Search Results for: cartoons

Approach the Pre-Run Runner At Your Own Risk

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My ability to function as an individual relies quite heavily on my running. Perhaps more correctly my ability to function as a sane and friendly person does. I like to run first thing, I try to not go out into normal society until after my run…more out of a courtesy. I’m pretty sure I’m grouchier. It’s because something IS wrong with me, there’s a bit missing. It’s my ‘fix’ of miles and endorphins. So please, for the sake of yourself and everyone else, don’t speak to me until after my run. I promise that I AM a kind, engaging, and humorous person. The pre-run version of myself…we’ll just think of that as my ugly, evil, non-running twin. —— More cartoons HERE! —– 1) When do you like to get your run in? 2) Do you definitely feel like you’re a different person pre and post run?

Runner’s Strip: Racing Fart

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There is an art to simultaneously running and farting. To be properly mastered, it takes an expert combination of selective muscle control and timing with your stride. That said, there are few things more gratifying than running and letting go of that abominable bubble of gas in your intestines. The joy of letting one rip is only exponentially rewarding when you’ve been carrying along a potential GI disaster for miles, painfully holding back, but then realize that rather than a number 2 on your hands, the mounting, monster pain-ball was only…GAS!! Pit stop averted. Go along and keep perfecting your running farts, Runners. Though, what separates the Lukes from the Yodas among is are the ones who can relax/contract/time during races and hard workouts without losing so much of a millisecond off their pace. —— GI issues for runners addressed HERE and HERE. More Runner’s Strip and cartons HERE. —— 1) Worst GI nightmare run? 2) Name a time when you thought it was going to be a nightmare number 2 episode while running but then realized it was just a big ball of gas…you can’t tell me the amount of relief you feel is nearly euphoric. 3) Do you have any shame letting a painful gas ball go while running? Do you hold back during certain times or in certain company?

Runner’s Strip: Form

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Please, Runners, if for no other reason than the sake of vanity do what you can to improve your form. 😉 Joking aside, running with proper form will make you more efficient…running more efficient will make you faster. And hey, you won’t look like this poor sap running either…PERK! ——- Posts all about form and how to improve yours HERE, HERE, and HERE. More running cartoons HERE! ——- 1) What’s the craziest looking runner with poor form you’ve seen before? It’s okay if you were looking in the mirror. 😉 2) How has your form improved? What form related work did you do or are you doing? 3) Finish this sentence: I may have poor form but at least I don’t look like… 4) Anyone racing this weekend?

Runner’s Strip: Racing Weight

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Oh what a difference running crazy amounts of miles in training makes. Come time for that post-race break those racing shorts…errrr, ‘shoes’ may be fitting a little differently! 😉 Sunday morning deserves some running cartoonage! That being said, we can poke fun but one needn’t get TOO would up over some post-race ‘love’ weight, giving the body a chance to recover is incredibly important and your racing will be much better off in the long-term. On the flip side there is a difference between recovery and gluttony…haha. As with most all things in running and in life, it’s all about balance. Now, pass this runner the Pop-Tarts! 😉 ——- POST on fueling for races. POST with tips on runners eating out. POST on the importance of the 30-minute refuel window. POST on timing your fuel to best support your running performance. Get more Running Cartoons HERE! 🙂 ——- 1) When it comes time to break after a race or season, do you eat differently? 2) What are some of the things you do to give your body some TLC to recover after hard races or between seasons? 3) Favorite thing you treat yourself to after a great race?

I Ran After The Easter Bunny

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Because holidays are just better the runner way. Happy Running Easter…may you make it through the intervals before you barf and may you eat your weight in chocolate eggs and avoid a refund. 😛 ——- More awesome cartoonage HERE! ——- 1) Do you tend to throw up after hard workouts or races? 2) Favorite kind of candy or chocolate goodie? Cadbury does indeed rock, but Junior Mints are quite nice. But nothing beats Pop-Tarts. 😉

Runners, Racing, and Kicking Butt

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For runners the weekends usually mean two things: races and long runs. In honor of the first I’ve brought you a little running cartoon. Okay, okay, I’m not suggesting we all become snarky, “I just kicked your butt” runners…or, well maybe I am. How about I want you all to go out there and kick@$$ but let’s keep the majority of the snarky comments in our heads?? Oh, even better, you can bring all your runner snark here and let it out! 😉 Go, run, kick some butt! 🙂 ———- Racing ultimately comes down to an inward battle, it’s a matter of MENTALLY pushing further than what your body is ‘telling’ you it is capable of. HERE, HERE, and HERE are all posts relating to improving your mental toughness. More cartoons and my Runner’s Strip comic HERE! 🙂 ———- 1) Pick a race distance, and where does the real pain start to set in? I’ll pick a 5k…that first mile really is deceptively ‘easy’…second mile you start to feel it, then BAM if you were ‘stupid’ that first mile, you REALLY feel it that third. The last .12 then is lost in a fog of, “Where is that darn finish line?!” 😉 2) If you have a race on Saturday, do you come back with a long run on Sunday? Or how do you work a long run in, if you do? I suggest, depending on how hard the race was, you either do a longer cool-down and make Saturday the double-duty race/long run day. Or if it’s early in the season long run on Sunday after race. 3) What does your running weekend look like?

A One Dimensional Runner?

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I’m not shy in saying I’m more than a little obsessed with running. Call me a running nerd, a track geek, miles addicted, endorphin fanatic, four hundred meter track minded…I really don’t care. —– More Runner’s Strip Comics and Cartoons. —– When it comes right down to it, yes, I know I’m a running nerd and I’m more than okay with it. 1) Who will join me in making this a miles inclusive weekend? 2) How has your running side made you feel better just TODAY? Won’t lie, my car is broken, I may have just had my identity stolen, and my car broke before I could get to Chipotle. BUT, I had a really good run this morning so I can’t say the day was a total wash. A saner person would probably be a little more upset than this runnerchick. [PS- Runners are more mentally tough in LIFE too. 🙂 ] 3) How have you been playing with speed and paces lately? Last hard workout, last striders before a race, etc.

The Greatest Test of a Runner’s Mental Toughness is an Injury

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For an injured runner, the HARDEST part of recovery is all mental. Okay, yes, there will be the cross-training, the physical therapy, any necessary strengthening exercises, stretches, icing, massage, etc…that stuff is never easy but the TORTURE is all mental. Strip the miles from a runner and they feel naked. Half of themselves. A shell. The mentality a runner takes and holds throughout their recovery will either make them stronger or cripple them. Running is wrought with highs and lows, injuries are unavoidable, as are the lows. Retaining sanity entails keeping the right perspective during the lows and the crappy injuries…because an injury never comes at a ‘good’ time. Faking Rainbows I just wrote an article for Competitor.com: “The Mental Side of Recovery”. Do read it but what I’ve said time and time again is that a positive outlook allows an injured runner to 1) be proactive in their recovery 2) gather the strength to keep moving forward 3) makes them even tougher when they do get back to running. * Staying Productive: Hey, cross-training does suck; but it’s the medicine we suck down. It feels overwhelming imagining yourself ellipticalling away for months, so DON’T. Think of making it through this single workout and that’s it. Deal with this moment before you tackle the next. * Money in the Bank: Doing that cross-training makes a world of difference when you get back to regular training. You can bust out some dang hard workouts on a cross-trainer; remember EFFORT is what counts. * Appreciation: These injuries should give you a renewed appreciation for healthy running. When you eventually DO get back to regular training, when you catch yourself feeling ‘greedy’ take a moment to remember that your running is NEVER a given. Also remember on the days you’re thinking about wimping Continue Reading →

About

I run. I write. I art. ​ Sums it up pretty well. I also love to laugh, all about the laughter. Laugh when it’s funny, laugh when it hurts, laugh when it’s hard, laugh to get through it. I like to make jokes about the fact that I’ve got a kankle. Runners don’t HAVE kankles you say? Well, I’ll get to that in a minute. I developed my passion for running around high school, worked my runner butt off to get to the 2004 World Junior Track Championships and set the then US High School 5k record. I then had the extreme privilege to run for a living as a Professional Nike Runner. A runner’s dream, right? Lucky Miss Cait. ​ The kankle comes in when I was out running in 2010 and struck by a hit and run driver. When I looked down and saw that my right leg was almost fully detached below the knee my first thought wasn’t, “Well, I’m glad I’m alive!” it was, “Oh my gosh, will I ever run again?” ​ The doctors told me that I would probably never walk normally again, and that running would be virtually impossible. I wouldn’t accept that answer and channeled all of that runner determination to get back to the sport of my passion. I know the only reason that I survived was BECAUSE I was a runner, if not I’m pretty sure I would have curled into the fetal position and never moved. Runner’s are tough. It took what felt like an eternity but I am officially a runner again. Well, a runner with a right kankle, a lasting reminder of the accident and also a reminder to be thankful for EACH and EVERY mile I am able to run…regardless of pace. ​ Training under and Continue Reading →

Runner’s Strip: Priceless

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Because EVERY runner knows a PR is priceless. I’d like to see some unicorn deliver on that. Today’s post is short and to the point. Word on the street is there’s been a flurry of PR’s going around, are you about ready to go and snag one for yourself? Get running! —— More CARTOONAGE! Missed my post on how to get your runner SPEED on? Want some RACE TIPS? —— 1) If a unicorn could deliver you one running related item, what would it be? 2) If you had a ton of gold what would you buy? 3) Next time you’re aiming for a PR? OR if you’ve just snagged a PR (ahem Kate and Mo) brag on yourself 🙂