Author Archives: Cait

About Cait

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

This Runnerchick Can’t Jump, BUT Plyometrics are Your Friend – Part I Bounds & Skips

Posted on by — 11 Comments ↓

I don’t jump. I can’t really, anything that I do would only qualify as a hop at best. In my one-time attempt at the high jump in junior high PE, I made the running start, I tried to clear the bar, failed miserably, and then proceeded to roll off the back end of the mat and onto the concrete. Nice.

pizza flop

Epic fail.

I’m pretty sure, actually I know it to be true, that the correlation between my lack of any speed and jumping ability are interrelated. It’s because I don’t have a single, not one, fast twitch muscle fiber in my body.

I’ve worked on it though in the past, diligently like a good little coachable athlete. That entailed 200’s to boot, hill work, pulling weights while I ran (this was hilarious and I wish I had pictures…anecdote for another day perhaps), weight room, and of course plyo’s.

Plyometrics. Short, all-out bursts of exertion, anaerobic, all fast-twitch baby. Hopping, jumping, bounding, leaping, you get the picture. Typically this is what you’d think of as only ‘sprinter’ or field eventer (is that a word?) work, but if you’re a distance runner and you turn a blind eye to plyo’s you’d be missing out.

[Actually, plyometrics are great for anyone, and I semi-cringe in writing this because in my writing of this I’m not trying to cater to the weight-loss masses or turn into one of ‘those blogs’ where they talk about working out for the sole reason to lose weight, but here is a quick fact: plyometrics are among certain activities that rev up your metabolism more-so than just going out for a steady run. They create something called the ‘afterburn effect’ too which keeps your metabolism elevated for hours after your workout is done as well; this is similar to what happens after you do a hard, interval session. Plyo’s will also give you more definition and improve anyone’s athletic abilities if done right, that’s why so many sports teams incorporate them into their training.]

Other things you need to know about plyo’s,( other than that they hurt…hehe) is that the aim is quality over quantity. Here it’s all about giving it your ALL for the number of rep’s that you do, and when you first start out you only want to begin with one set of each exercise and slowly build up. The thing is, you might not feel like you worked ‘hard’ enough your first few times out, but the next day and those that follow, that is when you’ll feel the soreness.

The reasoning behind why you need to do each one precise and not get sloppy is tri-fold: if you do them with poor form you’ll get into a bad habit and then repeating that is only instilling poor muscle memory, if you aren’t doing them right you’re not reaping the full benefits, and finally, you’ll get hurt. Plyo’s, if you do them right will make you more injury resistant but if you do them wrong you can easily hurt yourself, pull something, tear something, no good. So if you can only do a few correctly, stop there and wait until you’re strong enough to add more; don’t just do five ones perfectly and then ten more junky ones, it’s not worth it. This is why it’s smart to have someone watch you the first few times to make sure you’re doing them right.

Plyometrics take it out of your body too and the best times to do them are early in the season, during the off-season, or during what would be considered a base period. Typically you wouldn’t do them during racing season, by then you’ve pretty much put in all the work anyways. So, early-season timing is a great time to bust them out…and lookie here, that’s where we are. 🙂

optical illusion

There are tons and tons of different plyo’s you can do, so this one will be a series. First on the agenda will be bounding and skipping. Bounding is sort of like exaggerated running, you want to explode off of the ground here. Skipping, don’t be shy boys, it’s not just for girls on the schoolyard. The difference between the two is that for bounds you land on the opposite foot, for skipping you will land on the same foot as you started.

For this series you will aim to make each distance of bounds 30-40 meters in length; not too long because you want to make each bound exact, hard, and you’ll be burning by the end. Start out with one set of each the first week, you can do two the second, and work up to four sets. Plyo’s should be done at most three times a week and on non-sequential days. Don’t do them the day before a hard workout and probably not the day before your long run either; doing them after your hard sessions is one suggestion. That way your easy, recovery days allow you to do just that.

*Bounds for distance: The aim here is to cover as much distance as you can with each bound, think of eating up that ground below you. You want to get as much air between those legs; when you toe off, extend the opposite leg as much as you can before landing.

*Bounds for height: Here you want to get as far off the ground as possible, all about the altitude. Try to get in as many bounds as you can in the distance because each one will be shorter, just make it higher.

* Skipping for distance: Similar to the bounds, but this time with skipping; really push to see how far each skip can get you.

* Skipping for height: Try to see how many skips you can get; and really reach for those clouds, friends. 😉

* A-Skip: This one is about speed and agility rather than trying to go for distance or height. When you skip, you want to be extra mindful of coordinating your opposite arm and leg to go up and down at the same time. Lift your knee up for the skip, get it up and then back down to the ground as fast as you can while still keeping the motion controlled. Again, if you have to slow it down at first to do it RIGHT that’s much better than doing them faster but sloppily.

* B-Skip: This one is different from the A in that you will extend your leg as you skip. When you’ve gotten your leg to the top of your ‘skip’, kick your foot out in front of you, and then pull it back as you cycle back and land. As you get better at these you want to increase the speed in which you do them.

A few last things: As you work up to more sets of these, alternate the foot that you start off with. So if you did your first set of bounds leading with the right leg, do the second set leading with the left.

Finally, give yourself a full recovery between each set. With distance training it’s our tendency to think that shorter rest is better and will get us more fit, but we’re not tapping into our cardio here, it’s all anaerobic and for this you really want to make sure you’re fully rested and recovered before going into the next exercise. That way you can really put your all into each set and make it your best!

Alright folks, I’m out…but for my friends here that aren’t necessarily on a team, plyo’s are for everyone because it will make you stronger, faster, and improve your running. Then, again under my aforementioned disclaimer, it will give you some awesome definition too and that metabolic boost…all the more reason why refueling immediately afterwards is imperative!

1) Jumping, leaping, bounding, plyo’s; love them or hate them? Or have you never tried them?

Not going to lie, I hate them, but it’s usually the things we hate the most that are the best for us, right? 😉

2) Favorite refuel after a hard workout?

Ummmm, favorite choice or the best choice? Hehe.

Bookmark and Share

Green Eggs and Ham…Better Than Green Eggs and Spam

Posted on by — 8 Comments ↓

Is it normal that while standing in line a woman walks up behind me, I smile at her, she breaks into a fit of giggles? I mean, trust me, I know I may be crazy, but is it that strong of a first impression? She quickly followed suit with, “Oh my gosh, my son would love your shirt!”

I looked down at my Dr. Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ shirt and asked her, “Is it normal that a 25 year old woman…errr…girl, is wearing the same shirt that your probably ten year old boy wants?”

Her answer, “He’s three.” Even better.

green eggs and ham

I'm slightly embarrassed to put this up, it's from years past and working off of some markers...lol. But it goes with the theme.

That’s okay, I’ve already established I’m immature, three is probably about right.

Other things that don’t exactly plead my cause to the whole ‘woman’ title: in moving and cleaning out I find stashes of Disney coloring books here and there. Between the uncolored pages are pictures I’ve drawn…I don’t actually color my coloring books but I use the figures as practice or references for things I do draw. I always looked at coloring books as sort of ‘cheating,’ it’s only half the work! 😉

The term overly excitable about [insert mundane detail here] can be used on a mutli-daily basis to describe my current state. Sometimes more than once in a two hour timeblock.

Walking past the $5 movie bin at Wal-Mart the twin pack of All Dogs Go to Heaven I and 2 stops me in my tracks. This is followed up by me scooping up that one and Milo and Otis…because I’m poor it took several minutes of restraining conversation to make me put them down.

‘Tis okay, I’ll take my Green Eggs and Ham and be happy with it. 🙂

————————————————
Update: Oh my, I went and got all Facebooky on you. Actually, truth be told I made a page awhile ago but until now I’ve kept it mostly separate from da blog. I’d like to say I just racked up all my likes in less than an hour, but it would be a lie. I tried to change the name, but FB won’t let me unless I gave up all my likes and started anew. I’m greedy, so that won’t fly. So please, all my bloggy friends, feel free to hop on over and LIKE me on Facebook as: Cait Chock Designs. 🙂
————————————————-

1) Running after Sam I Am must have racked that poor fellow up some miles, how many you think he ran by the end of it?

Hmmmm, well, I know there was a train involved there at some point, but I’m gonna say most was foot traffic…he musta have pulled in at least 6 that day, no?

2) Speaking of, what was your workout today if you did one?

10 treadmill miles…c’mon, you know what will follow here…core and ab work.

3) I’m sitting in Starbucks but I don’t drink coffee (I’m already overly hyper-excitable enough) but everyone else does, what is your order?

Bookmark and Share

Coming Back After a Running Hiatus…Aint it a Kick in the Tush!!

Posted on by — 8 Comments ↓

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekends if you’re living in the States! It’s that time of the year again, even though World Track Champs is bleeding over into the start of it, for most teams out there it’s cross-country season. Now, cross-country season comes at another funky time if said person is still is in school; it’s right after summer break and classes are also starting up.

Now, for lots of high school kids, and I’m sure yes even some college level athletes, summer vacation may or may not include sticking to that training schedule. Now, I’m anal and was always getting in my runs and whatever I was supposed to do regardless (you’re talking to the girl who got into a fight with her mom because of the timing of that looooong, drawn out high school graduation ceremony conflicting with a track meet…I mean, I knew I graduated, did I need to sit for four plus hours sweating bullets in that robe?!) but others not so much.

senior portrait

Ack..hs senior portraits...Mom wasn't too stoked on obvious watch and running shirt tan lines. 😛

You can tell off the bat who did their summer running and who didn’t. In fact, I think it was Alberto Salazar that was quoted with something along the lines of, “I like to be in the best possible shape at the onset of the season so I can put the people who didn’t train through the worst possible torture that I can.”

Whether it’s due to actual quasi-malicious intent by your teammates or not, I would suspect that slacking in the off-season bring its own swift justice come practice time. I was joking with a high school coach as they were off to their first team practice, and he was mentioning how it should be interesting to see who did what they were supposed to over the summer.

There are those people that do snap into shape relatively fast, and thanks to good old muscle memory if you’ve been at this thing long enough, after a few horrible few weeks it is surprising how fast you’ll improve and be back to your ‘old self.’ Still, it’s never fun, or pretty, coming back to running after a break.

This goes whether it’s just a slacking-induced break or one that is planned (you DO need to take breaks periodically and especially after tough seasons) or even ones that come from an injury. During said injury you can be a master at the cross-training but it’s always a cold slap of reality when you return to actual running no matter what you did.

kick in the face

Those first few runs back...a kick to the face! When a 'short' four miler never felt sooooooo long!

That last one, coming back from an injury and starting to run again, can be rather defeating if you start to compare yourself to the ‘old you’ times and where you are now. Running is so mental that if you slip into that comparison trap too far you can take yourself out of the game, or the season, altogether. Heck, sometimes even the sport. So it’s not pretty…don’t go down that road.

Better to focus on the here and now and the workout set immediately before you. Put in the effort, in fact that’s paramount regardless of times, so many other factors can affect actual paces and times, but even if the pace is ‘off,’ if you are putting in the same amount of effort you are getting a benefit. (Side tangent here- so remember that sometimes when a workout is just going to pieces timewise, sometimes it’s just better to chuck the watch and put in the same amount of effort…your body is still working hard and cardio-wise you’re still reaping those benefits.)

Staying present in the season or where you are fitness-wise is best if you’re coming off a running hiatus. Start with a semi-blank slate and track your progress post-injury when it comes to workouts…then take the improvements you see there are big steps forward. Trust me, it will feel like he** sometimes getting back, but eventually if you keep at it and do everything right you’ll get back to the ‘old you’ and then some.

runner throws up after race

Racing into shape is never pretty. Don't bother a racer if they dash past the chute and head straight for the bushes!

So to all those starting cross-season, you might have had a race this weekend…where you one of the people inflicting torture on the other people who maybe skipped out on those morning runs, or were you one of the people paying the price?

1) If you competed in sports, did you always put in the work during the off-season?

See, this is one thing where my OCD can work to my favor if kept in check…if a coach tells me to do something you can bet I’ll do it, I get in trouble if I then do too much. Though, I think for ‘normal’ people it’s more of a progression, the more serious you get about a sport the more likely you are to want to train even when you’re not under supervision. You get to the point where you’re self-motivated to achieve certain goals you set for yourself.

2) If it’s an injury that kept you from running, isn’t it a bi*** coming back?! No, but really, I think it’s about a two week period of extra pain until you start to come back. What was the last major injury that kept you out and did you do any cross-training during that time? If so, what did you do?

I’m a big fan of the elliptical!

3) How are you living it up this weekend?

PS-this is another side tangent that NEEDS to be addressed…I have noticed that recently as things have been switching around techie-wise, I’ve gotten a TON of spam comments!! To the actual readers I’m very sorry and does anyone have any tips on how to block this?! I seriously spent over an hour just today deleting this junk…ugh! 🙁

Bookmark and Share

Some More Track Champs Talk and Snotty Dogs

Posted on by — 14 Comments ↓

Okay so today again, as a good little track nerd, I’ll need to bring up the Women’s 5k that happened over there at the World Track Champs. I’m partial to the women’s distance events, but there is tons of action and I’m sorry to not spread the love, but that’s how I’m going to roll…

I was talking yesterday about the A-FREAKING-MAZING women’s 1500 that brought home the first Gold for an American distance race in 28 years and today, while it was back to the slew of Africans leading the field there things worth mentioning.

Lauren Fleshman came out to be the first American (and person of non-African descent in the race) and she placed 7th with 15:09. Yes, the winner, Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (that’s a mouthful), deserves major props herself for pulling off the double win for the 5k and 10k and beating out tough fields.

That said, being an American chick-a-dee I think it’s pretty stand-out that Lauren actually placed 8th at the USA Track Champs, wouldn’t have even gone to the World Champs had not another athlete pulled out, and then she came out and was 7th in the World. Anyways, she actually has a really cool account of her entire experience over at her own blog, which I found fun to read.

Back to this lowly little runnerchick, no big hoopla or megatron, instead it was some Gossip Girl fueled entertainment. 10 miler on the tready followed by abs and core. Hey, I had forgotten in all this techie website drama that I actually added a new tap up top. It’s just a list of some of the workouts or suggestions that I’ve jammered on about so far. If you’re interested feel free, if not, no worries either!  🙂

Sorry to keep this one short, but I’m feeling rather boring as of late, and sometimes it’s better to just put a fork in it rather than yammer on until the food is so cold and disgusting you never want to catch sight of it again!

1) Any fun weekend plans for people? Any races on tap?

2) I feel bad because I’m not really a well-rounded sports person. I have been to maybe one or two ‘real’ baseball or basketball games (the others were my bro’s so I don’t count those) and after about two minutes I get the ‘okay, now what’ syndrome and want to do something else. What sports are you a big fan of and love to watch?

boston terrier dogs

3) I’m sitting with my family’s Boston Terriers, I think it’s so cute/disgusting/hilarious that because their noses are so punched in, when they sneeze it’s like a full body convulsion, nasal spray eruption. That said I get grossed out if spit/snot flies on my face, but I know people who will stop short of nearly French-kissing their pets. How ‘licky-lovey’ comfortable are you with your pets? This is a really random one, so sorry.

Bookmark and Share

America Wins One FINALLY on the Track and Pictures of Dreams Realized

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

So I have to start this post off with a huge congrats to Jenny Simpson (previously Barringer) who won the Gold Medal in the 1500 meters at the World Track Champs. She is the first American to win any Gold for any distance race for 28 years!! Finally we have broken the African dominance streak…hehe. 🙂 If you’re not a huge track fan, I’ll let it slide and tell you you’re missing out later, you should still appreciate this feat and go read up on what’s going on at the World Track Champs scene.

Looking at the faces and reactions of the various athletes crossing the finish line is always really fun. There are those moments that capture utter euphoria at a dream finally recognized, the athletes who have poured their hearts and souls into this moment for years, never a guarantee that all of that work would in the end grant them a Gold Medal. There are those shy receptions of breaking the tape from the ones who were the overwhelming favorites going into the race and already have multiple Golds waiting back at home.

track runners

There are the comical ones sometimes, tossing up hand gestures, one guy looks like he’s strumming an air guitar, others sticking their tongues out. I’m not judging; hey, if you win you can do what you like, some people find it disrespectful but I think so long as you don’t turn around and run down the homestretch backwards or break into some MC Hammer running man you’re alright.

My favorites though are the moments that capture pure shock. The ones where you can clearly see that an athlete is living out ‘one of those days’ on the track and even they haven’t even fully been able to wrap their heads around the fact that they may be, in fact, the person running. I mean of course they put the training in with the hopes of achieving such a feat, you have to have confidence in yourself, but there are no sure things in track…when you get to the line you still have to get through those laps before hitting  the medal podium no matter who you are or your past accolades.

These shock moments come from runners who don’t necessarily come home with the Gold either. Heck, are you kidding me, when you get to that level you should throw your own flipping party over any medal in my book. Some of the happiest harriers captured have been the ones coming in second or third…sometimes to the point where their achievement almost overshadows the actual winner of the race.

track runner

Shalane Flanagan’s bronze at the last Olympics in the 10k was one, the year before when Kara Goucher snagged the bronze at the same event in the World Champs are just two examples. I loved looking at those pictures.

So Jenny’s 1500 meters pictures…track fan or not, you can’t help but be excited for her when you see the snaps of her crossing the finish line.

1) In your mind’s eye what would the moment of your own dream realized look like? If you have achieved this already do you already have a picture of just such an event?

Bookmark and Share

Quick Update…What Monster is Eating my Posts and Comments?!

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

I want to apologize if you’re seeing a blank screen, no posts at all, and all the other wonky things going on with my site. I’m currently trying to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. My widgets are also missing AND my comment replies are also being deleted.

So if you are able to actually see this, I’m sorry for how crummy this makes my site look and the Arty Runnerchick herself and please don’t refuse to eat at the lunchtable with me anymore. Granted, it may be the table reserved for dorks but I need all the friends I can get.

I’ll try and fix this and know that 1) I reply to your lovely comments because I appreciate them so much!!! There is just a comment monster after them. 2) I don’t post just random, long white space….how boring. 3) I’m working on it and will have ‘real posts’ to put up as soon as I’m sure they will in fact be visible and readable!

Does anyone happen to know what may be up or have they had this happen to them? I haven’t changed anything recently.

PS-Sorry no pictures, I’m actually using another person’s laptop and thus nothing saved of my work to post. Plus, if it’s just white space anyways…

1) Would you rather live chat with a helping agent or talk to them over the phone?
Depends, sometimes those people on the phone can’t do anything but say, “I’m sorry things aren’t working for you Ms. Chock, but if you bear with me we can send someone out to look at the problem in two weeks from forever.

2) Workout today?
Ran 10 treadmill miles to my latest TV addiction…Gossip Girl. Ya, I’m late on the train but I’m also kind of embarassed that I was, in fact, a Gossip Girl fan before the actual show came out and was reading the books. Don’t blame me, a high school roomie was the one giving me my tweenie bopper reading material crack. 😉

Bookmark and Share

I’m Back and Busy Watching the Pro’s Bring Fire to the Track at World Champs

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

Goodness, me! Wow, sorry to have been gone for a few days there, don’t you hate it when work and life stuff gets in the way of the real important things? Blogging that is. I would say that it’s a pain in the butt should ANYTHING get in the way of running or working out, but we all know that would be a lie since there isn’t anything that I’d let get in the way of that one. 😉

runner cartoon

But yea, I’ve been busily working on a few freelancing projects that have sucked up all my ‘would-be-blogging-and-blog-trolling’ time…so my apologies. The good news is that rather soon I’ll be rolling out some new art here…what, you’re not sick of the recycled ones yet? Good. Hehe.

I hope your weekends have been going well and if you’re living under a rock, I’ll tell you that the World Track Champs are currently underway. Now, I’m totally biased towards both the longer distances and my friends, so fair warning that’s really all I’ll be mentioning. Hey, it’s my blog so deal with it. 😉 But really, you can check the full results at the IAAF site and Paul Merca has a stand-out track and field blog which you should hop on over too.

Back to my biased little two cents; I was really rooting for our girls in the 10k there. Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher especially, I’m sure the 7th and 13th places respectively weren’t what they had gone in there vying for but we all know that on any given day all we can give is what the legs are willing to put out.

runners on track

Kara though has shown her guts in just spiking up; she’s coming back from a stress reaction in her femur…and should I also remind you that she did push a human being out from between her loins this past year…just saying. 😉 Still, I never counted her out of putting it all out there, she’s one of the most mentally tough people I know. But again, injuries suck the big one and always have a ‘nice’ way of popping up at the least opportune time. Though, is there ever a good time for an injury? Me thinks not!

That said, all the athletes competing there have enough of the stuff to even BE there in the first place! And as a track fan it’s fun to watch or read all about it. In the men’s 10k there was a big upset in that Kenenisa Bekele didn’t win the very first 10k he’s ever entered; he actually DNF’ed. So the title went to a dark horse in a sprint to the finish, as much as it’s sad to watch a great runner DNF it is nice to spread the gold medal love around I suppose?

Back to us regular runner peons…hehe. 🙂 Did anyone have a race of their own this weekend? If so it’s bragging time! Just some easy miles for me with the distraction of some Disney. I wonder if Kara and Shalane were thinking of Disney related material while busting ther @$$e$ on the track? ;

Well, sorry to keep this short but back to the grind! Oh, before I forget…I need to address that for whatever reason stupid WordPress is now staging a revolt against me! All of my reply comments seem to disappear a few hour after I post them…I don’t know what is up?!?! So, please don’t think I’m ignoring you guys, I love comments and I reply to them! It’s WordPress, maybe somewhere in a dark alley it is selling the comments it stole from me. 🙁

1) What was the most fun thing you’ve done this weekend?

2) Do you enjoy going out and watching/cheering for track races? Do you actually stay and watch the full 25 laps or are you a dork who uses that time as a potty break?

3) Last thing you ate?

Cinnamon raise English muffins.
Bookmark and Share