Half Marathons to Run in 2017

new zealand 2Yes, races cost money. I like to view races as thousands of calories burned and thousands of memories made, my friends look at it as thousands of dollars lost. I guess I’m a glass-half-full kind of gal when it comes to races. I love racing. It forces me to rise early, get my workout done at a faster pace than I would run on my own, water and sports drinks are handed to me by nice volunteers, I feel supported by the crowds and other runners, I get a medal to commemorate my finish (that granted, gets stuck in a bag in the back of my closet), and I feel a sense of accomplishment that I reached another goal (despite my horrific finish time).

Here are three to consider for 2017:

561761_3980390742837_446598658_nDisneyland Half Marathon. Taking place Labor Day weekend, the Happiest Race on Earth traverses through the Happiest Place on Earth: Disneyland. You’ll run through Disneyland, California Adventure Park, into Angels Stadium where the crowd noise will astound you, and receive your best race photos. If you don’t care about time, you can stop and have your photo taken with Disney characters, the automobiles from “Cars,” and the famous Disneyland castle.

Kauai Half Marathon. Naturally, any race in a tropical locale will make anyone’s running list. Also generally held over Labor Day weekend, the Kauai marathon is a tough course with hot temperatures–be prepared to sweat. You’ll race through this garden island’s green scenery, through a road with tree branches forming a tunnel of sorts for runners, and end up right next to the Pacific Ocean. For those more ambitious, a full marathon is offered with approximately eight miles of climbing. My hat is off to those who dare.

Salt Lake City Half Marathon. It is easy to PR at the Salt Lake City Half Marathon held each April. With 11 miles of downhill, your quads will hate you, but your Garmin will love you. I love the cherry blossoms that blow in the wind as I run by, the clean air at a higher elevation, the snow-capped mountains and ending at a shopping center.

Happy running!

Cross Training Options for Runners

indexFall starts the day after tomorrow. It’s my favorite season–despite the shortened days. I do like to mix up my workouts from running in the heat to doing some new sports as cross training. The weather has turned a little sour where I am and look forward to participating in these sports soon:

Cross-Country Skiing

Benefit:
Cross-country skiing involves working your entire body and burns more calories than running because of the tough arm movements. Your body both pushes and pulls and you cannot zone out in the way you can with running long distances. You must concentrate and keep focused.

Calories burned:
Because cross-country skiing is a total-body workout, it is the ultimate calorie burner. You can burn upwards of 950 calories per hour.

Why it’ll help running:
New leg muscles are developed and your quads are strengthened. It also works your core, one of the most important groups of muscles to a runner.

Ice Skating

Benefit:
You don’t need to wear the fancy, sparkly costumes as you see with figure skaters in the Olympic Games. Rather, you can just hit your local ice skating rink to work your leg muscles. Ice skating is very challenging on the ankles, something typically underdeveloped in runners.

Calories burned:
If you skate moderately fast, you can burn 400-500 calories per hour.

Why it’ll help with your running:
Skating involves a pushing motion and it’ll work and strengthen your IT band–one of the most commonly injured muscles among runners.

Alpine Skiing

Benefit:
While you may prefer snowboarding for its trendiness, alpine skiing actually mirrors running more as you must push off one leg at a time when not moving downhill.

Calories burned:
A moderate skier can burn around 400 calories per hour.

Why it’ll help you with your running:
Often runners and sprinters who train on the track lose the hill training. Skiing will give you a benefit of a sport moving downhill, working your quads.

Sources:
http://www.xcskiindiana.com/articles/health.html

http://www.mycaloriesburned.com/calories-burned-ice-skating/

http://www.mycaloriesburned.com/calories-burned-skiing/

Get Your Veggies this Fall

indexI once interviewed a well-known vegan endurance athlete who swore a plant-based diet helped him win triathlons. He was lighter, well nourished and could easily drop pounds with eating vegetables and nuts. It really got me thinking about following a vegetarian diet despite my love of chicken. Now I try to add in several non-meat meals a week, including a “Meatless Mondays.” I now find myself looking for the vegetarian option on menus and find meat rather heavy, generally.

Although I don’t think you need to go to the extreme of removing meat from your diet if you love it, you can add in more vegetarian meals chock full of vegetables that offer plenty of protein.

Try these options:

For breakfast try adding in a green smoothie a few times as week. The smoothies can help remove metals in the body and cleanse you out, allowing your organs to absorb more healthy nutrients. Here are a couple of recipes. The first one is simple for those non-cooks.

2 cups water
2 cups spinach or kale
2 cups any type of fruit (watermelon and banana work well)

Pour in water into a blender, add in fruit one cup at a time and blend. Add in spinach one cup at a time and blend. Enjoy.

Blending the water and fruit first make it easier for the blender not to get the food stuck.

Real Simple’s recipe:

2 tablespoons lime juice
2 cups spinach
1 1/2 cups frozen mango
1 cup green grapes

Combine the lime juice, ½ cup water, the collard greens, mango, and grapes in a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute, adding more water to reach the desired consistency.

Snacks:

Carry a plastic pouch of nuts, seeds, and edamame for protein. It will also help you feel full faster.

Dinner:

Cook a meal of colorful vegetables, such as kale and peppers of several colors. According to Jennifer Iserlof, known as the Skinny Chef, “To get the most out of your veggies, don’t overcook them: 15 minutes or less on high heat (400°F in the oven or in a hot skillet) or under 25 minutes in a 350°F oven.”

You can also cook them over high heat for one minute, add a pinch of salt and then reduce and cook for an additional two minutes. Iserlof doesn’t recommend steaming as it takes the texture of the vegetable out.
Sources:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/collard-greens-smoothie-00100000095094/index.html

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/cooking/healthy-eating/2014/07/skinny_chef_how-to_tips_for_a.html#incart_related_stories

Running Terminology 101

Goodshoot 1It’s back to school time. Labor Day weekend signals the unofficial end of summer and everyone is getting back to regular schedules. Whether you are in school yourself or have friends/children who go back, this blog post is dedicated to the lifelong learners. It offers a little running terminology 101.

Ever notice the strange lingo runners use? If you’re new to the sport of running, you may hear a few of these words used at track practice. Here are a few of the definitions to keep you knowledgeable:

FARTLEK-A Swedish term meaning speed play, it is a training method that involves varying intensity. It’s what you’ll likely do at a track workout. You’ll run fast, faster, then slower, etc. It shocks your body and in turn, makes you faster.

INTERVAL-This is similar to Fartlek. It is a faster pace of running that brings up your heart rate and challenges your body.

TEMPO-Tempo is still a fast pace, but not as fast as internal. You’ll still run hard, but not with an all-out sprint.

GEL-Packed into little nutritional packets, gels provide the necessary nutrition and calories you need to make it through a long run. Generally ranging from 100-110 calories each, gel packets come in different flavors and with or without caffeine to provide a little extra spike of energy.

SPIKES-Running shoes with actual spikes on the bottom to help grip the track easier. These are made just for track runners—typically sprinters and short-distance runners.

COMPRESSION SOCKS-Although they may look like soccer socks, long and pretty unusual, they are designed to compress the muscles. This allows for faster recovery and less lactic acid build up while running.

LONG RUN-Distance runners generally include one or two “long runs” per week to build up endurance. These can last from six to 30+ miles, depending on what type of race the runner is planning to complete.

MARATHON-Although the word “marathon” is pretty standard in the everyday language, many confuse the length. They assume any running event is a marathon. A marathon is 26.2 miles in distance and does not vary. A half marathon is exactly half that: 13.1 miles. Not all running distances are marathons—only those measuring 26.2 miles.

LADDER-This is an interval workout of increasing interval lengths, i.e., 200 meters, then 400 meters, then 800 meters.

PYRAMID-This is an interval workout of increasing and then decreasing interval lengths, i.e., 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 400 meters, 200 meters. You go up and then you come back down in equal distances.

LACTATE THRESHOLD-This is the level of intensity that causes blood lactate to rise and muscle efficiency to fall with fatigue. The result? Lactic acid.