THURS: Countdown to Sedona from Phil

Only two days left! Time to really start fueling up with High Octane Fuel. The better the food quality, the better your body will feel. If you're running the half or full marathon, now is a good time to up your caloric intake. Don’t wait until the night before the race. Remember, you want to have a full tank when you begin your long journey!

Quote for the day: "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" - Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner

Enjoy the experience.

Phil
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Weather Forecast Sat Feb 6

Few Showers

51°
41°

WED: Countdown to Sedona from Phil

Good Morning, Arizona Runners! Three days to go. You are tapering down now. If you're running the marathon, you have been reducing your training for several weeks. No matter what distance you’re running this weekend, now is a great time to use the extra time you would be running to focus on your flexibility. If you’re in Sedona, I’m teaching a flexibility workshop. Come on by. You can also find some great range of motion exercises on www.whartonperformance.com.

Quote for the day: "You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement." - Steve Prefontaine

Enjoy the experience.

Phil

Forecast for Sat Feb 6

Perfect Weather for the Marathon

Few Showers

50° High
41° Low

Hey, Sedona Runners. I'm weather-watching for you!

Forecast Saturday, Feb 6
Perfect marathon-running weather!

Few Showers

51° HIGH
42° LOW

TUE: Countdown to Sedona from Phil

Good Morning, Arizona Runners! Phil Wharton is taking over the blog this week! Just for YOU!

It's Marathon Week here in Arizona as we count down to the Sedona Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5k. Time for us all to start making deposits in our "Rest, Regeneration, and Recovery Bank" so we can reap the dividends on race day! On race week it's good to go to bed fifteen minutes earlier each night. If you start tonight, you'll have an extra hour of energy when you need to wake up early and feel great on race day!

Quote of the day: "Everything has a force. Either embrace it or deflect it. Why oppose it?"

Enjoy the day.

Phil

The Sedona Marathon is this weekend!

The Fifth Annual Sedona Marathon takes place on February 6 ... and guess what! Phil Wharton will be there to take runners through the famous Active-Isolated Flexibility training that revolutionized sports, particularly marathon. Runners of Arizona, you have NO idea how fortunate you are to have Phil there with you right now. Athletes fly from all over the world and pay thousands of dollars to sit at his knee. And he's all yours for the marathon! Check out the special Web site for details. http://www.sedonamarathon.com/wharton.html

Sedona runners, I wish you the very best on February 6! May every step on the route through ancient red rocks bring joy and carry you closer to discovering how strong you really are when you decide that quitting is not an option.

Phil Wharton will be at the Sedona Marathon Feb 4!

Phil explains the photo and reveals another secret.

Howdy, Bev! Phil checking in ...

Wow! A picture IS worth a thousand words! The photo taken at the tennis court looks like we really worked 'em over the edge! Did I rip a page out of John Parker's "Once a Runner"? 40 X 400 meters really isn't that tough!

Truth be told, this is a group of high school athletes I was taking through a visualization and meditation training. The athletes were experiencing the power, flow, and relaxation from learning to "turn inward" to access their energy centers.

That brings us to your second question. You wanted another "Kenyan Secret." During my visits to Kenya's Rift Valley, I mostly stayed with Moses Tanui. Moses is a superstar in the running world. Moses was one of the great cross country runners; he was world champion on the track; and he won the Boston Marathon two or three times. During my longest stay in Kenya (4 1/2 months), Moses was my running teacher and I was his therapist for keeping his body healthy. We formed a deep friendship in that exchange.

Moses, like many of the great Kenyan athletes, was in the armed forces and competed for the military team as well. That is the reason some of his metaphors were military language or jargon. On one occasion after a extra tough workout (and by the way, all the workouts were tough to me as I was running 140 miles a week at fast paces with high altitude and hills), Moses said to me, "Philip, we were bombed today! But you know what? I am still MOSES TANUI!"

At first I thought, Wow! This altitude and training load have really spiraled this guy into an ego-fueled frenzy. Then I thought about the power of belief. I realized that Moses believed in himself more than any external confidence could give him. That day, I really learned something that has helped me through difficult moments ... and not just with running.

Thank you, Moses.

"Philip, the marathon is 42k. It is very difficult, but you must finish!"-- During a 14k run together near his birthplace.

Keep the spirit! Love the laundry "Afterburn." In Kenya, we washed our clothes by hand at altitude. That really elevated the heart rate!

Keep running, baby. New York City Marathon one more time!!!

Phil