Our Sunday Run -- April 1st (no fooling)...

This Sunday we're taking a break from the hard streets of McCarran, and stretching out our legs on my favorite dirt trail run in Reno. (Bryan you should wear/bring shoes with you because the surface is very rocky in spots). Round trip on the trail is a flat, 9 miles.

Let's try to leave the church a little early if we can, say around 12:45.

We can caravan over to the trail head together from the church, or if you like you can just meet us all there around 1-1:15.

Bring plenty of water with you! It should be great!

Dennis

P.S. Here are directions from the church:

Correction to last post: Our last long run will be on SATURDAY...April 14th (not the 15th)...thanks.

We're Almost There!

Last weekend was perfect running weather here in Reno. I hope you all had the opportunity to get in your "next-to-the-last" long run before Marathon DeMayo...if you didn't--don't despair.

We have our LAST long run on April 15th. PLEASE make your plans right now so that you can run with us. We'll be heading out to Bower's mansion where we'll begin our run. Marathoners will be doing 20-22 miles and Halfers will do 12-14.

If we get organized in terms of run times, we can all finish around the same time, and have a picnic there at the park (more details about this later.) This will be our final tough run before the race, so it would be a great time to celebrate and have some fun together.

THIS WEEKEND: I really want to get off of McCarran (and the streets) for a change, so we can all meet ABOVE Mayberry Park for a nice, long ditch trail run. The path is flat, quiet and very scenic...and best of all--no cars. It's also nice and easy on the feet and joints. I'll be sending you an email with directions from the church.

It's about 9 miles long and should be great fun for all!

Dennis

P.S. It is time to register for the race!!!

www.marathondemayo.com

Water & Electrolytes

We're having some really nice weather right now. When it comes to running-- it's too hot for me. Sometimes, I feel like a melting snowman on my lunch-time runs. As I read over how your Sunday long run went, I thought that it might be a good time to share some things I've learned through reading and experience. As the post title eludes to, I'd like to talk about water and electrolyte replacement.

Here's an easy way to find out how much water you lose per hour (keep in mind the rate in which we sweat has a lot to do with the temperature):

• Weigh yourself naked.
• Get dressed, :>), go run for an hour at long run pace (in the weather and time of day where you'd sweat the most).
• Get undressed, dry off, hop on the scale.
• This will tell you how much water you lose per hour, which means you know how much water you'll need to drink per hour to stay hydrated.
• For example, if I lost 1 lbs. in that hour, I need to convert the lbs. to ounces (usual water bottle measurement), so I know how many ounces of fluid to drink per hour: 1 (lbs.) lost X 16 (oz.) = 16 oz. of replacement fluid. You may find that you sweat less or more than that per hour. You don't know until you try it and in different temps.

With the above exercise in mind, here are some thoughts on electrolytes:

• Sodium (Salt) and Potassium (Bananas and other fruits) are main elements.
• They must be replaced.
• Common ways to replace: Sports Drink, supplement pills, fruits, etc...
• If they're not replaced at an adequate rate, then "bonking", muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke can happen.

With both water and electrolytes in mind, here are a few things that I do in thinking on a long run and during a long run:

• Hydration takes place before long run day. I drink water all day/night by sipping on a water bottle most of the time. Don't get over hydrated (causes brain swelling), and if you're belly sloshes, then don't drink anymore water until it stops. I'm always adequately hydrated.
• I take 18 ounces. of sports drink (mixed from powder-- Gatorade bought in the bottle is too high in fructose, so I use the powder).
• I take two swigs every 10 minutes of sports drink (my whole run). Which means I have logistical planning to do with regard to sports drink refills (usually half-way point). Also, I have used a fuel belt in the past where I could have more than one bottle.
• Try to eat 2 bananas a day for the rest of your life.
• Contradictory to popular belief, salt is not your enemy. The big "salt scare" was in reaction to high blood pressure findings back in the day. If you're regularly running your diet has plenty of salt and will sweat it out. If you don't have enough, it will cause problems when you run.

A couple last thoughts:

• As we lose water/sweat and keep sweating, there's a point when drinking "straight" water will hurt us. When the level of salt/potassium get very low, the water drank at this point further dilutes it in our system, because it acts like a flushing agent. So, I think I'm doing good by downing the water, when in reality, I'm flushing all the goodies out. When this happens, you'll possibly get leg cramps, stomach cramps, dizziness, nausea, puking, and may become listless/incoherent. If this starts to happen, it's too late. (you are "bonking").
• Something to think about: Some people have forgotten that a bottle of sports drink is really a bottle of water with powder electrolytes. 18 ounces of sports drink is 18 ounces of water with some goodies. If you don't like the sweetness-- you can lessen the concentration of mix, or you can just get over it. It's a whole lot better than drinking only water and possibly causing a bunch of yucky stuff.
• This coming marathon, I will be drinking sports drink every 10 minutes, grabbing a little cup of water at each aid station, and pouring water on my head to cool down my core temp. These can be done on long runs as well.

That's enough for now. I hope that helps a little. I could get more into the science of it, but at this point of the game, that would just cause confusion. I hope your training continues to go well and I pray that you be smart and determined in your running.

Love ya,

Jason

HOT it was...

"So that's what a leg cramp feels like"...I found myself saying today on the way back to the church. Bryan, Su, and I detoured from our route on the return (I think we picked up an extra mile in the adventure). I was a bit surprised that the hills were as "significant" as they were up 4th st. toward Mayberry Park. When we finally got to Mayberry Park, we weren't in a big hurry to run those same hills on the way back, so we headed over the Truckee and got on Mayberry and went over to McCarran from there.

When we looked up THE HILL from Mayberry to I-80, I thought to myself, "Helen and Jessica must really hate me right about now." As we started in that direction, my right leg began to cramp (like someone was digging into the bone with a wooden spoon)...it was really strange, but I must have been sweating a lot more than I thought I was, and I needed some electrolytes quick. I took a Gu and walked up the hill where we all stopped at Q-doba and filled up our water bottles (we were going thru some water today).

The cramping passed and we headed down the home stretch and things were going pretty well...that is until we were about 3 miles from the church and Su started talking about pizza (I think she started it...my brain was getting a little foggy at this point). Immediately Brian jumped into the conversation and talked about some specialty dish that he loved to prepare and cook. Before long, I was mentally in the middle of a large deep dish pizza with mushrooms, cheese, onions and lean ground beef--it was torture!

But on the bright side, I did forget about my leg for a while :-)

Well, I'm off to a shower and a nice soak in the hot tub...and I almost hate to ask it but....how did the rest of you do? (Helen/Jessica...I really am sorry for that extra hill...sort of). Ben you missed a really good time. (next time wear your shorts to church...your brother does). Becky...I hope you didn't mind running by yourself...did you make the loop on 7th without incident?

Be sure and continue to hydrate tonight and tomorrow...it was a BEAR today with the heat, and I'm really, REALLY proud of all you guys!

God bless you!

Dennis

Preparing for the LONG run

Exerpted from Marathon Training website:

While completing long runs can be sometimes difficult, preparing properly for these training sessions will make this important workout much easier to accomplish. Listed below are areas of concern that require your careful preparation prior to, and during your long run.

Let's assume that your long run is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Rest

• Get lots of rest Saturday night, aiming for 8 hours sleep.
• Make either Friday or Saturday a complete rest day for the legs.
• If you do train on Saturday, make it a very light workout on the legs.

Nutrition

• Begin hydrating on Saturday.
• Eat meals high in carbohydrates for lunch and dinner Saturday. Selecting the "right" foods is an important area of experimentation.
• Avoid foods with excessive protein/fat content all day Saturday.
• Drink about eight ounces of water Sunday morning prior to your long run.
• Eat a light snack Sunday morning prior to your long run. This is also an important experimentation area in regard to food selection.
  Drink lots of fluids while running. Be sure to stop for water frequently throughout the run. For runs longer than 60 minutes, you MUST drink sports beverages (such as Gatorade, PowerAde, etc.) at every two to three mile interval. Drinking on the run requires careful planning of the route (making sure there is water frequently available along with places to stash sports drinks).
• Consider trying gel carbohydrate replacement products. Be sure to chase these supplements down with water to avoid stomach cramps and insure absorption.
• After the run is over, continue to drink fluids (water, sports drinks, and/or juice products are all great choices).
• As soon as possible (ideally within 15 minutes), grab something nutritious to eat to replace your depleted glycogen stores. Research indicates that to avoid muscle fatigue the next day, carbohydrates should be eaten as soon as possible following long duration exercise.

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This Sunday Marathoners in training will be running 16 miles. Our route will be from the church, up the hill toward 4th St. Then we'll turn right and head over to Mayberry Park (a little over 8 miles). Then back.

The Half-Marathoners in training will be running 12 miles. Your route will be from the church, up the hill toward Mayberry (6 miles). Then back.

"Why is Dennis running us on McCarran again?" Well, I'll tell you. In my experience, it is the best route I have found to prepare your body (and your will) for the challenges of the Marathon DeMayo. You will notice that each time you conquer El Diablo it will become easier ...hmmm...perhaps "easier" is not the right word to use.

Nevertheless, it is an excellent gauge for your running fitness level. Also it has plenty of water sources and bathroom stops if needed.

On May 6th you will thank me.

Reno Running...

Isn't it funny...our Sunday run 7 days ago was one of the nastiest long runs I've ever experienced...and then a week later--the skies are clear, there's not a hint of wind, and the temperature rose to hover around 60 degrees!

I really enjoyed our run today.

Thank you Pastor Louie for joining us! I particularly enjoyed your rendition of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" as we ascended El Diablo--it was downright inspirational! And I have never felt safer than I did today running along side of that radically reflective green vest.

Next week we'll get back to another LSD run (long,slow distance) as the Marathoners will reach for 16 miles, and the Halfers will be doing either 12 or 10.

Believe it or not, we have only 3 more Long runs until the race! Take care of yourself this week--don't push too hard on your short runs and BE SURE to rest your legs next Saturday.