Latest Gazelles News
Fall Marathon/Half Marathon Information Session - Saturday, May 18
May 13, 2013We can't believe it's almost that time of year again, but June is just around the corner which officially kicks off the Fall Marathon/Half Marathon training season!
Gilbert's Gazelles is the group for you whether this will be your first foray in to the 13.1 or 26.2 mile distances, you're trying to qualify for Boston and New York, or anything in between! The Gazelles are not just for fast people - although we do help you get faster while staying off the injured list. Over the past ten years, runners of all abilities and ages completed our training programs and clocked times from the 2:40's to over 6:00 hours in the Chicago Marathon alone! And that's not counting Portland, Steamtown, New York, San Antonio, Sacramento, St. George, Twin Cities, Grand Rapids...the list goes on and the opportunities are endless.
Join us on Saturday, May 18 at 9:00 AM in the new home for Gilbert's Gazelles at Texas Running Company for information on training with us during the 2013 Fall Marathon/Half-Marathon season. Gilbert will cover topics such as weekly mileage, following the training calendar, pace runs, core workouts, and hydration.
Map of location HERE.
Training under former NCAA Champion Gilbert Tuhabonye and his highly qualified team of assistants, you'll experience an exciting group dynamic and gain a broad understanding of training philosophy, race strategy, nutrition, and more! Our workouts include runs all over downtown and west Austin doing hills, intervals, pace runs, and long runs. All groups meet three times per week - twice during the week and on Saturday for the long run.
Joining the Gazelles also means you get to enjoy the benefits of seven free weekly boot camp and yoga classes, nutrition and injury-prevention clinics, discounts at both Texas Running Company locations, Gazelle apparel, access to on-site physical therapists, and on-going video analysis of your running form!
For more information on any of our programs, please email info@gilbertsgazelles.com.
Announcing The New Home for Gilbert's Gazelles
May 9, 2013
On behalf of the entire Gazelle team, we want to thank you for your patience, understanding and flexibility over the last month as we dealt with the transition from our previous location at RunTex. Each and every one of you are truly what makes the Gazellesgroup so special and unique. After many meetings and very thoughtful consideration, we are excited to announce that the new home for the Gazelles will be at Texas Running Company, conveniently located at 5th & Lamar.
On top of the great location with access to the trail, our key considerations were ample parking, showers (yes, showers!), ability for us to locate lockers in the store, ability to accommodate our core and yoga sessions, absence of a current group training program, good people to work with, and discounts for Gazelles. Many terrific organizations kindly reached out to us during this transition period, all with many strong attributes. In the end, the best match for our immediate needs was determined to be the Texas Running Company (TRC). The folks at TRC are excited to welcome you and are planning some special opportunities for the Gazelles as well.
With that said, we heard the majority of you loud and clear who told us via the survey, email and in-person conversations that you wanted a dedicated space for the Gazelles. This is our long term goal and our new friends at TRC are aware and very understanding. There is no set timeline and the search will be an ongoing process by our team. We're always open to feedback and suggestions so if you know of the best location for permanent, dedicated Gazelle home please don't be bashful! Without you none of this would be possible.If you're a current or considering re-joining Gazelle, there's probably a lot of questions going through your mind. Where do we park? What about core classes? Does anything change for the weekly running sessions? All of these and more are answered on the FORUM which we invite you to visit. If you've forgotten your password, CLICK HERE.
In addition, below is an upcoming schedule of our "launch" at TRC as well as the training groups for the summer. Thank you again on behalf of all of the Gazelle coaches. You are a continual inspiration to us to work harder.
- Saturday, May 11* - Long Run Starts @ TRC (***Stay for stretching or come back at 9:00 AM for a store introduction and special treats!***)
- Saturday, May 18 @ 9:30 AM* - Marathon/Half Marathon Information Meeting #1 for all October and November events
- Monday, June 3* - Training begins for all October events (Baltimore, Chicago, Portland, Marine Corps, etc.)
- Saturday, June 8 @ 9:30 AM* - Marathon/Half Marathon Information & Kickoff Meeting #2 for all October and November events
Run With Joy,
Gilbert & Staff
www.gilbertsgazelles.com
twitter.com/gilbertgazelles
*Denotes 5th Street TRC Store
Gazelles Headed North - A New 5K Program in Round Rock
May 6, 2013Check out our newest program beginning in June in Round Rock! Youth and adult classes are available during the week.
A Note From Gilbert on RunTex Closing
Apr 4, 2013Hello my friends. The Gazelles are entering a new chapter. We thank RunTex and Paul Carrozza for the ten years of support. Without them we would not be what we are today. We will keep you posted on any decisions about a new location which we hope will be coming soon. Until then, let's continue to kick up the dust on our city's incredible Hike and Bike Trail, roads and grass. Run with Joy! Coach G
Spring Updates: Cap 10K, Bun Run, Gazelle Foundation Events and More!
Apr 2, 2013Click Here to Register.Check the forum for an exclusive Gazelle discount code and don't forget to select "Gilbert's Gazelles" as your team on the runner information page when registering.We're excited to partner with the Bun Run (Sunday, April 28th) this year for their annual 5K. And even better, the 10K is returning for a second year! The event supports the Austin Sunshine Camps (we run by the campgrounds while doing mile repeats at Zilker) and is one of the few big races in town to be near 100% volunteer driven. A mostly flat, fast course does the usual Dog Pound Loop out and back on Cesar Chavez but if you're looking for more of a challenge sign up for the double - the 10K @ 7 AM and the 5K @ 8:30 AM.Join us in the new workout facility at 7:00 AM on Sunday and we'll do a short warmup to help you get ready. Because the finish line is at Auditorium Shores you can leave all your warmup gear inside and grab it before heading home. Look for your favorite Gazelle coaches out on the course to cheer you on!We're excited for one of the biggest races in Texas coming up this weekend - the annual passageway in to spring 5K/10K season some might even say. Online registration closes in two days but if you miss it you can still sign up at the expo on Friday and Saturday.Cap 10K Coming Up THIS SundayHard to believe it's already April! Seems like just a few days ago we were cheering Gazelles on at the Austin Marathon but time does have a funny way of quietly slipping by. In case you haven't been to a workout in the last couple months, the Gazelles moved across the parking lot to a bigger and better space at RunTex. Come check it out to enjoy the new flooring, the missing smells of the old Annex carpet, the lighting, and of course all the great workouts.
Don't forget about our nine yoga and core classes throughout the week - free to all members!
Let's Get Our Buns in Gear @ the Bun Run
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Gazelle Foundation Events: Spring (April 11) and Walk (April 27) for the Water
April is a busy month for our friends at the Gazelle Foundation with two big fundraising events. Sign up today to attend Spring for the Water on April 11th where the former U.S. Ambassador to Burundi will be serving as the keynote speaker. Dine on traditional Burundi cuisine and bid on incredible silent auction items - some of which are donated by fellow Gazelles - including a chance to win free training for a year!
RSVP at www.springforthewater.org and if you can't attend there are a number of opportunities to still be involved by donating. By the end of April the Gazelle Foundation will have completed construction on their ninth water project, now serving nearly 19,000 citizens in Burundi. You have been instrumental in this success thanks to your support by running or volunteering at Run for the Water, attending previous Spring for the Waters, and serving as ambassadors to friends and family.
At the end of the month is the second annual Walk for the Water, a Saturday morning 3.7 mile walk for more than 1,000 Austin elementary, middle and high school students. Volunteers are needed for both Friday and Saturday with sign up available at www.walkforthewater.com. Last year the students raised more than $25,000 to help construct a water system in Burundi!
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2013 Destination Marathons/Half Marathons - Baltimore, CIM, and Napa Valley
Fall marathon and half marathon training will be here before you know it. When considering your options, don't forget about our three options for "Destination" races where the coaches travel with you to the race. Coming up first is the Baltimore Running Festival which features a 5K, 1/2 marathon and full marathon on October 12 in Baltimore, Maryland. More details on registration (Gazelles are guaranteed entry through the end of August), hotels and training is available HERE.
Run With Joy,
Gilbert, Bernard, Michael & Sonya
www.gilbertsgazelles.com
facebook.com/gilbertsgazelles
twitter.com/gilbertgazelles
ANNOUNCEMENT: Anniversary Logo Contest Winner + Shirts, Skirts Soon Available with Design
Jun 6, 2012We're excited to announce that after more than 300 votes cast, Jill Brown of the Beginner Gazelles Group was chosen as the winner of the 2012 Logo Contest! Her design, which incorporated a powerful message written by Gilbert in his book of peace, hope, forgiveness, and courage, received the most first and second place votes as well as the fourth most third place votes.
We'll be revealing the bumper sticker winner later this summer so stay tuned!
Available at the long run next Saturday (June 16) will be Mizuno short sleeve and running tops with the new logo. Plus, for the first time ever, a limited number of running skirts are also on sale! Here's what we'll have in a variety of colors:
Men's Shirts
Creation Singlet ($25) - http://www.mizunousa.com/running/products/mizuno-mens-creation-singlet
Enigma Tee ($28) - http://www.mizunousa.com/running/products/mizuno-mens-enigma-tee
Women's Shirts
Jinx Tank Top ($30) - http://www.mizunousa.com/running/products/mizuno-womens-jinx-sport-top
Creation Singlet ($25) - http://www.mizunousa.com/running/products/mizuno-womens-creation-singlet
Nirvana Sleeveless ($25) - http://www.mizunousa.com/running/products/mizuno-womens-nirvana-sleeveless-tee
Women's Skirt
Meridian Skirt ($35) - http://www.mizunousa.com/running/products/mizuno-womens-meridian-skirt
No pre-order is available and they're on a first come, first serve basis. Of course, if there's something you like and are unable to purchase let us know and we can make another order!
Run With Joy,
Your Gazelle Coaches
www.gilbertsgazelles.com
twitter.com/gilbertgazelles
twitter.com/tuhabonye
Run The Trails With the New Gazelle Trail Group!
May 25, 2012Join Gilbert’s newest training group…Trail Running Gazelles!
These Gazelles are bound for the endless trails in and around Austin. They are not scared of darkness, cold, heat, water, mud, getting lost - or getting found. This group begins on Tuesday, June 5th and all levels are welcome!
The kick off meeting is Saturday, June 2nd at 9:30 AM in the RunTex Riverside Annex where we'll hit the major points of trail running and answer any questions or concerns.
Workouts will be structured for a Tuesday 5:45 AM run on the Greenbelt, Thursday 5:45 AM speed workout with the main Gazelle group, and long run on Saturdays on the trails.
For more information or to sign up, email info@gilbertsgazelles.com.
Fall Marathon/Half Marathon Info Session - June 2nd
May 7, 2012We can't believe it's almost that time of year again, but June is just around the corner which officially kicks off the Fall Marathon/Half Marathon training season!
Gilbert's Gazelles is the group for you whether this will be your first foray in to the 13.1 or 26.2 mile distances, you're trying to qualify for Boston and New York, or anything in between! The Gazelles are not just for fast people - although we do help you get faster while staying off the injured list. Over the past ten years, runners of all abilities and ages completed our training programs and clocked times from the 2:40's to over 6:00 hours in the Chicago Marathon alone! And that's not counting Portland, Steamtown, New York, San Antonio, Sacramento, St. George, Twin Cities, Grand Rapids...the list goes on and the opportunities are endless.
Join us on Saturday, June 2nd at 9:30 AM in the Gazelle Training Center at RunTex Riverside for information on training with Gilbert's Gazelles during the 2012 Fall Marathon/Half-Marathon season. Gilbert will cover topics such as weekly mileage, following the training calendar, pace runs, core workouts, and hydration.
Training under former NCAA Champion Gilbert Tuhabonye and his highly qualified team of assistants, you'll experience an exciting group dynamic and gain a broad understanding of training philosophy, race strategy, nutrition, and more! Our workouts include runs all over downtown and west Austin doing hills, intervals, pace runs, and long runs. All groups meet three times per week - twice during the week and on Saturday for the long run. Joining the Gazelles also means you get to enjoy the benefits of eight free weekly boot camp and yoga classes, nutrition and injury-prevention clinics, discounts and RunTex and on Gazelle apparel, access to on-site physical therapists, and on-going video analysis of your running form! For more information on any of our programs, please email info@gilbertsgazelles.com.
Gilbert Takes Cover of Austin Fit Magazine
Apr 6, 2012The slogan “Run With Joy” serves as the motto for the group, and Tuhabonye inserts much of his Burundian roots into the training. One can find his herd running all across town, sometimes singing African chants at the Austin High track: “The lion is coming; don’t let it catch you!”
His jovial personality and ability to immediately connect with individual runners has helped Gilbert’s Gazelles grow into one of the most recognizable brands in the fitness community. The company, which started out with just three women shortly after Tuhabonye won the Capitol 10,000 in 2002, will celebrate its tenth year anniversary in April 2012.
Read the story and see the pictures HERE.
Shelton's Put the Du in Duathlon, Take Top Honors
Mar 16, 2012Jeff and Liz Shelton, long-time members of Gilbert's Gazelles, traveled to Seguin last weekend for the Blue Norther Duathlon and brought home top honors. Their race report, courtesy of http://austintriathlonstore.blogspot.com/, is below:
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In early March, you can never be sure what kind of weather is going to roll in. But a race named for a weather phenomenon that brings a stretch of unseasonably cold, rainy days...well, that should give you an idea of what to expect. Hosted in Seguin on March 11, 2012, by the Seguin Sunrise Lions Club, the 22nd annual Blue Norther Duathlon was a success in spite of the storms and chilly temperatures.
For Jeffrey Shelton, long-time runner, the Blue Norther Du was a first experiment in multisport. Since his wife, Liz – a former All-American runner at UT who competed in the 2000 Olympic trials – had already participated in a handful of sprint triathlons, she offered him encouragement and race tips. But some things have to be learned the hard way. After all, what self-respecting man would listen to his wife’s sage advice?
Race Report by Jeffrey Shelton
Liz Shelton at Danskin The duathlon was a 5K run, 14-mile bike, and 5K run. It was 51 degrees and raining cats and dogs all the way to Seguin. Rain, my bike, and me aren't necessarily the best of friends. I really, really hate to clean my bike after riding in rain so I wouldn't have raced, but someone had paid our entry and if you know my wife, Liz, then you know she loves atrocious weather. It's just another challenge to overcome. Here she was saying, "I don't care if it's pouring, lightning, or hailing. Slick roads don't scare me.”
Meanwhile, in the back of my mind I was hoping the organizers would cancel or just turn the du into a 10K run or something. At least in a 10K I knew I'd be competitive in the Masters field. Liz asked, "You ready?" I had to just smile and as upbeat as I could feign, say "Yep.”
Well, much to my dismay the race director decided to hold the event. Liz was as giddy as could be as she racked her bike. I'm looking around to make sure I'm doing things right: placing my shoes, helmet, dry socks, etc. I felt like we were the only two "Freds" with road bikes, and we certainly didn't have aero helmets. At least Liz had some aerobars on her bike, but then she’d just had those installed by the shop the day prior and didn't want to use what I like to refer to as "death handles.” The only thing I could have done to be more of an oddball was wear running shorts, the short-short kind. ATC had recommended some good shorts that I could run in. I had tried to run in my cycling shorts, but it felt like I had a diaper on. What can I say, I'm not getting any younger and I want as much padding as I can get when on the bike, but I heeded their advice and got some tri shorts.
Something new for me was this whole marking the age on your calf business. My first thought was "c'mon, I know how old I am," but then Liz explained to me that if someone was in front of me in the same age group then I could see their age and run them down if I had enough left in the tank. Surprisingly, this bit of newfound knowledge paid off as I passed a youngster of 41 in the last 200 meters. I made sure he heard me coming and I looked over and told him "good job," but in my mind I thought there's only room for one Masters winner and I hoped that I'd caught all the 40+ dudes that had hammered past me on the bike.
The transition from run to bike was eye-opening too. Yes, I know I should have listened to Liz and practiced that because I was the third person back from the run and the seventh or eighth person out. I guess stopping to dry my glasses, put on some chapstick, and change into dry socks, and the fact that my road shoes have a ratcheting/tightening system, could explain my tardy departure.
Liz asked if I'd had a nice picnic after seeing my T1. Let's just say that velcro is all the rage and all the fast people and even the not-so-fast people have velcro this and that for quick shoe entry and removal. Meanwhile, I'm fiddlin' with the ratchet, "Click...click...click," and the clock is just tick, tick, ticking away. Now I know that velcro is much, much faster. Mental note: buy some all-velcro shoes if I do one of these things again. The one pro dude made it look easy as pie, or at least I felt like he must have been pro because he took out the whipping stick and put a whipping on us in the first run. I tried to look at his calf but his legs were moving too bloody fast. Liz warned me about the T1, but I failed to take heed. I guess I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I'm not the butter knife either.
The bike course was slick in a few areas, and this was my rude awakening to yes, those tri bikes, aero wheels, speedsuits, and even the "sperm" helmets make a difference, as I was passed by no fewer than eight people. Way back in the early ‘90s I could ride respectably, but until last year I hadn't touched a bike in 17 or 18 years. I felt very humbled as these tri guys just rolled me off the back like a carpet out of a truck. I've ridden with the ATC Saturday ride so I knew the tri guys are strong, but this was ridiculous.
I kept thinking about what my friend Desiree Ficker had said about the last seven miles and ratcheting it up and riding at my limit. She must have not known my limit was much lower than everyone else's; I tried, though. On the hills, or better said, on the slight rises, I was making up ground like a freight train off a cliff, but on the flats and downhills I could see people riding away from me, and they were making it look easy. I scooted as far forward on the saddle as the unmentionable area could stand and tried to pull on those pedals, but my engine wasn’t strong enough. I felt like I had a 4-cylinder and everyone else was a V8. I have my bike set up for relaxing long rides, and I don't own any aerobars to slap on, so it was like I was riding a chopper. Maybe next time I'll rent some aerobars or rent a bike for a few weeks if I do another one of these things. That's a big IF! ATC's Missy Ruthven on the run!
Liz's background is running, and I knew Liz would be alright as she was first onto the bike, but alas, she too said on the downhills she was losing ground. In the end, two women passed her, so she was third into the final 5K run. Yep, you guessed it, those ladies were on those crazy aggressive tri bikes, with skintight speedsuits and aero-EVERYTHING. Liz said she could hear riders with the disc wheels coming and roll right on by, and she couldn't do anything about it. Trust me, I know exactly how she felt. She said she kept looking for ponytails as she was concerned about getting caught by ladies. Liz saw Missy Ruthven come rolling by but couldn't maintain contact. She hung tough on the little hills, though, and kept it to what would be manageable on the run. She said she was focusing on Des' advice too. Thanks Des for the advice, but we're newbies – at one point I just wanted to finish without walking.
Don't tell Liz because I'll deny it, but I did take her advice about installing the elastic strings for quick entry into my running shoes, which must have helped in T2 because Liz didn't ask how my picnic went there. Coming off the bike and starting the run I think I was 11th or 12th but I focused on what Des instructed and thought about quick feet. I imagined I was running through hot coals. I don't know if that was for the quick feet as much as the thought of being warm, since I was chilled to the core and my Raynaud's syndrome was kicking into overdrive.
But quick turnover must have worked, as I passed almost all the guys who had passed me on the bike. Meanwhile Liz had lost something like two and a half minutes on the bike and had her work cut out for her. She passed the second-place girl in the first mile of the second 5K and would have to run her fanny off to catch the leader. Liz said that at one point she could see Missy and thought that the race might be over and that she had run out of road. Liz no longer has the 2:01 800m wheels but she still has wheels nonetheless. So much so that when it comes to a sprint I won't even step on the track with her. I've got a fragile ego and don't want to get "wifed" on the track so it's just safer for me not to toe the line against her in anything less than 800m. I knew she had a good chance if she could get close enough, but the finish line was approaching fast. In the end, Liz caught Missy with about 100 meters remaining.
The timing company had a few things go wrong and there were people confused about the posted results. Ultimately the timing company told everyone to just go home and they'd to sort it all out, which they did. For me as a newbie, the best thing was baked 'taters at the finish line. Yum, hit the spot. And they were hot, which finally warmed me up and helped to lessen the Raynaud's.
Last year Liz said, "I want to do a sprint triathlon,” which she did. Now she wants to tackle an Olympic Distance triathlon and has started training. She is excited to test herself and to do more triathlons. I'll be out there just cheering my heart out for her, wondering all the while how people can have such big engines and do these multi-discipline sports. Me, I think I’ll stick to just riding my bike as often as I can and running every once in a while with the ATC group and my good buddy Gilbert. That's how I saw it as a newbie.
Liz was 1st overall female and I was 1st Old Dude.
