Week of 1/28/08. Workouts, Tues hill repeats from Ross starts this week, Sat. hill repeats still on though the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon this Sunday; encouraging a family member or friend to get moving? Here's some info using pedometers and 10,000 steps/day goal.

1/29/08. Tuesday. 6:30am. TEMPO. YMCA site. 6, 12K, 10M.

1/29/08. Tuesday. 9am. HILL REPEATS. Tenn Valley Group.
Meet at Church parking lot...Tempo run will depend on how the tide level is at that time; or do the hill repeats.

1/29/08. Tuesday. 9am. HILL REPEATS. Ross Common.
Kevin is back to get the hill work going again along with, most likely, Denise, Sally, Cynthia,Jennifer and others. We'll ease into it with a moderate workout.
Run warmup to Phoenix Lake parking lot:
4 X 30" (B/B) (back to base);
Easy run to base of Mt. Baldy:
1 X 1:30 (1');
1 x 2:oo (1')
1 x 2:30 (B/B)...jog back to top of dam: do pickup across the dam to the other side; continue a short out/back jog, then another pickup back across the dam. Then easy jog down to base of parking lot.
A tempo pickup to entrance pillars to Phoenix Lake. Recovery run to Ross Common.

1/31/08. Thursday. TRACK workout at COM at 7am & 9am.
We'll have taper workout for those running KP Half, plus normal workout for those not doing the race. Looks like we'll be having rain again during our workout: bring the appropriate gear.

2/2/08. Saturday 7am HILL REPEATS. McGinnis Park Session #5 for 14 reps.
Meet at inner parking lot; we'll do warm-up run around the levees for about 1.5M, 2.5M or 3.5 miles then meet at base of hill. Okay, Dipsea is coming up and track season for Jason's team members is right around the corner. Let's keep building the solid reps so we'll be ready to hit the course.

2/3/08. Sunday. I'll be working the course at the Kaiser Permanent Half Marathon so Ihope to see those of you who are entered for this run. We are expecting to hit the limit of 10,000 runners. This is one popular race!
Those of you prepping for Napa Marathon, Boston or others will want to make it a mileage weekend by running 5-8 miles on Saturday, then run the half on Sunday. ...
more to come. Remember to practice your pre-race routine the night before and morning of the race so that you have that down for the marathon event.

TRYING TO GET A FRIEND OR FAMILY TO EXERCISE?
Here is some helpful information to get them going without too much intensity and using those pedometers to work them up to 10,000 steps/day (5M) and the results that produces. Note that for most of you are working to improving performance; this article is more focus on how much exercise for health.
Here's the article (from BiosLife news):

You Don’t Need Intense Workouts to Improve HealthModerate exercise shows healthy benefits.
Moderate exercise, such as walking 30 minutes a day, may offer better protection against diabetes and heart disease than a more rigorous workout regimen, concludes a U.S. study that included 240 middle-age, sedentary people.
"On the surface, it seems to make sense that the harder we exercise, the better off we'll be, and by some measures that's true," lead author and exercise physiologist Cris Slentz, of Duke University Medical Center, said. "But our studies show that a modest amount of moderately intense exercise is the best way to significantly lower the level of a key blood marker linked to higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. More intense exercise doesn't seem to do that."
Perhaps even more surprising is that some of the benefits achieved through moderate exercise seem to last much longer than the benefits gained through more intense training, Slentz said.
The study was published in the August 2007 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.
The participants in the study were divided into four exercise groups: high amount/high intensity; low amount/high intensity; low amount/moderate intensity; and a control group that did no exercise. The volunteers started with a two- to three-month "ramp-up" period and then continued their exercise programs for six months.
The Duke team found that no amount of exercise significantly changed levels of low- density lipoprotein (LDL -- "bad" cholesterol). However, length and intensity of exercise did improve levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL -- "good" cholesterol), and that benefit was sustained over time.
The study also found that low amount/moderate intensity exercise significantly lowered levels of triglycerides, which are particles that carry fat around the body and are also a good indicator of insulin resistance, a marker for diabetes. Reducing triglyceride levels lowers a person's risk of diabetes and heart disease.
"A proper exercise program appears to be able to lower a person's insulin resistance in just a matter of days. We were also amazed to see that the lower triglyceride levels stayed low even two weeks after the workouts ended," senior author and cardiologist Dr. William Kraus said in a prepared statement.
[top]
Walking 10,000 Steps a Day is an Easy Way to Get Your Recommended ExerciseResearch shows people who set a goal of 10K steps get more exercise than those who walk briskly for 30 minutes a day.Getting your daily exercise by briskly walking two or three miles can seem a trifle daunting. But walking 20 or 30 steps—that’s not so bad, is it? Add up a few steps here and there, and soon you’re burning calories and boosting your daily activity level.
That’s the premise behind today’s popular 10,000 step programs, which encourage folks to walk 10,000 steps per day—the equivalent of five miles.Think in Steps, Not MinutesMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reports that women who were told to walk 10,000 steps each day walked more than women told to take a daily brisk 30-minute walk.
Equivalents to Walking 2,000 Steps
Physical Activity
Duration
Roller Skating
20 minutes
Jumping rope
12 minutes
Leisurely bicycling
20 minutes
Vigorous bicycling
8 minutes
Moderate stationary bicycling
11 minutes
Weightlifting
27 minutes
Cross-country skiing
10 minutes
Water aerobics
20 minutes
Low-impact aerobics
16 minutes
Tennis
10 minutes
Dancing
15 minutes
Source: www.utahwalks.org

How to Build More Steps into Your DayStart today with these easy tips:
Park your car farther way from the office or shopping center
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Do a few laps inside the mall or grocery store before you start to shop
Stroll around the field at your kid's soccer practice/game
Use the bathroom or drinking fountain on another floor
Take things upstairs or downstairs immediately—don't save trips by piling things at the top or bottom of the stairs so you only have to make one trip
Change TV channels without the remote
Pace while you talk on the phone
Have your spouse or kids drop you off a few blocks from home and walk instead of ride
Take a walk instead of sitting around waiting for your car at the garage
Walk around the block while your kid is at piano or dance class instead of sitting around waiting for them
Take walking breaks instead of snack breaks at work
Skip the drive-thru and go into the bank, coffee shop, restaurant, or pharmacy
Have a walking meeting with a coworker
Every night before bed, walk around your house and do a quick pick-up/cleaning
Climb an extra flight every time you use the stairs. For example, if you are going from the 1st to 2nd floor, climb up the extra flight to the 3rd floor and go back down the stairs.

Conversion Table
500 steps = .25 mile
1,000 steps = .5 mile
1,500 steps = .75 mile
2,000 steps = 1 mile
3,000 steps = 1.5 miles
4,000 steps = 2 miles
5,000 steps = 2.5 miles
6,000 steps = 3 miles
7,000 steps = 3.5 miles
8,000 steps = 4 miles
9,000 steps = 4.5 miles
10,000 steps = 5 miles


The 58 middle-aged, previously inactive women in the study were randomly assigned to either accumulate 10,000 steps per day or to take a 30-minute walk on most, preferably all, days of the week. All the women wore sealed pedometers to measure the number of steps taken. In addition, the women who were told to take 10,000 steps wore a second pedometer so each could monitor her progress.
During the 4-week intervention, there was a significant difference in the number of steps the women took. On average, women in the 30-minute group walked 8,270 steps per day while the 10,000-step group walked 10,159 steps per day.Meet Your Fitness Goals by Thinking of How Much You're Doing, Not How Long it TakesThis same study from the University of Tennessee found middle-aged women who took at least 10,000 steps per day were much more likely to have healthy body weight and body fat percentages, which reduces their risk for obesity, heart disease, and other illnesses.
Researchers gave pedometers to 80 women (age 40 to 66) and found that those who logged 10,000 or more steps typically fell into the healthy BMI index (body mass index) and had an average of 26 percent body fat. Women who took 6,000 or less steps had about 44 percent body fat and generally fell well into the overweight category for BMI.
In a 2001 study, 15 women with high blood pressure were told to double their routine step count to 10,000 steps a day. After about six months, their blood pressure dropped an average of 11 points. And the best news is that the participants usually logged their steps by simply building more steps into their day.  ¶ 8:51 PM

  Week of 1/21/08: Workouts , upcoming key races , brilliant pre-race tips, results, new NIKE "Air Zoom Vemero", a neutral , well-cushioned mileage shoe for the roads is available for women at Greenbrae store.
> Remember that I add notes, last minute changes through Sunday so check in periodically during the week. I try to add only helpful training tips, race information and some results from our own workout group; I know we are all overloaded with information that I will try to keep the text short.

>TUES. 9am Hill Repeats to resume from ROSS COMMON site next Tuesday, 1/29/08. Looks like Kevin, Sally, Denise, Cynthia, possibly Christina and others to join in.

1/22/08. TUESDAY. 6:30am TEMPO. China Camp
it's gradually getting lighter in am, but it will be cold.

1/22/08. TUESDAY. 9am. HILL REPEATS. Tenn. Valley
Meet at church parking lot.

1/24/08. THURSDAY. 7am & 9am TRACK at COM
Long interval emphasis for all those running KP Half on 2/3/08. Count on some volume here.
For those of you running the KP Half this is the last quality workout before the race.
CONGRATS! to the 9am group which showed up in force on a cold and rainy morning with 20 participants!
We ended up doing 3-4 miles of alternating non-stop 400's at 5K race pace/400 at 20" slower (about marathon race pace). A good practice session for lousy weather days: it's non-stop and over quickly, requires paying attention to pace, and simulates a road race effort in that we take no breaks.

1/25/08. FRIDAY. JASON's Group runs, but fairly quick pace group. 10 MILE RUN.
F: 5:34 am @ Smith Ranch Deli -- Home of the 22 minute sandwich.

This week, Brad and I will discuss Section 16.18 (pgs. 312-330) of the Mitchell Report, whether Puff Daddy (he will never be P. Diddy to me) was framed or not, and which
actor and movie received the biggest Oscar snub (how could Knocked Up NOT get nominated, dude!). Next week preview, Spears' parenting skills.
Join us for the best 10 mile loop between the Lincoln Ave. and Lucas Valley exits! No better (at least clean) way to start off the end of your week!

1/26/08. SATURDAY. 7am. HILL REPEATS. Mc Ginnis Park. Session #4. 12-13 reps.
Hopefully not quite as cold as last Saturday. There's more daylight now - and you get to see the sunrise during the workout! As usual we meet in the paved parking lot of the golf club area, do our 5K warmup (or less depending on your base) followed by our reps up the 296 yd hill. See you then...those of you building mileage for marathons or half marathons will do fewer reps plus extra miles around the levees. Remember, that doing hill repeats builds those Achilles tendons, calves, hamstrings, hip extendors, quads, and fitness for the track, road racing and Dipsea preparation. We will gradually work up to 20 reps on this hill, then switch some of the workouts to Walsh Drive on the Dipsea course for repeats in April.

1/27/08. 6:45 am @ Mill Valley Fire Department / Mill Valley Market (Corte Madera Av)
Rail Road Grade 16.5 mile run up/down Mt. Tam East Peak. JASON'S RUN group. Note, this is a faster group; no ride with Kees: run up and down).

"One of our favorite trail long runs ... especially this time of year! The trail holds up very well to the weather. Should see some great waterfalls.
We will search for enlightenment and snow angels on our journey all the while logging some great miles on our precious mountain that might just be the key to Tamalpa-ites
looking 10 to 15 years younger than their true age. Could this be our 3rd year in a row of snow at the top when we run this??? "

THIS WEEKEND: Practice RACE RITUAL tips for mileage weekend, KP half marathon or Couples Relay:

Practice PRE-RACE ROUTINES this weekend if you haven't done that in the past; in fact I suggest that the night before and day of your long runs, get your eating, warmup, time of day so that you acclimate your body to a working routine.
> Run at the same time of the day as the race. For example our 7am hill repeat group workout gives you that practice;

> Eat the same pre-race meal the NIGHT BEFORE and DAY OF that works for you so that anxiety about "What do I eat?" is eliminated: should all be worked out. Vicki are you listening?

> Establish your pre-race warmup routine: there's confidence in having a proper warmup that works for you and reduces the jitters before the race.

> Run within yourself the first half of the race; then you bear down, focus on working (or maintaining) the second half. Ideally, the second half is faster than the first half...Avoid the too-fast start; there is plenty of time to move out once the field is sorted out within a half mile to mile depending on the size of the race;

> Avoid placing yourself incorrectly at the start position in large fields by checking out the results from the previous year. How many finished at your projected pace? Then you now where to line up...For the faster runners you can look at being in a race of say, 500 even though there are 5000 or more in the race.

RESULTS: Coach Jason Jacobson, ran the CARLSBAD MARATHON last weekend which is not a flat course. Jason gets this marathon in because it is sandwhiched in between XC and track seasons. He coaches San Rafael High School runners. Jason placed 17th in 3:03:59 (7' pace) though he went under 3 hours last year - tough to do on this course.

LOOKING AHEAD

> 2/3/08. KAISER PERMANENTE HALF MARATHON/5K.
This race is 25% ahead of last year in registration, we're now at 7,000 entries; if you plan to run this half, pre-register - it's likely there will be no race day registration. Check Rhoyco.com site.
This very popular half marathon has a fast course and is a good steppingstone to the Spring marathons.

> 2/10/08. TAMALPA COUPLES RELAY hosted/managed by Tamalpa Runners

Time to line-up your relay partner! This event is blast for young and old; excellent for speedwork - time to support our Club run. For those of you who have youngsters in the St. Marks running program with Mr. Orick, let's encourage those boys and girls to enter.

Woman/Partner run two laps on a one-mile loop, then tag their partner who run the same course. Two to five deep in the divisions based on the combined age of the couple and number of participants in open, married, father/daughter, and mother/son, or grandparent/grandchild and lesbian categories. .
TIME: 9am.
WHERE: Vintage Oaks Shopping Center, behind Costco/Target store areas.
FEE: $25/couple; $30 race day. Numbers picked up race day.
Register: online at http://www.active.com/ or application on http://www.tamalparunners.org/.  ¶ 1:41 PM

  Week of 1/14/08: Workouts, RRGrade, upcoming events,

1/15/08. TUESDAY. 6:30 am. TEMPO. YMCA site.

1/15/08. TUESDAY. 9am RAILROAD GRADE (8M) with our 9am group.
Meet in Mill Valley in front of Fire Station, Police /City Hall station. Email or phone me if you need a ride back down the hill. Bring a small duffel bag with change of clothing: you never know the weather on top, though we should have nice day.

1/17/08 THURSDAY. 7am /9am . TRACK

1/19/08. SATURDAY. 7am. HILL REPEATS. Session #3, 10-14 reps.

1/20/08 TCRS RUN (see Tamalpa Runners.org site) At Tenn Valley; out/back course about 4M

> Start thinking about relay partner for our COUPLES RELAY (2/10/08; 9am) - 28th Annual. at Vintage Oaks area behind Costco area. Held in Feb around time of Valentine's Day. Categories are: Open , Married, Father / Daughter or Grandaughter; Mother/Son/Grandson, Gay, Lesbian. It's also combined ages that make up the divisions. Ladies run first 2M then hand off to their partner who does the 2nd 2M...

> Good luck to JASON JACOBSON on his Carlsbad Marathon next weekend. This is not a flat course, but he did sub-3 last year. Weather should be good for it again this year.  ¶ 9:41 PM

  Week of 1-7-08. Workouts, new shoes at Arch Rival, apparel and waterproof shoe update; new Junior WR for women in the marathon set last weekend, RR Grade run next week.

1-8-08. TUES. 6:30am TEMPO . China Camp site.

1-8-08. TUES. 9am . HILL REPEATS. Tenn. Valley group.
Meet at Church parking lot. We had planned to do tempo out/back on Tenn Valley -towards-beach course and back; let's see what kind of shape the dirt portion is in. If wet and rainy we will do hill repeats. .Wwe'll see how the weather is on Tuesday am...

1-10-08. THURSDAY. 7am & 9am TRACK. Ladder workout planned for regular group (2x200-400-600-2X800-600-400-2 x200); 16X400 for those prepping for the KP Half marathon, i.e. starting out at half marathon goal pace for 4X400; then 5" seconds faster on next 4 and so on, down to 5K race pace for last 4 X 400. Goal is to get used to volume necessary for half marathon and to get used to accumulated effort to simulate the last 5K of the half. I have you increase the pace with the sets of the 400's for fitness-and to learn to zero in on the accuracy of pacing.

1-12-08. SAT. 7am HILL REPEATS at McGinnis Park. Session #2. 10-12 reps.
Last week we had our first session: did a warm-up around the levees and then the group did 10-12 repeats depending on the fitness level. This was followed by a cool-down run around the levees and then back to the parking lot for a stretch session. Yes, it is an early am workout, but you get it done, get back to the family at reasonable time, and have the rest of your day open. The added benefit last time: we beat the rain!

NEW AT ARCH RIVAL:
> Waterproof shoes:
NIKE TRIAX GORETEX; Merrel's SIREN SPORT hiking shoes $99.95. ; VASQUE MANTRA Men's shoes at $119.95. We also have had the VASQUE BLUR XCR at $114.95, the ADIDAS WANAKA $109.95, MONTRAIL HURRICANE RIDGE $129.95 and Mid-high MERRELL PULSE at $119.95.

> New ASICS 3000: unique shoe requested by podiatrists for OVERPRONATORS who toe-off very pigeon-toed. It has extra support towards the medial forefoot portion.

> Just in the NB 908 trail shoe..I think a bit less supportive than the 907 , but should work just fine on trails.
> We've gone through a lot of our kids BASKETBALL SHOES, but still have WOMEN'S and MEN'S BASKETTBALL shoes by NIKE and NEW BALANCE.

> Still going strong is our ICE BREAKER and SMARTWOOL next-to-skin wool apparel in short sleeve, long sleeve and LS half zip. Great for the cold weather and Merino wool doesn't "stink" like synthetics.

> LOOKING AHEAD for my 9am Hill Repeat group: next Tuesday, 1-15-08 we will do RAILROAD GRADE again.

SOME KEY LIFTS/EXERCISES for runners - this week:
> BOX JUMPS for reps onto 24" box height. Will develop good push-off the ground/track for quicker feet, less contact time on the ground with each stride and thus greater speed.
Develop your running smoothness and efficiency: learn to land mid-foot, pretend your pulling the road/track backwards underneath you and "cycle" your through it's swing phase to reduce landing impact with each stride. Picture your legs churning like a bicycle wheel rotation; not pounding, nor too much up and down displacement which is only wasted energy.

> PLANK on exercise ball: rest only your forearms on the X ball and keep a straight line torso while your other contact point is on well-up on the ball of your foot or toes. Goal to work up to 2 minutes!

WORKING ON PORTIONS OF MY "CHALLENGE 300"
> Okay, I'm still working up to reaching 100 reps on the "WIPERS" from that CHALLENGE 300 routine. This week's milestone 80 reps..Man that really hits the entire mid-section and I became very warm as the reps increased!
In case you forgot the "wipers" is one of 7 in the Challenge 300: With 135lb barbell (big plate on standard Olympic barbell) balanced in bench press position off the rack, can be on the floor ( I use the bench); bring legs up together and touch the left plate, then bring legs down to horizontal and up again to the right plate = one rep. goal is to complete 50 in one set (or count off 100 times). You can look up "Floor Wipers' demo on YouTube.
I'd say for the lighter weight runners and women simply reduce the weigh of the bar so that you are holding up/balancing 45 to 85 lbs. The main idea is to do these two things at the same time. It's one of the best ab/hip flexor exercises around - and more fun to do because of the dual activity.

NEW WORLD RECORD in Marathon!
ZHANG YINGYING, 18 years old, just ran a Junior WR marathon in 2:22:38 (about 5:25/mile!)at the XIAMEN INTERNATIONAL MARATHON last weekend. She will be the third member on the Chinese Olympic Marathon team: they will be well represented at the 2008 Games.  ¶ 6:48 PM