Posts in the Family Category at , Page 2

Childhood Obesity and Getting Active: The answer is not in blaming pollution

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

Oh, Runner’s World you’ve done it again. I got a really good laugh when I read their online headline screaming, ‘Is Pollution Making Us Fat?’ Seriously, could it have nothing to do with inhaling mass quantities of McDonald’s and constituting raising the spork as your daily exertion? Just saying.

At least he's moving!

Obesity is a glaring problem, the saddest part comes from childhood obesity in my humble opinion. Skinny Runner just did a great post highlighting some recent controversy regarding children and weight. Should parents be putting their overweight children on diets and making the child aware that they are, in fact obese?

I’d say that’s a much more practical approach than blaming pollution and not changing any of your lifestyle habits, I don’t care how old you are. If you want something to change you have to, well, change something.

* Input versus output. Yes metabolism and diet isn’t as black and white as plain math, there are admittedly some other things to take into consideration, but for the most part it is not rocket science. If you go out and run 20 miles you obviously need to refuel and ingest a heck of a lot more calories than a child who does nothing more than channel surf all day.

* Move it. Exercise is healthy and hardly for weight loss/maintenance purposes alone. (Yes, being entitled to scarf my weight in Pop-tarts is a perk, but hardly the only one!) Exercise releases endorphins, improves your mood and has been found to help people suffering from mild bouts of depression or ‘the blues.’ Further, taking part in sports is linked to higher self-esteem, instilling a harder work-ethic, teaching the value that comes from accomplishing goals, and a myriad of other pluses. Even for adults holed away in a cubicle, taking exercise breaks has been shown to increase productivity in the office; you come back feeling refreshed and ready to tackle that mountain of work.

Hey, she put in her sweat session and eared that cotton candy! 🙂

* Shut the trap. Being a long distance runner brings to mind willowy silhouettes and lean athletes…that comes from running lots of miles and burning tons of fuel in the process. Without getting into a totally different tangent regarding the weight/food issues; for the most part distance runners do eat much more than the average person. That said, there are plenty of instances and people who DO need to shed a few and should curb back their intake. I hate the word ‘diet’ though because that is synonymous with deprivation…just make a few modifications to your portion sizes and opt for healthier alternatives. You can still have treats but just with moderation…it’s insane how misguided the masses are when it comes to general nutrition and for the most part just wising up and learning how to avoid stepping into obvious food blunders would help. (the salad swimming with dressing, nuts, etc. could be loaded with more fat and calories than the small burger.) Here, information is key.

Rather than telling people that they shouldn’t blame themselves for putting on the pounds because of increased global carbon dioxide, Runner’s World, perhaps look to your name and remind them they could run a little more! For the children, I think helping them get back to a healthy weight is a necessity…not that parents should go all Toddlers and Tiaras on them, but just be smart.

* Small changes and substitutions. As with anything, start small and gradually build up. If you’re increasing your weekly mileage only go up 10% each week to avoid getting hurt. As for that sandwich, double up on the veggies and maybe opt out of the cheese for awhile; pick mustard instead of mayo…easy stuff.

* Take the focus of exercise off of burning calories. Working out, whatever form it comes in, should be fun and something you look forward to. If you are only running because you want to look like a skinny Ethiopian you’re probably not going to last very long. Find what you love to do that makes you move.

* Half and half. I also think the people who only look at losing weight from the diet perspective are stupid; you could lose weight by only cutting calories but you won’t be increasing your muscle tone and could still wind up jiggly and with a heart lacking the benefits of some cardio. Workout in addition to making dietary changes; and know that in doing so, more muscle mass may mean that the scale isn’t the most reliable gauge…look at how your clothes fit and how you actually look. Do you still jiggle? 😉

Tell the kids, "All the cool crocodiles eat tofu dogs!" 😉

* Parents and kids. I don’t think you always have to tell the kids WHY they aren’t eating as many french fries, if you’re afraid of damaging their self-esteem. You’re the parents, just make the changes in the household, you’ll all benefit. Take family runs or soccer games at the park…if they ask why, just say, “Because I said so.”

Weight shouldn’t be the insane focus and issue that it is; sometimes over-thinking things just make it worse. Run because you love to run…refuel your body adequately…eat wisely but for 20 mile days that includes wolfing tons of calories…be smart and just do it. 😉

1) What’s your take on the whole obesity issue in general?
For adults I think it’s more a lack of motivation to do the changes necessary.

2) What about childhood obesity? If you’re a parent, if your child was obese what would you do, if anything?
This is something I feel really strongly about, it’s so sad to see 7 year olds that are obese…I think it’s crucial to make changes before they carry that into adulthood.

3) If you’re in the position of having to lose some weight what do you do to go about it sanely?

4) On the flip side, plenty of endurance athletes have trouble keeping the weight on, if that’s you what do you do?
Pop-tarts and Ben & Jerry’s! 😉 I’m half-kidding, I look at is as first get in all the healthy staples and requirements and then add the fun foods on top of that.

5) The best reason to exercise totally non-weight related?
Endorphins baby, and trust me it keeps me sane! 😉

The Hunger Games Get a Running Twist: Workouts that Awaken the Hungry Beast

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Let’s talk The Hunger Games. I’ll be honest, I don’t usually fall into the mass hysteria type trends; I have never read nor seen a Twilight installment, we all know how I feel about P90X, and I have yet to hyperventilate due to Bieber Fever.

Did you laugh yourself hungry? 😉

Then everyone started talking about how epic The Hunger Games books were and how they were even more excited when they saw the trailer for the movie. My interest was piqued, but then anyone I talked to was so mysterious when it came to describing said book. “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain, I can’t really without spoiling it. All I can say is you HAVE to read it.” Hmmm, thanks for the glowing review, could you be any more vague?

So what I then started to picture in my mind was a cross between some weird eating disorder stand-off, Survivor-esque torches and challenges somehow involving food, and maybe even some feats of strength. (Double points to anyone who just thought of Seinfeld at that last one.)

Eventually I DID in fact read the first book, thanks to my brother who hates reading telling me that it’s his favorite book and he couldn’t put it down…that said something coming from the high school sophomore. I scorched through the book in time so that he and I could go see the movie when it comes out this Friday. How awesome that he just informed me that he bought tickets for the 12am showing…the kid is the best especially since he’s got school later in the day, but c’mon a person’s got to have priorities!

Check my lil' bro run! He's got all the coordination I lack...and then some

I will say the book is great and I’m looking forward to the movie, however a part of me is a bit disappointed that none of my imagined plot lines or scenes were anywhere in the book. So without further adieu, I think I’ll share a version of The Arty Runnerchick’s Hunger Games: What didn’t make the cut:

* You want hungry? We’ll start of course with a morning long run, but not your ordinary long run. To really get the pistons firing on all cylinders and really spike that metabolism we know that intervals are the key here. So what better way to wake up the bottomless pit stomach monster than combining BOTH intervals and lots of miles…oh yes, we went there.

* Marathon training awakens the beast. Remember our first running comic episode (Runner’s Strip: Marathon Dad)? I think it illustrates our point well. Not all of your long runs should be hard, we know this, most are just getting the distance in. However, every so often adding a tempo or harder intervals (think mile repeats or 2 mile or 3 mile repeats) within the long run will set you up for success. A progressive long run is another way to go where you break those miles up into segments; warm-up/slightly slower than marathon pace/marathon pace/slightly faster than marathon pace/half marathon pace/etc. I even read that one of the top marathoners would end his long run at the track and do that last mile literally all out. You don’t have to go that far, but progressively lowering the pace is a great way to condition yourself to negative split.

Our Cake Runner.

* Weight session. Muscle burns more calories than fat, make yourself more lean muscle and you’ll be elevating your metabolism all day even while you snooze. Let’s hit the weight room and for us long distance folks we’re going for lower weights and higher repetitions…do them circuit style so you don’t get rest between and you keep your heart rate up.

* Plyo it out. Plyometrics are explosive efforts and, similar to intervals, they spike your metabolism and keep it elevated hours afterwards in what is called the ‘after burn’ effect. Interestingly, you could then be famished more from a shorter but intensive plyo session than than a steady state run that lasted longer.

* And then we drool. We all know as athletes we should refuel within 30 minutes of finishing our sweat sessions…this is CRUCIAL! 🙂 You wait until after those 30 minutes and your muscle’s and body’s recovery rate drops by at least 60%. But because it is the Hunger Games after all, we now must wait and ogle over all the glorious mounds of foodset before you. Here is where we go Survivor style.

Did you own our hunger games?

Nope, none of this was in the actual Hunger Games, but do any of the above and I’m sure you’ll be hungry. Gotta feed the beast! 😉

1) Did you read The Hunger Games? Are you planning on seeing the movie?

2) What workouts leave you the most famished? Do you have those days where you feel like you’ve got a hollow stomach?

3) Do you have anything that should be added to our new take on The Hunger Games?

4) Favorite recovery food? Then food you most often dream about while working out?
Eggs and some kind of doughy carb/Pop-tarts or sweet doughy carb…hehe

And a Wee Bit ‘O Luck to Ya…

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Cait — 10 Comments ↓

Yes, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! I could also say St. Patty’s Day but every time I do it makes me think there should really be a Happy York Peppermint Patty’s Day somewhere around here too. 😉

I hope you’ve all been having a great one and doing a little celebrating yourself. I’m not a drinker, so if you are feel free to have my leftover beers. I do love everything green, though, and you could find me noshing on some green chocolate chip pancakes. (My dad used to make those for us when I was a kid on St. Patty’s Day.)

It’s a fact that my all-time favorite color is lime green and so let’s hear it for a few more oh-so cliched Irish holiday inspired items:

* Don’t steal my lucky shamrock. Do you believe in luck? Do you have little trinkets, rituals, or things you swear to others you know don’t really bring you luck but you have them/do them anyways just because, well, it couldn’t hurt? Hey, I own up to the fact that whenever I see a clock reading 11:11 I make a wish to myself. 😉

* Leaping Leprechauns! Those little guys have springs on their legs, or maybe they have just been doing a ton of plyometrics. 😉 I HATE doing those plyo’s, this girl can’t jump, but they work wonders for your speed. So get to jumping like a wee, green man!

* Corned beef and cabbage, say what? I’m not a big corned beef fan, I do like cabbage. But don’t shy away from all red meats if you do like them because they have iron, which is super important for runners! If you don’t like red meats (guilty) then seek out other iron rich foods…hey, spinach is a leafy green that contains a lot of iron. It could be cut into the shape of a clover too…maybe. Teehee.

* Pranksters! I wish I were really good at pulling off great pranks and such but I am so gullible that I usually end up being the one pranked. That said I use sarcasm like it’s going out of style and plenty of times people think I’m being serious and sometimes that gets me in a wee bit ‘o trouble.

* Spuds! I am in love with the spud, I’ll take me my fair share of potatoes and then some. My favorite is probably a big ‘ol baked potato loaded with chicken, broccoli…and actually cottage cheese. Is that last one weird? I don’t care, I like it. And for you skin haters…you’re missing out, the skin of the potato contains nearly all of the awesome vitamins and nutrients found in the potato…so choke the skin down if you have to. Jk.

* Friends and merry, good times. You picture people celebrating St. Patty’s Day and you think of parties, people, and good times. I’m all for that…whether you are a fellow sweat obsessed runner or not, you can be my friend. 🙂

Have a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day and I think I’m going to talk to someone about instituting a York Peppermint Patty’s Day too! 😉 (naturally then, we’ll need a Junior Mints Day…just saying.)

1) What did you/are you doing for St. Patty’s Day?

2) What is your favorite St. Patty’s themed item?

3) Do you believe in ‘luck’ or do you have a lucky item/ritual?

4) Do you like potatoes? Are you a fan of corned beef and cabbage? How do you make sure you get enough iron? Pick any of those and answer…hehe.

Eating the Heart Out of Life: Digging for Positives and WHY the Journey is Worth it to You

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Cait — 17 Comments ↓

How do you ‘eat the heart out’ of life? How do you celebrate the positives in life? Cherish even the little, fleeting moments, soak up what the moment may bring, and savor the deliciousness of what makes you smile?

Sometimes we can all get stuck in the hustle and madness that is our day to day schedule and blitz through a day without really even having ‘lived’ it…or sat down for that matter.

It’s also easy to get stuck going through the motions; sometimes it’s because you’re not exactly loving whatever it is you HAVE to do and going on auto-pilot is much easier. Hey, not everything we do in life we look forward to…we all have to scoop the dog poop one way or the other so to speak.

This happens in training too…the vast majority of those miles and workouts are not going to be filled with rainbows and sunshine. Unicorns won’t be frolicking around and shooting stars out of their behinds in your wake. Not every race will bring a PR…not every long run will go to plan.

But we don’t just run for the good times, because if you did that you might only run once or twice a year. You run for the quest of those ‘good times’…you keep putting money in the bank for the days you can then make a withdrawal. You stick to the path for the journey because even in those crappy runs there is the nugget of accomplishment when you are at least done and you put in work. Then, you REALLY should soak up those fantastic ‘ups’ and successes when they come…you worked hard for them!

A vat of ice cream could be in order after a FAT PR!! 🙂

But I think it’s important to remember that regardless of what you’re going through, where you are, there ARE positives. It may take some thinking at times, and during these times it may call for just going outside, turning your head to the sunlight and forcing a smile.

FORCED smiling, forced laughter can even feel good…liberating…and turn into a real smile…if even for a fleeting moment. And if that still doesn’t quite do the trick, try thinking back to something in childhood that made you smile…and if it’s taking a huge bite out of cotton candy…then by all means, indulge yourself.

1) How do you eat the heart out of life? If it’s tough to force a smile in the moment, what’s one way you make yourself remember how?
Usually thinking of my family or things I loved as a kid…Disney movies are always a sure fire way to time warp me back to an 8 year old me!

2) In training, what’s the ratio of the days you feel ‘great’ compared to the ‘not-so-awesome-but-it’s-done’?
Depends where I’m at…but have to say the ratio gets skewed when you’re only cross-training!! Haha.

3) Why is all the training time meaningful or ‘worth it’ to you? Is it PR’s, so you can eat like a runner, so you can be faster than your husband, because it keeps you sane???
The last one for sure! 🙂

4) Last thing that made you smile?
I was telling a story and my brother interjected this side comment that totally made my day…he didn’t even mean to, but it just made me stop and bust out laughing.

Keeping it in the Family: What Age is Appropriate for Kids to Start Running Competitively?

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

Are you the only runner in your family? Did you start running because an older sibling got into it and because you thought anything they did was cool, you laced up to go run too? Or did you come from a family of runners?

Everyone starts for different reasons and some fall into the sport (or get cut from everything else and decide to give running a whirl, like this girl!). If you are the only runner your family may just collectively think you’re crazy but allow you your quirk.

But if you come from a family of runners, or if your parents were runners, did you grow up naturally assuming that you’d get into the sport. A recent article in Running Times HERE got me thinking about families that are runners.

Lots of times when two really fast harriers get married (and there are no shortage of runner couples…us run-a-holics tend to travel in pairs…or groups) there are the obvious jokes, “Wow, you guys will sure have fast babies…get ready to watch them in the Olympics!” Genes play a part, sure, but it doesn’t guarantee natural talent, or that the child will ever have a passion for the sport. Heck, they may turn out to have a desire to get into curling!

Sure, when a running prodigy does pop up with a lineage of fast genes that’s all well and good too as there are cases of those.

My question rather, is that when should a kid officially be a ‘runner’ or follow the sport exclusively? Racing competitively and putting in those gut-busting, tough as nails workouts? Similarly WHY are they doing it? Is it because they love the sport or is it because of their parents’ passion for it, or their parents’ desire to watch them excel?

Both my parents were runners, but I didn’t have any desire to run until about 8th grade. I never thought I’d be a runner, I liked soccer and other sports where you were running to get to something not just in circles. But when I joined a local team in 8th grade it was a club that had all levels and there were itty bitty dynamos that could kick my butt…and they weren’t even out of grammar school. I’d see kids not more than 7 putting in more miles than I’d care to think about and doing bi-weekly track workouts.

I’d see their parents yelling at them like the coaches of teams playing in the Super Bowl from the side-lines. Now, not all of the parents were like that, don’t get me wrong…but it seems like the younger the athlete the more intense the parents. Doesn’t that seem a bit off to you?

On the flip side I’ve been privileged to be around elite level runners, or previous record holders, who are now parents themselves. A great number of them actually tried to steer their children away from the sport of running and into other things because 1) they didn’t want other people putting pressure on them just because of their genes and 2) they didn’t want their kids to feel any pressure, real or imagined, from their parents to follow in their footsteps. The parents felt that if their children got into running that the kids would be the ones to find it themselves. If they then wanted guidance or advice from their parents they could come and ask for it.

I think that’s the best kind of attitude, regardless of how fast the parents are…and shouldn’t that apply to anything in general? Shouldn’t we all find our interests and pursue them of our own free will?

But back to running…it is a HARD sport both mentally and physically. Put that on developing kids and it’s a lot to ask; when is it too young to seriously start running? I’m not talking about casually tagging along with Dad on a mile or two jaunt around the block or popping into a kiddie run if Mom and Dad are at a local road race. I mean really vying for PR’s and consistently training?

My thoughts are that kids should be involved in sports of all kinds and stay active…try everything because you never know what they’ll fall in love with. The soccer, rugby, basketball and the like…keep them running around and instill the desire to MOVE. Then if they happen to want to get really into running around junior high or high school those years of sports set the stage for a great base.

I think that’s where I stand…and if you DO happen to be a family of all runners then that’s well and good! I just don’t think the sight of parents yelling, veins bursting from their temples, at their kids is right, regardless of the sport or pursed interest.
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PS- Just a heads-up that my BIC Bands GIVEAWAY will end Monday so if you haven’t entered yet and want to, mosey on over! 🙂
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1) When did you get into running? Were you really active as a kid and play lots of sports?
I played, and stunk, and all the usual sports.

2) Were your parents, or anyone else in your family runners?
Both my mom and dad, but that’s it.

3) What age do you feel is appropriate for a kid to pursue running exclusively or competitively?

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.”

Is There a Grinch in Your Stocking?

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Cait — 2 Comments ↓

While I tend to be a positive person, I know there are times when even the most Cindy-Loo-Who’s of us get a little cranky. Even if the big fat man in a red suit is watching, I also know that sometimes it is fully warranted to let our Grinch flag fly.

If only we lived in a gumdrop mountain meadow things would always be AWES-TATIC!! (Art: Cait Chock)

Now, before you start thinking I’m being a proponent for holiday un-cheer or being an unkind, thoughtless person (because I’m NOT…trust me sometimes things in this world stink but the best you can do is laugh about it and move on) my point is that there is also a line of what you should let roll of your back. Being that the holidays are super stressful for many people, let’s have a little mutual vent session and remind ourselves that we should pick our battles.

Pick your battles people, a wise little diddy because in life we always will come into contact with people that are difficult to get along with but we must. Whether they are a boss, a family member, or co-worker…you can’t go full Grinch status on them because there will no doubt be ramifications.

Am I smiling on the inside?

* The fake smile: akin to the ‘charity laugh’ this is a good weapon to whip out…you may be dying on the inside to claw their eyes out with a candy-cane but plaster this on your face, breathe, let them say whatever they are going to say and bite your tongue. Best uses are for when granny starts telling you that your choice of clothing isn’t right.

* Kill them with kindness: similar to the fake smile this one is different in that it takes a little more effort HOWEVER you can get a kind of twisted sense of relief in telling yourself that you are ‘outsmarting them’ because you KNOW they are being jerkies but you’re going to be the ‘bigger person.’ Best uses are with people that are your ‘superior’…think a boss or someone you have to stay on their good side. Or an unstable neighbor that if you got on their bad side you’re afraid you may not live to see another holiday.

Workout those frustrations and get stronger...a double win. 🙂

* Run away: literally…I have to say one of the best ways to vent frustration is to take it out workout style. Have a nice interval session and the feel-good endorphins can be a lifesaver.

* Just walk away: Leave the room, get out of there…if you sense a volcano is about to erupt do you stay at the base of the mountain? Best uses: really anytime, it’s sometimes better to be ‘rude’ and leave mid-conversation than risk saying something you really wish you could take back later.

* Pick the battle: now, don’t be a doormat and sometimes you need to stick up for yourself. But proceed with caution and here are some things to keep in mind: speak in a calm, even tone and don’t raise your voice…start yelling and no one is going to listen. Use ‘I’ statements…”I feel that….” avoid using the term ‘you’ or ‘you did this’ because that automatically puts the other person on the defensive and they won’t listen to you. Finally, it may sound sappy but stick with the ‘this is what I’m feeling’ or ‘this is how it makes me feel’ and here is why, people can argue or who said or did what, but they can’t dispute how you are feeling. Kind of a tricky little loophole. 😛

The holidays are AWESOME yes, we love each and every one of our family members and friends, right? Of course we do…but the holidays can be very stressful too. Have you watched the Griswald’s Christmas Vacation as of yet?

1) Is there anything making you feel a bit Grinchy as of late, EVEN during this awesome above awesome time?
To avoid a TMI moment I will just say I have a roommate that just can’t seem to get their aim right when using the bathroom…seriously?!

2) What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? What are you looking forward to the least?

3) How do you plan on handling any potential volcanos?

A Self-Massage Survival Guide and Running Through the Holidays

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

You know how I was saying not too long ago about runners being in a sort of constant pain from one thing or the other? If you want a real laugh take a gander at this chick the first few steps of any run…*snap crackle pop*…it isn’t coming from the Rice Krispies.

I know I’m not the only one, it’s hilarious (in that kind of way) because regular runners and even record holders/world-class athletes alike have a tendency to look a bit like Frankenstein before they are ‘warmed’ into that run.

On-going ‘this’ or ‘that’ is part of the game but we’re riding a thin line between a flare-up or actual injury that can keep us out. Staving them off is a bit of a battle, if you will, and the best way to win is to stay ahead of the enemies…err, game…err, injuries…hehe.

In case you missed it in the January issue of Running Times I did a piece on one of the ways to stay ahead of the game and be proactive in staying healthy: self-massage. The article is now available online if you want to read it HERE: Self-Massage the Runner’s Way. We all can’t afford regular massage therapy sessions, although I think we’d all LOVE it, but we have two hands and can put them to our own use. 🙂

Moving on because there has been to much bummer injury talk as of late and there are much more happy and exciting things to talk about! Namely the holidays…no matter what you celebrate I believe there is at least one thing or the next that warrants holiday status.

I’m really lucky that this year I don’t have to do any of the big travel…I’m not a fan of being stuck waiting in lines for eternity at the airports or having a security check that’s just short of a body cavity search. I jest, never had that pleasure, but for whatever reason I’m ALWAYS that unlucky ‘random’ person who has to go to that separate line and have the personnel unstuff and sift through my bags. I’m beginning to think I must look like some kind of creeper??

Though when it comes to the holiday season and traveling, people admit to sometimes finding it hard to squeeze in their workouts. Personally it would take something short of the apocalypse for me to not do something, but then again I’m also rather lucky to have a family who are pretty understanding as they too are fitness enthusiasts.

But if you’re NOT from a family of runners or have some extended travel plans, here are a few tips and tidbits:

* Get up early. Or that can be even earlIER if you’ve got a morning flight. I’ve gotten in runs outside of 4am to hop a flight…it’s not easy prying yourself out of bed but at least you don’t have to stop for any street traffic. The getting up an hour earlier also comes in handy if you’re staying with people who don’t ‘get’ the whole running thing; if you’re up and done before it ever effects them or impede plans that can win you some brownie points or at least help you avoid getting any flack.

* Adjust. If you’ve only got a short window of time and you want a quickie interval workout, then opt for faster farleks. You can bust out a good speedy 8-10×200 meters (200 recovery jog), with a short warm-up and cool-down in that time and it’s a quality workout that you could use anyways.

* Rope in others. A big thing with the holidays is of course family and friends, do the whole ‘kill two birds’ thing and go out for a run…everyone likes some company, right?

In the end though, if you end up needing to scale back your workouts or *gasp* miss a few days it’s not the end of the world. Consistency over the long haul is the most important thing, and there ARE bigger things in life than running in the end…hmmm, even if that was a bit painful to admit. 😉 jk.

1) Do you do much self-massage? Are you lucky enough to go in and get actual massages from others?

2) Best thing you do to be proactive on the running injuries front?

3) Are you traveling for the holidays? How do you get in your runs or do you take planned time off?

In My Mind I Dance Like a Swan — And Am Super Flexible

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

Well, at least I know where all the flexibility and coordination went in my family…

actually it’s never been a secret. So I spent the night watching my little sis’s dance show and while I may be biased, I’ll say she’s the bestest one out there. 🙂 (pix from tonight are being stupid and not working at the moment…sorry)

I have always had that little girlie part of me lurking away any time ice skating or gymnastics is on; that part that sorta wished I had even one fiber of grace and the ability to do all those flippy things. Dance performances can pull that part out sometimes, but I know my place…I’ll cheer and live vicariously through the sis.

Running makes you tighter, combine that with my mom’s DNA and we have my situation…I’ve never once, not once, touched my toes while keeping my legs straight. I use the excuse that since I’m all legs my arms proportionately never stood a chance.

Excuses aside, I have been doing a little better in my pledge to do at least SOME stretching. I may not ever do splits while conscious but neglecting the problem is certainly doing me no favors and was like letting it fester. Reasons not to fester: increased chances of injury, limiting range of motion, poor form, by the time I’m 30 I’ll need a walker…

If you’re like me and don’t like to stretch or say you don’t have time, I’ll call you out, I did it to myself and here are some sneaky ways to get your stretch on: (PS-rembember it’s counterproductive to stretch cold muscles, so only do so after you’ve warmed up…mmmmk)

Let's cut to Audrey in Funny Face, shall we?

*Dynamic leg swings: if you only have a second, I’d pick these. Hold onto a pole, swing your left leg front to back, gradually getting higher each time. Repeat with right leg. Then do lateral leg swings, so across your torso. Do a few sets of 10.

*Covert stretch: make fun of me, but when I’m waiting to micro up something, I’ll use the minutes to alternate between some easy stretches. My hip flexors and psoas muscles are tight from my elliptical sessions. And people, you can use TV time to do a little you know what.

*Do it sweaty: really, I know there is no excuse to give a minute or two to stretching after my runs/core. I’m already nasty and lying on the floor won’t make me dirtier. The thing is, doing little bits at a time is actually better than planning on doing a huge chunk once a week. The time adds up, and how many people actually then stick to that ‘planned’ stretching time?

So while I’ll never do an Arabian back-whatever, I know I can muster a few leg swings…eh?

1) Are you good with stretching?

2) Have you ever done the splits?

3) Have you ever been a gymnast, dancer, ice skater…or the like?
I actually used to tap dance and that I wasn’t horrendous at.

Two Days in a Row…My Bum is Feeling It

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Cait — 10 Comments ↓

They say that putting the treadmill at 1.5% grade makes it equivalent to running outside. I don’t care who ‘they’ are but I’m telling you that running outside is harder, one and a half, schmone and a half. 😉

Road vs. Tread

Okay, no, I know that there are differences between ‘real’ running outside and running inside. On a treadmill your strike, footfalls, and gait are able to stay exactly the same. Even on a flat road, you will make some turns, there are variances in the road, you move to avoid a branch or rock, slight elevation, slight grade down…normal stuff. All of these things add up.

The other big difference is that on the tready you actually don’t use your hamstrings at all. The way the belt moves, it works only your quads; the movement of the belt actually drags your leg back and thus takes your hammies out of the equation. So going outside it’s a little bit of a shock to the backside of your legs!

So in an effort to return to being a ‘normal runner’ I’ve taken it to the streets. Well, not the real streets, but outside on the bike trail. I feel safer there, still working against a little residual ‘I’m a weenie and cars kinda freak me out’ fears, but a bike trail I can manage. Now that I’m living closer to an awesome bike trail I’ve been going there.

It’s also a slap of reality, I’m also able to go faster on the tready than outside…most of that I think is just ‘me’ though because I’ve never been a real power runner, so the difference in paces I think is more overt just because I have strength that needs to build up.

This guy kicked my tush today. 🙂

Today was a good one, hillier than I’ve been doing…I say this and laugh because I ran with a good friend of mine (actually, it’s so funny because he’s about 7 years younger than me and I remember when he FIRST started running, him going out to his first races and now here I am running with him…PS-he kicked my butt and was way too nice to admit I was definitely the dead weight holding him back…haha!) and when I said, “So now we’re done with the rolling hills, this is flat from here on out, right?” his reply was, “Oh, yea, I forgot about the hills…haha…ya, I guess those were them, I was distracted talking!” I guess the only thing I can feel better about is that at least I was able to hold a conversation the whole way through. 😉

Ahh, but I loved it. The other great thing about the bike trail on the weekends too, you see tons of runners getting their miles on. Oh, and bikes…but runners are better. 😉

So kicked Sunday off to a good start; backtracking a bit, I also had a great Friday when I went out to On the Border with my fam and my little sis’s boyfriend. Mexican food and good conversation always makes for an awesome night. As for the boyfriend, all I have to say is this: this was just a ‘regular’ day, no special occasion and he brought her flowers. Earlier in the week he picked her up from school with a surprise: a limo waiting to drive them to San Francisco. Ummm…where were guys like these when I was in high school?!?!

Sis and the BF at San Fran

So, fun Sunday runs…like the title notes my hammies and bum are feeling it a tad but it’s a GOOD feeling. The feeling like I’m back among the outside runners…and YES, regardless of what David may think, those WERE rolling hills!! 😉

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Update: this runnerchick somehow made a dorkette mistake and a few paragraphs were repeated in my post!! What was I doing?! Anyways, you no longer will see double but that’s only thanks to the amazing Christina for telling me!! Thanks so much and I emplore you all to go and follower her blog because it’s totally stalkworthy! 🙂

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1) What were/are you up to this weekend?

2) If you’ve spent a lot of time doing treadmill vs. outside running, do you find you can go faster on the tread than outside, even if you have it at the 1.5% grade?
This is true for me even when I do hard workouts on the treadmill vs. if I do the same workout on the track. It gets me frustrated when I can go faster on a treadmill tempo and then I take it to the track and I’m slower…what’s the dealio?!

3) Have you ever been surprised with a trip in a limo?
No…but sign me up.

4) On the Border is Mexican…love me my Mexican food…what’s your favorite Mexican dish/food?
Bean burrito, Baby!