The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team In Training

Hello Athletes,

How is everyone doing?!  Kickin’ some A?

This email is coming from all of your Coaches and Assistant Coaches.  I won the coin toss and get to send it out, meaning i get to write it in my “style” — let me apologize for that right up front - !  You  Athletes are in the BCC since it is Spam-prevention 101.  BTW, if you find something objectionable, it must have been from the other Coaches!

Each week you will get an email from one of us with bits and bites of this and that.  Hopefully it will be informative and ever-so enthralling; so much so that you will actually read it all the way through?  Yes, that is actually a “dare”.  This week you have to read to the bottom to find out about Saturday.

Also, Let this email be your invitation to email us with all of your questions too.  If you are wondering about some something, so are 10 other athletes on our team so let’s start askin’ and answerin’.

In general, practice will start at 8 a.m. until the workouts get longer.  However, we will be at practice by 7:30 so come early and get a little 1-1 TLC, Q&A, OMG-GW (GuessWhat), face-time, extra stretching, etc.  Coach Jessica (JZ) is a Nutritionist by Trade and Training so come and chat her up @ 7:30 InRe: Nutrition.

WHAT TO DO:  10 things that popped into my head, hopefully only somewhat randomly.
1.  Don’t over-do:  Avoid injuries and stay healthy – not worn out.  Don’t worry about missing an occasional day.  But don’t try to make up the missed days from some week or month in some other week.  Too much is no good.
2.  Follow the schedule as much as possible.  Feel free to rearrange the days as life dictates.
3.  Life happens.  Enjoy the good stuff, minimize the bad stuff.  Going on Vacation?  GO, have fun.  Do what workouts you can.  Work with the Coaches to rearrange the schedule we have built and don’t let this be an overwhelming and all-consuming thing.  It is just part of your life – a GREAT PART.
4.  Rest.  Take your off-days seriously.  Sleep a little more and let your body recover and it will use the down-time to build strength, prepare for the next set of challenges.
5.  Eat healthy.  Eat breakfast, especially Saturdays.  More on this later.
6.  Have good workout shoes.  If there are financial troubles to achieve this, let us know and we can help figure something out.  Buy your workout shoes at a dedicated athletic shoe store:  Shoe Social at Run-With-Us is next week.  Come and learn, get a discount.  A week from Saturday we will have a shoe clinic at practice if you cannot get to the Shoe Social.
7.  Have good communication with your Coaches, Mentors, teammates, etc.
8.  Come to practice as much as you can, rain or shine, hangover or not.
9.  Practice at practice.  Now is the time to try out gear and foods and paces and anything else – NOT RACE DAY.
10.  Enjoy all this.  In 6 weeks your body will have started to make adjustments.  You will look back and be amazed at your growth and accomplishments.

Please read this part with your BEST Scottish Accent:
Mid Weeks – They are soooo important and may make the difference between a good race and a great race!
Strength and Flexibility Training
Will be every Tuesday at 6.30pm in either Arcadia or La Crescenta.
Bring workout gear, a yoga mat, free weights and water.
We will be sending out Evites or reminder emails for those locations and times.
{A Thursday Strength Training will be starting in a few weeks.}

Spinning
Every Wednesday at 6.45pm at Pedal Spin Studio in South Pasadena, 266 Monterey Rd, South Pasadena, CA.
This costs $10 per session and you need to Pre-Register at Pedal Spin Online before going to the class.
Go to http://www.pedalspinstudio.com/the-studio/south-pasadena and find the Wednesday 6.45-7.45pm class and sign up.
Our Campaign Manager Megan will be there starting from next Wednesday.  Please arrive 15 minutes before to set up your bike.

If you cannot make it to any of our midweek that is fine, but start carving out some time in your morning or evening calendar to do your own.  Do a workout video, go for a walk or run, swim, bike, crawl!  Whatever it takes to get it done.  Your body will thank you for it.

Exercise Tip of the Week
Learn Your Alphabet
Sit down on a chair or on the floor.  Cross one leg over the other so that one foot is free from the ground.  Start shaping out the lower case alphabet with each foot one at a time.  It will feel easy at first but as you get about 6 or 8 letters in your will start feeling all those little ligaments in your ankle start to wake up.  Go from A to L and then swap feet.  Then go back and do M to Z on both feet.

This is a great exercise to do everyday to work those really important tiny parts of your ankles and feet that don’t get moved very often.  Have fun with it and have your kids, partner, roommate join in and sing the alphabet song along with you.

SATURDAY:  WE WILL RUN IN PACE GROUPS.  Based on your data from last Saturday or what you have told us, we put you all in “piles” and on Saturday we will see if it is the right pile for you.  If it is too easy or too hard, you just move yourself up or back a pile until you are comfortable – and get away from that annoying pace leader Nivek – he is always blabbing on and on about some something!