Weekly News Udpate

30 July, Pear Fair 5/10 Mile Runs, Courtland

This traditional middle summer setting saw fewer participants once again, but the conditions were much better than in many previous years with a high temperature of only in the 90’s for the day. Sarah Lin-Aamodt and Claire Hanamoto dominated the women’s 50-59 division and Liz Ware was actually 3rd in the 40-49 age group after a confused and miscoded male was taken out of the summary. Top female in the 10 mile was Angela Matthews (previous Chip) and Ron Peck was 3rd in the men’s 60-69 group. Mario Sanchez also enjoyed his day to time trial, and complete results are up from links off the Fleet Feet events website.

Coming on August 12
Susan B. Anthony Women’s 5k Race and Walk

The Susan B. is one of the women’s Grand Prix events for 2006 and this means the race will be most interesting to watch and there will be more “energy” to inspire all locals to new personal achievements. Sign up NOW to participate in this wonderful celebration of women’s fitness!

Almost Lynched….Too Early

Bison and Bisonette, after this last heat wave, collective fears about trying to do our longer runs when it was overly HOT led your workout director to schedule the weekend morning runs quite a bit earlier than usual. Had it actually been HOT, this would have looked like a good idea, but since the weekend turned out quite cool, the early workout times almost got Parrott lynched…by a certain Ms. Iwahashi.

Hence, WEEKEND RUNS will have a “trigger temperature” Adjusted Starting Time

Normal Starting times for Weekend Runs:
Saturday: 8 a.m. Sunday: 8 a.m.

Starting times IF www.weather.com predicts next day morning LOW is to be equal to 70 degrees or higher: (Check Friday night for Saturday possible adjusted time; check Saturday night for Sunday possible earlier starting time)

Saturday 7:00 a.m.
Sunday 7:00 a.m.

Again, the normal starting time for Saturday AND Sunday runs is 8 a.m., but IF the www.weather.com predicts a morning LOW of 70 degrees or warmer, then the starting time for that day will be 7:00 a.m.

Weekly Workout Update

Starting times IF www.weather.com predicts next day morning LOW is to be equal to 70 degrees or higher: (Check Friday night for Saturday possible adjusted time; check Saturday night for Sunday possible earlier starting time)

Saturday 7:00 a.m.Sunday 7:00 a.m.

Again, the normal starting time for Saturday AND Sunday runs is 8 a.m., but IF the www.weather.com predicts a morning LOW of 70 degrees or warmer, then the starting time for that day will be 7:00 a.m.

NOTE: Earlier Workout Times on Weekends for some “heat escape”

Tues	Wed	Thurs	Sat	Sun
251 Commerce Circle	Univ. Ave. side of Guy West Bridge near CSUS	Univ. Park on Univ. Ave	Univ. Park	Panera Bread Co 901 Howe Ave
5:30 p.m.	10:15am	5:30 p.m.	8:00 a.m.	8:00 a.m.
1 Aug	2 Aug	3 Aug	5 Aug	6 Aug
Groups: A-E…4(1) F-H ..3(1) SS and WALKING	Walking Group, 75 minutes or so along parkway	Steady state or fitness walking on parkway	Options: Tempo Run of 3-5 miles or Steady Statebase building of 90 minutes	2.5 hours with out comfortable and back…almost full “race effort”

Hello to All from Shanna-Co-Race Director of the Stampede!

GOOD THINGS HAPPENING AT THE WORKOUTS!!!
When I read the workout schedule for the up & coming marathons and how our
club is gearing us up to run successfully at these events...well I just got
so inspired!! So much so, that I wanted to let all of our club members know
that they are able to take advantage of one last opportunity to get into the
Stampede for $20.00.(Prices will go up after August 1st) Just show up at
Tuesday(August 1st) nights workout and see me for a specially marked
registration form for Buffalo Chips Members-to receive the special discount.
NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE. What... you're not a Buffalo Chip Member
yet? You've let your membership lapse? See me also, I will have membership
forms with me....it's only $35.00 to become a member. What an incredible
club we have...training for marathons....walking groups...and we even put on
incredible events....Susan B. and the Stampede just to name two....

See you on Tuesday!!!

Would you like to host a runner?

by Gina Adams
Do you have a spare room in your humble abode to host a runner or two the evening of August 11? Many runners are arriving from all points of the globe to participate in our Chips USATF Susan B. Anthony Womens 5k. It would be a great opportunity to meet runners from different parts of the state and extend our Sacramento-warm hospitality. If you live in or around River Park and have accommodations to host a runner(s), please send me a note Sparkle71710@yahoo.com.

Weekly News Update

Heat Wave Continues…

Most of the U.S. is baking this last week, and our central California valley will continue to receive way more than its normal share of “solar energy” for the next several days. Be sure and hydrate regularly during and after all your workouts and keep up on the electrolytes (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) and do NOT use just tap water. We are losing massive amounts of electrolytes in our respiratory process and in our sweat, so we MUST replace those critical metabolic elements.

Our weekly workout program is adapted and adjusted to address these far from ideal training conditions…

Marathon Training Time Begins NOW!

Many club members will be planning to run the California International Marathon this coming December or even the NYC Marathon in November, so it is time to make your marathon training plan for that Fall Challenge.

GOAL GROUPS…..At workout starting this week will be a clipboard with GOAL TIMES for your Fall Challenge. Sign up now for the following GOAL GROUPS:

4:30
4:00
3:30
3:15
2:59 (Clearly, “sub 3”)
2:47 (OK, so “sub 2:50”)

You can work out weekend training contacts with others looking at the same goal, and you can reference your training progress with certain BENCHMARK outcomes:

Buffalo Stampede 10 Miles …pace per mile here should be about 30 sec/mile faster than your goal marathon pace.

Humboldt or Four Bridges Half-Marathon…Finish time for this half-marathon effort should be about equal to your marathon goal time MINUS 10 minutes divided by 2.

Regular weekend RESCUE RUNS on the 16 mile course (regular = 2 x/month) with your RESCUE 16 mile time PLUS 70-75 minutes equal to your best case marathon time at the CIM.

Bike Trail Negative Split runs of 18-24 miles on those weekends NOT at RESCUE. Return segment of the Bike Trail run at FULL MARATHON RACE EFFORT.

Minimum Weekly TOTAL MILEAGE….60 miles a week with 85-110….better. Tuesday speed sessions at the club should ALWAYS be run as second workouts of the day with up to 12 miles done earlier that day….for those hoping to go faster than 3:20 territory at CIM.

Weekly Workout Update

Negative Calorie Walking Sessions…

Starting this Tuesday at regular club workout, there will be a walking workout group. Additionally, this will be expanded to include a fitness walking group meeting on WEDNESDAYS at 10 a.m. at the University Ave. side of Guy West Bridge and on SATURDAYS as an additional formal element of that regular club session. These Walking Group Workouts will be for focused walking efforts with harder pickups done by time at several points within the overall workout. Distances covered will be 3-6 miles, depending on the day, with the longest Walking Group Workout being on Saturday morning (when it is cooler). Bring a water bottle/waist pack/camelback for the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions.

NOTE: Earlier Workout Times on Weekends for some “heat escape”

Tues	Wed	Thurs	Sat	Sun
251 Commerce Circle	Univ. Ave. side of Guy West Bridge near CSUS	Univ. Park on Univ. Ave	Univ. Park	Rescue
5:30 p.m.	10:00am	5:30 p.m.	7:00 a.m.	6:30 a.m.
25 July	26 July	27 July	29 July	30 July
Groups: A-D.. 8(200) 4(600) 3(1000) E-F.. 8(200) 4(1000) SS and WALKING	4 –5 miles on Parkway	3-7 miles on Parkway	Options: Tempo Run of 3-5 miles or Steady State run of 5-8 miles or WALKING group of 4-6 mi.	Options of 6-16+ miles. Bring WATER packs for sure

Susan B Anthony Women's 5k

Dear Chippers,

The Buffalo Chips are proud to be the organizers of the Susan B Anthony Women's 5k and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Kid's 1/2 Miler. The race is on August 12th - a mere 2.5 weeks away! The race committee has a few specific needs:

1. Race Day First Aid personnel: We need an MD, EMT, or RN who has first aid supplies for minor injuries and can determine if 911 needs to be called. Fortunately, we haven't had any serious issues in the past but we need to be prepared just in case.

2. Connection with a Nursery who would like to do some promotion at the race: As part of our course beautification project, we would like to have a nursery bring out trees to each of the mile marks and take them back after the race is over. Nursery can have name on base of trees, banner at race, and promotional item in the goodie bag.

3. Connection with company who would want to donate post-race food: Based on the temperature outside as I write this, smoothies or other frozen items would be a nice treat after the race. But, any post-race goodies are appreciated. Company can have signs at the race and logo on the website. In addition, they can add a promotional item to our growing goodie bag.

If you can help with any of the above, please contact Carol Parise at cappp@comcast.net. Carol would also like to hear from you if you can help out in any other capacity.

Alcatraz Challenge - 26th Annual

Hi Harry: Sending a piece you may be able to use for the weekly posting. I believe they came in 1st for mixed relays! Andy swam & Jen ran..... The weather/water conditions was reported as being the worse they have seen in 10 years for their swimmers too...

AthletesLounge Alcatraz Challenge 26th Annual

123	Andy I Hitchings	Sacramento, CA	42	M	4	11
Swim 00:36:51.0 T1 00:04:29.8 Run 00:49:21.7 Finish 01:30:42.5
450	Andy R. Hitchings	Sacto, CA	42	M	1	1
Swim 00:36:51.1 T1 00:00:45.2 Run 00:47:29.8 Finish 01:25:06.2
450	Jenny Hitchings	Sacto, CA	43	F	1	1
Swim 00:36:51.1 T1 00:00:45.2 Run 00:47:29.8 Finish 01:25:06.2

Eppies Great Race on Saturday

Are you going to be at the finish at Eppies Great Race on Saturday and want something fun to do? Consider hanging out at the Buffalo Chips table and signing up runners for the Susan B Anthony and Buffalo Stampede. It's a great place to chat with other runners, bikers, and paddlers and best of all, there will be candy.

The first person to email Carol at cappp@comcast.net to volunteer to hang out at the table gets their choice of candy.

Safety Notices - American River Parkway Safety Coalition

Beware of Vehicle Burglaries on the American River Parkway:

Roy, who with Fred nearly daily voluntarily spend their mornings picking up trash on the bike trail between Sunrise and Hazel, was the victim of a car burglary, including a smashed left window, this morning, July 12, at approximately 8:45. Two suspects were seen and a partial license number and description of the car and the suspects were reported to County Parks Ranger Aldridge. Approximately one hour later two suspects were arrested and soon thereafter they and the car were identified.

Among other items found in the car were at least three driver's licenses not belonging to the suspects.

According to Roy, during the past two weeks he has seen broken glass in 5 or 6 places from the Fish Hatchery to Sunrise which he believed was from broken car windows. Whether there were reports of car burglaries submitted to law enforcement is unknown to me, but I have not seen or heard of car burglaries this year until today.

Based upon the above, please consider storing no valuables in you car when parked in the Parkway, and keep your driver's license in your possession. Try to park in the larger more public parking spaces. Roy's car was parked on the road adjacent to the bike trail about mile 21 near the gravel road that leads to the river where fishermen often launch their boats.

Vehicle Burglaries at CSUS Aquatic Center Parking Lots

As recently as 7/11/06, cars have been burglarized at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. More than half a dozen cars have been hit in our parking lots. All were “smash and grabs” and since they broke the car windows and did not open the doors the car alarms did not go off.

Thank you to the citizens that help identify the bad guys.

Fundraiser for Seriously Injured CRPD Park Maintenance Worker

Two months ago, a brave Park District employee - Ricky Dickerson - went out of his way to defend a Hagan Park visitor who was being assaulted by a group of five men. In the following melee, he was severely beaten and remains to this day in a non-responsive state. While the park visitor was saved through Ricky's actions, and the perpetrators arrested, Ricky and his family have not recovered.

Many of you have been following this story, or wondering what you can do to help Ricky and his family.... This is it -- either by attending this fundraising dinner or by making a donation to Ricky's trust fund.

Thanks for your support of our great community!

David Sander
Vice Mayor, City of Rancho Cordova
President, Cordova Community Council

Help us - Help one of our own.
Fundraising Dinner for Injured CRPD Park Maintenance Worker

On May 11, a Cordova Recreation and Park District (CRPD) Park Maintenance worker, Ricky Dickerson, was brutally attacked and beaten by five men while attempting to help a female patron in Hagan Park. Ricky has been hospitalized in an unresponsive state since that time. Ricky is married, and the father of four children. His co-workers at CRPD will be hosting a fund raising dinner on July 21, 6-9 p.m. to help raise funds for his continued care and rehabilitation.

Date: July 21, 2006
Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Cordova Community Center
2197 Chase Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
Cost: $15.00 per person

Ticket price includes a buffet of BBQ chicken and beef, salad, a side dish and beverage. Please call (916) 362-1841, ext. 0, for more information. Tickets may be purchased at the CRPD District Office, 2197 Chase Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670, or by mailing a check to the same address. Please make checks out to: The Ricky Dickerson Trust Fund.

Additional donations may be sent to: "The Ricky Dickerson Trust Fund", c/o American River Bank, 9750 Business Park Drive, Sacramento, CA 95827.

We thank Outback Steakhouse in Gold River for their generosity in donating all the food for this event!

Weekly News Update

FF Davis PA-USATF Mile….

Chips that took on this short challenge included Roger Fong, Steve Bond, Arnold Utterback, Cindy Scott, Barbara Miller, Nova Poff, Linda Hall, Po Adams and Lindsay Pears-Dickson. One of the best performances of the day was recorded by Cindy Scott with a 6:14 but everybody got to test their “top end” on that course.

FF Davis PA-USATF Mile perspective, submitted by Linda Hall:

The Davis Mile:

The temperature was hotter than last year. Nevertheless, we had a sturdy group of Chips participating in the Davis mile. There were a bunch of youth chips, but I did not get their names or times, although I did see Nathan coming in second in his race. (The other guy was a lot taller than Nathan!)

Here are the Chips I saw... I may have missed some. Despite the hot weather, a number of Chips qualified for an award singlet in this race and at least one (Lindsay Pears-Dickson) had a PR. Here are the times and (places in parentheses) for the folks I saw. Note the places that I have listed are the 5 year age groups and not the 10 year USATF places. The ** before some names means they qualified for an award singlet!! Great work guys!!!

Men
Mark Murray (?Did not get his 5 year age place) 5:09
**Ernie Takahashi (8) 6:08
Arnie Utterback (9) 6:25
**Joel Contrares (11) 6:30
**Doug Braasch (3) 6:50
**Roger Fong (4) 7:20

Women
**Barbara Miller (1) 6:51
Lindsay Pears-Dickson (?Did not get her place) 7:37
**Nova Poff (2) 7:48 (PR for Nova, I think)
Heather Bracken (?Did not get her place) 8:14
Linda Hall (4) 8:32
**Po Adams (1) 11:44

A subgroup of these folks along with Tony Smith (who manned the Chips tent and handed out our club and race fliers) came to Linda Hall's for free brunch to refuel after the race.....A good reason to come to Davis for this race. Doug and Barbara enjoyed a run around Davis after the race in order to work up an appetite for brunch after such a short race. Note that Barbara Miller was only 1 second behind Doug Braasch....watch out Doug, she is going to catch you soon! The Chips were also joined at brunch by Impala Jane Coleman and her husband. Jane was a Chip for a year about 6 years ago when she went to Comrades with the Chips group and finished the race !!!

After the race a group of Chips commented on how helpful the short distance Tuesday night workouts designed for us by George Parrott had been in preparing for this race. The short repeats helped everyone in terms of developing faster leg turnover (and thereby racing fast enough to earn an award singlet). Thanks Coach George.

Iron Family - aka Team Thomas

Submitted by Cheri Alvarez (intro & finale) and Allyson Thomas:

As I, Cheri, reported in a previous listing about our Iron-Woman, Cammy Thomas and her spectacular performance at Coeur d'Alene on June 25. Little did we know (or we sort of knew, but it was hidden) that Cammy gets this dedication and, in my humble opinion, craziness from her father Jon Thomas (aka, JT)!! It seems that JT has snuck in a "race" that only a few folks knew about...he was chosen as the IronMAN for the Eppies Great Race!! What does that mean...well, here is a little clip from his other iron gal, Allyson Thomas:

Our leader and Ironman-inspiration, JT, competed this morning (July 5, 2006) as part of the official "Great Team" of Eppie's Great Race - the world's oldest triathlon! JT is and was the the original Ironman of Team Thomas, having completed in at last 25 of the Eppie's Great Races and placing as high as 2nd in its 33-year event history. JT was selected to be a part of the Great Team about two months ago and has been training secretly and arduously to make us all proud. And proud we surely are!

The Great Team consists of one Ironman (JT), one Ironwoman (Jennifer Whitney) and one Team. Their goal is to set the standard for all competitors on race day (next Saturday, July 15); anyone who finishes before them, gets a free breakfast at Eppie's. JT completed the challenging course (which had a strong headwind on both the run and kayak portions) in 2 hours 10 minutes, a more than 10-minute improvement from his time at last year's race. And he looked FABULOUS while crossing the mock finish line!!! I think he could have done it again...backwards. :)

I had the honor to pace JT on the run portion, while Bruce Aldrich did a fabulous job on the bike. JT ran negative splits each mile on the run, quite impressive for an "old guy" (his words, not mine). Words cannot describe how proud I am of my dad, my father, my hero, who always works so hard and never seeks the spotlight. Today was his special day. A special day indeed. From his very first Eppie's when the family would get all decked out in matching red t-shirts to today, JT has, and always will be, the inspiration for Team Thomas.

I believe JT is going to be relaxing for the remainder of the day (well-earned!), but if you get a chance, you just may want to wish him a BIG Congratulations on yet another FABULOUS, AWESOME Eppie's finish!

Back to me, Cheri....any of you who know the Thomas family know that they tend to "hide" their accomplishments!! They are a true inspiration to me and keeps me going for all I do. And JT, who happens to be a PT (he calls it a physical therapist, I call it pain and torture!!!) has put me back into the swing of things and is just truly, truly amazing!! The Thomas family are one fantastic family in all the sports they do...which is NOT limited to the sports mentioned above!!! Congratulations to JT!!! Way to go (and in your words, not bad for an "old" guy!!!)!!!!

A Personal Comrades Marathon Report (16 June, Durban to Pietermaritzberg, South Africa)

From the 5:30 a.m. start to the closing of the finish line 12 hours later, this 82nd running of the oldest, biggest, and MOST respected ultra in the world was a dramatic experience for the traveling Bison.

Mary Coordt was once again the star of the day, and confirmed her “cover girl” status from the most recent Enquirer. That picture was taken in Cape Town, and now Mary is also the “top Chip woman” ever at Comrades with a brilliant 7:38 (20th overall female) finish. Club founder and exalted Buffalo Abe (A.J.) Underwood came back to the ultra experience after about a 20 YEAR hiatus with a smooth finish around 11:45 and Sharon Lindeque finished her 3rd Comrades in a new PR of UNDER 10 hours with Chris Iwahashi just over that 10 hour mark. Lilian Shek, Dennis Scott, Lee and Myra Rhodes all missed cutoffs. Both Dennis and Myra got to the LAST CUTOFF (80k) before the clock ticked them off the course.

For those who think that the Western States is the “ultimate” in ultra challenges, it certainly is a wonderful event, and 100 miles is a really incredible physical challenge across the Sierras, but Comrades is an international “race” with big prize money for the top finishers. This year the winning woman cashed out prize and bonus money in excess of $200,000 for her victory and new course record !!! The event is covered LIVE on national TV for 12 hours and everybody in the country KNOWS about it. By contrast, ask any citizen “at the mall” on Western States day…”what major athletic challenge is going on as we speak?” Not even in Sacramento will that question be answered correctly all that often…and outside Sacramento….forget it.

Comrades is simply the “ultimate running race” with enough distance (54-56 miles) to be a real challenge and seriously rolling terrain with absolutely top-level athletes at the front to promote excellence.

It is hard to imagine a true “ultra runner” making that claim without the experience of the original, biggest and most prestigious event on their resume somewhere.

Think about the “greatest ultra runners” of all-time…..what are the events on their vita? Ann Trason regularly ran both Comrades and Western. Yiannis Kouras has been to both….When will you get to Comrades, if you have already “notched” WS on your resume? Talk to Mary Coordt about her experiences there. Find out what the term “train” means relative to Comrades on the day.

Weekly Workout Update

Sunscreen, hydrate, replace electrolytes!

Tuesday	Thursday	Saturday	Sunday
251 Commerce Circle	Univ. Park on Univ. Ave	Univ. Park	Check Below
5:30 p.m.	5:30 p.m.	7:30 a.m.	7:30 a.m.
11 July	13 July	15 July	16 July
Groups.. A-D.8(200),8(400), 2(800) E-H.8(200), 4(400), 2(800)	Base building 4-6 miles on parkway	Tempo run of 3-5 miles or base building of 7+	Panera, 901 Howe 6-18 miles on parkway upriver.
18 July	20 July	22 July	23 July
Groups: A-D..6(400), 4(800), 8(200@ 1 min) E-H..4(400), 2(800), 8(200 @ 90 sec)	Base building 4-6 miles on parkway	Tempo run of 4 miles on Univ. Park course	Fish Hatchery 6-18 miles of rolling hills perfect for marathon prep.

If you plan on going to the Davis Mile

If you plan on going to the Davis Mile on Sunday or Eppies Great Race Next weekend and would like to hang out at the Buffalo Chips table doing Susan B and Stampede sign-ups, please contact Carol Parise at cappp@comcast.net