100 Beginner Running Tips

I just saw this posted on facebook and had to share. 100 Beginner Running Tips.

Some of my favorites are:

2. Cotton socks will only lead to blisters; invest in socks designed for running. (I love, love, love my running socks. I actually prefer them over cotton now.)

8. Remember to say “Thank You!” to race volunteers (e.g. when you get that cup of water at the aid station) and family and friends who support you. ( I really wish they had garbage cans at the water stations. It goes against every fibre of my being to litter. )

These two go together. Where I've just started running, I think these are important for me to remember. I don't want a bad run to discourage me from running.

17. Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one.
22. Even a bad run is better then no run at all.

 32. During longer runs if you don’t like to carry water take some cash in your pocket pouch or a shoe wallet. Run a route where there’s a corner store that you can use as a pit stop to pick up your water and maybe use the bathroom. (I figured this one out on my own. By luck)

33. Avoid eating spicy foods before running and the night before your long runs. (For me, this is true about 99% of the time.)

37. Guys: Band-Aids before the long runs. Your nipples will thank you in the shower afterwards. (Ouch. I can't even imagine that. I'm so glad for bras.)

44. When trail running don’t forget the bug spray. (This one reminds me of the run my sister in law and I did, down at the campground. I thought those suckers were going to carry us away.)

62. Give horses wide berths on trails and walk as you pass them unless you enjoy a hoof to the melon. (This never would have crossed my mind. Duly noted. Not that I see a lot of horses during running. I can think of a few runs where I should have walked by dogs instead of running)

81. It’s okay to take walk breaks (run 1 minute walk 1 minute then progress to run 10 minutes walk 1 minute etc.). (Of course I would agree with this one.)

93. Dress as if it is 10 degrees warmer than the temperature on the thermometer. (This one is hard to learn)
94. Wear sunscreen and a hat when the sun is beating down—even in winter. (And sunglasses too. )

OK. Now I'm really done for today.

Rest Day

Phew! I made it to rest day. It's been a good week. It's been a varied week. I really enjoyed this week.

Did I mention this is week 1 of the 31 week half marathon plan? I did have a plan to run the Valley Harvest Marathon Half, but it didn't turn out that way. My plan now is to run the Bluenose Half on May 23rd.  If I could figure out how to post a document to the internet that you could open, I'd post it. But here is week 1.

WEEK 1: 18 KM
Tue	25-Oct	Easy Run	Dist: 6 KM @9:39
Thu	27-Oct	Tempo Run	Dist: 6 KM, inc Warm; 3 KM @ 8:49; Cool
Sun	30-Oct	Long Run	Dist: 6 KM @9:39

My run last night was on the treadmill. It was a little cool, and I didn't know if I should run outside or not. Silly me, I really should have, but anyway. I did .94 miles at 3.5mph as a warm up. Then switched it up to 4.5 mph and ran what was supposed to be 24 minutes. Math really isn't my forte at 4.5 mph. I ended up running 28 minutes. I remember thinking to myself in the last five minutes of running "You've already done 19 minutes (remember I can't add), 5 more minutes and you don't have to run anymore for two whole days".  I went to switch my speed back to 3.5 mph for my cool down and turned the damn treadmill off. *snicker* I'm sure everyone in the whole gym heard me curse. LOL. Anyway, I started a new workout for 15 minutes at 3.5 mph and then I was done.

Oh Boy, was I sore last night. I ached and ached and ached. I've never been that achey from a run before. I'll have to look up some "What to do's" sometime this weekend. I took some advil and went to bed. I do feel better this morning. No aches or pains at all, actually.

So, what am I going to do on rest day? Well, I have to work of course, but then I think I'll just snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, some cross stitch and maybe a couple of drinks and watch the boob tube.

There's no video today, just me rambling.

I hope everyone has a great day.

My first Zumba class

I went to my first ever Zumba class last night. Actually, it was my first gym class of anything, last night. For it being my first time, it was meh, ok, fun.

It's a popular class so you have to line up, sign in, line up, go into class, line up to start. It's certainly a little awkward being the newbie, with everybody knowing what's going on and chit chatting.

The instructor starts. Asks if anyone is new, I stick up my hand and get promptly ignored. WTF??? *eyeroll* OK. OK. It's a class of 40 or 50 people and I was at the back. I could have jumped up and down or yelled out, but whatever.

And we start.

I actually didn't do as badly as I thought I was going to. It usually took me a couple seconds to clue in to the moves, and they they were repeated through the song. I couldn't see the instructor at all, except for her head, but I spied out a lady in front of me that looked like she knew what she was doing, so I just followed her. There's a lot of hip swiveling and boob shaking that I just could not get AT ALL. HA! So I faked it.

Was I a klutz? Yep. But guess what. So were many of the other women that were there that have taken the class before. There were actually only a very few women there that knew what they were doing. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It just means that a newbie really wouldn't feel too, too out of place.

The moves themselves were not too hard, once you figured them out. It's a latin dance so there's a lot of hip action, that I couldn't do, so I just did the steps themselves. If you've ever done a regular aerobics class, I don't think you'd have any problem with this at all. Take a look on youtube for some Zumba videos.

And to top off the night, we did this... (Zumba style)




All in all, it was an ok time. I'm sure I'll go again. At least for the 500 to 1000 calories that it burns.

Endorphins make you happy

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.

There's only ever been a couple of movie quotes that stuck with me. Besides the fact that I loved Legally Blonde, it's probably one of my all time favorite movies, This is one of those quotes.


Why am I bringing this up? Because I feel good today. And I know it's because of the exercise. I remember feeling like this when I started exercising back in January, but I forgot about it. It's been a long time since I have done regular exercise, that I really feel the difference in my mood.

So, what exactly is different? I feel like I'm smiling. On the inside. All the feelings of panic, anxiety, worry and stress are gone. Even though the triggers are still there. This is huge and really amazes me when I think about it. Some days were so bad, that it took every, single fibre of my being to get out of bed and go to work.

I can also see a definite improvement in my energy level. I literally bounced out of bed this morning, instead of the typical roll and drag that normally happens. Did a sun salutation , granted it wasn't very good, my flexibility has certainly diminished in a few short months, but I had the energy to do it.

I'm currently sitting at work (shhh, I probably should be doing actual work), and feel like I could get up right now and run a marathon. (OK, I know I couldn't actually run 42 KM, but I do have ants in my pants. LOL)





October Stats

Total Distance: 39.7 km
Total Time: 6:43:52
Average Pace: 11:20 min / km

Moncton 10K

I ran the 10k race in Moncton today. It was fantastic. Well except for having to stop for a potty break (no.2) and not knowing whether I was going to find one or not. That was pretty stressful. Then I had to stop to get rocks out of my shoe. All told, I lost 4 or 5 minutes off my "coulda been" time.

2 weeks ago at my first 10k, my chip time was 1:25:44. Today my chip time was 1:23:15. I'm thrilled with that. If I hadn't had to stop, it could have been 1:19:00 ish. I finished really strong. I really could have kept going at the pace I had set. Which is a good thing and a bad thing. 

I'm looking forward to doing it again in two weeks. Not sure which race I'm going to do though. The Muir Murray Winery race on the 5th or the MEC race at Shubie on the 6th. (As I was writing I thought I'd check the sites for availability. Looks like I'll be running the MEC race. The Winery registration is closed)

So besides the running stuff, I've got to back into healthy eating and some weight loss. 27 lbs to be exact. Plus it makes running easier and better when I'm eating well. So, I've taken all my measurements again and weighed. And I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.

I'll be running Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Monday and Wednesday and maybe Saturday, I'll be either going to the gym for a class, or doing some Wii Active workouts. I've set MFP to lose 2 lbs per week. That allows me 1200 calories a day, plus eating all my exercise calories. We'll see how that goes and I'll adjust if I need to. Times to eat will be 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm and a little snack at 9:00pm.

Today (Monday) is going to be a yoga workout, I think. To stretch out my muscles and aches and pains from yesterday. I'll have to check to see if there is one at the gym or not.

Anyway, that's my update.

PS: I'm switching all my trackers over to km.

October Stats

Total Distance: 33.5 km
Total Time: 5:38:52
Average Speed: 6 kph
Average Pace: 11:31 min / km

I have a long way to go, to get back to where I was in June and July. But I'll get there.

Running in the rain

So, it looks like it's going to be chilly and rainy next weekend for the Moncton race. I'm looking up information about running / racing in the rain.

Here's what I'm learning:

• Dress for temperature, not for rain.
• Wear a water-resistant jacket. Not water proof. Water proof with retain sweat / moisture.
• Dress in layers. Layer closest to your body should be a technical fabric
• Wear a hat with a brim to keep the rain off your face.
• Sunglasses will help protect your eyes from the rain
• Wear gloves
• Wear something reflective. Tape.
• While you are waiting to start a race, wear a garbage bag with holes cut out for arms and neck. Then throw it away when the race starts.
• Wear old sneakers while you are waiting. Change to your good, dry racing sneakers just before the race starts.
• Put cell phones, ipods, mp3 players in zip loc baggies.
• Put balled up newspaper in your sneakers after the race to help keep their form and to help them dry out.
• In the fall, watch out for wet leaves

I think that's all I've come across. Anything else I should be thinking of?

Valley Harvest 10K

Ran my first 10K race today at the Valley Harvest Marathon in Wolfville. It was a good run. I'm really glad I went and that I didn't back out because of my lack of training. Racing really is a lot of fun. Keeping track of times, keeping ahead of people you're racing against, passing people that you are racing against.

I left the campground at 6:30 am. It was quite cold. I had my long track pants on over my running shorts, my tshirt and a jacket. Arriving at 7:30 ish was a perfect time to arrive. Any later and I would have had a bugger of a time with parking and bathroom duties et al.

Picked up my kit walked around for a bit, went and watched the start of the full and half marathons and waited for the start of the 10k.

Boy was I warm. I didn't dress appropriately at all. It was still really cold before the start so I left my long pants on. And the race shirt was long sleeve, so I was warm. I spent at least 75% of the race thinking about whether to take my shirt off and run with just my running bra on, or take my long pants off 'cus I still had my running shorts on underneath. Oh the dialog. Where was I going to stash my clothes? Tie them around my waist? Should I just drop my drawers in the middle of the run, or find a porta potty? As it were, I left all my clothes on until after the race. But it was warm.

It was a really nice course, a couple of inclines, the largest of which was at the ramp to Port Williams, and really, compared to what I run on regularly, it wasn't that bad.

My legs finally gave out at the 8km mark. Exactly. Saw the sign and my legs said, that's it. I did manage to jog the last 300 metres around the track to the finish line. It was pretty painful. But I did it.

My goal was to complete the 10k in 1:30:00. I switched my garmin over km because it was easier to track an average pace of 9:00 minutes per km than try and figure out what that would be over 6.24 miles. I finished the first 5k in 40:26 a little over 8 minutes per km. I finished the whole 10k in 1:26:08 that's a little more than 8:36 per minute.

I'm running the 10k in Moncton in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to it. I'd like to finish it with a pace of 8:30.

Here are some pics from todays run.

This was during the drive.

Thanks for reading.