April 28, 2019 HMC Footnotes
Hydrate to Operate (H2O)
Hydration was Dr. Scaff’s topic at this Sunday’s Doc’s Talk. When we run, we sweat, so we need to replenish those fluids to maintain our blood volume, which helps keep our body temperature controlled.
Running 3 miles can cause you to lose about a pound of fluids. As you lose fluids, your body struggles as there is less blood volume to maintain proper circulation and keep your body cool, think of your car when the radiator is running dry. On top of this, as you run longer distances, blood is needed in your leg muscles to keep you going. So, some blood is dedicated to the muscles that keep you running, leaving even less to circulate in the rest of the body and move the heat out.
Drink water early in your run and often, about 10 ounces for every 20 minutes of running is the guideline when you’re running in warm, humid conditions. Carry your water to ensure you have some, even if water fountains aren’t working and to give you a better idea of how much you’re actually drinking.
Pay attention to proper hydration before, during, and after your run. It’s just as important a part of training as getting in enough miles. Do this correctly and your runs will be much more enjoyable and it will help you recover faster, improve your performance on the road, and protect you from dangerous conditions such as heat exhaustion or worse – heat stroke.
Get more information about hydration and other training topics from the Honolulu Marathon Clinic’s website at:
https://honolulumarathonclinic.org/rules-of-the-road/
The Little Things
Lucky Week Number Eight is on the record now. That’s two months of dedication and commitment to getting on the road and putting in those miles. Some of the groups are putting in eight miles already while others are pushing up to five miles. No matter what it is you’re doing to get out there, just like the miles, you need to keep building on your motivation and support to continue your training.
What we’re doing is difficult, plain and simple. So, it takes extra effort to keep going. One thing to do is shut down that voice that calls out in your head when the alarm goes off early in the morning to get you started on your plan for a long run. It’s been there for years, making sure you get enough sleep so it’s a powerful voice telling you to sleep for two more hours. It’s too powerful to argue with, that just makes you even more tired. So, what you want to do is similar to what children do when they don’t want to listen. Cover your inner listening ears and drown out that voice with a proverbial “la la la la la la! I’m not listening!” Until you get out the door with your shoes on. If you hear the voice say that you’re tired, answer it with “I know you are, but what am I.” Just make sure you keep this conversation in your head, so you don’t get any odd looks from your significant other or scare anyone you pass on the street. And under no circumstances are you to attribute this advice to this newsletter. You’ll scare future Clinic participants away, because they won’t realize how valuable a skill it is until they’re training like you are.
Getting your significant other on board is also a huge help in keeping you on the road to success. Many runners have met their significant other while training and bonded through their love of running. That shared focus, having someone who understands why you do what you do can be an asset to your training. But, don’t discount the value of having a partner who doesn’t run and wouldn’t unless the building they’re in is on fire.
Your absence from the household each Sunday morning, may be something your other half looks forward to. Not to say that you’re difficult to be around, but sometimes it’s more relaxing and less pressure to wake up with the other person gone already. The bathroom is all his or her own, nobody is crowding them in the kitchen, and the morning breath is cleared from the air by the time they get up.
How this works to benefit your training is simply that on a morning when you decide to skip the workout, you may face a disappointed spouse who may not be too pleasant towards you when she finds a locked bathroom door because you’re still in there, or you’re starting eggs when he planned pancakes. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and just go to the Clinic.
If you did attempt to cut out of the run and see that you may not be very welcome, immediately put a panicked look on your face, run around with one sock on and one stuck in your waistband, yelling that you’re late for your run and can’t find anything. That way you avoid admitting you felt like being lazy that morning and you won’t be accused of being inconsiderate of your better half’s personal time. Run my friend, run!
Come to the Clinic where we can help you run a long, safe distance from the things that can harm you, and at the same time, help you achieve a life goal of completing a marathon.
One last thing! On marathon day when you are coming in to the finish, look to the side for your significant other. Forget about your goal time, even if you’re just about to miss it. If you see your spouse, run to them, not the finish line. STOP and kiss them, say “Thank you for supporting me!” then and only then, run to the finish line. Now it’s safe to cross and go home where you’ll be unable to run much for the next couple of days.
Remember, training smart is always your goal.
Pink Group (10:00 – 10:30 minutes per mile)
By Andy Hignite
The Pink Group had a group of 8 today (Horacio, Ben, Kozo, Junar, Deandre, Cassie, Andy, and Maile). We went to the Gas station, back along Kahala, a Marathon Finish, and around the park back to the start for 9.25 miles. It was getting pretty humid on the way out but there was some cloud coverage on the way back.
Big thanks go out to Mid Pac for the refreshments at Triangle Park. Don’t forget your mid week runs. For now we should be doing 2 mid week runs at least 1 hour each. Hills and/or speed work can be included in your mid week runs. Also consider an alternate exercise at least once a week to build your core.
There is no clinic May 5th so the Pink and Silver Groups are planning a group run at Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. We will park outside the main gate and do a nice 6-mile run with beautiful rolling hills. There is parking outside the main gate and additional parking close in the neighborhood. Please be quiet in the neighborhood. There are plenty bathrooms. All bathrooms have water but not all have water fountains, so you might want to bring a bottle. Below is a link showing how to get there:
https://www.mapquest.com/us/hawaii/hoomaluhia-botanical-garden-355268013
5/12/19 we will bump it up to ~9.5 miles.
Silver Group (10:30 – 11 minutes per mile)
By Lee Sonomura
The Silver Group ran another 7-mile route today with Lynnae and Lee in the lead. The group included Ryan, Kin, Derick, Jerome, Rick, Glenda, Bethany, Lawrence, Steve, Melissa, Sharon, Alva, Hee Young, Paige, Tiffany, Steph, Melanie, Trieu, Cody, Tavy, and Jun.
The Group finished their run with 6.97 miles at an average pace of 10:35 minutes per mile. The hot and humid weather may be an indicator of the summer days we’ll face this year. That makes it more important that you do your homework runs. Keeping up with your homework makes the Sunday long run much more tolerable.
Big “Mahalo!” to Ron and the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club for providing refreshments at Triangle Park, where the water fountains are still not working. We even got a great picture from Ron.
May 5: No Clinic due to the HPH WOMEN’S FUN RUN. Silvers meet at Hoomaluhia in Kaneohe (See Pink Group summary for more details):
https://www.mapquest.com/us/hawaii/hoomaluhia-botanical-garden-355268013
May 12: 8 miles
May 19: 8-mile run. HMC Picnic. Many Clinic members may be running in the Honolulu Ekiden & Music Festival.
May 26: No Clinic due to the Hibiscus Half-Marathon.
June 9: First Bus Run.
Black Group (11 – 11.5 minutes per mile)
By Paris Monti
Our group consisted of Christian, Elaine, Nick, Nancy Lee, and Paris.
We completed our first 8-miler of the season, going to the Kahala Gas Station and back. The peanut butter sandwich, I ate before the run, must have provided me the extra energy that propelled me at a higher pace than the avowed 11 to 11.5, listening to the comments from my running mates. Unfortunately, I had left my GPS watch at home and I had nothing to refer to. I’ll correct all for our next meeting which we set for Sunday, May 5, at 7:00 am, same place.
Summer is upon us, considering the heat, but the clouds provided welcome relief. All considered, it was another successful run. We are getting stronger.
Remember to do your two homework runs during the week.
See the Silver Group’s summary for the picture Ron Alford took of our groups at Triangle Park.
Have a great week!
White Group (12 minutes per mile)
By Russ Uchida
Unusual weather conditions were cast upon the steadfast five White Group runners. At times we felt teasers of cool breezes mixed in between predominately humid weather conditions but otherwise, it was HUMID. Credit to the fabulous five that included Violet, Elena, Jaime, Helen, and Danell who persevered to finish 8.3 miles at a comfortable clip.
We stressed staying hydrated especially on humid days like this Sunday. Our pace was comfortable which allowed us to pass the HMC’s “talk-test” pace. Our conversations included travels to other states and countries, Game of Thrones, Food (especially spam and its versatility), and movies (Dirty Grandpa, Bad Mom with Jay Hernandez of Magnum PI fame, and a few others), and of course going through one female White group runner’s list of handsome male actors.
There was also celebratory news as Elena became a 1st time grandmother last week. Congratulations to you and your family!!!
Jaime returned from her vacation in Korea to join us. Good job staying in tip-top running condition!
Since there is no official clinic next week (05/05/19) due to another scheduled race, we decided to meet at Triangle Park at 7:30am and do a comfortable, no-stress, 6-mile run.
See you on Sunday, Triangle Park, at 7:30am, sharp!
Blue Group (12:30 minutes per mile pace)
By Val Ogi
There were 16 in the Blue Group that started out on this cooler but humid morning.
I’m so bad with names but tried to catch the group on video to help me learn their names. I have John and Albert official volunteers, Gil, Evelyn, Becky, Darryl, Cheryl, Donna, Trisha, Min, Charles, Kaori, Wes and Danny. I have set up a Facebook page HMC Blue Group 2019 and hope that you’ll want to join our group officially.
My app said that we did 6.4 miles because its on auto pause. Showed the group my secret for running down hill to prevent injury. It went over a little too well, we blazed down Diamond Head in 10.5 pace. Danny’s app said we did 6.9 which we all like better.
Special thanks to Ron and Betty Gail for setting up the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club tent for us at Triangle Park, we visited twice, Mahalo! Also, great sandwiches, fruits and Gatorade were provided by Libby and Gail thank you for two weeks in a row of table duty.
Golden 14s (14 minutes per mile pace)
By Dean Takashige
This was week #8…the topic was learning to drink sufficient water during runs.
The rule of thumb is 10 ounces every 20 mins so that’s about 30 ounces every hour. The water bottle I carry is a10oz bottle so 3 bottles an hour..
Next Sunday we will not have an official clinic due to the women’s 10k that will be taking place. For those not participating in the 10k , we will meet at Magic Island parking lot close to the Waikiki entrance to the parking lot.
This past Sunday we ran 5.5 miles. We will continue to run between 5.5 to 6 miles..
Keep up your homework and we will see you at magic island.
Green 15s (15 minutes per mile pace)
By Lou Crompton
We had 15 in the Green 15 stall. No Jan today and I was planning a detour past her grand-kids house, so they could see grandma out running on Sunday morning. Oh well, there’s always next year.
We went out for 5.5 miles and finished at 15.15 pace. If we extrapolate that [extrapolate ?] out to 26.2 miles, that’s a 6:36 finish time – which is what we do. A few years back we had four green ones finish at 15.07, 15.13, 15.15, and 15.17. They could have been holding hands!
Whether it’s raining or clear at your house, come to the park for HMC. Regardless of weather, we go! We have to practice in any kind of weather for the December Marathon; I’ve completed 2 marathons in pouring rain. So, it’s better to practice and get used to it during HMC training, rather than be surprised on a marathon run. Today it was pouring in some places on Oahu, yet “fine” at Kapiolani Park.
Dr Scaff iterated the benefits of hydrating during our Sunday or homework runs – do it! And another benefit which he didn’t mention – sometimes there are no drinking fountains on your course, kind of a bummer if you had no bottle and expected the fountain atop Diamond Head lookout or triangle park to be operational.
BYOB and fill it with water or sports drink. Will water replace sodium & other essentials? Then maybe use Gatorade / Powerade for water, sugar, and electrolytes.
We “almost” had a fall today. I heard a shuffle of a shoe and “OH!” So, I slowed and turned immediately, in time to get two hands on my shoulder and upper arm; glad to be in the right place at the right time – also glad neither of us fell. Staying in single file is great, and staying reasonably close is great – sure beats being strewn out over a 1/4 mile. However, each person has to be sufficiently spaced behind the head in front of you so you can glance at the road you’re about to step on. Safety has to be our #1 priority. Seeing the road in front of you keeps you safe and away from uneven or broken sidewalks.
Thanks to Ron for sending two of his MPRRC Volunteers to triangle park as a welcome water stop for anyone who forgot to bring their bottle. Thanks, again to the dynamic duo of Gail & Libby for the refreshments at the end of our training. Wow, finger food meatball sandwiches instead of PB&J.
Next Sunday we’ll meet informally so ladies have a choice of paying $45 to do a 10K at 0630, or do 6 miles for free at 0730. Think about parking – may want to be dropped off or park & walk in a bit.
Aloha