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Goofy Challenge

Hi! I’m Telisa and I blog over at Telisa5 (Clearly I’m not creative when it comes to making up blog names haha!). I was super excited when Ashley said she needed someone for this week’s Marathon and Moderation post.
 
I’ve ran 5 marathons (Chicago twice, Marine Corp, the Illinois Marathon, and the USA Marathon), 3 half marathons (Chicago, USA, and Virginia Beach) and am currently training for a few more this season (Philadelphia Half, Las Vegas Half, USA Half, Illinois Marathon, and the Goofy Challenge). At times I have let marathon training consume my life but I’ve finally found a way to balance life and running. After giving it some thought, I compiled a list of things that worked for me and will hopefully get you through marathon training AND allow you to still enjoy your life.

Illinois I challenge 
1. Find Your Motivation
Why are you running this very long race? What is going to help you get through those miles when you want to quit or cry (or both) because of the physical pain? What are you going to say when people ask why you’re doing this because they think you’re crazy? You gotta have something that means a lot to you! Maybe you want to be healthy? Maybe you want to prove to yourself (or someone else) that you CAN do it? Maybe its that bagel and chocolate milk that’s waiting for you at home? Maybe you want to lose weight (actually that’s easier said than done in marathon training)? Maybe its pictures of Ryan Gosling?

heyrunnergirl

Maybe you like running with friends? Maybe you like shiny medals? Maybe its your quiet time? Maybe you want to raise awareness for a cause? I ran my first marathon with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (now the Team to End AIDS-T2). Not only did it come with a fabulous training program it provided motivation to keep running when it was tough (and let me assure you there will be tough times ahead). Whatever it is that’s going to keep you going-figure it out!

medals
2. Make running part of your schedule
Figure out when you can run and make it part of your schedule. Are you a morning person? Set that alarm and get out the door! Are you lucky enough to have a gym near work? Take advantage of that and go at lunch! Like running after work or at night? Do it then. Whatever you can consistently do -DO IT!

3. Schedule your social life around running
Not the other way around. We are all VERY busy people. Work, family, church, friends, school, clubs, sleep- all this alone can be hard to manage. Add in 30-50 miles (or more) of running on top of that and you realize there aren’t enough hours in the day! If you feel like you don’t have time for everything, see where you can give a little. Do you HAVE to go to EVERY obligation? See where you can multitask. I often run errands on my runs. Run to the library, get groceries after a run, push your kids in a stroller during the run, run instead of driving/taking the train on your commute. This won’t work for everyone and you may be the smelly person at the grocery store- but figure out how you can manage.

Illinois Race
 
4. Make running friends or better yet make your friends runners
Someone recently asked me if I was only friends with runners. I replied "No, but eventually most of my friends become runners." Why is this? Because people want to be part of whatever you’re really excited about! If people see you making positive, healthy choices in life, they want to be part of it. Even better, if you’re friends with runners you can multitask and get your social time in while you run! At the very least your running friends will  understand why you show up to brunch all sweaty.

Va Beach
 
5. Be healthy
Marathon weight gain isn’t just a myth. Try to eat healthy, figure out if supplements are right for you (I have lots of info on that so check this out http://telisa5.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/my-advocare-journey/ or email me at telisa.walter@gmail.com if you want more).
 
6. Reward yourself
You didn’t just run 20 miles for nothing! This goes with motivation-make a deal with yourself. "If I can finish 19 miles today I can get that awesome hot pink tank top I’ve been eyeing all week." 
 
7. Don’t overdo it
Injury prevention is important but is difficult because what is too much for one person may not be enough for another. Listen to your body! If there is persistent or sharp pain take time off and possibly see a Doctor. Some people can run many miles every single day but many people cannot. Be sure to stretch after every run! Try to get a/several deep tissue massage(s) (If you are in the DC area I’ve got a great recommendation). Spend quality time with your foam roller. She (or he) will become your best friend-go ahead and name it we won’t judge. Try out an ice bath-its cold but it works!
 
8. Find the training plan that works for YOU
There are so many plans out there how do you choose the best one? Don’t just choose the one your friend chooses. Look at the length of your race and what your fitness level is as well as how injury prone you are. I’ve used a Jeff Galloway program for most of my races. Most of his plans include a run/walk program and only running 4-ish days a week with lower mileage. This is great for beginners. During my last race I used a Hal Higdon plan while still using the Jeff Galloway run/walk method. Unfortunately, I ran too many days and miles on top of strength training and injured myself -making for a very painful and disappointing race. 
 
This year the Goofy Challenge (a half marathon one day and a full the next) provided a scheduling challenge. I knew I needed to get enough miles in but was afraid of injury. On top of that I am doing a few half marathons earlier in season. My plan is to use Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 2 program (still with the Jeff Galloway run/walk method-I love it!) because it includes a long weekend run with a long-ish run the day before -just like the race will be. I’m treating all my shorter races as long training runs and just having fun! I’ll have to let you know how this works out!
 
9. Rest Day(s)
The most important thing about any training plan and the only way to run in moderation is to REST. Your body needs it and your mind needs it. Let those muscles recover!
 
10. Take time off
After my last full marathon, a very wise running friend told me to take 7 days off before running again. While I was itching to get back to my Nike’s (I wanted to run off that marathon weight gain) I listened and my legs recovered better. You may find after a race you never want to run another one-I certainly did (although obviously that didn’t last long). Take off as much time as you need for your body- and more importantly your mind – to recover. Figuring out splits and times and miles constantly adds a lot of pressure and can lead to burnout. So lighten up and take a break!
 
11. Schedule your race around your life
So what if everyone is doing the NYC marathon (BTW I am so jealous and want to do it too)?! That doesn’t mean you have to. Depending on where you live, running at certain times of the year may be really difficult. When I lived in Chicago I didn’t attempt to run outside in the freezing, ice, and snow covered winters and now that I’m in DC I LOVE winter running but the heat and humidity of the summers make running more than just a couple miles feel like a marathon in itself. Do you hate running hills or know that you won’t have the chance to train on them? Then don’t pick a hilly race. Do you hate running on the treadmill or maybe love it? Keep all this in mind when scheduling your race.
 
12. Have FUN
You’re not going to want to complete 12-18 weeks of training if its not at least somewhat enjoyable. So make it fun! Wear bright clothes and sing silly songs in your head (or out loud-no judgment here). Whatever is fun for you-Do It!
 
Thanks for reading along and let me know if you’re running Goofy! I’d love to see friendly faces there!!!!

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Marathon Weight Gain

Today’s lovely guest post is from one of my favorite running bloggers who inspires many of us to run that extra mile each week. I mean heck, she eats marathons for breakfast on an almost weekly basis; or so it seems! If you’re new to my site first and foremost HELLO! Second of all, I hope you’ll stay for a while and check out not only SkinnyRunner’s story but also the other stories that have been shared over the past year as part of my Marathons+Moderation series. Not, I’ll turn it over to today’s expert and let her share her tips for managing the dreaded marathon weight gain.

Hey y’all, it’s SkinnyRunner. I blog over at the aptly titled SkinnyRunner about a bunch of crap, I mean, marathons and stuff.

When Ashley asked me to contribute to her Marathons + Moderations Series I thought, Well, that’s an honor. And then I thought, Uhhhhhh what am I supposed to write about?!

I thought about injury prevention, compression and Garmins, but decided to talk about something far more dreaded: marathon weight gain.

How?! It doesn’t even make sense! You run all these miles, put in months of work and end up gaining weight?!

Scale

Source

Life is a cruel, unfair thing.

Running is a very efficient exercise meaning you burn a lot of calories, but along with that comes a big appetite: your body needs fuel to run all those miles.

Fast forward 4 months: you’ve been training hard and have become used to your long runs and refueling heartily. Now you have 2-3 weeks of imposed taper where you still want to eat (marathon hunger, baby!) like you have a 20 miler on tap, but you’re resting.

Race day comes, you have an amazing day, and then suddenly it’s over and you’re again supposed to reverse taper and take up to a month off to rest and recover. But you still have that big appetite that you’ve gotten used to in the past 4 months! You’re enjoying your bigger meals and extra snacks, but your activity level isn’t matching your intake.

And that my friends, is how you can (some people do, some don’t) gain weight while running a marathon.

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Source

So is there a solution or should I just never ever run except to the bathroom?

I would say to NOT run a marathon if you’re doing it ONLY to lose weight.

I love running and think everyone who can, should run one marathon in their lives to experience that amazing sense of accomplishment and culmination of all your hard work, but don’t do one just as another diet fad or way to drop pounds.

You might lose weight, you might not, but you could miss out on the enormity of your accomplishment because you’re only focused on a number on the scale. And frankly, I’ve heard of a lot more people gaining a couple pounds during marathon training than losing them.

Start using MODERATION to eventually match your intake (calories) to your outtake (exercise).

Enjoy yourself post-race: you deserve that beer, burger and whatever else you want. It’s your day; own it and be proud.

In the days after, slowly start taking a look at your diet to see what, if any changes need to be made. I’m not saying to drastically drop to a 1300 calorie diet all of the sudden because you’re not running 50 miles a week. There’s nothing moderate about that.

Instead, look at your afternoon snack: say for the past 3 months you’ve enjoyed a huge fruit smoothie and peanut butter sandwich. Great, nice and healthy. But now, maybe eat the same smoothie with an open-faced sandwich. You’re not doing anything drastic or depriving yourself while still making small adjustments to your eating.

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{That was a banana milkshake, not a smoothie}

Find another physical outlet or activity besides running.

Post-marathon it’s recommended to take a day off for every mile you’ve run, so nearly a month. Your body’s probably beat up and you might be burnt out mentally so take a couple complete rest days.

And then find something else active to do: maybe it’s simply walking, or taking a yoga class; whatever it is, do something. Your body will feel better, you will mentally feel better, and you’ll probably make healthier choices too.wordexercise2

Source

Don’t make it a big deal.

Life goes on and in the big picture, it just isn’t a big deal. That bump on the scale might be from muscle you’ve gained in your thighs and legs from all the miles you’ve logged. Either way, those legs carried you 26.2 miles, hot dang!

And if the couple extra pounds really bother you, you can always sign up for another marathon. Who wants to go run one with me?!

Jack-Black-kung-fu-scale-01

Picture source

What are your tips for keeping your weight in check when you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, or other major event?

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Training for the London Marathon

I’m so excited about this week’s Marathons+Moderation guest post that I actually wanted to post it sooner than Wednesday! Last week after watching the women’s marathon with Meghann, we both were talking about how much we’d love to run that marathon one day. We weren’t alone either. Twitter was buzzing with London Marathon excitement after the Olympics and I’d be surprised if their entry rate at this point isn’t higher than normal already. Much to my elation, Charlie reached out to me via email to see if I’d be interested in letting her share her London Marathon story through Marathons+Moderation. Heck yes!

Hi Healthy Happier Bear readers, I’m Charlie and I blog at The Runner Beans. I am so excited that Ashley has let me share my first marathon story with you. This April I ran the London Marathon 2012, and was thrilled to achieve my goal of finishing in under 5 hours!

I actually trained for the London marathon in 2011, but had to pull out due to an ITB injury. Thankfully I was lucky enough to be running for a great charity, MIND, who allowed me to defer my entry and sponsorship money to the following year.

When starting marathon training for the second time I decided to do things a little differently, so here are my tips for first time marathoner:

Your plan has to work for you… Having a training plan that worked with my life; both work and social schedules, meant that I stuck to it. If I had been overambitious with the number and distances of my runs, I can imagine that I would have found it overwhelming and may have been tempted to quit. I kept my mileage low during the week, sticking to 3-5 miles during three weekday runs, only upping my mileage, gradually, on my weekly long runs. This worked really well for me, especially for my first marathon where my main goal was to finish. It meant I could easily fit my runs in before work and could squeeze in other workouts. Be realistic and work out a safe, achievable plan to get
you to marathon fitness.

All the gear…Whilst running is a very accessible sport where you don’t need too much equipment to start, the most important thing to get right is your shoes. This year, unlike the last, I went and had my gait analysed at a shoe store in London, running on a treadmill whilst being filmed to check the degree of pronation in my feet when I run. It turned out that I overpronated quite a bit, and was given very supportive shoes to protect my feet and improve my running style. This definitely helped with the pain in my knees and feet after long runs. Other than shoes, you can kit yourself out with as much or as little as you want/can afford.

Cross Train… During training this year, I didn’t JUST run. The previous year I was new to running, and just getting back into the exercise game, and I didn’t really think about incorporating strength or cross training into my routine. I ran 4 days a week and that’s it. This year, I included weekly yoga sessions plus some weight and circuit sessions in and felt my whole body getting stronger. It took some of the pressure of my knees, improved my core strength, and allowed me to retain a little flexibility.

Have a cause… I originally signed up to run the marathon in memory of one of my best friends, raising money for MIND, a mental health charity. Having such a worthy cause ensured that I stuck to my training plan as I didn’t want to let his family down, or my friends and family that had donated to the cause. Every time I wanted to put off a run, I’d think about why I was doing it, and lace up my shoes and get out there.

Practise makes perfect… This year I signed up for three half marathons and a 5k. I found it far easier to complete long runs that were scheduled races, plus the appeal of a medal and goody bag never gets old! I ran two of these half marathons with my friend Emily, who I was also planning on running the London Marathon with. It was great to work out our goal paces and our race day strategies together. These half marathons were brilliant practises for the big one. During one of my half marathons my ipod was dead leaving me music-less for all 13 miles, and during another half,
my garmin decided to switch off halfway through. These minor setbacks during my half marathons, ensured that I didn’t make the same mistakes on the big day. Plus I realised that I really like running half marathons! (I’m doing another in 2 months time!)

You don’t have to do it alone… I ran the whole of the London Marathon with Emily, and don’t think I would have had as much fun during the race, nor would I have been able to finish so strongly without her. Hitting the wall at mile 20 was miserable, but having Emily by my side telling me I was strong and had to keep going, that she wasn’t leaving me, kept me running. Without her, there is a very real possibility that I would have stopped and walked.

Enjoy your race… This is one of the most important pieces of advice I was given. You will only run your first marathon once. You may run other marathons, but nothing will ever feel quite like the first time you cross the finish line. I loved (almost) every moment of the London Marathon. The course itself is so impressive, running past huge London landmarks. One of my favourite moments was running across iconic Tower Bridge, marking about the halfway point. We also ran through areas of London that I had never been to before, including the Cutty Sark. The crowds on the day were amazing; it was great having so much support from the thousands of people lining the streets, something that we wouldn’t have had in a smaller race. I also hugely appreciated the support of friends and family on the sidelines, a huge benefit of running a race that’s local to you.

I crossed the finish line in 4.54.59 hrs, holding Emily’s hand with a huge smile on my face.

“One day you won’t be able to do this, today is NOT that day.”

Question: Have you ever run a marathon in a different country?

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