Marathon Blog #3: We will get you off the couch and to the finish line!

Our program will be focusing on the basics. We
will build programs that are slow because slow and steady wins
every time. Our program increases your endurance and develops your
mental and physical strength. This is a process of stressing and
resting the body. You will need time to allow yourself to recover
from stress through active rest weeks. By giving this to your body,
you decrease your chances of injury and overtraining. The average
person needs a gradual training program that will incorporate:

flexibility, strength, cardio,
nutrition, active rest, cross training

All of
which you can get at Mind / Body: Balance. Mind Body Balance does
not in any way support the mindset of
“no pain, no gain.” With that said, there will be some level
of soreness, fatigue and stiffness as the body is challenged. Mind
Body Balance has a program that is flexible and adaptable to each
individual. We strongly suggest that
you do NOT take short cuts, jump
ahead, or fall behind. You will be setting yourself up for failure,
increased risk of injury, increasing the chance of not reaching
your goal. We want you to be successful. We will have cross
training suggestions. For example, always running on a hard surface
will lead to sore legs… running downhill all the time is also
jarring to the legs. We will vary our group runs so that sometimes
we are running on dirt, softer or flat terrain and when we do
incorporate some hills we will be slow down the hill, we may
suggest rollerblading or water-running too. Accountability is huge
in preparing for this event. For those of you that use my Fitness
Coaching services, use your diaries to keep track of your progress
in your comment section. Start to keep track of aches/ pains,
distance, moods, stress levels, etc. If you don’t do Fitness
Coaching with me then get a journal and start writing down the
date, route, rate of perceived exertion, type of exercise, energy
level, injury, total distance, moods, stress levels and heart rate
information. Keeping track of this information will help you see
patterns, celebrate success, monitor progress, keep us honest and
motivate you. Let’s face it, there will be days you don’t want to
move. Looking through your journal and seeing your
accomplishments… how far you’ve come… will inspire you to get off
the couch when you arrive at the present and see a blank page.
Remember, our training schedule is flexible; you decide which days
you do what. Also remember it makes sense to space out
modalities throughout the week. I’m putting my training schedule
down and you can move the modalities around to the days that work
best for you. Try to get two short walk/jog/runs during the week
and the long run done on a half-day off or weekend. This will allow
you to gradually adapt to the physical and mental demands of the
sport. Make various running routes using your car’s odometer so you
aren’t over training. A gps foot pod hooked to your heart
rate monitor also works. I hear the grumbles pertaining to the long
run. This is why we are offering a Thank u so much for the extravagant gift unexpected & appreciated :)group run on Saturdays at
3p.m. If you are like me, you are going to need the group
support to make it happen. These long runs will help you have the
knowledge, confidence, peace of mind that you can accomplish your
event come race day. Warm ups and cool downs are
important. I will be posting something separate for
this. I will tell you, I’m not an advocate of
stretching first; a lot of injury happens here. I
like the warm up of doing the 100 (gets your breath and body
moving and brings awareness to your powerhouse)and walking until
your heart rate gets to a certain beat that is right for you (I
will go over this with each one of you). For the cool down, I’ll be
asking you to lower your heart rate to a certain beat and then I
have a stretching routine for you to follow after your run. You’d
be annoyed if you got an injury (and doubly annoyed if the injury
resulted from doing something you thought would prevent injury) so
let’s be mindful about our warm ups and cool downs. Please read
chapters 1-3 in your chi running or walking book by months end.
Your next marathon blog will cover topics about nutrition. You are
burning a lot of fuel so let’s talk about what type of fuel you
need to refuel your body with. For our long runs we will be meeting
at the studio unless otherwise stated. Please remember that I won’t
personally be at all of them, so at times the group will need to
organize itself. You will learn the ropes from me on what to do for
the long runs and I’m sure there is more than one leader in our
group that can layout the day’s run. Also, Monique, Jenny or I
should be at just about every run but as you know, we do have to
attend trainings throughout the year so that we can keep you at the
top of your game. In order to respect everyone’s time we will
always leave our running start point at 10 minutes after. At our
first run we will go over some group running etiquette. As we get
going and you are sharing your successes with family and friends
they will want to join us. We can take new members up till May
15^th or so. Any time after this point
they would need to train for a smaller event on the same day but
all are welcome. Depending on when
they join we will help them train safely and explain how their
training program may be slightly different than ours.

Our
first Field Trip: I will be going shoe
shopping at Running Fit on Liberty St. in Ann Arbor on a Sunday in
January (22^nd ). I like this business
because they are a Michigan based company, they have several
quality brands to pick from, they will fit you properly and they
sponsor many runs within our communities. If more than ten of us
get together to shop on the same day, I may be able to negotiate a
studio discount for us. Please let me know your interest level. A
good pair of running shoes is an investment and worth
it.
Our first event is March 13,
2011. We will either run or walk a 5k depending on
what you pick. This event sells out quickly so you will want to get
your registration form in a.s.a.p. http://www.runshamrocks.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
Follow this link for the Shamrocks &
Shenanigans web page. Online
registration starts January 2011 and this event does sell out so
don’t procrastinate! This event is “Save a
Heart” (organization that raises funds
to benefit patients and their families who come to the Michigan
Congenital Heart Center at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Highly
experienced cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, intensive care
specialists, nurses, social workers, anesthesiologists and
radiologists provide comprehensive care for infants, children and
young adults with congenital heart disease.) and starts by Conor
O’Neils. To enter the race is $25 5k run/walk, $12 kid’s Kilometer,
$7 Kid’s Dash. The start times on race day are 10:45 a.m. for the
kid’s dash, 11 a.m. for the kid’s kilometer, 11:30 a.m. for the 5k.
Packet pickups will be Saturday 3/12 from 2-5p at: Running Fit at
5700 Jackson Rd in Ann Arbor. Get your green race attire 🙂

Week #	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Short run	Yoga	Yoga/Short run	Pilates	Pilates	Breathing Class/Long Run with group	Active Rest
2	Short run	Yoga	Yoga/Short run	Pilates	Pilates	Breathing Class, Sherri’s Health Class Long Run with group	Active Rest
3	Short run	Yoga	Yoga/Short run	Pilates	Pilates	Breathing Class, long run with group	Active Rest
4	Short run	yoga	Short Run/Holistic Healing Workshop	Pilates	Pilates	Breathing ClassLong run with group	Active Rest

For week one, the
short runs are 30 minutes long: 5 minute warm up /20 minutes of 1
minute shuffle-jog and 4 minutes walking /5 minute cool down. The
Long run is a distance of 3 miles. You have a 5 minute warm
up and 5 minute cool down. Repeat 1 minute shuffle-jog
and 4 minutes walking as many times as you need to complete the 3
mile distance. For week two short
runs are 35 minutes long 5 minute warm up /25 minutes of 2 minute
shuffle-jog and 3 minutes walking /5 minute cool down. The long run
is a distance of 4 miles. You have a 5 minute warm up and 5
minute cool down. Repeat 2 minute shuffle-jog and 3 minutes
walking as many times as you need to complete the 4 mile distance.
For week
three short runs are 40 minutes long 5 minute warm up
/30 minutes of 3 minute shuffle-jog and 2 minutes walking /5 minute
cool down. The long run is a distance of 5 miles. You have a
5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down. Repeat 3 minute
shuffle-jog and 3 minutes walking as many times as you need to
complete the 5 mile distance. For week four short
runs are 35 minutes long 5 minute warm up /25 minutes of 3 minutes
shuffle-jog and 2 minutes walking /5 minute cool down. The long run
is a distance of 3 miles. You have a 5 minute warm up and a 5
minute cool down. Repeat 3 minute shuffle-jog and 3 minute
walk as many times as you need to complete the 3 mile distance.
This month’s workouts are interval workouts so if you can’t shuffle
or jog then just walk faster during that time slot until you build
endurance enough to shuffle or jog. If you aren’t sure what a
shuffle is, then re-read the previous 2 blogs to find out. Active
Rest for this month means just go out for a nice walk for 20
minutes or so and consider building in a mid-day nap.