I drove up to Pennsylvania (PA), starting out on Thursday and getting there Friday (after a nice stop at a hotel for the night). It was a pretty drive - surprisingly easy for someone who has never driven long distance before. I've "travelled" long distances before but always when someone else drove about 80% of the time. So, this was new for me, especially with taking my daughters too.
We stayed with my brother Chris. He took us to New York City on Saturday and we spent the day checking out the sights - the Staten Island Ferry so that we could pass by the Statue of Liberty, the Subway, Manhattan, the Street Performers, the Empire State Building, Times Square, shopping at the Virgin records store, M&M store, Hershey store, and more. It was cool seeing all of that. NY is a different world. I was about ready to leave by 7 pm though because it began getting REALLY crowded. You couldn't walk down the sidewalks or cross the streets without bumping in to people because there were so many people. I guess I'm not ready for NY life! LOL!
Sunday was the Steamtown Marathon. My 7th Marathon and Chris' first. He did awesome - finished in 3:54:07. Fabulous for a first marathon! He loved it and is already looking forward to doing another. My time was 5:12:00. I started out great and did well until Mile 10. In mile 9 my knee began hurting and by mile 18 I was walking a bunch because of the pain. I saw the vans picking up runners to drive them to the finish and it was SO TEMPTING. I've never been that tempted to jump on the vans before.
In fact, I had never actually contemplated quitting a Marathon before. I feel like I have a glimpse of the awful pain people must be in when they DNF in a Marathon. I wanted to cry just thinking about it. I can't imagine how awful I would have felt if I would have actually quit. Keeping on probably wasn't the smartest choice I've ever made - especially considering the state of my knee. But, I kept thinking about Joyce and how hard she, at 62 years old, pushed herself in her first Marathon (the Georgia ING Marathon) and how she would not have quit! I couldn't imagine telling her that I bailed out, that I couldn't do it.
I also thought about all of my friends cheering me on before the race. That is the stuff you don't forget easy. Friends are like life-lines.....speaking to you when you need it most, even when they are not right there with you.
It made me realize that the best part of USA Fit Gwinnett isn't the running, its not the information you are given, or even the training program you follow. It is the friendships that you make that make this group so great. Without this group, we would not know, or even likely meet, the people that we have met. And the friendships that have been formed through this group are priceless.
Happy Running!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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.
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.
What's Your Mantra?
Another snippet from Coach Robbie:
The subject of my newsletter last week was on finding something to REWARD your self with. Did you pick something yet? Some of you wrote to me to tell me about the kind of stuff you reward yourself with. Very cool. If you haven’t picked out something to reward yourself with, give it some more thought and pick something. Give yourself a REWARD.
You see, running is kind of like a mind game. And as if I haven’t said it enough, you have to train your mind as much as your body in order to be successful. So another topic I want to touch on is the importance of the “MANTRA”. A Mantra is a positive statement or slogan you say (and repeat as required) to yourself to remain focused. I can remember two instances where I used a Mantra. I’ll tell you about my most recent.
March 30, 2008, ING Georgia Marathon, Atlanta, GA - I’m sure you all know how much I love Music. When I run long distances, I love to listen to very intense heavy metal music. So back on March 30th of this year I set out to complete the ING Georgia Marathon, my 3rd Marathon, with my trusty iPod Nano. Everything was going great. I was feeling great, running great. Everything was just great, great, great and then it happened. MY FREAKIN IPOD BATTERY DIED AT MILE 20!!! I was powering up this hill, listening to a favorite song, and then suddenly nothing, nada, silence. So there I was, with 6.2 miles to go, stripped of my tunes, my motivation, my secret weapon, left for dead. Of course I went on running and thinking, what am I going to do for the next 6.2 miles? I have to do something! And then it just hit me, a Mantra, which went something like this…
“I AM STRONG AND I FEEL NO PAIN”
I started saying this to myself over and over and over and over again for 6.2 miles. If I had been speaking these words out loud, I would have been labeled “Crazy Robbie”. But you know what? IT WORKED! I felt powerful and strong for the last 6.2 miles. I powered up and down hills and I didn’t feel any pain. In fact, the only thing I felt was a huge sense of accomplishment.
So no, I haven’t lost my marbles and you won’t either if you use a Mantra. The “Reward” and the “Mantra” are simply two of the most effective mental techniques that I know of that will help you to achieve your goal. Whether you’re doing intervals during the week, a 5k this weekend or training for your first Marathon, your have to train your mind. Another Mantra I have used is “ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE FINISH”. You will find that you can talk yourself into or out of anything. It’s a proven fact. Use this to your advantage. This is powerful stuff.
So the next time you’re running that hill, don’t let it have the pleasure of getting a single piece of you. Instead, take a chunk of that hill home with you. Show it who’s boss. After all, you’re the one in control, aren’t you? (Hint: the correct answer is not “Yeah”. It’s “HELL YEAH!”).
Run Strong and Run Happy
The subject of my newsletter last week was on finding something to REWARD your self with. Did you pick something yet? Some of you wrote to me to tell me about the kind of stuff you reward yourself with. Very cool. If you haven’t picked out something to reward yourself with, give it some more thought and pick something. Give yourself a REWARD.
You see, running is kind of like a mind game. And as if I haven’t said it enough, you have to train your mind as much as your body in order to be successful. So another topic I want to touch on is the importance of the “MANTRA”. A Mantra is a positive statement or slogan you say (and repeat as required) to yourself to remain focused. I can remember two instances where I used a Mantra. I’ll tell you about my most recent.
March 30, 2008, ING Georgia Marathon, Atlanta, GA - I’m sure you all know how much I love Music. When I run long distances, I love to listen to very intense heavy metal music. So back on March 30th of this year I set out to complete the ING Georgia Marathon, my 3rd Marathon, with my trusty iPod Nano. Everything was going great. I was feeling great, running great. Everything was just great, great, great and then it happened. MY FREAKIN IPOD BATTERY DIED AT MILE 20!!! I was powering up this hill, listening to a favorite song, and then suddenly nothing, nada, silence. So there I was, with 6.2 miles to go, stripped of my tunes, my motivation, my secret weapon, left for dead. Of course I went on running and thinking, what am I going to do for the next 6.2 miles? I have to do something! And then it just hit me, a Mantra, which went something like this…
“I AM STRONG AND I FEEL NO PAIN”
I started saying this to myself over and over and over and over again for 6.2 miles. If I had been speaking these words out loud, I would have been labeled “Crazy Robbie”. But you know what? IT WORKED! I felt powerful and strong for the last 6.2 miles. I powered up and down hills and I didn’t feel any pain. In fact, the only thing I felt was a huge sense of accomplishment.
So no, I haven’t lost my marbles and you won’t either if you use a Mantra. The “Reward” and the “Mantra” are simply two of the most effective mental techniques that I know of that will help you to achieve your goal. Whether you’re doing intervals during the week, a 5k this weekend or training for your first Marathon, your have to train your mind. Another Mantra I have used is “ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE FINISH”. You will find that you can talk yourself into or out of anything. It’s a proven fact. Use this to your advantage. This is powerful stuff.
So the next time you’re running that hill, don’t let it have the pleasure of getting a single piece of you. Instead, take a chunk of that hill home with you. Show it who’s boss. After all, you’re the one in control, aren’t you? (Hint: the correct answer is not “Yeah”. It’s “HELL YEAH!”).
Run Strong and Run Happy
Running Rewards
A little snippet from Coach Robbie:
Hope you’re all having a great week and enjoying the cooler weather. I love this time of year because it really makes it easier to train. And with the increases in mileage, there’s a bit less guilt during the holidays…(hehe). Of course, we still have a long way to go so I wanted to share something I think will help those of you who have never done the kind of mileage we’ll be doing in the next few months.
You may have heard me say that running is as much mental as it is physical. Those of you who have a ½ Marathon or Marathon under your belt already know what I’m talking about. There is a point, especially in a Marathon, where you’ll hit what is known as…
“THE WALL”
Now that’s not to say that they actually put up a wall and you run into it. It’s just that there comes a point in the race where you’ll feel like you can’t go any further. That’s why they call it the wall.
So how do you overcome this thing you wonder? Well, you must train your mind as much as your body. Sounds very Zen-like huh? Sounds like I know what I’m talking about too. I have no idea what Zen is. But what I do know is how to overcome the wall. So have a seat and I’ll tell you a little story.
In 2006, I decide to do my first Marathon. I’ve done two Half Marathons and, like Thomas The Train, I say to myself – “I think I can, I think I can”. So I begin training on treadmill, in the gym. And I do my weekly runs on the treadmill and my long runs on the treadmill. I know that sounds crazy but remember that I’m not all there…Ha Ha. Anyway, as I get into doing the 12 milers and 14 milers and 16 milers, etc. it dawns on me one day that I’m burning one heck of a lot of calories. So one day, I decide to “REWARD” myself with a nice, cold, Starbucks Java Chip Frappachino for successfully completing my long run. And I end up doing this after every long run thereafter. 16 miles = Frappachino. 18 miles = Frappachino. 20 miles = Frappachino. And I begin to look forward to the Frappachino every week. And what goes through my mind? Long Run = Frappachino. No Long Run = No Frappachino. And you know what? It worked. I never missed a long run and on those days when I was having a tough time finishing the long run, I pushed through to get that damn Frappachino!
So the point I’m trying to make here is that you have to have a target or a REWARD. Something that keeps you focused on finishing your long runs. So between now and Saturday, try to think about what kind of REWARD you want to give yourself after the long run. For some of you it might be a bubble bath, or a massage. For others it may be pizza or chicken wings and an adult beverage. Or you might be like me and want some sinfully delicious dessert. Whatever it is, you need to find something that works for you.
I have more secrets to tell, but that’s all you get for now! I mean really, if I told you everything you’d have no reason to keep reading my silly newsletters! So I leave you with this cliffhanger – What’s Your Mantra?
Hope you’re all having a great week and enjoying the cooler weather. I love this time of year because it really makes it easier to train. And with the increases in mileage, there’s a bit less guilt during the holidays…(hehe). Of course, we still have a long way to go so I wanted to share something I think will help those of you who have never done the kind of mileage we’ll be doing in the next few months.
You may have heard me say that running is as much mental as it is physical. Those of you who have a ½ Marathon or Marathon under your belt already know what I’m talking about. There is a point, especially in a Marathon, where you’ll hit what is known as…
“THE WALL”
Now that’s not to say that they actually put up a wall and you run into it. It’s just that there comes a point in the race where you’ll feel like you can’t go any further. That’s why they call it the wall.
So how do you overcome this thing you wonder? Well, you must train your mind as much as your body. Sounds very Zen-like huh? Sounds like I know what I’m talking about too. I have no idea what Zen is. But what I do know is how to overcome the wall. So have a seat and I’ll tell you a little story.
In 2006, I decide to do my first Marathon. I’ve done two Half Marathons and, like Thomas The Train, I say to myself – “I think I can, I think I can”. So I begin training on treadmill, in the gym. And I do my weekly runs on the treadmill and my long runs on the treadmill. I know that sounds crazy but remember that I’m not all there…Ha Ha. Anyway, as I get into doing the 12 milers and 14 milers and 16 milers, etc. it dawns on me one day that I’m burning one heck of a lot of calories. So one day, I decide to “REWARD” myself with a nice, cold, Starbucks Java Chip Frappachino for successfully completing my long run. And I end up doing this after every long run thereafter. 16 miles = Frappachino. 18 miles = Frappachino. 20 miles = Frappachino. And I begin to look forward to the Frappachino every week. And what goes through my mind? Long Run = Frappachino. No Long Run = No Frappachino. And you know what? It worked. I never missed a long run and on those days when I was having a tough time finishing the long run, I pushed through to get that damn Frappachino!
So the point I’m trying to make here is that you have to have a target or a REWARD. Something that keeps you focused on finishing your long runs. So between now and Saturday, try to think about what kind of REWARD you want to give yourself after the long run. For some of you it might be a bubble bath, or a massage. For others it may be pizza or chicken wings and an adult beverage. Or you might be like me and want some sinfully delicious dessert. Whatever it is, you need to find something that works for you.
I have more secrets to tell, but that’s all you get for now! I mean really, if I told you everything you’d have no reason to keep reading my silly newsletters! So I leave you with this cliffhanger – What’s Your Mantra?
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tapering Time
I'm now in the midst of Tapering weeks, getting ready for the Steamtown, PA marathon on October 12th. It has been a pretty good training season, even though it was really hard running through the hot months in GA! My 17 and 19 mile runs were tortuous, but my 21 miler was awesome. So, I am feeling very upbeat and optimistic about this race and am looking to finish closer to my Pheonix RnR race time of 4:11 instead of my other "typical" race times in the 4:20s.
It is really funny what tapering weeks can do to your mind. You want to get out and keep doing what you've been doing all training season - RUN! Yet, you know logically that you need the rest. It doesn't matter, your body still wants to keep going and so you feel this push-pull-panic kind of feeling. You want to push yourself, your head says pull back and just enjoy the rest, and then you sort of feel panicked because you can think of all these reasons why you should go run and train, yet all these reasons why you should take it easy.
These are weeks of rest, yet because of these feelings it doesn't feel so restful. Not to mention all of the other things going on during this time-frame. Why is it that everyone has to plan everything all in one weekend, especially on my wedding anniversary weekend? I'm supposed to be resting, or at least taking it easy, (for the taper), yet I don't even really get to slow down with all the activities going on during this one weekend. Sleep? What is that?!
I keep thinking that if I'm not supposed to run excessively then maybe I can go to spin class or do a nice Kettlebell workout. UGH. Those work the legs too. What am I supposed to do? Well, this is evidence of how obsessive we can get over things. No wonder people snap....we push ourselves constantly and rarely take those necessary breaks to just rest and unwind and SLEEP! I think we are all sleep deprived here in America.
I often wonder - we have all this technology to automate things and make our lives easier, yet we are far more stressed out now than our grand parents were years and years ago. Kind of contradictory, I think.
So, I'll try hard over the course of the next 8 days to treat myself well, exercise lightly, eat pretty good, and TRY to get some extra sleep. I want a great race!
It is really funny what tapering weeks can do to your mind. You want to get out and keep doing what you've been doing all training season - RUN! Yet, you know logically that you need the rest. It doesn't matter, your body still wants to keep going and so you feel this push-pull-panic kind of feeling. You want to push yourself, your head says pull back and just enjoy the rest, and then you sort of feel panicked because you can think of all these reasons why you should go run and train, yet all these reasons why you should take it easy.
These are weeks of rest, yet because of these feelings it doesn't feel so restful. Not to mention all of the other things going on during this time-frame. Why is it that everyone has to plan everything all in one weekend, especially on my wedding anniversary weekend? I'm supposed to be resting, or at least taking it easy, (for the taper), yet I don't even really get to slow down with all the activities going on during this one weekend. Sleep? What is that?!
I keep thinking that if I'm not supposed to run excessively then maybe I can go to spin class or do a nice Kettlebell workout. UGH. Those work the legs too. What am I supposed to do? Well, this is evidence of how obsessive we can get over things. No wonder people snap....we push ourselves constantly and rarely take those necessary breaks to just rest and unwind and SLEEP! I think we are all sleep deprived here in America.
I often wonder - we have all this technology to automate things and make our lives easier, yet we are far more stressed out now than our grand parents were years and years ago. Kind of contradictory, I think.
So, I'll try hard over the course of the next 8 days to treat myself well, exercise lightly, eat pretty good, and TRY to get some extra sleep. I want a great race!
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