TAKE YOUR TRAINING
TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN 2019
chicago athlete ENDURANCE SPORTS AND FITNESS
magazine
TRAIN WITH THE BEST
3 LOCAL ELITE CLUBS REVEAL SECRETS TO SPEED
+ BEST MOBILE APPS TO DEVELOP TRAINING PLANS
BEER & RUNNING
WWW.MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
+
+
HOW TIM FAITH FINDS THE PERFECT BLEND OF TWO PASSIONS
PERSONAL
COACHES
APRIL 2019
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS YOU’LL HAVE
TER
NE FOR
MARATHON AN
RATHO
D HA
R
y l i m a F
L
F MA
REGIS
i n n n u g is. . .
ONLI
e: use cod 1 IL R P A CA
N
10% OF9F
M a y 4 s t u h n i o J
9 1 20
Wisconsin Marathon HALF MARATHON AND 5K MAY 4, 2019
| REGISTER AT: WISCONSINMARATHON.COM
Run along Lake Michigan this Spring at the cheesiest marathon around! Convenient, flat, friendly and delicious! Only 1 hour from Chicago and 50 minutes from Milwaukee.
Kenosha!
TRAIN
WITH
THE BEST
3 CHICAGO-AREA ELITE CLUBS BRING ATHLETES TO THE PODIUMS BY HOLLY PETROVICH
FLEET FEET RACING TEAM 4
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
DWRUNNING
SECOND CITY TRACK CLUB
In the Chicagoland area alone, there are dozens of clubs available for endurance athletes to join where they can meet people with similar interests, be held accountable for their training, and maybe event do charity or volunteer work. While all of these qualities are very cherished, athletes looking to take their training to the next level should consider joining an elite club. Elite clubs offer more personalized and expert coaching, smaller teams with planned workouts, race schedules and discounts, and training education. “Our racing team’s mission is to provide local athletes the access and resources normally reserved for professional athletes,” says John Moloznik, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Fleet Feet. In addition to the Fleet Feet Racing Team, Chicago has two other elite clubs that offer similar opportunities for athletes: DWRunning and Second City Track Club [SCTC]. While all three have different dynamics and regimens, they all share the love of the sport, and value teamwork in order to see success.
TAKING THOSE FIRST STEPS
SCTC started in 2013 as the New Balance team, where Lucchesi wanted to create an option for people to run competitively post-college without going professional. Seven years and a new sponsor (Nike) later, the team has grown in both size and talent. In fact, in 2016, six members qualified for the Olympic Trials.
When an athlete decides they want to seek out a more rigorous training plan through an elite club, they have to start by reaching out to the head coach. Each team has their own set of qualifications and characteristics they look for in a potential new member, but passion is a non-negotiable quality.
DWRunning started similarly; Dan Walters, founder and current head coach, noticed a gap in teams that offered both structure and camaraderie, and wanted to fill it. The team started in 2014 with just 10 people, and has grown to nearly 100 now, with three coaches, and a handful of them shooting for the marathon trials as well.
“We don’t really go by times,” Michael Lucchesi, head coach and founder of SCTC says. “We do have a certain range, but we focus more on if it’s a good fit. If [Eliud] Kipchoge called us up and wanted to join, we wouldn’t have anybody who could run his pace, so it wouldn’t work.”
Even with large numbers, Walters does have a limit on accepting members, and DWRunning currently has a waitlist. However, he still encourages interested athletes to reach out to him via their website.
Instead, Lucchesi focuses more on culture and character; he really tries to avoid recruiting people based on talent, and cares more about what the team thinks of their energy. After the potential addition comes to a practice, they all meet and make a decision together.
While Fleet Feet also has a Club Team of approximately 400 active members, the sponsored team is limited to about 25 athletes, as they often run Olympic Qualifying events, and compete both locally and internationally. Because of this, head coach Lionel Montenegro is a little more strict on times to join. For example, men have to be
close to a 15:40 5k, 1:12 half marathon or 2:30 marathon; for women, the times are 17:40, 1:24, and 2:59, respectively. “Usually by January/February I have an idea who is going to be on the team for races, and then if I get inquires after, I tell them they can still train with us. The more the merrier, but we don’t have enough resources available for races,” Montenegro says.
TRAINING TAKES TIME Before inquiring about joining one of these elite clubs, athletes need to recognize that it’s going to be a bigger commitment than a biweekly Saturday run that many more relaxed clubs offer. “The mentality we have is a division III program competing against division I.” Lucchesi explains. “The teams we compete against dedicate their whole lives to running, where they get naps and massages, but our athletes have careers and families to balance … so our training has to be spot on.” In terms of the actual workouts, they tend to be tailored to each specific athlete. Lucchesi and Walters agree that everyone is different, so they need customized workouts.
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
APRIL 2019
5
TRAIN
WITH
THE BEST
“We are hyper-specific,” Walters explains. “Everyone does different workouts everyday depending on strengths and weaknesses, schedules, and resources. We meet at Montrose track every Wednesday, but everyone does their own work out there.” On Saturdays, runners group up more for longer, hilly runs and workout together, he adds. “Our hard days are very hard, but very specific to the race they’re training for.” Lucchesi says. “Chirine [Njeim] will run 130 miles in a week, and has gone injury-free … Alyssa [Schneider] is more prone to injuries so does more cross training. They both just ran 2:39 at the Chicago Marathon.” Even for teams that train more independently, members are expected and trusted to put the miles and time in on their own. “A lot of elite athletes are more independent, so it’s hard to get schedules to work,” Montenegro says. “There’s a lot going on in life. Most of our goals are around the Olympic Trials in the marathon, but we all
6
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
have different methods and timelines of when we plan to get there.”
in Minnesota, and the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in November.
Montenegro does host weekly workouts on Wednesdays, but also respects his athletes’ space and time, and makes sure they know he is a resource for them. He also encourages they get external support if they feel it’s necessary.
“We try and pick three to six races each year to do together as a team,” he says. “But I found that when I start to require races, people back out, and it takes a little fun out of the sport.”
TEAM RACING: ALONE AND TOGETHER
When it comes to racing, however, Montenegro and his team are very cohesive; as a city-based team, they make sure to do as many Chicago-area races each year as they can. “We want to make sure we show up to the CARA events, and RAM Racing too because they are competitive and it’s a great, convenient opportunity to get more of us to a single event,” he says. “We had the CARA individual champions last year, and we really are proud of that.” For DWRunning, Walters takes it yearby-year; for the 2019 season, they are targeting Grandma’s Marathon in June
Lucchesi agrees with the importance of flexibility when building a race schedule. He explains how they don’t race a lot because he stresses a balanced lifestyle, and there isn’t a minimum, but most tend to do five to seven races a year.
“I meet with each of them individually, and we’ll lay out what they want to accomplish this year. Most of the time, we won’t have athletes race solo, as we have a very tight-knit team who enjoys racing together,” he adds. And of course you can count on seeing all of these teams competing at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle and Bank of America Chicago Marathon each year. In fact, all three teams placed in the Elite Team competition for the 2019 Shamrock Shuffle: SCTC came in first for males and second for females, and Fleet Feet and DWRunning came in fourth and fifth for females, respectively..
TRUSTING AND ENJOYING THE PROCESS
Aside from the individualistic attention to training and the great resources for races, joining an elite team proves to be a very beneficial experience. While all three coaches have shared their unique beliefs in being successful in the sport, they all agree that the best part of being on the team is camaraderie and synergy. “When I first moved to the city in 2012, I trained by myself. I started running with Fleet Feet in 2013, and not only did I get faster, but I made connections,” Montenegro says. “Some of talent comes from ability, some of it is investment into recovery and training, but more than anything, it comes from learning from each other.” Finding that balance and energy can be tough, but once it’s there, it’s unbeatable, Lucchesi says. “We’ve let go of athletes in the past who were high-level athletes, but they were too into themselves and that doesn’t fly with us. It’s all about the team culture.” Aside from the bonds made and the social aspect that comes with joining a club, Walters says that it’s nice to take the stress of planning out of training. “Being at a place where you can trust what’s going on, and trust the coaches and knowing they’re there for you, people stop worrying and can trust and enjoy the process,” he explains. “The high energy that comes with group training, it’s a feeling people get addicted to.”
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
APRIL 2019
7
Celebrating the hard work, passion, and dedication of Chicagoland’s top amateur athletes
Training hours per week?
Running/training about 15 hours Sleeping (recovery) about 70+ hours!
KRISTINA AUBERT
What race is on your
RUNNING
bucket list?
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Qualified for the Olympic Trials in her first marathon
Every world major marathon. And, of course, dreaming of competing in an Olympic Marathon.
First place at the 2018 Illinois Christie Clinic Half Marathon
Number of shoes you go through in a year?
Roughly 20 I rarely
MATT DIAMOND RUNNING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finished 11 marathons, three of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors (Chicago, Boston and Berlin).
Where is your favorite place to run?
In the city, I would say the Lake Shore East neighborhood. It’s always salted and paved in the winter and has the only incline in the city. Outside of Chicago, I have WAY too many favorite places.
PR you’re most proud of?
1:14:02 at the 2018 Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon
Why do you run? I enjoy seeing how far I can push myself.
run over 300 miles in a pair of shoes.
Whether it’s running faster or further, it’s exciting to see what you are capable of.
As a mentor, what’s your biggest piece of advice for runners?
PR you’re most proud of?
Don’t let one bad race stop you from achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself. You learn more from a bad race than a good race.
2:39:13 2019 Houston Marathon
Took second place overall in first 50k trail race
EVERY ATHL ETE O F T H E MO NT H W I NS AN E XCLUS IVE PR IZE PAC K F RO M C L I F ® BA R WWW.C L I F BA R.COM
Send nominations to editor@mychicagoathlete.com (Winners are selected by Chicago Athlete Magazine)
B Y: C H R I S L E W I S
LEVEL UP HIRE A PERSONAL COACH
PERSONAL COACH:
SHARONE ARAHON
USAT LEVEL III ELITE COACH AT WELL-FIT PERFORMANCE LLC. 10
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
TO ACHIEVE YOUR TRAINING GOALS, CONSIDER HIRING A PERSONAL COACH; IT’S THEIR JOB TO HELP YOU IMPROVE. Let’s face it: when it comes to training, everyone is different. We all have different goals, methods, motivations and benchmarks for improvement. There’s no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach to training—and there never will be. And that’s okay. Thanks to personal coaches, you can take your performances to the next level, regardless of your goals, methods, motivations or benchmarks for improvement. “Personal coaches provide the personal attention that athletes need to help with their accountability and motivation,” says MJ Gasik, a USAT, Ironman U and USMS Level 4 Certified Coach, as well as the owner of Tri Right Coaching. “Not to mention, they also help ensure workouts are scheduled at the right time and completed correctly.” Of equal importance, personal coaches help athletes better organize their overall training plans. After all, there’s virtually an unlimited supply of information available to athletes as they prepare to train, to the point in which they may encounter “paralysis by analysis.” “A great coach will take their experience and education and sort through all the noise to develop a plan that works best for each individual athlete,” states Nickolaus Early, owner and head coach at E-Endurance. Aside from offering athletes assistance with accountability, motivation, workout scheduling and training plan development, personal coaches must also educate their athletes. In fact, according to Darryl Tyndorf, Jr., Ph.D., owner and head coach at Endurance Evolution Multisport, LLC., education may be the most important role of personal coaches. “Adult athletes need a different level of engagement that provides rationales for why things are being done a certain way and what the benefit is for doing so,” Tyndorf explains. “The reason why I say education is the most important is because it lends itself to increased engagement, motivation, accountability, self-awareness and self-respect—and it prevents over training and limits injuries.”
PERSONAL COACH:
NICKOLAUS EARLY
OWNER AND HEAD COACH AT E-ENDURANCE
LET’S GET PERSONAL … AND PHYSICAL
This increased engagement should lead to an effective personal relationship with an athlete, a relationship so effective that the coach will understand his or her athlete’s goals, limitations and personalities. In order to help achieve the set goals, a personal coach must create a plan based on the athlete’s current fitness abilities and schedule, according to Sharone Aharon, MS, a USAT Level III Elite Coach at Well-Fit Performance LLC. “A coach will then be able to guide an athlete through the plan and modify it, as needed, to make sure the athlete is executing the plan to achieve maximum results on race day,” Aharon says. “And then the coach will analyze the athlete’s ongoing training and periodic testing, prior to modifying the training plan accordingly.” Such assessment will provide athletes and personal coaches insight into how the training is going, which step of the training process athletes are currently involved with and how the athletes have enhanced their skills and results thus far. “Utilizing this, coaches help maintain real and attainable expectations for each respective athlete,” Tyndorf states. “It is a coach’s job to be honest on attainable and manageable goals—and then provide the foundation to set athletes up for continuous success.” MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
APRIL 2019
11
PERSONAL COACH:
DARRYL TYNDORF, JR., PH.D.
OWNER AND HEAD COACH AT ENDURANCE EVOLUTION MULTISPORT, LLC.
BE PICKY
Clearly, the coach-athlete relationship is an important one, so finding a coach that’s a good fit for your personality, goals and methods might be tricky. Consider the following possibilities in your search: • ONLINE SEARCHES. Keywords must be specific to you, according to Gasik, and you must do considerable research on each coach prior to choosing three to four to speak to on the phone or in-person, according to Early. • REFERRALS. Most athletes tend to find their coaches through references. Tyndorf believes athletes should speak to other athletes, as well as any of their current and former coaches. These conversations will provide all-encompassing views of coaches, including insights into what other athletes like (and don’t like) about their methods. • SPECIFIC WEBSITES. Depending on your focus, remember to review websites that are designed for specific sports— running (Road Runners Club of America’s website, etc.), swimming (USA Masters websites) and triathlons (Ironman or USA Triathlon websites), as each site will provide information about coaches that specialize in each of those sports.
TIMING, PRICING AND ROI
Once you find a good fit, you must bear in mind that your coach’s session frequency will vary according to his or her specialty. For example, according to Gasik, swimming coaches may meet with you once every two weeks, while triathlon 12
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
coaches may meet once a month and running coaches may meet once a week. “But so much depends on the sport, the athlete and the goals of the specific athlete,” she says. “That’s the beauty of working one-on-one—together you can set your own schedule and goals.” Likewise, pricing varies quite considerably, ranging from $10 to $150 per private session and $100 to $500 per month for longterm, customized training plans. “To pay for the extra work and testing that’s required to get you going, coaches may also charge start-up fees,” Aharon states. “This is a very important process that ensures the success of the program. It usually costs about 50 to 100 percent of a monthly fee.” “Paying more doesn’t mean you’ll receive better coaching though,” Early stresses. “I’ve had friends who have paid coaches over $500 a month for online coaching and the coach could never keep a scheduled phone call.” He adds, “On the other hand, some coaches who charge a lot less are very responsive to athletes. In the end, it’s all about value and how athletes measure that value and the return on investment.” Although it’s often costly to hire personal coaches, athletes must consider the benefits of the potentially long-term, one-on-one interaction, and the ways in which it will improve their overall performances. “The bottom line is this: personal coaching can be the absolute best investment you ever make in your development as an athlete,” Gasik says. “You will not regret it.”
Run the HFM Maritime Marathon along Lake Michigan’s shore and
SOAR!
June 9, 2019
Boston Marathon Qualifier
www.maritimemarathon.org
Follow us on Facebook
TOP 5 Free Mobile Apps To Keep Your Training Interesting Looking through the app store can be overwhelming with all that’s available for fitness nowadays. These five apps are all meant to take out the monotony and keep you engaged in your training. Not to mention, they’re all free! (Some have premium upgrades for a fee, depending on how much you want to use it).
RUNBETTER
14
RUNTASTIC RUNNING TRACKER
WEAV RUN Weav Run is a music app for runners.
While Runtastic may seem like the
Using groundbreaking technology,
average tracking application, with a
hit music automatically syncs to your
built-in GPS, a Voice Coach, and running
footsteps—in real time! Access hundreds
statisics, it also has a unique feature to
of top songs and curated playlists by
make those long runs go by faster; users
your favorite artists on the app. Run, jog,
can download different “stories” for
sprint, walk—it cover every tempo from
$1 each to listen to podcast-style audio,
100 - 240 steps/min.
built to last as long as a typical run.
Free for both iOS and Android users
Free for both iOS and Android users
Enhance your training with the RunBetter
ZOMBIES, RUN! 5K TRAINING
RUNCOACH Your Runcoach training schedule will take
app by running top race courses of all
An 8-week training program and audio
into account your current fitness level,
distances on your treadmill. Select from
adventure for beginners. During 25
how many days per week you can run,
international and domestic courses,
workouts, you’ll be trained to help find
cross-training, and of course all the other
including marathon, half-marathon,
supplies and protect the town from the
schedule demands outside of training. It
Ironman, and Half-Ironman events.
ever-encroaching horde of the shambling
will safely build mileage and speed so
Run Boston, New York, Chicago, London,
dead, in a story written by award-winning
you can unleash your fitness potential
and many more; the app alerts runners
novelist Naomi Alderman. While this is
without risking burnout, overtraining or
when to raise and lower the treadmill’s
designed for more beginner runners, this
injury. Your training will be customized to
incline to mimic the experience of
is a fun way to make those miles less
meet your needs; based on your goals with
running the actual course.
monotonous for more experienced athletes.
workouts specifically designed for you.
Free for both iOS and Android users
Free for both iOS and Android users
Free for iOS users
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
This time it’s
l a n o s r e p
racepal
your personal race calendar
A new event calendar you can share with your racing pals
www.myracepal.com www.myracepal.com
PACING YOUR TRAINING YOU HAVE YOUR GOAL TIME FOR YOUR MARATHON, BUT HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE IT? This chart outlines pace ranges you should be at for various distances and efforts throughout your training. If you’re not training for a marathon, find your goal pace for the distance you are working towards, and use that column to determine your training speeds. Good luck!
16
GOAL
3:15
3:30
3:45
4:00
Easy Pace
8:15-50
8:50-9:30
9:30-10:10
10:10-50
Aerobic Run
7:50-8:10
8:30-8:50
9:05-9:30
9:45-10:05
Marathon Pace
7:25-7:35
7:55-8:10
8:30-45
9:05-20
1/2 MP
7-7:15
7:30-50
8:05-25
8:35-9
10k Pace
6:40-55
7:10-30
7:40-8
8:10-30
5k Pace
6:20-30
6:50-7
7:20-30
7:50-8
GOAL
4:15
4:30
4:45
5:00
Easy Pace
10:50-11:35
11:20-12
12-12:50
12:50-13:30
Aerobic Run
10:20-45
10:55-11:20
11:30-12
12:30-40
Marathon Pace
9:35-55
10:10-30
10:45-11:05
11:20-40
1/2 MP
9:05-30
9:40-10
10:10-40
10:40-11:10
10k Pace
8:40-9
9:15-35
9:40-10
10:15-35
5k Pace
8:20-30
8:50-9
9:20-30
9:50-10:05
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
WE’RE
CHICAGO ATHLETE
BACK!
Your Marathon Training Run
S AT U R D AY
09.21.19 BUSSE WOODS, ELK GROVE VILLAGE
Fully Supported Training Run Water and Gatorade Aid Stations Pacers from 7:00 to 13:00 Free Parking Shaded course Fleece Headband Post Run Picnic
Register Today!
www.20MILER.com
SECOND GLANCE
Tim Faith
TRAIN HARD, CELEBRATE HARDER
You may recognize Tim Faith as the guy sporting Goose Island attire at local races. As a brewer for the company, this marathoner (who got a 2:44:48 at the 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, we might add) finds himself in the perfect industry for a talented athlete. Q Have you always been a runner? A I started running in high school as training
for football, but then I quit and did cross country shortly after. I ran through high school and focused on the 400 and 800 in track. Then in college, I did more 1600’s until my senior year where I tried every event to see what they were like. I haven’t stopped running since then, and have actually set all my PRs after college. Q How did you get into the beer industry? A I was injured going into my junior year of college because I was experimenting with long-distance running for the first time. Having all that extra time, I realized I was a boring person and needed a hobby. I was pre-med at the time, and a friend from school started home brewing, which I was interested in because of the sciences behind it. So that
18
APRIL 2019
MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM
summer, I started home brewing. Then I did a medical internship that fall and winter in Australia, where I spent my life savings on beer. When I came back, I switched my major to microbiology to increase my chances of getting into the industry. In my last term of senior year, I worked with a professor to design a capstone project to work at a brewery, learning about preserving and purifying yeast. They hired me after. Q How do you combine your passion of running and beer? A Working at Goose Island is great because they cater to individuals and their hobbies; it’s a very urban, athletic-oriented environment. I run to and/or from work every day. Plus, Goose Island is a sponsor of the Chicago Marathon, so if they pay for a bib, I wear their gear. I’m doing a lot more traveling right now, and it’s a challenge but ultimately just finding balance between beer, training and travel. Q Are a lot of your coworkers
runners, too? A About 10 people here run on a consistent basis. We run together on Wednesdays from work, then hang out in the tap room after
for a couple beers. We do a lot of collaborations too. We’re currently collaborating with DWRunning, as they do runs from here, and then we provide employees training plans. They also do three team parties every year and we provide the beer. I’m on the team now I’m the fastest I’ve ever been. Q Seems like the beer mile would be your perfect event; have you done any? A I have done the beer mile twice. My second one was in November when I was in Brazil. I was not in as good shape as I was my first one, so when I got the last exchange zone, I started chugging my fourth beer and well, it came up. You have to train your stomach for that, which I hadn’t done since my last beer mile and I don’t have the same tolerance. I prefer the more bar crawl/running crawls, like a 12 mile run while stopping at different breweries along the way. Q What’s your favorite beer? A I tend to shoot for lower ABV under 5 per-
cent, 312 is a great one. I prefer a lot of the milder beers that don’t upset your stomach.
By Holly Petrovich
TER
ONLI
NE FOR
MARATHON AN
N
RATHO
e: use cod 1 IL R P A CA
L
F MA
REGIS
10% OF9F D HA
y p a r e Th
Running is. ..
P A E H C
s
u n i Jo
for a
9 1 0 2 a y 4 M n u r
Wisconsin Marathon HALF MARATHON AND 5K MAY 4, 2019
| REGISTER AT: WISCONSINMARATHON.COM
Run along Lake Michigan this spring at the cheesiest marathon around! Convenient, flat, friendly and delicious! Only 1 hour from Chicago and 50 minutes from Milwaukee.
Kenosha!