2011 Marathon and Half Marathon Training Program

Welcome to A Running Experience Club’s Marathon and Half Marathon training program geared towards the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon (LBICBM) events which will take place on Sunday, October 9, 2011. We at AREC are committed to providing you with a detailed training program in addition to experienced leadership and advice, motivation and the mental preparation necessary to accomplish this courageous goal.

The training runs will commence on Saturday, May 14 at 7:00am in the parking lot adjacent to Joe’s Crab Shack located at 6550 E. Marina Dr. in Long Beach, and will continue every Saturday thereafter at 7:00am until race day, unless otherwise noted on the following page. Suggested training programs for both the full and half marathon distances are outlined on the provided tables with columns for daily and total weekly mileage, and rest days. Our Saturday “long runs” are definitely the most important part of the training, though the remainder of the schedule may be modified as needed to fit any hectic lifestyle.

Following certain Saturday training runs outlined on the next page, we will also be offering valuable information through seminars/clinics with guest speakers in the fields of holistic chiropractic/sports medicine, podiatry, foot type/shoe selection and sports yoga. You will notice a couple of location changes and races to spice things up a bit, so put these on your calendar as well. A weekly e-mail will be sent out to all participants with the upcoming route’s course description and a web link to the course.

Participation in the program is only $25 per individual (or $40 per household) and includes membership in AREC (covering Jan. – Dec.), a club technical t-shirt, a monthly newsletter, all of the organized club runs, a pre-marathon pasta party, social events and much more! Membership may be handled online from the club’s web site (www.arec-lb.com) or a form printed out and turned in. Checks should be made out to AREC and sent to the address on the filled-out form or presented at any of the training runs.

Please be aware that a full marathon (26.2 miles) is really not for the beginning runner. Ideally, one should have been running for at least 3-6 months and be currently running at least 15 miles per week prior to starting this program. If you do not meet this benchmark, you might want to consider training for the half marathon (13.1 miles) instead. If you are unsure, we can discuss your most appropriate option.

For further information regarding the training program or if you have any specific questions, please contact club President and Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) certified coach, Todd Rose by phone at (562) 252-6462, or e-mail him at toddrunsarec@aol.com. We look forward to assisting you in this potentially life-changing experience!

And don’t forget about AREC’s year-round Wednesday evening fun run/walk, and Saturday morning trail runs from November through April. Go to the AREC home page at www.arec-lb.com for details. We hope to see you soon and keep on running! All the best,

The A.R.E.C. Board of Directors

Special Dates on the Training Schedule

1. May 28 - We have invited Naturopathic Doctor and Licensed Acupuncturist Evie Katahdin to speak to us again this year following our 4 and 6 mile scheduled runs about sports nutrition. Subjects will range from planning what to eat before, during and after runs; sports drinks and supplements; carbo-loading; eating well to fuel your life and runs; and losing or gaining weight during training. Learn more about Dr. Katahdin at www.drkatahdin.com and www.AthletiZen.com.
2. June 11 - The half and full marathon trainees are going to find out where their fitness levels are today by running the Wrigley River Run 5K or 10K, respectively. The race is in Long Beach and registration can be handled online at www.wrigleyriverrun.com or by sending in one of the entry forms provided on Saturdays. This will also give you good experience as to what races are like (preparation, crowds, pacing, etc.) albeit on a much smaller scale than the LB Marathon. Let’s all get out there and support each other!
3. July 2 - Plan to stick around after our scheduled 6 and 10 mile runs to listen to Dr. Michael Day, a Holistic Chiropractor and Sports Medicine doctor in Long Beach, speak about injury prevention and functional warm ups / cool downs to prevent injury. The seminar should begin at about 9:00am, although he will be there earlier for those 6 milers that are not able to stick around until then. Learn more about Dr. Day at www.daywellness.com. Don't miss this!
4. July 16 - Following 6 and 10 mile runs, Long Beach Podiatrist Dr. Richard Graves will be returning this year to provide valuable information about common running injuries (especially foot-related), diagnosis, treatment and prevention which every runner can benefit from. The seminar should begin at about 9:15am, but he should be there earlier for those 6 milers. Learn more about Dr. Graves at www.drrichardgraves.com. Another can't miss!
5. August 13 - AREC's own Public Relations Officer, Nadine Echeverry, will be presenting nutritional information about Clif Bar products and their benefits during various forms of exercise after our scheduled 8 and 12 mile runs. Nadine began working Expos for clif at the beginning of the year and will have some goodies/giveaways as well. Things should get started around 9:40am.
6. August 27 - Six weeks prior to your goal race is a good time to do a competitive run equaling about half the distance of said goal race to force you to run at peak speed and again provide immediate feedback related to your fitness level. Therefore we will be simulating 10K and ½ Marathon races starting and finishing at Joe’s. Treat this like a real race: prepare like you would leading up to the race; eat properly, get up early, arrive early, warm up with easy jogging, stretch and be ready to run hard at 7:00am!

This page created on March 31, 2010, and updated to 2011 on March 30, 2011 by ED Rahl.