Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Last tune up for those doing the Bananna Man 5k Chase this weekend and a harder workout for those not racing

Tomorrow night (30 April) come out to Ala Moana Beach Park for a 35 minute easy to moderate conversation pace run with 6 x 40 second fast surges within the run to tune up your leg turnover before the 5k race this weekend. If you are not racing this weekend, then perform 10-12 x 40 sec fast surges within the 35 minute run and you can even extend the run to 40 minutes. Unfortunately I will not be there tomorrow night because I am going straight over to Kailua after work.

Keep up the great training and don't forget to hydrate before and after your workouts and races as the weather gets hotter and the suns comes up earlier and stays out longer.

- Coach Nate

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Fartlek Running Workout tonight: 1 minute hard - 1 minute jog x 40-45 min. When pain & failure occur: let go, learn from it, & let God take it

Tonight's workout is a Fartlek of 1 minute hard - 1 minute jog x 40-45 minutes totol. We will perform a dynamic warm-up with some speed before.

Thought of the day: "I regret feeling the pain of failure so keenly that I backed away
from owning it and learning from it. I could not heal and move on. I wanted
to bury it so deeply that no one would ever guess it was there-not even me."

- John Ortberg

Can you relate to the above quote? I know I can. But, when I've buried and denied pain and failure I never healed or was able to completely move on or be free of it. When pain and failure occur: let go, learn from it, and let God take away the pain

- Dr. Nate

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Joy Produces the Strength You Need to See the Race Through

Tomorrow's workout at 5:30pm is a modified tempo with 2 x 18 tempo (at half-marathon pace) with 6 minute slow jog rest between each tempo session. If you are racing this weekend, then I recommend that you run a continuous 42 minute moderate run slower than tempo pace to work on getting in a rhythm. I will be in LA area at the Mt. Sac Relay's tomorrow. Polina runs the 5k Friday night at 7:44pm PST. Good luck to all of you traveling to Boston for the Marathon! Read below for inspiration:


Below is another sneak peek of my book that is coming out later in the year...


"Joy Produces Strength"


How many times during your day and life are you in need of strength? Strength is necessary, whether it be physical strength, emotional strength, mental strength, or spiritual strength. You need strength that will not fail, strength that remains during hardships and trials. Where does this strength come from? The scriptures tell you: “…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10, NKJV).” How do you and I tap into this God-given joy that produces strength?


You first have to know God. You know God by believing in His Son, Jesus. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:15-16, NKJV) To know God, you know real love and this “…love casts out fear…(1 John 4:18).” What joy to know that you don’t have to fear because you are so loved by God and He will provide for you and take care of you! When you know this love, your mind’s perspective is confronted by a change. When you decide to believe and change your mind about your situation and how life should be lived with God…you begin to position your mind and life to have God pour out the blessing of joy in every area of your life!


Throughout my athletic career, I have always needed strength before, during, and after a challenging workout or competition. For this strength, I turn to God’s Word. I read the scriptures, believe what God says, praise God, and ask God for joy that would produce strength in my time of need. For those that have ever seen me competing or working out on the track, you may have seen me smiling and finishing faster then I started.


In 2011, I experienced this in a very special way. That specific year I was discouraged with my performances in running races because I had not run a personal best in a very long time. In the fall, I ran the Maui Half-Marathon with no competition to push me during the race, so I ran as if God was running with me. I remember that I had a tremendous amount of joy from God that day before, during, and after the race. This joy put a smile on my face and gave me strength to win and set a personal best time! This is the joy of the Lord, and it gives you and me strength! The joy of the Lord is the difference maker. God wants to give you His strengthening joy today. Believe in God’s Word, know that God is for you, change your perspective, ask for God’s joy, and receive strength producing joy!

- Dr. Nate

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Remember to have PATIENCE in distance running...lets work on 400m repeats at half marathon pace tonight

Come on out to Ala Moana Beach Park at 5:30pm tonight for the last workout before Hapalua Half Marathon. We will work on pace with 12 x 400m repeats at Half-marathon pace with the last two interval repeats slightly faster to work on turnover. Rest is 1 minute between each 400m. Keep in mind that PATIENCE is one of the most important traits of a successful distance runner... Have you ever wanted something right now? You sense the timing is not right, but you have a hard time holding yourself back. You get impatient and go for it before it was the best time for you. Acting out of impatience can cause something that was shaping up to be great, to end up average or even disastrous. To say ‘patience is a virtue’ holds truth because a virtue is an advantage. Patience in athletic training and competition is largely overlooked, but it is paramount to consistent success. The people and athletes that can harness impatience and unleash patience have an advantage over those more talented that have less patience. For example, you are starting to build your fitness back up after taking time off and begin to push too much, too soon and injure your body. You wanted the results, now! Or, you are in a competition and begin to pick up your pace or start your finishing kick prematurely and fade badly towards the finish and lose a lot of time or even the competition. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:4-5, NKJ).” “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…(Psalms 37:7a, NKJ).” - Dr. Nate

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

3 to 4 sets of 5 min hard - 2 min hard fartlek speed workout tomorrow night with 2 min jog between each

Tomorrow night we will meet for a fartlek speed workout consisting of 3-4 sets of [5 min (10k goal pace) - 2 min jog - 2 min (5k goal pace) - 2 min jog]. Perform 4 sets of this if trying to start or taper for a half-marathon. Perform 3 sets if you are gearing up for a 10k. This is a great tune-up workout for those preparing for a 10k or Half-Marathon race. Hope to see you there at Ala Moana Beach Park behind the tennis courts (mountainside) at 5:30pm! Let me know if you have questions about the workout. - Coach Nate