Great Quote

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." --John Bingham

January 21st Email Update

Good morning!

We are in the 7th week of training! It goes by so fast. I just want to congratulate all of our runners who have completed their longest run to date over the last few weeks; it is really a great feeling and accomplishment. You guys are doing great! And, I want to thank everyone that I have run with over the last few weeks, it is so great meeting new people, so I just want you all to know how much I appreciate the chance to run with you all!

Over the past week, I have thought about a few things we probably should think about at this point in our training.

1) Pacing for our long run. I tend to run my long run at a slower pace, that way I can recover faster, and remain injury free. So the ‘general’ rule of thumb is to run about 60-90 seconds slower on your long runs that your goal race pace. Of course, with that being said, some of us might not have a goal race pace since it could be a first half marathon (which on my first half, my goal was to finish). To me the best advice is to run at a conversational pace. Which means that you can hold a conversation with the person you are running with (or if running alone, you can sing a song). And, by conversation it means conversation, not just being able to squeak out yes or no! As always, if you have questions ask Kathy or Brian!
2) Nutrition while running. GUs, gels, beans, chomps, Gatorade, powerade, and everything in between. At this point in our running it is probably time to start experimenting with different items. What works for you, may not work for the next person. So if you plan on using anything during the race, start experimenting. Runners' World has many products, and you can ask questions about how much and how often!
3) Overtraining. This is very easy to do. You get a little excited, start pushing yourself to either run further or faster, and boom, you are exhausted. It happens to the best of us! So if you find yourselves being exhausted (not just tired from doing a long run), you may want to evaluate your training from the week, and back off a little for the next week. Your body will thank you for it!

Okay, on to more fun thoughts! Upcoming races and places…
1) Just a reminder that there are several of us running in the Winter Classic coming up on January 30th. If you are running in this race, and would like to meet up with some of our group there, please email us. On January 30th, Ashley will be at the Winter Classic, and Kelly will be at Veterans’ Park.
2) Little Rock Marathon. If you are interested in the Little Rock Marathon on March 7th, please email us. I will be attending the half marathon, and there is a small group of us getting together to carpool, etc.
3) The Runners’ World Bus. If you all are interested in getting a spot with Runners’ World on the bus going to OKC, I would talk to Kathy sooner rather than later!

Saturday we will be meeting at Veterans’ Park at 7:45 a.m. We are going to run north on the River Parks trail, cross the 11th street bridge, then we will head south along the west bank of the river. The beginner half group (8 miles) will turn around at the water fountain at 45th Street, advanced half (10 miles) will turn around at the sewage treatment plant. Then head back north along the trail, cross over at the pedestrian bridge. And, take the trail back to Veterans’ Park.

Oh, and last thought...lightning...many of you have emailed me about it. I know that storms are predicted for Saturday. We will run in the rain-many of us ran in the rain last week, and it was a great run! But, it may be a good question to ask this evening at the group run on how we will handle any lightning on Saturday morning. Thankfully lightning storms usually don't last long, so hopefully if we are having a storm on Saturday it would be something we could sit out in our cars, and then get moving!

January 13th email update

Good afternoon all! If it looks like we have added many members to our group, it is just because we have added all the Run Leaders to our email list serve. Runners' World thought that might be helpful if the Run Leaders know about what is going on in other groups. Which has already been helpful to me, to answer a question Larry asked me recently about some of the upcoming events. So basic updates:*We are still meeting at Runners' World Tulsa on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m.*We will be meeting at Veterans' Park at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. I will post the routes and distance at the end of the email. To answer a couple of questions:*Am I supposed to be running on Monday nights?Well, according to our schedule you are scheduled to run on Mondays. But, please keep in mind that the schedule is just a guide. You can modify it for you and your schedule. There is a group that meets on Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m. at 21st and Riverside. If you would like more information about that run, please email us and I will get you in contact with Bobby.*Is Runners' World going to have any group meeting at the Post Oak Lodge training runs?In case you didn't get the email, there are going to be some organized trail runs in preparation for a marathon Post Oak Lodge will be hosting at the end of Feburary. The trail runs will be at 7 a.m. on 1/16 & 2/6. One of the other run leaders is thinking of going to one of the training runs, so again if you are interested in this, please email us, and I will pass along your contact info.*Does our training include the Winter Classic Run coming up hosted by the Tulsa Running Club?On 1/30 the TRC hosts a 10K, 20K, and 30K race at Mohawk park. I plan on attending, but I do not believe Kelly will be attending. So if you are interested in meeting up before the race, or running it together, just email me and we can pick out a good meeting spot. We will still be meeting as a group at Veterans' Park on that Saturday morning to run as a group at 7:45 a.m. for anyone not interested in the race.*All upcoming races (Little Rock, Dallas, etc.)Anyone that is wanting information about these races, feel free to email me. I will try to start getting lists together of who is going where, so I can try to exchange all that information within our group in case someone is looking for a running partner at the race, or someone to share a ride with to the race. I am personally looking to possibly do both Little Rock and Dallas. So just let me know! Wow! I didn't realize I had that much information to pass along. So I will make the rest short and sweet. We have such a great group, and I am excited to see everyone bonding. I have discussed this many times over the last few weeks, but it is so great to have a group to run with. Running is often thought as of an individual sport, but I for one know that I could not make it to my goal without you all! You all are my team mates, the ones I rely on to get me out on the cold days, and to make me accountable! So I appreciate every group run. So thank you all for being such a great bunch. Hopefully the cold snap is over. You all have been great for getting out in the cold over the last few weeks, and sticking to your schedules. So awesome job! Oh, and I will pass this along. One of the other Run Leaders send a note out about checking on your shoes, and that is a good rule of thumb. If you all have questions on shoes, when to replace, are you wearing the correct shoes, etc. Be sure to see Kathy or Brian they are a wealth of information on running shoes. Okay, as promised the route!Beginner Half-7 miles-Go north on Boulder to 15th St. Turn right on 15th St., and right on Utica. Just south of 21st St. veer to the right on Troost and turn right on 22nd St. Go south on St. Louis, back north on Terwilleger and go though Woodward Park. Turn right on Peoria, right on 20th St., and left on St. Louis. Loop around Swan Lake and go west on 19th St. Turn right on Cincinnati and when it crosses the trail (Mid Land Valley) turn left and follow the trail to 18th. Turn right on 18th and return to Veterans' Park. Add 1 mile at Riverparks (turn around approx. at 25th) Advanced Half-9 miles-Go north on Boulder to 15th St. Turn right on 15th St., and right on Utica. Just south of 21st St. veer to the right on Troost and turn right on 22nd St. Go south on St. Louis, back north on Terwilleger and go though Woodward Park. Turn right on Peoria, right on 20th St., and left on St. Louis. Loop around Swan Lake and go west on 19th St. Turn right on Cincinnati and when it crosses the trail (Mid Land Valley) turn left and follow the trail to 6th St. Turn left on 6th, left on Denver, left on Riverside and return to Veterans' Park. Happy running!Ashley & Kellyhttp://teamhappypace.blogspot.com/

January 5th Email

Good morning all,I am at home with a sinus infection, so I am going to make this short and sweet! Just a couple of reminders:*The Thursday evening group run meeting spot has been moved from Runners' World Tulsa to the parking lot at 41st and Riverside, at the Riverparks.*Kathy had mentioned on Tuesday evening that there may be a group meeting on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. to run. So this could be an option for anyone that is concerned with the cold on Saturday morning. I will send out any updates we get on that as soon as it is sent out. And, you may let us know if you would prefer that option, so Kelly or I can make sure we come on Sunday as well.*There is a wind chill advisory right now, so be very, very cautious if you are running outside in the conditions over the next 24 hours. Please make sure to visit our blog and check out our link to running in the cold. Other than that I just want to tell you all that we have added another couple of members to our group! And, I enjoyed meeting some of the members that I hadn't met yet on Tuesday evening. So I hope to see everyone soon. I anticipate being able to run this weekend, so I will see you all soon. You guys are doing so well getting out there and following the schedules, I just want you all to know that we are so impressed with everyone's dedication. And, I promise to send out a better email soon!Ashley

Jim

Meet Jim! Jim lives in Collinsville, and still made it out to run on December 26th after the Oklahoma Blizzard of 2009. That spells dedication in my book. Jim is just getting back into running after a year long break, but he is doing great. So watch out for Jim, and be sure to tell him hi, and let him know what a warrior he is for braving the elements.

January 5th email update

Good morning all! First and foremost, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I know that all the weather snuck up on me unexpectedly, but I hope you all still got out to run. Speaking of the weather, that is the reason for my email today. Of course, now that we got most of the snow moved out of the way...now we have to deal with frigid temperatures! So on our blog I have added a link under the Helpful Links section that will let you put in the temperature, wind speed, and weather conditions, then it will give you an idea of the appropriate clothing for that weather. It is a very helpful link, so I hope you all have a chance to take a look. Now onward to the temperatures, and wind chill for the next few days. It is predicted that we will have temperatures around 0, and wind chills at -10 to -20 over the next few days. So I have looked up a little information about running in these temperatures http://www.drpribut.com/sports/spcold.html. I will put this link on our blog as well. But, it has a lot of good tips, and information about how to figure what the wind chills will be based on wind speed, and temperature. And, it breaks down what to wear for extreme temps & when to be worried about frostbite, etc. I also want to welcome a couple of new members to our group! In addition to a couple of new local members, we have also picked up a couple of people from out of state that need group support. So they will be virtual members, so we will have to provide them lots of support as they train on their own! Kelly and I are both trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays!! We will be out at Runners' World this evening to run with the group, so grab your cold winter gear and join us! The meeting spot is Runners' World at 5:30 p.m. Also, you all should check out the Runners' World blog spot (there is a link off of our blog) for pictures of Larry and Jim running on the day after Christmas in the snow! I am super impressed that they braved the roads to come out. Also, Larry, Kelly, and John came out in the bitter cold last Saturday morning to get in their miles. So a big congratulations for braving the elements! And, I know a few of you all ran the Race Into the New Year, so let me know how the race turned out. I hope to see everyone soon. I know I am about sick of the treadmill, so come on out to run with us this evening!