Runners and walkers may be surprised to learn that they’ll be more successful, if they train more than their legs.  I often see advice about developing the abs to enhance running performance.  That’s why I’m happy I found Amy Martin on Twitter.

Amy is a Hoosier fitness trainer and a professional member of the IFBB — the International Federation of Body Building and Fitness.  From what I’ve seen, she’s a perfect candidate for advice on modifying your midsection.  Amy says it guards against injury.  “Each time your foot hits the ground,” she says, “your body absorbs pressure and shock.  Building a strong core can help counteract some of this force.”

“Strong abs equal balanced stability throughout your body.  With balanced stability, your upper and lower body can work together through your core; something that is especially important when running rough or unstable terrain.”

Amy says a strong midsection “can help you maintain proper running technique” through your run or a race.  Some of that comes from enhanced strength and endurance.  “With more body strength,” Amy says, ” you will be able to run faster and longer with less effort.”

You could invest in one of those ab machines advertised on TV.  But Amy offers the following exercises, instead.

Lie on your back and place both hands lightly behind your head, elbows flared out. Lift your head, shoulders and upper back off the ground while concentrating on pushing your lower back into the ground. Pause a moment at the top and then slowly lower back to your starting position. Perform 3-4 sets counting out 15-20 each team you lift up.

Facing down on the ground prop yourself up on your knees and elbows. Straighten your entire body concentrating on lifting up your head, back, glutes and legs. Peform 3-4 sets, holding each set for 30 seconds to 1 minute. AVOID: Do not let your middle sag or your hips to rise. Concentrate on keeping your butt down.

Can be performed with or without a medicine ball or weight. Begin sitting on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold the medicine ball and extend your arms out in front of you. Recline back so that your body is angled about 45 degrees. Keep your lower body still and twist your body to the right and then to the left. Perform 3-4 sets counting out 20 per each twist. CHALLENGE: The more you lean back (greater than 45 degrees) the greater the resistance. Lift your feet about 1-2 inches off the ground for added challenge.

I found a great note in my e-mail, this afternoon.  It came from a friend in Haiti.  The Salvation Army’s Jerry Larsen is there as a leader of the disaster relief mission.

It’s hard to imagine what members of the Salvation Army have accomplished since the quake hit Haiti.  Jerry says they’ve served more than one million meals to survivors.  They’ll be over two million served in a few days.

The Salvation Army also has a medical clinic that Jerry says is “doing a great job.  Surgeries almost every day” and they “continue to treat the wounds still lingering from the initial quake.”  The most critical patients have had to be sent to other hospitals.

But it’s not all tragedy at the clinic.  They’ve delivered five babies since the quake.

Jerry will be back in Indiana soon.  Then we’ll learn more about the difficult life ahead for those babies and their families as Haiti recovers.

It can take me a long time to get home.  Every Saturday, when I take off for my long run, I know I’ll be gone for awhile.  I know almost exactly how long I’ll be gone because my pace is so steady.  That’s part of the problem.  I tend to run at one speed — all the time.  I figure: I was never fast as a kid.  So, why start now?

Julie Patterson, the Traffic Reporter on our Daybreak show, is a serious runner.  She is also a trainer for the Fitness Concepts running and walking program.  I asked her for advice on whether people need to add speed work into their training.  She’s familiar with my attitude.  She said it’s normal for people to just plan to finish the race — without regard to time — especially first-time participants. 

Julie says, after a few weeks of training, you should have a good idea of how fast you can go without being winded.  That’s the time to start adding a little speed work. 

Occasionally, I’ll try something that, when I describe it, always brings a smile to the faces of the unfamiliar.  It’s called Fartlek.  That’s a Swedish word which, in this case, means you run faster for a little while.  When I do it, I may use telephone poles as my guide.  Run fast from one to another.  Run slowly from that one to the next.  Then repeat that pattern.

Julie suggests trying “tempo” runs.  In that example, you would run a shorter distance than usual but at near your race pace.  “In other words,” Julie says, that’s “a pace that is NOT comfortable having a conversation with your running buddy.”  Try one of those a week.  Then, think about interval training — such as fartlek — on another day.  Julie says you can “do those on a track … or simply pick out the next mailbox” and run to it as fast as you can.  “The distances will vary depending on your miles for that week.”

I remember a bit of training advice from my first Mini-Marathon program.  If you’re going to do speed work, don’t wait to add it to your training.  If you delay until the last few weeks before the Mini, the benefits will be minimal and you’re more likely to wind up injured.

That’s why Julie advises first-timers to find coaches.  They can help set weekly mileage goals and offer guidance for how to include speed training. 

I don’t have a coach.  But, I may try to get a little faster.  Not to cut my race time significantly.  Just to get home sooner on those long runs.

I could have posted this sooner.  But, I knew people would be more interested in Colts than cats — even with Max staring you in the face.  Max is the honorary fundraising chairman of the Exotic Feline Rescue Center.  I made a brief appearance at Saturday’s EFRC fundraiser to introduce a WISH-TV contribution to the auction.  It gave me a chance to see Max and learn about the center.

The founder of the EFRC created the place to give a home to abandoned, abused, or neglected animals.  It opened with three cats in 1991.  Now, it has 205.  Jean Herrberg, the Assistant Director, said they “don’t buy, don’t sell, don’t breed.  Once a cat comes to us, it is a home for life.”  But, it’s also an expensive home.  Herrberg says the cats eat a lot of meat.  “We go through 3000 pounds a day.  So you need to be in farm country — where there are cows and calves and horses that die because they’re old, ill or injured.  Then, our driver can pick them up and we can process it for the cats.”

The link above will give you a link to photos of the center’s residents and more information about what the center does.  It’s quite a place for central Indiana!

Here’s another sign of the difficult conditions in Haiti.  The Hoosiers joining a Salvation Army disaster team still haven’t reached Haiti.  This is part of a message from Mike Rowland at the Indianapolis office of the Salvation Army:

The group leader, Jerry Larsen of Indianapolis, will go out on the last flight. Rowland said Larsen “was able to send a group yesterday, a group today, and 1 doctor out on a cargo plane this morning.”  Larsen and the remaining team members are ”most likely” to leave tomorrow.

The Salvation Army of Indiana is preparing a team for duty in Haiti.  It’ll be a small group — four people — specially-trained for disaster conditions.  They’ll fly out of Indiana, next Friday.

The agency knows the quake in Haiti motivates people to offer help.  But, for something this big, the Salvation Army can’t accept anyone who hasn’t been through the “Disaster Service Training” program.  The next class is scheduled for next weekend.  To learn more, call the Volunteer Coordinator at 224-1010.  Ask for Elizabeth.

Taking the class does not guarantee that a volunteer will serve in Haiti.  But, it’s certainly good preparation to help your neighbors, if tragedy strikes Indiana.

This is a request for advice.  I received an e-mail from a woman in Ft. Wayne.  She and two friends missed the deadline to enter the Mini-Marathon.  Now, they’re trying to find three people who registered but don’t plan to participate now. 

The 500 Festival Committee says, so far, it hasn’t found people trying to get out of the Mini.  Just others trying to transfer in.  That’s verified by craigslist.org.  I found a list of people looking for registrations.  None being offered. 

So, what’s the best way to find someone with a registration to transfer?

The 500 Festival Committee knows some people who’ve entered the Mini won’t be able to participate.  It also knows a lot of people want to be in the race — but missed the deadline.  The “Transfer Program” aims to solve both problems.

The 500 Festival says the program will run from January 11 through April 7.  Here’s how it works:

1. A registered participant wanting to transfer his/her registration to someone else must find someone who would like to participate, a person who is not already registered for the Mini-Marathon.
2. The person transferring into the Mini-Marathon must complete a “transfer request” form at www.500festival.com. There will be a $20 processing fee associated with the transfer request. Transfer requests will only be processed online. Only the person transferring into the Mini-Marathon needs to fill out the transfer request form.
3. Once the transfer request is confirmed by the 500 Festival, the participant transferring out of the Mini-Marathon will be removed from race registration and the participant transferring into the race will be added to the field.

Sahm Park Christmas Tree Site

In the PM days, disposing of Christmas trees was more entertaining.  Those were the Pre-Mulch days — when Indianapolis turned Christmas trees into ashes rather than gardening material. 

In those days, many people gathered to enjoy community bonfires as a way to mark the end of the holiday season.

Environmental awareness eliminated that tradition.  So, while today’s tree disposal may be better for us in the long run, it’s an individual event now. 

The following Indianapolis parks are collecting Christmas trees from now through January 31st.

           Broad Ripple Park, 1550 Broad Ripple Ave., (main parking lot)

           Ellenberger Park, 5301 E. St. Clair St., (main parking lot)

           Garfield Park, 2450 S. Shelby St., (MacAllister Center parking lot)

           Gustafson Park, 3110 Moller Rd., (main parking lot)

           Krannert Park, 605 S. High School Rd., (northeast parking lot)

           Northwestway Park, 5253 W. 62nd St., (parking lot)

           Perry Park, 451 E. Stop 11 Rd., (soccer field parking lot)

           Riverside Park, 2420 N. Riverside Dr. (parking lot at 27^th St. and Riverside Dr. E.)

           Sahm Park, 6801 E. 91^st St., (soccer field parking lot)

It’s hard to believe that this reminder is necessary, but the Department of Parks and Recreation says: remove all ornaments, lights, and decorations.  It also says this is not for disposal of unwanted artificial trees.

IndyParks says, last year, it collected more than 25,000 trees — and turned them into much needed mulch for parks.

The recent cold weather reminded me of something I learned, years ago.  It helps me remain relatively comfortable on my winter runs.  It’s a variant of the advice to “dress in layers.”

I dress as if the outdoor air is 20 degrees warmer than the actual air temperature.  I might be a little chilly as I start my run.  But, the body warms up quickly — and, at running pace, the heat I generate keeps me comfortable.