The Side Effect That Wasn’t Listed for My Medication
Three years ago, I became an Afibber when my heart began beating wildly out of control after a short run. When I was in the hospital, the doctor prescribed a beta blocker and told me I would be on it the rest of my life and it would affect my energy level. When I asked what he meant he told me if I normally ran ten miles, I would only want to run five.
I quickly realized the doctor was right. I was so tired all the time. About the same time, I tore my meniscus and started walking instead of running. As the months turned into a year and then two, I didn’t have the motivation to start running again.
Running has always been a passion for me. It has helped me mentally, physically, and socially my entire life. It would be the last thing I would consider walking away from, but gradually I had given up on running without really acknowledging it.
Running races has been the place where I have met most of my closest friends. I stopped going. When I did show up, friends would ask me where I had been, and I didn’t have a good answer. The real response was I had lost my joy for running and racing.
I lost pleasure in other activities too. I love to garden, but last year I had no desire to go out to the garden, so the weeds were what flourished there.
I had to go back for yearly heart tests, and I was talking to the technician about my fatigue. She said I needed to try a different medication. I asked my cardiologist and he said, “Oh, no problem! I’ll put you on a better one that doesn’t cause as much fatigue.” When I asked why we hadn’t started with that one, he told me he thought it might be too expensive. After that we had a conversation about communication.
The difference has been amazing. It took a few weeks, but I have my energy back, I’m getting back into running shape, working on a strength program, and racing. I am so grateful to be running again, and the garden is full of vegetables instead of weeds.
The side effect that I wish I had known was that a medication could change my style of life and take away my joy of pursuing passions. It was so much more than there will be a change of energy.
If your medication is affecting your style of life, ask your doctor if there is an alternative and above all else pay attention to the side effects that are not listed.
I have seen numerous times when something good can rise out of disaster. My running journey during the past three years is testament to this.
Running has always been a passion for me. I call it my savior and my best friend because it has kept me sane, healthy, and allowed be to build a community of wonderful people. Whenever life became too heavy, I headed out the door for a run. I was known at the gym as the runner girl and if you knew me you knew how much I loved to run.
All of that changed unexpectedly on a trip my daughter had arranged to Santa Rosa beach as a retreat for a group of young mothers. They were going to have an instructor give them a yoga class on the beach. I told my daughter I was going for a quick run then I would walk the beach while they took the class. The run felt great, but I only had time for two miles. As I pulled in near our house, a woman stopped me to ask for directions. As I explained I wasn’t from the area I noticed I couldn’t get my breath. My chest felt tight. After the lady left, I thought I was going to pass out so I sat down and then my heart started beating so fast I could see my chest moving. I will shorten the story to tell you I ended up in the hospital with my first afib attack(irregular heartbeat). The doctor gave me a beta blocker and told me I would see a decrease in energy. When I asked him what he meant, he said, “If you normally run ten miles, you will only want to run 5) I had no idea how much of an energy shift it would be. I didn’t feel like running.
After that, I tore my meniscus and started PT where I was told I could not run for at least 6 weeks. If you are an athlete of any kind you know that your first thought is all my hard work is going out the window. Since then when something derails my training I tell myself I will just come back stronger, but the problem for two years was I didn’t have the energy.
The final piece of the perfect storm was when I saw the pudge around my middle growing from lack of exercise. I finally went to my cardiologist and started taking a different medication which increased my energy, I listened to my family doctor who said you have to do cardio to lose the pudge. If you don’t run, do the other cardio machines. That’s when I decided it was time to start a completely different program and I am seeing positive results already. Here is what I do.
Strength training
I have always seen the benefits of strength training to protect my body and build strength, but it is even more important as we age. I used to have good upper body strength but in the past three years I have lost a lot, so I am working hard to rebuild my strength. My goal is by the end of this year; I want to be able to do a pull up. Set some goals for yourself to boost your motivation but keep them attainable. I need to strengthen my knees, so I do lots of leg extensions, lunges, and squats.
Cardio
One day I go to the gym to do strength training, and I do 20 minutes on the stair machine, and 30 minutes on the elliptical. I will increase the time and the level slightly as I become stronger.
The next day I run/walk between 3-10 miles at an easy pace.
Both days I will ride my bike and swim, and both these activities are easy.
I used to run every day, and I did not do a good job cross training, but I can already see a change in my knees after three weeks. I did the stair stepper regularly before an ultra with killer hills and that training made a difference in my performance. I know stepping up is good for knee strength.
Nutrition
I eat a variety of food and make sure to eat lots of protein, carbs, vegetables, fruits and cut back on sugar.
Rest
I’m hyper, so rest is hard for me but I’m getting better. I curl up on the couch with a good book or watch a movie. Rest and recovery are important.
I hope these ideas help you. The key is to be consistent with any program you choose.
Many people think that all you have to do to be a runner is run, and that is true, but there is more involved if you want to do it consistently, for a long time, and realize the many benefits that running can offer.
I first started running in college when my metabolism suddenly wasn’t burning the many late-night calories I was burning. As I ran around our beautiful campus, I realized that running brought me a sense of peace. It offered me quiet time to think and be creative. As I continued to run throughout my life it became my therapy, my safe place, and I know it saved me both mentally and physically. I became a running coach during my teaching career, and I loved watching how running helped the teenagers both as an activity and the community it involved.
I have always loved racing. I enjoy the competition both with myself and others. A race gives you a chance to see your improvements through your times, and other runners can push you to do better. Racing is also a social event. I always leave with new connections. When I am at the races I have a chance to hear people’s stories and so many tell me that the road to being a runner has not been easy, so for those of you who have always wanted to run but are not sure how to start, I’d love to share what I have learned during my relationship with running.
My first piece of advice is to ask yourself what you are hoping to gain from a running routine. It always helps your motivation if you know what your why is. Here are a few reasons for running I have heard, and of course yours might be completely different.
To lose weight to be more confident to learn about my body
To prove I am stronger than my challenges To push my limits
To meet new people to be healthier to spend time with family
To set some goals to relieve stress to have quiet time
To release some emotions
Add your why to the list If you don’t see it, and on those days when you want to stay home remember why you shouldn’t.
Next, I would tell you to prepare both mentally and physically. Check with your doctor to make sure you are fit enough, go to your local running store and have them test you for what type of shoe is best for you, and find some comfortable clothes to run in. Prepare yourself mentally by practicing positive self-talk. Have a growth mentality and be ready to improve gradually. You will have good days and bad days, just do your best.
Running is personal and there are many times when you can do it your way. You can break some rules, but there are a few universal ones that you should stick to at least at first.
Don’t do too much too fast. Adding 10% of distance at a time is a standard benchmark.
Don’t start too fast. Learn to find a pace that allows you to cover a distance.
Stay hydrated.
When you start doing longer runs, eat something every hour.
Use electrolytes. I can tell a few ugly stories that will prove how important this is.
When you first start running, relax your shoulders, focus on your breathing, and hold your hands loosely by your side.
I hope this will be enough to help get you started as a runner.
Quite a few extraordinary things happened at my last ultra and none of them were what I expected. I had a goal of doing my first hundred miles which I knew was a stretch since I had done another ultra two weeks before and I managed to strain my knee while doing it, but I always believe anything is possible and you will never know unless you try, so we showed up at a 48 hour ultra excited because we knew how many ultra friends would be with us.
Our first challenge was the dust. It was a windy day, and we were breathing in dust until towards the end of the day both my husband and I were complaining about irritated throats. We were not sure if it was from the dust or if we had caught the most recent malady from our grandson. Luckily, I bring something for every possibility, so I had plenty of cough drops to soothe our throats.
I thought my biggest challenge would be my knee, but it held up pretty well and I realized quickly that I was not the only one nursing a knee injury.
As always at an ultra-there was inspiration everywhere. Almost every ultramarathoner uses the sport to heal and we all have a story. If you want to meet the coolest people you should come to an ultra.
One of the things I like to do at an ultra is reflect on ways I can improve my performance. I ask questions of other runners, and I listen to what they say works for them. Ultras will always be a learning experience for me.
I have been frustrated that many of my friends complete the 100-mile distance and make it look easy, but it also took me many years to make it to 50 miles and now it always seems doable, so I know I need to be stronger mentally.
During the ultra, I started to make a plan to make my training better and smarter. I started to examine the areas I need to strengthen and start there. I will work on strengthening the muscles around my knees to provide support so I can eventually run again. I will do alternative cardio like stair stepping, biking, swimming, rowing, and the elliptical. I will be better at strength training and building my core muscles.
I also learned I have to stop attacking an ultra. I always want to crank out the miles as quickly as possible, but if you watch the veteran ultrarunners, they take frequent breaks. They run/walk an ultra-smarter not harder.
The importance of rest and recovery is something I preach but did not practice this time. I was so disappointed in my performance that I jumped into a new training program immediately without giving my body a chance to recover. The result left me exhausted and frustrated. Any distance running should be followed by recovery, but some lessons are learned the hard way.
I also learned I am only willing to push my body so far so conversations with friends like, “I thought for a minute I had broken my foot again.” Leave me thinking, “And you kept going?” I may not be as tough as I would like to be, but as long as I am enjoying myself out there, I will keep showing up.
I have running conversations all the time with women who used to love to run, but then something happened. Someone fell ill, or became injured, and running suddenly seemed out of reach. I see many people who think age has to limit them. They give up attempting to continue what used to be a passion. What I hate the most is the sadness on their faces when they talk about the loss. I hear them say, “I used to love to run.” I do my best to tell them that they probably can still do the sport they love as long as they can pivot and adjust their training to fit the changes in their bodies.
I have been running since I was twenty, I was a cross-country coach for years, and I have written a book on the healing power of running. It has been a constant positive in my life, but as I became older, I discovered just running was not enough, or rather it was too much. I didn’t do much cross training, and I was running around 40 miles every week and doing distance races. The injuries started when I was 55 and I strained my knee. I had to go to physical training which taught me about the importance of stretching, cross training, and balance. My orthopedist thought all runners were crazy and tried to convince me I should stop running completely. At my last visit, he said, “Jen, your days of distance running are over.” Three weeks later a friend talked me into doing an ultramarathon which is anything over 26.2 miles. It became my favorite distance.
During the past year, my knees have been cranky and I have had to run less. I thought I might have to give up running when I heard a runner talking about his experience. He said he discovered he had to learn how to pivot as he aged. What he meant was he couldn’t train like he used to because his body wouldn’t allow it, but he could adjust his training to something that was sustainable for him.
This is the idea behind my pivot program. Don’t give up on your passion when you can pivot and approach it a different way. Here is how I pivot. I hope you can adapt the ideas to fit your training.
Strength training and flexibility exercises have to be part of your training. Do you have an injury or a weak part of your body? Do strength exercises to make the muscles around the injury stronger. My knees and my left IT band are my problem areas so for my knees I do deep lunges, squats, leg extensions, wall sits and bike as well as doing the stair machine or step ups on some stairs. I do a lot of stretching for my IT band and I use a foam roller and the stick to roll the muscle out. I also found a sleeve for the quadricep that keeps the muscle warm.
Do exercises that use both parts of your body like biking.
Don’t just run. Do some of the other cardio machines at the gym, or go out and hike, or climb stairs at home.
If you are a distance runner like me you know the importance of the long run. I can’t run straight for 16-20 miles anymore, but I can achieve the same benefit if I do back to back long runs like an 8 miler and a ten miler.
Cut back on the intensity of your training. Workouts should be easier than when you were 20.
Rest and recovery are vital. Take a rest day where you actually rest.
Give yourself some grace and have fun. Adopt the attitude that you are doing something that many people will never attempt in their lives. It’s okay if you are doing it at your own speed.
Nutrition and hydration are as important as they always have been.
Running has been a life-changer and a lifesaver for me. I played three sports every year from fifth grade-twelfth and I ran for conditioning, but if you ever told me that I would run long distances for fun I would have thought you were crazy.
In college, my metabolism was not keeping up with my late-night snacking, so a few friends and I started running around campus after dinner. It was so much fun talking with friends, laughing as the miles went by and finding an easy way to fight stress and weight gain.
I decided I wanted to be a teacher and my first year was rough. On top of the stress of being a new teacher, I was also planning a wedding for the fall. My mental health was in turmoil, so I used an old remedy and started heading out for a run. When I ran, I had the blissful peace of being by myself. No one was calling my name over and over. There were no problems to solve. I could let my mind go blank or use the time to make plans.
Through the years, running has saved me mentally and physically, but it has also taught me many life lessons. Here are a few I would like to share with you.
What you think you could never do is possible. You just need the courage to do it. I have always enjoyed competing in races. I had done all the distances except for an ultra-marathon which is anything beyond the marathon distance of 26.2. A friend asked me if I would consider doing an ultra and I laughed and said that I thought running more than 26. 2 was crazy. I discovered I should never say never when another friend told me about an ultra her husband did. She said the atmosphere was very chill and I could stop whenever I wanted. I ran it and fell in love with the ultra-distance. I learned that to grow I needed to step outside my comfort zone.
Don’t compare yourself to others. This lesson took a while for me to learn because I always wanted to be as fast as someone else, or as fit as another person, but everyone has strengths and weaknesses. You will be happier with more success if you focus on your improvements instead of trying to run or train like someone else. I now repeat the power phrase, “Run your own race.” When I am in a race to remind myself that there are many ways to run, and I need to do the one that fits my style.
Recently, I was at a race, and I complained to a friend that I wished I was faster. She told me that most people will never run a race at all, so be happy that you have experienced what many people never will
Don’t judge a runner by the exterior. A lot of running depends on how much grit and heart someone has. Runners come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and you never know which ones are going to crush the race. We go to a race every year where you complete as many one-mile loops as you can in 48 hours. Every year, one of the ladies reads a book while she walks. I heard two young men making fun of her, and I hope they checked the results after the race because she covered 102 miles! Everyone has different ways to arrive at the goal.
Running is therapy. If you doubt this, go to any race and talk to the people around you. Most runners have a story and most of them are inspiring. At a recent ultra we were in hour 10 and I asked a young man how he was doing. He replied, “I am so glad to be here.” I thought to myself, “Oh, he has a story.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up with him to hear it.
Runners use running to prove they are stronger than a challenge they face, or as an outlet to beat the challenge. It is a positive way to fight the mental roadblocks.
Rest is maintenance not laziness. I used to think I needed to train every day until I realized that my days off made me stronger. Rest should be a part of every program, and our daily life.
You are stronger than you think. Running has taught me how resilient the body can be. My ultra coach told me, “Jen, when you hit a wall, don’t give up. Sit down and let your body recover. You will come back stronger.” It is amazing to see what you can do. Running allows you to keep pushing further.
Running teaches you about balance. Your best runs are when your mind and body are working together. If your mind believes you can achieve something, the body will follow. Running is a way for me to use my body to reset my mental health.
Runners are outstanding people. Creating community is one of the keys to living longer, and the running community is accepting and encouraging. Your social life will improve with running.
If you run, you are a real runner. I have heard that expression many times. What is a real runner? Everyone has a different concept of the answer to that question, so don’t worry about it. If you run, you are a runner.
Running helps you to know your body better. You learn so much about how your body works when you run. You will learn about how fast you can go, when you need to hydrate, what foods work best for you, and many other things.
Running has taught me not to only focus on one thing. I should diversify my approach to everything including running. For years, I only wanted to run. I ignored all the wisdom about stretching, strength training and cross training, I had limited time to work out, so I wanted to spend it running. That method worked great until my fifties when the injuries started happening. I now do all the other parts of a balanced exercise program instead of focusing on one thing.
Well, those are a few things I have learned while out running. What lessons has running taught you?
I coached high school cross-country for years and have been an avid runner since my twenties. A good running program depends on where you are as a runner because in spite of the belief that running is just putting one foot in front of the other, much more is required to do well at a sport that is vital to so many. I would love to guide you through a few ideas that might help you depending on where you are on your running journey.
The first thing you should do is identify why you want to run. On rainy, cold mornings when you don’t want to leave your warm cocoon of blankets, or you are struggling with motivation, it helps to hold your why close, and your why does not have to be similar to anyone else’s reason. You can use running to eliminate stress, lose weight, prove how strong you are, work on mental and physical health, or do anything else that works for you.
If you are new to running, here are a few suggestions.
Start slowly. Don’t expect to get in shape in a day. You will end up sore and discouraged if you do too much too soon. During the first week, run a minute, walk a minute and keep doing that for 15 minutes. Increase it each day by 5 minutes. During the second week, run for two minutes, walk for one. A good rule is to not increase your weekly mileage any more than 10%.
When you start to run, focus on relaxing and dropping your shoulders. Many new runners scrunch their shoulders resulting in shoulder cramps.
Practice breathing in and out. New runners tend to hold their breath, so focus on your breathing.
Hold your hands as if you are carrying an egg. Don’t tighten your fist.
Keep your head up looking 10 feet ahead.
Keep your knees slightly bent and relaxed.
If you are struggling with motivation, tell yourself you will start and workout for ten minutes and if you still don’t want to do it you can stop, but I have a feeling you will keep going.
Use a few tricks to help yourself become stronger. Instead of thinking you have to run for a mile, run to a certain spot without stopping and keep increasing the distance.
Keep a growth mentality and know that you will see progress if you keep working on becoming stronger. Be consistent with your workouts but also take at least one rest day to recover. Make some goals like doing a 5k race in two months.
As you become a stronger runner find some new ways to challenge yourself. Run some hills, do some sprints, join a running club so that you also have a new community to support your goals.
Learn how to protect your body with strength training and cross training. Doing a variety of different exercises will strengthen your body and help prevent injury.
Understand the power that your mind plays in your performance. Practice positive self-talk when your run feels hard.
There is basic equipment that will support your running adventure. Find a foam roller to roll out sore muscles. A good pair of shoes is helpful. A gentil massager is also good for your muscles.
If you start to race there are a few tricks you can use.
When the course turns, cut the corner tight to shave seconds off your time.
Don’t start off too fast. Work on a comfortable pace.
Find someone to be your rabbit. Don’t let that person out of your sight and do your best to pass that person. Keep picking new people.
When you are injured, don’t keep going. Have the attitude that you need to run another day, so rest and recover. It’s a great time to cross train.
There will be times on your journey when you think you have to hang up your sneakers, but instead of quitting, adjust. Find a different way to train.
During most of my years of running I thought I had to run every day and the longer I could go the better I felt. Although I enjoyed swimming and biking, I didn’t feel as if I had exercised unless I had run, but as I have aged, I have had to adjust both my attitude and my running regimen.
Running has always been my therapy and my joy. I couldn’t imagine giving it up, but the excessive miles without some healthy rest and cross training started to cause issues in the form of injuries.
I had run a 5k before karate class and I jumped into intense sparring without stretching. I jumped back and landed strangely on my left leg and ripped through 3 layers of muscle in my calf. I was told to stay off of it for six weeks. When a runner is faced with time away from running it is hard not to think about all the hard work of training with the possibility of your fitness level slipping away. My husband told me the rest would be good for me while assuring me I would not lose my fitness level that fast, but all I could think about was how hard it was going to be to get back in shape, but then I thought, instead of giving up completely on cardio, why don’t I find a way to adapt and actually come back stronger?
Running is personal, so I’m sure everyone has a routine they enjoy, but what worked for me was to increase my strength training, stretching, and find cardio that would not impact my calf. I experimented with a variety of cross training and found if I was careful, I could do the bike on low resistance and the elliptical on a low level. As my calf healed, I increased the resistance on both.
That was only the beginning of the need for an attitude change and how that change would make me stronger. I tore my meniscus and was not able to run for around 7 months. I changed my thinking about racing when I was walking at the back of a 5k or doing an ultra. It isn’t where you are in a race or how fast you are going that matters. What matters is that you showed up.
The biggest attitude and routine adjustment has happened in the last few months. Both of my knees were very cranky when it came to running and I reached a point when I was in real pain. I didn’t want to quit running completely, so I started to experiment with a few things. First, I found my knees could handle running if I ran 2-3 miles every third day. I increased my stretching and did consistent weight training. I also did everything I could to strengthen the muscles around my knee. I do wall sits, step ups, lunges, and squats.
I have also had to make a mental adjustment as well. There are days designated for running when I would rather walk, but I tell myself to go out and run for ten minutes and see how I feel. Once I am out there, I’m glad to be running. Sometimes the hardest part is the first step out the door. I have been using some of the tricks I used when coaching cross country. When my motivation is low, I tell myself to run to a certain spot, and then I pick a spot beyond that.
As I’m aging there are a few things that help me to keep running. I have a massage regularly, I use the roller to roll out tight muscles, I do exercises to keep my core strong, and I take at least one day as a complete rest day because a rest day isn’t being lazy, it’s maintenance.
You don’t have to give up a sport you love, but at some point, you may have to adjust both your routine and attitude to continue to find joy in running.
I started running in college for weight maintenance. I had no idea what a major part it would play in my life. It has saved me in many ways and taught me valuable life lessons. Here are a few that I am grateful to running for teaching me.
What you think you could never do is possible. You just need the courage to do it. I have always enjoyed competing in races. I had done all the distances except for an ultra-marathon which is anything beyond the marathon distance of 26.2. A friend asked me if I would consider doing an ultra and I laughed and said that I thought running more than 26. 2 was crazy. I discovered I should never say never when another friend told me about an ultra her husband did. She said the atmosphere was very chill and I could stop whenever I wanted. I ran it and fell in love with the ultra-distance. I learned that to grow I needed to step outside my comfort zone.
Don’t compare yourself to others. This lesson took awhile for me to learn because I always wanted to be as fast as someone else, or as fit as another person, but everyone has strengths and weaknesses. You will be happier with more success if you focus on your improvements instead of trying to run or train like someone else. I now repeat the power phrase, “Run your own race.” When I am in a race to remind myself that there are many ways to run, and I need to do the one that fits my style.
Don’t judge a runner by the exterior. A lot of running depends on how much grit and heart someone has. Runners come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and you never know which ones are going to crush the race. We go to a race every year where you complete as many one-mile loops as you can in 48 hours. Every year, one of the ladies reads a book while she walks. I heard two young men making fun of her, and I hope they checked the results after the race because she covered 102 miles! Every one has different ways to arrive at the goal.
Running is therapy. If you doubt this, go to any race and talk to the people around you. Most runners have a story and most of them are inspiring. At a recent ultra we were in hour 10 and I asked a young man how he was doing. He replied, “I am so glad to be here.” I thought to myself, “Oh, he has a story.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up with him to hear it.
Runners use running to prove they are stronger than a challenge they face, or as an outlet to beat the challenge. It is a positive way to fight the mental roadblocks.
Rest is maintenance not laziness. I used to think I needed to train every day until I realized that my days off made me stronger. Rest should be a part of every program.
You are stronger than you think. Running has taught me how resilient the body can be. My ultra coach told me, “Jen, when you hit a wall, don’t give up. Sit down and let your body recover. You will come back stronger. It is amazing to see what you can do. Running allows you to keep pushing further.
Running teaches you about balance. Your best runs are when your mind and body are working together. If your mind believes you can achieve something, the body will follow. Running is a way for me to use my body to reset my mental health.
Runners are outstanding people. Creating community is one of the keys to living longer, and the running community is accepting and encouraging. Your social life will improve with running.
If you run, you are a real runner. I have heard that expression many times. What is a real runner? Everyone has a different concept of the answer to that question, so don’t worry about it. If you run, you are a runner.
Running helps you to know your body better. You learn so much about how your body works when you run. You will learn about how fast you can go, when you need to hydrate, what foods work best for you, and many other things.
Well, those are a few things I have learned while out running. What lessons has running taught you?
When you hear conversations about distance running, most people talk about training. Preparation for a longer race is an important element, but it is only one piece in the puzzle of how to perform well in distance running. There are three steps that every runner should consider to be a good distance runner. The steps are preparation, performance, and recovery. All three are equally important. Here are the basics for each step.
Preparation. I remember when I was younger, saying I only wanted to run. I didn’t want to do the stretching, strength training, and cross-training that are often recommended. I changed my mind after an injury that demanded I go to physical therapy for four weeks. The trainer emphasized to me the importance of stretching for flexibility, strength training to build all my muscles, and cross-training to work in different muscle groups. I also needed a rest day instead of running hard every day. She convinced me that I needed a varied program to protect my body, and she was right.
The great thing about preparation is that you can make it unique to you if you incorporate the different elements. You can choose the cross-training you enjoy the most. I need to strengthen my knees, so I do the stair climbing machine. You can climb any set of stairs without going to the gym. I do a strength training routine using weights, but there are many exercises you can do at home using your own body weight, like pushups and planks.
Consistency is a key element in preparation. I had been training for an ultra when a family member became ill in another state. I couldn’t train for a week, and I questioned whether I should do the race. My husband said that I would be fine because I had done consistent preparation.
There is also preparation for race day. If you are doing a distance run, you should practice using what you will use on race day. What electrolytes or gels work best for you? There are several that are too harsh on my stomach, so I have had to experiment to find a good one. Experiment with clothing to see what you are most comfortable wearing. What shoes will you wear? What will you do to prepare your feet? I always slather mine with Vaseline before putting on my shoes. It prevents some of the wear and tear. What hydration will you need? These are all questions to ask before race day.
Performance. Race day arrives. Are you ready? You might be sure you have prepared yourself physically, but on race day, you will also be tested mentally. Those doubts tend to creep into your brain when you are standing at the starting line. Questions like, what if I hurt myself, or what if everything goes wrong, are thoughts that swirl through your mind before the race starts. This is when all your preparation will help you. You have practiced different scenarios, and you are ready.
As your race progresses, your success will hinge on how well you can pivot if you need to change your strategy. Even though you are following your plan, something might happen that requires you to be flexible with your approach. I was running a race where everything was going well when suddenly I started feeling sick. Luckily, I was carrying some ginger candies, and eating a few of those saved me.
Run your own race. Don’t compare yourself to other runners, but watch and learn what other runners do to be successful.
Rest. This is the step that runners are terrible at doing. There is always another race to prepare for, and runners often forget how valuable rest days are. Your body needs time to recover from long runs. If I do anything above 26 miles, I take the next day off, and then I do light running or walking for a few days after, or I cross-train. If you give your body a rest, you can come back stronger.
Jennifer’s writing 