running – Betsy Schow

Fitness Tip: Coming back from an injury

One month ago I was running 26 miles. This week I’m topping out at 6. And even then I’m going slower than molasses.

But that is the point. After an injury, it’s tempting to try and make up lost time. I know that’s what I’m itching to do. I’ve just had 3 weeks of low impact exercising which means that I have burned about a 1/4 of the calories per week than I normally do. My weight loss is slow and I can see my calves turning to jello.

But if I tried to pick up where I left off, I would injure the healing muscles and be out for even longer. So when coming back from an injury, take your time. Literally. Make each mile a minute or two slower than pre injury. If you were at 60 minute sessions on the elliptical, try 30 minutes with stretching before and after.

Most importantly, listen to your body. If you feel sharp pain… STOP. Right then. Not after you’re done with your workout. Sore is ok. Pain is not.

Injuries happen to athletes at every level. Stretching and slow increases in intensity will not only help your recovery, but help prevent injuries in the first place.

Utah Valley Marathon

It’s 3:45 in the morning and I’m on the bus that will take me to the starting line of the marathon. The start is up Provo Canyon and they don’t allow any parking or private drop offs up there because of traffic. So I have to wake up at 3 for a 6 am start time. But let’s be honest, I didnt really sleep last night anyway. 😉

4:40- just arrived at the start line. That was a really loong bus ride. And I have to run that?!!! Lol. Now just to hang out until the gun goes off at 6

5:55- 5 min to start. Let’s go!

10:55- done! 4:55 Unofficial time

I will do a big long post later. I’m too dead now

2 more days until … Gulp.

2 more days until I run the marathon. I’m going to be getting up a 3:15 to catch a 3:45 bus. Then I’ll get to wait by a fire in a barrel, trying not to freeze up Provo Canyon. Then, I can get smooshed like a sardine with the other 2000 people at the starting line. All so I can run for 5+ hours and burn roughly the equavilent calories to one pound of fat.

Why?

To prove I can. To prove to myself that I can do something that’s hard, painful, and sometimes makes me cry… and still push through and finish. It’s my reminder that I can beat anything. One step at a time. With lots of walking breaks. 😉

I’ll post all about the race either late Saturday or Sunday. Assuming my legs haven’t fallen off.

And in case you are wondering, the best things running a marathon? The finishers medal… And the after marathon meal. I’ve just burned 3500 calories. I can eat ANYTHING ;p

Long Run and Fitness Tip: Cheerleaders

This weekend I did my longest run before the marathon in 3 weeks. 20 freaking miles. I ran around my neighborhood, but I’m pretty sure if I’d been smart I could have run to the ice cream shop and back. Anyway, afterwards I had the energy of a slug so the weekend post never happened. So here’s the weekend post with the fitness tip folded in. Like a candy with a gooey center.

I’ve decided that the biggest run before a marathon is just bad juju. Last year it was just after my longest run that I injured my hamstring, making my first marathon a speed walkathon. Two weeks ago I had a great 19 mile run. I wasn’t tired or sore or anything. I could’ve run the marathon that day for sure. This 20 miles kicked my butt. It wasn’t the extra mile that pushed me over, I hit the wall all the way back at mile 5.

It started in the ball of my foot then shot up the shin, through the knee and then up the hamstring finally zapping my lower back. My right leg was stiff and tight and begging to be amputated. So choices. Run through it or go home. I’m too darn stubborn to go home, so I ran through it. Then next 10 miles sucked. Really bad. I wasn’t in extreme pain, maybe a 5 on the pain scale. I had to pull through all my bags of tricks to get through it. Music, singing, visualizing the finish line, self talk… everything. I finally went with “This sucks” over and over to the beat of my feet. Then changed it to “Just one more lap until Chrisy comes”. Yep, I had reinforcements coming.

The last five miles of my long runs, my friend Chrisy Ross joins me. If I could just make it long enough for her to come, then I knew she’d drag my butt those last five miles. Sure enough, rounding the park I saw my salvation. I nearly started crying. My knee by this point felt completely rusted over. She started running in step with me encouraging me, “You’re running strong. Good girl.” I stood a little taller, my stride a little more confident.

For the next fifty minutes or so we kept the pace and she kept my mind off how much I wanted to be home, in bed, with the biggest bag of ice I could find. The last five miles ended up just as easy as the first five. My knee still killed me by the end, but I had made it. And I’m not sure I would have without my friend being my cheerleader.

Everybody needs a cheerleader in life. They don’t need to have pom poms or wear a short skirt, but they do need to push you back onto the field even when your down by five goals. When you have a workout buddy, you seem to stand a little taller, push a little harder, and stay a little longer. I’m not sure if it’s the mechanics of healthy competition, or pride, or the warm fuzzy feeling of encouragement- but I always do better with a friend at my side.

So that’s the fitness tip, get a cheerleader. Somebody that holds you accountable for your progress and pushes you to go even though you feel like giving up.

The Long Run: Pace yourself

Ok, I know. I’m late. I meant to post yesterday, but life got away from me. Which kind of inspired this post anyway. So serendipitous.

This morning I had a great run with Chrisy Ross, an author and running bud of mine. It was 19 miles. Unlike the last race, I did take it nice and slow. Averaging about 11:00 minute mile. By the end I wasn’t all that tired. My leg kids hurt, but not too bad.

I learned with my running what I’m having trouble doing in my life. Pace myself.
If only life came with one of those spiffy Garmin watches that I use in running. Then just like I can tell when I am going too fast, I could see when I am doing too much.

I have a lot on my plate right now. And sadly it doesn’t contain enough dessert in my opinion.
I’m training for the Utah Valley marathon. I’m working on becoming a Certified Yoga instructor. I go back to University this semester. I am trying to finish a new book. I am doing editorial revisions for the two books I’ve already sold to the publisher. And those are the big things. There’s also two little kids that like to be fed from time to time and a house that might get buried under laundry if I don’t act fast.

Point is, I am trying to go faster than my feet can carry me- to use a running metaphor. So what to do? RUN SLOWER!

Did every mile still get run today? Yup. Was it a little slower than normal? Yup. Do I feel a lot better than if I’d run it top speed? Big Yup.

So can I get everything on my to-do list done? Yup. Will it take a little longer than I want? Yup. Will I feel better if I’m not running (sorry for the pun) myself ragged everyday with no break? Big Yup.

Now I just need to reread this post everyday as a reminder 🙂

Dress for Success: Running Shoes

Did you know that running shoes have an expiration date? Now before you go checking the label, I don’t mean literally. Every shoe has a limited number of miles in them before they become a liability. As you’ve porbably guessed, higher quality shoes tend to get more miles, around 450 miles total. Cheap bargain shoes rarely make it to 300. But there are exceptions. Just because its spendy, doesn’t mean its made well.

When your shoes have given up the ghost so to speak, you are more prone to get injured. Knee problems, ankle problems. etc. This stems from the wear patterns and decreased shock absorption.

So how do you know when your shoes should be laid to rest? Do you wait until the rubber is falling off? Here’s the easiest ways to tell:

Do your legs feel a little more beat up then normal?

If you grab the top and bootom of your shoe, does it twist easily? (meaning the center of the sole has broken down. )

Is the tread really worn on one side, making the shoe tilt?

Is it just not comfy anymore?

Yep, you are the best barometer. If it doesn’t feel good, get a new shoe. Otherwise, you might be at risk for overuse injuries. A heavier person will need to replace their shoes more often. I know, its not fair. Tell me about it. Light little waifs can get away with every 450 miles or so.

Keep track of your miles, and really start to pay attention around mile 300.

Another good tip is to find a shoe you like, then buy a spare set. Rotate. Makes them last longer.

And never wear new shoes to a race. Just saying.

The Long Run: You can do hard things

Today’s long run is 18 miles. I’m not gonna lie, it’s given me heart palpitations all week. It’s big and scary and really, really, hard.

So this week I have been repeating our family mantra- You can do hard things.

The mantra was given to us by my daughter’s occupational therapist. When my daughter was 4 yrs old, she refused to do anything. Everything was too hard. Tying her shoes, walking, getting dressed… you name it. She stopped trying to do anything because she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to do it. It was going to be too hard. That’s when her therapist told her that it’s ok that the big scary thing was hard. Because she was a supergirl. And she could do hard things. It took some convincing and a whole lot of practice, but now all it usually takes is that gently reminder to get her back on course.

I’m not four but I still have the same problems. I look at something and all the work it’s gonna take and I say nu uh. It’s too hard. I don’t want to do it.

I know for sure I can run 18 miles. I’ve run 26.2. But even though I know I can do it doesn’t mean it’s not going to be tough. It’s still intimidating, but I just have to tell myself over and over that I can do hard things. I grew two little human beings. It doesn’t get much harder than that.

So everytime I feel that little tendril of fear creeping into my belly and want to crawl back in my shell, I look back and find something I’ve done that was tough, but I survived anyway. So take that 18 miles, I can do hard things.

Dress for Success: If the Shoe Fits

Coolest shoes ever right? They look cool, but they’d be hell to run it.

Take it from somebody who knows, exercise wear starts with your feet. I’ve made ever mistake you can think of when it comes to shoes. I’ve bought clearance shoes that didn’t really fit, but they were cheap. I’ve bought the cutest shoes that didn’t have the right motion control. I’ve worn my shape-ups to run – never, ever, ever do this one!!

Do yourself and your feet a favor. Go to a real running shoe store, not walmart, and get fitted for shoes. Here’s an excerpt about my first running shoes from my book Finished Being Fat: An accidental adventure in losing weight and learning to finish coming to a bookshelf near you in January 2013.

According to all the experts, when you started running, the first thing you had to do was buy a good pair of running shoes. That couldn’t be too hard right? Go to the store get a cute size seven that’s cheap and be done with it. When I got the running store I found out how wrong I was. First question the clerk asked me was if I was an under or over pronater? I didn’t think that was any of his business. Then he guided me to the never ending wall of shoes. Apparently there was more to picking a shoe than just color choices. Each pair of shoes had a different purpose – ones for stability, motion control, extra cushion, racing flats, those barefoot thingies that look like socks. He explained the grave consequences of choosing the wrong shoe; arch problems, IT band problems, planter fasciitis, losing toenails, knee replacements.

It should be noted that I have a giant phobia of being wrong. It colors everything I do. I have trouble picking the restaurant because I’m afraid I’ll pick the wrong one and no one else will like it, or someone will get food poisoning and then it will be my fault because I picked the restaurant. I had been ok with choosing my own shoes when I only had to worry about matching my new running outfit. Now this guy was telling me that my choice had bigger consequences than just a fashion faux pas. That freaked me out! What if I made the wrong choice and crippled myself?

So as usual, I didn’t make a choice at all. I walked out of the store and started to run in my well loved, worn out hiking shoes. Turns out not making a decision was probably the worse decision I could make. Within a week my left knee hurt if I even thought about running. I had blisters on my heels, between my toes, and I think a blister might have started forming under my toenail if that was possible. Who knew hiking shoes did not make good running shoes? Aside from you and probably ninety percent of the population, my husband did. That’s why the next Saturday Jarom packed kids in the car and marched me back into the running center.

Of course the same clerk was there with a huge “I knew you’d be back” grin on his face. If he said I told you so, he could kiss his commission goodbye. Since I still had no idea what kind of shoe I needed, he had me try on a variety in the size sevens I requested. When I didn’t like the feel of any of those, he wisely decided to measure my feet and then disappeared in the back room. My best friend Misty had been preaching the religion of shoe shopping for years, but personally I thought this was more like purgatory than heaven. I looked over at Jarom, who was too busy taking a sports bra off my daughter Lily’s head to be of any help.

The clerk returned with a box that said Saucony. Since I have really bad eyesight, I read it as Saucy, so when he opened the box I expected the shoes inside to reflect that and be cute and “saucy” – maybe even pink. Boy was I wrong. They were ugly white sneakers with a blue slash on the side. But that was not the most offensive thing, the biggest problem was that the tag said size eight wide. Excuse me? Maybe I was being overly sensitive, but I was a little upset that this clerk thought that I had fat feet. When I pointed out that he had obviously grabbed the wrong size, he said nothing and laced them onto my feet.

And so on my twelfth pair of shoes I had a Cinderella moment. The skies opened up, angels sang a heavenly chorus, and I knew these ugly, expensive, most comfortable shoes on the planet would take me where I needed to go. I was in love.

I left that store two hundred dollars poor, but gained new insight. How many great things had I missed out on in life because I had been afraid of picking the wrong one? Never again would I let the fear of being wrong keep me from something I enjoyed. From then on when it was my turn to choose a place to eat, I was not going to defer to someone else and eat lukewarm Mexican. No, if I wanted sushi, then by golly we would have sushi and I would love it.