Hi Y’all,

Thank you to everyone who participated or volunteered in the Chance for Hope 5k/10k. It’s honestly one of my favorite events for so many reasons. Andrea Davidson and Chance for Hope volunteers do a tremendous job of hosting the event and bringing awareness to pediatric cancer. They have grown the event every year and their goal is to make it bigger every year and to spread the word to people outside of our community. I know they appreciate our group’s support every year. Also, there was an actual race that occurred as well and two of our members, Crystal Mille and Jeff Burch, earned the top spot as the Female and Male 10k winners, respectively, so congratulations to them.  AND…several of our members won raffle prizes as well.

This week feels like we’re starting a new chapter in our training season. For those who joined our group this year and thought they joined a running/walking group and not a hill training group, you’ll be glad to know we’re done with the bridges for now. We’ll be on flat ground for the rest of the season with the occasional bridge crossing incorporated in our route.

However, there are those who love the bridges so much, they will be partaking in the annual Kemah Toughest 10k this Sunday. This is another popular event with our members, so good luck to those who will be participating. There is usually a pre-race PARR group photo so please check our FB page for the time and meeting place.

Saturday Details – Start at Wild Pear

We are back on the WEST SIDE! After many weeks of Turner, we’re back to our un-official home-base of Wild Pear Running Store, 9330 Broadway, D-400, Pearland, TX 77584 as our starting point for this Saturday’s run.  For those who may not know David Rosenthal and his wonderful staff, they have been tremendous supporters of our group throughout the years. It’s hard for a local business to compete with the likes of Amazon but I know Amazon doesn’t care about our feet as much as David and his staff.

Now for where to be when on Saturday:

FM – 5:30AM – MARATHON PACE RUN: 10 Miles [start with 2 miles easy with option of running 30 minutes at marathon pace (please note the minutes were adjusted and lowered from the schedule) and finish with easy pace]. Route is a simple out and back along Magnolia with turnaround point near Magnolia Elementary. If you want to go further than 10 miles, then feel free continue along Magnolia.

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2242178992

HM – 6:00AM – HALF MARATHON PACE RUN: 7 Miles (start with 2 miles easy, with option of running 10 minutes at half marathon pace, finish with easy pace).

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2242190737

Walking Group – 6:00AM – 4 Miles and same route as others but not same distance.

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2243657266

Water will be at SE corner of Magnolia/FM 1128 so please note Walking group won’t have access to it.

3^rd Annual Pearland Turkey Trot – Thursday, November 22, 2018

The next PARR sponsored race is the 3^rd Annual Pearland Turkey Trot. It’s another popular event for our members and their families and it is only two months away on Thanksgiving Morning. There is a Kids K/1- mile walk/ 4-Mile Run/6-Mile Run. The proceeds benefit the Forever Parks Foundation of Pearland.

Register at: https://raceroster.com/events/2018/15234/2018-pearland-turkey-trotin and enter “PARR18” for a 15% discount.

Please find below Aimee’s previous notes on hydration and safety as we go longer in our training and venture into unfamiliar roads. Finally, Daniel Imreke also added clarification on the PARR schedule. Please take the time to read.

From Aimee Galley:

HYDRATION

Just want to remind everyone as we get up in miles, to make sure you have a plan for your hydration. IT IS HOT. And will continue to be these coming months. The water is provided to be a supplement to get you to the finish, not the sole source of hydration. While I wish we could have manned water stations every mile, a clean-up crew and volunteers beating down our door to help do whatever is needed …it’s not a reality. So we all need to work together to make sure we don’t get in a scary situation out there.

Please, please, please PARR Members:

• You must have some sort of hydration on you – a fuel belt, a backpack…heck carry a canteen. You can’t rely on the water provided as your only source. Use the water provided to refill these things. There will NOT be cups at the water stops any longer.
• Water will be on routes that are longer than 10 MILES – We should all be able to carry the amount of water we need for a 10 mile run, so if you’re scheduled run is less than 10 miles, there may not be water on the route. Or if you’re scheduled run is longer than 10 miles, the water may not be until mile 10 or 12.
• Get familiar with the different water fountains in Pearland, should you get in trouble – there are many…think Parks & Rec.
• Make sure you are carrying enough water for yourself to run 10 miles – there were many folks hitting the water stop on their way out on their run, so mile 3. And that meant those FM coming back from their long run at mile 10…nothing. Zero. Zilch. And still 3 miles to go. And that’s not good.
• Check your timing – The water is out for the scheduled run only, so if you’re running at a different time (later, earlier, longer, shorter)…just make sure your window, time, distance coincides with the plan if you need to supplement your water. Or make a plan to set out your own water. It’s totally normal to hide a jug of water behind bush along a route. The volunteers pick up on the route at the estimated time that the last folks go by. We realize folks run at different times, so if that’s you, make an alternative plan (hide some water/fuel on your route)
• Volunteer –If you happened to mention on Saturday that you were disappointed that the water ran out…WE ARE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HELP! We’ll get you plugged in and together we can all work to solve the problem!

ROUTE SAFETY & PARR’s Rep

• LIGHT IT UP – Please make sure you have some sort of light on you, preferably on your front side as we run against traffic. A taillight isn’t a bad idea either, just be mindful of the folks running right behind you. How do you think our fast FIREFLY girls got their name?!
• Do NOT ever assume a car can see you – never give a car a reason to see you. You have much more lead time to get the heck out of their way. You have no idea what’s going on behind that windshield…a crying child, a cell phone, a sleepy driver, a drunk driver (it’s 4AM, you never know!), a spilled coffee…just assume all of these things are going on and get out of their way before they even realize you’re there.
• NO WAVING ARMS – As much as you think that is going to get a driver’s attention…it’s too late if that’s your defense. Let’s just get out of the way. Jump up on the sidewalk until they go by. We have SEEN a car drive up onto the curb at 4:30AM, think your cute little hand is going to stop that? Not a chance.
• Crossings – Please use extra caution when making a crossing at an intersection or otherwise.  As tired as we are and as important as we think this training run is, we need to be mindful that…A) People may not see us and B) We aren’t nearly as fast as we think we are, especially at the end of a run. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY C) Someone was actually hit year before last on a weeknight run, thank goodness they are ok…but it can happen. Before you know it.
• You give other people heart attacks – Even if you think you’re fine and YOU GOT THIS…it’s making other folks nervous as all heck. Please be cautious. We all signed up to run, not call 911.
• Other runners – I know it’s hard to believe that not every other running human is in PARR, but it’s true. There are still a few hold-outs that are not part of our group. Soooooo…we need to be aware especially when they are coming at us to GET OUT OF THEIR WAY and let the folks you’re running with know. So if you hear someone yelling “RUNNER UP”…we’re not talking Miss America pageant second most beautiful girl, we mean “GET TO THE RIGHT A RUNNER IS COMING AT US”
• BUT ALSO….when we’re all out there running in a group and we have the mindset that “there’s a ton of us…that car can get out of the way”…it is a bad reflection on PARR. We look like jerks. And I take that very personally. Because when someone wants to complain about that running group that runs in the street acting like they own the place, who do they find to give a piece of their mind to? This girl. So please, please, please…keep PARR in good graces with our little community and just step off the street when a car is coming. Every time.

From Daniel Imreke:

A few people have asked questions regarding some of the PARR schedule. Specifically, easy runs sometimes indicate that you can add optional 1/4 mile splits at the end of the run.

What are these?

These are controlled fast runs at the end of an easy workout. The idea is to run comfortably fast (preferably between 5k and mile race pace), then stop and walk around for as long as it takes to feel “recovered,” then do it again. You don’t want to start the next 1/4 repeat tired, because the whole point of this workout is good biomechanics (and good biomechanics fall apart if you are tired).

Why do these?

First: There are two ways to make running easier: 1) improve physical fitness and 2) improve your biomechanical efficiency while running. Most people are more biomechanically efficient if they run fast compared to when we run slow. When we run slow, it is easy for us to get lazy and have inefficient biomechanics. So, by occasionally doing 1/4 mile splits at a fast pace (1 mile race pace), we teach our bodies how to move efficiently. This directly translates to faster running (or a specific pace becoming easier) without having to improve physical fitness.

Another way to think about this: it is difficult to tell when a photo of an elite runner is taken while they are racing, or running easy. This is because an elite runner runs with the exact same form while running easy as running fast, the only difference is the stride is shorter.

So, try these suggested 1/4 splits out, pay attention to how your body is moving, and try to translate those things to your slow run.

Things to pay attention to:

• arm swing.
• forward lean of your body.
• cadence (your steps per minute).

How often?

I don’t do them too often, partially because I incorporate these aspects into track day. If you do not participate in one of the track sessions with PARR, you might think about doing this after a run. If you incorporate these, I’d say to not do these more than one or two times a week.

If you do participate in track day, don’t do these more than once a week on a non-track day.

Finally, a hidden advantage of doing this is to keep track of your workout exertion. A good week’s workout includes two “quality days,” meaning you should try to incorporate interval speed running or tempo/threshold running. Most of the time you spend running should be at what we call “easy pace,” which means you can hold a conversation comfortably while running. If you are exhausted after an easy run day, you probably worked too hard and too many of those can lead to injuries. So, if you incorporate 1/4 mile splits after some easy Monday or Friday runs, but end up too tired to actually do them, then you probably ran too fast on the easy segment of the run.

I know this email is longer than normal, but it’s all good stuff. I hope you stuck around until the end.

Have a great run!

Laurence