Bodacious BBQ Indeed

We had at least 50 or more folks drop on by our RW5 annual BBQ, and it turned out to be a nice sunny day. As expected, what a great selection of food, desserts, and great company this party turned out to be.  We had a good number of alumni and friends drop by too which made for a great gathering.

I did my usual ribs, chicken, sausage and spicy shrimp, and have to say...everything turned out great.  And having done this a few times, it wasn't that tough to pull off. People brought a great mix of side dishes and spectacular desserts. What I really liked about being able to do this was just how everyone can just hang out. The strangest thing was to recognize everyone with their hair down and regular clothes on.

Sandy did her usual gift gathering, and presented all the PLs with cards signed by the folks and a very generous cash donation which is always very much appreciated.

The best thing about being a part of RW5 was just to see how so many different people can come together and share something so rare as running a marathon. As someone said...once RW5.....always RW5.

thanks to everyone,

Walt

Walt's Marathon story 2012

This season, a few things were different than previous seasons.  Some of the changes I wasn't so sure about, and what was great was that our coach Rod Dixon was always supportive of whatever I had to suggest.  This was the first season in the 10 which I've been associated with the Roadrunners that we only did one 20 miler in the training.

There were other small details which also made me a bit concerned with the schedule, and I think my only significant change was that I got the okay to go 18 miles when the others were only going 16 on that one workout. I felt that our RW5 group needed to build up the confidence of working just a bit harder and being able to go the distance.  In any case, however the details came out...I have to admit, I felt great during this year's marathon and I believe we had one of the largest core groups at the finish, and that includes all those who came in within 20 min. of the front group.

The entire prep and getting to the start was all very comfortable this year...I knew the weather was a nasty variable, but I truly believed that it was going to be just fine, regardless. I was able to sleep well on Thur, and Fri. and I found this very hip hoodie sweatshirt for $5.99 at my local Goodwill store, which I regret having to toss at the start.

Cheryl, my wife dropped me off at the Stadium with no drama or hassle around 5:10am and already a good group of RW5 were already gathered.  I was able to use the bathroom a few times, had a good poop, and I was set to go.
I know a few folks were a bit stressed, Sandy had some problems getting there, but true to form she finds us and gets into the corral with us at the start.

All my apprehensions of starting or not starting the group within the front corrals were unfounded as we had a very orderly lineup and admission into the start area.  When the race started and they started blasting Randy Newman's I Love LA...the anthem to all the marathons I've ever ran in LA...I knew I was going to get choked up...it was as great as it could be and I knew the weather at that point was not going to be an issue.

The early miles just seem to fly by as we kept our 2x2 lines going, and I knew with both Peggy and Jamie at the front, I didn't have to worry too much. I know we blasted out on the start and after about the second mile, I reminded them to just back off just a bit.  I felt the entire group was pumping from that strong start and all the downhills into Chinatown.

Given that we were doing 14:10 miles up to about then, when we came to the 1st St. hill up to the Disney Hall, I felt we could easily afford the time to walk the entire hill, and that's what we did. I scooted ahead because I know folks who were part of that Taiko drumming group who always have that location, and I did see a familiar face. I just love those rhythms of Taiko and was glad to hear and see a few more groups throughout the course.  In fact I really liked most of the music groups which seemed to line the course every 2 miles or so.  Sometimes it was just a local radio station blasting their playlist, and even though I never run with headsets, it was great to hear a driving tune, especially live when we're on the course.

We had a grouping of hills in those first 7 miles, and we did a few 1/1s to just get us over them, and each time I looked back, the group just all looked so solid.  It was a great feeling to be within this circle of folks and I felt like we were this moving tide and just sweeping through the course picking up a few stragglers, and it was a feeling of strength and unity....it just felt great to be a part of it.

Around mile 8, got a great boost to see my family and my sister and her husband...and I knew the plans we made were going to work out just fine.  We had made some goodie bags for around mile 15, and then they were going to check back around mile 22.  Plus I knew we were also going to see Jay, one of our longtime veteran runners around 16, so we were well covered.  Jay had popped out of the rain last year and gave a very helpful supply of pretzels during one of the big downpours when we were going through Beverly Hills, and he was a great sight to see this year too.

I remember Jamie saying something about Mr. Bill, and I'm looking around for some claymation doll on a billboard or something, and then I realize he was talking about our Mr. Bill.  And there he was, now a celebrated RW4 PL, former member of RW5, and I know he's been out with a bad knee, but there he was chipper as usual walking along making funny talk, just enjoying life...that's our Mr. Bill.

After the half way point, I switched the front PLs and had Mary, Nancy, and Alice take the lead, just in time to help lead a few downhill waves. I never know what other folks think when they see a large group doing the wave while running a marathon, but it sure helps lift the spirits.  The odd thing this year was that there were no mile markers like they normally do. In the past years they had these very large blowup arches over the entire street to designate every mile, but I'm sure due to the major storm the day before, they could not afford to chance having these big markers blown down all over the course.  So maybe that's why we seemed to be really chewing up those miles early on. 

I do have to say when we got to the westside though, things really seem more stretched out.  Because I had such strong PLs calling out the intervals and keeping the pace, I was trying to keep a check on the folks in the group and try to even give a pat on the shoulder now and then.  This included all the folks who seem to join in.  There were these two guys who came up to me and hung in for the better part of the run, and said they were looking for me, and I said how do you know me, and they told me they had joined us last year, and finished with us.  And so it was this year, at some point I realized there was this older Korean lady running by my side all the way to the finish.  She was huffing and puffing, but she did great.

I always try to think when would be the best time to do my "There will come a day" routine, and I always figure if we still have a group around 18, that would be the time, and so somewhere around Century City, I went into my usual thing, and I know it's a bit silly, but the truth is that I really need it for myself, to keep me going too.  I remember after last year's version, I kinda wiped myself out, and hit the wall right after it.  So this year with the better weather situation, I actually felt better after launching into my diatribe. 

As some of you may know, I stole this idea from the final speech given by Aragon before the Gates of Mordor....their circumstances were a bit more dire...but I still love each time when I get to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KBQOcw6G9A

I also know when we hit this mileage zone...everything around 20 miles or so, the system starts getting very taxed. This is when we hit the wall, this is when we start losing our focus and it's also when we hit the VA hills.  I remember going back and finding Patricia going through a tough spot, and with Jamie by her side, I wasn't too worried, but I just told her that she was going to come through it, and in about another 8 minutes or so, she seemed to be back to her normal chippy self.  I know I hit a patch and for some reason I got lost in thinking about my oldest sister who had passed away quite a few years ago, and within that, I found a little more strength to push myself past these tough miles.  Marathons are not easy...but they sure deal up a heaping serving of deep revelations and takes us to those places where seldom if ever we go.  That's also why I always look forward to the experience.

I was so glad when we cleared the VA hospital area, and I finally got to see the San Vicente sign.  I knew we weren't home yet, but I knew we were really finally getting closer.  One more crucial visit from my Sis and Wayne, and that's when the headwinds were howling.  I took to calling out the intervals, and I knew that crazy heartbreak hill grade getting up the 26th street was going to be killer, so I went back to the 1/1s.  As expected, this just seem to take forever, and the only mileage sign post was the one for mile 25 and that was looming way off in the distance.  One of the RunLA kids asked if that was the finish line....and I said no way....got to see the ocean first.

And so with really sore feet, tired legs and thankfully a clear head we dove down San Vicente, and as we were heading down, John, husband of Kristie came up to us...like he always does when we are training...not a bit fatigued, even though I know he finished way ahead, and was coming back up the course.... told us not to worry, when we make the turn onto Ocean, it'll be a strong tailwind.  And that's what happened, it was still blustery, and amazing white caps all over the ocean as we started our final stretch home. 

At some point I thanked all those who were running with us, and told them if they wanted they could finish ahead, but I wanted to keep our pace through the finish.  At some point, I decided we had one last run to the finish and with that we ran our last interval to the finish line.  I remember feeling this always is the best part and how great it was to be done.  When we crossed the line, I got the folks together and did one last war chant...one more Kick ass circle, and Rod Dixon came over to congratulate us.  It was great that he was still there. 

The medals were exceptional this year, really nicely designed and with a good heft.  I waited for about another 30 min. and saw the majority of our group coming in, and sorry I couldn't stay a bit longer, but I was fading fast, and those winds were just brutal.  My sis and Wayne were just four blocks away waiting for me, and boy that was so great of them.  I got into the car, put on extra layers and pretty much passed out for the ride home.

Just want to say great thanks to all of you who dared to dream and do the unthinkable, and to let me be a part of your journey, really want to thank Peggy, Jamie, Nancy, Alice and even Mary...for all those mean things I said to you and those comments about your intelligence....I know you know I say those things because I care....really....well...at least most of the time. 

Anyway...big full congrats, and whether you ever do this craziness again...this was a great one to remember for a long time, and be ever so proud and show off your medals to everyone you can...because just by being out there, we have inspired so many others to just do something special...to dare to make our lives that much better.

Please come to the BBQ on Sat, and wear those medals....we earned it the hard way.

Walt

Great Last Run

This Sat, we had our last run of the season, and it turned out to be a great day.  We took our time and waited till all the groups left and we had the road to ourselves.  There were plenty of picture taking opportunities, and it felt more busy than the last day of school and everyone wants to get a shot, or sign your yearbook. 

It was great to see folks we haven't seen for a while, and we took our time getting to California street which is the official finish line for the Marathon.  We also continued the tradition of letting a variety of folks be the head PL if just for a few moments.  It was amazing how many just took off and we had to reel them in....leading 40 runners is not as easy as it appears.
Here is a link to a few shots I took, and I'm trying out this site to see if it works okay.  To download your shot, just select it from the left, then when you mouse over the large version on the right, a menu pops up, choose the last icon..."Save Picture" to download.
If other folks have good group shots, email it to me and I can forward it to the group.

http://rw5-roadrunners.smugmug.com/Groups/RW5-Last-Run/21891432_WWv74q ;

Click on the upper right to watch the slide show, and I clicked on "fast" on the upper left to see them all.

If problems, just email me.

A few of us showed up at El Cholo afterwards, and I think our table went through three full pitchers of margaritas before we called it a morning.

I'll be sending more info emails later, but wanted to get these pictures out first.

Walt

Catching Up

Ok....now I know I'm a bit tired lately, but I just realized, even though I wrote this email a few days ago, I think I fell asleep on the couch and never sent it off.  I had wanted to recap our last run at Dodger Stadium, and it was a great run, but now I'm kind of in between my weekend summary, and my coming up email.

So....regardless, we had 24 runners last weekend, and it was a great day for  a hill run..started cool, and didn't get too warm since we had quite a bit of cool shade at times.  We did a full 3 laps...coming in just at 10 miles, and even though I was trying to back off on the last two laps, we still came in with a pretty good sub 15min/mile avg. pace given all the hill work.  This was meant to be our last hard workout, and I think we delivered on that goal.  Some of the other groups slacked off after only two laps, but RW5 went the distance.

This feels great, because now we can taper off a bit and take it easy up to the race day.  I would still recommend that you do some running during the week, but this is mainly for maintenance, keeping everything loose, and to keep the momentum, but the heavy work is done.  This coming Sat, the suggested run is only 6 miles to California....but I kind of like the tradition of running to the Totem Pole one last time....just for good luck's sake.  So I would suggest we all get there early as usual, 6:45 at the flagpoles, try to leave by 7am, and let's get to the Totem pole and we'll take a bunch of group pictures, so bring your cameras.

Afterwards is when you'll get your wristband, and this will be our last meeting before the Marathon...so please be there.

As far as this whole corral business, I'm going to talk it over with the coaches, and we'll come to some decision.  The question raised was whether we would join all the rest of the Roadrunners in the front corrals, or we just do our own thing and line up with the general populace in the back corral.  Either way, we'll all run the marathon like we've trained and it's just a detail about the start point.

After this Saturday's run, the other tradition is that all the Roadrunners meet for brunch at El Cholo restaurant in Santa Monica.  We pretty much take over the entire upstairs floor and it's slightly informal, but we generally try and grab a few big tables and sit together as a RW5 group.  Everyone pays for themselves, but it's a group gathering.  The don't really serve a traditional breakfast, and so it's a pretty large meal, with entres going for about $11-$15. I've attached their menu.  It's all very good food and we might even see a pitcher of margarita or two.  They don't open till 11am, but we like to get there early to grab some tables for our group.  El Cholo - 1025 Wilshire Boulevard  Santa Monica, CA 90401  - Wilshire around 10th Street.  They offer valet parking, and if you're lucky you might find street parking in the neighborhood.  Just be aware of the permit parking signs...fairly strict about that.

I just got an email from the Marathon confirming my registration..but I found it in my spam folder.  You will need your bib number, and if you didn't get this email, you can still find it on the marathon website. http://www.active.com/uploads_search.cfm?UPM_ID=3673&CHECKSSO=0  ; Be sure you write down your number and when you go to the Expo at Dodger Stadium on Friday or Sat. you will enter the big tent and all the tables will be layed out in numerical order.  Find your number range, and by showing your ID, and the number, they will give you your race bib.  Take 4 safety pins, and then go to another table to get your goodie bag and T-shirt.

It's best not to spend too much time at the Expo, since you want to stay off your feet if necessary.  The other big rule is don't go trying every free sample of supplements and power drinks, because you don't know how your system will react to it.  Go ahead and take the free samples, but save it for after the Marathon.  Last year the big thing was coconut water....some people had reactions to it, and it wasn't the kind you want during a race...especially with the long portapottie lines.

I will try and keep giving tips as we get close, but the cardinal rule is never try or do something new that you've never done before on race day.  The other one is you can never be too early.  Everything that might go wrong probably will that morning.  There have been horrible traffic delays on the freeways in the past, so the more time you allow the better.  My final one is that you've done the best you can, and the big relief is there is no more you can do, so just show up and enjoy the run.  The total time, the target avg. pace, these are not what make the marathon, it's just about you getting out there and putting out the effort, going the distance....that's all that matters.

We have gone this far, we've put in all this effort, we've all change our lives a bit by this endeavor, and the best part is yet to come.  I can't guarantee that each of us will have some life changing epiphany during the run, or that you will reach some level of realization or a deeper understanding of yourself, it could happen, but that's not why we run this.  We will go out there and perform to our best capabilities because we all had some kind of goal, some reason to try, and it may not have been very clear why we did this in the first place, but that does not matter much at this point. I think the real real purpose now is to just finish what we have started.  There is no turning back, we will do what we have started, and we will all do just fine.....this is the RW5 way.  We owe it to ourselves.....we deserve this.

see you all there,

Walt

Solid 14

Top of San Vicente

We had 24 runners this past Sat, and we had a pretty good run.  The weather was near perfect, a bit of overcast in the morning, warmed up a bit as we got to the top, and it kept on the cool side all the way back.....now if we could get that kind of day for the marathon, it would be perfect.

We went for a total of 14.3 miles, kept a solid 15 min/mile pace and were done in about 3.5 hours. We went all the way to the top of San Vicente, and did the left loop at Bundy, and came on back.  The big news is that the next time we come back up to San Vicente will be in about 3 weeks, and it'll be a completely different story, we'll own the street, and no more stoplights to get in our way. 

Next time we'll have the entire street

It's getting that close, and we can sense the time is getting near, there is no reason to get too worried, all we can do is the best we can, and let it go at that.  Life happens, and all we can do is keep our eyes open and take in as much as we can, we can learn a lot by letting things happen. And maybe we can even get a bit more if we dive right in and embrace as much of it as we can.  This marathon thing kinda grows on you....and the more you treat it like a good old friend, don't fight it or resist it...just have some nice quiet time with it, the better it gets. We'll all be heading in the same direction, going with the flow is a good thing, and some may end up flowing a bit quicker, and some will be taking a bit more time....but not to worry, we'll all be savoring it at our own pace.

We got just a few more workouts to do, keep at it, don't over do it, but try to maintain what you've built up till now.  We got Dodger stadium next week, followed by a short run the following week, taking it easy, so that we're well rested, and then we get to finally do what we've been training for all these months.
This is the payback, our just desserts for all this hard work.  The marathon is our celebration, so enjoy it with that in mind.

I can hardly wait.....

Walt

Great Finish

This Sat. we completed our tough 20 miler.  35 runners joined in, and we ran 20.1 miles, took us 5:08, and the average pace was 15:20.  We get these numbers from several Garmin watches which are what our PLs wear, plus other folks also have them.  Generally, we don't stop the watches when we are waiting at stop lights or when we pause at the water stations, so the average pace is calculated on the total time it takes us to complete the distance.  If you figured we spent at least 8 min. waiting for all the long traffic lights and the water stations, then we clearly were right on pace with our 15min/mile pace goal..ie. 4 miles/hr. x 5 hr. = 20 miles.

But more importantly than the time and pace was the strong finish everyone had in completing the 20 miler.  I know a few folks dropped back, but they still finished. And a few other folks dropped back....hitting the "wall" and eventually caught back up.

 
I'm sure a bunch of us are feeling it today, I for one have a very sore and tender left heel...not sure why I'm having this problem now, since I've never had it before, but I think it's time to replace my orthotics.  I did replace my shoes, and if you are having any foot issues, and you're still on the same pair as when we started in September...it might be time for a new pair. The good news is that my leg and knees are feeling just fine.

The morning started pretty weird in that it was very wet and drizzy when I left my house, and had to use my windshield wipers on the freeway heading out.  I totally did not anticipate rain for the 20, and was starting to get a bit worried, not that we couldn't run in the rain, but that it might have discouraged others not to show up.
The clouds didn't look too bad, and by the time we got going, they were starting to break up.  As it turned out, it was a great day to run the 20, and we finished under clear skies, and the air temps stayed just cool enough.

The route was not bad in that we basically did a short loop south to just get warmed up, then went north to the top of San Vicente, did the golf course loop, and did another loop back to Bundy and back, and then it was just heading all the way back from there.  There was enough mix of hills, flats, dirt paths, grass, and nice neighborhoods to provide for distractions, and I would say the group hung together pretty well.

Mary goes all in for the full ice treatment

I believe that our past workouts, especially the hill training at Dodger last week did prepare us well for this long run.  The question came up during the run about how does only going 20 miles get us ready for completing a full 26.2.  Good question....different theories abound in the training for a marathon, and there are a plethora of ways people train, the Leggers actually run a full 26 before the marathon, but the Roadrunners have never done that. The basic idea is that if you train and build up your aerobic endurance...working on all these long runs, add in some strength with the faster and hill runs...then you will have what it takes.

Vivian cooling it

This 20 miler showed how much we had, given that we only ran 10 miles last week, and it's been weeks since we ran that 18 miler in the rain, but it's a cumulative effect. And so it will be with the marathon...all these weeks, months of training, working out, and whether we did all the work or not....we are as prepared as we are, and a large percentage of it is a belief and faith that we can do this. It's a combination of good workouts, backing off and recovering, and then just going out and doing what's necessary. And so it will be with the marathon....we will be ready.

Christi and Janet sharing the ice

Keep up with the good work...we're coming into the final stretch,

Walt

 

20 Nice Ones

This Sat. we will be going for our longest run to date....a nice 20 miler.  Most of us have completed 18, and we've been doing very well with the "pushed" runs these past two weeks, including some strenuous hill work, so it's time to take off the gloves and go at the big one.

I am confident that we can definitely handle this, we'll take it nice and easy and by keeping the group together, we will be able to all help each other out.
As usual, please get there early, parked by 6:30am, bathroom a few times, flagpoles by 6:45am, and running by 7am.  We'll start by heading SOUTH through the alley for about 1.5 miles, turn around and head back North.  We'll get to the top of San Vicente and 26th, and do the golf course loop, come back to 26th, and then head back down San Vicente to Bundy, and take a one block loop to the left.  By the time we get back down the hill, we should have covered our 20.  Attached is a map of the upper section of the 20 miler.

Bring plenty of GU or snacks, we'll be out there for about 5 hours. You should be hydrating today and all day tomorrow.  The weather outlook is to cloudy and cool, which would be great for this long run.

For those who have fallen behind a bit, still come on out and do the best you can, it's still better than trying to do this on your own, we'd like your company.  So don't lose any sleep over this, it's okay to be a bit nervous, it's a big one, but we'll just be fine....we know how to do this now...and we're all pretty good at it.


---------------

These past few weeks, I've been helping a friend of mine who is trying to launch a musical about Duke Ellington.  This has been ongoing for several years now, and it's just amazing how she has gone out and gotten a lot of interest and some support.  The biggest problem is getting folks to actually give money to the project.  She has never done this before, but with a huge heart and lot of gumption, this might actually work.  I've been shooting auditions as they are gathering a very talented group of singers, dancers, actors, and musicians.  It's been exciting, frustrating and rewarding, but the last session of auditions got me a chance to really see how talented people can be.

We had a choreographer create a dance and then teach it to about 30 amazing dancers, and then within a period of about an hour, they all learned it, gave it their personal touch and I recorded them in small groups so that the director can pick and choose.  Then they were asked to sing, read some lines, and dance some more.  Just to be in the presence of these talented folks was a treat, and it was interesting to see how "talent" can be defined.  Some were very skilled and some less so, some could sing and entertain, but some could actually inspire and catch your heart.  I was even moved close to tears in the presence of a few.

The difference is subtle, and even though some might have sung a bit off pitch, or didn't have the strongest voice, but to be there and feel the passion which they gave to their effort was enough to impress and be moved.

I hope this project really goes, and I'll let you all know the progress, but we have a pretty big show of our own coming up, which I hope we all can attend. The mechanics of running a marathon, I believe we all have a taste of, and I feel we can all imagine how it will be....2/1s for a few hours and we'll be done.  But the one part we don't know is what is going to happen to us inside our minds and our hearts.  This is a very special thing we are about to experience.  I know quite a few have done this already, and I know quite a few more have never gone all the way through this, and that's what makes this all so special.  It's different for everyone, and each time, something new is to be had.

I look forward to this, as I'm looking forward to our 20 miler this weekend, it's a great opportunity to get to know yourself a bit better, to know how you're going to perform and react under conditions which you've never been before.  The best part is that we get to do this together.

Come on out....it's going to be a pretty good show,

Walt

This Sat. we took on the hills at Dodger Stadium and the surrounding Elysian Park.  The weather was cool, clear and with a slight breeze now and then, turned out near perfect for this tough day.  We had 40 runners at the start and saw a few folks we haven't seen for a while, which was great.

The route we ran is essentially the 5K route for the LA Marathon, and it's a tough one.  There were a series of at least 5 significant hills and long grades, and we did the loop three times.  The total distance was just under 10 miles, but the Coach wanted us to really work the uphill sections and ease off on the downhills and the flats, plus he wanted us to push our pace 20 seconds quicker on the uphills.  I thought that would be fine for the full running groups, and that we would definitely work our hill sections, but there was no way we were going to go to push that much going up hill. I was also planning to do some 1/1s on some of the tougher sections, but as it turned out, the group was going very strong, and we stayed with our  2/1 pace throughout.  I think we threw in one extra minute on one of our walks after a really tough steep section, and we did take our usual 2min. GU breaks, but we did push our pace during the run sections and tried to ease off a bit on the downhills and flats.

Ultimately, we came in with an astounding 14:40 avg pace for the entire three laps.  I know a few folks did not complete the full three laps, which is fine, we'll all have a chance to do it again in a few weeks.  I also know that it was a tough workout, just like last weeks fast 13 miler, but this is all part of the training as we come to our last several weeks. There are definite hills throughout the marathon course, and it's good to work out on them and get over any qualms which we may have facing them.  This Sat. we totally took on those hills and we came out confident and strong.

We'll need this momentum heading into next weeks 20 miler run.  We'll be doing the 20 as our longest distance for this training season, and we'll start our tapering process with shorter runs after that.  We will not be pushing the pace for this 20, and we'll just be working on long distance endurance.  

Afterwords a group of folks dropped by for our post run brunch at my office.  Much thanks to the PLs for supplying the food, Joel for all the sausage, and for all those who helped in the cooking and cleaning up after.  We be doing this again after the next Dodger session, so come on by.

Have a great week, and keep up the great work,
Walt

A Quick Half Indeed

This Sat. we had a great group of 30 runners, which included a few alumni, who joined back in, just for the fun of it.  We were asked to push the group a bit this weekend, to go for full marathon race pace, and we did.

What this means is that RW5 is designed to do a 2/1 interval, 2 run/1walk, and we are training for a 15min/mile average.  This translates to a 6:30-6:45 hour finish for the 26.2 mile marathon.  We've been pretty much doing close to that all season, but on Sat. we pushed it a bit just to see how ready our group was, and the group did even better.

We covered the 13.1 miles with an average pace of a 14.46 min/mile, and this included the entire hill up to San Vicente and 26th...totally amazing.  Check the link below to see the stats from Jamie's Garmin watch.  The fun part is to click on "Play" and you can see the interactive playback of our entire run, including distance, speed, and elevation.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/145322648#.TyRxBVMyR40.email

What this means is that all the training we've been going through is paying off, and we are right on target to be ready for the marathon.  Now, if for any multitude of reasons you missed our 18 miler, and even Sat. run, you are not totally out of the game.  We all have to really hunker down these next few weeks and keep up with our week day training runs.  We can't lose sight of our goal.  Minimum is to go out two days a week, ideally by now you should be able to handle three days of training, of which I know that one of those will be a slightly easier day, and remember not to workout on Friday.  We have to maintain the level of performance, but not to the point of burning ourselves out.  Listen to your body, and if you need to recover, please do, but don't get lazy either.  You have to do the work to deserve the recovery.

I've been meaning to include this link, which was sent to me from Claudia, one of our veteran runners, and it's a great motivational talk and part of the TED talks.  TED started as an annual conference consisting of a series of presentations and talks by people from Technology, Entertainment, and Design.  It has grown to a global series of conferences and I've been fortunate to attend several of these in the past years.  If this one intrigues you, please check out the rest of the talks...most of very interesting and provocative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Lp7E973zozc

Next week, we'll be doing the first of two Dodger Stadium sessions.  This means we'll all meet at Dodger stadium and do two laps of the 5k (3.1mile) course.  This will take us into the hills around the stadium and Elysian park.  It's very scenic and hilly, but I am confident our group is ready to meet this challenge also.  So, keep up the great work this week, and I'll be sending details in the next email this coming week.

Walt

An Easy Half

On Sat. we will be going for 13 miles, essentially a half marathon.  Now it may be a bit much to call this an easy 13..but after the 18 in the rain and wind, l would assume this is definitely an easier task.  We have been told to go for our marathon pace, which is a 15min/mile pace, which we've essentially have been doing, give or take 10 - 15 seconds, so figure we'll be pushing it a bit on this run.   I believe we are all good for it.

We will meet our usual 6:45am, and at 7am, we will head South for .7 mile, which is about two blocks past Washington in the alley, we come back and then head North all the way up to San Vicente and 26th, turn around there and head on home.  Nice and easy.  Again, be sure to get there early and use the restrooms, as we will not slow down or wait for any bathroom breaks.  This distance would be a good one to see if you can do it without using the restrooms, which will be great training for the marathon.  Generally there are long lines at the portapotties all the way till about 15-18 miles.

The following weekend we'll all be meeting at Dodger Stadium, and not in Venice for the Sat. run.  This will be primarily for our hill work, so running up to 26th will be good training for the Stadium workout.  I will have more details about this next week, but the big news is our traditional coffee and bagels brunch at my studio after the Stadium run.  I have a studio in Atwater village on Glendale blvd. and this is only about 10 minutes from Dodger Stadium, so more info on that to come also.

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This past week I have found myself going to a variety of meetings, mostly related to my upcoming teaching position and my regular stuff, but the interesting dynamic is deciding when to speak up and when it's better to just listen.  I'm like the new kid at school, and I'm just trying to figure out the pecking order and who's who, and what the different camps are.  Of course everyone is all very nice, and all seem to get along, but it's trying to read between the lines, and figuring out where the real power plays are, and then trying to decide where I fit in all of this.

I know this will all work out and it's going to be great, but every now and then, it's a bit scary to start something new, and slightly unfamiliar, and even though I know how to put up a strong front and a show of confidence, I still have those moments of doubt. Deep down inside I know I've been through this so many times before, and I have the experience to get through it again, but I can't help those empty gut feelings of.....here we go again.

Gee...it's almost like running a marathon...the anticipation, the fears, the doubts, the waiting at the start line and looking at all these other people who look so athletic and in shape, and wondering if I'll be able to finish.   Yes, i go through this each time, and if anything, having the experience of doing a few of these before is that the only comfort I have is that yes, this is normal.  It doesn't excuse me from going through the nervousness, it just means that I know this is how I'm supposed to feel, and that everyone else is feeling it too.

Life is just a bunch of cycles, and we enter new arenas, and new experiences all the time, new challenges, new hardships, new victories, but that's the best part, we keep getting new chances to do it over again, whether we win or lose, do well or not so well, we get to learn and grow, and hopefully do better each time.

Let's do a great 13 this Sat, it'll be worth it.  Now only if I can figure when recess is.......

Walt

Splendor in the Rain

Cold and wet start

It was cold, raining, windy, miserable conditions....what a great run. We had 22 runners and we went a total of 17.4 miles, kept a great pace 15:10, and finished under 4:30. 

Because of the rain, they reversed the course and everything was reset to go South.  This is mainly due to the fact that when it gets wet, it gets too muddy heading north and just too dangerous to go up San Vicente.  Since most folks were only doing 15, going south all the way to Dockweiller would only be a 14 mile loop, so we decided to head north to the ramp, turn back, which gave us essentially 4 miles, and so all we had to do was go 7 south past the flagpoles, and come back.

As we started off, it was very wet and windy, which made it pretty tough going, plus there was a lot of deep puddles and running water across the path.  So it didn't take long to get totally soaked including our shoes and socks.  At times the headwind was so strong that the rain really hurt against our faces...much more difficult than going uphill.  These conditions pretty much continued for the first 6 -7 miles, and it wasn't until we got all the way out to the marina that things started to get better.

My phone cam fogged up with the sun out

What is always amazing during these rainy day runs is how great it gets when it stops raining, and this was no exception.  We kept the group together and headed all the way down past the canal and the bridge. And even if we were about a half mile short of the full 18 when we got back, I felt we more than accomplished what we set out to do, and given the rain/wind factor...we probably burned enough energy to have finished 20 miles..

I was concerned when I was heading out in the morning, knowing it was raining, and I knew it was going to be a tough run, and it was worse than I imagined, but the best part was finishing with the group and knowing how ready the group is....way cool.

Bridge break before heading back

thanks everyone, we did good,

Walt

RW5 - Blazingly fast

This Sat. we had an amazing run of 12 miles.  We had about 24 runners, and we went north all the way up San Vicente, took a short loop going left at 26 went around the neighborhood for a few blocks and came back out to San Vicente and headed back down for a full 12.2 miles, good pace of 15:10 for a duration of 3hr 4min.

The best part was that the entire group stayed pretty tight all the way up 26th, and though there were a few issues with hips, and knees, even a hamstring, the majority of the group made it back together. The weather was perfect, cool, slightly overcast the entire run, and I can say that we nailed this twelve with strength and confidence.
This is very important as we move into this final stages of training. Let's keep this momentum up and really stay focused in these next few weeks.  Keep up with the weekly training and the schedule calls for increased effort on the workouts.

RW5 - Doing the wave

RW5 - Do not try this at home - only certified Roadrunners dare attempt.

Basically, most of the training we've been doing is going at the same pace, but going for longer distance and duration.  We have been building a very good foundation and this will serve us well during the marathon.  But what we should start introducing now is building a bit more strength.  We have the long slow runs which is great, but now we should introduce a few speed workouts. What this will do is to increase our strength in our leg muscles and heart muscle to be able to call on these reserves when we need them for the latter parts of the marathon.  So during the week, when you are doing your normal intervals, try running just a bit faster for a few of the intervals.  I am not suggesting an all out sprint, but pick up the pace just a bit, or as fast as you can go, but yet keep the same duration.  So if you are training the same intervals of 2 run/1 walk...then sustain a quicker run pace for the 2 min.  Don't run like a fool and have to gasp to a stop after only 30 sec., do a quicker jog, but one you can sustain for the full 2 min.  I would start doing these only after you've warmed up a bit.  Each time you workout, try to do a few more of these speed intervals.  This will help build strength and endurance for the back half of the marathon. I've attached a description of some of this speed work. 

I'm also going to make an adjustment to our schedule.  Originally, the schedule calls for us to do 15 miles next week, followed by a 13mile, Dodger Stadium, and then a 20 miler.  What Dodger Stadium means is that we will meet at Dodger stadium instead of the Venice school, and the entire training run will be in the hills and parking lots of Dodger Stadium.  This is good hill work, and the distance will not be extensive....apx 8-10 miles, but it will be hilly.

Now, my big concern is that we would be asked to jump up to 20miles, when the longest distance prior would only be the 16 miles, which we did last week.  So discussing this with our PLs, we have all agreed that the better solution is to go for 18 miles this coming weekend (Jan. 21), and then do the rest of the schedule as written.  This way we will have a better prep for the 20.  Now, as it is, all the other faster run groups, will be doing their first 20 next week, and will do 22 when we do our first 20.
So what I am suggesting is not too off schedule. 

I will also suggest that for our 18 next week. We meet early as usual at 6:45am, and definitely running by 7am if not a few seconds earlier, and we head SOUTH through the alley first, go 1 mile to Lighthouse Street, like we've done before, come on back, and then do our usual 16 mile package up San Vicente > Golf course loop > side loop off 26th, come on back down and have a nifty 18mile finish at the flag poles.

I don't want to freak folks out by discussing these long runs, and talk about 20 milers already, but it's a reality which we all will have to acknowledge, so now is the time to start embracing the idea.  I know a few folks are still hurting from nagging injuries, and other issues, and there is only so much one can do.  There is still two months left, so let me know if you need help to rework a schedule for your needs. It's hard to guess if that slight pain is getting worse or better, or whether to back off now and try and get strong first and then see if there is still time to catch back up a bit.  The key is to not rush an injury, you need the recovery time, but try and figure if there is another way to keep up the aerobic workout without jeopardizing the specific injury or joint.

This is a big deal, and it deserves our attention, so let's get busy,

Walt

Great Start

Great day in the neighborhood

This weekend we had a great run to start the New Year, and we definitely got back on track. We had 24 runners join us and we completed the tough 16.3 miles, kept a solid pace, 15:18 avg., and finished in about 4:10.  The weather was near perfect, a cool overcast stayed with us most of the way, and it never got too warm.  As expected we had a few folks join us for a partial run, which was great just to have them come out, and we even had a surprise visit from our illustrious former pace leader Colleen.  Colleen and Olga will both be doing the Napa Marathon in Feb. and they joined us to liven things up.  Colleen joined us for a partial, and Olga stayed on for the distance....sharing some great recipes along the way.
Once you run with RW5, you're always welcome back....no matter how far or fast you travel.

Now I didn't say it was an easy run, because for sure we worked hard on this one.  I was still a bit sore all day yesterday, especially walking down stairs, and thank goodness for football playoff games to fall asleep to on the couch.  The good news is that I felt everyone stayed strong all the way up San Vicente to 26th.  The fact that we have done that hill so many times now, it's become part of our regular routine, and this is very important to have that down.  Now as we continued up all the way to Bundy, which thankfully is essentially a downhill grade, we all stayed pretty tight, it's the return on the golf course loop where it gets tough.  We alternated on dropping back to 1/1 intervals on some of those long uphill grades and mixing back 2/1s on the flatter sections.  I wanted to keep as much of the group together during these sections and I believed it worked.  I didn't mind if we had a few folks drop back in the last two miles or so, but I wanted to see if we could keep as much of the group together during those tough hill sections, and that's exactly what happened.

So I really want folks to know they all did great on this long run, and I believe within about 5-8 min. after we got to the flagpoles, the rest of the group pulled in. and this was mainly due to bathroom delays more than anything else. 

On the subject of bathroom breaks, we've been actually stopping at the bathroom near the totem pole to allow folks to use it since there are essentially no bathrooms after we head up the hill, and I don't have too much problem with that.  Now just so you know, there are two gas stations up on San Vicente if there ever was a problem.  But during the actual marathon, we would never stop the entire group for a bathroom break, and even though there are portapotties throughout the course, the lines are very long.  So now is the time to start training yourself to have a good poop every morning. This is just a matter of being regular and getting your body to develop a normal cycle which you can repeat every morning.  I'm sure those with dogs expect this from their pet when you take them for a walk every morning, so do the same for yourself.  During the marathon, the portapotty lines remain long till somewhere around 15-18 miles, so try to train yourself on our runs to see how long you can control yourself.  I am not suggesting you run with discomfort, since that probably isn't healthy, but with a bit of training in this regard, it's amazing what you can accomplish.

The other problem which many of us experienced is the swelling of our fingers and hands.  This is nothing too serious, but again can be uncomfortable.  I did a bit of research and check this link: http://running.about.com/od/illnessesandrunning/f/Why-Are-My-Fingers-And-Toes-Swollen-After-Running.htm
It pretty much summarizes that it could be a lack of sodium, bad circulation, and possibly low electrolytes.  We sweat a lot of sodium when we run, and that's why on hot days, you can end up with this white crusty stuff on your clothes and body, so hydrating with just water and leach out even more sodium.  This is why we take GU breaks, and they offered us pretzels during our long run.  So if you personally do not like the gel supplement, try other products which you can find at the running stores, and as long as sodium is part of the ingredient, it will be helpful.  I always carry gatorade for the electrolyte replacement, and there are many other such drinks available, so as we get into these long runs, please bring something....4-5 hours is a long time to not take some kind of nutrient.

Now as a special request here are the words to the little chant we do, Erika requested it, and just in case anyone else asks here it is.
There are different ways to introduce this little ditty, but the basic run is this:

We are Roadrunners....marathon Roadrunners.....

Mile 1 - Just for fun
Mile 2 - good for you
Mile 3 - good for me
Mile 4 - give me some more
Mile 5 - feel alive
Mile 6 - make it quick
Mile 7 - like running in heaven
Mile 8 - feeling great
Mile 9 - looking fine
Mile 10 - do it again....

Keep up the great work....and see you next week,

Walt

Happy New Year

We had a good group of 18 runners show up on New Year's Eve for a 10 miler.  It was chilly and very foggy, visibility was barely half a block.  We started down the alley, and by the time we turned around after a mile, it started to lift.  The day ended up very nice and sunny but crisp and cool which made for a great run. We had a few runners join back with us after recovering from injury, and it was great to see them back.

We pretty much had a good strong run up to the Totem pole, and it felt good coming back down.  There were many runners and groups out on the course and it felt good to be out there, finishing out the year, and getting a good start on the next one.

Next week, we should be back on track, and we'll be heading up the hills again, so be sure to get some runs in between now and then.  From now on we'll be meeting at the flagpoles at 6:45am, and ready to run by 7am.

I'll be breaking in a new pair of shoes to finish off this season.  My current pair are pretty shot and worn down, not that you could tell from just looking at them, but I know that internally the support, cushioning and stability have broken down.  I can really feel it after the long runs, and from experience, I know that it's time for a fresh pair.

Enjoy this weekend, because after this, we have to really keep focused on our training as we build up to the final long distance runs.  We have essentially two months left of the full training before we taper back in preparation for the marathon.  So have a great New Years weekend, and see you next week ready for those hills.

Walt