Joining the Chase!

The Weekly Chase

Lately I have been making a much bigger effort to get back to my healthier eating habits and hopefully to lose a few pounds (again).  I've been doing pretty good with the exception of this past weekend with way too much good food at my father-in-laws birthday party(s). I switched over to My Fitness Pal to see if using a different app would help me at all and I have been doing the Strong Like Susan Ab Challenge. I can tell they are both working, my core is getting stronger and leaner (yay!). Also, the Ab Challenge is great as it changes every day so there's not as many opportunities to quit from being bored. BONUS!

One of my fellow Sweat Pink Ambassadors (more on this in an upcoming post), Melissa, over at Live, Love, Run, posted about The Weekly Chase. I like the idea of a weekly goal setting challenge and this is the perfect week to try it out! I have a lot to do and my lists have been growing all morning.

My Chase goal this week is to log my calories EVERY day, even if I go over. I didn't do that over the weekend and the only person that I'm hurting is myself. It will be challenging for me as my youngest turns THREE! on Saturday, so we will be having family over for his party. Sounds simple enough, but for whatever reason, lately logging my goals every meal, every day has proven to be difficult.

Are you joining The Weekly Chase? Let's help each other get through the week!

Running lingo

Source

The running world is a different world with a language all it's own! I get asked a lot of questions about different running terminology and I would love to pass on some of the knowledge that I have learned in the past couple years.  These are some of the words that I use most often, so I thought I'd explain them. 

• 5K = 3.1 miles
• Half Marathon = 13.1 miles
• Marathon= 26.2 miles
• Ultra Marathon is any race over 26.2 miles, typically raced on trails
• Fartlek= periods of fast running in the middle of a regular run (did that make you giggle? It's ok, I think I giggle a little bit every time I say it. Try it, it's fun!)
• Bonk: also called Hitting the Wall; a state of exhaustion where if you can keep going, it's very slow going (usually mile 18-20 in a marathon)
• GP/MP: goal race pace, marathon goal pace
• Easy Run; keeping the pace slow enough that you can have a conversation without gasping for breath
• LSD: Long Slow Distance run; used to help build endurance
• PR= Personal Record, best time that a runner has for a specific distance
• Bandit: a person that runs a race without registering or paying for the race
• DNF: Did not Finish, runner drops out of a race
• Taper: Greatly reducing mileage in the two to three weeks leading up to a big race to ensure peak performance on race day
• DOMS: Delay Onset Muscle Soreness, i.e. sore muscles the day or two after a hard workout or race

What other terms do you get asked about a lot? What should I add to my list?

Debunking Running Myths

Based on random statements I hear from people, both runners and non-runners, regarding running, I thought I'd give my take on some of them....

Source

No, it isn't always easy to get out of bed to run. In face some days it is darn near impossible. But, I force myself out of bed, lace up my shoes and step out the door. I never regret the runs that I take, I only regret the days when the bed wins the fight.

No, I do not have a lot of free time in order to get my miles in. In fact, I give up a lot of things in order to make my miles. I don't "have time", I "make time" to run. I typically get up between 4:30-5:00 am on weekdays to fit my runs in before Jeff leaves for work. I pass up Friday night events so I can get up early for long runs on Saturday. I get up and start running on Saturday morning no later than 6:30am in order to get my run done and not miss out on too much family time. I go to bed early. I don't watch much TV.

No, I do not enjoy every run. Some runs just do not go the way I want or anticipate them going. But it's typically those runs that I learn the most about myself. Just keep going....

No, not every run produces a "runner's high". When I think of "runner's high", I think of the feeling I get (usually after at least 8 miles), that makes me feel like I can run forever. It makes me feel really good about myself, about life. And when I have these wonderful feelings, I KNOW that I will crush my current race goals. Some days I feel this way, some days I don't. Some runners never experience the "runner's high". Here is the Wikipedia definition.

No, I didn't lose all the weight I've lost just because I run a lot of miles. It HELPS to run 30+ miles per week, but I also have to be selective in what I eat. Case in point....I GAINED 5 pounds training for the Cleveland Marathon because I was hungry ALL THE TIME. And I convinced myself that running 40 miles per week, every week, for over a month allowed me the luxury of those Swedish Fish (note...do not consume the whole bag) or to just eat anything that looked good.

No, I can't eat everything I want to just because I am a runner. (see above)

No, I don't eat all healthy, all the time. I LOVE food (see above). I love good for me food, I love bad for me food (cookies, brownies, Swedish Fish, ice cream). I drink beer and wine. And martinis. Just because I run a lot doesn't mean that I eat and look like one of the elite athletes (although, I wish I looked like them....) Many runners start running with a "I run to eat" and some "Eat to Run". Whichever side you fall into is fine. Just don't judge me for eating the foods I like!

No, I am not a super fast runner just because I am a Marathoner. In fact, the higher the mileage, the slower I am.

No, I did not run that 5K Marathon last weekend....But, I may have run a 5K race or a Marathon.... They are not the same thing. A 5k=3.1 miles. A Marathon=26.2miles. There's a lot of running lingo, but that's going to be covered in the next post.

No, you don't need to break in your running shoes. A lot of people say that you should break them in. If they are the right running shoe for you, you should be fine. Example...I bought new shoes (Brooks Adrenaline 11s) on a Thursday and wore them for an 18 mile training run on Saturday. No issues. I have been told by the running shoe experts that you should be able to wear them straight out of the box. Now, if I change brand or model of shoe, I will start with lower mileage runs first to make sure that the shoe and my feet get along.

What would you add to my list? Are there any that you don't agree with?



Disclaimer....I am not an expert. I am not a running coach. All thoughts here are things I have learned in my years as a runner. Remember every runner is different. 

The trail got me....my first running accident

I was SO excited for my group run last Saturday. My plan called for 9 miles and I had convinced Erin to run my favorite technical trail with me. I hadn't run it for a while since I won't run it alone and she had never been there. It's a single track mountain bike trail with lots of switchbacks at the state park just down the street from me. According to the state park's website, it's a 6 mile trail, but the most I've seen on any GPS is 5.5 miles. Who really knows? We occasionally lose GPS signal in the woods and with the switchbacks, it may be six miles. Doesn't make a big difference to me. One loop around typically feels like 10 road miles! It's a difficult trail, but OH, so much fun!! Anyway, as I mentioned, my plan had 9 miles, so I thought we would run two loops knowing Erin had more miles on her plan for the day. A few other friends from RunDMC joined us and we set off.

Saturday was warm and muggy, especially in the woods. We started out with around an 11-11:30 pace, pretty typical for this trail. It was feeling tough but good. Then around mile 2.8, my ankle rolled. UGH! There were a lot of words coming out of my mouth that I will not repeat. I sat down on the side of the trail and tried to assess the damage. First thought, how am I going to get out of the woods?!?! Erin and Andy stopped with me and we gave it a few minutes. I knew nothing had snapped and it was likely just a sprain. LUCKY. While I'm not exactly a klutz, although I do call myself one on occasion, I am a little accident prone. This is the same ankle (right one), that I sprained in June 2011 just after I started training for my first marathon, the same ankle I sprained in tennis class in college, the same foot (not ankle this time!) that I broke about 6 years ago. Hmmm...maybe I am a klutz?

Good news...it didn't swell immediately. I was in pain, but stood up and walked a little bit. Then I said I would try running. It didn't hurt any worse running than walking, so I carefully (and SLOWLY) made my way out of the woods. I'm thankful to Erin and Andy for slowing down and sticking with me for the remainder of that loop! They made it much easier to continue and to finish the trail run! I could tell it was starting to swell and knew that no matter how much I wanted to run a second loop, knew it would be really dumb to push it. We took at look at my ankle on the break before everyone started loop two and everyone could see the swelling. I called my wonderful husband to get the ice packs ready and headed home. Zachary met me at the door with his "medal" to put it around my neck for having a good run. Awesome kid! Spent a lot of time over the weekend RICEing and the swelling started to go down. Tuesday and Wednesday I ran, then took Thursday off, running again on Friday. While it's not completely better yet, I know I'm fine and I am resting it more than I typically would. After all the injuries I've had to it, I have learned my limits. And after all the money we had to pay for Physical Therapy (PT) last summer, I know that I do NOT want to go back this year. I learned a lot in PT that I have continued to use in my strength training, but from what my doctor and PT told me, after all the injuries to my right ankle, I will be more prone to injury there. OH, boy, Fun! (ha!)

I will NOT let this deter me from trail running. I LOVE the trails. It will make me more cautious about footing, I'm sure (Andy said it looked like I got the side of a tire rut and it just rolled over). But, at least I got my first running accident out of the way. After two years and ten months of consistent running, covering 2,966 running miles, I consider myself pretty lucky!

Have you had a running accident? If so, has it made you stay away from that route, trail, treadmill?


Happy running!!!
--Anne

The Bigger Picture

I feel like my running and my marathon training hasn't been going very smoothly. Last week, I had NO motivation to run while we were on our "vacation" at my parents' house for the holiday. I'm sure part of that was due to the heat, but also, I think I was a little burned out. Saturday morning, I met my friends for our shortest long run that we'll see for a while and everything seemed to be clicking back into place. Then life got in the way and I missed my Monday run. I know it's only week two of my training plan, but I had started thinking about what would happen if I backed off and "only" ran the half instead of the full.

Then I received this video from the Nationwide Children's Hospital Twitter account (@nationwidekids if you want to follow them) after I asked how RunFest 2012 went this past weekend:

It's an excellent reminder about WHY I chose to run the Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon and WHY I chose to raise funds for Children's Hospital. This race is NOT about me. It's about the kids. It's about my kids' safety and future. It's making sure that all children have access to healthcare.

After viewing that video, I hope you will agree with me that the 2012 Columbus Marathon is about much more than running 13.1 or 26.2 miles. I hope after viewing this video that you will visit My Fundraising Page and make a donation for the children. (Here is my post about why I chose to run as a Children's Champion).  Also, pick a mile! My goal is to raise $655 ($25/mile!). However, if you cannot donate $25, EVERY dollar helps, and if you're one of the first 27 donors, you can pick a mile (see the list below for available miles!)

Thank you to all that have donated already, but I still have a long way to go.

Thank you in advance for your donations!


As of 7/10, the following miles have been claimed:
1, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 25, 26 & 26.2

Another journey begins....

Yesterday marked week 1 day 1 of training for The Nationwide Children's Columbus Marathon. When I started training for the Air Force Marathon (AF) last year, I honestly thought I would be a "once and done" marathoner. I wanted to prove to myself (and my Former Fat Girl that lives in my brain) that I could do it. Well, I finished it and had such a great time that I wanted to run another (and beat my time, of course). Then I trained for Cleveland. After the Cleveland Marathon, I was going to take time off of marathons and concentrate on shorter distances after (Half marathons, 5K, etc). Anything BUT 26.2. Then I started hearing about the charity partner of Nationwide Columbus Marathon (Nationwide Children's Hospital) and I got the itch. I HAD to sign up for Columbus. Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited to run the Columbus Marathon. I have heard GREAT things about it, and let's face it, most of my local running friends will be running either the Half or the Full, so I will have plenty of company along the way! It should be a really fun day!

Please tell me I'm not alone...that I'm not the only crazy runner that gets excited by looking at a brand new training plan? I mean, just look at the possibilities on that piece of paper?! It represents so much more than miles needed to run. That single sheet of paper represents a challenge, it's a journey that I have started and I'm so excited to see where it takes me both physically and mentally!

Now that I'm officially training for the marathon, don't forget to claim your mile for the children! You can read more about my reasons for fundraising here and visit my fundraising page here. Every dollar helps a child get the care they need!

Do you get excited to start a new training plan? If you are running the Columbus Marathon or another fall marathon, have you started training yet? 

Already Halfway?!

I know I sound like a broken record, but really, where does the time go?! I cannot believe that the first half of 2012 is already over. In honor of reaching the halfway point, I thought it was time to go back and see how I'm doing with my 2012 Goals.

• Run at least 1,260 miles (I ran 1256 miles in 2011)----As of June 30, I am at 787.26 running miles, definitely on track to smash this goal
• Set a PR at the March ORRRC Half Marathon (current PR 1:59)---DONE! 1:58:10
• Break 4:30 at The Cleveland Marathon in May (only marathon run, 4:57)--Nope, didn't happen, but not because I didn't try! (Race Recap)
• Cross-Train/Strength Train more often. I'm thinking hoping that if I write it down here, I'll be more likely to follow through. I typically have no issue getting out of bed at 4:30am for a run, but can't seem to make myself get up for strength training. I WILL do better.--I have been doing much better at the strength training. Cross training, a little better, but could still use more.
• Run a few shorter races, 5K or 4 milers to break up the distance training--- Ran a 5mile trail race, and have one 5K planned. For June, my mileage and runs were shorter so that was a nice change.
• Run smart! (no injuries in 2012!)---Knocking on wood....so far so good!
• Keep running fun!---Running with friends whenever I can, keeping it fun!

Not too bad! I need to work more on cross-training, but all in all, I am happy that I am on track with my goals. Honestly, much better than I thought before I pulled up my goals list! I officially started my training plan for The Columbus Marathon today, so maybe that can help me keep my goal of breaking 4:30? Only time will tell....

How is your year shaping up? Are you on track with your goals for 2012?