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Bouncing Back

April 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Liz Corkum 322Most runners and athletes will experience injury. Statistically, over 50% of runners deal with injuries every year. Injuries are hard to deal with, perhaps harder mentally than physically. Most runners don’t want to take time off, and will find pretty much any excuse to continue training. Coming back from time off is tough, but often time off is the answer.

Personally, I can relate to struggles with injuries. Taking time off mentally is hard. I find myself in fear of how much fitness I’ll lose, how hard it will be to come back, and often questioning whether I can be as strong as I was before the injury.

Once getting the green light to train again, the journey back is slow. What used to feel incredibly easy is suddenly extremely difficult. Have faith, it will get better. The key is to be patient with the process, and to remember that your body and mind need time to adapt after time off.

If you are like me, you will find the process of coming back extremely frustrating. However, when I feel angry, I remind myself that without the hard work, I can’t magically get back to peak performance. So, if you are also struggling to get back into peak performance, remind yourself to be patient, work hard, but also rebuild your training wisely.

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Lying Machine

March 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

_MG_9072_finalIf you have been watching your calories, sweating hard at the gym, and left scratching your head because of little improvements, here’s something to consider: the machines at the gyms are lying.

Cardio equipment make us feel good as we see how many calories we have burned as we sweat away and watch tv at the gym. Here’s the problem: cardio equipment doesn’t give you an accurate count of calories burned. If you are taking the number on the machine as your factual calories burned, I have bad news.

When hopping on cardio equipment, you can enter your age and weight on the machine. Here’s the problem: there are a lot of factors that machine ISN’T asking you. Your sex, hight, body fat, fitness level – those are factors that the machine doesn’t consider. Even the heart rate monitor can be wrong.

Don’t lose faith. You can find tools to more accurately calculate your cardio burn. Remember, knowledge is power. If you don’t know your numbers, you may be consuming more calories than desired. Still confused? Contact your coach or personal trainer.

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Reaching

March 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

img_6627-editsmallEvery person I know is reaching to be better. A better human being, better at their job, better at their hobbies, better at their sport. This desire to work to the next level and reach to a new achievement is something that drives us.

As someone reaching towards a fitness goal, the goals often change and grow as soon as the previous goal was achieved. Searching for excellence in ourselves makes us want to work harder, and test our personal best.

Whether your goal is to run a 2:30 marathon or to climb a flight of stairs without gasping for air, you need to be realistic about your goals (within reason), so that you don’t injure yourself. However, in order to achieve our best, we often need to push outside of our comfort zone.

Everyone’s goals will be different, and everyone has different naturally abilities and potential. Try to focus on you, and your potential, instead of comparing yourself to the girl at the office, the man at the starting line, or Olympians. You are competing and comparing yourself against yourself from the past. Don’t let anyone else intimidate you or talk you out of your potential and your dreams.

I encourage you to set big goals for yourself, and to find safe, exciting ways to potentially achieve those goals. Life is short, so why not start on that bucket list event or goal now? You are stronger than you think you are. Let’s get you there.

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Staying Focused

March 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

©DARIO_ACOSTA_PHOTOGRAPHY-22It’s easy to get excited about new fitness goals. However, for most people that enthusiasm dies somewhere down the road. The gym after New Years is packed for 4-6 weeks, and then many resolution exercisers give up, get bored, lose focus, get injured, or face frustration.

Are you one of those people? If you are, you are not alone. Like we say in the marathon community, the marathon is mostly mental. Regardless of your physical goals, your mental focus is going to be trained along with your body.

What will work for you? Sadly, there is no one way we all tick. For me, signing up for races, and setting goals for those races keeps me on track. I know that if I want a chance at my goals in the future, I am going to have to put in the hard work. I also keep running photos of myself enjoying a race, fighting through fatigue, and other visual reminders around my apartment. Writing down my workouts as I complete them on a calendar I made with recent race photos also helps. I am reminded of how much I love my sport, even on those days when I’d rather not train.

Find positive things you can use to motivate yourself. Tell friends and family about your goals, and they can hold you accountable. Find a gym or training buddy. Rely on your coach – after all, part of your coach’s job is to keep you focused and on track.

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Gearing Up

March 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

DSC_9745Let’s talk about gear. Running, in general is a very cheap exercise choice. All you really need is a good pair of running shoes. However, there are a few other items that can make your running experience better.

Socks: cotton socks cause those nasty, painful blisters. I ran in cotton socks for years, and powered through those painful bubbles on my feet. Investing in some running socks is worth the price. Running socks are expensive compared to the cotton ones, but they will change your running life. Seriously.

Non-cotton clothes: You can go run in those sweats and a tee, and be totally fine. Hell, I used to for years. However, if you are running in summer heat or winter cold, investing in some running clothes will make running far more comfortable. Here’s why: cotton is not designed to wick moisture away, and sweating in winter while wearing cotton will make you cold and clammy. Cotton in summer will make you feel hot and heavy as cotton gets heavy as it holds all of that sweat. Also, cotton can cause chafing. Not fun.

Bodyglide: This miracle, deodorant-looking tube will be the best $7.00 you will spend on running gear. Simply apply the stick on spots where chafing occurs. Sports bra, sleeves, thighs – everyone is different regarding chafing problems and often what you wear (cotton is not good) can factor.

Running watch: While this gadget is not necessary, especially for novice runners, it’s a tool I personally never run without. Here’s why: data gathered gives you an honest assessment of how every workout went, where improvements occur, and more. Even though I always have my watch on my wrist, there are many workouts when I don’t look at it while on the run. Recovery runs, for example, I go by feel.

Other helpful gear: Running cap (great for sunny and hot days!), winter gear, running sun glasses (you can find them at race expos for $20.00!).

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