‘Tips’ Articles at , Page 17

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?

I Read Minds – What We Can Learn From People Doing Crazy Things

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Cait — 2 Comments ↓

If you’re like me you love to people watch and often wonder what in the world people are doing or thinking sometimes. We could just ask them, but I think it’s better to come up with our own answers. And maybe, just maybe there are things we can glean from these folks…even if they are only tiny nuggets hidden in there.

Then some people are just straight up crazy...

* The guy grunting like a gorilla while doing squats. We really shouldn’t blame him, he’s been having a rough go as of late. His ‘roid dealer has been out of town and his supplies are wearing thin, so this weight load is feeling a LOT harder than it did last week. On top of that some roaches broke into his protein powder…was that a crunch he got on that last swig? Lesson: He’s smart and remember to refuel within 30 minutes of his workout…I’d go sans weevils and roaches though, there are better sources of protein.

* Jerk who just cut in front of you in the port-a-pot line at the race. Do they really think we didn’t notice that, really now? We’ll play along and give them the benefit of the doubt in that maybe they are on the verge of wetting themselves. They were guzzling those free Gatorade samples like they’d just come through the desert on a horse with no name. Though in the future they may want to remember this is only a 5k in the middle of December and all that liquid isn’t exactly necessary. Lesson: Yes, hydration is important, but the amount depends on the race distance and especially the conditions. If you’re in the middle of winter and you’re running a 5k race you probably want to cut the liquids 30 minutes out unless it’s little sips. Also, you can skip actually drinking during the event unless it’s being run at the Equator. Going in water/drink-logged can actually slow you down and give you cramps.

I mean, who does this guy think he is?

* Man you’re approaching while running who won’t let you pass. This is on the DEFCON Red level of annoyance if you’re a girl and I’m sure you’ve been there. I can say though even if you’re a guy and you find a slower-paced runner who refuses to acknowledge they are slower would be irksome. Obviously this runner is having ego problems, his girlfriend just dumped him and she’s going to be racing the Olympic Marathon Trials in January. You, a fast female, touched a bit of a raw nerve and he’s got something to prove…it’s not an excuse but at least we can feel sorry for him as he pants like the annoying dog he his. Lesson: This case is excruciatingly annoying, but if you’re running an easy day and you get sucked into purposely going harder to drop this guy it could end up biting you in the butt. Recovery days are important, so maybe try to cross to the other side of the street or go another route to avoid getting sucked into dropping the 6 minute miles. If it’s a race, elbow his butt to the side and put that guy in his place.

* The person who continually tells you how ‘lucky’ you are to be so slim and eat like a trucker and asks for the secrets; she is perpetually wanting to lose the same 10 pounds. The people who complain about this but avoid any kind of physical exertion like the plague do hit a nerve; it’s because you could tell them the same thing all the time but without their motivation to do it you could just be talking to the wall. While we could say, “I just ran for 90 minutes and lifted weights…it’s not luck I bust my @$$,” what this person is really thinking is, “Ugh, the pattern on her shirt is really dorky, this cookie tastes like poop but oh well I’ll have another. I need to vent to this thin person about how much I would like the scale to be lower, but I don’t actually want to do anything about it. I just need to vent.” Lesson: Sometimes people ask the same questions all the time and don’t really want an answer. Sometimes they DO want an answer and will put it to good use. It takes internal motivation to reach for our goals and you can’t teach that or make someone do it unless they want to. I am always happy to offer up advice but I do it once and drop it if they reeeeeaally don’t want to listen. 😛

1) Do you have people like this you’ve seen in your daily lives?

2) I think we all have bad days and at times this can lead us to act and do things that are just plain out of character and we’d usually not act like that. I do try to give people slack and like to think that if they’re being rude then maybe it’s just a bad day…I know I have them. BUT, who’s the last person that you really think deserved a swift kick in the tootie?

3) Back to self-motivation, when people ask you ‘how’ you keep running every day what do you tell them?
I just don’t like myself when I don’t.

Eat My Shorts ‘Fat Burn Zone’ — Debunking the Cardio Program’s Lies

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

Oooot-oooot!!! I’m not exactly sure how you’re supposed to spell that but it was the yell coming from Amy Poehler in Baby Mamma. The scene where she’s bouncing on the stability ball in birthing class and the lady asked who is going to, “Poison their baby with drugs just so that they can have a less painful birthing experience?”

I’m feeling better again today, I’m still feeling tired and weaker than usual but, “If you’ve got an issue, here’s a tissue” right? Juuust kidding. 😛

So because I spent some quality time with the elliptical (with some Baby Mamma friends for distraction) I was able to stare at a pet-peeve of mine. Located on the display of the machine (and almost all others for that matter), listed as a program to choose: Fat Burn.

I brought this up a few days ago so let me really dig into this charade with my teeth today. Here’s the dealio:

The whole ‘fat burn’ cardio zone is really passe; I think it took off in the 90’s along with Fonda and leg warmers. The clif-notes version of the basis behind the theory is that your body uses different fuel sources depending on how hard you’re working out. When you go out and blast an interval workout your body needs fuel NOW so it will first go to burn anything you just ate and then turn to glycogen stored in the muscles. Glycogen, these theorists continue, is basically sugars.

The story goes that if you workout at a lower intensity, and your body realizes it’s not in such a rush for immediate fuel, it will ‘take it’s time’ and instead start to break down adipose tissue: read as fat. These ‘fat burn geniuses’ then equate this: oh, well burning fat must be better than sugar, so let’s workout so we burn fat and that’ll get us skinny.

There are so many things wrong with it all, but let’s just get to the point:

She's probably at a 'fat burn' level effort. 😉

*The fat burn on cardio machines basically aims to get you working out at a low enough level that your heart rate isn’t elevated above about 65% of your max heart rate. That’s about a quick walk to the corner if you’re late for the bus. You don’t have to have an actual heart rate monitor, so to put it into ‘effort level’ it’s where you’re not even really breathing hard…say a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.

*To get cardiovascular benefits from exercise, think about what you want for your easy runs, you need to be at at least 70% of your max heart rate. Think like you’re running at a conversational pace; you can talk but you take breaks to breathe.

*We all of course don’t run JUST to lose weight, but to debunk these ‘fat burning guys’ we’ll say this: to lose a pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories. In the end, it doesn’t matter what ‘fuel source’ your body is using to burn those calories or where it gets it from the body; the bottom line is how many calories you end up burning. It’s all about input versus output people; burn more calories than you take in and *poof* you come in with a calorie deficit.

She's actually running... 🙂

*SO…when you workout harder you burn more calories. Wow, rocket science. When you are meandering at a ‘fat burn’ cardio zone you just are holding yourself back and not working out hard enough. You jype yourself of cardiovascular improvements and if your goal was to lose weight you’re not doing yourself any favors.

Finally, fun fact, intervals and pushing yourself to go hard in tough workouts will actually rev your metabolism up even more. You’ll actually have what is called the ‘after-burn effect’ where your metabolism is elevated for hours after you are done working out. You get a slight after-burn after any cardio, but it has been found to be much higher and last longer after intervals, tempo’s, really tough efforts…talk to anyone after a tough track session later in the day and they’ll tell you they are hunnnngry. 🙂 (maybe not RIGHT after they are done, but later on)

It really comes down to effort. Running isn’t easy, but that’s why we love it. 🙂 I mean we all know the saying, if it was easy there would be no sense of accomplishment when we’re done. And even on the days we just have ‘easy’ runs, I mean we are still working…there is always that level of pushing ourselves to at least a moderate degree.

So…thank you for allowing me to vent a bit about these ‘fat burn’ zones, and hopefully if you see someone who is just starting to get into the whole workout thang, you won’t let them fall into the ‘fat burn zone’ theory trap…it’s really a twisted little diddy that’s doing nobody any favors. 😉

1) I had a little rant, do you have a rant this Wednesday about anything in particular?

2) Fat burning zone on cario equipment, air your grievances, or do you have a funny story about them?

3) Who else love Amy Poehler and Tina Fey? Funny girls. 🙂

What to do After You Cross That Finish Line (If Your Lunch Comes Up, Try to Miss Your Shoes)

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Cait — 17 Comments ↓

So I had the fine pleasure of watching one of my friends finish her first marathon this morning…gotta love that agony/excited to be almost done/thanks for cheering for me/oh lord I want to be done look that she gave down that final stretch. 🙂

Bam, finish line.

Her choice of race fuel, was our sugary little friends. 🙂

It made me think about what you do after you cross that line. It was interesting to watch what different people did today: hunch over and almost…oh, there it comes. Dazed and confused sort of try to meander the finish chute until a race official comes and guides them so they don’t run into the fence. Shouts of excitement and well-founded pride. Many came to a dead-halt and after 26.2 miles I don’t blame them.

While every race and every distance of course offers its own challenges (speed vs. endurance, hills vs. track, etc.) there are some general things that we should all keep in mind after you cross that line or break that finishing tape.

Smile for the camera...people are watching. 😉

* Collect yourself and be a good sport: this might sound kind of ‘Hallmarky’ but it’s very true; whether you are a winner or anywhere else, people respect a good sport. If you win and are still unhappy with the time, put on a fake smile and congratulate the other finishers. If you put up an obvious stink you insult your competition…in front of people, even if your race was stinky, at least be considerate…then you can rage away once you get some privacy.

* Workout: say what? This may sound kind of crazy but hear me out. Depending on where the race was in relation to your season, how long it was, and some other factors you could actually jump on a prime time to increase your fitness by going right into a workout after you cross the finish line. When I was training with the Nike Oregon Project, this is something Alberto Salazar is known for in training his athletes. There are a few reasons; one, physiologically after a race there are a TON of hormones coursing through your system and it’s at this elevated time that it is found you can get more benefit working out in this window than a day you do just a ‘normal workout’. Two, if the race was only a 5k, most of our workouts would have worked out to be more volume. Three, if you’re waiting to peak for a race much later in the season, you would benefit from getting in a more volume workout. Finally, I think there is a huge mental benefit too…workout out when you’re already tired proves you can do more than you think. The last thing I’ll say, and it ties into the endorphins and hormones after a race, you will actually feel a LOT better than you think in that workout. So jog an easy mile or so and then do your mini-workout (ex: 3 or 4 x 800) Tip though: in your race, don’t even think about having a workout after or that you still have more. That will just hold yourself back, so still go out there and race.

* Cool-down: okay, I’ll grant those marathon finishers a free pass on this one for the most part…BUT after any other race you DO NOT want to go from an all-out effort to zilch. All that lactic acid that built up will just sit and stew in your muscles; as counterintuitive as it sounds running, no matter how unappealing it sounds, is the BEST thing you can do to recover.

* Chow down – refuel and rehydrate: there is a crucial 30 minute window of time that you NEED to get food back into your depleted muscles. Think a combo of protein and carbs (a bar would work as it’s easy and fast, but you could do some turkey and a bagel…etc) and make it your first priority once you are done running. I’m blanking on the exact percentage here, but it’s somewhere around a 60% drop in muscle recovery if you wait until after that 30 minutes…no good.

* Ice/Massage/Stretch: if you did a really hard effort and have access to ice right after that may be worth a grimace-worthy bath. And as always, treating your body right and staving off an injury is an ongoing kind of upkeep in our sport. Be smart, don’t neglect the ‘little’ things and you’ll be far better off in the long run.

The last thing I want to say which is also very important: chuck self-consciousnees OUT THE DOOR!! Now, I did make some wise-cracks about people in the finishing chute, but I make fun of myself too. I have never had a good running shot, and I joke about it, because I really don’t care. Running is tough stuff, you don’t need to look pretty. So if you cross the line with a loogie stuck to your cheek, have dried salt all over, and your mouth is twisted into a wry look of disgust or pain…who the heck cares? I’ve been there, and so has everyone else. Wear that pain proud, and be proud of yourself. 🙂

1) Worst mistake you’ve made after finishing a race?
Probably the cool-down, I was young and didn’t want to run another step…I paid for it in soreness later.

2) Best tip you have for after a race?

3) Anyone race this weekend and care to brag on themselves?

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.

Redlining and the All Important ‘E’

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

Warning: you are approaching empty.

This post is inspired by two things, so bear with me. The first is this hilarious picture from SkinnyRunner’s blog…who amongst us hasn’t played chicken with that empty gas alert gauge on our car? (okay Seinfeld fans smile at the flashback to Kramer here)

Is it just me or does it constantly seem like I’m trying to one-up the empty gauge. With gas, part of it is because I cringe as I whip out the debit card…it just seems like with gas I don’t get an actual, physical return. Yes, it gets me to where I need to be, but what do I actually GET…it feels like wasted money.

We play chicken with the E in other areas of our life too. Just how much can I accomplish in this hour…I work best under pressure, so come the 11th hour and it’s crunch time you better watch me churn things out like a tornado. (little tip here: I know this about myself, so I try and ‘trick’ myself by setting a pre-deadline deadline…I’m anal about having something important done early)

With running, there are TONS of E’s…but here is where it’s a bit odd. Some of these E’s you need to avoid and others you need to kind of embrace and play around with. An obvious E is fuel, this is one you don’t want to play chicken with…we’ve all made the mistake of mistiming our eating (or making a really bad food choice too soon before a run…those curly, cheese and bean fries don’t taste too good the second time, no?) and it doesn’t feel too good to bonk.

Probably another not so smart food choice...

Injuries could count as E’s to avoid…especially if you sense one coming. Danger, Will, Robinson…abort. We feel that pull, get the sinking ping in our gut and know, “Uh-oh…I pushed it a little too far, shoulda been smart. Hope this one isn’t too bad.”

But here is an E that we need to always be working towards getting more comfortable with. This is where I tie into the second thing I read at Jay Johnson’s site: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Pain. That little red alert gauge starts to light up when we feel that pain, that burning, the lactic acid shuffle. Our mind starts telling us to back off and cool it, but here is where we need to play chicken with that blasted little needle and E alert sign.

Redlining it, pushing the envelope just far enough, straddling that line. Sometimes we overshoot and bonk the rest of the workout or race…this is where bad races/workouts can be excellent teaching tools. But practice makes perfect and the more often you callous yourself to that uncomforted the better you get at reading yourself and properly straddling that line, so you finish with a killer workout and get the best out of yourself.

As Coach Jay puts it, you fail sometimes, yes, and end up with a less than ideal workout result. But that’s why we do them, they are practice for the races and you know what they say about all that practice…eventually you’ll get it right. So play chicken with your brain in the pain drain. Running is so mental, and this aspect of mental toughness, grit, is something that we can forever be improving at. Hardening ourselves up ever more, reaching different levels.

1) What other E’s do we have as runners? Is it one to avoid or one we need to play chicken with?

2) We all have moments of coming out the loser in our game of chicken…any good fail moments to share?
So many…I’ll do this one: a 10k track race and my splits were all over the place; not so much in the actual mile times but the laps, one super-fast then slow to compensate, like a fartlek in a race. Not good for the old bod and never got into any kind of rhythm. Well, the mile splits still were looking fine and I was on track for a good PR, so I pushed the fifth mile. Crazy how much difference a single lap can make, night and day. BAM…that last mile was about a minute slower, and that last 0.2 of that 6.2 miles never felt looooooonger.

3) What is a great lesson you took away from a fail moment?
Get into a rhythm dorkette.

Baby, It’s Gettin Cold Out…Runners Beware

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Is winter here yet?! Well, at least for me I’m saying it’s cold out! (I know, I know, I’m a big weather weenie and acknowledge that I don’t even have a ‘real winter’ compared to most states!)

Art: Cait Chock Designs

As with our summer season there are things you need to remember come winter…so let’s have a little refresher course to all us runners out there. And if you see a big, fat man in a red suit chasing you…I hate to break it to you but he’s not really Santa and I’d suggest you make like a record-holder and RUN!

* Think layers!! I know, this sounds like an obvious, but I’ve been guilty of this in the past; I tend to heat up rather quickly and I don’t want a bunch of extra clothes bogging me down. But, it’s far better to go in overdressed than underdressed…your muscles do NOT like the shock of cold weather and you put yourself at risk of an injury.

* Keep drinking. Even though you might not feel like it, you’re losing a lot of sweat and moisture; you won’t see the big pit stains because the cold weather causes it to evaporate, but trust me it’s there. You also lose water through respiration…do don’t let the hydration slack during this time.

* Don’t stretch. Wow, that sounds wrong, doesn’t it?! What I mean is DO NOT stretch cold muscles; you’ll rip, tear, pull something. You should only be stretching after you’ve warmed up (run for at least 10 minutes) or AFTER your run…not before. Finally, if it’s really cold out stretch real fast because your temperature will drop fast and your muscles will then, in effect, be cold again. 🙂

* Get back in. If you do have a real winter, there are times when running on the treadmill is the SMART thing to do. You’re not a ‘weenie’…you won’t be too happy if you go out and slip on some black ice or other winter hazard and wind up injured. Plus, indoors you can sometimes get in a better quality workout. (ie: if you’re planning on a tempo run but the roads are slicked over with ice or snow and there are gale force winds, I’ll bet you’ll be able to run faster/safer indoors.)

So, winter is blowing in and let’s not let it pelt us with any injuries or other sorts. Sorry, I was reaching for a bad pun or something to close with and am seriously lacking.

1) Words of advice for winter running/working out?

2) Do you have a ‘real winter’? Also, any crazy winter running stories?

3) What are you most looking forward to this winter?

Easy days mean EASY

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

Yesterday was all about pushing yourself through intervals and today is all about the RECOVERY day…read as: easy day.

Keep your easy days at a conversational pace.

Here is where people can make one of the TOP mistakes in training: going too hard on their easy days. This might work for a period of time, and they might actually get a little ‘boost’ in the short term, but what will soon happen is all of that will catch up to them and then strap in for a nosedive.

The days that you will then want to actually go hard on, your intervals or workout days, will start to suffer. You’ll feel tired, the paces will feel insurmountably more difficult than they should be, and you won’t have that ‘pop.’ You’ll be feeling flat because what happened is you blurred all the days of your week.

There won’t be the difference between hard and easy days, they’ll all just turn into a blurry shade of grey. Not good, and trust me not fun. I step forward as being guilty of this in the past…whether it is because you are just feeling excited and good and want to go faster, you are new to a team and trying too hard to keep up, are competitive on a team and trying to play that ‘top dog’ game, or just feel ‘guilty’ about going too easy (ahem, this girl) it’s not smart. Easy days need to be easy.

So, relish those recovery days and know this is the times that your body needs to just regroup and…well, recover. It’s really just about putting in the cardio and miles, so keep it conversational. That way, you’ll be able to actually hit it come the next hard workout day or even more important, race!

1) Easy days, how do you keep yourself in check?

2) Have you learned this lesson the hard way?

3) Best thing about easy days?
Just enjoying being out there and not getting stressed about any kind of pace!

Intervals and Hard Workouts…Don’t Avoid Them, Lie to Yourself and You’ll Love Them

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

Interval workouts. Speedwork. Running hard. Pushing until your legs are on fire and your lungs burn. Sounds like so much fun, right?!

I’ve said before that there is a difference between running and training. Hard workouts are the difference. They will make you faster, get you on the road to PR’s and the separate the runnerchicks and runnerdudes from the runnerbeasts…beasts being a good thing. You see, in a sick sort of way we crave that burn of lactic acid and pushing ourselves. I think it’s mainly because of the feeling you get afterwards…the feeling of accomplishment. And ya, the better times or PR’s are certainly perks. 🙂

Intervals are just as much a test of the mind as the body. Sometimes even MORE a test of the mind, a battle of the wills, a battle within yourself. Personally, sometimes the HARDEST part of hard workouts are just getting starting, putting the first one down.

Yesterday I was on the precept of doing some intervals, I was watching the minutes count down constituting the end of my warm-up and getting those little butterfly nerves of getting started, “Here we go…let the good times roll.”

I’ve found there are a few tricks on making bringing your best to a workout or at least gutting it out if it’s not your best day or you just are feeling ‘meh.’ One of the biggest: LYING TO YOURSELF.

You read that right. I was doing 10x 3 minutes hard/2 minutes recovery and I took each one as they came. I sort of broke them into sets of two (ten minutes total) and just thought, “What is ten minutes, nothing.” This worked and when I hit six I knew I was over halfway done.

Now, the middle intervals are usually even tricker; you’re feeling tired, not so fresh like the first ones, but the end is not yet feeling in sight. The tendency to let those one lag a bit is tempting and you catch yourself wondering if you’re really going to be able to do ALL of them. But you can…keep lying to yourself. Also, ignore the part in your brain convincing you that those recovery minutes are WAY shorter than the hard ones, something must be off with the watch. 😉

So 7 and 8 I took them one at a time, and by the end promised that they were the last one. LIE.

9 you tell yourself it’s just about the homestretch…don’t let yourself mentally hold back or try to ‘save some for the last one’ because the last one usually takes care of itself.

And then the last one comes, you try to finish strong because the most successful workouts end working off of negative splits.

Now, this is another little LIE I love to torture myself with (I know, we runners are an off breed) I made myself do one more. Why?

When you think you can’t do anything else, you usually can. So number 11…let’s just think of it like our dessert. 🙂

1) What lies do you tell yourself during a hard workout?

2) Where do you stand on intervals, do you like the shorter/faster ones or the longer/endurance-based ones?
Need I even answer?

3) How is your week starting off, and what is on tap for you?

Words of Advice to Some Gym-goers

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

At times, going to gyms makes me both laugh and sigh. Have you seen some of the crazy things people do or WEAR at the gym? I’m torn between wanting to laugh out loud, risk looking like a rude wack-o, and kindly off up some advice. Because I usually abstain from doing either, I do smirk sometimes, here are words of advice to some of my gym-buddies:

Don’t wear Converse shoes. Along the same lines, don’t try to run in jeans…I’ve seen this multiple times and I always wonder how that first shower feels, can anyone scream chaffage?!

Don’t put the incline of the treadmill so high that you aren’t able to barely walk faster than a crawl and have to hold on for dear life to the side-rails to keep from falling off. Yes, doing hill work and incline work is an excellent way to feel the burn, work those quads, and build strength BUT there is a way to do it. There needs to be a balance between the incline and the speed; you still want to be able to run/jog fast enough to get your heart rate up and thus constitute some cardio.

Put in the effort. If you’re pedaling at one RPM and texting, you aren’t doing yourself any favors and not getting in a workout. You should be getting your heart rate up, you should be breathing harder than normal, and you should be focused. Yes, distractions like music and TV are perfect distractions, BUT you still want to remember that your workout time should be that.

Have you heard of working in? If you’re sitting on a machine for your rest, the courteous thing to do would be to get up and allow another person to actually use said machine instead of making them wait for all of your reps/sets…just saying.

Don’t argue with your personal trainer. Ummm…to the lady complaining and trying to weasel her way out of a measly five minutes on the bike, can I just ask you, “Why are you paying this person?” If you want to reach certain goals you have to work for them. That will usually mean doing things that make you uncomfortable.

So, just a little unsolicited advice from the random girl gawking around the gym. Don’t mind me if I have a smirk on my face. 🙂

1) What are some of the funny or ridiculous things you’ve seen people do at the gym?

2) What advice would you have liked to have when you were new to working out?

I feel bad because sometimes people are just not informed and I shouldn’t be snarky. When I was first starting running I wish someone would have told me much sooner that you shouldn’t be running with your shoulders up to your ears and your arms swinging like Ali doing punches.

3) What are you doing this weekend, anyone racing? I know that NYC Marathon is a biggie here and good luck to anyone racing there or anywhere else!