Posts in the Races Category at , Page 12

Battling the Race Day Nerves — Use the Nerves to Your Advantage

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

Sunday again already, eh? Well, we are approaching the ‘GO TIME’ for races here; whether it’s the high schoolers gearing up and going through all the sectional/regional races, the college athletes doing the same, the road racers continually make the circuit, and of course the marathons. We have NYC Marathon fast approaching, other ones going on all around the world, and then come January the US Olympic Trials…exciting stuff!

Though, whether you are racing in a huge meet or a low-key fun run, there is something special about putting on that race bib. Even if you are going into a race using it more as a workout or a tune-up, you still get that little buzz right before that gun goes off.

Races wake up that competitive beast just a little more…if tough workouts are just poking it with a stick than having a gun go off is like kicking him in the mouth. I’ve talked about how people have different perspectives on races: for some they just want to survive, others don’t care a lick about time and are all about the fun, and then there are those who are out for time and want to push themselves to their absolute limits.

Any and all of those goals are valid and great; but if you do fall into that last category and each of these races are upping the ante: read as you need to hit a certain qualifying mark, place as high as possible to make it to the next round, and there is a lot on the line, you CAN’T let the nerves get the better of you.

You want that buzz of adrenaline, the prick of your hairs as you crouch at the line, because that’s all a part of racing. But you don’t want to take it to the extreme and sabotage yourself. Don’t ‘think’ yourself out of a race.

Out-thinking it can happen even days or weeks before you start your warm-up. For whatever reason I think I was pretty good at not psyching myself out to the point where it ruined my race before it even started; I think it was because of a few things, and I’ll just share a few tips or pointers that might work for you:

* It’s just a ‘workout-plus’: the thing is, I get nervous before hard workouts too. I can’t really put into words why exactly, part of it is because I want to do well of course, part of it is that I know it will hurt but I want to test my mental toughness and see how far I can push that. I am a big believer in that being a mentally gritty and tough runner is one of the best attributes to have; I respect that probably the most in other people. How to use this for the race then: just think of this race as you would a tough workout; yes, there is more ‘on the line’ but just like in hard track sessions, go out there and give it the best you’ve got. The ‘plus’ part comes from the extra boost the excitement, adrenaline, and competition will give you; usually that will happen on it’s own and will help push you a little harder.

* Go in with multiple goals: the races I’ve been the most nervous for were the ones where I wasn’t exactly sure where my fitness was. Maybe I was coming off on an injury, perhaps I hadn’t raced for awhile; whatever the case if you haven’t built up enough workouts to gauge your level of fitness that can be daunting. In this instance, I’d suggest looking at what workouts you HAVE done, (here is where a coach helps a LOT as they can help you predict and set a goal for the race) and set a few goals. Set one for what you would consider ‘acceptable’, another a little bit higher, and then have a third that you might think is a reach but you still have to put it out there. Now, the three goals things still works even if you are in good shape; you always want to have a third goal where you really put your neck on the line and set it; even if you don’t tell anyone but yourself.

* Carry the confidence: now if you DO know you are ready to rock that race, then I’d suggest thinking back on your key workouts. The ones where everything clicked, you did well, and they are proof you are in good shape; so then when there is the point in the race where it hurts like a beast you can tell yourself, “Okay, I did such-and-such workout and that hurt way more, I CAN do this.

* Power-down, Power-up: leading up to the ‘big race’ just try to push it out of your mind with about two days to go. If you stress out too much about it, what happens is you will physically just wear yourself out. Your body will produce this hormone called, cortisol, which will, come race day, leave you wiped out. Not only that, your mind will have been stewing and could just work against you. So set your goals in advance, then tune out the days leading up…flip the brain back on when you are starting your warm-up because then it’s GO time.

* Relax: ummm, thanks for the obvious advice? Haha…no but seriously, I know we all handle nerves differently; for me I used to sort of turn into this weirdo-yabber mouth. I was the one on the line saying good luck to people or making some dorky joke; for whatever reason that helped me let off some steam by keeping it light. There is a limit of course, you don’t want to be outright rude because some racers are the opposite and like to be completely stoic, so give them their quite. I respect that everyone works in their own way; for the relaxing though, it helps to sometimes just shake out your arms because your shoulders can be up to your ears without you knowing it.

We're equal opportunity here, here's one for the guys. 🙂

I hope a few of these things help. Lastly, if you’re running with a team, use the camaraderie to your advantage, not your undoing. Yes, let it propell you to pick off that last person down the stretch, to really reach…but don’t let the opposite happen where you just absorb all that pressure to perform. The funny thing about it, the more you focus on ‘wanting to do well’ that is usually when you are working against yourself the most. Often times the races or times I’ve felt my best is when I wasn’t thinking about ‘wanting to do well’ but instead just letting it happen.

I’ll share a quote my mom used to always tell me when I would be nervous: “If you weren’t nervous, then I’d be worried; that means you don’t care.”

1) Best way you’ve found to channel nerves to your advantage?

2) Do you get nervous before key workouts?

3) Did you race this weekend? If so…share!

Pregnant Running’s All the Rage

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Everyone’s talking about it so now I will too, the woman who gave birth after the Chicago marathon. I’ve read people making jokes, being outraged, and some people I guess just plain don’t care, they’ve got bigger things to occupy themselves.

I did read a really funny one that I will cite from our own TX Runner Girl, “running a marathon = your uterus falling out.”

Here is where I stand. My mom has had four kids and ran up until the day she popped for all of us; she was lucky in that all of her pregnancies were relativley ‘easy’ and she didn’t get any bad morning sickness or other issues. I’ve had friends who were runners and hard-core fitness folks who also were able to run, even train through theirs.

Kara Goucher is one example and she goes into plenty of detail in her book and has talked about it on her blog. There is also Paula Radcliffe who has been open about both of her experiences. The thing is, I feel that if you can and are willing, why not exercise or run? Of course take the necessary precautions, but if your doctor gives you the green light, I’m all for it.

That said, none of them ran a marathon while pregnant. I know there is the exertion level to take into consideration. I’ve never been in the situation myself, but I feel that it’s probably not a good idea to go for broke or empty the tank in hard workouts in the final stages of pregnancy…just a thought.

If I were her this would count as recovery...bath with the kiddies tied up.

So running the marathon? I read she did it somewhere over 6 hours, so she wasn’t blazing…that said she was on her feet for 6 hours and that takes a toll. Apparently she ran two other marathons while pregnant with her other two kids, this one was just the closest to the actual delivery…contractions just past the line and 7 hours later, welcome new baby.

Seems like all is fine and healthy…maybe she was just tired of being pregnant and figured, “What the heck?!” Some choose spicy foods, she chose a marathon. But I guess I just ask, “Why?”

I love running as much as the next person, but couldn’t she get the same kind of endorphin rush off of a ‘regualar’ run? Maybe she signed up a long time ago and just couldn’t stand to see all that entry race money go to waste. Heck, actually, that right there could be it, take that race directors and your insanely high costs! 😉

1) This is a rather extreme case, but I’ve done some pretty crazy things to get a workout in too. Do you have any funny/embarassing/quasi-ridiculous stories where you just had to get that workout in?
Quite a few, but some I don’t even want to put out there…haha. I guess one I will say is sneaking out during my ‘break’ for a quick run in the wee early hours. I got back and one of my siblings had woken up in the middle of the night and noticed the door unlocked so they locked it. Locked out, I was caught. 😛

2) Running with a second person in you seems very odd to me (having a second person seems odd), if you have been or are pregnant did you run or workout? If not, do you think you would?
I would.

3) Everyone’s about Taco Tuesday, I love Mexican food, so what is your favorite Mexican place?
Don’t hate, I know it’s not ‘real’ Mexican, but I love Chipotle. 🙂

Reinstituting the Long Run and the Debate on How to Run Them

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Cait — 12 Comments ↓

Hello, good friend, oh how I’ve missed you. I knew today was coming since last week and I looked to it with both eager anticipation and trepidation. I’ve been running pretty much all outside the last two weeks, and it was high time to do an outside long run.

I have been doing quite a bit of weekly road miles, for me, so I wanted to be smart and gradually up the distance of my long run so I didn’t wind up injured and all that jazz. So today I added 2 miles to the 11 miles I’ve been covering outside…so let’s be smarter than a first grader and make that 13 miles.

hmmm, wich I ran there but not today.

Eons ago that would have been ‘nothing’ in my mind and I would have pushed the pace. But today’s goal was to just cover the distance and get ‘er done. I say I was both excited and a little nervous for these reasons:

* Long runs were and will always be my favorite runs/workouts. I’m a true distance person with not a single fast-twitch muscle fiber, so I feel more in my element. I have felt like a quasi-runner knowing that I haven’t been doing a ‘real’ long run.

* My favorite way to run long runs used to be to go fast; there was nothing more rewarding than finishing an awesome long run and looking back over my splits.

Today I knew for darn sure there was going to be no speed racer showing up. That’s okay, I am more than happy to at least be doing a long run at all, but it’s a shift of thinking. Plus, I’m kind of excited to see my progress; today was a starting point and I want to see myself gradually get the pace down. Sure, it still may not be of speed racer status, but there will at least be the element of putting in the effort and doing that offers that same kind of endorphin run/reward feeling.

But to long runs in general, I know that there are more and more articles and training philosophies that specifically say: DON’T go too fast and hard on your long runs, long runs are meant to be relaxed and just about building the aerobic base. I would agree that for the most part, that’s the way to go and I can vouch that my coaches were constantly telling me NOT to try and race my long runs and slow down for many of them.

Real fast, this next part is going to be only my personal opinion and I’m not a coach or bona-fide specialist, so take it for what it’s worth…only from experiences I’ve gleaned over the years. I say that for the most part, yes, you want to keep your long runs relaxed and make the priority covering the distance and not totally tapping out the tank. For those who are planning to run a marathon, it’s very important to just get the time out there on your feet and to do that, you want to safely ramp up the distances of your long runs. There is another rule that I agree with: only do introduce one new variable at a time in your training, either adding more volume OR increasing speed, not both at the same time.

So, if you are making your long run longer than last week you typically shouldn’t be then also trying to go faster. This is particularly true if your goal is to just finish the marathon and time is not a big factor.

BUT, if you plan on really racing longer distance races I think it’s smart to turn some of your long runs into workouts every couple of weeks. Use the first few miles as a warm-up and build the middle chunk into a tempo type workout, long repeats (multi-miles), or make it a progressive long run where you get faster and finish under marathon or whatever-goal-race pace.

Why? If you plan on running the actual distance fast you need to train fast. The reason I really liked doing tempo-long runs is because I felt it not only made me stronger physically but mentally as well. There are some big mental barriers that you need to crash through when you hit say, 5 miles of a tempo effort and know you’ve still got 5 more. (add more barriers if those distances are even longer!) I knew that by miles 6,7, and 8 I’d be grimacing, those dang middle miles are the worst because you’re not quite at the ‘okay, I’m almost done, the end is in sight’ point.

But I knew that when I ended that long run, using the rest as a cool-down, that the next time a 5k or 10k race came up it would feel so much shorter. So hard long runs callous the mind and the body. I think the aerobic base they build is very important as well.

Mind of matter, baby! 🙂

That said, they take a lot out of you and that’s why you then hear, read about, and see so much talk of stressing: take your long runs easy. You need the time to recover from them, make that exponentially more if you do them as a workout.

So I think it all just depends on your goals. If you aren’t concerned about the time/pace of your race and the goal is to finish, then by all means you probably should only keep your long runs easy and relaxed. But if you do want to race, then as they say, “Race fast? Run fast.” Going that route, don’t do a hard long run the day after a race or hard workout, make sure you do an easy run the next day if not the next two, and count it as your long interval workout for the week. Also know that you shouldn’t be doing this every week; do it every other week at the most. Finally, treat your body right and recover the rest of the day…veg style baby! 🙂

Wrapping up my epic post, like I said I love long runs. I used to love them because I felt in my element and would be chomping at the bit to see how fast I could do them. Today’s long run was not of the kind eons ago, it was about making sure I covered the distance, remembering that I still love the long runs and now I can at least feel like a ‘real’ runner again.

1) Do you do long runs, do you like them?

2) What have you heard about how to approach long runs?

3) What are you up to this weekend?

Setting a Warm-up Routine – You’ll Run Better and Feel Better Doing it

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Cait — 13 Comments ↓

I don’t want to waste energy. I’m really late and the gun is JUST about to go off. I don’t really need to. I’m just plain lazy.

All reasons, ahem excuses, that people give for not wanting to do a warm-up. The energy wasting one is something that I’m sure even the most seasoned vet is guilty of when they first started out, I knew I fell for that one in my first few meets. Or I guess back then I was probably also just lazy too. Though this is one of the biggest fallacies even though common sense might lead you to plead a case for it.

One of these doesn't belong, can you guess which one? 🙂

Physiologically your body CAN’T perform at its best going from 0 to 60 the second the gun goes off. Sadly we are not a high performance sports car that all the macho guys drive, peel out, and feel like ‘the man.’ Rather, our muscles burn glucose (energy) most efficiently if you gradually work into that faster pace. Not only will you be running faster if you’ve warmed up but it will actually feel easier too. [the same rules apply for the actual race, and that’s why it’s smarter to run negative splits; go out at one pace and pick up the pace as the race progresses, make that closing mile/lap your fastest]

What constitutes a good warm-up? Well, that is different for everyone and it’s a matter of finding one that fits with you. Still, there are some general ingredients to add to this recipe; I’ll just put out what worked for me when I was racing. Another couple of things; the other major benefit of having a warm-up routine set out is once you find the perfect recipe for YOU, stick to it. Keeping the same routine helps eliminate variables for the race but it also helps mentally.

Art Credit: Cait Chock Designs

The routine helps keep some of those nerves at bay. For me, the day before and of a race I’d try to limit thinking about the race too much to avoid getting overly nervous. But once I started my warm-up that’s when I started to really focus again. During my warm-up I’d mentally run through my race plan, think about staying relaxed, calm, and remembering what I wanted to accomplish for the race.

The routine, my body knew it and could go through it on auto-pilot, it was known, familiar, and that was reassuring. It also allowed my mind to focus on the race at hand. Another reason why I was able to run through it all on auto-pilot is I did basically the same thing before hard workouts. Just as with other aspects of training, come race day you want to limit any variables. So practice what you’ll be doing come the actual day.

Finally, with timing, I usually liked to start 50-45 minutes before I had to get to the line. I’m also really anal, and would rather err on the side of being early to the line rather than feeling rushed or heaven forbid not make it!

Here is a little sample or rough guideline to get you started:

* 2 miles easy: Keep this easy and you want to actually be overly warm if anything; that’s why even in hot conditions you’ll see people layered up in sweats. You want those muscles as warm as possible before you strip down to that singlet. People vary how long they run, but you want it to be at least 10 minutes.

* Drills and stretching: After the running I’d do some static stretches then move into a set routine of drills (think quick feet, A skips, butt kickers) to get my feet moving fast and work on turnover. I’d then do dynamic stretches, mostly leg swings. Keep the sweat on and I liked to keep moving around.

* Strides: After drills I’d then do 4-6 strides, 60-100 meters long. The last few I’d do faster than race pace, staying controlled and keeping good form.

* Stripping down and spiking up: Time to take off the sweats, I’d usually be so hot by this point I couldn’t wait to get rid of all the sweats. Then change into the shoes I’d be racing in.

* Head to the line and last strides: Then time to get to the line, I’d usually do one or two last short strides and then time to go!

Art credit: Cait Chock Designs - Inspiration: Mamma Nappy's amazing cookies! 🙂

I know that cross country season is well underway, so good luck to all those racing! I also know there are tons of people signing up and training for road races; for some it are their first races and I thought about posting this because I had been hearing from some that they didn’t even know what a warm-up was, so I hope this can help them out and do their best come the big day. 🙂

1) Do you do a warm-up routine before your races or hard workouts? If so, what?

2) Name one reason people may not want to warm-up?
The first time I went to a junior high meet (mind you I didn’t train at all before, that was an ugly 400…haha) my mom suggested it but I thought she was insane. I also didn’t want to look like a weirdo being the only kid running around before the actual race. Gotta love self-consciousness and peer pressure.

3) Happy Wednesday, what was your workout?
11 mile run outside and core, I’m slowly feeling better going sans tready…yay. 🙂

Women’s Marathon Records Under Scrutitny and Reverted to Times of Decades Past

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

Are you joking me, IAAF?! In case you haven’t heard, apparently the new rule is that if a woman runs a world best time in a race that has men in it, the time WON’T count as a legitimate World Record. That’s insane! What does this mean for women’s distance running?

That stellar 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe ran, void. The new ‘World Record’ (and I’m going to continue to use air quotes going forward) is 2:17:42. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great time, but it’s only her third fastest time over the distance. I thought we were supposed to be pushing our sport FORWARD, not taking steps back.

Additionally, shouldn’t the IAAF be more concerned about drug cheats and covering matters there, why are they scrutinizing women’s records when there are far more pressing matters to be discussed. I mean, there are quasi-men running in women’s track races, yet they allow those records to stand.

“To have it stripped from you, when no drugs were involved, when no scandal was involved, is just hard to believe,” was Deena Kastor’s reaction upon learning about the ruling. She is having her name taken completely out of the record books, as her 2:19:36 previous American Record was under mixed race conditions. So, the ‘new record’ is reverted back to the 2:24:52 run by Joan Benoit Samuelson back in 1984.

“I wouldn’t mind if someone would have broken that record because it’s gratifying to see the sport move forward,” Kastor continued. “But to have it taken away? That feels like a little bit of a cheap shot.”

Those are my thoughts; if we are going to go that route, should all track records not done on cinder tracks be null and void too? I mean we are living in a world that is constantly propelling forward in everything; new technology, new strategies, new theories, new thoughts and ideas. Along with that, training has advanced, shoes have advanced, spikes are lighter, tracks are better, heck, we have anti-gravity treadmills to run on!

The IAAF’s argument is that having male pacesetters for women is giving them an unfair advantage and leads to faster times. Now, yes, having a pacer is certainly a luxury, but men have pacesetters available to them for races, should all records done with a rabbit now not count?

True, women are ‘lucky’ in that they have another gender that is genetically able to cover distances faster and thus are able to theoretically pace for the entire distance of a race. Men don’t have the luxury of getting horses to pace them through full distances, but they have other men around them that can race them along after a pacer drops out. In the case of Paula’s 2:15, it is so far ahead of what any other woman could run that there is not even a pack she could work off of.

Now, sometimes just because men are in the race that doesn’t necessarily mean they are there to pace the woman. Sometimes the women blow the men out of the water anyways. Still, Paula Radcliffe herself notes that in setting her record time in 2003, “I was actively racing [the male pacers]…I fully believe that I would have run pretty much the same time that day alone.” Touche.

I just think it’s sad that all of these records are being scrutinized in the first place. First there was the whole Boston Debacle, now this. I don’t understand why instead of being excited over an evolving sport, with records done clean, officials insist on wiping away these times. Again, I’m just going to go out and say that there are way too many dirty racers that they need to be working on busting instead of nitpicking these issues? Is it more a matter of that they have just simply given up on tackling that front and then instead are trying to just shift focus and bring up non-issues instead?

Regardless, I’d like to end with what Kara Goucher had to say, because I think she sums it up perfectly and succinctly, “That’s too bad.”

1) What are your thoughts on this whole record debate?

2) Have you run in a mixed race or had men pace you?
I have, and yes, of course having a pacer does help, but it doesn’t make or break a runner’s performance. If you run it on your own two feet and the distance is accurate, count it! I’ve also had women pacers too, so just because it’s a man shouldn’t even be an issue.

America Wins One FINALLY on the Track and Pictures of Dreams Realized

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

So I have to start this post off with a huge congrats to Jenny Simpson (previously Barringer) who won the Gold Medal in the 1500 meters at the World Track Champs. She is the first American to win any Gold for any distance race for 28 years!! Finally we have broken the African dominance streak…hehe. 🙂 If you’re not a huge track fan, I’ll let it slide and tell you you’re missing out later, you should still appreciate this feat and go read up on what’s going on at the World Track Champs scene.

Looking at the faces and reactions of the various athletes crossing the finish line is always really fun. There are those moments that capture utter euphoria at a dream finally recognized, the athletes who have poured their hearts and souls into this moment for years, never a guarantee that all of that work would in the end grant them a Gold Medal. There are those shy receptions of breaking the tape from the ones who were the overwhelming favorites going into the race and already have multiple Golds waiting back at home.

There are the comical ones sometimes, tossing up hand gestures, one guy looks like he’s strumming an air guitar, others sticking their tongues out. I’m not judging; hey, if you win you can do what you like, some people find it disrespectful but I think so long as you don’t turn around and run down the homestretch backwards or break into some MC Hammer running man you’re alright.

My favorites though are the moments that capture pure shock. The ones where you can clearly see that an athlete is living out ‘one of those days’ on the track and even they haven’t even fully been able to wrap their heads around the fact that they may be, in fact, the person running. I mean of course they put the training in with the hopes of achieving such a feat, you have to have confidence in yourself, but there are no sure things in track…when you get to the line you still have to get through those laps before hitting the medal podium no matter who you are or your past accolades.

These shock moments come from runners who don’t necessarily come home with the Gold either. Heck, are you kidding me, when you get to that level you should throw your own flipping party over any medal in my book. Some of the happiest harriers captured have been the ones coming in second or third…sometimes to the point where their achievement almost overshadows the actual winner of the race.

Shalane Flanagan’s bronze at the last Olympics in the 10k was one, the year before when Kara Goucher snagged the bronze at the same event in the World Champs are just two examples. I loved looking at those pictures.

So Jenny’s 1500 meters pictures…track fan or not, you can’t help but be excited for her when you see the snaps of her crossing the finish line.

1) In your mind’s eye what would the moment of your own dream realized look like? If you have achieved this already do you already have a picture of just such an event?

I’m Back and Busy Watching the Pro’s Bring Fire to the Track at World Champs

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

Goodness, me! Wow, sorry to have been gone for a few days there, don’t you hate it when work and life stuff gets in the way of the real important things? Blogging that is. I would say that it’s a pain in the butt should ANYTHING get in the way of running or working out, but we all know that would be a lie since there isn’t anything that I’d let get in the way of that one. 😉

But yea, I’ve been busily working on a few freelancing projects that have sucked up all my ‘would-be-blogging-and-blog-trolling’ time…so my apologies. The good news is that rather soon I’ll be rolling out some new art here…what, you’re not sick of the recycled ones yet? Good. Hehe.

I hope your weekends have been going well and if you’re living under a rock, I’ll tell you that the World Track Champs are currently underway. Now, I’m totally biased towards both the longer distances and my friends, so fair warning that’s really all I’ll be mentioning. Hey, it’s my blog so deal with it. 😉 But really, you can check the full results at the IAAF site and Paul Merca has a stand-out track and field blog which you should hop on over too.

Back to my biased little two cents; I was really rooting for our girls in the 10k there. Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher especially, I’m sure the 7^th and 13^th places respectively weren’t what they had gone in there vying for but we all know that on any given day all we can give is what the legs are willing to put out.

Kara though has shown her guts in just spiking up; she’s coming back from a stress reaction in her femur…and should I also remind you that she did push a human being out from between her loins this past year…just saying. 😉 Still, I never counted her out of putting it all out there, she’s one of the most mentally tough people I know. But again, injuries suck the big one and always have a ‘nice’ way of popping up at the least opportune time. Though, is there ever a good time for an injury? Me thinks not!

That said, all the athletes competing there have enough of the stuff to even BE there in the first place! And as a track fan it’s fun to watch or read all about it. In the men’s 10k there was a big upset in that Kenenisa Bekele didn’t win the very first 10k he’s ever entered; he actually DNF’ed. So the title went to a dark horse in a sprint to the finish, as much as it’s sad to watch a great runner DNF it is nice to spread the gold medal love around I suppose?

Back to us regular runner peons…hehe. 🙂 Did anyone have a race of their own this weekend? If so it’s bragging time! Just some easy miles for me with the distraction of some Disney. I wonder if Kara and Shalane were thinking of Disney related material while busting ther @$$e$ on the track? ;

Well, sorry to keep this short but back to the grind! Oh, before I forget…I need to address that for whatever reason stupid WordPress is now staging a revolt against me! All of my reply comments seem to disappear a few hour after I post them…I don’t know what is up?!?! So, please don’t think I’m ignoring you guys, I love comments and I reply to them! It’s WordPress, maybe somewhere in a dark alley it is selling the comments it stole from me. 🙁

1) What was the most fun thing you’ve done this weekend?

2) Do you enjoy going out and watching/cheering for track races? Do you actually stay and watch the full 25 laps or are you a dork who uses that time as a potty break?

3) Last thing you ate?

Cinnamon raise English muffins.

The Story of Lane One…

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Lane 1 was the baby of the family. Her siblings liked to remind her of this fact as often as possible, mostly because they were jealous. The story goes that when she was paved, Papa Grand Stand put a little something special into her mix. It was a golden spike that he had carried with him and saved special for his baby girl.

track lane one

Whether or not this was in fact true didn’t really matter to her siblings, they didn’t like it one bit and Lane 2 especially. Of course we all love our siblings, but if love had a color for how Lane 2 felt towards Lane 1 it was puke green laced with envy-lime.

The reason for this jealousy isn’t fully unfounded, and who could blame them? Everyone loved Lane 1, everyone fought for her, elbowed, shoved, and dug in right up close to her rail. PR’s, heck even World Records, had come down to the wire as the athletes leaned for the tape across her physique. Lane 1 was holy ground.

Sure, one could argue that plenty of action occurred in Lane 2, even 3 or 4 on plenty occasions, but let’s be honest, nothing compares to Lane 1. I think the fact that Lane 2 rightly felt that they deserved just as much attention as its white line sharing sibling only made things worse, “Did you see that lean? Ya, well that just won themselves the Gold Medal, and do you know where that lean was? Ummm, hello?! It was right up on me! But does anyone care, no, it’s all about my snotty sister!”

You’d think Lanes 8 and 9 would be most bitter, but I think it was more just they had given up completely. They accepted long ago that they were forever and always the ugly stepsisters reserved for strides and even so low as to be used for additional warm-up area for runners prepping for their race to be run after the one currently in progress. Every now and again they got some attention, should a miscalculating hurdler go down and warrant some ‘oooh’s’ and ‘ahhh’s’ from the crowd, but not much else.

Lanes 4 through 7 played the typical middle children roles of the family. Lane 7 had adopted the second-mother role and made sure that all the lanes kept themselves neat and tidy and presentable come race days. This nagging usually was greeted with the typical grunts and groans, but the sibling lanes always followed orders, they too always wanted to look their best for the races. Well, except for that one time Lane 2 rebelled, refused to take care of a little wear and tear near the 200 meter mark and let it fester until it was an unsightly pothole. The subsequent repaving was her punishment and trust me she learned her lesson…no one likes a pot-holey track and if she thought she didn’t get enough love before, well, the scorn of a pothole made her furious.

Lane 6 was the comic relief of the bunch and liked to play commentator for the races, “Ouch, tough race for that guy, he shouldn’t have been wolfing down those chili cheese fries earlier. I hope he learned his lesson.” Lane 5 was sort of that ghost of the family, people sort of forgot she was even really there at times. This didn’t really bother her, this fading into the background, she was able to pick up some especially tantalizing tidbits and if Lane 5 were to talk more, would she ever have some whopping secrets to divulge. She stored these up like a squirrel collecting acorns, she documented these in a diary that one day she planned to publish, make millions, and rub in the faces of all her sister lanes.

Lane 4 was the prankster; usually, if you look real close, if a runner goes down in a big pack you can see it had something to do with Lane 4. Mamma Grand Stand tried to keep her in order, but to no avail. She’d constantly threaten to have her unruly daughter stripped off and resurfaced into the triple jump or shot-put areas, but Lane 4 knew all talk was pretty much an empty threat.

So Lane 1 shone. She glistened and shined, she glinted in the scorching heat, the beads of perspiration fell to her sacred ground from the harriers giving all they had and more. She elongated the shadows of the 10k racers dueling on as the evening sun set. She splashed in the downpours as the sprinters’ rapid fire legs raised in wild, explosive arcs across her formation.

She highlighted these runners’ accomplishments, swelled with pride as they mounted the podium on still wobbly legs. She cheered loudest of all because she truly felt each footstep, she had a kinship with each and every one of them. A part of her heart also ached for the ones that shed tears in addition to sweat.

Maybe that’s what set Lane 1 apart from all of her sisters, that she had a heart. Perhaps there really was truth behind that golden spike legend, and it granted her the ability to feel. To feel and know that to everyone that lined up on her sacred ground it was more than just a race, more than just laps around a track.

Flies Stink and an Epic Length Post on the Benefits of Bad Races

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Cait — 10 Comments ↓

Flies, what are their deal? They are attracted to all things refuse, decaying and dirty then at the same time feel like it’s okay to roll around in said filth and THEN come schmoozing up on me and my food? How wrong and to coin an annoying blonde haired child, “How rude?” (Stephanie was always my least favorite Tanner.)

I know we’ve all heard urban legend that the second a fly lands on anything it throws up, and so I ask, is that true? If so then I’m covered in sh** on top of being annoyed.

There are other ‘flies’ in life, the flies at the office would have to be those people that buzz around eavesdropping and then spread any juicy tidbits they pick up. Pretty much the same people would be flies at high school, only those flies are a hybrid with mosquitoes because they are out for blood. High school is a blood sport.

Being ticketed for a broken taillight could be a life ‘fly’ because unless you get tipped off by a friendly person watching you from the back, how are you to know? Ooooh, this is fun, so I’m going to keep going. Okay, how about going on a first date, you’re walking along on the beach thinking you’re all cool and romantic and BAM seagull poop lands right on your shoulder? True story, happened to my friend who shall remain nameless only a few weeks ago…so sad, he just started dating again and look what happened. 😛

I guess nothing to do but deal with those flies and swat them away the best that we can. Bad races and horrible workouts are obvious flies. Necessary evils that come with the territory. Heck, bad days in general, but when it comes to running and working out we ALL have those fly days…sadly sometimes fly weeks. Fly slumps. Been there, let’s not look back through those scrapbooks.

BUT, fly races can be good things:

*The Learning Tool: After you finish, mop up those tears, or wash out that mouth, and think. Could there be a reason that you had a less than stellar performance? Did you go out too fast in the beginning or make another obvious racing tactic blunder? Did you go too hard, too close to the big day? Did you not really prepare the way you should for the race? Are you overly tired? Races are like check-ins and if something’s not working then find a way to fix it.

*You Underestimated: Did you go in with an off race plan or maybe no race plan at all? Racing on the fly can be sort of liberating, but you still want to go in with at least some clear goal or tactic. If you knew certain people were in the race, or if you are on a cross team and you were hoping to beat a certain team, did you underestimate your competition? On the flip side, did you underestimate yourself? Did you hold back too long, maybe you should have surged on a certain lap, closed a gap sooner, made a decisive move? Planning mistakes happen, again, use them as a learning experience and be better prepared for next time.

*The Off-Taper: When you taper for a race that means you intentionally cut back mileage, the days leading up are easier. Tapering is a tricky science, all about finding the right balance between doing enough so that you are sharp and ready to go and not doing too much. Look and see if maybe your tapering was a little off. Tapering usually leaves people feeling like they have way too much excess energy and sometimes we have to force ourselves to not do any more than we should. On the flip side, you don’t want to do nothing or take out all fast running, which will leave you feeling sluggish and slow.

You got problems if THIS guy is beating you...

*Overdistance, Underdistance: Was this race ‘your’ race? I mean if you’re a miler and you go run a marathon, you may need to go in knowing that, “Hey, this race is going to be more of a challenge for me than the person who genetically is predisposed to running longer, marathon type distances.” The same for the marathoner running a mile race; it’s great to run a range of races but base the results off of you personally as a runner. If our marathoner runs a decent time FOR THEM in a mile race but comes in dead last, they need to be sure to keep things in perspective.

*Training Through: Did you train through this race? That means was this race not exactly ‘a really big race’ in your training program but instead one along the road to your ‘big goal’ race? This happens a lot for high school and college runners who have to go through league or prelim meets. You can’t rest up for everything because you’d never get in a solid block of training, so for many of the smaller meets you’ll go in without tapering and while you still may put forth your best effort, your legs have that extra workload in them and won’t be as fresh as when you eventually do taper for the big day. This is a big mental thing though because for some people these off races put doubts in their mind and they become afraid that come their ‘big goal’ race they will still feel flat. So you have to stay confident and know that come the big day you’ll be rested and ready.

*Something New: Trying something new on a race day isn’t something you should do. The pile of cheesy nachos an hour before the gun will bring you your own just desserts. In times like these, get through the race and let’s hope it’s a lesson learned.

*New Training: Anytime you go with or are transitioning to a new training method, program, or coach expect that to get results you’ll need to wait through the adjustment period. It takes a few months, yes months at least, to fully adjust to something new and see the results you want. Expect that, and if you really believe in the program stick it out and give it time. That said training philosophies and techniques are VERY personal and if something doesn’t click after an acceptable period of adjustment, reassess. Make sure anything you are doing you fully believe in, running and racing is mental, you have to believe in what you’re doing to make it work.

*Gut it Out: Making it to the finish line despite knowing that you’re having a bad race is one of the best ways to improve your mental fortitude. It’s a mind game. If you were to drop out and stop after each bad race, you run the risk of getting into a very bad habit. There are times when the smart thing to do is drop out, you don’t want to risk an injury, but I’d say for the majority of the time you should stick it out to the end. Why? It’s all mental, if you don’t force yourself to finish when it hurts and sucks too many times, you start to give yourself that ‘out’ and that ‘out’ becomes way too appealing any time a race or workout hurts…and running does hurt. 😉

*Test of Character: Lose as gracefully as you can, or if you don’t meet your goals give yourself an hour, maybe a day/night of wallow, but then get sane and productive.

*The Flies Gotcha: Look, sometimes there are just no reasons for bad races or bad days. The clouds align and they are stormy. To be honest, having exceptional races are a rarity, having good races you’d like to be the ‘almost’ majority, most of them are middle of the road or you at least hit some expectations, but there are plenty of fly races. Bad races and bad days come with the game. You do the most you can to swing the odds in your favor, but at the line it’s all in dem legs and dem legs can be moody like a menopausal woman.

1) What are other flies in life?

How about getting maybe 4 miles into a long run and already scoping out a place for a bathroom plot?

2) One good thing about bad races for you?

3) Worst bad race memory?

The one that instantly comes to mind was when I was running a 10k and through about 4 ½ miles stoked that I was underpace and on track to run a time I REALLY wanted. Crazy how much difference a lap or two can make, I CRAWLED in those last 5 laps. That race was one of the times I wanted to DNF soooo bad…but I didn’t. Haha…that last mile was horrendous!

4) Speaking of, did anyone race this weekend, how did it go? I’m hoping that this post didn’t reopen any fresh wounds. 😉

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away I Picked Up Some Racing Tips

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

Okay, I sort of feel wonky about doing this post because it’s been about a zillion years since I last actually raced. But I was talking with some friends of mine and the whole subject of race tactics and such came up. That, and I know that a lot of my bloggy friends have big races coming up or they are training for, so I thought it might benefit a few folks out there to offer up some things that I’ve learned along the way. There is way too much to go on and on about regarding races, so I’ll probably have to make this a topic to return to again later. (Look there, every now and again when you come here you might actually be able to take something of worth away…haha)

Fire up those quads...

*Run the tangents: this one might some sort of ‘basic’ or ‘duh’ but I’m not kidding you that it took me forever to actually really apply it. One reason was because I just didn’t think about it or figured an extra few steps couldn’t really make all that much difference, but it adds up. There is a reason that you’ll see people hugging the curves or in a road race cross to the other side of the street to run as close to the little taped off markers as possible; there is also a reason why on the track you usually want to pass someone on a straightaway so you can go around them without running extra distance. If you’re going to focus on something during a race, look for the shortest routes to get to the end; this adds up even more the longer you go and if it comes to the finish line and you see you missed a PR by a few seconds, do you want to be kicking yourself in the bum thinking you could have beaten it if only you didn’t run a few turns too wide?

*Slap yourself into focus: it’s easy to let your mind wander…guilty (moreso though just in everyday life)! But whenever I am in a race or a hard workout I don’t tend to wander, the pain usually tries to take my focus. 😉 But really, you don’t want to be caught in mindless wandering, that will usually lead to the legs slowing down and you might not even be aware of it. So if you catch yourself starting to drift, slap yourself back to the moment, look at the person in front of you and key off of them. Stare a hole into their back and don’t let them get any further ahead of you, instead catch up to them, try to pass, and if you do, then look for the next person in front…pick people off one little bugger at a time. 😉 haha.

*Chuck the baggage: I see more and more people going gadgecized. It’s like before heading out for a run or race they are plugged into more things than NASA. Granted I’m maybe too ‘outdated’ but sometimes it’s good to ignore the garmin, the watch even, and just race off of feel. This is good for a few reasons; one, you can freak yourself out if you feel great and are clicking along but look at the clock and think, “Holy heck, I’m way ahead of pace, am I going to blow-up?” This can mess with you mentally and sometimes cause you to slow down when you’re on the verge of a breakthrough race. Second, constantly checking on your pace isn’t always necessary, as you become more experienced you want to be able to be in tune with your body and ‘know’ what paces feel like.

I don't even think I spy a watch on any of them...do you?

*Still, splits help: wow, so now I am going to contradict myself because there ARE times when the watch is playing to your benefit! Examples: giving you a clear warning you may be going out too fast, a nice kick in the tush if you have mentally checked-out and slowed down, are hitting target pace and a motivator to keep doing that, and there are other instances. The thing is, the clock has its time (horrible pun, sorry) and place, but in the end YOU are the one out there and how you feel is going to trump whatever the clock does say. So if looking at the splits is only going to stress you out or you’re having a bad day and the legs just didn’t show up, then the time can be a little defeating and better to just get through the race at that point.

Bwahaha...we've all been there.

*Hold dem horses: this one was mentioned in the last but it deserves it own because it’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make…going out too fast. We are all guilty but trust me that bootylock crawl to the finish is our only reward. Race day excitement makes it easy to get sucked into this but an experienced racer knows that even if that adrenaline makes the early mile pace feel much easier, it will catch up to you trifold. They say for every second you go out too fast the first mile, you’ll end up slowing down by at least 10 sec’s by the end…trust me it might be even more than that and it will certainly feel much longer. Trying to ‘get ahead’ and under your pace thinking you’ll get a ‘cushion’ by doing that will actually work against you…much better to pick it up and get faster as you go along, all about those negative splits.

Those are just a few tips and hopefully they might be of some use for you. I also want to bring up that there are benefits of ‘bad’ races or workouts and also how you can mentally come back after those…all jabber for another post as this one is getting mighty lengthy!

1) What’s one of your racing tips?

2) Do you have a funny story of you making an obvious racing blunder?

For awhile I used to not run the tangents because somehow in my mind I thought it might be ‘cheating’ or like I was trying to run less than the ‘real’ distance. Stupid, I know. The race directors measure the course gauging off of the shortest distance marked by cones (read: the tangents) and on the track, so long as you’re not crossing that white line you’re golden. 😛

3) When your mind does wander when you’re running or racing where does it go?

I get song lyrics stuck in my head, which can work to my benefit sometimes. I also get random words or phrases stuck in my head; when I was taking Spanish in high school there would be times where I’d honestly keep thinking ‘la luz’ in my head.