Rhodendron Blooming

gradweek_60530 019 Originally uploaded by shersteve. What does it take to bloom? A good environment (balanced amounts of sunlight, nutrition and water). Do you take care of yourself? Do you exercise regularly? Do you keep a balanced diet and hydrate properly? If you do, then your workouts will allow you to bloom one day!

Quick warm-up pre-race

A few quick and good exercises to help prepare for that performance in the race or workout. Takes only a few minutes when done properly.   This article from Active.com by Reece Haettich provides the details and pictures to show how to do the Solder's March, walking high step, shuffle, back peddle, and 50% sprint to get you ready.   I like these and will add them to my routine.     Technorati Tags : warm-up, run, running, training, RBF, Active.com   Powered By Qumana

Progessive core training

One of the most common errors we make in the practice of core conditioning is failing to train progressively. In order to enhance the stabilizing capacity of your core muscles, you have to bring them along step by step. Too many athletes fail to divide their core training into properly ordered stages, beginning with very basic exercises that help them to simply find the right muscles and advancing a step at a time from there. Matt Fitzgerald is right on in this statement from his article on Finding your core that he wrote for Active.com. I can come up with several examples from conversations with other runners with the overall concept of taking a step at a time but that will be another posting (maybe).   In the mean time, Matt develops this article to outline some key exercises to do once a week, then twice a week, then three times a week. Yes, the gradual progression to work on the core. He also refers to phases: Conditioning your core properly requires patience and a willingness to spend a fair amount of time working on exercises that may not look like they're doing much. Your core conditioning program should proceed in three phases. In the first phase, do basic isolation exercises that train the connection between your brain and the targeted muscles without any requirement to coordinate this action with other muscle actions. Once you're able to consistently and easily activate your stabilizers, do exercises that involve core activation in coordination with other muscles movements. And in the third phase, do exercises in which core activation is incorporated into sport-specific movements similar to those involved in running, at least some of which include a balance requirement. Read the full article here. The article closes with a special link to create a printed version of the exercises.   Then take a step at a time, a week at a time through the phases!     May the roads/trails be kind to you!     Technorati Tags : core, progressive, run, running, RBF, Active.com Powered By Qumana

Franklin, MA Area - Local race alert

A couple of local races are coming up on the radar for June that you might want to be aware of.   June 10 - 9:00 AM Norfolk Community Days 10th Annual Charity 5K Run/Walk Road Race Norfolk Community League, ATTN: Charity Walk/Run, PO Box 134, Norfolk, MA 02056     June 22 - 7:00 PM Tom's Tavern Summer Series Wrentham, MA 7:00PM Toms Tavern, Shear Street (No entry fee, just a flat, fast 5K) Contact: Roland Desrochers (Wampanoag Road Runners), USA, 30127. 1-781-307-6542 ronan262@yahoo.com   June 25 - 9:00 AM Third Annual Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K Race/Walk and Family Fun Day Hopkinton, MA 9:00AM Hopkinton High School, Hayden Rowe (5K professionally timed race/walk)     Schedule permitting, I plan to be at the Tom's Tavern series and the Timlin Run.     Technorati Tags : run, running, RBF Powered By Qumana

FIRST Plan Reflection

Some of the NC Pacers have been using the FIRST Plan for our training guide. As written about previously, it has the three basic components of any good plan: a pace/speed workout, a tempo run, and a long distance run. It is recommended that on at least two other days some cross training is done. This cross training can be anything from biking to walking to swimming. It just can't be running. The week schedules out at Tuesday (pace/speed work), Thursday (tempo run), and for the Pacers we have been running our distance on Sunday.   The one problem with the distance on Sunday is that you only get one day of recovery before the pace/speed workout on Tuesday. The official FIRST Plan calls for the distance run on Saturday to provide a two day recovery.   Why do we do Sundays?   It is more convenient to schedule. More of the runners have their kids activities on Saturday where they don't have that commitment on Sunday morning.   There have been a few times where due to holidays or other special events, we have shifted our distance from Sunday to Saturday. When we did so, those weeks were easier. I could feel the difference in my legs. Case in point is this week. We shifted from Sunday to Saturday as we worked the HMEA 5K Race. Pacers were spread out helping to set up, running the registration table, distributing the numbers, packets, etc. And then for race time, manning the water stops, cross roads, and the mile and two mile clocks to provide splits to the runners.   On the track last night for pace work, we did a small step ladder. 200-300-400-300-200, walk/jogging the same distance as a recovery before getting not the next step, with a full lap recovery at the end of the set before repeating the ladder. We did an easy mile to warm up and an easy half mile to warm down for about 5 miles total.   My legs felt really good. I think I need to run my distance on Saturday more often.     Technorati Tags : FIRST+Plan, run, running, RBF   Powered By Qumana

Pub Run

The NC Pacers had their first Pub Run with the Wampanoag Road Runners on Thursday over on the Crackerbarrel course with refreshments at Tom's Tavern after.   This was a predictive finish run. You estimated your finish time and then started in a staggered fashion. Slowest runners first, faster runners later. If it all worked out perfectly we would come into the finish line all at once.   Well, it did not workout exactly like that. Some did go faster, some go slower but it is an interesting concept. The train out of Boston was late and I missed this when we did it last year.   I wanted to take an easy run and did. I also was about 1:30 faster than I thought so I have some room to improve on my prediction for next time.     Technorati Tags : run, running, predictive+time, RBF   Powered By Qumana

Blogidarity - The Timmy Foundation

"We were not all born to be doctors or nurses, but we were all born to be healers," says Dr. Chuck. Blogidarity is introducing The Timmy Foundation as the next organization for which we want to raise interest and to raise some funds. Click on over to Blogidarity to read the introductory posting for the Timmy Foundation. In each our own way, we can and should contribute to the effort that the Timmy Foundation is making. I will do my part. I ask you to consider what you can do to help. Technorati Tags : Blogidarity, Timmy, contribution

Rainy run

Good run today. Knew I was going to get wet. It was unavoidable. Just accepted it. Avoided most puddles until the last stretch when it didn't much matter. Then you can become a kid again. Splish, splash, I was running along... Choose not to hang around at the Sunday Pacer meeting place for coffee, etc. The one Pacer buddy I ran with left as well. Thoughts of a hot shower or soaking in the tub dancing in our heads, we drove away. I went with the shower to warm up. With dry clothes on and feeling warm, I stopped to do my stretching before eating breakfast and then sitting to read the paper. A Mother's Day gathering with Dolores' family to look forward to this afternoon. We pick up her parents and then head to her sister's house down in RI. According to the radar, they are not getting as much rain as we are. Franklin has been on the edge of the swirl as the storm hovers around Boston. We have had periods of mist (like our walk yesterday morning) and then periods of drenching rain (like most of the run this morning). Such is New England weather! But I'll take this variety over most of the other patterns I have seen and heard of around these United States, thank you. If you do run today, enjoy it. Splash in a few puddles towards the end of the run. Take the moment or two to be a kid again. There is too much work in the world to not play when you get a chance! May the roads/trails be kind to you! Technorati Tags : NCPacers, run, running, RBF

Happy Mother's Day

The Union Ave tracks - Franklin, MA

Not just any old train tracks. These are the new tracks that were replaced on Thu/Fri this week and caused so much traffic in Franklin. This stretch of Union Ave happens to be one of the few routes to navigate from one side of Franklin to the other without going miles out of the way. Well as the work crews were busy on Thu/Fri, many folks did have to go miles out of the way to get around. Or wait to move slowly along Route 140 through the center of town. It is not normal for Franklin to have this kid of traffic so it surprised a good number of folks (myself included) when we came upon it with little or no warning. The section of road will be under construction for some time as it gets rebuilt this summer. Hopefully, with the set of tracks replaced, the road will at least be passable albeit bumpy for most of the key drive time hours.

NCPacers Pub Run

A good group of the Pacers got together last night for an easy 3 mile run staying mostly together like a pack of cross country runners chatting about this and that mixing pairs and threesomes here and there finishing at a local watering hole for some liquid replenishment and munchies and the rain held off What more could we ask for? Technorati Tags : NCPacers, run, running, RBF Powered By Qumana

Catching up

Ran two loops to cover 8 miles on Sunday. It was cooler than I expected it was going to be. I had left the house with a short sleeve shirt and ended up putting on a long sleeve for the run. The temp was mid 30's F with a good breeze to create a wind chill. A small group of Pacers were out and about.   Tuesday night skipped the track workout that was scheduled for the Pacers due to the weather. It was raining pretty good and breezy. The track is out in the open and intervals would not have been a pleasent affair. Had some key races been fast approaching maybe I would have reconsidered but under the circumstances the Jordan Road loop had not seen my feet in awhile and the road was calling my name. I answered the call.   May the roads/trails be kind to you!     Technorati Tags : run, running, RBF, NCPacers   Powered By Qumana

Franklin Runners - Local Race Alert

Two good local races are coming up this month for those who are in the Franklin, MA area and want to do a 5K, or for those who whereever you are, want to run a 5K in Franklin.   The first; Saturday, May 13th for a good cause: Feed The Need   The second; Sunday, May 21st for another worthy cause: HMEA Independence 5K   Enjoy!     Technorati Tags : run, running, RBF, NCPacers   Powered By Qumana

Where was I?

I have been neglecting to write. I know. I have been busy. Too much happening all at once.   I got to run in NYC while there last Friday morning. I left the hotel on West 50th, ran up 8th to Columbus Circle and into Central Park. I made my way along to The Tavern on the Green and then cut across on one of the paths that brought me by some of the ball fields I remembered walking along last year during the Gates exhibit. I joined one of the park roads and ended up coming out on 5th along 72st Street at which point I remained within the park to come down through the zoo and out onto Central Park West. Ran back along this to 7th Ave and then down to 50th and back to the hotel. A good waker upper for a run at around 6:30 AM in the Big Apple.     Technorati Tags : run, running, RBF Powered By Qumana

Falmouth update

Yes, the day has arrived. Falmouth race applications can be downloaded from the web site between NOW and May 8, sent to their PO Box, and then a raffle will be held to determine the entries later. According to the application I downloaded, they'll notify the entrants by June 2oth. They do have a new sponsor this year, CIGNA. So get an application and send it to them if you want a chance to run the race this year. May 1 May Day! Falmouth! A great party race! Technorati Tags : run, running, RBF, Pacers, Falmouth