This week, I finally gave our double stroller away – my kids now weighing far too much in combination, and having long since passed the time when they found it acceptable to be belted into the stroller and pushed along the bike path or the sidewalk. As I watched it folded up and driven away in someone else’s car for someone else’s kids, I must confess to a bit of nostalgia.
Six years ago, my husband and I went to Cabo for our Honeymoon. 
I was in full force training with the USA Championships which were only one month away. It was stressful finding the balance of running, rest, and relaxation. Each vacation since, I have tried new tactics to be able to enjoy running while on the road. Here are some of the things I've learned that may help you:
1-Do Your Research
Contact local running stores or clubs in the area you will visit. Inquire about the best running locations and open group runs. There is simply no better way to experience the best local running routes than from the experts themselves.
2-Plan Ahead
Rearrange your training schedule for a lighter week. If more convenient, replace your easy runs with cross training activities. If you get aerobic stimulus with other activities for a week, and still prioritize your workouts and long run, you won’t lose fitness.
3-Run Early
Don't wait until the end of the day to run, especially while on vacation. Get up early and make that run happen so you can move on and enjoy the day without the weight of a run assignment on your shoulders.
4-Sitesee As Part of Your Run
Decide on the places you want to explore, check them out on foot, and then return the next morning to enjoy them if certain spots peak your interest. The Google Maps earth view is also an excellent way to identify fun routes and you can cover so much more ground running than walking!
5-Plan Vacation Around Training
Choose to plan a vacation the week after your goal race. Then there is no running necessary (unless you want to of course), and you can relax and enjoy the trip fully without the stress of a schedule.
Happy travels, and happy training!
When you’re pushing your body farther and faster than it’s gone before, details matter. Neglect the seemingly small things—nutrition, recovery, and sleep—and you could set yourself up for a setback. As you prepare for the J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, here are some tips to help you stay healthy, get fit, and ready to run your best when the starting gun fires.
Sleep. Sleep deprivation can impact performance and raise your risk of injury. Studies have shown that sleep provides a critical opportunity to recover and heal from tough workouts, and get stronger. It’s the time when the body repairs strained tissue and regenerates bone and muscle so you get stronger. Plus it helps stave off weight gain. Sleep deprivation signals the body to produce more ghrelin—the hunger hormone—and less leptin—which signals that we’re full.
Warm up, cool down, and stretch. Take time before your workouts to do a dynamic warmup routine—watch videos of the moves Movecoach recommends here—to increase running efficiency and range of motion, and decrease risk of injury. These moves will help make you stronger, and prepare your muscles, bones, and joints to push on the final stretch to the finish line.
Hydrate. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration has been shown to make even easy runs feel difficult, and and impair your ability to run at an even pace. Sip small amounts of water throughout each day so that you start each workout well hydrated. Be sure to rehydrate after tough workouts to help aid recovery. When it’s hot outside, or if you’re a particularly salty sweater, reach for low-calorie sports drinks to help replenish your carbs and electrolytes. How do you know if you’re well hydrated? Do the bathroom test. If your urine is pale yellow, then you’re well hydrated. If it’s darker – say the color of apple juice – drink more. If it’s clear, back off. Use thirst as your guide; experts have established that thirst will guide you to water when you need it.
Listen to your body. Training for a race should help push you out of your comfort zone, but it shouldn’t feel like torture. Some muscle soreness and achiness is normal after pushing yourself farther or faster than you’ve gone before. Rest and cross-train with non-impact activities when you need to. It is far better to take one day off of training to give your body a chance to recover, than to run through pain and turn a minor irritation into a full-blown injury that sidelines you for weeks. If you have pain that persists or worsens as you run, see a medical professional for an evaluation.
We’re looking forward to taking the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge SFO with you on September 7. You can see more training tips here. And be sure to look for us on race day. Click here to get to know the Movecoach Team!
Originally posted by Dena Evans on Feb. 6, 2014
Don’t let your running and training be hampered by arbitrary tales that may lead you off track. If you find yourself caught in the trap laid by one of these myths, it is time to set yourself free!
Myth #1: If you don’t have time for the entire prescribed XXworkout, you should just skip the whole thing.
We all know the nagging pain of a day where the alarm didn’t go off, your toddler is sick, work is a fire drill, or the weather is garbage. The scheduled workout is Just. Not. Going. To. Happen. In frustration, it can be tempting to bag everything and sulk. Don’t. Your schedule is the best-case scenario, and every single runner has had to punt and pivot now and again. If the track workout isn’t an option, an aerobic run can still help clear your head, and keep you on track for either an adjusted workout day later in the week or next week’s tasks. If the schedule calls for 45 minutes and you only have 25 minutes, your body will get a significant benefit from doing even half the work. If you are taking an unplanned “zero” in the log, focus your mental energy on the positives – more freshness for the next session, accomplishment of the tasks and issues that have stolen your run time, and the confidence that a day or few off does not have to have a significant impact on your fitness level.
Myth #2: Days off are for wimps.
Training hard is important to get toward your goal, but without recovery, your muscles don’t have the ability to adapt and recoup after the stress you have placed on them already. Recuperation time allows your body to return to preparedness for the stimulus ahead and in doing so, get the most out of the upcoming challenge. Running hard every day drives your body into a deeper and deeper hole from which it eventually becomes impossible to escape. Build your schedule with some planned and regular rest, and the chances of you making it to the start line of your goal race will increase immensely.
Myth #3: You will set a personal best every single race or you are not trying hard enough.
There are many, many factors that contribute to a personal best day. An accurately (or inaccurately) measured course. A tail or head wind. Hills. A bad meal the night before. How well recovered you are. Your bout of flu last week. Neglecting to hydrate along the route or beforehand. The list goes on and on. These are not excuses, but factors which can both enhance or diminish the yield from your training up to that point. Your actual fitness plays the largest role, but smart training includes a slight cyclical effect where recovery periods are interspersed with hard training and tapering for goal events. 100% effort each time can be a good way to practice the significant demand your body will require when it is primed for a signature day, but even top level effort each time may not always result in a new level of achievement, particularly for experienced runners who have been through the train and taper cycle in the past. Concentrate on the quality of your preparation, the execution of your plan, and when your body is ready, you’ll have good racing habits and attitude down pat.
Myth #4a: The more cushioning in your shoes, the better chance you have of avoiding injury.
Most athletes do not need to purchase the shoes with the maximum potential padding, structure, or stability in order to stay injury free, and in fact these shoes can sometimes impede your stride from operating at its greatest efficiency. Each foot and every person is different. Consider getting a gait analysis from an experienced staff member at a reputable running specialty store in your neck of the woods, and adding that info to your reasoning as you choose your next pair of shoes. Well-cushioned shoes have indeed helped many non-runners become runners through the years, but for many athletes, other choices may serve the body better.
Myth #4b: The less cushioning in your shoes, the better chance you have of avoiding injury.
In recent years, thousands of runners have become enamored with the “minimalist” segment of the running shoe market. These are typically footwear with much or all of the heel lift eliminated, or shoes meant to simulate running barefoot with various ways of wrapping around the foot or articulating the sole. While incorporating barefoot running or minimalist footwear into a larger program to strengthen the foot and lower leg can be very beneficial, these decisions must be made in context. Injury history, the restraint to gradually incorporate this type of running, and the availability of suitable and safe terrain must all be considered. Again, minimalist footwear have been invaluable tools for many runners, but just because you want to be one of those runners, doesn’t mean you are. Get some input from your experienced local running specialty retailer or a podiatrist, and don’t do anything all at once.
Myth #5: Training for a marathon is a great crash diet.
Physical fitness is a great by-product of decision to train for a half or full marathon. Weight loss may result, but the “goal beyond the goal” should always be sustainable, healthy habits. Athleticism, strength, endurance are all aspects of your best self that need to come to the fore in order for you to reach your race finish line. Explicit, short term dieting and caloric reduction while maintaining a schedule of challenging running tasks can be detrimental to your training and health at best, and dangerous at worst. We want running to be a life-long, rewarding pursuit, but we also know it fits into a larger context of healthy diet, sleep, lifestyle, and fitness choices. Incremental changes you can live with, while adjusting to training, can help ensure that this goal won’t be the end of your training, but just the start.
We're 2 months into the New Year. Seems like a good time to revisit the goals we set on 1/1/15. Here's a look back at a great article by Dena Evans from 2010.
Goals seem like a good idea at the time. They motivate us to start, they provide good fodder for conversation, they keep us organized. However, if they are truly going to be accomplishments we look back on with pride, these goals must also include the risk that we might not pass the test.
Recovery doesn’t begin when you finally tuck into bed the night following your workout. Recovery begins as you unwind your body from the hard work just accomplished minutes before. Busy schedules may tempt us to skip a cool down jog, but it’s important to reserve some time for this last piece of your workout. Even a couple easy laps after your last hard interval or pace run can help unwind your body and your mind.
The cool down provides an often crucial transition period for your body and mind as it goes from high intensity requirements to preparedness for the next activity of your day. The cool down does not have a huge amount of science proving its necessity, but it’s important that you don’t stop completely and immediately after long, hard exercise,or take your heart rate from extremely high to extremely low in moments (this is why many marathons and half marathons automatically build in lengthy post-finish straightaways to walk and collect fuel). Let your body temperature drop gradually instead of getting straight into the car sopping wet with sweat. Giving yourself a moment to jog, roll, and stretch before getting into that same car can prepare your tired muscles for the commute and prevent the onset of post-workout tightness. A week later, that post-workout tightness can resurface as IT band or low back tightness, from which it may be just a stone’s throw to an injury as workout loads increase.
Stretching has been discussed in the running media a great deal lately, with the once familiar pre and post-run routines now discarded as outdated and not a necessary precursor to injury prevention or better performance. While we encourage dynamic exercise as a part of our Active Warm-up, we also encourage athletes to be knowledgeable about post-run foam (or other tool) rolling and stretching (even if you only have those precious few minutes). Even if you don’t practice both or each every single day, it is wise to keep those tools in your arsenal. They help the body transition from the tension of the hard workout to post-run life.
Another key aspect of recovery is rehydration and refueling. If running longer than an hour, consuming about 1/3 of your calories burned per hour through sports drink or food can help ensure success. Making sure to get at least that much food down the hatch in the first 15-30 minutes after working out (even if you don’t feel hungry), can make a significant difference in how quickly your body will begin to prepare itself for the next hard task. Waiting 2 hours and then eating a huge meal or a pitcher of beer is an absolute no-no! This will delay your recovery and adaptation for your next workout. Bring a snack and a low sugar sports drink to your workout and consume them when you are done. You’ll take the edge off the hunger (and avoid a need for a ridiculously huge meal later). You will feel stronger for the rest of the day and more importantly for your running, eliminate needless time where you body is hunting around for fuel sources in vain.
When you do get to hit the hay, an evening workout may leave you wide awake. While this may be unavoidable, morning or midday runners should feel nice and tired when bedtime comes. Resist the temptation to let a post-hard workout or race day act as a reward to not worry about sleep. In fact, those nights are most crucial. This is your body’s time to repair and prepare for the running ahead. Do your level best to get good sleep the night after a hard day and give yourself the best chance possible for future success and injury free running.
Human nature, the demands of every day life, and other unpredictable aspects of modern living may intervene and prevent you from always executing a perfect recovery routine. Do your best, try to chalk up small wins each day, and integrate good habits as much as you can. Your body will respond with more good days, and hopefully your future successes will encourage you to continue treating yourself well post-run.
Your weekly schedule has just appeared in your email inbox and it is time to sit down to consider the week’s training tasks. What track workout or tempo run is planned? When and where will that workout take place?
We know that the actual intervals of the workout will require our greatest expenditure of energy, so naturally we psych ourselves up for those. Far less often do we consider the importance of the warm up. This month, we will shed some light on this crucial aspect of your training and give the warm up its due.
Most workouts include varying amounts and variations on four very important aspects: Easy running, LIGHT stretching, running drills, and strides.
Easy running
It is not uncommon for an easy warm-up jog to be described as a way to “get the blood flowing.” Although that phrase is often uttered with a figurative meaning, the reality is, the easy jogging at the beginning of your warm up does exactly that. Easy running provides a bridge for your body to move from a static situation (sleeping in bed, driving the car, watching TV), to a place where your core body temperature has been raised. This prepares your muscles to accommodate increased blood flow, allows for more strenuous contractions as required by a hard workout, and starts the processes you’ll need to use your body’s stored energy effectively throughout the session.
Light stretching
The purpose of the warm up is to execute a string of activities that will conclude when your body is prepared to begin the hard work at hand. Taking a timeout to stretch for 20 minutes will certainly disrupt the progression of that process. However, taking a few moments to check in with the major muscle groups after (and only after) you have been able to light the fire with easy running can provide a helpful transition to the increasingly dynamic activities in the warm up routine. Hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, glutes, and iliotibial (IT) bands can be lightly stretched (finding a cozy position for 2x8-10 seconds without any strain or hint of pain) from a standing or supine position without taking more than 5-7 minutes away from the remainder of activities on tap.
Running drills
Running drills are exercises that mimic or closely resemble some of the types of repetitive demands harder running will make on your body. The intention of running drills are to help ensure your body has been prepared to handle these, and to also reinforce the type of angles and form habits practiced by efficient runners. Runcoach has outlined and created short videos for a basic canon of seven running drills. Each drill is meant to be practiced for the distance indicated immediately after which the athlete should run with good form at 1500 meter pace effort for the balance of 100 meters.
Strides
Consider the last time you observed the start line of a competitive road race or track race. Many times the athletes involved take complete repeated short running bouts of 30, 50, or even 100 meters just before the competition begins. These final preparations are called strides. These strides listed on your warm up are most definitely related (as their lower-key cousin) to these pre race sprints. A chance to concentrate on good form for 20-30 seconds and provide the body a few more sustained efforts that keep the body warm and prepared to work hard are the final touches on your warm up routine. If you have ever done a workout with a short warm up and felt rusty on the first effort, only to find yourself feeling markedly better on the second bout, then you know firsthand the importance of strides. Please see our video description of strides here.
While warm up is a crucial physical preparation process, it can also be an invaluable time to review the mental elements you’ll need to employ during the workout and distance yourself from the everyday cares that will be waiting when you return through your front door. Let your warm up free you of the world’s gravity and transport you to the weightless state of focus on your workout. Complete each step with care and you’ll find your workouts will benefit.
A little more than a month from now, you’ll have the chance to consider some potential New Year’s resolutions. Where you will start from on January 1 will have a lot to do with how the next few weeks go.
While the holiday season can provide some of the happiest moments of the year, it can also wreak havoc on your running goals. Here are some ideas for how you can make the most of the season and keep your motor running before hitting the ground full speed on January 1.
Even if your schedule doesn’t normally include morning running, consider scheduling your runs for the early hours.
The first few weeks of December often include more events outside of your control than potentially any other time of the year. Office functions or extra hours / shifts at work, recitals, school events, and holiday obligations for school aged kids, other civic, religious, or social events and obligations –the calendar can get pretty crowded.
That run you already scheduled after work can quickly get pushed to the wayside when you find out from your spouse at 4 that you need to be somewhere you had forgotten about at 6:30, dressed neatly and with a bottle of wine for the hosts. Maybe your mom needs you to drive her across town for that special ingredient she wants to put in the pie she is making tomorrow and aren’t you just the one to take her this evening after work but before they close at eight? There goes the run.
Late in the month, family meals (in addition to food shopping and preparation), odd schedules, the irresistible pull of a bowl game or the warm couch (and the inevitable snooze), can successfully thwart the most stalwart runner in their efforts to stay on track. If you are able to run in the morning, even if it is not the best series of workouts you have had all year, you at least ensure that you don’t put yourself in a gapingly large training hole. At this point, it is dark in the morning AND in the evening, so you probably won’t miss much there. You will however, be able to give yourself a silent high five every day, even when the rest of your schedule may leave you scrambling. So, block it in now!
Stay hydrated
Yes, you should drink water because you are training and you want to stay hydrated. But, the holiday time is also a key hydration zone in many ways that will also help you feel more like yourself when you do get a chance to hit the road or the treadmill. Maybe travel is in your plans. As we have mentioned before in Personal Best, you should aim to drink a cup of water for every time zone you cross while flying in the dry air-conditioned atmosphere of an airplane. If mountains or other dry, snowy climates are in your future, this is also important as high altitudes and dry air can leave you under-hydrated before you realize it. You may already be out of your element or preferred weather conditions for a time during the holidays, so everything you can do to at least keep your body working well will be key to move from just salvaging a situation to a place where you get some quality running accomplished despite the challenges.
Even if your holiday plans do not include travel, proper hydration remains crucial to staying on track. It can assist with digestion when faced with a gauntlet of rich foods and a never-ending stream of chocolates in the break room. It can also help combat the dehydrating effects of holiday related alcohol consumption and give your family feast some welcome company in your stomach so you are not as likely to go overboard for the fifth time this week.
Include the family in some running
Find a Turkey Trot, or Jingle Bell Jog 5K /10K the family can walk or jog together while you get in a tempo run. Pick an outing or two where others can walk or hike while you and whomever is up for it can run. Plan a run during someone else’s shopping or errands, so they can go crazy in the stores while you take off for a few miles down a nearby bike path before meeting them back at the car. Think in advance of ways you can meld your run seamlessly into another’s schedule so that you can avoid missing a quality hour with family when everybody is finally home and you’ve just decided to head out on the trail.
Enjoy what you do get done, and don’t worry about what you can’t fit in
If you are unable to perfectly complete every single day’s training from now until the end of the year, you are probably not alone. The holidays are special because you do often have the time to travel or to visit with friends and family in ways your schedule wouldn’t normally permit. It is important to enjoy these times and maintain a balance that keeps running in perspective. If you have a choice in days of the week to get certain things accomplished or can recalculate your schedule in advance to account for certain problem dates coming up, try to prioritize the hard workouts and long runs, so if you don’t get everything in, you will at least have tackled the most challenging days. However, even if you are stymied in this effort, the important thing is that you don’t fall completely out of touch with your goals, that you don’t let guilt over two or three days missed keep you from getting back to the schedule next time out, and that you stay healthy.
Everyone, from world class athletes to beginners, will find the holidays to be a time requiring flexibility and variation in their typical routine. You are not alone. Look ahead as best you can, stay relaxed, and see if you can arrive on January 1st with only minor adjustments needed instead of a complete overhaul. Perhaps you will have even learned some tips that will make the next holiday season even better.
Whether you have just begun training with us for a goal race some time in the future, or have been a long-time runner who needs a bit of motivation or a new goal, the beginning of a new year is a great time not only to set new goals, but to do so in a way that will stick.
Ensure accountability
If you have a big goal you hope to accomplish, chances are you will be more likely to follow through if you have a mechanism to ensure that any doubt or lapses will be noted and you don’t get off track. Many times, the term “accountability” takes on a negative connotation, but in reality, a positive motivational tool tied to an accomplished goal can be a decisive element that puts you over the top.
Accountability can take the form of a reward you commit to enjoying upon accomplishing your goal. While that may offer a simple and straightforward way to motivate yourself, consider your rewards in the context of the lifestyle change you are most likely trying to embark upon by setting the goal. So, if your goal is weight loss as a part of your effort to run your first half marathon, having a huge blowout meal at the best restaurant in town serve as your motivator to get through your next long run might not be the best reward. Instead, pick a reward that reinforces the positive changes you hope to make. Of course we don’t want you to become mercenary so a few guilty pleasures from time to time are perfectly acceptable.
Enlist a friend or family member who knows you well enough to nudge or budge you when you are veering off course. All of us have times when motivation is lacking in some way or another, and by asking another person to remind you of your goals and keep you on track, you have already ensured that your will power and motivation need not be 100% all the time. Arranging at least periodic running opportunities with another runner or group will also motivate you to show up and complete your task if for no other reason than the reluctance to stand someone up!
You might not need a big reward to look forward to or need to have others with which you feel comfortable sharing your goals. Many of you enjoy our online training log for that very reason. Many of our longtime members indicate they love nothing more than to see a string of blue days in a row! Another written log or an X on each day of the calendar can be effective tools. Print out your goal race entry confirmation and post it to your bathroom mirror or write yourself a note that pops up on your smartphone calendar on the days of your tough workouts. Most importantly, take some time to consider how you typically respond to challenges - what paves the way for the times your are successful and what stands in your way. Figure out the simple ways you can keep yourself accountable and hopefully next year you’ll be resolving to achieve some new goals.
Have Fun
Oftentimes, the resolutions we make are as a result of leaving difficult tasks undone. Things that have been left unfinished for some time as a result of inertia or procrastination are going to be difficult to all accomplish suddenly because of a simple change of heart. If your goal appears to be an uphill trudge the entire way, look hard for ways to find some fun along the road. Again, if this is a prescription you are giving yourself to jumpstart a larger shift in behavior or lifestyle, you want to make sure the change is something you can live with and enjoy for some time.
If you have a choice of races, pick one with a great course, an established fun vibe, or another trait that will make the experience about more than just the run. If running in the dark gets you down, make sure to set aside time on the weekends to run during the day to give yourself a break from what has been difficult. Take some time to explore new routes and scenic territory around your neighborhood or city. Pick a hilly run and stop at the top to take in the view. Take some time to consider what it is that you really enjoy about running (even if you only enjoy it a little bit), and scratch that itch as much as possible.
Note Incremental Progress
The biggest goals often take a while to accomplish and progress may not always be linear. If your new year’s resolution is a long distance goal race, it might help (we typically recommend this regardless) to run a few intermediate distance efforts to note fitness progress and encourage you that your are slowly crossing the canyon toward your big day. In running, as in many other things in life, your result may be subject to forces beyond your control. Your training could go completely smoothly up until three days before the race, when you catch a cold or turn an ankle. Creating a field of multiple data points will allow you to evaluate the process rather than only having the one race to either make or break your perspective on your efforts.
Above all else, we encourage you to set goals! Reach high, assume you will be successful. Take a step in the right direction today. Making the choice to set a goal to begin with is not an insignificant part of the process. Once you have, we look forward to helping you get there!
