How Can You Not Smile While Doing a 'Drunk Chicken' Workout?

A friend recommended 'The Daily Hiit' to me (that's High Intensity Interval Training); an online site with short intense workouts.

Today I did one, and it included an exercise called 'The Drunk Chicken'.  It's a good exercise, but I just love the name the best.  I mean, how can you not have fun while doing an exercise like that?

An Amazing Tobermory Workout!

Run up the Tobermory lookout tower ten times (of course that doesn't count going down - it's the up part that is the workout as anyone acquainted with gravity knows).  I alternated with running up and doing double steps.  I also ran up doubles!  The cool breeze at the top is your reward.  Then run from your cottage to the Bruce Trail and do a really hard, technical trail run.  Fun AND scenic - the perfect cottage workout!

 

And hey, if you can jump into Georgian Bay after....even better.

 

My First Run Post-Ultra

I waited a week after my ultra marathon to run again, although I did boot camp three days after and felt pretty good.  I was afraid that I'd have knee pain if I ran, but luckily I didn't even feel a twinge.  I only ran 5K, to be safe, but it was one of those 'I am so happy I am running and feeling good! I love running!' runs.

I just ran again, and I did a longer run this time - about 13K.  I felt great!  (The great thing about running an ultra is that any shorter distance seems just so....short.)

I'm glad I didn't push myself during the ultra marathon and really injure myself.

It has been so nice to run without a camel back and just for fun.  Although....I am planning my next race.

I realized that I really did appallingly little to prepare myself for an ultramarathon.  I went from 25K to 50K without even attending a running group.

For my next race, I'm definitely going to try to make even a few sessions.  Other runners can share their experiences and I can see how helpful it could be.

For example, during the ultra, I saw runners going down the hills in a wavy pattern.  Initially I thought that was crazy because it meant taking more steps to get down the hill.  By the end of the ultra I was doing it too, because I realized it made my knee hurt less when running downhill.  Knee pain is one thing on a fairly flat surface (which really doesn't exist in a trail run in any case) but downhills are killers.

Also I've heard so much about compression socks, and even just recently IT band braces.  I want to do the 30K Around the Bay Race next.  (I know what you're thinking...why didn't I do the 30K BEFORE I did the 50K?  Good question!  It's really because I love the trail running and the Around the Bay is a road race.  And I wanted to do an ultra.  Seize the day, as they say.)  Anyway, I'm going to use my fellow runners' expertise next time.

I Did It! My First 50K

Here is a link to the post on my other blog about finishing my first ultramarathon:

http://whendoibecomecompetentagain.blogspot.ca/


I'm happy to report I did get through the race.  Here are my lists from before the race (keeping in mind that I'm an amateur):


Weeks Before Race:

• hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
• drink beet juice daily

Night Before Race:

• charge BlackBerry
• charge Garmin watch
• charge iPod
• set out whole outfit for race
• pack back with extra clothes, shoes, deodorant, jacket
• cut toenails
• put all food in camelback pockets (I put in Larabars and jellybeans and a Clif Builder Bar)
• pack chapstick in camelback pocket
• pack sunglasses/hat

Day of Race:

• drink water
• eat breakfast two hours before race
• drink coffee
• put on blister bandages
• put on chapstick
• fill camelback with water
• put on sunscreen
• get iPod ready to 'Running List'
• get dressed!
• take banana for 30 minutes before race

GOOD LUCK!
 

Getting Through the Big One (Race, that is!)

1.  Never decide how you're doing when you're in the middle of going up a steep hill.  This is an extremely bad idea.  Decide how you're doing when you're running DOWN a nice smooth incline, with the wind on your face and the sun on your back.
2.  There will be a moment when you question why you are doing the race.  The phrase, 'It seemed like a good idea at the time" will echo through your head.  This moment (hopefully) will pass. (I mean, of course it will pass! - added after reading #3)
3.  When negative self-talk is happening, notice it and try to change it to positive.  For example, instead of telling yourself, "I will NEVER finish this !@##$$% race!", instead say, "Soon I will be done!"  and "I am doing what very few people ever accomplish, and once more I am lucky to be running in the forest listening to music with snacks and water on my back."  If that fails, just fall back on my old standard: "I am not lying in a hospital bed, I am not lying in a hospital bed."
4.  Instead of looking inward, look outward.  Admire the scenery.  Listen to the birds.  Notice things you've never seen before.
5.  Have some jellybeans or chocolate.  How could that fail?
6.  Walk if you have to (and I will), but don't stop and lie down, or you may never, ever get back up again to finish the race.
7.  May the force be with you.

Iron: It's Important for Runners!

If you feel like this, you may need this: iron!

I found out that my iron levels are quite low, which led me into research that demonstrates how important iron is, particularly for runners:

http://runnersconnect.net/running-nutrition-articles/iron-deficiency-in-runners/


Now I'm taking supplements and trying to increase the iron in my diet.  I may have taken it a bit too far.  I tried a liver smoothie.  I'm desperate, okay?  I'm supposed to run a 50K race in a few weeks and I am seriously dragging.  I thought if I put in lots of blueberries and dates that it would taste okay.  I was wrong.  And then today I found out that you shouldn't have too much liver.  I don't understand why or I would tell you.  So now I'm going for pumpkin seeds.  I can SO do pumpkin seeds!  Bring them on.  And a pumpkin seed smoothie...sounds so much better!

I'm still waitin for my knee to heal, and I'm really missing running. My husband yelled down to me today that he was, "going out with the dog." I think he meant to leave right away, but I caught him on his way out the door, wearing his running gear and a sheepish grin. He felt guilty for going when I couldn't.

When I try to tell people what it is that not just attracts me to trail running, but actually makes me addicted, I mention the scenery and the sense of calmness. And depending on who it is, they may understand a bit of it. Then I saw this article on the Trail Runner Magazine website today. It truly sums up much of what I feel.

The author says that trail runners are generally risk-takers and how the author believes this can help them to not settle for average, but to be more adventurous in all aspects of their lives. I've always thought that a great time out is one that creates an adventure, one you can tell an interesting story about to your friends and family. I think that the best lives are lived by experiencing as much as you can (within reason of course).

"Trail running can result in bold and positive changes in the lives of those who truly embrace it." says the author, Jannine Myers.

Myers concludes her article with: "Every path traveled is full of obstacles that threaten to stop us in our tracks. Yet, diverting to a safer, more traveled path that leads to an “average” destination simply isn't an option."

Read the full article at: http://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/culture/601-running-the-path-less-traveled