Dr. Scaff spoke about research which supported his theory of not stretching before a run.  He mentioned that a good stretch after the run would be more beneficial in helping with muscle tightness and injury.  His complete talk is available on our website.

Happy Birthday Doc!

Dr. Scaff celebrates his 78^th birthday this weekend!  HMC members are invited to his birthday celebration this weekend.  Details were given out at the clinic.

 Table Duty:

Thank you Tom for doing an incredible job at table duty!  Community service must run in the family as his brother Dennis also helps out at his son’s AYSO soccer activities.  Thanks Tom for all of the delicious goodies and drinks!

No Clinic:

There is no official clinic this coming Sunday due to the Memorial Day weekend.  Please check your group reports or with your group leaders to see if you are meeting informally. 

 First Bus Run:

Please be sure to sign up on the board for the June 23 Bus Run.  For many it will be a new experience running in from a destination to home base.  I always look forward to the Bus Runs because of the change in scenery and the opportunity to socialize during the ride on the school bus.   Most of us will be dropped off at the Maunalua Bay stop (across from Roy’s in Hawaii Kai) and return for about an 8 mile trek.  Many Intermediate and Advanced runners will probably add in the Hawaii Kai Drive Loop (an additional two miles).  We also get exposure to running on the actual marathon route.  Please sign up ASAP so we can order the appropriate number of buses.

Group Reports:

Advanced Group by David FitzPatrick:

(Pace – < 9:00 min. per mile)

Hi folks! The advanced group goal is to run the marathon under 4 hours which is a 9 min/mile pace or faster. The advanced group met at Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:20 and ran 14 miles in nice conditions, with a slight negative split on the return leg. Doris returned and it was great to see her back. Next week we are meeting at Maunalua bay boat ramp at 6:20 and running up Lunalilo Home Rd, up Hawaii Kai Rd, and out to Sandy Beach.

Grey Group by Ron Alford:

(Pace – 10:30 – 11:30 min. per mile) Piers,

Andy, Nikki, and Ron led a group of 23 Grays out for a 10 mile run to the Bus Stop on Kalanianaole Highway and back on a really hot and muggy day.  Everyone did a great job of staying single file over Diamond Head!  During the stop at Triangle Park, Andy reminded everyone to drink plenty of water.  Robert added that carrying a water bottle is a great way to make sure that you are getting enough water along the route. We had one fall during the run, fortunately, resulting in only minor scrapes and a little bruising.  So, again, be careful out there!

Next Sunday there is no official clinic but the Gray Group will run at 7:00 am from Paki. Be sure to bring a water bottle as the route will vary from our usual one.

Garmin Stats for today: Distance: 10 miles, Running Time: 1:44:15, Total Elapsed Time: 2:06:34, Running Pace: 10:26.

Lastly, remember there is a birthday party for Dr. Scaff at his house next Sunday at 4:30 pm.

 Silver Group by Lynnae Lee:

(Pace – 11:00 – 12:00 min. per mile)

Volunteer staff leader Paris led 15-16 Silvers on their first 10-mile run to the big fire hydrant on Kalanianaole (fka “the phone booth”) and back.  Silvers in attendance included:  Speedy Joe, Evelyn, Kam, Jun, Scott, Darren, Joe & Tavi.  Tony and Lynnae turned around early to do just 6 miles.  The group hit a fairly quick pace, 10:30 in some places, obvious evidence of those who have been doing their homework.  Paris said he may go slower next time.

The heat was considerable… summer has arrived early.  But just remember, we’re lucky we live Hawaii.  This was a good opportunity to check our hydration levels.  It was imperative not to miss any water stops, and to take in more fluid than normal.  The larger than normal wave swells seemed so inviting as we returned over Diamond Head.  The Silvers did a great job today given the conditions.  Today’s steady attrition level resulted in 9 super strong Silvers finishing in grand fashion.

HOMEWORK:  Continue to do 2 homework runs of 60 minutes minimum duration with a rest day in between.  Remember that rest days are important to the marathon training regimen.  With the longer distances and heat setting in, consider packing a supplement or bring a water bottle with a sport drink, and try hydrating the night before.  If you’re running on your own next week, do 8-10 miles as your long run.

SPECIAL OPTIONAL TRAINING [Memorial Day]:  To continue the tradition, since there is no official clinic next weekend, the Silverados will do a 10-mile run at Tantalus on Monday, May 27^th, starting at 6:30 a.m.  This will be good training to strengthen our muscles.  Tony promises that no one will be left behind.  All HMCers are welcome to join.  We will meet at the park where Makiki Street, Makiki Heights Drive and Round Top Drive meet.  For those unfamiliar with the location, turn up (mauka) on Makiki Street from Nehoa, and the park is one block in at the fork in the road.  Parking is on either side of the park and is limited.  There are no water fountains along the way, so please make sure to bring enough water, 12-20 oz is suggested, depending on your usual intake.  It is also important to note that there are no bathroom facilities (but plenty of bushes), so plan accordingly.  The run should take a little over 2 hours.  Those with knee issues will want to take it easy on the downhills, but there’s an easy trick that we can show you that will help.  Email moc.oohaynull@eeleannyl if you have any questions.  Have fun and enjoy the views from the top!

Important running “gear”:  Please make sure to carry your ID, a list of current medications and any allergies, and cell phone (programmed with an I.C.E. phone #).  Safety first, always.  Let’s develop good running habits so we can enjoy this sport for years to come.

Recycling Project:  Stop…don’t throw away those empty shoe boxes.  I am collecting them for a special Christmas project.  Please consider donating them to this cause.  Thanks.

Other Races:  HMC and the Silver Group were well represented in last week’s first Ekiden on Oahu.  It was a unique course that included the section from Roy’s restaurant to Sandy Beach, and the dreaded big Kilauea hill.  Our 6-person team included Sandra & Tony P., John, Jun, Leo, and Lynnae.  It was a lot of fun thanks to my teammates!  Other HMCers like Joe, Lance, and Minnie Mouse Maile, all looked good at the finish line.  Hope to see more of you out there next year.

Good luck to all HMCers who will be racing in the Hibiscus Half Marathon next week.  (Don’t forget to carbo load.)  Early registration is now being accepted for the Marathon Readiness Series till June 5.  First race is August 11^th.  This is a prime opportunity for first time marathoners to get some race experience in preparation for marathon day.  If you cannot do the whole series, pick a few, including the 30K.

 Teal Group by Jann Kadowaki:

(Pace – 11:30 – 12;30 minutes per mile)

16 Teal Groupers took on our second 8-mile run in some really hot weather…yet again!  Group leaders Diane and Norm lead Russ, Marissa, Ivan, David, Katie, Staci, Dana, Lianne, Devan, Desiree, Monika, Carolyn and newcomer Edward.  We merged and unmerged with other groups along the way, but maintained our 11:30-12 min per mile pace.  Our group got a little separated on the last stretch with some people picking up the pace, but everyone finished strong and we regrouped over the refreshments!

Next Sunday we’ll be meeting at Triangle Park at 6:30am for an unofficial group run.  We’ll be doing about 8 miles again in preparation for 10 miles in June!  Good luck to those marathon clinic members doing the Hibiscus Half Marathon next Sunday!  And have a great trip to those who are going away for the Memorial Day weekend!  And Happy Birthday to Dr. Scaff next weekend too!!

White Group by Blair Hoashi

(Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile)

Guru Sam and his crew keep our group members entertained, educated and injury free, which keeps drawing in the crowds – another 30 member contingent ran collectively for a scheduled 8 miler.

While the hot and sultry weather did not make it the most desirable morning in which to have an 8 mile jaunt, we all persevered – we hydrated often, slowed frequently and appropriately, and finished intact.   Staff leaders Guru Sam, Richard and Blair led the group through a slightly different route today to avoid some of the activities going on at the park.  After Triangle Park, we cut through the Kahala “suburbs” then proceeded on to the Kahala gas station.  On our return, we went up the golf course road then turned onto Farmer’s Road then back on track to our usual return route – total mileage 7.73 miles.  We also expended roughly 900 calories.  Teachers Glenda and husband Clyde, Gino, Azusa and son Joshua, “shy Bob”, Quen, Eric, Lisa, “senior stalwarts” (not older but experienced) Russell and Gary, Naho, Kumiko, Mayumi, Jaynie, Sue, newcomer Levi, Joy, Carol, Jolene (from Newfoundland), were some of members with us today.  As is usual, I did not get all of the member’s names but will keep trying.

Next week, since there is no official clinic, we will be at the park at 7:00 a.m. for an informal 8 mile run.  Please join us for a nice casual run to “celebrate” Memorial Day!

 Please keep up with your homework runs; our Sunday runs are going to get longer.

 If you are available, please plan to attend Dr. Scaff’s birthday bash at his residence on Monday!  We would all love to see you there! (Amazing how runners look so different in their “regular garb” vs. running attire; some runners are almost unrecognizable). 

Blue Group by Val Ogi:

(Pace – 12:30 – 13:30 min. per mile)

Today’s Blue group was small, Martha, Elena, David, Randy and Al.  We managed to average 12:49 per mile, although one downhill was clocked under 11 minutes. We got caught in several different groups and were trying to figure out how we got ahead of the white group, but yet were being passed by the beginning 13 minute paced group.  Oh well at least we had fun and we made it back to Kapiolani park for our first 8 miler.
We plan to meet at 7:30am next Sun for a 8 miler if anyone wants to join us.

Beginners:

Walkers by George Ushijima:

A larger group made our way through an unusually noticeable sea mist up Diamond Head road (or was it just vog)? It was really bright and sunny, but there was very little breeze. Must keep up the hydration, keep the fluids flowing. We made our way through 18th Ave. and down Elepaio going to Triangle Park and back towards Kapiolani. We heard the news of high surf on the south shore, so we took the detour along the walkway between the 2 parks on Diamond Head road to see the waves in action. No one got wet, but we saw the wave action. Then back to the park and some wonderful refreshments. No official practice next week, but George will be there @ 7:30 am on Sunday. Keep on walking.

 Sweet 15’s by Louis  Crompton:

Green 15 left the park with several newcomers today -18 in all.   By the time we got to the water fountains going up DH Road, 5 opted to join Sweet 16 or Walking Group. The remaining 13 followed our brisk walking pace for a 7.0 miler.  We returned to the park in 1 hr 44 min – that’s an overall time of 14.86 min / mile.  Excellent training session today…  hill work with good team grouping – just a slight spread as we neared the finish, and one young newcomer jogging past our leader in about the last 60′; she must have really wanted the first pick from the goodies waiting for us in the shade.    We’re in and out of those water “slowdowns” (we don’t call them stops) along the route.  We’ve been training for marathon day from the onset of the clinic and we continue to be on track for a 15 min / mile finish; look for the Green 15 team coming under the finish banner in 6 1/2 hrs.    DO - two training sessions during the week of one hour each.  Sunday session is “harder” when you don’t do your homework.  Do I hear an Amen?

Next Sunday, May 26, Green 15 leader will be at the starting gate, regular time, regular place…  plan is 7.5 miles or almost to Aloha Gas Station…  saving that milestone spot for June.   Thanks to all in the clinic who inquired about Bailey… she’s smiling and only out temporarily – wearing her hand cast.  Uneven pavement is nasty and unbiased – be careful.  See you Sunday… Aloha!

Golden 14’s by Dean Takashige:

The sun was up early and with little to no breeze. You could tell early that it was going to be WARM.

Dean led the group of 15 or so, and dispersed through the line up were Lisa, Sandra, Norm Jason and eventually Gail, once she found the group.

This was our Aloha run with Thomas as he is moving to the mainland, Boulder to be exact on Monday. We all wish him well and will be expecting him to join us in December.

For a change the group ran up Monserrat Ave staying on the shady right side at least till we ran out of sidewalk. We ran a brisk 14 minute pace to the first water stop at the corner of 18th Ave.

Our goal was 7 miles. Along the way we stopped to drink the ice cold water out of the cooler on Kahala Ave and proceeded on to Kahala Park, Which will be one of our regular stops from June going forward.

Plans changed and we headed for the Beer cave, to cool off not drink beer -sorry, at the Aloha Gas station in Kahala.

We took a short break and headed back, we Ran back on Kahala Ave and then cut through the neighborhood via Pui Panini back to Triangle park, we were at 5 miles so we were on track to make our 7 miles.

Everyone was had a nice exchange of thoughts and questions about the Marathon.

For example – If we are running a 14 minute pace then… ; this led into a discussion of Marathon morning logistics. Good question and we will cover this more as time goes on.

The short answer is ; Although this is our training pace on Marathon morning we will be slowing it down to about 16 minute per mile, as will be covered later, this is a negative split strategy which we run the first half slower than the second. We will run the marathon as a group – we will meet in the morning, merge into the starting line as a group and run the first half of the marathon as a group. At that point you decide, depending on how you feel if you want to speed up slow down or continue at the same pace.

We ran 7.28 miles, was on the road 2 hours and 14 minutes and burned 695 calories.

Next Sunday the 14′s will meet at the park at 7:30 AM.

Da Comment Corner:

“Running on Empty”:

I am sure many runners could relate to Jackson Browne’s lyrics today- it was a very hot and sultry.  Running on mornings like this reminds us to make sure we hydrate properly.  For many of us, the effects of the morning’s run will be felt later that night or the next day.    As we approach summer, carrying a water bottle with an energy drink might be the difference in having a great run or just “running on empty”.

See you at Doc’s birthday party!

See you at the water stops,

Blair

Congrats to all of our members who made it to the clinic despite the difficulty in getting there then finding parking near our meeting place due to the relay race!   Clinic runners ROCK!

 Table Duty:

Many of the Purple Group, wearing purple tops and adorned with beautiful purple leis provided the fabulous spread of food and drinks!  Much thanks to Marsha, Melissa, Lorna, Bennie, and Tim for doing such an awesome job!    No wonder Nelson’s Oasis (graciously provided by leader Nelson and his Purple Gang) at the second beach park is so well organized!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Group Reports:

Advanced Group by David FitzPatrick:

(Pace – < 9:00 min. per mile)

Hi folks! The advanced group goal is to run the marathon under 4 hours which is a 9 min/mile pace or faster. The advanced group met at Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:20 and ran 14 miles in nice conditions. We enjoyed cheering on the marathon relay participants. Donis should return next week and we’re looking forward to some great stories. Next week we meet at Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:20 am.

Red Group by Jeff Beard:

(Pace – 9:00 – 10:00 min. per mile)

The Red Group went out to the Kahala gas station and back on a hot, MUGGY day – thankfully there was a light, constant breeze and an occasional mist, but it was still a grueling run. Rachun, Greg (just back from Guam) and I started out at an easy pace, but Rachun and Greg quickly picked it up (they were keeping up with the Advanced Group). Rachun kept at it (I believe he averaged around 9:30 per mile), but Greg and I kept up with the back of the Gray Group. I lagged pretty badly the first few miles, but got a second wind coming up Kahala (of all places), and was able to charge up Diamond Head hill and cruise back down to the park. Not a great run for me, but I was still able to average around 10 minutes per mile for the 8 mile run. I looks like it will be muggy for a while, so drink plenty of water, Gatorade, whatever – just drink.

Big mahalos to the Purples for the great spread of food – Benny, Marsha, Lorna and Melissa – you are awesome!

Grey Group by Ivie Kumura:

(Pace – 10:30 – 11:30 min. per mile) Piers,

Perfect weather day, for our dedication run the 20 running were, staffers: Andy  (he’s ba-a-ack), Byron, Nikki and myself  leading the GR8T GREYS for our first 10 miler! Running to the telephone pole and back were Henry, Dan, Laura, Christine, Lina, Marisol, Tom, Kevin, Jess, Dr.Rob, Romeo, Brandon, Emily, Izumi, Jun, and Colter (welcome!). What made us so GR8T? We all stayed together, and endured it strong!  Thank you Nikki, for the consistent pace you set to start off the first half.  We ran for Coach Ron’s father in-law, Professor Robert “Papa” Potter, in celebration of his life; he lived larger than himself. You may remember “Papa”, who was wheeled over the Honolulu Marathon 2012 finish line with the Alford/Potter family, a sight to be seen!  Papa, a professor of education for UH, an educator, author, orator, was truly an inspiration, a man of integrity. The lives “Papa” has touched and impacted span across all 7 continents and the many states he toured with his wife on race bike tours. He served in the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor for WWII and vowed to return to Hawaii, loving the beauty of the islands, and the people here. Everyone here was “accepted” unlike the segregation issues he experienced in the South.
Well, in appreciation for all of the military, being Military Appreciation month, we honor all of you. To all of you serving, have served, hat’s off to you, we salute you! In our GREYS alone, we have Andy, Byron, Daniel, Rob (photographer), and let us know, if anyone else I missed. Also, to future generations, like up and coming, Pete‘s grandson, who graduated in engineering at Georgia Tech.
We also honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Recently we lost Reid Nishizuka , a pilot in the Air Force, whose  MC-12  aircraft was gunned down in Afghanistan; he was the son of a classmate of mine.
Hope all you mother’s had a great Mother’s Day! The last 6 miles of my 2012 Honolulu Marathon was dedicated to my mother, then 94, who was in the hospital. Today, we are bringing her home! My last 6 miles I ran for her recovery (it was going to take all heart, gut and whatever she had left in her to make it through, we didn’t even know if she would ever walk again). So, those 6 miles was for 6 years for her to make it to 100. She had a birthday, is now 95, and has progressed to the walking with a walker. Cleaning her room, I was moved to find my father’s WWII combat jacket; I also honor my dad’s service in the 100th battalion.

I gave my Honolulu Marathon 2012 medal to my mother and my mother’s response, “You’re crazy to run 26 miles!  Aren’t you tired?” My response, “Yes, mom, I am tired.”

My sister’s comment, “Wow!  40th!  Ivie, you did well!” Savoring that feeling for a split second, I had to then tell my sister, the 40th meant it was Honolulu’s 40th marathon”.

We all have our own goals for the Honolulu Marathon, and each of our goals, when we cross that finish line, will make us all larger than ourselves! Don’t forget to double knot those shoelaces. Stay safe.

Wednesday :  Midweek run 5:30 pm Ala Moana Magic Island entrance/ parking lot. 1 hour (run 2 x 1hr runs plus your long run on Sunday)

MAY SCHEDULE

May 5     – 8 miles
May 12th – 10.44 miles Thank you for our stats: Emily and Dr. Rob. running time: 1hr 39 minutes 9:58 to 10:00 minute running pace. Overall time: 2 hr 6 minutes overall pace: 12:29, 1,187 calories. We earned mother’s day brunch.
May 19th – 10 miles
May 26 th 10 miles (if there is no official marathon clinic, we will meet at 7am, stay-tuned)

Silver Group by Paris Monti:

(Pace – 11:00 – 12:00 min. per mile)

A small, but strong, group of seven Silver runners took off from Kapiolani Park this morning on their official 8-mile training run; it turned out to be over 9.5 miles by the will of  the running members, who at the Aloha Station wished to continue on to Kalanianaole and to the 10-mile turn-around mark, skipping the neighborhood streets. Making up this exceptional group were Kevin, Dawn, Jolie, Carl, Darryl and I. Weather conditions were kind of hot, but punctuated briefly by some cool breezes which helped a lot. Also, at a certain point, we were blessed by some drizzling out of the blue, as there were no rain clouds above; we must be running truly in Paradise. Our average running pace was 10:30 and our stops were brief. On the way back, about the Aloha Gas station, we met our indomitable Lynnae, in the process of making a positive difference to her Ekiden team showing. Great job, everyone! Keep up the homework runs.

The Teal Group by Jann Kadowaki:

(Pace 11:30 – 12:30 minutes per mile)

Teal Group – I’m sorry I missed last week’s write up!  This Sunday we were back to our warm sunny weather.  Group leaders Diane and Norm lead about 13 of us on just under an 8-mile run.  We had Russ, Marissa, Ivan, David, Katie, Jasmine, Shelley, and newcomers – Shelley’s friend, Grace, and Staci and Dana who were testing out a slightly faster pace from the White Group.  Lianne and Michelle joined up with us at the gas station to finish up the last half of the run.  We averaged between an 11:30-12min mile pace – right on track!  Some items discussed during the run: Norm talked about how our Sunday runs are probably going to be a slightly slower pace than what we’re normally capable of.  We slow things down a bit since we’re increasing distance.  David shared his new Garmin – the Forerunner 10.  It’s a lot smaller than the previous styles and comes in fun colors!  After last week’s rainy run, it sounded like most people escaped without any chafe-age.  For those of us who didn’t fare as well, don’t forget to lube up with some Body Glide anti-chafe on the rainy days, or extra long sweaty runs!  See you all next week for another 8-miler!

White Group by Blair Hoashi

(Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile)

We did our first 8 miler today and will continue at this distance till the end of the month.

A “snowball effect” takes place with our group every so often – we started off as 24 members strong but as we went through our route, our member count got gradually larger; we eventually ended up with 30 runners.   It could be the “Pied Piper Effect “of Guru Sam and his merry band of runners of the White Group -friendly banter, joking, games, and (oh, yeah) some running, usually make up the agenda for a White Group run.   In the coming months, as our Sunday runs get longer and our mornings hotter, our banter (especially on the return route) becomes minimal and perhaps we get a tad more serious (and tired), but rest assured the conviviality of the group remains.  So for those whose running inclinations are geared more toward the “serious side”, don’t worry, your time is coming.  Be patient- we need to build up a good “foundation” first.

Staff leaders Guru Sam and “sweeper” Blair were accompanied by a very jovial and friendly group of runners today – Lisa, Azusa and son, Joshua, Bob (Happy Belated Birthday!), Quen, Kumiko, Mayumi, Glenda, Clyde, Agnes, Russell, Sue, Janie (who made it up Diamond Head today),  newcomer Misa, Daniel and wife, Rose, from Switzerland, just to name a few.  I will get to many more of you as our training progresses.

Please try and keep up with your homework runs as our distances with get longer and our mornings hotter.

Please sign for the Bus Run – a good change of venue and we run on the actual marathon route. 

Beginners:

Walkers by George Ushijima:

Mother’s Day greeted us with awesome weather – that’s sunshine and a slight breeze. A very small group of us did our 6 miles, returning via Puu Panini St. The routes just keep on changing every week. We saw the Honolulu Ekiden event and had a pleasant day.
Keep on walking!

Green 15’s by Louis Crompton:

MAHALO to the table duty crew on Mother’s Day… You super ladies laid out a banquet!

Hot, hot, hot… but that didn’t slow the Green 15 team of 9 today…    heavy rain one Sunday followed by hot temps the next Sunday…  the good news is all our clinic participants will be ready for the December marathon no matter what the weather is like… bring it on.   Green 15 welcomed Abe and Andrea who decided to pick up their pace somewhat and join our group [we didn't ask if they had been in the 14 or 16 group previously, chuckle chuckle]  …surprise…   Abe was smiling and sweating when he told our pace leader: `You’ve got a quick walking pace.’   We all stayed very close today as we did a 6.5 mile loop including Elepaio, returning to the park in 97 minutes for an overall pace of 14.92 min / mile today.  Our water “stops” are getting pretty close to a NASCAR pit stop in choreography and speed… most folks slow down and drink from their bottles and a couple drink from the fountain or refill their bottle – in and out just like water “stops” on marathon day.   Two months into training and we remain on track to finish the marathon at a 15 min / mile pace … aim to be under the Finish banner in 6 hr 33 min.   We suffered one mishap on the trail when an experienced jogger tripped on an uneven sidewalk…  her double fabric slacks prevented what could have been a nasty cut to the knee.  Suffice to say we all must be careful out there… streets and sidewalks are dangerous places.   Next Sunday it’s 7 miles … that’s 1 hr 45 min if you’re scheduling an appt.  Do 2 one- hour training sessions during the coming week.  Bonus question to see how observant Green 15 members are… as we passed 608 Elepaio St there was a BMW and Mercedes Benz in the gated driveway… from what State were the license plates?

Sweet Sixteens by Cliff Hand:

The combination for Mother’s Day and the threats of parking difficulties cut the 16’s down to about half size today.  We started out with eleven walkers, expecting to suffer from the heat.  But it turned out OK, and there were no complaints about the heat.  There were a few complaints about the pace, which was slightly faster than 16 mpm. However after we finished the complainers were glad to have been challenged.  There’s some evidence for this: with 2.2 to go at Triangle Park we followed our custom and released everyone to finish at their own pace.  All but two finished before leader Cliff, which seems to indicate that two months of training is beginning to show.  For further evidence, we had two members, Andrea and Abe, who left us to join a faster group.  We’ll miss them, but we don’t want to hold anyone back.  We wanted to go seven miles today, working our way up to eight next month, but Cliff miscalculated and took the group for 7.5 miles.  Again, no complaints – an unscientific poll indicated a clear majority of members who were glad of the challenge. We’re rockin’, man!

Green 14’s by Dean Takashige:

Mothers Day Sunday- it most likely caused the low turnout of members.

Dean led a group that started out with about 12, assisted by Lisa, Gail and Sandra, who already completed the first leg of the Ekiden relay.

Summer is here; it was a hot morning but luckily we had a breeze to help cool us off. As a reminder –  as the days are heating up and are runs  get longer, you need to practice drinking water at every water stop to avoid dehydrating.

One runner did trip and fall; luckily there was no major injury. Please be careful on the sidewalks because there are lots of uneven sections that can cause a fall. If you do fall don’t be in such a hurry to jump back up. That’s the normal reaction, and if we didn’t see you fall we probably heard you so don’t worry about standing back up so soon. More importantly stop to make sure you are ok, no pain, besides the obvious skinned knees etc. Make sure you don’t have a sprained or even worse a fractured ankle or the like.

If you are not feeling well let me or one of the staff members know how you are doing. You may need to sit and rest and drink more water or just slow down and walk. Keep us informed so we can help you.

We ran 6.19 miles in one hour and 43 minutes and burned about 571 calories.

Do your two 1 hour runs and we will see you next Sunday.

Da Comment Corner:

Bus Run June 23:

Please sign up on the bulletin board – it gives us an idea as to the number of buses needed which is very helpful in keeping the clinic’s costs down.  Most of the runners will be dropped off at Maunalua Bay (across from Roy’s restaurant in Hawaii Kai – about 9 miles).

Belated Happy Mothers’ Day!

See you at the water stops,

Blair

 Picnic:

Despite the gloomy weather that included a steady downfall of heavy raindrops throughout the morning, a vigilant group of runners and friends showed up and made our May picnic a huge success. While most members did their usual 4- 8 mile run or walk in the downpour (such dedicated runners), a few volunteers remained to help to set up for our big event. Chair Luanne did an incredible job in organizing (as usual); she had lots of help from members like Susan, Dwight, Muriel, Burt, Norm, Bruce, Tim (who took over Peter’s duties), Mayumi, Rachun (who’s Thai curry is always delicious), Alberto (who takes care of most of our labor intensive “stuff”), Stephen, Cody (another generation of Uyeda’s), Maile, Tony, Sandy, and I’m sure, many others. Apologies if I missed any volunteers.

The heavy rains made it very difficult initially to get our morning started efficiently – close to a hundred of us were huddled under the shelter of our meeting place trying to keep dry and warm.  Thanks Bruce for keeping our instructions short. As soon as the runners took off (in the drizzle), Luanne’s busy crew set up the huge row of delicious food and drinks in preparation of our feast.  The rain finally subsided by the time the runners returned and made the festivities much more pleasant and enjoyable.

Again, thanks to everyone for being so patient, organized and persevering!

Bus Run – June 16^th:

Please be sure to sign up on the board for our first Bus Run. For many it will be a new experience running in from a “destination to home base”. I always look forward to the Bus Runs because of the change in scenery and the opportunity to socialize during the ride on the school bus. Most of us will be dropped off at the Maunalua Bay stop (across from Roy’s in Hawaii Kai) and return for an 8 mile trek. Many Intermediate and Advanced runners will probably add in the Hawaii Kai Drive Loop (an additional two miles). We also get exposure to running on the actual marathon route. Please sign up ASAP so we can order the appropriate number of buses.

Sign-up sheets will be posted soon on the bulletin board.

Group Reports:

Advanced Group by David FitzPatrick:

(Pace – < 9:00 min. per mile)

Hi folks! The advanced group goal is to run the marathon under 4 hours which is a 9 min/mile pace or faster. The advanced group met at Kapiolani Park at 6:20 and ran about 13 miles in soggy conditions. We enjoyed a great picnic after. 1968 Boston Marathon winner Amby Burfoot suggests several tips for running in the rain: Vaseline or Body Glide fight chafing; stay careful: painted lines are more slippery than asphalt; wear reflective gear for visibility; and wear a hat and other clothing as appropriate. We almost lost Les to some cyclists, even running single file! Next week- Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:20 a.m.

 Red Group by Jeff Beard:

(Pace – 9:00 – 10:00 min. per mile)

What a perfect day for running – completely overcast skies, light breeze, and a slight drizzle the whole morning – wonderful! The Red Group went out for an easy 6½ mile run through the Elepaio neighborhood. Tim, Rachun and I all ran strong – slightly under 10 minutes per mile (running time). Rachun got a burst of energy at the bottom of Diamond Head hill and zoomed away from Tim and I – that’s the kind of kick we need to finish off the Marathon.

Next week, and throughout May, the Red Group will do 8 miles – we need to be able to move up to 10 miles in June. This where we start to get into some serious mileage – by June, we should all be doing our homework runs 3 times a week (if we aren’t already) – this is how we build up the stamina for 26 miles!

Thanks to all of the people who brought such wonderful food (and so much of it) – I love having dinner at 10 in the morning!

 Grey Group by Ivie Kumura:

(Pace – 10:30 – 11:30 min. per mile) Piers,

Ivie, Byron, and Ron led a group of more than 15 through the rainy, gray day weather for an 8 mile run to the Aloha Gas station and back. The group included Lance, Christine x 2, Laura, Bill, Lien, Prasad, Leo, Mindy, her friend (can’t remember his name), John, Marisol. Ivie lost her phone over the first part of the course and turned back at Triangle Park to look for it. Ron and Byron discussed running in the rain: watch for slick surfaces such as metal covers or soaked organic material on the road or sidewalk, be especially careful making sudden lateral moves (such as trying to pass someone or avoiding a puddle), a hat with a bill will keep the rain out of your eyes, and remember that in shallow puddles the foot striking the ground does not get wet, it creates a splash that soaks the other foot as it moves forward so to keep dry shoes “tip toe” into the puddle (for a smaller splash) and raise the other foot higher as it moves forward to avoid the splash.

We had one fall during the run – fortunately resulting in only a minor scrape that was covered easily with a band aid.  Be careful out there!  Along the way we picked up an additional runner – a dog (named Koa we learned later) who led us through the last half of the run.  Outcomes?

1. The rain cleared for some of the run and entire picnic.  As we were done with picnic, it started to rain again.
2. Ivie found her iPhone!
3. Koa and master connected. (Prasad said he acted like a child without parental supervision, running, playing, meeting / greeting everyone).
4. Ivie promised to provide the salad recipe, so here it is!

Curried Quinoa Salad: (no real recipe, but this is what went into Sunday’s salad) You could use whatever colorful, veggies, be creative, or use what you have.

1. Cooked 2 cups quinoa with 4 cups water in rice cooker (1:2 ratio)
2. 1 cup couscous, prepared in 1 1/4 cup boiling water, set for 5 minutes
3. sweet peppers, chopped
4. half round onion, chopped
5. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
6. mint, minced (optional)
7. basil, minced (optional), may also use cilantro, or parsley
8. dill, minced (optional)
9. 1 can garbanzo beans
10. 1 can dark, red kidney beans
11. turmeric (sprinkle, till darkness of yellow curry color desired, probably about 2 to 3 tbsp)
12. ground cumin, about 2 tsp
13. ground coriander, about 1 tsp
14. cinnamon, about 1 tsp
15. sprinkle olive oil, to make a little moist, and bring out flavor of spices
16. garnished with grape tomatoes

Garmin Stats for today: Distance: 8.1 miles, Running Time: 1:23:43, Total Elapsed Time: 1:33:37, Running Pace: 10:17.

Reminder: A good way to see your progress is to keep a training log.  Ron has set up an on-line user group at www.runningahead.com for Gray Group (or anyone in the Honolulu Marathon Clinic) to log their runs. The user group name is ‘HMC Gray Group’ and the password is “Aloha”. There is also a feature for posting questions and comments for the group. If you need help with the site, see Ron.

 Silver Group by Paris Monti:

(Pace – 11:00 – 12:00 min. per mile)

 The Silver Group did a nice 8 mile run (Kahala Gas Station and back) under a cloudy drizzling sky throughout, real good conditions for running. Staff   leaders Lynnae and Tony were away on business. I counted 11 hardy runners, including Joe, Jun, Jolie, Darryl, etc. Francis, a deserter from the White Group decided to step it up and joined us on the way. Some members of the group started out early, we met them at Triangle Park, already coming back; maybe, they were afraid of missing the Picnic food. Alberto showed up but limited himself to a couple runs around the park, not feeling fully recovered from his acupuncture ordeal. By the will of gods, it stopped raining when we returned to base, apparently, so that we could enjoy the great Zippy’s chili and a lot of other foods in great company. Because of the cloud cover, my GPS lost reception many times, but I think we ran at about a 10:30 pace average

White Group by Sam Usman:

(Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile)

We started off with 23 members today; I was a little late so joined up with leader Richard who had asked Agnes to help lead initially.  Rain in my native country means romance so our run was a little romantic.  (Not sure if everyone thought it was romantic, but the clinic members run, rain or shine.)

Our Triangle park count went up to 32 due to Val’s Blue Group joining us. We had 4 new rookies and all promised to come and see us next week for 8 miler.

Blair, I have bad news for you, we might not be needed next week because we had 12 new leaders. Each twosome led the group for two miles; I did not do anything. (Sam, you will always be needed!!) 

Blue Group by Val Ogi:

(Pace – 12:30 – 13:30 min. per mile)

Today I had a last minute Polo Shirt sale to our blue group member Craig (Thank you for the donation), so I told the gang to go out without me. Thank you Sam for letting us join the white group. It was Susie that let you use her cell phone and she said you kept her laughing most of the run. Basically it was  Martha and Randy that stuck with me the first 2 miles, then Sandra caught us at Triangle Park.  The rest of the run we tried to find our group, which made us run faster and with the help of the cooler weather and rain we felt great.  We had extra energy so ran to the actual Marathon Finish line, Martha’s phone showed 6.79 miles and an average of 12 minute miles. I want to send out a thank you to Lori for last weeks tracking of 6.29 miles @ 12:04 per mile. I promise to learn to use my watch or phone to track our times. I also informed the blue group that they may need to join white group again next week as I will be doing the Ekiden Marathon Relay. Thank you all for the wonderful picnic!!

 Beginners:

Green 15’s by Louis Crompton:

What a beautiful day! Yeah, for ducks maybe… not so much for humans. But the 1999 and 2007 marathons were run in pouring rain, so all participants need to be prepared for any weather in December 2013. With a “quick start” to the departure gate today, we only had 4 hard core team members present [Lou, Scott, Lynn, Ben] for our 6 mile cultural appreciation tour down Kahala Avenue. Lou had cautioned all to be careful of metal grates / manholes in the rainy weather – they can be slippery and treacherous… so guess who slipped and lost HIS balance on a slick finished concrete sidewalk? Yep… No fall, but jogging under wet conditions can be tricky.  Since food was waiting, and Green 15s are no dummies, we hightailed it back, making the RT in 1hr 29min… you can set your watch by the Green 15 time of departure / arrival – 15 min per mile. Hey, we want to finish the marathon at 1130 a.m…. so far so good. Excellent grouping today… we could have been holding hands at the finish. Back at the buffet, several more team members gathered with us – they had arrived a few minutes late for various reasons and missed our “early” departure…  had to join or trail other groups [ except for dedicated Bill who jogged our route alone ]. Happy to see “anonymous” with her new shoes and bandages. Next Sunday, Mothers Day, we will go out 6.5 miles [18, Kilauea, Elepaio and Kahala back]. Due to a relay race event, parking may be problematic – consider alternatives. Do two 1-hr sessions during the week.

 Golden 14’s by Dean Takashige:

Dean led the group with the assistance of Lisa, Lehua, Sandra, Gail, and Jason dispersed throughout the group. Sensei Norm was back at the park helping with the preparations for the picnic. This was a cold rainy wet Sunday morning we applaud you for coming out anyway. The Golden 14s first water stop count was 20. A reminder to practice drinking about 10 oz every 20 minutes which averages out to 10 0z per water stop.

The question of “doesn’t drinking water and running causes cramps or side pains?” is common. This is not true. Today was a good test of how you would fair running in wet conditions. Did you get or was starting to get a blister. If you did then maybe you need to try different socks or think about being prepared in the case that you do get one.  The group did get stretched out at the last mile. Not to worry it will get better.  You should congratulate yourselves for running your first six miles.

The plan for May will continue to be six miles on Sunday a two one hour runs during the week.
We ran 6.18 miles in 1 hour 39 minutes and burned about 611 calories.

One last tip – a good way to dry your “wet” running shoes is to stuff them with crumpled newspaper.
We will see you next Sunday.

 Lucky 13’s by Chris Isham:

Chris, Ed and Darby led the Lucky 13s on a wet 6.5 miler with an average pace of 12:22.Great job by everyone! While our run began in the rain, it somewhat subsided into a nice drizzle. As I mentioned to the group, the hardest part of running in the rain is getting started!

Next week we start our 8 mile runs to the gas station and back. Those considering wearing belts should start wearing them then in order to get used to wearing one. I highly recommend that runners bring some sort of electrolyte out on the longer runs. Water is not enough.

Homework during the week should be 6 miles now or a 1:20 run to build up to 20 miles a week.

Hydrate please and have a great week!

 Da Comment Corner:

Ekiden and Clinic shirts:

No shirt sales this Sunday and please be prepared for inconveniences(especially parking) at Kapiolani Park due to the Waikiki Ekiden which starts at 5 a.m.

One Step at a Time (repeat):

In my idealistic fervor to complete my second homework run for the week (it was already Friday), I disregarded the scorching noonday sun and tight calves(acquired from participating in wind sprints and calisthenics at my son’s flag football practice the day earlier) in trying to complete my task. I was in trouble from the start – my calves were throbbing and I immediately felt the torrid heat. I felt as if I were in the desert where one could see the “waves of heat” rising from the ground.

But since I was already on the road, I decided to make the best of it. I started off very slowly (as is usual) and remembered a “key thought” when the “ole legs” or the body and mind were not quite in synch – look directly at the ground in front and take one step at a time - get into a “groove” and get warmed up to the run or, just muster enough energy to continue or finish. I remember many a Sunday when we were doing 16-20 milers, how this “mantra” helped me through the Kahala Avenue stretch and get “home”. Or, in the marathon at mile 20, I managed to persevere and finish, because of this “key”.

Anyway, in regard to my “homework”, I managed to climb up to the Diamond Head water stop and return back to my starting point to complete my one hour run. I felt a sense of accomplishment.

Could this mantra, “taking one step at a time”, be translated to life as well when we are mired in its peccadilloes?

See you at the water stops,

Blair

Table Duty:

Much mahalo to staffers Tony and Sandy P. for all of the great goodies today!  It was very much appreciated – boy, it was hot today!   They wanted to thank Thomas P. for donating the wonderful oranges and strawberries; Bob for the great sweetbread rolls; and Carl for the crunchy pretzels.  Special thanks to Blair’s son, Zach for providing a container of his “special recipe” lemonade; he participated in a lemonade making/sales contest (for charity) yesterday and had a few ingredients left over so decided to share it with our members.

Thanks as usual to Jeff, Red Group leader who always shares his great mango bread with us!

Apologies for missing first time staff member Lisa, who assisted Dean at last week’s table.

Next Sunday’s Picnic:   

Enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow runners and share your latest gastronomic creation with fellow runners.  Friends and family invited; a $1 fee per person; soft drinks and Zippy’s chili and rice provided.   Groups do their usual run then enjoy the picnic afterward.  Start time around 9:45 a.m.

Group Reports:

Advanced Group by David Fitzpatrick:

(Pace < 9:00 min. per mile)

The advanced group met at Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:15 am, ran about seven miles too quickly to hear Doc’s talk. Les said we aren’t respecting our elders! We ran back to the beach park for a total of about fourteen miles. Les, Nancy, and I were joined by Neil who is a great guy. We met Mark at the beach park, and joined a great birthday party at the finish :0) Parking is scare at Kawaikui beach park, so one recommendation is to park on Hawaii Loa street. Next week we are starting at Kawaikui beach park and sticking to 8:30 min per mile and don’t forget the picnic at Kapiolani park.

Red Group by Jeff Beard:

(Pace 9:00 -10:00 min. per mile)

This Sunday’s run was hot and MUGGY! I didn’t realize just how humid it was until I got back to the park – I was soaked, and so was pretty much everybody who came in. The Reds (Tim, Rachun and I) opted for an “easy” 5½ mile run, up Monsarrat around the back side of Diamond Head, down to Elepaio and through the neighborhood. Even that was tough – I think we barely even averaged 11 minutes per mile. On days such as this, it’s especially important to drink plenty of water, Gatorade, etc. Next week, the Reds will probably go out 7-8 miles – whatever it takes to get back in time for the picnic!

GREY Group by Ivie Kumura:

(Pace: 10:30 to 11:00) (goal-sub-5 hour marathon)

Nikki and I started with 26 groaning GREYs on a super HUMID Sunday. At mile 2, volunteer runners stepped up to lead the pace: Mindy (mile 2 to 4) and Emily (mile 4 to 6, the Kahala Avenue stretch). Ron met us at mile 3, and led us mile 6 to marathon finish. Gr8 Pacers, thank you, thank you! G8ful runners were: Tom, Marisol, Lina, Laura, Christine, Lance, Romeo, Peter (wow, of Hungary), Afsheen, Prashad (So.India, UC-San Diego, and UC-Berkeley), Brandon, Izumi, Kevin (congrats on North Shore marathon), Bill, Jason, Lien, Dr.Rob, Donna, Daniel, and welcome to: Ross and Jaci.
Thank you Ron-even being so busy taking care of Papa,(father-in-law) a recent hospitalization, he still met up with us. At mile 6, Ron shared tips of tying our shoelaces to avoid having to stop or trip over them. He showed us the double knotting technique! Ron comes to us with great coaching experience, training runners in Atlanta, GA, and D.C.
Some tidbits in the recent Runner’s World: Do not slip off still-tied running shoes. Day after day, week after week, month after month, ankle twisting damage ankle ligaments. Ron showed us how easy it is to untie those shoelaces. During our low mileage early in training, use your workout time to build and strengthen your muscles. This will help prevent injury, and strengthen our whole body. The marathon is the total body (mind/soul) training!  Dr. Scaff talked about weight. Yep, I need to be losing my weight during this time. 5 to 10 pounds, anyone else share the same agenda as me? Boston qualifying time: our group will qualify- Men age 80, Women age 70 (for 5 hours). We’re in this for life! The “Over the Hill Gang”, one of America’s oldest and most dedicated running groups, from Oahu, share the secret to longevity – show up, start talking, and keep moving.  The average age of group is 85.2 years. Tom Knoll age 80 comes to our clinic often.
Mid-Week Run: Wednesday, 5:30 pm Ala Moana Magic Island parking lot entrance. 1 hour run

APRIL SCHEDULE:
April 7 – 7 miles: Shoe Talk Total time: 2:37, Running Time: 1:13 Running Pace 10:25

April 14 – 8.3 miles the Aloha Gas Station. Total time: 1:42 Overall pace: 12:14 Running pace: 9:50 to 10:45

April 21 – 8 miles

April 28 – 8.6 miles (Kahala Avenue and Marathon Finish, greeted Queen Kapiolani) 1:40 total time. 11:38 minute/mile, Running Pace ranged: 9:10 to 11:06 Calories: 1010 (male)

MAY SCHEDULE:

May 5th – 8 miles Picnic (you may come at 7 am to get in 2 miles prior to clinic), that would give you 10 miles for May 5th

***Add PIX***

Silver Group by Lynnae Lee:

(Pace- 11:00 – 12:00 mi. per mile)

Volunteer staff leaders Paris and Lynnae led 16 Silvers on another 8-mile run to the gas station and back.  We missed Tony today, but he was hard at work preparing the delicious treats for table duty – the popcorn and trail mix were yummy!  Silvers in attendance included:  John, Joe, Scott, Sun Hee, and Yong Moon.  Joe proudly showed off his new Nike+ running watch, and some looked on with envy.  We also welcomed some runners from other groups, like Eunice and Jen – the more the merrier.  The Silvers did a great job today signaling to one another.  Today there seemed to be a lot of obstacles, both moving and stationary, so the hand signals were appreciated.

Weather conditions were extreme again… summer has arrived early.  The haze and humidity got to near unbearable conditions.  (Felt like jumping into the ocean after the first couple of miles.)  This was a good opportunity to check our hydration levels.  It was imperative not to miss any water stops, and to take in more fluid than normal.  Fortunately, many of us brought our supplements to help with replenishment.  And of course the gas station’s a/c was a welcome break.

On the return, Paris led most of the group along Kahala Avenue.  Those guys are tough.  They attacked Kahala Avenue in warrior-like fashion, just like the experienced marathoners they are.  In the meantime, Lynnae, Scott, Eunice, and Jen, in desperate need of cooler conditions, enjoyed the shady side of Farmers road and the extra water stops along the way.  As we neared the park after coming over Diamond Head, Scott was a good Samaritan to a couple of stranded Japanese tourists, and pushed their little pink rental buggy-scooter out from the stuck position it was in.  Those girls were fortunate; they could have been easily hit by an unsuspecting vehicle coming down the road, unaware of what’s around the bend.  All in a day’s work for the HMC runner, right?

Next week we’ll do another 8 miles to the gas station and back.

HOMEWORK:  Continue to do 2 homework runs of 60 minutes minimum duration with a rest day in between.  Remember that rest days are important to the marathon training regimen.  As the forecast shows similar hazy conditions next week, consider packing a supplement or bring a water bottle with a sport drink, and try hydrating the night before.

 Teal Group by Jann Kadowaki:

(Pace 11:30 – 12:30 min. per mile)

The Teal Group started with 17 runners – group leaders Diane and Norm, Russ, Gary, Marissa, Janet, Lianne, Michelle, Desiree, Jasmine, Ivan, David, Steven, Katie, Carolyn, and Tamra. We stopped at Triangle Park and had a brief discussion on salt tabs and another product I forgot the name of (sorry!) to help us stay hydrated – in addition to water on hot and sweaty days like this past Sunday. Russ and Gary had an earlier start to their run so they left us at the doggie park. We continued on our normal route but added in a bit extra by stopping by the house that so kindly puts out a water jug with icy water for runners. We’ll do one more 6.5ish mile run next week for the potluck and will start doing 8 miles after that. We all had a slightly speedier finish and ended the run together as a group. Another awesome run, see you all next week!

White Group by Blair Hoashi

 (Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile)

Guru Sam counted 37 members comprising the group today.  We welcomed our annual returnee Daniel from Switzerland who was accompanied by his beautiful wife Rose this time.   We also welcomed Linda who is moving up from the beginners ‘Lucky 13’s.  Yuji and her son, Joshua, Lisa, Russell, Kumiko, Mayumi, nurses Jennifer and Agnes (whose husbands [brothers] are also running with the clinic), Dana (without Stacy, this time), Quen, Bob, Judy, Eric, Debbie, two members of the Korean Running Group  and a host of others made up our festive and celebratory group!   Dwight, Richard and I assisted the Guru with the large group.   I actually ran with three different groups today – due to my “sweeper duties” with the White Group which set me back a bit from the group,  I got to run with Val’s Blues and also, Diane and Jann’s Teal Group  which was circling back to add an extra mile to their run.  I truly enjoyed my time with all of the groups and the camaraderie of each of the groups was invigorating and motivating!  Great leadership by all of the staff leaders – no wonder the clinic gets more and more popular every year!

See you all at the picnic next week!  We start our 8 milers the week after!

Blue Group:

(Pace – 12:30 – 13:30 min. per mile)

Approximately six staunch members were with the group today.  Staff leader Val took the group through the six mile route at a pace of approximately 12:30 minutes per mile.  The group will plan to up its mileage to 8 miles after next week’s picnic.  So, please continue with your homework.

Beginners:

(All walking speeds and 13-minute > running pace.)  

Walkers by George Ushijima:

The weather was again great, but you have to ignore the vog. We were joined this week by Alec and Jeanette, who came to the clinic for the first time. With the weather like this, we really have to remember to keep hydrated. Road safety was observed all the way, with a great single file passing others. It’s almost May, so we did a little more by going down 18th Avenue and back to Diamond Head Road. We’re all looking forward to the pot luck next week.
Keep on walking!

Sweet 16’s by Cliff Hand:

We’re growing – 23 fast walkers today! Some grumbling about the heat, but most of us realize that we’re building up tolerance that will be needed as the season progresses. We’ve completed our ramping up to next week’s jump to a six-mile distance. Today we did 5.9 miles, so next week’s six will be a piece of cake. Or, as easy as pie. Either is appropriate for next week, because after we finish our piece-of-cake mileage we’re all looking forward to the pot-luck. An informal survey revealed that not one of us has decided what food to bring. Oh well, we have another six days to come up with an idea. Our Wednesday evening homework walk has been changed to meet at 5:45 pm at Kapiolani Park. Y’all come!

Green 15’s by Louis Crompton:

Green 15 had another great outing Sunday… Leader Lou had arranged a surprise meeting for us atop DH lookout with his neighbor, none other than Gladys Burrill who is in the Guinness Book of Records as the eldest female marathon finisher in the world [Honolulu in 2010, age 92]. She was as charming and gracious as always… a real inspiration and motivator for our beginner group… Since she is not training for the 2013 marathon, she “only” walks about 30-35 miles a week currently… and she’s 94! One of our ladies said that the clinic is challenging, but having met Gladys, she WILL complete this 2013 marathon. Green Team had 11 in tow and went out for 5.6 miles today, returning in 1 hr 27 min.,  about 15.5 min / mile, but the chat and hugs with Gladys was well worth the brief time standing still.  If we combine last week’s 5 miler at 14.85 min / mile, then our average for the 2 weeks is 15.1 min / mile… that’s close enough to our advertised 15 min / mile.  Doncha luv math?  Next week will be our first 1.5 hr Sunday training session – we will go out 6 miles and get in some appreciation for the arts – sculptures particularly.   Please DO your two one-hour training runs during the week… we don’t want you to be tired or have shin splints on Sundays.  And if you wear new shoes for the first time on our Sunday runs, try putting a band aid across your heel at home to avoid those potential new shoes blisters. See you next Sunday; aloha!

 Golden 14′s by Norm Uyeda

Staff leaders Jason, Gail, Maile and Norm led about 20 Golden 14ers on a “long” 4 mile run out to Medal of Honor Park and beyond. We cut the pace back to about 14.5 minutes per mile because of the high heat, humidity and vog but increased the length of the run to 5.4 miles in order to prepare for next week’s increase in mileage. Everyone looked strong at the finish and next week’s 6 mile run (only .6 mile increase) should not be any problem. Topics and questions today included: “what to eat before and during the run”. Answer; eat whatever doesn’t upset your stomach. Treat your long runs as practice marathons in order to find your perfect food. You have seven months to experiment on your diet.  And, during the run? I prefer Li Hing orange peel pellets or pretzels. These will provide salt and sugar without the mess of gels or other foods. Don’t miss the picnic this Sunday. Good chance to sit and talk without huffing and puffing.

Lucky 13’s by Ed Chu:

Kali and Ed led an unusually small 13s group this week. We ran 6.55 miles at an average pace of about 12:30/mile. We talked about the importance of hydrating. We also encouraged the runners to start bringing their own water/sports drink with them on the run as sometimes the water fountains are out of service. We also encouraged the runners, if they haven’t already, to purchase their new pair of running shoes. This will allow them time to find a shoe they like, and break it in, without enough time to get another new pair (with time to break in) before the Marathon.

Da Comment Corner:

 Special Discount Cards from the Runners’ Route:

Tomo, manager of Runner’s Route on Kapiolani near Piikoi Street, provided us with specially printed Honolulu Marathon Clinic 20% off discount cards to use at their establishment for all purchases except for Garmin products. Cards can be picked up at the table. Mahalo, Runners’ Route!!

Runner’s World quote:

“I don’t have a runner’s body, but I have a runner’s heart – and that is all you need”.

 Jennifer Morris, Runner’s World Challenger

“Training of the mind and body leads to awareness of the soul.”
- B.K.S. Iyengar

See you at the picnic and at the water stops,

Blair

If you cannot attend the Doc’s Talks on Sundays, all of the information Dr. Scaff covers is in his book, Your First Marathon – The Last Word In Long Distance Running, by Jack H. Scaff Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.M., available for purchase at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic on Sundays and online at: http://yourfirstmarathon.net/buy-online-today/.  If you are traveling, Dr. Scaff would encourage you to get a copy, not because it helps the Honolulu Marathon Clinic, but because Dr. Scaff wrote it due to the fact that he cannot say everything that needs to be said in 10 minutes.  There is just a lot of good material in the book (and it is a fun read).

Post-Race Collapse
Last Sunday, Dr. Scaff talked about heat exchange, and how when a person’s core temperature starts reaching 104°F – 105°F heat stroke occurs, and untreated it can be 80 percent fatal.

There is also something else that occurs.  It was first reported by the Honolulu Marathon Clinic, but now the phenomenon is well understood throughout the running world, and it is called Post-Race Collapse.

What happens in Post-Race Collapse is when someone running a race crosses the finish line, looks great, arms triumphantly raised in the air, walks around for a period of time, and the next thing you know s/he’s unconscious in the First Aid tent, when a few minutes before s/he was a healthy relatively young runner.   

The first time Dr. Scaff and company saw Post-Race Collapse happen was at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic.  A gentleman showed up at the clinic after a run, sat around a little bit, and while driving his car home on Kalanianaole Highway he became unconscious, hit a rock wall, totaled his car, and they took him to the hospital with a “heart attack”.  At the hospital they found out there was nothing wrong with his heart, and he never had a heart attack.  Until he got the bill!  (humor!)

The bottom line is we blame everything on heart attacks.  Whenever you see a runner collapse along the course it is always attributed to a massive heart attack (Dr. Scaff says small ones are just as bad).  And yet a lot of times autopsies find the heart is normal.  Most of these are rhythm disturbance deaths.  When you have a heart attack you don’t feel good.  When you have a rhythm disturbance you just fall on the ground, and in most cases that is what is happening.

It’s All About the Heart
The way we humans evolved was to try and live as long as possible in all sorts of situations.  It doesn’t help to have a heart attack when you are running away from a saber tooth tiger.  You want to be able to run.

So everything is directed towards the heart, not the brain.  The heart is what is important because when the heart stops everything quits.    You can have a stroke and stay alive for a long time, but you cannot live a long time without a heart.  The heart actually performs several functions.  You know when you run you develop lactic acid, a muscle depressant.  The heart can take the lactic acid from running and change it to pyruvate and actually metabolize it.  In other words, it can metabolize the byproducts that are making us want to quit running and help us keep going, that’s how important the heart is.

Fluids
As you are running you sweat.  When you come back from a training run you are 2 – 3 pounds lighter.  A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds; so if you are 3 pounds lighter that is roughly a little less than half a gallon, which is more blood than you have in your bloodstream.

If you measure blood volume for the things of concentration (red cells, etc.), it’s normal.  All the way through the race it changes a little, but if you just did a blood volume on a person running a race you could not tell that they had dehydrated and are 4 – 5 pounds lighter.  Where is that fluid coming from? It is coming from the muscles and everywhere else.  That is why at the end of the run you look wrinkled.  As a matter of fact, if you want to know what you are going to look like in 10 years, look at yourself in the mirror right after you finish the marathon and that will tell you because you are dehydrated.  But the blood volume is normal because the muscles are giving up everything to the heart, so you can keep going.  However, there is a payback time.

The payback time is the minute you stop running.  The muscles say, “Ok, I’m done working, give me my fluid back.”

At that point, the gradient towards maintaining blood volume disappears and fluids start going back into the muscles.  When you sit down fluid tends to pool in the legs, and heaven forbid you immediately have a beer which is a vasodilator.  Alcohol (e.g. beer),) is not bad overall, but immediately after a race alcohol could be a problem.  The next thing you know, you are passed out.

Why does Dr. Scaff mention Post-Race Collapse?
Because you are going to see it in marathon training.  It has happened every year in the Honolulu Marathon Clinic.  One instance of Post-Race Collapse was when woman came in after a run and fell on top of a big coffee urn, she spilled it all over herself, hit the ground and burned herself, and she didn’t know what was happening, and yet there was nothing wrong with her at all.

Post-Race Collapse will only occur with runs that are longer and a little bit harder, not a 1-hour run that everyone is used to.

Post-Race Collapse does not occur because of low blood sugar, blood sugar tends to be high at the end of a race, not low, because of gluconeogenisis, where your body is taking fat and converting it to carbohydrate, along with the pretzels, drinks, and everything you’ve consumed along the way.

How Do We Avoid Post-Race Collapse?

For yourself:
1.  As soon as you stop running start re-hydrating.  If you are trying to lose weight, of course, you do not want to eat anything right away.

2.  Keep moving around.  If you don’t feel good, lie down, have somebody get you water.

Actually cola is the best for 2 reasons:
1)  It gets you out of lactic acid metabolism, and
2)  The caffeine is a stimulant and causes mild vasoconstriction.

For someone else:
1.  Start them on some beverage, e.g. Gatorade, or cola with a straw that bends.
2.  Lie them down.
3.  If they have a pulse and they are talking they should be alright.
Dr. Scaff is not saying that you should not call 911, but you have to remember, when 911 arrives, by law they cannot legally treat a person on the scene, they have to take the person to the hospital, unless the person signs out against medical advice (AMA).

4.  If they have no pulse you may do CPR.
What happens if you start CPR and the person doesn’t need it?  They’ll tell you! …It hurts!

So you have to put all of this together.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Training
Dr. Scaff noted that the Honolulu Marathon Clinic used to do CPR training. The Honolulu Marathon Clinic can get an instructor down to Kapiolani Park some Sunday and do CPR training for anybody who wants it.  We can get it done for free, but if you want certification it costs about $30.  The money does not go to the Honolulu Marathon Clinic or the instructor; it goes to the American Heart Association to pay for the certification and the practice dummies.

So, tell your team leaders, if there are a lot of you interested, we can set up a training.  You may even hold the training in your home, so have a party somewhere and invite a lot of people.

Dr. Scaff personally believes everyone should be CPR certified.  People who have been with the Honolulu Marathon Clinic for a long time have seen Dr. Scaff and others perform CPR at Kapiolani Park and know how effective it is.  The Honolulu Marathon Clinic has not lost a person yet, …and some people really needed a lot of intervention.

Now You Know
So, now you know the physiology of heat, heat stroke, fluids, and Post-Race Collapse.  You are really experts.

Next Sunday: Dr. Scaff will talk about weight, how it affects running, …and maybe fingerprints.

The following Sunday, Dr. Scaff will talk about stretching, whether it’s beneficial or not.

Nutrition
For some good reading on nutrition, Dr. Scaff recommends everyone check out the daily postings on Dr. Alan Titchenal’s “Got Nutrients?” web site: http://gotnutrients.net/tips.cfm

Here is a recent posting from the “Got Nutrients?” web site:

April 18, 2013
As shown by many studies of the placebo effect, brain function can be affected by many factors. A recent study found that just the taste of beer, without the alcohol, increased brain levels of dopamine much the same as beer with alcohol. Those with a family history of alcoholism were most sensitive to this effect.

Consumer Link
Taste of Beer, Without Effect from Alcohol, Triggers Dopamine Release in the Brain

Research Link
Neuropsychopharmacology. 15 April 2013. [Epub ahead of print]

by Andrew Laurence

A teleological question:  Why do we have fingerprints?  Dr. Scaff may discuss this next week.

If you cannot attend the Doc’s Talks on Sundays, all of the information Dr. Scaff covers is in his book, Your First Marathon – The Last Word In Long Distance Running, by Jack H. Scaff Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.M., available for purchase at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic on Sundays and online at: http://yourfirstmarathon.net/buy-online-today/.  If you’re traveling, Dr. Scaff would encourage you to get a copy.  Dr. Scaff wrote it due to the fact that he can’t say everything that needs to be said in 10 minutes.  There’s a lot of good material (and it‘s a fun read).

Last Sunday, Dr. Scaff talked about heat exchange, and how when a person’s core temperature starts reaching 104°F – 105°F heat stroke occurs.  Untreated it can be 80 percent fatal.

Something else that occurs is called Post-Race Collapse.  Post-Race Collapse is when someone running a race crosses the finish line, looks great, and ends up unconscious in the First Aid tent, when a few minutes before s/he was a healthy relatively young runner.

Whenever you see a runner collapse along the course it’s always attributed to a massive heart attack, …and yet a lot of times autopsies find the heart is normal.  Most of these are rhythm disturbance deaths.  When you have a heart attack you don’t feel good.  When you have a rhythm disturbance you just fall on the ground, and in most cases that’s what is happening.

When you come back from a training run you are 2 – 3 pounds lighter.  If you measure blood volume, it’s normal, although you are dehydrated.  Where is that fluid coming from?  From the muscles and everywhere else.  The blood volume is normal because the muscles are giving up everything to the heart so you can keep going.  However, the minute you stop running the fluids start going back into the muscles, …and if you have a beer, which is a vasodilator, you may pass out.  Alcohol (e.g. beer), is not bad overall, but immediately after a race could be a problem.

Dr. Scaff mentions Post-Race Collapse because you are going to see it in marathon training.  It’s happened every year in the Honolulu Marathon Clinic.  Post-Race Collapse will only occur with runs that are longer and a little bit harder, not a 1-hour run.

How Do We Avoid Post-Race Collapse?

For yourself:

1.  As soon as you stop running start re-hydrating.
2.  Keep moving around.  If you don’t feel good, lie down, have somebody get you water.

Actually cola is the best for 2 reasons:

1)  It gets you out of lactic acid metabolism, and

2)  The caffeine is a stimulant and causes mild vasoconstriction.

For someone else:
1.  Start them on some beverage, e.g. Gatorade, or cola with a straw that bends.
2.  Lie them down.
3.  If they have a pulse and they are talking they should be alright.
Dr. Scaff is not saying you should not call 911, but you have to remember, when 911 arrives, by law they cannot legally treat a person on the scene, they have to take the person to the hospital, unless the person signs out against medical advice (AMA).
4.  If they have no pulse you may do CPR
What happens if you start CPR and the person doesn’t need it?  They’ll tell you! …It hurts!

The Honolulu Marathon Clinic can get an instructor down to Kapiolani Park some Sunday and do CPR training for anybody who wants it.  We can get it done for free, but if you want certification it costs about $30, which goes to the American Heart Association.  Dr. Scaff personally believes everyone should be CPR certified.

So, now you know the physiology of heat, heat stroke, fluids, and Post-Race Collapse.

Next Sunday: Dr. Scaff will talk about weight, how it affects running, …and maybe fingerprints.  The following Sunday, Dr. Scaff will talk about stretching, whether it’s beneficial or not.

ANOUNCEMENT:  After over 2 years of capturing the Doc’s Talks for everyone to read, review, and apply effectively in their life, I am relinquishing this role to anyone else who might like enjoy the privilege of “carrying the word” to others in need of useful information.

If interested, please let Dr. Scaff know.  Perhaps this is something several people would like to take up so that there is always back-up.

For myself, I hope you benefited from these write-ups.  If need be you can always access Doc’s Talks from 2011, 2012, and 2013 on the Honolulu Marathon Clinic web site.  Aloha!

To read full, unabridged summaries of the Doc’s Talks:
1)  Go to the Honolulu Marathon Clinic web site (http://honolulumarathonclinic.org/)
2)  Look under the “Categories” listing.
3)  Click on “Doc’s Talk”.

Table Duty:

Thanks to staff leader Dean for the great refreshments at table duty!

Group Reports:

Advanced Group by David FitzPatrick:

(Pace – < 9:00 min. per mile)

Hi folks! The advanced group welcomes everyone. Our goal is to run the marathon under 4 hours which is a 9 min/mile pace or faster. The advanced group met at Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:15 am, ran about seven miles at an 8:30 min/mile pace to hear Doc’s talk. We ran back to the beach park with negative splits for a total of about fourteen miles. Les, Nancy, and I were joined by Kevin from British Columbia who is an experienced runner and a good guy. As a reminder: hydration is very important. Runners lose about a pound of water for every three miles running. Take fluids early in the run and throughout (about 10 oz every 20 minutes). Electrolyte drinks are helpful and so are pretzels.

Red Group by Jeff Beard:

(Pace – 9:00 – 10:00 min. per mile)

The Red Group shrank to 3 people this Sunday – myself, Rachun & Tim. We started out together for a run down to Elepaio, through “the neighborhood” – Tim & Rachun took off up Diamond Head hill and quickly lost me, and finished with a sub-10 minute pace. I struggled to do the 6½ miles in a 10:45/50 pace – both were improvements over the last 2 weeks, so I was happy (although it still kills me to have most of the other groups pass me up), but I’m slowly getting stronger. We’re expecting rain this week, so be careful on your practice runs – we get familiar with our routes, and tend to pay less attention to things.
The Red Group will probably go 6½ next week, then kick it up to 8 in May, then 10 in June – that’s when we should also be running 3 times during the week (if we aren’t already) to really start pushing our weekly mileage up – it helps build up the stamina we need to do our increasingly long Sunday runs.

 Pink Group by Rosie Adam-Terem

(Pace – 9:30 – 10:30 min. per mile)

The PINKS will be getting back together next week to run an 8 miler at an average 9:45-10:00 minute pace. The early group will meet at the park at 6 and meet the rest of the group after Dr Scaff’s talk and Peter’s messages.

Rosy & Rosie @ Boston Memorial Run in Virginia

Rosie – in DC for a meeting this weekend - met up with Rosy (old member of the advanced group) and ran a Boston memorial/fund-raiser for the injured trail loop at Burke Lake, VA this morning. It was beautiful and very cold.

Don’t forget our picnic on May 5th. Sign up next week if you haven’t already.

 Grey Group by Ron Alford:

(Pace – 10:30 – 11:30 min. per mile)

Ivie and Ron led a group of 22 grays including Aurene, Mike, Marisol, Dr. Rob, Donna, Lance, Emily, Christine, Jesse, Romeo, Brandon, Pavy, Dr.Joe, Bill, Rob (our Marine, photographer, Ninja) New: Dr. Jason (Bill’s friend), Prashad (was with Red group last year, says our group has more “chatter”).  We managed to keep a nice, steady pace through the entire 8 miles (see stats below).  On the way back, Ron talked about hydration and the use of water bottles. Sipping from the water fountains along the way is good but you don’t know how much water you are actually getting, you are usually in a line so you may hurry (take less water), and sipping from a fountain, for some people, includes ingesting some air with the water causing some burping when you start running again.  Carrying a water bottle allows you to spend less time at the fountain as well as measure the amount you drink during your run.  You can also “wear” some of the water from the bottle more easily than from the fountain.  Regular sport bottles generally hold 20+ ounces – you don’t need that much between water stops so if you use this type of bottle, just put a few ounces in.  The rest is just extra weight to carry.  The small bottles are more versatile – you can carry two bottles on long runs with water or one with water and one with a sport drink.  Bottom line:  Do what works for you but now is the time to figure out how to stay hydrated on long, hot runs.

Thanks to Emily for the homemade coffee marshmallows (sorry, Andy, you missed ‘em!).

Reminder: Wednesday 5:30 pm Homework Run, join us!: Ala Moana Park, Magic Island parking entrance. We run for one hour.

APRIL SCHEDULE REMAINING:

April 28 – 8.5 miles (Kahala Avenue and Marathon Finish, greet Queen Kapiolani)

A couple of weeks ago at Triangle Park, Ron and Andy talked about how to handle hills. Here is a recap of that discussion:  Many runners dread hills and slog to the top, head down, shoulders slumped inward, just wanting to get over the top.  For runners with basic conditioning (like all of us) it is not the extra physical effort, it is the mental attitude that makes the difference on a hill.  One way to look at it is control: who is in control? – you or the hill?  Often it is the hill. Here is how to take control.  First, as you start up a hill, shorten your stride a bit and don’t slump into the hill, keep you posture upright.  This will accomplish two things: open your chest so that you can breathe more easily and take you out of the defeated (slumped) body posture.  Second, focus your gaze about 10-12 meters in front of you rather than focusing on the top of the hill.  When you look at the top of the hill, it never seems to get closer – very discouraging.  When you set your gaze on a spot just in front of you, the pavement is literally disappearing below your feet and you KNOW you are making progress up the hill!  So, the Rx for hills:  Head up, eyes down.  Be in control.

Garmin Stats for today: Distance: 8.1 miles, Running Time: 1:24:56, Total Elapsed Time: 1:38:07, Running Pace: 10:27.

A good way to see your progress is to keep a training log.  Ron has set up an on-line user group at www.runningahead.com for Gray Group (or anyone in the Honolulu Marathon Clinic) to log their runs.  The user group name is ‘HMC Gray Group’ and the password is ‘Aloha’.  There is also a feature for posting questions and comments for the group. If you need help with the site, see Ron (who is also an RRCA certified running coach and can assist with any training issues

 Silver Group by Lynnae Lee:

(Pace 11:00 – 12:00 minutes per mile)

Volunteer staff leaders Paris, Tony, and Lynnae led 16 Silvers on another 8-mile run to the gas station and back.  We’re thankful that Paris has agreed to help lead the Silver group in Alberto’s absence.  Together with Tony, fresh on his successful finish from the North Shore marathon, they kept the Silvers on a strong pace.  No doubt Tony wants to make all of us faster, as he celebrated a personal record of 30+ minutes faster than his last marathon.  Congrats!  Yes, HMC training works.  Silvers in attendance included:  John, Jun, Speedy Joe, Evelyn & Kam, Scott, Sun Hee, and Yong Moon.  John was celebrating the end of tax season – wahoo!  And others were just thankful to have made it to the clinic before the group left the park.  We also welcomed some runners joining us from other groups, but everyone was an experienced marathoner.

As a refresher, we covered safety and hand signals – (1) single file; (2) leave space between you and the runner in front; (3) signal by raising your hand if there’s another runner coming at you; and (4) signal by sticking out your arm if there is an object being approached that needs to be avoided (ie. bench, hydrant, dog poop).  Just because you can avoid hitting something doesn’t mean the person behind you can unless you communicate that to them.  There are plenty of stories of someone getting hurt for not seeing the oncoming (or stationary) obstruction, so please kokua.  Fortunately, nothing’s happened to the Silver’s yet.  Running in a group means we should look out for one another, so please incorporate the hand signals into your running etiquette. 

Weather conditions were extreme again… the humidity was fairly high and it felt like summer.  If spring feels like summer, then what will summer feel like?  Many of us brought our supplements to help with replenishment on this hot day.  Next week we’ll do another 8 miles to the gas station and back.

HOMEWORK:  Continue to do 2 homework runs of 60 minutes minimum duration with a rest day in between.  Remember that rest days are important to the marathon training regimen.  It’s not advisable to run on Saturday and also come to clinic.  Consider packing a supplement or bring a water bottle with a sport drink in case we experience another hot day.

Teal Group by Jan Kadowaki:

(Pace -11:30 – 12:30 minutes per mile)

About 14 runners made up today’s group.  Thank you Diane, Norm, and Jun for being our group leaders!  I haven’t met everyone in the group yet, so I apologize if I missed you.  We had Debbie, Russ, Marissa, Leann, Carolyn, a teacher from Ewa Beach and a few more.  We stayed on our normal route that takes us from our start to Kilauea, then on Elepaio through the residential area and secret water fountain, onto Kahala Ave, and back to the park.  It was about a 6.5 mile run for the teal group!  Sam was able to get in a few shouts at us to hurry up since we split off from the White Group to go a little faster.   After the Diamond Head water stop, everyone caught a lot of speed on the way down for a speedy finish.  Great job, see you all next week!

 Welcome aboard to all the “Teal totalers” (all of the runners in the Teal group; a play on words – I couldn’t resist.)

 White Group by Blair Hoashi

(Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile)

Initially there might have been a little “separation anxiety” (the split within our White Group ranks with the resurrection of the Teal Group and the re-emergence of the Blue Group; these groups were created because of the huge amount of runners [50+] in our group) but Guru Sam and Blair “held back our tears” and led a group of about 20 runners (most of them newbies) for a 6 mile run.  Special thanks to staff leader Dwight who is coming back from a nasty injury and also to staff leader Richard in helping to lead this great group.   White Group regulars like Russell and Mayumi were joined by Gino, Clyde, and Glenda, our ever diligent teachers, from Ewa Beach(you are a great example for your students), nurses Jennifer and Agnes, Stan (Advanced runner Carl’s brother), “quiet and demure” Bob, Eric, Stacy, Dana, organic farmer Lisa,  and our good friend Viendra visiting from Maui.  Everyone came in together and finished very strong.  I think most are ready for next month’s 8 milers; the always “friendly and picturesque” Kahala Avenue stretch (part of the actual marathon route) will be included in our schedule at least once a month.   

Please continue to do your slow and easy one hour homework runs; no need to keep track of your mileage or speed on these runs; just keep at it for one hour or more (water stops included).

 Blue Group by Val Ogi:

(Pace – 12:30 – 13:30 min. per mile)

Group leader Andy had to work, but still came out and gave a talk before sending us off (what dedication); thanks Andy, we’ll miss you while you’re working in DC. Elena ran early as she had a breakfast engagement. We had Sandra, Martha, David, Duane, Craig, Jin, Jolene, Jaime, Susie and Madeline and new comer Nathan in the Blue group this week. I’m glad that we’re the in-between group and people feel that they can move up or drop back a week if they’re not feeling up to running with the white group.  Overall goal is to have a fun casual Sunday run, but encouraging all to be good neighbors keeping our voices down while in the residential areas of the run and share the road with bikers, walkers and other runners.  Everyone managed the 6.5 in great form.  It was pretty warm and we did have a couple of side stitch incidents that allowed me to share from personal experience a pressure point under the nose, on our upper lip to relieve their side stitch and they were skeptical, but told me that it worked.  I first found this trick for night leg cramps.
I want to invite any beginners wanting to move up to the intermediate group to give us a try.

 Beginners:

Walkers by George Ushijima:

We had such great weather today. There were nine of us doing our four mile jaunt. As we are always trying to put subtle differences in our routes, we tried a clockwise pattern around Diamond Head. The group was excellent in keeping to single file while walking past other people on the path and we all made sure we consumed water at every mile. We took a shoreline detour to check out the low tide and to keep it new for all. Keep on walking.

Sweet 16’s by Cliff Hand:

We continued our plan to get a jump on next month’s jump to 6 miles.  Twenty-one walkers made it through 5.2 miles without lagging behind (or going out ahead, for that matter).  There were a few complaints about the heat; not so bad today but warmer than last week.  But dealing with heat is part of what we’re training for, and it was a good practical lesson about the need to stay hydrated.

Pace leader Cliff told the group about the Galloway technique and how it might be applied to walkers rather than runners. Y’all probably know this, but the Galloway technique (for runners) is to insert regular periods of walking into the marathon experience.  For instance after every ten minutes of running, walk for one minute – right from the start.

Cliff joins several other pace leaders in meeting once during the week for a one-hour walk.  We meet at Kapiolani Park 5:45pm on Wednesdays, and anyone who wants to walk at a 16-minute pace is welcome to join us

Golden 14’s by Norm Uyeda:

Thirty (30) Golden 14s did a hot and humid 4.2 miles today with Norm in the lead, Sandra in the middle, Lehua doing the sweeper duties and Dean handling Table Duty.  It seems like we might be in for an early summer, so please don’t forget to drink water at each and every water stop.  Do your weekday homework and try to show up each and every Sunday.  Over the course of the upcoming months the Clinic will take you along the ENTIRE marathon course.  But you have to show up.  Do you want company on your weekday runs?  Norm’s group meets in Ala Moana Park / Magic Island at 5 P.M. on Tuesdays and Fridays.  This Friday’s run will probably end up at “Eat the Street” – this month’s specialty is BACON!

Do you feel like you are running too fast or too slow?  Talk to a group leader and run with another group until you find your “Goldilocks” group … not too fast and not too slow.

One more week of 4 mile Sundays, then we will transition to 6 miles in May.  Small incremental increases. Baby steps.  Almost Painless.  Almost. Don’t give up!  You are going through the hardest part of the training right now.  It will get easier.  Not easy, but easier.

Picnic in 2 weeks!  Good time to sit down and talk story.  Please sign up.

Lucky 13’s by Medelyn Harkins:

Ed, Kali, Cody, Fiona, Derby and Medelyn led 24 Lucky 13′s on a 6.44 mile. Average pace was 12:50 and we burned 650 calories. It was a very humid day and everyone kept up well and finished strong. Single file was emphasized and the group did a wonderful job. Ed talked about water intake especially when we start longer runs with the summer coming up.   Again do your homework and hydrate! See you all next week! Great job everyone

 Da Comment Corner:

First Picnic – May 5th

Beginning Group leader Sensei Norm used to race Camaros?  Guru Sam, our White Group leader was a jet fighter pilot?  Red group leader Jeff played in the Rose Bowl (as a musician)?  Val, who leads the Blue group has done over 30 marathons (she started when she was 2 years old)?   Find out more about these and other fascinating people at our May 5^th picnic; get to know your fellow runners as well as your staff leaders at this fun and food filled event.

Everyone is encouraged to attend and bring something for our potluck buffet such as salad, dessert or your latest main dish creation.  Chili and rice and soft drinks will be provided.  Please bring your families!  The cost is $1.00 per person; children 12 and under are free.

Because people have asked – members go out for their usual run (approximately 4-6 miles) and get back for our picnic which usually starts around 9:45 or so.

Global Membership:

Nearly 1100 members are receiving our weekly updates worldwide.  And, of course, countless other runners are clicking on to our website and viewing its contents.   I am always receiving great positive feedback about our weekly newsletters (even from former clinic members throughout the world).  Please thank your staff contributors for helping to spread the clinic’s weekly message.  Every one is a volunteer and puts in a lot of time and energy to keep our members (as well as others) informed.

Please keep up with your homework!

Have a fantastic week!

See you at the water stops,

Blair

A teleological question:  Why do our eyes point straight ahead?  (This relates to running).

Do you believe that humans are primarily vegans?  Carnivores?  Or do you believe we are primarily a combination of both?

It turns out man is an omnivore.  Omnivores eat both meat and vegetables.

The eyes of all warm-blooded carnivores point straight ahead.  The eyes of all warm-blooded herbivores point sideways.  This allows them to look sideways while they are eating to see if the straight-eyed animal is approaching them, because the rule of survival was not to get caught at the wrong end of the food chain.

Man is a straight-eyed animal.  Something else interesting about man’s eyes is that humans have color vision, the other carnivores do not because they only eat meat.  When humans are out running it is much easier to catch nuts and berries than it is another animal, but more importantly, that was a survival mechanism. Man could eat the vegetables, and during periods of famine or drought, man could eat what ate the vegetables (the cow, the horse, etc.).  Since man could go back and forth, he is a true omnivore.

Dr. Scaff talked about heat exchange.

Our body warms up to about 101°F while we are running.  Heat is a byproduct of work, it is what we call the warm-up, it is good for us, …but when you start loosing a certain percentage of your body weight, temperature starts to increase.  When you have lost about 10 percent (actually a little less than that) of your body weight, you start to go into heat stroke, which untreated could be fatal.  We don’t want that to ever happen, but, our temperature is definitely going to go up in the marathon, particularly if it is a hot and humid day.

Four ways you get rid of heat:
1)  Radiation:  Like the heat emitted by a light bulb.  If you have picked up a baby with a high fever you can feel the baby radiating.

2)  Convection:  Heat rises.  Watching a football game on a cold wet day, when the players sit down on the sidelines you can see steam (heat) rising off the top of their heads.  You radiate heat and it gets carried upwards.

3)  Conduction:  The direct transmission of heat.  When you sit on a cold bench, you are conducting heat from your body.

4)  Evaporation:  To raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree Centigrade (Celsius), requires 1 calorie (a calorie is a measure of heat exchange).  To evaporate 1 gram of water takes over 300 calories.

So evaporation is about 400 times as effective as all other methods of getting rid of heat.  Thus, when you are running and see a drop of your precious bodily fluid coming down your elbows onto the street, you have lost your most effective heat exchange mechanism.  We want the sweat, but we want it to stay with us.  What is the best way to do that?  Use a singlet (running shirt).

A good singlet has little holes in it, and it wicks the sweat and allows air to circulate.  A t-shirt is not that good.

When you are out running, if you are wearing a singlet, feel the front of your chest, and it will be cool, even though the rest of you is hot.  Those of us who are darkly complected will benefit from wearing a white singlet because the darker the shirt is the more heat we absorb.  So on the day of a race we all want to be in a white shirt.  A white t-shirt is actually better than running without a shirt at all because more of the sweat gets away from you.

Where can we not conserve heat?  The chest.  Doing astronaut studies, scientists threw the astronauts in ice water until they turned purple, and then measured where heat was escaping.  Heat was escaping the chest and the top of the head, …because man is a runner, and when he ran, the heat would come across his chest, and since he ran more than women he kept the hair on his chest so that he could wick the sweat and help it evaporate.  Dr. Scaff says there is a reason for everything, and it can all be thought of.

So basically, we want you to wear the right kind of equipment and we want to make sure you replace your fluids.  We replace our fluids, normally 10 ounces of regular water, every 20 minutes.

If you weigh a gallon of water you will see it weighs 8 pounds.  Do you have to drink all of that and then drink your daily requirements to replace your fluids?  The answer is yes.  Should you add some electrolytes to it?  Yes, if you like.  Pretzels are fine.  Your body processes salt pretty well, however, if you are an individual with hypertension, if you have read Dr. Scaff’s book, you need more salt, not less salt.  Salt restriction can cause problems.  These are things you have to work out with your doctor, however, you do not have to worry about getting rid of salt.  In Hawaii we have very salty foods, but after you come back from a run, after you have dried out a little bit, lick your elbow.  It is salty.  That is why you need electrolytes because after we are running our urine production ceases, particularly if we are breaking 4 hours in the marathon.  Our skin becomes the kidneys of the body.  Sometimes the sweat actually smells like urea, but it is not as effective as conserving electrolytes, so be a little bit more liberal in what you eat and drink.  You will get your magnesium from meat and your calcium from milk or whatever else it is, and you get your sodium from everything else.  So just don’t be afraid of electrolytes.

For more information on heat exchange and other running topics, read Your First Marathon – The Last Word In Long Distance Running, by Jack H. Scaff Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.M., available for purchase at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic on Sundays and online at: http://yourfirstmarathon.net/buy-online-today/

Next week:  Post-Race Collapse Phenomenon. The Honolulu Marathon Clinic was the first to report Post-Race Collapse Phenomenon in the U.S.  Today everybody is aware of it.

Nutrition
For some good reading on nutrition, Dr. Scaff recommends everyone check out the daily postings on Dr. Alan Titchenal’s “Got Nutrients?” web site: http://gotnutrients.net/tips.cfm

Here is a recent posting from the “Got Nutrients?” web site:

April 9, 2013
The odds of living a long and healthy life are greatly increased if risk factors like blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar are maintained within healthy ranges along with not smoking. Doing this has been estimated to increase the lifespan by as much as 14 years.

Consumer Link
Living a Healthy Lifestyle and the Benefits of a Lifelong Plan

Research Link
JAMA. 2012 Nov 7;308(17):1795-801.

Our hearts grieve over the tragedy at today’s Boston Marathon. There is such magic and euphoria surrounding marathons and the Boston Marathon has a special place in marathon history in the United States and around the world. We are crushed to see the violence that so drastically impacted the wonderful spirit of the marathon.

We do not have all the details but our prayers are with those injured and killed and will be with them in the weeks and months to come. Our thoughts are with our fellow marathoners and friends at the Boston Marathon and the city of Boston.

We are unsure of the status of Honolulu Marathon Clinic runners who were participating in the race today. We will keep you updated.

When we created the Honolulu Marathon in 1973 the thought of a tragedy such as this was not a consideration. But in the past decades we are all aware of the possibility of such acts. Today, sadly it is a reality of our time.

Doc’s Talk:

A teleological question:  Why do our eyes point straight ahead?

The eyes of all warm-blooded carnivores point straight ahead.  The eyes of all warm-blooded herbivores point sideways.  Man eats both meat and vegetables and is, thus, an omnivore.

Dr. Scaff talked about heat exchange.

Our body warms up to about 101°F while we are running.  Heat is a byproduct of work, it is good for us, …but when you start loosing a certain percentage of your body weight, temperature starts to increase.  When you have lost about 10 percent (actually a little less) of your body weight, you start to go into heat stroke, which untreated could be fatal.  We don’t want that to ever happen, but, our temperature is definitely going to go up in the marathon, particularly if it is a hot and humid day.

Four ways you get rid of heat:

1)  Radiation:  Like the heat emitted by a light bulb.

2)  Convection:  Heat rises.  Watching a football game on a cold wet day, when the players sit down on the sidelines you can see steam (heat) rising off the top of their heads.

3)  Conduction:  The direct transmission of heat.  When you sit on a cold bench, you are conducting heat from your body.

4)  Evaporation:  Evaporation is about 400 times as effective as all other methods of getting rid of heat and is your most effective heat exchange mechanism.  The best way to use evaporation is a singlet (running shirt).  A good singlet has little holes in it, and it wicks the sweat and allows air to circulate.  A t-shirt is not that good.  Wearing a white singlet is best because the darker the shirt is the more heat we absorb. A white t-shirt is actually better than running without a shirt at all because more of the sweat gets away from you.

Where can we not conserve heat?  The chest.

So basically, we want you to wear the right kind of equipment and we want to make sure you replace your fluids.  We replace our fluids, normally 10 ounces of regular water, every 20 minutes.

A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds.  Do you have to drink all of that and then drink your daily requirements to replace your fluids?  Yes.  Should you add some electrolytes to it?  Yes, pretzels are fine.  Your body processes salt pretty well, however, if you are an individual with hypertension, if you have read Dr. Scaff’s book, you need more salt, not less salt.  Salt restriction can cause problems.  So be a little bit more liberal in what you eat and drink.  You will get your magnesium from meat and your calcium from milk or whatever else it is, and you get your sodium from everything else.  So just don’t be afraid of electrolytes.

For more information on heat exchange and other running topics, read Your First Marathon – The Last Word In Long Distance Running, by Jack H. Scaff Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.M., available for purchase at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic on Sundays and online at: http://yourfirstmarathon.net/buy-online-today/

Next week:  Post-Race Collapse Phenomenon.

To read full, unabridged summaries of the Doc’s Talks:
1)  Go to the Honolulu Marathon Clinic web site (http://honolulumarathonclinic.org/)
2)  Look under the “Categories” listing.
3)  Click on “Doc’s Talk”.

Table Duty:

Special thanks to Stanley and Marie Chun and staffer Ann for handling table duty.  Stan and Maureen, who are not staff members have volunteered for table duty for many years and we are very appreciative.  Also thanks to Ann for your continued assistance in helping the Chuns.

 Group Reports:

Advanced Group by Nancy Poon:

(Pace – < 9:00 min. per mile)

The Advanced group runners, Les, Donis and Nancy started out at the 2nd beach park (Kawaikui) for a hot & steamy run, totaling 14 miles, running at 8:30-9:00 min/mile pace.  We all had our supply of gels, salt tabs, pretzels/etc. which certainly came in handy today as some of us experienced some heavy evaporation! Doc’s talk reminded us of the other factors involved in heat exchange and the importance of maintaining an adequate diet on and off the road, which we appreciated.  We’d like to invite other runners to join the Advanced Group & welcome Eriko, Arlen, and our new leader Dave.  Our current goals at this time are to maintain our current fitness level & weight status, and run injury-free.  As the summer months approach, we will be slowly increasing our mileage and hope to be in great shape by Labor Day and be able to do those long runs as comfortably as possible!

Red Group by Jeff Beard:

(Pace – 9:00 – 10:00 min. per mile)

The Red Group went out on Sunday with 5 people – myself, Rachun, Tim, JJ, and our visitor from Australia, Keith! The other 4 took off up the hill and soon disappeared on their 8 mile run -I struggled through the first mile, but once I got up the hill, I was able to do 3 more miles at around a 10-minute per mile pace (haven’t run in 3 weeks, and am still not 100%). Rachun, JJ and Tim all finished at under 10 minutes per mile, but Keith just took off – he told us he averaged around 5:20 per kilometer (that’s around 8:30 per mile) – he left everyone behind!
This is the time to make your mistakes, folks – running too fast/too slow, running style, clothing, re hydrating, etc. – around July/August we’ll start putting in some real miles, and we should all have that down by then. Do your homework runs, and we’ll see you next Sunday.

 Pink Group

(Pace – 9:30 – 10:30 min. per mile)

The PINK group welcomed new members Mike and Jean for an 8 miles run. Stalwarts Carl and Lauren had run early, ending in time for Dr Scaff’s talk. Rosie is still not running, but hoping this will not be for long. Next week Carl and Lauren will meet at the park at 6:00 to run an early 8 miler. Rosie will be away next Sunday.

News from Boston: so far all of our Hawai`i runners are reporting in safe. HMC advanced group runner Rosy Spraker was displaced but taken in by a Bostonian friend of Rosie’s whom she met while they were both limping along in her first Boston marathon. Runners are great people.

Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Grey Group by Ivie Kumura:

(Pace – 10:30 – 11:30 min. per mile)

Yay, no rain that was predicted, but boy, was it it HOT! Too HOT to trot, runners were the combined SILVERS and GREYS totaling 32 of us! WOW! What a sight we were, an organized single file, steady pace, ranging 9:50 to 10:45. Ron, Andy, Paris and I led Donna, Dr. Rob, Daniel, Laura, Christine, Emily, Mindy, Romeo, Jessie, Joe, Lance, Brandon x 2, Lien, Jun, Izumi, and welcome: Marisol and Lina. Funny, going through Kahala, Ron, Andy and I were at the back of the pack. So, sorry that I missed many of your names, I don’t recognize the backs of your heads as well as your glowing faces. Up ahead was Paris, and the entire GREYs/SILVERs looking very comfortable running their steady pace. I was catching up from the gas station’s potty break. Ron had an interrupted sleep on Saturday night. Andy  did 2 miles at a fast pace prior to our 8 miler. Paris attributes his endurance and energy from consistent homework runs.  It’s only April and we are on track!
We are now spending about one and a half hours on our Sunday runs. It will be wise to add FUEL to our HYDRATION. You need to make sure you either :   1)have breakfast, or 2) fuel-up, carbohydrate (gel, caloric drink, pretzels, etc) at 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes into run.
Homework runs make all the difference!  Join us for 1 of the 2 days for a homework run:

Wednesday 5:30 pm Homework Run, join us!: Ala Moana Park, Magic Island parking entrance. We run for one hour.

APRIL SCHEDULE:

April 7 – 7 miles: Shoe Talk Total time: 2:37, Running Time: 1:13 Running Pace 10:25

April 14 – 8.3  miles the Aloha Gas Station. Total time: 1:42 Overall pace: 12:14 Running pace: 9:50 to 10:45

April 21 – 8 miles

April 28 – 8.5 miles (Kahala Avenue and Marathon Finish, greet Queen Kapiolani)

Silver Group by Lynnae Lee:

(Pace – 11:00 – 12:00 min. per mile)

Volunteer staff leader Alberto took another rest day as his recovery from last week’s “test run” last week didn’t quite go as planned.  We miss you Alberto, and hope your recovery goes well!  So the Silvers joined the Gray group again, trying their best to keep up with their faster pace.  The weather forecast of thunderstorms and 80% precipitation did not deter the die-hard Silvers.  That determination is sure to pay off come race day.  Next week we’ll do 8 miles to the gas station and back.

HOMEWORK:  Continue to do 2 homework runs of 60 minutes minimum duration with a rest day in between.  Remember to listen to your body.  If you’re experiencing any pain, stop.  If you didn’t do your homework, maybe you’ll need to drop back a group. 

SPECIAL REPORT [NSM-4/14/13]:  Congratulations to those HMCers who participated in the 3^rd North Shore Marathon.  The weather forecast was off, fortunately, and the thunderstorms stayed away, though the overcast skies and periodic drizzles were very welcomed.  Just completing a marathon is a super accomplishment, and there was much to be celebrated at the finish line.  Pink group volunteer staff leader Rosie, unfortunately sidelined by injury, showed up in her HMC shirt to cheer on friends and fellow runners at the finish.  Congrats to Silver group volunteer staff leader Tony Padua, for having a personal best marathon time.  (Be sure to get his training secrets.)  Special cheers also to Satomi, who won her division while also qualifying for Boston in the process.  And to think that she started running in the White group just a few years ago.  What an inspiration.  Lynnae managed to beat her 2012 Honolulu marathon time, thanks mostly to the weather conditions, with some areas identified for needed improvement. 

On a more somber and serious note, the sobering news of the events at the Boston Marathon is a reminder of the current world that we live in.  I was shocked and saddened to watch this premier running event that celebrates the best in this sport be infiltrated by society’s ills.  I enjoy running for the escape, release, and personal satisfaction that comes with challenging myself on the roads.  Each run is between the runner and the pavement, and the finish line is a celebration of the journey that got you there.  To have the sanctity of the finish line intruded upon as it was in Boston is alarming.  Thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy, and especially to the Hawaii runners for their safe return.  Congratulations to those who completed the Boston race…each of you are awesome and an inspiration to our sport

White Group by Blair Hoashi

(Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile)

The initial grouping of our members totaled over 50 runners.  We decided for the sake of safety and coordination to split the group up into more manageable subgroups.  So the Teal group was again resurrected and the Blue Group reappeared.  Season runners Diane, Norm, Jun, Jan, etc. led a group of about 15 “faster runners” (11:30- 12:00 minutes per mile) while staffer and board member Val and Elena led about 10 members on a more moderate pace at 12:30 – 13:00 minutes per mile.

The rest of the group, all 23 of us, were relegated to the preaching of Guru Sam and Blair and a 12:00 minutes per mile pace.   Staffer Richard was also in the mix.   Group members Quen, Russell, da teachers from Ewa Beach (Gino, Clyde, and Glenda, who states emphatically that she is doing her “homework”; she has to set a good example for her students) Naho, Stacey (without Dana), Kumiko, Mayumi, Eric, and others finished up the run at the actual marathon finish so as not to impede the AIDS benefit walkers- great thinking Sam!

Due to the number of first time marathoners and so as not to get ahead of ourselves on our training schedule, we continue our 6 – 6.5 milers for the rest of the month.  8 milers are “calling” us next month, so be prepared (let’s keep up with our homework).

Our prayers go out to the runners, organizers, spectators, and all others involved in the Boston Marathon!

Blue Group by Val Ogi:

(Pace – 12:30 – 13:30 min. per mile)

There were 10 of us and I’m so bad at names that I really need to bring pen & paper next week. I convinced Elena to help me with our “blue” group. Sonya and Martha from Columbia moved up from the beginners group. The group went on to do about 6.5 miles @ approx. 12 minute mile pace. I believe we had a “fun” run and we welcome anyone wanting to join us as a transition group in search of their “ideal” pace. We stressed the need to do 2 homework runs during the weekday, emphasizing 1 hour rather than mileage.

 Beginners:

The Green Group by Louis Crompton:

Green 15 had 12 participants [Karen was MIA] today for a trip following the Diamond Head Loop with a little side excursion along Makapuu to see the old hospital, KCC and the theater…Lou did double duty as pacer and tour group guide.  After that historic & cultural infusion we rolled downhill to the park…  distance was 4.71 miles in an overall time of 1 hr 10 min…  did someone say 15 min / mile?   For 6 consecutive weeks, we have stayed in the 4 mile range and increased distance slowly … sometimes on flat land, sometimes a little hilly.  Next week we will “break” the 5 mile barrier for the first time – yea – going to Triangle Park and back via the marathon finish line… should be back by 9:20 if you have an activity afterward…  Do your two 1 hr practice runs during the week… See you all next Sunday rain or shine.  Aloha

Golden 14’s by Dean Takashige:

We had a humid morning but bless with a slight breeze. We had 22 in our group; we lost a couple and gained a couple along the route. Some chose to do a little longer run by joining the 13s. We also had one person join us from the faster group. This is good for now. We are all trying to find the pace that feels best and comfortable

We had a visual demo at our talk at the park before we started as to what is “Single File” and what it is not. It was also translated to Japanese for our Japanese friends that didn’t understand standard pigeon English. I think this helped because our lines looked much better along the route.  The group did a great job!

We ran 4.22 miles in 1 hour and 9 minutes and burned about 416 calories.  The plan for the month is 4 miles, do your 2 additional 1 hour homework runs and we will see you next Sunday.

Da Comment Corner:

Clinic Picnic:

May 5 is the date of our first HMC picnic; we encourage everyone to attend and ask attendees to bring something such as salad, dessert or main entrée to supplement the chili and rice that we will furnish. We will also furnish the soft drinks. Please bring your families!  The cost is $1.00 per person; children 12 and under are free.

Our thought and prayers go to all of the folks in Boston!

See you at the water stops,

Blair

A teleological question:
Why do our eyes point straight ahead?  Think about it, next week Dr. Scaff will give you the answer. Believe it or not, this all relates to running in the long run.

Dr. Scaff talked about heat, how it benefits us, how it hurts us.

In previous weeks, Dr. Scaff likened your body to an engine or a car:  You have a motor, a carburetor, a distribution system, fuel, and of course the byproduct or work is always heat.  You cannot work without heat, and just like a car can overheat, you can overheat.

At rest your temperature is somewhere between 98°F and 99.4°F.  As we start exercising, our core temperature starts to go up.  After about an hour your temperature is between 100°F and 101°F, and that is the optimal temperature for exercise.

However, the byproduct of work is further heat and as temperature starts to increase you start to get into problems.  When the temperature reaches 104°F, heat stroke can occur.  Heat stroke, untreated can be 90% fatal. When your temperature gets to about 107° it is fatal.

Long distance running is one of the few sports where we can train you to run through the signs, i.e. we can train you to kill yourself.

After you have run an hour or 2 your temperature is 100°F – 101°F, and then you stop your temperature slowly decays back to normal over 5 or 6 hours.  During that time, your basal metabolic rate is higher, you are burning more calories, so you are burning your own fat.  It is a wonderful, wonderful situation to be in as long as it is not too good a situation.  You don’t want to be running with a temperature of 99°F and you don’t want to be running with a temperature of 104°F.

Temperature starts to increase as you excessively sweat.  When you have lost about 5 – 10% of your body weight, core temperature starts to increase, there is just not enough fluid in the veins and arteries to dissipate heat.  So just figure out what 5% of your body weight is (5 lbs if you are 100 lbs, 7.5 lbs if you are 150 lbs).  If you’ve lost more than that you are losing too much.  

So water balance is extremely important.  And although it is said that you should not drink until you get thirsty, that is a fatal approach.

For more information on heat, heat stroke, and related topics, read Your First Marathon – The Last Word In Long Distance Running, by Jack H. Scaff Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.M., available for purchase at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic on Sundays and online at: http://yourfirstmarathon.net/buy-online-today/

Next week:  Heat exchange.

To read full, unabridged summaries of the Doc’s Talks:
1)  Go to the Honolulu Marathon Clinic web site (http://honolulumarathonclinic.org/)
2)  Look under the “Categories” listing.
3)  Click on “Doc’s Talk”.

Table Duty:

Thanks to staffers Donna May and Tamara for doing another great job at table duty!  As usual, everything was great!

Group Reports:

Advanced Group by David FitzPatrick

(Pace < 9:00 min. per mile)

Hi folks! The advanced group welcomes everyone. Our goal is to run the marathon under 4 hours. To accomplish this you must run a 9:00/mile pace or faster. You should be running a minimum of 30-35-mile/week at this time, with speed work and hill training during the week. Please remember the 10% rule: all racing, intervals, and sprints should not exceed 10% of total mileage. The advanced group met at Kawaikui Beach Park at 6:15 am, ran about seven miles at an 8:30 min/mile pace to hear Doc’s talk. We ran back to the beach park for a total of about fourteen miles. Same workout next week as we gently build endurance. Good luck to our friends tapering for the North Shore marathon next week. Nancy and I will try to fill Les Young’s role going forward, and we really appreciate Les’s guidance and wisdom. As a reminder:

Rules of the road: 1) No headsets. 2) Run single file when encountering pedestrians and bikers. 3) Stop for traffic signals. 4) Do not step on utility covers if avoidable. 5) Keep one eye on the running path and one eye ahead. 6) Carry ID and emergency contact info. 7) Follow the Staff Leader. Pre-run check: 1) You passed the Pee Test. 2) You are properly covered with sunscreen and a cap if you don’t have enough hair protection. 3) You ate a runner’s breakfast. 4) You are not running with pain. Running attire: 1) Correct running shoes. 2) Golden Rule-No Cotton.

Pink Group by Rosie Adam-Terem:

(9:45-10:45 min. per mile)

The Pink group has split up temporarily because our usual leaders are unavailable for various reasons. There is a sub-group of Pink runners who start at 6 a.m. and end in time for Dr. Scaff’s talk. They run earlier in the summer and as the runs get longer.

Rosie will be on the injury list for an unknown length of time (skiing is great, falling not so much!) but will come down to the clinic to meet with the group on Sunday.

The shoe talk was informative today, and affords attendees a 20% discount on footwear from the Running Room. Thanks Gaston for your support!

Don’t forget the first picnic on May 5th. Sign up for your potluck contribution and come with $1 on the day for a feast among friends.

The Pinks should be running 6-8 miles on Sundays in April with two to three weekday runs in between. In May, we will start 8-10 miles for our long runs at a 9:45 -10:00 moving pace

Silver Group by Lynnae Lee:

(Pace- 11:00 – 12:00 mi. per mile)

Volunteer staff leader Alberto returned to clinic finally, but wanted to take it easy on a “test run” at a slower pace.  So he and Mickey set out with their own small group.  Thus, the Silvers joined the Gray group again.  Andy, Ron, and Ivie were very gracious in welcoming the Silvers for today’s run.  Andy and Ron gave a brief tutorial on how to run hills, immediately followed by opportunities to test out their theories (Andy admitted that his theory needs to undergo further testing).  The large group of 30 split at Triangle Park, with half the group going to the Shoe Talk, while Jess and Mindy lead the rest to the gas station for 8 miles.  The weather conditions felt like July!!!  We could feel every bit of the 98% humidity in the air.  I was glad that today’s run was short because the heat made it really uncomfortable.  We discovered the best part about hills – the downhills.

The Shoe Talk was very informative and provided a good opportunity for HMCers to ask questions.  The snacks were also a welcome treat!  It became apparent that volunteer staff leader Ron is a wealth of information; we can pick his brain on any aspects of running as the year progresses.

HOMEWORK:  Continue to do 2 homework runs of 60 minutes minimum duration with a rest day in between.  Speed and pace do not matter at this point. You just want to get your body used to being in motion for a set duration.

I’m still recycling shoe boxes for needy children, and will gladly accept your donation.  Bring them on April 21^st or later.  They will be decorated and filled with goodies for kids for the holidays.

Good luck to those HMCers participating in the Boston and North Shore marathons next week!  Have a good run.

White Group by Blair Hoashi

(Pace – 12:00 – 13:00 min. per mile) Our largest group to date, 52 members, made up our group today.  A few were members of the Blue Group whose staff leader Andy is still juggling his schedule between tennis competition and work.   Leaders Val and Blair were fortunate as our “senior regulars” (experienced regulars) Diane, Gary, Russell, and others assisted in leading and organizing the large group.  At Triangle Park, Blair led about one third of the group back to attend the shoe talk.  Diane and Val continued on and did the usual 6 miler with the rest of the group. 

A few of our other members joining us this morning were Quen, Monica, Jann (welcome back; where’s Sondra?), Glenda, Clyde, Dayna, Stacey, the two  ladies back from our 2007 group,  and Gary.  I will get to know more of you as long as you continue showing up on Sunday.  

Guru Sam should be back next week and also hope that leader Dwight will rejoin us soon!  We continue our 6 milers for the time being. 

As usual, Gaston’s Shoe Talk at the Running Room was informative and entertaining.  I didn’t know that they had a 30 day return policy (within reason, of course). 

Beginners:

(All walking speeds and 13-minute mile > running pace.)  

Sweet Sixteens by Cliff Hand

It was a nice day for our first ascent of the formidable Mt Diamond Head.  Leader Cliff (returned from cross training on the ski slopes of Idaho) challenged the group to pick up the pace going up the hill.  And guess what? Nobody complained!  After that it was a piece of cake. Our group numbered sixteen and included returnees Jespah, Linda, Chien-Wen and Phyllis (sorry if I missed anyone).  Others included Rowan, Alan, Andrea, Kris, Melissa, Frank, Camille, Lynn, Sheila, Dawn, and a few others whose names I haven’t learned yet.  Enthusiasm is high!

The Green 15’s by Louis Crompton:

Green 15 had 12 attending today as we went out for a 4.8 mi excursion…  we overshot the 15 min / mile time by 40 seconds… couldn’t have been the heat, humidity and vog, we’re tougher than that… let’s blame it on the LONG red light.  Lou [this time wearing his costlier $14 walking shoes] was out in front, Bailey breathing on his neck, Scott guarding the flank, and Karen protecting the rear.  Good grouping, we all made it back safely and hardly breaking a sweat.  Next week: about the same distance, around DH loop and a jaunt past KCC to see what’s happening there on a Sunday morn.  Plan to be back in under 1-15 if you have a date…   Be sure to do your two 1 hr homework runs and be careful… See you all next Sunday, bring a friend.  Aloha.

Gold Group 14’s by Dean Takeshige:

This is the first week of April and we had 26 in our group.

The morning was hot humid and voggy. This month we are keeping the mileage the same at 4 miles but changing the route. We are doing our favorite part of the Marathon route coming down Diamond Head road.

For the first timers remember what it feels like going up Diamond Head, this will get easier. If it doesn’t then come see me and …..

Today was the second shoe talk geared for the advanced runners and anyone who couldn’t make the first talk 2 weeks ago. We had about 4 who were planning to attend the talk. We had them turn around at the first water stop going up Diamond Head road and head back so they would have enough time to get to the shoe talk. For the rest of us we continued to Triangle park.

We had a good run, still working on our hand signals for single file, watch out for hazards and we will be stopping.

We ran 4.21 miles in 1 hour and eleven minutes and burned 403 cals.

Do your homework, 2 runs for at least an hour.

We will see you next Sunday.

Da Comment Corner:

 Doc on KZOO:

Japanese radio station KZOO AM 1210 interviews Doc, Sensei Norm and Maile about the Clinic this Friday at 6 p.m.  There is also video streaming at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kzoo-radio-shirokiya-studio.  Let’s all tune in!  The broadcast is held at Shirokiya at Ala Moana Center so check them out if you are in the neighborhood.

See you at the water stops,

Blair

A teleological question:
Why do our eyes point straight ahead?  Think about it, next week Dr. Scaff will give you the answer. Believe it or not, this all relates to running in the long run.

Dr. Scaff talked about heat, how it benefits us, how it hurts us.

Last Sunday Dr. Scaff discussed how to calculate maximum heart rate (200 minus half your age), that when you are at 75% of your maximum heart rate you begin to go anaerobic and burn up oxygen faster than you are taking it in, and that nobody can run a marathon sprinting.

He talked about the Talk Test:  The rule is never run so fast you can’t talk, and you never run so slow that you can sing.  This validates itself and will work at altitude and everywhere else.  As long as you can talk you’re aerobic, when you can’t you’re anaerobic.

In previous weeks, Dr. Scaff likened your body to an engine or a car:  You have a motor, a carburetor, a distribution system, fuel, and of course the byproduct or work is always heat.  You cannot work without heat, and just like a car can overheat, you can overheat.

At rest your temperature is somewhere between 98°F and 99.4°F, it varies a little bit in people.  As we start exercising, our core temperature starts to go up (the only way to take a good core temperature is a rectal thermometer), and after about an hour your temperature is between 100°F and 101°F.  That is the optimal temperature for exercise.  Just like a car, the fluids and oils in your knees and joints are stiff when they are cold; with heat they lubricate better.  The enzymes for energy metabolism work better when your body is at 100°F, that is why you feel sort of loughy in the morning, you are not only stiff, but the enzymes are not prepared to convert fat to energy or carbohydrate to energy.  So we want our temperature to be about 101°F.  Even before we knew this people would say, “I’ve got to warm up.”  That’s true, you do have to warm up.

However, the byproduct of work is further heat and as temperature starts to increase you start to get into problems.  When the temperature reaches 104°F, heat stroke can occur.  Heat stroke, untreated can be 90% fatal. That is why if you fall down in the marathon, before they even look at you they are going to throw ice on you.  It is the coldest experience you can have, but they will start rapid body cooling because it works.  If you collapse with heat stroke, since you are no longer running, or promoting any air exchange whatsoever, temperature starts to go up and cascades.  When your temperature gets to about 107° it is fatal.

Long distance running is one of the few sports where we can train you to run through the signs, i.e. we can train you to kill yourself.  You take a person who has not trained, they go run, they get so tired they fall down or they puke, and they are ok, …but we can train to over train, and get into problems.

What is even worse, if you measure the temperature in the liver, it can be as much as 2 degrees higher.  That means that the liver is thoroughly stressed.  What is the commonest cause of acute liver poisoning, acute liver failure in the U.S.?  Everybody says alcohol (we’re Victorians).  No.  It is Tylenol (acetaminophen).  If you read on the black box warning on Tylenol it says to be careful using that product.  If you have a kid with a high fever the liver is even more sensitive.  If you give them some Tylenol you fry the liver and that’s the end of it.

Hearing this a pediatrician asked Dr. Scaff, “What do I do?”  Dr. Scaff says he is not a pediatrician, and does not know, but thinks he would rather throw the child in an alcohol bath and get their temperature down, than give them very much Tylenol.  So he does not have the answer for that particular issue.  He does, however, discourage people from taking acetaminophen routinely.

After you have run an hour or 2 your temperature is 100°F – 101°F, and then you stop and start drinking beverages and your temperature slowly decays back to normal over 5 or 6 hours.  During that time, your basal metabolic rate is higher, you are burning more calories, you have burned off the exogenous calories that you ate the night before, so you are burning your own fat.  It is a wonderful, wonderful situation to be in as long as it is not too good a situation.  You don’t want to be at either end, you don’t want to be running with a temperature of 99°F and you don’t want to be running with a temperature of 104°F.

Temperature starts to increase as you excessively sweat.  When you have lost about 5 – 10% of your body weight, core temperature starts to increase, there is just not enough fluid in the veins and arteries to dissipate heat.  So just figure out what 5% of your body weight is (5 lbs if you are 100 lbs, 7.5 lbs if you are 150 lbs).  If you’ve lost more than that you are losing too much.

A gallon of water weighs 8.35 lbs.  If you look at how much you have to take, you realize that’s a lot of water!  And that is just to replace your daily loss.  When you get up in the morning, you are usually 1 or 2 lbs lighter than you went to bed at night – that is insensible water loss, through the skin, vaporization through your exhaled breaths, your lungs, etc.

So water balance is extremely important.  And although it is said that you should not drink until you get thirsty, that is a fatal approach.  It is true, there have been some women that have died, particularly women in the Boston Marathon, from hyponatremia, their sodium gets too low, and that is why the Honolulu Marathon Clinic uses “power” pretzels, or has you drink salt.  You are allowed, as a runner, to have more salt than a sedentary person.  Dr. Scaff will cover that in another talk.

For more information on heat, heat stroke, and related topics, read Your First Marathon – The Last Word In Long Distance Running, by Jack H. Scaff Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.M., available for purchase at the Honolulu Marathon Clinic on Sundays and online at: http://yourfirstmarathon.net/buy-online-today/

Next week:  Heat exchange.
 

Nutrition
For some good reading on nutrition, Dr. Scaff recommends everyone check out the daily postings on Dr. Alan Titchenal’s “Got Nutrients?” web site: http://gotnutrients.net/tips.cfm

Here is a recent posting from the “Got Nutrients?” web site:

April 4, 2013
A Japanese study of over 80,000 people that were studied over a period of 13 years found that both coffee and green tea consumption was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Consumer Link
Coffee, Green Tea, May Help Lower Stroke Risk, Research Shows

Research Link
Stroke. 2013 Mar 14. [Epub ahead of print]