Page 3 of 3

Posted on

Marathon Mistakes to Avoid

Most of the things I have learned, especially in running, are because of mistakes I have made. My first marathon was The Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving. I thought I had trained correctly. I was running at least 45 miles a week, and every week I was running a long run of 16–20 miles to prepare myself for the marathon distance. Unfortunately, there were a few factors I left out of my preparation. I consider my first marathon a success because I felt strong most of the time, but there were a few things that could have helped me. Here are a few mistakes to avoid.

Going at the wrong pace

Before the marathon, I was running mostly 5 and 10 ks. When you do that you become accustomed to a certain pace. During my first marathon, I ran the first half as I would a slightly slower 5k. Each aid station had your projected finish time at that moment. At the halfway point I was projected to finish right under four hours. Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much gas for the second half, so I finished in 4:30. I had no idea what my ideal pace would be for that distance because when I was doing my long runs in training I would stop for a quick break. I think if I had run longer without stopping I might have had a better feel for my pace.

I suggest doing half-marathons as training runs because even though it is half the distance you will have more of a race feel.

The wrong fuel

My marathon was in my early days of distance running, but I should have known more about fueling. I didn’t know what an electrolyte was, and I had no idea what to eat or how often. The only thing I had in my belt was a Snickers bar, and I never ate it. I remember at mile 22, I was walking up a hill and I said to a volunteer, “I’m so hungry!” She asked if I wanted to leave the course. Um, at mile 22? My right leg might be broken, but if I’m at mile 22, I am going to finish.

My stomach does not do well with Gatorade and Powerade, (I found out the hard way at an ultra-marathon.) I also do not like gels, so through the races I have found an electrolyte that works for me called Hoist, and I eat energy gummies and waffles, as well as the classic peanut butter and jelly.

The wrong gear

There is running gear for any weather or terrain, but you have to know what to be prepared for. One of my most disappointing ultra-marathons was last year. I was so excited for this eleven-hour race, and usually I prepare like a fanatic, but I had been busy with some other things which distracted me. The day of the race, we had monsoon rains, and thunder and lightning. I have all kinds of waterproof gear, but I didn’t check the weather, so within minutes I was soaked, cold, and miserable. The trails were puddles. I am doing it again in three weeks, and I guarantee you I am ready this time.

Remember the rule you always hear that you should not wear something for the first time on race morning.

Making it about someone else

As I have reached my golden years, I am more concerned about how I can improve than comparing myself to how someone else is doing. There will always be someone faster and slower. Enjoy the joy of meeting your goals.

Posted on

The Movie Overcomers/A Movie that highlights running

A friend recommended the movie Overcomers to me because she knows how much I love to run. She told me it was more than a story about a runner. It was a story about running and what it can do. I was amazed at how right she was. Without giving away any important plot points let me tell you how it defines running.

Forgiveness

Running brings out the good in people. It heals people in different ways, and sometimes that healing comes through reflection. In the movie, several people have some people they need to forgive and running leads them there.

Learning about yourself

Several of the characters in the movie have some personal exploration and self-discovery to do, and they take that journey through running. I have learned so much about myself during my years as a runner, and I have heard many other stories of self-discovery.

Finding a purpose

We can all feel a little lost if we don’t have a purpose in our life. It can be even worse if the purpose we thought defined us is taken away. Several characters have to redefine their identity and their purpose.

We need personal connections

We need each other. Our connections are key in our lives. In the movie, a few of the connections have hit a rough patch, and need to be healed.

Push through barriers and limits

One of the things I love about running is the chance to push your body to the limit and try to keep going. You learn so much about your mental abilities while you try to improve your physical strength. Two of the characters have to keep pushing their limits.

Another thing I love about running is the inspiration I see all around me. It is a no-excuse sport. I see people with medical issues who refuse to let that issue hold them back. They push through what people label as impossible to prove the possibilities. There is a lot of inspiration in this movie.

Follow a plan

Runners know that the best way to crush a challenge is to follow a plan. You can train your body to do almost anything. Plan it out and execute it.

Spirituality

I define spirituality as a connection to a higher power. Running is spiritual for me. I feel a connection to the world around me when I run. I can feel the energy from nature filling me as the miles fly by me. Spirituality plays a role in this movie.

I hope you have a chance to watch Overcomers. I loved it. It has several serious themes, but it is funny as well. One of my favorite parts is when each member of the family decides to go out and run the three-mile cross-country loop because they are certain it will be a piece of cake, and each one finishes exhausted. They each say, “Why would anyone do that?” By the end of the movie, all of the characters see the importance of running.

Posted on

My Scariest Race

I have been racing for years, and I can attach emotions and stories to many of them, but one stands out as the scariest.

I enjoy running in any form, but my favorite races are ultramarathons. I have always done better with distance running when endurance was more important than speed. It is also the race that has taught me the most about my body and the limits where I can take it. Even though I love ultras I always feel like a fraud, as if I don’t compare with the other ultrarunners because they are a pretty tough group of people. At each race I go to I’m sure the ultramarathoners will discover I am an imposter.

I had heard about the Yeti races from several friends. They said they were amazing experiences, and they were also tough. I signed up for my first Yeti and was typically nervous about what to expect. I had no idea that I was about to experience so much.

The morning of the race, we heard the meteorologist say there might be storms. My first mistake was not to have brought rain gear. The race information said space was limited for canopies, so I asked my husband if we could be at the park as soon as it opened. He told me he wanted to have breakfast first and he was sure we would be fine. This was also the moment he chose to tell me he forgot the top of the canopy. Mistake number two and three were waiting to set up because there wasn’t any more room, and it began to rain very hard, so a canopy would have been nice. We found a corner to put a small tent that later flooded.

The race started and off we went in the rain and the dark. The course was tough but beautiful. A group of us had walked up a steep hill and at the top there was a lake. Suddenly one of the men fell. He stood up and then one of the women fell. Another woman said, “Can we all agree that this lake is cursed?” Have you ever been in a spot where the energy felt negative? Let’s just say I was happy to leave that lake behind. I finished the four-mile loop told my husband about the course, and then headed back out. I had no idea that a thunder and lightning storm was about to hit.

A mile into the loop, the storm hit. There was very heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. I was by myself, but I could see two women ahead of me, so I ran to catch up to them. I asked them if they minded if I stayed with them for a while. My new friends Eva and Marie were as nervous as I was about the storm. I was going against all the storm rules my mom taught me when I was younger. I could hear her saying, “Don’t be in water, don’t be up high, or around trees.” I was in a lot of water, in the woods, walking up to a ridgeline. None of this added up to a good time.

Marie said, “As long as you can hear the birds, we are okay.” I’m not kidding you that 3 seconds after she said that it went dead quiet. I said, “Marie, I don’t hear the birds.” She said, “I know. We’re screwed.”

I have never been on a run before and I feared for my life. Lightning struck once not far from me, and I jumped off the trail. I kept thinking I didn’t want the headlines to say, “She died doing what she loved.”

We weren’t the only ones running out there. Every once in a while, someone would come running by because why would you let possibly being struck by lightning keep you from your mileage goal?

When I made it to the staging area I was soaked. I asked my husband if he knew when the storm would stop, and he said it was going to be off and on all day. I was still healing from a torn meniscus, so the slick conditions also were worrying me.

A friend of mine was there, and I said, “I think I’m going to stop.” He knew about my knee, and he said, “What if you slipped on those hills and hurt yourself again?” That helped me a little, but as we were leaving, my husband turned around just as my face was crumpling and the tears were about to come because I don’t like to quit. He said, “There is a difference between being a badass and a dumbass. You need to be able to run another day instead of being hurt.”

It bothered me to stop, but I will be back this year to try again. I will also be praying for no storms.

Posted on

Ten Things a Runner Should Not Do

Runners are rebels and rule breakers, and what works for one person might not work for someone else, so I offer this list knowing that some runners will agree with some and not others. I would love to hear what you would add to the list of what not to do as a runner.

Don’t scrimp on shoes.

I have seen runners running in all kinds of footwear, and I know everyone has different preferences, but a good pair of shoes can make a difference in keeping your feet safe. Shoes that are too small can cause black toe. Shoes that are too big can produce blisters, and shoes that don’t provide enough cushioning or support can lead to other injuries. There is usually someone knowledgeable at a local sports store who can help find the shoe that is good for you.

Don’t increase mileage too fast.

Trying to do too much too soon can cause an injury from overuse, and too much stress on the body can lower the immune system and make a runner more susceptible to illness. Runners should increase their mileage gradually and allow the body to adapt.

Don’t run in the dark without reflective clothing.

Drivers are distracted enough by everything around them and in the car. Don’t expect them to see a dark figure running on the side of the road. Runners shouldn’t let themselves be distracted either. Running at night might be a good time to run without music.

Don’t run alone at night.

There is always safety in numbers and running with friends will cut down on the risk of crime. It also ensures if you are injured someone will be there to help you.

Don’t think of a day off as a bad thing.

Everyone needs rest; a rest day can be vital to any training program. A day off from running is an opportunity to cross-train, but you also need a true rest day sometimes.

Don’t eat unusual or hard-to-digest food before a race.

Everyone’s system is different. I cannot eat chili the night before unless I want to be miserable during the entire race. It’s a better idea to stick to food that the stomach will manage easily.

Don’t run the same distance and the same route every day.

You can train your body to do almost anything, but if you do the same routine every day you might not see the same results that you will see if you do a combination of speed, strength, distance, and easy runs. It also makes your training more interesting.

Don’t skip the warm-up.

The warm-up can consist of what works for you. I do a nice easy slow run when I first start out to warm up all my muscles and work out the kinks. Adopt a routine that works; but, in any case, do not start running hard without warming up the muscles.

Don’t ignore an injury.

It is very hard for a passionate runner not to run, and often runners will try to ignore a small injury. The problem is that a small injury can become a serious injury-one that will take a person away from running much longer than if the small injury had been taken care of in the first place.

Don’t just run.

I remember when the soccer coach walked over to me before cross-country practice and said, “You have such an easy job. All you have to do is tell them to run.” I smiled and said, “Well, it’s a little more complicated than that.” The truth is if I thought I could get away with it I would choose only to run, but I know I will be a better runner if I strength train and cross-train.

Posted on

The Mental Struggles of Running

You have probably heard runners say that running is more mental than physical because you can convince your body to do almost anything, but your mind does not always want to cooperate. You often have to work just as hard on your mental conditioning as you do the physical. Here are a few situations when mental demons have to be conquered.

You start to find excuses not to run

It’s too cold, too hot, you didn’t sleep well, you are too busy, you could use the time to read the new spreadsheet, (Okay, maybe that will never come up.) The list can go on, but if you make your run part of your daily schedule and head off to do it without even thinking about it you will find it easier.

The negative voices start to whisper

They sound like this, “I’m tired, my body is achy, I am so hungry. How can I be running this slowly I don’t think I can run as far as I want to today.” Tell yourself you will run a few more minutes and see how you feel. Distract yourself by thinking of anything besides the fact you are running. Sometimes you only need to run through the mental wall.

One bad run equals your doom as a runner

Everyone has bad runs. There are some days when you should probably rest, or something is a little off, and the run doesn’t go well. It is not the end of your running career.

I can’t run distance

Distance running is a chance to use your mental games. Divide the distance into small sections so it doesn’t feel like you are taking on the whole distance simultaneously. There is a 5k race we do (I know that’s not really distance running!) and this works well for me. We have run it so many times that I know exactly where each mile marker is, and that makes it seem so much shorter to me.

Tell yourself to run one mile at a time. I had a friend doing her first three-mile race, and she was afraid she couldn’t do it. She asked me to run the race with her. She said she wanted to run a mile and then she would walk the rest. I told her to set the pace and I would run next to her. At one mile, I said, “Let’s see if we can go a little further.” I kept talking with her to distract her and before we knew it we were at mile two. I said, “If we run one more mile you will have run the whole race. Let’s see what we can do.” She ran the whole race and placed third in her age group. I can still hear her scream when her name was called.

Run without expectations

I am very competitive. I know this because on several occasions I have almost wrecked myself trying to pass a woman who I thought was in my age group, only to find out she wasn’t. Lately, I have shifted my goals for racing. When I stand at the starting line I tell myself to enjoy the race because it doesn’t always have to be about coming away with a medal. There have been races where I couldn’t tell you anything about the course because I was so focused. Last Saturday, we ran a race in the country that went past old barns, meadows, and wide-open spaces. It was so peaceful, and I was more focused on what was around me instead of my running. Taking the pressure off can make the run more fun.

I need to walk

I walk a few steps to catch my breath several times in each race, and I believe walking can help you go farther, but if you are running for time you probably want to keep running. There are several tricks you can use. Tell yourself you will run to the next something. (you pick the object) Make it a game to see how many runners you can pass during the race.

If you condition yourself to have the same mental strength as your physical ability you will be unstoppable!