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From The Top
By Lewis Reddoch
Welcome Rundown Readers!
Summer is about to wind down according to the calendar. That means that one of my personal favorite PRA events is just around the corner. The Don McCloskey Seafood 5K Run/Walk is September 28th. With a beautiful downtown course, fall in the air, a fun post-race event and seafood, what's not to like? Please invite everyone you know and let's make it bigger and better than ever.
Our Membership 5K Trail Run and breakfast is Saturday, August 24th. This is a fun run and a nice time to see your old friends and meet some new ones. It's a perfect time to invite someone to join us as PRA members!
Do you know someone who would enjoy reading The Rundown? Sharing is easy with the "forward this email" link at the bottom of the page. We have a great story to tell so pass it on. Speaking of sharing, I got a sneak peek at the new PRA website that Laura Harris has been so diligently working on. It promises to be loaded with club news and pictures, and easy to navigate. I can't wait until it goes live!
Thanks to all of you that contribute to the PRA Rundown. You work is greatly appreciated. Thanks to all of you that volunteer as well. See you out there!
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DON'T FORGET!!!
The 2013 Membership Run
Is August 24th!
By Laura Harris
The Pensacola Runners Association Membership 5K Trail Run is at the Escambia County Equestrian Center on August 24th at 8 AM. Free to all PRA members, this race features wide and flat trails, fast times and a great celebration afterwards!
The awards include best overall male and female as well as best overall male and female masters, grandmasters, and great grandmasters. Prizes will be awarded three deep in the standard age groups up through 80+.
A huge breakfast will be served at the after-party, including eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc. along with many kinds of yummy treats for everyone.
The first 150 entrants will receive free swag (an awesome visor this year), so sign up early!
As noted, entry fees are FREE to current members of the PRA. Please mail in or drop off (at the Pensacola Sports Association building on the corner of Baylen and Main Streets) your registration form so we can project numbers and reserve your swag!
For non-members, the entry fee will sign you up for the race, but also consists of membership to the PRA until June 30, 2014! Fees are $15 for an individual or $20 for a family. Membership benefits include discounts on PRA race entry fees, free subscription to our monthly newsletter, The Rundown, and discounts at local businesses.
Don't forget... if you signed up as a new member at this race last year, it will be time to renew with us!
Packet pick-up will be at the Pensacola Sports Association building (101 West Main Street, Pensacola, FL 32502) on Friday, August 23rd from 4-7 pm and the morning of the race from 6:30- 7:30 am at the Equestrian Center. Registration for the race will stop at 7:30 am on race day.
The UWF Cross Country team will be helping on course again this year, but we can always use more volunteers, so please contact Laura Harris at 850-723-5323 or Membership Run if you are interested in helping. As always, you can find more information on this race and any of the PRA races at www.pensacolarunners.com.
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Don McCloskey Seafood Festival 5K
Is September 28th
 Every year the signature fall race in downtown Pensacola is the Don McCloskey Seafood Festival 5K. We expect well over 1000 runners for this classic event held in conjunction with the Seafood Festival. The course is fast and flat and includes the Community Maritime Park (the stadium) and Veteran's Park along the way. Race Director Randy Maygarden is offering high-quality tech shirts, amazing category awards and a great awards medallion along with a fantastic after-race celebration at Seville Quarter.
The race will begin at 7:30 AM on September 28th and we predict it will be an event to remember. For More Information Or To Register - Click Here
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Volunteer Of The Year Award
Nominations Still OPEN!
The Pensacola Runners Association (PRA) conducts nine races annually along with providing equipment, support, advice and manpower to other area events. This could not be accomplished without the amazing efforts of our awesome volunteers who assist our Race Directors.
They collectively contribute thousands of hours every year to provide running and walking opportunities for the community. They perform their tasks in heat, cold, wind and rain and they do those tasks again and again. They work long and hard to provide the best experiences for our athletes.
The PRA Board of Directors established a new award to annually recognize a volunteer or volunteers for significant and long-term contributions to the mission of promoting running and racing opportunities for the Northwest Florida community. You can submit your nomination of a worthy candidate to the Board by emailing [email protected]. The award will be presented in September at the Seafood Festival Don McCloskey 5K.
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TriGulfCoast News
FINDING THAT EXTRA GEAR I NEVER KNEW I HAD
By Evan Malone
Wonder what it must feel like to be able to negative split a key race? Astounded at how so many others can feel so fresh half way through an event and they still have fuel in the engine room? Already tried all the gimmicks out there -- energy drinks with a carpet cleaner aftertaste, sleeping in an altitude tent and waking up choking, kinesiotape which ends up looking like a tattered Mardi Gras float a few miles into an event, compression wear which leaves the muscles cooked slightly more than Al Dente, belt upon belt of fluid strapped to your person like a military rucksack, calorie gels ranging in consistency from oil to tar? Switched up your training by adding more and more long runs with no benefit?
There is a simpler solution: hit the pool. Yep. You want to find that extra gear you never knew you had? Find a swim workout group at one of the many pools in our area and pound out some laps two to three times a week.
Anecdotally speaking, I have experienced this and witnessed it on multiple occasions. Most recently it was with a few fellow triathletes masquerading as runners in a build up to a target marathon -- not only did they all attain their goals, but they also set a string of PR's along the way. In all these instances I joked that "it would be great to be able to bottle this" -- translation: "I am not sure what went right, but whatever it was it worked and it worked perfectly."
Once the dust settled on the various events, it was with some degree of hindsight that my training partners and I concluded that the one major difference between training for an event in 2009 (one where we all fell short of our goals) and now one in 2013 was the addition of the pool workouts in place of another couple hours of running (i.e. 10+ miles of running a week). We could indeed "bottle it." By switching to a weekly routine which consisted of one long run (12-22 mile), two mid-distance (6-8 mile) runs, and three pool workouts (2,000-3,000 meters/workout) a week our bodies responded better than had we gone for the 60-70 mile weeks of running.
Sure, there probably did also exist some other not-so-easy-to-replicate components such as the ideal balance of endorphins, caffeine, and anti-inflammatories bathing the neurons in concert with perfect weather conditions and our own delusions of throngs of supporters there just to cheer us on during our target event. Nonetheless, it was age-grouper athletes like me and my training partners who were riding the wave of this perfect balance feeling like we had been shot out of a cannon just as many of the professional athletes we look up to. Like Steve Prefontaine in pretty much any of his races EVER, Evelyn Ashford in the anchor leg of the women's 4 x100m relay (Seoul, S. Korea; 1988), Mark Allen breaking Dave Scott in the "Ironwar" (Kona, HI; 1989), Bevan Docherty sprinting to the finish at World Cup ITU (New Zealand; 2005), Chris Solinsky setting the American Record 10K record (Stanford, CA; 2010); or Chris McCormack dropping Andreas Raelert on the way to another IM World Championship title (Kona, HI; 2010).
It makes great sense to me. Time in the pool swapped out for time on the pavement equals time off the joints and muscles, but the cardio-engine still has a chance to get a workout. This, to me, is a win-win situation. I am actually a bit ashamed that it took me this long to figure that out. And, if I were to detail the entire story about floundering to the finish line of a marathon in 2009 it would be quite obvious from an outsider's perspective that the missing ingredient was some time in the pool. Extending it even further, I have to wonder if this is part of the reason why so many multisport athletes finish a triathlon and realize that they set a 5K or 10K PR in the midst of the race -- yes, they are beating their open run times during the third leg of a triathlon. They are finding that extra gear and doing so by actually spending less time running and more time swimming.
VIDEOS TO INSPIRE AND MENTALLY DISPLAY "THAT EXTRA GEAR":
Evelyn Ashford's anchor leg in the women's 4 x 100M relay (Seoul, S. Korea; October 1988)
Bevan Docherty's gutsy finish at World Cup ITU triathlon (New Plymouth, New Zealand; November 2005)
Chris Solinsky's American record 10k (Stanford, CA; May 2010)
Chris McCormack's breaking down of Andreas Raelert (Kona, HI; October 2010)
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PRA Board Member Profile
Corey Dell
Corey Dell is our "latest and greatest" addition to the Pensacola Runner's Association Board of Directors. Both of her parents are retired from the Navy, and she considers Pensacola her home. She attended the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science. She has recently graduated from our own UWF with her Master's degree in Community Health Education. She works for Healthy Lives Powered by Baptist Health Care as a Systems Coordinator, Tobacco Cessation Facilitator, and Health Educator.
At a young age Corey always knew that she wanted to help people, but she says she was not suited to be a nurse. However, she does currently work with the best nurses/health coaches "a girl could ask for." She enjoys helping people make positive life changes through health education and states that she has "the most rewarding job" she could have.
Corey says that as a child she was not incredibly active and was, in fact, a bit overweight. Because of that experience she is very tuned in to the prevention of childhood obesity. She was a competitive swimmer and also played softball.
After graduating from high school she made exercise a part of her daily routine and those habits eventually lead to her degree choice. While in college she started running and enjoyed it. Last year she trained with the famous Mere Mortals training program and completed her first triathlon. She became one of those people who get up incredibly early to train on Sunday mornings.
Thus far she has completed three sprint triathlons, a Tough Mudder, and many road races including the Double Bridge Run. She lifts weights at least 3-4 days a week and either swims, bikes, or runs 6 days a week. She's training now for the Patriot 9/11 Triathlon in Fort Pierce and hopes to run in the Pensacola � Marathon in November. She "absolutely loves pushing myself mentally and physically" and has a favorite quote she would like to share "Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try." She says firmly "You CAN do it!!"
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by Corey Dell
Are you employed at an 8 hours-a-day office job? Have you been punching away at the keyboard or stuck driving an hour to carpool your kids to various sporting events? Have you been staying tuned in to watch the latest television shows? According to the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, the average person spends approximately 64 hours per week sitting.
Even if you lead an active lifestyle and frequently engage in running or walking, prolonged sitting not only can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, but the constant sitting motion can cause muscle tightness. That isn't good for any runner or walker. Further, sitting for long lengths of time reduces circulation to the brain which can hurt your creativity and your mood. To combat prolonged sitting, Healthy Lives Powered by Baptist Healthcare recommends a couple of options:
1. Take frequent standing breaks. Even if it is just for one minute, get up and move around your office. Take phone calls standing up and engage in frequent stretching.
2. Stay hydrated. This is going to be especially helpful during the summer months and it should also make you go to the bathroom more. On average, staying fully hydrated should make you go to the bathroom five times a day. Take the stairs to a remote location and when you come back to your work space do five chair squats. That's 25 extra squats a day, 125 squats a week, and 500 squats a month. So, get up and get your body moving to stay active throughout your workday.
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Upcoming Races
The 18th annual Santa Rosa Island Triathlon - October 5th, 7 AM. To register: Santa Rosa Island Triathlon;
Pensacola Mud Run sponsored by Pathways for Change - October 12, 7:30 AM. For more information: Pensaccola Mud Run
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2013 Fiesta 10K Medals
Are Still Available
Most of the Fiesta of Five Flags 10K finishers' medals have been distributed. If you are one of the last few who completed the 10K race, but have not received your medal, please send an email to [email protected] with the appropriate information and he will get one to you. Thanks again for participating in PRA races!!
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PRA Membership Renewals
It's Time to Renew Your PRA Membership! As previously noted the Board of Directors has revised the membership term. Everyone's membership runs from July 1st to June 30th of the following year. The fees remain the same - $15 for an individual and $20 for a family. If you have signed up in recent months, you will automatically be an active member until June 30th, 2014. ANY OTHER EXTENSIONS will be handled on a case-by-case basis. You can contact PRA Membership for further details. |
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We Want to Publish Your Pictures!
Please send us your photos from running and racing in the area for inclusion in the upcoming editions of The
Rundown. Send comments, suggestions or articles to:
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Promotional Rates
To have an event promoted in The Rundown contact us at [email protected] for our rates. We can add a link to your on-line registration, a link to your race application download, an article or simply a mention in the "Upcoming Races."
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