A Running Mom

Tip Two: Finish strong. When you finish a run, do you sometimes feel so exhausted that by the end you’re just happy to be done running? Does your pace become an afterthought because you feel so exhausted? Then this tip is definately for you. Try visualizing a finish line, like this one, and quicken your stride. It doesn’t matter if you finish at any certain pace. What matters more is that you feel like you’re giving an extra effort for that last quarter of a mile to the finish. Why? This is where you can build your endurance, gain greater speed and psychologically overcome the feeling of exhaustion. By finishing strong, you actually push through the toughest part of the run with intensity, thereby allowing yourself to bring more intensity to your next run. Best part of this trick is that once you’ve finished the run, you can feel certain that the next time you run you won’t feel that tired. You’ll have made yourself just a little stronger, confident and fit.

Yesterday, my friend and I ran together and as we approached our finish we picked up the pace to finish strong, like we always do. Today I can feel a little soreness from that stride in. And I love it. The strength I gained from just that stride, that extra effort, is something I’ll actually bring to that same run when I go back to it this week, and I’ll finish even stronger and with more speed. It’s not just a perceived benefit. It’s a tangible benefit. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. I bet you’ll love it, too.

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

Photo Credit: Jacob Enos

My core strength is depleted. Even a simple run has my abs feeling fatigued. So I’m taking these girls as my inspiration to Just Add Yoga to my routine and get back that core strength that has kept my lower back in check for the past year!

What’s your most challenging pose? Favorite routine? Is there a best time of day for yoga?

I’m looking for some wise words from my peeps. I’m going to try the yoga thing at home… this is new to me!

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

Photo Credit: thebullrunner.com

Check out these moms who ran the “Milkshake Marathon” — a fun run for breastfeeding. Can you imagine?Breastfeeding moms running a marathon? I’m sure that’s shocking to some. Not to me. After I had my first child, I felt determined to get back into running shape, so I trained for the NYC Marathon (with the doctor who delivered my baby, can you believe it?). I had my first child in June and ran the NYC marathon in November. It was a challenge, but it ended up really making me feel like I could accomplish anything. That’s pretty much the feeling at the finish of a big race you’ve trained to run, isn’t it? That race, for me, represented so much, because I was one of those moms who planned to go back to work, but when the time came to leave that baby, I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted to be a working mom. But I just couldn’t leave that baby? See the irony there? More on that later.

I can still feel the incredible soreness of needing to nurse my daughter at the end of the race… I rarely went 8 hours during a day without nursing her, and by the time I made it back home to my 5-month old, I was bursting! True story.  

Photo Credit: www.meetup.com

Check out these women! They are new runners in Washington who trained together through meetup.com. Don’t they look like a fun group to run with? 

Photo Credit: catherinedrew.wordpress.com

And then there’s this woman, finishing a race with a huge smile. Don’t you love it? Best part of her story is that the smile isn’t because she finished. It’s because she spotted the photographer too late to strike her running pose! I simply love this pic and this story. How many times have you run a race and reviewed the pictures from it with dismay, as you see yourself either looking too comfortable or a tad weary!

At least in this shot she looks really happy! I’d take that!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

I’m absolutely pumped about The Pittsburgh Marathon this year. Not sure if I’ll be able to run the whole thing, since my knee still bugs me, but I do know this: I am running that day in some way. And I cannot wait! It’s going to be such a thrill! Here’s why:

We’re all going to be celebrating the Marathon’s return to Pittsburgh. This city needs some attention paid to it for fitness. For the character of the city. The unique people. The neighborhoods. The culture. And at a time when marathons across the country keep popping up everywhere, it seems quite fitting for Pittsburgh to recognize the importance of keeping ours on the books.

Have you signed up yet?  Think you don’t have enough time to train?

I’ve always used the program mentioned here, and I’ve always enjoyed a comfortable, rewarding race. I don’t win. But I enjoy it. And I am not walking funny the next day because my training wasn’t robust enough.

Check it out:

Hal Higdon’s MARATHON TRAINING GUIDE.

May your next run be a good one. Happy New Year!

Rebecca

This is about how old I was when I started running.  11.  I remember feeling less than delighted with the state of my development.  And as the youngest of 10 children, with comments about fat, skinny and dieting, I thought a lot about how my body looked.  I became obsessed with my derriere.  It was too flat.  I know, that sounds ridiculous.  But my dad’s backside was about as flat as a wall.  And mine emulated his.  So to me, as a girl with a flat butt, this just wouldn’t do.  My sister had a running boyfriend at the time who jokingly said something like, “You know, all runners have great tusches.”  The rest is history.

That is why I started running.  True story.

Next time you see a kid like I was — you know, in the middle of becoming herself — don’t discourage her from taking up a new hobby.  Exploring a sport.  But maybe offer some kind word that has more to do with her strength or her great wit or her goal to do something.  Maybe then her story will seem a little less bizarre and will make more sense for why she started to run. 

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Here’s another mom’s reason for running.  Check her out:

http://tinyurl.com/5j2jxm

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca