Burst of Confidence!

Lots has been going on in our lives lately, and not only have I not been blogging much, but my workouts have ramped down somewhat. Life just gets in the way, I guess. Anyway, with my training schedule modified, I have been feeling a little jittery about participating in the Columbus Half Marathon on May 1. I am definitely going to participate, but I am just going to go at a comfortable pace and not worry about setting any goals, just finishing.

The weather was gorgeous today and I went for a run outside. I normally hate doing this, not because I dislike being outside, but because I miss the "control" I feel when I am on the treadmill. When I am running outdoors, I am constantly wondering what my pace is, am I maintaining an even pace, what is the incline/decline, am I slowing down, etc. Of course, if I spent a bunch of money for a fancy gadgety watch, I would know the answers to those questions. But ... trying not to spend money.

Anyway, as I was running, and wondering all those things, I started worrying about the race, and whether I would be able to make it 13 miles. Even though I do it on the treadmill, in "real" life, running is different than in the gym. More real.

But, after about 3 miles, I hit my stride. I stopped worrying, I stopped varying my pace, I stopped thinking about it, and I just naturally hit a speed that I knew I could maintain for another ten miles. I just knew it ... it certainly wasn't fast (and since I don't have that kind of fancy gadgety watch, I can't tell you my pace), but I didn't feel like it was too slow either. It was just right. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. And I will.

I hope.

Today's workout:

60 min. personal training yoga

40 min. run

Negative Splits

Since I began running, I have learned all kinds of jargon associated with the sport. One of the terms that I have seen bandied about in various articles and websites is "negative splits". The concept of negative splits is simple - it is finishing the second half of a race faster than the first half of a race.

While the concept may be simple, executing it is not. My initial response to competing in my first races last summer was to take off as fast as possible at the starting line, giving it my all right at the beginning. Then I would begin to get winded, and slow down as the race went on. By the time I crossed the finish line, I was ready to drop.

When implementing negative splits, you control your pace at the start of a race, and then ramp it up once you get going. This gives you a chance to warm up and once you are hitting your stride, you can pass the other runners who have begun to run out of steam.

Of course, if you want to use this method in a race, you need to train for it. I tried this out today, but running three miles at 8.0 mph, and then inching up the mph by just a .10 mph, until I reached 8.7 mph and ran a total of 5 miles. While this is a small increase in speed, I was able to shave slightly more than three minutes off of my time than if I had stuck with my initial pace.

Find out more about negative splits in this Runner's World article.

Today's workout:
40 min. run (5.29 mi)
60 min. yoga private training
60 min. yoga @ home

Print Inspiration

I admit, I am totally addicted to magazines. I love having access to new and interesting information on all kinds of interesting topics. Magazines are easy to read, indulge my tactile experience of handling print media (instead of scrolling down a screen), are portable, and their bold, splashy headlines hold all kinds of promise.

I often get inspiration for my workouts from fitness and exercise magazines. Some of my favorites are Shape and Self. I also occasionally read Fitness, Women's Health, Women's Running and Runner's World. In addition, I subscribe to Yoga Journal and often try out their home practice sequences.

In order to keep your workouts fresh, magazines are a great way to inject new life into your exercise routine. They offer ideas that you can easily adapt to your own level and environment. Today I used the three abs exercises suggested in this month's Shape magazine. However, I used a cable machine instead of a kinesis machine, and substituted dumbbells for a kettle ball. I also created super-sets by inserting additional exercises after each abs set. It was an awesome full-body workout!

These magazines' web sites are also fantastic resources for additional information on health and fitness and have many helpful features like virtual training, workout logs, and online food diaries.

Today's workout:
70 min. run (7.35 mi)
30 min. resistance training

Uncover your Power

Horror of horrors, I forgot to look at my running training schedule this morning to find out what type of run I am "supposed" to do today. So when I got to the gym, I just decided to fake it - I picked the hill interval button on the treadmill and just decided to go for it.

In the fabulous book I just finished, Born to Run, McDougall writes about how the ultrarunners adjust their running speed to meet the challenges that they face at the moment ... that is, on treacherous terrain they are going to slow their speed down compared to running on smooth, flat surfaces. Obviously, the treadmill presents no dangers to me (!), but varying incline levels does present something of a challenge - particularly since I generally run at 0%. So instead of pushing through at a lower speed that I would maintain throughout the whole run, I varied my speed with the hill intervals, taking the speed up when the interval went down and vice versa.

As I was running, I noticed my interval voice telling me, after thirty minutes, why don't you take the speed down a few notches and give yourself a break? But, I realized as I was running that this voice was there - even though I wasn't fatiguing. Strange - it was like I was subconsciously trying to sabotage myself. The more I run, I discover that I have this odd inner fear of running that is competing with the enthusiasm and joy that I find when I run, and the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when I complete a run. I have to be aware of that negativity, and take time to evaluate how I truly feel and whether I really need to take a break, or whether I can continue to work at the same level.

Today's workout:
50 min hill interval run (5.78 mi)
25 min. resistance training
45 min. yoga

Inspiration

Lots of inspiring stories in this month's Running Times ... thought I would share a quote from Joe Burgasser, a 71-year-old master runner:

Uncommon desire, dedication and sacrifice are necessary to produce the high levels of training necessary to be successful at excelling in any sport. There are no shortcuts and no miracles. Racing is about having the training fitness to push to the limit of your physical and mental abilities. Creating effort pain is mandatory as the race progresses. Try to run even pace or negative splits, not slowing near the end because of a too fast start.

Today's workout:

35 min. progression run (4.08 mi)

60 min. private yoga training

60 min. yoga practice at home

Yoga for Fitness?

There has been a spirited discussion on the blog It's All Yoga, Baby of an "Adidas Yoga" class, taught by celebrity yogi Rainbeau Mars, which will be offered at an upcoming Yoga Journal Conference. Additional posts on the topic can be found here and here.

People are talking about the rise of celebrity yogis, the commercialization of yoga, yoga as a sport, the true values of yoga, and so many other topics. I find this whole conversation fascinating, and respect each person’s right to his or her own views and opinions. To me, it seems like this whole issue crystallizes over the question: what is yoga? at what point does a practice cease to be yoga and become simply a physical exercise?

As yoga becomes more and more widespread, extending beyond ashrams and yoga studios and into gyms, community centers and church basements, the teachers and students are going to be more and more diverse, approaching yoga with different expectations and intentions. While many are introduced to yoga because of its physical benefits and learn to appreciate the philosophy, values and lifestyle of yoga, many others have no desire to go beyond the asanas and get a tight “yoga butt”.

This is where I believe the Adidas sponsorship comes in …. they are jumping on the bandwagon because they are identifying a particular audience, a group of people who are expressing interest in yoga because of its fitness benefits. As a sports/fitness brand, Adidas wants to associate itself with these physical benefits of yoga. As far as I am concerned, you can’t blame a corporation for seeking out additional ways of making a profit – that is their mission. I guess the conundrum arises when the yoga community is faced with whether we accept this connection between yoga and fitness as a “legitimate” yoga practice.

It also seems to be a natural human impulse to try and create meaning and interpret our own experiences for ourselves, including yoga … which leads to many different styles and practices of yoga – including yoga as sport or for fitness. Yoga for sport/fitness seems to be one way of meaning making for a certain group of people – for them, they interpret yoga as a way to attain their health goals without delving into the spiritual side of yoga.

So, to me, as a person relatively new to the “serious” yoga world, it appears that discussions such as this thread point to the desire to name, capture, categorize the concept of yoga … which is, by its very nature, an elusive process as yoga tends to be inclusive of different viewpoints and adaptive to different situations.

I don’t have any answers by any means … I am enjoying reading others’ opinions and left wondering …. where does yoga fit into the fitness world, if it does?

Today's workout:
50 min. run (5.39 mi)
90 min. primary series yoga

Facing my Fears

Today I had a limited amount of time to accomplish my run in order to fit it in with my other obligations. Since yesterday was a "rest" day (being Yom Kippur), I wanted to maximize my mileage. Therefore, I ran a little faster than I normally would. Rather than experiencing the fatigue that I expected, I was not only able to maintain the pace easily for three miles, but I was able to increase the speed by 1.0 mph for an additional mile.

I found myself wondering why I haven't increased my speed sooner for these easy runs. Instead, I have been maintaining a pace during my easy runs that is significantly (about 2.5 mph) slower than my race pace. Part of the reason I haven't being running faster is I am not sure what constitutes a good "easy" pace for me. While I have a plan for the type and distance of running to do each day, there is no set pace pre-determined based on my ability or past performance, so I estimate.

However, it has been quite clear to me for sometime now that my "easy" pace is definitely easy ... so why haven't I moved up sooner?

The answer that I came up with was that I was/am afraid. Of what? I suppose I am afraid of not being able to run as fast as the mileage I set, of getting tired and not being able to complete a run, of getting hurt, of falling off the treadmill or looking ridiculous, of failing.

These week I am going to accept these fears and increase my pace anyway. We'll see how zippy I can get!

Today's workout:
35 min. run (4.17 mi)
60 min. private yoga session

Zippymama's Birthday Season

As my friends and I say, we have now entered my birthday season. I mean, why celebrate on one day when you can celebrate the whole season? They were so wonderful to show up and surprise me with a little party in Powell on my birthday day this year. There is nothing better than feeling secure in the love of an amazing group of friends and family.

My birthday season and the beginning of school are busy times, but I am trying to keep up with my normal routines. In fact, I am implementing a couple of changes to my regular workouts.

First of all, I was thrilled to have my first one-on-one yoga training session with Maria Tarantino. She is helping me fine tune my practice, work on alignment and delve more deeply into yogic philosophy. She gave me several pointers in our first session that I have already been able to apply in my home practice. I am so excited to have her as a mentor!

I am also changing up my running routine. I was totally inspired by Brad Hudson's book, Run Faster and his discussion of his coaching methodology, "adaptive running". I would really like to apply his principles to my training regimen to help me reach my speed goals - but the training cycles are all geared to culminate in a "peak race". Unfortunately, I am beginning this at the end of the race season, so my "peak race" won't be for many more months. So instead of starting my true 5K goal time training schedule right now, I am using his plan for a Level 1 10K runner in order to slowly build up my weekly mileage and integrate some of his methods into my workout schedule without the pressure of attaining my goal time at the end.

I watched Jillian Michaels on one of the morning talk shows today - she is fierce! What an inspiration .... one day I hope to be a force for fitness in my own small way!

Today's workout:
40 min. easy run (4.33 miles @ 6.5 mph)
25 min. resistance training
60 min. yoga

It's You vs You

I just saw an advertisement in a running magazine with that header, and it got me thinking. I do believe that in our daily lives, it is "you vs. you" - in a lot of ways. Unfortunately, most of my negative feedback comes from my own negative self-talk. For me, at least, I rarely encounter insults or criticism from others, but instead hear all kinds of put-downs in my own mind: "Don't wear that, it makes you look fat"; "Why are you eating AGAIN!"; "I have the worst thighs ever!!". I turn against myself - me vs. me.

From that perspective, I need to get back on my own side. Breaking the bad habit of a poor self image is difficult, but I can try to address it as it emerges by focusing on the aspects of my self that I like and giving myself positive feedback for my little successes. When a disparaging thought about myself arises, I can actively send that thought away and not spend time obsessing over it.

But "You vs. You" can take on another, more positive, connotation when it comes to competition. Whenever I go to a race, my girls ask me, "Mommy, are you going to win? Did you win today?" But of course, as a beginning runner in my mid-30s, I am never going in to a race with the intention of finishing first. I do have goals, but they all relate to beating my own times. If I fixate on the other, more experienced, faster and better runners, I could get discouraged and lose the motivation to run completely. Instead, I look up to them as examples of what can be achieved, admire their prowess, and scout out helpful hints for my own training. When I run, I run for myself, and am competing with myself to improve my performance - me vs. me.

Instead of looking outward, today I am going to focus on myself and the role that I have in promoting my own health and well-being: creating positive energy that be channeled into moving me beyond my comfort zone into a higher level of fitness.

Today's workout:
40 min. progression run (30 min easy/10 min 3% inc. w/ 2x speed interval)
30 min. ballet body class (interrupted by baby in child care)
60 min. yoga

If you can't have a coach, be a coach!

So says Brad Hudson, former competitive runner and now coach to the athletic elite, in his book Run Faster: From the 5K to the Marathon. His book arrived today from Amazon and I seriously cannot put it down!

He explains his approach to training clearly and outlines the rules and principles behind his method. His theories make a lot of sense and are completely based on the individual needs and abilities of each runner. He has dubbed his style of training "adaptive running" because each runner needs to develop the flexibility to adapt their training regimen to their unique situation.

Hudson builds on his vast knowledge of a training techniques from coaches around the world and uses his own experience, including his own mistakes, to help improve the speed and performance of his athletes. His workouts strive to improve three aspects: aerobic capacity, neuromuscular strength and specific race endurance. I really love that he is telling us to listen to our bodies and modify as needed. He points out that if we are constantly pushing ourselves beyond our limits, then we will become injured or over-fatigued and ultimately sabotage ourselves. Instead, if we modify as necessary and challenge ourselves at appropriate levels, then we can maximize our performance.

I haven't finished the book yet, but I can't wait to get into the "meatier" chapters and apply his principles to my own workouts!

Today's workout:
15 min. stretch
45 min. tempo run (4.29 miles)
25 min. strength training
60 min. yoga

Road v. Treadmill

So we were crunched for time this morning, and after some schedule wrangling and compromising with the husband, we decided that I should go for a run outside this morning instead of schlepping out to the gym. I normally don't run outside unless I'm doing a race.

Obviously, lots of people prefer running outside for a variety of reasons. Some feel less bored - the changing scenery can be invigorating. When you run outdoors, you encounter lots of challenges that you won't face on a treadmill - wind resistance, curbs, hills, traffic, weather. Some people enjoy this variability, while others find it distracting and nerve-wracking (I'm with the latter group, thank you very much). The road is a harder surface than the treadmill, and can be more jarring on your joints. Running outside is a harder workout because you are pushing yourself forward whereas on a treadmill you are running in place, and the moving belt is doing a lot of the work for you.

When you run on a treadmill at zero incline, you are actually running slightly slower than you would on the road at the same pace because you are not overcoming air resistance on the treadmill. Check out this conversion chart to find out the road pace compared to the treadmill.

I get that the treadmill workout is not nearly as difficult -- I can feel the difference when I run outside compared with inside. However, I still prefer the treadmill. The surface of the treadmill is "springy" and helps keeps my joints protected. This is important for me since I am starting to run at a comparatively older age (33) than when most runners start out. (I'm no high school track runner, that's for sure!) But honestly, even though it's not AS hard as running outside, it's still hard! I'm still working!

Also, being a control freak, I really like the ability to have a controlled environment. The gym is always air-conditioned and good weather - I am a diva when it comes to being outside in inclement weather. You will never see me slogging through the rain or snow. Also, even if the treadmill speed and incline settings are somewhat off when compared to running in the "real world", I don't really care. When I run outside, I feel like I have no idea what is happening - no clue how fast I am running, what is going on with the incline, if I am maintaining the same pace throughout, how hard I am working. It comforts me to be able to read all of that information on the display in front of me.

While we each have our own preferences, and there are pros and cons to both, I think I'm definitely a treadmill runner!

Today's workout:
10 min. stretch
40 min. run outdoors
(hopefully later - 60 min. yoga)

Does Exercise Help you Lose Weight?

The most recent issue of Time Magazine features a cover article with the prominent claim that exercise "won't make you lose weight". The article inside the issue goes on to claim that exercise offers little to no assistance in losing weight, for the reasons that most people feel hungrier after physical activity and therefore indulge in higher calorie foods, and because fatigue from exercise moderates their activity for the remainder of the day. The Runner's World blog, "Peak Performance", sets forth a cogent dissection of the Time Magazine article.

Basically, physical activity is not meant to be confined to a gym or segmented into a small portion of your day. Exercise is a way to develop a dynamic lifestyle that makes you more open to engaging in all kinds of activities. Instead of vegging out on the couch for the rest of the day after a workout, you would hopefully be more likely to go on a walk with your family, swim on a beautiful day, or bound up the stairs instead of opting out for the elevator.

The same is true for your diet choices - by integrating physical activity into your routine, you are developing a healthy lifestyle. Instead of "rewarding" myself with a donut after 5 miles on the treadmill, eating a banana gives me a boost of energy without an influx of unnecessary calories and it keeps me aligned with my overall goals.

Furthermore, exercise is about more than losing weight! Dr. Ronald Davis, president of the American Medical Association, writes:

Physical inactivity is a fast-growing public health problem in this country, and contributes to a variety of chronic diseases and health complications, including obesity, coronary artery disease, cancer, depression and anxiety, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Increasing physical activity can prevent and cure many chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and joint pain, while improving a patient's overall health. By engaging in 30 minutes of moderate exercise (such as a brisk walk) on most days each week, many patients will be able to get off medications for those conditions—thus avoiding the potentially harmful side effects those drugs can cause.

Exercise is a vital part of living healthfully. Each of us has our own goals for our selves and our bodies, and hopefully, despite this disparaging article, we will continue to integrate exercise and physical activity into our daily routines.

Redefining "Easy"

My workouts today helped me look at what I consider "easy" in a whole new light.

First of all, I started with a run. I wanted to try out a new class (more on that later), so I only had 20 minutes for cardio. Since it was a short time, I wanted to "kick it up a notch" and go a little faster than I usually do for a straight up run. I set the treadmill speed at 1 mph faster than I would usually go for my comfortable pace. As I was running, though, I realized that this speed was quite comfortable. I also realized that it was considerably slower than my usual race pace. My perceived effort a the end of the run could only be described as average (4).

While I could measure my progress in running through my race times, and see the changes on the scale, I have not yet adapted my workout to correlate with these changes. Physical fitness and the journey toward a goal is a fluid, ongoing evolution, and my self-perceptions need to change in order to continue that forward momentum. That is, what was "hard" is now "easy" and therefore, I need to change the treadmill settings accordingly.

I had another chance to redefine "easy" in a different way. The new class that I tried today was called "Ballet Body". It was taught by a lovely, extremely flamboyant male ballet dancer who will be leaving next week to appear in a zombie B-movie. Awesome.

Anyway, at first glance the moves seemed ridiculously "easy". Lots of demi-plies, tendus, leg lifts, etc. However, maintaining balance was very difficult and I could feel my core working. Pointing my toes engaged all the muscles in my legs, and after continuously working my legs the whole hour with these deceptively "simple" moves, I have serious muscle soreness. No wonder ballerinas have such amazing bodies! It was a great class and I hope to take it again.

The ballet class was a great example of how you can strengthen and tone your body without using any additional equipment other than your own body. While it may look "easy", the results are real - and that's what matters.

Today's workout:
20 min. run (2.33 miles)
60 min. ballet body class

Crank it Up!

Often, many people hit a stumbling block in their workout routine when they reach a plateau; they can't seem to progress any farther in their current workout. These are some simple hints for ways to crank up your workout without making substantial changes to it - you can tweak your current exercises to get more out of them. You can change one or all of these areas - but don't try to tackle too many changes at once so as not to become overwhelmed.

Duration

You can get more out of your workout by changing the length. This can change in a number of ways - increasing the overall time of your workout (run for 45 minutes instead of 30), increasing the number of repetitions (if you usually do 12 bicep curls each time, do 15), or increasing the number of sets you do of each exercise (if you usually do two sets each of squats, make it three). If you do interval training, you can also lengthen the time of your intervals - if you usually do several 30 second bursts of speed during your run, make those one minute sprints. Increase your time incrementally and you won't even notice that you are working harder!

Resistance

Another way to raise your heart rate and improve your fitness is by raising the resistance. If you normally use an elliptical machine or treadmill, increase the incline/crossramp setting. Choose a slightly higher weight setting in your strength training exercises; a more resistant band, a heavier medicine ball, bigger dumb bells. If you enjoy doing step aerobics, add another riser to your step. During your power walk, pick up a pair of hand weights. Don't get stuck at your comfort level - continuing challenging yourself, even if the increase is small.

Intensity

This is kind of a fun way to power up your workout! Add some high impact moves to your exercise classes - jump up onto the step, add a hop to your kickboxing shuffle, do jumping jacks during your resting time between sets, increase the speed in your cardio workout. To increase intensity in my workouts, I always do supersets. That is, instead of resting in between sets, I always do two exercises at a time and alternate between them. I make sure that the two exercises are working different muscles so as not to become fatigued. For example, I will do 15 bicep curls followed by 15 squats, and then repeat. I don't rest between sets - I am always working and my heart rate does not drop.

Another way to increase intensity is through multi-faceted exercises, combining upper and lower body moves when doing strength training. For example, while doing a lunge, add a shoulder press. Combine an upright row with a squat. That way, you get more bang for your buck! A great way to increase intensity and crank up your workout!

By changing up the duration, resistance or intensity of your normal exercise routine, you can work on edging your way out of a plateau and continue moving forward to reach your goals!

Today's workout:
15 min. stretching
33 min. EFX machine - weight loss interval + cool down
30 min. strength training + plyometrics

Running Music

I am a relatively new runner, and have been searching for tools to help me improve since I started. One of my favorites that I have found is Podrunner - free downloadable podcasts of running music. What makes these special is that they are more than just a playlist. The music is carefully tempo-controlled and the podcasts are labelled with the BPM (beats per minute) range. This helps you reach your stride and run smoothly. You can choose the mix that best matches your desired pace - mixes start at 130 bpm and go up to 180 bpm.

Today, I used the other type of podcast DJ Steveboy has created, Podrunner Interval. He has developed sequential podcasts to be used for runners training towards a 5K, 8K or 10K. Each training program contains several increasingly difficult interval workouts. The mixes increase in length and tempo as the weeks go on. In each podcast, a tone will sound indicating that the runner should speed up, and then sound again to notify the runner to slow back down. The tempo of the music speeds up accordingly with the interval.

The music is all electronica/house/techno music, with no or few lyrics. I find it energizing without being distracting. The podcasts provide enough direction to make me feel as though I am progressing, but give me the freedom to set my own pace. I would recommend them, particularly for a runner who needs a training regimen.

Today's workout:
30 min. interval run
30 min. strength training, focus on legs

Getting Zippy with It!

Since I have started running, one of my main goals has been to increase speed. I have no desire to run a marathon; the 5K distance is perfect for me. I have steadily been chipping away at my run times since my first 5K race.

I looked to this month's Women's Running magazine article, "Get Faster!" for tips on improving my speed. I tried the VO2 Max workout on the treadmill today and it was fantastic! I was working hard and sweating! I attempted the workout, but quickly aborted it, yesterday after I felt like I was going to fall off the treadmill - I was pushing myself too hard. Today, I slowed the speed down to a more manageable pace where I was still challenged, but could explore a new workout without reaching the point of complete exhaustion or risking injury.

Women's Running defines VO2 Max as "maximum oxygen uptake ... describes the body' ability to utilize oxygen to create energy during exercise." They suggest running at 90-95% of your perceived effort. Today, I was probably running at 80%, and next time I will push it up a notch. Here's what I did today:

warm-up: 1 mile - 0% incline - 5.0 mph

.25 miles - 3% incline - 8.5 mph
.25 miles - 0% incline - 5.0 mph
(these two sequences were repeated 6 times)

cool down: 1 mile - 0% incline - I started at 5.0 mph and continually increased speed at random intervals until I finished at 6.5 mph.

I ended up running 5 miles in a little less than an hour. The magazine suggests mixing VO2 Max workouts in with basic speed runs as well as runs for lactate threshold. I am going to try out these other plans and we'll see what our next race results show!!