7 Winter Running Tips

For all my northern Midwest friends, winter is upon us.  We slid into work this morning, tried to remember where we put our Yaktrax back in March, and are working on building motivation to run in the cold, dark nights that are going to be with us for the next few months.

I can finally say that I am adjusted to my rest cycle and have now been able to enjoy the free time – getting to my Christmas shopping early, deep cleaning my apartment, spending time with old friends, logging a few extra hours at work.  It took time, but now I am realizing the benefit to taking a true rest from running. I have been running maybe twice a week, but nothing fast or long – max 5 miles or so at a conversational pace.  I realize that in the past I would start a training cycle already really in shape – granted, it’s nice to feel like you can kill any workout, but part of training is to get yourself in shape, and then sharpen your abilities.  I am excited about starting training on December 1^st with fresh legs, a 100% healthy body, and to have all my personal and professional life responsibilities in order. 

One other benefit of resting, is that I haven’t had to head out in the cold very much!  I have had quite a few people asking me for winter running advice the last few weeks, so in light of that, and getting myself motivated to head out the door in a few days, here are my top 7 winter running tips.

1 – A great thing about running in the dark is that you can see cars coming really easily – but you want to know what’s more important than that?  THEY NEED TO SEE YOU! Please try and wear something that is reflective – a vest, reflective details on your jackets or pants, blinking lights, there’s Velcro reflectors you can put around your wrists or ankles.  Seriously – anything helps.  Lots of running outwear is black, but wearing something with a color, topped with reflective gear will help you to not end up underneath a sliding car. 

2 – The second thing in terms of importance in my book is being able to see.  I’m a big fan of head lamps (or torches as they are called in England!) and it can really help you out on those dark nights.  I have a couple Petzl’s and they work really well.  If you have had yours sitting in a drawer since last winter, go ahead and change the batteries right away. If it’s been a while since you’ve used it, you may not realize how dim it really is, and being out on a run in winter when your head lamp dies is not a good time.  I don’t always like to wear head lamps, so in that case I will go to residential areas that are well lit.  If there isn’t any snow on the roads I’ll try and choose a neighborhood that had pretty new roads and just run loops there.  The newer pavement helps lessen your chances of tripping.  If there’s snow on the roads, I try and pick roads that aren’t traveled on much, and will run in the road on the fresh snow.  Sidewalks get icy and are a constant set of mini hurdles, so I prefer road but NEVER with music.  Which leads me to…

3 – Use all your senses.  Your vision will be greatly impaired when you’re running at night – there’s lots of shadows, dark areas, headlights that practically blind you, so I focus more on using my sense of smell and my hearing.  I NEVER wear earbuds when running at night – as a woman, you have to be aware of your surroundings (and everyone needs to be aware of cars, dogs, creaking tree branches, even owls!) so keep the iPod at home and listen to what’s going on around you.  You may think that my saying I use my sense of smell is odd – but it really helps me to know who is around.  You can notice a person’s cigarette smoke or cologne very quickly in contrast to the crisp smell of winter, so you can figure out where someone is at without them even making a sound. 

4 – Dress in layers, and not just any layers, but tech fiber layers.  Most people have a tendency to wear way more than they need to as soon as the temperature drops below 45° or so.  With keeping that in mind, you should expect to be cold for the first ten minutes or so of your run.  To help be as comfortable as you can you need two things – keep your core warm with your first layer being a snug fitting tech fiber shirt, and invest in a good pair of tech fiber running tights.  Having a base layer that fits you snugly and wicks away moisture will keep you more comfortable.  I prefer to wear running sleeves instead of a long sleeve shirt, because if I get too warm I can just pull them off and then use them as Kleenex.  (kinda gross, I know, but very practical!)  I love keeping my ears covered once it gets below 35° or so, and I almost always have gloves or mittens with.  If there’s more than a 10mph breeze out there, try and wear a windbreaker type jacket and pants of similar material over your tights – it will help a LOT.

Sporting the layers with two wonderful people I used to coach. 2008.

5 – Lotion.  You can have the perfect layers on, a reflective vest, and the warmest hat ever, but WOW does it hurt when your face gets cold and you start getting icicles on your eyelashes.  My favorite line of defense for this is to put lotion on my face, and thick chap stick on my lips.  It provides another layer of protection from the cold and makes it a lot more bearable.  You may still get little icicles on your eyelashes, but you’ll appreciate them more as being pretty than a miserable side effect of your face feeling like it’s going to freeze off. 

6 – If it’s windy outside, do your best to start into the wind, and have the wind at your back as you head home.  If you start out with the wind it will be a harsh reality when you turn around – you likely worked up a bit of a sweat and once that frigid air is in your face your temp will drop – quickly. 

7 – Watch your footing!!  This may seem like a no-brainer, but every year I have running friends that take a digger, get injured, slip and fall on ice – it’s a hazard of living in the upper Midwest, but with a couple precautions you can really diminish you chances of falling and injuring yourself.  First – wear Yaktrax.  They go on over your shoe and provide a LOT of added traction. Secondly – Do yourself a favor and don’t try and do speedwork or even strong pick ups outside if there’s even a hint of ice anywhere.  You’re just asking for it.  And lastly – if the weather is really bad, you’ve recently had an ice storm, or there’s more than two inches of fresh powder, just find a treadmill – any treadmill, and do your miles there.  Your chances of wiping out and pulling/breaking/tweaking something increase exponentially when it truly gets bad, so just play it safe and stay inside.  (Or throw on your snowshoes/skiis/snowboard for a different kind of workout.)  Your 2014 racing season will thank you.

Destination Run - Butler University

I have been taking a short hiatus from blog writing as I transitioned into my rest cycle the last couple weeks.  As many of you endurance athletes can understand, going from a lot of activity and intensity to only occasional easy runs and yoga... it makes you a little crazy.  I was super short-tempered, had a short attention span, and was ready to jump out of my skin or pick a fight at a moment's notice.  I can thankfully say that stir crazy phase is over, in part because of the weekend I had planned. 

If there's one thing I love, it's destination running.   I love to incorporate runs into vacations of mine.  It's a great way to get to know the area you're in, it can break up a long drive, and it can bring you to unexpected beautiful places. 

Friday morning I left well before sunrise to get a head start on a drive down to Kentucky to visit my brother and sister in law.  I cruised through Chicago before morning traffic got heavy and slid into northern Indiana right around breakfast time.  I love finding small, out of the way restaurants in tiny towns when I road trip, so I stumbled across a little diner in Rensselear, Indiana and settled in for a Denver omelet, coffee, and read my current book 'Running Ransom Road' by Caleb Daniloff.  I really enjoyed seeing the three groups of men at their own tables - one group on their 40's, one in their 60's, and another table of six men who looked to be in their 70's and older.  They talked about the news of the week, whose tractors got fixed, whose needed fixing, what their grandkids did in school that week.  It was quaint and warm, just as you'd expect in a small town.

 

A few hours of driving later I got to Indianapolis where I stopped to visit a previous athlete of mine who is in her freshman year at Butler University. I hadn't seen her since she  graduated high school this past May, so I was excited to catch up with her.  It was a happy reunion, and she showed me her dorm and I got to meet her RA.  We went on a run through campus and on trails that are part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and talked the whole way.  I appreciate the role reversal once and athlete of mine goes off to college.  I love to visit them at their new home, and then they get the opportunity to lead, show me their new life, and lead the conversation about their new experiences and they changes they have undergone.  The brief visit was a great opportunity to catch up with someone I spent 4 years coaching, and also got my blood moving to help the last three hours of my drive better. 

Tomorrow as I head back home I am stopping in a town I grew up in for a 'memory lane run' which I am really excited about.  I may not be running any significant mileage right now, but being able to run in some different places is definitely helping me adjust. 

From the ER to the Podium - a Roller Coaster Week

When I woke up last Monday morning I had absolutely no clue the twists and turns my week would take. I remember thinking as I got up that morning that I was happy it was my last week having to work two jobs every day, and my last week with a 5am alarm going off.  The State cross country meet was that coming Saturday, and after that life would go back to normal.  Eye on the prize - make it through the weekend, and then I could relax. 

Monday was business as usual - a full day at the bank starting at 6:30am, and then a smooth practice after that where I took a couple of my athletes on a run to Olin Park to see the fall colors, and catch a great view of the Capital. 

Tuesday morning I woke up around 1am with horrible pain in the left side of my mouth - I had a root canal and crown set up for that Wednesday, but Tuesday morning I thought there was no way I could make it through another 24 hours unless the dentist got me some pain meds to get through it.  I popped 3 ibuprofen and tried to go back to sleep.  I re-awoke at 3am with the same amount of pain, so I had another couple ibuprofens with no success.  As soon as the clock hit 7 I called my dentist to tell them what was up, and thankfully they got me in immediately.  I don't get too freaked out about dental work, and I was so thankful to get the procedure done so I wouldn't be in any more pain. The root canal was smooth as could be - almost enjoyable actually since all I had to do as watch tv, inhale my nitrous, and feel the warmth of the heated neck wrap. :) My dentist assured me that I would feel a LOT better that night, so I left relieved. 

A few hours later as the Novocain wore off, I instantly became pretty sore, and started to swell up a little bit.  I figured that was normal, so I still went to practice and ran an easy 4 miles with my girls. It was my last week of the season with them and I wasn't going to let a little discomfort and swelling keep me from running my last miles with them. On my way home from practice my dentist called to check up on me, and promptly told me he thought I had an infection, so he prescribed antibiotics right away, and I figured I was good to go.  Finally around 11:30 that night I fell asleep, and woke up with a lot of discomfort at 3am.  I sleepily went to the mirror to check my swelling, and much to my horror, it was worse.  A LOT worse.  At 7am I was back at the dentist, and at 7:20 am I was in the ER.  In the end, I got super strong antibiotics through an IV, and had to track the swelling with pen marks to make sure it didn't spread any more. No more running for me until the swelling was all gone, and no overnight trip to State for me Friday night because I shouldn't be that far away from the hospital just in case.  I was bummed - I couldn't believe my infection was that bad, and that potentially serious. 

I focused on relaxing and listening to my body because going up to the State meet on Saturday was my highest priority.  Thankfully Saturday morning I woke up feeling pretty good- only minimally swollen, and maybe 15% sore.  Seeing my girls at the tent at Wisconsin Rapids made me instantly happy and I felt right at home.  They all asked how I was and wanted to hear my ER horror story.  Soon after we did our course routing and I tried to speak with each of the girls to give them some guidance on navigating packs, running tangents, and powerful hill technique to help them get a strong finish.  They soaked up the direction like sponges and then they did their own mental preparation. 

The gun went off at 12:05, and I could hardly watch I was so nervous.  For a couple weeks of the season we were ranked first, but most often hovered between 4th and 6th place.  I didn't have any real expectations for the outcome, but knew I wanted the girls to all be happy with their performances, since it was their last race of the year.  I briefly stood by the one mile maker to see where my 1st and 2nd girls were in the pack, and then went straight to the finish.  Thankfully I had one of my alumni athletes (Erin) with me to share in my nervousness.  As the lead cart came up to the finish all the spectators were straining to see who was leading - A talented girl from Shorewood had a strong lead, my top girl came in 2nd .  Soon thereafter the rest of my top five came in, all with great times, and all in the top 35 places.  There are so many teams competing against each other I could only estimate that we did pretty well, but had no idea what our final team standing would be. 

For what seemed like an eternity I stood with Erin and waited for the team results to be posted on the big screen.  Finally the countdown began - they started with the 16th team and slowly ticked down.  With each place that I didn't see my school name I got more and more anxious - my sore jaw and tired body were the furthest things from my mind at this point.  Fourth - Shorewood, Third - Two Rivers....  oh my goodness, we're in the top two.  THE TOP TWO! Second - Notre Dame.  Erin and I instantly started screaming and running - I didn't even see our school name hit the screen - We were first!  For the first time in school history, we were the best. And we had the scoreboard to prove it.  Tears burned my eyes and I ran to find anyone else from the team - I bear hugged the other assistant coach and we celebrated so loudly everyone turned to stare.  It was a moment of satisfaction and elation I never thought I would have this season, and nothing else has ever felt like it. 

The rest of the day was filled with hugs, tears, countless photos being taken, Culvers, and each person re-telling the events of the day from their perspective.  We all could breathe a sigh of relief and finally see that all the hard work of the year paid off.  It was nothing short of amazing - the awards ceremony, the hugs from parents and grandparents, getting pictures taken with each of the athletes and the monstrous trophy, smiling alone in the car the whole way home, and visiting my head coach this morning who was still smiling from ear to ear, and was still wearing his State shirt the girls gave him.  I told my head coach - 'there's something great about waking up in the morning and knowing your team is the state champion.  Things are just a little more beautiful.'  We shared a hearty laugh and hug, congratulating each other on the success. 

 

Monday morning I would never have guessed that I'd be in some of the worst pain I've ever experienced, be stuck in the emergency room with two doctors looking at me and saying 'whoa - I've never seen anything quite like this before', to being on top of the podium at State.  It was unforgettable, and I'm thankful for the memories my girls now have of this season, and that amazing day.  It has been the pinnacle of my coaching career so far, and I couldn't have shared it with a more special group of girls, parents, and coaches. 

 

A Time to Give Back, and a Time to be Selfish

Like anything in life, balance is a strong component of success.  I take balance pretty seriously in my work, personal, and fitness life.  But in all honesty, distance running can be a pretty selfish endeavor.  You naturally become very self-focused as you dissect your diet, training plans, goals, aches and pains…   If you’re going to make it through a training cycle in a healthy way, you have to pay a lot of attention to yourself.  The ugly part of that is that it naturally takes your focus away (at least a little bit anyway) from your other commitments – your relationships, your work, your other hobbies – there are only so many hours in the day, and if you’re spending a few hours focused on your running each day, you have to cut attention away from something else. 

I am very aware that next year with the tentative goals I have that some other things will drop down my priority list, but I am ready for that. I have a tendency to train hard with high mileage about every other year, and in those ‘off’ years it is important for me to give back to the sport of running.  Training hard every year would get old for me, plus, I would probably die of boredom if I had to focus on myself for so long! 

The most significant way that I give back to the sport is by coaching at the high school level.  I have been blessed to have some amazingly talented girls come through the program, but what really excites me about coaching is the work I do with the girls that are brand new to running.  Maybe they were cut from volleyball and still wanted to do a sport, or maybe they’re just trying it out because their older sister ran previously.  Either way, I love coaching those girls.  It is most important to me (more so than winning and getting the girls to hit their goal times) to lay the foundation for these girls to have a healthy relationship with running, and with their bodies.  Running is special in that it is something you can do for your entire life, and I really believe that those first formative years in the sport are detrimental.  We’ve all seen women who have an unhealthy relationship with running  - they use it as a punishment on their body, or as a tool for regulation of their caloric intake.  Anything I can do to bring out the fun in running, and promote a healthy partnership of working with your body and not against it to succeed is a victory in my book, even if it doesn’t culminate in a team win at a meet. 

Speaking of team wins...  here is a pic of my girls winning their Sectional
meet for the first time EVER this past Saturday.

 

 

                Another way I love to give back is by answering people’s running questions, helping with training plans, and giving them tips on injuries, gear, routes, and mental strength.  Running is accessible to everyone, so if I can be an approachable resource to help get people out the door and on the way to discovering their own strength, that’s awesome.  I get really excited to hear about my friends and co-workers running their own races – it reminds me of the excitement of tackling a new distance and meeting a goal you weren’t sure you could attain.

 

A group of my lovely running friends.

                So now as my cross country season winds down (this is the last week with the State meet this Saturday) I am mentally prepping myself to get back to running solo, paying attention to my body’s feedback instead of dialing into the aches and pains my athletes have, and am really looking forward to focusing on my nutrition the next six weeks or so.  I recently read Scott Jurek’s book Eat and Run and want to explore some different, plant based foods to add into my already pretty healthy eating habits.  If you know me at all, I am not a cook.  I would live off of toast, soup and cookies all year if it was acceptable – so I want to take some of my rest cycle time to try some new things.  I have some tempeh in the fridge that I want to use to make a recipe that was in Runner’s World a couple months ago.  I'm shooting for cooking / trying something new every week.

                So as I get ready from the transition of being a coach for my girls, to being more focused on my own miles, I am happy to have spent most of this year investing in other people’s running goals.  It gives me lots to think about when I’m training on my own, and also provides a lot of inspiration as I think about my athletes and friends, and the struggles they have shared with me. It’s like they are giving back to me when they probably aren’t even aware that they are.  To me it feels like the perfect balance of giving and self-focus.  So thank you to my athletes and my running friends who inspire me through the darkest parts of the trail.

 

Me with an athlete I used to coach who I consider to be a sister. :)

 

 

Fall Run in Pictures - Loving Wisconsin

I am headed out shortly to meet a dear old friend for yoga and dinner, and since I have recently decided that chocolate chip cookies make up their own very important food group, I headed out the door for a trail run to enjoy the fall day.  I find that I have quite a few readers that aren't here in Wisconsin, and may not even have cool temperatures yet, so these photos are for you. 

It was a perfect fall run - crunchy leaves, cool breeze, the sun low in the sky so the shadows are long and graceful.  Halloween decorations punctuated the houses that connected the two trails I ran, and you could smell that perfect mix of fall, fires, and dinner being cooked. 

Happy fall trails my friends!

 

The Benefits of a Runner's Mindset

It's been a little while since I have posted. My running is winding down to head into a rest cycle, and my work has gotten much more demanding - at a convenient time, really, since I don't need to be logging 75 mile weeks any time soon. 

This week I have logged 12+ hour work days every day so far, and while juggling responsibilities, answering phone calls, attending meetings, making decisions, completing projects, coaching, and trying to keep my staff happy, I came to realize something.  I was in the same mindset I have on race day.  When you toe the line for a race, especially a long distance race, anything can happen.  You can run out of food or water, you could get lost (on a trail race at least), you could cramp, fall and twist an ankle, get sick - anything.  My work days have been the same thing - I had no idea heading into the office Monday morning that my workload was about to more than double.  And instead of freaking out and whining about it, I quickly organized what had to be done, prioritized a working list of things I was responsible for, turned on the Latin pop music (my new favorite thing!) and got to work.  As things would come up through the day I was able to pretty easily shift gears to accommodate what was needed, respond to people quickly, and stayed late to accommodate a deadline.  From there I ran some errands, took my dog on a long walk, and am now writing this.  I'm still in race mode!

Do you have those days?  Where you look out at the tasks ahead of you (or the miles) and know that the tasks need to be done, and the miles need to be covered?  There's no sense in being emotional or overly anxious about it, just figure it out and get it done.  Right?  As long as these days have been, part of me really loves it.  I am thankful for my running mindset I've developed over the years and can naturally dial into it when I need to.  I know right now that my desk is at least partially cleaned off, my dog is tired and happy, my fridge is full and the laundry is done.  The fire that comes as a result of a runner's mind is a pretty amazing thing! 

"Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body."
-Lynn Jennings

Work, run, work, then take a breath (and look at a postcard of Breckenridge) :)

You're More Than 'Just A Runner'

There seems to be one major difference between people who work out, and people who don't.  People who workout as part of their lifestyle often seem to struggle with resting, whereas people who don't work out seem to savor it.  This past week, I have been resting. 

Just over a week ago my head coach came down with a nasty illness that kept him from coming to our big meet that weekend.  Then last Monday I came down with the same thing - high fever, a carnival took residence in my stomach, and the sinus pressure was so bad it felt like I got kicked in the mouth by a horse.  I can say with certainty that five years ago, well, even one year ago, I would have tried to run through that.  The fever would have kept me inside, but I would have considered the other things minor in comparison for my need to get out the door and log some miles. 

I didn't realize the importance of rest and honestly listening to what my body was telling me until last winter.  I had developed some issues in my left calf and ankle in getting ready for Ragnar in 2012, and those injuries lead to an overuse injury in my right hamstring.  By the time I finished coaching cross country last fall I knew I had really messed things up - the pain in my hamstring was sharp and deep. Now I had to address it. After two trips to the sport med doctors at UW Health, I received the unpleasant news that I had to take time off.  And not just a couple weeks, we're talking months.  I was devastated.  Pair that with the nasty breakup that happened right around the same time and there I was - a hot mess without access to my #1 coping mechanism.  Now what?  I was allowed to do some strength work, and eventually do some agility work, but that was it.  It wasn't until that point that I realized I had all my theoretical eggs in one basket - fitness.  I had lots of other interests, but I had put all of them aside to focus on my performance, and I felt stuck. 

Last winter was by far the longest on record for me.  Fast forward to this past week - I was bummed to have to take some time off and miss practice with my girls, but I had other things on deck that I liked to do.  My unpleasant winter last year forced me to explore parts of me I had long forgotten - my love of reading, writing, time with non-runner friends, artwork, photography, diving into special projects at work, helping other runners and volunteering at events.  All those things were necessary to get me to not go crazy during this last week of rest.  I did miss running in the fall colors with my cross country team, and I longed for that exhilaration of finishing a workout with that burn in your lungs and breathless 'good job's being shared between teammates. 

So as a word of advice, don't forget that we are more than just runners. And as much as we love to run through cities, forests, canyons, mountains and deserts, we're capable of being effective individuals in more ways than our weekly mileage logs suggest.  Most people are winding down their training cycles (congratulations Chicago marathoners!), and it's a wonderful time to scale back the workouts and figure out what else makes us tick.  If you're anything like me, you often feel like you are defined by your running.  I was at a seminar for work the other day and the speaker said that your profession (our in our case, running) doesn't define you, your values do. I urge you to figure out what that means for you.  Winter, or a rest cycle you know you should take, doesn't need to be a stir crazy time of year.  Treat it as an exploration to make yourself a bit more well rounded, and you might just surprise yourself, and others, that you're more than 'just a runner'.