weekend ramblings 2/29/09

-Good job to all those who finished their last long runs prior to spring marathons!
-Congratulations to Laurel and Muscatine friends Nancy Shell, Joe Timmsen and Tony Carl for finishing the Clinton Lake 30 mile run despite nasty cold rain.
- Well done to Missey Andrews and her daughter for placing at the Easter Seals 4 miler.

-Larry

quote of the day

"There's no elevation change! Why did they bother?" - John Kvapil 3/28/09

caffeine and running

Ok. I stole the picture from the NY Times. So I'll link back to their story. Got me thinking a bit, often a dangerous situation.

I'll admit. A bit of boost helps get through the ridiculously long events. Sleep deprivation is a factor. I ran to get coffee for a bald headed truck driver during one notorious local event on early Sunday morning a couple years ago.

The biggest argument I hear is caffeine's jittery, diuretic effects. Here's an interesting take by someone who has done Leadville. A topic close to the bone. Maybe it's not as quick a trip to the plastic space shuttle as previously thought.

They seem to do these tests on cyclists, rather than runners. Easier to hook 'em up to spin bikes and measure resistance, I suppose. Consensus studies seem to be 5-10% performance gain, plus decrease in perceived effort for given level of exercise threshold. A nice article by an MD from a site that wants to sell you nutrition.

What's this mean? Let's do a little math. My running partners will tell me I am not so good at that (tend to round down on pace.) Lowest dose in article above from the MD - 3 mg/kg of body wt. For the metric challenged, divide your wt by 2.2. So a 165 lb runner weighs 165/2.2 = 75 kg. 75 kg x 3 mg/kg = 225 mg caffeine. What's got 225 mg caffeine?

8 oz Cup of coffee - about 100 mg
Mt. Dew - 55 mg
Green Tea - 30 mg
Jolt Cola - 280 mg (visions of college flashback...)
Red Bull - 80 mg
NoDoze pill - 100 mg

Ask wikipedia for more. A double mocha that I am fond of has about that 225 mg of caffeine. If it can get my sorry behind through another endless Govt conf call, I suppose it can get me over a mountain. Better living through chemistry.

The international athletics entities appear to have removed it from their list of banned substances.

I once read an interesting theory. Before civil engineers saved more lives with clean drinking water than doctors could pushing pills, wine and beer were about the only safe source of drinking. Mild alcohol kills bugs. So people in the middle ages (the 'dark ages') were more or less always mildly drunk. Enter the 1600's, the bringing of the coffee bean to Europe, the invention of the coffee house, the Enlightenment, technology explosion, steel weapons and gunpowder against bows and arrows, and here you sit in North America.

Last - the caffeine curve I have pinned to my bulletin board at work.

Yes, this was fueled by a mild does of a legal substance.

-Larry

Weekend update 3/22/09

Starting at 6 am sat, through Sunday, we peak in training for spring marathon. Boston, Illinois as you wish. Saturday the better day by far. An exquisite 20 miler with Brenda, Laurel, Danelle and Michelle Hall. An 11 mi mud bog slog with Candice and Danelle from Muscatine at Loud Thunder. Rock Cut (I haven't heard results yet!) for John Kvapil, Matt Mathews, Dennis Hall. An insane triple and quad Bix run for Dave J., Bob Nelson, Scott Hoffman and Tara J.

Sittin here tonight watching a music documentary on J. Cash, thinking about life. It is good..."what have I become, my dearest friends?"

Laurel asks the following - DOES ANYONE HAVE A 2 PERSON KAYAK or CANOE I could please borrow JUNE 27 for an adventure race in MAQUOKETA?

Last call for IL Marathon T-shirts. Going once, twice....

Be well. Running makes us feel alive, and the outdoor season begins in earnest. Almost manic anticipation. Renewal, life affirmation. Humans are designed to stride across the earth under their own power.

-Larry

Iron Man Training

Laurel asked me to post some things about her training for the 2008 Louisville Ironman in August. Keep it up, Laurel... Woohoo!

With all of the group getting ready to head to the Illinois marathon weekend I thought I would update all of you on how my training for IRONMAN Louisville, KY is going. Besides basically feeding my face consistently, sleeping 8 hours with no distractions and being able to wear sleeveless shirts and liking the "guns" I have created....Iman training is ....well tough. more

Bad Fitness Idea No. 365 1/2

The vibrating belt. Um, ladies in high heels getting 'exercise.' You'd never see anything on TV nowdays that wasn't effective at growing things or shrinking things or making things lose or gain weight cause...we..are..so..advanced here in the 21st century..oh, never mind.

Video of IL Marathon Course

A poster named Mike Mallon - thanks - leaves the following link to a video from the Champaign newspaper by the person who laid out the course.

Thanks Mike!

-Larry

IL Marathon Shirts 3/8/09

Why is this dog wearing a blue tech shirt? Because I needed a model. He got a biscuit for his trouble. His name is Mac, and he is a 10 year old lab. A sitting dog, not a running dog.

We are ready to take orders for the bus trip T-shirts for the April 11, 2009 Illinois Marathon. We are using All Sports Screen Printing in Bettendorf. The shirts are navy blue with orange lettering, and are available in short sleeve and long sleeve, men's and women's. This is a QUALITY tech shirt from Badger Sport.

Long sleeve shirts are $35. Short sleeve shirts are $25. If you want to place an order email lsandhaas@gmail.com and put "shirt" somewhere in the subject line. Tell me whether you want a man or woman's shirt, short or long sleeve, and the size.

We need your orders and your money by March 24 in order to have delivery by April 4, the week before the marathon. We also need full payment for the bus trip by the end of March.

If you order one shirt this year, order this one. 5 weeks to marathon. Stay healthy! Woohoo! (to paraphrase certain friends)

Larry and Dave

marathon booster section

Laurel asks me to pass along the following. She is planning on driving to Champaign the day of the Race April 11, leaving at around 5 am. She has been working with Danelle Kvapil, trying to help her to her first four hour marathon. She will be along the race course, cheering for the finishers. Woohoo! If anyone is interested in traveling with her, email at laurelisme@yahoo.com. or call 309-230-2484

about the hotel

All of the rooms have two queen/double beds plus one sleeper sofa. Suites my friends, sweet suites. QCRunner spares no effort for your blissful pre-race slumber. Triples should be EZ.

IL Marathon Bus Trip Update 3/1/09

We are under 6 weeks away from the Marathon, Half Marathon, 5k and Relay events in beautiful Champaign/Urbana, IL. I say beautiful, as wishful thinking for warmer weather. Although sunny, this weekend outdoor runs were blustery and cold for the hardy souls who ventured out. Training for the spring events is for the hardest of the hardcore. Any fool can run in the warm weather of summer. It takes a special fool to go out in the arctic blast of January and February for those 20 milers.

Key info for bus departure.

4/10/09 - Friday - bus leaves at 10:00 am from Bettendorf High School parking lot. We have overnight permission to park. Thanks Dave. Map here. Try to be there by 9:30 am to load. And for pictures.

4/10/09 - 10 am to 2 pm. We will stop for lunch in either Peoria or Bloomington for about 45 minutes.

4/10/09 - 2 pm. Arrive at Expo.
Reason for arriving 'early'. Our own Dave Jessen is the official 3:40 pacer. Dave needs to work the pacer booth from 2:00-6:00 pm. He's going to be taking me and Brenda Rip to PR's on that day. Hope springs eternal. Pacer Bios here.
So just chill out, relax, enjoy the expo.

4/10/09 - 4 pm. Check into hotel. Hawthorn Suites. Link here. Walking distance to start/finish line. Prominent bus parking spot promised.

4/10/09 - 5-? - Pasta Dinner by Fazoli's. Cost is $10 if you haven't registered already. Bart Yasso (5:30 pm), Dick Beardsley (6:30 pm). Bart Yasso of 'My Life on the Run and Yasso 800's. Those track workout's you've been doing, remember? On a treadmill or indoor track all winter....

4/11/09 - 6:30-7:00 am. Eat something light and assemble in hotel lobby. Travel to bus and go to the start!

4/11/09 - 8 am - Marathon, Half and 5k events begin. Bus should be parked near Memorial Stadium start/finish same place. Home base and staging area for gear. If you want, walk back to hotel for shower and change.

4/11/09 - 1:30-2:00 pm. Our final finishers should be coming in. Shower and change and late checkout and hotel. Details TBD.

4/11/09 - 5:00-6:00 pm. Should return to Bettendorf after dinner TBD.

T-shirt update. The 5 color print that everybody liked - so much - is a bit pricey. Over $40 for a long sleeve tech shirt. I am trying to get this down into a more do-able $20-$30 range. Special bus trip T-shirt is optional. You will get a tech shirt as part of your Illinois Marathon/Half registration. 5k you'll get some type of shirt. I am putting together some online and local options. Details still coming, finalized in a week.

So stay healthy, get your final payments to Dave or Larry, and we will see you on April 10. This is gonna be a great run.

-Dave and Larry

Chili Chase Pics - 2/22/09

Even more pics from last weekend. Flickr link here for more. Bob photos are greatly appreciated.

Rock Cut Pics - 2/21/09

Bob, John K., Dennis and Matt went to Rockford and placed, winning cash money on that cold saturday. I listened to the better angels of my nature (she knows who she is) and stayed local that day.

From John K. -

I don't if anyone e-mailed you about the results of our visit to Rockford. This 15k course was much more difficult than the last one, which included steeper hills, one requiring rope, and stairs. Like the last two, the course was snow covered. Maybe 6-8 inches this time? Bob took pictures.

Dennis and Matt did well finishing 3rd in each of their age groups.

-John

Well done to all. Link to more Flickr Pics here.

Bob's Run Pics - Feb 2009

From a cold morning a few weeks ago. Bob's got a pocket camera now. No more worries about dropping the big rig on the ice. Follow this link to Flickr set and the frosted, hardcore. I am so sick of winter. Less than 6 weeks to IL Marathon. Woohoo!

Recipe - Oatmeal Protein Bars

My spin instructor, upwardly rising distance and trail runner friend Danelle from Muscatine offers this recipe for some alt snacks to the ever expensive granola bars.

Enjoy.

-Larry

No Cook Protein Bars

1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal
2 scoops chocolate whey protein powder
2 tbsp flaxseeds
1 cup nonfat dry powdered milk
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup water (more or less depending on the powder you use- you have to experiment a bit to get it right)
1 tsp vanilla extract ( I have used almond extract and it is good, too.)
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit, nuts, trail mix.. .whatever you want- or don't use any. Up to you! Walnuts are good, so are dried cranberries, or slivered almonds- you can add more if you want more crunch.

Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray set aside

Combine oatmeal, protein powder, flaxseeds and dry milk, mix together

In separate bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, water and vanilla. Add this mixture to dry ingredients... stir to form a sticky dough, then stir or knead in raisins, etc.

Using wet hands or rubber spatula coated in cook spray, spread mix into pan. Freeze for 1 hour until mixture is firm enough to cut. Cut into squares and wrap each one individually and store in fridge. (Don't freeze too long- get hard to cut and the top dries out)

I have found that adding a little more water or peanut butter keeps them from drying out. You will have to experiment a bit with it.