‘Running’ Articles at , Page 23

Protect That Runner Noggin: Ambler Heat Beanies Give-away

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Cait — 30 Comments ↓

Every runner head is pretty stinking awesome. The cranium, the noggin, the noodle; while our legs do most of the PHYSICAL work the mentality of a runner defines how well he or she will actually preform.

A runner’s head can be their greatest asset or wind up turing into their greatest obstacle. That’s taking this head metaphor to a deeper level and you can school up on how to train your actual runner brain HERE, HERE, and HERE. Today’s post is going to be about the superficial head…so pull out your best ‘shallow’ model stereotype.

It sure is starting to feel a lot like Festivus and the winter weather generally leaves me curled up fetal position and talking myself up saying that it really isn’t THAT cold. Layers, Baby, layers and the parts of a runner that are most apt to chill over the quickest if not protected properly are the hands, feet, ears and face. It’s important to have weather-prudent gloves and socks but what about that noodle?

I don’t live in a state where snow is the norm, and what I call freezing is actually the ‘technical’ freezing point, not like you crazy Duluthians where 32 degrees would be downright balmy! So I don’t usually wear a hat for my runs but I know that it is ubber important for runners to protect their head and ears when out in the elements. Flashback fact from grammar school: you lose most of your body heat through the head.

Ambler, a family run business, got in touch with me about their Heat Beanies. Being that I’m doing my own little running shirts lineby my lonesome I’m more than happy to support the ‘little’ guys so to speak! 🙂 Ambler’s mission is: ‘To make quality hats. We create fit, function and design with everyone in mind.’

They’ve got a few different varieties and they’ve fused fashion and function to corner the exerciser niche with their Heat Beanies. I was sporting the Orbit, my favorite color is lime green, and here are my thoughts:

* Fit: It’s a beanie which is nice because I’m pretty picky about ‘feeling’ anything when I run. As in if my gloves/watch/hair tie/hat/etc. are loose it bugs the CRAP out of me the whole way. So I would prefer the beanie style over a typical hat, just because it can get tight on there and stay put.

* Material: The beanies are made of a polyester microfiber with the lining around the headband made of fleece. It’s light and the lining provides more warmth to the ears, which usually chill over the fastest. It’s really light and overall pretty thin, it’s more than warm enough for me and while I haven’t take it out in actual super below-freezing temps or in the snow I’ll note that Ambler is situated in the Canadian Rockies so I’ll go out on a limb and say with the technical material it would trap heat in there and provide the warmth one needs without all that bulk. I would hate trucking around any excess material and bulk.

* Overall: I like the Heat Beanies and usually I’m pretty good at ‘sucking it up’ in terms of weather when it comes to a run (of course I dress appropriately to make it bearable!); but in all other areas of life I’m the biggest wuss, so I’m sure I could put these babies to use there as well.

Now the fun part for you guys, Ambler was kind enough to send one for me AND one to give away to a lucky reader. To enter leave a separate comment below for the following:

1) Visit Ambler’s website and tell me which of their hats you like the best.
2) Like me on Facebook.
3) Tweet, Facebook, or blog about the contest.

The giveaway will be open until Saturday, December 1st!

Protect that precious cranium, runner posse, because ensuring the superficial and gear aspect is covered allows you to focus on the HARD stuff. That being the physical right, left, right as well as taming the MIND which, if you’re not careful, can stage a revolt and make you slower than you’d like. 😉

To Run Great You Have To Trust Yourself, To Do That You Put Trust In Others

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Cait — 20 Comments ↓

Running is one of those sports that is pretty much you against yourself. But that’s not quite right because running FORCES you, if you want to be your absolute best, to rely on a few key other people as well. There is an incredible amount of trust you must put on others in order to ultimately trust yourself and your own capabilities.

For ever runner there is an entire support system.

You have to have TRUST in your coach. A running coach and their athlete’s relationship is one that is incredibly intimate; there is much said without ever being voiced. The ‘best’ relationships are build to become ones that a coach can literally sense what a runner is doing and how their body is reacting even better than the runner. A bond like that takes years of course, and finding the right ‘fit’ also takes time. To get that ‘fit’ an athlete needs to be able to have nearly blind faith in their coach. Trust is imperative.

Not everyone has a coach, so this trust must be shifted to that of the training program, whatever that may be. You see, to get the confidence one needs to excel in racing you have to have to have ‘proof’ by way of your training. Hard evidence from grueling workouts that you survived; you remind yourself you’ve outlasted the pain before and can do it again. The concrete TIMES and numbers also don’t lie and offer up ample proof. You need to trust your training come race day.

You need to feel comfortable with your competitors. The word trust here is slightly altered; more fitting is embracing those runners next to you throughout the race. They are the ones pushing you, driving you to reach your potential, pulling you along to times and feats you may not even realized you were capable of. You THRIVE under the presence of your competition.

Trust is spot on for what you must feel amongst your training partners. Be them actual bodies pulling you through workouts (probably the most ideal situation) or those you communicate with online. Either way they keep you extra accountable; the shove you sometimes need to either get out the door or pick up the pace when necessary.

Physical training partners make a world of difference. Bonds of trust, reliance, friendship, and so much more are created through sweat and miles. Those bonds are more resilient than any amount of words or coffee dates. Your training partners begin to know you and have a sense of your ‘running self’ a bit like a coach; not to the same degree but in that direction. You need to TRUST your teammates and training partners, use that relationship as the ‘good’ kind of pressure when the gun goes off. Race for yourself first, then race amongst your teammates knowing they too have confidence in your abilities. Finally, race with extra confidence in seeing your teammates thrive; if you’re doing the same amount of work as them, the better they do is PROOF that the better you can do.

There is a world of trust and gratitude that each and every runner needs to have in their other supporters. Be them parents cheering or significant others who accept that running time isn’t selfish time; the physical therapists who piece us back together after injuries, the massage therapists if we’re lucky enough to snag a rub-down from. Then there are the poor souls who listen to us rant during times of injuries or bad races; give us some time to vent but then push us to get into a positive and proactive mindset to keep moving forward.

Running gets coined as a selfish sport but it isn’t so long as each runner acknowledges they are NOT an island, but that they have a network of those they must rely on and TRUST in to reach all of those lofty goals they strive for.

1) Who are some of the people you have trust in and ‘use’ to become the runner you have become and want to be?

2) Do you have a coach? How long have you been with them and what is that relationship like?

3) Name a source of support you get that is a non-runner.
My little siblings (getting not so little) are blessed with coordination so compete is other sports…hehe.

Introducing The NEWEST Design For My Running Shirt Line

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Cait — 25 Comments ↓

Because this is as close as I can get to having Runner tattooed across my face.

I love this design because it pretty much sums it all up. Succinct. To the point. For once, the runner/writer who is forever using TOO many words is able to embrace brevity.

Runner. That I am. You most likely are too. It may not be written on our faces, but it etched on our bones. It is written on the soles of our feet, or at least on all those blisters!

Runner is splashed across our personality in more ways that we probably even realize.

If you are a runner you know it. You don’t need it tattooed on your face because it shines through without it. But let’s admit, it’s still a pretty cool idea…so wear the shirt and save yourself the painful needle time. 😉

This is the NEWEST addition to my personally designed running shirt line! And perfect time for the holidays, no? 😉 Screened on white, American Apparel 50/50 tech tee. Check out all of the designs and get yours today…then go get your run on!

1) If you could get one word tattooed across your face what would it be?

2) What is one way runner is splashed into your personality?

Running With Sass

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Cait — 27 Comments ↓

I confess, as of late I’ve been running with quite a bit of sass.

That’s a little sassy, no?

I was running with sass when some idiot in a car thought it funny to start hollering at a runner minding her own business. This guy was real original, “Runners are skinny!” Usually I just ignore shouts but he was driving super close to the bike lane (ie: me), I was extra sassy, and I flipped him the bird. Hey, did you hear? The bird is the word.

Later on I was a tad on the sassy side when I noticed the man running on the opposite side of the street clearly needed his ego in check. Namely he suddenly picked up the pace in an effort stay ahead of me. Then it was more like to stay even with me. So I confess I just couldn’t resist and chicked the dude. Hey, did you hear? I guess the chick is the word?

Too may people out strolling on the sidewalks, blocking the entire way are apt to make a runner find some extra sass. You can only be patient for so long. I did the cough a few times as I came up behind them, still nothing. I wasn’t as sassy as I could have been, I just said, “Excuse me” rather than barrel through them. Though, to be totally honest, it would have felt kinda good to knock some elbows. 😉

Then I just plain got sassy with myself, “Legs, what is your problem? Why must you insist upon crawling up this hill, I swear you feel like a load of bricks. I’m not happy with you, I’m filing for divorce.” My divorce is pending…the legs are on warning, so I’ll wait it out a bit and see if they start acting right. 😉 [Chances are in my favor, we all have slog-fest runs, BUT better runs show their faces rather soon.]

It’s okay to have a little sass in your stride. Running is the perfect outlet to sort of ‘get off your chest’ whatever is weighing you down or agitating you in life. Sometimes you run off a little steam…

Other times you run on bliss. You know what I’m talking about; a runner excited is a runner with a little extra bounce in their stride.

I’ve done the total zone-out run to. Eyes sort of glazed over and you get home and think, “How did I get here, that was a run on total auto-pilot.”

Today I was running with sass.

1) When was the last time you were running with sass? Can you share a particular sassy event?

2) What was the ’emotion’ of your last run? (ie: venting anger, nervous excitement, out for blood competitive, auto-pilot, etc.)

3) Last run you wanted to maybe divorce your legs…go! Then the last time you decided to retract that filing.

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The Dual Personalities of Runners: Switching from ‘life’ mode to ‘race’ mode

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Cait — 20 Comments ↓

Runners have a kind of dual personality thing going on, which is really quite interesting. Not the doctors in white coats and clipboards kind of multiple personalities, but rather, a stark difference between ‘life’ and ‘training/racing mode’ personalities.

The ‘life’ side of runners is typically one of being slightly awkward, but in a lovable way. That thing about smiling at strangers, I think runners are typically more apt to have a smile quick at hand. Maybe it’s the fast-twitch muscle response that just carries over into our cheek muscles.

It kind of throws people a bit, especially these days when more and more people seem to be kind of ‘hard’ or harsh. I’ve found that runners, be it by choice or perhaps a bit of childlike naiveté, tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and will go out of their way to help others. Sometimes it bites us in the bums, but at the same time I’d like to think we, and those around us, are better for it overall.

I used to have a friend who said she could tell someone was a runner by the way they walked, an extra kind of bounce in their stride. Runners tend to walk faster than ‘normal people’ too, sort of like walking with purpose; or probably more correctly we get bored of walking because it’s just too darn slow and getting places takes forever.

Runners do tend to vary in that some are incredibly shy and not overflowing with words until you know them while others, ahem like me, probably make up for those lost words and then some. I love the sense of humor of runners; quirky could be an understatement, we relish in poop jokes, chaffage stories, making fun of ‘normals’ who partake in ridiculous behavior…ummm, jogging in jeans?! Runners can be snarky, sarcastic, and you have to be in order to get through the times when the miles are just downright painful.

That last part ties into the other side of runners. The training and racing personality, we’ll call it the ‘go time’ mentality. Here is where a runner can become stoic, intimidating, closed off from everything else. Hyping oneself up to last through lactic acid onslaught, to mentally push their body past its comfort level; so far past comfort the body screams it is in agony.

To do that, to withstand the he** that is running on legs coursing with actual poisons eating at the muscles, making them want to stop, you HAVE to be hard. There has to be a part of your brain that is able to shut out ‘sanity’ and run towards insanity.

Runners are competitive; we thrive around those around us who are BETTER than us, who can help push ourselves past our perceived limits. Your competition is there to help you but you also want to beat them, no? When that gun goes off, runners are adept at stuffing down the ‘life’ side of themselves and slipping fully into the races. For when the gun does go off, your performance ultimately is up to you, and while there can be a team aspect, running is highly personal in that regard.

This is not cold, nor calloused; it is the truth. The best runners are able to shut out personal feelings between the start and finish line and realize it is NOT a personal slight to want to beat a friend, a training partner even, or Joe the Bag Boy. Going one step further, the best runners can then snap right BACK into ‘life’ mode the second the finish line is crossed and congratulate those around them regardless of placing.

Personally speaking, my best and favorite races are the ones where you warm-up with your friends and training partners, grind each other to be your best in the race, then cool-down together. It’s the melding of the two runner personalities.

We are people; but we are not ‘normals’. We are better, because we are runners. [Wow, does that sound elitist?! Bwahaha!]

1) What’s a common ‘life’ side of runners personality trait?

2) Do you tend to be able to shift to a more competitive side of yourself when in hard workout and race mode?

3) What is your stance on racing friends and teammates, do you agree that it’s nothing personal if you are both out to beat each other?

4) So I’m not the only runner elitist around here…lol…name one reason runners might be a little cooler than ‘normals’. And I DO have non-running friends that I think are awesome, so please, no hate mail…mmmk.

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How Runners Can Stuff Their Face At Restaurants But Still Perform At Their Best

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Cait — 33 Comments ↓

We run so we can eat, right? 😉 Okay, okay, I do toss that around here quite frequently because, yes, being a runner entitles us to be a little more gluttonous than our slothy counterparts. BUT at the same time it would be a lie if I said that I only eat crap. And despite all of food gorging stories you share with a rightful amount of pride, wolfing down a whole pizza and ice cream by the pints is pretty cool when ‘earned’, I’m pretty sure 90% of you do too.

It’s a balance thing but it’s also that as runners I feel we fall into the healthier living category, no? In my most recent Competitor.com article: ‘The Runner’s Guide to Eating Out’ I’ve got the line, “Competitive athletes are wise enough to acknowledge that what goes into their mouths has a direct correlation to what their legs can put out.”

Despite those hamburgers larger than our heads and boxes of Pop-Tarts the majority of our diets are made up of ‘better’ choices or at least making sure we DO get in the necessary nutrients to fuel our body right. To fuel us for performance. We are running ‘machines’ not just pretty, cool bodies to look at. Yea, runner bodies are way cooler to look at too, but that’s beside the point. 😉

I’ve talked about my little filling the foundation of your house with the ‘good’ stuff and do what you will with the attic before and that applies here. In tying in with the dining out at restaurants article I wanted to share a little more on what Krista Austin, Ph.D had to say.

* Athletes Aim for Intuitive Eating: Austin stresses that the aim is to listen to your body when gauging how much is enough, “Athletes should always remember to gauge their hunger to help control the volume of food that they eat-if you’re hungry eat and as you get full-stop!” In being a runner part of our JOB is being better attuned to reading the signals from our body, right, we do that all the time in training. For many, listening to those hunger/full cues from your brain is tricky because growing up and our environments/society has skewed our perceptions of hunger, satiety, appetite, cravings, boredom eating, and all of that jazz.

* Runner Entitlement: Here’s what I was talking about in filling that attic and being ‘entitled’ to eating more freely than most. “My policy is that at least once a week every athlete should have a “fun meal” where they don’t think too much about what they are eating and just enjoy fun food-the key is to watch the portion sizes,” says Austin. Win goes to the runners here, bring on the food trough. 😉 Juuuust kidding.

* Calories CAN Get Sneaky: Okay, here is where I will admit to being downright floored at some of the nutritional stats of restaurants. Krista and I both agree on that one, are they injecting straight lard into some of those dishes to get stats that high?! Sure, now and then eating totally blasé on stats is fine, but if you do make it a habit of going out to eat you might want to school up on the nutritional stats of some of those restaurants. You don’t need to obsess, but just have a little awareness.

* Gluten Intolerant Folks: “Gluten intolerance athletes can go to restaurants like PF Changs or Red Robin that highlight their GF options but if you don’t know whether the food is GF or not, first start by asking if the restaurant knows and then if you must really eat without knowledge just try to ask for food items that we know are GF such as fajitas with corn tortillas or salads with meat on top etc.,” explains Austin. Amy Yoder Begley is a big fan of PF Chang’s especially when traveling for races; she also warns that if you don’t know of something is GF you REALLY need to be careful of cross-contamination in the kitchen. [I did a whole post on more GF living advice.]

* Race Travel: Revisit the article I wrote because it addresses this more in detail, but basically DO NOT try something new the day before or the day of a race, People. We know better…nothing worse than a burrito induced port-a-potty disaster mid-race, no??

* What Can Your Plate Do For YOU and you the RUNNER?: It’s the yin and yang of being a PERSON but also a RUNNER. You want both parts to feel fulfilled and satisfied, “Ask yourself when choosing menu items, 1)what will the food do for me? Is it going to refill my glycogen stores, help me recover from training, help me obtain the body composition I desire? and then 2) does it contain foods that will make me fill satisfied so I don’t then go for other foods later when I’m not even hungry just because I didn’t like what I ate,” explains Austin.

Runners and nutrition is an interesting topic to put it bluntly. It shouldn’t be as ridiculous as it is sometimes, but such is the nature of the beast. Keep things from erring on the side of driving yourself insane; the best runners I know are adept at finding the balance of person and runner.

Enjoy the entitlement that being a calorie-furnace runner but still be mindful of the times when you’re eating to perform. 🙂

1) Do you go out to eat very often? If so, what are some of your favorite spots?

2) When you do go out to eat, what kinds of things do you seek out? How do you balance the person and the runner?

3) What is your stance on having nutritional information available on more and more restaurant menus either online or on site?
I think having them available online or if you ask for them at the place is good; I don’t think necessarily on the full menu only because at the same time if you don’t want to feel guilty on something you shouldn’t feel forced into that guilt. Lol.

4) If you’re gluten intolerant, what are some of your favorite restaurants?

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A Peek Into My Runner Mind: We’re all mad, our thoughts should be too

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Cait — 32 Comments ↓

All of us runners are a bit mad, that’s established. That’s okay with me…I’ll share the madness that ran through my mind while my feet were doing what they do this morning.

Right outside my house a pair of running shoes are dangled from a telephone wire. I’ve never understood how a pair of shoes winds up there. It seems to always happen at night, so do people come back from a party, rip off their shoes because their feet are hot, lace them together and chuck them up there? Obviously they couldn’t be runners, because they would have had more respect for their shoes.

Game of sixes. I play this little game of luck in my head; on one of my usual routes I pass through six cross-streets that tend to be busy but don’t have an actual stop light or stop sign thing. I get a little anxious approaching because I DO NOT want to have to stop for any cars; the more times I can make it through each cross-street the ‘luckier’ I am that day. Forget fortune cookies, this is tons better.

The thankless job is that runners ARE thankful for. I passed the poor sap who’s job it is to unload those port-a-potties. I caught I nice whiff; I did a little mental ‘thank you’ to him…I’m sure he got it.

Your blinker was on IDIOT!! In one of those cross-streets this car had their right turn blinker on…so obviously I assumed they were turning and I wouldn’t be impeding their way. Guess not, horn blared, but I didn’t feel bad…c’mon, your blinker was on.

Retro-wear. Finishing my run there is a guy rocking an old-school sweat band; white with a blue strip. Good old terry-cloth headband. Do people legit wear those anymore, I mean where do they buy them?

What’s the craziness that rolled through your brain on your last run?

1) Do you play any games of ‘luck’ when it comes to stop lights or cross-streets?

2) Have you actually ever SEEN a pair of shoes get it to the top of a telephone wire?
I have no throwing arm, so I’m always slightly in awe of whoever could chuck them up there.

3) Ever work in sewage or construction where your job was the port-a-potty detail? How often do you guys actually do the maintenance?

4) Last song stuck in your head during a run?

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Winter Running Weather Warning: Duh, it’s cold out, so duh, put some clothes on

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Cait — 35 Comments ↓

This runner is a full-on weather wimp. There, I said it, all of you Minnesotans, New Yorkers, and residents of states with ‘real’ seasons can feel superior to me. BUT, let me at least say in my defense that I’m also OCD enough of a runner that barring getting sucked up into a twister would stop me from getting a run in…at least some kind of run. Cut to me running in place in some kind of bomb shelter. 😉

But back on topic, I don’t envy those who get their white Christmases because while snow is pretty to look at it brings those bone-chilling temperatures. In the Northwest it gets cold enough for me, and that wet cold with a windchill is plenty enough for me. Here comes winter so time for the annual Runner’s Weather Advisory spiel!

* Bundle, Baby: This sounds ‘obvious’ but I’ve come to learn it’s better to err on the side of over-dressed and winding up a bit overly-warm than the opposite. Running with cold muscles is just begging for an injury, this isn’t a joke people. ESPECIALLY if you’re warming up for a race or workout; don the sweats, gloves, hats, you name it for your warm-up. Once you’re sweating bullets then you can peel off the layers. You’ll be safer and your workout will be more EFFECTIVE if you’re warmer. True fact.

* Slip and Slider: There are TONS of leaves where I live and when it rains it’s slick as heck on the roads. Be careful and this is when staring at your feet is okay; maneuver around navigate and as best you can. Fun fact: the most slippery time of year is after the very first rain after a dry-spell.

* Treadmills Aren’t Shameful: Running purists look down on them, but I’ve also learned that treadmills have a time and place. I’ve written a few pieces on treadmill running, the most recent is HERE for Active.com. Especially in ‘real’ weather states treadmills can be your answer to not only getting in a run, but getting in a more EFFECTIVE run. If it’s too slick to run outside at a fast enough pace, on a treadmill you’ll get a more quality workout and be able to run much faster.

* Warm-ups and Cool-downs: I’ve said time and time again that for races and workouts you need a warm-up and cool-down. This is even more important the colder it gets; we already know that your body responds better and you will feel much better for your workout if you do some easy running, drills, and strides before getting down to those faster paces. In times when it is especially cold you may need to extend the time you do that easy running to ensure your muscles are indeed warm-enough. Again, I get back to this little rule of thumb: by the time your warm-up is complete you should be a little stifled and wanting to rip off those sweats Hulk style.

* Still Ice: Say what?!?! Yea, it’s cold as flip but get somewhere warm and you should still be icing any ‘trouble’ spots. Ice baths are still ‘in season’ despite being especially not appealing. Don’t slack on the runner rehab because of the weather; that’s what the indoors is for…oh, and super hot showers. 😉

* Hydration: You STILL sweat when it’s frigid outside, you won’t see most of it because it evaporates quicker due to the air. You still need to drink your water and electrolyte replacement drinks.

I’m a runner, and I’d say I’m a ‘normal person’ weather wimp. That is I could suck it up for a run, but in ‘normal’ life when it gets nasty outside I’ll start complaining that it’s cold and it could be about 50 degrees. I also have a really bad temperature gauge, I’ll feel cold it could be 50 or -50. Hey, I did handle that cryo-chamber! Oh, and another thing I don’t like is the nice snot train that the cold weather brings…now THAT is a hot runnerchick look, right?! 😉

Stay safe runner peeps, don’t face plant on leaves, and stay warm!

1) What is the weather like in your area? (southern hemisphere buds, you can complain that it’s too hot down there! lol)

2) What’s the worst you’ve run outside in?
For winter it’s been cold and rainy, nothing incredibly insane or hard-core. But there is a run that I’ll always remember that my mom and I ran in that was INSANELY windy. It was a Christmas and we both were blown darn near into the road a few times, good thing the roads were pretty vacant. 😛

3) What’s your stance on treadmill running?

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Vive la Runnerchick

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Cait — 20 Comments ↓

I live the life of a runnerchick. Why? Because it’s just better that way.

—–
The awesome Britt @ Chicago Runner Girl is hosting a give-away to win one of my shirts…so if you don’t already have one and feeling lucky head on over there!

The WINNER for the Injinji toe socks give-away is: Audrey Dawkins, so drop me an email: captaincait@hotmail.com and we’ll get you hooked up!
—–

1) What’s one reason the life of a runner is the best life?
We’re just so much cooler…nice, blanket statement there, right? 😉

2) If you could pick one place you’d love to run in/at where would it be? If you’ve already found your favorite running spot, call it out!

3) Friday, some big NCAA action underway, and tons of other races going on…are you planning to race? Feel free to school up on on racing tips HERE and HERE! 🙂

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My Running ‘True’ Is Off, Better ‘Toe In’

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Cait — 26 Comments ↓

Yesterday I was reminded why I’m a runner and have no desire to branch out into cycling. I watched as one of my roommates did this and that to his bike; adjusting things, replacing the brakes, all that good stuff. I learned some fun new terms, which are probably the non-runner’s equivalent to fartleks and pronation.

There was something about ‘truing’ a tire, I probably have this wrong some 18 hours later due to memory lapse, but I’m pretty sure it’s just making sure the wheel is straight and aligned. The brakes have to be ‘toed in’; I liked that one because it makes me think of runner toes, but here it’s just that the brake thingy’s have to be at a certain angle.

See, I don’t bike for a good number of reasons but one of the paramount ones is that there’s just too much ‘stuff’ and too many ‘variables’ that could potentially impede your workout. The OCD runner-brain line of thought I have is this worst case scenario: “I’ve got to get my workout it, I’m mid-way through some intervals and BAM my tire goes flat, my brakes go wonky, or something else screwy happens and I can’t do my workout.” Yes, the end-all to all end-alls, I can’t get my workout in, I know, how tragic. 😉

With running you need shoes and that’s about it. Of course the KIND of shoes are of paramount importance, don’t let me under-emphasize that. But if you can tie a lace you’re pretty much good to go; if you’re still struggling with that there are little lace locks to really get you doing nil work.

Though in getting back to those cycling terms that I’ll pretend I can now toss around in everyday conversation. Runners have to be ‘true-ed up’ too I guess; here it’s our form that can get set off. You see those runners with their arms flailing around like they are doing the macarena, runners with a shuffle-stride and you just want to yell, “Do you NOT know how to lift up your knee?!”

Nope, definitely not thinking about cycling! 😉

I’d call the central ‘true’ point of a runner (any cyclists are probably cringing at how badly I’m misusing their words here, it’s like if I were to say my shoe had a bad fartlek) the torso. The core of a runner; where if this is off you’re probably setting yourself up for an injury at some point. The hip region especially can get tight and lead to overcompensation issues like none other!

Thankfully us runners have built-in brakes; namely you just stop. Yea, we have the klutzes like me who have issues there, but for the most part us runners have the opposite problem with stopping and slowing down. We don’t ‘want’ to but our brain is perpetually trying to talk us into stopping, or at least slowing down.

So for us, maybe ‘toe-ing in’ our brakes is really just babysitting our brain and telling it to SHUT UP, SUCK IT UP and keep running even though, yes, it hurts.

Yes, I’m a runner, I have no desire to venture into cycling. Yes, it’s an awes-tastic form of cross-training and yes, my very best friend is a really competitive, hard-core cyclist, but even he knows by now not to try and talk me into it. The truth there though, is he probably knows with my coordination I’d wind up road-chow.
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TODAY is the last day to enter my Injinji toe-socks give-away. 🙂

BIG shirt news coming up here soon, I’ve got my latest design about to drop…so stay tuned!
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1) Do you do much cycling? Are you into triathlons or biathlons?

2) What is your favorite form of cross-training?
elliptical baby!

3) If you had to say your ‘true’ was off, where would it be?
My dumb, annoying left adductor…right where it inserts into my glute…oh how I wish I could auction it off for parts and get a replacement for it. Do you think ebay is my best shot? 😉

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