Mid Week , membership

The midweek workouts are posted with most keep on keeping on and few more moving over to hills.

Next week (Aug 6th)I will be leaving for a little vacation (I know so sad) so I won't be at the Wednesday or Saturday run. Wednesday night you're on your own on Saturday Carey will be there to open the store for you to meet before your run.

Since I will be there on Tuesday we will run the 2 mi TT, I'll move the Wednesday group TT to the following week that I get back so that I don't miss any of the action and that will give you Wednesday runners one more week to impress me with your new and improved speed.

As always I'm looking for ways to provide more useful information on the web site. As many of you know I have a wide range of running maps that have been one of the biggest draws to my web site. Unfortunately thay have become pretty outdated so I have been looking for ways to update/ improve them. Thanks to group member Patrick Niemeyer I have found away and am just in need of a little time to replace them on the site with these. Here are a couple of examples Shilshole 13 mile route and ChuckIt 20 miler. I hope to get them all up on the site soon. I think these will prove to helpful.

Ok from the business side of things. Over the years I have been pretty flexible with people paying the group membership fee. Well there is a new development. I'm getting more and more people who want to just come and check out the group as well as older members who are coming back, the problem is that many check out the group over and over again until I have to ask for the payment or older members who come back and don't pay until I ask. Well this is very awkward. There were 5 people who fall in those catagories on Saturday. You know that adds up to about $700 which is geeting to be a sizable sum and honestly this isn't fair to those that do pay.

Now if there is a reason that you can't pay please let me know and we can work something out. There have been many over the years who couldn't afford it or were unemployed that I have let slide until they could, so if you fall in this category let me know. As long as we have an understanding it's all good, at least I'll know why you're not paying.

Remember you can pay online yearly every 6 months or monthly as well as with cash or checks so there cerertanly is some flexibility to be had.

Training as race trials

As we're half way though the training cycle for most of the fall big events remember to think of the mid week workout and probably more importantly the weekend long run as trial runs for your up coming events. This is great time to experiment with gear, supplements you might use during the race and even time you run. This way come race time you have everything figured out and know exactly what is going to work for you.

Find out what flavor Gu you like or maybe your fix is with cliff shots and hey there are a lot of other products like this and flavors and hey have you noticed that they are all pretty much manufactured in Berkley Calif. That make me a bit suspicious.

Find out what which shorts and shirts work, if they chaff not good, experiment with body glide orVaseline. What do you like to drink? Take a look at the race that you plan to run and see what the energy drink of choice is for that event, you may want to try it on some of your runs and make sure there aren't any negative effects. If you're going to carry your own figure what system for carrying works the best for you.

Many of you ask why do we run so early on Saturdays well I often ask back what time does you race start? With very few exceptions marathons, half and for that matter most 5K and 10K's start early in the morning so getting use to running then is a good idea. Someone once told me that they couldn't run before 3 in the afternoon, it was really a problem for them. I asked them what time the marathon they planned to run started, they said 7:oo am, so I asked if running in the morning was such a problem how were they going to manageif they couldn't even make the group runs on saturday at 7:30. We found a race in Sweden that started in the afternoon, they PR'd, they aren't with the group any more.

So the bottom line is to take these runs over the next month or so and remember that they can veiwed as trial runs for your upcoming races and they can help you determine what will work best and get into a routine which will help you be successful come race day.

The midweek workouts are posted. A few more of you are starting on hills with many still doing tempo runs with some strides thrown in for good measure and of course the over achievers with their 800's.

Those doing tempo you only have a few more weeks of these so make sure that you are getting that pace dialed in.


Those on Hills make sure that you are getting the most out of them, remember you can also run the other variation. That being the one where you run up the winter hill and keep going to the top of the summer hill jogging down that and reversing running up the summer hill on over to the top of the winter hill running back down and reversing, I would say 6 of these would do the trick.


For those running the 800's let's try to get the pace tightened up, meaning try and get the average down

Now that we're finally into summer (although you can't say that this morning) there are a lot of races that you can do to test your fitness or to add as another workout, looking at it as a tempo run.

This week there is the Seafair Torchlight 8K, which incorporates the parade route right before the parade, so you are sure to get a nice crowd watching you as you cruise through the streets of downtown Seattle. For those who want to take a shorter route there is also a 5k. The nice thing about this run is that it takes place in the early evening and you don't have to worry about catching shuttle buses.

For those of you who are asking what about my long run. Well missing one here and there for a race isn't a big deal and there is always Sunday morning ;) I think running a long run coming off of a race is a good way to build more strength and the nice thing is that it tends to keep you honest with the pace you run as you are going to probably be a little tired that's where the strength building come in.

There are many races though so you're not confined to just this one race. If you are looking for a good guide to upcoming races go here www.nwrunner.com and look under event calendar and you'll see a link to a 3 month schedule, I posted the August schedule yesterday so it's up to date.

It's not all about the long run.

Well I had my first mention of "I need to focus more on my long runs for me to be successful in my marathon this fall" comment this summer. I think for the beginner runner that is probably true but they are unlikely to mutter those words as they don't know what's going on. It's usually the more experienced members who say stuff like that.

The thing is it's not the long runs it's the quality runs that make the difference. Yes your long runs are important and to a certain degree they will make you faster but I it's thinks it's the hill work and the speed work that make that make you faster ultimately. When I used to train for marathons I would do 2 and many times 3 hard workouts a week. Yes I did do two long runs a week but I didn't consider them a hard workout. I would regularly run hard. My week would consist of (example week)Monday easy run (60 min), Tuesday track, Wednesday long (90 min or so), Thursday hills, Friday easy, Saturday hard (most likely a race of sorts) and Sunday long (2 hours or more). So you see I thought of my long run as more of a recovery workout.

I think we want to the long runs to do more for us because they are easier than running hard  and heck they are long so they must make a big difference. Like I said they are important but it's what you do on your quality days that will make the biggest improvement in your running and faster.

I think you'll find that if you are running poorly in hard workouts that you probably are running poorly in your races and I can tell it's not because you are not maximizing your long runs it because your quality runs aren't going well. So you need to fix that, how do you do that, well that's a good question and would depend on the situation and the person I suppose. I would imagine talking to someone with experience (me) would be helpful as they might be able to see things that you don't.  From experience it takes time sometimes to figure this stuff out and can be fixed quicker when you get someone else's view point as they may see something in your plan or workouts that you might not see. I had this bad patch once with my running it wasn't until 10 years later  while I was looking at some old training logs that I saw what it was I did wrong and why I wasn't running well during that particular period, it was plain as day but it took 10 years to become clear to me.

So your long runs are important but to make the bigger improvement and faster you need to focus on your quality works and although harder they will help your running the most.

Mid Week 7-15

The midweek workouts are posted. Everyone is pretty much doing what they did last week. Those on hills make sure that you get the most out of them, maximize the workout.

As we go through the summer and you all work on your goals whether it's a new PR(personal record)or just to finish, these are the workouts that are going help get that done. Yes these are hard but by doing them they will make accomplishing your goals easier. With these we are raising the bar, getting you out of your comfort zone, making you work. While you're doing them think about your goals and how doing these are going to help you achieve them. As my college coach used to say, rub a little tough skin on and get out there and do it. (And you guys didn't think I could be a cheer leader.)

With these workouts it's important to plan for them, they will be much easier if you do. Know the pace you want to run them, plan your effort, make sure you stick to it early, if it seems easier as you get into (and it's more likely too )then pick it up and finish strong. In a way we're trying to simulate the event you're training for so you need to start thinking about it now, if you do, come race time it will be much easier to get into that mind set. If you finish your workouts strong then I believe you have a better chance of finishing your events strong by developing the habit in training.

If in doubt about the effort you want to put in, start conservatively and work into the workout. That will let you be in control of the workout not the other way around, producing a better workout and leaving you feeling better about it. The more better workout you have this summer the more likely you'll have a better performance come race day. So like I said put on a little tough skin and get out there and get it done.

I still have plenty of shirts so if you need one I can bring you one tonight, just shoot me an e-mail and I set you up with one. Thanks to those that have made a silk screening donation.

A couple of Quick things

First off I was asked to remind those who live on the east side and plan to run with us Saturday that the 520 bridge will be closed so as they said you'll have to go over I90 or use a kayak.

Secondly I'm looking for some volunteers for July 16th from 4:30 until 9:30 to help out at the Washington Games. If you haven't seen a track meet up close and personal then here is a great opportunity. Most of you will help out with the events, info:

The July 16 Club Northwest Summer All-Comers Track & Field Meet will be a special event! The meet will be an official track & field competition of the inaugural Washington Games, with special medal awards and tee-shirts for all entrants. Complete information for the all-comers series is on the Club Northwest Web Site. But we will start early that night! Kid's events and the pole vault competitions will begin at 5 p.m., and the schedule will be adjusted beyond that point to a low for the many more entries we expect that night.

No pre-entry is necessary. Everyone who enters Shoreline District Stadium will be charged an admission or entry fee. Standard entry fees for our meets apply.

If you volunteer you get a shirt and either or both a concessions snack-meal and pizza after wards. I'll be out taking pictures of the event, which means I won't be in Kirkland for the workout. You don't have to be a group member to help out. If you're interested let me know and I'll send out more info as I get it.

Nice to see the attendance pick up this week at the workouts, nice to see you taking it seriously especially those training for a fall marathon. Time to get going if you are. I posted a photo gallery on the site from the workouts.

Speaking of training for the fall we are getting a lot of new members so if you see a new face in the crowd say howdy. I think the hardest thing about joining the group is just coming out for the first time. It's a bit intimidating for most to just jump into to big group lean mean running machines like yourselves :)

Mid week 7-8-08

The mid-week workouts for this week are posted here. Many of you will start hill work this week and continue on for the next few weeks.  My advice would be to maximize these workouts getting in as many as you can. If you can't make for the group workouts please feel free to get it done on your own. Remember hills are our friends (hill workout description)



A few of you will be delving into the dark side with your quest for greatness by starting the advanced plus schedule. Hopefully we'll be able to stretch off of the track and run that half mile loop around the park.  If you are following this schedule remember that you need to run hills on Thursdays, very important. If your quest for greatness is large and I didn't include you, I have my reasons, lets' talk though if you really want be tired all of the time ;) That training plan is posted here with all of the others.



Don't forget to look here  for some buddies to workout with, provided they show up.



As you know I have the new t-shirts and  they have been well received if you plan to be at the workout tonight and you didn't get one let me know before hand and I'll bring it to the track.



Yesterday I sent out an e-mail to my mailing list saying I was going to stop with my e-news letters and use my blog for that. I would like to do that with this as well.  So what I will do is post it to the blog for the mid week workout and if you're subscribed you will receive it via e-mail. That will save having to dig up all of the e-mail addresses every week and give you control on whether or not you want to receive it. SO if you do you'll need to subscribe to it if you want it in your mail box every week. you can do that here http://blog.runchuckit.com there is a subscribe option in the right hand column.



Also one of our long time members Steve Brooks is having a house warming party and he would like to invite you all if you would like to contact him let me know and I'll send you the info.

Advanced + schedule added for Portland

Ok for you over achievers, time for me to roll out the more aggressive training schedule not meant for mere mortals. I put it on the training schedule page. It's geared for Portland since that seems to be the big fall marathon for the group. I can adjust it for those who might be doing another race.



Please if you don't have a lot of background running wise don't follow this as you'll be pretty tired and more than likely end up hurt.  In my mind it best suited for the faster runners in the group, more like the sub 3:20 crew. If you feel the need to tackle this and aren't sure if you should let's talk, I can always modify it for or if you are feeling left out don't, the regualar training plans on the site have worked well for 9 years now so jump into one of those and you should be fine as long as you remain consistent, getting as many quality workouts and long runs you can in this summer.



The emphasis with this is more on volume and not speed but in the end make you faster for your October race.

Pics, Mid week workouts, t's

I added new workout pictures to the web site today.  Tuesday's were fine but with the storm that we had on Wednesdy night I was lucky to get any shots with the rain and the and dark conditions. All and all they're not bad.



This weeks time trial went pretty well with some fine perfomances which bodes well for those training for a fall marathon.  With the rest of the summer to go and some of the best workouts ahead I'm sure there will be much improvement.



I am a bit disappointed by the turnouts by all on Tuesday nights this year. At first I thought it was the bad weather we had early on and that may still be it with people getting used to not doing the Tuesday workout. Now that the weather has gotten better I'm still not seeing much of an improvement in attendance. That's unfortunate because the mid week out is probably the most important one for those looking to improve there running. Many of you have expressed a desire to get faster and I explain that these workouts are important to help you do that but I find that many just don't seem to want to do the work that it takes. The good thing about low attendance is that I can work with people who are interested in doing that work.



For those that did run this week make sure to post your results here and your weekly log for last week here



Got the new t's in and it seems like people like them. Thanks for those that donated to the cause. Like everything else the cost of silk screening has gone up as well.



If you've been following the olympic track trials going on in Eugene then you might know about the Men's 800 meters (1/2 mile , two laps) finals and what a race it was.  Here is a link to a video of it.  The boys from Oregon layed a serious butt whipping on everyone.

Mid Week 7-1-08 (Seafair Issues)

Well it's hard to say this but it's nice to have a cool day after the last few days as witnessed by the pic to the left. I took that Sunday night, the only way you get a show like that is when it has been warm and humid.

Speaking about warm and humid, it was a warm one on Sunday for the Seafair Marathon and half. We had many run as well as paced the event and many of you were unhappy campers. Ok here's how it is. The only involvement I have with the event is pacing and the elite athletes. Beyond that I have no control.

Many of you have complained to me about how hilly it was, well I believe I told each and everyone of you it was. I think I may have laughed at a few who mentioned to me that they were going to run. You may have noticed that I have run the race the last couple of years and may have noticed I didn't this year. Good reason.

As far as the shuttles go I don't think you have to go to far down in my blogs and and I'm sure I've mentioned getting to the race an hour ahead of the start time, that means to the venue not travel there an hour before, be at the start. I wasn't running and I still got there an hour before. Trust me an hours goes by very quickly before a race and you don't have to worry about a lot of those things, waiting until the last minute is just inviting disaster. I was actually thinking about it that morning on my walk over from the hotel and how it was all going to work when the crush set in? I guess it didn't work very well.

The water situation, well I don't know about that one, I think that is tough because I'm sure they did what they could but I think on a warm day like that you can never have enough unless it's piped in. People see it and are hot and just go to town with it. The race officials where sending people to the store to buy it. I was standing with the race director and I heard him on the phone making arrangements for that. Again I'm not sure they could ever get enough.

The Mile markers being off, now there really is no excuse for that, can't get any simpler than that I think, measure, mark and put up signs.

You maybe thinking thinking he's working for the "Man" so he won't say anything negative. One of you mentioned that I should reconsider my involvement with this event. Hey the main reason I'm involved is for the pacing duties which those of you who participate benefit. If you as a group would rather not do that it would save me a major head ache. I do know that many of you do enjoy doing it so that's why we will continue as long as they want us to.

Did this race have some major problems, yes indeed and I will express my opinion to them about them and try to help fix them for the future. I will tell you one thing though I have run for about 30 years and I bet I have run more races that have had problems then ones that didn't, I can tell you story after story so I guess I'm more forgiving than some. That doesn't help those that trained all winter and spring so I do believe that they should offer a refund to those that weren't able to run though.

Ok enough of that, we're moving on to bigger and better things. The mid week workouts are posted We'll be doing the July TT. An important one for you that are runing a fall marathon. as well as for those just starting out. Those who ran the half or full on Sunday can take it easy tonight. Make sure to remember to post your time after here afterwards. Also remember to update the weekly workout log will be good to track your efforts over the summer.

I also have new t-shirts and as always they look great. I'll bring them tonight, the one problem there might be is hauling them over to the track with the parking issues so maybe we can get them from my car afterwards and I'll have them on Saturday and don't worry I have plenty. If you would like to make a $5 donation for the silkscreening fund that would be great. You can bring it or donate on line here.