A Runner’s Balancing Act

I had a nice run on Monday night. I usually run from work or near it because I tend to get hungry and tired on the 45 minute drive home and the longer the drive takes, the more I start talking myself out of it. But Monday was refreshingly different. I’d had a good size snack so I wasn’t worried about getting hungry, and it was still over 90 degrees at 5:30 when I left the office. The sun was still high up in the sky so I decided to head home and see if I could get in some miles before it got dark.

I just moved to a small town suburb of Phoenix about 4 months ago. It’s such a nice place for running compared to the city. There are lots curvy scenic roads with minimal traffic. I love the quietness of my town, you can actually hear yourself thinking and the birds chirping. We’re in the foothills of the McDowell mountains which means lots of rolling hills and awesome mountain views. I actually like the hills most of the time. I like the challenge of getting up them, and the high I get as I fly down the other side. Sometimes I think running on flat courses is actually harder because you don’t have any down hills to give you that feeling of being renewed.

When I finally got home Monday night it was 6:25. I quickly changed and headed out knowing I had about 45 minutes until total darkness. Another interesting fact about my town, there are no street lights allowed. I’ve heard its because people want to be able to see the stars. Whatever the reason is, it sure makes night running  scary. My legs were starting to feel sore from Saturday’s longer hilly run, so I headed to the park to do laps around the the 1.3 mile path there (and avoid the neighborhood hills). Dusk is such a wonderful time to run. Its like dawn, only better because you are actually awake enough to enjoy it! The sky was full of wispy clouds painted pink and purple in this huge Arizona sky set against the silhouette of the McDowell Mountains. I wish I had a camera to so that I could have shared it with you all. I was struggling a little with my sore legs but the view almost made me forget the pain. There were lots of people out in the park walking their dogs, and older couples walking hand in hand. I even saw a young family having a pick-nick dinner on a blanket in the grass.

When I got home I was in a really good mood, even though I realized I miscalculated and I was about a half mile short of my 5 mile goal. It hadn’t seemed too hot, but I was still covered with that salty layer you get from sweating a lot, reminding me that it was still hotter then I was used to. It won’t be long before I will be back to the LA Fitness treadmill world. It’s a world I am all to familiar with. The last two years I ran the marathon in January. Temps are nice here in the fall, but its just too dark to run before or after work. I did almost all my weekday training on treadmills for those marathons, so I’m pretty used to it. I have lots of mental tricks to stay entertained. But that’s a post for another time!

Its Monday and that means it’s time to set some goals for myself. Usually every Monday, between projects at work, I look at my schedule and jot down my running plan for the week around the activities I have planned. My marathon training program doesn’t really start until mid May, so for the next few weeks I’m just trying to keep up my endurance and enjoy running. I’m trying to minimize the chance of burnout this summer (although it will undoubtedly happen to some degree), so I don’t want to do any crazy mileage just yet.

Here is the plan:

Monday: 5 miles after work, probably on the treadmill, but maybe I will attempt outside (high of 96 today!)

Tuesday: 1 hour competitive volleyball after work  (no time for a run with TNT meeting at 6 pm and volleyball at
Wednesday: 6 miles, outside after work (high supposed to be 91, but it will be in the 80′s by 6pm when I go)
Thursday: 3 easy miles after work with my friend Jackie

Friday: off

Saturday: Hilly run 7 mile run, early morning

Sunday: off

Goal 1: Stretch well after every run (I often skip it, I know, I’m bad)

Goal 2: Go to bed before 10 pm every night. (I wish I had done that LAST NIGHT!)

Goal 3: Be more mindful of after dinner munching.

Okay, now I need you guys to keep me accountable . The Thursday and Saturday runs might be a little difficult with the inlaws staying with us Thursday through Sunday. If for some reason I need to be home after work Thursday to make dinner, I will bump Thursday’s run to Friday early morning. I’m not acclimated to running that early right now, but it’s probably a good idea to start working in more early mornings. Pretty soon the afternoons will be too hot to handle. This could prove to be a stressful week with getting the house ready for guests. I’m really hoping it won’t get in the way of my running, but if it does, life goes on. Coming soon, my thoughts on the new running skirts.

I recently received an email from a gal who wanted to know if I had any advice for starting a running routine. I thought back to when I started running and all the times I’ve had to start up running again after taking a break because of injury. What follows is the best advice I can give:

Starting a running routine is can be a frustrating experience if you
don’t know what to expect. Let me break it to you now. Your body is
going to scream at you and you are going to think you weren’t cut out
to be a runner. I guarantee you, it will get easier. Consistency is the key. Here is a good plan to work yourself into a comfortable running routine:

First,
you have to surrender to the fact that you just cannot start up a
running routine from scratch and think you are going to run fast.
You are going to be very slow at first and that’s okay, its best to
accept that now. Pick a loop that’s in you neighborhood or near your
work. It should be a location that is easy to access on a daily basis
and be between 1 and 2 miles.  Accept that you are going to make it
around that loop, no matter how fast or how slow, be it a run, walk, jog or shuffle. Remember, walking is good for you too!

On your first run, make sure to start off slowly.
After a few minutes, start asking yourself, "do I feel good enough
right now that I could keep at this pace for the next 5 minutes?" If
you don’t think you can, drop your speed a little. After another minute
or two, ask yourself the question again. If at any point, you feel like
you need to walk, that is fine! Just pick up jogging again as soon as
you feel ready. And remember its okay to go slow.  The
speed will come later after all your muscles, joints and ligaments get
stronger and your cardiovascular system more efficient. It’s fine if
you end up walking more then running at the beginning, just make sure
you cover the distance. After you finish don’t forget to stretch really
good. You will still be sore the next day, but remind yourself that it
won’t be so bad after you get a few runs under your belt.

After
you get through that first run, evaluate how it went. How sore were
you? How difficult was it? If you are extremely sore, wait a few days
until the soreness wears off, then try it again. Once you get past the
initial soreness, commit to running that distance every other day
for a month. The days between runs will give your body time to heal and
strengthen. On the days you don’t run remember to stretch. You could do
a strengthening routine but don’t work your legs as you’ll want to keep
soreness to a minimum. By the end of the month I bet you’ll be jogging
the entire distance and ready to push on to go farther and faster.  At
that point, think about signing up for a local 5k a few months away. It
will give you the motivation you need to keep pushing yourself.