Why I Run

(Picture is from the end of last year's Ft. Ben Harrison half-marathon.) I wrote a similar blog post last year about the benefits of running, mostly from a mental standpoint--i.e. the stress relief, challenge, and "me time." This post is going to be more focused on the physical side, excluding the most obvious ones that everyone would know.

One of the FAQs I get from clients at work is, "So tell me the truth...do I HAVE to run?" Normally this question comes from people who are looking to lose some weight and improve their cardiovascular endurance, who for whatever reason don't enjoy running. The simple answer is no. As long as you are elevating your heart rate through some means of physical activity, and working hard enough to be breathing rapidly and sweating, then you're reaping all the benefits. It can be on an elliptical, swimming, biking, dancing...whatever your favorite is that still keeps you challenged. Now here's the fine print: for the general population, you reach a point where other forms of cardio don't kick up your heart rate the way running does. We fall into the trap of cardio autopilot: go to your favorite machine, flip open a magazine and work out. Now, I see people every day who legitimately keep their heart rate up on machines like ellipticals or arc trainers and they sweat buckets during their workout, but you better believe they are being intentional about keeping up the speed and the resistance--they have to TRY to work hard. With running, there's no trying to keep up your intensity. I've found within minutes you can be in your target heart rate zone, and it generally stays there until the end.

I'll also add onto this part that you have to give running a REAL try. Check out the "Couch to 5K" plan if you think you'll never be able to run--bet you can. Out of all the people who aren't currently runners, how many of those would really say they enjoy running? None. Most will try and give up because a) it's hard! b) it hurts their joints or low back c) they don't have proper footwear or d) they find it boring and can't zone out. I'll admit, it's an acquired taste--and one that I didn't always have either. It takes having good shoes, usually a good playlist, and a commitment to run long enough to feel the endorphins kick in. And at that point, nothing else matters except the fact that you're running.

One benefit I noticed as soon as I picked up running was that my leg muscles became leaner instead of "bigger." I used to be a big fan of kickboxing (I swore by Billy Blanks tae-bo videos during high school and early college), and while that exercise definitely firmed and tightened, I felt that it boosted out my butt--and at that point in time, I didn't need any extra help there! Once I started running around 5 miles at a time my sophomore year of college, I noticed that instead of pumping my legs up, they were becoming sleeker, thinner, but still shapely. Even now, I feel like running still helps define areas like the inner and outer thighs that other modes of cardio don't hit.

Next, running is THE best ab-flattener. Not only is it high-intensity cardio that sheds calories and therefore extra fat, but the slight side-to-side motion that your core makes during running whittles down and defines the entire midsection. My abs are never more flat and toned than when I'm training for a long-distance race. I always do extra core work throughout the week, but with running, it almost eliminates the need to spend any additional time there.

And, while I'm not going into the mental/emotional side of a good run in this post, nothing beats or even compares to the rush. At that moment, I can forget about all stressors--financial, relational, work-related--and know that I accomplished something big and I did it for me.

So, now why do YOU run?? Post your reply!

Studies Prove Beer Boosts Athletes' Health!

Now there's a headline! Before you crack open that Bud Light Lime (my personal favorite in the summer), I should tell you that the study showed that non-alcoholic beer had this effect, not the regular version. My opinion on non-alcholic beer is the same as decaf coffee or diet ice cream...what's the point?! But, turns out that it carries polyphenols that were proven to enhance the immune system of athletes after a marathon.

The days immediately following a marathon or other high-intensity endurance race are when an athlete's immune system is weakened. Runners, especially, are more suspect to upper-respiratory infections during this time. The experiment showed however, that those athletes that were given 6 glasses of weissbier per day (a non-alcoholic German wheat beer) had lower levels of inflammation in the immune system post-race.

Polyphenols are found in real beer too, as well as wine, so that's why you hear things now and then about one drink a day being good for your health. I suppose the study didn't test this because giving lab participants that amount of beer leading up to a race would do more harm than good!

Read more here:
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/health/article_212369870.shtml

My Fitness Pal

Upon starting this blog, one of the things I said I wanted to use this for was to post my reviews of different fitness products/tools. I've found THE best calorie/diet/exercise tracker out there. I've tried the Daily Plate, Spark People, and Lose It, but I have to say that My Fitness Pal beats all of them. First of all, it's free, and it does the basics of combining both diet and exercise. You have to account for the calories you're burning to see the grand picture. Secondly, its food library is huuuuuge. I used Lose It for a long time and felt like it had a pretty wide selection of foods you can choose from, including brand names at the grocery or restaurants. My Fitness Pal's library is 10 times more extensive because other users are able to add to the library, keeping it fresh and updated. Even smaller restaurants or lesser-known brand names are in there. So far, everything I've found that was added by another user has been accurate--just make sure you're reading the serving sizes correctly. When in doubt, my rule of thumb is to overestimate your calories from food, and underestimate calories from exercise.

Almost any time I do a fitness consultation at work, the client has one of three goals: weight loss, toning up, flattening the belly--or all of the above. I always start the conversation with a visual example of the "pyramid of weight loss" (or whatever their specific goal is). Just like there are 3 sides of a triangle, there are 3 components to weight loss: 1. Nutrition. This is the most important component, making up the base of the pyramid. Numbers have been thrown around in the exercise science world saying that proper nutrition makes up 80% of weight loss!! Shocking fact, huh? And it makes sense, really, because in 30 minutes of exercise, most people are lucky to burn 300 calories. But 300 calories worth of food can be eaten in just a few minutes, in one handfull. That's why those people that think they'll just workout extra hard and not adjust their diet never make it very far. 2. Cardio. Continuous muscle movement that is at a high enough intensity to make you sweat and breathe hard = sheer calorie burn. Enough said. 3. Resistance Training. Even though it's only the third most important component of weight loss, it is important. Lean muscle, built through strength training exercises, demands a higher calorie burn to sustain, therefore, even at rest, a person with a large amount of lean muscle is burning more calories than someone with a low amount. Plus, from an appearance standpoint, who cares about being skinny if there's no tone or definition underneath? When all 3 sides of the pyramid are aligned, the result is goal-realization.

So finally, where My Fitness Pal comes into play is how people are expected to keep track of all the above. I understand that counting calories is hard, tedious, and no fun, but it's crucial in order to reach a body composition goal or to stay in tip-top shape, so why not make it as easy and convenient as possible? I used to refer people on to the Lose It app, but that can only be found on iPhones and iPads, so many people couldn't use it. My Fitness Pal is on several apps for different phones, but is also online, so anyone can access it throughout the day.

If you've never tried tracking your calories, give it a whirl. It may be easier than you think, and it could make the nutrition component finally click for you. Even for those of you in mainenance mode, who have been settled into an ideal weight for years, I encourage you to count calories just for a week. Let me tell you, it's enlightening!

9 Miles, 90 Degrees

Ok, so it wasn't really 90 degrees when I did my 9-mile run. But somewhere around 83 certainly feels like 90 when you're running! All of you local readers know how scorching it's been lately, at least for early June. Everyone in the tri-state area has been complaining about missing out on spring entirely, going straight from winter to summer. When I think about it in terms of my runs, that's exactly right. At first I was frustrated because it was always raining and chilly, then suddenly it's so hot you have to dramatically slow down your pace and make extra efforts to stay hydrated. There is even a disclaimer on all of Galloway's time predictions based on the Magic Mile that this only applies when the temperature is 60 degrees or cooler.

This past weekend would have been perfect for a long run, but we had plans to be out of town, so my choices were to do my long run either on Thursday or Friday night. I chose Thursday just to get it out of the way--besides spending a Friday night running is how lame?? (Not that my usual Friday nights are that much more exciting...but this time we actually had plans for a birthday cookout.) Luckily, there was enough of a breeze that I wasn't miserable, especially after the first hour when the sun started to go down too. I was just a little bitter about doing a 9-mile run to start with. I've always said during half-marathon trainings that the 9 and 11-mile runs are just plain stupid...at 9 you might as well run one more and make it a nice 10. And 11 just feels weird to go one more past that big milestone. Anyway, I mentally broke the run into nice little segments and it went by fairly easily, until the last 2 miles or so. I know I pointed out in a past blog about how I've gotten really good at gauging distance without having to pre-map my run. I'm at the point where I can plan out a route in Fishers, and usually it's right on the mileage that I want--this time, I hit the finish RIGHT as I made it back to our apartment entrance. Man, I'm good :)

So back to the part where I said the last few miles were a struggle. Everything was hurting--my legs felt so heavy to pick up, I was covered in that sticky salt meaning I was in big need of water (stopping at a water fountain just once doesn't really cut it for that length of run), and worst of all, my IT band started to hurt around mile 4 and was only getting more painful as the run went on. I mentioned before that I've dealt with a bad IT band injury, and I would do anything to avoid another one. The day after the run, it was a little painful to walk, especially on stairs, but after a few days of letting it rest, I'm feeling almost back to normal today, just a little stiff in that knee. I think I made a good choice on foregoing the second 3-mile run for the week that I was supposed to get in on Sunday night. Even though cases like that always give me a sense of guilt or slacking off, staying injury-free is really important at this earlier stage of training.

Then, immediately after the run, and for the next 30 minutes, the effects of dehydration came on. I felt like I could get sick at any minute and had a headache right above my eyes, combined with what was almost blurry vision. Many of you remember the run last year where I got so dehydrated that I was throwing up for an entire afternoon/evening thinking that I might literally die. (If you really care to read how/why that happened, go to the link to "My Training for the 2010 Indy Mini" on the right-hand side of this page.) I recovered this time though, but all in all it was one of those runs where you're so glad it's over. You don't have the normal endorphins, you certainly didn't set a time record (in fact my pace dropped to over 10 minute miles), and you start to wonder how in hell you're ever going to run much longer distances. But you finish, and that's all that matters that day.

Magic Mile and a PR!

Week 8 of marathon training = complete. (As a reminder, I started in on Galloway's program at Week 5, so even though I'm on Week 8, I've only been training for a total of 4 weeks now.) This week was where Galloway introduces the Magic Mile concept. You can read all the details on his website, but the basic concept is that you run one mile as fast as you can, and then use that time to predict your times on longer races. For example, if you multiply that number by 1.2 to estimate your pace for a half-marathon, or multiply the time by 1.3 to give you an idea of what to expect for a full marathon. He recommends doing the magic mile drill about once every 2 weeks, because obviously the time will change over the course of the program. He builds them into the long weekend runs so it doesn't take extra time out of your week. He suggests starting with a slow 1 mile run, then the fast one as hard as you can without puking, walking for 5 minutes to recover, then slowly finishing the rest of the mileage needed for that day.

I was really curious as to what my 1-mile time would be. The last time I distinctly remember trying for just one fast mile was in college on a treadmill, and the time, if I remember correctly, was somewhere between 9-10 minutes. Obviously a lot of factors are different now-- I'm in better shape in general, I weigh less, I've done quite a bit of running in the past few years, and it was outside this time--so I was definitely expecting a PR (personal record for those of you who aren't down with the running lingo). But when I saw 7:35 on my Garmin at the 1-mile marker, I was a little blown away! The fastest mile time I've ever had (at least on record) was during the Ft. Ben Harrison half-marathon at an 8:39, and I just thought that was a freak day.

So next, I plugged 7:35 into Galloway's hand-dandy pace calculator. It automatically displays your predicted paces and finish times for a 5K, 10K, half-marathon training, half-marathon race day, marathon training, and marathon race day. It predicted my half-marathon pace at 9:06, or a finish time of 1:59 which is dead on--my last two half-marathons were 1:57 and 1:58. My predicted marathon stats showed a pace of 9:52, or a finish time of 4:18--funny because when the registration form asked for my predicted finish time I took a total stab in the dark and said 4:20. BUT--the predicted training pace for a marathon showed up as 11:52. My runs lately have been paced between 8:45 and 9:30, depending on the length of the run. So now I'm wondering if I'm running too fast for training. With every run, I've been listening to my body enough to know when to slow down, and when to kick it up a notch to finish strong. I don't shoot for any kind of pace, and in fact, make a point not to look at it too often...I glance at the Garmin more so just to know the mileage here and there. I'm sure when I start getting past 13 miles in training, my pace will probably slow down, because that is uncharted territory for me. It seems odd to me, though, that the training pace would be 2 whole minutes slower than the race pace. It could be Galloway's way of preventing injuries or burnout during the course of training. Or maybe he factors in that much of a speed increase just due to adrenaline?!?

I think I'll just keep running like I have been--making sure I'm moving at the pace I'm capable of, but still enjoying it and not feeling on the verge of death when I finish. Except for those magic miles. Man, those will be brutal! The way I was huffing and puffing today during that one mile run, any passerby might have been gearing up to do CPR!

One Step at a Time

That's how marathons are finished. And trained for. I'm finding that the mental aspect of a marathon is the most tricky and overwhelming. You can't think of it as a half-marathon plus one more. You can't think of it as a longer distance than what you've run before. You picture it as one training week at a time...one mile at a time...some days it's just one step at a time to get you through the run.

I've found having a training plan in place is helping tremendously. I was pretty nervous starting in on Week 5 of Galloway's program (that's him in the picture above) when I hadn't been in a routine of running 3 days a week. The last time I ran a race of any distance was October of last year. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that I've had am easy time adjusting to the training schedule. So far the longest weekend run I've had to do was 7.5 miles, which I completed this past Saturday---had to take advantage of the only cool day out of Memorial Weekend! I felt great both during and after the run, and my route that day even included what might possibly be the hilliest stretch of Indiana-- 106th street between Hague and Allisonville. (The last time I tried to run that stretch I had to resort to walking up a couple of the hills.) I've noticed a gradual decrease in my 3 mile times since I've started the program too. It's down to 26:23, which is good for me, and that's at what I consider a comfortable pace...not an all-out 3 mile run.

Other perks of following the program: on the weeks where I'm only supposed to do short runs, I don't feel guilty for not running further. Normally, I feel the need to run the furthest distance that I can realistically do, or have time for. Now, if 3 miles is the furthest I'm supposed to go, I don't feel like I'm copping out. Also, I just feel an overall sense of relaxation as compared to past races where I've made my own training schedules. I'm putting my faith in Mr. Jeff Galloway and hoping that these programs made him for a reason.

On another note, I was trying to think of a way to visually organize my runs and the stats of each one. I have all of the weekend runs written on my calendar as well as a printed copy of the program on my desk with check marks after each week is complete. But why have the fancy Garmin watch if I'm not going to use the online features! I totally forgot about the calendar feature on Garminconnect. So now I can easily see how many runs I've done over the course of each month, my weekly mileage and the times of each run. If for some reason I don't wear the watch, aka a treadmill run, I can manually input it into the calendar.

And to think that people have been running marathons long before these gadgets and tools were invented!

Think Before you Nip and Tuck!

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=143968

One of my clients recently alerted me to this article, and I saw it again posted on the NIFS website...pretty shocking stuff. Some recent studies have proven that patients who have had liposcution eventually see the fat return to the body. But not in the same place where they had it removed...it returns higher up in the body, for instance in the abdomen or arms. Who wants to trade chubby thighs for chubby arms?! And then what do you do...keep getting liposuction on the new areas until the only place the fat has to return is in your cheeks?

Two plastic surgeons mentioned in the article pointed out the limitations of this study saying that not enough studies have been done yet to assume this is true for all lipo patients. However, even the surgeons made these statements: "Liposuction can be a very gratifying operation but it's not a substitute for diet and exercise," and "Liposuction should serve as a springboard to a healthier lifestyle."

Obviously, there are some great reasons for plastic surgery--reconstruction after an accident, or eliminating extra skin after a large amount of weight loss (think "Biggest Loser" contestants on week 15). I have a client who has finally decided on having a breast reduction, and I could not be more thrilled. Not only does she deal with the typical back pain all throughout her day, but she is inhibited during exercises such as dead lifts, push-ups, crunches, etc. But, if you think liposuction is a fix for being overweight or for resolving any underlying self-esteem issues, you thought wrong.

I know some people around my age who make comments like "Oh, I will TOTALLY have a mommy-makeover after kids," meaning the whole tummy tuck, breast lift, etc. It's always a personal decision, and I wouldn't judge friends of mine for doing that, but with the industry I'm in, it's just NOT an option. Not only would my clients stop taking me seriously when I talk about how exercise can transform the body, but I wouldn't feel right about the decision myself. I work hard for results, and want to konw that what I see in the mirror is 100% me.