“Time” (source)

After taking a month off of longer distance training for my last half marathon, I was excited to start a new schedule for my road to The San Francisco Marathon. As my seventh full marathon, I’ve come to find what works best for my schedule and my body: medium mileage, varied workouts and two 20-mile runs. Training has been going well for the most part, but since the dreaded Daylight Saving Time (DST) Spring Forward kicked in, I’ve noticed something that really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise:

I’m tired. Like, really tired.

I know, I know – DST happens every year, what’s the big deal, right? And an ‘extra hour’ of sunlight should be helpful, not hurtful, right? Hmm, I am glad to know that I am not the only one to question this, but even after reviewing those helpful tips, I feel – to be honest- kind of lame.

I’m an AM runner – I mean, I definitely have no qualms about running other times of the day…and in a perfect world, I could cut out of whatever I am doing anytime to sneak in a few miles, but the reality is this: my job runs 8 AM to 5 PM. I have class in the evenings 8 to 10 PM, two days a week, try to carve out time for dinner with my husband every night and then have homework to complete. As fun as running is after work, it’s hard to balance that with the ‘missed’ time – and until recently, I’ve just pushed past that all and popped out of bed at 5 AM no matter what…but I am struggling. Struggling to wake up, struggling to feel like I put in 100 percent…and struggling to know that I could fix it by going to bed earlier, but I haven’t been able to ‘fix’ that and it frustrates me.

I wish I had the answers to solve this, or a magic wand to add a few hours to the night, but alas, I do not. So instead, I am sharing what I plan to do to get my running back on track:

1. Remove the Guilt – I’ve always been a stickler to my training plans. But honestly, at three months out, missing a workout is not going to blow it all to smithereens. If my body really and truly requests rest, I should grant it. I should not be bound to feeling like a failure if I cannot get an entire workout in.
2. Reassess - Is it more than sleep that is missing? Could there be other issues contributing to my stress? I am working on jotting down  issues weighing on my mind and even tracking my meals, to make sure that I am not missing something that I could easily fix.
3. Just Breathe – Yes, Marathon Training is a big part of my life. But is it MY LIFE? No. I need to chill out and just let myself refocus.

As I grow and mature as a runner, I am learning that sometimes it’s the life between the miles that can define your journey – and while that’s scary, I know that it will benefit me in the long term.

Are you an AM  or PM runner? How do you refocus and gain motivation? What are some challenges in your running journey and how are you actively working on overcoming them? Please share in the comment section below.

Author Bio: Krissy is a running enthusiast who was bitten by the racing bug in 2011 at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon…and hasn’t looked back since! A self-proclaimed military brat, Krissy has bounced around the world her whole life and currently resides in Charlottesville, VA with her husband, Eric. Find out more about Krissy here and follow her on Twitter.

Running (image source)

This weekend, I ran a half marathon. It wasn’t my slowest, and much to my chagrin, not my fastest, but it was one of my most insightful.

You see, I started this race with some solid pace expectations, but a few miles in, I realized that it just wasn’t happening. I am not sure if it was the late start time (1:10 PM), my lowered mileage (I was training more speed than distance), or what, but around Mile 5, I made the decision to switch goals and just go with the flow, which made for a much more manageable race.

I was ticking off the miles in a bit of an irrational pace (splits include miles in all of the following: a 7, several 8′s, even more 9′s and even a 10) yet I still squeaked in with at exactly a 2 hour race. The thing I realized, though, between the incessant hills and mud puddle dodging was this: sometimes it’s the quiet miles that totally validate the running experience.

What are the quiet miles? Well, in my race this past weekend, they were three interspersed miles that all sailed in at marathon pace (low 8′s). They were those miles that my mind was totally somewhere else, my legs moved effortlessly and it was as if nothing else mattered. With my music low, I could hear my feet lightly upon the ground and feel the sun on my shoulders – it was incredible.

Of course, I’d be brought back down to earth again and again that day, as I had to make sure I didn’t land in a pit of sludgy leaves or pull over when someone was going to pass me, but for those few moments, I was reminded why I enjoy running so much and – that’s what I want every runner to be able to experience! So, I thought I’d share some tips on achieving that incredible feeling with all of you – whether you’ve been enduring some tough training and need a reminder of why you do what you do, or perhaps are experiencing a slump and feeling downtrodden..try these simple things to bring back that serene feeling of a fantastic run:

• Ditch/hide the watch. Sure, I was wearing my Garmin since it was a race, but for those miles, I forbade myself to glance down at the time. You might be surprised what your ‘natural pace’ is.
• Appreciate your surroundings. The course took us through a wooded area – and though I would have preferred less squishy mud – it was incredible to feel that connection with the world around me. And whether you are religious or not…seeing the golden sunlight filter through the trees is an experience everyone can be inspired by.
• Smile. Your attitude always determines your altitude. So whether you are in mental or physical pain, have a hundred other things to think of that day or simply feel bored or restless, let your lips curl up into a grin for a moment.

When I crossed the finish line on Sunday, I was proud of what I accomplished, no matter what the clock said. I ran a great race and learned a little bit more about myself – and I hope that’s something everyone gets a chance to do in their running.

What race have you run recently? What are some of your race strategies? How do you measure your running accomplishments? Please share in the comment section below.

Author Bio: Krissy is a running enthusiast who was bitten by the racing bug in 2011 at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon…and hasn’t looked back since! A self-proclaimed military brat, Krissy has bounced around the world her whole life and currently resides in Charlottesville, VA with her husband, Eric. Find out more about Krissy here and follow her on Twitter.

Image from Lynn Herrick Photography

I had a rough week of running last week, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe I jumped into my training too fast since coming back from being sick? Not really sure. I am in the beginning of marathon training and had about 30 miles on my schedule, but only ended up running 22. Last week was a test for me to learn how to listen to my body, rather than pushing myself to run miles just to reach a sporadic number.

I found myself upset at the end of the week. Upset that I had missed 2 runs, that I had ran a measly 22 miles, but I also found myself with an incredibly sore back and feeling pretty beat up. I looked back on the week so see what I actually did, and I ran a total of 3 days, which is 2 days less than normal. It didn’t seem like I had worked hard, but again instead of running that last 6 miles I had scheduled, I decided to skip it, in lieu of listening to my body that clearly needed a break before my long run of the weekend.

So, the point of this post is to remember to listen to your body, it’s the number one rule to follow while running. I think it takes precedence over anything else. Don’t focus on the arbitrary number of miles you are trying to reach, that could potentially lead to injury. But, then this leads to wondering when should you push yourself, and what is the difference between being lazy and really needing a rest day?

The 2 runs I missed last week; one was due to being lazy and one was due to actually needing rest. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference, I find myself talking to myself a lot, trying to work it out, and most of the time it’s because I’m lazy. I know myself, I love sleeping, I love my bed, and there’s nothing like a good Sunday where you stay indoors and sit on the couch all day.

Here are a few of the questions that run through my head:

• Are you tired from not sleeping?
• Are you fatigued from running?
• Did you race this week?
• Is your body more sore than normal?
• Are you laying in your bed right now?
• Is it cold outside?

These are just a few examples, but usually I try to ask myself different things and then determine what my body is actually trying to tell me. 75% of the time, I’m just being lazy and I should push myself out the door, but every once in a while, I need an extra rest day or two due to tight muscles or just feeling really run down.

How to you deal with unintended rests? How important is it for you to listen to your body? What do you do to get out of the slump and find motivation? Please share in the comment section below.

Author Bio: Stephanie works in the television industry, but is also the head editor of ireallylikefood. She is addicted to running races and writes about her training on her blog Epicurious Runner. She loves to eat, drink good beer, and travel with her husband. Find out more about Stephanie here and follow her on Twitter.

“Marathon Runners” by Thad Zajdowicz

Running is an inherently paradoxical sport: some love the solitary aspect of it, some prefer the social benefits – and while some run to beat new PRs or even qualify for events, others are completely content taking comfortable jaunts simply to maintain overall cardiovascular fitness.

Then there are people like me.

You see, it’s hard for some people to understand (especially non-runners) but I simply LOVE running. Fast, slow, alone or with a big group – it’s all good. Really! If I’m in shorts and my running shoes, I am generally a happy camper! So when the opportunity came up recently to help a friend improve her race time to qualify for a faster corral for an upcoming race, I jumped at the chance.

In previous races, I’ve ‘paced’ just one other person: my husband – once in a 10K  and once for his first half marathon. For those events, we agreed on a comfortable pace range for him and aimed to maintain that through the race (even splits) and it worked out great. Since I already knew his personality, I knew when he’d want that extra push and when it might be better to just back off and let him settle back in.

For this next experience, it was with a friend that I had never run with before. This presented a few challenges: I was not 100 percent sure how she wanted to tackle the race, if she wanted to do straight running or a Galloway “run-walk” method (which has launched her to some great PRs, I might mention) or if she wanted to buckle down and race. Luckily for me, I love talking as much as I love running, so we hashed our battle plan pretty easily with two important questions:

• What was our pace goal?
• Did we want to run together the entire time?

In an informal setting like ours, these two questions were able to guide the rest of our experience: we were looking at a sub-10 pace and that we could split up if/when either one of us were comfortable with it, for any reason. Pretty easy parameters, right?

Race day came along and lessening the pressure on me a bit, she had received the news that she was already in the best corral for her next race, so this one would essentially be ‘for fun’ and training. Score! Any PRs would basically be a bonus.

The event was a 14K  (roughly 8.7 miles, Valentine’s-themed) which meant it was a distance neither of us had formally run before. That was kind of neat – I put it in my head that we could aim for a 10K goal (58 minutes was what I had paced my husband to, which was about a 9:30 pace) so after the gun went off, we settled into a comfortable pace and chatted. She had an earbud in her right ear, so I stuck to her left side.

For four miles, I did my best to keep her mind off the running – only mentioning it to ask if she wanted to slow down, speed up or take any walk breaks. She brushed each one off and looked great, so we kept on.

Around Mile 5, she had plugged in her other earbud, so I took that as a cue that she had headed into the zone. We had not taken a single walk break, save for walking through the aid stations so I pulled to the left of the course and kept a 9:10-9:20 pace, glancing back to keep her in my sights. She commented at one water station that I was acting as a beacon, so I stuck that in my head.

She was still looking fantastic! Miles were ticking off, no problem. I glanced down at my watch and to my surprise, saw “58″ pop up on my Garmin right at 6.2! Her previous 10K had been 1:02…PR! Whoo! I jumped off the course for a moment to let people move ahead and shared the great news before getting right back to it Her smile told me that the rest of the mile and a half of the race was in the bag.

Right around a mile before the race was closing out, she gave me a look that said, “I got this” as we passed through a candy station. I gave her a quick thumbs up and knew that she was totally ready to finish strong and she deserved that moment! So, I reached down and sped toward the finish so I could be there at the finish line, cheering for her!

Now, in my previous pacing experiences, I had always aimed to finish AFTER my runner but in this particular situation, I don’t think it could have worked out any better. I was so proud seeing her cross that finish line and truly enjoyed every last minute of those miles! It also renewed my personal aspiration of taking more formal pacing roles in the future.

Proud finishers!

Have you ever paced someone? Have you been paced? What tips/tricks would you recommend? Please share in the comment section below.

Author Bio: Krissy is a running enthusiast who was bitten by the racing bug in 2011 at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon…and hasn’t looked back since! A self-proclaimed military brat, Krissy has bounced around the world her whole life and currently resides in Charlottesville, VA with her husband, Eric. Find out more about Krissy here and follow her on Twitter.

(image source)

I want to pump  you up! (said in a Schwarzenegger accent of course.) These past 2 weeks were supposed to be the official start of my Spring marathon training, but unfortunately I barely ran or worked out at all due to being sick. Before that happened, I made a pledge to myself to start strength training regularly throughout this new training session. No excuses.

No matter what, I usually get off to a great start, but eventually after 6 weeks or so, all cross training falls by the wayside. I know it’s important, but marathon training is (obviously) time consuming and tiring enough.

Minus those ‘sick weeks’, I’ve been strength training twice a week, working on upper and lower body and I’m excited to start feeling the results in my running. I’ve started to develop a little routine, where Mondays are Strength and Cross Train only and then I do my second set for the week on Thursday nights with my run in the morning.

Last training session, I nailed all of my runs. I hope to do that again with this training period, but I also want the strength training sessions to feel as important as each and every run that I do. It’s no secret that cross training in general helps prevent injuries and will work your body in different ways, so in order to keep up with my routine, I need to constantly remind myself why I want to stick with it.

Clearly this will benefit my running, but honestly, there is part of me that is motivated by the vanity reasons. I want my body to reflect the work I put into it. Marathon training changes your body, but typically it makes it a little rounder, at least for me. It’s not impossible to tone up during training, which is what I am aiming to do, as opposed to losing weight.

I have a short list of why I want to strength train:

• To prevent injuries – so many injuries are created from weak muscles, which forces other muscles to overcompensate.
• Be stronger – I’m focusing on marathons for the next couple years, it’s time gain some muscle and put my body to the test.
• Run faster – this is my number 1 reason; my main goal. Doesn’t everybody want to run fast?
• Look better – and you know, there’s that.

I am choosing to lift weights as my form of cross training because that is what works for me. There are several options out there, but strength training is actually one of the only other exercises I actually enjoy. It’s harder for me to get to a yoga class than it is to spend 30 minutes picking things up and putting them down, is that weird?

Work harder, be stronger, it’s as simple as that. My drive and determination are there, it’s time to put in the work.

What are your reasons for strength training? Are you bored, scared of injury, or do you just want to look better? Please share in the comment section below.

Author Bio: Stephanie works in the television industry, but is also the head editor of ireallylikefood. She is addicted to running races and writes about her training on her blog Epicurious Runner. She loves to eat, drink good beer, and travel with her husband. Find out more about Stephanie here and follow her on Twitter.