You came to New Member Orientation. You heard the talk and participated in the Trial Mile. You may have already paid your membership fee to join the LEGGERS this season.

So, what’s next?

At the end of the trial mile you were given a time and a suggested pace group. You headed over to the lawn south of 1450 Ocean, our official South Lawn, to meet other members of that group and the group’s mentors.

But what is a pace group and what are mentors?

A pace group is a group (nothing hard there) that moves forward at a certain speed (pace). We have different types of pace groups:

  • a pace group that only runs, our Boston Bound group;
  • pace groups that combine running and walking, ranging from 9 minutes per mile to 13.5 minutes per mile;
  • a pace group dedicated to those wanting to include some running with their walking, our Breakthrough Runners;
  • and pace groups that walk from 12 minutes per mile to 16 minutes per mile

Mentors are seasoned endurance athletes, runners and walkers, who have volunteered to aid you in your goals. Whether your goal is running or walking, any distance up to Marathon, the mentors are here to help you reach that goal.

As I said at New Member Orientation, there is no agreement that binds you to one specific pace group. Your agreement is with yourself – to go out and move at a pace that is 65%-75% of max heart rate, at a relative intensity of 3-4 on a scale of 10, or at a pace where you can say “1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005” easily with perhaps a few breaths in between. This means that if you notice on a Saturday run that you are breathing too hard due to heat, weather, illness, weekly distance, or life in general, you agree to move down to a pace in your zone. Then, on the flip side, during those weeks when the weekly distance is shorter and “all systems are go,” maybe you’ll try a faster group.

So take the opportunity to meet the pace groups that are a bit faster and a bit slower than this week’s pace group. Be ready to make each Saturday your best training day with the best training partners around: your fellow LEGGERS.

This Saturday, August 6, is the official Opening Day for the LA LEGGERS. You will see many new faces as our members from previous years return for another season of training. We will meet at Tongva Park at 7AM to welcome everyone back and present an overview of the typical Saturday training routine. Then, the group will walk to the South Lawn to prepare for this Saturday’s scheduled run of 2 miles. Mentors will start with an introductory talk about training, then off you go for a 2-mile training session with your pace group. Your mentors will guide you through the full training run and afterwards you will do a group cooldown.

Coach’s tip for the week: Always ask at the end of cooldown, “Who is going to coffee/breakfast?”

Have fun and see you at the park!
– Coach Barry