June 23, 2000

Congratulations! And High Fives all Around!

You look marvelous! Ten miles is an incredible
achievement...and you did it! 
I hope any doubts you may have had about going
the distance are now fading 
away. You are incredible, by continuing the
training...you will make it. I 
am so proud of each and every one of you. And I
can't wait to see all of you 
cross the finish line on October 22nd.

THIS WEEK'S RUN STARTS AT 6:00 AM

Yeah, it's early. But you'll be so glad to complete
your run before it gets 
too hot. Remember the rule of thumb is: Runs 12
miles or more will begin at 
6 AM, while runs 10 miles or less will begin at 7
AM. (So for a while it 
will switch back and forth everyother week.) 
SPECIAL NOTE: The 26 mile 
Training Run the weekend of Sept. 30th and Oct. 1st
will start at 7:00 AM.

NOISE ALERT!!

While I am the biggest advocate for cheering and
making noise...we have got 
to be considerate of our friendly neighbors. Please
try to keep our 
excitment and joy to a minimum noise level in the
neighborhoods (exspecially 
before 9 AM). This means that the water stops may
be moved slightly to 
accommedate the pace groups more efficently. We
still want to be supportive 
to all our participants...but we will have to
creative and come up with some 
quiet - forms of adoration. Thank you for your
understanding concerning this 
matter.

PROPER TRAINING + YOU = SUCCESS!!

After speaking with a few of you the past couple of
weeks, it's come to my 
attention that some folks may not be following the
recommended training 
program we've created for you. Over-training was
one of the biggest problems 
we had last year, and led some folks to become
injuried and not able to join 
us at the marathon. We don't want this to happen to
you. So, here's the 
"official" (trumphets blarring) training schedule
you should be following:

Maintenance Runs - 2 times during the week for ONLY
30 to 45 minutes each. 
(Milage is unimportant - do these runs by time.) 
Some people think that if 
two runs are good, three must be better...wrong! 
Here's an example of less 
is more. Your running muscles need the days off in
between your short runs 
in order to recover and get you ready for the next
long run. Work together 
with your body, not in competition.

Long Runs - 1 weekend day (Saturday or Sunday - not
both!). Never do two 
long runs in one weekend. Do your long mileage
slow, so you will have a 
faster recovery. You should end your runs feeling
like you could run more if 
you needed to. If you are getting to the end of
your run and could not take 
another step...you are running too hard and too
fast! If you do it too fast, 
your recovery will take longer and your upcoming
training will suffer.

Cross Training - This is completely optional, but
highly recommended for your 
in-between days to improve your cardiovascular and
muscle strength. Good 
forms of cross traing: swimming, aqua-jogging,
treading water, cycling, 
spinning, rowing, elliptical/Nordic-track machine,
yoga, low-mileage hiking, 
walking. Not Good: tennis, aerobics, step/stair
machines, basketball, 
additional running. The secret to success is to do
some type of NON-POUNDING 
activity that will increase your heart rate for at
least 20 to 30 minutes.

When you do more than the listed above, you run the
risk of over-training and 
potential injury. Even though you may feel like
running an additional day 
during the week, DON'T. Instead, do some
cross-training and work on your 
cardio..

THE SITE IS WHERE THE HEART IS!

The starting line-up. As you have noticed...we
have rearranged the starting 
order to better service all our participants. We
are starting our slower 
runners first...because they are out there the
longest. Then for safety 
reasons, we send out a faster group, then a slower
group. This means that 
the average runners (those with some of the larger
groups) are left to go out 
last...but you will also be able to pass several
groups along the way. 
Although you may be asked to start last...we know
you will still finish 
before several of the other groups. So please,
let's all be adult about this 
and have a great run and remember we are training to
help people living with 
HIV/AIDS. (I was a little taken back last
week...and you know who you 
are...that I got such a "whiney" attitude about
being asked to start last.) 

Cheering in the next group! Let me just say - that
if there are no houses 
around - noise is acceptable! It is always nice to
have people around to 
cheer you on...if you are having a bad day or a good
one! So as you arrive 
back to the site to a rousing applause and cheering,
you feel a sense of 
accomplishment and apprecation from your fellow AIDS
Marathoners. Let's try 
to have each pace group stay until the next group
comes in so they can bask 
in the same GLORY at the end of their run. In fact,
if you don't have 
anything to do for a while, why not stay for a
couple of groups to arrive? 
The more energy you can share the better! YAHOO! 
After all, we are all in 
this together!

AS OF TODAY AIDS MARATHON-LA HAS RAISED OVER
$700,000! GREAT JOB!


So keep hydrating! 

Linda