Thoughts on Running (4)You wouldn’t know it by the strength of her British accent, but Rosie has been in the US for over 10 years. She arrived in Indianapolis to run track and cross country at Butler University. Since then she has progressed through the distances, from 1500 meters to the marathon. Rosie is fresh of the plane from her most recent race at the British Olympic Marathon Trials, where she placed third with a time of 2:31. Wowza! She loves all things science-based and enjoys putting her Sports Science Degree and running experience into practice. In addition to her coaching on Runcoach, she is a strength and mobility coach and today we asked her to share a few little tips, which may help in your next race build-up: Hips don’t lie~ Hip mobility is a huge focus area for runners, whether you are in a car, seated at a desk or watching TV at night, sitting with your knees and hips at 90 degrees can be a little tough on the body. As runners, hip extension is paramount when opening the stride. However, the everyday seated position can lead to tight and shortened hip flexors which can decrease the length of our stride, costing us precious seconds over each mile and even leading to injuries. If you have the ability to sit on an exercise ball rather than a chair it will help to keep your hips mobile throughout the day, while activating and recruiting stabilizing core muscles. Here are some of her favorite hip-opening stretches. Another key area that we often neglect are the adductors. If we asked you to log how many steps we take in the forward motion compared to the lateral motion each day we'd wager that the majority of us only build in lateral movement when turning very tight corners. This is why our adductors can become weak and as a result, tight. By adding a little focused work to strengthen these stabilizing muscles we can once again work towards decreasing injury risk. Strength exercises for this exercise include clamshells, monster walks, and lateral steps with resistance bands. One of her favorite stretches can be viewed below. The mountain backdrop certainly makes the stretch more enjoyable. Hold each stretch for 1-2 minutes or move gently in and out of the stretch for mobility, avoid aggressively bouncing.
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Written by Dena Evans
Pick up at least one piece of trash before you get home Many of our favorite places to run haven’t always been treated with kid gloves by those that have tread on the paths before us. Leave your route a smidge better than you found it, and maybe build some positive momentum for anyone who sees you and is inspired to do likewise.
Respect signs, directional signaling, and stay on the labeled paths Oh, how it smarts when a favorite route is paved over, changed, or new signs ask runners to avoid previously popular informal short cuts along a trail! Although it is tempting to continue as if those changes never had occurred, deep inside we know they were probably made for a reason! Because we care about the long-term survival of these routes, it is probably in our own best interests to take the lead and make sure our footfalls occur in the areas requested, as annoying as that may possibly be. Likewise, every time we run on the portion of the path intended for pedestrian travel, call out before passing, and revert to single file when oncoming traffic approaches, we also encourage others to do the same and keep traffic on these routes flowing safely and well for all.
Smile, wave, and say good morning! Many runners reflexively follow this rule when passing others or encountering someone coming the other direction. In addition to just being good manners, making the effort to smile and make eye contact with others may help improve their day, may help remind you that you are part of a larger community of people and that you are all advancing the cause of physical fitness and health, and may help you remember that person if you encounter them in a different context.
Run an errand (literally) Corny as it may sound, using your feet to do something you normally do in your car – mailing a letter, picking up or dropping off a small item, might save you a bit of time, save you a bit of gas, and probably give you an outsized feeling of pride, knowing you did your part for the environment that day. That said, every little bit does help, and on a day when you don’t have a hard workout to give a big sense of accomplishment or on a day when things aren’t going your way generally, checking something positive off the list can actually help change your mood in the process.
Invite someone for next time If you’re running, you’re automatically doing something positive toward your health. You may even cherish that time alone as your only quiet moments of the day. However, remember the first time you went running or walking – it may well have been because another invited you along and welcomed you to the “tribe.” When you have the opportunity, perhaps you can be that gateway to someone else and help them enjoy the benefits and adventures you have enjoyed during your running journey.
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Even if you have been running for several years, you may still be in denial about whether or not others should consider you a “runner.” Here at runcoach, we’ll let our inner Jeff Foxworthy allow you to decide if you have crossed the Rubicon from a person who runs to an actual, bonafide, dyed in the wool, “runner” by asking a few simple questions of our own.
Take heart, even if you answer yes to each of these, at runcoach, you are among friends. We’ve all done at least one of these a few times…
If your foam roller is now “too soft”….you might be a runner.
If you have eaten a gel packet for a snack, even when you haven’t been, or are not currently running……you might be a runner.
If you when you see John Hancock’s signature you think “Boston Marathon” instead of “Declaration of Independence”…….you might be a runner. If you wear your running shoes on the plane for regular travel because you are willing to risk your other clothes being lost, but your running shoes are non-negotiable…..you might be a runner.
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Thoughts on Running
Running can be a life-changing activity, a passion, an outlet, sometimes (hopefully not often), it can even feel like a chore. As many long-time runners can attest, running can also teach many lessons that are readily transferable to a wide array of life situations. Some of these examples are encapsulated in the encouragement runcoach (like many other running coaches through history) gives you along your training journey.
Run through the Line Running, belief, commitment, and a willingness to see the task to completion are crucial components to success. Many times a premature decision to evaluate a project or a race midway through eliminates the chance to enjoy the fruits of your labor, or a change of fortune in the late stages of the race. Marathoners go through rough patches, and can weather them and find success if belief and commitment are strong. Many a start-up or a long term project has also gone through a dark season or two before things finally look up. Commit to running the race until completion, and earn yourself the chance to enjoy the good that might still be possible.
Plan your rest days into the schedule Although not every runner keeps the same schedule of rest vs. training days, every runner has a better chance of avoiding injury and training interruptions when they are able to plan regular rest into their schedule. Try to push through when rundown, or ignore a nagging sore spot, and an unplanned, and much less convenient rest period might be just around the corner. Similarly, a non-stop schedule of work and stress can often adversely affect our health. Although we don’t always have control over our schedules, most would agree a balanced life includes times of planned relaxation and recharging for the next challenge.
A positive attitude makes an enormous difference Life and running have their fair share of challenges and unanticipated roadblocks. Depending on your perspective, many of these are temporary, and loom frighteningly large or completely manageable. When you retain a fundamental belief that a viable path exists out of your current bind, and when you attack a problem with the belief that the problem has a knowable and doable solution, you have a much greater chance of success than when a defeatist attitude emerges first. Get through that mid-race rough patch by reminding yourself of your training and the strength it has given you. Pick your way through a tricky professional patch by relying on the skills that have brought you to that point. Stay positive, and it will soon take the idea of giving up off the table.
Pace yourself Life is a marathon, and not a sprint. We say this because we understand that a marathon takes a great deal of patience, training, and learning to succeed. We also understand that if you start out with a pace that throws caution to the wind, then your end result might be a bit unpleasant. A life a thousand miles begins with a single step. Stick to your plan, keep a steady, confident tempo, and arrive on time and in one piece, both in life and in the race.
Practice Makes Perfect This saying, along with its cousin, “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect,” reminds us that it pays to consider our goals and to make sure we have rehearsed the requirements of the day as much as is possible beforehand. Just like that important presentation or pitch, rehearsing your fueling patterns during your long run or embarking on routes similar in topography to your goal race will teach you how to flesh out the tricky parts and handle them more confidently. We perform better when we can eliminate unknowns and focus on executing our plan. Running long distances can be a great incubator for us to reinforce that habit.
There are many other sayings and phrases out there that encapsulate the similar challenges and successes we go through as runners in and out of our training shoes. As runners, we are fortunate to have a great laboratory every day, and hopefully our lives are better for it even after we slip off our shoes.
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The amount of money raised by runners competing for various charitable causes has grown a staggering and amount over the past several years. We are well familiar with the “macro” type efforts to help those who need it through these amazing efforts. but sometimes we may forget that there are ways in which we can make a difference in the course of our everyday run. We’ve written before on practical and safety tips in a previous post on 
Jeff Foxworthy, before he was famous for hosting a game show asking if we were smarter than fifth graders, became a household name in many parts of America by asking simple (humorous) questions by which one could identify oneself with a particular (colloquial) demographic.
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