You Know You are a Runner When...

An excerpt from my upcoming book "If Your Runner Feet Could Talk", coming to you in January 2009 from myrundoc.com

Addendum I: Every Runner Needs a Little Humor!

I hope after reading this book you feel like part of our running communities. It never ceases to amaze me how I can travel to another part of the country or the world and instantly make new friends with other runners. We share the same experiences, goals and crazy traits across age, sex, and abilities. Runners are a world community. So I have included this list that has traveled the internet and has been edited many times by many groups. Here is our version:

You Know You Are a Runner When…..

1. you roll your eyes when people ask, "how long was your last marathon?”
2. you think it’s totally acceptable to stop at the side of the road and accept fruit or gatorade from a perfect stranger
3. you are in a race and have to pee, bushes are now your friend
4. you come up with weird answers to questions like "why do you run so much?"
5. all your socks are either stained or torn.
6. you can spit while running.
7. you finish a race looking like you wrestled an alligator, and not only do you not care, but post the pictures on Facebook.
8. you schedule family vacations around races.
9. you spend more money on training clothes than work clothes.
10. you secretly have a stash of 20 pairs of old running shoes
11. you have running withdrawal if you don't run or at least cross-train everyday.
12. your only excuse for not running is projectile vomit and even that’s questionable
13. you wake up every morning in pain somewhere, and then rationalize it!
14. Accelerade is your drug of choice.
15. you can’t remember the last time you slept in on a Saturday
16. you count hills as your friends
17. your favorite food group is carbohydrates.
18. you are always hungry.
19. your house, car and gym bag smells like Biofreeze.
20. your toe nails are black or falling off.
21. you wear skimpier clothes than Brittney Spears running
22. you run through puddles instead of around them.
23. you can blow nose with your index finger. (Snot rockets)
24. you know exactly what a difference .10 miles can make
25. your running peeps are like family
26. you have more inside jokes than a stand up comedian.
27. your running peeps know more about you than your spouse
28. you have or almost have been hit by a car.
29. you can convert miles and kilometers in your head, but for any other math you need a calculator.
30. you buy water and/or Gatorade by the case at Costco
31. you count Power Bars as a meal
32. you've become a professional blister popper
33. you have some funky looking tan lines
34. you have a collector’s edition of “Chariots of Fire”
35. you tell how old your shoes are by how many miles are on them
36. LSD is not a narcotic
37. you can run 26 miles and never stop talking
38. you know your PR for every distance and the Boston qualifying time for your age
39. you know 20 different ways to combat plantar fasciitis and can spell and pronounce it correctly
40. when you reach your marathon goal, you think it’s perfectly normal to start planning your first Ironman…..

Feel free to add to the list and pass it on :)
Run Happy!!!
http://www.myrundoc.com/

How to Survive the Thanksgiving Holiday Without Gaining Weight!

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and most Americans plan to spend it stuffing our faces with turkey and watching football. We then follow that with eating desert and late night leftovers into the next day. Overeating is almost felt to be our patriotic duty on Thanksgiving! Most will wake up on Friday morning with indigestion and a few extra pounds. Sadly, we will continue this pattern throughout the holidays and wake up in January, ten to twenty pounds heavier! How do we break this holiday tradition? How can we survive the holiday without gaining that requisite 5 pounds or so? Here are a few tips from your favorite doctor:

1. Run your local Turkey Trot road race. This is a great annual tradition in many families. Think about it, no matter how fast or slow you run, after completing a 5K or 10K Thanksgiving morning, you can basically eat almost anything you want! If you can’t run, then at least take a brisk walk that morning. This will start the holiday off on the right foot and get you in a good mood to survive your friends and family!

2. Drink lots of water instead of wine or beer. Water helps fill you up so you won’t feel so hungry when that late dinner finally is ready. Have only one or two glasses of wine spaced throughout the day. This will keep the calorie count down and keep you out of trouble.
Be light on the gravy. Have you ever looked at how many calories are in that turkey gravy? A little gravy goes a long way!

3. Eat the white meat turkey and forgo the heavy dark meat. Even though it’s my favorite part, it is packed with calories.

4. Chew slowly and talk constantly! (I never have any problem with this!) Have fun with your family and keep up a brisk conversation. Chew slowly and keep talking, you will eat less and get to know them better!

5. Just say no to the multitude of desserts! It’s OK to have just a bite of this or a bite of that. It will not offend anyone if you don’t eat an entire piece of each of five kinds of pie!

6. Cheer for the Cowboys! This may not help you keep the calorie count down, but I’m from the Dallas area, so it’s a necessary part of the holiday! If you actually watch the game, you will spend so much energy cheering “the ‘Boys” that you won’t eat as much!

7. Spend your holiday giving back. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Deliver meals to the elderly. You will be blessed ten-fold and definitely will not over eat when you realize how many people go without every day!

These are just a few tips on how to survive the Thanksgiving holiday without packing on the pounds. Happy Thanksgiving!

I Love Runners! Running Out of Town in Ft Lauderdale

I Love Runners....

What other sport can you email a random person from a running club website and end up with twenty more running peeps virtually overnight.

I have to thank the Ft Lauderdale Florida Running Club for opening their training run to all-comers and then actually being extremely nice and hospitable. They gave me detailed directions on where to find them as well as parking, hooked me up with a veteran from the club that ran about my pace and then actually listened to me talk for 16 miles straight :) (and my usual running peeps will tell you I actually do talk non stop while I run) I had a wonderful run on historic A1A from Deerfield Beach through Boca Raton to almost Palm Beach then back. They had Gatorade out at the 2 and 5 mile markers and the whole course was marked every half mile so you knew where you were. I ran with Tom who graciously listened to me babble and actually got a few words in edgewise. Andy, the local crazy man, jumped in at about 10 miles and then dusted us at the end. I call Andy the local crazy guy because he described a racing schedule that included at least 3 marathons, an Ironman and a few halfs all in the last 2 months! We all have one like Andy in every club....he makes the rest of us look like a moderate! All in all it was fun. They were very friendly and I got a good run in! Thanks guys!! I'll see you at the Tamarac Turkey Trot on Thursday!!

Run Happy...and never be afraid to call up the local club when you'll be out of town....you never know who you will meet!!

What's In Your Training Bag?

Many people have been asking for exerpts from the upcoming book so here is a chapter that reminds our friends and families what we need for Christmas...make your shopping lists.

What’s in Your Training Bag?

The greatest thing about running is the low “getting started” cost, but here are a few things that are essential if you want to progress to distance running and competing or just want to avoid injuries.

1. Road ID. I made this first because it is so important and often forgotten. You need some type of ID on your body for the one time you pass out, get hit by a bus, or just fall off the curb and hit your head. If you think it doesn’t happen, read the papers. One year at the half-marathon in Dallas, several runners got hit by a car on their way back to their cars. Some kind of ID will help the EMTs find your family. I recommend the kind that is attached to your running shoes so you never forget it. Make sure the phone number is current! I’ve never needed mine in 30 years of running, but it only takes once.
2. Two pairs of running shoes. I always recommend you have two pairs of shoes that you rotate unless you are running less than 15 miles per week. The midsole material often takes almost 24 hours to rebound and frankly the shoes take time to dry out. Wet shoes equal fungus infections. Buy two pairs of either the same and mark A and B or buy a stiffer shoe for your longer runs and a lighter shoe for your short stuff and speed workouts.
3. Shorts
4. Shirt or Tank. Preferably a moisture wicking technical shirt.
5. Socks. There is a whole chapter on socks, but remember cotton is not your friend! Buy several pairs of synthetic moisture wicking socks so when you lose them in the dryer or your kid steal them because they are comfortable (yes. My daughter loves my running socks) you still have some to run in.
6. Sports Bra (woman only)
7. Hat. Mesh or visor, whatever your preference. Hats keep your head warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
8. Water bottle and carrier. Get the kind with a pocket to carry your cell phone and a little money as well as your gels.
9. Nutrition. This can be Power Bars, gels, new jelly bites, electrolyte replacement, or really whatever your heart desires. There will be a day when you skipped breakfast or lunch and need some fuel before you run. You should also carry some type of nutrition when running over an hour.
10. Body Glide. Everyone chafes sometime no matter how thin you are!
11. Sun screen. Melanoma kills 35 year old runners…enough said.
12. Sunglasses.
13. I pod or MP3 player. This is for the days your peeps blow you off or leaves you in the dust. It happens.
14. Towel. To dry off or to protect your car seat from your sweaty body. Your family will thank you.
15. Tights or sweats and gloves for those unexpected cold days
16. Extra set of clothing (for the days you forgot to clean out your bag and the clothes are dirty, it happens – our lives are full)
17. Plastic Bag for the stinky stuff
18. Toilet Paper or tissues for the sniffles and the port-a-john that’s out of tissue
19. Money. Have about $20 or so in your water bottle carrier just in case you’re having a rough run and need to take a cab home or just want an ice cream cone J
20. Put all this in a nice bag in the trunk of your car. Carry it every day. That way you are always ready to go and have eliminated one excuse entirely.

Run Happy...and don't forget the essentials!

Barefoot Passengers in Disgusting Airports

I was returning this morning from Ft. Lauderdale and going through security with a few hundred other sun-kissed travelers when it hit me that most people were actually BAREFOOT going through the security line. I had my trusty socks on, but the majority of people were barefoot on carpeting that probably saw at least several thousand stinky sweaty feet a day. Disgusting! Don’t people realize that walking barefoot in an airport even for a short period of time puts their health at risk? I guess not.

Let’s talk about this. You would never walk barefoot in an airport bathroom, right? No. That would be completely gross to most Americans. Yet, the bathroom floor probably is cleaner than the carpeting in the security line. The bathroom floor gets cleaned several times a day with disinfectant. The carpeting in security might get vacuumed once or twice a day, but most likely gets actually cleaned very sporadically and only when something gets spilled. I can’t confirm this because the TSA agent working the security line had no idea when or even if the carpeting was ever cleaned!

What’s at risk? Let’s make the assumption that you are a very healthy person with no chronic diseases that would hamper your immune system. What could you possibly pick up from a dirty carpet? Let’s just talk about the really common things because the list could actually be quite lengthy!

1. Warts. Plantar warts (verruca vulgaris) are a caused by a virus that infect the skin. This virus is very hardy and if you have children (or ever were one) you probably have seen or had a wart somewhere. They are annoying, but probably won’t kill you.
Herpes. Yes, the herpes virus is also quite hardy and cutaneous herpes can be passed from individual to individual but certainly not as quickly or easily as the wart virus. Again, annoying but not deadly.

2. Fungus. You know well the athlete’s foot fungus from your childhood. Hasn’t everyone’s mother warned them not to take a shower in the locker room barefoot so they won’t catch foot fungus? Same idea…..but again, annoying but easily remedied. PS. Fungus in your toenails can take up to A YEAR to eradicate! (Yes, it’s the same fungus)

3. Staph. Our friend the staph bacteria is growing stronger and infecting more people every day. If you have any doubt on how nasty this bacteria can be you should read my article on “Deadly Pedicures”. Staph can kill you and only needs a small opening in the skin to give you a major infection. MRSA (the really nasty staph) is more common than every before.

But you say you don’t have any cuts or holes in your feet so it’s probably OK for you to boldly walk through security at the airport barefoot. Think again! Let’s take a look at your feet. Any dry skin? Tiny little blisters? Maybe a rub mark from a sandal or a tight shoe? A minor ingrown toenail? These can provide openings for all our little microscopic friends that want to join us on our airplane journey. And let’s not forget. You are BAREFOOT! You could easily step on something, drop a piece of luggage on your foot or stub your toe on a bag and provide an easy opening…hello puncture wound!

So the next time you are traveling by air, either wear or bring a pair of socks. If you forget them, many airports will provide you with little booties to place on your feet to go through security. Your mother always told you not to go barefoot in a locker room. Common sense keeps you from going barefoot in a public bathroom. So why go barefoot through security? You may actually be saving your life with a pair of socks! Bring an extra pair and save a friend!

Run Happy through security with socks on!!!

DRC Half Marathon Results

Congrats to all the runners...over 5000! Wow! What a huge race for Dallas and a beautiful morning. It was 55 or so at the start and warmed up to 76 at the finish. Lots of great times were run (I unfortunately was not one of them) and the post-race parties in the tents were fun! Nice showing from the Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers as well as the Dallas Athletes (most of which did a tri last weekend). My peeps all ran well with Tim Jacobs leading the way with a 1:35, Heather Wallace blasted by me at 8 miles and finished in 1:45, I personally bonked at 8 miles, but held on to a 1:48 (but at least it was a minute faster than last year and 19th out of 329 in my age group...not a terrible showing) and Steve Buksh rounded out the crew with a 1:50. Special guest appearance by an old friend, Dan Banse at 1:51. Dan and I suffered from the same disease....going out too fast and having unrealistic expectations! This was a good building block for the marathon next month...watch out White Rock here we all come! And hopefully will be smarter from our bonk today!

Goal Setting Motivates Your Training Runs!

Goal Setting

A very smart person once said that a goal not written down is just a mere wish. I passionately believe this is true and have proven the power behind written goals in many aspects of my personal and professional life.

In fact, this year I was planning on running the Sacramento Marathon, but fell in a pothole and broke my foot just a few months before the race! The fact that my foot was broken did not deter me from trying to reach my goal (Yes, I am that stubborn). I cross-trained; swimming and biking for hours, trying to keep my cardio fitness intact, just so I could indeed run this planned marathon. It was the week before the race when my husband interjected just a little common sense (please don’t tell him I said he was right) and he asked me why I was so hell bent on running Sacramento? There were so many other races on the schedule and I had only recovered from my stress fracture 3 weeks prior and done a long run of only 16 miles. I really did not have any good reasons to tell him except for the fact that I had written it down as a goal almost 6 months prior and I was determined to reach that goal. Common sense intervened (maybe I’m not that stubborn after all) and instead I did my first triathlon, all that biking and swimming was good tri training, then I picked a marathon 2 months later that I could run after adequate training. Goals are a powerful thing. Running goals can take on a life of their own and guide our training.

I challenge all of you to do a goal writing exercise to determine where running fits in your life. Think about lifetime goals; perhaps qualifying for Boston or just to finish an entire marathon; then break down your goals into smaller segments. Try to ascertain how you will reach that lifetime goal by achieving smaller goals; write down your 5 year goals, your 3 year goals, your 1 year goals, and finally your immediate goals. It is hard to run a marathon without starting a running program, perhaps training for your first 5K can be your quarterly goal, then a 10 or 15K for 1 year goal, then build up to the marathon or a faster marathon from their. Again, looking at lifetime goals by themselves is often overwhelming; but broken down into smaller increments become very doable!

1. Lifetime Goal:
2. 5 Year Goal:
3. 3 Year Goal:
4. 1 Year Goal:
5. Next Quarter’s Goal:
6. This Week’s Goal:

Look at your goals then start a reasonable plan to meet them! Not only are you more likely to meet your goals if you write them down, but you are also less likely to get injured if you follow a plan.

Run Happy! And reach For Your Goals!