DSG Newsletter #8

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DSG Newsletter #8
http://www.dsgrunning.com/
July 19, 2011
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Hello 14 mile finishers,

I want to send the weekly newsletter out a bit earlier than normal this week.  I want to spend my billable hours Wednesday searching for good places to eat in Frankfurt.

Congrats to all of our first timers who completed the longest run of their lives this past Saturday.  I was glad to see that no one took the DSG express taxi back to base.  These 14 milers that we run throughout the season will get a lot easier as the season progresses.  Give yourselves a little pat in the back.  Not many on the planet can do you what you just did.  I went sterile after I ran my first 14 miler back in the days.  I'm still recovering.  Hopefully you guys didn't meet the same fate.  If you did, drink more mango juice.

I won't be at the run this weekend.  Please don't let that fact prevents you from coming to the marina.  There will be plenty of people there to run.  Just show up and do your thing.  If you don't know where you are going, follow someone.  Jerry says that he will be there to take command.  Jerry also says a lot of stuff.

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WATER STATION
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This week is the Vietnamese 12 miler ... 11.75 miles.  To our first timers, the route will take you on a packed dirt path.  Make sure that you get down to the asphalt path that is parallel to the dirt path.  You won't miss it.  Just run on the dirt path and eventually it will provide you will several locations where you can go down on the asphalt path.  The asphalt path is where mile marker 7.5 is located.  It will be on your left hand side at about 3/4 mile pass the boat house.  There will be no water station this week since I'll be in Germany. 

It's going to hot for the next week or so.  I want to remind everyone to hydrate properly for all runs, including the short ones at home.  Make sure that you don't overdo it though.  To all of the newbies out there, there is a condition called hyponatremia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia) if you drink too much water.  The best way to prevent this is drink a sports drink instead of water.  If you do drink water, just do it until your urine is a light yellow or clear.

The other thing that I want to mention is the danger of taking NSAIDs/Ibuprofen during the training runs.  It may give you temporary relief, but take caution when using it for endurance sports.  Studies have cautioned that the use of NSAIDs during ultra distance exercise, such as an marathons, is associated with an increased risk of exertional hyponatremia. Researchers believe that this effect is likely due to altered renal (kidney) function. The issues related to altered kidney function in athletes are not hard to imagine. Poor fluid transport and restriction can lead to dehydration, hyponatremia and at the extreme, kidney failure.

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DSG NIGHT OUT
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REMINDER:  Our DSG night out is Saturday Aug 13.  We are going to the Improv.  Below is the link to the show that we are seeing.  It's the 8:00 PM show.  Please come out if you can.  We'll gather, socialize, eat, watch the show, and do something together afterward for those who want to extend the evening. The last time that we did this, the show sold out so please book now or you will be left without tickets.  It's a Saturday night show so it will sell out.  Don't wait.  Book now!!

This is a great opportunity for us to get to know each other outside of the marina.  It will also give us a good mid-season break and do something fun together.  Many of us will be driving there so we can give rides to whomever needs one.  Please feel free to bring along a friend, family, or significant other.  Drop me an email to tell me if you are coming so that I know who and how many to expect.

http://www.symfonee.com/Improv/dc/comedians/Bio.aspx?Uid=ef3405d6-d156-4c8c-9c26-d9d2b4f465ea

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IRONMAN GERMANY
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I'm leaving for Frankfurt today.  I may come back with an Ironman finisher's medal or I may come back with a German mail-order bride.  I don't know, but we will let fate decide.  If you want to follow me, my bib number is 2091.  I'm sure that DSG folks will post my splits on my Facebook wall throughout the day.  If you are following me, please post the splits there so that other DSG folks can see it.  If you are not my Facebook friend, add me now :)  The race starts at 2:00 AM DC time.

The weather calls for rain the day before the race, rain the day of the race, and rain the day after the race.  This will make peeing on German soil a lot less stressful when I'm on the bike.  Why stop by a porta-john when the gods are giving you a helping hand?

My goal for the race is not act like a deer in a headlight when they start molesting me during the swim.  You're damn right that I'll be rocking in a chastity belt during the swim.  You can never be too safe these days.

In all seriousness, I didn't sacrifice three of my favorite testicles during long bike training rides this season to be a tourist in Germany.  Rain or no rain, I plan to go there and lay down a PR ... or lie and say that I got a PR.  It is the Vietnamese way after all.

If you want to see what it's like to be in Frankfurt and do Ironman Germany, check out the below YouTube video.  It will be 9:30 minutes of your life that you will never get back.  The video is from the 2010 race..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8wOeoaUGX0

Not a liar, just an artist with the truth,
Tuan