The debate is open

 Who's workout was harder today?

Ben ran 10 miles in the snow.

Packers come in 9 days and there is no way I am chancing sickness or injury, so I stayed inside.  Plus, I don't have the proper snow running shoes and the roads were a little dicey so I didn't venture out to the Y.  While Ben was on the road and the kids were having "quiet time", I turned on my favorite HIIT workout.  Why is that kids are drawn to you the second you want to be alone?  My workout was quickly surrounded by little boys pretending to play Super Mario and all the couch cushions turned into tunnels and ladders.

Then there was the "Hey Momma!  Look at this very dangerous thing I can do!"

 

And when Mario defeated the castle, Colin decided to join me in exercising.

"What? climbing on your back doesn't help your leg lifts?  That crazy." 

 

I even had to pause my workout to help Eli find a Lego!  Home workouts are usually a fail for me, but it's time to get creative as we enter into "transition period" of our life.

Let's recap.

Ben's workout: quiet and what he planned, but cold

My workout: loud and interrupted, but full of cuteness

Moving, 5k, and Training

Life's been busy for us. We are moving across the country in two weeks and I'm training my replacement at work, working on moving details like setting up utilities, and purging our attic by making runs to the county dump. So how do you workout when moving 2,500 miles with three kids? We don't know! We may not get a chance to do much while on the road. Our tentative plan is to alternate running (one watch the kids while the other goes out) and use the exercise room at our hotels at night. I made sure to book hotels that have an indoor pool so the kids will get to burn some energy each day. We will survive just fine even if I can't run the miles I want or eat as healthy as I'd like. Although it may feel like it, it's not the end of the world if I have to go two weeks without doing much.

To keep things interesting me and Jen signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5k in Kansas on March 5th! We'll be in Kansas for a few days seeing family and resting up before making the second leg of our cross country move. Are we crazy to run a race midway through a cross country move? Maybe! But it just sounded fun.


The race is a small local race (>500 people) and it's a flat out-and-back. It should make for a good course to set a PR. I'm actually excited to run this race. I feel like my fitness is at a very high level and, Lord willing, I can run my best 5k ever.

For training I've been doing two new things. First, I'm doing one long run a week. This run is at an easy pace and is about 10 miles long. The purpose of this run is to simply build my aerobic capacity. Second, I'm doing speed work. This has taken many forms. Most recently I did a 2 mile warm up, 6 x 400 with a 60 second recovery, and a 2 mile cool down. The purpose of this is to get my body used to a fast pace and to develop my fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Over the past few months I've also increased my weekly base to 37 miles per week. Over the past 8 weeks I've run, 32, 31, 33, 27 (8k race week), 33, 34, 37, and 37 miles per week. I have really noticed a difference in my speed and ability by running more miles per week and doing some speed work. Last Monday I ran 10 miles at 7:29/mile. This was comfortable for me and I felt like I could have kept going for another 3 or even gone much faster if it had been a race. In November this pace would have been my goal HM pace. Now, due to logging more miles, it was just a good ordinary run. It's been encouraging to see the work pay off. I've always read that if you want to run faster just log more miles. I'm here to say, it's true!

Lastly, I bought a pair of racing flats. Apparently, if you're looking to set a PR this is what you want to wear for a short distance race. Racing flats are ultra lightweight shoes designed to make you go fast. They are not meant for your weekly mileage. They don't have the cushion for that. I got the Mizuno Wave Ekiden 9. They were less than $40! The are extremely light. Wearing kind feels like taking a weight vest off my feet.

I did my last speed workout day with these on. I logged a total of 6 miles which was probably 3 too many. My calves were sore for a few days and my arch was a bit tender on my left foot. I'm hoping this soreness goes away soon. I definitely felt faster with them on. I think they will help with a 5k but I won't wear them unless it's a race, not enough support for my size 12 feet. So far, I'd say they are a good investment.

This is my "why did I wear shorts?" face

This week the weather turned cold, like really cold. For some reason I brought shorts to run in this past Wednesday during my lunch break. It was 28 degrees with 15 mph wind. Mistake. Oh well, live and learn. I'm not letting the cold bother me though because in two weeks we will be living in permanent summer in the sunny Arizona desert.

You're Running Too Fast

Yes, I'm talking to you! You are running too fast and you need to slow down! Yesterday I had a great run. I say it was great even though I ran 5 miles at an 8:57/mile pace (my 5 mile PR pace is 6:30/mile). So why would I call that a great run? The answer is because slow, easy running is great for my training and fitness.

Sorry he looks so creepy today.

For a long time I fell into the trap of trying to do every training run as fast as I could. I'd muster up as much speed as I had that day and try and set a new record. Maybe you can relate. You try to run as fast as you can and feel bad if you are slow (whatever slow means to you). After all, you aren't going to get those Strava kudos on a slow run! This approach, fortunately, is a mistake. It is important to have some fast runs. It's a huge part of becoming a faster racer. However, if every time you lace up you go all-out and try to be speedy Gonzales you are actually going to hinder your training and end up injured.

Slow running has many advantages to your training. Even elite Olympic athletes incorporate slow running into their weekly routine. So what exactly do I mean by slow running? There are a couple of ways to define it but the easiest is 1.25-1.5 times slower than your 5k PR pace. If you don't have a 5k PR pace just go a minute or two slower than your race pace for any distance. For me, my 'slow running' pace is anywhere between 7:54-9:27. Realistically I aim for about an 8:15-30 but I'm not afraid to go slower! A slow pace for me is keeping my heart rate at about 130 or lower.

All that being said here are three reasons you need to slow down for some of your runs:

1. You burn the same calories if you go fast or slow.

It's amazing how many people don't realize this simple truth. If you run a mile at a 10:00/min pace or run a mile at an 8:00/min pace the calories you burn are basically equal. There's a lot of debate on this subject but for all practical purposes they are equal. The only advantage to running faster is you can fit more miles in the same amount of time, so you could burn more calories per hour. But 5 miles slow or 5 miles fast will yield the same result. If you are trying to shed some extra pounds or running to maintain weight and health a faster pace won't really help you. (Note: running does, however, burn more calories than walking.)

2. Slow running builds your aerobic capability with less wear and tear on your body.

When you run your body experiences stress. Your legs, joints, lungs, and heart all are stressed. At the end of a tough run, your body sustains micro-tears in muscle fiber, dehydration, glycogen depletion, and more. Your body responds by making adaptations. These adaptations are things like stronger muscles and tendons, and a heart that can pump more blood more efficiently. When you run slower you put less stress on your muscles and joints, but your heart still has to pump blood. Running slow applies "gentle" stress to your cardio-vascular system, which benefits you on a run of any speed.

If you need more convincing here's a great video from Sage Canaday, a 2:16:52 marathoner, about the benefits of slow running:

 

3. You can run more miles with less risk of injury.

The rule of thumb for runners is to only increase one thing at a time; speed or volume. If you try to increase your speed at the same time as the number of miles per week you run (also called your 'base') you will likely get injured. Let's say you are training for a half marathon. You currently run 15 miles per week and you know you need to get more miles in to run a good race. Slow runs will allow you get more miles in with less risk of injury. Making a few of your runs 'easy' runs will help you build your base without causing too much stress on the other parts of your body. If you are prone to injury or have been injured in the past you should really give slow runs a try. Incorporating some slow days into your weekly routine also allows you to really push it on tempo or speed work days.

One last thing about slow running; it is freeing! Knowing that it is OK and actually beneficial to take some runs slow is a great feeling. It will help you enjoy your runs more. It's ok to stop and smell the flowers or enjoy the view. In fact you should really give this a try. Stop during your run and look around, enjoy God's creation and stop worrying about how fast (or slow) you are going. There's a time for everything under the sun, including slow running (Ecclesiastes 3), so get out there and log some slow miles!

Define your fitness

We had a bit of snow and everyone freaked out.

Colin making is first snow angel

I think it was equal freaking between "We might run out of bread and milk!!!" and "I've never driven on a wet road!!" and "NO SCHOOL FOR 2 DAYS?!!".  Needless to say, when I got to the Y for my usual Monday morning run, the place was completely packed.  I had to be sly to get a treadmill and got on the rowing machine next to an older gentleman walking and jumped on his machine when he got off.

While I was running, I saw a commercial for Slim Fast.  I honestly laughed out loud.  First, how is Slim Fast even still around?  I really want to know.

Seriously.  Look at what is in this stuff!

Somehow, someone passed this off as health food!

Later that day, I read this post from Blogilates on Facebook.  I love her workouts and I find her very refreshing (p.s. I'm very picky when it comes to workouts I'll follow).  She opened up about a very real eating struggle she had after competing in a bikini competition.  I've followed several women's accounts of what training takes and I know it's no walk in the park, but not many tell of what it's like afterwards; emotionally and physically.  

If you don't read her article, basically women just eat chicken and broccoli (around 1,000 calories a day) for months and workout for up to 4 hours a day.  The results are astonishing, but they are miserable inside and once they resume eating a more normal healthy diet, they gain the weight back.  I think most competitors go in cycles of training, so once their body has recovered, they go right back into cutting mode.

How are these linked?

It astonishes me how we classify fitness.  It perhaps even more astonishes me how we are swayed by media to define it.  Slim Fast says, "Drink a milkshake and you'll be skinny and skinny is fit" and the bikini competitor says, "Starve yourself and workout for hours and you'll be fit".  How did fitness become milkshakes and starvation?

Honestly though, I can relate to both lies.  After Alison was born, I am ashamed to admit, my refrigerator saw some Slim Fasts.  I was desperate, in complete survival mode and didn't have the knowledge then that I do now.  I can also relate to being tempted to eat a little less and workout a little more to get to "the next level" in fitness.  When you're already eating healthy and working out, it's easy to let yourself believe that bikini lie.

That night I ate a homemade oatmeal cookie, in honor of fitness.  As I ate it, I thought,

"Here's to fitness.  Let it be in moderation.  To not workout too much or too little.  To not eat too much or too little and to enjoy a little real sugar every once in awhile."

Please don't let media define your fitness. 

Pebbles

The day after the Surf N Santa 5 miler I saw I had been bumped from 3rd place in my age group to 4th. The results online all of a sudden showed a new name at the top which bumped me down. My time didn't change but someone else had, apparently, run faster than me and not been included in the original results. I was bummed. I was honestly very sad. I felt like I had accomplished something, even if that something was as inconsequential as placing in my age group, and then felt like it was taken away.

Being bummed about losing my 3rd place age group finish really made me think; why would I care so much? Why be sad? My time didn't change, I still ran the exact same race. I don't think I could have run faster that day. I gave it my all and I should be happy with the result, right?

I don't think it's necessarily wrong to feel disappointed. After all, I put work into running. I want to do well and give my best. I think it would be strange if I didn't want to do well in a race. In fact, giving my best can be a way to honor God.

"Whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man." (Colossians 3:23)

Feeling disappointed at not placing in a race is not automatically a sinful feeling. There's complexity here because my heart is a mixed bag. It's a jumbled mess of crossed wires that sometimes sends false signals and sometimes short-circuits. It would be much simpler to say, 'of course you were disappointed, don't worry about it!', or, 'hey, if you felt any sliver of disappointment you've made an idol out of running and are a dirty sinner!'. Both of those are extremes that are not quite right.

Motivations are a tricky thing. Examining them is a lot like trying to look at something with your peripheral vision. You can see it, but you can't really make out the details. Was I disappointed because I had put a lot of work into that race, or was I disappointed because I wanted people to think more highly of me because I placed? Probably both. In fact, I do want to glorify God with my running, to be a good steward of my body. But I also want people to think I'm something special because I can run fast (sometimes). There are no pure motives flowing out of my heart. It's all mixed. If you're honest you can see this is true of you too. The apostle Paul speaks of this when he wrote, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out." (Romans 7:18).

If my heart sometimes cares too much about what others think do I stop running? Nope. Running isn't the issue, my heart is the issue. If it's not racing it will be something else. Knowing the motivations of my heart and its tendencies is a good place to start. I can take my weakness, my brokenness, my wrong motivations to God and say "help!". When I am weak, he is strong. I can pray and ask God to help me not value the opinion of man.

One of my favorite prayer books is called "The Valley of Vision". It's a collection of puritan prayers. In one of the prayers titled 'Love-Rest in God' the author writes:

My dear Lord
I depend wholly upon thee,
wean me from all other dependences.
Thou art my all, thou dost overrule all and delight in me.
Thou art the foundation of goodness,
how can I distrust thee?
how be anxious about what happens to me?
In the light of thy preciousness the world and all its enjoyments are infinitely poor:
I value the favour of men no more than pebbles.

I love that last line. While I can't say that I value the opinion of men no more than pebbles, it is what I want.  I pray that the opinions of others would hold no more sway in my life than a pebble does. And, as the end of the prayer says, that God would "grant me grace to distinguish between the genuine and the false, and to rest in thee who art all love."

The truth is, God may not ever grant me complete victory over my misplaced motivations in this life.  While this can be frustrating and discouraging at times it also leaves me no choice but to wholly depend on God, and there are a lot worse places to be.

p.s. Oh yeah, it was a mistake. I actually did get 3rd place. They accidentally added someone to the wrong results page and they fixed it the next day.

My illustrious prize is a wine coaster.

Wouldn't it be nice...

A little tune for you while I whine. In my head tonight, as I tried to get a run in after the kids went to bed and my legs were killing me:

"Wouldn't it be nice if fitness was easy and all I had to do was jog a mile and eat an apple and I could have a 6 pack and never ever feel pain.  Wouldn't it be nice if I wasn't getting older and wasn't a woman...who's had 3 kids.  Men.  They have it so easy."

The truth is, I have not been enjoying running lately and although I've met my goals, my mind is thinking "am I done yet?" the whole time.

Then Monday Ben said, "Doesn't running 10 miles sound fun?" when it was literally freezing with ice on the ground, but we only had time for 8, so around mile 6.5 Ben picked up his pace to make it back to the Y to get our kiddos and made me promise I would run a certain road for him and my run ended up being over 9 miles.  My rear has never been so frozen!  Yea, those men I tell ya'.

I absolutely do not like this picture, but it's documented that I survived Ben's insane run on Monday.

But then there are moments that remind me that running isn't always about enjoying or looking a certain way or even staying warm.

Moments like hearing Alison talk about what exercise she'll do when she grows up or being able to have a jump rope contest with her, remind me that I run to be healthy and it trains her how to live a healthy life as well.

Alison drawing at the Y while I lift weights...best view of the gym right here.

Moments like hearing Colin ask me to take him for a run and seeing the other kids jump up to join the race, remind me that I run to keep up with my three kids and to help them be that; kids.  We live in a time where the norm is a sedentary life; sit in school all day and watch TV all night.  Being active breaks that norm, but also gives kids a chance to explore and be creative.

My whine is over...thank you for listening.  I will persevere.

P.S. Men aren't all that bad, especially the crazy one I call my husband.  He recorded that Beach Boys song for me our first year of college, when we were dreaming of being old enough to get married.  I am so thankful he was crazy enough to marry me a year later!

Surprise Race Report - 8k Chilly BOB Fest Roadrace

Jen found out about a small local 8k on Wednesday and suggested I run it. The course goes around Windsor Castle Park, which we run all the time, so I thought the race would be a good idea. I had already run my normal weekly routine Monday-Wednesday so I didn't really have a chance to 'train' or 'prepare'. I just had to trust that my weekly routine was enough to power through an 8k. I did an easy slow 5 miles on Thursday and didn't run at all on Friday so my legs would be fresh. I went into the race with 22 miles for the week already.

Each turn around was at the bottom of a pretty steep hill.

My strategy for this race was a bit different than my previous 5 mile race. The course for this race is an out-and-back with two forks on the side. That  means there were three turn-around spots and each one was at the bottom of a hill. This was a very hilly course and meant that it would be hard for me to race a consistent pace. Instead I decided to race my heart rate. My goal was to keep my heart rate at about 160 bpm, which is about 86% of my max heart rate, right in the lactate threshold zone. This, hopefully, would keep me giving max effort the whole time even if my pace had to slow due to a hill.

Pre-race - The race had a few hundred participants and was fairly low key. They did have chip timing which is really nice for such a small race. The start was at the manor house on the Windsor Castle Park grounds. The weather was cool (45 degrees) and breezy but the sun was shining. I did a few strides down the road to get my legs warm. The wind was blowing and I knew that between the hills and the wind my legs were in for a beat down.

Mile 1-2 - I went out with the lead pack and ran the first 400 meters at a 5:30 pace. My heart rate hadn't jumped up yet so I just kept racing whatever pace that heart rate could sustain. At 800 meters I was in 4th place and I was gaining on 2nd and 3rd. They kept slowing and I kept feeling good so I pushed on and passed them. I did consider for a moment latching on and running with them as a pack. But I decided to chase first place and press on alone. I slowed down a bit as I kept my heart rate right around 160. The guy in first place was about 20 seconds ahead of me (now in 2nd place). He looked strong and I just kept running trying not to over think the situation. At mile 2 I approached the first turn around. It was straight down and up a big steep hill, run around a cone, and then down and up the hill again. My legs burned and I ignored my pace and focused on my heart rate. 6:19, 6:29

Mile 3-4 - The turn around gave me the opportunity to see my pursuers without looking behind me. There was a group of about 4 guys about 15 seconds behind me. I was running about 15 seconds behind first place and was feeling very lonely. It is hard to run alone in a race! Why do I always end up in 'no-man's" land? Mile 3.5 was the first of the two forks. It was a brief up hill, then a big down hill for the turn around. When I got to the bottom of the hill to turn around I had a brief side stitch. I felt like I was maxing out and about to explode. I literally stopped at the cone for about 2 seconds to re-group and I seriously doubted I could hang on and maintain my place. I started running up the hill and just took it one step at a time. My legs felt like jello going up the hill and my body felt like it was traveling through molasses. The main problem was the wind. It was a steady 15 mph in my face. The only thing that kept my going was knowing that everyone else was in the same situation as me. If it was hard for me, it had to be (hopefully) hard for everyone. The leader was now about 30 seconds ahead of me and my pursuers were still about 15 seconds behind me. 6:49, 6:48

Some people coming through the small finish line. At least they used a chip timer!

Mile 5 - The last push was down the second fork. It was down hill, around a cone, then back up the hill to a flat 400 meter sprint to the finish. I somehow still maintained my space between first and third. My legs truly hurt but I finally started to think I could hang on. When I made it to the top of the hill I started to sprint and surprisingly felt I had a little kick left in me. I ran really hard to the end and crossed the finish line in 32:26 and held on to 2nd place overall. First place came in at 31:51 and third was 19 seconds behind me. Somehow I had managed to pull off a 6:16 last mile (well, almost a full mile).

Post-race - Not much to say here. I got my obligatory bananna, water, and granola bar. Stayed around to get a hat and cup as a prize and then drove home. Apparently this race didn't have any good prizes, even for placing 2nd overall. It was a very challenging race and my legs felt tired and sore that afternoon. I think I the heart rate strategy was helpful because it would have been near impossible to maintain a consistent pace going up those hills in the wind. Side note: After the race I noticed the guy who came in first place was wearing shorts with KU on them. Turns out he is from Kansas, like me, and graduated from the University of Kansas in 2007! We had a nice chat and felt good that a pair of Kansas boys topped a small race in Virgina.

This is as good as the loot gets for such a small race. Not even a gift card for 2nd place overall!