Running Nuggets

Given to us by Coach Janice, which she found on runnersworld.com. It is written by a woman that participated in a series called Marathon Moms.

September 21, 2008
Running Nuggets

I'll never be a running expert-I think you have to clock a sub-20 minute 5-K to qualify for such a title-but 18 months of solid training has given me some definite ideas about what works and what doesn't. Like fast-food nuggets whose "meat" might be a little suspect, consume these tidbits at your own risk.

• There's very little about running that isn't hard.

• That said, there's an easy hard (a cruise where you let your mind wander as your feet thump) and a hard hard (a run where your heart threatens to thump right out of your chest). Depending on what your life schedule looks like-are you just coming off of baby number three?-or what your goals are-no sleep ‘til Boston?-hard hard runs should account for between 0 and 35% of your overall mileage.

• Don't make your hard runs too easy. More important: Don't make your easy runs too hard.

• The only way to guarantee that you will have time today to run, whether it's a Saturday or a Tuesday, whether you're single or have more kids than the Brady Bunch, whether you work 9-5 or at your leisure, is to wake up before the world does and rip that sucker off. No ifs, ands, or buts.

• Deep satisfaction lies in crisply inking a check next to "run" on your to-do list before the clock strikes 9 a.m.

• Adages like "When it hurts, speed up"; "Pain is weakness leaving the body"; and "That which does not kill you makes you stronger," make good T-shirt copy, especially for the high school crowd. But most of the time I feel plenty strong-and appropriately weak-and don't need to prove it.

• For a race you'll remember, pick trails over roads, hills over flats. A year later, I can still recall the colors of the leaves littering the singletrack and the bluebird sky of the 2007 Vasque Golden Leaf Half-Marathon in Aspen, happening this weekend. (Not so remarkable you say? Consider this: I have seriously contemplated writing my pin number on my ATM so I don't have to always mentally fish for it.)

• For a fast time, roads trump trails, and flats are your friend. I'm hoping the 2008 Denver Half Marathon, in about a month, will prove that to be true. No matter my finishing time, though, I'm sure I'll still think much more fondly of the Golden Leaf.

• There are very few motivation issues that can't be solved, at least temporarily, with a new running playlist that may include Melissa Ethridge's "I Run for Life," depending on how many times you've (over)played it.

• What new tunes can't fix, a new pair of running shoes definitely can.• Fussy cargo notwithstanding, running with a baby jogger is physically easier than it looks; running on a treadmill, which actually moves your feet for you, is much more mentally challenging than it looks.

• There are very few work-related reasons to skip a run. The editor-in-chief of a major magazine once told me, "Nobody is so important that they can't be out of the office for an hour a day."

• There are many more family-related reasons to skip a run. I have yet to come up with a comprehensive should-I-have-skipped-it gauge. Barfing kid? yes; 100 degree temp? maybe; a "stomachache"? (read: secret plea for ginger ale): no. But I have found, the longer the run goes, the less necessary it seems.

• Four times a week is enough time to improve, and still recover between outings.• Stretching is not overrated.

• Speed can be overrated. Obviously, going faster today than you did yesterday is always gratifying, but here's the raw truth: Nobody really cares about your times except you. Friendships aren't based on splits, but miles shared; laughing about a botched water hand-off is much healthier than agonizing over how glacial the second half of the race was; covering 26.2 is covering 26.2, whether it takes 3 hours or 5. Put another way: Unless your last name is Kastor or Radcliffe, there's a minuscule chance any race time of yours will make it into your obit.

• You'll never regret slowing your pace if doing so convinces one more person to believe that, although running is hard, she's up for the challenge.