Friday, June 02, 2006

Tribute to A Mother

Dear, Jan, Duane and family,
We have you in our thoughts and prayers during this time of loss and sorrow. The members of the Springfield Road Runners Club have you wrapped in our arms and hearts. This is our tribute to your mom.

What Is a Mother?
A mother can be almost any size or any age, but she won't admit to anything over thirty. A mother has soft hands and smells good. A mother likes new dresses, music, a clean house, her children's kisses, an automatic washer and Daddy.
A mother doesn't like having her children sick, muddy feet, temper tantrums, loud noise or bad report cards. A mother can read a thermometer (much to the amazement of Daddy) and like magic, can kiss a hurt away.
A mother can bake good cakes and pies but likes to see her children eat vegetables. A mother can stuff a fat baby into a snowsuit in seconds and can kiss sad little faces and make them smile.
A mother is underpaid, has long hours and gets very little rest. She worries too much about her children but she says she doesn't mind at all. And no matter how old her children are, she still likes to think of them as her little babies.
She is the guardian angel of the family, the queen, the tender hand of love. A mother is the best friend anyone ever had. A mother is love.
- Author Unknown

Lois Boner
SPRINGFIELD — Lois Esther Boner,84, of Springfield died Tuesday, May 30, 2006, at St. John’s Hospital. She was born May 22, 1922, in Sandoval, the daughter of George and Birda Kennedy Patton. She married George W. “Bill” Boner in 1940. Mrs. Boner retired as an outside plant engineering clerk from Illinois Bell Telephone Co. in 1980 after 25 years. She attended West Side Christian Church and was a member of Telephone Pioneers of America. She was a former member of Springfield Junior Women’s Club and the Sweet Adelines. Survivors: husband, Bill; daughter, Janet (husband, Duane) Wilson of Springfield; two grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; sister, Leah Kickham of Memphis, Tenn.; brother, Walter R. (wife, Lu) Patton of Maryville; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Private graveside services: Oak Ridge Cemetery, Charles Lee officiating. Staab Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Week 1 Training Plan

Wednesday, May 31
Walk / Run: 15 minutes
Run: Walk, x-train, or switch to day with tomorrow and go the
Springfield Track workout (sorry, Jack! Did you order all that rain?!)
Advanced: Track workout / 3+ miles

Thursday, June1
Walk / Run: off or x-train
Run: 20 min run
Advanced: Run 25 minutes

Friday, June 2
Walk / Run: Walk or x-train
Run: Walk or x-train
Advanced: 30 minute run

Saturday, June 3
Walk /Run: 2 miles walk / run
Run: 3 miles run with walk breaks
Advanced: Run 4 miles

Saturday Events:
Passavant Powerade 5k or 10k in Jacksonville (see SRRC website for more details)
Abe's Army Cadet Run - starts 7 a.m. at the Grandstand with General Tim Butler --fun for all, pick your pace and your distance as a practice run

Sunday, June 4
Rest Day

Week 1

Welcome to Abe's Army! We're extremely excited that over 500 "recruits" decided to take the enrollment challenge and train for Abe's Amble. The leaders--your 2nd Lieutenants in Abe's Army--are honored that you want to work with us on one of your important goals. For many of you, you've already learned to love running and how setting goals makes you disciplined and gives you a sense of success. Some of you are using running as a fitness goal to improve your endurance and get in better shape. For some, this is about stretching yourself and finding out if you are capable of things you never thought you could do. Regardless of your reason for starting with the group, you will be able to find a path to success. We encourage you to write your goals in your training log (more will be available for individuals who just joined this week when we meet next Tuesday) and really think about what you are setting out to achieve. Every runner in our club has a personal story to share about how running has contributed to their life and brought them a lot of confidence in the value of practice, training and working toward goals. But more than that, we've found the value of teamwork and how encouraging and supporting each other makes it easier to work hard and celebrate the successes. You'll find at least one person, or if my own experience stands true, many persons, in this club who will inspire you, that you can learn from, and you will call friend.

When you are setting your goals, keep them clearly stated, measurable, and REALISTIC. If you've been a coach potato this past winter, don't expect to run like the wind this summer. Remember that any accomplished athlete trains months and years to reach high performance goals. If you are struggling with inactivity, overweight, high triglycerides or other health problems, it takes as much time to undo that pattern as it took for the problem to develop. You will not become healthy and high performing overnight! But by working incrementally on your goal, you can make incredible improvements. The most common reasons that runners drop out from the sport is setting unrealistic goals, expecting too much in their performance, and overtraining for their ability and falling prone to injuries. The training program in your logs is realistic, proven in many past runnning programs, and will produce the results you need to meet your goal to run Abe's Amble.

The training program is designed for you to run, run/walk or walk three times a week. This is very important as you are building muscle strength and endurance in these runs. At the beginning of training, speed is not as important to new runners and walkers. Once you have learned to develop your form, leg action, and comfort in movement, the pace can be increased.
Cross training days help build endurance and make daily exercise a habit. Walking is sufficient for cross training but you will get extra value from selecting other aerobic exercises and weight resistance workouts as part of your cross training. We'll give you more information about this in the coming weeks. The most important part of your training is the rest day! Your muscles need recovery time as much as they need exercise. Plan at least one day per week for a break from exercise to give your muscles time to rebuild. This is actually an important part of the program since during this recovery phase, muscle cells rebuild stronger than they were before!

Weekly, we'll be posting the training plan found in your log along with a weekly training topic. Look for the training program now and come back in a few days to see our training information on safety!

Smile when you run!

Group 26 also has a blog!

We have started a blog revolution.

Group 26 has also created a blog to communicate with their group. The address is: http://www.zoneana.blogspot.com/

Feel free to check it out to see what your fellow Army recruits and leaders are up to.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Group #22 has a Blogspot

http://www.abesarmy10301100.blogspot.com/

Group #22 and its fearless leaders are off to a smashing start! You can view their running banter on their own blogspot. Select the link above to see what they are up to!

Join us Saturday on the Abe's Amble course

We will meet SATURDAY to run/walk the Abe's Amble course. I think the training logs say we will meet on Sunday, but whoever wants to meet on Saturday is more than welcome.

You don't have to run the whole thing, just do what you feel comfortable doing...a half mile, one mile, two miles...whatever. The Saturday runs are not nearly as formal as the Tuesday group runs, but it is a great way to get used to the Abe's course and have a group to help you get through it!

So come on out if you want. We will meet at 7:00 a.m. at the Grandstand area.

If you have any questions, just put up a post and we'll get back to you.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jan

Visitation Update: The visitation for Jan's mother will be Friday, June 2, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Staab Funeral Home, 1109 S. 5th Street in Springfield. A private, graveside service is scheduled for the funeral.

I just wanted to share with the Army that Jan Wilson's mother passed away early this morning.

One just never knows the twists life will take...Jan was up there in front of everyone last night going on and on like she does, and just a few hours later her mother is gone. Life is precious, folks, that's why we have to live it as best we can.

Many of us have lost parents, and many of us still have them around. Speaking from experience, there are certainly better things in life then having a parent pass away, but I know Jan can take comfort in the long life her mother lived and that Jan was able to spend so many wonderful years with her.

I don't have any details on arrangements yet, but will certainly let everyone know when they are made.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Jan. It is so obvious that your mother was a great person because she raised such a wonderful daughter!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Organized Chaos

Just a few thoughts as the seventh edition of Abe's Army kicks off tonight....

With over 500 recruits registered for the Army (a record!) and over 100 platoon leaders (a record!), there will be a lot of people at Lincoln Park tonight. Too many people probably.

At times it might seem a little overwhelming this evening, but stick with us! Other than just randomly dividing people into groups, there really is no easy way to get 500 people divided into groups of 10-15 people. As the title of this post suggests...it might look like organized chaos tonight, but we have done this before and it always works in the end.

The first night can be the most overwhelming and intimidating, but this is a proven program and it is an excellent way to get to your ultimate goal...running Abe's Amble 10k! The most important thing for ALL the recruits to do is to show up...show up this week and show up again next week. If you keep doing that for 12 weeks then you will tackle the Abe's course without a problem!

So, for those of you who are new to the Army, just bear with us tonight. We'll get you organized.

And with this sudden spike in temperature, make sure to take it easy tonight!

See ya there. It will be fun!

Tim Butler

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Registration re-opens

ABE'S ARMY REGISTRATION RE-OPENS!!!

That's right! Due to the HUGE response last week, the decision has been made to re-open registration immediately. If you or anyone you know wants to join, just follow the link to the Springfield Road Runner's website and download the application. Bring it and your check to Lincoln Park on Tuesday night and we'll get you going! Thanks to our wonderful leaders for their support in this decision. It's going to be pretty confusing getting the large number of recruits organized, but please bear with us. We have a plan, even if it doesn't appear so.

The SPRINGFIELD RUNNING CENTER has agreed to continue to honor the 15% off coupons. If you didn't get a chance to go in last Tuesday night you still can use your coupons until June 6. Derrick and Matt (both board members of our club) are extremely cooperative and for that we are thankful.

Leaders - it's been suggested that you park outside of the park and run yourself in. Frees up a little more space and increase your distance. We're going to try having about half of the "Army" start from the Grandstand after this Tuesday night. This will be permanent - no switching back and forth. We're hoping that some of the faster groups will be willing to move to the Fairgrounds since they'll probably be increasing their distance quicker. Again, please bear with us as we work to accommodate as many recruits as possible. Suggestions are always welcome. For that matter, they're NEEDED.

Friday, May 26, 2006


Leaders help recruits get enlisted
Recruits lined up to get enlisted

Abe's Army Recruits

A record number of recruits showed up on Tuesday to enlist in Abe's Army. The twelve week training program is designed to let runners and walkers of all skill levels have a successful finish in Abe's Amble, the 10K on the last day of the State Fair, August 20, 2006.

Our Army Platoon Leaders were out in force, to help the recruits get enlisted and answer questions about the training program and how to get started. The first training session happens this coming Tuesday, May 30 at 5:45 p.m. at Lincoln Park adjacent to the Nelson Center. Thanks to AthletiCare/St. John's Hospital for sponsoring our enlistment session, and to the Springfield Running Center, which provided a 15% off coupon on the night of the enlistment so recruits could purchase discounted running gear. We plan to get everyone out on the road to break in those new shoes!

To date, with the Platoon Leaders and Recruits, we have over 500 "grunts" ready to run the training course. The leaders are excited to share their knowledge and experiences about what makes running so much fun and how being part of Springfield Road Runners Club gives you the best advantages to make running part of your life. We're excited to help you succeed in your goal to run Abe's Amble!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Thanks to Tim Butler - again.

Thanks to Tim Butler for bearing with me as I became more aquainted with the 21st century. I CAN NOW EDIT, PUBLISH, POST, AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF LIKE THAT!! Thanks, Tim.

Jan
STILL ROOM IN ABE'S ARMY

REGISTRATION AND PACKET PICK-UP IS TUESAY, MAY 23

If you haven't sent your registration in for Abe's Army 2006, be sure to be at Athleticare, 3631 S. 6th (next to FitClub South) between 5:00 and 6:30 P.M. We still have space for new runners, runners/walkers, and walkers. We have over 100 Platoon Leaders ready and willing to work with this year's recruits. Get up, get out, get in.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE RUNNING; IT'S ABOUT SETTING GOALS, THE CHARACTER THAT IS BUILT, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE FORMED ALONG THE WAY."

Joe Thiel 2006
Springfield

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Abe's Army

Abe's Army Platoon Leaders

Wow, leaders! That was a great turnout last night to learn more about the upcoming program and plan to work with our recruits. You're all "in the Army now" and new 2nd lieutenants! In one week we'll see the recruits coming to "boot camp" wondering how we are ever going to whip them in shape enough to run 6.2 miles. No fear, this will definitely happen!

We have over 100 leaders committed to working with Abe's Army! Our Army is already strong and getting stronger every day! I am amazed and very proud of your willingness to help lead the running groups. If you are available to help with the Meet the Leader/Registration/Packet Pick-up next Tuesday, May 23, the event will be 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at AthletiCare/Fit Club South on 6th Street.

Until then, keep running!

Monday, May 15, 2006

Abe's Army

Abe's Army

Welcome, runners! We hope you saw today's announcement in the State Journal Register. But it didn't tell how to enroll as an Abe's Army Running Recruit! Whether you are an experienced runner or a true novice wondering if you can run a block, Abe's Army is for you! Come join us for our weekly runs at Lincoln Park with the goal to finish Abe's Amble on August 20, 2006. I guarantee that working with the Springfield Road Runners Club, you will be well prepared to finish the 10k (6.2 miles)!

Abe's Army applications for runners are available at the following locations:

Springfield Road Runners website: www.srrc.net (see link at right)
Fit Club--All three locations
Springfield Running Center
AthletiCare
Fitness Together
YMCA
Gold's Gym
Springfield Racquet and Fitness Center

Registration is also available on Tuesday, May 23 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at AthletiCare, 3631 S. 6th Street in Springfield at the registration, packet pick-up and Meet the Platoon Leaders event. The Springfield Running Center will be offering a 15% discount to all participants on registration night.

Do you need extra assistance or have questions? Email Jan Wilson at twolazybums@sbcglobal.net or myself, Linda Jones, at jones.linda@mhsil.com.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Abe's Army

Abe's Army

The time has finally arrived to get the platoon leaders together and plan for how we’ll train our 2006 recruits! Thanks to all of you for your willingness to get involved! The following dates are when events will be happening:

Tuesday, May 16, 5:45 p.m., Platoon Leaders Orientation, Fit Club South
Tuesday, May 23, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Abes Army Recruits Registration and Packet Pick-up, Fit Club South
Tuesday, May 30, 5:45 p.m., First Training Run, Lincoln Park (by Nelson Center)
Weekly runs each Tuesday, May 30 to August 15
Abe’s Amble, August 20, 7:30 a.m., State Fairgrounds

I am excited by the number of you who have already agreed to participate as a group leader. 70 runners are receiving this email and we still have more leaders signing up. The success of Abes Army rests totally with you! Its your enthusiasm, willingness to give time and share your insights and passion for running that will convince Army recruits that running is an enjoyable sport that everyone can succeed at. Connie Clark and I will be coordinating the leader activities this year, and like last year, Brigitte Cutler and Jan Wilson have agreed to be our fearless leaders who lead us sweating and panting around Lincoln Park the cemetery, and ultimately to the finish line at the state fairgrounds. You’ll be seeing a lot of these areas in the next few months. We will hold our packet pick up at Fit Club South, but all weekly runs will meet at Lincoln Park and the fairgrounds.

We’re working on several changes that should make the runs more enjoyable for the groups and to support your efforts as group leaders. Connie, Jan, Brigitte and I will be sharing these with you at the leader orientation next week. PLEASE make every effort to attend! We’ve carefully reviewed the runners’ feedback from last year and we would like to have all leaders know about the changes and plans to make our training program top notch.

Food and beverage will be provided next Tuesday. At 7 pm Brigitte has arranged a CPR refresher session for anyone who would like to participate.

I’ve attached the leader recruitment form and the runners recruit form to this email. Please feel free to share these forms with others and urge them to get involved. If you haven’t already submitted your leader form through email or the mail, plan to bring it to the orientation next week.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Info for Abe's Army Platoon Leaders!!!

Abe's Army begins Tuesday, May 30 and we are well on our way to having another great program for folks looking to train for Abe's Amble 10 kilometer race.

If you have registered to be a Platoon (group) Leader, here is what you need to know:

The Platoon Leader orientation is set for Tuesday, May 16, 5:45 p.m. at Athleticare, 3631 S. 6th Street in Springfield (next to FitClub South).

If you are registered as a Platoon Leader, or would like to be a Platoon Leader, it is recommended that you attend the orientation. This is a great opportunity for you to know what you will be doing as a Platoon Leader. We'll have Platoon Leader shirts, Platoon Leader manuals, and lots of good information that will keep your "recruits" running all summer long!!!! An optional, abreviated CPR course will be available following orientation for any Platoon Leaders who are interested.

If you are a Platoon Leader and need more information, please contact Jan Wilson at twolazybums@sbcglobal.net

We'll see you on the 16th and thanks for volunteering as a Platoon Leader.

Jan's first post

Jan Wilson and Brigitte Cutler are the two fiery redheads who are the gals who head up Abe's Army. We are not quite sure why they do it...but they do.

If you would like more information on Abe's Army, please check back here soon or contact Jan at twolazybums@sbcglobal.net or 217-787-5050.

CHECK BACK SOON...WE WILL HAVE MUCH MORE INFO IN THE NEAR FUTURE!!!

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Abe's Army Info

Abe's Army is a 12 weeek training program that will get you ready to run the Abe's Amble 10K race.

The Army is geared toward new runners, people who have been away from running for a while, or people who have never run a 10K before.

The 2006 version of Abe's Army is set to begin on Tuesday, May 30.

Keep checking back here for more details.