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?

There, I have said it.

I’m turning the big 4-0 next week.

This has been a hard confession.

I’ve ignored it, screamed about it, had a few too many glasses of vino as I reflected on it.

I’ve told my kids I’m turning 25, again, and they believe it (you gotta love kids!)

I’ve told people I would not be celebrating this year, that I didn’t want gifts, and that if they found me wandering the neighborhood mumbling incoherently to leave me the heck alone!

I’ve also told off all those happy people who just turned 40 and who have said, “Oh, it’s just a number! Look at me! I’m so happy!” with a lot of exclamation points in their voice. (Who the hell wants to get old, is what I say?! Once you hit 21 you can legally do everything you need to do. From there it’s all downhill!)

I’ve spent a lot of time looking backward in the past month, recalling those things I loved about being younger and cursing those things I hate about growing older.

But life is a, well, you know what it is, and then you move on.

You have to keep running, right?

So I am.

Now, this week I plan to spend my time considering the things I love about getting older.

I’m going to ignore the few gray hairs that have sprouted up on my head like wayward children, and the cricks and creaks and groans my bones make when I get out of bed in the morning.

Screw the stomach that doesn’t agree with hot sauce anymore – she’s getting it anyway, because I’m not slowing down.

And the fact that I can’t stay up past 11 anymore without feeling like crap the next day, even if I’m only snuggled up on the couch with a good book, will just have to wait.

One thing I’ve noticed is my addiction,  obsession,  love of running has actually changed for the good as I’ve aged, unlike the wrinkles near my eyes.

I’ve learned:

1. My body can perform miracles. It birthed two babies and it has run two marathons. I can run in the rain, in t he heat, in the snow, and on ice. I can run with a cold. I can run when I think I don’t want to run (and oftentimes, those end up being the best runs).
2. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone else. In my earlier years, especially my twenties, running was about winning. It was about going faster than the next person. I’d even hurt myself attempting to do this. Nowadays I realize running is internal, it’s intrinsic, it’s in-me. I just have to do it; that’s the beauty of running.
3. If it hurts, I should slow down. When you’re young , pain seems good. “Oh yea, my knee was on FIRE man and I ran to the finish line anyway! Sure, they may have to replace it, but I have another one, right?” Um, until you get older. Then you realize if you do something stupid, like run while injured, you may be giving up running for good. And trust me, when you’re on the bad side of 40 you don’t want to have to give shit up for good. Period.
4. Running, it does a body good. Finally, all I can say is this: I’m in better shape now than I was when I graduated high school, graduated college, finished my master’s degree, and married my husband. Running has gotten me through ups and downs and highs and lows, and in the meantime it has allowed me to continue to wear the same size clothes for the past 10 years even while eating peanut butter straight out of the jar. Not too shabby.

While I’m not happy about turning 40, nor will I ever be, I can see some of the upsides to aging, even though my eyesight, sadly, is not what it was when I was 20.

Who needs the eyes anyway, right?

In the meantime I have scheduled 2 half marathons, one in February and one in March, as I recover from my cartilage tear. If all goes well I’d like to do one marathon prior to summer; if it doesn’t, oh well. (You see, there is it, that great running attitude again! Forty still stinks though!)

Happy Running!

My girlfriend is currently training for her first half marathon. She has not yet run past 8 miles – and only did this last weekend. She’s been asking for tips about long distance running, because as her miles increase she finds herself growing bored with the training.

I know that most people training for their first longer race face this same exact issue. If you are used to running 3 miles, then once you get up to 5 miles you may find you are growing bored with the training.

The funny thing is, once you get used to 5 and you are shooting for eight or ten, the next new  in-between milestones will seem boring.

Since training for two marathons, and now my third, I have learned some great trips that got me through those longer runs.

1. Music. I don’t use music until I get halfway through my run, or even more, regardless of the length. If I go 7 or under I don’t use it at all. If I go ten, I may start it at 6 or so. If I go 12, I may start it at mile 8. I use music as a motivator. “If I get to mile X, then I can listen to music for a while.”  This gives me something to look forward to by diverting attention when the runs get a bit longer, and this distraction keeps me going. Also, by not using it for the entire run I never get used to relying on it.
2. Food. Sorry, I’m not one of those runners who doesn’t eat on a longer run. If I’m going over 10 miles, then around mile 7 or so I begin chewing on something. I look forward to my bites of treats. I may not eat an entire Power Bar, but if I get in a few good bites here and there it fills up my stomach enough to keep me going and it gives me something to look forward to. During my first marathon training I ate goldfish; now I munch on powerbars. Any food will do!
3. Take different courses. If you are burning out, map out different courses so there is always something new to see. Unfortunately for me, I now live in an area where this is not possible unless I drive somewhere – and that would add another hour on my already long Sunday morning training run. However I went on vacation this past week and ran around a different town during my eleven miler. It really kept me going.
4. Run portions of your run with someone. If you are used to running solo, see if you can find someone with whom to run for a few miles. I prefer solo running, but on longer runs I generally hope to meet up with a few ladies in the neighborhood for at least several miles. Though they are slower runners and I have to adjust my pace, having conversation and a partner or two is worth it.

Much of long distance training is just simply getting used to the longer miles. When you become used to running a certain pace or certain mileage each run, then doing something different and new can seem impossible. By training your mind to get through this new phase, you’ll learn quickly to enjoy the longer time on your feet.

Runners typically have rigid schedules. We say, “I run X number of miles on Monday, X number on Tuesday, Wednesday is an off day . . . ” and so on. Ask us what day it is and we will tell you by the number of miles we clocked. Did we do twenty? Must be a Saturday. Three? Tuesday.

Get in the way of our runs and we’re likely to rip your face off, right?

But, perhaps this isn’t the best way to be.

I learned this from experience.

When you are a parent you begin with pregnancy. During that time you believe that, miraculously, you will put everyone on a rigid schedule and they will stay that way.

Then the baby laughs in your face. You see, you are on baby’s schedule. And that never changes. If the baby is sick, you wake up all night. If the baby feels good, you get to sleep. If the toddler is teething, you’re up. If the toddler feels good, you sleep.

That is life in parenting.

Runners often believe they have to stick to this rigid schedule regardless of extenuating circumstances. Blizzard outside? Oh well, just bundle up more. Torrential downpour? Don’t go too far from home. Tornado? How fast can you run anyway?

In reality, we need to begin to understand that some flexibility in running is key. Flexible schedules can:

• Reduce our risks of injury
• Keep us healthy
• Ease our minds
• Add more to our running

If we run when we don’t feel well, chances are we are going to either get hurt or feel worse. Just a cold, no problem – run when we have a fever, potential issue. If our legs hurt and we run we may end up hurting them more. Yet we still feel we have to go. Ease back some, skip a day, and you will probably have a better run than if you tried to run through the pain.

If we are constantly punishing ourselves for not following our running pattern – we didn’t get in ten when we wanted, or we did not get to run on Saturday because the kids were sick – we’re going to be aggravated with running, our family, and ourselves.

Instead, if we ease up just a bit we may find that changing our schedule actually enhances our running performance. In the past few weeks I’ve had to skip several long runs and I’ve had to run half runs in morning, half in the evening. I’ve actually enjoyed this change of pace. I miss the long runs, but I can usually make them up – at least most of them – the following day. Or, if I can only get in 5 miles when I want to do 7, then I make up those other miles the next day.

My best friend is training for her first half marathon. She’s only run three miles up to this training point – when she got in seven and a half on Saturday. She’s asked for advice for a while now, and the one thing I tell her is this: Don’t be too hard on yourself. Do what you can, when you can. Don’t think so much about the schedule. If you can’t get the run in early in the morning, run at night. We sometimes think, “I’m not a day/night/outside/inside runner.” That’s not  true. We are runners! We can do anything! We  can switch to nights if we have to because our schedule wont’ allow for mornings that day. We can do a treadmill if it is raining outside. We can run outside if the gym is closed or we can’t get there. All you have to do is put on your shoes and give up this idea that we can only run if the stars are aligned and all is right with the world.

Face it, most days all is not right with the world – and we still get up and go.

As Nike says, just do it – regardless of when your ’schedule’ says you should.

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!

If you are like many runners you are obsessively possessed with the sport.

Yep, I said it. Maybe you don’t vomit green or you can’t turn your head 360 degrees, but if you are a runner, chances are you constantly think about running.

What’s my speed?

How far did I go?

When will I run again?

Sound familiar? Look, I know you: I am you!

So it’s no wonder that we sometimes burn out, whether our bodies tank because we are doing too much or mentally we are unable to sustain a ten mile-or ten minute-run!

When this happens, it means we need to do some change ups. I’ve talked about this in previous posts, some of the aftermath of overtraining. This might include:

• being overly tired, despite a great amount of sleep
• feeling as though exercise, and running, is a chore rather than something you want to do
• getting injured
• ignoring and injury to continue running

For me, this list would also include being dizzy, losing too much weight, and getting frustrated with everyday things that should not be frustrating.

To tackle that head on, I’ve begun my cross training routine again. I had given that up when we moved since I wasn’t training for a particular tri, but now I have my sites on a tri this fall and figure I might as well begin X-training – especially since I was suffering from some runner’s burnout.

This morning I did 5 on the bike, 3 on foot. It went well, and I felt pretty energized when I finished. I can’t wait to get into the pool, wish the water would hurry up and heat! Next year, I’m definitely joining the Y to get in my swim workouts when the pool lis cold. I miss swimming; I think I love it as much as I do running. The cardio is awesome and the workouts are powerful. The bike – not so much for me. I enjoy it, I guess, but I don’t feel like I’m working extra hard when I’m pedaling. Still, I do like the fact that I can go much further than running during the same amount of time.

Every athlete can benefit from cross training. It keeps the various muscle groups working, it reduces your chances for injury (over repetitively doing the same thing – like running 6 days a week), it frees you up mentally (I feel) because it allows you to concentrate your efforts on a variety of training routines rather than just one, and since each exercise works different muscle groups it really helps improve your overall athletic ability.

Are you burned out? Try something new tomorrow. Bike rather than run, or split it up: Bike for a few miles, run the rest. Try swimming, which rocks when it comes to cardio and calories burning (in comparison to other exercises). Do a mini-tri, which was one of my favorite workouts in LA: bike, run and swim each in a set period of time – say one hour – breaking it up into 20 minute increments for each sport. Fun! Challenging! And sure to get you out of the workout doldrums!

Til tomorrow (my running day off, now that I have switched my long runs to Sunday), happy running!

Okay, I knew the title would get your attention! Can’t wait to see how many clicks I get on this post today!

So no, I did not join the Bear Naked Running Team or compete in a naked running marathon.

I simply left my Garmin at home.

Not by choice of course. This would be like giving up my morning cup of coffee because I didn’t want to get all jacked up on caffeine-and that just ain’t gonna happen!

The batteries were dead. Seems when I plugged it up to charge the watch was on, and when I left it plugged in it slipped out of the cradle – so, no batteries.

Have to say this – I almost cried. I’m addicted to my Garmin like chocoholics are addicted to that yummy tasty sugary treat. In the first few minutes of my run I can’t tell you how many times I glanced down to ‘check’ my watch – only to find a bare wrist. At the end of my run I went to slap STOP when I ceased running – much to the bad luck of my bare wrist.

Then, somewhere around mile 2 (but I wouldn’t know because, well, I didn’t have my Garmin on!) I felt almost, shall I dare say, liberated!

Running naked may not be for everyone, but this morning it truly worked for me!

I could only guess at my pace, but I think it was fast. Yea, really fast. I think today I broke some records for myself. Uh huh. 7 minute miles. The entire way.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I didn’t have to stress over how fast I was going. I didn’t hear the shrill CLICK! each mile lap to tell me how quickly my pace was (or, in better terms, how slowly). I knew how far I went because I’ve mapped out that path before, but how fast? This remains a mystery.

If you are used to wearing the Garmin on your runs, maybe it’s time to leave it behind. Come on, just once! I’m telling  you, running without it on the wrist may seem scary, but it might just be one of the best runs you’ve had!

In other news . . . Husband has returned to normal working hours and I got up early today for my run – first in five days – and was glad to have the routine back.  I do much better when I get up early to run. I can’t figure out how people can run in the middle of the day *unless they are being chased by something big*.

Don’t you have to shower in the morning before work? Then what, shower again, post-run?

I have two young kids – I’m good to get one 5 minute quick rinse off done a day; there’s no way they would allow me time to take two!  Just the thought sends my heart in a panic.

Giveaway!

Don’t forget to take part in our Core Exercise Book Giveaway!

Finally:

I’m starting training again for a triathlon. I’ve looked at a few, and am mapping out my next few months of racing. I’ll post my schedule later. For now I have one 5K coming up on Saturday, March 28, and I think I will run the course twice to do my 6 miles I generally reserve for Sundays, then run a long run on Sunday, swapping the two. I’m hoping to do the 3miles in about 23 minutes and change, BUT that is a dream goal since I’m currently running no faster than 8:30s.

Good running today! Go naked!