10. Mt. Dew soda (aka. liquid gold) plus a mocha 1x caffeine GU will take your shuffling butt into a dead sprint for the next 5 miles.
9. If you loose a toenail, there is no need to worry about the appearance of your feet. You can paint the hardened under-the-nail-skin to match your other toenails.
8. Eating a chicken salad wrap 10 minutes before a run is disgusting.
7. Having an extremely strong message therapist dig his elbow into your sore calf the day after a hard run will throw your leg into painful spasms, in which you will accidentally kick said therapist.
6. After a long run, the All American breakfast at Waffle House is the best thing that has ever hit your lips... fake butter and all.
5. During a training race and it is cold outside, do NOT over dress. Your body will warm up, you will sweat. All that sweating will lead to mild dehydration. Mild dehydration will make you slow down to a crawling pace and all those people you passed in earlier miles will energetically pass you back. Yes... even the Yeti will take you over!
4. Take extreme caution when watching Tosh O. while on a treadmill. Uncontrollable laughter can cause you to bend at the waist, loose balance, and incur belt-burn.
3. Beer after a hard run is euphoric.
2. Never pass up the opportunity to use a bathroom facility. If you do pass up the offer, you will 9 out of 10x regret it within 20 minutes.
.... and number 1.....
1. Imodium is your friend.
2 week countdown until race day! (Pssssst... it's not too late to make a donation towards my fundraising efforts! I appreciate your support!!!! Click here.)
Have some funny although important tips to share during your own training? Leave a comment!
Peace!
Rachel
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Get After It!!!
Step 1: FIND INSPIRATION.
Seriously.... get out there... talk to people... read... search... and find it!!! It's great to read about professional athletes, sponsored adventurous types, Olympians.... but that's not what I'm talking about. True, they are inspiring, they accomplish unbelievable goals, and they really don't seem human (I'm convinced some aren't!), but it can be hard to relate to their supernatural abilities. I'm talking about the everyday, average Joe/Joette that have accomplished personal greatness, have conquered fears, have subjected themselves to the possibility of defeat and have come out triumphant. I'm talking about the go-getter, the dig deep, fierce warrior kind. The kind that rise to the challenge, never settle, live for the journey, and become humble champions. These people inspire me! I can't get enough of what they've got! I want to talk to them, read their blogs, follow their journey. They teach me to set big goals and go big to earn the reward.
Step 2: GET YOUR CHEER SECTION RALLIED.
This is going to sound so cliche...but here it goes because it's true! Surround yourself with positive people that support you and your goals. Why would you ever entertain negativity in your life? You've got no time for that!!!!! We all need a cheer section. It just feels good to have that support and pat on the back. It might be a personal challenge for you, but I truly believe we all need that "good job" recognition from others to help keep us going. You're going to stumble, you're going to get knocked down. Get your cheer section rallied to help pull you up, and never, never give up!
Step 3: JUMP FORWARD.
Yeah, I don't mean take baby steps, ease into it, check it out for awhile, think about it as you stroll along. It ain't gonna happen, you're gonna miss the boat, or you're gonna loose part of the journey. Set your goal and GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! JUMP head first and dig, claw, scramble your way to the finish line! All that diggin' and clawin' is part of the journey, gives you more reward and fulfillment. That "One day" stuff is crap... GET AFTER IT!!!!!!
Loose that 1st pound, run that 1st mile, climb that 1st mountain, it will take you somewhere. In my case... to 100.
Who or what inspires you? Leave a comment and let me know!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Getting Ready To Toe the Line
I'm getting ready to toe the line for my first 100 mile endurance run! A couple of months ago I posted about this challenge and the fundraising I will be doing to support LCM, (read I'm Running 100 Miles to Africa! if you need to catch up to speed). I'm hoping you will help toe the line with me through your tax-deductible donations. Please visit my website, 100MilesToAfrica, to donate and learn more.
I'm not the first to run 100 miles, but it is MY first 100 miles! I'm striving to make a difference in the lives of others through running.
Peace!
Rachel
I'm not the first to run 100 miles, but it is MY first 100 miles! I'm striving to make a difference in the lives of others through running.
Peace!
Rachel
Monday, December 3, 2012
Stretching My Stride
Today marked Day 1 to incorporate some speed work into my 100 mile training plan. At first, my legs and hips were a little stiff with the increased stretch in stride. After a few rounds of quick sprints, the legs were feeling good. In fact, better than before! No tightness in the IT band or hamstrings, no achy knees or hips, no lack of energy. "WOW!", I thought as I ran interval after interval, "all those base miles have done wonders for my legs! Now I'm ready to put a little pep-in-my-step and stretch out my stride".
I can't really leave this blog post simply about my sprint intervals, that's boring for most people anyway. Plus, as you begin to know me a little better you may realize I'm analytical, a deep thinker, and like to make comparisons between my running and life. So here it is... the big analogy between life and stretching my stride!....
Laying down those base miles is like everyday life. We plug away, day after day, trying to inch ahead with goals for ourselves, career, or family. We might not get as far as fast, but we are laying some great ground work. It's easy to stay on this treadmill, shoot... most days it's all I can do to survive this pace! But we need to stretch, stretch our stride, stretch out in our lives. That stretching can bring about new opportunities, move us beyond the limits we place on ourselves, and keep us from living a life of mediocrity.
You don't have to be a runner or an athlete to experience what I'm writing about. You need to be healthy and strong, so when the time is right for you to stretch your stride, you don't miss it... you are more than ready!
How am I stretching my stride? Not just by running a 100 mile endurance run, but by striving to make a difference in the lives of others through running.
Peace!
Rachel
I can't really leave this blog post simply about my sprint intervals, that's boring for most people anyway. Plus, as you begin to know me a little better you may realize I'm analytical, a deep thinker, and like to make comparisons between my running and life. So here it is... the big analogy between life and stretching my stride!....
Laying down those base miles is like everyday life. We plug away, day after day, trying to inch ahead with goals for ourselves, career, or family. We might not get as far as fast, but we are laying some great ground work. It's easy to stay on this treadmill, shoot... most days it's all I can do to survive this pace! But we need to stretch, stretch our stride, stretch out in our lives. That stretching can bring about new opportunities, move us beyond the limits we place on ourselves, and keep us from living a life of mediocrity.
You don't have to be a runner or an athlete to experience what I'm writing about. You need to be healthy and strong, so when the time is right for you to stretch your stride, you don't miss it... you are more than ready!
How am I stretching my stride? Not just by running a 100 mile endurance run, but by striving to make a difference in the lives of others through running.
Please read www.100milestoafrica.com and donate!
Peace!
Rachel
Monday, November 26, 2012
It's Personal.
Just putting it out there... putting out how I really feel right now... putting out something personal... yep, putting something out there just to get it off my chest... maybe you can relate.
Where do I fit in? I have gone through life feeling this need to be a part of something, a group, or a movement. I thought it would somehow define me, give me purpose, help me gain self-worth. If I was just simply me, how could anyone appreciate me for me? I could be malleable and just roll with the group, I wouldn't have to expose the real me, that would be too painful if rejected. Who would like my quirks, my flaws, my bad habits? If I just roll with the group I'll find my identity and purpose.
I never stumbled upon my identity by being a part of something, a group, or a movement. I found it by being me, by accepting myself, flaws and all. I found it in the solace of running, being only with myself, forced to find what I am truly made of in moments of weakness. I found that I was a pretty cool person, I didn't need an identity outside of who I really am.
Here is what I have learned to accept: I sometimes put my foot in my mouth, I can be inflexible, I have a voice of a 13 year old, I have a quick temper, I sometimes don't think of others enough, I'm really bad about sending thank you notes for gifts, I'm loud, I have freckles, I don't have the curvacious body I always dreamed of having, I'm almost over the hill, I tend to be insecure, some people think I'm disingenuous, I've become my mother.
Here is what I know: I love to talk to people even if the words don't come out right, I'm a structured and routine person, my voice keeps me sounding forever young, I don't stay mad, I would give anything to someone in need, I at least call when I forget to send the thank you note, others can hear my loud mouth really well, I can laser my freckles off, I'm slim and in the best shape of my life, insecurity makes me vulnerable but I love deeply, most people think I'm genuine, my mother is a beautiful, amazing, and loved woman.
I'm cool with being me.
Where do I fit in? I have gone through life feeling this need to be a part of something, a group, or a movement. I thought it would somehow define me, give me purpose, help me gain self-worth. If I was just simply me, how could anyone appreciate me for me? I could be malleable and just roll with the group, I wouldn't have to expose the real me, that would be too painful if rejected. Who would like my quirks, my flaws, my bad habits? If I just roll with the group I'll find my identity and purpose.
I never stumbled upon my identity by being a part of something, a group, or a movement. I found it by being me, by accepting myself, flaws and all. I found it in the solace of running, being only with myself, forced to find what I am truly made of in moments of weakness. I found that I was a pretty cool person, I didn't need an identity outside of who I really am.
Here is what I have learned to accept: I sometimes put my foot in my mouth, I can be inflexible, I have a voice of a 13 year old, I have a quick temper, I sometimes don't think of others enough, I'm really bad about sending thank you notes for gifts, I'm loud, I have freckles, I don't have the curvacious body I always dreamed of having, I'm almost over the hill, I tend to be insecure, some people think I'm disingenuous, I've become my mother.
Here is what I know: I love to talk to people even if the words don't come out right, I'm a structured and routine person, my voice keeps me sounding forever young, I don't stay mad, I would give anything to someone in need, I at least call when I forget to send the thank you note, others can hear my loud mouth really well, I can laser my freckles off, I'm slim and in the best shape of my life, insecurity makes me vulnerable but I love deeply, most people think I'm genuine, my mother is a beautiful, amazing, and loved woman.
I'm cool with being me.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Supercompensation: Gaining fitness through rest
Rest? Heck, I'm not scared to rest! Rest feels good! So why don't I do it more when I should? You know you don't either! You know you feel like if you just keep training harder, especially when you feel tired, you will miraculously become a rock star athlete! Well... it just doesn't quite work that way. (Trust me, I'm knocking on my own noggin about this!) Most of us want to keep making physical gains with strength, speed, and/or endurance, but we tend to plateau and training harder doesn't bring the desired results unless... we train smarter NOT just harder. This doesn't mean taking the easy road, it means push hard when the time is right and allow the body to build rather than drive it into the ground!
I came across this article, Supercompensation, and loved the explanation and graphs that make it easy to understand supercompensation - the post training period during which the trained function/parameter has a higher performance capacity than it did prior to the training period. Because the body is an adjustable organism, it will feel the need to adjust itself to a higher level of fitness in anticipation of the next workout session. This applies to beginners to elite athletes. It is important to educate yourself in what you are doing to maximize your best results. You can't lose your weak if you are in a constant state of fatigue, allow your body to find its strong!
(I can't get the dark background off the graphs below for some reason. So, just click on the article to view if needed.)
Exercise does not make you fit, it's the rest that follows exercise that makes you fit. The importance of rest is often overlooked. This is how a single bout of training impacts your fitness:
1 Adequate Rest
Ideally, you will get sufficient rest so that you recover from the training stress and get the maximum benefit. This would mean starting the next training session near the peak of supercompensation, as shown below.
2 Insufficient rest resulting in stagnation
Without sufficient rest, you may start your next training at the end of the period marked ‘Recovery’. This means that you have not benefited from the training, just barely recovered from it. This can carry on indefinitely, with no improvement in fitness.
3 Overtraining
Without sufficient rest to recover from the training stress, the fitness level starts to decline, with each training bout further reducing fitness. Sadly, the response to this is often to increase the training stress, creating a positive feedback cycle.
4 Intensity and Supercompensation
Different intensities produce different levels of fatigue and resulting supercompensation. In the diagram below, the blue line shows insufficient intensity, producing only a small amount of supercompensation. The orange line is too intense, requiring so long to recover that little supercompensation occurs. The red line shows far too much intensity, resulting in an inability to supercompensate. The black line shows an intensity level resulting in injury rather than supercompensation. Thus it is important to work out the right level of intensity to produce the required level of supercompensation. This is a 'Goldilocks' situation, where too much or too little intensity produces a negative outcome. For each individual, there is an optimum level of exercise and recovery that produces the best supercompensation. The most common problem in highly motivated athletes is when they are working too hard with too little rest, they understand that they are not improving, but they adjust the wrong way and try to work harder. Exercise is not a situation where 'more is better'.
References:
http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Supercompensation_and_Why_exercise_does_not_make_you_fit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercompensation
I came across this article, Supercompensation, and loved the explanation and graphs that make it easy to understand supercompensation - the post training period during which the trained function/parameter has a higher performance capacity than it did prior to the training period. Because the body is an adjustable organism, it will feel the need to adjust itself to a higher level of fitness in anticipation of the next workout session. This applies to beginners to elite athletes. It is important to educate yourself in what you are doing to maximize your best results. You can't lose your weak if you are in a constant state of fatigue, allow your body to find its strong!
(I can't get the dark background off the graphs below for some reason. So, just click on the article to view if needed.)
Exercise does not make you fit, it's the rest that follows exercise that makes you fit. The importance of rest is often overlooked. This is how a single bout of training impacts your fitness:
1 Adequate Rest
Ideally, you will get sufficient rest so that you recover from the training stress and get the maximum benefit. This would mean starting the next training session near the peak of supercompensation, as shown below.
2 Insufficient rest resulting in stagnation
Without sufficient rest, you may start your next training at the end of the period marked ‘Recovery’. This means that you have not benefited from the training, just barely recovered from it. This can carry on indefinitely, with no improvement in fitness.
3 Overtraining
Without sufficient rest to recover from the training stress, the fitness level starts to decline, with each training bout further reducing fitness. Sadly, the response to this is often to increase the training stress, creating a positive feedback cycle.
4 Intensity and Supercompensation
Different intensities produce different levels of fatigue and resulting supercompensation. In the diagram below, the blue line shows insufficient intensity, producing only a small amount of supercompensation. The orange line is too intense, requiring so long to recover that little supercompensation occurs. The red line shows far too much intensity, resulting in an inability to supercompensate. The black line shows an intensity level resulting in injury rather than supercompensation. Thus it is important to work out the right level of intensity to produce the required level of supercompensation. This is a 'Goldilocks' situation, where too much or too little intensity produces a negative outcome. For each individual, there is an optimum level of exercise and recovery that produces the best supercompensation. The most common problem in highly motivated athletes is when they are working too hard with too little rest, they understand that they are not improving, but they adjust the wrong way and try to work harder. Exercise is not a situation where 'more is better'.
References:
http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Supercompensation_and_Why_exercise_does_not_make_you_fit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercompensation
Monday, October 15, 2012
Day 1... Easy?
Today marks Day 1 in training for the Iron Horse 100 Mile Run. What was on the schedule? An EASY 6 miler. EASY? Yes, I could hardly believe it!!!! An incredible ultra-running coach was referred to me and luckily she agreed to coach me through this challenge. She is a bad-a$$ runner herself and I feel privileged to be under her training guidance. I received my training plans last night and Coach has me starting the next couple of weeks slow and steady, gaining some mileage, and building a base. I was shocked and in love with the plan! I thought for sure Coach would start me out hard with my face in the dirt. After having a tough couple of weeks, this easy build over the next month has me happy! Now, now.... I'm not so naive to think this happy, blissful, easy build will last. Some hard, grueling, exhausting miles are coming my way. I'm just happy to delay it a couple of weeks! The plan... build, get strong, then BRING IT ON!!!
 |
| 6 miles of easy, blissful running on the trails of Kennesaw Mountain today. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)