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News Flash
Please note: The schedule on the Katy Fit website does not change. For the most current information about our workout schedule, please check this web site or your email.
This Week:
Dear Walkers,
Good to see so many of you together for our last training walk of the season. God sent us the humidity lest we forget what it was like when we first started our journey. But we persevered and are completing what we began. Congratulations to all of you who made it and best wishes for the final marathon and half marathon of our official season. The weather for the USAFIT Marathon should be nice. Remember to pick up your packets and to arrive very EARLY for the race. You are well trained and for almost all of you this is not your first race. You will do great. Please enjoy this race and make it a celebration, a gift to yourself for all the difficult months of training. Hang around at the finish to cheer for your fellow walkers and other Katyfitters and to party.
Speaking of parties, I want to remind you of our big event at the Wellness Center next month. You will receive a sticker for your car if you come and be sure to wear all the medals you have earned this season, we want to see them. After all just how many places or chances do you have to wear these medals? It will be a fun event and a big party!
So, are we really done? I hope not since we have worked so hard to get here. So, what should you do? Join us for the 5K/10K program. You can sign up on line or meet at Luke's this Monday or Wednesday. We will be doing hill training on the peaks of La Centerra and training for our run 4 the children. The training will also take place on Thurs at 5am for the bagel run and Saturday mornings behind La Centerra. You will receive the full schedule when you sign up. Purple will not have a stay fit program this year but will continue to work on our speed, endurance and core. So we will have a get FITTER program. The regular season will resume in July and for those wanting to work out during the week we will have an advanced training program. For those just participating on Saturday group workouts there will be a regular program. And to continue on our newsletter list you will need to email me at lynnfur@gmail.com and you will receive updates. We will continue racing marathons and half marathons for the next several months. I will send out a calendar if you will send me your races. Please join us and Carol, Gay and I ARE STILL LOOKING FOR A FOURTH LADY TO JOIN US AT ZOOMA. Let me know if you are interested.
This was a great season everyone. There has never been a faster or more dedicated group than what we had this year. I want to thank all the coaches who did such a wonderful job! We were all blessed by their generous sharing of their time and expertise. So thank you Ruth, Stephen, Nancy, Shelley, Amanda Burcin, Terri and Deborah! Purple walkers love their coaches!
Please come and cheer everyone on this Saturday at the USAFIT MARATHON and HALF. Please consider working at our fuel stop at the first mile.....this is the best place to be!
Going to get fitter,
Coach Lynn
Katy Walkers Calendar
RACE Calendar:
Here are a list of the official and recommended races for our 2011-2012 Katy Fit Season.
January 15, Downtown. EP5K this is the 5K race that is a part of the Houston Marathon Event.
January 15, Downtown. Houston Marathon and Half Marathon. Both races are full. However you can still get an entry through various charities.
January 29, Sugarland. The USA FIT marathon and half. Marathon $95, Half Marathon $85 through 9/1 then Marathon $110, Half $100 until 12/1.
How Far Have We Walked?
Our total Mileage visualized.
Wallace, Idaho and Missoula, Montana
We're in a part of the country where the towns are relatively far apart and the population is fairly sparse. This week, I've chosen to pause in the beautiful quaint little town of Wallace, Idaho.
Wallace (population 784) is the former "Silver Capital of the World" and over its colorful history shipped over a billion ounces of silver oar from the mines. It has the unique characteristic of having every downtown building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Why isn't Wallace a ghost town like so many former western mining towns? Wallace has a number of world class ski resorts nearby and several opportunities for outdoor recreation.
And they do not have a marathon.
But we're not done there. Based on our groups sterling performance... mostly a lot more half marathoners than I was anticipating... we've made it all the way across Idaho and on to Missoula, Montana. Missoula (population 66,788 or about the size of an average Texas High School) was founded as a French trading post, "Porte d'Enfer" or literally "Hell's Gate" and was the cross roads and trading center for the region. The economy has transistioned from fur to lumber to education and healthcare. Missoula is home to the University of Montana.
And unlike little Wallace, Idaho, Missoula is home of a marathon, the Run Wild Missoula Marathon which had over 1,000 finishers last year.
Something Different
This section contains bits of humor or inspiration.
From one of the sponsors of the London Marathon...
The Day After the Marathon.
Dear Coach,
I've done my marathon and frankly I am still a bit sore. What should I do about recovery? And while I'm thinking about it, I don't want to lose all the gains I made going through this training. What should I do next?
Sore in the Champions Area
Dear Sore
Let's take the second question first. If you started as a coach potato, the last thing you want to do is to fall back into being sedentary. You may never lose all your gains but you will lose most of it eventually. Unless you pick a new goal that you can aspire to accomplish. My preference is to start planning for the next marathon or half marathon. It doesn't really matter whether its another marathon or a triathlon or the MS150. The important thing is to keep moving.
How you handle this recovery period will depend on what that next goal is.
If you're planning another race in the near future you may want to do what is referred to as a "reverse taper." If you tapered from your long walk by going 20 miles - 15 miles - 8 miles - Marathon, you would rebuild your distance by doing 8 miles - 15 miles - 20 miles. That's an aggressive rebuild and you should only do something like that if you are planning a marathon in two months or less after the first one.
If your next race is more than two months away, you should rebuild to a level appropriate for a half marathon and then hold that level until you intersect the normal training schedule.
An example to clarify. Let's say you decide to do the Chicago Marathon this year. Its a great race held on the first Sunday in October. The basic training schedule would have you start training six months before that or around the middle of April and reaching half marathon distances in July. Between now and then, we build to 10-11 miles, say 6 miles, 8 miles, 10 miles, and then alternate between 9 miles and 11 miles until July. Be sure to add in some speed work and hill training during this period.
Take it this week and rest. Rest is what builds muscles as the body rebuilds from the damage of the massive exercise you just finished. Then start moving again and keep moving.
Coach Steve
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