Running Tips

Claire's Life:

Our adorable little angel loves reading time right before she is put to bed and most nights can go right to sleep. She had a hard night this past week and convinced mommy at midnight to let her in the big bed. She is practicing rolling over with mommy and has done it on her own but not consistently; she seems to prefer to rotate by scooting around in a circle to see things. Daddy's is helping her learn to sit up and we feel triumphant when she can balance on her own for more than 10 seconds. She absolutely loves being in her bouncer while mom is dancing for exercise or even when we are all in the living room with her. Along with frozen bananas in her Fresh Food Feeder, she's eating apple sauce like a champ from a spoon! Entertaining her with toys and moving around is proving to help her develop and seem so grown up now.

Weather is warming up and I've been able to go running outside almost every running day this week which has been enlightening on how different environments and variables can effect my runs. I want to share the simple things I do to make sure each run I do is the best it can be.

Pre-run

Please stretch and do some sort of warm up! I usually start with jogging in place for 20 seconds then do 20 leg swings for each leg, followed by another jogging in place. I also do 10 walking lunges per leg and one last 20 second jog in place. It's nice and short so I don't have to worry about taking forever just to get started. Even before stretching I make sure to eat a small amount of energy full food and drink about 8 ounces of water so my body has energy throughout my work out.

Running

I feel like different environments are helpful in different ways, but since my end goal is a half-marathon that will be run outside, I would benefit from running outside. When the weather was too cold, I was running on an indoor track that told me the distance I was running was x number of laps. I wasn't sure of the distance I was running because I trusted the lap count but when I tracked it using my Fitbit it was always about .2 miles away from the count. I personally like running where I can track with a GPS where I'm going, but when I do that I don't have a good concept of my pace. During a longer run, it is good to keep the body hydrated so I am to drink about 8 ounces ever 15-20 minutes of running which for now has only ever been half way through whichever run I'm doing.

Post-run

I've learned from my husband that the best (and easiest) protein shake to have after any work out is chocolate milk, and I am not complaining. Along with being delicious and cheaper than many other protein shakes, it gives you the protein and simple sugars that your body needs after it has been working out. I've had it explained to me by my nutritionist husband who has read studies on what a body needs and I have experience with feeling great for the rest of the day as proof. Stretching out the muscles that have been running is a great way to cool down make prevent injuries. I know that when I don't cool down with stretching, I'm usually a lot more sore for the next 24 hours than when I get a proper post-run stretch.

Training

So far I've been gaining my running back little by little over the last 6 months since having my baby and it seems to have been a slow process. I love hitting a new mile long goal like 2 weeks ago when I was able to run 4 miles without taking a break in the middle. From my personal experience, I know having a variety of workouts is best for keeping the body improving. My week involves hill runs, long runs, and speed runs to get my variety and I also do a rest which is a weighted workout for leg day at the gym. My way of preventing injury is not overusing my muscles and being aware of what my legs are feeling during and after my run.