Long Runs Useful Too

A few days ago I wrote about integrating 2-a-day runs into your relay training regimen. I don't know if anyone read Steve's comment to that post, but he chimed in with support of 2 or even 3 runs-per-day in prep for the relay.

I will continue to integrate those multiple runs into my daily workouts, but as I looked at the total mileage that will be required of each of us next weekend it occurred to me that the age old regimen of a weekly long run must still be an important part of our preparation. I wish I could report that I have a recent 16 or 18 miler under my belt, but I can't. I'm sure Holly has an 18 or 20 miler behind her and certainly she will have this weekend's marathon to count as an obvious long run. Ditto for Dorian, Fred and Jon with their recent marathons in Florida and Austin.

My Friday run was 9.75 miles and it does give me some assurance that the 18 or 19 miles I will be contributing to the TIR is not going to kick my ass. I feel right now, about 5 hours after finishing the long run, that I could go out and run another 9 miles or so, but I won't. It's time for bed now and then maybe a 2-a-day tomorrow.

Happy running. Let's take advantage of the cool weather which will break those trying couple of summer days we just had. It's anyone's guess what Mother Nature will give us for the race, and I'll write some gear reminders in the next post just to make sure everyone packs for the possibilities.

TIR Maps

If I can figure out how to post this, I am attaching a PDF file with all the maps.

GO HERE FOR MAPS

Like last year, each of you will have individual books with your legs and each van will have a complete set of maps.

At right is a poor nighttime picture of the safety vests being finished. I don't think that anyone will get missed coming by the vans this year (in honor of Steve).

The maps and timesheet will be finalized for printing this weekend. Any changes need to be completed ASAP for all the maps, van assignments, and driver instructions to be accurate.

Happy running, y'all!

TIR 2009 Leg Assignments

As Alan requested, here are the leg assignments, with [total mileage] calculated. There are some "creative" rotations, but I think in the end this makes the most sense. Again, recall that this is assuming an 11 runner rotation.

Denise 9, 13, 23 [12.19]
Holly 2, 14, 24 [14.97]
Liz 3, 12, 28, 37 [20.61]
James 4, 15, 26, 35 [18.9]
Dorian 5, 16, 27, 36 [20.42]
Fred 6, 17, 25, 34 [18.95]
Jonathon 7, 18, 29, 40 [19.63]
Steve 8, 19, 30 [15.66]
Brian 10, 20, 31, 39 [20.75]
Marie 1, 21, 32 [17.71]
Alan 11, 22, 33, 38 [21.88]

Yikes! Writing this down like this makes me worry about Marie's assignments. Sorry, I'll try to find some options.

Click here for the TIR website. Find the leg descriptions here.

The entire team instructions page can be examined here, including the Excel spreadsheet in case anyone wants to experiment with alternate runner rotations. However, I will warn you that for the most part these are not terribly negotiable at this late date.

James,
Could you post the leg numbers you are thinking of for each of us?
Alan

Workouts

Last year we all wondered what sort of workout would best prepare us for the multiple legs required of each runner. It's still a good question: how do you get ready to run 4-6 miles at some sort of competitive speed, then spend the next 7-8 hours riding around in a van, chasing and cheering your teammates, then running another 4-6 miles? How about it? Steve and I talked about it some last year and we both spent some preparation time doing 2 runs in a day. I believe Steve even did a few three-a-days. This still seems a good way to prep for the adventure we have ahead at this year's running of the TIR and it's what I will be doing over the week and a half ahead. I can't guarantee two-a-days every day, but I do intend to make my second run of today when I get off work at midnight. Earlier I ran a bit over 6 miles. I'll probably log another 4 miles before I head to bed.

I guess what we all remember from last year is how good we felt on the first, second, sometimes even the third leg. But the fourth was tough. I don't believe even our speedster Jonathon would deny it, though as I recall he burned up that 40th leg. We're counting on you doing that again for us, Jonathon.

Happy running all....once a day or more.

Lunch in Moulton

The San Antonio Van has been booked and reserved for James to pick-up on Friday, March 6th. As an added bonus, the Mid-Texas Symphony TIR Team will be served lunch in Moulton, TX. We will get the details more set in the next few days, but since I, Wrunner Wrangler, won't be around in person, I've enlisted a fill-in. My sister (James' sister, too) lives in Moulton, TX. She will be serving lunch to the team. So, one less thing to worry about!

Legs and mileage chart

I’ve been reworking our worksheet, planning an 11 runner scenario, and this is how it would look. I invite everyone on the team to examine this and let me know if you have any doubts or suggestions. Let’s understand that with the 11 runner configuration, 7 runners will run 4 legs each and 4 will run 3 legs each. In some cases, the 3 leg runners are asked to give some substantial mileage. Anyhow here’s the lineup:

Denise – 3 legs=12.19
Holly – 3 legs=14.97
Liz – 4 legs=20.61
James – 4 legs=18.9
Dorian – 4 legs=20.42
Fred – 4 legs=18.95
Jon – 4 legs=19.63
Steve – 3 legs=15.66
Brian – 4 legs=20.75
Marie – 3 legs=17.71
Alan – 4 legs=21.88

I intend to continue working through various configurations to better use the team strengths. It would seem logical to add a few more miles to Jonathon’s load, but it becomes somewhat tricky to do that while still giving him the down time he needs and allowing for him to run the anchor.

So, I guess the bottom line is that several of us will get a bit more mileage than I had originally intended, assuming we have to go with the 11 runner rotation. I have feelers out in a number of locations for a 12th runner, so we might all hope someone answers that plea. On the other hand, Jon wrote to me some time ago arguing that going with a 12 runner roster would diminish the challenge of last year’s race. Maybe this is circumstances coming to support Jon’s argument, at least presenting a compromise. Does this make you happier, Jon? (only kidding)

Runner Needed

Barring a last minute change in Maeve's coaching schedule, we are one female runner short for the TIR. No panic. We can always reassign roles and manage this with 11 runners. After all, we did it with 10 last year. However, if anyone knows a runner who might like to join us for a great time, please have them contact me by email jbaker4@satx.rr.com or james@tpr.org or they can call me at 210-834-1402.

Houston Runners

James,
Just confirming that I will be driving the other van from Houston on Friday afternoon.

Holly is meeting us at our house.
Jonathan, we will be heading out Hwy 10 about 3PM or so. Let us know if we can pick you up and where.

Way to go everyone.... this is nothing for all you marathon runners..... Holly, wow, 2 in the past 6 months.
I feel like a slacker running only the Houston half this year, substituting for someone last minute..1 hr 52mins after 10 days of training.Marie and I will be running the Houston Rodeo run, 10K this Saturday to warm us up for next weekend.

See you all soon

Alan

Oops! Cowtown Marathon - Holly

Editor's error in the previous post when I said Holly Murphy-Brackin would just be finishing the "Ft. Worth Marathon" as I wrote. In fact, it is the Cowtown Marathon, and it is next weekend, on the 28th of February. Holly, be sure to ice those legs when you're done so there's something left for the TIR.

Recent Race News

Talk about ambitious, how about Jonathon Hager, Dorian and Fred Ramirez, and Holly Murphy-Brakin all runnng marathons within the last couple of weeks? In fact, Holly is likely just finished in Ft. Worth, where she was running today (Sunday, 2-22). Holly also ran in the Rock'n'Roll San Antonio Marathon back in November, as did Denise and Brian Renaghan, Fred and Dorian, and myself. A fine race, BTW, and I would recommend it for everyone in 2009. Jonathon ran his first ever marathon in Austin a week ago at a time of 3:43:05. And, finally, Liz Pittel recently ran the 3M Half-Marathon in Austin, finishing 1:56:19, 6th in her age group. I ran the 3M as a relay with my 21 year old step-daughter and we had a fine time, though we couldn't keep pace with Liz.

T minus 2 weeks

Just a few things to share with you as we accelerate into the final two weeks of countdown to TIR 2009. First, we will be running with a considerably larger field this year. I talked to Jay Hillscher a week or so ago and he indicated something like 160 teams. I believe last year there were around 112. Also, and this is important, we have been assigned a starting time of 6:39. This puts us amongst the earlier starters, but I'm fine with this. Considering several personnel changes on our team, I frankly don't know if we can improve upon last year's finish time of 31:18:02, an average pace of 9:13, but I sure hope we will give it a shot.

Welcome to newcomers Dorian and Fred Ramirez. As of now, it still appears Maeve Goetz will not be able to run with us. She coaches track and the team has a meet that weekend. Come on Maeve. What's more important?

Brenda, the Wrunner Wrangler, has survived some surgery but will not be recovered in time to be with us. Nevertheless, she is working on van assignments and also on some decorative touches to our night running reflective vests. She doesn't know it yet, but I may still ask her to help with van rentals, at least with the rental which Steve and I will be driving. The other van will originate in Houston, and Alan and Marie Pekarik will be sharing the driving during the race. Thanks to Alan, Marie, and Steve for agreeing to help the team out in that way.

One other thing we should thank Brenda for are the hotel reservations she managed in Gonzales for Friday night, March 6. We've got four rooms, one of which offers two queen size beds and a sofa bed. I am proposing the following rooming arrangements:
Room 1: Alan and Marie
Room 2: Dorian and Fred
Room 3: Myself and ??
Room 4: Liz, Holly and our still to be announced 12th runner.
I'll post details on these rooms, the cost, etc. later this week. Denise, Brian and Steve - I assumed since last year you each chose to drive into Gonzales the morning of the race, that you will do the same this year. Not sure if we could have found any more Gonzales rooms, anyhow. That said, there might still be possibilities of rooms in Seguin. One last thing about the accomodations, and that is that Jonathon can room with me if that is most convenient.

Getting to Gonzales:
Alan and Marie will be driving one of the our vans over from Houston. I believe Holly has already made arrangements to catch a ride. Jonathon, depending on your needs, I am sure you could do the same, that is, catch a ride on the Houston van.

OK. I think this is all the important stuff for now. Again, I urge each of you to voice any ideas, concerns, etc. within this blog forum so we can smooth out any uncertanties as a team. I am not adverse to making the decisions and the plans; after all, I AM the captain. Nevertheless, I like the idea of democratising the process.

Oh...in case you are wondering, I have made leg assignments and will share all of that with you in a later post. Alan, Liz, Dorian and Jon have each agreed to run 4 legs each. The rest of us, assuming we resolve the issue of the missing 12th runner, will each run 3 legs.

Mid-Texas Symphony Runners

Welcome, Runners, to the Mid-Texas Symphony Runners' blog. I am hopeful that each of you will contribute to this online exchange, especially as we count down the final two weeks to the Texas Independence Relay. In reality, it is less than two weeks now. Two weeks from this evening, we will be in the middle of Texas, in the dark, making our ways to the shower and rest stop in Wallis and, ultimately to the San Jacinto Monument the following day. Even though we did it last year, therefore we know we can do it, I am still in awe at the challenge ahead.

My intentions with the blog are to facilitate exchange of information. That way it doesn't all have to pass through me, though I will certainly continue to send emails on the hottest topics so no one is left out of the loop. Please avail yourselves of the opportunity to place your own TIR/running related posts here. If anyone has difficulties with the process, let me know. I really hope everyone lends a voice to making this a successful means of communicating and in so doing gives a hand towards another successful running of the TIR.