2:30 and up half-marathon

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend.  I missed you and I’m looking forward to Sunday’s run!  I heard that you did an excellent job while I was gone.  Of course you did!  

I’m pleased to see that the new training schedule has been posted to the LV in Motion website.  See the home page or “Calendar/Training Schedules.”  You may download and/or print both the full training calendar and training manual from there.  The training manual is a good read.  Enjoy.

I’ll see you all on Sunday about 5:15 am.  We hit the road at 5:30!  Be ready for 4 miles (to the first water station and back ) at our new 4/1 run/walk intervals.  We’ll be running at the same comfortable pace and distance we’ve been getting used to; the only difference will be the extra minute of running.  See you all Sunday! 

Also, just a heads up for those of you who don’t know.  I’ll be running my half marathon next week, July 18^th at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.  It’s sure to be a fun and scenic run and I’ve been really looking forward to it!  I plan to complete the half at a 9/1 run/walk interval and finish in 2:30 or less, just like we’ll be doing in December!  

Now…get out there and get that homework done!  There’s going to be a test on Sunday and I want to see you all pass with smiles on your faces.  J 

Korie

Hello Everyone,

Below is our updated schedule.  As you can see, we’ve been very consistent with our pace and the 3/1 run/walk ratio seems to be working well.   Note that I’ve revised the planned pace and run/walk intervals slightly for a smoother transition. 

I’ll be out of town next Sunday for the 4^th of July holiday.  The group will still be meeting, however, so show up and run to the water station and back again using the same 3/1 run/walk intervals we’ve gotten used to over the last two weeks.  Feel free to wear a stop watch to time your intervals…or just go at whatever comfortable pace feels good to you.  I’ll see you on July 12^th, and I believe we’re moving the start time to 5:30 just in time for the heat of the Summer!  Yes, it’s EARLY, but it’s well worth it to get further into our run before the sun comes up, bringing the heat with it. 

As another reminder, please make sure you get in your weekly “homework” sessions.  The runs will be getting a little more challenging and we don’t want anyone falling behind.  Also, in general, before, during and after your runs, please stay well hydrated, especially when exercising in the heat. It’s important to try to make it as early in the morning as possible and avoid the hottest part of the day.  When temps reach triple digits, it’s always a good idea to take it indoors.  The treadmill can by your friend during these hot summer months.  If you have any questions about your training, please email me.  If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find out. 

Have a great Holiday weekend and enjoy your extra half hour of sleep this Sunday.  I’ll see you Sunday the 12^th a little after 5 am.  Run starts promptly at 5:30!!  Be ready for 4/1 run/walk intervals! 

Korie

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Hello again! 

 I hope you have all been enjoying our runs so far and doing your “homework” during the week.  We’ve been having a great time!  This past Sunday, we reached an important milestone as a group…the first water station!  Congratulate yourself and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.  We also changed our run/walk intervals this week and you will notice that our overall pace is about the same.  Why? Our extra walk breaks not only allowed us to run faster during the three minutes of running, but also to go further and feel better.  It’s working folks!  I’ve pasted the spreadsheet below for those of you who were unable to read it in Excel format.  We’ll stick to the 3/1 ratio for the next few weeks, then add an extra minute of running. You can see below  what our overall plan is and how we’ll gradually increase our running intervals, pace and distance to prepare for race day.  I’ll update the spreadsheet every week and share it with those of you on my email list.  My weekly messages will also be copied to the LVIM website blog for our pace group.  As usual, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Korie

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Hopefully this message makes it out to all those intended here in cyberspace.  It has been great seeing all of you at the training runs so far, and I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you better, (including all of your names).  We have quite a large group this year, by default, as our group includes the 2:30 Half Marathon pace group and beyond…runners, joggers, walkers and everything in between (i.e. junners, woggers, etc. J)  Our group also includes a wide variety of fitness ranges, including those of you who may be doing this for the first time.  Congratulations on your first steps!

I have been in contact with our webmaster, who has been very busy updating and improving the LVIM website: www.lvinmotion.com, and you may have noticed several new items in the last few days.  We have a “Pace Groups” tab now, which will eventually include blog space for each pace leader. We will also have the entire training schedule online ASAP.  I’ve been told that my blog space will be set up and ready to use by midweek and I plan on making good use of it.  As soon as I get the word, I’ll make sure you’re the second to know about it.  They’ve got a bio and picture of me already up on the site! Check it out!!

As you have surely noticed by now, this is a run/walk pace group.  We will always start with a 5 minute warm up and cool down walk. We also take scheduled walk breaks. I highly recommend taking advantage of these “walks,” both with the group and on your own during the week.  You will find that as the distance adds up, the walk breaks will help you stay fresh, recover more quickly, and best of all, finish strong (especially for beginners). For more information on the benefits of walk breaks and an excellent resource for marathon training, please visit www.jeffgalloway.com.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been experimenting with pacing and run/walk intervals and we will continue to do so. I’ve been keeping an eye on the general feel of the group. I had originally intended to start out doing 8/1 run/walk (8 minutes running and one minute walking), but I’ve noticed a few stragglers and several people in the group either struggling or lagging behind. It may not matter as much now, but it will soon with the steady build up of miles in the next few months. I’d like to keep us together as a group for as long as possible, so I’ve revised our training intervals to a 3/1 run/walk ratio for now (3 minutes running to one minute walking).  We’ll take it slow and easy at first or anytime we’re going uphill, then we can increase the SPEED of our running as we get comfortable, or have the advantage of running downhill, while still using the 3/1 ratio.  Our training pace should average out to around 1320to 14 minutes per mile.  We’ll very GRADUALLY, over the course of the next 6 months, increase our running intervals (the minutes of running) so that we’re running about 12 minutes per mile average training pace before the race.  Our goal race pace for a 2:30 Half Marathon is about 11:30 per mile. We’ll practice our race pace a little more as the race draws near, a little at a time, so you’ll get to know what that feels like.

So far we’ve covered around 30 minutes for each “run” on average. (For future reference I use the term “running” to include running AND walking, collectively, when all part of the same workout).  These early timed runs are designed just to get to know one another and the trail, and get familiar with putting one foot in front of the other.  As you will see, we will soon change our focus over to DISTANCE rather than time somewhere around late July or early August.  We’ll also change focus a little later to our PACE. Don’t worry about that now, we’ll have plenty of time, as we improve, to make ourselves race ready.  For now, take it EASY!  Especially in20the heat!!!  Always better to err on the side of safety.

Which reminds me…WATER, HAT, SUNSCREEN!  Now may be a great time to invest in a water belt.  The Village Runner and other running specialty stores carry several great ones.  At the very least, you can carry a water bottle, but personally, I like to have my hands free and the water bottle holder I have has a little pouch to put small items in.  Remember, our pace group will not make it as far as the first water station for several weeks yet, plus it’s going to get hot. This is Vegas in the Summer! Even when you do make it to the water station (which is a run greater than about 3.5 to 4 miles roundtrip), you may very likely find yourself thirsty before you get there.  Also, have you invested in a good pair of shoes and good socks?  Do your feet a favor if you haven’t done so and get yourself analyzed and fitted properly by a running shoe specialist.  There are many different kinds of feet!  I have also found great relief in a product called “Body Glide” and a tube of chap stick.

With that said…as our group has uniquely expanded to include more people of various fitness ranges and abilities and is one of the larger pace groups, I realize that we can’t always be at exactly the same place at the same time.  As I have said before, please run or walk at whatever pace is comfortable to you, whether that be slower or faster than the rest of the group. Try to buddy up with someone with a similar pace if possible and please be mindful of traffic and other runners. Try to run at two people across and if you see traffic, other groups or bicycles coming, move over to the right so they can safely pass.  We’re all out there with a common goal and we’ll get there.  I’ll be out there, or available via email if you have any questions or concerns.

It’s been great getting to meet some of you already.  Please introduce yourself to me this Sunday if you haven0t already.  I’m very excited for this season!!  This is a powerfully motivated group. We will accomplish great things!

That’s about it for now.  I’m working on a spreadsheet to track all of our stats and a place to put it on the internet. That way we can track our progress more easily.  I’ll email the information to you by the end of the week.

Please email me if you have any questions whatsoever.  My home email is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or you may reach me at work: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  I’m on Facebook: Korie Maxfield.

See you Sunday!  Don’t forget, we’re meeting at 6 AM!

Korie

P.S.  Some more great running websites:   www.runnersworld.com www.djsteveboy.com for “Podrunner”, (free running tunes with a great beginner’s program called “Podrunner Intervals” with set run/walk intervals built right in).  Alternatively, if you have iTunes, you can                                                                download these same mixes directly as a free podcast.  This is what I listen to!!