit more color?
I will admit in the winter months it can be challenging to feel satisfied with a colder summer style salad - although there are lots of options for warmer winter salads. One way I like to get color in my day is by making a big pot of soup that I can heat up throughout the week, it a great compliment to a meal, easy to heat up at work and even a great pre-workout snack as it is easy to digest!
So as you build your foundation and train for your half marathon with adding some more running/walking into your daily routine, also build your nutritional foundation by ensuring you have a little bit of color at each and every one of your meals. And I don't mean ju-jubes!
Happy eating and happy training!
Mel
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Ready, Set, Time to Run! Training Tips with
Coach Christine Suter
As we get ourselves prepared to start training for the Whistler Half Marathon and 10km, we need to start working on all the muscles involved in running. This month we are going to review the lower leg, you can check out the Episode #4 video for a quick review.
The muscles of the lower leg that need to be strengthened for running include the Gastronemius, Soleus,Peronii, Tibialis Anterior and Tibialis Posterior. For the back of the leg it's the Gastronemius and Soleus. We can do standing calf raises off the floor or a step and need to do both straight leg heel raises, where our knee stays locked for the Gastroc, and bent knee raises for the Soleus. Some gyms will have a seated calf raise machine which works well to target the Soleus muscle. Try doing both double and single leg raises to work on any imbalances and make sure as you are raising your heel that your ankle is tracking straight forward and that you can flex through your big toe joint.
 | | Muscle Imbalances - Lower Leg |
To strengthen Tibilais Anterior and Posterior and the Peronii, we can do some resistance exercises with an elastic band wrapped around the top of our toes. I like to use the flat elastic band called a Theraband to do these exercises. Perform these exercises sitting on the floor with a towel or foam roller under the knees to keep your heels off the ground. For our Tibialis Anterior we want to have the elastic wrapped around our toes and pull our toes up towards our head. To target the Peronii, which are the muscles on the outside of the lower leg, we want to change our position so that as we create resistance with the elastic to target the outside of our foot. With the elastic around your toes, you will pull out to the side towards your pinky toe. To target the Tibialis Posterior which lays behind your Tibial bone, we again will change our position so when we pull the elastic we create resistance as our foot pulls in towards our midline, or pulling in with your big toe.
Doing three sets of 15-20 reps targeting each of these muscles will help to keep your lower legs strong for many miles to come and will help prevent lower leg injuries.
Happy Training,
Coach Christine, C2SkyMultisport Coaching
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