Reasons to Train

Many of us have our own personal reason for why we train and participate in Team In Training. But did you know that there are many other reasons to run, bike, walk, swim, etc. other then the usual, it’s a good way to exercise, and things of that nature?

Motivation: Everyone needs a little help getting out the door to run every once in a while. We get tired, busy or just plain lazy. If you have a race penciled in on the schedule it can help you get out there and log those few extra miles that you wouldn’t get in otherwise. Accountability is everything, and signing up for a race can be the motivation you need to get out there and get it done.

A sense of accomplishment: There isn’t anything quite like coming across the finish line of a race. No matter how long it takes or the struggle you went through to get there at the end of a race when you cross that line, it is the best feeling in the world.

Make new friends: Attending a local race can help you to meet some people that you won’t find running around your neighborhood. And with Team In Training you have the opportunity to not only meet fellow participants on race day, but you get to train and build a bond with them months in advance.

Get a new shirt: Most races will offer you a t-shirt when you sign up to participate. A t-shirt is more than just a shirt: it’s a reminder of your accomplishment and might even encourage a friend or two to join you for the next one.

Quench your competitive spirit: Get your friends together and challenge each other to run a race together. This is one way to foster friendly competition and keep each other accountable.

Learn something about yourself: Racing allows you the opportunity accomplish something you once might not have thought possible. You may be faster than you think, or perhaps you will learn to push beyond your comfort zone.

What are some of the reasons you train? Let us know at rackeyj@lls.org

Exercising On Vacation

   Getting away from reality is good for the soul, and getting away from the usual workout routine is good for the body. However, a vacation can be the perfect time to exercise. By freeing yourself from your routine, you open your mind to new ways to move your body, have fun and keep your body fit while you're on vacation.

Cardio:

   If you want to maintain your cardio endurance while having fun, there are a variety of vacation activities that will give you a great workout without feeling like exercise. Some of the best workouts include:

     Walking on the beach: Walking in soft sand is a killer workout and burns more calories than walking on flat ground. Some experts suggest that you can burn twice as many calories walking in soft sand.
     Beach volleyball: You can burn more than 150 calories an hour, depending on how hard you work and it's a great way to meet other people at the beach while having fun.
     Hiking: Anytime you add elevation to your walks, you'll burn more calories.
     Golf: If you want to burn more calories, carry your clubs and walk the course. You'll burn around 200-300 calories per hour.
     Tennis: Like golf, a game of tennis can be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Chasing the ball and hitting it like you're Serena Williams or Roger Federer will give you a great workout, burning up to 400 calories for a 150-lb person.

Lifting Weights:

   Finding fun cardio activities is easy when you're on vacation. Lifting weights, however, presents more of a challenge. You usually don't have much equipment and the thought of going to the hotel fitness room isn't that appealing when you're trying to have fun.

   You don't have to do much, however, to maintain your strength and muscle while you're out of town. A quick workout with body weight exercises, resistance bands or full water bottles will keep you strong and fit until you get back home to your usual routine.

If I Don't Exercise, How Fast Will I Lose Muscle and Endurance?

   If you decide to use your vacation to rest from exercise entirely, you may wonder what happens to your body. How long can you go before you lose fitness? How fast you lose endurance and/or muscle depends mostly on your genetics, but below are some general guidelines: 

•  Aerobic power can decline 5-10% in three weeks.
•  All your gains could be gone after about 2 months of inactivity      
•  The fitter you are, the faster you lose your fitness, which doesn't seem fair, does it? You tend to lose aerobic capacity faster than muscular strength.Muscles are resilient and retain a memory of all those exercises you did.

Let us know your vacation workout routines at rackeyj@lls.org

The Top 10 Rules of Injury Prevention

1. Rest and Recover: Include rest days into your training plan by taking a complete break from training both physically and mentally. Get off your feet, rest your mind, rest your body for the day.

2. Incorporate Recovery Techniques: There are a number of ways to incorporate recovery into your routine. Biofoam rollers and massage sticks help sore, achy or stiff muscles recover from exercise. Watching movies, spending time with family, reading, listening to music or socializing with friends can all be effective relaxation strategies that allow you to disassociate from physical exercise and reduce tension while developing positive mood states of happiness and calmness.

3. Sleep: Essential for physiological growth and repair, routinely physically active individuals are encouraged to aspire for 8 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night.

4. Consume Post-Exercise Fuel: You should eat 15 to 30 minutes after exercise, preferably as soon as possible, when the muscles are most receptive to fuel. Muscle replenishment and tissue repair can be accelerated if you combine carbohydrates and protein together in a ratio of 4 to 1.

5. Warm-up and Cool Down: A proper warmup is a key component to preparing the body for the demands of any training session or competition. Developing a pre-race warmup is unique to each individual. Performing a warmup will elevate heart rate, VO2, and increase blood flow to the connective tissue and local muscles to be trained. This in turn will raise muscle temperature and help decrease joint and muscle stiffness, therefore improving range of motion. Warm-up periods of five to 15 minutes are recommended with the effects lasting up to 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of inactivity, re-warming may be needed. On the other side of the coin, the recovery process and preparation for the next day’s training begins with a proper cooldown. Low-intensity aerobic exercise, such as aquatic-based training, light jogging or cycling, are effective cooldown activities for clearing lactic acid and lessening the severity of muscle soreness.

6. Integrate Strength Training: Strength training is essential for preparing the body for the rigors of training and racing. It facilitates bone health and enhances injury resistance, including factors that contribute to overuse injuries. It can help bridge the metabolic power gap between swimming, biking and running by boosting lactate tolerance, as well as assist with delaying fatigue.

7. Use Proper Equipment: Correct equipment minimizes unwanted stress.

8. Follow the 10% Rule: Increase annual training hours, or training volume, by ten percent or less.

9. Interval Train: Intervals allow your body to adapt to and eventually race at greater speeds.

10. Know That More is Always Better: Recovery allows your body to adapt to training loads. Conditioning should be specific to the event you are training for. Training volume can be defined as the combinations of how often you work out (frequency) and how long you train (duration). Training volume is going to look different for an Ironman triathlete versus a 5K runner.

How do you prevent injuries? Let us know by emailing us at: rackeyj@lls.org

Celebrity Gives Back

  It is truly inspiring when a celebrity decides to give back to the community. It is even more inspiring when they decide to support a cause and then spread the word about it. But that is exactly what one celebrity, Alyssa Milano, has done.

  Yesterday Milano made a donation to one of our local participants a donation after learning about his particular story. After doing this Milano has gone on to "tweet" about this participant’s story in order to spread the word about TNT and this participant in the hopes of raising even more money for the cause.

   We have "retweeted" Milano’s original "tweet" and posted it on facebook in the hopes that her generosity will inspire others to do the same. To view our "retweet" go to the link below and scroll down a little. Until you see the "tweet" from Alyssa Milano.

https://twitter.com/#!/VirginiaTNT

Recommitment Frequently Asked Questions

What is recommitment?

    Recommitment is an opportunity to evaluate your fundraising and training thus far and confirm with TNT your plans to continue with the Team. By doing so you are pledging to LLS that you will continue to be committed to the program and that you will raise your fundraising minimum. Recommitment is a necessary step in continuing your participation with the Team in Training program.

Will I be charged at recommitment?

     No. You are still required to provide your credit card information. This will secure your spot on the team and provide us your commitment to raising the minimum amount required for your particular event. If you have not met your minimum by the Final Funds Date then you will be charged the difference between the fundraising minimum and what is in your Paycor account.

What is the final fundraising deadline?

       The final fundraising deadline is the date (approximately 2 weeks prior to your event date) where we ask that have raised the minimum amount required for your specific event. If you have not raised the minimum amount LLS will ask that you make a personal donation to cover the difference between what you have raised and the fundraising minimum.

Do I have to pay for my race entry?

        No. When you provide your credit card information in your recommitment paperwork you solidify or reserve your entry into the race with TNT.

What if I already bought my own race entry?

         If you already bought your race entry LLS will reimburse you for up to what LLS paid for our race entries. All you will need to do is provide a copy of your receipt and the completed reimbursement paperwork (available after your event is complete) and LLS will take care of the rest. LLS Home Office will issue you a check in the amount of the reimbursement.

Can I bring family members and friends to the Inspiration Dinner and Victory Party?

        Yes. As a TNT participant you receive one complimentary ticket to both the Inspiration Dinner and the Victory Party. You will be able to purchase extra tickets for family members and friends who would like to attend with you. Tickets will not be for sale on event weekend.

Can I have my own hotel room?

       Yes. You will four rooming options for the weekend:

             1) Pair up with a TNT teammate of your choice,

             2) Pair up with a TNT teammate that we choose for you,

             3) Pay for your own hotel reservations, or

             4) Request your own room through TNT.

        If you chose to room with another TNT participant or have TNT assign you a roommate there is no charge. TNT pays for your accommodations.

        If you purchase your own hotel room LLS will reimburse you. You are eligible to receive a reimbursement for up to half of what LLS pays per room for event weekend.

        If you request your own room through TNT you will be charged for half of the room rate for each night we stay in the hotel. For example, if the room is $200 per night, you will be responsible for half that or $100 per night. For all local events TNT will stay 2-nights at our team hotel. Using the same example this would equate to a $200 total charge for the room.

Event Day Approaching?

For most people involved in TNT we all focus on one thing, event day. We mark the date in multiple calendars, let our friends and family know so that they know not to plan anything that day so they can come and support us, and most importantly we train.

In the days just before our event we take a break from the training so that our bodies can rest and prepare for what is to come. This time of preparation should not be focused on the physical, but the mental side of training. Thinking about what drives you, why do you keep going, and most importantly, who are you doing this for? During this time of reflection think about why we train, why we keep pushing even after we’ve given all we have to give. Doing this will bring a sense of peace and determination on event day. If you think about this prior to and while you run, etc. nothing can stop you.

Want to share your pre-event day strategy? Or
Want to share your other thoughts, ideas, and stories? Send us an email at

rackeyj@lls.org

A Little Bit of TNT History

As many of you know, Team In Training (TNT) has been around for about 24years now. And while each of the more then 540,000 participants have their own stories and drive for why they participate in TNT, many of you probably do not know the original story that started the movement.

Georgia Cleland was two years old at the time she was diagnosed with Leukemia. At this time the survival rate was about 50%. When her father first heard the news he began to fundraise for LLS in the hopes of finding better research to help save his daughter and the other children like her that they had met. But no matter how much he raised it never seemed to be enough.

   

So her father and a few of his friends decided to run a marathon raising money for each mile they ran. And thus, Team In Training was born.

    

Today TNT has raised over $1.2 billion for LLS and its missions. Georgia has participated in many ½ marathons including the San Diego and Washington DC Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathons.

What’s Your Story?

For more info on Georgia’s story and TNT history click

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgia-cleland/post_3439_b_1567673.html