San Marcos runners can finally get a chance to actually run in a race at home. The Kiwanis Pumpkin Dash 5K will be held out at the Country Estates course on Saturday, Oct. 9, starting at 9 a.m. If you haven’t registered you can register through Athletes Guild. Most area runners are familiar with this scenic out and back course. It is considered to be flat course for runners but after having been the lead bike for many races in Country Estates I can tell you that the return trip has very slight uphill slant to it. It seems worse than it is because the road leading to the turnaround point is slightly downhill. This makes running easier and maybe a bit faster pace. Then when you make the turn-around that slight uphill makes it seem a little harder. Just remember to save a little energy for the run back to the finish area. And chances are you will pass a number of runners who thought the course was an easy flat course and are struggling with that slight uphill.
At present there is a smaller than average registration for the race. That is both good and bad. The bad part is the Kiwanis Club will not make that much money for scholarships for local students. The good part is with smaller numbers in the race your chances of going home with an award are much better. It has been some time since San Marcos has had a road race here locally. I think the last one was the Firecracker 5K in July out at the soccer fields. The weather in the mornings have been cool and almost perfect for a run. Runners might as well take advantage of a local run and since the race does not start until 9 a.m. it allows you to sleep in an extra hour. With the colder temperatures approaching in another month the long sleeved race shirt will feel good to wear.
I wrote a column on some cartoons in a running book and one of them was about the clothes a runner wears. It said, “No matter how hot it is, some idiot is running in a sweat suit.” This last week I saw several runners running with a sweat shirt, a hoodie, rubber jacket, or several layers of shirts while on a run. The primary reason most runners overdress with sweat shirts is to lose weight. The problem with this method of losing weight is that it is very temporary. The weight loss is from sweat, or water weight, and as soon as you drink some water any weight you lost will be regained. For boxers, wrestlers, and jockeys trying to make a weight limit the next day this method for a quick weight loss for one day is usually successful. When I wrestled in college I lost about eight pounds every day. The problem was I drank lots of fluid after practice. I was losing the same eight pounds every day. On the day before a match I didn’t drink replacement fluid and would make weight. I walked out onto the mat for my match weighing about five pounds more than what I weighed just a short time ago after I quenched my thirst.
The key to losing weight by running is to run with suitable clothing. When a runner’s core temperature raises performance deteriorates and the time he or she can run is less. The key to weight loss is to burn calories and the longer you can keep moving the more calories you are burning. The difference between the two methods is that weight loss with sweat clothes is water and is quickly replaced while running is burning calories and the weight loss is from fat and is not replaced by drinking a glass of water. It is not a fast, quick weight loss by running but on a long term basis it is the best and most successful. When a person burns calories by exercising one other point that makes it more advantageous then the sweat clothes is that there is a time after you stop exercising the body is still burning calories for hours afterwards. You may walk or run for an hour but the body is burning calories for several hours after you stop. As mentioned before running, or weight-lifting, is not a quick method of losing weight. It takes time to lose those pounds, but the best thing is the pounds lost are more permanent. The key is to keep moving. If you lose the weight and then stop running it will not be long before you are back at that starting weight. You will have to find out how much running you need to do for more weight loss versus maintaining the same weight you are now at.
With all that information you need to sign up for the Kiwanis Pumpkin Dash 5K wearing light clothing to burn those calories. If you haven’t been running or exercising this is the perfect opportunity to start burning those calories and getting fit.
