Campaign Manager Lauren Plichta

Coaches

Head Coach Bridget Kirkpatrick	Assistant Walk Coach Leslie Suedkamp	Assistant Run Coach Kendra Williams

Team Captains

Mentors

Lil Gary	Bridgette Morman	Michele Nutty	Jennifer Stanley
Karen Zisser	Erin Thomas	Megan Gilmore	Christopher Lutz
Kristen Jordan	Raul Ortega

Hey TEAM!

What a great day!  I hope you got a chance to meet someone new while you tackled those miles. It sounds like everyone got at least 2 miles in with many of you getting 3 or 4 miles.

Special thanks to Peter Valk who came to give us our mission moment, and to our honored teammate Nathaniel and his sister Viviana who came to share their wonderful smiles with us.

Practice re-cap

Apparel Clinic

Thank you to Chely Cordova from Road Runner Sports who came to give us a brief clinic on running attire.  A few things I want to point out:

Cotton is the enemy when it comes to running.  All of your clothing including your socks and hats should to be dry fit/have a wicking material.

Hydration belt – VERY IMPORTANT.  Please purchase one in the next week or two.  Hydration on the course is important, especially when running in the heat (which we will be doing).  There are tons of styles from single water bottles up to 4 water bottles.  Walkers tend to like the single larger water bottle pack, while runners tend to like the multiple water bottle packs.  The most important thing is that you have one. Please do not rely solely on the water stops for your hydration.  Be sure to get a belt that has a pouch for your nutrition as well.  We will discuss nutrition on the course briefly next week at practice.

SMR/Foam Rolling

As I discussed on Saturday, unless your body is used to doing high mileage, you’re going to start feeling the force placed on your muscles from training.  Many times static stretching alone will not be significant enough to release the tightness of your muscles and reset your Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO).  Remember, the GTO is a sensory organ that acts as a policing system for your muscles.  The GTO tells your brain when you’ve worked your muscles hard and the brain in turn, through the Central Nervous System tightens your muscle to avoid further damage or injury. 

We use the foam roller for a stretching technique called Self Myofascial Release (SMR).  When you use the foam roller, it stimulates the GTO in a way that says “okay, we’re taking care of the muscle” and the Central Nervous System releases the muscle. 

Foam rolling can be done pre-run and before your static stretches.  This gets your muscle at your optimum performance level.

Post run, the foam roller helps to release the muscle and does a sort of “re-set” of the muscle/GTO.

Remember to find that “hot spot” and sit on the roller for 30-60 seconds to allow the muscle to release.

Mid Week Practice

Wednesday, August 11^th at 7:00pm – Sherman Oaks Park.  30 minute run/walk led by Coach Leslie.

The park is located just off of Hazeltine in-between Magnolia and Riverside. The best parking lot to use is the one off of Hudson behind the swimming pool.  We meet on the corner of Hazeltine and Huston by what USED to be the children’s playground. It is now under construction. Meet by the construction area/gymnasium.

Please be sure and bring your own water, sports drink and nutrition as we will not have water stops at any mid-week practices.  Also, be sure to get your warm up in prior to 7pm.  We will begin at 7pm with stretching.

Next Saturday’s Practice

We’re at Balboa Park again for our next full team practice, Saturday, August 14^th at 7:00am. 

THINGS TO BRING:

• Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
• Towel or yoga mat for stretching if needed
• Your TNT Training Shirt with your name

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Timed mile
• Pace group assignments
• Everyone will do 4 miles

Nutrition

Save, Share, Sabotage – I’m the type of person that if it’s on my plate, I’m going to eat it.  The idea of immediately asking for a “to go” container (save) and getting half the food off of my plate before I start eating is a great one. 

Order one meal with a friend and split it (share). Portions at many restaurants are big enough for two to share.

If the other two don’t work, pour ketchup on your food when you begin to feel full (sabotage).  

Tip of the week

We can learn a lot about our running/walking form by watching ourselves in the mirror.  Practice aligning your body in front of a mirror with your eyes closed. Once you think you have your best posture, open your eyes.  How close were you to your best posture?  Could you draw a line between your shoulders, hips and ankles?  Make necessary adjustments and memorize your posture.

Your coaches,

Bridget, Kendra and Leslie

8/2/2010

Hey TEAM!

Our first Saturday practice was AWESOME!  Way to go!  We know things began to feel a bit rushed, but not to worry you all looked great and have already conquered 2-3 miles!!!  Not only that, we’ve already raised thousands of dollars for the cause!!!  As we mentioned the first few practices will be a bit longer and so are the first few emails.  Don’t worry they will get shorter as we get further into practices.

Practice recap

If you were unable to make it to first practice, please be sure to talk to a coach before starting practice next week. 

Attendance 

You must sign in and out each practice.  Please don’t forget to sign-out so that we won’t be looking for you on the course. 

Shoe tag

Please wear these at each practice.  If you did not receive one, please ask a coach or Lauren for one.

IPods/headphones

These are not allowed at practice.  We will be sharing the course with cyclists and others and we need to be aware and be able to hear what is around us.

Warm up

A 5-10 minute warm up (light jog or walk) is necessary to increase the flow of blood to your muscles, lubricate your joints and raise your body temperature.  This will help to loosen your body and prevent injury.

Stretching

Remember it is very important to stretch both before and after working out.  Stretching improves our range of movement, helps prevent injury, increases our performance, reduces post exercise muscle soreness and aids in recovery.

How to stretch:

1. Stretch gently and slowly
2. Stretch only to the point of tension
3. Breathe slowly and easily
4. Hold, count, repeat – perform each stretch 2-3 times and hold for approximately 10-20 seconds each time.  Each time muscles are lengthening further we have more flexibility.

Always remember warm up to stretch, don’t stretch to warm up.

Running clinic

Posture – our posture is the most important factor in good running form.  Good posture is a straight line that runs from your shoulder to your hip to your ankle. 

Lean – let gravity help take some of the workload off of your legs.  Think of your lean as your gas pedal.  The faster you want to go, the more you lean.  Lean from your ankles.

Heel lift – We need to pick up our feet to balance out our forward fall.  The image you want to remember is that of peddling a bike.  Your feet should move in a circular motion.  This prevents heel striking which is like putting on your brakes every time your foot hits the ground.  Heel striking also locks up our knees up and causes knee injury.

Arm swing – Arms should be bent at a 90 degree angle with hands and wrists relaxed.  Don’t cross your center line or you’ll use up more energy than you need to.

Stride – this is the length of your step. 

Cadence – is the measure of how many strikes per minute one leg takes.  We want our cadence to be 85-95 per minute.  Our cadence always remains the same; it is our stride that will lengthen which is what makes us go faster.

Walking Clinic

Posture-stand tall and aligned

Head – Your eyes should be looking forward 10’ or so and closer if you are on uneven terrain. Keep relaxing your neck.

Shoulders – relaxed.  Shrug to keep relaxed, we want them to stay down and loose.

Arms – Keep arms at near 90 degree angle, swinging arms close to the body but not crossing over in front of your body.  Swing of arms should be close to the body and not too far in front of too far to the back.

Torso – Don't twist, you want to keep the momentum going forward and not waste energy.

Legs – Try to walk in a straight line, heel-toe.

Mid Week Practice

This week starts our Wednesday mid week practices!!!

Wednesday, August 4^th at 7:00pm – Sherman Oaks Park.  30 minute run/walk led by Coach Bridget.

The park is located just off of Hazeltine in-between Magnolia and Riverside.  The best parking lot to use is the one off of Hudson behind the swimming pool.  We meet on the corner of Hazeltine and Huston by what USED to be the children’s playground.  It is now under construction.  Meet by the construction area/gymnasium.

Please be sure and bring your own water, sports drink and nutrition as we will not have water stops at any mid-week practices.

If you cannot make the mid-week practice, that’s not a problem, just be sure to get your workout in!

Nutrition

Protein helps build muscle and keeps your body burning fat all day.  Concentrate on eating lean protein such as fish or chicken.  For vegetarians (like me) you can eat nuts, beans and tofu.  A good rule of thumb is .75-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.  So for a 120 pound woman, that’s roughly 90-120 grams of protein per day.   You can distribute this throughout the day:  Eggs at breakfast, nuts as a snack, cottage cheese with lunch, chicken breast for dinner.

Next Saturday’s Practice

Our next full team practice on Saturday, August 7^th at 7:00am is at Balboa Park. 

From the 101 N. or S. exit Balboa. 

Head North on Balboa. 

The entrance to Balboa Park is about ½ mile past Burbank Blvd. 

Turn into the park entrance and follow the road past the children’s playground.

You will see a TNT sign at the entrance of the parking lot to pull into (this is by the lake and restrooms).

THINGS TO BRING:

• Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
• Towel or yoga mat for stretching
• Your TNT Training Shirt with your name

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Since some of our running/walking time was cut short at first practice, this week we are going to hold off on doing the timed mile and save that for our third practice. 

• Stretch clinic part II --without the sprinkler shower J
• Run/Walk 3 consecutive miles
• Apparel clinic sponsored by Road Runner Sport

Focus this week

During your runs or walks this week, focus on your technique and posture.  Let your body talk to you.  If your posture doesn’t feel correct, stop and make adjustments.  Don’t get caught up in the time it takes you to do a mile, keep your focus on your technique.

Have a good week!  If you have any questions/concerns, please contact us! 

Your Coaches,

Leslie, Bridget and Kendra

7/30/2010

Hey TEAM!

It was great to meet those of you who were able to make it to kick off and I look forward to meeting the rest of you. 

Kick off re-cap

If you do not have a copy of the July and August training schedule, it can be found on our team website sfvtnt.org – click the link “Winter” and scroll to the bottom of the page or follow this link http://sfvtnt.org/uploads/Winter_2010_Train_July_August.pdf

I know there was a lot of information given to you at kick off, so I wanted to give a re-cap of some of the training information that was covered.

Training Schedule – each week will consist of 6 different types of workouts.

1.       Long runs/walks – These will be your Saturday runs/walks.  The focus here is on your endurance.  Your goal is to finish at the same pace you started. 

2.       X-Training (Cross training) – for the first few weeks you will have 2 days of X- training.  After the first 2 weeks, we’ll reduce this to Sundays only.  Since running/fast walking tends to neglect some muscle groups while strengthening others, certain cross-training routines can correct muscle imbalances that might otherwise result in injury.  Swimming and Yoga are excellent cross training exercises.

3.       Recovery run/walk – This will be your Monday easy run/walk.  You’ve put your body through a lot during the week.  Give your body time to recover and grow stronger. 

4.       Stamina run/walk – This will be your Wednesday run/walk.  These runs/walks will teach your body to make your Saturday long runs/walks easy.

5.       Strength Training – We’ll focus on strengthening our core, legs and overall body. 

6.       REST – This workout is so important you need to do it twice per week.  Getting two of these workouts in per week will help to prevent injury.  Stay off your feet as much as possible.  Sleep in, read a book, watch T.V.  Just keep in mind, you’re working out!

Nutrition

·         Breakfast – Breakfast is essential! Your body has been deprived of food throughout the night; therefore your metabolism has slowed. If the cells do not receive sufficient nutrients they will begin to function less efficiently.  You are about to start the most active part of your day and you need to put something in your stomach to nourish these activities.  If time is a factor, try a simple smoothie or protein drink.

Hydrate

Drink plenty of water each day to stay hydrated for your workouts.  You should drink half of your weight in ounces of water each day.  For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, you need at least 60 ounces of water per day.

1^st Practice July 31^st at Pierce College

We will meet at the track at Pierce this Saturday at 7am.  Please arrive on time as we have a great workout and several clinics planned for you.  If you are unfamiliar with Pierce College, our friendly mentors and captains will be on the campus guiding the way.

UPDATED DIRECTIONS TO PIERCE:  I found out they are doing construction at the Pierce entrance we originally told you to take so I need to direct you to a different entrance.  You will now enter off of Victory and Mason.  Follow the same directions - 101 North/South to Winnetka Exit, head North on Winnetka towards Pierce College.  Go PAST Brahma entrance and continue until you reach Victory.  Turn Left onto Victory.  Follow Victory to Mason and turn left onto Mason.  Follow Mason up the road until you reach Stadium parking Lot 5.  You will see signs saying “no exit” but continue on the road until you reach Stadium 5 parking.  Park in this lot and head into the track/stadium area.

What to bring:

1. Towel to lay on for stretching
2. Sunscreen, hat and sunglasses
3. Dress in layers in case it is cool in the morning.
4. We will provide water, sports drink and snacks for you.
5. Pen and paper – in case you want to jot anything down during the clinics.

What to expect:

1. Charlie from Phidippides will lead us in a shoe clinic.
2. You’ll be taken through a proper warm up and stretch clinic.
3. We will be discussing and practicing proper walking and running technique as well as interval training.
4. EATING!!!  My favorite part of the day.  Your mentors, captains and coaches will host a potluck for you after practice.  It’s our way of welcoming you to the TEAM!

Tip of the Week

Almonds – eat as much as two handfuls of almonds a day.  Studies have shown that people can eat this amount without gaining any extra weight.

Almonds are a secret weapon power food.  They build muscle and fight cravings.  They also fight against cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and wrinkles.  Stick to raw unsalted almonds.  Pair them with raspberries for a great mid-afternoon snack.

I’m excited to start practice with everyone!  See you Saturday!!!

Your Coaches,

Bridget, Kendra and Leslie!!!