Bank of America Chicago Marathon closing in....

I apologize for the huge lag between blog posts here. It has been a very busy summer for sure...

Today I attended the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Charity Operations meeting with Mike Reninger and Terri Devine-Ford. I tell you what - You would never believe how much work something like this is. The planning, the details, the last minute curve balls, the amount of people.... It's just mind boggling. We are truly grateful that the people at Bank of America, and the countless voulnteers, have dedicated their time and effort to such a huge undertaking.

So we went over many many details. Necessary as they are, it did become a bit monotonous.But we got to a point in the meeting when we began to discuss the effects of the crowd, different sections set aside for special groups in certain locations, and Charity Mile. This is when I snapped back to attention.

I have only run one other official marathon, and that was the University of Okoboji Marathon out in Okoboji, IA. There were barely any spectators whatsoever. I have run many training runs on my own of 26.2 miles or more, but never another official marathon.

In fact, in most of the ultras that I run, I can go for hours without seeing one person. Then, when I do, it’s usually my crew and the same 10 other people that are crewing for the other runners that are running near my pace. Not that I would ever get sick of seeing their ugly mugs, but c’mon!! A little variety wouldn’t hurt!! Haha….Just kidding of course.

So needless to say, I am most excited about just experiencing the crowd at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this year. I am almost certain that I began my speed work too late in my training to realistically keep my goal of a sub-3hr finish in my sights. So today, I made a promise to myself to just run at a pace that I feel comfortable at, try to evangelize UFD along the way to anyone who will listen, and just take it all in. I think the crowd will really make the experience exciting for me in particular.

So we’d love to hear - How are you feeling? What are your goals? What are you looking forward to the most? Let us know!

We are very excited and ready to make this another successful race for everyone involved….

Training Reminder and info on this weekend's run

I would like to make sure that you all fully realize at this point the challenges of the marathon and the work it will take to successfully finish the Race.

If you do not currently have a training program in place, please contact me at 312-907-6213 or nming@burnhamnationwide.com. You can also click here for Nike's Official Bank of America Chicago Marathon Training Program.

For those of you heading out for the run this weekend, I ran the course yesterday. It's half single track trails with various mud, roots and rocks along the way. If you have a pair of trail running shoes I would wear those. If you don't, it shouldn't be a big deal to just wear your road shoes. Just be aware that they may get muddy.

The other half is a very nice, wide, and scenic crushed gravel path. It's a total of about 8.5 miles. I would like to try to stick together so nobody gets lost, but if someone does get lost, we will be following the YELLOW trail markers. If you click here you can see the feedback from my Garmin from my run on the course yesterday. Click on the Player button on the top right for more details.

If you want to see the middle section of my 100 mile race (Garmin battery only lasts 8 hours), click here. Pretty interesting... Again, click on the Player button on the top right for more details.

Hope to see you Saturday!

National Running Day!

Today is National Running Day! Celebrate by - RUNNING today! Click HERE for a cool story from Time magazine. I'm currently reading this guy's book - Born to Run. I figured it would be good to read and get my mind focused on the Kettle Moraine 100 miler this weekend. Enjoy....

Team Runs

Attention Charity Athletes!

Below is the schedule for fun runs with the UPS for DownS Endurance Teams. Please join us for as many as you can. We will send out reminders prior to each run, but want you to get these on your calendars as we know they fill up fast!

We hope to see as many of you as possible. We will have some of our kids, teens and adults with their family and friends at each run to stretch with you at the start, man a water station along the route, or keep you company for a cool-down walk.

RSVP so we know who to expect. We'd like to know:

1. name

2. race (marathon, half marathon, triathlon)

3. current average pace

4. current running distance

All runs begin at 2 p.m. and should be finished by 4 p.m.

Links are provided with maps.

Saturday, June 13, 2009: Palos Forest Preserve in Willow Springs

Distance – 8.3 mile loop

MEET: at the end of the cul-de-sac between Maple Lake and Long John Slough.

MAP: http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=68&file=map_68l

Saturday, July 11, 2009: Busse Woods in Schaumburg

Distance – 7.7 mile loops

MEET: at the Busse Lake Boating Center

MAP: http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=36&file=rec_36b

Saturday, August 8, 2009: Springbrook Prairie in Naperville

Distance – 5.5 mile loops

MEET: Parking lot on North side of 83rd Street

MAP: http://dupageforest.com/preserve.aspx?id=4216

Saturday, September 19, 2009: Waterfall Glen (Argonne in Darien)

Distance – 9.8 mile loops

MEET: at the trailhead on the north side of the park, immediately south of 55 on Cass Ave.

MAP: http://www.dupageforest.com/preserve.aspx?id=4224

Saturday, October 3, 2009: Busse Woods in Schaumburg

Distance – 7.7 mile loops

MEET: at the Busse Lake Boating Center

MAP: http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=36&file=rec_36b

For specific details about the runs, email me, Nolan Ming at nming@burnhamnationwide.com

Training

Train with NIKE for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
NIKE’s Official 17-week Bank of America Chicago Marathon Training Program starts June 15 and is open to runners all over the world.

Chicago area runners have the opportunity to train with NIKE up to four days a week at various locations downtown and in the suburbs, including Fleet Feet Sports Piper’s Alley, Running Away Multisport, NIKETOWN, and Naperville Running Company. The complimentary group runs will offer an official Marathon training program in addition to 3, 5, and 7 mile routes. All weekend and most week day runs will be led by pacers.

Plus, now runners from Denver, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, and St. Louis also have the opportunity to train with NIKE twice a week at local area running stores, including Boulder Running Company, Second Sole, Gazelle Sports, The Running Company, and Fleet Feet Sports. For specifics on these and other locations, check out nikerunning.com/chimarathon/training.

Not from these areas? Runners across the country and around the world can train with Nike+. Use Nike+ Coach as your personal trainer to support you through an existing marathon training program or help you customize your own.

And, all runners can download Chicago Marathon training programs available in beginner, intermediate, and advanced formats at nikerunning.com/chimarathon/training.

Pace Calculator

Wondering what your pace is? CLICK HERE

Fueling

Athletes Who Experience Fueling Success: Of the athletes who have contacted us to report success (no fuel-related, performance-inhibiting problems and consistent energy levels), the following factors occur with reliable consistency:

* Fluid intake was under 30 fluid ounces/hour.
* Sodium intake was between 300mg and 600mg/hour, with 400mg/hr being the most often reported dose.
* Caloric intake less than 300 cal/hour.
* Moderate simple sugar intake, favoring complex carbs.
* Body weight at finish decreased no more than 2-3%.

Athletes Who Experience Fueling Failure: Athletes who suffered poor performance due to fueling-related problems reported consumption as follows:

* Fluid intake over 30 fluid ounces/hour.
* Caloric intake exceeded 300 cal/hr.
* Consumed primarily simple sugar-based fuels, causing stomach ailments.
* Sodium intake above 600 mg/hour.
* Body weight at finish was hyper-hydrated with weight gain from 1-2%, or dehydrated at over 3% body weight loss.

What you should derive from this data is that while there is no one-size-fits-all fueling formula. When it comes to fueling for endurance performance, less is best.

Still want to know more about Fueling? Check out more here, Proper Caloric Intake During Endurance Exercise

Thanks to Steve Born and Hammer Nutrition for sharing this information!