Monday, January 25, 2010

Meet the Go the Distance Team

In a couple of my previous posts I made mention of the Go the Distance Team that has been assembled and is responsible for putting this event together and I thought it would be a good idea to introduce some of the key members.

There are really two teams at work right now. First, there is my personal team, my handlers. They are responsible for caring for me during the event and making sure I have what I need to continue for 24 hours. Second, there is the team of Franklin parents who are putting in many hours to ensure this event will meet the goals we are reaching for.

My Handlers:

Ron Bomhoff – If there is one person you would want in your corner taking care of you as you push yourself to the limit why not choose the person that has been taking care of you from day one. My Dad has crewed for me on many of my races and is not only knowledgeable of the trials of ultrarunning but he also has a very good sense of my condition during the runs. He will ultimately be the one responsible for monitoring my weight, electrolyte levels, hydration, calorie composition and overall health during the event. Decisions will be made here.

Kevin & Stacy Guerrero – (Sister and Brother-in-law) Stacy and Kevin have crewed for me at some of my longer races and know what to expect on April 22nd-23rd. Stacy was there for possibly my most difficult race and has seen the physical and emotional highs and lows a runner goes through in a long run. Kevin is an EMT and is known for his attention to detail. He will likely also be tracking my health by watching my electrolyte intake, weight, hydration, calories and split times. All this information will be charted and routine medical checks including blood pressure will be performed throughout the day and night just as a precaution.

Sheri Bomhoff – Like Stacy, Sheri has also been at enough races to understand what is needed and when. Sheri is multi-tasking and also will be in charge of some of the events scheduled to take place Thursday evening at the track. It is no coincidence that my handles are all family. Who else is going to stay up all night long and remain totally focused on making sure I have everything I need. Anybody?

The Event Management:

Gina Anixter – (Event Planner) – Gina is responsible for everything beyond this event being a guy running in circles for 24-hours to raise money for the school. (which is what it was when I first pitched the idea) Gina, an accomplished runner/triathlete herself, immediately came on board as the PTC liaison and began to get the wheels turning to make this a very special school event. She has been and will be involved in every aspect of the planning, fundraising and logistics of the event.

Kari jo Clark – (Public Relations / Marketing) Kari jo is putting the word out that there is an exciting event happening at Franklin School and has already distributed the first press release to all major media in the Sacramento area. In addition she has targeted local Loomis and Granite Bay community media and social groups to bring in interest from the entire community. When you see the news trucks at our school or the article in the paper you’ll know who is behind it.

Racine Shaw- (Treasurer) Racine is the PTC Treasurer and is working hard to figure out some of the details in setting up the online donation and registration issues and in accounting and reporting. This is one of those behind the scenes jobs that typically doesn’t get the credit it deserves given the amount of work that goes into it so thank you Racine! I had no idea how hard it was to collect money!

Michelle Guardino – (logistics Coordinator) Michelle will have her hands full on the day and the evening and the next day of the event. Her job as the Logistics Coordinator will be to take all the great events we have planned for the 2 days and figure out how, when and where to make them happen. I think we found the right person for the job! I’ve promised her it will be fun!

Andy Clark – (Emcee / Medic) – Andy has offered his talents both as the voice of the event and as a medic. I’m looking forward to hearing his skilz with the microphone but hope not to need his expertise as a medic. It will be nice to have him there as we do intend to have a trained medic on site for the full 24 hours. We’ll have to give him a cool DJ name too. Any suggestions?

Clint Nelson – (Corporate Sponsorship) Clint is also an experienced runner and triathlete and is working to attract athletic sponsorship and to partner with athletic promoters to support our event.

Lori Jorgensen, Connie Mancasola – (Assemblies and student involvement) We currently have two or three assemblies planned for Walk Toward Health Week. Lori and Connie will bring in individuals that will educate, motivate and entertain the kids about health and fitness. We are hoping to have assemblies at both the beginning and end of the event and involve the kids as much as possible.

Erika Small – Erika has become very involved in the planning of the event and is also doing some soliciting for Corporate Sponsorship and special guests. I understand she has some other tricks up her sleeve but I don’t know what those are yet. Surprise me!

Kristin Arietta – (Dinner auction) As you may know, Kristin has taken on the major task of putting on the Dinner Auction on March 20th. Somehow she has also found the time to be at our planning meetings and provided her valuable input. We intend to promote and raise money for this event at the Auction. Kristin is working with us on how that will be done and has come up with some great ideas. (I’m not crazy about that idea of wearing the running shorts to the Auction though!)

Ann Baker – (guidance and consultant) – Ann is our PTC President and has also been kind enough to be a part of this event and offer her wealth of knowledge and experience. This being my first fundraiser, having her direction has been invaluable.

Steve Stahlberg – (Sponsorship Consultant) Steve has provided his valuable insight to soliciting corporate sponsorship and helped mold our approach to fundraising. He is pretty well connected too!

There are many others who probably deserve to be on this list for their input. I have a long list of Franklin parents and friends who have offered their assistance. That kind of support is not only appreciated, it is also necessary. We will need many volunteers on the day or days of the event to pull the whole thing off and to tell you the truth that’s one thing I’m not worried about right now. Based on the feedback I’ve received from this community I have no doubt that we will have more than enough people coming forward to help make this happen.

I wanted to put this together to thank the people who have stepped up to put this event together. It has been a constantly evolving process where new ideas are implemented and new connections are made that shape the event. I’d welcome anyone who has an idea, a business sponsorship connection or who just wants to help to contact me at greg@gothedistancerun.com.

Gotta Run,

Greg

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Running a Fine Line -

Until now I have never trained for a race where I had to make it to the starting line. I have always prepared for the big races with the intention of lining up in top physical condition or not at all. Sometimes that meant training through those nagging injuries and hoping they would get better before race day. When preparing to run for 24-hours you are constantly running a fine line between maximum training and overuse injuries. It is just the nature of the beast. There will be aches and pains, legs muscles will be sore and those first steps of the day will always be a little slow. Knowing the difference between normal soreness and early signs of an overuse injury is the key.

For the first time in my life I’m training for an event where it is imperative that I get to the starting line and it has me thinking. Although I have every intention of being in the best shape of my life on April 22nd it is even more important for me to stay healthy and injury free over the next 3 months. I can't back out of this event if training doesn’t go my way. My training had been slow and steady from October thru December and my legs always felt good even on the longer weeks. As of January 1st , I flipped the switch and the serious training began (see blog post below). Over the last two weeks I have run nearly 200 miles. Four of those days I did runs of over 25 miles. All those miles were under an 8 minute mile pace and about half were under a 7 minute mile. The speed and distance has jumped considerably and the legs have taken notice.

I am still running that fine line but I need to reconsider the balance point in my training philosophy. I am paying more attention to those little aches and pains than I had in the past. At the moment everything feels as it should and I have no intention of slowing down. There is a dull aching in my legs, I’m asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow and I’m running farther and faster week after week. These are all indicators that the training is working. With that in mind I’ll press on but cautiously. I will not hesitate to take a few days off at the first sign of injury. Being in the best shape of my life will mean nothing if I can’t Go the Distance due to injury. Run smart!

“In order to finish first, you must first finish!”

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Time to flip the switch

It is the beginning of January and I have been training specifically for this event for a little over 2 months now. All the training I have done up to this point has just been preparation for what I’m about to put my body through over the next 110 days.

My first blog post (below)was a summary of how I plan to prepare for this run. I have kept to the plan and ran consistently each week. My weekly mileage started out at 45 miles per week and gradually increased to 90 miles last week. The runs have been easy and I’ve had very little soreness or fatigue as a result of the slow steady miles. That’s about to change! Starting this week I’ll flip the switch and begin training at a new intensity. The short runs will be at a much faster pace and the long runs will have me out there for 4-7 hours. If all goes as planned, the intensity and distance will continue to increase week after week until I reach a peak about a month before Go the Distance. The weekly milage in the three weeks leading up to the peak will be well over 100 miles with a weekly long run in the 35-50 mile range. Better keep the hot tub warm!

As I’m writing this description about my training, I noticed the similarities between how I’m preparing for this run and how the Go the Distance team is preparing to make this event something special.

Me: I’ve begun slowly building the miles in the initial months to lay the foundation for the heavy work I’m about to do. I have studied the event and analyzed split times. I have worked on my pace plan and fueling plan with regard to my calorie composition, fluid intake and electrolyte intake.

Team: The first couple of months have been about organizing and putting together a good plan and a good team to get it done. The website and social networks are in place, the press releases are prepared and we are ready to release this thing to the public.

Me: It is time for the running to increase in intensity and distance until March 22nd.

Team: With the groundwork in place, the Go the Distance team is ready to begin the real work. They will introduce this event to media and begin working with Corporate Sponsors and Local Businesses to build the event into something special.

Me: After March 22nd my mileage will decrease and I’ll focus on recovering and being fresh and ready for the event. I will also use this time to fine tune my pace charts and go over all the details with my handlers that will take care of me during the run.

Team: In the last 30 days the team will also be fine tuning the varied elements of the event. If we are successful in bringing interest to the event there will be many details that will need to come together on the day of the run.

Me & Team: It will be the culmination of 6 months of planning and preparation that will make the event a success. There are no shortcuts! At 8:50 on Friday the 23rd of April we will all be satisfied that we gave our best and hope that we have made a difference to the children of Franklin school and the community as a whole. Then we will rest.