Taking care of yourself

So how is your training going? I hope the latest headlines regarding the 3 runners who died running in the Detroit Marathon won't deter your progress-ha! Never the less, we keep on running right?!

If you are having a hectic time fitting in your runs, as I truly have been, just get in as much as you can and don't beat yourself up if you miss a few runs here or there. Research has proven time and time again, that it's actually better for your body and your performance if you rest rather than over train. I'm not saying that you will do great if you don't train enough, but just don't get go crazy running everyday one week just to make up for an earlier loss. Balance your running and rest as much as you can.

I came across a website with some great recipes ideas. They are nothing ground breaking but they are printer ready, easy to read, and the nutrition facts are included. It's a great tool to have. I like that in addition to the recipe, it gives you some healthy side dish ideas. There is a bunch of other eating healthy info, but the recipes are the thing that interested me the most. So if you are interested, go check it out!

http://www.zonya.com/healthy_recipes.html

With Fall full in bloom, a lot of the foods that can really help boost your fitness performance are in season. Foods such as squash (made spaghetti squash with a little olive oil & butter & salt last night), pumpkin (I made pumpkin muffins today-YUMMY!, and I have a good recipe for pumpkin chili if anyone wants it), apples, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, figs, and grapes are all at their best right now. You always want to try to buy what is in season because it is richer in nutrients than at other times of the year, and it's cheaper which never hurts anyone! So try to fit in 2-3 three of these a week. If you don't want to eat them plain and need some recipe ideas, check out www.AllRecipes.com. You can search by recipe titles or by ingredients you want your recipe to include. I find nearly all of my recipes from there, and the feedback people leave for the recipes are actually helpful.

We are working on planning a run down on the strip the second weekend in November. If you are interested, make sure you check back here because all of the info will be here. Also, looking ahead to the race. If you are planning on staying down on the strip the night before, get a hotel ASAP if you haven't already. We got a room about a month ago, and a lot of the hotels we tried were all booked.

Happy running!!

Week 4 of 16 Running issues/Foam Rolling/Refueling

Ran 7 miles yesterday and I have to say I have reached my threshold of running on the track at LVAC on Rainbow & 95. 39 laps is too much on my sanity. Back outdoors I go.

Troubleshooting

By now you may have had an ailment hear or there, anything from a side ache to the dreaded blister. They happen to anyone and everyone. Here are a few tricks to prevent and/or treat some common complaints:

Side Aches: Caused by a spasm of your diaphragm which is the tissue that separates the lung/heart cavity from the lower abdomen. The diaphragm does all the work while breathing. Prevented by properly warming up, staying hydrated, keeping your shoulders relaxed, limiting the amount of food you consume in the 3 hours before your run, and proper belly breathing avoid shallow breathing. Breathe in through your nose while you let you stomach expand, exhale through your mouth as you pull your tummy in tight. Treated by stop running immediately and reach your fingers into the right side of your belly & push your liver up while breathing out through you mouth at the same time. Another technique that works for some is to exhale as your left foot strikes the ground, instead of the right foot. This works because the organs attached to the diaphragm on the left side aren't as big as those on the right side, so there is less strain on the diaphragm.

Blisters: Caused by friction between your foot & shoe. Prevented by wearing properly fitted, snuggly tied, and well broken in shoes before running too long. Also, wearing "dry-fit" socks that wick away the moisture rather than cotton ones. Lastly, if you know you are prone to blisters, try applying vasoline, talcum powder, or even moleskin to the blister-prone areas. Treated by gently piercing the dead skin covering the blister with a disinfected needle (use either rubbing alcohol or hold over a flame to disinfect), then apply neosporin over the site to prevent infection. Be sure not to remove the skin as it protect the sensitive area underneath.

Chafing: Caused by sweating & rubbing generally around the groin, underarms and nipples, but it can occur anywhere. Prevented by staying dry, keeping hydrated, using a lube such as Body Glide or Runner's Lube, and wearing the proper clothing. The more snug your clothes fit, the less likely you will chafe. Treated by treating it like an open wound. Wash & clean with an antiseptic & cover with a sterile gauze pad that allows the area to breathe until it's healed.

Feet/Nails: Regular pedicures can prevent a lot of problems from corns, calluses, blisters, black nails, to ingrown nails-OUCH! A pedicure also moisturizes your feet, and in order to maintain the skin's moisture, apply lotion everyday. It's recommended that you get a pedicure once a month while you are training & schedule your last one a week to 10 days before a race.

Running Groups

Red Rock Running Company on Cheyenne & Tenaya has a free running group, where you actually can earn free things by running! Wednesday nights they have 6-8 mile runs, be ready to be pushed! You don't have to be fast, but you have be willing to train hard. They start at 5:30pm sharp, so come early so you can warm up. Saturday is for the long runs, anywhere from 3 miles up to 20+, and the leave at 6am sharp. There will always be someone running shorter distances. Most of the runs go North & slightly West from the store using and out & back style course. However there is a loop that goes to Bunker park (bathrooms!) and comes back to the store (water!)- Great for beginners or people wanting to stay close to the essentials (me!). Their website is located in the websites category on the right side of this page. It has all the info & contact information.

Also, I think a few of us would like to get together once or twice a month to go do our long runs on the same trail. As soon as we get the dates & distances nailed down, I will post them on here.

Cool & FREE web tools

Active.com is a great resource alone, but recently I stumbled upon a free training log they call"Active Trainer". You get a free training log calendar and the best part is that you can map out runs in any distance in every neighborhood. Check it out!

Also, if you are looking for more information on anything running, check out the websites bar. I've added a lot of great ones that are full of information from finding half marathons anywhere, to rookie mistakes & race day tips.

Foam Rolling Bliss

Foam rollers are 2-3 feet long foam tubes. They are used to elongate muscle fibers and relieve tightness, think of it as a self massage. For example, if you have knee pain, one likely cause could be IT Band tightness (that is the tissue that runs up the outside of your leg from knee to hip area). You sit on the roller, roll onto one side so that you are facing either right or left from where you started, place your elbow on the floor, bottom leg stays straight, and top leg bends over in front and rest that top foot on the floor in front of you. Now roll the side of your leg that is on the roller, from your hip down to your knee. Some areas here will be more tender than others, some down right painful, but breathe through it. I roll my IT Band before every workout, it's painful but I absolutely notice the difference when I do it versus not doing it. You can roll any part of your body that feels tight, there are certain ways to do most muscles, but for the most part you can play around with it and find out how to address your tightness on your own.

The technique, no matter what area you are rolling is to roll over the complete area, then focus on the knot. Maintain your deep belly breathing as it can be painful and you might have the tendency to stop breathing, but you need to stay relaxed. Roll over the area 5 times, then hold on the knot area for approximately 30 seconds. Rolling should be done after your body is warm, but before the workout. It can be done daily, even multiple times a day depending on your tightness.

Some other areas that are generally tight on runners are the IT Band as I suggested earlier, the glutes (your butt, roll one side then the other), calves (for more intensity, roll 1 leg while the other rests on top, for less intensity roll both at the same time). For more information on proper technique or addressing your problem areas such as knee or hip pain, or shoulder tightness, schedule a session with Arthur so that he can create a personalized program for you. You can email him at arthurhsu.corestength@yahoo.com or by calling him 336.6626.

Snacks on the Run

Now that your long runs are lasting well past 45 minutes, it's time to start talking about refueling during your run for optimal performance. After about 45 minutes, your body needs a little jump start beyond water which includes sugar & electrolytes. Make sure you try different things throughout the next long runs to see what works best for you. Here are some snacks to consider:

• Sports Gels (i.e. Gu, Bloks, Beans) - the most common because of how easy it is to carry & consume, also your body can use it very quickly. Several flavors to pick from, some even contain caffeine if you want it. Can be found at any athletic or running store.
• Honey, peppermints
• Candy (i.e. Gummy Bears, Jelly Beans, M&Ms, Airheads, Hot Tamales)
• Sports Bars or Candy Bars (i.e. Cliff Bar, Luna Bar, Salted Nut Roll, Snickers...these take more digestion power, but also provide more energy longer)
• Bagels or boiled potatoes are a great option if you want to avoid the sweet sugary stuff)
• Sandwich (Jelly or PB & J are the tried and true best bets)
• Sports Drinks (Cytomax Citrus sports drink is the drink they will have on the course, so you might want to go get some to see if you want it at the race, another great option is Carb Boom, Nuun, or Ultima- these are all natural powders or tablets you add to your water, comes in different flavors and are full of electrolytes without all the sweeteners and artificial stuff)

Try different things to see what works best for you. No matter which you choose, be sure to consume enough liquids to avoid dehydration. If you are dehydrated, all of these foods will just cause problems rather than help you. Start your snacks after about 45 minutes to 1 hour, then every 45 min - 1 hour after that, along with regular drinking.

08/27/09 Week 2 of 16

Last week was our official kick off training together...not too bad right? A few short runs, hopefully on one run you pushed yourself past your comfort zone & got your lungs burning! Then that nice long run. I hope you loaded up the iPod with your favorite tunes, or else are already editing your playlists because what sounded good when you choose the songs, were complete torture while you were hitting the pavement cursing yourself & your poor taste in music. I've been there a time or two... especially when I have to use my husbands iPod because I forgot to charge mine...I can only handle 80's hair bands & heavy metal on a busy streets where the traffic is too loud to hear my music!

Running with your head in the game

Sometimes music is all we need to get us through our workouts, but we've all been there when it seems like nothing in the world can get you to finish your run. You start looking for excuses

to stop doing what you are doing-it looks like its going to rain, i think my knee is starting to hurt, i didn't get enough sleep last night- yada yada yada. It happens to all of us at some point, but don't let yourself get in that downward spiral during your long runs, or whatever is the most challenging part of your training. You set out on this goal because you wanted to do this half-marathon for whatever reason. Don't let yourself down because you got tired & started to wuss out on your work. You can do this, anyone can physically do this! Mentally doing it is the hard part. That is why this week we are talking about the mental side of running, hopefully before you get mentally exhausted. Everyone has tricks to keep pushing yourself when there is no one there to make you keep going when you want to give up, and some work better than others. Music, puzzles, mantras, making mental to do lists, clearing our heads, people counting on you such as family or charities, there are endless lists of things that motivate us. I've tried everything from singing the alphabet forward and backward, and then also singing the "Fifty Nifty States" forward and then saying the states in reverse alphabetical order...that one took some time! For this round of training I am using two things to get me through my workouts, during those times where I'm not doing my best, Molly & Body Pump (well that's besides the natural motivator of my two wonderful children & a husband I want to make proud & the vision not having this post-baby body & my 6 pack back- abs not beer!

#1 motivator- Molly Sheridan, both amazing & slightly insane at the same time! If you haven't read her blog yet, you must! It's located on the right side of your screen. I trained her a while back as she was preparing for her Ultra Marathon, Marathon De Sable in Morocco earlier this year. Soon after that race she learned that she was accepted in the ultra elite "Badwater" race in Death Valley. Her blog is about her Badwater experience. After you read how far she pushed herself and even when wanting to give up, never did, you realize that you really can do anything! During my workouts, both endurance & strength training workouts, when I'm feeling pooped & ready to toss in the towel, I think about how hard Molly was pushed in that race. Then I suddenly don't feel as tired as I thought I was and go into the zone. She's a truly remarkable person and athlete. I hope you will read her blog for some inspiration & maybe she will even get you eager to move up into the world Ultra-Marathon'ing; I know she would love a few new running buddies!

#2 motivator- Last summer I got certified as a Body Pump instructor because I loved the class so much. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a choreographed total body strength training class put to popular music. I have had to learn the choreography to over 100 different songs, and if you don't use it, you lose it! So as I run, I just put on my Body Pump tracks & review the choreography. One class is one hour of music, so that is one run that just flew by, and as an added bonus I will be a better Body Pump instructor! Not as moving as Molly's story, but it works.

This week, have a mental game plan when you set out on your runs. If you are getting pushed down & beat up in your workouts, try taking a new approach on your mental game before you start your run. If you are running (ha!) a blank on some ideas to try here are a few...try downloading a book to listen to, plan your meals for the week, meet up with a running group or have a running buddy, hire a trainer, share music playlists, just don't let yourself stop!

Stretching before running...To Do or Not To do?

If you have ever heard to saying, "if you don't know how to do it right, then don't do it at all", that applies to this topic! I can't tell you how many times my husband & I have cringed by watching people walk into the gym, go to the stretching areas and start stretching wrong, then start running on the track. Why is it that only a small percentage know how to stretch properly before workouts? It's no secret and most trainers spend much of their first few sessions with new clients teaching them how to prepare to workout.

Before your workouts you need to stretch differently then after your workouts. To put it simply, before your workout, you need to warm up & prepare your body for movement by moving, this is called Movement Preparation. It boosts your heart rate, blood flow to the muscles, body temperature, and improves the function of the nervous system. Click on this link from ATP to view video clips of a series of dynamic stretches http://www.getatp.com/exercises.html . If you have trouble with this link, just click on the ATP link on the right side of this screen. Once you are at their website, click on exercises, then look under Flexibility and click on each of the stretches, there are ten total. Do 5 repetitions of each exercise for each your left & your right side, so ten reps total if you are alternating sides. Some will feel better than others, but try to incorporate at least 5 of them before each workout. If you do the series of ten, it should take you about 10-15 minutes. The end result will be a dramatic improvement in mobility, flexibility, and stability, on top of an increase in speed & power by nearly 20% compared to basic static stretching.

After your workout is the time to cool the body down with long stretches called Static Stretching. Here you hold your stretch, while breathing deeply, for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes each. With each deep breath, allow your body to stretch a little further. Ideally find a hand full of stretches that feel best for you. You can stretch as much as you want, but don't neglect stretching your calves, hamstrings, hips, back, and chest.

Nutrition

This weeks nutrition tip is about what to drink. It's no surprise that water is one of your best friends, and while you are doing any sort of endurance training, you need to be drinking quite a bit of it. However, during some longer workouts, your body needs more than water to perform at its best. Here are the basic rules on what to drink when...

• Water throughout the day and for workouts under 1 hour
• Water w/ Ultima or diluted sports drinks for workouts over 1 hour but under 2 hours
• For workouts lasting over 2 hours alternate between water and a caffeinated beverage such as flat soda or black tea.

Regardless of how long your workout lasts, try to drink every 15 minutes during to prevent dehydration. Try different drinks that are out there. Next to nice cold refreshing water, my favorite is Ultima (lemonade flavor is really refreshing) because it doesn't have all the artificial crap that mass marketed competitors have such as Gatorade & Powerade. Ultima is sold at most athletic stores & Whole Foods.

Have a great week! Stay motivated, get properly warmed up before your runs, and cheers to happy running!

08/17/09 - Week 1 of 16

Let the fun begin!

Here we are, week 1. The easiest week until the December 7! By now you hopefully did your homework, if not, go get your ruler and smack your hand for being tardy! Let's run down our checklist... Running program - check. Running shoes - check (speaking of which I got some really kickin new Asics, love them!). Registered for the race - check. Eating healthy - smaller check, well hopefully for the rest of you who are not on vaction it was a stronger check-curse the Iowa State Fair!! Well here we go, let's get to work!
Running tip of the week...Form & Breathing

You have 3 runs to get in this week, two short runs & one long run. Everyone's "Runner's World" training program is a little different, but the short runs are either tempo or speedwork focused. They are both meant to push you out of your comfort zone and build your body up to working faster & stronger. So be sure not to neglect those short runs. On your long run, do whatever you have to do to get your recommended mileage in. For some it's just jogging a little slower, others its doing a run/walk combo over and over again until you're done. The biggest mistake is to go out full force and dying half way out there. Next focus on your running form. Relax your shoulders & jaw, try to keep elbows bent at a 90 degree angle, & run tall (that just means don't slouch). If you are not already, make sure you are "belly breathing" while running, it allows your body to take in & make the best use of all of that oxygen.

Belly breathing is breathing in through your nose, out through your mouth, using your belly rather than your chest to breath. If you are a seasoned runner, or have taken Yoga or Pilates classes, you have probably tried this style of breathing. Ironically when were infants & toddlers, we did this naturally. However, as we age and our bodies adapt to less activity & poorer posture, and we naturally grew away from this more efficient style of breathing, which is extremly unfortunate. So here his how you do it... As you inhale, force your stomach to expand (imagine you are filling your stomach up with air), not allowing your chest to raise or move at all. As you exhale, pull your tummy tight (as though you were pushing all the air out of your body by tightening your abdominal muscles). Stand sideways in front of the mirror to see if you are doing it properly. If you are new to this style of breathing, it's hard to get & feels completely opposite of natural. After plenty of practice, you will get more comfortable doing this, eventually doing it all the time. This is one technique that promises a positive return on your running.

Cross & Flex Training - Classes vs. You

Dedicate 2-3 days, preferrably non-running days, to focus on your strength & flexibility. This week I want you to try to attend group classes. Group classes provide you a simple solution to your workout needs, while keeping it under 1 hour. Aim to do 2 strength training classes, check out Body Pump, Sculpt, Bootcamp, or TRX classes. For flexibility, try Yoga or Pilates. Every instructor teaches a little differently, some you will love, some not so much. The goal of going to these classes are 3 things:

• Improve strength


• Improve flexibility


• Learn proper technique to do exercises effectively on your own

If you cannot make it to classes, do what you can on your own this week. Keep your strength training workouts under 40 minutes, and adding 20 minutes at the end for flexibility. Your basic workout template should look like this:

• 5 minute warm-up


• 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions of each exercise, less than 1 minute rest between exercise (make sure that your muscles are tired by 12-15 reps, if not, you must make it harder)
  
• Do your workout in this order, Legs, Chest, Back, another Leg exercise, Shoulders, Abs


• Stretch, working your way up from ankles to neck, each stretch should take 1-2 minutes
  

Eating - Simple Snack Smoothies

A quick & easy solution for breakfast, snack, or post-workout snack/meal. Stock up on bananas, slice them when they are ripe & freeze them, 1 banana per storage bag. For these simple smoothie recipes, just combine all in your blender, blend until well mixed. Pour into a large cup & enjoy for breakfast or for a great post-workout snack. Both recipes are loaded with anti-oxidents, good carbs and a good amount of protein.

Chocolate-Banana Smoothie (240 calories, 10g protein, 3g fat)

• 1 banana, sliced & frozen
• 8 oz chocolate soy milk

or Berry-Banana Smoothie (300 calories, 13g protein, 3g fat)

• 1 banana, sliced & frozen
• 1 cup of frozen blueberries or strawberries
• 1 cup of vanilla soy milk

Coming up next week... Next week we will look at the mental side of running well, as well as creating your own strength & stretching program. We will also start the exercise & stretch of the week where we walk you through doing them effectively. Hopefully we will start getting your feedback on how your training is going. Have a great week!

8/10/09 - Preparation Week

We are in the final countdown to training time! I have had so many people ask me about this blog, it's been great! It seems like every other person I run into is training for a half-marathon. The "Half" is so 2009-ha! We have people following it to train for this race, for other races, even people have who have no interest in a racing are following us. But my focus will stick to preparing the majority of us for this race. So here we go!

This week is all about getting organized so that you perform and feel great throughout the next 17 weeks! We have a lot of things to cover (and if you're in a time crunch, skip to the bottom for a quick summary and come back and read the details when you have a little more time), so let's get started...

#1. Goal

Before you start any training program, you need to know where you want all the hard work to take you! So think about your half-marathon goal. Be realistic & optimistic at the same time. If you just recently got into running, maybe it's to finish without walking. Or consider a time you want to finish in. Your entire training revolves around your goal, so you have to have one. You can always change your goal along the way!

#2. Running Program

Now that you know your goal, go get your running program. Go to RunnersWorld.com (they do it better than anyone else, so why re-invent the wheel?!), click on the "Training" tab towards the top. Next click on "Smart Coach" (here if your not a member, you will need to create an account, if you already are a member, just log in). Then just fill the the appropriate information starting on Aug 17 & it will create your own running training plan. It's great! I have a time goal, so when it asked for my last race time, I put in my goal time for the half. When it asks for how hard you want to train, I suggest picking "hard" because it pushes you a tad more than the moderate programs; the extremely hard will progress faster than the other two. After you get your program, print it out & stick it on the fridge.

#3. Cross & Flexibility Training

This is the part we are really going to elaborate on each week. We are going to compliment the running portion of our training with 2 strength & flexibility training days. As the training starts, I will go into more detail on when, how, and what to do. So for now, I want you to look at your typical schedule & see what days of the week you could dedicate to your runs (1+ hours) & which days will be your cross/flex training days (these will take 45 min. - 1 hour). You should always take 1 day completely off to give your body a good recovery, just so we can go tear it all up again!

#4. Shoes (every woman's favorite part!)

You need two pairs of shoes, Christa & Arthur Hsu-HA! I couldn't resist that, by the way our last name is pronounced SHOE not SUU. But the two pairs I'm really talking about are runners & cross trainers. Runners are just for running and expire after about 300 miles (usually about 6 months). So if yours are on their way out, head over to Red Rock Running Co. (Cheyenne & Buffalo) or The Athletes Foot (Sahara & Decatur) and get some new kicks. Your cross trainers are for everything other than running. They typically have a wider base and are heavier. Pick up some new socks & Body Glide (to prevent skin chafing) while your at it, you're going to need them!

#5. Food

My favorite part!! We want you to eat 5-6 times a day, so you are going to need lots of healthy snacks on hand & as well as ideas on what to eat at mealtime. Each week, I will give you both a recipe for a snack and a meal. Proper nutrition is essential to your performance! Below are some items that we will be incorporating into our diets. You don't need to run out and get all of them, but try incorporating them as often as possible. Here they are:

• fruit: blueberries, raspberries, grapes, watermelon, apples, bananas

• vegetables: sweet potatoes, potatoes, spinach, carrots, celery, peppers, edamame
  
• grains: 100% whole wheat pasta & bread/tortillas, oats, oatmeal, brown or white rice, quinoa, fiber & protein rich cereal, wheat germ
  
• protein: nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans), black beans (canned), eggs, chicken, salmon, lean beef, mozzarella cheese sticks, soy milk or dairy milk.

Recap

Again, this week is all about getting organized. Don't go crazy with your workouts this week, if anything, just down play them a little (don't get rid of them!!) so you are good to go next week. To recap your to-do list this week:

1. Pick your Half Marathon goal
2. Print off your running program on RunnersWorld.com
3. Plan your weeks, which days are for running, which are for cross training, and which is your rest day
4. Check out your running & cross training shoes & get new ones if needed
5. Monitor your eating this week, limiting simple sugars & alcohol & fitting in 5-6 meals meals/snacks a day
   

Next week we start. I hope you all will be interactive with each other so we can make the next 17 weeks together fun & successful! So that when we are all done, we are discussing the next race...maybe Bay to Breakers in San Fran?! Hmmm...one race at a time! Have a great week!

Welcome to the Vegas Half Runners Blog!

This blog is for anyone interested in training for the 2009 Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon. Together we are going to dedicate 16 weeks to train for this 13.1 mile race. So this blog is here to share the training program, as well as running tips, nutrition advice, recipes, running routes, and personal stories. Basically anything that will keep us motivated and on track! 13.1 miles is a long way, and 16 weeks is a long time to train, so anything to keep it fun and going forward is allowed! No matter if this is your first half, or you've done more than you could count, you will found a plethera of helpful information!

About the race...

The Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon is Sunday December 6th, 2009. The website is located on the side of this page. If you have any problems with it, the address is http://las-vegas.competitor.com/ . You can also visit them on FaceBook by searching for "Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon". The race route is on the Las Vegas Strip and stays pretty flat the entire time. The registration fee is $100 if you register before August 15, and after that it is $115. Your fee includes a ton of stuff like your t-shirt, goodie back, entrance into the Expo, etc.

We are going to start the Vegas Half Runners Training Program on Monday August 17. But make sure you subscribe to the blog, or at least check in regularly, because we will have a lot of information for you before that date so you are prepared to start training.