How About a Marathon?

2009 was a good year for fast Bakersfield marathon running and reminded me of the late 70s and early 80s. Back then, Bakersfield had at least a dozen runners going sub three for the 26.2 miles Of course, back then the marathon was ruled by the thirty and forty year olds but in 2009 youth was served.

My son, Christopher (16) started off the year with a debut 3:16 (he cruised and could of went a lot faster) marathon in February at the Surf City Marathon. Then in May, David Bacus (24) came in 4th overall at the O.C. Marathon in a time of 2:52! But the huge surprise was Zach Holt's 14th place at the San Francisco Marathon where he ran 2:45 for his first marathon!

Now I did not have a hand in Bacus's performance but I coached Christopher and Zach for their debut marathons and would like to coach you. Now you might not run as fast as they did, but my program will help you finish a marathon and have a positive experience. To properly train for a marathon, one needs four to six months of specific training and the time is now to think about next spring's marathons.

With this in mind, please take the time to check out my running camp.

What do I receive with my Building Better Bodies Running Camp courses?

Expert Coaching, Training Schedule, Text and/or Email Support, Group Support, Informative Training Clinics, a Building Better Bodies Training Shirt , and a stronger, fitter, faster you !!! More Information HERE.

What is the cost ?
Each 8 week session will only run you $100. The 16 week marathon training session is $190. Each race you enter and are photographed sporting your Building Better Bodies T-shirt will get you a $5 credit towards your next Run Camp, Boot Camp, or Circuit Class.

Since I cover most of the races in town, you should be able to receive this discount easily. Plus I have over 60,000 photos at AndyNoise.SmugMug.Com and my prices are very reasonable.

Please download the waiver/registration form HERE and print it out. Please bring the completed waiver/registration form to your first Bakersfield Running Camp Session. You may pay with a check made payable to Building Better Bodies or online via Pay Pal.

Running Camp For the Bakersfield Distance Project

What is the Youth Running Camp?

The goal of Building Better Bodies Youth Runners Camp is to create a Group Running environment where almost anyone can improve their their running ability while learning to incorporate running into their very own Fitness Lifestyle. Our Youth Running Camp will be coached by Paul Anderson (a.k.a. Andy Noise) along with myself and competitive runners from the Bakersfield Distance Project.

Paul was a tri-athlete (He won the first Bakersfield triathlon) and a sub three hour marathoner, who also ran in high school and college. In recent years, he has coached at the high school level and started his own USATF running club (The Bakersfield Distance Project) and took up marathon walking. Lastly, he has been covering the local running scene via his website AndyNoise.Com since 2006.

What sets apart the Youth Program from the Adult Program is the following:

Mission of the Program

• Learn Fundamentals of Cross Country rules, individual & team racing strategy, and training principles for distance runners.
  

• Develop “championship” lifestyle.

• Improvement on Individual & Team Levels.

• Earn gratification and satisfaction through commitment and effort.

This program is designed to coach and train young athletes to compete in USATF cross country meets in early November. There are three meets in total and one must qualify to move on to the next:

USATF Central California Association / Region 14

2009 Junior Olympic Cross Country - Advancement

Association Championship
Meet information not available
Regional Championship
11/29/09	USATF Region 14 Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship	Reno, NV
National Championship
12/12/09	USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships	Reno, NV

Along the way, your youth runner will compete in local road races and hopefully their school sanctioned events as well. The youth program will begin on September 1st (late registration available till October 1st) and hopefully will not end till the National Championships on 12/12/09.

The camp will be held at Yokuts Park unless designated otherwise. The days are Tuesday and Thursday at 6 PM at Yokuts Park and Saturdays at 7 AM at the Panorama Bluffs or at local races.

Below are charts to determine what division your athlete would be in and the distance they would run at USATF events.

DIVISIONS

Age Division	Year of Birth
Bantam	1999+
Midget	1997-1998
Youth	1995-1996
Intermediate	1993-1994
Young	1991-1992

* Athletes who are still 18 through the final day of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships are eligible to compete in the Young Men's and Young Women's divisions through that meet. This extended eligibility does not apply to cross country events.

RACE DISTANCES

Race Divisions

Boys Races 3,000 Meters Bantam 3,000 Meters Midget 4,000 Meters Youth 4,000 Meters Intermediate 5,000 Meters Young

Girls Races 3,000 Meters Bantam 3,000 Meters Midget 4,000 Meters Youth 4,000 Meters Intermediate 5,000 Meters Young

What do I receive with my Building Better Bodies Youth Running Camp?

Expert Coaching, Training Schedule, Text and/or Email Support, Group Support, Informative Training Clinics, a Building Better Bodies Training Shirt , and a stronger, fitter, faster you !!! More Information HERE.

What is the cost ?
The 12 plus week session will only run you $100. Each race you enter and are photographed sporting your Building Better Bodies T-shirt will get you a $5 credit towards your next Run Camp, Boot Camp, or Circuit Class.

Since Paul covers most of the races in town, you should be able to receive this discount easily. Plus he has over 60,000 photos at AndyNoise.SmugMug.Com and his prices are very reasonable.

To compete in the USATF events, one must be a member of the USATF:

Why join USATF?

• Be able to compete in USATF events and be a member of the Bakersfield Distance Project.
• 10% discount in the USATF Online Store, including Nike Dri-FIT gear
• Subscription to Fast Forward magazine
• Access to enter exclusive members-only contests
• Sport accident insurance
• Special discounts and offers from over 25 companies
• and much more!

Membership Fees

	1 year	2 years	3 years	4 years
Adults:	$30.00	$55.00	$80.00	$100.00
Youth (18 & under):	$20.00	$40.00	$60.00	$80.00

When you join, please make sure you put down that you are a member of The Bakersfield Distance Project (USATF Club # 46-0902) so that you can compete in the team competition.

Besides the USATF membership, there will be race entry fees and traveling expenses that one must pay. For the away meets, we will hopefully do fund raising to defray some costs. Also the team will decide on what uniforms it wants and their will be a cost involved depending on the uniform desired

Please download the waiver/registration form HERE and print it out. Please bring the completed waiver/registration form to your first Bakersfield Running Camp Session. You may pay with a check made payable to Building Better Bodies or online via Pay Pal.

Breathing is a very natural activity

When you run, you get out of breath. This is normal. This is natural. Your body runs on oxygen, just as your automobile runs on gasoline. When you start to exercise--whether running, walking or any other physical activity--your muscles need more oxygen. The body meets this need by supplying oxygen-rich blood to the muscles. The lungs work harder to absorb this oxygen out of the air.

You get out of breath.

Without giving it much conscious thought, most runners breathe in a 2/2 rhythmic ratio. They take two steps as they inhale; they take two more steps as they exhale. While running very slowly, they often breathe in a 3/3 ratio. While running very fast, they might breathe 2/1, or 1/1, but 2/2 is much more common.

If you count breaths in and out and discover you are breathing with a different rhythm, don't worry about it. Adjusting your breathing pattern will not make you a better runner.

The same with whether you breathe through your nose or your mouth. Most runners naturally breathe through both. Famed New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard, when asked how runners should breathe, once replied: "Breathe through your mouth. Breathe through your nose. Suck the air in through your ears, if you can."

Your jaw should be relaxed, your mouth slightly open. The oxygen will come through your nose and mouth to your lungs, to your blood and to your muscles without you needing to give it a lot of thought. Breathing is a very natural activity--and so is getting out of breath when you run.

Eccentric training

The new rules - Jonathan Chang, a sports-medicine orthopedic surgeon in Monterey Park, CA. "Recent studies have shown that you spend three times as much energy walking downhill as walking up," he says. "It just doesn't feel as tiring." To wit, a 2007 study in the Journal of Sports Sciences showed that 3 days after one 30-minute downhill run, subjects had shorter strides, less range of motion, and muscle damage.

Here's why: Each descending step requires a so-called eccentric contraction, meaning you're actually lengthening your quad muscles as you contract them (weightlifters call such movements "negatives"). Ignore the eccentric side of things and you'll get that telltale thigh burn–and that morning-after-the-morning-after soreness. Luckily, eccentric training may be even better for you than previously believed. A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that soccer players who did eccentric exercises for their hamstrings rather than traditional leg curls saw increases in both their eccentric and overall hamstring strength.

The fix - You can get the same benefit for your quads, says Bill Roberts, medical director for the Twin Cities Marathon and an avid backpacker. "I always work step-downs into my routine before I leave on a trip. They do wonders for soreness." Find a 6- to 8-inch step, box, or stair. (You can work up to 10 inches, but start smaller. Wear a pack for a bonus workout.) Stand with both feet on the step, facing "downhill." Keep your arms at your sides. Balancing on your left foot, bend your left knee and lower yourself until your right heel touches the floor, then push back up. Alternate sides, doing 3 sets of 15 reps per side.

Simple solutions to protect 3 trouble spots

Sore knees You know lunges are good for you, but they can do a number on bum knees. No need to give them up: Dwight Daub, an assistant coach with the Seattle SuperSonics, often has his players do lunges with their front foot on an elevated surface–an aerobic step or small box–which strengthens the muscles around the knee without overly stressing it.

Shin splints "The shin muscle's sole purpose is to raise your foot upward every time you take a stride," says Soika. If you suddenly increase mileage after a winter of watching reruns of That '70s Show, you're in danger of stressing your shins. Soika's easy fix? Walk on your heels with your toes pointed up as high as you can for 90 seconds or longer; do 3 sets a day.

Weak ankles According to Justin Price, ankle sprains are directly related to the health of your feet–namely, the arch and the plantar fascia, the band of tissue that runs along the sole. Once those are strong and supple, they'll help your foot adapt to unstable surfaces and prevent rolls. Start by resting one foot on a golf ball, wearing socks, and rolling your foot over the ball for 1 to 2 minutes. Over time, you can start doing this "massage" by standing on the ball (just be sure to transfer your weight gradually). Switch sides.

The fix Try these two dynamic warmups for a few minutes each before shouldering your pack.

Skips with self-hug Do a standard high skip, bringing knees up to 90 degrees with each skip. At the same time, extend your arms out to the side (parallel to the ground) and then bring them in to hug your chest. Repeat both motions simultaneously.

Frankenstein walk With back upright, arms out in front of you, and palms down, walk forward straightlegged and try to touch your shins with your hands by bringing your legs up, not by bending over.

Extra Credit: The roll-up
Your core–the band of muscles around your midsection, including your abs and obliques–is the foundation for a proper body position in any sport. "You should always keep a neutral, tall pelvis, almost like a dog tucking its tail," says Dieffenbach. Once your middle gets tired (after, say, 6 hours on the AT), your posture will fall apart, and your body actually moves into new positions and angles–stressing your legs in abnormal ways. Dieffenbach suggests borrowing a move from Pilates: Lie flat on your back with your legs straight, arms parallel to the floor above your head. Inhale as you contract your abs, then exhale as you slowly roll your torso up, reaching for your toes. Hold for a few seconds, then slowly roll back to the floor. Do 10 reps.

Week One Of the BDC

08/08/09 - Big turnout this morning and glad to see many of you doing the 5 miler. Like to thank my buddy Steve for helping with the pacing too! I am uploading photos HERE. BRC results will be posted HERE if you wrote down your time. If I do not write your time down, send it to me along with the distance you ran to andynoise@yahoo.com. I also posted the complete results HERE & HERE.

08/07/09 - See you at Yokuts at 7am for the BTC Fun Run. Remember to get a stopwatch!

08/05/09 - On Thursday, we will be doing a tempo run based on your mile time from Tuesday. This Saturday, we will be meeting at Yokuts park for the BTC Fun Run at 7am. The upcoming week will be slightly different then most weeks due to two races that I have previously committed to shooting. Next week the Tuesday 6am will meet at Yokuts but the 6pm will be meeting at the BTC Summer Series 5k. Info HERE. This is the last of the six race series.

Thursday both 6am and 6pm sessions will be at Yokuts. On Saturday, we will competing at the McFarland Race of Champions 6k at 8am. Race info HERE.

08/04/09 - I want to thank all of you who signed up to day for the very first day of the Bakersfield Running Camp. If you have a friend who is interested, please bring them with you. One can enroll at any time and each session is 8 weeks from the time you enroll. This Thursday, we will preview the "Nickel and Dime to a Good Time" system. Then on Saturday, we will participate in the BTC Fun Run at Yokuts park at 7am. BTC Fun Run FaceBook HERE.

Today, we went over the Big Yokuts Loop (Map HERE) which is 1.2 miles and then we did a mile time trail to see were you are at.

08/03/09 - Practice starts this Tuesday (8/4/9) at 6am at Yokuts Park. Camp meets Tuesday and Thursday at 6am and 6pm. Also meets on Saturdays at 7am. Saturday we will be running the BTC Fun Run.

Yokuts Park Fun Run - A chance to get in a little speed work, practice racing, or just show off your new running gear. These low key out and back trail runs occur on the second Saturday of almost every month and feature no entry fees and no awards. Just show up around 6:45 to sign up to run a 1,2,3, or 5 mile course. The 1 mile starts at 7:00, and the 2,3,5 mile courses start after we all finish the 1 mile. Yokuts Park at 7am.

What is the Running Camp?

The goal of Building Better Bodies Runners Camp is to create a Group Running environment where almost anyone can improve their level of fitness and their running or walking ability, and learn to incorporate running into their very own Fitness Lifestyle. Our Running Camp will be coached by Paul Anderson (a.k.a. Andy Noise) along with myself and competitive runners and walkers from the Bakersfield Distance Project.

Paul was a triathlete (He won the first Bakersfield triathlon) and a sub three hour marathoner, who also ran in high school and college. In recent years, he has coached at the high school level and started his own USATF running club (The Bakersfield Distance Project) and took up marathon walking. Lastly, he has been covering the local running scene via his website AndyNoise.Com since 2006.

There are several programs available in the Camp, designed to accommodate virtually any fitness level and endurance endeavor. The program is based on the Run/Walk method, and each session is 8 weeks long, 3 days per week, for a total of 24 sessions. The camp will be held at Yokuts Park unless designated otherwise. The days are Tues and Thurs at 6 AM and 6 PM at Yokuts Park and Saturdays at 7 AM at the Panorama Bluffs or at local races.

For those who do not have a specific race goal, the program will prepare you for races from the 5k to the half marathon. As part of the camp, we will be competing in and supporting our local running races. For those interested in running a marathon or have a goal race in mind, the coaches will design a program for you. For races up to a half marathon, at least 8 weeks of training is needed. For the marathon, a minimum of 16 weeks is needed to have a positive marathoning experience.

What do I receive with my Building Better Bodies Running Camp courses?

Expert Coaching, Training Schedule, Text and/or Email Support, Group Support, Informative Training Clinics, a Building Better Bodies Training Shirt , and a stronger, fitter, faster you !!! More Information HERE.

What is the cost ?
Each 8 week session will only run you $100. The 16 week marathon training session is $190. Each race you enter and are photographed sporting your Building Better Bodies T-shirt will get you a $5 credit towards your next Run Camp, Boot Camp, or Circuit Class.

Since Paul covers most of the races in town, you should be able to receive this discount easily. Plus he has over 60,000 photos at AndyNoise.SmugMug.Com and his prices are very reasonable.

Register for the Bakersfield Running Camp HERE.

Andy Noise A.K.A.

Since 1987, I have been know as Andy by most. Especially by the younger crowd. First it was for my alternative record store and then it was for my running website by the same name. The name came from my college radio days, my handle was Andy Noise. Andy was short for Anderson and well I played what many considered Noise.

Before Andy Noise, I was known as Paul Anderson, the runner by many. I started running daily way back in 1979, when I gave up team sports to run track in my sophomore year. I was riding the pine and in mid-season I quit the baseball team and went out for track. At the last meet of the year (league meet at BC stadium) I broke 5 minutes for the mile (yes we ran yards and miles back then) and I was hooked for life.

Right from the start, I was interested in road racing and started running the local races. I also started reading everything I could find about running. I wanted to know the history and how to get faster (Sure wish google was around back then). In the fall of my junior year, I ran cross country for Highland for the very first time. I had some success and got my 3 mile time into the low 17s but I found out that I was really suited for much longer races.

So that winter, I continued my running education and decided to run the BTC marathon in February of my junior year. I did not have a coach but there were quite a few older athletes in town who were running sub three hour marathons and I asked as many questions as they were willing to answer.

I put in a lot of miles but I definitely did not do long enough runs. But at 16 I was on the starting line of my first marathon and I was ready. The early miles felt easy and the first lap of the race with the half marathoners was real easy. I was cruising along at 6 minute or so pace and thought this is easy.

But then the halfers went on to finish and it got lonely on foggy second lap of the course. I was good to go but the pan flat course around the streets near CSUB were starting to take their toll on my legs. I had just learned another marathoning lesson.

One, do not go out with the halfers and two, do not run a flat course. A flat course is fast but you use the same muscles in the same way for hours. A few hills makes things a lot easier.

At twenty miles or both these lessons came to fruition. I hit the wall, my 6 minute pace became 10 minute pace. I went through 20 miles in a little over 2 hours but the next 6 miles would take an hour. As I struggled to the finishline, my dream of breaking three hours was fading fast. In the end I ran 3:01 and was crushed. To break three hours one has to run 6:52 pace for 26.2 miles and I did not.

My senior year I got faster and was under 16 minutes for the 5k consistently. I even ran 15:10 on my home 3 mile course at Highland and run a 34 minute 10k too. So I expected big things at the BTC Marathon in February of 1981 but I did a repeat of the previous year and died even worse this time and ran 3:03.

Then during track season, I had a minor bike accident, whose impact would be felt for years. I hurt my hip and to this day it has never felt right and at times hurts a lot. This injury did not get in the way of my running for the most part. It just made it uncomfortable at times when I was not running more then when I was running.

What did bother it was running on the track so my senior year, I curtailed my track competition and started to focus on road racing even more. As a graduation present to myself, I went to the Lompoc marathon and finally got my sub three. I ran a smarter race and ended up running 2:55.

Then I went of to UC San Diego and ran cross country there for two years before pursuing triathlons. I ran on the varsity squad both years and after my sophomore season I ran my fastest marathon, at the San Diego race where I ran 2:50 and qualified for Boston.

too be continued ...

What To Expect at the Running Academy

In conjunction with Building Better Bodies Boot Camp,
I am starting a running/walking program for athletes of all abilities. The goal is to help athletes meet an endurance performance goal. My focus is to train athletes to complete half marathons (13.1 miles) and beyond. There are a couple local upcoming events to choose from:

November 14

BTC Half Marathon Part 2 - 13.1 mile and 5K events. Check the webpage for all of the fun details. Online registration is available at Active.com. Or you can download a printable entry form.

December 5

Mr. Toads Wild Run - 5K, 20K Trail Runs starting at the Sheriff's Department shooting range in Hart Park, Bakersfield

Along the way, we will be competing at other local events that are shorter in distance. The running
academy will meet at 6am and 6pm on Tuesdays and Thursday at Yokuts Park. We will also meet at 7am on Saturdays at various locations including races. You will be able to enroll in the academy at BuildingBetterBodies.Com.

Besides enrolling in the academy, you will need a few items:

1. Good running shoes (I can help you pick some out).
2. Running clothes.
3. A watch with stop watch capabilities. I recommend the Timex Ironman Watch HERE.
4. An Open Mind.
   
   

One other item that I highly suggest is a Garmin GPS Watch HERE, they are amazing training tools and well worth the money!

Since we only have a hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we will be moving the whole hour. Our schedule will be an active warm up, the main workout and a cool down, I really want to get an entire hour of running/walking in. On Saturdays, we will be having much longer workouts planned. In fact, before your event, we will have a workout as long as your expected finish time in the event.

too be contined ...