Changes are coming

This is the last week that we'll meet at the summertime time. Meet one last time this year at 5:30 at the OLP rental location.

The speed work cycle we've been following brings us back to doing 1/4 mile repeats. And since almost everyone can handle it, lets plan on a 4 mile run. So a 1/2 warm-up and a 1/2 mile cooldown will leave room for 6 1/4 mile "on" portions. Plan your energy for 6! repeats and try to manage it so that your 5th one is your fastest of the session.

For those of you still learning how to do speed workouts -- if you are barely slowing down for the "off" portions, then either you aren't pushing enough during the "on"s, or you aren't relaxing enough during the "off"s. Someone just glancing at you should be able to tell that you significantly changed your speed and would think to themselves ("Hmmm, that person must be doing speedwork tonight".) If you need to, feel free to walk some during the off portions...but only if you need to, try to keep jogging slowly if you can. But, definitely go slow enough during the recovery cycle so that you have your breathing/heartrate back down enough to kick it back up during the next interval. The main idea is teach your body to stress itself and then recover quickly, then stress again... Once you get used to this and start effectively mixing in this workout technique it will make a big impact on your race pace.


FYI -- I keep forgetting to point this out and I've realized many of you don't understand the weblink for the TRY blog. It is a concatenation of the words "there is a try". So, if you've never realized it, that's all it is. The website is thereisatry.blogspot.com and the only tricky part to remember is the word "blogspot". Or, you can google "Tuesday Recreational Yogging" and the blog is the first thing that shows up. Hope that helps! Sorry that I didn't explain any of that earlier for those of you that have had trouble remembering how to get to the site.

Wake me up when September ends

I'm afraid if I name names, that I will leave someone out accidentally. So, I'll just put out a general congratulations. I know many of you have ran your longest runs ever, or your fastest long runs during the last 2-3 weeks. Congratulations on your 10-Ks, your 1/2 Marathons, and your Marathon performances! All of your hard work over the summer and late summer is paying off and it seems like you are putting up some great times in your longest races ever. Great work! :-)

There has been some discussion about moving the TRY meet-up time. We are leaving it as is, for two more weeks. (It will move earlier -- probably 5 o'clock for a few weeks -- starting in October so there is enough time to get a 3-4 mile run in, in the daylight. Late fall, that time will have to move earlier again. So stay tuned.) FYI -- we are meeting at 5:30 for a reason -- to allow the most people to be able to get there after their work shift. I'm sorry that it means some people have to wait around after they get done working at earlier times. It was a decision based on feedback from everyone, way back in the spring.

This week - same place at OLP at the same time (5:30). We've done the 1/4 mile intervals (two weeks ago) and the 1/2 mile intervals (last week) so its time for my variation of a tempo run. Tonight I say we shoot for a 4 mile tempo run, with 1/2 mile being warmup, 1/2 mile being cooldown, leaving 3 miles in the middle as the "tempo" portion. You should be pushing for these three miles -- basically doing a 5k race, but just slightly slower. This should be a faster pace than your typical long run training pace if you are going to get the full benefit from it. (As always, diverge from the plan as your training or injuries dictate.) If you don't think you can handle 3 miles of pushing it, do 2 or 2 1/2 instead. If that still seems like too much, then do 2, one mile intervals with a 1/2 mile recovery in between. The idea is to make sure the portion you are pushing during is significantly longer (and obviously slower) than you would do for your 1/2 mile intervals. We are attempting to differentiate our speed runs so that our bodies don't get used to any one length...and therefore keep getting pushed to their limits during these otherwise "short" runs.

I can't think of any fun polls for the sidebar -- any ideas?

TRY Drugs

No - don't try drugs! (We're drug free for life, remember?) I mean drug information related to TRY.

But first -- this weeks run. The main group run will be a 3 1/2 mile run with 1/2 mile intervals. Others can do whatever they heck they want to.

After hours activity -- since its getting to be that time of year, and some of us need to practice before our bowling league starts, I'm going to call a couple places and see if there is open bowling tonight at 7ish. So, whoever feels like bowling after running can go TRY bowling. I'll ask around tonight to see if anyone else is interested.

Drug use information:

This is the same information that I sent out last year, so you old timers don't need to read it, but this years TRY members will probably get something out of it.

If you are injured and taking drugs to help your injury heal -- you need to take ibuprofen because that is a NSAID…the key point being the "AI" or the "anti-inflamatory" portion. (Acetaminophen is a pain reliever only, it will not help with the healing of injury itself.) BUT, you shouldn't take ibuprofen before or immediately after LONG runs/races where hydration/dehydration is a concern. On those days, if you need something just for pain, you take acetaminophen. I've broken this rule myself and this might have been part of my problem during my first marathon a few years ago -- I took ibu that day. Ooops! I can find a conclusive answer on what makes a run long or not, but I'm assuming a 5K doesn't really matter, but 10K and up would start to…depending on how hot is out.

As runners, it's probably worth reading through the articles below if you don't already know this stuff…plus there are some other stuff mentioned about allergy meds and pepto type meds:

Runners world link pill primer:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-286-289-7770-0,00.html

Runners world link strong medicine:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,ssss6-241-286--9214-4-1X2X3-4,00.html

More on the science behind the drugs you might take:
http://www.athleteinme.com/ArticleView.aspx?id=306

It's Running Season

Since I played baseball in school, I never went out for "track" and the fall is what I think of as running season. This is the time of year when I run that the temperatures, the scents, the sights and the conditions really make me nostalgic. It takes me right back to being a mediocre cross-country runner!

Many of you have been doing a great job with your running/training. Many of you I have now idea about. But I suspect that some of you haven't been running much lately. I know I fall into that category myself...just haven't been able to find the motivation to do so. Then, the other morning I looked in the mirror and thought to myself, "Boy, you are fat and ugly! You better start running again."

Yeah, I know what you are thinking (or at least what Ally is thinking) -- that running won't fix ugly. But I figure it can help a little with the fat part. So, I'd at least have that, Ally! :-P

So, for the TRY members out there that have been too busy or have been coming up with a lot of excuses to not run lately, I encourage you to come out this Tuesday or next and get restarted with me. There are a couple of really nice running months ahead (nice and cool but still enough sunlight to run after work) for getting in better shape and also plenty of fun races around that you could target if you wanted the extra motivation. Pick out a race in October/November and see if you can make some gains speed/distance/confidence-wise. That way, even if you take the winter off from running, you'll be stronger for skiing/snowboarding and when spring rolls around you can start to think about running faster or longer in next summers races. (And you can become a running superstar like our very own Katie...she is going to have to start her own group called "Do" -- because she's doing it, she's not messing around "Trying" anymore. Congratulations on a great placing again this weekend, Katie! :-) I suppose I should also mention that Mark did very well too. Good job by our fastest couple! Your hard work is really paying off.

So, who's in? What other slackers are ready for a restart along with me? I hope to see a couple non-familiar faces out there this week!

As for this weeks run itself -- I think our speed work cycle brings us back to a tempo run. But, I've been so disconnected, I'll poll the group live before we start and see what speed work (if any) that people are in the mood for (400s, 800s or tempo). The length is up to you. Anywhere from two to four miles for regular folk not gearing up for a long race.

In the original post, I forgot to mention that I have reserved a couple tables for Tuesday night at the official restaurant of TRY -- Tully's Good Times on 7th north street. So hopefully several people will be able to go for dinner, or dessert, or just drinks. Plan accordingly.

Living the Fantasy

Since I was unable to get it moved, I have to do my fantasy football draft tonight and won't be joining in with TRY. (I know, I've missed 2 out of 3 weeks now!)

People are on their own plans for the most part these days, but for those of you who aren't...how about a 3.5 to 4 mile run with 1/4 mile intervals for the speed workout tonight? So, do 4-6 fast intervals or until you can't take it any more. Good luck. I'll be back next week.

FYI -- no more field trips for a while -- meeting at the Liverpool park until further notice.