Week 12
This was the Thursday before the Crim race in Flint. Rather than overdo things, the group split this week into 2 sections - those who were running the Crim on Saturday did 3 miles, those who weren't did the full 8.
No issues to report - same as before.
Week 13
Biggest run so far 11 miles. We did a Tienken, Squirrel, Brewster, Tienken (again), Livernois, Walton, Adams loop. Group did well, with certain members fast running at the end. Heather had some foot pain, and Jan walked in with her. Otherwise we cam through unscathed.
So now we are in to the final month - light at the end of the tunnel. The Brooksie is on the 30th with a practice run on 16th. Here we go!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Weeks 8 and 9
Firstly, apologies... I'm late! So this weeks blog covers both weeks 8 and 9
Last two runs have been challenging, but we have made it through - good job, everyone!
Week 8 was a simple (?) 5 miler from Rochester High School, however the weather was humid - really humid. Sometimes the shorter runs (would you have thought that 5 miles was "short" a few months ago?) are harder to prepare for mentally. However, it is a decent distance and made us all work. We stretched out as a group (not having Jan to keep us in good shape), but eventually got to circling back.
Week 9 was not only 8 miles but a new section of the course - the hills of Tienken, Brewster, Dutton. These hills - combined with the weather - gave us a good test and emphasised the need to start slowly. The route we took is part of the Brooksie Way and, while I am not sure of the exact mile points, it is basically in the middle of the run. There is a definite feeling of being on the home stretch when you reach Adams and Dutton. The group stuck well together, even if at times some of the singing made folks want to run in a different direction.
We are right in the middle of program and it can feel at times like the dog days of summer. However the group is doing well and we are now getting to the higher miles. Through August we build up to 11 miles, then we move into September - which is our preparation month for the race. We have a couple of shorter runs early September, then our practice race on September 16th, two weeks before the actual race on the 30th.
Topics for discussion:
Week 8, July 22
Week 9, July 29
This is our planned mileage coming up, all from Adams High School:
August 8/9 keep at 6 miles
August 15/16 change from 11 miles to 10 miles
August 22/23 change from 5 miles to 7-8 miles
August 29/30 change from 12 miles to 11 miles.
Finally, I received this email from Stacy. She has not asked me to do this and so I apologise to her in advance. I hope I am not too late posting it. Here it is:
As many of you know this year I will be walking the 2012 Michigan 3-Day on August 17, 18, and 19th. We will walk 60 miles over the course of 3 days in an effort to fight again breast cancer. Through donations and fundraising I have raised $1779 so that means I am just $521 away from my goal $2300. I’m hoping to reach this goal by August 3rd. Please support me with a tax deductible donation today! If you are interested please visit http://www.the3day.org , from there by clicking on “Donate” you can type in my name. (You may notice the amount earned there is lower than I mention above; that is only because all of the checks I have sent in so far have not all been processed). Thank you in advance for your consideration!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Stacy L. Cerget
Keep up the good work everyone - we are doing really well.
Tim
Last two runs have been challenging, but we have made it through - good job, everyone!
Week 8 was a simple (?) 5 miler from Rochester High School, however the weather was humid - really humid. Sometimes the shorter runs (would you have thought that 5 miles was "short" a few months ago?) are harder to prepare for mentally. However, it is a decent distance and made us all work. We stretched out as a group (not having Jan to keep us in good shape), but eventually got to circling back.
Week 9 was not only 8 miles but a new section of the course - the hills of Tienken, Brewster, Dutton. These hills - combined with the weather - gave us a good test and emphasised the need to start slowly. The route we took is part of the Brooksie Way and, while I am not sure of the exact mile points, it is basically in the middle of the run. There is a definite feeling of being on the home stretch when you reach Adams and Dutton. The group stuck well together, even if at times some of the singing made folks want to run in a different direction.
We are right in the middle of program and it can feel at times like the dog days of summer. However the group is doing well and we are now getting to the higher miles. Through August we build up to 11 miles, then we move into September - which is our preparation month for the race. We have a couple of shorter runs early September, then our practice race on September 16th, two weeks before the actual race on the 30th.
Topics for discussion:
Week 8, July 22
- Nutrition – first 45 minutes you are burning sugar, after that, you are burning fat
- Eat 1 to 1 ½ hours before your workout, protein and carb
- Bagel and peanut butter
- Granola bar
- Egg and whole wheat toast
- Do not eat anything ‘new’ on a long run
- If you always have a banana and peanut butter, but want to try a bagel with cream cheese, do that when your run is short and you are close to a bathroom
- Use fuel for workouts exceeding 1 ½ hours
- Gu
- Sports Beans
- Chomps
- Snickers
- peanut butter sandwich
- banana
Week 9, July 29
- Recovery
- Prevent soreness
- Stretching
- Change into dry clothes right away
- Ice
- Elevation
- Massage
- Anti-inflammatory medication, afterward
- Foam Roller
August 8/9 keep at 6 miles
August 15/16 change from 11 miles to 10 miles
August 22/23 change from 5 miles to 7-8 miles
August 29/30 change from 12 miles to 11 miles.
Finally, I received this email from Stacy. She has not asked me to do this and so I apologise to her in advance. I hope I am not too late posting it. Here it is:
As many of you know this year I will be walking the 2012 Michigan 3-Day on August 17, 18, and 19th. We will walk 60 miles over the course of 3 days in an effort to fight again breast cancer. Through donations and fundraising I have raised $1779 so that means I am just $521 away from my goal $2300. I’m hoping to reach this goal by August 3rd. Please support me with a tax deductible donation today! If you are interested please visit http://www.the3day.org , from there by clicking on “Donate” you can type in my name. (You may notice the amount earned there is lower than I mention above; that is only because all of the checks I have sent in so far have not all been processed). Thank you in advance for your consideration!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Stacy L. Cerget
Keep up the good work everyone - we are doing really well.
Tim
Friday, July 20, 2012
Week 7 - 8 Miles in the Rain
On we go. 8 miles down, 5.1 remaining...
A beautiful (for running) evening - cloudy, a little rain, not too hot. Jan picked a good route - even if it did include going up Tienken from the PCT to Livernois. Completed in 99 minutes - a good pace.
Some folks travelling, some busy, some new (welcome Chelise Sylva - we think you will fit in well!). Danielle sprained her ankle after 3 miles and had to walk back to the car - hopefully no damage done. Amy ran like the wind, along with Rick - couldn't hold the two of them back! Coincidentally neither had their significant others present - hmmm?!
Probably a few sore folks today - sort of to be expected. If you get soreness, ice down the joints. Here is an article on this issue:
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is to ignore aches and pains when they are minor. Your body is very good at telling you things; the trick is learning how to distinguish between minor tears that are getting repaired and major tears that could lead to an injury. The easiest thing to remember is to ice early and ice often. When you finish a workout, your muscles have been torn. This signals your body to repair the muscles, and if the tear is bad enough and you have properly fueled yourself it will repair the muscle in such a way that the same workout will not cause as much damage. This is how we get better at any physical activity.
When you do too much too fast, or you twist something in a way that your body doesn’t want it to twist, you risk pulling a muscle or bruising a bone or causing a fracture. There are countless ways that you can hurt yourself. As you get more experienced in working out and you begin running more miles and doing more speed workouts, you have to be mindful of how you feel. In general, you should be able to tell the difference between being sore because of a good workout and being in pain because you have injured yourself. Any time that you are not sure, then ice the sore spots after your workouts.
There are different ways to ice your muscles.. In general, you want to apply the ice to the sore spot directly after your cool down and stretching. When you are done icing, you will generally want to wait for 20 minutes and then ice again.
Icing your sore muscles will not heal an injury, but it could help to prevent one. When in doubt, apply a little ice. If you are just a little sore, then one round is probably enough. If it gets worse from workout to workout, then you should ice more and even consider taking an extra rest day or two. Icing your muscles can help you keep yourself on your training schedule, but pushing your schedule back a day or three now and again may help prevent you from pushing your schedule back a month or three.
Whenever your muscles are feeling a bit sore or overworked, you should “Ice Early, Ice Often.” The first and easiest way to do that is to just grab a bag of ice and slap it on your sore spots. Leave the bag of ice on your leg or joint for 20 minutes, and then take it off for 20 minutes. Put a new bag of ice back on for another 20 minutes if necessary.
In general, you do not want to ice for more than 20 minutes at a time. When using the bag of ice method, you generally do not want to use full ice cubes, since there will not be a lot of surface area for you to use in the ice bag. Crush the ice into smaller pieces first, or else use the old bag of peas method. Take an old bag of frozen peas, and slap them onto your body where you are sore in lieu of ice. They will need to be refrozen after each use, and I recommend labelling the peas so that you do not accidently eat them later. Frozen peas that have been thawed a few dozen times really do not taste very good. The size of the peas is perfect for conforming the bag of ice around your muscle, and they do not require any work other than pulling them right out of the freezer.
The nice thing about using a bag of ice is that you do not need to do anything other than position the bag and then wait. There is no thought needed, there is no effort needed, and you can easily multitask. If you are using a plastic bag, then you generally do not need to worry about frostbite. If it is too cold for you, you can just place a paper towel under the bag to get most of the cold but not all of it concentrated on your skin.
Topics that should have been covered but weren't (I picked the wrong week card!)
Cross Training
PS Don't forget your BW8 shirt orders - we want to role them out as soon as possible (a little inter-group competition never hurts...!)
A beautiful (for running) evening - cloudy, a little rain, not too hot. Jan picked a good route - even if it did include going up Tienken from the PCT to Livernois. Completed in 99 minutes - a good pace.
Some folks travelling, some busy, some new (welcome Chelise Sylva - we think you will fit in well!). Danielle sprained her ankle after 3 miles and had to walk back to the car - hopefully no damage done. Amy ran like the wind, along with Rick - couldn't hold the two of them back! Coincidentally neither had their significant others present - hmmm?!
Probably a few sore folks today - sort of to be expected. If you get soreness, ice down the joints. Here is an article on this issue:
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is to ignore aches and pains when they are minor. Your body is very good at telling you things; the trick is learning how to distinguish between minor tears that are getting repaired and major tears that could lead to an injury. The easiest thing to remember is to ice early and ice often. When you finish a workout, your muscles have been torn. This signals your body to repair the muscles, and if the tear is bad enough and you have properly fueled yourself it will repair the muscle in such a way that the same workout will not cause as much damage. This is how we get better at any physical activity.
When you do too much too fast, or you twist something in a way that your body doesn’t want it to twist, you risk pulling a muscle or bruising a bone or causing a fracture. There are countless ways that you can hurt yourself. As you get more experienced in working out and you begin running more miles and doing more speed workouts, you have to be mindful of how you feel. In general, you should be able to tell the difference between being sore because of a good workout and being in pain because you have injured yourself. Any time that you are not sure, then ice the sore spots after your workouts.
There are different ways to ice your muscles.. In general, you want to apply the ice to the sore spot directly after your cool down and stretching. When you are done icing, you will generally want to wait for 20 minutes and then ice again.
Icing your sore muscles will not heal an injury, but it could help to prevent one. When in doubt, apply a little ice. If you are just a little sore, then one round is probably enough. If it gets worse from workout to workout, then you should ice more and even consider taking an extra rest day or two. Icing your muscles can help you keep yourself on your training schedule, but pushing your schedule back a day or three now and again may help prevent you from pushing your schedule back a month or three.
Whenever your muscles are feeling a bit sore or overworked, you should “Ice Early, Ice Often.” The first and easiest way to do that is to just grab a bag of ice and slap it on your sore spots. Leave the bag of ice on your leg or joint for 20 minutes, and then take it off for 20 minutes. Put a new bag of ice back on for another 20 minutes if necessary.
In general, you do not want to ice for more than 20 minutes at a time. When using the bag of ice method, you generally do not want to use full ice cubes, since there will not be a lot of surface area for you to use in the ice bag. Crush the ice into smaller pieces first, or else use the old bag of peas method. Take an old bag of frozen peas, and slap them onto your body where you are sore in lieu of ice. They will need to be refrozen after each use, and I recommend labelling the peas so that you do not accidently eat them later. Frozen peas that have been thawed a few dozen times really do not taste very good. The size of the peas is perfect for conforming the bag of ice around your muscle, and they do not require any work other than pulling them right out of the freezer.
The nice thing about using a bag of ice is that you do not need to do anything other than position the bag and then wait. There is no thought needed, there is no effort needed, and you can easily multitask. If you are using a plastic bag, then you generally do not need to worry about frostbite. If it is too cold for you, you can just place a paper towel under the bag to get most of the cold but not all of it concentrated on your skin.
Topics that should have been covered but weren't (I picked the wrong week card!)
Cross Training
- Uses other muscles and creates balance
- Helps to prevent injury
- Keeps training interesting
- Examples:
- Bike
- Swim
- Rowing
- Elliptical Trainer
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Tennis
- Dance
- Strength train
This is really important and is something I believe we as runners (yes - you) need to do better. Looking around, physiques of runners aren't always that impressive - good legs, with undeveloped upper bodies (I am a classic example of that, with the exception of the good legs part). It is important for both running and good health to develop both. We will talk about core strength in the future weeks.
Keep up the good work and lets get everyone back for the next run!
Tim, Jan and Danielle
PS Don't forget your BW8 shirt orders - we want to role them out as soon as possible (a little inter-group competition never hurts...!)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Week 6 - 7 miles down!
Good run again - in warm/hot weather. Not the biggest group, but one that run well together.
A particularly brutal route - up Livernois, along Tienken, down Brewster, Walton , Old Perch, Avon and back to the school - with no shade, and hills. Sorry! It didn't kill you so it must have made you stronger.....
We did have our first in-race "injury" - Maureen tweaked her left calf and had to walk back - husband Rick went back with her (true gentleman). Rest is needed for this type injury - and remember - roll, roll, roll!
A good article:
http://www.thestick.net/Articles/Calf_%20Heart_%20Attack.htm
We got our safety back to where it should be - remember two front people peel off and stop traffic - and the group is starting to show itself as a group, more than a set of individuals. The more we get to know each other, the more rewarding the training will be. On that subject, we have 8 miles tomorrow, and 5 miles the week after. Try to see if you can free up an hour next Thursday (26th) for a group drink after the run. More information to follow.
Week 6 Topics
Helpful Techniques:
Hot and humid
Equipment:
A particularly brutal route - up Livernois, along Tienken, down Brewster, Walton , Old Perch, Avon and back to the school - with no shade, and hills. Sorry! It didn't kill you so it must have made you stronger.....
We had multiple people run out of water. Thankfully, some generous folks out on a deck understood American (not English) and came through with some bottled water (thank you, translating ladies!). Note for everybody - bring plenty water - one small bottle will not probably not be enough. We will be putting a cooler of water half way round for the longer runs.
A good article:
http://www.thestick.net/Articles/Calf_%20Heart_%20Attack.htm
We got our safety back to where it should be - remember two front people peel off and stop traffic - and the group is starting to show itself as a group, more than a set of individuals. The more we get to know each other, the more rewarding the training will be. On that subject, we have 8 miles tomorrow, and 5 miles the week after. Try to see if you can free up an hour next Thursday (26th) for a group drink after the run. More information to follow.
Week 6 Topics
Helpful Techniques:
- Stand tall, head up, shoulders relaxed, look ahead
- Run/walk at a pace that allows for conversation
- Short strides for running/walking uphill but keep same pace
- Lengthen stride on downhill; relax letting gravity help you
- Arms should swing from front to back, don’t cross over your body, elbows loosely bent
- Use arms to power up hills
Hot and humid
- Run/walk slower
- When the heat index is 90-100, cut your workout in half
- When it is over 100, cancel the workout
- Adjust training for heat; add 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees over 60
Equipment:
- Heart rate monitors
- Garmins
- Interval watches
- Gymboss timers
Finally tshirts are ready for order - bring your size and $20 if you would like one of these very limited edition masterpieces!
See you at Rochester High School Thursday
Tim
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
BW 8 Team Shirts
We
are in the process of putting together a group shirt order. We have
decided on a red short-sleeved tech shirt. They will cost $20 each.
Tim has come up with a great BW8 logo that we will have printed on the
back of the shirt, along with the wording "Brooksie Way Training 2012."
The front left chest will have the Brooksie Way logo. If anyone has
their group shirt from last year, please bring it Thursday to the group
run so others can see it. This year's BW8 logo will look like this, on
red, probably with a contrasting bright blue lettering:
Please let us know Thursday if you would like to order a shirt, and what size you'd like. You can view the shirts at the following links:
Ladies' Tech Shirt
LADIES' sizing chart: http://www.apparelvideos.com/cs/CatalogBrowser?todo=mm&productId=L473
Note that the chest measurement is when the shirt is laid out flat, measured side to side, 1" below the armhole. If you're not sure what size to get, measure a well-fitting shirt that you already have and compare.
Please let us know Thursday if you would like to order a shirt, and what size you'd like. You can view the shirts at the following links:
MEN'S sizing chart: http://www.apparelvideos.com/cs/CatalogBrowser?todo=mm&productId=T473
Ladies' Tech Shirt
LADIES' sizing chart: http://www.apparelvideos.com/cs/CatalogBrowser?todo=mm&productId=L473
Note that the chest measurement is when the shirt is laid out flat, measured side to side, 1" below the armhole. If you're not sure what size to get, measure a well-fitting shirt that you already have and compare.
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