Thursday workout: 5 x 1 mile repeats. Hope to see you at Ala Moana Beach Park at 5:30pm!

Champion Running Group! Thursday we will be running 5 x 1 mile repeats (goal is to run faster each repeat) with 2.5 minute jog rest between each mile. Workout will be followed by easy 2 mile cool-down run and stretching. Hope to see you at Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountainside/diamond) at 5:30 pm for an inspirational talk and dynamic warm-up before the run. Remember, think like a champion, live like you are a champion, and be a champion! Someone is always looking up to you and looking to you for help or inspiration: be someones champion this week! - Coach Nate

Dr. Nate's Champion Running Group Tomorrow Night (Thursday) at 5:30pm at Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountainside): Come out for some speedwork 5-6 x 800 meter repeats to start gearing up for upcoming 10k and Great Aloha races!

Polina and I are looking forward to running with everyone.  Invite a friend, all are welcome!

- Coach Nate

Above picture is from a 1500meter race I ran in 2008 at Pacific Lutheran University.

Running Group Tonight at 5:30pm at Ala Moana Beach Park

Aloha Champion Runners! Happy New Year! Our first run group of the new year will be tonight at 5:30pm in Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountain/diamond side). We will get a good warm up in and then perform 3-5 x 1000m to 1200meter interval repeats to get some leg turnover and the lungs challenged. Hope to see you there! Bring friends. Lets start our Great Aloha Run and Hapalua training off with a bang! Coach Nate update: Whew, I had a busy December! After the Honolulu Marathon I took a month off from running, moved to Kailua, spend Christmas and New Years on the mainland, got married, and went on a honeymoon. Excited to get back into a training routine with everyone. Just started running again yesterday and have been performing core and strength training. I'm feeling up to the challenge of 2014 and I want to challenge you to decide to not stay in the comfortable and stretch to the incredible when it comes to life and your training! - Coach Nate

No Running Group until January 9th, 2014 at 5:30pm...Enjoy the Holiday and see you next year!

Dr. Nate's Champion Running Group will NOT meet this Thursday. If runners want to meet to share marathon stories and do an easy run, I encourage that. We will take a break for the Christmas and New Year's Season and resume running group January 9th, 2014 at 5:30pm at the same place (behind tennis courts, Ala Moana Beach Park). I hope to see all of you and new faces this January to start training for the Great Aloha Run, Hapalua Half Marathon, and your next marathon. I looked at all the marathon results and scanned for everyone's names, great running! I'm a proud coach! I would love to hear your story about your Honolulu Marathon experience this past weekend. Please post on the Facebook group page or email me at championrunninggroup@gmail.com. What was your time? Was it close to a PR? How did you do in your age group? Any other interesting things that happended. I hope to write about my first marathon experience this month, it was quite interesting. I respect the marathon distance even more now. Merry Christmas and enjoy a few weeks off and let your body recover. God bless, Coach Nate

Inspirational Running Scriptures to Encourage You Before and During the Marathon

Inspirational Running Scriptures 

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

“But He [Go] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“Therefore we also, since we are surround by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy what was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:1-2

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).”

The mindset of Jesus when He went through suffering 
“…I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.” Acts 2:25-28

Racing Wisdom
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

- Coach Nate

Read this for Honolulu Marathon Racing Tips and also Come out this Thursday at 5:30pm for an easy run and Marathon discussion

We will be meeting this Thursday night 5:30pm at Ala Moana Beach Park (behind tennis courts, mountainside) for an easy 40 minute run and discussion on marathon racing tips and strategies. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come out. Below is some great Honolulu Marathon tips form Honolulu Marathon Hall a Famer and Legendary local distance running: Jonathan Lyau... "This year’s Honolulu Marathon is finally upon us. There is a certain strategy to doing well in this event. Here are some race day tips. Soon after waking up, eat a light breakfast that is high in carbohydrates and low in fat [at least 2.5 hours before start]. This should be food that you have found to have worked well before your long training runs. Don't try anything new. Stay normally hydrated. Drink two to three cups of fluid two hours before the race, then a cup 10-15 minutes prior. Dr. Alan Titchenal of the University of Hawaii says, “You can't water load like you can carbo load. Excess water just goes right through the body, increasing urine production. However, fluids consumed during the 15 minutes prior to the race start are likely to be conserved for sweat production rather than urine production because the kidneys slow down urine production during exercise. For those who usually consume caffeine on a daily basis, it may be best to drink most of the morning's caffeine-containing beverage in this 15 minutes prior, to avoid caffeine's ability to increase urine production. The kidneys don't seem to be affected by caffeine during exercise.” Smear Vaseline or BodyGlide on areas of your body that rub (underarms, thighs, toes, nipples, etc.). You won’t believe where you can chafe during the marathon. It can be a very uncomfortable feeling during and after. Before the start, line yourself up in the proper area with other participants who have the same time goal as you. If you line up with faster people, you probably will start off faster than you want to. Lining up with the right group will help prevent you from getting “sucked” out at a faster pace When the gun goes off, there will be a lot of excitement and adrenaline. The pace will feel much easier than you think it is. Go out conservatively. You need to feel like you are holding back. The start on Ala Moana Blvd. will be crowded and you may have a hard time moving until it spreads out. If your first couple miles are slower than your goal pace, don’t panic. Gradually make it up the time over the next several miles. Don’t try to make it all up in one mile. Also, don’t zig zag too much all over the road to try and pass people. You will only be burning extra energy and running extra distance. Begin taking liquids from the first aid station. This will be between 2 and 3 miles. Drink at every aid station along the course. Walk through these aid stations to make sure you are able to drink instead of spilling it.. If you want to run while drinking, the best way to hold the cup is to squeeze and cinch the top of the cup so that it leaves a small opening in the corner. Once you settle down into your pace, get into a rhythm. The first 7 miles are flat so check your pacing. At this point, if you are feeling “too good”, then you are pacing yourself properly. If you are starting to struggle with holding the pace, slow down. Remember that running too fast in the beginning will burn off your glycogen quickly. The sooner you burn off glycogen, the sooner you will slow down and the better chance you will have at “hitting the wall”. The key to a good marathon is running a conservative first half. Having a faster second half (negative splits) means that you paced yourself well and will feel good in the end. You will run faster with this strategy. A perfect example of this are the world records in the marathon. Both the men’s and women’s records were set by running negative splits. Miles 7-9 will be run up Diamond Head and probably into some headwinds. Your pace will slow because of this. Don’t try and force yourself to stay on goal pace. Keep your rhythm and maintain the same effort. You should be able to make up some of the time from miles 9-11 as you’ll have a downhill and flat terrain. If you plan on taking sports gels, it is somewhere between 7-10 miles that you want to take your first one. Wash it down with water instead of sportsdrink. You can continue taking sportsgels every half hour thereafter. Miles 11-18 will be run along Kalanianaole Highway and into Hawaii Kai. Headwinds are usually encountered here. This could slow your pace. The best way to stay on pace and conserve energy is to run with a pack. If you find a pack of people running at your pace, the work together by pacing off each other and helping maintain pace. The effort is much easier with a pack than trying to push through the headwind alone. As you come out of Hawaii Kai at mile 18, the winds will be at your back. If you are still feeling strong at this point, you will probably end up with a good marathon. Try and pick up your pace gradually. If it feels good, maintain the faster pace. As you come off the highway at mile 22 and into Kahala, you’ll find yourself passing a lot of people if you are maintaining your pace. Just before mile 24 is what is called “heartbreak hill”. You will be going up toward Diamond Head to Triangle Park and out of Kahala. Run strong up this hill as the downhill will take you to the finish in Kapiolani Park." - Jon Lyau

Tomorrow's workout is 10 min warm-up, then 50 min of 1 min hard/1 min easy fartlek, then 10 min cool-down

Tomorrow night (Thursday) at 5:30pm we will meet at Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountainside/diamond side) for a 10 min warm-up with drills, then into 50 min of 1 minute hard followed by 1 minute easy, then cool-down with 10 minutes easy and stretching. Hope to see you there! Anyone and everyone is welcome. Great time to get some turnover speed on your legs before the Marathon. - Coach Nate