Monthly Archive for November, 2008

Wild Turkey 5 mile Race

Published on November 17, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

 

Can you believe that it’s almost Thanksgiving time? What a year it has been for Wicked! It seems like just the other day we were preparing for our very first Wicked Frosty Four road race and now we are well into the planning stages for the Second Annual Wicked Frosty Four. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there are plenty of good races to be found before the end of the year. Case in point, The Wild Turkey 5 Miler!

The Wild Turkey 5 Miler has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition for many runners in and around Salem. I’ve run this race twice now since moving to the area and it has become bigger and better each year. The 2008 edition of this classic race should not disappoint either. Along with the usual good vibe and excellent amenities, this year’s Wild Turkey race will have a special bonus. For those of you out there in Wicked running land who have ran in and completed the various Salem Race Series races, you know that this is the final race of the series. With the completion of the inaugural race series, runners will receive a fleece jacket! The series started all the way back in January with the Wicked Frosty Four and had runners racing on a golf course in March (one of the more difficult races in the area) and going the distance in the Salem Half Marathon. Runners also had their speed tested in the Derby Street Mile.

If you are not apart of the Salem Road Race Series, the Wild Turkey 5 miler also happens to be apart of  Wicked’s own race series. This will be the last race of the year for the series.  Be sure to check the updated standings over in the Grand Prix section of the website.  Let’s have a Wicked big turn out and support our favorite race director, Doug Bollen, who does an amazing job with this race! Below you will find information about the race and ways to register for the race, if you haven’t already.

Thanksgiving Day, November, 27th 2008 at 8am
Entry fee: $20 pre-race day & $24 on race day
Register Early: Awesome Long Sleeve Brooks Technical Shirts for first 750 entrants!
Location: Boys and Girls Club, 13 Hawthorne Blvd., Salem, MA
Information: Salem Park, Recreation & Community Services (978) 744-0180
Email: dbollen@salem.com

Apply online

Link to mail in application

Link to Wicked Grand Prix results

 

 

Wicked At the Great Wall of China

Published on November 15, 2008 in Uncategorized. 5 Comments

Colin Maclay and Rachel Hunt at The Great Wall of China

WOW!  From Dublin to China… Wicked has certainly gone international.  Can’t wait to hear if Colin and Rachel actually got to run on The Great Wall.  They’ll be home on Sunday.

"Ask the Running Expert"

Published on November 14, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

How do I taper before a big race?

The purpose of the taper is to bring out a quicker performance by allowing the athlete to recover and sharpen fitness. Typically, runners can expect a .3-5% betterment in performance with a taper and most runners report feeling physically and psychological better after going through a tapering period. Unfortunately, a decrease in volume without an increase in intensity/speed can lead to detraining.

Tapers vary depending on the distance of the competition. Total volume can decrease by up to 85% of original training. With low mileage training, a 20-30% reduction in volume is fine.

3-5k- 1 week taper

8k-10k- 2 week taper

Half marathon/marathon- 3 week taper

I will use my friend Danny C. as an example. Leading up to his 1hr plus PR in the marathon (3:17), he would regularly run long intervals and long threshold runs for workouts, as well as one long run during the week. Before the marathon, he cut back his long run to 10 miles, and his final workouts were short but intense—mile at race pace, plus 400s at a quicker pace.

The number one mistake I see people make in racing is essentially stopping all training the week(s) before the competition. The week before a race, you want to decrease the total volume and get in a light, quick workout about 4 days before the event. Another mistake I see is taking the day before a race off. This can lead to a feeling of staleness and stiffness during the event. It’s much better to take 2 days before the race off and then the day before, run an easy 15minutes.

The number two mistake I see is trying to cram in training in the last 1-3 weeks before the marathon/competition. Although I mentioned you shouldn’t completely rest, you also shouldn’t get in extra workouts or high intensity lactate workouts. Your goal during this period is not to increase fitness, it is to bring out the fitness that you have.

-Jen

Keep the questions coming!

Jen Toomey regularly coaches programs for Salem Park Recreation and Community Services. She is a track and field coach and a certified USA Weightlifting Coach (Olympic lifts).  She has been running for 15 years

 

Dublin Marathon

Published on November 14, 2008 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

A goal of mine is to run a marathon or two in a foreign country sometime before the knees finally give out. The Dublin Marathon has always been one that has intrigued me.  Something about going back to my roots, at least the ones on my father’s side.  Do they have a Warsaw Marathon?  How fortunate to have a member who recently ran Dublin and who has provided this report and photos.  Let’s all run Dublin vicariously through Bob Grant:

 I want to say that anyone considering doing the Dublin Marathon will most definitely have a great time and should combine it with vacation to explore the beauty of Ireland.  I didn’t do as well as I wanted to in the marathon, but I enjoyed every minute of it.  I had never heard so many cries of “Well done, lad” before.  Those Europeans are so polite!!!  The crowds were great, especially at the end near Trinity College.  The Marathon is called the friendly marathon because it has an 8 hour cut off.  This allows walkers to officially complete a marathon.  I even saw someone competing on a tricycle.  I was disappointed in the lack of water stops, spread out every 3 to 3.5 miles.  They also only provide Energize Sports drinks at 3 or 4 water stops.  I never trained with this brand and wasn’t used to it, so I didn’t drink much of it.  Of course I should have known better.  They do give bottles at each stop so if you are used to carrying one you will be fine.

Make sure you devote enough time to both run the marathon and tour the country.  I stayed the rest of the week and visited Galway, Connemara, Bunratty Castle and so on.  I even got thrown in the dungeon at Bunratty Castle, but it wasn’t my fault!!!  I definitely would do it again, and for those wanting to travel far to do a marathon, it is a great experience.

One last thing, a message to Deb Touchette: “The plane ride wasn’t so bad, Deb!”  I definitely think the Touchettes should put it on their schedule.

 

 

Stone Cat Ale Trail Marathon and 50 Miler

Published on November 11, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

                    

Thanks to Dan Cooper for his recount of the Stone Cat Ale Trail Marathon and 50 Miler run by many of our members this past Saturday:

The alarm clock goes off at 4am; it must be time for Stone Cat. 

This year Wicked was well represented at the infamous GAC Stone Cat.  Repeat Stone Cats’ Dan and Steph Cooper, Jay Curry, Bill Morse, and Bruce Campbell were joined by recent trail converts Deb, Liz, and Steve Touchette, Danny Leadvaro, James Deluca, and Billy Shea.  Tim Clarke was on hand to provide pacing support to a friend in the 50 miler and all the Wicked runners were cheered on by Alison and Kerry Phelan, and Kathey Moskal.  This impressive Wicked crew was joined by Wicked friends and hopefully future Wicked runners Sarah Hudson, Richey Lewis, Larry Godbout, Eric Finney, and Paul Copeland.  Those of you that run the Lynn Woods series may know them.

We had a gorgeous day with grand performances by all.  GAC outdid themselves once again providing a scenic, challenging, well supported course for the 8th annual Stone Cat Ale Marathon and 50 miler.  The aid stations out on the course (Alcat’s Lounge, and Fast Fred’s) and one at the turnaround were awesome.  GAC members offered up a spread that consisted of water, Gatorade, Coke, potatoes, PB-n -J, grilled cheese, hamburgers, hot dogs, power bars, assorted candies, and chips.  There was even talk of some runners (with valid ID of course) sampling the “adult beverages” on hand,  making it difficult to reap the typical weight loss benefits one usually gets from running a marathon.   After the race many of us had the opportunity to speak with Jeff Washburn, notable GAC alum, former Stone Cat Race Director, and ultra running guru who is recovering from a near fatal stroke that occurred this time last year!  Way to go GAC, thanks again, and I am certain many more Wicked runners will be vying for the precious few slots in next year’s race, especially after seeing those sleek, red, very Wicked like looking, jackets all the finishers received.  As of “press time” results had not been posted.