Program Director Update for 1/3/2009

Hello Runners,
We have some long runners again this weekend for the Miami Marathon.
Several will be meeting at 3 AM which as we know is the middle of the night.
Come prepared with extra hydration until our hydration support team arrives
at the usual time. Tina will be providing hydration this weekend. Please
check with your group leaders to coordinate start times if you are early.
Otherwise we will see you in the parking lot at 5:50 AM.

We do have some new people running marathons this winter and would like to
review again info about tapering.

Many studies have proven that cutting back on running up to three weeks
before your marathon will leave you better prepared and not too worn out to
optimally run the race. The exact amount to taper is up for debate but some
guideline being used are to cut back the third week before the race 20-25%.
The second week cut back 40% and the week before, cut back up to 60% on your
running. You should not be doing any speed work during the taper and you
ideally should work in some extra hours of sleep during this three week
period. After your last long run before the marathon, you are ready. You
have already accomplished what you need to do to run the marathon. The
taper is just part of your training. By the start of the race, your legs
should be really ready to run. Anything more is really over-training and
you will not feel refreshed by the start of the race. Do yourself a favor
and taper.

We hope you all have a lovely New Year's celebration and be safe out
there. We want to see you running with us on Saturday. This Saturday would
be a good time to come prepared to let your fellow runners in on your New
Year's resolutions. In the past, many have been cavalier about resolutions
but it is a good time to plan out your goals and races for the year. What
would you like to do to make yourself a better runner? Without goals,
training has no purpose.

This has been a great year for us as Tampa Galloway Runners. We have such
a great group of people and would like to invite other runners to join us.
Next year, 2009, we are participating in the Gasparilla Expo and helping
with a hydration table during one of the races. We will fill you in on
additional information as it becomes available. Please volunteer to help us
with both. You can invite family members and friends to help as well. It
should be a lot of fun. Please mark your calendar for the weekend of March
1st.

Hope to see you all on Saturday. Remember, if it was easy, everybody
would be a runner. But, we really do have fun!

Iris and Linda