Awesome article! Eeeek! So scared yet exhilarated for this coming season. I’m going to be attempting my first full marathon in 5 years. I’ve almost completely forgotten the painful aftermath… almost… lol
Didn’t know about most of these. #1 here I come!
A huge flock of mockingbirds were going absolutely BONKERS in my backyard this morning. As I made coffee and looked out my kitchen window I figured out why… There was a hawk perched on my bbq!!! It was probably threatening their nests.
Once I went outside for a better photo and inadvertently spooked it away, the commotion was over.
I may not be the fastest runner, I may not be elite. I may not have a six pack like Kara Goucher or the endurance of Dean Karnazes. But, I’m a runner. Hopefully, my 7 years of doing this have taught me something worth sharing. For what its worth, here’s my advice to those of you who are a little newer to the sport:
I’ve probably missed some really important points here but this is a just a list to start. Please comment on this post below with other things that newbies MUST know.
Go to your happy pace,
Cristy xoxo
The French have an obsession with eggs. It might not be as high up in the ranks as butter, wine and stinky cheese but, trust me, eggs are up there. In quiches, omelets, deep yellow brioche breads or served sunny side up with asparagus for dipping, the French love it all. And in recent years, I too have developed a liaison amoureuse with these suckers.
Besides the olfactory hallucinations I have of brewed coffee while on my weekend morning long runs, the second thing I begin to crave several miles in are my over-easy eggs and rye toast. I questioned whether this was even a healthy thing for me to indulge myself in every weekend as I’ve heard that eggs can raise your cholesterol. The good news is that there’s TONS of research that shows that eggs are actually an extremely healthy, whole food and its not an “indulgence” at all.
Here is an article and brief video about the importance of eggs in the diet of athletes and how they actually DON’T raise your cholesterol. So crack a few and enjoy!
Advantages of Eating Eggs- Competitor.com Video
Today it was difficult to get out there and run. I’m both exhausted and lazy… but these are the rewards I must remember when I find myself wanting to take a day off.
Firstly, I feel so much more energized. True, I was exhausted when I came home from work and almost passed out on the couch. True, the LAST thing in the universe I wanted to do was anything physical. But it is ALSO true that once you force your body into motion, you begin to realize that most of our day to day exhaustion is emotional or mental and not physical. I have more energy after having run 4 miles than if I had slept an hour. Go figure!
Secondly, I got some outdoor time. Most office jobs (or teaching jobs, for that matter) don’t allot for time outdoors. We spend most of our time breathing in the same stale air under artificial lighting. I’ve even had two jobs in which I worked in offices without windows! Can you imagine not getting a glimpse of sunlight for 8 hours of every day?!?!
After my run, I walked across the street to the beach and enjoyed this view. I saw a little girl chasing small water birds whose species I don’t know, a flock of prehistoric looking pelicans flying across the darkening sky and a sailboat with some very lucky passengers pass by close to shore. What could be better than that?
As far as feet go, I have to say that mine look pretty good for a runner’s. I have a few healing blisters and rough spots here and there but, other than that, I make sure that they stay in pretty decent shape.
Despite all of my precautionary measures to trim my toe nails extremely short, however, it appears as though my second toe nail will be falling off… It has stopped growing and has formed a delightful little bubble that is now hollow when tapped. Yuck! I’ve lost this toe nail before so I know all the signs. (sigh)
So long, my friend. The personal record I got that caused this to happen was totally worth it. All I ask is that you stay attached long enough for your replacement to grow a decent amount behind you. I don’t want to look too gross in flip flops. 😉
My friend Caitlin and I ran the Boca Raton Road Runners 10K together yesterday morning. I hadn’t seen her in a while but things fell quickly into a synch just as they always do every time we get together.
Cait is an insane athlete who competes in half IronMan distance races and plans on completing her first full IronMan in 2016. And while I am not THAT crazy, I do like to run so its nice that we have this in common now that we are adults. (I was never athletic as a kid.)
As we drove home together after the race, we laughed and joked about how imaginative and free-spirited we were as kids… and then it occurred to me. We’ve been friends for 25 years! I’m only 33! The simple fact that I can SAY I’ve had a friend for that long makes me feel old.
But “old ladies” don’t take goofy selfies with trucker hats and Flavor Flav sized medals at local 10K runs. And “old ladies” most DEFINITELY don’t place 1st (Caitlin) and 8th (me) in their age group during these runs either. Heck yeah! 😉
Here’s to another EPIC 25 years!
Posing with Santa
My sister and I are trend setters. 2 years ago, we were the only goofs wearing hats shaped like rotisserie turkeys at our local Turkey Trot 5K. The following year, a photo of us made the front of that same Turkey Trot’s flyer and, low and behold, we had started a trend! On that year’s race day, it was clear that people had gotten the message and considerably more participants wore crazy get-ups and the tradition has continued through this year.
Besides our local Turkey Trot, we have made it a tradition to participate in at least one Christmas-themed race a year. And this year, were able to do two: The Reindeer Run at Sea World, Orlando and the inaugural Jingle Bell Jog in Fort Lauderdale.
For the Reindeer Run, we put together some great snowmen costumes using elastic, white tulle, plastic snowflakes from the dollar store, white long-sleeved shirts, large black buttons and white stockings. The hats were purchased last year in the Target dollar bins during a post-Christmas clearance. The results were perfection! We turned heads and were asked by strangers if they could take photos of us. Not bad if I don’t say so myself.
The Jingle Bell Jog was fun because the costumes came as part of the entry! No tech shirts for this race. Full Santa costumes for all! Check out the sea or running Santas down Las Olas Boulevard. Oh what fun it is to run in a felt costume in 75 degree heat and humidity. Only in Florida, lol!
I can proudly boast that I have been able to consistently PR (beat my personal record) at every race I’ve participated in for an entire year! Well, the only exception to this was the Miami Marathon… but I blame the fact I was in coral “J” and had to run sideways around people more frequently than I ran forward towards the finish, lol (I believe there were 28K participants!)
Here’s what I feel has helped me achieve my goals little by little:
1. Train hard during your off season: Florida’s off season is the summer. Scorching heat and oppressive humidity make smarter people stay indoors or run on treadmills. Us crazy people, however, just wake up earlier and run outside anyway. And you know what? I think it gives us crazies an edge. If you can run 9 miles in 85 degree heat, then doing 13.1 in 50 degrees and a cool breeze will feel like a vacation, not a half marathon. Trust me. That’s exactly what was going through my head a few weeks ago.
2. Rest: So, you think that the more mileage you get in during the week, the better off you’ll be? WRONG. Give your body the chance to rest between runs. Running is harsh on your joints and can become a chore really quickly if you don’t start allowing yourself to “forget” how much it kinda sucks sometimes by giving yourself a day’s break in between.
3. Cross Train: Now, just ’cause you’re “resting” from running, doesn’t mean you are resting from cardio completely. Take up another sport like cycling or swimming to keep you busy in between runs. Weight training and fun classes at the gym also count!
4. Injury Prevention: My greatest fear is not being able to run. But even I skip these and later really REALLY regret it. Injury prevention/ strengthening exercises are imperative if you want to keep running long-term. There are some common ones you can find on the web but, honestly, each person’s injury prevention routine should be tailored to his or her frequent aches and pains. I usually have pulling in my piriformis and inner knees so I’ve learned to do things to strengthen the surrounding areas to prevent things from getting worse. DO THEM!!!
5. Eat Well: Believing that eating lots of carbs will give you more energy or that eating a very low-fat diet will make you a leaner, better runner is just a naive and misinformed way to go about feeding yourself. I’ve found that I need to be very attentive to my protein, carb and fiber balance for a good two weeks before a race… and good fats are your friend not your foe. You DO NOT want to have a “fiber attack” while running and you DEFINITELY do not want to suffer a day’s worth of serious G.I. issues after your race because your body has basically consumed itself due to being poorly nourished. Balance is key. Eat what you like, eat what you NEED and eat CLEAN and BALANCED.
Little Miss Sunshine State 