It’s so easy to stay inside.
It’s warmer there, and safer, with fewer obstacles to trip over or slip on (sometimes important when you’re as spazzy as I am). If not for the promise of costumes at Pacers Silver Springs’ “red and green fun run” on Tuesday night, I may have skipped the outdoor run for [...]
Entries from December 2009
December 23, 2009
A red and green (and white!) run to end 2009
December 22, 2009
Can a Santa hat boost running performance?
The darkness of the winter solstice, the looming deadlines and the two feet of snow blanketing Silver Spring all suggest a quick treadmill run might be the safest and most comfortable option for today’s run.
But if I run with my group at Pacers Silver Spring, which is holding its annual “red and green” costume run [...]
December 21, 2009
Motivation Monday: The “life happens” edition
For me, and for most of the other runners I know, the past couple weeks have represented a host of obstacles to completing scheduled workouts and maintaining any semblance of a healthy life. The days are short and cold, not to mention busy. Cookies, candy and workout-ruining drinks abound. And that’s all before we board [...]
December 18, 2009
A quick lifting workout provides some holiday peace
I never thought I’d be one of those people grumbling about the holidays and the stress that often accompanies them. There are gifts to buy, cards to send, cookies to bake and things to decorate — what could be more fun? But there are also planes to board, relatives to please and pre-holiday deadlines to [...]
December 17, 2009
Running metrics that matter
We runners love our numbers: our PRs, our heart rates, our weekly mileage, our minute-by-minute pace. I have been inordinately proud of what I perceive to be a fast pace for training runs (8-minute miles for a normal five-miler) and deeply disappointed in what I perceive to be a heartbreakingly slow marathon time (4:39) given [...]
December 16, 2009
A carrot, a stick, a lovely swim and a sweet reward
After a minor breakdown about my ankle and its regression on Monday, I woke up yesterday morning feeling refreshed and ready to try a day with a better attitude.
Steve convinced me to skip my regular group run with Pacers to truly baby my ankle yesterday after beating it up in my old ski boots over [...]
December 15, 2009
How peroneal tendonitis cultivates patience
I had a breakdown about my ankle yesterday.
Steve and I worked our first shift at Whitetail on Sunday. It rained almost the entire time, so I ended up only taking a couple of runs to kick off the new ski season. Still, it was an exciting day: I picked up my new DalBello boots, which [...]
December 14, 2009
Motivation Monday: the happy stomach edition
Last week, I asked for suggestions for what a girl can eat to make sure her stomach doesn’t act up on long runs, as mine did
during the Marine Corps Marathon in October. You delivered, providing dozens of awesome and varied suggestions, and I’ve been happily sampling new pre-run meals ever since.
My new favorite: banana oats [...]
December 11, 2009
How to run a fast 10K (I have no idea)
I’ve been running 10Ks since 2002, when I made my first attempt at “distance running” — at least as I saw it at the time — at the Oxford Day 10K while I was living in Easton, Md.
I was running 30 minutes or so a few times a week, in addition to other workouts, but [...]
December 10, 2009
Iontophoresis for runners: What P. Diddy and I have in common
After P. Diddy finished the New York City Marathon in 2003, he credited iontophoresis, or the use of a small electrical current to transmit an anti-inflammatory medicine, with curbing his knee pain enough to let him complete the race.
I was unaware of P. Diddy’s experience before my doctor suggested ionto, as it’s commonly called, for [...]
