A Local 5K Opportunity This Weekend.

If you are in the Middletown area and are interested in running a 5K race, there is one coming up next weekend, the Olde Tyme Peach Festival 5K Run on Saturday, August 16th.

You can pre-register by searching for the Middletown Peach Festival on active.com, or you can register the day of the race.  The race starts at 8:00 AM.  Registration opens at 7:00 AM at Everett Meredith Middle School, 504 Broad St., Middletown.

www.active.com/register/index.cfm?CHECKSSO=1&EVENT_ID=1605436.

SAS Running Pic Project

Do you have a picture of yourself from this summer where you are running, preparing to run or just having finished a run.  Send it to me and I'll post it.  Best of all would be pictures that include SAS somewhere.  Here's one from a recent run to Devil's Thumb Pass in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado.  (Note the t-shirt I'm wearing is an SAS 18-Minute Club shirt).  We didn't make it to the pass, which is in the background directly over my head in the picture at left, due to too much snow on steep slopes.

He's more machine now than man; twisted and evil.

Here are some photos showing Tyler's arm.  In order to repair the break, a metal plate was inserted in his arm.  It is only a matter of time before he turns to the dark side.

The Sun Never Sets on SAS Cross Country!

Although our team is currently scattered across the planet ( I know of three continents where your teammates have been running) we remain connected.  From Chris in Korea to Giancarlo in Peru, to Will P. in Delaware, to Crenshaw and Tyler in Virginia and Maryland I have been hearing great news from SAS runners around the world!

Will Plautz wrote to say that he is seeing great improvement in his running and is looking forward to preseason camp.

Giancarlo, who supplied the great photo above, writes of running on a golf course and along the Peruvian coast.  He plans to attempt a run to the highest cliff on the coast near Lima, where he has been spending the summer.

Tyler Gehrs has been in touch a good deal with mixed news.  He suffered a broken arm at the end of June when he was in a bike accident.  However, the rate at which his arm is healing has me wondering whether he also posssess retractible steel claws and the heightened senses of a wolverine.    Tyler reports really enjoying running in Lexington, Virginia and is looking forward to time along the Delaware shore.

Crenshaw too has been in the Lexington area, where, it seems, he has started a stampede.  I will allow Crenshaw to tell the tale:

Well I was on the edge of the blue ridge mountain near Lexington, Virginia . . . I recently went on a run where there were quite a few cows in my way on this path in the middle of a hilly valley.  Most of them moved out of my way towards the right so enough down the hill that I couldn't see them any more.  A few seconds later, I look over to the right and to my surprise I see this huge horizontal line of about 30-40 cows running straight towards me.  After standing there and pondering what to do while the cows are sprinting towards, for a few moments, I decided it would be best to get the hell out of the way.  And, by the way, these cows looked like demons because they always stare at you whenever you walk by them, so I was already very afraid of them.  So I sprinted for a while and looked back to see I was safely away from the demons/cows that had stampeeded me.

Although Crenshaw escaped injury from the stampeding cows, he did get an undisclosed injury while attempting to pick wild raspberries.

Keep sending your stories from the summer. (So far we are lacking reports from Europe, Antarctica, Australia and Africa.)  It is great to hear from everyone and I really look forward to seeing you in about a month.  Amazing, just one more month.

Boulder Skyline Traverse

Starting at 5:45 this morning, two friends and I ran the Boulder Skyline Traverse.  This run is also called the "Five Peaks Run" because it takes you to the top of five of the mountains just to the west of Boulder (South Boulder Peak, 8,456 ft elev., Bear Peak, ft 8,543 elev., Green Mtn., 8,149 ft. elev., Flagstaff Mtn., 7,030 ft. elev. and Mt. Sanitas 6,035 ft. elev.)  Two of these peaks, are shown in the photo attached.  The map below shows four of the five peaks.  Although the total distance is probably only between 16 and 17 miles, the vertical gain of 6,300 feet is the real source of challenge. Indeed, by the fifth, and steepest climb, to the top of Mount Sanitas, I was only "running" for a tiny fraction of the the climb. Just getting to the top was my only goal and I was working hard to keep up with hikers on the trail.  By 11:00 AM we were finished with the run and soaked our legs in ice-cold Boulder creek.  What a great way to spend the morning!  This is my longest run of the summer, so far, so it was really satisfying to finish. When I got home I ate six eggs, four pieces of toast and a tomato and fell asleep reading a fascinating book.  Is there anything better than napping with a great book on your chest after a morning of exercize?

Dealing With The Heat

I recommend the following article for understanding and dealing with the challenges of running in hot and humid weather.    

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/health/nutrition/03Best.html?ex=1372737600&en=5de20a5d2fcc2cb1&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

It is July. Are You Meeting Your Summer Training Goals?

Now that July is here, it is a good time to take stock of the running you have been doing this summer.  I hope you all have been having a great summer, filled with relaxation and rewarding work.  Ideally, you will have kept a running log (I simply annotate a calendar with the number of minutes I've run each day), and so, will have a very clear picture of how close you are to your summer training goals.  

Photo courtesy of Schafer N.

The recommended SAS summer training programs were deliberately written with ranges for performance.  For example, for some of you,  a good goal might be to perform at the minimum recommended level on the standard schedule.  For others, consistently meeting the top-end of the 18-Minute Club training program might be the most appropriate training goal.  The range of workouts scheduled for early-July ranges from three  25 minute runs per week (75 minutes), to four 35 minute runs per week (140 minutes).  Where are you in this range?  Are you performing at the level that matches your goal?  You will see that, by the end of July, the recommended workout on the standard schedule is equivalent to the current workouts on the 18-Minute Club schedule. 

Remember, any changes you make to the amount of running you do, need to be made gradually.  The whole purpose of summer training is to establish a stable foundation of running fitness in order to enable yourself to safely complete the training and racing scheduled for the fall.  If you are behind on your goals, get started today, but add miles gradually.  If you are ahead of the high-end of the training schedule, contact me and we can tailor something to your needs.