ETA Coach Athletes at the Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8k!

ETA Coach athletes flooded the starting line at he Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K this weekend.  Check out everyone’s race results and write-ups below!

Full Marathon

Chakir Bouchaib 2:32:12
Frank Maneri 3:02:56
Dan Bucherer 3:14:08
Garrett Watkinson 3:33:25
Michael Kelly 3:48:18
Samantha Murphy 5:42:15
Jillian Schneider 6:03:38

Half Marathon

Matt Brill 1:15:44
Maggie Brill 1:27:28
Scott Ensley 1:29:44 
Joe Caruso 1:35:38
Tom Whalen 1:45:56
Page Greenberg 1:50:24
Kim Dechen 2:21:31

8k

Holly Geldhauser 32:27

 
Marathon

In the marathon, Chakir Bouchaib led the way with a blistering time of 2:32:12.

Frank Maneri was next to cross the line, setting a PR of 3:02:56 at the young age of 49.

Dan Bucherer was next to cross the line in his marathon debut with a time of 3:14:08, and he’s already talking about what marathon to run next!

Garrett Watkinson also made his marathon debut crossing the line in 3:33:25, and he hopes to run another marathon in the spring.

Michael Kelly had a fantastic race and crossed the finish line in 3:48:18!

Samantha Murphy and Jillian Schneider both struggled with injuries while training for their first marathons, but their hard work and dedication enabled them to finish the marathon in 5:42:15 and 6:03:38, respectively.  



Half Marathon

In the half marathon, Matt and Maggie Brill led the way crossing the line in 1:15:44 and 1:27:28, respectively.  Matt was 2nd in his age group (35-39) and Maggie was 4th in her age group (34-39) and also set a 40-second PR.  That is one strong gene pool!

Scott Ensley grabbed a PR for the day crossing the line in 1:29:44. Not bad considering Scott was forced to take some time off from training due to being hit by a car while cycling! 



Joe Caruso smashed his old PR and running 1:35:38. 

Tom Whalen took on his first half marathon and crossed the line in 1:45:56.

Page Greenberg jumped into the race for fun after recently finishing the NYC Marathon, crossing the line in 1:50:24 and placing 6th in her age group (55-59).

Kim Dechen made her comeback race after having a beautiful baby boy and crossed the line in 2:21:31!

8K

Saturday at the 8K, Holly Geldhauser ran a solid 32:27 and now sets her sights on a half marathon in 2 weeks!

Fantastic job, everyone, and keep up the great work!

Coach Jason, Matt, and Maya

Trials of Miles and Miles of Trials

“Trials of miles and miles of trials” is what Quinton Cassidy and Bruce Denton of the famed cult-classic running fiction novel Once a Runner would say when they put in a ton of training. This training would leave them beat down mentally and physically, but they would push through.  I feel their pain, but on a different level.  My miles of trials are more mental than anything.  Not being able to run due to repeated injuries again wears on me.  It’s disheartening knowing that I may not be able compete in any type of running event again, but at the same time I’m alive, have my health, and am about 4 more months away of being in the best swim shape of my life. 

 An amazing day in June spent swimming with ETA Coach Laura Pyott in Stone Harbor NJ.  The water was flat, warm, and almost as clear very clear for the Atlantic!

So what’s the next step?  Well, I finally got all my MRIs and for both hips and knees and set up an appointment to see a sports med doctor the second week of September.  For now, I plan to continue to focus on my swim and bike.  Over the summer I was able to ride and swim a lot. The best part of the summer has been all the open water swimming in the Atlantic!  Open water swimming 2-3 times a week has indeed brought my swimming to another level.  Come this fall, I will be swimming with a competitive high school group to continue improve my swimming.  I hope these kids don’t beat me up to much!

I will be the first to admit that I was not as diligent as I should have been over the summer with maintaining my PT exercises and soft tissue work to help offset the pain I experience in my hips and knees while running.   So, as expected, every time I would head out for a 20min run, my hip would flare up.  I need to take my own advice and progress very slowly.  Even if that means my 20min runs turn into 4min and 30s of walking followed by 30s of running for a total of 20min.

“The human body is very good at adapting to stress when that stress is applied in small doses.  To prevent injury, get faster, stronger, and break through plateaus, you must gradually and systematically increase the amount of training stress” – Ross Tucker PHD

The next 4 months I will be gradually and systematically increase my training in hopes of hitting the following numbers.  

Swim

Focus - Volume

5-7 Days a week

2-4000 yards each day

Bike

Focus – Frequency

5 Days a week

30-90min each day

Run

Focus – Pain Free Running!

3 Days a week

20min each day

Train Smart - Coach Jason

 

Whole Foods Parking Lot

This is out of control funny.  If you have every shopped at Whole Foods you will enjoy this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU&feature=player_embedded#!

I'm injured therefore I must ice and take anti-inflammatory drugs to heal quicker! Right?

I'm injured therefore I must ice and take anti-inflammatory drugs to heal quicker!  Right?  That may not be the case!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/alex-hutchinson/take-a-pass-on-the-advil-swelling-may-help-you-heal/article1808598/

Coach Jason Kilderry

Scientific Evidence and Health Supplements

Updated visual representation of the scientific evidence for health supplements. Each study used to construct this image was large, human, randomized placebo-controlled trials. No animal trials. No cell studies.

Many of the health claims made by the $23 billion supplements industry are based on non-human trials.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/

Awesome! - Coach Jason Kilderry

 

Determination is a understatement!

Looking for some motivation?  This video should get you fired up!

http://www.break.com/index/this-is-what-detirmination-looks-like-2086438

Coach Jason Kilderry

Compression Socks - What science tells us

So do you really want to keep wearing your compression socks during your races? Maybe after workouts, but still unclear. Great article and key phrase to look for "No improvement in endurance running performance was observed in either compression condition"

http://sweatscience.com/how-tight-should-your-compression-tights-be/

Enjoy - Coach Jason Kilderry

 

ETA Coach Athletes Tearing up the Race Scene!

The ETA Coach athletes have been tearing up the race scene the past two weekends. Some highlights were ETA Coach athletes Nick Desantis, Matt Ciociola, and Brian Quilty helping Breckneck Track Club take 2nd and 1st overall club at River to Sea Relay and Sea Isle 10miler.

For all ETA Coach athlete race results check out the front page of ETA Coach www.etacoach.com.

 ETA Coach Athlete Holly Geldhauser taking the win at NJ Sate Triathlon

Train Smart - Coach Jason Kilderry 

Wetsuits, do they really work?

There was a study done in 2003 showing athletes that used a wetsuit vs none wetsuit had 11% lower avg heart rate during swim and increased efficiency in a subsequent 10min bike TT by 12%! Now if this same study was done on D1 swimmers the results would most likely be different. I was not a D1 swimmer, therefore I will wear my wetsuit!

Train Smart
Coach Jason

Yum Chochlate Milk

A study in 2006 done by Dr Jason Karp and colleagues showed that Chocolate Milk was significantly better than most post workout carbohydrate drinks! Keep in mind that your milk choice should be low in fat, because the higher the fat content is the slower the absorption rate of the carbohydrate. Drink up!

Coach Jason Kilderry

Can Beer affect your Training?

One thing that I look forward to in the summer is cold Corona beer, but how many Corona's could affect my training?

Moderation is always the key, but check out this great article by Alex Hutchinson on how a few drinks may affect your workouts!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/holiday/will-a-few-holiday-drinks-today-affect-my-workout-tomorrow/article1833676/?cmpid=rss1

Coach Jason Kilderry

Sugar and its roll in exercise.

A must read article for those that are not familiar with sugar and its roll in exercise, specifically endurance athletics:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/how-sugar-affects-the-body-in-motion/

Enjoy!
Coach Jason

Write up in the Paper

Check it out!

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/towns/index.ssf/2011/04/former_rowan_cross-country_tea.html

Coach Jason

2 Years Later

It’s been exactly 2 years since one of my best friends Nick Desantis donated a kidney to me. For a few years leading up to the date of the transplant I struggled with polycystic kidney disease (PKD).  PKD is a genetic and degenerative disease that took its toll on my health during my mid twenties.  Throughout 2008 and early 2009 the worst of my illness set in causing me to come very close to dying twice.  Thankfully this is all in the past!  Since Nick has donated his kidney I have never felt better!  Nick and I are celebrating the 2 year anniversary this weekend with over 70 of our closest family and friends.  I know the main question that people will be asking, and a question I always get is how my training for running and triathlons is going and will I be competing soon.  I tried to make a comeback 6 months ago which unfortunately resulted in injury. The injury had nothing to do with my previous kidney dilemmas.  I have my sights set on a new goal in 2013, but that is honestly not what keeps me going. 

Coaching has always been a passion of mine and I absolutely live vicariously through my athletes. Whether one of my athletes is looking to complete in their first 5k or qualify for the Hawaii Ironman Championships it makes me proud and excited!  Providing them with the individual attention and support to compete in these events is why I love waking up and going to work every day.  This feeling was amplified last Friday at the Sam Howell Memorial Invitation track meet at Princeton University.  

 To be honest going to a track meet can sometimes be difficult because I miss racing! This track meet was a little different.  For the past 6 months I have been coaching my friend and kidney donor, Nick, to race in 5000 meter (5k) events.  Nick is a very talented runner, and has been since college.  While Nick was in college his fastest time for the 5k was 15:28, and he has not bested this since 2006; his senior year in college.  Here we are 5 years later and after months of hard training and racing Nick was ready to give it another shot at breaking his personal record.  Nick had raced a 5k a few weeks earlier on the road and ran 15:30, but we did not have our sights set on this race, therefore did not taper or rest as much for that race.  But for the Princeton race Nick was rested and ready to go.  Deep down I had a feeling this was going to be a good race. Nick had been crushing his workouts and following his training schedule to a ‘T’.  Once the race got on its way and after a few laps I knew Nick was going to set a personal record.  He was running slightly faster than we had anticipated, but I could tell in his face he was comfortable and on cruise control consistently hitting even splits.   When Nick crossed the finished line I could hardly contain myself to show him his time on my watch.  As Nick was bent over in pain running the fastest race he had ever run and he could barely breathe I was like a kid shoving my watch in his face to show him his finishing time of 15:17! Nick’s reply was, “I never want to do that again, that hurt so much”! 

As Nick now trains for the Chicago marathon and has his sight set on setting another personal record, it is these moments that I live for.  And if there is anyone in the world that deserves to be able to continue and run fast, it’s Nick Desantis.  Obviously Nick’s accomplishment means the world to me for many reasons, but every athlete that I coach and consult is what keeps me going.  Who knows if I will be able to train like I once could, but even if I can’t I will always have my ETA Coach athletes!

Coach Jason

Curing Childhood Cancer through Endurance Athletics

"If you want to lift yourself up lift up someone else"

In December of 2008, I was in the midst of fighting kidney disease.  During that period I spent a lot of time on dialysis.  I will never forget one time when I was on dialysis at University of Penn Hosp when I made friends with a 9 year old girl that was on dialysis as well.  In fact, I met her while we were both having our treatments.  She was miserable, scared, and frustrated; so was I.  I told myself that there was no way I could "feel sorry" for myself when she was next to me.  For the next 2.5 hours we watched cartoons, played eye spy, and just talked.  For that few hours, she forgot she was on dialysis and so did I.  

Ever since that day, I knew that when I was healthy, I would do whatever I could to help children with chronic illnesses.  A few months ago, Jennifer Kelly, an employee of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), attended one of my seminars at The Running Place in Newtown Sq.  She then told me about a program that ALFS has called Team Lemon.  Participants that sign up for Team Lemon raise money for ALFS while training for a specific endurance event.  This event could be a running or triathlon based race.  Well I'm very excited to announce that I will be the head coach for ALFS Team Lemon in the 2011 season.  I'm thrilled to be helping athletes of all shapes and sizes with their training for their specific endurance events in honor of ALFS.  

To learn more about ALFS and Team Lemon you can go here:  http://www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/team-lemon

Maybe you can be a part of curing childhood cancer?!

Coach Jason 

Backpacking and MRIs

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of backpacking in North New Jersey.  The trip itself was indeed an experience between the cold and lugging around a 30lb back pack.  Although I only hiked a few miles my knees and hips were killing me.  Granted i did have a 30lb back pack on, but we really did not hike that much!  After telling my doctor about all this he thought it would be a good idea to get some more recent MRIs to see what is going on. 

Another fork in the road, but lets hope this is one step closer to figuring out everything and being able to race soon! 

Coach Jason

Bike Fit Experience at Elite Bicycles

I had the pleasure of being fit by David Greenfeild owner ELITE bicycles today and it was the best bike fit experience I have ever had.  I have had my fair share of hip and knee injuries and David’s approach is unlike know other. Having a background in exercise physiology and biomechanics I was very impressed with his knowledge of biomechanical and muscoskeletal concepts and how they pertain to bike fit.  I honestly have been to bike fitters throughout the East coast, and his approach was hands down the most detailed and quantitative.  I personally feel the only way you can get more quantitative is being assessed in a wind tunnel facility.  David incorporates his knowledge of biomechanics, power based training, and physical therapy to enhance the cyclists fit and performance. 

Just as take my athletes individual physiological needs into account when coaching, David does the same his clients biomechanics and as they pertain to the bike. As David says "everyone is like a snowflake".  No one size fits all approaches here! 

Train Smart!

Coach Jason

www.etacoach.com

Active Warm Up Revisted

Dr Steve Young was kind enough to re shoot the active warm up video.  This time you can hear the specific goal behind this warm up and how it can benefit you.

Active Warm Up Video by Dr Steve Young

Enjoy!
Coach Jason

Visual Thought for the Week

Your VISUAL thought for the day regarding Scientific Evidence for popular dietary supplements. I think the key note behind this chat is that large, human, randomized placebo-controlled trials were used in the data scrape – wherever possible. No animal trials. No cell studies. Many of the health claims made by the $23 billion supplements industry are based on non-human trials.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/

Train Smart. Eat Smart ;) - Coach Jason

To Heart Rate or not To Heart Rate

I was talking to a friend the other day about her training and found out she was training with a heart rate monitor.  Now for those of you that know me, you know that I'm not a huge fan of Heart Rate Training.  Why?  Well there are many other factors besides exercise intensity that effect heart rate.

If you want to learn more specifics about those factors you can check out a article I wrote titled "To Live and Die by the Heart Rate monitor" ( http://www.etacoach.com/resources/fundamentals/TF02.php ). 

Interestingly enough i did not totally disagree with her decision.  She is notorious for "hammering" her workouts and going to fast.  My obvious solution for this would be to have her use a GPS and Power Meter while training.  Even with a GPS and Power Meter she continued to push the pace.  We all have that itch to run faster min/mile pace or cycle at higher watts, so having these numbers in front of her did not help.  Heart Rate on the other hand is keeping her under control. 

The take away message is here is Heart Rate training may not be a bad idea for those that have trouble "hammering" all the time, and not keeping their easy workouts EASY.  When you keep your easy days easy, your harder key workouts will be much more quality.

Keep in mind when using Heart Rate Monitors you need to be certain your using the proper testing protocols to acquire your appropriate Heart Rate Training Zones. The old 220 - Age has no validity whats so ever.  I generally have athletes run/cycle a race that is close to a 1/2 Hour or Hour (or do similar Time Trials) and correlate it with their MLSS (Mean Lacate Steady State) or  LT (Lactate Threshold).   From there i can assign appropriate training zones using Heart Rate. 

Lastly remember to test your self every 4-8 weeks to acquire new training zones.  You will become more fit every few weeks, therefore you need to re test to ensure your training in the appropriate training zones.  If you don't re test you might be training way to slow or fast! 

Happy Training
Coach Jason

Strength Training, Swimming, Cat Scans, and Physical Therapy?

Right now i have been focusing on strength training and swimming.  Seems cycling and running are just beating my hips up to much, even in very small doses.  I went back to strength training at Body Solutions (http://www.bodysolutionsinc.com/home) in Voorhees NJ with Rich Pohler, where we have been focusing on building over all strength.  I feel great, but recently have been having some abdominal pain.  Now my nephrology (kidney) doctors said it could be hernia or scar tissue from all the surgeries i have had.  Well a few Dr visits and cat scan latter, nothing showed.  I was telling all this to owner of Body Solutions Dr. Steve Young and he did a few assessments and found a solution.  Believe it or not it was my back!  Below i posted Steve's thoughts on the matter and what he prescribed.

Thanks Steve! 

Steve's thoughts on my abdominal pain and what caused it.

"In depth analysis of the biomechanics behind the movements and positions that exacerbate your pain led to a specific pattern. That pattern consisted of increased pressure in the Lumbar spine in a flexion biased position. To test that condition, I positioned your spine in extension to see if there would be symptom relief. That test was positive. The combination of both leads to the conclusion that your previous suggested diagnosis of myofascial adhesions and muscles tightness was incorrect. The correct diagnosis should have been a discogenic disease in the Lumber spine. With the placement of your pain, it would be the L3 disc. This approach to the correct diagnosis of the spine is based on Robin McKenzie's research.

The prescription to resolve the problem consists of two phases. Phase one includes stretches and positions to alleviate the disc's faulty position problem. The extension pressure from the prescribed exercises help that happen. Phase two includes stabilizing the pelvis and Lumber spine. That included a progression of exercises based on Stuart McGill's research.

The cause of the problem is most likely a combination of the bed rest AND your preexisting postural dysfunction. Having increased Thoracic kyphosis, protracted scapulae, and a weakened/stiff back is dangerous especially if you combine that type of build with prolonged sitting"

Dr Steve Young
Owner
Body Solutions
http://www.bodysolutionsinc.com/home

Happy Training everyone!
Coach Jason

Do you belong to a Masters Swim Group?

For the past 2 years I have been trying to start a master swim group at my gym Riverwinds Community Center.  Finally it has started with the help of co coach Joe Pegues.  There is absolutely nothing like getting up at 5am and being in the pool by 6am.  We had 12 people show up today and had a blast.  Its nice when your just finishing up your workout and you look out the windows to see the sun rising over the Delaware river. 

If you know of a masters swim group near you join!  Its motivating, fun, and ultimately should improve your swim drastically. 

Happy Swimming!
Coach Jason!

Active Warm Ups

Often we are pressed for time when carrying out our workouts and this often leads to skipping our warm ups! Dr. Steve Young owner of Body Solutions in Voorhees NJ has posted a video on how to properly execute a dynamic warm up that is quick and effective. I posted the video below along with Dr. Young's description on... its benefits. 

Dr Young recommends you perform the active warm ups on both sides, but all 10 on one side then the other.

http://www.youtube.com/user/drsteveyoung#p/a/u/0/5_BWqk47vx8

This active warm up sequence increases temperature of the muscles, activate...s the stretch reflex between your abdominals/core and your hip complex, and warms up the proprioceptors (things that sense positional changes). It's one of best warm up sequences to make sure your hips coordinate with your core properly. It's a must to add to your other slow speed active warm up routine for improved performance and decreased injuries.

Happy Training 
Coach Jason

9 degrees befoe Master Swim Group

It was 9 degrees out this morning when i got into my care to head to swim practice.  Funny thing is I loved every second of it.  Nothing liking getting up at 515am and getting ready for a workout.  I know for sure I'm happy to be able to do so. 

I have been reading Tony Dungy's autobiography and something he said stuck out to me the other day.
"Tony Dungy speaking to a small group of people. "We always have to be sure the prize we're after is worth while. I explained that while the super bowl is a great goal, if its all were after, we'll be disappointed when we get there"

Enjoy the journey and embrace everyday that your able train.

Happy Training!

Coach Jason 

Immune System and Carboydrates

It's normally this time of year that the flu starts to show its ugly head. For the endurance athlete this is never fun, but they can be more at risk of getting the flu. High intensity or volume based exercise can actually depress your immune system by releasing excess stress based hormones! So what should you do stop working out?! NO! 

Just make sure you are taking in an adequate amount of carbohydrates through out the day, before, during, and after your workouts. Research has shown having a diet higher in carbohydrates, then the average person, can reduce the amount of ...stress hormones released following exercise.

Make sure you choose carbohydrates that are "quality" such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. So a apple a day should keep the Doctor away right? I would say your better off adding a bowl of blueberries, kale, or quiona with your apple :)

Happy Eating!
Coach Jason

Traveling and Eating Healthy

One thing i never plan for is eating well while flying.  I always forget to pack snacks and food and end up eating disgusting air port food!  My friend Michelle Ulrich and former ETA Coach athlete posted on her blog awhile back on some great ideas on what to pack when traveling.  Michelle is finishing is currently finishing up her Masters degree in Sports Nutrition. Take a peek!

http://mlusandiego.blogspot.com/2009/05/traveling-healthy.html

Coach Jason 

Training to Train?!

That is my new philosophy right now, training to train.  Every several attempts of failed comebacks, I'm now training to train.  What does that mean?  Well I hope to race at the end of the summer, and looks like this year I will be down the shore 3-4 days a week.  What better thing do do down the shore 3-4 days a week than train!  But following my own advice I have to really build a huge foundation.  I just developed a Strength Training plan for myself and will start implementing it asap.  I will continue to throw in 3 x a week of swimming, 3 x a week of cycling, and 3 x a week of hiking.  Yes I said hiking, i refuse to call it walking :).  The swims will be with a group I formed at Riverwinds Community Center.  There is about 8-12 of us meeting at 6am every morning.  The bikes will be on the trainer for right now and only 20-30min.  The hikes will include 30-1:30 in length and incorporate some sort of hike/run interval. 

So I'm training so i can train this summer!

Coach Jason

Gaining Weight

My goal the past few months has been to gain weight.  Well that has not happened.  So I have to listen to simple advice, and eat more.  Yep it really is that easy.  I always use to complain when eating healthier foods, i would always be hungry.  In order to gain weight i have to eat when I'm hungry, yes its not rocket science.  It can be tough at times, because you have to eat often, but its all about preparation.  I have been taking two days a week to prepare food and snacks so I always have food ready to go.  I'm adding shakes in the morning and night and a new organic bar that is really tasty.  I would highly suggest it to anyone. 

http://www.organicfoodbar.com/

I have to get a few RD's opionions, but I'm thinking most will agree.

Happy Eating
Coach Jason