Next Workout:  Saturday, April 3, meet at 8:45 AM, workout at 9:00 AM
at our regular location:  the Parking lot of Columbia Island Marina!


If you need a ride to the workout location, please respond to this
message no later than C.O.B. Friday, April 2.


***************************************************

Walk-to-Run Trainees:


Welcome to the thirteenth week of our program.


1)  Rides to Marina


First off, two of our new 5K veterans (congrats!), Marissa and Alpana, 
need rides to the Marina this Saturday.   If you can give them a lift, 
please contact them directly.   Thank you!


2)  This Saturday's Workout


This week is our final week of two (2) minutes of walking, followed by 
three (3) minutes of running.   Keep up this interval pattern for the 
rest of this week on your midweek workouts, and then next Saturday 
(April 10), we will step up to our "final" walk/interval, one minute of 
walking, followed by four minutes of running.


I say "final" because now that you know the theory and practice of 
run/walk intervals, you can vary them to suit your own training goals 
for the rest of your life.  I'll be talking more about this in future 
weeks, as we plan for running after April.


Anyway, this Saturday, our four-mile route will head up to and across 
Memorial Bridge, and around the circle in front of the Lincoln Memorial. 
At the entrance to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, hang a sharp right 
and head down the path paralleling the reflecting pool. Our turnaround 
is about half-way down that path, before we get to the WW II Memorial.


Please print out this map ahead of time and bring it with you:


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3451943



3)  Running garb on Saturday.


With overnight temps in the low 50's and afternoon highs in the 80's 
this Saturday, we'll be getting a taste of Summer running.


As you dress for the workout, please remember that you will feel 15-20 
degrees F warmer while running than when standing still.   So shorts and 
  (wicking) T-shirts or singlets are the garb for running, with a 
coverup layer or jacket to wear before and after the workout.


Don't worry about the pale color of your arms and legs.   My own 
winter-pale legs have been known to scare children and forest creatures 
when I first expose them in the Spring each year.   But after a week 
weeks of running into the Summer, I usually earn a good "farmer's tan," 
and actually look healthier during May and June than some of my 
sedentary friends.


Whatever you do, make sure you're wearing wicking (sport) fabrics, as 
you _will_ sweat this Saturday.  That wicking fabric will aid cooling 
from the evaporation of sweat, and will keep you more comfortable.



4)  Substitute coaches for Saturday, April 10.


Our assistant coaches, Humaira and Bev will be leading the workout 
*next* Saturday, April 10, because I will be ensconced in the Cherry 
Blossom Expo all day.    But I'll be available by email and phone during 
the week prior as usual, so if you have any questions or concerns, 
please feel free top contact me.


5)  Nutrition for Runners


With this week's food-related holidays of Passover and Easter, I figures 
this would be a good week to discuss the nutrition for runners.


If you can still find the April, 2010 edition of Runner's World has a 
great article on the nutrition basics for runners.  The take-away from 
the article is that weight loss (or gain) is simply a matter of total 
calories ingested vs. total calories burned.


Running is a very efficient way to burn calories.   More on that later.


On the intake side, calories come from carbohydrates (both simple sugars 
and complex carbs), protein, and fat.   And the way your body uses those 
three sources while running effects what you should be eating before, 
during or after a run.


At the fastest paces (relative to your maximum heart rate), and for any
exercise lasting less than 45 minutes, your body uses carbs almost
exclusively as your fuel. After 45 minutes of exercise at the pace we
are using, the body begins to burn fat along with those carbs.


Slow distance running is the best at burning fat for fuel. Fat is a
less efficient fuel for the body, which is why it is used less the
faster you run. And the body can't use just fat for fuel; it can only
use a mixture of fat and carbs. "Fat burns in a carbohydrate flame."


That is why after a period of running (approx. 35-45 minutes) the body
realizes it's going through carbs at a high rate, and begins to use fat
as a fuel, along with those carbs, to preserve your store of carbs (in
your muscles and in your liver) for the long haul.


Each mile run uses about 100 calories worth of carbs and/or fat. 
Whether carbs or fat depends on your pace, but the 100 calories per mile 
is pretty constant, from a slow walk, to an exhausting near-sprint.


And the human body has about 2000 calories worth of carbs to use at any 
one time. An untrained runner will use up all carbs after 20 miles of
running, which is why you always hear about "The Wall" around Mile 20 of
a marathon. Training over distance, by contrast, teaches the body to use 
slightly more fat, and slightly fewer carbs, for each mile, preserving 
the carb store and pushing back "The Wall" to somewhere past the 26.2 
miles of the marathon.


In this program, you won't get anywhere near "The Wall." But you might,
it your later running life. The important thing to remember is that
you need *some* carbs in your system to do a run of any length, and that
long slow distance is the best way to burn off fat, per se.


But whether you're burning fat, carbs or mixture of the two, you're only
going through about 100 calories per mile. Compare the exertion of our
runs we do (4 miles, or 400 calories) with the calorie counts of the
food we eat, and realize that weight loss (if that is your goal)
requires both limiting your caloric intake, and maximizing your caloric
burn, through something like running, which you can keep up for a while.


Protein is what our bodies use to build up muscles and all soft tissues.
Your body needs protein *after* a run, as fuel for the recovery
effort. But your body will also want some carbs if it was just used a
couple hundred or a thousand of them on a run.  And your body digests
protein *better* when it is in a mix of 4 units of carb to 1 unit of
protein, than it would if you ate the protein without any carbs.


So any post-run meal should include both carbs and protein.


But apart from the (carb or fat) calories you burn while running,
continuous training like we are doing has another benefit: it builds
muscle. A greater muscle mass requires more calories of energy to keep
it going 24x7.   And the more muscle you have, the more your base
metabolism increases - the amount of calories your body needs just to
maintain the status quo, not considering the calories required for
activities such as running.


[A woman's muscles won't bulge as much as much as a guy's, unless she 
loads up on Androsterone, but they can be just as strong as a guy's, 
pound for pound.]


All this means that if you build muscle from running, from gradually
improving the strength and endurance of your body, not only will you be
burning more calories because you are running longer and farther.
Because you have more muscle mass, you will burn more calories while you
sleep.  


Running doesn't give you a license to eat anything and everything.   But 
it can help you look trimmer and fitter without having to "diet" like 
you did in the past.   Yet continuing to run, and to train better, may 
require you to watch the carbs, fats and proteins you eat, and without 
you realizing it, might help you to eat "better."


There is LOTS more about nutrition for runners out there; this just 
scratches the surface.


If you have any questions, please call me at 703-371-5171.  I'll see
you Saturday at Columbia Island Marina!


Thank you!


Coach John


John H. Steitz
RRCA Certified Running Coach
USATF Level 1 Certified Track and Field Coach
Marathon Charity Cooperation
703-371-5171
vp@mc-coop.org
http://www.mc-coop.org/walktorun/