It was good to meet most of you last Saturday, and I hope to meet the rest of you in person before too long. We had a record 17 attendees at the orientation (not including at least three who registered but who could not join us), and I expect more folks to sign up in the coming weeks.

And a hearty thanks to Nutritionist Rebecca Scritchfield who spoke about nutrition for runners at our orientation. Rebecca's web page is located at: http://rebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com/about/

We will have other medical and sports science professionals speaking to us briefly before other Saturday workouts in coming weeks.

(1) Walk to Run Newsletter

My goal is to send you an email newsletter like this one on Monday or Tuesday of each week, outlining the training runs for that week, as well as other relevant topics on running. If you ever have a question about any topic in the newsletter, please let me know.

(2) Midweek workouts:

Our midweek workouts will always be no longer than the workout of the preceding Saturday. For example, since we walked 1/2 mile last Saturday, each of the midweek workouts this week should be a half-mile walk.

You should do at least two (2) midweek workouts, so that your Saturday mileage is no more than 33% of your total mileage for the week.

You could do a third or fourth midweek workout if you have time, but please remember to give yourself a rest, or easy day, after each workout. It is during the rest, or easy, days that your body recovers from that workout, and actually becomes stronger than it was before. Without an adequate recovery from a workout, the body gains no long-term benefit from it, and repeated workout stress without recovery is a sure road to injury and fatigue.

(3) Venue/Time for group training on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009:

Washington Convention Center at 9:45 AM at the indoor track of NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo (http://www.nbcwashington.com/results/?keywords=Health+and+Fitness+Expo):

At 9:45 AM we will gather, and at 10 AM we will start our walk around the 1/8 Mile indoor track. Eight (8) laps of that track will give us the one (1) mile walk we have scheduled for that day.

Please try to arrive at the Convention Center by 9:30, to give yourselves time to find your way to the meeting point and to prepare for the training walk.

***If you get turned around and can't find our group at the track, please call my cell phone, 703-371-5171.

(4) Assistant Coach:

I would like to formally introduce Humaira Qureshi, our Assistant Coach for our Walk to Run Program this season. Some of you may have met her last Saturday at the Kick-Off session. Humaira is training for the RRCA Coaching Certification this Spring, and will be walking and running with us on Saturdays, starting in February.

(5) Registration:

If you have not yet formally registered for our Walk-to-Run program, please do so this weekend, either on-line or in person. I will have name labels for our registered trainees at this Saturday's walk so we can ID you among our guests on the 1-Mile walk. The link to online registration is:

http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=1655030

Please feel free to co-opt your friends and family to join you in the training program. The more the merrier!

(6) Contact phone number for Saturday mornings:

Most of you gave us at least one phone number at registration. If that number is not the best number at which to reach you early on a Saturday morning, please provide me an alternate number. I will use that number only in the event we have to cancel a Saturday training walk or run due to weather. Thank you.

(7) Running Shoe Purchase:

If you have not already purchased a new pair of running shoes in the past few months, you probably need to acquire a pair prior to Washington's Birthday Weekend (Feb. 14-16, 2009).

As a reminder:

*Running or walking shoes lose their shock-absorbing qualities after 300 to 500 miles, which, if you wear the shoes for 1 hour a day, is about five to six months.

*When you buy a pair of running shoes, try to go in the evening when your feet have swelled to their largest size of the day, and plan to spend about an hour trying on, and walking/running in, a variety of shoes.

*Based on talking with you, seeing how you walk or run and/or looking at an old pair of your shoes, the salesperson at a specialty running store should be able to figure out what type of shoe works best for you, and bring out several different manufacturers' versions of that type for you to compare and contrast.

*The shoe should be snug at the heel and ankle (no movement of the heel or ankle within the shoe), but give plenty of room for your toes to "play the piano" inside the shoe. Pick one that feels the most comfortable to you while walking and running.

Attached is a list of local specialty running stores, where I would recommend you purchase your next pair of running shoes.

After your first pair, you could look to running expos and mail order to get your next pair. But beware of shelf-life in shoes, as the PVA midsole materials can degrade over time, even without use. Shoe models change from year to year, and your feet _will_ change the more you run, so I would recommend even for the most experienced runner to get professionally fitted for shoes at least once a year.

For more information that you could possibly ever use about running shoes,please cf.: http://www.runnersworld.com/topic-ext/0,7121,s6-240-319-0-0,00.html

***If you have any questions before Saturday, please write to steitzj@georgetown.edu. I hope your midweek workouts are going well, and I will see you Saturday at the Expo!

Coach John

John H. Steitz
RRCA Certified Running Coach
USATF Level 1 Certified Track and Field Coach
Arlington Cooperation Foundation
703-371-5171
http://www.marathoncharitypartners.org/walktorun/