Walk to Run Trainees:


Welcome to the fifteenth week of our program.


1)  We meet again on Saturday, April 18 at 9AM, in the parking lot
for Columbia Island Marina, in LBJ Park.


At last, we reach our terminal distance in this training program - 4
Miles.   Our route follows what we've done the past few weeks, but
continues up and around the Iwo Jima War Memorial before heading back to
Columbia Island Marina.


This is the very same hill that constitutes the last .2 miles in the
26.2 miles of the Marine Corps Marathon every year.  So in the future,
if you hear any marathoner complaining about that last hill, you'll know
exactly what he or she is talking about.  And if you ever run the Marine
Corps Marathon yourself, the last mile should be very familiar territory.


Our route may be found at:


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2731864


[The route is actually 4.29 Miles, but the view from Iwo Jima makes up
for the extra .29 ]


When you are running up and around the Memorial, on the roads which 
circle it, please remember to run on the left side of the road, facing 
traffic.


As we did last week, our modality will be four minutes running, one
minute walking (4:1).


And from this point forward, probably for the next month or so, I want
you to be running 4-mile routes, doing 4:1 intervals, on every mid-week
  workout that you do.  Imagine - would you have thought you could do 4
mile runs routinely, back when we started in January?


But wait, you say - how can we plan midweek runs for the next month,
when there are only two more weeks left in our training program?  Well,
later in this newsletter, I will outline your options for continuing to
run, and/or continuing to train, once April is over.


And just because our program ends, that doesn't mean you should stop 
running.   Far from it!



2)  Target Races


The only person who gets to skip the run up Iwo Jima this Saturday is
Karen, would is running her target race, the Azalea Classic 5K, at the 
very same time we are meeting at the Marina.   Please send your positive 
vibes and good karma her way before and during your workout Saturday 
morning.


Now, two of our trainees have already completed their target races, one
is doing that this weekend, and a whopping eight of you are running the
GW Parkway Classic next Sunday, April 26.  But what if you weren't able
to get into the sold-out Parkway Classic, and you still need to complete 
a 5K?


Here are the remaining potential target races on our calendar, plus a 
couple that have popped up since I last compiled the list:



Fri.  Apr.  17  6:30 PM  Chrystal 5K Run
2121 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA
http://www.crystalcity.org/eventdetail.asp?IdEvent=469



Sat.  Apr. 18  8:00 AM  Nature House 5K Fund Run/Walk
Lake Audubon Pool/Boat Ramp, Reston, VA
contact:  Larry Butler, lbutler@reston.org, 703-435-6501



Sat.  Apr.  18  8:00 AM   CRC  Benefit 5K
45425 Winding Road, Sterling, VA
contact:  Brad Phillips, brad@heidengroup.com, 703-793-9521
http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1563199&assetId=96a84115-5
c73-4b3c-b45c-616bbd13dde0



Sat.  Apr. 18  9:00 AM    MAD 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk
James Madison High School 2500 James Madison Drive
Vienna , VA
http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=1713801



Sat.  Apr. 18  9:00 AM   Azalea Classic 5K
University Park Elementary School,
4215 Underwood Street
Hyattsville, MD  20783
contact:  elder_yde@msn.com
http://www.azaleaclassic.com/



Sun.  April 19   8:00 AM  The Run and Rally to Stop the Silence (5K)
West Potomac Park, Washington, DC.
contact:  Pam Pine,  ppine@stopcsa.org
http://www.stopcsa.org/Race/
http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1661573&assetId=a16d6f3b-b
3f8-4e29-a6fe-acc9869cc74d
This race benefits an ACF/MCP Member Charity.]



Sun.  Apr. 19, 8:30 AM   Run for the Shelter Half Marathon and 5K,
Loudoun County (4H) Fairgrounds, Leesburg, VA
contact:  Randy Skovrinski, info@runfortheshelter.org, 703-304-8884
http://www.runfortheshelter.org/



Fri.  Apr.  24  6:30 PM  Chrystal 5K Run
2121 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA
http://www.crystalcity.org/eventdetail.asp?IdEvent=469



Sat.  Apr. 25   8:00 AM  Raider Run 5K,
JEB Stuart High School,  Falls Church, VA
contact:  Robbie Zapple, rzapple@cox.net, 703-532-7810
http://raidersports.org/



Sat.  Apr. 25  8:00 AM   Oak Hill Elementary School 5K Run for Funds
Oak Hill Elementary School
3210 Kinross Circle, Herndon, VA 20171
703-787-9023
http://www.fcps.edu/OakHillES/run4funds.htm



Sat.  Apr. 25  8:00 AM  David Klinghard 5K Run/Walk
Mason Neck State park, Lorton, VA
contact:  Gary Knipling, g.knipling@verizon.net, 703-339-8196



Sat.  Apr. 25  8:30 AM  Mercer Festival 5K and Fun Run
43600 Russell Branch Pkwy, Ashburn, VA
contact:  Doug Steele, racedirector@mercerfestival.com, 703-729-0570
http://www.sdlife.org/mercerfestival



Sat.  Apr. 25  8:30 AM   Westland Wild Dash 5K
Westland Middle School, 5111 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda, MD  20816
http://westlandpta.org/wild_dash.html



Sat.  April 25  9:00 AM   Our Lady of Lourdes Lions Roar 5K and 1 Mile 
Fun Run
7500 Pearl Street, Bethesda, MD
http://www.lionsroar5k.com/



Sun.  Apr.  26  8:00 AM   Devilish 5K
Martin Luther King Park, Silver Spring, MD
contact:  Julie Trapp, julie_trapp@hotmail.com, 301-592-8323
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/springbrookhs/downloads/Devilish-5K-R
un-Signup-Form.pdf



Sun.  Apr. 26  8:00 AM   Vienna Elementary PTA 5K
Vienna Elementary SChool, 128 Center St. S, Vienna, VA
703-625-0247
http://vienna5krun.org/



Sun.  Apr.  26        Ashburn Village 10K, 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run
Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion, 20585 Ashburn Village Blvd.
703-729-0581 ext. 10
http://www.runwashington.com/index.php?page=details&race=5361



Sun.  Apr.  26  9:00 AM   Strides for Success 5K & 1K Fun Run
Fairfax Corner Shopping Center, 11950 Grand Commons Ave.
301-871-0400
http://www.runwashington.com/index.php?page=details&race=5292



Fri.  May 1  6:30 PM  Chrystal 5K Run
2121 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA
http://www.crystalcity.org/eventdetail.asp?IdEvent=469



Sat.  May 2   8:00 AM   Bright Beginnings 5K Race
Hains Point
Washington, D.C.
http://www.brightbeginningsinc.org/Annual%205K.htm



Sat.  May 2  8:00 AM   Bulldog 5K
Blessed Sacrament School
6001 Western Avenue
Washington, D.C.
202-966-6682
http://bulldograce.org/



Sat.  May 2  8:30 AM   Arlington Science Focus School 5K
Arlington Science Focus School, 1501 N. Lincoln St.
Arlington, VA
703-241-0395
http://www.runwashington.com/index.php?page=details&race=5182



Sun.  May 3  8:00 AM    Mark's Azalea Run 5K
Landon School, 6101 Wilson Lane
Bethesda, MD
301-320-3200
http://www.runwashington.com/index.php?page=details&race=5530



Sun.  May 3  9:00 AM   Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers Race for Hope Brain 
Tumor 5K
Freedom Plaza, 14th St. & Pennsylvania Ave.
301-871-0400
http://www.braintumorcommunity.org/site/PageServer?pagename=RFHDC09_Homepage



Sun.  May 10    8:30 AM   Pacer's Running Festival 5K Run/Walk
3100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
contact:  csmith@ymcadc.org
http://www.pacersrunningfestival.com/raceinfo/



As a reminder, we can't take you on to Phase II of Walk-to-Run in May
unless you complete a 5K target race.   But as I also noted earlier, 
there is no shortage of 5K races in the Washington, D.C. area this time 
of year!




3)   May 2009 Runner's World


Just in time for a lot of new runners taking up marathon training, the
May, 2009 issue of Runner's World (Rodale Press) has several articles
that you might find interesting.




4)  Next steps


Next Saturday, April 25, anyone not running the Parkway Classic the
following day is invited out to Columbia Island Marina for another
assault on Iwo Jima Hill.  [If you *are* running Parkway Classic, we'd
still like to see you, but I won't let you run more than a mile or two.]


The following Saturday, May 2, we will relocate to Belle Haven Park and
Marina, on the GW Parkway South of Alexandria, for a 10 AM Victory Lap
of 4-5 miles with the participants of the following day's Potomac River
Run Marathon and Half Marathon, out for a short run to shake out their
legs the day before their race.   The distance you can run is flexible,
and will be determined by which landmark at which you turn around on the
trail South of Belle Haven.


[Belle Haven should be very familiar to the eight of your running the
Parkway Classic 5K, because that is your starting line!   Come back 6
days later for a more relaxed and quieter run on the trail.]


If you are free that same afternoon [May 2], I highly recommend you 
attend one or more of the seminars at ACF's "College of Running" at the 
Expo for the Marathon  [Courtyard by Marriott, 2700 Eisenhower Ave., 
Alexandria, VA 22314]  and the MCP Orientation next door.   The 
semi-final seminar schedule is as follows:



Courtyard Cafe   College of Running

2:00 PM   Intro/Welcome - J. Steitz
2:05 PM   Ben Cooke, New Trends in Running Shoes
2:30 PM   Dr. Bernard Etherly, Footstrike and Injury Prevention
3:15 PM   John Steitz, What Distance Runners Need to Know About Hyponatremia
4:00 PM   Walt Cline, Active Dynamic Warm-up  [combined seminar/demo in 
Washington Room]
4:30 PM   DC Sports Performance Project - Race Day Nutrition, Psychology 
and Therapy
5:15 PM   Race Director Jay Wind, The PRRM Course
6:00 PM   Pasta Dinner in Courtyard Cafe



Washington Room    MCP Orientation

1:00 PM    MCP General Orientation Session
2:00 PM    Nick Panebianco, Fundraising for Charity Trainees
2:30 PM    Ben Cooke, Buying Your First Pair of Running Shoes
3:00 PM    MCP General Orientation Session
4:00 PM    Walt Cline, Active Dynamic Warmup  [combined seminar/demo in 
Washington Room]
4:30 PM    Nick Panebianco, Fundraising for Charity Trainees
5:00 PM    MCP General Orientation Session
6:00 PM    Pasta Dinner on Courtyard Cafe



The seminars are free, but there is a charge for the pasta dinner:
http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=1643774


And if you want to watch, or volunteer for, the races at Belle Haven on 
Sunday morning, May 3, please let me know.   That could be _you_ with 
the race number sometime soon!



After the first weekend in May, you have a few options for continued 
training:



Option A)  Self pacing/self training


Once you complete your target race, you have most or all of the tools
you need to keep running recreationally for the rest of your life.


To maintain the fitness you have built up in our program, you should
continue running at least three times a week.   Your midweek runs could
remain at 3-4 miles each, or you could gradually work them up to 5-6
miles at a time, if your schedule allows 45-75 minutes of exercise.   45
minutes is probably a good minimum to shoot for, as for most of us, that
amount of time is sufficient to trigger the physiological changes away
from merely carb-burning toward fat-burning as the energy source for
our runs.


Likewise, your could increase your mileage on your weekend runs, perhaps
up to 6, 7 miles or more.


Or, you could keep the mileage the same, but gradually increase the
duration of your running segments.  We leave off at 4:1, but you could
increase them to 5:1, then 6:1, 7:1 etc.


Some coaches value the ability to run 20 minutes non-stop, and hold that 
as a standard to which novice runners should aspire.   For me, the folks 
I train most often are training for distance, and the progressive 
increase in the Saturday long run is stress enough for developing 
runners.   As I said earlier, there are people who do 4:1 intervals on 
50-mile ultras, and I daresay they're pretty darn fit!


And that brings up an important point for all your running development
beyond April.   There are three dimensions you can increase to build up
your physical fitness and running ability:


-  speed (minutes per mile)
-  duration of running interval (4:1, 5:1, etc.)
-  distance of overall workout  (4 miles, 5 miles, etc.)


NEVER increase more than one of those dimensions at the same time.


Hopefully, you've noticed that our training program hasn't ever changed
run/walk modality at the same time as we've increased the distance.
Neither should you.


For your own training over a period of months, you can gradually work on
the length of your running intervals, while keeping the overall distance
the same.   Or you can increase your distance, while keeping the
run/walk intervals the same.   Never increase both at the same time!


When you increase duration or distance, do it gradually, no more than a
5% increase per week.   Your body won't really adjust to any new
distance, duration or pace unless you do it over a period of three or
four weeks, anyway.   So adding an additional mile to your run at the
start of every new month, or increasing the running segment from, say, 
4:1 to 5:1 at the start of the new month, are both perfectly rational 
ways to build up your self-training.


And most authority says you really shouldn't work on increasing your
speed until you've been running for at least a year.....if then.  There
are some who can run at a reliable pace for years and years, but who
will get injured after one or two speedwork sessions.  And while getting
faster and faster is really heady stuff, you don't necessarily need to
get faster to maintain or improve the physical and mental benefit you
get from running.


About the one thing I can reliably tell you about speedwork, is to do it
under the supervision on a coach who specializes in speedwork for 
runners.   And again, wait until 2010 to try it.


Increasing distance is usually a much safer course for first-year
runners, which is why thousands every year take up running and complete
a 10 Mile race, a half marathon, or a full marathon within a year of
their first step.


And that is the focus of all the other training programs of the
organization which has sponsored our Walk-to-Run program, the Arlington
Cooperation Foundation (ACF)



Option B)  ACF Distance Programs


Beginning May 9, and lasting through October, ACF's Marathon Charity
Partners program,  http://www.marathoncharitypartners.org/  will train
runners to complete:


-  The Marine Corps Marathon
-  The Chicago Marathon
-  The Baltimore Marathon or Half Marathon
-  The Rock'n'Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon and
-  other fall distance races


If you sign up to raise funds for one of the 13 charities in MCP, you
get a free entry to one of the races, and a free training program for up
to six months (26 weeks).   With an MCP Charity, you have a chance to
raise $500, $750 or $1000 for a very worthy cause (which is a lower
minimum than other large charity fundraising programs out there), while
you benefit physically and mentally from your training.



But you need not raise funds for charity to participate in ACF Summer 
Training.   If you obtain entry to your target race (marathon, half 
marathon or other) on your own, you can sign up for the MCP training a 
la carte at a cost of $75.00 before May 9, or $85.00 May 9 or later.



[But if you already signed up as a member of ACF when you registered for
Walk to Run, you're entitled to a $10.00 discount on the price above.]


cf: 
http://marathoncharitypartners.org/training/Individual-Training-Program-Registra
tion-Form-2009.doc



The MCP Summer/Fall program also differs from our Walk to Run in three
other ways:


A) We rotate our Saturday venues, and meet most often at four main
locations:


-  Columbia Island Marina, which you know well;
-  Belle Haven Park and Marina which you will see soon;
-  Pierce Mill (in Rock Creek Park, North of the Zoo), and
-  Carderock (C&O Towpath in Maryland, close to the Legion Bridge)


We also meet once or twice at other locations.  For example, our opening 
workout at 8 AM on May 9th is in Bethesda, where Woodmont Ave. crosses 
the Capitol Crescent Trail.


Midweek workouts are on your own according to a training schedule MCP
provides (similar to the way your work out on your own midweek, now).


But even then, many of the trainees take advantage of organized midweek 
workouts (more on these in next week's newsletter), or just get together 
in small groups of trainees who live close to each other for weekday 
morning or evening group runs.



B)  On Saturdays, we meet much earlier in the AM than Walk-to-Run, to
avoid mid-day heat in the Summer months.  [Do a long run in the Summer,
and you will appreciate the wisdom of starting early, even if it means a
wake up call at o'dark thirty.]


In May and October, MCP starts at 8 AM.  In June, July, August and 
September, the start time is 7 AM.


I never napped in my adult life, until I started marathon training.   If 
you sleep 6 hours, then run 18 miles, you have a pretty good excuse for 
an afternoon nap.  [Just set your alarm clock, so you don't sleep 
through till midnight.   Been there, done that!]



C)  Instead of only two coaches in Walk to Run, there are eight (8)
coaches with varying styles and experience.  Each of us leads the
Saturday workout three times during the season, and plays a supporting
role on the other 23 Saturdays.


My own specialization in the Summer program is coaching the 12 to 15
minute-per milers training to "beat the bridge" at October's Marine
Corps Marathon (MCM).  And I use the MCP Saturday runs for my own
marathon training.   God willing, I will complete my nineteenth marathon
at MCM this Fall.


[But that's nothing compared to some of the other coaches.  Coach Jay is
doing his 122nd marathon this Monday in Boston, and will probably sneak
in another marathon or two by MCM time in October.]


But the depth of knowledge from not only the coaches, but also seminar 
speakers we bring in on specialized topics, the weekly newsletters, and 
just what you learn from other trainees, all mean you almost always 
learn something new each week.



One new program within ACF/MCP this Summer we have instituted is "Walk
to Run Phase II."


Phase II is open only to you trainees of Walk to Run, who have completed 
Phase I and your 5K target race, and only if you don't want to train for 
a marathon or half marathon.   So I anticipate a very small group of 10 
persons or fewer in Phase II, specializing on middle distance (10K and 
10 Mile races).  But you will still have all the resources of the larger 
MCP training program.


In phase II, we'll meet at the same Saturday times and locations as the
marathon/half-marathon trainees, and we'll run on the same courses as
those folks, but at (generally) shorter distances, appropriate to train
you for either a 10K or a 10 Mile race.   We will caucus about 15
minutes prior to the main gathering/seminar just to cement the distances
Walk to Run II trainees will be doing.  But other than that, you'll get 
the coaching and seminars as the other trainees, and you'll be running 
with marathon and half marathon trainees for substantial portions of 
each Saturday's workout.


In addition to the $75.00 sign-up fee for Phase II, and the 5K race 
under your belt, there is one other requirement to join Phase II:


By the end of May, you need to show me written proof that you've
registered for either a 10K race or a 10 Mile race, between August 1 and
October 31.   That's because the training schedules I will give you in
Phase II will be individualized to train you for a particular race, and
those races can be weeks apart.  Some of the races we will be training 
you for include:


The Friends of the W&OD 10K on the evening of Saturday, August 1:
http://www.marathoncharitypartners.org/friends/


The Annapolis 10 Miler, Sunday, August 30:
http://annapolisstriders.org/a10results2008.html


The Revenge of the Penguins 10 Miler, Saturday, Sept. 19:
http://www.marathoncharitypartners.org/penguins/


The Army Ten Miler, Sunday, Oct. 4:
http://www.armytenmiler.com/
[if you're lucky enough to get a transfer bib from this sold-out race]



This is not an exclusive list, and you can use Phase II to train for any
other 10 K or 10 Mile race on August 1 or later.   You just have to 
commit and sign up for that race by the end of May to continue in the 
program.  


As with Phase I, I remain of the belief that having a race on the
calendar gives a purpose and incentive to your training like nothing 
else.   And everyone else training in the Summer Program has a target 
marathon or half-marathon lined up, too.


So....if you sign up with the ACF/MCP's Summer Training, should you
limit yourself to a 10K or 10 Mile race?   Not necessarily.


I created Walk-to-Run last year as a prelude program to the Summer
Training, because I saw so many folks who were brand-new to running
having real trouble in the first two months of marathon or half marathon 
training.


With the four months of training you have undertaken with Walk to Run,
you are already head and shoulders above any brand-new runner coming
into the Summer program.   And with the base of muscle and skeletal 
strength you have now, as well as 4 months of training experience 
already, you could easily do a Fall half marathon.   No question about it.


The Baltimore Half Marathon on Oct. 10 is the easiest target, because
that gives you five months to increase your current base of 4 miles to
12 miles, by the end of September, and then a three-week taper.
cf:  http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/Race_Info/half22d8.htm


The Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach is a lot of fun.  I did
it last in 2003, and I'm doing it again with Laura this year.   Training
for it requires a steeper mileage ascent in May and June than Baltimore,
but you still have 4+ months to build the mileage base before taper.
cf:  http://www.rnrvb.com/home.html


I would even feel confident if one or more of you took the plunge and
actually signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon.  One of last year's
Walk-to-Run trainees did exactly that last year, and she finished MCM
with a big smile on her face.     If you complete our Walk-to-Run
program by the end of April, training for a fall marathon is a distinct
possibility.


cf: http://www.marinemarathon.com/page11.aspx  ASAP!   MCM 2009 is 
almost sold-out!


See also:  http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/Race_Info/Marathon.htm
	http://www.chicagomarathon.com/cms400min/chicago_marathon/


If you want to continue with ACF/MCP training after April, and you're
not sure what your target distance should be, that's what the victory 
lap at Belle Haven on May 2 is for.  Just talk to me, and I can give you 
some suggestions.


Or if you're curious about the Summer Training and need more info, 
please come out to one of the MCP Orientations on Saturday, May 2  [1 PM 
, 3 PM or 5 PM] at the Courtyard by Marriott in Alexandria.



As much as I'm biased toward ACF training programs, and think that our 
Summer/Fall program is one of the best programs around, I do realize 
there are still other options for you to pursue after May 2.   I will 
review those options, as well as details about group midweek runs you 
can join, in my next newsletter.



For now, I hope to see everyone down at the Marina on Saturday!


But if you have any questions before then, please write
back, or call me at 703-371-5171.


Happy Trails!


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/