Powered by Hope

Women’s T-Shirt Sizing Chart

mwhite — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:58:20 +0000

Size Chart
Women
Shirts

	XXS	XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL
Size	00	0	0-2	4-6	8-10	12-14	16-18
Chest (inches)	26-28	28-30	30-32	32-34	36-38	40-42	44-46
Waist (inches)	20-22	23-24	25-26	27-28	30-32	33-35	36-38

Chest:

Measure under arms around the fullest part of the bust. Be sure to keep tape level across back and comfortably loose.

Waist:

Measure around natural waist with a measuring tape.

This sizing chart is
approximate. For more
detailed information, please
see garment specifications or
contact a customer service
representative.


US Sizes Metric Sizes All Size Charts	Close Window

Men’s T-Shirt Sizing Chart

mwhite — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:55:31 +0000

Size Chart
Men/Unisex
Shirts

	XXS	XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL	3XL
Chest (inches)	29-31	30-32	34-36	38-40	42-44	46-48	48-50	50-52
Waist (inches)	27-29	28-30	30-32	32-33	33-34	36-38	40-42	44-48

Chest:

Measure under arms around the fullest part of the chest. Be sure to keep tape level across back and comfortably loose.

Waist:

Measure around natural waist with a measuring tape.

This sizing chart is
approximate. For more
detailed information, please
see garment specifications or
contact a customer service
representative.


US Sizes Metric Sizes All Size Charts	Close Window

HILL RUNNING FORM

mwhite — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:33:37 +0000

Hill training strengthens the legs for running better than any other activity. At the same time it can help you maximize your stride length, increase leg speed, and improve your ability to run hills in races.

The incline of the hill forces your legs to work harder as you go up. The extra work up the incline and the faster turnover, builds strength. By taking an easy walk between the hills and an easy day afterward, the lower leg muscles recover and rebuild, becoming stronger.

Let’s take a look at hill running form:

The resistance of the hill will strengthen the lower legs through repetition. Bouncing, high push-offs and long striding are counter-productive to hill form. Many runners aren’t reminded about their form imperfections on the flat, but the extra effort required going up will aggravate form flaws. Your goal is to find the way of running which is easier, lighter on your feet, and which requires less effort. By increasing leg and foot turnover, you can often run faster while you run easier.

Run relaxed: Don’t contract the muscles or strain to keep the right alignment.

Posture upright: Head is over shoulders, over hips, and all are lined up over the feet as they assume the weight of your body. Your alignment should be perpendicular to the horizontal and not the incline of the hill. In this way, you’re most efficiently distributing the weight of your body as it interacts with gravity.

Short stride: Keep shortening the stride until you feel a slight relaxing of the hamstring muscles (back of thigh). If your stride is too short, you’ll feel that you’re slowing down due to choppy steps and loss of fluid motion. Too long a stride is noted by tightness in the hamstring and/or the quadriceps muscle (front of thigh) and significantly more effort required for only a small increase in speed.

Feet low to ground: The less you have to lift your feet, the more effort you’ll conserve.

Quick turnover: Those who want to improve speed and strength can gradually increase the cadence or turnover of your legs and feet.

As the hill gets tougher: Keep reducing stride length, while trying to maintain or increase turnover of the legs and feet. Remember, stay light on your feet and keep feet low to the ground.

Downhill form: Maintain an average stride and avoid the temptation to extend your stride. Continue to stay light on your feet and keep feet low to the ground. Let gravity pull you down the hill. Turnover of your feet will pick up. Try to just glide (or coast) quickly down the hill.

From Jeff Galloway’s Marathon book.

Train Your Stomach

mwhite — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:25:06 +0000

Just as you must train your legs to go the distance, your digestive system must also be fine-tuned to deliver the energy & nutrients under the stress of the long runs. You want to get into a routine, knowing exactly what to eat, when to eat it, how much to drink with it etc. If you practice and adjust this during your training long runs, you’ll reduce the chance of problems in the event to almost nothing. Your stomach and GI tract can adapt to delivering nutrients with little or no negative reactions throughout a strenuous endurance event.

- Eliminating Problem Foods

While a variety of foods is great for overall nutrition, your pre-race diet will be more focused. Analyze your eating the day before and the morning of long runs. Over the months, eliminate foods that cause problems. Realize that it may have been the quantity of food. It’s better to err on the side of eating too little than eating too much. But, please, don’t starve yourself. Continue to eat small meals or snacks (which you know will digest quickly) all day long into the evening.

- Control Your Food Destiny The Day Before

Start with the foods that have digested quickly for you leading up to long workouts and didn’t cause stomach or other GI problems. Write down the schedule in a journal where you can review it before your next long one. After each snack, note the amount, the time and any fluid you consumed with it. As you work on the right quantity and timetable, you’ll gain control over how you feel the day before and the morning of the half or full marathon.

Here are a few general guidelines to consider as you practice eating the day before your long runs:

1. Don’t eat a large meal after 5 pm the afternoon before.

2. Avoid salty food and alcohol the afternoon and evening before long runs and the race.

Eat smaller meals or snacks about every 2-3 hours, starting about 12 noon the day before.

4. Choose foods that digest easily.

5. Drink 6-8 oz. of water or sports drink with your snacks.

6. It takes about 36-48 hours for the food you eat to be digested, metabolized and ready to be used in the muscles during exercise. Last minute nutrition “cramming” will not help you during the long run.

By Jeff Galloway

NUTRITION FOR TRAINING & RACING

mwhite — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:05:03 +0000

What should I eat and drink before the long run/race?

The eating/drinking strategy that works for you, before long runs, should be your guide. Fine tune the amount and the timing and use the pattern that works best. Unless you are diabetic or have severe blood sugar problems, you may not need to eat anything at all. If you get nausea from eating before running, reduce the amount or don’t eat at all before long runs, and see how this works. Most of the runners I’ve worked with, who do not eat breakfast, start their blood sugar intake at 2-3 miles into the run. I recommend taking 6-8 oz. of water, about 2-3 hours before the start. Practice this before long runs so that you will visit the toilet before the start –especially if you drink coffee. Coffee has actually been shown to improve endurance and enhance fat-burning, but you need to find the right timetable for consumption.

What should I eat during long runs and the race itself?

Running a marathon or half marathon puts enough stress on the system to shut down the digestive tract. Therefore, very little of the food and fluid you consume during a run can be used during that run. It is possible to absorb a small amount of fluid, and blood sugar booster, every 15 minutes or so, and this can help you stay motivated. Your brain needs glycogen as fuel. As you continue, mile after mile on long runs, the available supply of this limited resource is reduced. If you don’t consume enough to boost the blood glucose (using gel products, hard candies, gummy bears, energy bars) the mental focus and motivation is reduced. You can maintain mental energy and avoid some of the negative messages at the end of your race by eating small amounts of foods with sugar, regularly. Practice taking several products during long runs to find what works best for you. This allows each runner to discover the best source, the amount, the quantity of water, the frequency, and how to adjust as the distance increases. A rule of thumb, based upon the runners I’ve worked with is the following: 30-40 calories every 1-2 miles, starting with mile 5. Be sure to drink a little water with each blood sugar snack.

What should I eat, and when, after a long run?

The 30-minute period after a long or hard workout is prime time for reloading your needed glycogen supply. This is very important for recovery because glycogen is the exclusive fuel source needed during the first 15 minutes of exercise, and is the brain’s source of energy. If you miss the first half hour, you can still reload the storage areas during the next 60 minutes, but this is not quite as good for reloading. I recommend a snack of 200-300 calories that is composed of 80% simple carbohydrate and 20% protein. Research has confirmed that this combination can help reload your storage more effectively.

By Jeff Galloway

SIMPLE DRILLS FOR GOOD RUNNING FORM

mwhite — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:50:59 +0000

Practice Makes Perfect. The following five drills can eliminate the most common running-form problems, and help increase your speed and efficiency. Even better, you don’t need to fit in an additional workout to practice these. Simply insert any or all of them into your regular runs each week.

1. RUN TALL. Many runners start to slouch as they tire on a run, which makes them even less efficient. An upright running posture promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. It also reduces neck, shoulder, and back strain. Therefore, you need to learn how to pull yourself upright as if you were a puppet on a string. You can do this drill on every run.. First, take a deep breath, and feel yourself straighten. As you exhale, simply maintain that upright posture. Your head should be in line with your shoulders, with your hips directly underneath. With these body parts in alignment, you’ll “run tall” and move down the road as a well-balanced unit, increasing your running efficiency.

2. DO THE SHUFFLE. Many runners expend too much energy pushing up off the ground with excessive toe and knee lift. If you keep your feet lower to the ground by adding a bit of a shuffle to your running gait, you’ll automatically run more efficiently. This allows you to concentrate your energy on moving forward, not upward. To get the hang of shuffling, pick a flat 100-meter stretch along one of your runs and, while running, concentrate on keeping your feet very close to the ground. Afterward, jog or walk for 30 to 60 seconds, then turn around and repeat that same segment three to five times. For several weeks do these drill every time you return to that stretch of road or trail.

3. USE A QUICK TOUCH. One key to running faster is to reduce the length of time your feet spend on the ground. Running with a quick touch will also reduce foot and leg fatigue, and increase your turnover rate, all while using less energy. As with the shuffle, scout out a favorite 100-meter stretch during a run and imagine that you’re running on thin ice. As you repeat each 100-meter segment, practice lifting each foot back in the air almost instantaneously. Repeat the drill three to five times with 30 to 60 seconds recovery between. Do this for several weeks, until the new motion becomes the norm.

4. TAKE IT IN STRIDE. As you tire at the end of a run or race, you probably begin to overstride, which leads to even greater fatigue, increased injury risk, and ultimately slower times. Slightly reducing your stride length at the end of a run or race will allow you to maintain speed and efficiency. For this drill, jog for a few minutes to warm up, then run at your normal training pace for 30 seconds. Count how many times your left or right foot touches the ground. Walk or jog for about a minute, then run another half minute segment, increasing your footstrike count by one or two. Repeat the drill up to six times, increasing your footstrike count by one or two for each repeat. If you do this once a week, you’ll eventually get used to a quicker, more efficient turnover, and you’ll naturally tend toward it as you tire on your runs.

5. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER. Now it’s time to combine the above four techniques. Spend about 10 minutes during a regular run to work on various combinations.

For instance, try a couple of 100-meter shuffle drills, and incorporate the run tall exercise at the same time. Walk or jog for 30 to 60 seconds between repeats. Then try this combo again, but add a quick touch with each foot. Repeat a few times with recovery periods.

Eventually you’ll be able to do all four form drills simultaneously. With practice, this all-in-one drill will become second nature. At that point, you’ll be a faster, more efficient runner.

By Jeff Galloway

Recruiting Contest: Get Gift Cards!

mwhite — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:27:55 +0000

Recruit someone to run in the 1/2 marathon with Powered by Hope and get a gift card. It’s that simple – but it gets better. As you recruit more runners, each one gets you a bigger gift card. Here’s how it works:

Recruit one runner – get a $25 gift card

Recruit two runners – get a $25 and $50 gift card

Recruit three runners – get a $25, $50 and $75 gift card

Recruit four runners – get a $25, $50, $75 and $100 gift card

For every runner over 4, just keep adding another $100 gift card

AND THERE’S MORE!!

The person who recruits the most runners from now until February 17th will get an additional $200 gift card*!

You’re probably asking yourself – gift cards to what stores? Well, I’ve got options for you. You can choose from:

RESTAURANTS:

Outback (which also works at Carrabba’s, Roy’s, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse)

Chili’s (which also works at Macaroni Grill, On The Border and Maggiano’s)

PF Changs

Cheesecake Factory

Cracker Barrel

Starbucks (naturally)

RETAIL

Target

Nordstrom

GROCERY

Publix

Kroger

FUEL

Shell

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Home Depot

Lowes

As you can see, there’s lots of choices – so go hog wild!

The deadline for your runners to sign up is Midnight on February 17th. You must email me (mitch@whatpowersyou.org) with the name and address of the person you have recruited. I will verify that they have registered and if they continue on the team after the opt out date (March 9, 2012) you will get credit for their recruitment.

Stipulations:

You do not have to be a runner to be a recruiter. Anyone can recruit.

The recruited runner must not opt out (opt out date is March 9, 2012)

The recruited runner must raise a minimum of $1000.

You may not recruit yourself.

Gift cards will be distributed between March 15 and April 1, 2012

*The minimum number of recruited runners is 4 in order to qualify for the $200 gift card contest. In the case of a tie, a winner will be drawn randomly.

That’s it! Thanks for reading and happy recruiting!!

Register Now!

mwhite — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:46:47 +0000

This year is a little different for Powered by Hope. Each participant must register with the Country Music Marathon separately from registering with Powered by Hope.

Please register with CMM first, we need your CMM confirmation number for our registration process.

Please note: For the question “would you like to fundraise and join the St Jude Heroes program” – choose “NO”

Click this link - CMM Registration

Detailed instructions for Registering with CMM here – CMM Registration Instructions.

Once you have successfully registered with CMM, you are ready to join Powered by Hope!

Click this link – Powered by Hope Registration

Five Baby Steps to Fundraising

mwhite — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:01:44 +0000

Here are the five baby steps to fundraising. Each step is designed to help you reach your goal of $1,000 as quickly and easily as possible with minimal demands on your time. Click the link to view the individual blog post with instructions on each baby step.

Get Started

Megan Miller — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:31:21 +0000

Considering signing up with Powered by Hope to train for the 2012 Country Music Marathon and ½? Here are a few quick facts about our training program, fundraising, and registration process to get you started.

How to Register

We have a two-step registration process this year. Team members must to register with both CMM and Powered by Hope. Please register with CMM first, we need your CMM Registration number for our registration process.NOTE: Check “NO” to becoming a St Jude’s Hero unless you plan to do that as well as Powered by Hope.

Click here to REGISTER for CMM

Click here to REGISTER for Powered by Hope

Training

Training starts on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 7:00 AM at Fleet Feet in Brentwood.
Runners and walkers of all levels are encouraged to participate.
Learn more about training with Powered by Hope here.

Fund-raising

The fund-raising goal is a minimum of $1,000.
Learn more about the impact of the dollars you raise here.