Running: It's all the Rage!

I think it is easy to see that running has become trendy in our society.  It's cool to run these days, especially when you get a medal or t-shirt to show for it.  When I lived in Chicago I was always amazed at the swarm of runners on the lakefront path when the weather was warm.  I had no idea that many people liked to run!   Maybe it’s my Public Health background or my personal love of running, but this sight thrills me.  Some long time runners are more annoyed than elated with this flood of new runners but if you ask me, it's nice to see something besides low-carb diets and massive sunglasses become popular (admittedly, I am a fan of the oversized glasses).   A trend that gets people off the couch and moving is just what this country needs.  

Our society has been labeled ‘obesogenic’ by the CDC.   Obesogenic is a term defined as environments that promote increased food intake, non healthful foods, and physical inactivity.   Bingo!  That pretty much sums up our country’s current state of health and the reason I am delighted rather than disgruntled with the influx of new runners today. 

Running is clearly beneficial to your health, but surprisingly so is being part of a group.  Last year the New York Times revealed an Australian study suggesting individuals with friends live longer than their friendless counterparts.  This is yet another reason to get involved in a running group, which these days is easy to do.   In fact, they are popping up all over the country and in most cities there are a variety to choose from.  Some provide coaching, group runs and a sense of camaraderie all for a fairly nominal fee.   Others are completely free of charge, often organized through sites like meetup.com.  Whether a novice or a veteran runner there seem to be groups for everyone.  

What I find even more fantastic about the running trend is how popular it has become to run for a cause.   One of the largest fundraising groups is Team in Training, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Over the years they have raised over $800 million and have had 350,000 participants since their inception.  Many other runners fund raise for an endless number of causes like AIDS research, Domestic Violence Prevention and Breast Cancer research.   Fundraising through running often inspires people that would otherwise have no desire to run on their own.  They run for a cause they are passionate about and in turn find a love for running, or at the very least they may improve their current state of health or make friends.

I work for a non-profit organization struggling to stay afloat with the burden of California’s financial deficit.  Two of our board members recently ran the Fargo Marathon and raised over $1,200 for our organization.  This is the beauty of running for a cause.  It benefits the runner and a worthy organization simultaneously.   

In a nation plagued with obesity and heart disease as the leading cause of death, a trend like running is exactly what the doctor ordered.   It is not a solution to our problems but it is definitely a step in the right direction. 

Side note: As great as the running trend is, I have to address the fact that it does not solve our country’s obesity problem.  Obesity rates are far higher among minority populations and sadly the presence of minorities in these running organizations is small.   The good news is that the rate of physical activity has increased in the last few years among racial minorities but there is still a ways to go.

 To find a running group in your area click here.

Happy Running! 

Cut Back & Cut Loose

This week is a cut-back week in terms of my training and it could not have come at a better time.  Lately, my runs have been a struggle; I spend them staring at my watch to see how much longer I have to go.  Usually running allows me to work through my thoughts and unwind, but lately I think about my couch and how good it will feel when I sit my butt on it. Instead of deep thoughts I envision the bowl of popcorn I will enjoy afterward and the book that I can’t wait to get sucked into.

When I start to feel this way I know it’s time for some recovery.  Last night I had my first great run in a few weeks. I had no idea how far I would go, or how fast. I just went with it.  I ran from home through the picturesque Balboa Park exploring little areas I usually zip on by during a speed workout.  I felt gratitude for the sun beaming down on me and the perfectly clear blue sky.  The smell of flowers enveloped me as I whisked through the park, relaxed and free.

Balboa Park

I ventured out of the park and down 5th Avenue.  Although I walk down this street daily it looked different as I ran.  The palm trees lining the street soared high above me in a way I never noticed.  I smiled at people walking down the street and to my surprise they all smiled right back.  For a moment I imagined I was in a music video, dramatically running in slow motion.

I thought about my family that I miss and pictured each one of their faces.  I could have been moving at 8 minute pace or 10 minute pace; I had no idea and I didn’t care either way.  I was treasuring each stride.

I became overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for so many things – big and small.  I was feeling thankful for my healthy body, my accepting family, reuniting with my best friend, the almost seamless transition of our life from Chicago to San Diego, my job with a fantastic organization and the list of gratitude goes on, but I will stop because it includes everything from frozen yogurt to puppies.

I needed this run.  I was able to reflect upon all of the things I have been forgetting lately.  Some runners have a habit of clinging tightly to their training program and becoming excessively structured.  Structure is great but overload can lead to burn out and even injury.  I am guilty of this myself from time to time, although I make an effort to stop and smell the roses whenever I can.  I have learned not to treat every run like a work-out.  There is a reason training programs have cut-back weeks and recovery runs.  Use them!


Has it been awhile since you’ve had a run filled with joy?  Do you push yourself hard every single time?  Do you use a watch to monitor your pace on every run? 

If you answered yes, it might be time to give yourself a break.  Ditch the watch and treat yourself to a fun run.  Run like a kid again!  Pay attention to the world around you; the smells, the sights, the sounds.  Forget about that upcoming race and enjoy the present.  It is a great reminder of why we love to run in the first place.  Along the way you might find there is a lot you’ve been missing. 

Happy Running!

Improve Your Running with Visualization

A few nights ago I listened to Philip Dunn, 3 time Olympian, talk about his Olympic experience and training methods at the San Diego Track Club’s monthly get-together.  While Dunn talked about training and nutrition I was more interested in something else he mentioned; visualization.  Most of us have heard about visualization techniques, maybe we even read about them in the book ‘The Secret’ back when everyone was raving about positive thinking, but the majority of us don’t actually use it.  Personally, I use it in my yoga practice but have yet to carry it over to my running.  Philip talked about visualizing himself running through the finish line feeling great when he is at mile 20 with over 11 miles to go.  Like many other high-level athletes it helps to give him that edge.

I am fascinated with the mind-body connection so I sought out a colleague that is a certified hypno-therapist from a healing arts school for more information.  According to Jef Olson, “visualization, sometimes called mental imagery, is a great way to gain confidence, increase mental awareness, reduce or eliminate stress and some even believe it can relieve pain and speed up the healing process”.

There has been a great deal of research that suggests visualization has a significantly positive effect on performance.  One study conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago was done where he split people into three groups and tested each group on how many free throws they could make. He had one group practice free throws every day for an hour.  Another group visualized themselves making free throws and the third group did nothing.  After 30 days, he tested them again. Basically the group that practiced and the group that visualized improved the same amount, despite the fact that one group never even touched a basketball.  The group that did nothing, obviously had no improvement.  That my friends is the power of positive thinking!

This does not mean that you will be just as good of a runner if you visualize in place of actually running, but it clearly has a positive effect on performance. The mind is an extremely powerful tool and we should use it to our benefit.  As Angela, an exercise physiologist, puts it “Visualization is a great way to improve your running without putting the extra mileage and stress on your body.” 

Jef Olson stated that visualization can be used as part of meditation prior to race day and can also be used while out on the course.  It may sound hokey to some of you but it doesn't hurt to try.  If you’re interested in learning more about visualization, click on this link.   


Happy Thoughts and Happy Running!

Vegan Superstar - Scott Jurek

I was pleased to see an article this week on the New York Times website about Ultra marathoner Scott Jurek.  I find his life fascinating and his outlook on life even more enthralling.  My inner hippie resonated with Scott when reading Born To Run and I was spellbound by the article featured in Runner’s World a few months ago, titled ‘The King of Pain’.


This NY Times article was titled ‘Diet and Exercise to the Extremes’ but it was really a glimpse at how much Scott trains and what he consumes in the process.

As a vegetarian I love reading about other vegetarian and vegan athletes so I can say to people “See! You don’t need meat!”  To put into perspective what kind of endurance Jurek has:  Just today he beat the American record for the IAU 24-Hour Run in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France.  In this race runners circle a loop that is slightly less than a mile, continuously for 24 hours and the person that runs the most miles is declared the winner.  He completed 162!  Now it's easy to see how 40 miles is considered an "easy run" for Scott.  Best of all, he does this all with no animal products in his diet.

So, what does Scott Jurek eat?  Clearly the man needs far more calories than the average human being so he loads up on quinoa, vegetables, oils, nut butters, sweet potatoes and tofu. The article mentioned that he often has a 1,000 calorie smoothie in the morning full of fruit and protein as well as oils as a source of fat.

Jurek had less than an ideal diet as a kid, as did I.  His mom, who recently passed away, suffered from MS leaving the cooking to the kids.  I can relate to being self-sufficient with my eating when I was young since my single mom worked... a lot.  I lived off of Goldfish crackers, hot dogs and ramen noodles until college.  While most people gain the freshman 15 I lost it.  I realized what was actually in those foods I was eating and I changed my ways, just as Scott did when he was in college.

Scott Jurek is an inspiration to me not only for his incredible endurance but as a strong, humble and compassionate human being.  He is the reason I am certain I can run a marathon.  If this man can run well over 150 miles at once, I think we all can run 26.2!

Malibu Marathon here I come! (November 14th, 2010)  Maybe eventually I will jump on the vegan bandwagon, but for now I am living an active vegetarian life and loving it.   :)

Cinco de Mayo 5 Miler - Race Report

Angela and I ran the 5 mile race at Lake Miramar in celebration of my Birthday and to test our fitness.  It was hosted by the San Diego Track Club at Lake Miramar.  Considering it was only a month since my stress fracture, and the fact that I had only completed one speed workout, I figured I’d be a slow-poke.

I surprised myself.

We took off together, slowly.  Proceeding with caution we ran our first mile at 8:00 pace.  Better safe than sorry, right? We were feeling good so we picked it up by about 30 seconds/mile. We continually sped up together until about the last mile when I was still feeling great and decided to take off.  I ran ahead and caught up with a man that had been in front of us the entire way.  I guess he didn’t want a girl to pass him so he hung out with me huffing and puffing his way along.  I almost felt bad passing him until he finally said “Go ahead! Go get ‘em!”  He must have known I was holding back.

I listened, shot ahead of him and raced another man to the end.  There is something deeply gratifying about passing men the entire way.  My foot was bugging me from the start and when I was finally able to remove my shoe I saw that my sock and sole were bloody.  A big old blister must have popped along the way, but in a short race there isn’t time to stop and adjust.

Holding my bloody sock 'n sole with pride!

Overall, I was proud of my time considering the circumstances. I ran 5 miles in 35:57, 1st in my age group.  That is an average of 7:11 per mile.  Looking at my splits, however, it was pretty obvious I could have gone faster the first 2 miles but I let fear get in the way. I ran faster than ever and finished the last mile in 6:30.  Deep down, however, I know I didn’t push it as hard as I could have.

Why?

I am sure other non-competitive runners can relate to the fear factor associated with pushing hard during a race. I ask myself things like “What if I go too fast and can’t make it to the end?” or I tell myself “You can’t run any faster than this” which is completely false.  In a recent article titled 'Mind Games', Kara Goucher shares her own psychological struggles with Runner's World.  I was surprised to learn that someone of her caliber would doubt herself.  She is human, after all. 

Personally, I am working on positive self-talk when I am facing self-doubt.  Ang tells me to replace every negative thought with 3 positive thoughts (but she’s a saint so I believe 1 or 2 is sufficient).  Each positive thought like “almost there” or “you are strong” is like a squirt of Windex cleaning away the messy little fingerprints on the glass.  Eventually you are left with a clean, spot-free window; in this case a mind cleansed of pessimism.

It works! Trust the system.

I was once told by a very special person in college, “Not everything you think is true.”  It seems basic, but it is an important reminder that negative thoughts are not always valid.  We are our own worst critic and we sometimes lie to ourselves.

You CAN do it. Don’t let yourself tell you otherwise.

I hope to be fearless in my next race and put my training to good use. When I approach the finish line I want to know that my heart, my legs and my entire body were pushed to the limit and I ran as fast as I possibly could. I may not have been an athlete in college or part of a competitive team, but I am an athlete at heart.

Aren’t we all?

I think it comes down to tapping into that side of ourselves; our inner athlete. I have only just begun to discover mine…

Happy Running!

Sporting our Gold & Silver Medals

It's My Birthday & I'll Blog if I Want To!

Today, I am one year older and with any luck a year wiser. Being in my twenties, my life so far has been a series of transitions. We transition from childhood to adulthood, with countless changes in between. We spend all those years figuring out who we are. We evolve and reassess our values and beliefs. We become our own people with our own opinions, and as we do this we break out of the mold others have put us in. We take risks and make mistakes. We begin to move toward starting our own families and continue toward the life that is uniquely our own.

2009 alone was a year full of colossal changes, all of which were for the better. I went from a four-year relationship that should have been a friendship, to one full of passion and genuine love. I moved from my urban Chicago apartment in the hip Bucktown neighborhood to the flamboyant Hillcrest in San Diego close to downtown and the beach. It is hard for me to find similarities between these 2 places. One is centered around great food and music with spectacular architecture while the other is a wide spread county of natural beauty catering to the active lifestyle.

The changes didn’t stop with my move. I quit my corporate job where I was becoming a disgruntled employee and began work at a non-profit organization that provides care to seniors with dementia. My new position comes with regular hours allowing me to cook my own meals and have a healthy sleep schedule. As a vegetarian eating meals on the go I had iron-deficiency anemia. Now my iron levels are back to normal thanks to my ability to thoughtfully choose whole foods and prepare them myself. This may seem small but as a runner I can physically feel the difference.

My fresh surroundings have given new meaning and beauty to my runs. Running is now an adventure as I seek out new trails and explore new territory. I don’t just enjoy running anymore; I have become deeply passionate about it. I dream about it, read about it, talk about it, write about it and am always looking forward to my next run. I have also stuck to a training program for the first time! Surprisingly it is building my confidence and making me a stronger runner. All aspects of my running have been lifted to a higher level.

I am grateful for all of these changes and all of the new people that have come into my life, including my partner. I work with a wonderful group of strong, intelligent, unique women and each one of them brings something special to the table. They accept me for the crazy, overly energetic, sometimes inappropriate woman that I am and I never have to fake it around them. If I am upset they see it, if I am happy they know it. They all make it tolerable to be away from family, and although they don’t know it they mean the world to me.

Tonight, instead of celebratory drinks I will be running the 5 mile Cinco de Mayo race around Lake Miramar with Angela. It is put on by the San Diego Track Club, which we recently joined, and will be a good test to check out our fitness and see where we’re at.  Wish us luck!

This past weekend in Catalina and week full of birthday surprises is more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you to everyone special in my life – you make my days exceptional!

Catalina Island

If I wasn’t a runner I don’t know if traveling would have quite the same allure.  Some of my most memorable experiences are times when I was running.  Like the time in South Africa when I raced against the setting sun along the Indian Ocean petrified of a hippopotamus attack which is highly likely after dark, honestly!  Paris would not have been the same if I didn’t run my way around the historic Luxembourg Garden and through the timelessly romantic streets.  I remember Golden Gate park perfectly because I got lost by myself on a run, once again during sunset.

I like to run wherever I am because those minutes or hours are ones I will never forget.  I can still picture the monkeys and kudu from St. Lucia and the exact route I took around Paris.  These runs are precious to me, like handmade souvenirs from each place I’ve visited.  I put them on a little shelf in my mind and occasionally dust them off and call each one to mind. 

Angela brought me to Catalina Island this past weekend for a birthday getaway that provided me with yet another keepsake to add to my collection.  We spent 2 full days in paradise, otherwise known as Avalon, in a hotel 1/2 a block from the ocean.  Catalina is a place that draws in many Californians looking for a getaway that is not far from home yet feels a million miles away.  It feels so distant because this is a place free from Starbucks, McDonald's and any corporate chain you can think of.  Globalization has made it genuinely difficult to escape these names, but somehow Catalina has come out unscathed and McDonald's-free.  I guess it is possible. 

We went directly from the traffic of Long Beach to a town with golf carts and only a handful of cars.  The noise of the city vanished as we stepped off the ship onto the island of peace and quiet.  Small,  mountainous and only an hour boat ride from the coast of Los Angeles is Catalina.  The LA smog seemed like a distant memory as we breathed in the fresh ocean air. 

It was like a switch flipped and I was instantly relaxed.  Catalina has that effect on most people.  For two whole days crashing waves replaced honking horns and sirens…Happy birthday to me!

We spent Saturday on an Eco zip-line tour that allowed us to see the island in a unique, panoramic way.  It was our first time zip-lining so we had no idea just how fantastic it would be.  The guides were extremely knowledgeable locals able to answer every conceivable question we had about the island.  This was such a memorable gift and thanks to Angela I will always have video of it, not that I want to watch myself scream hysterically.  I will attempt to post one of the videos in which I am not yelling or saying inappropriate things.  

On to the food!  It can be challenging to find fresh, organic foods when traveling and you’re forced to eat processed junk foods.  I prefer to eat clean and fresh when traveling and enjoying whatever is in season.  We were relieved to find a café serving fresh, vegetarian fare.  We enjoyed a sandwich overflowing with beets and fresh-made pesto.  It was so tasty that we later went back for some of their unusual varieties of hummus to eat on warm pita.   We stumbled into a coffee shop set in the back of a charming courtyard serving organic, fair-trade coffee that blew Starbucks out of the water.  I already miss the smell and taste of it.  We enjoyed my “birthday” dinner at a restaurant steps from the ocean dedicated to serving organic food grown through sustainable practices.  That to me is true comfort food.

Our last day was spent exploring and perusing the island which landed us in front a dirt trail leading up a grassy mountain.  It started directly behind a sign that read “Private Property: No Trespassing” so we figured it must be a good trail.  It led us straight up and around a cliff with a breathtaking view of the ocean.  It left us momentarily speechless.  I persuaded Ang to let me take copious amounts of pictures and she was gracious enough to take many of me as well.  We eventually continued up and down the trail until it spit us out on a golf course where we continued our run back into town.  I am glad that I was able to share that impromptu mountain run with Angela.   Now I can reminisce with someone and never lose it.  It was our shared adventure bringing us equal amounts of joy. 

Our unexpected ocean view

I am grateful to Angela for bringing me to a place full of such beauty and peace, and for sharing those unforgettable moments with me.  This trip was a reminder to appreciate the exquisite subtleties in life and find the beauty in the little things.  Whether it’s a sip of delicious coffee, the smell of the ocean air or that moment when you catch a glimpse of something radiant – soak it up, store it away in your mind, and relive it from time to time.

Running Warrior :)

Happy Running Everyone!