Chicago Athlete July Digital 2019 Issue

SPECIAL

WOMEN’S EDITION

chicago athlete ENDURANCE SPORTS AND FITNESS

magazine

WINDRUNNERS MAKING A NAME

WOMEN

EMPOWERING

WOMEN

AT FEMALEFOCUSED

FOR FEMALE RUNNERS IN THE WINDY CITY

EVENTS

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HELPING FEMALE ATHLETES THROUGH EVERY STEP IN THEIR FITNESS JOURNEY

THROUGH

PUBERTY

JULY 2019

TRAINING GIRLS TO ACHIEVE THEIR MAX POTENTIAL AT EVERY LEVEL

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Celebrating the hard work, passion, and dedication of Chicagoland’s top amateur athletes

Favorite race distance?

Why did you start cycling?

Dirty Kanza

I swam through college, so buying a bike and registering for a triathlon seemed like a logical transition.

After a few years and a couple Ironman races, I realized I liked riding the most.

PR you’re most proud of?

Average weekly mileage?

200

RACHEL WILLS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Two-time Dirty Kanza Finisher and beating the sunset in 2019 Racing with Chicago Women’s Elite Cycling Being invited to race for the all women’s elite gravel racing squad The Meteor // Intelligentsia

6:18 Barry Roubaix 100

Number of shoes you go through a year?

6

RYAN VERCHOTA ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Complete the silver Rush 50-miler in Leadville Was a guide at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

2

pairs

pairs

of trail shoes

of road shoes

What is your favorite event to compete in?

Running the Rim2Rim2Rim in the Grand Canyon. Not a sanctioned event but was the most epic way to see a wonder of the world while running 50 miles.

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

200

What was your experience like as a guide at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon?

I was asked to guide a below the knee amputee Aalkdy. To me it is about giving back and inspiring others to achieve their goals.

PR you’re most proud of?

5:41 @ Earth Day 50k

Send nominations to editor@mychicagoathlete.com (Winners are selected by Chicago Athlete Magazine)

T H E P OW E R O F

women’s-only ENDURANCE EVENTS

A group of women from the Team Multisport Performance Institute Women ONLY “TRI” Clinic in Iowa City, IA in April.

he women entered the pool deck quietly and sat on the bleachers.

It was a cool, Saturday in April.

Signing up for this women-only tri clinic seemed like a good idea a few weeks before, but now everyone’s doubts and fears were at the top of their minds. Fifteen women ranging in age from teens to “retired” were about to spend the day together swimming, biking, running, learning and competing in a very short triathlon, many for the first time, at the Team Multisport Performance Institute Women ONLY “TRI” Clinic in Iowa City, IA. Female-only endurance clinics and camps are one of the best ways to bring more women into a sport. At our clinic, most of the women signed up precisely because it was a women-only activity.

Limiting the camp by gender removed some of the fears of signing up; they registered believing that all personalities, triathlon skill levels, body sizes and ages would be fully welcome.

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Bagels, coffee and introductions were first on the agenda and the smiles and laughter began. As women, the joys and the challenges of our life stories hold similarities that unite us in support of each other. But so much of the time we face those joys and challenges alone. On this day, the women would be together.

Th is was just one example of a women’s event that proved to inspire and empower females through sport. Many Chicago-area coaches, clubs and endurance stores are promoting activities for women. Bike shops, like Trek of Highland Park, are creating women-only bike maintenance clinics, seminars and rides.

Running stores are hosting women’s Couch to 5k training groups. National Federations like USA Triathlon are directing grant money towards coaches and clubs who work to introduce women to the sport. (Our clinic was awarded one of these grants.) Women-only bike skills clinics, training camps, marathon training

programs, half marathons and sprint triathlons fill up with enthusiastic participants. Most of these participants then take their new skills and confidence to the many co-ed races, camps and clinics available in endurance sports.

Before, during and after the swim, bike, run and transition sessions, our group discussed all possible triathlon topics including all that are very specific to the female experience and physiology. By the end of the day, each woman completed a triathlon, learned more about an endurance sport, felt comfortable asking all the difficult questions and shared similar joys and struggles that come from a life of caring, striving, fighting and loving. The chance to become skilled in a new sport, to gain strength from new friends and to laugh a lot – these are the priceless outcomes from a women’s only event.

By Christine Palmquist

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BENEFITING

HELPING WOMEN FEEL

IN THEIR OWN SKIN

Kate Pezalla-Marlin, co-owner of Oak Park specialty store Lively Athletics, talks about the mission behind her and her sister’s female-focused shop.

Kate Pezalla-Marlin (right) poses with her sister and Lively Athletics co-founder, Anne Pezalla, at a fashion show they hosted.

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Windru the

THE ONLY ALL-FEMALE COMPETITIVE R U N N I N G GR OU P IN C HICAGO WINS RACES AND THE HEARTS O F YO U N G AT H L E T E S .

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unners Chicago and its suburbs are drenched in running-group options for local athletes. Nearly every town or running store has its own social group that provides several run opportunities each week at casual paces. There are also many competitive groups whose members are often found on podiums at races around the area. For females just out of college looking for a mix of both, though, the options were limited.

In June 2018, two female Nike employees wanted to change that, and put Chicago female running on the map. “If you connect female athletes with female athletes, and have them work hard and support each other, can you have that effect of group training work? The answer is yes,� says Robyn LaLonde, head running coach of the female running club the MYCHICAGOATHLETE.COM

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Windrunners the

Three times a week, about ten women get together for various training sessions with the mission of helping each other reach their goals while also working on their own individual ones. While the goals vary from athlete to athlete, the Windrunners compete in the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in the spring and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in the fall as a team, “because they’re great bookends to the running season,” LaLonde adds.

The Windrunners don’t just compete, though; at the 2019 Shamrock Shuffle 8k, the team placed first in the Competitive Division of the Deloitte Team competition, with the top three scoring members earning times of 27:01, 27:07 and 27:11, respectively.

“We recently added that third session of training because when they’re together, they’re magic,” LaLonde, who is also a Nike+ Run Coach and owner of EDGE Athlete Lounge, says. “But every athlete has a full-time job, and none of them are pros, so we recognize that and commend that, but there’s also a balance of commitment.”

In order to join the Windrunners, an athlete would undergo an interview process, followed by a team practice “test run.”

Because the Windrunners have created a very team-oriented environment, it is important for all members to be within a certain pace range, and also be a good cultural fit.

Sometimes, LaLonde or the head strength coach Emily Hutchins will recruit a runner to join the group. That’s what happened to Britney Whitehead, after she won a Nike pop-up race last summer.

“When I moved to the city in 2015, I was in that weird limbo because I wasn’t a collegiate athlete anymore, but am such a team person and wanted to keep running with a group,” Whitehead explained. “After watching the 2017 Chicago Marathon, I decided I wanted to do it, but knew I needed a training program, so the Windrunners coming to me felt like fate.”

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Joining a new group can still be intimidating. Whitehead questioned if it would be a good fit for her. After going on a retreat and getting to know the other women, though, she can’t imagine training without them.

“I’ve loved getting to know everyone and we push each other and it just really helps me focus,” Whitehead says.

“When you’re not part of a team or don’t have someone to train with, you can doubt yourself. It’s so easy to talk yourself out of early morning long runs but a group gets you there.”

Whitehead’s goal for the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon was to place in the top 100 females, and break three hours; she crossed the finish line at 2:58 as the 99th female.

Not only do the Windrunners train hard and compete harder, but they also strive to set an example for female athletes, with a focus on young girls. In fact, Whitehead, who is a teacher, organized a group at her school to get her students to run their first 5k.

“It was similar to Girls on the Run. I just love the direction Nike is going in female empowerment and the Windrunners have really pushed us to do things to realize we have a lasting impact on girls,” Whitehead says.

“It’s been really inspiring and gives more meaning to your running.”

As the Windrunners continue to grow and add members, community involvement is at the group’s forefront.

“Girls are twice as likely to drop out of sports as boys are, so it directly answers the question of how to keep girls in sports and the answer is give them role models.” Lalonde says. “I never did a 5k as a kid, and I wonder what would have happened if I got into distance running sooner.”

By Holly Petrovich

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NAVIGATING THE CHANGES

IN THE FEMALE BODY BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, FEMALE RUNNERS ENDURE A LOT O F C H A N G E S T H AT CA N B E B O T H CO N F U S I N G A N D D I S CO U R AG I N G .

LOCAL COACHES AND RUNNERS DISCUSS THE SAFEST AND HEALTHIEST WAYS TO APPROACH PUBERTY AND THE WOMEN’ S BODY.

By Holly Petrovich

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By the age of 14, girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys, according to a report by the Women’s Sports Foundation.

While many of these cases can be attributed to accessibility, cost, and lack of motivation, often times, puberty plays a role, as the changing body can effect performance and attitude.

Alyssa Schneider was Bartlett High School’s top runner during her four years, and went on to run at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. She is now on the Second City Track Club downtown. While speed was always in her legs, she underwent several changes that affected her training, and required constant attention and adjustments.

“A lot of young runners have low ferritin levels, but don’t catch it right away because they’re not getting blood work done,” Schneider says. “Come college, they monitored our levels every few months.”

While males can also feel effects of not having enough iron, it is much more common in females because they have menstrual periods. Schneider began taking ferrous sulfate, or liquid iron, in high school and still takes it today, which she simply orders off Amazon.

“I had no running experience before the summer of freshman year, so I was able to slowly build and stay injury free during high school, despite a few nagging aches and pains,” Schneider explains. “We did not run very high mileage, which was a benefit for me.”

It’s no secret that high school athletes can be very strong and talented, but when comparing the boys’ and girls’ teams of cross country and track, 25-year Naperville North High School coach Dan Iverson feels strongly on incorporating more strength training.

“It’s common to believe that girls in high school are faster as freshman and sophomores and get worse as they get older. That’s so destructive and not true,” Iverson says. “it’s about education, and we do an awful lot of that on strength and nutrition.”

Specifically, Iverson targets the muscles relating to the hip and pelvis region, as that is where the biggest bodily changes occur at the high school age, and what can impact running performance the most.

“As the hips widen slightly and the soft tissue around them expands, the most common thing for a girl to feel is a little heavy, fatigued or slow. They feel like their body is not the same body they’ve run in their whole life,” Iverson continues.

“The growth spirt girls go through is so much different than the ones guys go through, so it’s hard to navigate.”

Commonly, girls will start plateauing, regardless of how much work they are putting in. When this happens, Iverson sees one of three outcomes: the athletes just outright quit, or worse, they give up without quitting, and accept where they’re at. Less often do the girls persevere and end up faster on the other side.

“At this age, girls are retraining their adult bodies to work the way they should … specific strength work that help the hips function is the backbone of female strength work,” he adds.

If a girl doesn’t have strong hips, she can be at risk for having a labrum tear on the hip, which is really serious and can require surgery. After having a few athletes deal with this, Iverson added more flexibility and yoga to the routine in conjunction with the strength training.

For Schneider, she dealt with having low ferritin (iron) levels, which impacted her speed.

Low iron goes hand in hand with nutrition, and Schneider and Iverson agree that stressing the importance of this in young female minds. However, Iverson approaches this topic with caution, as girls at this age are very fragile.

“I don’t want a kid overthinking their diet, but iron intake is definitely the most important, and just general calorie intake” he explains. “We have them track them in logs. Our program builds a culture around eating and that you need to eat more than your nonrunner friends.”

Iverson encourages parents to pay close attention to their young female athletes though; if there are any signs of the athlete obsessing about their weight or having negative body image, their ears need to perk up.

“It can be really confusing with all of the changes that happen during this time that are associated with weight gain,” Iverson adds. “It’s a temporary thing, but girls think if they’re running slower and gaining weight, they need to lose weight, and that is really dangerous.”

While Schneider didn’t focus too much on her diet until running in college, she did pay closer attention to adding healthy fats in each meal.

“I think high school runners can get away with having a diet that’s not as idealistic, but without enough fat, female runners tend to lose their menstrual cycle.”

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This did happen to Schneider in college and had to start taking birth control and adjust her diet to get it back. Foods she incorporated included nuts, nut butter, avocados, full fat yogurt and ice cream.

“As a female high school coach as well, I tell my girls right away they can ask me anything about nutrition, female issues, stress, etc.,” Schneider adds. “I think it’s really important that young runners train the right way and are aware of some of the repercussions of bad nutrition, or irregular menstrual cycles. A lot of young runners face these issues and think they are out of the norm, so they do not want to bring it up.”

Once females get to college and are more developed in their bodies and training, the workout volume becomes more of a focus. While Schneider definitely experienced an increase in mileage and speed workouts from high school, 18-year University of Chicago track and cross country coach Chris Hall does limit the volume his female athletes do compared to the male team.

“It’s not to say they can’t put in as much time or aren’t as strong, but they are much more susceptible to lower leg injuries, so they can break down easier,” Hall says. “It’s just structural: guy’s hips, knees and ankles are in a straight line, and women are not, so they are more susceptible to stress fractures or tendonitis.”

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The women work just as hard as the men do, if not harder, Hall argues. While the men might be on the track putting in longer interval workouts, the women are doing more cross training. Whether they’re in the pool or on an elliptical, Hall knows they are getting the work their bodies need, while resting the muscles that work hard while running and focusing on other ones.

“We’ve actually had more success on the women’s side than the men’s, so they don’t question my theories because there’s proof that it works,” Hall adds.

Throughout all of the transitions of being a female runner, Schneider has learned to be patient with her body, and really focus on recovery. After losing access to a facility in her post-collegiate running days, she feels it’s forced her to prioritize stretching, rolling out, sleep and rehab exercises.

“No matter what level of training you’re at, you have to remember your own personal training history, and not base it off what others are doing,” Schneider says. “I’ve realized that everyone is pretty different, and the older I am, the more I see totally different training styles that end up in pretty similar, successful results.”