Monthly Archives: November 2009

by | November 11, 2009 · 12:52 pm

Wanted: Moderation

I’m not a moderate person. I could list thousands of examples, but I’ll shorten the list to my most recent failures:

Last week, I decided to pre-hab my ankle, which has been a tad sore ever since the Marine Corps Marathon. Which wouldn’t be a big deal, except that I sprained that ankle last December, and ended up needing a couple cortisone shots to finally knock down the inflammation. As I dutifully performed my towel pulls and toe taps last week, I thought: The great thing is, it’s impossible to overdo it with this kind of exercise! Impossible … unless you’re me. My feet were in excruciating post-workout pain all weekend. It takes a special kind of idiot to overdo it with foot-strengthening exercises, but it can be done.

On Monday, I took a lovely afternoon swim break at a county pool that happened to be close to my late-afternoon interview. It was great, except for the soundtrack of self-doubt running through my head. The internal debate focused on whether I can really afford the $250 registration fee for the 4.4-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim when the 1-mile version of the race costs $60, and on whether, if I skipped the 4.4-miler, the 1-miler would just be a waste of time — go big or go home, right?

I know: wrong. I’m aware that I’m not the only amateur, middle-of-the-pack athlete to suffer from this affliction. I’m also aware that there’s nothing healthy about it. While my Type-A personality certainly helps when I’ve got a goal to achieve, it’s not so great on the flexibility front, which is a key piece of training.

So last night, when I woke up from an unplanned late-afternoon nap that could only mean an impending virus of some sort (I was the only kid who couldn’t sleep during siesta when I studied abroad in Italy), I decided to get better at moderation by practicing it. I’d really been looking forward to my group run with Pacers Silver Spring, especially considering it was a tough, hilly route — exactly the kind I’m trying to focus on to get ready for the National Marathon in March. I also thought about how I’d already taken a day off last Friday, and how a day off the following Tuesday could only mean … two days off in one week (gasp!). But for once, I listened to my body rather than the soundtrack of guilt and stayed home.

This morning, I woke up after having slept 16 hours — again, for an insomniac, this can only be a sign that something’s wrong. I also woke up with a twinge in my throat. I’m choosing to spend the day on the couch, working as I can, sleeping when I need to. Because my still-sore feet remind me that you don’t get extra brownie points for pushing yourself too hard.

In the “just what the doctor ordered” department: This morning, a freelancer-friend made me aware of the chance to win a trip to a spa-learning/networking opportunity for bloggers, freelancers and other entrepreneurs Feb. 1-3 at a fabulous resort in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Just thinking about relaxing at a spa and yapping with other freelancers makes my impending cold feel better, and makes me feel all moderate and stuff. Find out more, or enter yourself, here.

Does moderation come naturally for you? If not, how do you make sure you stay balanced and healthy?

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by | November 10, 2009 · 12:57 pm

National Marathon, here I come!

I was almost wooed by a flat, fast course in Sacramento at the California International

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Me after the National Half-Marathon last year. Hoping the full marathon gives me just as many reasons to grin next year.

Marathon, or a similarly flat course in Miami in January, both of which would let me tackle a marathon again sooner rather than later after a disappointing experience at the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25.

But armed with the knowledge that, for me, it seems it’s always better to err on the side of too much rest, I’m officially setting my sights on the SunTrust National Marathon on March 20 instead.

In a post for Examiner.com, I list reasons why this race should be on every Washington-area runner’s list: it follows a District-centric route (as opposed to MCM’s Arlington-heavy one) and boasts an unusually fast, though hilly, course (check that Examiner.com post for elevation charts and specifics). But here’s why I think it’s the race for me:

1. It’s smaller than the major fall marathons. While the spectators along the Marine Corps Marathon course were electrifying, the crowds during the first five miles of the race were harrowing. I made the mistake of trying to run with a pace group the first several miles, and actually got caught in a scuffle of four or five runners that ended in one guy falling, hard, and the rest of us stopping to see if he was OK. It was scary stuff I don’t necessarily care to repeat. I think the National Marathon’s limited field of 4,000 marathoners and 8,000 half-marathoners will prevent that.

2. It’s all in my hometown. Running helps me learn and appreciate the ins and outs of wherever I happen to be living, and I don’t want to miss this opportunity to learn more about this awesome city I get to call home.

3. It’s a race I can train for and run in cool weather. Miami was tempting, but after four years of living and running in Florida, I have a serious aversion to running distance races in the heat. The National Half-Marathon was almost uncomfortably cold at the start last year – my ideal race-day temperature. Please remind me of this fact the first time I have to do a long run in sub-20-degree temps.

4. It lets me tap into my most valuable training resource: my amazing and supportive friends, who I know will come cheer for me if I just ask, and if I promise them some sort of yummy post-race dinner in return (friends: start putting in menu requests now). This one is the clincher for running this race — the Shamrock Marathon is the same weekend in Virginia Beach, and that one apparently has a flat, fast course. But it doesn’t have my own personal cadre of supportive spectators, so National Marathon won out.

I’m going to wait until the end of the year to sign up, to make sure I stay healthy and race-ready. But I’m starting to train for hills now, starting with this hilly monster of a route with Pacers Silver Spring tonight.

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by | November 9, 2009 · 1:10 pm

Motivation Monday: Chilled-out edition

This week, in many different ways, I’m finding motivation by letting go and chilling out.

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Motivating me this week: time off from marathon-training lets me do stuff like hike Old Rag.

This started last Thursday, when my usual 8-minute-mile pace group with Pacers Silver Spring headed out for a relaxed, chatty run, saying we’d do 8:30 to 9-minute miles. I failed to start my watch, and at first, I was annoyed by my lack of pace-finding mechanisms. But then, I just sort of went with it. We cut about a block off of the end of the run and walked it in for a cool-down, and immediately tried to figure out our pace. We ran about 5.5 miles, and finished our run in about 44 minutes. Which equates to … 8-minute miles? Really? What we just did? Go figure …

Taking a lax approach to a low-key Candy Cane City 5K on Saturday had the same effect. We decided we’d be doing the race on Friday, and all I did to prep for it was take Friday off. We ate enchiladas (thanks for the recipe, Heather!) and chilled out at home on Friday night. That morning, I dug some running clothes out of the dryer, ate a Luna bar and headed to the starting line with absolutely no pace or time expectations. I just ran how I felt, and ended up with a 23:32 — 7:34-minute miles. That’s a good time for me – not a PR, but well within my “good race” range. The race itself was low-key and laid-back — no chip timing, only a couple hundred local runners racing — and that proved to be exactly what I needed after the hoopla of the Marine Corps Marathon.

Other motivations this week:

A few new songs. I am in love with “This Year” by the Mountain Goats. It was the first song on my 5K playlist, and I now have a lovely race-day memory attached to it. Also, the Yankees’ win last week has me newly in love with “Empire State” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes. I’ve even attached a personal motivational message to it: If the Yankees can rebound from several rough years with a beautiful season like this past one, certainly, I can overcome a single bad marathon.

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Chase 10K on Thanksgiving. This looks to be the same kind of low-key, just-for-fun race as the Candy Cane City 5K. Though the Turkey Chase will undoubtedly be larger — roughly 7,000 people ran it last year — turkey trots always foster an atmosphere of fun rather than competition. Plus, the relatively short distance (compared to, say, tacking on 20 miles to the start) eases my mind about race-day prep. With a 10K, you can sort of just pick up and go.

A Quadballer on its way to my apartment. This fits right into the chill-out spirit of motivation — it’s a hard-core version of a foam-roller, and I can’t wait to treat myself to a pseudo-massage with it when it arrives!

Finally, this week, I’m motivated by all the stuff I feel like I can do now that I’m in between marathons. I hiked Old Rag in the Shenandoah with Steve and some friends on Sunday, and didn’t worry a bit about potential ankle twists/hip strains/workouts missed. At an amazing dinner at the Thornton River Grille in Sperryville, Va., I didn’t hesitate before ordering a glass of really awesome-looking local Chardonnay aged in steel barrels. And I actually had the time to mess around with my Web site to change the domain name, update my clips, etc.

What’s motivating you this week? Any fabulous new songs to help round out my in-progress turkey-trot playlist? Let me know by posting a comment!

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by | November 6, 2009 · 2:05 pm

Friends don’t let friends drink and run ( … do they?)

It occurred to me last week that I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol for about a month, thanks to training for the Marine Corps Marathon and post-marathon stomach ick.

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The wine I brought back from California last summer is still unopened thanks to marathon training. Necessary? I'm not sure ...Marathon and post-marathon stomach ick.

 

I’m not a big drinker or anything — just a glass of wine or two here and there — but in the weeks leading up to a big race, I usually dry up completely. It never occurred to me to question whether this is necessary until I read an interesting Running Times column on the topic recently.

In the column sports dietitian Jackie Dikos says the effects of alcohol and performance aren’t entirely clear. But she says there’s enough evidence that it harms performance to lay off before big races or after tough workouts:

“To start, alcohol can impair performance by having a diuretic effect, resulting in dehydration,” Dikos writes. “There’s no question that poor hydration can be a detriment to performance. In addition, alcohol consumption may result in faster fatigue during hard workouts and slower recovery. It displaces carbohydrate from your diet, thereby impairing muscle glycogen storage.”

She also warns that your body has to “filter and process the leftovers from hard workouts. If you’re already feeling sore and damaged, treat your body right by avoiding alcohol for the next 24-36 hours.”

I think for me, abstaining before big races is less about the reasons above and more about some weird psychological advantage I glean from it. A nice glass of wine does a lot of things for me, but one thing it doesn’t do is make me feel sharp and race-ready. Then, there’s the effect on my sensitive stomach; trial and error has shown me there’s definitely good reason to stick to water the night or two before a race. And if nothing else, it makes a good glass of wine at a post-race celebration seem even more special.

Do you modify your drinking habits leading up to a big race? Share your tactics by posting a comment.

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by | November 5, 2009 · 1:27 pm

Build stronger ankles and feet

My right ankle, which first got cranky on me while running in Rock Creek Park December 2008, was the only part of me that felt a little sore and swollen after the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25. So as part of my six weeks of laying low and being smart following the marathon, I’m prehabbing like crazy, attacking foot and ankle exercises with the gusto I approached core- and hip-strengthening workouts with a few months ago.

Here’s a roundup of what I’m doing:

Towel scrunches: Lay a towel on the floor. Move it closer to you by scrunching your toes repeatedly.

Toe taps: Tap your foot for a minute straight. Repeat.

Calf raises on a step: Self-explanatory.

Various resistance-band exercises in which I pull a resistance band toward me or push it away from me with my feet. (Check out a photo of the latter here).

Picking up small items with my toes. This one barely feels like work, so I’m having a hard time committing myself to it.

Tracing the alphabet with my toes. Again, I don’t feel an obvious challenge or benefit here, so I have a hard time making myself do it.

Tons of balance stuff, which was already part of my core- and hip-strengthening workout. And fear not: I haven’t forgotten about the good ol’ core. I even added some new exercises lately: a side plank in which you place a stability ball between your feet, a front plank in which you balance your feet on a stability ball, then bring one knee at a time toward your chest.

Any favorite foot- or ankle-strengtheners I should add to the list? Share them by posting a comment!

In other news: I’ve found a fantastic new pool! The Takoma Aquatic Center, located about 10 minutes from my apartment, or maybe 20 minutes by Metro, is an Olympic-sized pool set up horizontally, so there are something like 12 lanes open for lap swimming at any given time. It’s a fast pool, and I immediately felt awesome once I got in despite a three-week hiatus from swimming. I glided through 2X1,000 yards, and didn’t feel tired and creaky until the end of my 5X200 IM set. I’ll definitely be heading back for more soon.

Finally, my Women’s Running story about sports psychology and motivation, Think Like the Pros, is live online at active.com. Check it out — I got so many helpful tips from it, and hopefully, you will, too!

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by | November 4, 2009 · 1:31 pm

Carrot and stick

An assignment took me to the mall the other day, where my job was to talk to shoppers about why they like that particular mall, then get out of there.

Instead, I found myself wandering through Sephora, lusting after a Philosophy bubble bath that would be the perfect addition to my recent addiction to Epsom-salt baths. But since I’m saving up for several big-ticket items — new ski boots, a $250 race registration for the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in June that’s seriously making me think about doing the cheaper 1-mile swim instead, $90 for the National Marathon — I held back.

After safely driving away from the temptation, it occurred to me that I have a golden opportunity to bribe myself. Losing my regular pool has left me unmotivated to go through the annoyance of finding a new place to swim, then actually making that first workout happen. But here’s my new promise to myself: After logging five good swims, I can buy myself the $12 bubble bath.

This got me thinking: I can do the same thing with the other stuff I want, using my wish-list items as carrots dangling in front of my nose as motivations to work out. Here’s the short list:

A few new sports bras — maybe two cheap ones from Target and one of my favorite Mizuno-brand ones. I’m letting myself buy the Target sports bras, about $15 a pop, once I log five good core workouts.

The Quadballer is apparently a hard-core version of my beloved foam roller. It’s $68.63 with shipping costs, but apparently, the Chevy Chase Running Company sells it locally. This might just be a reward for holding off on actual massages, which I love but really can’t afford.

A Garmin Forerunner. Not the new fancy one, just a trusty old 205 or 305, which retails around $125-$150 right now. My Nike + only cost $30, but after the latest malfunction (it told me I ran 2.5 miles at 14-minute-mile pace), I’m beginning to realize you get what you pay for.

And finally … a race registration for the YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Chase on Thanksgiving. This, along with other holiday races in the Washington area, will serve as a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy: I’ll reward myself for workouts by registering for the race, which will motivate me to work out to train for said race. Come to think of it, all of these wish-list items will motivate me to work out. What sweet rewards! I’m hoping these motivate me sufficiently, so I don’t have to resort to a stick (not to be confused with The Stick).

What’s on your training wish list? How do you reward yourself for completing tough workouts?

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by | November 3, 2009 · 1:41 pm

Lessons learned

After the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25, I exchanged a few e-mails with my friend Kaveh, who had to defer his entry until next year thanks to an ankle injury. We traded notes about how we ended up injured in the first place, and what we learned from those injuries. Here’s the parade of horribles that followed my Nashville Country Music Marathon in April 2007, after which I proceeded to:

Run two days after the marathon, a hard 30 minutes with Steve
Run my usual 6-mile route several times per week, with a semi-long run on weekends, because I wanted to “keep up my mileage,” doing absolutely zero cross-training
Go to a wedding in June wearing these *adorable* espadrilles, enjoy a few glasses of wine at said wedding, twist ankle on espadrilles, spend week on crutches courtesy of a doc in a box while awaiting a visit to the sports ortho (advice to you: When you have a drink in one hand, your high-heeled shoes should be in the other)
Resume running schedule immediately after getting doctor’s OK, with no physical therapy, apparently worsening some crazy muscle imbalances caused by a week of not using my left leg
Backpack 26 miles with a 30-lb pack the weekend after doctor’s OK
Be really surprised when my hip hurts so bad I can’t walk after the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Jax in October.

Shocking I ever managed to hurt myself. I was being so smart.

I’ve wised up since then, cross-training like crazy with only three quality running days per week, doing all sorts of core- and hip-strengthening exercises and sitting out as soon as something starts to hurt.

But I’m realizing I still have a lot to learn. The one thing that does kinda hurt post-marathon is the ankle I sprained running in Rock Creek Park in December 2008, which seems to be a sign that I should lay low for six weeks or so, skipping long runs to let my body completely heal itself. More importantly, I need to add some ankle- and foot-strengthening exercises to my repertoire, even though these are so boring, they make core work seem like a costume party. Take towel-scrunches: You place a towel on the floor in front of you, then proceed to pull it toward you by flexing and scrunching your toes. Thrilling. But I’m hoping exercises like these help end my foot/ankle problems for good. If you know of any great foot- or ankle-strengthening exercises, pass ’em along.

I also think I need to start speedwork earlier; nagging injuries kept me from adding speedwork to my training until halfway through my training schedule for MCM. My plan in training for the spring is to lay low for maybe six weeks to let my body fully recover from the last marathon, then start speedwork immediately in December.

I need to ask for a little help from my friends. I try to avoid boring my non-running friends with details about my training, but I realized I’ve done so to a fault, failing to even mention to many close friends that I’d be running a marathon until the weekend of. When my friend Jessica asked what we were up to Sunday, Oct. 25, and I told her it was Marathon Day, she immediately offered to come watch. I said that would be cool, if she wanted to; no big deal if not. I saw Jessica at mile 19, right after a major low point on the National Mall, and it just about saved my race. That’s one of the reasons it’s looking like the National Marathon in March is the revenge race for me; though it’s hilly and can be sparse in the final miles, it’s also located in a place where I can ask my friends to come support me in exchange for a nice pasta dinner the night after.

Finally, about those hills: I need to make my training all hills, all the time, so I’m not intimidated by the somewhat hilly course. My plan is to identify the biggest and most intimidating hills on the course, and to Metro downtown and do hill repeats on them. I don’t want to be wondering how I’ll do on the inclines; I want to know.

Which lessons have you learned from marathons past? Share them by posting a comment below!

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by | November 2, 2009 · 1:09 pm

Motivation Monday, part tres

A week after crossing the finish line at the Marine Corps Marathon, my motivation abounds. I think it’s tied to a blessed break in

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Motivating me this week: New shoes, a tech tee from a good friend's running store!

my running, which I’m appreciating for maybe the first time in my life. I had an easy run with my running group at Pacers Silver Spring on Thursday, but mostly, I’m enjoying long rides on the stationary bike, during which I read the morning’s Washington Post, and getting back into rowing and strength-training (swimming, I’m coming back to you soon! Promise!). I’m eating Mexican food on Thursdays and Fridays, because I know I have no long runs to prep my sensitive stomach for. On Friday, at a Halloween party Steve and I hosted, I didn’t obsess about every little thing I ate, drank and breathed — amazing! I can appreciate the lull because I know training will start up soon enough – I’ve got my eye on the National Marathon March 20, and my first 10-miler comes Dec. 5. Here’s what else is motivating me this week:

Some new songs to add to the playlist, via Brittany’s awesome suggestions. Funny — she made her list using many of mine, and yet I found some new ones on hers! For example, how did this Jersey girl fail to include “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi at the halfway point? She who screams “We’re halfway there” with her fist pumped in the air at wedding receptions did not have that on her marathon playlist — imagine!

I signed up for dailymile.com. I need a new training log, and I figure I might as well give this one a try. Not sold yet. Just curious. Planning on inputting my first workout today.

I got new shoes! I ordered from my friend Chris’ running store, the Gingerbread Man Running Co., which is maybe the coolest name ever (Fast as fast can be, you’ll never catch me? Get it?). He’s all the way out in Indiana, Penn., now. But he worked at Pacers Silver Spring prior to opening his store, and we enjoyed many a post-run happy hour with him. I should note that Steve and I never actually shared a run with Chris — he runs races to win them, and his cooldown pace is literally hard for me to keep up with. Anyway, I have a brand-new pair of Brooks Adrenalines to get all dirty again, which is always exciting. I also have a super-cool technical T with his store’s logo on it, which I plan to wear to Pacers on Thursday. If you’re in Western Pennsylvania, please stop in his store, if only to chat about running!

A solution to the tail fro, courtesy of my runner-friend Laura, who organizes our Pacers Silver SpringFun Runs every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. She spotted my tail fro photo taken after the

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Could it be? There's a fix for my tail-fro?

Marine Corps Marathon, and during a long conversation about our upcoming race schedule, she asked if I knew about Redken Smooth Out Butter Treat. I bought some on my way home. This truly makes me want to go do a long run to get my hair all tail-froey to test it out!

What’s motivating you this week? Let me know by posing a comment below!

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