Weekly Round-Up

Week Two

This is week two of this blog, and I have some exciting news: we have a bunch of new people committed to running with us! I will have to work on bio's later on, but here are the newest additions:

Half Marathon:

Cindy & Dan Mitten- Great friends of the fam, we are very excited that Cindy and Dan will be running with us!

Dan Stephen- Husband of Kelly (Marker) Stephen- Go Dan, Go!

Sarah Kates- Life-long friend of mine (sorry, Katie, Sarah even dates back to elementary school!). Sarah is the youngest person I've even known who did a 1/2 marathon- she did the Disney 1/2 when we were probably 12 years old! Go Sarah!


Marathon:

Kelly Marker Stephen- A PJ's girl from way back in the day! Sooo excited for Kelly to join us- she is a veteran marathoner, completing the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon a few years back. She's even roped her hubby into joining the fun. Kelly will be sure to keep Webbie in line when he feels like slacking, and we're all grateful for that!

Heather Silverberg Neborak- Welcome, Heather! Waiting on bio info for Heather, will be up soon!

Tori Lamaina- A seasoned runner and a friend of Chris'- Welcome Tori! You CAN do 26.2!
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This week has been tough for me (up here in Boston) training wise. A few factors have contributed to this:

1. Rain. RAIN. Rain. Yes, as I'm sure most of you are also experiencing, its really been a "wet one" up here. I think April and June may have switched places and forgot to tell everyone. Running in the rain is NO fun, but here are a few of my tips:

• Wear good socks. You know what I'm talking about- the ones that cost upwards of $8+, wayyy too much for socks? Unless you like blisters, I don't think so! Always remember to wear a moisture-wicking sock in the rain.
• Hydration!! Its wet outside, your body temperature is probably lower than a "typical" summer run, but that doesn't mean you won't need water. ALWAYS bring something to drink on a run of 50 minutes or longer. You don't want to feel sluggish afterwards, do you?
• Smart Layers. Don't wear a heavy sweatshirt or something that's going to weigh you down. Wind breakers are the BEST outer layer, and when you get hot you can tie it around your waist without feeling weighed down. Well, maybe its warmer in NJ and layers aren't needed, but its still important to consider what your wearing when running in the rain. Here's my rules: Stay away from cotton. Much like the sock issue, cotton can cause lots of problems in the rain. Chaffing should be for large dishes only! The best type of attire is moisture wicking, and body hugging. The tighter its hugging, the less its rubbing.

2. Weekends. Lets be honest here, we've all had those nights that leave us...shall we say...less inclined to hit the pavements the next morning. Yeah, Friday night was one of those for me (So was Thursday, but thats another story...). Well, it was supposed to rain here on Sat, so I'd already more-or-less had it in my head that I wouldn't run. It didn't, and the weather was nice! But I didn't run. This is bound to happen from time-to-time, and right now its okay, but further down the line it is SOO important to not skip those long runs! These conveniently lie on the weekends, for me on Sundays. If you feel the need to have a night on the town, plan it around the long run, or do the long run on an off day. When I'm not in training mode I'll often say to myself: for every drink I have, I have to run 1 mile the next day. This will have you thinking twice about that next drink, or maybe switching to a water. I don't recommend this the night before a 20-miler!

Thats pretty much been it. But despite these issues I've gotton a few runs in. The important thing is, skipping a day is no biggie. It will happen. Perfection is not attainable, but, in the long run what you put in will effect what you get out of this. So try not to skip too many runs, focus on the long term patterns, and definitely use the training log I posted, or feel free to create your own (and be sure to share with us!!)

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That's it for today! I will try to update this on a regular basis, I am thinking three times a week. I think it will be Monday-Wednesday-Friday from now on. The focus will be:

Monday- weekly progress reports of our runners. Funny running stories. Once July 20th hits, I will post the weekly run schedules we are following along with the advice from Hal (the book includes additional advice which I will do my best to type up!)

Wednesday- Miscellaneous tips. Kinda like today's running in the rain checklist. This will be like the Letterman "top 10s" but not as witty or cool.

Friday- Free Day! Whatever random running stuff I can think of. Possibly including incriminating pictures when available!

OH, one more thing!!! Check out this website: www.coolrunnings.com to search for local road races. Nothing is more motivating than actually hitting the pavement in a race! And usually you get those great shirts to collect, and if its big enough they will post your pic on the site!