Tag Archives: lauren ganes

Marathon Minute

Posted on by

March 5, 2013 by Lauren Ganes, Marathon Coordinator

picstitch 300x300 Marathon Minute

From Left, Robbi C, Julie Y, Coach Stephanie, and Lauren G in Redding at the 10 Mile Race on Sat. Mar 2, 2013

I loved seeing the sea of pink shirts and friendly smiles on Sunday morning before the large contingency of WOW Women began their Oakland Half Marathon Practice run.

Eileen, Lesley and I were disappointed that we did not work at an Aid Station along the Half Marathon route where we could see our team mates.  However, we were gratified  to work an Aid station at mile 12 for runners continuing on for 20 miles. (And the first runners we saw were Beth W and her friend Kathy who were practicing for the relay!)

The runners were so grateful for the Aid station that provided them with Gatorade, water and GU.   The majority of runners wanted Gatorade. They happily filled their own bottles with our Gatorade or water. Another runner used our cups of water and dumped in a packet of “EmergenC Calcium, Vitamin D”.  This was also a point where the runners were ready for GU.   Each runner was grateful for the Aid station because they needed to fuel their body.

Our 14 miler this coming Sunday is a good time to finalize your fueling.  Plan ahead.

  • Will you fuel by time or by mileage?
  • When do you usually lose momentum?
  • How much Gatorade (or other electrolyte liquid) or Gu (gel) or shot bloks do you need to keep your energy up?
  • You want to feel strong for the entire run.

Some runners take their GU within 15 minutes of the start, and continue to take it every 45-50 minutes.  Make sure you drink water with GU so you don’t get a huge sugar spike or upset stomach.  If you are using Shot Bloks, or sport beans, you take those more frequently than GU.  You can also use a combination of Shot Bloks and gels. Think it out ahead of time and bring what you need plus a little more (just in case).

Take advantage of this final long run on Sunday to reap the benefits of good fueling to insure a successful race day.

Marathon Minute Feb 5

Posted on by

by Lauren Ganes, Marathon Coordinator

Christmas Relay finish by Ann R 300x225 Marathon Minute Feb 5

From left – Lauren G, Julia H, Aida D, and Libhin S at the Christmas Relays 2012

Congratulations to the WOW women, Edie, Emily, Julia and Kim.

Three participated in the Kaiser Half Marathon and Emily ran the 5K race on Sunday!

How exciting for Edie and Kim who completed their very first half marathons, way to go ladies!

Congratulations to Julia on breaking the 2 hour half marathon with a personal best by 5 minutes. Julia ran the half marathon in 1:55:24, now that is impressive! Bravo, Julia!

And Emily V, we weren’t sure if this was either your first or fastest 5K but congratulate you for getting out there!

There were plenty of women training for the Oakland Half Marathon on Sunday at the San Leandro Marina. For some this was the first time they have run for 110 minutes, or 10+ miles.

Nicole and Lesley T both raised important questions this week-end. Do you do other exercise beyond running? Coach Stephanie provides us with a day by day training program that slowly increases our mileage, and also gives us the opportunity to work on speed through track work-outs and tempo runs. It also suggests cross training for a regular part of our workouts.

Stretching and strengthening exercises for your core, arms, and legs are important to incorporate into your weekly work-outs. We did some of that at Lake Merritt with Coach Stephanie last Wednesday. Fitting in cycling, swimming, dancing, yoga or any activity that uses your muscles in a different way than running will be beneficial to your training.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS to Edie, Emily, Julia and Kim! Thanks for inspiring the WOW Team!

Marathon Minute

Posted on by

by Lauren Ganes, Marathon Coordinator

IMG 2178 480x6401 225x300 Marathon Minute

The sweet feeling of success… Cheers!


WOW is ready to take on the See Jane Half Marathon and 5K, Sunday, June 3!

Please note: There will be 6 aid stations along the course with water and FRS liquid, and Gu will also be offered along the route.

THANK YOU COACH STEPHANIE for the outstanding training you have provided the team for the upcoming half marathon. You have provided us all with the physical training, as well as keeping us motivated and psychologically ready to reach our own personal goals this week-end.

On Sunday, after a taper, WOW team members Amanda, Ann, Christie A., Elaine, Kathy, Monica, Lauren, Michaela, Michelle, Robbi, Vera, and Coach Stephanie shared race strategies:

• Use the porta-potty before the race (remember this is chip timed) so don’t fret if you miss the start whistle.

• Don’t go out too fast. Use the first mile as a warm-up as you find your own rhythm and save your energy for the end.

• Plan ahead how you will run your race—will you follow your gymboss and walk the 1 minute, or will you stop and walk the aid stations?

• Get plenty of rest this week.

• Wear only clothing you have worn in practice, including sox and underwear. Don’t change anything for race day.

• Use the same gels/shot blocks and electrolyte liquids you used during training. Don’t change anything for race day.

• Stay well hydrated this week, and eat healthy meals with protein and carbs.

• Don’t worry if you can’t sleep the night before, just rest and relax because the adrenaline from the race will carry you.

• Visualize your race and you successfully crossing the finish line.

• Make sure you sprint the last 50 yards as you cross the finish line with a giant smile!

Relax! You have trained well and have already run 13.1 miles (or 3.1 miles) on the actual course, now GO FOR IT!

Marathon Minute

Posted on by

Lauren 2 lr 300x279 Marathon Minute

Lauren G, glad to have the hills out of the way. On to the food!

MARATHON MINUTE

April 22, 2012

It’s been so much fun to pound the pavement with the WOW women preparing for the See Jane Run Half Marathon, or 5K the last two Sundays! It’s just 6 weeks away until race day! WOW women braved heat to complete their training runs this week-end, and Coach Stephanie was there to remind us all to stay hydrated.

Bravo to Beth W who ran 14 miles on Saturday in preparation for the Diva Half Marathon on May 6!

Our wonderful Coach Stephanie knows just how to keep us together whether we are training for a half marathon or a 5K. While we run very fast with our track work-outs, even our fastest 400 meter will not be an indication of how fast we will run on race day. With each increment of distance our speed slows down. In other words, you run a 5k quite fast, but each race from the 10K, half marathon and marathon has increasingly slower minutes per mile goals because we slow down to achieve the distance. We are so lucky to have Coach Stephanie help us figure out just what speed is right for us for each race.

By including a tempo run, a track work out and a long run each week you will be ready for your race on June 3.