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Show facing With Safety" AMERICA'S MARATHON - CHICAGO When the starting gun sounds on the morning of October Oc-tober 21, more than 10,000 tensed America's Marathon runners will explode into a 26.2 mile race through Chicago's Chi-cago's streets. World-class contenders will vie for the coveted front positions, while the less superhuman set a more modest pace and push for a personal best. Sound appealing? Even if you 're only a weekend runner right now, you still have time to be one of those grabbing the glory at the America's Marathon finish line. All you need is a good training schedule, sched-ule, some common sense and a lot of perseverance. A good training schedule is one that gradually increases in-creases your mileage and stamina over the next three months. No matter how eager ea-ger you are to hit the road hard NOW, you must break in your muscles and heart gently to avoid injuries that could keep you out of the big race. ..or worse. How gradual should your schedule be? Dr. Edward Winslow, a cardiologist and medical director of America's Amer-ica's Marathon since 1978, suggests runners increase their training distances no more than 10 per week. By August, he says, America's Marathon hopefuls should be doing at least two or three one-hour runs each week. At September's end, their total weekly mileage should be between 45 to 60 miles. But those weekly figures should not simply be divided by six when setting up a daily dai-ly running schedule (one day off for good behavior. . . and recovervl. Dr. Winslow says. To best condition your body for a marathon, you should alternate what veteran runners run-ners playfully call LSD (long, slow distance) with speed ' 1 nirF&l. work. The key is to get yourself your-self mentally as well as physically phys-ically prepared to go the distance, dis-tance, and there's no substitute substi-tute for logging in long miles. During summer training the best thing you can do for yourself is to "drink more water than you'd ever think you'd need,'' Dr. Winslow says. Running in hot, humid weather can heat up parts of your body to 110 degrees, and it needs fluid to keep cool and keep going. Plan your runs around areas where you know there are water fountains, and use them as much as possible. Other tips to keep in mind while training for a marathon are: Always warm up and cool down with good stretches. Don't set unrealistic goals that could push your body to the breaking point-literally. point-literally. Plan your pacing. Realize Real-ize you're going to be running run-ning for awhile, and don't burn yourself out in the first few miles. Keep your form relaxed, efficient and erect. Use your arms for balance and power, and keep your stride as light and smooth as possible. Don't push yourself too hard if you're feeling fatigued fa-tigued or in pain. Those are your body's warning signals, telling you to take it easy or else. Run a few short races-such races-such as lOKs and half-marathonsduring the summer. That way, you'll get used to the spirit of competition as well as to the way you run under the gun. Be consistent. Even if it's drizzling, even if you're just plain feeling lazy, force yourself out the door and onto on-to the road. It's tough to fight the summer's lazy lure, but persistence will pay off ... in the long run. America's MarathonChicago MarathonChi-cago is sponsored by Beatrice Bea-trice Companies, Inc., in cooperation coop-eration with Flair Foundation. Founda-tion. For the past five years, Beatrice has donated runner entry fees to the Chicago Bovs Clubs, totaling more than $256,000 to benefit the largest boys and girls club organization or-ganization in the world. Entry forms can be obtained by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to America's Amer-ica's MarathonChicago, 214 W. Erie, Chicago, IL 60610 or by calling the MARATHON' HOTLINE at (3121 951-0660. |