Judithisbell's Blog

Boston Training:)

judithisbell — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:51:22 +0000

It is an interesting transition between training to qualify for the Boston Marathon, to actually training to run the Boston Marathon! What an incredible journey in which I have solicited so many opinions and received many unsolicited opinions about how to train to run a qualifying race.

Now it is here. Boston training season. Certainly I don’t want to just show up and have fun! Definitely not one of those people who just goes and enjoys a race! My goal is to set a personal record at Boston. Hills schmills! Ha! I can handle hills and perform better than ever!

I wouldn’t attempt this relying just on myself and the Internet to conquer my new goal. I am part of a training team and we have a great coach who has run the course many times. With his guidance, I will be prepared for downhills and uphills and adrenaline surges and huge crowds. I can’t wait.

In addition to my running team, I have a workout partner. We have incorporated cross training, essentially strength training, into our running schedule. I have become a stronger, faster runner on my daily runs, since I have added cross training days. Stronger muscles, especially core muscles, help me fight off fatigue, and my running form improves, thus my endurance improves.

But a lot of work is ahead of me. My advice to anyone running for a specific goal is:

1. Have support, like my training team

2. Add strength training to your workouts.

Good luck with your goals!

Running/Jogging/Walking Warm-ups

judithisbell — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:31:47 +0000

My informal poll of distance runners came up with this result: No one warms up! We all just roll out of bed, drive to our destination and start running. Is that good or bad? If you aren’t getting any injuries, I guess it is working for you. But, could it hurt to add a warm-up routine? I doubt it. Let’s look at a couple of ideas for warm-ups.

I did a little research and the old school stretch before running is out. Stretching cold muscles promotes injuries. So, what to do? Dynamic exercises. Think school track and field team. You line up and do high knees, butt kicks, karaokes, strides, lunges, etc…

Runners World recommends to “loosen and activate your muscles with five to 10 minutes of dynamic stretches and form drills such as lunges, skipping, and high-knees running” for speed sessions in this article. They also mention that for everyday runs, it is acceptable to just go out running slowly, and then gradually speed up as your body warms up.

Running Times has a great article about warm-ups and cool-downs. Same idea with dynamic movements-lunges and leg swings before the run and they have some great movements for post-run. Worth clicking on the link!

So glad I did this research. 2 reasons. 1. I feel validated for not stretching before my easy runs. 2. Now I know what to do before my speed work. I will add this routine before my long runs too!

Hope you enjoy the articles!

Managing Stress in our Daily Lives

judithisbell — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:24:59 +0000

Raise your hand if you think you have so much to do that you don’t have enough time to do it all. Okay, now look around and notice that almost everyone has a hand in the air. Now get over yourself!

That may sound a little harsh, but, seriously, why is it that people like to talk about how busy they are and then list out everything they have to do and the order they have to do it in? Blah, blah, blah! Almost all of us have almost the same stuff to juggle everyday. Why do we all complain about it? Would we prefer a life without so many activities and commitments? I don’t know about that! What would we do with our time? Wouldn’t we become bored?

IDK, but no matter how much we wish for nothing to do, it is not likely to happen any time soon, so we have to deal with our busy, over stuffed lives! And one way we deal with it is by talking about it. I get that. I don’t mind listening. Sometimes I am the one ranting about my busy day. And, oh how I appreciate someone to vent to!

But an even more effective way to deal with our stress is..you guessed it…exercise! When we exercise regularly, our bodies handle stress better. I could cite several articles that back up the claim that exercise relieves stress, but this one from the American Psychology Association explains that because we exercise, our body learns how to deal with stress. So the benefit doesn’t just occur on the day that you exercise; your body’s response to stress changes because you give it a chance to practice when you exercise.

No matter how BUSY we think we are, we don’t have time to neglect our workouts. If I said eating one piece of chocolate cake a night would help you relieve stress, you would eat it. Instead, I encourage you to engage in a challenging workout 5 days a week and you will feel less stress in your daily life. Do that! Let me know how it works!

Fitness and Patience

judithisbell — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:37:49 +0000

Do you find yourself repeatedly setting lofty, unrealistic fitness goals, only to give up on them after a few weeks, maybe a month? If so, you are certainly not alone. I hear stories like this quite frequently. Someone gets all pumped up to lose weight and workout and they go from 0-5 days of exercise a week. It’s too much too soon and you will usually end up injured or burnt out or both and trash your whole goal.

So how do we overcome this? You have to be realistic. How many years did you take you to get out of shape? How long have you been struggling with your weight? It didn’t happen overnight and you can’t change it overnight.

It takes patience. And perseverance, dedication, commitment, etc… All those great vocabulary words that it takes to achieve a goal. There is no miracle. Nothing is going to fall from the sky. You have to work hard and you have to be patient.

So, if you still have what it takes, here are some tips:

1. Choose 2 one hour time slots per week for exercise. The easiest and possibly cheapest way to exercise without much ado, is to walk and/or jog, depending on your fitness level. Your two days for exercise should be well spaced apart. Like Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday.

2. Now you actually have to walk or jog during those time slots. No exceptions. Don’t join a gym. Don’t buy any equipment. Just carve out that time and go for a walk/jog. Take breaks when you need to. Stop when you need to. The hour includes time to get dressed and get out the door.

3. Don’t change your eating habits on purpose. They may just change naturally. What do I mean? I mean that your body will begin to crave what it needs for your new activity level.

4. Don’t do anything different for a few weeks. Just get your two days in and feel great about it. You will naturally step up your intensity. You will get moving faster. You will start going farther. Let it happen.

It takes time to change your lifestyle. Go slow. Be happy. If you are not enjoying what you are doing, you won’t keep doing it.

Enter…Humidity

judithisbell — Sat, 28 May 2011 18:54:17 +0000

Finally, my body feels healed and ready to train for my next running event. What a glorious feeling to get up early and get ready for a run! For so many weeks, I have NOT enjoyed sleeping in, but have woken up and only wished I was going running.

Here it is, the big day where I really get a run in and I sleepily walk outside to fetch the paper with my puppy when I am hit in the face with energy zapping humidity. It IS almost June in Virginia. But, daggone, really? Today?

It’s okay. How dare I complain on a day when I know I can finally get through a run without pain? I will focus on the positive and I will run just for the enjoyment. Because it is FUN to run outside in 90% humidity, with a hazy sun peaking through the clouds just long enough to drench me in sweat. I LOVE this!

And I loved it for 3 miles. That was my goal. Mission accomplished.

It takes time, but our bodies do acclimatize to the heat and humidity. This was just my first day back and it happens to feel like summer now. A few more days and my body will adjust, and my mind will find a way to cope. I already know the #1 way to cope is to NOT look at the weather before my run. I am so used to doing just that from my winter training to help me decide what to wear. No need for that now. It is hot. I will wear shorts and a tank top.

And all winter I complained about the cold. Just can’t please me!

You think parenting is tough when they are in diapers? It has only begun!

judithisbell — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:06:52 +0000

Are my kids ever going to be old enough? I doubt it. Not that I don’t trust them because I honestly do. It’s because after a “few” years of life experiences, I am tainted. I recognize that should not work out as a penalty for them, but it does. I don’t apologize for this.
There are a couple of coping options parents can choose between when raising teenagers. They can take the attitude that they themselves turned out okay, so they don’t stress about what their kids are up to. I tend to think these parents are either lazy or they never did anything I did as a teenager.
And then there is my approach, based upon lack of trust of other humans combined with paranoia, which is why I am sitting at Mattie’s Diner across the street from the Fillmore Charlotte where Kesha is playing. My daughters and a friend are inside. I am stalking the front door. Why? Because when I was their age, my first rock concert was Aerosmith at the Richmond Coliseum. It makes me shutter to think about the possibilities.
So here I sit with a collection of people …other paranoid parents, the wait staff, a few ticket scalpers, a limo driver, and some teenage girls decked out for the Get Sleezy tour, hanging outside, not at the concert, because one of their friends was too drunk and they are putting her back in the limo. Now the limo driver doesn’t get to finish his dinner because he has to babysit her while the others return to the concert. Did I mention that they left their inebriated friend with the limo driver? “He seems nice enough,” I might have thought when I was 18.
Witnessing this scene unfold, I can’t help but wonder to myself which type of parents they have, and how much it really matters. Because at some point, for various reasons, I can’t continue to follow them everywhere…At least not with them knowing!

Shoes?

judithisbell — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 19:29:05 +0000

I vote for shoes. And I vote for shoes from my favorite running store, 3 Sports. I have done my research and listened to fellow runners and non-runners. After sifting through the facts and the opinions, I just have to vote for shoes.

As a little girl growing up in Hanover County, I spent most of my summer barefoot. I can remember being outside playing and my Dad yelling out to me to take a ride with him. I would just run up and get in the truck and didn’t even have a thought about putting some shoes on. I can remember visiting people, going to the gas station, running here and there on errands, and I was shoeless.

Also when I was a little girl, I considered it a sense of accomplishment when my bath water would turn black. It symbolized to me a hard day’s work at play. You see, it’s not always a good idea to think that something I have done since I was a kid should be continued.

So, you see I am not a die hard shoe person. But, for goodness sakes, I was just a little girl then. Ignorance is indeed bliss. I have grown enough as a person to recognize the many advantages to protecting my feet.

Indeed, I read “Born to Run” and I thought is was a pretty good story. I just don’t think it applies to me. I don’t live in a jungle and run on dirt paths, rather I travel on paved roads and cement sidewalks to my destinations. I don’t have trees growing in my yard to use to construct my own shoes. And thank goodness, because I have zero arts and crafts skills.

I guess I am just not looking for anything different because I am very pleased with my running. Because nothing comes more natural to me than me and my Mizuno Waveriders racing down the road, leaving my worries behind!

Goal Setting Works!

judithisbell — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:15:29 +0000

Wow! What an exhilarating experience actually feeling like I was racing a marathon! The Shamrock marathon in Virginia Beach was a flat course, but the winds made up for the lack of hills. The course was entertaining for me for a couple of reasons. One, I had some great company with me. And, two, I had never run that course, so it was interesting.

The only other marathon I have run is the Richmond Marathon. I have run it 6 times for 6 consecutive years. I am very proud of my progress and last November, I finally broke 4 hours with 3:54. But, funny how that wasn’t enough. I began training for Shamrock in December, hoping to cut 4 minutes off of my time.

Running has become an area of growth for me. It helps me focus on setting goals and on being healthier. It is such a great feeling to set a goal, work towards it and then be able to achieve it. And, in this case, I crushed it! Once I hit the stretch on Shore Drive, around 16-17 miles, I knew I was going to do it. I was feeling “it”. You know, that feeling where you just know you are going to do what you have set out to do.

So, during my last miles, I had to smile. Every time I checked my pace on my watch, I had to smile. I believed in myself. I believed in my ability. I made decisions about how hard I was going to push and how long I could keep it up. And it all worked! Amazing!

Setting goals by planning to run a race is an excellent way to get into a healthy routine. It can help anyone make lifestyle changes to include daily exercise. And having some people working towards the same goals is a great way to be held accountable.

Find a race, join a training team and set a personal goal. Valuable steps to changing your life in a positive way. Becoming healthier and meeting friends with the same goals!

Taper Time!

judithisbell — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:12:33 +0000

A very important part of any marathon training program is the tapering leading up to the big event. A runner spends 12 weeks or more beating up their legs with gradually increasing mileage, speed workouts, hill workouts and tempo runs until two or three weeks before the marathon. Just when you think you cannot push yourself anymore at this intensity, it is time to taper.

What does that mean? It means daily mileage decreases to a mere 4-6 mile run with long runs scaling down to between 8 and 12 miles. Sometimes, this is welcome and runners abide by the taper. We all understand that our bodies need time to heal during this period of renewal, so that we will be at peak performance on race day.

Alas, after a few days of the taper, many runners start to crave the intensity and the distance. Some of us give in, but almost always to regret it later. The taper is important for rebuilding our muscles and connective tissue, as well as for mental preparedness.

So, over the next two weeks, I will embrace the taper with healthy eating and enjoyable, short runs. I will also find a way to steal some extra sleep and probably take some extra supplements to help my body heal. But, mostly, I will reflect upon my training to reinforce my confidence when I approach the starting line.

As Steve Prefontaine’s coach Bill Bowerman said in response to his runners inquiring why they weren’t doing a hard workout the day before a race…”The hay is in the barn.”

Spring into your workouts!

judithisbell — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 04:16:58 +0000

Time to talk about SPRING! Winter doldrums are over and my marathon is in 3 weeks. 20 miles on Sunday and the forecast is rain. Love it! Bring it on! I can do it! Rain is better than snow any day!

Staying in shape takes a positive attitude. There are plenty of reasons on any given day to skip a workout, but there are more reasons to make room for it anyway!

Reason One: You will feel awesome afterwards.

Reason Two: You will be able to brag to everyone about how busy your day was and how you managed to get a workout in anyway.

Reason Three: You will look good for your efforts.

Reason Four: Regular exercise will prevent diseases like heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Oh, yeah, forgot this one, didn’t we? This should be number one.

Truly that last one should be enough of a reason to take care of ourselves with regular workouts. Sadly, we don’t think of it often enough because we don’t have any symptoms yet or because we think we are too young to be concerned.

And I forgot another reason that I workout. This is a good one that I am sure many people share…

Reason Five is for my emotional health. When I run, I release the demons. When I finish, I am a new, better, more centered person. My family has no idea how happy they should be about that! Hopefully, they will never find out!

No excuses people! The reasons TO exercise trump the excuses not to!