I have a friend.

She runs.

But only with her bag.

(Sounds like the start of a really bad joke, doesn’t it?!)

When I’m talking bag, I mean bag. Not some simple contraption wrapped around her waist, but a mammoth hip pack that includes two bottles of liquid, pepper spray, keys, cell phone, food, ID, and a few other essentials.

If she doesn’t have something that’s supposed to be in her pack, she can’t run.

I know her issues. I used to be there. I was a pack runner, music runner, drink runner, bathroom runner, good luck shirt runner.

I was one of those girls who couldn’t step out the door unless I had everything in place.

The problem? When those things weren’t in place, I couldn’t run, just like my friend.

I’ve worked hard on giving up the things I thought I Had to Have for a run, and I’ve worked instead on just running.

For the longest time I couldn’t run without my pack. I gave up the pack, and now can’t run with anything tied around my waist, even during half marathon lengths and more.

I thought for a while I had to run with music. Then I realized it was nice to have some silence in the morning.

This summer I got into a “I have to have” a certain type of drink when I ran. What if I got overheated? What if I lost too much sodium?

Then I had a conversation with a doctor whom I was interviewing for an article I’m writing about IBS and running, and she said, “People have been running for centuries without,” sugary electrolyte replacements. That’s not to say you shouldn’t prepare for the heat, of course. Living in the south means running in thick humidity many months of the year, and I am a sweater – I need something to keep my body in balance when it comes to liquids and running and fluid replacement. But that doesn’t mean for every four miler I need to be sucking on a blue drink. So two weeks ago I gave up my sugary sweets unless I’m doing over 10.

I also got into the habit of stopping after every 2 miles for a drink this summer. I thought I needed to do this, because of the heat, but then I realized this was just another “I have to” that had become habit.

Do you have an “I have to” set into your workout routine, and if you do what is it?

Name something cold, loved by long distance runners, that’s great for a post-workout recovery.

And it isn’t this . . .

As I have dealt with this hamstring issue now for almost a year (diagnosed as tendonitis about six months ago), I’ve researched a variety of techniques to keep my muscles stretched and healthy, so they don’t seize up on me again.

So far, things have worked. I roll my muscles out daily, sometimes twice a day; I do yoga several times each week, along with three days of pilates class, also which incorporates stretching (though I have to say I stay in it because I love the hardcore core workouts!); and I have been sitting on ice.

Ouch.

I have to admit, it took me a while to get to the point of facing the last option. I had heard of people doing ice baths after long runs, and I”d laughed at them. Ice baths? Put on a pack, I thought. Why subject my already sore legs to searing ice?

Because, I found out, it really seems to work.

The idea behind ice baths is that it will reduce swelling and help get rid of lactic acid, which will minimize the pain you might experience the next day. Then the warm blood flows through the area you’ve iced and it helps to keep the toxins out of the muscles.

For me, I believe it has helped my tendonitis. I haven’t been sore (knock on wood) since I started ice baths a few weeks ago. I do them now on any run 5 or more miles; I feel that because I’m likely to swell anyway with the issue, I may as well prevent it as best I can before I jump in the bath. Besides, putting an ice pack on the fronts and backs of my leg and then alongside my knee would take forever; why not jump in the bath and be done with it in 10 to 15 minutes?

Do you ice bath? If so, how often, and what is the mileage at which you decide to hop into the tub with a few cubes?

I’ve been on the edge of running or not running a half marathon next weekend.

Prior to distance running this choice would have been made long before now. Now that i do at least 10 on the weekends, it’s not as difficult. I know I can do the distance, but what has happened? I almost feel like ‘what’s the point of running a race?’

For one thing, I have to battle traffic. I have to go down a day early to pick up my packet, which means shuffling the kids an hour each way and walking around a large, overcrowded convention center where I would like to pick up things and shop but where, likely, I’ll be battling two toddlers in tow.

The race means getting up super-early on Sunday morning prior, as i would have to drive an hour and get a shuttle by 6 to get to the starting line, where I would likely end up standing around for at least an hour wondering why I couldn’t have just found a closer parking space to begin with.

Of course the race also means money. $95 to register, gas down and back twice, and the items I want to purchase at the convention, which will be a T-shirt and possibly some new socks. Oh, and a bumper sticker; i have my 26.2 one, so I need to balance it out with a 13.1 one.

The payoff? Freedom of running with others who love to run. Excitement and energy and people calling my name. That doesn’t happen when I do 13 miles around my neighborhood. I’m lucky to pass anyone that early in the morning! I enjoy the crowds that come to watch, and knowing that other people are watching me thinking they would like to do that one day. You can’t beat a great race.

Which is why I will battle parking, my wallet,the kids at the convention, and a slew of other obstacles to cross the finish line in Jacksonville next Sunday.

I’m going to sign up now, before I change my mind!

During Disney marathon last year, I was running along happily enjoying the sites of Animal Kingdom when BAM! A shot of pain in my knee put me down, literally. I had to hobble the remaining six miles to the finish line afterwards, and I did so with tears in my eyes.

Believe me, when you train and train and train and then get injured on race day, there’s no way to be happy.

I spent a lot of time trying to determine the problem. Should I have gone to the doctor? Probably. Did I? No. Why? I was afraid I’d be told not to run.

Sigh.

I began with a foam roller and numerous hours of stretching after each run. And it helped.  After cutting back mileage along with these therapies I felt much better, and my knee did, too.

For a while.

Then, when I would get higher into mileage, it would start to ache, even when taking it slowly.

Over time, doing a lot of reading, I realized this: My hamstrings and quads, the muslces in the tops of my legs, were weak.

I joined the Y and one day while there had my friend show me how to use the machines in the machine room. I’ve never been a machine girl. I’m a runner, right? I scoffed at machines (imagine my face scoffing here).

But think of it this way:

Your legs have a variety of muscles.

They use certain of these muscles when running.

Others, not so much.

These muscles being used become the alpha males. They think they are king. They rule.

The little muscles: Not so much. There they are, all docile, just watching and trying to keep up.

Have you ever tried to keep up with a runner that was stronger or faster than you? For a long time? What happens at the end of that run, or several hours later? You feel like you want to die.

Your stronger muscles overtake your littler muscles, and in the meantime they pull things in wrong directions.

My hamstrings were so weak I could barely lift ten pounds with one foot! Ten!

My hamstrings were pulling my knee out of whack, creating pain all the way down my leg.

How do I know this? Trial and error. I started using the machines and the pain in my knee went away, even with increased distances.

A few weeks ago, I stopped going to the gym. My schedule got crazy and I didn’t go. Guess what? A five miler wound up with me in some pain in my hamstring and, ta da, my knee.

My friend, they are all related. You don’t have to build up huge muscles when running, but you should make sure that your muscles are balanced.

It is all about balance, isn’t it?

Keeping this in mind, work out both front and back leg muscles, not just one or the other. Again, it’s not about making them huge, it is about keeping them in balance. You want them to be able to work together when you run, not work against you.

A few great gym exercises to try to build up the hamstrings and quads include the following. I have tried lunges and squats at home, but they hurt my knee. I know this is because i am not doing them correctly. If you can do them correctly, they may help as well.

You can also speak with a sports doctor, physical therapist or a personal trainer to determine exercises that might help strengthen the leg muscles and improve any imbalances your muscles might have due to a running-only type schedule.

Good luck!

This morning I wondered what question of the week I should throw out there.

Then I stopped and had my mid-run snack: A granola bar. I wished it were a caramel chocolate power bar, but alas, none were stocked in the cabinet.

Which made me think this: I love long distance running. How else could I eat a chocolate caramel bar for breakfast?

So, my question of the week: Three reasons you love to run!

My answers:

• I eat everything I want. And I mean everything. I love long distance running because I can eat what I want when I want it without worrying about calories. The only thing I have to worry about: how will it sit in my belly during the next morning’s run.
• Energy. It wastes mine. I have an abundance of unused energy that must be filtered out somehow, someway. Running does it. It gets rid of my antsies!
• Sensations. I love the way running feels. I love the smells I smell early morning, like rain on the grass or fresh flowers blooming. I love seeing deer and lakes and waterfalls and the ocean when I’m running. I love early morning sunrises. The sensations of running itself, the sweat and heat, the heart pounding, the sweat, I just love it all.

When I run, I feel alive.

What three things do you love about running?

RR: 8.5 miles today in the dark. Start my swimming tomorrow, can’t wait!

I woke up this morning to rain.

Not just any old rain. I’m talking torrential downpour filled with thunder and lightning. (I’ve since heard there were tornadoes – hope everyone is okay).

I almost rolled over and went back to sleep but I knew I had some work to do and I had hoped to get in at least a 4 miler. I wanted to do my 10 mile run today since I’m racing on Saturday, but more on that in a bit . . .

I stepped outside at first. It was raining, but I’m tough, and I like the rain, so I headed out to run. Then the thunder boomed and lightning struck so I dashed back inside.

I plugged in the laptop and started to work. After a while the rain subsided and I took off. Along the horizon lightning flickered, but it was far off, and I figured if the chance of being struck by lightning is only 1 in 280,000 and the lightning was not close so I was pretty much assured at beating the odds.

Hey, I needed to run! And yes, I beat the lightning.

Do you run in the rain?

I did 4 miles at a slower pace, somewhere in the 9s. My knee was hurting last night and I want to run fast on Saturday. I figured a good slow run was what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow is my core/arms/legs day, my day of cardio rest, and I’m ready for it.

Speaking of the race on Saturday, I am going with two ladies I run with occasionally, each of whom are training for summer marathons. They want to run the 10K and then go further, so I am going to do my ten miler on Saturday IF I can keep it up after running faster than normal in the first six. I would like to do ten, though they are going on to do 12 or 14.

In other news . . .

Piggy Cupcakes!

Looking for a great way to entertain the younguns? Make some piggy cupcakes! This idea came out of the  Mom and Me Cookbook by Annabel Karmel (it’s only eight dollars and change on Amazon, great buy!) This is such an awesome book for those of you with young kids who enjoying cooking with mom (hint: great Mother’s Day gift if you are seeking one!)

This is what they should have looked like:

We baked cupcakes, then let them cool, and then my daughter learned that red and white make pink!

After the icing was ready, we iced our piggies and this is the outcome:

Being the ex-teacher that I am, this was used as an entire lesson! I had the girls make pigs out of construction paper while they baked. We counted the marshmallows and practiced addition while doing so. My youngest did her shapes with the ingredients.

And then when done of course they ate one!

Morning Runs . . .

So this is my question today: Do you run in the morning and, if so, why. If not, why not?

I am a morning runner and have been since I started. I have never been able to get it together enough to run in the afternoon or evenings. I ‘m just too tired (even pre-kiddos!)

I was reading 8 Minutes in the Morning to a Flat Belly by Jorge Cruise and he said something that I totally believe. He said that you can say you aren’t a morning person and that is why you don’t exercise in the morning but there really is no such thing as not being a morning person.

I believe this because I was the same at one time. I believed that I could only do things at night, a night owl, and I stayed up late.

Then I began working and had to get up early. And I realized when I started to run that if I did so in the early morning hours I enjoyed the solitude and I got it done.

That’s the thing – studies have shown that most people who exercise in  the AM hours are more likely to get it done than those who do not. I have heard statistics up to 75% of morning exercises keep up their programs! This is phenomenal.

In Cruise’s book he states a study from the University of Leeds that says women who exercise in the AM are more likely to feel less tense and more content throughout the day. Now there is a reason to get out of bed!

This morning I almost slept in. I heard the rain and thought, No way I’m going out in that. Then I realized that the rain may stop. I also knew that if I passed over the opportunity to run if it did stop I would feel worse all day than if I crawled back into bed for another hour.

How can you make up the lack of sleep time? Go to bed an hour early. Seriously, your body will adjust. If you are a ‘night person’ now, you can switch that around.

You’ll also have more energy throughout the day if you workout early.

And what do I really love? The fact that when I spend time focusing on my arms in the morning, I can wear short sleeves shirt and look great all day (okay, call me vain, whatever, but you know I love my sculpted arm look!)

SO the benefits of running in the AM:

• more energy all day
• feeling more content
• less tense
• getting it in before you start the day
• having a great set of biceps in those summery blouses

totally outweigh the only negative I can see:

• missing an hour of sleep

which, as I said, can be made up if you go to bed a bit earlier each day!

Happy Running!

So I visited my mom this weekend. We had a great time. She really cracks me up. I can make her laugh easily by just being silly, so that’s how I spent the four days-in a perpetual state of silliness. Not  bad, right?

On my last evening we ate at a Peruvian restaurant. I ordered hot sauce and dumped a lot of it on the food. Then mom watched in horror as I ate a bite, pounded my hand on the table, and said, “Oh my gosh! I’m burning my face off!” over and over again. The girls laughed, too, as they are used to this behavior. I have this love for anything spicy and I try to see how spicy I can get. My the end of dinner I was sweating-oh joy! It was bliss!

After dinner I rolled out my sore knee. I spent the time on the floor saying, “Oh my gosh this hurts!” and then continuing to roll, roll, roll! I then massaged the points of pain in my leg while mom watched and shook her head with each, “Oooh! That one hurt!” I exclaimed.

Finally I told her about long distance running, and about how you sometimes have to defecate a lot- some people doing so on the side of the road – and how your toenails might turn black and how some people actually lose their nail.

As I shared these stories with mom she watched and listened and nodded and shook her head. I realized how some of the stories must sound to a non runner. Defecate on the side of the road? What?! Lose toenails-on purpose? Could it be?! Toes going numb mid-run? For fun?! And you pay to do this?

Then she said to me quite calmly, “What, did I raise a masochist?” and we both burst out laughing.

So what do you think, distance runners? All runners? Are we masochists to put up with the pain and then go back out there and pound the pavement again? Is there something in us that enjoys this, which is sometimes torture?!

I’ve written this before and I will write it again: I think that it is not that we enjoy pain but that we want to feel life fully. Experience it to the max. How else can you do that than when you stand at the starting line of a 26.2 mile race, not knowing how it will go, how it will be, and how you will feel (other than elated) when you get done?

Runners live their lives. No, we aren’t masochists. We just want to feel it all, the good and the bad, knowing that oftentimes the two go hand in hand – and that this balance makes it even more beautiful!

My birthday:
Thought I would share a funny picture of my bday. As you know I turned 25 again for the 14th year in a row. I don’t know how I got stuck on that number, 25, but it has stuck: See the candles that mom put on the cake? Then she put them back in the drawer for next year, when I will turn 25 for the 15th year in a row!

And then one of mom and me:

And then one for a laugh. She lives in a retirement community in Florida where the people have to be a certain age. As you know you shrink some when you age – or so it seems! – and so check out the  placement of this stop sign on the pole. Mom says it is so those who can barely see over the steering wheels will be able to see the sign without having to crane their necks and look up. I almost peed my pants when she told me this!:

Today’s Run:
Today is my day off. I moved my schedule as planned and ran back to back on the weekend. Yesterday’s run was a good and strong 4.5 with no knee pain even after running 6 the day before. Did some core and arm work this morning, and will do a 5-6 miler tomorrow. Am hoping body can cope with a nice 9 or so on Saturday. It has been a while since I have been over 7 and I really want to get back to double digits again.

Hope all of your Monday runs are good ones!