Sharon Woods Metro Park Profile: Westerville, Ohio

Sharon Woods Metro Park will be the new home of the Westerville Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for Women.

Located off Cleveland Ave, it's situated on 762 acres which includes a lake (Schrock Lake).  The park has a fabulous mix of paved and nature trails so that all types of runners and walkers can enjoy running and walking in a variety of beautiful settings.

In a few weeks, on Saturday March 20th, 2010, Westerville Speedy Sneakers will begin a new era.  Join us as we startup this new club.  We hope that we'll have the same success in the new club as we have with our first club location in Dublin.

If you are interested in joining, visit our club page Speedy Sneakers.

Spring Time is on it's Way

With all the snow and ice you sometimes wonder if spring will ever get here.  Here is a little daily inspiration.

Announcement: Speedy Sneakers Racing

Speedy Sneakers Racing a division of Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for Women announces the luanch of it's new website at www.SpeedySneakers.com/Racing

Speedy Sneakers Racing offers race timing for running and walking events in Central Ohio.

Please visit the website for more information.

Commit Now for Success in the Spring

In the northern parts of the United States, the leaves have now fallen off the trees and the snow is about to come down. Winter is around the corner. As winter comes in the difficulty of training outdoors becomes apparent causing many runners and walkers to miss vital winter training.

Here are some tips to help you stay in shape, or at a minimum keep up some fitness activity through the winter:

Work on your core strength by doing back and abdominal exercises.

Though stretching may not increase your strength to run a 5k, it will increase your flexibility which will help you stave off injuries as you increase your mileage in the spring and summer.

Find sunny days through the winter when the snow is packed on the ground and you can get outside for a quick 20 minute run.

Try some rope skipping, you will be amazed at how tired you will become doing this workout.

These are some simple workouts and routines that will help you stay in shape through the winter. I would be interested to know what others have done. Please let us know.

Start your own club

Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running clubs for women started on March 22 2008. Since that time, Speedy Sneakers has helped over 50 women in just one location meet many of their personal fitness goals.

Some of our members had goals to simply just get back to some general fitness while others wanted to run a 5k. By being a member of Speedy Sneakers, members were able to meet regularly and together they trained to meet their goals.

This coming year, Speedy Sneakers will be embarking on a new adventure - helping others start their own club. If you are interested in starting a club of your own in your neighborhood, the take a look at our website www.speedysneakers.com and give us a shout if you have any interest, we'd love to let you know how you too can start your own club.

Take care and happy running and walking

Speedy Sneakers January 2009 Newsletter

Just published: Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Club for Women, January 2009 club newsletter

RRCA 10km Trial Championship

The Ohio Valley Walkers and Runners Club has been awarded the RRCA Ohio 10k trial championship.

For more details visit their race website

Core Training For Walkers and Runners

You always hear that training your core is essential to running and walking faster and stronger. So which muscles do you have to work on and what are a few simple exercises to get you started?

Though core training can never be considered easy or simple, getting started is half the battle. In this short video you will see that core training does not have to be as strenuous as some think they should be.

Working Out - Use Common Sense

Have you ever thought about how confusing magazines make working out. For ever magazine you see on the sales rack, there must be ten to twenty different pieces of advice and that's only for this month alone. Next month they end up having another ten.

Well how about some common sense. Read the latest article post on www.SpeedySneakers.com, "Working Out Requires Common Sense."

After you have read the article, why not snub the magazines and enjoy a treat then go out and walk or run 3 miles.

Keeping Perspective of Your Goals and family

Regardless of whether you are an elite athlete or a recreational walker or runner, keeping perspective about your personal health and fitness goals is essential.

How many athletes have you known, or heard about in the media who have sold the farm to achieve their goals? Many athletes have put off their careers, family, and life in general all to “make it.” The problem is that these moments of glory and fame, if they come, are fleeting. In the years to come, as the talent, motivation and opportunity are gone; nobody will remember what you did. Perhaps having had some perspective would have been better. Work on the career, have a family and then try to “make it.”

So for the recreational athlete, be careful about lofty goals, keep perspective on what makes you happy at home. Your family, friends, children, the dog. Have goals, but keep them attainable. Keep them within reason and have a ton of fun along the way.

Happy walking and running

Speedy Sneakers Welcomes a New Partnership with atalanta athletic Wear

Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for Women is pleased to announce a new partnership with atalanta athletic wear.

The goddess of travel and adventure, Atalanta was a legend for her athletic prowess, as well as her courage and willingness to stand up for her personal values. Sought after by many, she preferred first to see the world and ran like the wind in an effort to earn this right. By offering top quality workout apparel that is both fashionable and functional, we hope women of the 21st century can find inspiration in her grace and courage.

http://www.skirtgoddess.com/
girl tested. runner approved.

Run or Walk Safely

Whether walking or running, consideration should be given to the aspect of safety. A recent trend we see on the roads today is the use of Mp3 players or iPods as they are commonly known. These devices have pre-recorded songs that have been loaded on by their owners. I think these devices are absolutely awesome; however I also consider them to be extremely dangerous to every walker or runner who uses them during training and racing.

All of the major organizations of running and triathlon have banned the use of these devices at their races, simply because they are a danger to the athlete.

How are these devices dangerous? Simple, you have to hear to be alert. If you walking or running and cannot hear you put yourself in a lot of danger. Think about it, when you are training you are sharing the road with cars, motorbikes and trucks which are going very fast. If you are not able to hear or are not paying attention you could be hit.

Even if you are running on bike paths, you have to be cautious. Cyclists of all ages are using the paths and a simple mistake can result in injury.

If you are a person who uses an iPod then I ask you to begin practicing to not use this device. I know it’ll be hard, but try and keep it home so that you can be sure to be safe.

Buddy Up with Friends

Some of my most fondness memories of the hard training sessions I have done over the years were the times I spent with my friends who slogged and toiled with me. Each drop of sweat was truly shared as we “hung tough” together. If there ever is a place to build friendships it was there on the track, trails and parks where we worked our tails off. We were in it together, we succeeded and failed together.

I am a firm believer that regardless of your current fitness level, whether a world class athlete or recreational athlete you can benefit from “budding” up with some of your friends to workout together. Together you can motivate and encourage each other to strong workout performances.

The key is to find workout friends who are of similar strength. However, if your fitness levels vary greatly, you can still tailor the workout to benefit all.

Let us say we have Group A, they can run a mile in 10 minutes, and Group B, can run a mile in 13 minutes while Group C can run a mile in 15 minutes. Your workout calls for running 5 x 800 meters in 6 minutes.

Group C will leave first, one minute later Group B will leave, with Group A leaving one minute behind Group B and two minutes behind Group c. You stagger the starting times so that all groups should finish together.

Good luck with your training and finding friends to workout with.

Commitment - Setting Your Goals

Whenever you start on an exercise program, the key aspect is to remain committed. Lack of commitment spells failure; there is no way to achieve personal fitness goals without being committed to them in the first place.

So what does commitment mean to you?

Firstly, commitment should be a goal. As you have probably read in other postings on this blog I firmly believe that you should write down all your goals, and the commitment is one of them.

Here is how you write down your goal. “I will remain committed to the goal of walking or running a 5km race on November 1, 2008 by walking or running four times each week for 20 to 30 minutes over the course of the next 5 months”

Your goal is very clear and specific. You know what the goal is, how much you need to workout and what the deadline will be, the race.

So, as you place your race schedule or workout schedule for 2008, try writing down your goals and especially focus on the goal of being committed.

The Most Important Season

The most important time of the year to train and get ready for summer is in the winter months. This is the time to build your base from where you will springboard your summer workouts and racing season.

The base is that block of time, which can be as long as 12-weeks, where you will slowly and methodically build your strength through some long slow distance walks or runs. It is also the time to get into the weight room for anywhere between 2-3 times each week.

Missing or not taking advantage of the winter months will definitely cause you to start way behind any of your friends that committed themselves to a winter training program. I realize that when it is cold, it can be difficult to become motivated to get out there, or even run on a treadmill, but it has to be done in order to achieve your goals.

If you cannot be self-motivated, set small goals for yourself to get through the 12-weeks that you should commit to a winter program. Divide the 12 weeks into four quarters of three weeks each. After each three weeks, give yourself a reward such as a day off, or a longer sleep in on a regular workout day. At the end of the 12 weeks, treat yourself to a great tasting meal; forget the fat and carbs just do it. You will not loose anything by indulging after working out for so long.

It is now January if you have not started on your program; you are now looking at completing your winter program around April. The window is still open to get committed, so get out there today and make it happen.

Three Times for 20-Minutes

If you are trying to get started in a fitness routine a good starting point may be to start out by walking, jogging or running for 20-minutes three times a week. If you are like me, I have often sat around and watched as 20-minutes just flew by and thought to myself, wow, I could have finished a quick workout. It is absolutely amazing how fast 20-minutes can just melt away when you are doing nothing. Not to mention if it is 5:30 a.m. and you are trying to squeeze every last minute out of your sleep.

So what to do to get those 20-minutes out of the day. First, make a contract with yourself. Write it down if need be. Get a friend to workout with you. If you have kids that are old enough to exercise, get them to go with you. If you have a husband who does not want to exercise, but will ride his bike alongside, get him to do it.

Decide whether you are a morning or an evening person. If you prefer getting up early, then get started on your workout. If you an evening person, delay that workout until the evening. Make it easier on yourself. Workout when your body and mind are ready.

Lastly, keep a dairy or a logbook of your workouts. This will help keep you motivated and on track.