Coach Amy’s Running Tips
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Amy S. Chicago Marathon 2015
Congratulations to Amy S. and Mary A. Amy ran Chicago, her first marathon in several years. Her goal was to cross the finish line healthy and in under four hours. She did it! Mary ran the Run the Burg Half and placed fifth woman overall with a time of 1:51. Way to go ladies!
RRKC racers represented at KC and DesMoines this weekend as well. We are waiting on a few results...podium update to come!
Two happy ladies at intervals!
Whoa! It is time! KC is tomorrow! Good luck to Mike B, Jen K, Jamie, Mo, and Danielle. And to my friends and patients who don't train with us who are also racing the streets of KC Amy L, Greg F, Aaaron and Scott - who is pacing the 3:30 marathon! Also, wishing a great race for Brett who runs DesMoines half on Sunday. Go get it runners!
For those still in training, we are closing in! This weekend starts our taper in earnest. We are set up for 16 miles this weekend. Meet at Foos 6:30 AM. This is a KEY run. It is important for its distance but also it's quality. There is not ample time to recover from it if you run the full 16 at your goal race pace. The goal is to run the middle 8 miles at race pace and the rest 1 min - 1.5 min/mile slower.
IF you are nursing small little niggling injuries or you have not been getting in consistent 20's with us this fall, then you may consider running a slightly shorter distance of 14 miles. If you need help deciding, please touch base with Coach Amy.
The rest of the week we are enjoying a total weekly mileage decrease of about 75%. We have one more speed session on Tuesday night at 5:30 pm. This is also key to maintaining sharpness and keeping your body set on race pace.
Racers: It's taper time! Woohoo! You may have a few short, easy runs that feel a little slow or sluggish. That is normal. Don't worry. Trust the training and resist the urge to go for a hard or long run. You are ready! Focus this week on staying healthy - wash your hands, eat well and get adequate sleep.
Those still in training for upcoming races: As long as you are injury free, keep up with the training plan and its intensity. Running on tired legs is part of it, but you shouldn't have pain or a series of sluggish runs. Contact Coach Amy if you are having issues with either of these things or if you have questions. Focus on clean runs with good form this week!
Those who raced this weekend: First, congratulations. Stay tuned, we will post our podium news soon. Focus on recovering: good nutrition, keep moving and ROLL . You should have a post race recovery training schedule. If not, contact Coach Amy ASAP.
Meet at Franklin Park for a group workout at 5:30 PM. Those training for NYC, Indianapolis...you are still on for speed work. We do not start the taper until this weekend and it is gradual if you catch my drift! One more week of hard work left. Hang in there! If you are racing this weekend, enjoy a nice easy taper run. If you just raced this weekend come for a recovery walk/jog. Remember to bring your own water/sports drink.
We will be set up for 20 miles this weekend and the weather looks fine! The course is partial trail and consists of two 10 mile legs starting from Corner Bakery. Start time is 6:30 a.m. Let's do this!
Scheduling Stuff
We will start the last three speed sessions of the fall session at 5:30 pm starting this week. This week is hill work. Those racing Chicago - no speed work this week.
We put off our group pic this weekend since we had so many members missing on Saturday. We will try to re-schedule. Stay tuned!
The last speed work session for RRKC is Tuesday, Oct 20 and the last long run of the fall session is Oct 24th. Stay tuned for details about our FREE winter runs.
End of session party! Details TBA. The most likely date is November 15th, so please pencil us in!
Upcoming Races
Chicago is this weekend! We want to wish Amy S. and all those headed to the windy city a succesfull and enjoyable race! You are ready, now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
KC, the Indianapolis and NYC marathons are up next. Here is a fun breakdown of the NYC marathon by Bart Yasso with some helpful tips.
