RUNNING 101: DRINK UP!

I’m sure you’ve heard it before:  “by the time you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.”  This is true, not just in the context of exercise, but just going about your everyday business.  So imagine how much more critical it is when you’re working out, pushing your body physically as well as mentally! 

I have been working on a series of blog posts for some friends who are looking for running tips for beginners, and I hadn’t planned to start with hydration, honestly.   But I was just having this conversation with my daughter when I saw this post on Facebook:Dehydration - Leading Cause of Training Injuries.  Any mention of training injuries and/or hydration is sure to get my attention!  I'm completely on board with the need to hydrate, but I had never thought about it CAUSING injury.  Interesting... and it makes sense!

My daughter will be running her first half marathon with me in Walt Disney World in January, and will be training in New York this summer.  I was encouraging her to try out my Camelbak before she heads back to school.  While there will be plenty of water stations along the race route in Disney, running longer distances in Central Park means she’ll need to carry and/or buy water for longer runs. 

I always run with a 20-25oz. water bottle, even just to run a few miles.  I feel 100% better running when I’m well hydrated, and I find the Camelbak bite valve really helps steady my breathing if I’m ever struggling.  The couple of times I’ve run without water have reminded me how much it is totally worth it to me to carry it every time I go. 

For distances over 6 miles, I love this Camelbak HydroBak. 

It holds 50oz of water and is very “low profile”—I hardly notice I’m wearing it!  I will say, I usually run with music, and was kind of surprised at a recent race when I wasn’t wearing headphones (there were 7 awesome bands along the race route!) – the thing really makes quite a bit of noise jostling around back there.  With apologies to other runners along the way who might be annoyed by the noise, I’ll just be turning up the music because having my own water supply is a must!  My longest run so far was 16 miles, and I’ve yet to finish all 50oz. of water before I’ve finished. 

If you can’t stand to carry water with you, there are other options, you just may need to get creative.  I have friends who drive out ahead on their running route and stash water bottles along the way.  On a recent 10-miler with my younger daughter, we stopped at a grocery store on the way and bought a couple of water bottles that she carried in a backpack.  She doesn’t mind the backpack, just doesn’t want to carry a water bottle in her hand.  Everyone’s a little different, you just have to figure out what works for you.
 

How much water should you drink?   More than you think, I promise!  Take your weight (in pounds) and divide by 2.  That’s the number of ounces you should drink each day PLUS whatever you drink while you’re working out!  So, if you weigh 100 lbs., that’s 50oz. per day, just for starters!  During your workout, recommendations are all over the place, but the “average” seems to be about 8oz. every 15-20 minutes.  For an hour workout, I usually try and finish a large (24oz) water bottle, and then drink another after I’m done.
 

Don’t like the “taste” of water?  Experiment.  Add some lemon, lime, orange, or cucumber to a pitcher of water.  Try it with or without ice—I’ve found that I actually prefer water without ice with a little lime.  (Our family’s drink order at restaurants, which is really all just waters, has become quite complicated lately: water, water with a lemon, water with a lemon and no ice, water with ice and two lemons… ) If you prefer bottled water, try different brands—there really are differences!  For a little flavor, my favorite is Hint water—it’s a little spendy, but you can find it on sale, and there’s no added sugar nor artificial sweeteners—it just tastes awesome!

If you're not a big water-drinker, I'm guessing your next question is, "what about other drinks?"  I know, I know... I'm a coffee drinker.  I had given it up completely and even made an overnight drive to NYC without it!  The aftermath: 

Then this horribly cold winter plus recovering from injury, I had to have my coffee.  I'm hooked again.  I love my coffee.  But I don't count that toward my water intake. In fact, because coffee tends to DEhydrate you, I actually drink more water to compensate for the coffee.  (And with summer slowly making an appearance, I plan to try and cut or drastically limit the coffee again soon!  shhh... don't tell my barista!)  As for sodas, sugary drinks or "diet" drinks... there are so many good reasons not to, but if you must have them, really try and limit yourself, and don't count those toward your total water intake. You might surprise yourself and find it easier to give those up if you're already drinking so much water! (That's how I got away from coffee.) 
  
With it warming up here (finally!) it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re getting enough water to drink.  If you’re thinking you’d like to start running or get into an exercise routine, I’d say this is the best place to start: drink your water!  Get yourself a water bottle and get into the habit of using it every day.  It costs you nothing and takes no extra time out of your day, so you can start NOW, even if you’re busy at work, away on vacation, recovering from an injury, whatever.  There's really no reason NOT to drink plenty of water.  You will notice a difference in just a few days, IF you really stick with it!
 

So there you go—Running 101: Step One—Drink Up!! 

Give it a try for a week and let me know how you do!!

today's running mantra

today's running mantra:
We are runners.
And we will run.

I hope everyone had a chance to get out there today and felt the incredible strength of the running community like I did. ♥ lauren

all over the place

“I could go running and racing and dancing and chasing and leaping and bounding hair flying heart pounding and splashing and reeling and finally feeling… now's when my life begins!”

Yeah, that line from my girl, Rapunzel, pretty much describes this past week of training.  Honestly, it’s a fairly accurate picture of any given week in my life, which is why I love Rapunzel—she’s all over the place with energy and excitement about what’s ahead! 

That’s me—all over the place! 

The weekend after finishing the half marathon, I ran an 8K and a really short (1/8 mile) Kilt Run with a friend, and then enjoyed some short easy running days.  Recovering, I was.  Losing focus, I was.   I truly enjoy running, but my life is filled with a wide range of possible distractions and I quickly realised I need a goal, a target to shoot for, or all the other things creep in and take over and I start to get squirrely. 

I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next, but going through the mail that piled up while I was out of town, I found this postcard.

I have a bunch of friends who've said they want to start running, so this looked perfect for us.  There are about a dozen of us registered, and everyone is rocking their training!  I’m really looking forward to crossing that finish line with all these amazing women!

  

I was also looking at a few different races trying to decide what was next for me—another half?  a full marathon?  A friend found a Diva Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach that promised to be a fun moms’ weekend, but the timing and travel were going to be tricky for me.  Then, in the midst of this interminable NC winter, we were blessed with a pretty Saturday and my daughter suggested a bike ride.  

I posted this photo on Facebook, and a friend asked if there was a triathlon in my future.  

www.ramblinroseevents.com

My wheels started turning, and within 24 hours, I was registered and studying training plans! 

Then, I came across this:

I love the medal, I love that is says “Raleigh Rocks,” the timing works well with my triathlon, it’s local, and a friend’s band is going to playing along the race route.  Could it BE any more perfect??? 

So, yes, 3 events happening in the next several weeks.  Overlapping training schedules, and just to keep it interesting, let’s throw in some swimming and biking.  Crazy!  Just the way I like it!

This was last week’s challenge:

Triathlon Training

swim 55 minutes (25 + 30)

bike 75 minutes (30 + 45)

run 55 minutes (25 + 30)

one day= swim 25, bike 30,

two rest days

PLUS, Half Marathon Training

long run = 14 miles (before I start to taper)

Triathlon training calls for one swim/bike day.  I also did a run/bike day so that I could do my long run on its own, and have two rest days afterward.  It made for a crazy week for me, taking off Wednesday and Thursday.  I usually get a little nuts after one day of not running, but that 14 mile run was clearly the mega-dose of vitamin D (it was an absolutely gorgeous day!) and endorphins I needed to survive a mid-week 2-day rest.  I also do some kind of yoga every day—either an hour-long class or just 20 minutes at home. 

It was all good until Friday. I had coffee with a dear friend. She’s a teacher at a year-round school, and I only get to see her 4 times a year—during her school breaks.  Coffee lasted 6 hours.  (no joke)  It was lovely.  It was also a really chilly day, and when I started thinking about running, I also started negotiating with myself.  This is what I do when it’s cold.  I come up with all sorts of very reasonable arguments and alternate running plans.  But on a Friday afternoon, when I still had some swimming and biking to fit in, there was no time for Plan B.  (And the forecast for the weekend wasn’t promising, either!)

Some days, I need to put my inner voice on mute, lace up my shoes, put in my headphones and GO. 

As I was negotiating with myself, I thought about January, and how happy I would have been to run on a 50 degree day in January.  This particular January, I would have been happy just to be able to get out and run, regardless of the weather.  I missed a lot of running days in January.  But I didn’t have to miss this day.  I went, and I’m so glad I did.  Because as it turned out, it was beautiful.

would you rather? (runner's edition)

Have you ever played this game?

We are major board game fans here, and when I saw this post today over at Olive to Run, I was excited to play along! 

The Questions:


1. Would you rather run a 5k or a marathon?

I have to cheat and say half marathon.  I do enjoy running 5Ks, but my thing is distance.  I’m not fast, but at the right pace with the right rhythm, some days I feel like I could run forever.  I haven’t actually done a marathon (yet) so I don’t know for sure… 
I might hate it.  
It’s not likely.  
I’ll find out in January… maybe even before then. 

 

2. Would you rather run in the heat of summer or the icy winter?


Heat of summer, no contest.  I’ll take hot, humid, even a thunderstorm any day.  This first winter of running for me has been the coldest, nastiest one I can remember here.  If it wasn’t bad enough here, I spent most weekends in January and February in cold cities like New York, Syracuse, and Chicago.  Even had to make peace with the treadmill.  
I will be so happy to see it warm up, if it ever does.  
The groundhog and I are not on good terms at the moment. 

3. Would you rather have new running shoes or a new running outfit?


A new outfit.  I get very attached to my sneakers, and hate to even think about replacing them.  But I’m always ready for a cute new Running Skirt! 

4. Would you rather run alone or in a group?


Alone. 

I love people and love to be around people more than anything.  There is nothing better than sitting and chatting with a friend—I could do that for HOURS and often do.  I love human interaction, crave it some days.  If given the choice, I’d usually choose being with people over being alone.  

But when I run, I run alone.  I like to go at my own pace, listen to music, stop to take pictures when I want to stop to take pictures, and run longer just because I feel like it. 
I do enjoy running with friends, but in my mind it’s really a “visit” and I’ll do my training run another time.  
Alone.

5. Would you rather run next to someone in a race who tries to talk to you constantly or someone who breathes heavy and grunts?


I’ll take the talker!  (see number 4, above.)  As long as they don’t mind if I mostly listen, I don’t mind if they talk.  Frankly, someone who loves to talk, I imagine we’d become fast friends.
 

6. Would you rather run a race because of the convenience (location, price, travel) or the swag?


In real life, convenience.  It’s hard for me to travel for a race with all the other things I’m juggling.  But I won’t lie… I love an awesome medal, and plan to finish ALL of the Disney races!

7. Would you rather run a race with a group of friends or by yourself?


With friends.  When I train, I prefer to run alone.  But on race day, it’s all for fun.  I’ll never set records, so as long as the group of friends is of the same mindset—in it for the joy of the experience—I’d much rather run with a group and enjoy it together!

8. Would you rather run a PR but result in an injury or finish strong and missing a PR?


Definitely finish strong.  Don’t care much about PRs, but I’ve been injured once and don’t care to go thru that process again if I can avoid it. 

9. Would you rather eat a big meal the night before or a big meal after a race?


The night before.  I usually run best on an empty stomach, not much of a breakfast person. When I finished my first half, I thought I wanted food, but after half a banana, I realised what I really wanted was just a hot shower!! 
  

10. Would you rather be chased by a swarm of bees or a pack of dogs?

Seriously??  I’m going to say bees, and I’m allergic to bees!  But I think the dogs could do a lot more damage, and I might have a shot at evading the bees, or at least running to the nearest dose of Benadryl!

What would YOU rather do?

Choose one, two, three, or all and share your would you rather.