Last Speed workout before the Honolulu Marathon this Thursday. Let's take action and stay focused on the prize!

Champion Running Group! We will meet this Thursday at 5:30pm at Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountainside, diamond side). We will start with a dynamic warm-up and then go into a 41 minute countinuos Farlek speed workout where you will Alternate between 2 minutes hard and 3 minutes hard for 41 minutes with a 1 minute jog rest between each hard iteration of running. Finish w/ a 9 minute cool-down jog. The Word for the day is the TAKE ACTION! In life, in training, and in racing; decide to not settle for comfortable compromise. Instead, take Critical Action and put the success of the mission ahead of personal comfort and convenience! Daniel Kolenda, in his book, "Live Before You Die," says: "Critical action almost always involves putting “boots on the ground,” taking risks and interacting with people in a way that makes one vulnerable. Critical action will almost always mean paying some price and sticking your neck out in some way. The comfortable compromise, on the other hand, always consists of more talking than walking. It allows us to stay safe, makes us feel good about ourselves, and keeps us busy, but it produces very few actual results. Simply put, the comfortable compromise is an action that serves as a substitute for the critical action. It is a cheap imitation, a second-rate alternative; an easy way out. I say that comfortable compromise is more problematic than procrastination because when we procrastinate, at least we know that something is still lacking. But the comfortable compromise allows us to pacify our conscience, feeling as though we have fulfilled our obligation though in reality we have accomplished only a fraction of our potential, or perhaps none at all." The scriptures remind us to take action: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James 2:14-17 And again: "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24 I hope this blog finds you healthy and inspired to take action in life and in your running goals. - Dr. Nate

Tomorrow Night reverse pyramid speed interval workout, read blog for full details

Champion Running Group: please meet at Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountainside/Diamond) this Thursday night at 5:30pm. Those that have been coming for the past year, please print out this workout and put everybody through the following…. Before main workout perform at least an 8-10 minute jog followed by a dynamic warm-up with drills and 4 x 100 meter stride out accelerations. Main workout is a Reverse Pyramid Interval Speed workout of: 6:00 min – 4:00 min – 3:00 min – 2:00 min – 1:00 min – 2:00 min – 3:00 min – 4:00 min – 6:00 min. Rest should be slow 3-minute jog between each hard interval. Cool-down with a slow 8-10 minute jog and 10 minutes of static stretching (holding each stretch 30 seconds). Once again, I will not be at the workout due to being in Kailua. Please let me know if you are going to be at the workout and if you have any questions about training; since many are in full marathon training and racing mode. Good news! I’m training consistently again and prepping to race a 5k in 2.5 weeks and a 10k in Japan at the end of the month. Been running with and training Polina a lot lately and she is pushing me, which is great! All the workouts I give you this month are geared for anybody that is racing distances from 10k up to Half-Marathon. The workouts will increase to more volume in October. Good luck in your training and racing the rest of the week and this weekend! Windward Half and 20k coming up! Thought for the Day: For what purposes do you run and live life? If your joy is completely tied up in what you do or in someone else, your joy can be taken away in an instant. However, if your joy is tied up in what Jesus Christ has done for you and that He has created you for a purpose and that He loves you no matter what…then you will always have joy! The Scriptures remind us: “…do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” 1 Corinthians 9:23-26. - Dr. Nate

Workout tomorrow night 5:30 at Ala Moana Park: 30 minute tempo run. Important info about the group in this blog! Please read!

The Champion Running Group will continue to meet...unfortunately I will no longer be able to make it to Ala Moana Beach Park for the group due to now living in Kailua and conflicting work and commuting schedules. I have been trying to make it work for the past 3 months but it is not working for me during the week. I will continue to post the entire workout every week. Please continue to meet at the same time and place. I am hopeful that at least one time per month we can all meet in Kailua as a group on a Thursday night so I can be there and coach and help everyone out! Plus, Thursday night Kailua has an awesome night farmer's market with lots of food vendors! This Thursday Night's workout 5:30pm at Ala Moana Beach Park (behind tennis courts, mountainside) is a dynamic warm-up consisting of walking high knee pulls, walking lunges, running butt-kicks, running high knees. Then perform 6 reps (50 meters) of progressive stride-out accelerations to get the leg turnover going. The main workout is a 30 minute hard sustained tempo run at half-marathon goal pace. Finish the workout w/ a slow 10 minute cool-down jog and 10 minutes of static stretching (hold each stretch 30 seconds). This workout is great to prep for the 20k or the Windward Half-Marathon next weekend! I will be on the course biking around to cheer people on during the Windward Half-Marathon. Hope to see a few of you there! Polina is running the Half. I am proud of everyone that comes out to the Champion Running Group every week and runs hard. Everyone has improved so much and I enjoy meeting new people too! It pains me to not be there to encourage and direct the workouts but this is for the better and hopefully we can start doing more in Kailua soon. Inspirational word for the day: Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, working for the Lord God and not for the approval of Men. Honor God with your talents and your running, He has blessed you with abilities and talents. You can live your whole life trying to please others but you never will please everybody. However, God is already pleased with you because He created you and accepts you for who you are no matter what you have or have not done. Take the pressure off yourself to gain approval from others and live for an audience of ONE (God). - Dr. Nate

The Difference between those that are Champions in life and those that remain Amateurs

"Scientists say that the important difference between people who become champions and the people who study all their lives and remain amateurs is that the champions never stop learning from their mistakes and never stop challenging themselves to do something more difficult.  They may even spend a long time learning.  Sometimes they will try things that are too hard and they will fail, but they will find a way to use that failure to succeed." 

 - Dr. Tim Storey in Utmost Living: Creating and Savoring Your Best Life Now

Think like a champion, believe that you are a champion, live like a champion, and be a champion.  Run the race of life to win!

Good luck to all that are racing the North Shore Marathon and then the Hapalua Half and the Lanikai Tri next weekend!  Don't be afraid to go to new levels you've never been before!

- Dr. Nate 

Thursday night Run Group: Dynamic warm-up followed by 12 x 400-meter repeats with 1 minute rest between each. End with 10-16 minute cool-down. Everyone is welcome to come out for a speed workout as a final tune-up before the Great Aloha Run. Meet at 5:30pm at Ala Moana beach park behind the tennis courts (mountainside/Diamond). - Coach Nate

Champions are Birthed in the Mind

“If your thoughts are filled with a fear and worry, your life will be unstable, anxious, and insecure.  If you think only of the bad things that can happen, the good things will pass you by.  If you think you don’t deserve to win, you’ll never come in better than second.  And you won’t enjoy even that…Go for the gold, and don’t be surprised when you get it.” 

- Dr. Tim Storey

Champions imagine success before it happens!

“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8, NIV).”