August 3, 2008 Alternate biking with running for hot-weather marathon training Long-distance runners are what some of them call “between a rock and a hard place.” Marathon season is still a few months down the road; but training for a 26.2-mile run in this heat wave that has been hanging around this year makes it tough. It can actually be dangerous if proper precautions are not followed for heat exhaustion. Even with adequate fluid intake and a slower pace, it is still hard to put in runs over 10 miles. Some of the runners are taking to riding bicycles on weekends instead of the longer runs. The benefit is that a runner can ride a bike for two hours and keep that heart rate up for the cardiovascular endurance. It is also good training for the legs to keep that pedal motion going for a couple of hours. The pace is faster, so usually the breeze created from riding helps cool the athlete off. There is a group that meets Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. at the Outlet Center if anyone is interested. There are different groups for the fast riders, and then another group for beginners and slower riders. Either way, it is a good change of pace and terrific alternative conditioning for runners thinking about the longer races this fall. The runner thinking of the marathon still has to put in those longer runs, but it is easier to build up to the longer distance runs over a longer time period and wait until the temperature cools down a little to make those long runs easier. A runner might try alternating a long run one week with a good bike ride the next. A couple of us put in a nice 39-mile bike ride last week; and with an easy pace it was very enjoyable. Actually we rode over to Gruene with a few detours through the hill country, and had an ice cream cone as a reward for the ride back to San Marcos. I think ice cream can be considered as a source of carbo loading for energy. It is not one of the things a runner usually does on a long run; but bike riders seem to be able to enjoy some of the benefits of sitting on a narrow saddle for a couple of hours or more. For those who read this article, there are a couple of other outlets now available for the article. The Daily Record has been publishing my column since February 1, 1990. It does not seem that long; but I looked up the date of the first column, and there it was. I should try to add all the columns up for a total some day. I think I have been around for three sports editors during that time. Writing for the Record is fun and a great learning experience for me; and I hope that the running community enjoys the column. Then the San Marcos Runners Club under the leadership of David Alexander created a web site for the club. One of the features of the web site is the “Run with Moe” section, and the articles go back for quite a few months. If you ever want to look up old articles, this is one of the sources to look at. The internet address is www.sanmarcosrunners.org. There are many other features to the web site, including race results, a calendar of upcoming races and information about running and access to other running club web sites. The latest addition to this column comes from the latest source of local news in San Marcos, and that is newstreamz.com. This source has many features about sports from high school to university and even state-wide sports; news of goings-on in San Marcos; special events and meetings of service clubs; city council doings and opinion comments, among other things. Local groups are encouraged to contact them for advertising of any special event they are planning. Newstreamz also has a way to look up past events and will include this column from now on. I have always wondered if my writings ever went outside of San Marcos; and when I heard from a guy in Maine about an article I wrote on a book he had written, I found out that news does travel farther these days. It took him a little time to find out where San Marcos was, as I think they thought it was in California someplace. When my sister, who teaches in Maine with him, told him to try Texas, we made contact. The only other time I find out if someone reads the article is when I make a slight mistake. I found out quite fast that when you refer to the senior-age runners, you do not call them “elderly.” I heard from a good number of runners over the age of 60 at the next race that they really did not appreciate being referred to as “elderly.” Even some of the younger runners brought my attention to the misnomer. Some of us are a little slower in keeping up to date with the politically-correct words these days, and I usually try to only make the mistake once. Do not forget the Darnd’st Du race next Sunday out at the Tanger Outlet Center; contact Eloise Hudson at CASA at 512-392-3578 if you can help by volunteering that morning. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!