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About Cait

Freelance writer, artist, & graphic designer. Founder of Ezzere Running Shirts http://ezzere.com/ #runner #writer #blogger #artist #designer Run. Laugh. Be.

Turning Those Blah Days Around and Keeping Perspective

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Cait — 20 Comments ↓

Today was just one of those days. Blah. I was really not feeling it, and truth be told I knew exactly why. It’s been a rough few days/weeks/months blur and one of those not so happy events has been this ongoing foot problem. I won’t go into the full gory details (and like I’ve said a million times over with bad news, allow yourself a short vent/wallow period then MOOOOOVE on and force yourself into a positive mindset, so I’m going to go that route) but let’s just say I’ll be cozy with the elliptical for quite some time.

Truth be told I wanted this guy to burn that blasted elliptical! 😉

So I wasn’t all too jazzed about my new BFF. I dallied around for a bit but then I knew that if I just didn’t do anything I would be in a funk and bad mood for the rest of the day. I told myself to just get going and if I wanted to stop after 30 minutes so be it…I kept going after that and while it wasn’t a blissful run in the park I did feel better afterwards.

Fact: You always do.

A couple of other things to always keep in mind when those days start out as ‘blah’ are these:

“I have left specific instructions that if I die on the course, my friends are supposed to drag my body down the rest of the course and across the finish line. And then lie about the results.” These words are from the mouth of 67-year old Laurence Macon and truth be told if there’s a way to go, kicking the bucket while running would make for a pretty good one. He’s run 113 marathons this past year and what motivates me about this is not only his age and dedication but outlook. He’s one of those people who knows he’s a happier person running and will do it until he…well, dies.

Injuries stink, but even when you’re able to run and having a crappy one or a terrible workout that stinks too. It’s all relative. The problem is when we let that sucky feeling wrap around us and we get all tied up and stressed about one single run…one off-workout…one stupid foot that feels like it may never heal. But in the end, adding that stress will only make it worse.

You get all wound up and stressing about splits you inevitably start ‘trying too hard’ and in a perverse kind of irony that makes you run even slower. It sounds so counterintuitive but if you just chuck all the weight from the stressball you’ve built and RELAX you’ll probably wind up going faster. Your runs will feel better. And if you’re injured, at least getting on the blasted cross-training machine won’t feel so much like a burden or punishment.

Even if you feel like you're sinking, grab that freaking anchor and be thankful at least you're not shark chum! 🙂

Injures also give us all a bit of a perspective check…when we’re healthy and able to run we can sometimes take it for granted. But anytime an injury takes us out, it also acts as a reality check: we are LUCKY to be able to run. So while it stinks being injured it makes you appreciate when you CAN do it that much more.

So chuck the baggage you’re carrying on your shoulders, loosen up, and just roll with it…whatever ‘it’ may be.

1) Blah days…we’ve all had them. When was your last and how did you get the workout/run in anyways?

2) What’s your best tip for coming back after bad workouts..or what’s your best tip for getting through crappy workouts?
Getting through them, if the splits are horrendous, just chuck the watch and go off of effort.

3) What’s something you think of that puts you in a good mood or that you use to look forward to after you put in the workout?
Inevitably I always think of some kind of tasty treat I’ll inhale afterwards.

Run, Fat Boy, Run — Runners Can Laugh at Our Own Expense

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Cait — 12 Comments ↓

Last night I watched ‘Run, Fat Boy, Run’ a comedy starring Simon Peg, the other really funny Brit I like. The other one being Russell Brand. It did a good job of injecting just enough runner humor that us harriers could relate to and enjoy but still would be funny to ‘normal’ people who think the whole running in circles thing is for the insane.
run, fat boy, run
Source
I’ll give you a few highlights that I particularly enjoyed and also a few things that we can learn from our little fat, running friend:

* Cop runs down shoplifting drag queen. This is before he actually starts attempting to run and pot-belly and all he huffs and puffs down the street after the offending ‘woman.’ Our lady is stealing a bra and panty set from the lingerie store our fat boy works as a rent-a-cop. If he had been fleeter of foot the whole mess would have been dealt with faster and easier, though wouldn’t have allowed us to laugh as much at his own expense. This one reminded me of the stories I’ve heard about cops who actually are runners and they are able to chase down their suspects. The one that comes to mind was a marathoner cop and upon tackling the young man to the ground he said something along the lines of, “Sucks for you I’m a marathoner.”

* Three weeks to a marathon. The fat boy decides he’s going to be able to complete a full marathon with only three weeks notice. Here cinema takes a little creative license, but we’ve got to make it worth watching and up the ante I suppose. In real life he’d probably be able to walk/jog the whole thing…again, I sort of think if Oprah can do one, anyone could.

* Rocking the bunhuggers. On his first venture out running he is wearing the male equivalent of bunhuggers...he knows they feel good and I guess figured if they’re good enough for the elites they are good enough for him. Too bad it’s the elite women, and honestly I don’t think we’d want to be watching a man run in bunhuggers for 26.2 miles…but that’s just me.

* Nip guards and chaffage. Before the big day his friend is oh so kind to offer him up some nip guards for the race. Now they joke, but I’ve talked to plenty of guys who swear by these things. I know normal chaffage hurts, I can only imagine.

* Falling in a race. Here was the only one that kind of bugged me. For dramatic effect he gets shoved to the ground after the first few miles and they show him with some scraped knees. They make it appear like if you go down that’s it. Well, I’m sorry but if all you’ve got is a little road rash then pick yourself up mister and get ‘er done! Who hasn’t been spiked in a race, there’s more blood loss there. Granted fallings SUCKS but then again should I remind us all that Lassie Viren went down in the 1972 Olympic 10k final and still got up and won the darn thing!

* Hitting the wall. I won’t spoil it for everyone, but they have a cute way of depicting this one. From what I’ve heard though it’s probably pretty close to what it would feel like. My mom doesn’t even remember the last six miles of her first marathon and I love Lauren Fleshman’s quote from her first, “There was a personal hell…it’s just surviving…get me to the next mile, get me to the next five feet.”

Another highlight was that he goes through most of his training running in cut-off jean shorts!! Ack…if the first time back from that run and into the shower didn’t teach him a lesson I don’t know what would!

I had laughs and at the expense of being a runner…sure, they can make fun of us all we want but you know what, I’m happy being a BodyGlide wearing, short shorts donning, carbo-scarfing runner. And I’m pretty sure I could chase down a bra stealing drag queen if I had too. 😉

1) Have you ever seen this movie? What’s your favorite running movie?
Prefontaine or Without Limits (both pretty much the same story/movie…haha)

2) What’s one of the funny jokes or stereotypes you think ‘normal’ people have about us runners?
This isn’t funny…but apparently there are still people that think we enjoy getting yelled at from their cars. Seriously, “Run, Forrest, Run” should be erased from everyone’s minds.

3) Where else in life do you think it would come in handy to be a runner? (as in the case of a cop chasing down a fugitive)

4) Could you outrace a drag queen?

My Podiatrist is Pinched for Training Time: Staying Race Ready With Less Time

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

“So, I was talking to my podiatrist this afternoon.” No, this isn’t the intro to some corny joke, we’re at a runner’s blog so naturally this sentence should roll off the tongue and everyone should nod knowingly because they were doing the exact same thing a few days ago.

Back to what I was saying, I was seeing my podiatrist and we got to chatting afterwards. He’s not so much a runner because of ankle issues but is really into cycling. This year he’s going to take part in an especially grueling bike race, it’s 140 miles and a killer climb…he mentioned the exact incline but I’m fuzzy on the number, sorry.

Now the man is a doctor and has two young children too, so he was a little nervous over whether he’d have enough time to actually put in the amount of training necessary. Typically you need to ride the bike longer than you do running (it’s about a 3:1 ratio of bike miles to running miles) and that could mean hours and hours dedicated to a long ride. Runners can relate to the multi-hour long runs too.

I told him not to worry too much and he also mentioned that he’d read that one of the top cyclists is bucking the traditional training method focused on volume and more on shorter, intense rides. I piped in and told him, “Look, if you’ve only got an hour to train, do intervals, jack your heart rate up there. You can do it, you’ve just got to make those shorter rides count.”

The good news is that he’s already built himself a strong base, he’s got years of cardiovascular fitness to draw upon so from here it’s more a matter of maintaining that. Maintaining your fitness is far easier than building, and this holds true to running.

You’d be surprised at how well you can keep that endurance so long as you are still consistent and get in your regular, weekly long run. From there, if you’re limited on time then pick two days and pound the intervals. The other days of the week still put in the steady cardio but it doesn’t necessarily have to be an epic amount; realistically most of those days are going to just be recovering from the last hard workout anyways. You could even split the workout time up into two shorter sessions; a ride/run in the morning and then at night.

Hmm, I wish there was some kind of sale going on at his office today...nope.

The key thing is keeping your heart rate elevated in the correct level. Even on those recovery days you’re going to still be working, and not totally plodding along. Then when it comes to the hard days, do a short warm-up and remember to cool-down but for those intervals really get after it. Aim to feel like you’re working on a level 8 or 9 (scale of 1 to 10, 10 being all out)…we know what it feels like to work hard.

Play around with the length of hard intervals and the recovery time…do a day more endurance based with longer intervals (sets of 800’s, milers…or do 3 minutes or 10 minutes going hard) and the second day focus more on speed with shorter, faster bouts. This could be 200’s, 400’s, or alternating 1 minute hard and 1 minute easy.

So long as you are CONSISTENT, keep at least one longer run, and get that spike in heart rate you’ve got the staples. Sure, if you’ve got extra time to devote to doing more miles or biking, then by all means go for it…though you want to be smart there and not over-train yourself. In the end training is really personal to the individual and it’s more a matter of finding what works best for you and makes you feel ready come race day.

1) How do you go about coming up with your training? Do you have a coach or do you make your own program?

2) What are some of your staple workouts? Do you prefer the longer intervals or shorter?

3) Are you on a first name basis with your podiatrist? Not that you necessarily want to be, I mean we tend to seek them out with something is wrong!

4) Speaking of corny jokes, do you have one to share this fine Tuesday??

Limiting the Variables for a Winning Race – Same Foods, Same Routine, Set Your Plan

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Cait — 14 Comments ↓

I have a particularly sensitive stomach. I can’t handle too much in there digesting away if I’m going to go out and run. My favorite time to run is first thing in the morning for just this reason. Yes, I know you shouldn’t run on an empty stomach and if I were actually training for something I’d be smart and wake up earlier to have something light for energy. I used to go the oatmeal route and that worked well for me before workouts.

But now that I’m not competing I just eat a big snack before I go to bed and that tides me over. I also like being able to just roll out of bed and into the shoes. I loved morning races not only because they made figuring out what and when to eat all the easier but also they were done first thing and I didn’t have to sit around all day with me, myself, and nerves.

Still, not everyone works out in the morning and races aren’t always going off in the morning hours either. With track season coming up, 99% of the time you’ll have an afternoon or later gun time. Track throws another monkey into the mix because you could be doubling, tripling, quadrupling…hopefully you aren’t doing any more than that, but you get the picture. In order to perform to your best you need to fuel your body with the energy it needs, but at the same time you want it to sit well in your stomach. You want to eat for performance.

You can read the article I did printed in January’s Running Times, ‘Timing Your Fuel’, for some pointers on the best way to go about creating a meal plan that works in accordance with your race time. Spoiler alert: you probably won’t want to wolf down those four chili-cheese dogs.

The thing with race day is you always want to limit the variables: don’t wear a new pair of shoes, eat things you KNOW will sit well, eat at the same times, warm-up at the same times, do the same warm-up routine and drills. Practice and workouts are the times when you test new things out and play around until you find what works for you.

Eating the right foods, as with training and warming-up, is unique to each person so go in with a plan in these areas just as you do a race plan.

1) What’s your favorite time to run and race?

2) What are you pre-race picks? Do you have anything in particular you HAVE to have right before?
I know it’s not nutritionally the best pick, but during high school I’d have to have two strawberry frosted Pop-Tarts…even packed them with me when I traveled to Italy. 😛

3) Do you have a finicky stomach or are you one of those lucky individuals who could wolf down the chili-cheese hot dogs and not taste them a second time through?

Michael Wardian: A Peek into the World of a Runner Inhuman

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

“The man is a freak of nature, unlike anyone I’ve ever met…he’s just amazing,” even Rich Hanna was at a loss for words, grappling with the right ones to fully express just how impressed he was with Michael Wardian.

Source
Let me back up a bit and set the backdrop for you. I was working on an article centered around treadmill running and how it could best be adapted for trail runners. A high number of the magazine’s readership were ultra marathoners and so I went to Rich Hanna, an ultra marathoner that I’d met back in high school while working at a running shoe store. Like many runners, his passion for the sport spilled over into his ‘real job,’ which meant coaching and heading a highly successful race marketing business. He’d regularly come in and out of the Fleet Feet Sports I worked at.

So I contacted Rich, told him about my article and the first words out of his mouth were, “Wait, I have the perfect person you have to talk to, I met him at a marathon in Hawaii and the guy is a beast…literally, he’s got to be the most talented ultra runner I’ve ever met!” This led me to Wardian. (Silver 2011 World Championships 100k, USATF Ultra Runner of the Year 2008/2009/2010)

I’d read about him actually, and he’d already impressed me. He raced an inhuman amount (think 100 milers then come back a few days later and running a marathon), didn’t believe in any kind of taper, and unlike many ultra runners he still possessed the speed of an elite level marathoner. He’s going to be lining up in Houston for the Olympic Marathon Trials this January with a time of 2:17:49.

He crisscrosses the globe on a weekly basis for races. Rich went on to detail how for the race in Hawaii he had flown in the morning before and barely made it to the starting line on time…Michael went on to win the race and further begged Rich to join him for another 13 mile hellacious hill climb. He told Rich before the gun went off, “I’ve got to fly out later this afternoon, so after I finish, grab your car, I ran this mountain trail during my honeymoon and I’ve been dying to come back.” Boom, the gun went off.

Yet, he still makes his family his top priority. How so? He’s there most mornings babysitting his children while doing his training downstairs, “I use a treadmill because I need to be close to my family and we got our treadmill the day our second son Grant was born…they still wake up and go down to the treadmill to find me and I hope off and make them their snacks and get their milk, then jump back on.”

The allure of those additional 13 mountain miles can be explained as such, “I love being outside and pushing it and trails are a great way to see a lot of amazing things in a short amount of time. I also like running to places that are hard to get to because I feel like they are just mine, if only for a few minutes.”

I’ve heard many other runners relate, whether it’s the solitude of a trail or the pulsing pace of a track race. In the end are we not alone with ourselves, reaching for a goal, pushing against the pain? That moment is all yours and up to you whether you dig deep and keep going or stop and relent.

Wardian got into running later than most and only ventured past the marathon on a dare. “Someone told me it is not possible to run 3 marathons in a month so in 1998 I ran Chicago, Marine Corps, and then New York City in four weeks and then they said, ‘Well, you couldn’t do a 50 miler on top of that,’ so I ran the JFK 50 Miler two weeks after NYC and it was hard but I finished. Still really proud of that.”

Beastly. Like Hanna, I am lacking for a better term. Many have begged Wardian to conform to some kind of taper, even Hanna recounted to me, “He won’t do it, but I’d love to see what he could do if he actually rested for one of these races.” But the Beast won’t, he just enjoys running and racing too much to cut back, and ultimately he doesn’t believe resting would yield him any better results.

How does he beat treadmill boredom? “I tend to use the treadmill like I am outside and that means I use my imagination, I pretend I am coming up to a tough section of the race and then increase the incline or speed, or then I am crushing down the hill and I might speed the treadmill up. Treadmills are great because they allow you to get everything you want whenever you want it. You just have to remember to change the variables.”

Mix things up, keep your legs guessing, challenge your weaknesses. “I am trying to do hills a few times a week, that is a weakness ,or has been, so I want to fix that,” acknowledges Wardian, “for me that means hours of running up vertical inclines, sometimes fast, sometimes just a long grind, but always pushing to get better.” Words to live by.

We all may not log 120 miles a week but there are plenty of things we can take away from this inhuman human.

•Don’t let others set limits for you. Further, don’t set the limits yourself. Instead, embrace the seemingly unattainable and try it; live to prove them wrong.

•Make your training fit your life. If you don’t have access to trails don’t think you can’t win a 100 mile trail race. If you have a job that doesn’t allow you to run outside during daylight hours, don’t think the treadmill isn’t a viable option. The same for family; you don’t have to sacrifice one or the other.

•Still include variety in your workouts. “I try to do a few really quality workouts, so hills, tempo runs, speed play, a track workout, long run and then a race or two.”

I could go on, but instead, I think I’ll follow Rich’s lead and leave you with this, “The man is a freak of nature…but in the best possible way, he’s a beast.”

Be sure to root for Michael Wardian and all of the other racers competing in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston January 14th.

Reach For Those Times – Setting Goals and Benchmarks Along the Way

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

There’s been a lot of talk about goals as of late. As you remember I’m the anti-New Year’s Resolutionist (I’ll make that a term) here but I’m all for goals. If you want to get faster and set a new PR then you have to first VIE for that time, right?

True you could just ambiguously go out there and hope you wind up faster, but it’s a proven fact that setting a black and white, specific target to shoot for will work best. When your motivation may be lagging you have that goal kicking you in the tush. When the middle of the race is hurting so bad you’re contemplating just running straight in front of the shot-put, you think about the time you want and you keep on taking those left turns.

Going a step further, putting it out there, telling people your goal is another way to up the ante. But if you’re not confident enough to do that, or shy, at least say it to yourself, maybe write it down somewhere where YOU can see it.

The other thing is that the time may sound crazy, insane even to you. That’s okay, shoot high (within reason of course, if you’re a girl and say you want to break 4 minutes in the mile, be aware you’d be the first actual female to do that…) and you’d be surprised. Often it is our own mind that puts the glass ceiling on us and gets in our own way. To a certain degree you have to adopt a pseudo-egomaniacal self (you can only bring that side out in your own mind, you don’t have to actually be a Kanye) and tell yourself, “I’m gonna bust X-time” or “I’m gonna freaking own that race, I’m going to win.”

* Own it like a rapper. You don’t have to start pushing your own drink but build up the self confidence. You have to tell yourself you can do something; and the honest truth is at the beginning you may not even believe it. But you fake it ’til you make it. This is where a coach really comes in handy because they can usually predict your abilities really well, set the bar high enough for you to reach but not so high it’s unrealistic. I’ve been lucky to have a couple really great coaches and I had enough faith in them that if they said I could do such-and-such I just made myself believe that I could. I wouldn’t have had the guts to think I could run that myself, but knowing that THEY knew I could do it gave me the confidence to then accept I must be able to…then you just get out there and get the work done.

* Mini-goals. The end all goal, what you want to achieve by the end of the season probably (and at times it should) seem like it’s too high. That’s what makes you reach, but you also have to remember that you have TIME, the whole season to get there…you’re not doing it today. So set mini-goals, or benchmarks along the way. The mini-goals seem more attainable and they keep you going on the right path. By the time you get to the end of the season it doesn’t look like a quantum leap to your end goal. Also, having benchmarks allows you to adjust and see if things are on track, and if they aren’t you can take measures to get back on the path.

* Patience. This is a huge one, and it’s hard at times in our sport especially when you get excited. But there is such a thing as being too eager too soon, especially in the early season. Don’t do too much, don’t race your workouts, remember you still need easy days, and all the other intangibles. (sleep, nutrition, stretching, etc.) It takes more confidence to be patient actually…trust in your ability and your training program enough to stick to it and ultimately it will pay off in the big, end of season meets.

* Consistency. This one may sound like I’m going back on what I just said, but it’s not. Yes you need to be patient but at the same time it still takes a huge amount of dedication and personal accountability to put the work in. It’s a grind, but that’s our sport.

* Get your head on. Another thing about running and racing is that it is so mental, ask any racer and they’ll tell you that it aint pretty or a walk in the park…it hurts like a beast. Work on the different mental tricks; really becoming a tenacious racer is an ongoing process. Just when you think you’re ‘tough’ you have one of those races or workouts where you think, “Wow, okay, I just broke through to another level.” There will be times when you may admit you had a weak moment, that’s okay, learn from it and remember the feeling of disappointment so that the next time you’re tempted to give up or give in you don’t.

You might have just ended one season, be gearing towards the next and it’s a good time to set the goals you want to achieve. Even if you’re not racing for a team it’s good to have things you want to achieve, push yourself in one kind of way…whether it’s to run a faster 5k or 10k or push yourself to run your longest race yet. Think about it, write it, you can broadcast it, and you can even strut like Kanye about it so long as you remember to keep the ego in check. 😉

1) If you’ve got a season starting, race on the schedule, or a time you’d like to hit, would you like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.

2) How do you set the bar for your running goals, do you have a coach, do you do it yourself, do you want to try to beat a friend’s time? If you have a coach how do you make yourself believe you are capable of it even if you think it may sound crazy fast?
I was pretty confident in anything my coach said. If they said it then I just told myself I’d get there…and honestly they were for the vast majority right in the end.

3) I want to remind you all this is still anti-New Year’s Resolutionist…mmmk!

If You Had a Nickname What Would it Be and Those Tricky 4 Minute Mile Conversions

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

I’ve had a few nicknames throughout my life. I remember Pie and Spazz, but nothing that really stuck. I came across a guy who’s been dubbed the ‘Bullet with a Mullet‘. Now, I am hard-pressed to think that a mullet could be cool but I guess if you’ve got it rock it.

Source
I’ve also kind of been of the school of thought that people who wear or do odd things fall into one of two categories. 1) The guy running around in Harry Potter gear as a cry for attention and is getting lapped by the field. 2) The dude donning a mullet but wins the race. If you’re case 1 you’re just trying too hard to be different just for the sake of being different and begging for attention. If you’re in case 2 and you’re winning and setting the track on fire then I guess you could do whatever you want. I once watched the winner of the Western States 100 Miler log-roll across the finish line. Though, maybe he just passed out at that point and happened to make it over the line. 😉

Back to nicknames, I’m not sure if the Irish born Ciarán O’Lionaird does indeed still let his mulleted locks fly back into the face of his competitors (maybe it’s a tactical thing, he’s trying to blind them as he makes a move) or if he’s cut it now, but I’m sure it gets him some cheers. He just recently broke 4 minutes for the mile and while he might have had a 1500 meter time that converted to that time, he makes a very good point: converted just doesn’t feel the same.

Ah, us Americans and being the only country to buck the metric system. We have our miles, our two miles, the rest of the world can deal with the 1500 meters and the kilometer business. 😉 But then we complicate things further when we then throw in the 1600 and 3200 meter races…wait, those aren’t the same as a mile or two mile? Nope, there’s those pesky 9 and 18 meters respectively to account for between the two…wait or is it yards…or something like that. Can’t we all just agree on the same race distances?

Converting from this to that sure makes keeping those lists tricky too, with an asterisk marking the times that were actually 3k’s on the 3200 list, or was that the two mile record sheet? The 1500’s from the miles and the 1600’s…can’t we all just get along and get on the same page…err, track?

My wild little tangent aside, I like the quote from our Mulleted Bullet, “When you have run 3:40, you are just waiting for the magical one to come along because that’s the only one people really care about; nobody really understands that conversion. When you know you are in that kind of shape you just want to go out and get under the 4 minutes.”

I think no matter where you’re from or your system of measurements, even the non-runners are generally able to appreciate that breaking 4 minutes for a mile is a big deal for the guys. Which then brings me to another big question (one to delve into further on another post), men chase breaking 4 minutes for the mile, cracking 13 minutes for a 5k (I’d rank this a level above the mile marker), or dipping under 27 minutes for the 10k…what are similar benchmarks for the women? Would one equivalent be breaking 4 minutes in the 1500 meters for a woman parallel the sub-4 men’s mile? Wait…should we double check that conversion??? 😉

1) What do you think about the converting of times? Do you think we should all conform to one agreed race distance across the board?

2) In talking about PR’s, do you accept converted times or do you think it only ‘counts’ if it’s the EXACT distance?
For me I’d probably just count the actual distance sans asterisk, but I’d say that if someone ran a 1600 and wanted to convert to a mile go for it. Same for the 3200 converted to a 2-mile I think…let’s just go crazy and assume they could keep the same pace for that extra 18 meters. Haha.

3) What are your own personal benchmarks…what are some specific times or barriers you’d like to bust in a race?

New Years Resolution: I Plan on Staying Addicted to Running Like Always

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Cait — 19 Comments ↓

If I see ONE more thing akin to, “X-Day Challenge: Lose Weight This New Year” I’m pretty sure that I will scream so loud the men in white suits will come haul me away. Honestly people, I don’t understand the obsession with January 1st and all of the out of shape, overweight people promising that THIS is going to be the year.

Hey, at least he's out there busting it out!

Okay, you may say I’m being a little bit anti-fatite or cruel here but it’s really not rocket science, input versus output. If a workout for you is digging into the bag of Cheetos, lift to mouth, and repeat than obviously you’re probably headed down a road of a little excess baggage…some wiggle to that jiggle.

If you just got back from a double digit run, you regularly do so, than by all means dive headfirst into that bag and come up an orange mouth if you so please!

New Year’s Resolutions aren’t all bad, I think having concrete goals to work towards is an awesome thing and is proven that if you put a goal out there you’ll be far more likely to continue to strive towards it. BUT the problem is when people are continually setting the SAME goal year after year and are chronic goal-abandoners.

Motivation, and especially motivation to workout, is something you can’t force. I will say that I’ve seen complete 180’s in people who used to be sofa surfers and now run marathons, but the difference is they had that ‘switch’ moment themselves. They pushed themselves to continually bust their bums in sweat sessions even when they didn’t feel like it, and they did that long enough to where they became addicted to those endorphins.

Apparently today's endorphins are pink.

I believe that it’s more a matter of ‘waiting it out’ in terms of running. I’d be hard pressed to find someone who fell in love with it the first time out…running does hurt, you get sore, you pant like a dog. There’s what you could call the hazing period that you have to wait out, force yourself to be consistent even when the LAST thing you want to do is run again. You have to callous the mind and body…BUT once you crest that ‘I hate this period’ somewhere along the way you fall in love with it. Then the really lucky ones become addicted for life. Hey, miles are my drug of choice.

Outside factors can help give you a booster shot of motivation in the inevitable times that it’s lagging, but in the end it comes down to you.

Running and fitness is a way of life, runners are weird. We don’t need January 1st to tell us to get out there and get ‘er done, we’re too busy counting up the number of miles we ran for the last year, out the door and getting a jump start on beating that total.

1) Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

2) Where do you stand on the people who always say, “This year I’m going to get fit”?
The other thing is that is a very ambiguous goal, what is ‘get fit’ actually mean? If anything make it concrete: ‘I’m going to run 50 miles each week’, ‘I’m going to go to the gym 5 days a week’…something black and white that you can’t argue with, you either did it or you didn’t.

3) Are you a Cheetos person?
I’m more of a sweets kinda gal, I’ll pass the chips and dive headlong into the cookies.

The Good, the Bad, the Ridiculous and the Awesome – The Running Round-up of 2011

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Cait — 16 Comments ↓

The year’s almost over already?! January always seems to sneak up on me no matter what…I really hope I’m not the only one who looks back over the year, scratches her head and wonders, “Hmmm, okay, and what exactly did I accomplish this year?”

I did make an optical illusion...one point for me

Regardless if I’m any more productive or not, a new year is a’coming, and I’ve been laughing at some of the ‘Top of 2011’ lists that are making the rounds. I have a new blog that I’m going to be stalking: EatRunSwag! Of particular hilarity are the ‘Top 5 WTF Moments of 2011’ and ‘The 5 Worst Pieces of Running Gear of 2011’.

I’m glad that someone called out the Vibrams as being ridiculous. I have never worn a pair and the day I do will also be the day that I start strutting around in those Shape-Ups shoes in lieu of my workout. There was one major oversights in my opinion so I feel obligated to add to the list:

Really?!

Source
1) Reebok EasyTone Clothing line. I think this one may in fact surpass even the shoes.

But 2011 has brought us plenty of good and fun new running related goods:

1) All about compression. We’ve got compression socks, sleeves, and I’ve even seen some for knees and other random spots. I know that the first few people to sport them got made fun of or people thought they were sporting soccer socks but I’m glad to see those naysayers are singing a different tune. Compression accessories have been shown to promote blood-flow which isn’t only going to help you WHILE you’re actually running but are perhaps even better to wear afterwards to promote recovery. Another time they can really come in handy is if you’re going to be sitting in a long car ride or plane ride because they can reduce your risk of blood-clots. Finally anyone who is traveling long distances to race, I’d suggest strapping them on to help spare the legs…we all know how crummy they tend to feel after being stuck sitting in one spot for hours and hours. As a side-note I’d like to give further props to Paula Radcliffe because she’s been wearing compression socks for YEARS…I’m going to credit her with discovering them first.

2) Cozy hand sleeves. These were around before 2011 but more and more long sleeved shirts and jackets are including holes for your thumbs and even an extra fold of fabric that you can stretch around your hands. I warm-up really fast when I’m out running and these are great because instead of having to wear gloves for about a mile then taking them off and having to keep track of them, you can just fold your sleeves down for the beginning and then fold them up when you’re warm enough.

3) Garmin fever. Yes, I will add this to the list because they are new to ME this year. There isn’t a need to get obsessive and wear them for each and every workout, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t love them. Finally a watch that is accurate, does anyone remember the days people wore a pedometer? Hehe. (No I wasn’t one of them though…just saying.)

4) Light shoes for everyone. One of the best things about slipping into your spikes or racing flats is that you feel like you’ve just lost about 10 lbs of shoe for the race. Well if you’ve been checking out the Nike training shoes’ evolution then you may even catch yourself wondering if the shoe is actually a trainer or a racing flat…the shoes are getting pretty dang light. What’s more is that this is the case for people who need stability shoes…these lighter materials are sweet if I do say so myself. Even crazier is that as the trainers are getting lighter so are the actual racing shoes too! I was talking to one of the shoe developers and he was doing the math; the difference in weight on one of the lightest spikes could shave off upwards of 30 seconds over the course of a 10k for an elite male. So for everyone running slower than an elite male (read as most everyone else) the amount of time you’d be able to run faster gets larger the slower the pace.

Just some fun finds and I’m sure that 2012 will bring even more awesome goods for runners. Just the same be ready to laugh as there are sure to be even more ridiculous products pushed our way, no doubt endorsed by such running saavy celebs like Kim Kardashian.

1) Any additions to the ridiculous accessories of 2011?

2) Any additions to the best running related goods of 2011?

3) Did you set yourself any goals for the year and if so how did you end up doing?

Santa Done Me Good! The Ho Ho Holidays Recap

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Cait — 14 Comments ↓

Well, I have to say the big fat man was good to me this year! Bear with me as I take a quick moment to get a wee bit sentimental as I am one lucky runnerchick to have such an amazing family and wonderful friends…it’s been a great past few days as we’ve made the holiday tour of duty!

Woke up today and decided that it’s never too late to try and give Rudolf a runfor his money. I lost, but I did get in a little tempo run on the treadmill…even had the distraction of the last dregs of Christmas movies playing. Then because of this little foot of mine I did my cool-down on the elliptical, all in all a great way to start the day, though I was especially tooty-fruity, I guess those last bits of sweets last night put me over the edge!

Little bro's pretty close to Santa...

Now on to the REAL news here, THANK YOU Santa for the Garmin!! How did you know? Actually I was fully surprised since it must have cost you an arm and a leg, but maybe you were able to outsource and substitute the appendages of some poor, unlucky elf…I only hope for fairness he was on the naughty list.

You also know that it’s the stocking of a runner when there are sports bars and socks mixed in with the candy-canes. Though, the Paul Frank pants wouldn’t make for a right pick for getting my sweat on…

I also really loved the bracelets my sis got me: Trust Your Journey charms, one for each of us.

I hope the parentals enjoyed what I got for them…I promise I didn’t get it all sweaty. My mom is a bit of a sucker for the ‘personal touch’ type things so I did her a bit of art and got it screened onto a purse. A portrait of my two younger sibs…

Little bro, little sis, little Tito pup

For the siblings I got them a little something but really I know there is nothing like adding in the cash money.

The gifts though aren’t the holiday (wow, I think I may actually mean this, which means I am no longer my 8 year old self…I’m getting old) and the true joy was in fact just sitting around and chatting it up with the fam bam.

1) How as Santa to you this year? Were you a good runnerchick or runnerdude?

2) Did your own workout offer you up a not so tasteful reminder of the last few days of foodfest, I only hope the burps had the air of candy-canes or something sweet?

3) Name one of your highlights from the holidays.
Me: “Which one is from Santa, which one do you want me to open up first?”
Dad: “The present that says ‘From: Santa’ on it.”