Tag Archives: running

Three Times a Runner

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It’s safe to say I’m probably a runner more than just three times over, but tonight we’re keeping it at just three.
runner

I run because it keeps me sane. If I don’t I get withdrawals and turn into a horrible monster. Does that make me addicted?

run_for_food
I also run because, let’s face it, eating like a runner is SOOOO worth it.

runner_racing

Running will make you smile…but it will also make you grimace. It’s the sick joy us runners get in pushing ourselves. Pain brings rewards: PR’s. And they’re worth it.

We’re runners more than three times over, but see, there are just too many reasons to list why running makes us feel so stinking good.
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Find more cartoonage HERE.
Find nutrition tips for runners HERE.
Find racing tips HERE.
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1) What’s a caption you could fit to this picture? If you’re a runnerdude, then we’ll pretend there’s no ponytail. 😉
2) What food do you most often dream of during those long runs?
3) If you could describe the face you make heading towards the finish line, what would it be?

Runners Moms Are Better Moms

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So is this runner still alive? Yes, don’t worry, and rest assured I’ve been putting in my miles like a good little Arty Runnerchick as well. I apologize for my slight dip into obscurity for awhile here, but the GOOD news is I’ve been working on a few awesome projects for you. So do stay tuned for more on that. Lots of artage and wordage is to be expected.

Today is a special day. The Earth actually paused for a minute, did you feel it while you were out on your run? It’s actually my mom’s birthday!! She’s also the person responsible for getting me addicted to this whole running thing in the first place. 🙂
fit mom
Growing up I watched my mom get up at the crack of dawn to get her run in before dashing us off to school and then go to work. I believe the best way to beat this whole slothy-obesity issue is for parents to lead by example. She did that for all of us kids. What’s more is she is a living, breathing, excuse-buster.

She’s popped out four kids, works two jobs, is Team Mom for my littlest brother’s Football and Rugby teams, goes to every game or event possible one of us chillun takes part in, and STILL makes fitness a priority. Like me, she’s not shy in saying her workouts help keep her sane.

My mom was also my training partner while I was still living in their house. I’ve run more miles with her than anyone else in the world. Easy days, she would be a trooper and get up for my runs at unholy hours because I had to be at school. So today I’m sharing some things I learned from the best woman in the world…

1) Consistency: Everyone non-runner or non-worker-outer in the world has asked us ‘freaks’, “What’s your secret?” There is no flippity-flip secret to staying in shape and getting faster, stronger, and better. It takes putting in the work every day. Motivating yourself when you’re not feeling it, and doing the work. Be consistent and I swear you’ll improve.
tough runner
2) Hardest Part is Done: We’d joke after our runs, “Well, hardest part of the day is done!” It’s kind of true to a point. Running, even those ‘easy’ days, is never purely easy. There’s always some discomfort, that’s the point, it’s work. Running also makes you tougher in life; it teaches you to persist, persevere, and work towards goals even when things get tedious.

3) Easy Does Count: I’m not a hypocrite here, but getting back to those easy days…you need them. My coach loved that my mom would ‘keep me honest’ and make sure I didn’t go too hard on many of those easy days. Runners need those easy days so they can recover and then be able to actually go hard on those hard days.

4) Love the Run: Every runner goes through lulls in motivation, but there is a difference between a lull and burn-out. My mom taught me that you should never come to begrudge running, because if you do that too long you’ll lose your passion for it. Cherish the run, and if you see the signs of mental burn-out, catch it for what it is, do what you have to do, and find that SPARK again.

I have an infinite amount of respect for mothers who are leading by example. Staying fit, making running (or whatever workout) a priority, and showing their children that running and working out is freaking AWESME! 🙂

1) Did you grow up with parents who were fit?
I thought every mom ran before school up until I started doing sleep-overs at my friends’.
2) What is something you say when non-runners ask you, “What’s your secret?”
3) How do you keep your running spark alive?

Running as a Believer is Better

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Every runner should believe in magic. They’ve felt it. It’s there every time you have one of those runs. Everything syncs. Once you’ve felt THAT…you know magic exists.

So we keep chasing that feeling.

unicorn

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More MOTIVATION.
Tips for RACING.
More ART.
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1) Did you race this weekend?
2) Last time you had one of those days?
3) Last time you were super mentally tough and pushed through one of the opposite of those days?

Bring It: Runners live for a challenge

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Runners are tough, we thrive under challenges.
tough runner
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Need more reasons why runners are tough? No shortage HERE, HERE, and HERE!

More cartoons HERE!
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1) What challenge are you working towards?
2) What is a memorable horrible weather run you have?
3) How do you make it through really though moments in a run?
Tell myself to make it 5 minutes more…just keep going.

How dehydration can be causing your GI problems while running

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Runners get thirsty: drink. Runners get hungry: eat. But, as with most things that seem idiot-proof, the most basic of basics, two of the most rudimentary bodily functions can often turn into a runner’s nightmare. I just finished an article for Competitor providing the perfect example of this: “Got Stomach Issues? You’re Probably Dehydrated”.

What’s interesting, and as you will learn from reading the article, it’s often not FOOD wrecking havoc on your stomach and intestines during your hard or long runs. It’s the (not) DRINKING thing that’s giving you a GI nightmare! Talk about a whodathunkit moment, right? 😉
road runner
I’ve been a runner for years and years and still, learning that dehydration is the culprit to most GI problems, both the upward and the downward, came as a bit of a surprise. But if you think about it, it really shouldn’t be; let’s look at what happens when you run:

* Muscles working: Brain and body prioritize the hard-working muscles as the top-tier function at the moment.
* Body delegates: In moving the muscles to priority number one, the stomach, intestines, and anything digestive related gets bumped down.
* Blood to muscles: All the major blood-flow gets shunted to the muscles, leaving the stomach and delicate intestinal tissues simultaneously deprived of blood-flow. This lapse in blood causes slight damage. Aww, poor, intestines. 😉
* Dehydration: Now water is INSANELY important to the body, it makes up darn near most of it, so NOT having enough water content in the blood stream exacerbates the damage caused to the already weakened stomach and intestines.
* The Backlash: Need I say more?

Runners experience those GI disasters, up and down, because the stomach and intestines are already deprived of blood-flow while you’re running and then on top of that if there isn’t enough water content in the body to begin with, they stage a major revolt.

Bottom line: It doesn’t matter what kind of food you’ve got in your stomach or intestines, if a runner isn’t hydrated, that food can’t be digested so it’s coming out…pick a direction.

Solution: Duh, Runners, stay HYDRATED! 😉 I jest, I jest, kind of…but the reality is, many times runners underestimate just how much fluids they need. What’s more, when I say fluids that includes more than just water: also electrolytes.
burrito pooping beans
The tricky thing with hydration is, once you’re dehydrated and experiencing the effects of it you’re already on a sinking ship. Kind of like it’s too late at that point; that’s why it’s IMPERATIVE you stay in a constantly hydrated state and remain that way through the duration of your hard workout or long run.

Staying hydrated during long runs, and marathon geared workouts, means taking in fluids and replenishing those stores at a steady rate. Read the article for some awesome tips from Molly Pritz and Krista Austin, Ph.D., on how to come up with a personal hydration regimen.

See, you think relying on those little “I’m thirsty” cues is enough to keep you hydrated. But the truth is, especially for runners, by the time you FEEL thirsty you are already in a state of dehydration. So go chew, err sip, on that. 😉

1) Had you been aware dehydration could be the culprit of you GI problems?

2) Especially in the heat GI problems become more common, how do you make sure to stay even more conscious of fluid consumption when it’s hot or humid?

3) An upset stomach after a hard or long run can be common too, and traced back to dehydration. What are some of your go-to ‘safe’ foods for restoring and repairing those muscles AFTER your runs?
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A Distance Runner Finding Sanity in Motion

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Being still makes me nervous. Being at ease makes me feel uncomfortable…it’s like it’s just too easy. Quantifiably, perfectly insane runner logic I’m sure. But it’s true both physically and mentally.
runner profile
My mind races way faster than my legs do these days. One of the reasons I love running, find comfort in it, is that for a moment (well, however long my run is, so longer than a moment) my brain IS at ease. The maniacal whirring is channelled down to a single task. Honed down to the run.

Running gives me an odd sense of time; hours could pass by in the blitz of an eye. Conversely, single minutes can feel like eternity (hello interval repeats!). But through all of it, my flipping brain gives me a break and shuts the heck up!

Silenced. Put at a COMFORTABLE ease. Left. Right. Left.

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Your brain can be your greatest asset as a runner or your greatest weakness. HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE are all posts related to the mental side of running and coming out the winner in the pain, brain drain game.
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1) Zoning out during a race or hard workout is an effective way to numb out the pain and keep pushing. What is one way you ‘zone out’?
Pick a spot on the person ahead of me and think of nothing else.

2) Easy runs are apt to leave your mind wandering and coming up with some crazy thoughts. Care to share some of the stranger thoughts you’ve had?

3) A minute has never felt longer than ————, a minute has never felt shorter than ————.
…during the second to last interval…during any kind of recovery between reps

best running shirts

The Real Reason We Run?

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The truth is the running is awesome, duh. It keeps me sane, and probably you too. But the fact of the matter is…

cakeorgie

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No, I am not dead…lol…I apologize for my sudden plummet into blog oblivion the last few weeks. I wound up with some broken arm bones that limited my typing to the hunt/peck method which left me typing at about 2 words per minute. Needless to say I had to be stringent with where I could put my time and wordage…into the paying gigs, I’m sorry, Blog. But I’m doing better and will try to not to leave you with so much [radio silence??]!

Check out some more awesome cartoons HERE!

I also have an article over at Run Blog Run: “How Young is Too Young?”
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1) Chocolate of Vanilla?
Chocolate trumps weenie vanilla any day.

2) Have you been glued to USA Track Champs coverage?
You should be.

3) Do you think there is an age that is ‘too young’ to run?
Too many factors to give a blanket age…hence why you should read my article. 😉
best running shirts

Distance Running: A world far crazier (better) than anything past the looking glass

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Running is a crazy, paradoxical, numerical-obsessedo, backwards world.

Just when you don’t think you can run another step, you push through five more minutes, then instantly you feel like your legs have transformed into two totally different running entities. You go on for miles.
runner profile
The first interval for a runner can sometimes feel like the worst. That’s where the nerves are, getting started.

Races are even crazier, poised at the line, in the seconds before the gun is about to CRACK you feel certain if they take any longer to fire it you’ll explode. Then, CRACK, and the whole world slips away.

“Back to those intervals…ya, suckers say the hardest is the first one…plowing through miler number three of five HAS to be more painful,” you think.

You then say, “Legs, don’t worry, this is the last interval we have to so…promise.” You say that after every one. Until you finish. Scr##w honesty.
yield for runners
Funny how a running partner that you train with feels like a war partner. You come to know them so well, read their breathing and stride as well as your own. You become intrinsically linked in the shared quest for your best.

Easy days can feel like the epitome of hypocrisy sometimes.

Out of nowhere getting blessed with one of THOSE days is a special kind of euphoria a runner never forgets.

The good days, the slog runs, the meh ones, the mentally tough workouts you’re proud of, the long runs that you wish never end…all of it. It’s crazy stuff. But it’s runner crazy and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

1) Just before you start a race, what makes you feel confident on the line?

2) Best lie you’ve told yourself/legs to get through a workout?

3) One of THOSE days, how many do you think a runner gets?
best running shirts

Runner’s Strip: The ‘J’ Word

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I’m a runner. You can call me every insult in the book and I really won’t care. I will probably even laugh. But the second you call me a JOGGER…all bets are off.
jogger is a bad word
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Make your running even FASTER…posts HERE, HERE, and HERE.

More Runner’s Strip comics and cartoons HERE.
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1) What’s something that non-runners say or ask you that may annoy you?

2) Do you use runner and jogger interchangeably or do you definitely keep the adjectives in line?

3) How do you usually react to insults?
Usually I do end up laughing.
best running shirts

Runner’s Are Wont to Worry: Make sure you’re stressing over the RIGHT paces

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Runners seem to like to worry. Perhaps it’s a bit of the self masochism in us, on some level we must like to hurt, so it makes sense the same attraction is there for worrying. Our brains never seem to never be happy, or feel quite right, unless we’re preoccupied with something troublesome. [Why it has to be a negative is a topic for a post of another day!]

Am I doing enough? Is that a ‘new’ pain? Is that an INJURY?! Did I go out to fast? Am I doing too much? Should I ice that again? etc…etc. A common one is worrying about paces.
deck of runners
Well that’s only natural, of COURSE runners worry about paces…and they should. Paces are numbers, they are concrete, they are the benchmarks that tell us if we’re heading in the right direction, if all of this work is paying off. For runners, numbers are what show us progress. Paces, times, the black and whites of our sport are what feed that runner’s OCD-neurotic monster. It fuels our motivation.

Runners thrive on numbers. So paces and miles, naturally. The problem is worrying stressing over the WRONG numbers. Let’s make a deal:

DO worry about the paces of your hard runs, races, and workouts.
DON’T worry about the paces of your easy runs.

Ahhh, there we go. Easy in concept but quite a different beast to wrestle when applied to the never-logical runner’s brain. 😉
garmin
It’s far too easy to get sucked into thinking all paces are created equal. They AREN’T. They don’t hold races for ‘easy’ days…they could but then why not just make it a real race?

You see, it’s the hard running that counts. It’s the fast running that counts for PR’s. Let’s force logic onto our running brains here:

If you want to run FAST then the days that COUNT are the HARD ones.

How do you make sure your legs and body are recovered and prepared to run fast and hard on the days that count? Well, make sure they are able to recover between hard workouts. That means your easy days need to be run at whatever pace it is that allows them to recover.

Simple. Logical. But simple and logical sometimes get mangled in the runner’s brain.

So next time your brain starts off on a manic stress-induced worry attack because *HOLY CRAP* the pace of my easy run was soooo slow. STOP. Pause. Ask yourself this:

What was the pace of my last hard workout or race?

If the answer was that the pace was in the direction you want your running to go, if it’s showing progress…then who the flip cares about your easy day pace?!

Stress about what matters.

If your runner brain must worry about something pick something a little more benign. Maybe worry about the fact that your watch tan is blinding me.

1) The runner brain often can struggle with simple and logical, what’s another instance you have?

2) How do you keep your hard and easy day paces separate and at the right effort level?

3) Some run watchless, do you go naked on some of your easy days?
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