20 Mile Qualifying Run
Students and Volunteers, This is the weekend! Our last long run, 20 miles, will be this weekend in Golden Gate Park. It may be warm, in which case you should prepare for heat. However, there is currently a chance of rain, so bring your SRO jacket and/or hat to prepare for running chilly weather. All students must complete the run in 5 hours or less. Volunteers should plan to run with the student(s) with whom they plan to run the marathon. Please email Christine to let her know. As always, in addition to running volunteers, we will have several volunteers on bikes as well as water stops every few miles. We're here to support you every step of the way. Good luck!!
Students, As you know, at the beginning of the season you signed a Student Contract in which you made several measureable commitments to SRO as a community. These commitments included not only attending practices and Saturday training runs, but also goals for school attendance and grade point average. If you have not been consistently meeting these commitments, Student Liaison Michelle should be in touch with you to help you form a plan for improving and meeting your Student Contract.
Heat-Related Training
The last few days could be a preview of what may be our reality down in LA in late May. We need to start preparing for those conditions. Here are some training tips for heat-related conditions.
HEAT EXHAUSTION
Cause: Failing to replace fluids and electrolytes when dehydration sets in.
Symptoms: A core body temperature of 102°F to 104°F, headache, fatigue, profuse sweating, nausea, clammy skin.
Action plan: Apply a cold pack on the head and neck. Restore fluid and salt balance with foods and drinks that contain sodium.
HEAT CRAMPS
Cause: Loss of fluid and minerals (electrolytes) through respiration and sweat.
Symptoms: Severe abdominal cramps or large-muscle cramps (such as quads and glutes). Action plan: Restore fluid and salt balance with foods and drinks that contain sodium (salted snack foods, sports drinks).
HEATSTROKE
Cause: Extreme exertion, coupled with very hot, humid conditions and dehydration, impair your body's ability to maintain an optimal temperature.
Symptoms: A core body temperature of 104°F or above, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid pulse, disorientation.
Action plan: Emergency medical attention necessary.
HYPONATREMIA
Cause: A low level of sodium in the blood. Most runners are not aware that they can drink too much water. If you drink only water during your race, you will dilute your blood.
Symptoms: Nausea, muscle cramps, confusion, slurred speech, unsteady stride and disorientation. Because these symptoms mimic those of heat exhaustion, many runners make the mistake of increasing water consumption, which make the condition even worse.
Action plan: Seek medical attention. Drinking sports drinks and eating salty foods can treat minor symptoms. Avoid anti-inflammatory medications.
Prevention is better than cure, so it's up to you to recognize the early warning symptoms and take appropriate action.
- Take a walking break if needed to let your body cool down
- Drink at each water stop, take water and or Gatorade
- Watch out for symptoms of dehydration
- Wear a hat and sunscreen
Beyond Running
As we mention frequently, SRO isn't "just" -- or even primarily -- about training for a marathon. SRO is a mentoring program, and we've been working hard to train not just for a race, but, as our motto says, training for life, one step at a time.
We're in the middle of a couple of weeks that really exemplify this commitment. Last Thursday, parents and families attended our second Parents Meeting. We're working together to support and ensure all students meet new challenges and exceed expectations. Last weekend, after our run, we participated in shoreline clean up at Martin Luther King Shoreline.
This week and next, students will hear presentations from teens at the Thunder Road teen alcohol and drug recovery program. And this coming Friday, we'll have an ice skating event, just as a chance to relax, laugh, and have fun together.
Then Sunday May 3rd it's our 20 mile run – the last long run prior to the marathon in a few short weeks!
Students and Volunteers, as always, it's a pleasure building a community with you.
Upcoming Events
Students, Congratulations on completing the 17 mile run this past weekend! Once again we enjoyed excellent weather, and our strategy of walking for a minute after every ten minutes of running left us fresh and helped us finish quickly. We’ll continue to work on pacing during our upcoming runs.
Upcoming Events:
17 Mile Run: Students and volunteers who missed last weekend's run will have an opportunity to make up the long run by running the Martin Luther King course twice. Volunteers, we'll need your support for this! Please email Heidi if you are available to run the extra mileage.
Student Community Service: The students will be doing their community service this coming Saturday after the weekend run at Martin Luther King Shoreline. All volunteers are invited and encouraged to participate with the students. Please email Michelle if you plan on participating.
Parent Meeting: We have our second SRO Family Meeting Thursday, April 16th 6:00-7:30 at 1000 Broadway, Suite 500 (near 12th Street BART station in downtown Oakland). Volunteers are welcome.
Ice Skating Event: SRO will host ice skating for students on Friday, April 24, 2009 from 7:15 to 9:15 at Oakland Ice Center (519 18th Street, near 19th Street BART station, 268-9000) Please come out and join us for evening of fun!
Qualifying Runs
This weekend is the first of our two qualifying runs. We will be running 15-17 miles from the Berkeley Marina. Our second qualifying run is 20 miles from Golden Gate Park, on Sunday May 3. Students must complete this run in 5 hours time in order to travel with us to LA.
Students, You need to be sufficiently trained in order to complete the marathon, and this weekend is a major milestone and fitness checkpoint. At this point in the season, you should all be able to finish without trouble! Consistency in weekday practice and weekends run will help you get there. If your attendance has been less consistent, Saturday may be a little harder, but we're here to support you.
We're also interested in helping your families to support you. Please let your parents and families know that we will be having a Parents and Families Meeting on Thursday, April 16. (More details to follow, check the Calendar page.)
Students and Volunteers, Please take the time this week to prepare for your long run this weekend -- 3 miles farther than we've ever run before! During the week, and especially on Thursday and Friday, stay hydrated and get plenty of sleep at night. On Saturday, bring your hat and sunscreen, as we will be running for most of the morning.
Message from the Executive Director
Last week Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Frank Shorter talked with students and volunteers at the YMCA. He was impressed not only with our efforts to commit to a marathon but also with our staying the course with such a long training season. He made reference to "hitting the wall" and the mental aspect to completing the task.
For many of us, the term “hitting the wall” will be familiar. For our novice runners, this occurs in endurance sports and describes the condition when an athlete suddenly loses energy and becomes fatigued, the result of glycogen stored in the liver and muscles becoming depleted. It is at that point in the race when one feels like they just cannot continue. We have heard Coach Al talk about "mind over matter." This will start to take on a new meaning for many of you as we work through the last two months of training. His mantra, “mind over matter” is what's needed for all of us to endure. It is the mental stamina to push one’s body forward when physically, the body seems it cannot go on.
As we all know, SRO uses the marathon to promote the values and rewards associated with training, commitment, and sacrifice. In a usual season we train for five months and in early March, we complete our goal – the LA Marathon. With the additional three months this year, our training season feels like a grind. I can see it on faces of many of you at the start of our Saturday runs. I can feel it in the tone and vibe on the campuses during the weekly practices. It’s present in the conversations with parents. And, yes, I hear it in myself as there are days that I truly wish we had already completed our goal.
We need to remember that the marathon is our vehicle for instilling important values that serve each of us well in life. This unexpected eight month season is perhaps a great metaphor for life situations. The LA Marathon organizers, similar to what can happen in life, threw us a curve ball. We decided not to back down from the additional challenge and to continue our original course. And now, six months into the season, metaphorically, many of us have “hit the wall.” We grimace, we complain, we have to talk ourselves into going to practice, and on those bad days, we may even try to convince ourselves that we should quit. But, we know from completing our half marathon a few weeks ago, or finishing the first run that was in double digits – it is "mind over matter."
Over the next few weeks let’s focus on getting over that "wall." Perhaps we can enlist our "head cheerleader" Ralph to do what he does so well – lead us to chant like we did at the beginning of the season, “Yes we can.” Let’s chant, “It's mind over matter and if you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” If you see someone who looks like they have hit the wall, pat them on the back and remind them that they can do it.
I know that we – SRO’s students, volunteers, and staff - will make it through this season. We will endure. We will make it over the “wall” and we will complete our journey victoriously on May 25th as we each cross the LA Marathon finish line.
Spencer Hooper, Executive Director
PS – If you see me with that grimace, like I just can’t take it any longer, please remind me that - Yes I can.
Keeping Healthy Habits
Students,
By now you should be well on your way to developing (and keeping!) healthy habits. We've had five full months of five days a week of training -- congratulations!!
As the spring progresses, we continue to have excellent weather, and it's just getting warmer. It's time to seriously consider your sun protection, especially as the runs get longer. Wear your hat, and apply sunscreen before the run. Remember to drink when you are thirsty! You will probably start to sweat more as the weather gets warmer.
This week, you are required to attend a mandatory meeting at the YMCA on Thursday at 4pm. All absenses need to be pre-approved by Michelle.
Looking forward to seeing you at Lake Merritt this weekend!
