Final Timed Mile

Just a reminder that we will be meeting at the Sentinel track this Wedneday instead of the massage school for our timed mile. If you can't make it on Wednesday but still want to do your timed mile I will be at the track on Thursday at 5:30 pm if you would like to do it then.

Saturday March 8th!

Dear group,

This Saturday marks the first day of class for the Missoula Marathon and Half Marathon training -- the class will actually meet Sundays and Wednesdays but the first day of class is apparently on Saturday, March 8th. However, it meets at 8 a.m. whereas we meet at 9 a.m.

For those of you not doing the class - I will be at our regular location at 9 a.m. for our workout. If you do want to do the marathon training program, you should attend the class at 8 a.m. It says "come prepared to run," so, after the initial remarks, etc., if you feel you would rather run with us at 9 a.m., feel free to come over -- otherwise, go ahead and do whatever they are doing and skip our class (sob!) :) . I do not know what the marathon trainging group's plan is. Our workout will be three segments of 5 minute walk, 10 minute jog.

On Wednesday they meet at 6:00 pm whereas we will meet at 5:30 pm for our last class. Wow, can you believe it? As Jenny will post later on, we will be meeting at the Sentinel High School track for our end-of-class timed mile! If you are doing the marathon training class instead that evening, Jenny said she might also be available Thursday at 5:30 pm for those who are in the marathon training class and still want to do their timed mile.


Thanks and I'll see those of you on Saturday who can make it! (Good luck to Jenny in her Mercer Island 10k!! W00 HOO!)



PS: Sally - here is last Wednesday's route. :)

Intervalesque training

Saturday between spits of rain we completed our workout of six minutes walking and four minutes of BRISK running, three times. It appears we covered about 3.5 miles which shows how very brisk the run sections were (distance includes a cool down walk)- good job! Doing shorter, manageable sections at a heart rate that is higher than you would be able to sustain for anything longer makes you faster and stronger very quickly. Even one session a week will show results.

Please don't get discouraged if you are experiencing absences due to family schedules, or setbacks due to aches and pains. Remember progress is not a steady line upward and you each have made a big deposit in your fitness piggy banks. It won't go away overnight.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and we'll see you all Wednesday!

Putting the hammer down

Three of you put really put the hammer down on Wednesday's run (you know who you are!). We went a total of 4.7 miles in about 55 minutes. Nice job! Saturday's run will seem like a walk in the park compared to this, but we will crank it up another notch next Wednesday.

Saturday halfway point!

Our hardy Saturday group gathered under cloudy skies for our three repeats of 4 minute walking / 5 minute jogging. Our route was about 2.6 miles.

It's hard to believe we are halfway through our six week program. It's exciting to see the consistency and improvement. Rahnelle has already taken a minute off her treadmill mile - we love to hear it. And Sally, Tina and Brian win gold stars for perfect attendance. :) We look forward to Wednesday's group - see you there!

If you missed today's session and have any questions about nutrition and hydration, please feel free to contact me or Jenny or ask us at the next class. We talked a little bit about the "glycogen window" which occurs in the 20 to 30 minutes following a run and how it is a prime opportunity to refuel your body, making it ready for the next workout. As our workouts start taking closer to an hour, and/or increasing in intensity, it might also be time to think about experimenting with consuming a "gel" type product during the workout (about 100 calories). Consuming a pre-workout snack 1 1/2 to 2 hours before the workout (such as cereal with fruit and nuts, or a yogurt with fruit and nuts) is also something to try. And remember to record what you ate before, during and after, in your running log so that if you have a good or bad experience, you'll know what might have contributed to it. And, of course, nothing is as important as paying attention to your nutrition around the clock. The handout you received at the beginning of the course has some great tips such as how to avoid snacking pitfalls at work. I have more nutrition handouts if anyone needs one.

See you soon!

Pre Lunar Eclipse Run

Our three sets of 10 minute walks followed by 7 minute jogs took us on an approximately 4.25 mile loop (seen here). The evening was gentle and still light until the end, and it was as if the world was holding its breath in anticipation of the lunar eclipse to happen later that night.

Thanks for a great group effort – progress is very visible in you guys to me and Jenny. You can be quite proud.

Hope to see all of you on Saturday!

Spring is Near

We ran/walked 2.2 miles today in 30 minutes with temperatures in the 40's, what a good way to start the day! Enjoy the rest of the weekend and we'll see you on Wednesday.