Category Archives: running

Minions Who Go Out Too Fast Get Bootylock

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Oh, the faces of the poor runners who went out to fast and are paying for it. #bootylocksucks
minions running a race
Kinda crazy how it hits you like THAT…no slow slip into lactic acid h***…nope, you’re feeling fine, then BAM!!!

Please, Runners, take a cue from these poor guys. Runner PSA: NEGATIVE split. 😉

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More race tips HERE
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1) Worst bootylock experience?
2) Funniest bootylock experience?
3) How many times did it take you to learn not to get sucked into going out too fast?
We all have to learn the cruel way a few times…

Get Out of the Vicious Cycle: Stop injuries from haunting you again and again and again and again…

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Probably the only things runners hate MORE than being called a jogger are injuries. Booooo…hisssss…throw a rotten tomato at stupid injuries! The thing is though, if you don’t know WHY you were injured in the first place, you’ll most likely wind up with the SAME injury again and again and again. A vicious circle, uglier than Groundhogs Day.

Why Am I Injured?

Sure, an injury can come from some running traumatic event, you stepped on a rock the wrong way, tripped on a root and pulled a groin. A running injury can also come from doing a stupid training mistake, ie: doing too many miles too fast (stress fracture!), doing too much hard running too fast, running in the wrong shoes.
injured runner
Now, the WORST and most common reasons for getting stuck in the black hole of injury cycles are…

NOT FIXING A RUNNING WEAKNESS!! Ding, ding. I’ll tell you what you’ve won…an ongoing issue that your body is continually compensating for. The muscles stuck working overtime to cover that compensating are causing your injures.

Since you never fixed the underlying issues, no amount of icing the injury or rest will keep you from getting injured again. The injury is the symptom…not the problem.

What’s My Weakness?

Hey, I’m a Weak Butt: Everyone is different, but there are FIVE top culprits for runners getting injured. Weak glutes, hamstrings, hips, back, and ankles. I wrote a post HERE highlighting each one specifically as well as exercises to help fix that issue.

I’m a Tight Runner: Tied into weak muscles are also muscles that are so inflexible they’re tugging and pulling on every other muscle. Being inflexible is setting you up for injuries, and the bad news is the older you get the harder it is to ‘undo’ that inflexible nature. It’s possible, you just have to keep working at it! The other bad news, for those who DON’T embrace stretching…the older you get the more injuries you’ll get because of it. So stretch…I wrote a whole post HERE all about my journey to becoming a pretzel person. 😉

jogger is a bad word

I brought it up so I HAD to post it. 😉


It Came From What??

The tricky thing with injuries is that the body is an interconnected machine…you could be struggling with a foot problem that is traced all the way to weaknesses in your hips! Crazy, huh? So it can be a bit of a Sherlock Running Holmes investigation to figure out the root of your injury, but the best places to start are the most common weaknesses, get strong there, rule them out, and see if you’re getting better. Here’s a post on my little ‘Injury from Whaaaa?” moment.

On a bit of a related note, bad form can also be an indication for where you are weak. A runner’s form breaks down as they tire, the more tired you get the more your body isn’t ‘thinking’ and slips into whatever ingrained habits it has. Usually your weaknesses will be apparent. Hey, another reason to fix those form mistakes, right?! 😉 Read some tips on that HERE.

So we said the dreaded I-Word about a bizzillion times in this post. Thankfully running injuries aren’t like Bloody Mary or The Candy Man, we don’t conjure them up by saying their name. It’s kinda worse, because they come about while we’re doing something we love.

Stop injuries from visiting you again and again and again and again…and fix your weak spots! 😉

1) What’s been one injury cycle you were stuck in?
Hamstring, adductor, glute trifecta
2) How did you get out of the cycle? Or, what will you do to get out of it?
Getting my stretching on.
3) What’s been a stupid mistake, or klutzy move, you did to get injured?
Hmmm…klutz ball here, I’ve fallen a billion times.

Sunday Morning Running Inspiration: They’ll Never ‘Get’ It

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Many a time has a runner been told they’re ‘too obsessed’ with this running thing. I admit runners may be a wee bit on the crazy side, and obsessed isn’t such a bad term. [Better to be obsessed with running than meth…right?] But the reality is, rather than waste our breathe even trying to explain it to these people, who clearly will never ‘get it’…our precious O2 is much better spent oxygenating those hard-working running mitochondria. 😉
i run to be happy
#runforsanity
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More Sunday Morning Running Inspiration
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1) Do you try to explain it to people who question why you run, or how you are so motivated?
2) Best funny quip you’ve given to a person who says with scorn that you’re ‘too into’ running or fitness?
3) What’s inspiring YOU this morning?

There’s Magic in That Stride

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And so, mid-stride, she exclaimed, “My goodness, there must be magic in these running shoes!”

To which her Fairy Godmother replied, “Oh yes, My Dear, there most certainly is!”
running with magic
“Does it ever go away?”

“Well, My Dear, it does wear off eventually over time,” Fairy Godmother paused, “but you always know how to come back to this magical feeling.”

For a time neither spoke, neither had to. The runner knew the answer, she knew no clock would chime Midnight and steal her magic away.

And so she ran on. She breathed in the magic, a creation of her own body.

She ran on into the night…a trail of magic behind her.

1) Anyone racing this weekend?!
2) Which workout leaves you feeling the most ‘magic’?
Longer stuff…tempo runs are quite nice.

Be Fierce, Be Strong, Be a Competitor

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Racing is a fierce sport. Take no prisoners. Competition.
Racing is
thrilling
spine-tingling
adrenaline
pushing
pressing
competing.
Pain. fighting. lactic acid.
MENTAL TOUGHNESS
skulls on a track
Running is a test. Against yourself. Your competitors are there to PUSH you to your best.
Competition is a gift. THEY will elevate you, take you places you didn’t think you could go. PUSH you past pain thresholds your mind told you you’d never go.

Racing is fierce. It’s better than a blood sport, it’s a game of wills. You are the pawn, the King, the Queen, and dictator.
You control what the body puts out. Be fierce. Be strong.
Be a competitor.

You amped yet? Good luck to anyone and everyone racing this weekend…track season is always so freaking exciting! 🙂

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NEVER fear your competition…they are there to help you. Read more…
Race day tips HERE
A little dark or serious today? More posts on MOTIVATION and CARTOONS 🙂
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1) Finish these sentences: Race day is…
2) When I think of my competition, I…
3) I am in control of my race, I know I’ve put my best out there by…

Runner Feet Be Keeping it Classy

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If you’re a runner looking for a dapper fellow, look no further…
dashin 'stache feet
May all your feet be keeping it classy. 😉

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Some funny related matter:
Do speed goggles exist??
Is being in a relationship with a runner a blessing or a curse? (umm, total blessing!!)
The HOTTEST Friday night dates around.

More running MOTIVATION and CARTOONS
Have you heard my big news, yet?!?! 🙂
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1) ‘Staches, yay or nay??
2) Do you have something funny to share, joke, pun, anything…we all need a laugh.

Effective Mental Strategy: My first instructional comic book for runners!

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I’m excited to share my first RUNNING book: “Effective Mental Strategy: Race better by out-thinking your brain”!!
effective mental strategy ebook
Running hard hurts. In order to race and train your best you need to block out that pain and stay in an effective mindset.

This ebook will teach you strategies to refute those pain messages from your brain and refute that voice telling you to “Stop!” and “Slow down!” Also included are insights from professional distance runners sharing the tips THEY USE to stay mentally tough during workouts and races. These rocking runners, Sarah Brown, Sara Hall, and Jason Hartmann, your brain would go dizzy counting up all their accolades: World Championship Teams, Pan Am Gold, Marathon Titles, you name it!

I’ve chosen to use my cartoons as teaching tools to make the reading fun and engaging. I mean humor DOES make everything better and, after all, while training and racing does require an amount of seriousness, running IS fun. And running personal records are even MORE fun!

This ‘instructional comic book’ is written BY a runner; because who better to poke fun at our crazy quirks and thoughts than a runner herself?!!
effective mental strategy ebook





BUY NOW to order this awesome ebook in PDF form here– $9.99!
*Please indicate if the email you’d prefer the ebook be sent to is different from your payment email address.

This running ebook is also available in the Kindle version at the Amazon store: BUY IT HERE!

running comic book

Sneak peek of what’s inside!

Runner’s Strip: Showers

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It’s not a crime if you went running in the morning but have yet to shower by 5pm 6pm 8pm 9pm until right before you go to bed. 😉
running shower
Happy Monday, Running Friends, and if that means you are one of the poor souls who have to leave home for work…theeeen, maybe you’ve gotten that shower. Don’t worry, you have the weekend to look forward to lounging around in running clothes all day! 😉

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More Running Cartoons!
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1) How did your Monday start?
2) Are you a bit lax when it comes to the post-run shower RIGHT away??
3) Best thing happening for you this week?

Sunday Morning Running Inspiration

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Running is a test. We take it willfully and grade ourselves accordingly.
[Please contact me if you’d like prints! 🙂 cait@caitchock.com]

running motivation

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More Sunday Morning Running Inspiration

More Running Motivation

Wear Your Inspiration
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1) How did your last test run go?

A Runner’s Starting Line Confidence

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Sometimes a runner’s already won the race before the gun’s even goes off. Questions. Doubts. Insecurities. None of these belong at the starting line; starting line of a race or a workout. A runner needs confidence. NEEDS it… no amount of physical endurance, speed, or fitness can make up for it.

How one steps to the line is what separates the GAMERS from the runners who perform at about the level they do in workouts, and then harriers who self-implode.
runners confidence
Confidence is a tricky one, it’s a mental factor of running and training. Once shaken, a runner’s confidence can be quite difficult to fully restore. Injuries, off days, strings of bad races, all of these plant seeds of doubt. Doubt is like a monster that, once you feed it, it grows exponentially in size. It’s a voracious monster that will eat a runner whole. Step to the starting line enveloped in that ugly monster and you might as well not even wait for the gun to crack. You’re already a dead runner ‘running’.

By the time you step to the starting line, there is NOTHING you can change about the past. Stop any questions of, “Should I have done…?”, “Did I do enough…?”, etc. You can’t do it, so no use worrying about it.

Don’t let that scare you off, if you’ve got some doubts, that’s only natural. And if you’re currently fighting from falling into the pit with that ugly doubting monster, THERE IS still hope for you yet. It works two ways. You CAN restore your confidence. You CAN still step to the line a gamer. It just takes some work and shifting your thinking.

Usually doubts start from one of two places:

1) An Event: Events would be after injuries, poor performances, etc…it starts with a legitimate reason to question if your fitness is off and snowballs. Usually the first race or workouts back after an injury a runner naturally goes in with a little more trepidation. You need some solid performances under you belt to steamroll that confidence train back.
To help BOOST that train, remember that your talent and fitness never goes away. Your first race back may not be your PR, but trust in the process, trust in your dedication, and trust that you’re only going to improve from here.

2) Anxiety and Stress: Anxiety and stress tend to spike around pre-race time. I wrote whole posts HERE and HERE on how to use those nerves to your advantage. If you let too much pressure, internal and external, load you up, it’s like running with a weight vest. To help unload that pressure, usually it takes the runner looking within THEMSELVES and finding that passion and love for running that brought them to the sport. If they can get back the excitement and joy for just running, eventually the times, workouts, and races will get back on track.

Ironically, the LESS you think about races and workouts, typically the better you’ll do.

Remember that NO race is the last race in the world. Yes, it can be a Championship race or a PR you’ve been wanting to pop FOREVER…but know that tomorrow will always come and another race will too.

1) Where do you draw your confidence from before a race?
2) How do you use a race day atmosphere to BOOST your performance compared to regular workouts?
3) Have you ever had a time when your confidence was shaken, how did you get it back?