How is it August already? The bad news is the heat is likely here to stay for a while longer, but the good news is when the first real cool front arrives, you’re going to feel like you’re flying. Remember to stay on top of your hydration during these dog days of summer.
There was a great turnout for our first official PARR Saturday run last week – lots of new, smiling faces and high fives! We love seeing pictures of your training throughout the week, so please continue to post (along with when you are running!). These posts do help motivate our members to get out to join.
Here we are in Week 2 of PARR training. At this point, the newbies most likely have met or heard from their Ambassador, and have had the opportunity to meet their pace group leader, too!
Please remember that our PARR leaders are here to help get you connected to your pace group so you can organize you weekday runs. They will also be your biggest cheerleader! They won’t be at every single run, but they’ll cheer you on every single day! Check out the members only Facebook group if you still need to connect with your pace group leader or pace group page!
#PARRSaturdayRun
Full Marathon: 5:30 AM – Meet at Turner High School parking lot for 75-90 minutes of EASY RUN + CORE. You’ll run west on Bailey and turn around at 37-45 minutes and head back to Turner for CORE at 7:00 AM.
Half Marathon: 6:00 AM – Meet at Turner High School for Hills – 4 to 6 HILLS – 50 minutes on Bailey Bridge and back for CORE at 7:00 AM.
Walking group: 6:00 AM – 50 minute walk toward Bailey Bridge + CORE. You’ll walk east on Bailey toward Bailey Bridge for 25 minutes and return to Turner Parking lot.
All groups should be back at Turner parking lot at 7:00 AM for CORE work and should be wrapped up by about 7:15 AM. Be sure to bring your mat or towel…the concrete is tough on planking elbows.
Water will be provided at the intersection of Bailey and Harkey for the FM, and on the West side of Bailey Bridge for the HM and Walkers, and at Turner parking lot.
Daniel’s Note on Running Hills from Last Week for the HM: Running hills improves leg and heart strength, central nervous system stamina, and forces you to lift your knees (a desirable trait in running form). Running uphill reduces the impact forces on your feet and legs, but be careful while running downhill to not over stress your knees. While running uphill, your stride should be slightly shorter than on a flat surface and you should be looking directly ahead (not down). While running downhill, be sure to not overstride (try landing with your feet directly beneath your hips and let gravity carry you downhill). One way to accomplish this is to increase your cadence (# of steps per minute) while running downhill. Increasing your cadence/strides downhill will also reduce the impact on your legs.
There are a variety of ways to tackle hill workouts, but we will keep it simple for the first week. Once you get to Bailey Bridge, run uphill at Marathon Pace and then run downhill at a slower, easier pace to recover and relax your breath. Once you have reached the base of the other side of the bridge, immediately turn around and repeat going the opposite direction. Try not to stop unless necessary. One uphill counts as 1 hill. A round trip up, down, and back over will count as 2 hills. Continue this for the assigned workout, 4-6 hills for the half marathoners. Once you have completed your hills, please run back to Turner at an easy conversational pace to complete your 50-minute workout.
#PARRPresents
Kaylin is once again knocking it out of the park on finding guest speakers for our group. Use the links below to learn more and to let us know if you are able to join.
Thursday, Aug 8, 7 PM at Wild Pear Running and FB Live, Run Form and Run Apparel, by David Rosenthal – https://www.facebook.com/events/1295830107242422/
Monday, Aug 12, 7 PM at Wild Pear Running and FB Live, Run Safety, by Hal Bohn – https://www.facebook.com/events/501297050677092/
Saturday, Aug 17, 7 AM (after the run) at Turner High School, Camp Gladiator strength and conditioning – https://www.facebook.com/events/2388373091430965/
#GoingGOLD
There is a great local race, Chance for Hope Going Gold Fun Run, on Saturday, September 7, for you to support a great cause and to get a gauge on your training. PARR is a sponsor! You have the choice of a 5k or 10k. This race is very popular with our members, and the race organizer is one of our very own! This race is a USTAF Certified course and can be used to earn a coveted spot in Coral A in the January Houston Marathon and Half Marathon (See timing requirements here)
We hope to see everyone out there, you can register for the race here: https://thedriven.net/event.race_reg/eid/35549012479?
#PARRSwag
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to visit Wild Pear to order the latest in PARR swag. They have sample shirts in the store, so you can try on before you order.
#PARRDidYouKnow?
Did you know that the training schedule is posted in THREE different places for your convenience?
- On the website – https://goparr.com/schedules/
- In our members only Facebook group, under “Files” – https://www.facebook.com/groups/246625075376797/files/
- For those who prefer to only see the schedule for THIS WEEK, the weekly schedule is posted here – https://goparr.com/this-week/
Hope you all have a great run on Saturday. Please reach out if you have any questions not covered in this email.
Happy Running!
PARR Leadership