Winter Running

The days are short and daylight doesn't seem to last. If you find yourself running when it's dark, please be safe. You might want to get a reflective vest, a blinking light, or something that will let people know you're out there. You can find them at the running shops, bike stores, or sporting goods stores. I haven't checked at Target, Wal-Mart or K-mart, but they might have them too. Heck, just run with a lightweight flashlight if you have one.

There are still races coming up. The men's four-miler is this Saturday, the 2nd, out in Free Union. I'm sure the guys would appreciate a cheering section!

We're always on the lookout for Pink Ladies, so if you're interested, just find any of us. We're all over the place. You can post an email address here and I'll try to get in touch with you.

Happy Running,
PL Deb

Upcoming Events

Here are some things coming soon that might interest you.

October 28th is the beginning of the 10-miler training program. The cost is $10 and that does NOT include your race registration. It's split into 4 groups (1 being beginners and 4 being very advanced), so it's not just for people who've been keeping up with their running. If you've been interested, but haven't been running much since the 4-miler, you can do this.

November 4th is the 5k for Shelter for Help in Emergency. It's a downtown route with some hills, but it's for a good cause and they have cool door prizes.

Registration forms for both events are available at Ragged Mountain Running Shop.

If you are interested in being a Pink Lady next year, let us know. Cathie noted in her comments that all you have to do is find a Pink Lady and give her your phone number and email address. We're all over the place, and many of us will be participating in either of the events listed (or both!).

Happy running!
PL Deb

The race is done, now what do I do?

Now that you've gotten in the habit of running three times a week (at least), you may be wondering what's next? The distances in your booklet continue on up until the time 10-miler training starts.

If you don't want to do the longer distances, no problem. Just find a distance you're comfortable with and stick with it.

The Tuesday-Thursday group still meets, but it's way more casual. We run whatever distance we feel like that day. It's usually 3 miles or more, but you can pick whatever distance you want to do, just make sure you run WITH someone. No running by yourself! We had a nice, big group this morning, and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Also, the sunrise is later each day, so be extra careful on the darkened roads. You may have noticed some runners wearing reflective vests or little flashing lights. If you plan on running at dawn or dusk, you may want to invest in one. They don't cost very much and could save your life. (end of safety lecture)

There's a 5k on the 23rd for Clark Elementary. If you want information on all the upcoming races, go to the track club web site at www.charlottesvilletrackclub.org.

Happy running!

It's time to celebrate

To celebrate your successes in the race, we're having a party. Our annual post-race celebration is this Saturday, the 9th at the track. We'll meet at 8, go for an easy 2-mile run, then eat, drink, eat some more, and share stories.

What to bring? We go by the first letter of your last name:
A-F: Drinks (coffee, juice, water, gatorade, powerade etc)
G-M: Deserts, bagels, muffins etc
N-Z: Fruit, candy, goodies, whatever

To quote PL Cathie, "We like to eat and run".

I hope everyone had a good race, and met your goals. Every year, I promise myself I won't look at the names on the memory mile, and every year I look. And when I see a familiar name, I get emotional. I have to smile when I see a name I know, but that person is actually participating in the race, and usually finishing way ahead of me. :-) (You know who you are)

See you on Saturday!
PL Deb

The weather

The latest information on whether the race will take place will be posted on the track club website. www.charlottesvilletrackclub.org

The Race Pace Chart

If you didn't get Mark's great booklet on Saturday, here is the Race Pace Chart. Remember, your first mile should be your slowest, so you'll have something left for the finish. I've gone out too fast at races before and know that he speaks the truth.

Goal half mile mile 1 mile 2 mile 3 mile 4
56 min 7:15-7:20 14:15 14:05 14:00 13:40
52 min 6:45-6:50 13:15 13:05 13:00 12:40
48 min 6:15-6:20 12:15 12:05 12:00 11:40
44 min 5:45-5:50 11:15 11:05 11:00 10:40
40 min 5:15-5:20 10:15 10:05 10:00 9:40
36 min 4:45-4:50 9:15 9:05 9:00 8:40
32 min 4:15-4:20 8:15 8:05 8:00 7:40
28 min 3:45-3:50 7:15 7:05 7:00 6:40
24 min 3:15-3:20 6:15 6:05 6:00 5:40

Don't forget to cool off and stretch when you're done. You should also eat something within 20-30 minutes after finishing the race.

I'll try and post more tips this week, but the biggest things are:

• rest on Friday
• drink lots of water all week long
• make your first mile your slowest!
• Enjoy yourself

This race is unlike anything else in Charlottesville. You've worked hard to get there, so savor your accomplishment!

See you at the race,

PL Deb

**We'll have a table at packet pick-up on Friday. We'll also have Running Buddy lists, so you can keep running in the "off season". Stop by and pick one up.

I'm so excited!

The race is just over a week away! Make sure you come to the track this weekend because our speakers will be Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni. They'll give you lots of good information about the race and your race preparations. You'll want to be there for that.

The week after the race, we'll still be meeting and running. We want you to keep on running/walking/moving throughout the fall and winter. On September 9th, we're having a party. We'll meet at 8 for an easy 2-mile run (remember when 2 miles seemed impossible?), then eat, share stories, and celebrate all of our successes. I'll post more details after the race, but flyers are available with the details now.

I keep hearing more success stories from you all, and keeps me so inspired. We have a box at the entrance on Saturdays for you to write down your successes and thoughts and suggestions. Let us know what you think.

Race Registrations

If you were registered for the race, but are not able to run, we CANNOT encourage you to give your number to someone else. Some of the reasons are:

• The waiver must be signed/acknowledged.
• In a medical emergency the number is used for identification.
• The number places the runner in the proper age group category. If an older woman gave her number to her 20 year old daughter, she may win the age group, which isn't fair to the women in that age group.

I know it sounds harsh, and we want as many people as possible to participate, but the risks are there, and we don't want to tarnish the event in any way.

Thanks.

Running this week

The big fun run is tomorrow, Tuesday the 22nd at the track. It's a road course with water stops, timing splits and prizes. The run will start at 6:30, so we ask that you meet at the track at 6pm. We'll do a warm-up at 6:15, and get you lined up according to pace (just like the race line-up).

Greenbelt runners, consider not running today and Wed. If you ran 4 miles Sat. and are running 4 miles Tuesday, a short easy run on Thurs. would be better.

Early-birds, if you plan on running in the fun run, then just take Tuesday morning off. If you don't plan on doing the fun run, we'll be there in the morning as usual.

We're going the distance!

The main group is taking that big step and going 4 miles on Saturday. I'm thinking we're going to add a half mile to the course you ran last week.

This is a big traffic week at UVA, as the students will be moving in, so be extra, extra careful. There will be a lot of tired, stressed, frantic drivers who aren't familiar with our little town. Also, we had an instance of a driver running a red light at Maury Ave. last week. Please listen to the Pink Ladies that are working at intersections, we don't want anyone getting hurt.

On to brighter things, our host this week is Jay Lopez and we will be recognizing the breast cancer survivors in our midst. It's a nice reminder of why we're here.

Our guest speaker will be Dr. Christine Peterson (a fellow runner). Her topic is Exercise & Women’s Health "A POWERful You"and she is a Clinical Ob/Gyn; Asst. Dean for Medical Education at UVA.

We'll also have a breakout session at 7:15 with Dr. Franklin Luke discussing Chiropractic Wellness to Compliment Your Running Lifestyle.

Have a great week!
PL Deb

Did you get a snack?

Now that we're covering longer distances, you may need to fuel up before you run. If you don't eat something in the morning, you could get light-headed during your run and have to stop. I eat a little something an hour before a long run. Toast, a banana, half a bagel, light oatmeal are all good choices.

Be careful, don't eat anything heavy. Just add a little fuel to the tank. Now is a good time to experiment with what works best for you.

If you have any questions, just ask your friendly Pink Ladies.

Notes

Once again, a big thanks goes out to Beck-Cohen for providing water at the halfway mark and finish lines this week. You are the best!!

The early bird session this week is a Yoga demonstration. If you've ever been interested in yoga, the session starts at 7:15.

Another big thanks to Dr. Wilder and his staff. Thanks for sticking around and answering all those questions.

This week's guest speaker is Laura Jones, and she'll be talking about race day jitters.

Keep hydrating and rest when you can!

PL Deb

Saturday

We're going to the chapel and we're gonna get........3 miles in on a Saturday.

Our speaker this week is Dr. Bob Wilder and he'll be talking about dealing with injuries. We'll also have Nilou Jones speaking at 7:15 on setting weight loss and fitness goals.

As usual, make sure you're getting plenty of water (or sports drinks) every day, not just when you're running.

I love hearing your stories each time we run, so please, keep sharing them. You inspire me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. We have a suggestion box out on Saturdays, so take a moment and let us know what you like, what you would improve, and how things have changed for you.

See you Saturday!
PL Deb

Afternoon runs and walks this week

Since it's too hot to be outside, and there are heat advisories, the Greenbelt run for Wednesday and the Park walking group for Wednesday are cancelled.

The 6:30am group will still meet on Thursday.

Try and stay cool and keep hydrating.

PL
deb

Boy howdy, is it hot!

Heat advisories are in effect for this week, so be extra careful out there. Please remember to hydrate constantly. Drink water as much as possible, even on non-running days. If you start to feel light-headed or queasy, stop running and get to some shade immediately.

Saturday looks like we'll get a break from the heat. And speaking of breaks, we'll have a break-out session at 7:15 with Nilou Jones talking about Setting Weight Loss and Fitness Goals. She's very inspirational, you may have read about her in the newspaper.

We'll also be running 3 miles! That's more than halfway to our goal. We'll head over to the Chapel, so be extra careful and watch for traffic. If you run with headphones, please only use one side. You need to be able to listen for cars, dogs, and other people. We want you to be safe out there.

Have I mentioned how inspired I am by all of you? We have a suggestion box out on Saturdays, so feel free to write down your success stories. We love to hear them.

Happy Running,
Deb

On the Road Again

I hope you are enjoying getting off the track and running on the sidewalks. When you're out there, safety is very important. You have to be aware of traffic, animals, and other things. This week, our speaker is Melissa Fielding from the UVA Police Department. She'll be talking about how to stay safe. We'll be starting at 7:45 and you don't want to miss it.

With the heat and humidity, make sure you're getting lots of water. Dehydration can lead to some very bad things, so drink up.

Can't wait to see you all Saturday!

Pink Lady Deb

This Week

You are all so amazing to me. It was wonderful watching so many of you run a mile for the first time. You are awesome!

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and yes, the Tuesday-Thursday group will be at the track bright and early at 6:30. Hope to see you there.

This Saturday, there will be an early session discussing Breast Cancer Prevention. It's at 7:15 at the bleachers.

The regular session will feature running form and we'll have representatives from Ragged Mountain Running, Charlotteville Running, Richey and Co, and New Balance there to help you with shoe selection and gait analysis.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please talk to any of the Pink Ladies. We're here for you.

All about the weather

As I sit here listening to loud thunder outside, I want to remind you again about running in bad weather.

It's pretty cool to run in the rain. Serious downpours? Not so cool. You need to be on the lookout for falling branches, gutters overflowing, and drivers struggling with weather-induced poor visibility.

Also, you don't EVER want to go out for a run when there's lightning.

Now, on to brighter things:

This week, our speaker is Heather Snyder and she'll be talking about healthy feet.

The main group will be running a mile, and we'll also be timing you. Don't worry. Timing sounds worse than it is. We just want you to know what your pace is so when we go out on the road, you'll know who to run with. Running in a pace group is also a great way to make friends.

Big thanks again to Beck-Cohen for providing water last week.

And remember to bring a bottle of water and towel to each run. Don't forget your sunscreen, and bring a chair if you're not into sitting on the ground.

If I don't see you Thursday morning, I'll see you Saturday!

Deb

Are you ready for Week 2?

We hope you enjoyed the first week of training, and we want to see you back this Saturday. If you missed the first week, no problem. You can still sign up at the track.

Everyone should get in the habit of bringing a water bottle (the wonderful people at Beck-Cohen will be there a lot, but not every week) and a towel (sure makes doing stretches a little more comfortable).

If you have any questions or concerns, ask any Pink Lady. We're happy to help and if we don't know the answer, we'll find someone who does.

This summer is all about you. We want you to have the best experience possible.

See You Saturday!

It's getting closer

June 17th is fast approaching. We're getting psyched about the start of another great season, and we're looking forward to seeing you at the UVA track.

This program is all about you, and we invite you to post questions, issues, success stories, song requests, and most anything else that comes to mind.

We can't wait to see you!

More Details for this summer

Here are the details for this summer's 4-miler training program.

It starts Saturday, June 17th at 7:45 am at the UVA track, and continues each Saturday until the big race. The cost is $15. Make your check payable to W4MTP.

Parking is free at U-Hall.

Bring a bottle of water, sunscreen, a large towel, and a folding chair. (the bleachers have been removed.)

You can download a registration form for the training program at: http://charlottesvilletrackclub.org/latest/schedule/W4MTP.registration2006.pdf

To avoid long lines on the first day, you can pick up a training packet, or register, at ACAC in Albemarle Square on Thursday, June 15th from 11-1 or Friday, June 16th from 5-7.

Your race registration will be a separate form and fee.

We're looking forward to a great summer and a successful training program.

Mark Your Calendar!

Mark your calendar and get ready. The 4-miler training program starts up shortly. Saturday, June 17th, 7:45am at the track at UVA. The cost is only $15 for the 12-week program. The Pink Ladies are getting things ready for a great summer of running.

More details will follow.