Westside LA Team In Training - Summer 2009 Marathon & Half Marathon Team

Sometimes finishing photos could be used for marathon marketing purposes, and out of the thousands of thousands of runners, Elite Racing picked one of our own. Remember Marcela? She’s was one of our Featured Alumni last month. Some of us already knew she was on their website and a few marketing flyers, but this past weekend at the San Diego Health Expo, we were surprised to see her at center of the main entrance in one large banner! So we had a little fun with it.

View Health Expo Photos Here

(A LOT more pics to come soon!)

We’re pretty sure you won’t get lost in a marathon, but check out this funny video about a runner who took a little pit stop.

Most of the team will be in San Diego this weekend for the Rock N Roll Marathon, but I know some of you readers are not. Tonight, at The Kress in Hollywood, hosted by L.A. Models (click the flyer to the right for details), is having a celebration in honor of Matthew “Jett” Schaefer. This should be a very huge event as many promoters are involved with this event, plus it’s at one of Hollywood hotspots. It’s $10 suggested donation at the door, free sushi, AND open vodka bar.

Sara Davenport of the Greater LA Tri Team states on her fundraising page,
“A model of mine and friend, Matt “Jett” Schaefer, recently lost his battle against leukemia and this seems like the best way for me to honor his memory. He was one of a kind and will be missed terribly by all who knew him. The Maximum Fitness magazine cover of him is on stands now. The other picture is just one of his modeling pictures – he truly was beautiful on the inside and out. To read more about Jett, please check out the website created in his honor www.forjett.com I am also completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line – a cure!!”

If you can’t make it, but want to support, you can visit Sara’s fundraising page.

The Kress
6608 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood CA 90028

Erica Murray was a good friend of several of my friends.  Through them, I heard about her struggle with Leukemia.  Just a few weeks after her death last December, I completed the Honolulu Marathon with her name on my back.  Though I had never met Erica, I was moved by everything my friends told me about her and completed my first marathon in honor of her (and others).  This past week, her boyfriend, Josh Newton, began his own tribute to her.  He is traveling, volunteering, and fundraising in her honor.  Though he is not part of Team in Training, I wanted to share his website, and the blog Erica kept during her battle, as reminders of why we’re all here and how important finding a cure is.  This mission is bigger than 13.1 miles.  It is bigger than 26.2 miles.  And it is so important.  If you find yourself struggling this weekend on the course in San Diego or on the long practice runs in Santa Monica, please think of Erica and Josh, and draw strength from them.

http://ericatribute.com/
http://ericamurray.blogspot.com/

Remember, if this is your first marathon or half marathon, whether you’re a runner or a walker, you should focus on completing the race and not on your speed. For many of you, this will be an incredible personal milestone. Repeat with me now:

“For your first race, JUST FINISH!”

1. Not resting the day before.
The day before the race you should sit around the pool or watch lots of movies in your room. Don’t spend lots of time at the expo. Your sleep two nights before a race is the most important…you may be nervous the night before.

2. Eating too much the night before.
Don’t overload on pasta! You don’t want to be looking for a porta-potty all day.

3. Trying new equipment/food/drink on race day.
Nothing worse than finding those new shoes blister, those new shorts chafe, or that new drink makes you sick to your stomach.

4. Going out too fast.
The #1 biggest mistake. Don’t let the adrenaline take over. If you run your engine hot early on, it can take a long time to recover. No sense getting to mile 13 really fast then struggling for another 13.

5. Not taking your walk breaks early.
If you trained with walk breaks, take them from the start and regularly. You’re going to be excited, so use your mental discipline.

6. Drinking too much/too little.
Drink 16-20oz an hour. Start early and carry your bottle. Fill it up at the aid stations and keep tabs on how much you’re drinking.

7. Not maintaining proper form.
Don’t slump over when you’re tired. Make your body an efficient machine.

8. Getting down on yourself if you start to hurt.
You will hurt at some point. Expect it, and know you’ve put the time in to get through it.

9. Racing with a stranger.
Don’t get sucked in. Don’t let the heat of the moment ruin your race.

10. Forgetting to enjoy the day!
Have fun! Remember why you’re here!

Should have sent this out earlier, but I found a very helpful article for the San Diego Marathon spectators. Please send the link to your friends and family who will be at the event.

I’d say this holds true for our team, except the last spectator tip, about the headliner concert. Usually the westside team stays close or inside the hotel and celebrate our victories at the bar. As a quick overview about the article it contains:

Six Spectator Tips:

1. Parking
2. Entering the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
3. Take the Trolley
4. Best Spectator Areas Along the Course
5. Go to the Finish Line Festival – (10:30am – 1pm)
6. Stay for the Headliner Concert – (1:15pm – 2:30pm)

The article also provides tips on high traffic areas, where to park, airport and downtown access, and links to the course map.

Read all about it here: 2009 San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Guide

Name: John Lebardo
Team: Westside Marathon (Greater LA)
Number of TNT Seasons: 2
Last TNT Event: 2008 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon

Why did you join TNT?
I decided to join TNT because of Marvin Tabangay, one of our current captains. He was in a previous season and seeing his progress and how much fun he was having, I wanted to experience this as well. Plus, I was wanting to do something for charity in 2008. I figured that TNT would be an excellent opportunity to take on to satisfy both. Also, shortly after I made the decision to join, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and by the start of the training, she was finishing her chemo treatment. So my commitment to TNT definitely had more meaning to it.

What was your best fundraiser?
My best fundraiser turned out to be a group effort. Byong Bark, Sheila Estaniel, Warren Perdon, Marvin Tabangay and myself decided to host a pub crawl along 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica called “So You Think You Can Drink.” We decided on hosting the event after our marathon event during the extra month we had to fundraise. It worked out very well because after all of that training, spending a lot of time together with everyone, people are eager to still see each other and hang out. We had an excellent turnout and had an awesome time running the show. It was such a success that people were anxious for our next pub crawl event which turned out to be America’s Best Pub Crawl (ABPC) which happened during our current season! Great times!

Most memorable TNT moment?
I would have to say that my most memorable TNT moment must have been the final 0.2 mile of race day. I definitely felt the pain from my calf injury and I just needed to push through to finish. During that last stretch… I swear… I felt the whole season flash before my eyes. All of the hard work I put into training, the effort I put into meeting my fundraising goal, the awesome people I got to meet, attending fun fundraisers, the helpful advice given to us by our loyal mentors, captains and coaches… As I was approaching the finish line, Coach Chris and Coach Kevin must have seen the agony of pain on my face and knew I would need the extra push to finish. “THE FINISH LINE IS RIGHT THERE! KEEP YOUR EYES ON IT! YOU CAN DO IT JOHN!” Thanks again coaches! I definitely needed that! Crossing that finish line brought the utmost feeling of accomplishment, something that would be difficult to match.

What would you have done differently during the season if you could start over?
If I could start the season over, I definitely would have started my fundraising earlier. With the efforts of fundraising I ended up putting in, it was difficult to balance out the effort I needed to put into training. So if my fundraising was at a better pace, I feel my training would have been better too. Another thing I would have done differently is to have attended more of the mid-week workouts. I know now that they definitely help prepare you for race day. There is a reason why they are in the schedule folks.

Do you have any other words of wisdom for our participants?
Wise words of wisdom… Definitely listen to your coaches, especially when it comes to the preparation before race day. No joke. All season long, as long as you listen to your coaches and follow the schedule, your training will definitely pay off. It will even make the long distance runs easier to tackle.

Also, try your best not to have alcohol the night before running! You are supposed to be hydrating! Not dehydrating!

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This will be an ongoing series, where we will feature an alumni so you, our readers, can learn some new things from people who have done it before. If you’re a Team in Training Alumni, please fill out this form (or please spread the word).

Last night, the team gathered for a pasta party dinner at Bucca di Beppo in Santa Monica, celebrating the send-off of our teammates who are about to run the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon this Sunday! Gifts were given to our coaches Chris and Craig, assistant coaches Emily and Kelley, and our campaign manager Kristen. So far it has been a successful season, breaking our fundraising goal (and still counting!), and we still have 3 races to run! Amazing job everyone! Go TEAM!

View the Team Pasta Party Photos

I didn’t Photoshop that plastic bag out of the group photo because if you look through the set, it’s in several photos before and after the photo, and no one picked it up!

Last Sunday was such a fun run, being our end-of-season costume run tradition, and everyone running at taper mileage at 8 miles. Sunday had the most people dressed up on our team for a run, the most people I’ve seen on the beach take pictures of us (and video too), and I’ve never seen so many people with smiles as we ran past them! Good job everyone! Can you believe the race is only 5 days away?!?

View Week 16 Photos

Coach Kelley running with Jean-Paul, returning from an injury, doing 20 miles!

Sorry for the delay, but this is for the previous Sunday (5/17), where the SD Marathoners entered their taper week with up to 12 miles, while the Alaska & Seattle Marathoners ran their longest of the season with up 20 miles. The 20 miles started at Shutters, north on Ocean, up to Wilshire, back to Ocean, then back up San Vicente twice to 26th, and back.

View Week 15 Photos