Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a great weekend and did something healthy. Not much to report this Monday, but I haven't sent anything out since last weekend and was bored at work...so I figured, what the heck.

We have a few people that will be heading to Chicago for the Chicago marathon this weekend, best of luck to everyone going up there! Having watched our marathon group's training sessions, I know everyone is ready to go. You guys have really been flying!

We had another great track workout last week with 52 people showing up. The weather is really starting to cooperate, which has made it very nice here lately. This past week's track workout was a doosy...especially for the marathoners. The marathon group did 5 x 1000 with a 200 jog as their rest. I saw some tired people after that one! :) The 5k/10k group had fun with the mile, 4 x 400, mile workout. I will have this week's workout posted tonight, so tune into the website for that info. For those of you doing Chicago, it will be an easy 2 x 1 mile at marathon pace...and then go eat some pizza!

A VERY happy birthday today to our very own Kurt Brewer (aka, the webmaster). I think he is 27 (ok, maybe not). I know some people are going out for dinner and drinks tonight after the run. Please see Teresa Calio at the run if you are interested!

Also, if you haven't taken a look at the website lately please take a few minutes to look at the changes that Kurt has made....excellent Job Kurt! www.ymcarunner.com

My public service announcement for the week: As many of you are doing longer workouts to prepare for marathons, half-marathons and 15k's it is important to pay attention to a coupe of things:

First, make sure that your footwear is adequate. If you start getting mystery pains in your ankles or knees...the first thing to look at is "how old are my shoes". I cannot tell you how many people have asked about "mystery pains" only to find out that their shoes are a lot older than they think. The rule of thumb is between 350-550 miles. This number depends on factors such as weight, running surface and running style (i.e. lighter runners can go a bit longer in shoes, harder surfaces wear down shoes faster, etc). So if you are averaging 25 miles per week, you are looking at 14 weeks (that is 3 1/2 months). I would guess that many of us are doing more than 25 miles per week and would therefore need to look at replacement around the 3 month timeframe!

Second, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! It will tell you when it is time for a break. I have seen too many people get caught up in the idea that they need MORE mileage, MORE mileage as they prepare for the marathon. It is true that you need to up your mileage as you prepare for the long races, but that also means you need to increase your rest! This is especially true the older you get. The body doesn't rebound quite as fast when you reach your late 30's and 40's (not that I would know, only being 25).

The reason I bring this up is that I recently sustained an injury while ignoring my own advice. A couple of Monday's ago I ran on some OLD shoes because of the rain. That combined with a hard track workout on Tuesday tweaked something in my knee....needless to say, I haven't run in two weeks. So, please be careful! (At least my golf game is getting some work).

Well, enough for now. See everyone tonight and on Wednesday!

Train safe,
Paul

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