Training Starts In Two Weeks!

OK, actually, in a little over two weeks... let's not exaggerate. I'm just trying to build some excitement, here.

Our first workout is on Tuesday, September 1, at 6:30pm, at Whole Foods. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of reminders.

What we've landed on, cost-wise, is $175 for new folks, $150 for returning vets. If that's a problem, or you need a payment plan, let me know. You can pay by cash or check, or by Paypal - www.paypal.com, and use this email address (robhill45@gmail.com to find my account.

But this is not a matter of sitting around for the next two weeks waiting for training to happen. You need to be preparing. Let's talk about that.

Getting up to speed - whatever speed that is...

Half marathoners, you need to show up able to run at least three to four miles comfortably. Marathoners, five to six miles.

Now, I know many of you have been slacking, with the, "Wah, it's 105 degrees," or "Wah, my shoes melted," or "Wah, I have cable/friends to drink with, and I haven't been bothered with running since February." Well, it's time to suck it up, people!

If you're pretty darned near zero right now, there's no time to lose, but you can most likely be where you need to be in two weeks (unless you've just reeeeeeally let it all go). There's a couple of good ways to get yourself up to speed:

1. Go out, warm up with a jog or brisk walk for about 5-10 minutes. Then, use your watch, and go two minutes "hard", then three minutes "easy". Repeat this for a total of 20 minutes. Now "hard" and "easy" are going to vary. You might be walking the easy part, and jogging the hard part, or you might be running the easy part at a comfortable, conversational pace, and getting a little out of your comfort zone for the hard part. Afterwards, do an easy cool-down for 5-10 minutes.

The following week, make it three minutes hard, two minutes easy.

2. If you run around the lake or at Camp Mabry, try going easy for three quarters of a mile, then harder for a quarter. Then, easy for a half, harder for a half, then easy for a quarter, harder for a quarter. Then get a cooldown. For a lot of us, we go out and try to literally hit the ground running, and we're tanked after several minutes. This is a good way to ease into it.

Either way you use, you'll find that you're pretty quickly able to string together more running and less walking. Do these workouts only once, or maybe twice a week, say, Tuesday and Thursday. Get some light running/walking in on other days, but if you're starting from near-scratch, don't go more than 3-4 times a week. Try to do a slightly longer run on Saturday morning.

If doing these seem really hard, or you're not able to run at all right now, let me know, and let's figure out what we need to do.

Getting the medical go-ahead

Have no doubt, what you're taking on here is a serious thing. You're going to be placing a lot of demands on your body. Some of you will learn exciting new levels of soreness and aches. you have to pay more attention to staying healthy, because your immune system can get worn down. And some of us are not as young as others.

Training for a marathon or half marathon is sort of like owning a motorcycle - in the course of training, friends and relatives are going to hound you with stories about people dying, losing interest in their other friends, or soiling themselves. Right now, let's just talk about the first issue.

The incidence of marathon death is very low - around one in 100,000, if I remember correctly. Marathon mortality kind of breaks up into two groups - deaths for those under 30-35 tend to be due to congenital heart defects, known or unknown, and for those of us with more birthday party experience, the issue tends to be more typical cardiac events.

For anyone about to embark on training like this, getting a check-out from a doctor is a good idea. Runners, particularly male runners, 35 and over should really go have a proper stress test and all of that. Better to have a gripper on a treadmill in the Heart Hospital with hot nurses around than out on Great Northern with me giving you mouth-to-mouth. Neither of us wants that.

Getting equipped

Yeah, everyone says running's great because all you need is a pair of shoes to do it. Doesn't mean you can't still find ways to spend stupid amounts of money on things, but that's still essentially true. But shoes are worth spending the money on.

Other runners in the group can tell you what a dramatic difference shoes can make. When people come to me with pains and injuries, I usually look at shoes first, and it's amazing how often that's the fix.

I plan to set up a little seminar at Hill Country Running Company about shoes, but let's get a few things out there.

You can't just go buy a "good" or expensive running shoe. It has to be right for you. A $165 pair of Gel Kinsei's would be dumb for many people, and an $85 pair of shoes might be perfect for them. Different people have very specific distinctions in their gait, foot strike, foot shape, and cushioning needs. To get the right shoe, you have to go, in person, with time to spend, to a place where someone is going to look at you walking and running barefoot, and then watch you run in the shoes they knowledgeably suggest.

I strongly suggest Hill Country Running Company, Bettysport for women, Rogue Equipment, or RunTex. We get a discount at all these stores - I'll be getting discount cards soon. Wherever you go, talk to the person first and see if you get an involved, knowedgable vibe. If you don't, leave.

Brand loyalty and cuteness are secondary considerations. You may have to ditch them completely when you're looking for running shoes. I always loved basketball shoes, and Nikes and Jordans were the best there were, but when it comes to running shoes... not so much. I have to be reminded that Reebok still exists.

Even if you have the most perfect-for-you running shoes ever, that you slapped a lot of cash down for back in 2003... yeah. You need some new ones. Even the right shoes will break in during the first 50 miles, giving you more (!) cushioning and a better feel than the day you bought them. But once you get in the 200-300 range, they start to break down, giving you less support and cushioning, which can lead to aches and pains and even injury.

As for shorts and jogbras and stuff... uh... yes. You need those. If you're new to the whole jogbra thing, go to Bettysport. Paul in our group also tends to have opinions and even some experience in this area, but I'd avoid talking to him about it, if at all possible.

You're gonna need a running watch, although a couple of our vet runners pride themselves on not being held to the restrictions of the time-space continuum. I'd recommend going to Academy - Nike watches are getting cleared out, and you can get great deals on them. Just get one that's comfy, has a light, and will do lap and split timing.

Academy is a great place to go for running clothes, and occasionally, IF you already know that a particular shoe model works for you, you can get shoes there, too.

OK, that's enough for now. I'm planning on having a little get-together, maybe with a short run beforehand, on Tuesday, August 25, at 6:30. We'll most likely run down to Hill Country Running Company, get some info on shoes and other stuff, then run back and have a bite to eat and some stuff to drink.

Cool? Good. Now get your butt out there and run.