A Running Mom

Photo Credit: OldOnliner

Most people hate running hills. I love it. Know why? Because a friend of mine took a running class with the NYRRC (New York Road Runners Club) and she shared with me this excellent tip: it’s the one thing you must do when you’re running hills that will make all the difference for you every time!

Best part? It’s so easy!
As you start up your next hill, pretend you’re holding potato chips between your thumb and middle fingers which you cannot break. These potato chips aren’t the crunchy, kettle chips either. These potato chips are the flimsy, fragile Lay’s Brand potato chips that will crack the minute you hold your fingers together too tightly.

Try it. You will never hate hills again. Ok. Well at least you’ll never approach a hill the same again.

Here’s why: when you’re pretending to hold that chip, you’re also forcing yourself to keep a light touch about your fingers; your hands; your arm; your shoulders. The tenseness that often comes during a part of a run that runners hate — which often results in a tensing of the shoulders, especially in women runners — just won’t happen to you while you’re running up that hill. Sure the challenge will remain the same. But your experience of this challenge will change dramatically. Promise.

Just don’t break those chips!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: Cole24

Look at that.
Read this.
Then go for your interval run!

Confidence
You don’t always have to be in the lead…
If you have the heart to come from behind.
Don’t give up hope, don’t doubt yourself,
And a new strength is what you’ll find.
The spirit of competition, the desire to succeed
will always be important for life.
So give your all, everything you’ve got,
No matter the occasion, through pain and strife.
So step up to the plate, enter the race,
Never be afraid to take your turn.
Because winners are people who just never quit,
And this is a life lesson we all will learn.
©Melissa Underwood

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

Photo Credit: pillotgirl

Check out the runners in this picture. It’s a great shot of the Freihofer’s Run for Women. Aren’t they inspiring? Let them get you psyched for a week of running! Get off your couch and plan to join me for these 5 days of running this week.

It’s easy! Just plan to go out for these 5 great runs with me. Check in and let me know how you did!

(Remember, before you ever start a new fitness routine, it’s always good to check in with your physician to make sure it’s right for you.)

5. An easy 30 minutes. For this run, just go out and run for about 30 minutes without worrying about your pace. The idea for this run is to loosen up after the weekend and get your breathing in check.

4. Intervals! Break up your course in 4 sections. For me, I’m going to for 40 minutes for this run. You should plan to run a distance you know you can cover, but that you can really deliver some speed, too, and that you can easily break up into 4 intervals.

Interval 1: easy
Interval 2: slightly faster
Interval 3: race pace
Interval 4: easy

This run will challenge your muscles, your breathing, and of course, your endurance. Make sure your “easy” intervals do not become a walk and that your form does not break down. If you feel like you need to walk, then you probably are running too fast during the quicker intervals, so make sure you don’t overdo it.

And make sure that your “slightly faster” interval doesn’t become your race pace. This is a nice drill on controlling your pace and identifying “faster” vs. “race.” So if you realize you’re not nailing the right pace, know that we all do this. It’s part of what this run is designed to teach you!

3. An easy 20 minutes. For this run, just go out and run for about 20 minutes without worrying about your pace. The idea for this run is to loosen up after the interval run.

2. Hills! Find a course near you with 3 nice hills. If you live in a flat area of the country, then consider a treadmill that allows you can alter the incline. Hill running is an incredible help for fitness, endurance and strength. I’m going to plan on a nice 5-mile run with about 7 hills. They are rolling hills, so I won’t have to worry about training for them. Remember to always use your arms on the uphill, and to be sure not to land on your forefoot on the downhill. Form on the downhill is important so you don’t get hurt.

1. An easy 20 minutes. For this run, just go out and run for about 20 minutes, but this time, give yourself a nice “stride” in the middle of it. You will feel able to run faster, so enjoy a nice 4 minutes or so with an increased pace. But make yourself stay loose and at an easy pace for the majority of it. The idea for this run is to loosen up after the week of running.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Seven miles down. Thirteen to go.

How many miles do you run in your shoes before you buy new ones? I’m the worst at this discipline. I like to wait until my feet hurt, my knee starts puffing up, or some other body part complains before I go and buy new shoes. Why? Because the models keep changing… I just fall in love with one pair and when I go to buy the same one it is gone?
Am I alone here?

So I may be showing off my new running sneaks soon. Any recommendations out there?

How many more miles on your agenda this week?

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: RBackowski

Ever commit to something that you’re just not sure how you’re going to achieve it? You know, you set your sights on a goal. You believe you can do it. You commit to it. And then you look around and realize, wow, you’ve got to start taking some steps to make that thing happen!

I’m in a bit of all that right now.

I’m running the Chicago Marathon in October. GASP! This isn’t a picture of me finishing, but I like it because I see that time as a highly motivating one for me. But just to be clear, I usually don’t like to talk about a goal like this. I won’t even say the words, “I’m training for a marathon” out loud (or in print) until the week of the race because you just never know what happens during training. But what I realized this week is that I’ve got to figure out how to take the time and start to train for it! Hello! The marathon is only 19 weeks away! Like a bucket of water over my head, it hit me: it’s TIME TO TRAIN!

So how ’bout we make a deal. I’ll set a few goals here and there and make some progress in getting ready for the race. You’ll share some inspirational goals and achievements of yours with me. And together, regardless of whether you’re training for a race, just starting back running again, getting back into shape, or are planning to run a marathon in the fall like me, we’ll achieve something together. Deal?

Here’s the beauty in this deal, though: Starting this week, we’ll never be as out of shape, tired, or full of “I’ll start tomorrow” as we have been before this day. Tomorrow it all begins. And we’ll do it!

I do believe in the power of community; the power of believing in each other; the power in looking beyond one’s self to reach a higher level of worth. So join me and let’s go!

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

So one day, about a year ago, I went for a run. I had been working for a strategic planning agency out of NYC, and I found myself traveling a ton. I wouldn’t have minded the travel if it wasn’t for my 4 children and their busy and fun lifestyles, with which I was and still am thoroughly involved. So the traveling had become a bit problematic. But what else could I do? Start a business?

I had always toyed with starting a magazine that supported character development in girls. But in a cool way, not an educationally-minded way. I started writing a business plan for it and realized very quickly that the upfront investment was too much for my liking.

At about the 4-mile mark of this run, I had one of those odd, kinda freaky, moments of clarity. And I felt like I could run forever. Shazam. It hit me: START A WEBSITE INSTEAD!

So, I sat down with some truly remarkable and smart people. We discussed the mission of the site: to build character in today’s tween girl. This would be accomplished via a challenge-driven site full of unexpected content and the chance to connect with friends.

They loved it. I loved it. And with funding from Innovation Works’ AlphaLab, yesterday, we launched it.

Introducing iTwixie.com. The ultimate online hangout for today’s savvier tween girl.  It’s officially in public beta. We’re working out a few things, but we’d love for you to send your daughter to the site and check it out. You go girls!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Heres to the best 14 years ever. Here’s to today. The anniversary day of the beginning of those fabulous 14 years! 

It all started on the campus of The University of Michigan with a run through campus, by Zingerman’s and the Bell Tower with my friend, Steve. It was a beautiful day. 70. Sunny. Blooms bursting all around campus. I needed clarity that day. But I got much more. It really was the best run ever. I remember thinking, my whole life has been leading me to this very moment. 

And so, today, like many big days in our lives, I’m thinking about happy times, a happy run, Big Blue and looking around the room during our big party and thinking, this is a day I won’t forget. Ever. And I’m overwhelmed by all that we’ve done over these wonderful 14 years. It’s amazing what life brings, isn’t it? It’s a happy day.

Cheers!

Do you take time to run on the most important days in your life? Like when?

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Do you know someone who constantly surprises you with incredible feats of brilliance, strength or character? I do. I feel lucky to know him, let alone be married to this guy for 14 years, tomorrow. 

This weekend, he overcame a bunch of obstacles which would have become a deal-breaker for most people, and he finished the Pittsburgh Marathon! He was hardly sore the next day. He’s amazing.  

Hats off to all runners who participated Sunday. You all rock!

Let’s all use these inspirational people in our lives to achieve something great. Maybe we’ll inspire someone else! And you can see how that goes… : )

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Just ran a fabulous, hilly 4 and I feel wonderful. This song is stuck in my mind. I love it. And it bears a significance to me right now, as I reflect on the past few months in the life of our daughter, a 6th grader.  She’s found “the greatest love of all” this year. Maybe you’ll understand better when you read the story.

Over the past few months, my husband and I have learned about our daughter’s struggle to confront a bully in her school. Good news is that she did it. Now she’s establish herself with a group of happy and helpful friends who believe in the goals she’s setting for herself for the end of the school year. Her strength to move away from the bully didn’t come from watching role models of mean girls on tv or today’s mean girl movies. She didn’t read about what to do in the “chic lit” stories that the bully loves to read. And candidly, she didn’t follow any specific advice from me or my husband. We had no idea that she was even being bullied. But something we’ve been saying did help to spark her inner voice. This, coupled with a few anti-bullying initiatives at her school, seemed to help her identify the bullying problem.

See, we always discuss with our kids how important it is to choose good friends. We’ll ask them, “Which friends are helping you become the best ‘you’ that you can be?”  Well, this year, as our daughter started to meet some new girls in middle school, she found herself thinking about her friends. She started to evaluate which ones were helping her become the best kid she could be. I find this amazing. But this is what she tells us. Then, her school started to educate the kids on what it means to be bullied.  So she found herself struggling with her friendship with a girl who, unbeknownst to us, constantly degraded her, insulted her, and started even physically pushing her. Sometimes she was nice. Most of the time she created havoc. Our daughter came to realize that this girl who she had known for years, wasn’t a friend at all. Our daughter realized, on her own, that she was actually being bullied. She told me that she thought to herself, “I don’t have to put up with it anymore.” And she spoke with her school counselor and made arrangements to be moved away from the bully. My husband and I did notice a dramatic change in our daugher: She became happier. More fun. Nicer to her siblings. Started doing better in school. Wearing more creative clothing. And now she’s even taking better care of herself. Unbelievable.

Now that we know the whole story, we’ve gotten involved with the school, with our daughter’s ongoing interactions with the girl, and to an extent, even the family. It turns out, this girl had been bullying more girls than just our daughter. The parents seem incredibly surprised at their daughter’s behavior. And since we all agreed that it does no good to allow anyone to continue behaving this way, the family responded quite pro-actively. Hopefully this experience will end up having a positive impact on many more than just our daughter.

So you see, it’s been an amazing few months.

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca