Runner’s Rituals

09. July 2014 · 4 comments · Categories: helpful tips, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

First I must share this video with you.

I have had some really isolated soreness in my upper calf (same leg that the ankle tendonitis is) Every time I go to physical therapy they massage the area but apparently running and biking cause the knot to return no sooner than it was unkinked. I found this video and have been doing this mayofascial release technique and it’s helping a lot. I spent more time viewing videos on this chick’s channel and found this video to be amazingly helpful as well for hip flexors, glutes and core stability.

OK, now on to this morning’s run. I had originally planned a 4 miler on the dreadmill at the gym during my lunch break but as I was packing my gym bag I kept thinking about how difficult it would be to slip out of work for more than an hour. (p.s. I never even took a lunch today because we were so busy and just ate at my desk so my intuition was on the money #winning). I’m slower these days so I would have needed close to 50 minutes for the workout, plus 5 minutes walking to and from the gym and another 15-20 minutes to shower and change.

Bottom line: I grabbed the bull by it’s ass and just decided to bang out my run outside by my house at 6:30am. I went to grab my Garmin and it was D.E.A.D.

dead Garmin

dead Garmin

Not sure why but since I was pressed for time I just grabbed my iPhone and started my RunKeeper app. 4 miles became 3 miles mainly because I am not feeling well.

78run

I’ve been super fatigued lately and I think I’m fighting something. Anyhoo, I kept a slow and steady pace and was happy to know my “good faith” run was done. The ankle was literally feeling 100 percent Friday and Saturday. Then I ran 8 miles Saturday and walked on the sand at the beach and by Sunday my ankle was feeling achy. I need to not freak out as this is just a sign I might have done a little too much too soon.

A different kind of sweat band

A different kind of sweat band

So while I was running I thought about all the rituals and superstitions we, as runners have. You see I opted to wear my Brooks Ghosts today.

Brooks Ghost

Brooks Ghost

The last time I wore them was on 4/27 when I ran the NJ Marathon and crossed the finish line with what eventually got diagnosed as ankle tendonitis. So in my mind, I’m working on forgiving those kicks. I’m pretty darn sure it was the 4 hours and 38 minutes of continual running that caused the injury and not the sneakers themselves. Especially because they never gave me any issues during training. And the dead Garmin….yeah, i made a plan B really quick but for a few minutes after stepping out the front door i just felt that OCD feeling of “my watch? where’s my watch? oh right it’s dead. I’m using RunKeeper. All is good. cCarry on now and run girl.

I have rituals with the way the wire of my ear buds have to be. I have rituals with my pre-run routine including coffee and potty (as i’m sure most of us do). I have superstitions with running gear….I have my favorite running capris only for marathon distances but I’ll wear just about any type of workout gear for shorter distance. I run the same routes for my midweek runs. Hmmm…maybe these aren’t rituals, maybe it’s just a case of Runner’s Rut. Or Runner’s Routine.

So what type of rituals and/or superstitions do you have when it comes to running (training and races)?

Related posts:

  1. testing out new shoes and a twisted knee in my sleep
  2. Walked the High Line and Blogaversary Number 3
  3. BX and SI to BK (Prospect Park 10 miles)

Brushing Up on Running 101: It’s All About Respect

03. July 2014 · 2 comments · Categories: helpful tips, running · Tags: , , , , ,

Hi peeps,

Yesterday before leaving work I wiped away June on my dry-erase calendar started to set it up for July.

dry erase calendar

Clean slate!

And of course I filled in only the truly pertinent dates….

San Francisco Marathon

 “Out of Office” for San Francisco baby!

While out running this morning i started thinking about what I call the Runner’s Holy Trinity—1. Distance 2. Weather/conditions 3. Elevation/terrain and about how important it is to respect these 3 things when running.

Runner's Holy Trinity

Runner’s Holy Trinity

All too often we find ourselves saying things like “well it’s only 3 miles, so I don’t need water” or, on a hot humid day we beat ourselves up over running at a snail’s pace. Maybe we’re supposed to run 4 miles on a specific day but we’ve hit our runner’s high and end up running 8.

Today the dew point was 72 (81 degrees and 76% humidity). I knew this before heading out the door and thought of carrying a water bottle but then I said “Well it’s just 5 miles. I’ll be back in an hour.”

photo 1-1

I did not respect the weather. And I felt that decision for sure. My fingers swelled like sausages and I had to walk up some of the hills. I still enjoyed my run but I could have enjoyed it more with a sip or two of water at every mile.

photo 5-1

5 miles in 80 degree weather with 76 percent humidity took me from fresh…to super sweaty with sausage fingers

So let this be the reminder that we all need.

Respect the distance:

• Don’t run extra miles that could potentially cause unnecessary injury or fatigue
• Do keep a nice and easy conversational pace on those long runs
• Don’t minimize a run that is just a few miles. Treat every distance with the respect it deserves.

Respect the weather conditions:

• Don’t plan on keeping your speedy pace when the temperature is extremely hot or cold.
• Do prepare for weather conditions before you head out. sunscreen, visor, body glide, water and salt tabs are important for running in extreme heat. Gloves and hat are important for extreme cold.
• Don’t forget that wind can zap your energy. Don’t waste that precious energy trying to keep your pace through it.

Respect the elevation and terrain:

• Trail running? Be careful of slippery leaves and tree roots. Your ankles will thank you.
• Uneven terrain and elevation climbs (aka HILLS) require more energy. Try to keep your effort level even meaning you’ll need to slow it down.
• Pounding the pavement can be hard on the body. Think about where you’ll be doing long runs and maybe try to switch it up a bit where you can to grass or dirt.

Can you add to this list? Share your tips in the comments.

photo 4

shameless selfie


Related posts:

  1. Hey hey hey today was the Queens 10k
  2. In the meantime
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Liebster award nomination and 5 things to do 10 days before a marathon

18. April 2014 · 1 comment · Categories: helpful tips, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Howdy and happy Thursday,

My poor little blog was down for most of the day yesterday. So I reached out to my 10 followers to give them the bad news. Somehow life carried on.

When I was finally able to log on I saw that Angela from Love the Running had nominated me for a Liebster award.

liebster award

liebster award

Thanks so much!

So this is what I’ve learned. The Liebster Award is an online award for bloggers, given by bloggers. It’s a great way to find new blogs to follow as well as promote blogs you enjoy reading. The general rules are:

Thank the blogger who presented the award and link back to their blog. 
Answer the 10 questions the blogger asked of you. 
Nominate 10 different bloggers.
Ask 10 different questions to the nominees.
Notify nominees that they are nominated.

So here are the 10 questions I’ve been asked:

  1. Would you rather workout in the heat or the cold? Cold!
  2. Do you exercise in the morning or at night? late morning or afternoon when i can otherwise first thing in the morning
  3. Why did you decide to start blogging?  I spent lots of my time posting on Facebook about my running endeavors or my anxiety and realized my FB friends might be sick of me. So the idea of a blog which could become a place for me to spew about my love of running and how it keeps me sane seemed very appealing.
  4. Who’s your favorite celebrity? Charlize Theron
  5. Where do you live and what’s something you love about it? I live in Staten Island, one of the 5 boroughs of New York City…you know….where the NYC Marathon starting line is=) I love that I’ve lived here all my life and am so familiar with every nook and cranny.
  6. Do you have any pets? Yes, a 5 year old labradoodle named Duncan
  7. What’s your favorite thing to cook? I can scramble a mean egg and boil water for pasta! LOL!
  8. How do you stay motivated? I stay motivated by social media and blogs…seeing others post about sacrafices of sleep to get in a workout etc etc. makes me feel like a wimp for even thinking of skipping out
  9. Favorite vacation destination? I love California. I keep going back. 
  10. Link to your favorite blog post that you’ve written! I wrote a 5 part series of posts recapping this event I did last September where I ran 5 half marathons in 5 days in 5 states. Here’s the link to part 5 which has links to parts 1-4 in it as well. It was quite an epic trip! 

Thanks again Angela!

I am nominating only 3 bloggers because I don’t really read more blogs that haven’t already been nominated =) These 3 are friends I’ve met through fitness first (running or kickboxing) and then discovered they had blogs so they aren’t just “virtual” friends =)

Jane @ Jane and Alex • Tara @ Chanes of Love • Lisa @ The Rescue Baker

My questions are:

  1. What’s your favorite flavor ice cream?
  2. Are you happy with the name you were given or have you always secretly wished it was different?
  3. Are you the type to power through pain of a headache or muscle ache or do you take tylenol or advil for everything?
  4. If you could use any color pen to write with what color would it be?
  5. Was your answer to #4 your favorite color as well?
  6. How many states of the US have you been to?
  7. Favorite meal of the day
  8. If someone were throwing you a birthday party what would you want the theme to be?
  9. Do you use Pinterest?
  10. Chocolate or Vanilla?

This was fun! Hope you all enjoyed reading. 

So today I took a long walk with the dog…

doodle walk in park

taking care of business

and then a short run…

running

It was kinda chilly. Glad I wore a light jacket. With only 4 more planned runs before the NJ Marathon, I was REALLY hoping to feel the effects of tapering today. But I didn’t:( I actually felt quite achy, tired and sluggish. I had music playing but honestly I was too busy thinking about all the details of race day and don’t think I actually heard any of the music. Ironically one of the details is how to carry my earbuds without putting them in my ears until I’m ready to cue up some music. Something tells me i’m going to be safety pinning things everywhere.

While I spent 54 minutes thinking about race day details I also thought about what I need to start doing right now…so without further ado….a list:

With 10 days to go before a marathon make sure to do these 5 things: 

• Drink more water!

• Eat a little cleaner (increasing carbs a few days before)!

• Stretch and foam roll like it’s your job!

• Get plenty of sleep!

• Practice finish line photo smile in the mirror!

Feel free to answer any of the questions I asked the nominees in the comments below if you feel like sharing.

Related posts:

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running and rain

29. March 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: helpful tips, labradoodle, running · Tags: , , ,

Well as much praying I did to little miss mother nature, it looks pretty clear that I’ll be running a half marathon in the rain tomorrow. This is what the weather forecast is for race time…

weatherforecast

And so I spent some of today preparing my plan of attack for how to stay as dry as possible for 13.1 miles. And this is what I ended up with:

rainessentials

Lots of anti-chafe cream!!! And a waterproof ziploc bag to put my phone and money in…

But what would I wear? My waterproof running jackets are all winter weight and with the temps hitting 50 degrees I would definitely overheat. Then I remembered this lightweight poncho I got at a local race a few years back…

raingearThe “perfect” solution! Combined with a visored hat to keep my eyes free from raindrops, I feel a little less stress about tomorrow. The only thing I really worry about is how my sneakers will handle the water…Will they get heavy and soak the water like a sponge? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

I’ll be leaving my sunglasses and my ipod/earbuds at home tomorrow. And I’ll be gear checking dry clothes for sure!

I’ll let you all know tomorrow how this all goes down. At least I know there will be brunch with friends afterward!

Duncan didn’t escape my overthinking of raingear…I took him to the pet store for a little adventure since we’ve been trapped in the house all day and while I really had only planned on getting food and treats for him I discovered this cute raincoat.

raincoatdog

It has a hood too! Oh he’s not happy. I had to get him an X-Large because the large was really tight in the armpits. Maybe he’s just embarrased he needed such a large size?

Speaking of rain…time to go walk the dog in his new raincoat…

Happy Saturday!

Related posts:

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