The Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer!!!

A foggy start for the 2007 Kal-Haven Trail Relay

Good luck to all the Beyond marathoners running the Martian Half and Full Marathon next weekend! It will be a very first for father/daughter duo Kayla and Tim Kling as well as Beyond satellite runner from Grand Rapids Paul Dewolf! Kayla and Tim, by the way, were given a boost of confidence Saturday at the Gobles Grad Bash 5k! Kayla won women’s overall for the very first time to bring home the trophy, and both Tim and Kayla set brand new PR’s!

It was Beyond a blunder as we once again managed to mangle a name. This reprimand was issued by Steve Downard, “Just a slight correction.” “It was Chad Thompson not Steve Chapman who joined us for the run this weekend.” Welcome Chad! The country music star part was, however, true.

Thanks to Race Director Terry Hutchins, Volunteer Coordinator Cindi MacDonald and the many volunteers from Beyond, the 2007 Kal-Haven Trail Relay set a new participation record with 116 registered runners, 114 of which actually participated despite the early morning showers! Thanks to all of our volunteers from the Beyond, Jim Roth, Julie Wojtaszek, Steve Rice, Brian Campbell and wife Tammy, Marty Buffenbarger’s wife Carolyn, Eric & Peggy Zeeb, as well as sag bikers Neil Zeeb and Bob Smola!

What an exciting day of running it was with close to 200 runners hitting the trails Saturday morning; some of them coming from as far away as Alabama. Among them was our banquet guest speaker Running Fit’s Randy Step who brought his own team from the east side of the state. The legendary George Dales and Tom Coyne were live on the scene with their co-ed squad from the WMU Running Club.

By 7:00 am the Kal-Haven parking lot was already full of cars with both members of the Beyond and SHufflers marathon groups hitting the trail. Thanks once again to Pat Johnson as well as Bonnie Sexton for dropping 5 colorful balloon decorated aid stations on the trail. Soon after the marathoners set off, the Kal-Haven Run Solo and Relay Runners appeared for their 8:00 and 9:00 starts. What a spectacular showing on the part of all the Beyond Marathoners entered in the Relay with program participants taking 3 of the 5 team titles and setting 2 new records! Could it be possible we are doing something right?

In the 33.5 mile solo run, the Beyond’s Chris Roach took 2nd place overall for the men in the solo run. Congratulations Chris!

Marty Buffenbarger teamed with Jennifer Shaffer to form team Master Elite and shatter the Co-ed 2 –person team record by 20 minutes, finishing their 33.5 miles in an amazing 3:51:57! Guess who is the master and who is the elite? After averaging a 6:40 pace for nearly 17 miles, Jen Shaffer is shedding her sub-elite status. Fortunately no scouts from the Hanson’s were present.

Amanda Portis teamed with collegiate arch rival Heidi Saunders to form but what else, team Arch Rivals! The duo shattered the female two-person team record with an even greater margin of 51 minutes with a 4:19:22. The second place team of Brenda Stoddard and Trish Downard also broke the prior female two-person record with an excellent 4:33:12. The Beyond’s Kim Williams joined fellow Tri-kat Michelle Kagey to run a 2-person training run!

In the 2-person male division, Beyond teams swept 2nd, 3rd and 4th places with Steve Downard and Chad Thompson just missing 1st place by 2 minutes with a 3:53:22. They forgot to name their team. Mark Sigfrids and Bob Poznanski of team S&P took 3rd with 4:24:15. Mark Sigfrids somehow managed to run the Gobles Grad Bash 5k AND run the 2nd leg of his 2-person relay. Scott Taylor and Tim Sochor took 4th with 4:40:36. Tim magically transported himself to about 100 points along the trail.

Who even said age and the female gender were handicaps? Current 6-Person Co-ed Record-holders, team Six Pack To Go was the very first relay team to cross the finish line after their arch rivals, the all male high school stars from the Parchmont Stealthy Penguins fell out of contention due to injury. They won out over their nearest co-ed competition, the youngsters from the WMU Running Club by 20 minutes with a 3:38:13. The Beyond’s Jon Williard, Gale Fischer and Bonnie Sexton joined forces with Dave Walch, Jeff Domenico and legendary Olympic trials qualifier Anne Flynn to form this speedy team which cranked out lots of sixes and even a few subs!

Many thanks to ALL who participated & volunteered to support the Girls on the Run, Girls on Track program!

Race Day Warm-Up...or Not?

Should you warm up before your race? It all depends on the distance you are racing. For races shorter than the marathon, the warm up is an important part of race day preparation. The purpose of the warm up is to prepare your body to run at race pace. It increases your metabolic rate, body temperature, circulation and prepares your aerobic system to begin performing at a high level right away. The shorter the race, the more critical it is to warm up, particularly the 5k, where you body immediately launches into VO2 max pace

The marathon is an entirely different space vehicle. The warm-up causes the body to burn a mixture of glycogen and fat, slightly reducing your glycogen stores. Since one of the challenges of the marathon is to reach the finish line before you deplete, the warm up can be more of a detriment to the marathoner then a benefit. Whether or not to do a any type of warm up at all depends on the level of the marathoner. For the majority of marathoners, it isn’t necessary to warm up…..most marathoners can warm up the first few miles of the marathon. The exception is the more serious competitive marathoner who will be running a faster pace right from the start. About 30 minutes before the race, run 5 minutes, starting slowly and then finishing about 1 min slower than marathon pace. Stretch for about 10 minutes, than run another 5 minutes again. That is all; there is no need for any further warm up.

Sometimes the conditions will limit what you can do for a warm up. In many large marathons you may be waiting in corrals for 30 – 40 minutes. This may mean running in place to warm up.

Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 2001. Advanced Marathoning. Champaign, IL: Human

The Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer!!!

The color of the day was green as The Beyond celebrated St Patrick’s Day and Pat Johnson’s birthday with green leis, party hats, and Pat himself wins the prize for “Most Creative Day Sponsor” by decorating each of the aid stations with festive green balloons. Francine Bangs and her friend Sherry led the group in a rendition of “Happy Birthday”, and according to Russ Bertch, Pat is rumored to have attained the ripe old age of 32. Patti Montilla was the honorary holiday namesake and was given another course map to commemorate. Monica Lynch was the only one to turn down the offer of holiday accessories.

The Beyond also welcomed newcomer Steve Chapman to the world of group running. Rumor has it that Steve is some kind of Country Music Star and will be playing a gig the night before he run’s next week’s Kal-Haven Trail Relay! He has already been approached on providing course entertainment at the Bloomingdale exchange.

The chosen profession of the Beyond Marathoners appears to be teaching. Among the Beyond we have several college and high school teachers including Mark Sigfrids, Michael Ryan, Scott Taylor, Brian Dobbie, Peggy Zeeb and Jennifer Shaffer. Jennifer and Brenda Stoddard both gave into peer pressure, hit the post run watering hole, and learned the REAL reason why we gather for group runs! Mark Sigfrids and Bob Poznanski threw together a last minute Kal-Haven Trail Relay Team.

Julie Wojtaszek and Rachel Wittkowski have been missing in action the last couple of weeks. Upon future investigation, we learned that Julie’s excuse was a trip to Hawaii, and Rachel’s was a trip to Cancun! “It was quite an experience going from running in zero degrees to 80 degrees,” reported Julie. “I had good intentions,” confessed Rachel. “With the sun and surf, they just never panned out.” Rachel also confessed to sticking around Grand Rapids this weekend and running the Irish Jig 5k, finishing in 24:50. S-pace leader Carrie Hybels was also MIA due to the festive lure of the Irish Jig.

He did it! Bob Smola just completed his 90th marathon with flying colors! Bob finished the Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon in Virginia Beach in 3:33:48. Congratulations Bob! But look out Bob! Todd Raab and Mega Marathoner Peter Gower will be tackling their 2nd marathon of the year next weekend! Welcome back Phil Goodwin, Glenn Kellam, Steve Rice and Jim Roth. Megan James opted for a 13.1 mile pace run after contemplating Lucky Charms at Shakespeare’s.

Have a Plan with a Race Week Checklist!

Left Behind!

1. Get your packet early at EXPO – have time to look around – it’s fun



2. Have your number pinned on your shirt the night before – it must be in front



3. If you want crowd support – iron on your name or something to your shirt – people will yell what is printed to cheer you on!



4. Tie the chip into your shoe the night before



5. Have an alarm or wake up call (not that you won’t wake up several times during the night)



6. Remember to Body Glide the areas needed before you put on shoes, shirt, shorts



7. Put your Gu in your clothing the night before.



8. Remember nothing new to wear today



9. Double tie your shoes



10. EAT light breakfast about 2 – 2 ½ hours before…something that won’t bother your stomach.



11. Hydrate – hydrate – hydrate. Take at least one bottle of water with you to start
    If you are wearing something that you’ll remove at the start – make sure you have someone who can grab the items at the start.



12. If it’s cold - take an OLD SHIRT to put on for prerace warmth that you are willing to throw aside somewhere as the race begins or in the first mile or so (there are organizations who will pick up these shirts and give to shelter)



13. If it’s cold - have a pair of cheap gloves (found at Meijer Hardware or Race Expo) or socks for you hands that you can throw aside



14. If drizzling or raining take a garbage bag and wear it over your body until the start
    Have a BATHROOM strategy for pre-race



15. Have a meeting place decided for afterwards – it is hard to find your family or friends if you don’t



16. Bring for afterwards – sandals –you’ll be glad to get out of shoes!, extra shirt (probably long sleeve), Ibuprofen, stretch or sweat pants, towel or towelette, and any personal special food/drink you like (there’s plenty at the event but some people have picky stomachs and may want that special item)
    
    

You Snooze You Lose!!!

Whether putting together a training program, organizing an event, or setting up my own racing schedule, I am an obsessive pre-planner and like to have things done months in advance. But despite my inability to procrastinate and my phobia against “winging it,” the marathon mania that has swept the nation has caught me off guard at times, and no doubt has altered the plans of many an unsuspecting marathoner.

With the spectacular finish in Notre Dame Stadium, the Sunburst Races held in South Bend the first weekend in June are among my favorites. Although I haven’t settled on which of the 4 distances I am going to tackle this year, I recently decided to go ahead and make reservations figuring that 2 ½ months out I wouldn’t have a problem finding a hotel room in downtown South Bend. Wrong! I started with the host hotel. Booked solid. I then tried one 3 blocks from the starting line. Once again booked! Finally, I conducted an online search, and was able to book one 2 miles from the start at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Last year the Chicago Marathon closed in May, the earliest ever, locking many people out while training programs were still conducting their planning meetings. This year the cap was raised to 45,000, but I dare not even attempt to predict when it will close. My advice to everyone has been if your heart is set on Chicago, the time to register is now. Don’t procrastinate. Ditto on securing a hotel room Chicago weekend. With Chicago closing earlier and earlier each year, the Safari Training Program is now targeting Grand Rapids, rather than Chicago. But still, one is not safe. Grand Rapids has been gaining popularity with its gummy bears and pickle juice, has a cap of 1250 for the full marathon, and also presents a potentially high risk for closing early.

The Boston Marathon is in its 111th year, yet somehow, a city-wide convention was scheduled the same weekend that booked up to 5,000 hotel room nights. I started researching hotel rooms a year in advance, and finally over the summer, a couple of us blocked off 9 hotel rooms at the Omni Parker House for KAR members. I had called the Omni and attempted to negotiate a discounted block, but as much as they wanted to be able to accommodate us, they weren’t able to do it because of this “convention”. Their advice to me was to hang onto the rooms I booked “for dear life,” because there is soon going to be a major shortage of rooms. We held on to them, and sure enough by the time fall marathon season rolled around and the masses attained their qualifying times, affordable hotel rooms in Boston Proper were long gone, and soon after our 9 rooms were gone. My heart sank as one of our Front Line team mates, a young runner from the east side of the state emailed and mentioned she hadn’t booked a hotel room in Boston yet.

The Bayshore Half Marathon already closed 3 months out, and the Bayshore Marathon is expected to cap out by the end of this month. Of course there is always Sunburst the following weekend, but if you don’t have a hotel by booked now, expect to stay a few miles out from the starting line.

I finally attained success when I called the Intercontinental in Toronto to book one of the discounted rooms blocked for participants of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I was almost shocked to hear the words, “Yes, we have rooms available.” “How many nights would you like?” Of course it is 6 ½ months in advance, but there is no longer procrastination anymore when it comes to small city marathons, let alone big city events. When you make reservations directly through the hotel you tend to pay a little more, but most hotels do allow you to cancel your reservations without penalty if done so by their stated deadline. My advice is that if you are even contemplating a particular marathon, make hotel reservations and then cancel them if plans fall through. If you wait to see if you make it through marathon training injury free, most likely it will be too late. When it comes to signing up for a marathon, you risk losing your registration fee if something happens, but it is the chance one must take when it comes to those notorious for closing early such as Grandmas & Chicago.

By the way, the 2007 Boston Marathon is now closed! You snooze you lose!

The Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer!!!

Bob Smola goes for his 90th!

It was quite a phenomenon and it literally stopped traffic…runners, runners EVERYWHERE! The spring like weather drew the fleet of feet out in full force, causing the cars to finally lose control of the roads! Early Saturday morning a foot traffic advisory was issued for the vicinity of Lover’s Lane and Bicentennial trail in Northern Portage. At approximately 7:15 am southbound marathoners from The Beyond almost collided with northbound SHufflers on the Bicentennial Trail as they passed each other by. Fortunately, only a few hands were slapped as the groups passed each other by. At approximately 9:00 am as Beyond Marathoners headed northbound via Lovers Lane and Bicentennial Trail, they were overcome by a flood of Borgess Run Campers traveling southbound via the Lovers Lane Footpath.

Tim Bredahl went from running 80 miles a week to working 80 hours a week and with Boston right around the corner, has now made his reappearance! “Training for Boston in 5 weeks will be no problem,” reports Tim. Sidelined from regular training since last summer’s Safari, Steve Rice is now on the mend and has made his reentry. Steve has also been named Beyond Subject Matter Expert (BSME) on the Glass City Marathon since he reportedly ran his PR there. Beth Gross and Michael Ryan are planning on running Glass City and have consulted with Steve.

Giti Henrie is also now on the mend and was named to the Beyond Welcome Wagon Committee after bringing a newcomer from Windsor, Ontario to this Saturday’s run. Brian Campbell and Dan Wolf came back after last Saturday’s Arctic Adventure run. Julie Wojtaszek, Rachel Wittkoski, Joel Pennington and Brenda Stoddard did not come back after last Saturday’s run, at least to this Saturday’s run. As a side note, Brenda Stoddard’s husband and renowned artist Jim Stoddard had two sculptures selected for the KIA Art Fair.

Pat Johnson Ranks #5 Marathoner in the state in his age division!

The Beyond hosts some of the top age group and open runners in the state of Michigan!!! Megan James, Peggy Zeeb, Jen Shaffer, Francine Bangs, Pat Johnson & Brenda Stoddard all ranked in the top 5 in their age division or the top 15 in the open division in Michigan Runner’s 2006 Best of Times!

Did you know? Former Schoolcraft High School Cross Country and Track Star Paul Dewolf is a satellite participant of The Beyond. Paul has been following the Beyond Training Program to a T and performing his workouts solo on his college campus in Grand Rapids. Paul will be making the Martian Marathon his very first 26.2 mile adventure!

Lots of Beyond Runners won Volunteer and Runner Recognition awards at last Wednesday’s KAR/BCRR Annual Banquet. Gale Fischer won the Battle Creek Volunteer of the Year and Story Teller awards. Brenda Stoddard and Bob Smola won the Reynold G Oas Volunteer of the Year award. Jen Shaffer and Marty Buffenbarger won Women’s and Men’s Open Runner awards, Peggy Zeeb won Women’s Masters and Mega-racer awards, Peter Gower won Mega-Marathoner, Kayla Kling won Rookie Runner and Bonnie Sexton won Social Runner.

Rookie Runner of the Year
You just have to love running group dynamics. It has been less than a week since the annual KAR/BCRR Banquet and the power struggle between new KAR/BCRR Co-President Marty Buffenbarger and Training Program Director and Board Advisor Bonnie Sexton has already commenced. The first official dispute began when official timekeeper, Steve Downard reported that the group had dropped to a 6:57 pace during part of their 16 mile run. Bonnie immediately ordered the group to slow down 30 seconds per mile to stay within Pete Pfitzinger’s recommended guidelines. Marty Buffenbarger threatened to overrule this command using his new positional leadership, but did eventually heed the advice of the Advisor, and the group finished with a 7:26 average pace.

Have you ever noticed there is just way too much fun stuff to do out there, including Multi-sport! It appears that at least 2 of the Beyond have figured out how to get the best of all worlds. After finishing her 16 mile training run, grabbing sustenance to go from Panera and dashing to Kingdom to watch her boys play soccer Saturday, Bonnie zipped over to Bronson to compete in the Iron BAC Indoor Triathlon. How did she do? Despite running 3.1 miles and biking 7.4 miles each respectively in 20 minutes flat, she dropped to the middle of the pack and 5th out of 6th in her age group after finishing 2nd to last in the swim. This is despite Renee Brady’s expert coaching attempts to convert her to a fish. As a side note, Todd Raab was spotted at Bronson playing hooky from The Beyond due to child care issues and the need to spend all afternoon on a stationary bike to prepare for his multi-sport adventure, Ironman Wisconsin. Bonnie is now in recovery, not from the 16 mile/Triathlon combo, but from a 2nd grade slumber party that night.

Good luck to Bob Smola, who will be running his 90th marathon next weekend. The hoopla surrounding Bob’s 100th marathon, which will commence in fall of 2008, is already being planned by KAR/BCRR officials!

The Time Has Come for Some to Taper!!!

Mallory Barry-Loken has the right idea!

With Martian Marathon a mere 3 weeks off, the time has come to ease into a time of rest, the pre-marathon taper. The taper is just as critical a component of your marathon preparation as your training runs….and no doubt it can take just as much discipline to force yourself to rest as it does to complete a 20 mile training run!!! Training provides the long term improvements necessary to successfully complete a marathon. As you have discovered by now it also tends to leave you a bit sore and tired. The 3 week cycles built into the training schedule provide some reduction in fatigue, but not enough to completely eliminate it and allow your body full recovery. The goal of tapering is to balance continued training with rest to allow for the best possible marathon experience!

Just how much can tapering improve your marathon performance? The International Journal of Sports Medicine examined over 50 scientific studies on tapering and concluded that there is no doubt tapering works! Studies have found improvements in performance of up to 16% with most studies showing 3 – 5% improvement. At a 5% improvement, that means a 3:30 marathon can become a 3:19 marathon through proper tapering. A single workout, on the other hand will give you less than a 1% improvement in performance! For some, a well-executive taper could mean the difference between qualifying for Boston, setting a PR, or just being able to finish the marathon with a greater degree of comfort!

Studies show for the marathon one should taper for a minimum of 2-weeks with 3 weeks being optimal. Too short a taper will leave one tired on race day while too long will lead to a loss in fitness. It is wise to err on the side of tapering too long rather than too short of a period. With the Martian Marathon falling four weeks out from the our last 20-miler, the most frequently asked training question recently has been if the Martian bound should try to get in another 20-miler. My answer is no, as long as they already have one or two 20-milers under their belt, a third 20-miler would actually be more detrimental to performance in the short term than helpful. Although slightly past peak performance level, I have actually run a strong marathon 6 weeks out from my last 20+ miler with less than a 1% decrease in performance. NEVER try to make up for lost time due to injury, etc during the taper weeks. By this time any gains in fitness that will impact marathon performance have already been realized and attempting to make up for lost miles or workouts will just leave you fatigued at the starting line.

How should you reduce training to improve marathon performance? Evidence indicates that the key to effective tapering is to substantially reduce mileage while maintaining intensity. Reducing mileage reduces the accumulated fatigue High intensity effort maintains fitness level. Exactly how much to reduce training mileage depends on your current training mileage, age and health. Older runners tend to need a longer taper than younger runners. Studies have shown as a general rule of thumb you should taper your mileage according to the following schedule:

3rd Week Pre-marathon: Taper 20 – 25%
2nd Week Pre-marathon: Taper 40%
Marathon Week (6 days before): Taper 60%

These decreases in mileage as well as the maintenance of intensity have been built into the marathon training schedules. Three weeks before is the most important time for a successful taper. Marathoners often do too much this week because the marathon still seems a long way off. It is much better physiologically and psychologically to allow your body to start to rebound this week, or you will find yourself feeling flat the last two weeks.

Often marathoners also decrease training efforts. This can result in a small loss in fitness as well as a lack of psychological reinforcement. It is more effective to intersperse harder efforts within the recovery trend. For example, the Comet schedule has 3 x 1-mile intervals the 2nd week pre-marathon. Marathon week itself is all easy recovery, with the exception of Tuesday or Wednesday where it is recommended you do a 6 – 7 mile run with 2 miles at marathon pace. This is a dress rehearsal; even wear the same shoes and clothes you will wear for the marathon! By this time, if you have tapered properly starting with the 3rd week, you should feel light on your feet, like you can fly…this will provide a great psychological boost!

Proper hydration and carbo-loading are also critical during the taper. It is vitally important that your muscles and liver be stocked with glycogen at the starting line. Marathoners used to deplete glycogen stores for 3 days (sometimes even completing a long run up to 20-miles the week before), then carbo-load the 3 days prior to the marathon. This is no longer recommended since carbohydrate depletion can suppress the immune system (this is why many marathoners get a cold the week after a marathon – glycogen stores have been depleted) and the long run will leave you sore and tired.

What works just as well is to eat a normal diet until the last 3 days and taper your training program. Then the last 3 days, eat a high carbohydrate diet and do a short, slow run these days. Your body will store glycogen to almost the same level as if you did the whole depletion and loading program. Also, make sure you are well-hydrated in the days leading up to the marathon so that you don’t arrive at the starting line suffering from accumulated effects of dehydration.

The taper can often be a challenge psychologically and even physiologically. Your mind and body are mentally and physically accustomed to the hard training. Take advantage of the extra free time…spend some extra time with family, take care of household projects that have been laid aside in favor of long runs (although not too strenuous!), read a good book……RELAX! Tell yourself this is part of your training….it IS! During the taper, it is also not uncommon for aches and pains to appear as the body heals itself from the months of training. Most of the time, (If you do suspect an injury make sure you have it checked out!) these will disappear. My body goes through this withdrawal cycle during every taper. My most recent marathon, a couple of joints, including on old injury, ached right up until the evening before the marathon. Once the legs got moving, however, the aches disappeared as my body remembered a familiar routine…conditioned by months of training!

Discipline yourself….to rest!

Source
Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 2001. Advanced Marathoning. Champaign, IL:Human Kinetics.

The Extra-Terrestrial Enquirer!!!

A Buried Love Bug for Monica Lynch!

Ridiculed earlier for having cancelled camp due to near Blizzard conditions, the Beyond run this week went on, and will forever be remembered as the Great Antarctic 20 Mile Adventure. Only the heartiest of souls appeared for this adventure, which other than beautiful tunnel of trees out R Ave, sported vast wastelands of snow drifts and ice. The course conditions were so extreme Bonnie managed to get her suburban stuck in lunar drifts at aid station 4. Despite a valiant attempt by Russ Bertch, Scott Taylor, Ralph Meyer, Mark Sigfrids, Brian Dobbie, Brenda Stoddard & Joel Pennington, it took the strength of a 10-cylander Excursion to extract the wedged vehicle out of the artic terrain. Does anyone else need any further explanation as to why the Sexton family NEEDS two monstrous gas guzzling SUV’s? Rumor has it that Bonnie was pulled out of KAR/BCRR member Frank Hui’s front yard a couple of weeks ago by another neighbor.

The changing of the guard is expected to take place this Wednesday at the KAR/BCRR Annual Banquet with Marty Buffenbarger and Jen Shaffer coming on as new board members and joining the Beyond’s Sherrie Mann, Scott Taylor, Ralph Meyer and Carrie Hybels in driving the Kalamazoo Area Runners Space Ship. Bonnie will continue on as a Board Advisor and will continue coordinating training programs. Rumor has it lots of Beyond participants will be receiving runner recognition awards.

In recent marathon racing action, Todd Raab & Peter Gower added yet another conquest to their long list of marathon completions. Spurred on by all the talk of Mardi Gras festivities taking place the week before, they both ran the Mardi Gras Marathon February 25. Peter, once again finished within 5 minutes of Boston qualifying time with a strong 3:35:38 while Todd finished in an awesome 3:48:55. Congratulations Todd & Peter on another conquest! With Todd’s penchant for extreme conditions, we are surprised he didn’t show up Saturday for the Antarctic Adventure! Rumor has it Todd used to run 20 milers at 1:00 am to the sound of coyotes when he lived in New Mexico.
Peter Gower
Sherrie Mann, Monica Lynch and Cindi Owen created their own little Arctic Adventure at 5:30 am Saturday so that Sherrie could head to Hell (MI) in time to register their Dances with Dirt team, We can’t get no Stinkin’ Signal Out Here!

Mike Ryan and Gordon Hare are looking to make the Glass City Marathon their 26.2 of choice while Julie Wojtaszek is contemplating Martian!

Simulator Training with Tune Up Races!!!

Amanda Portis - Where's Spring?
During the winter months in Michigan, opportunities to race are few and far few between and those who have been able to race have found their opportunities in warmer climates. Even though we are training for mid April – early May Marathons, there still are some great opportunities coming up to get in a tune up race such as the Kal-Haven Trail Relay and the Martian Half Marathon. As you approach your spring marathon take a look at how a tune up race can be integrated! Marathon training doesn’t mean you have to abandon racing in favor of long runs and lactate threshold workouts!

Occasional “tune-up races” are a recommended part of any training program. They serve as benchmarks of your fitness and prepare you mentally for racing. Tune-up races are all-out races; they are not races you use merely as tempo runs or pace runs. One word of caution: when doing tune-up races while “training through them,” it is important to remember that your times will be slower due to the fatigue of training even when racing all out. It is not unusual for a 10k time raced under training fatigue to be 1 – 1 ½ minutes slower than one raced when you are tapered and rested. This can provide a false indication of true fitness level. Also, don’t run tune-up races any closer than 3 weeks prior to a marathon at which you are trying to optimize performance, PR, qualify for Boston, etc, etc.

Before running a tune up race, try the mini-taper. This is where you cut back slightly on the “hard” workouts a few days before the race. Your time will be a closer indication to your true fitness level. Just how many days rest and/or easy run days do you need? It depends on what and when your last “hard” workout was. VO2 max workouts are the most taxing workouts of all. After running these 5k race pace intervals, you should allow at least 5 days recovery to allow the fatigue to lift before racing. A 5k race can also be used to replace a scheduled VO2 Max Workout. Long runs and tempo or lactate threshold runs require 4 days of recovery in order to race without the fatigue of the workout. Keep in mind, this is the amount of time it takes for the fatigue to lift, not the amount of time it takes to reap benefit from a particular workout…..this can take as much as two weeks!

Tune up races are generally shorter than the distance you are ultimately training for. The idea is to get you used to the stresses of racing and measure fitness level without prematurely running the full distance. For the Half Marathon, an 8k – 10k is an ideal distance for a tune-up race, and for the Marathon 5 miles – 25K. Any longer than that, and the recovery required will negate the benefits of the tune-up race!