300 Miles Down.....1715 to Goal!

It’s Snowmageddon in the DFW area this weekend. The Cowtown Marathon scheduled for tomorrow morning is up in the air at blog post time, and they’ve already cancelled the 5K and 10K today.  Roads are icy and snow has actually accumulated! Crazy weather all over the US and yet we are all still getting our miles in! 

Tomorrow is March 1^st and as of this morning’s treadmill session, we have run 300 miles since January 1^st! That puts us about 25 miles behind schedule to make our goal of 2015 miles in 2015 but with lots of time to make it up!  I figure, given the weather and the short month, we are doing just fine! Best of all, racing season is upon us in March.

Snuggle up this weekend and make a plan for spring! Pick a race and put it on the schedule! 

Keep moving forward to your goals peeps! See you out there……

Running in Icemageddon 2015? Get Some Yaktrax Run!

On my way slip, sliding away during Icemageddon 2015, I saw several people out running or attempting to run in the neighborhood. Now I’m at the office, and already have three add-on patients for this afternoon with slip and fall injuries.

Here is a little public service announcement from your favorite podiatrist. If you are going to run in ice and snow conditions, and not default to the treadmill, please invest a few bucks in a pair of Yaktrax’s.

The Yaktrax Run is an ice traction device anatomically designed for use with running shoes. Run naturally on packed snow and ice with the Yaktrax Run's combination of removable spikes and steel coils, providing 360° of unbeatable traction. Continue your training during the winter with the same stability you are accustomed to on dry surfaces. The Yaktrax Run can be worn in temperatures as low as -41-Degree Fahrenheit.

Smarter runners with a pair of Yaktrax don’t fall down and go boom as often!!!

And yes, we are open today at FAANT!

Tips to Make Treadmill Running Not Suck!

Winter Weather Making You Hate Your Treadmill? Here are Some Tips to Break up the Monotony!

Let’s face it, I love to run…..outside! I hate the dreadmill! I mean treadmill ha ha. But at this time of year, and with the insane winter weather currently reeking havoc on the United States; the treadmill is a necessity. So I think I should’ve titled this blog, “How to make treadmill running not suck!”

Your treadmill can be a great training tool. They can also make running incredibly monotonous and boring. Here are some tips to help you not loathe treadmill workouts.

1.     Intervals. Running at a constant pace is the definition of boring. I almost always do some kind of interval workout on my treadmill. Some days that is five minutes of running with 1 minute of walking, then repeat. Some days it’s increasing pace then increasing elevation. This is a great way to work at race pace and to dial in your mile repeats pace. Make a goal for your intervals and then just set the treadmill to switch back and forth automatically so that you concentrate on the current interval, and stop thinking about the overall workout. If you are watching television, you can simply do commercial intervals. Run at a steady pace during the show but when it breaks for commercial, increase to 80% effort or at least 2 mph faster than your jog pace until the commercial break is over. Make it simple! Suddenly you realize your workout is done and you have gotten your sweat on!

2.     Distractions. Art is constantly watching a movie when he is on the treadmill. I often watch sports. Set your DVR for a movie you’ve wanted to watch or the game you missed the day before. Then set your time and get after it! It’s amazing how fast the workout gets done while you are screaming at a basketball or hockey game! Music is another great distraction. Make yourself a killer playlist with an upbeat tempo then sing if need be J

3.     Strength training intervals. Another trick I like to use is to doing run:strength intervals. What I mean by that is to run for 10 minutes then get off the treadmill and immediately do 25 push ups, 25 crunches, 25 side crunches, 25 lunges then get back on the treadmill and do it again. It can be as simple as 5 minutes running to two minutes of interval strength training then repeat. Don’t feel like doing push ups? Then how about 5 minutes running on the treadmill and then get off and run the stairs of your house for 2 minutes, then repeat. The purpose is to break up the workout! Try to do four or five sets. Breaks up the monotony and gets another goal done!

4.     Hill Training. Living in Texas we don’t have a plethora of good hills and a treadmill is great tool to use to work on your hill strides. Start with a 5-minute warm up jog. Then increase the elevation by 3 percent for 1 minute. Then back down by 1 percent for 2 minutes. Then back up to 3 percent and increase effort by 1 mph for 1 minute. Then drop the elevation by 1 percent but keep the pace for 2 minutes. Repeat increasing by 1 mph until you are now at 3 mph faster than your jog. Keep repeating until you have done your time or distance goal. You can creep up the elevation as well with the pace, but don’t go about 6 percent.

5.     Work on your stride count. You may not realize that most elite runners run around 180 steps per minute. The more steps per minute you take, the more efficient you run. Focus on counting your strides by counting how often your right foot hits the treadmill belt in a minute, then double. That’s your stride count. Try to improve it and pick up your feet and knees. No marathon shuffle or you will trip! (Not pretty, I’m sure you’ve seen the You tube videos)

6.     Have a virtual treadmill coach! Not crazy! I use Spinervals DVDs when I’m on the bike trainer. They also have a series of runervals. It’s a great DVD workout complete with music and Coach Troy yelling at you to pick it up or take it down a notch. Think virtual class! A good option if you need more focus during your workout. For more info go to www.spinervals.com (not a paid endorsement, just a user J)

Inclement weather and short winter days make the treadmill a necessary evil! Use these tips to make your treadmill runs not suck!

Still on the quest for 2015 miles in 2015! Only 1774 miles to go as of today…….

200 Miles into Our Quest for 2015! Seven Reasons Why You Should Run

Yes, we hit the 200 mile mark this week in our quest to run 2015 miles in 2015! Now we only have 1815 miles to go!

 We actually would be a little further towards our goals, but a few days of laziness took over earlier in the week! Yes, it happens to all of us. It’s been cold and damp so running outside was not appealing; and the treadmill was not as appealing as my pillow! Luckily, I realized after putting two zero days in a row in my log, that it meant I now had miles to make up. Not a good thing when you are trying to be more consistent. It’s also a team quest and Art was not happy with the zero entries! The sad face gets me every time!!! The logbook and all you blog readers got me back on track! The weather this weekend really helped with making up the miles as well.

So a common question I have been asked in the last few weeks is “Why exactly do you run?” I think people are curious if we become endorphin junkies or are we just health nuts? I think the reason each of us run is so personal that I figured I would just answer the question with good reasons why we should run. In fact, I think everyone that can run (or walk briskly) should try to do it every day.

Why should you run (or exercise) every day? The quick answer is because it keeps your energy levels up, keeps your heart healthy and really helps maintain your weight. But it actually does so much more!

Seven Benefits of Daily Exercise:

1.     It lowers your risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. According to the 2014 World Alzheimer’s report, regular exercise is one of the best ways to combat cognitive mental deterioration. This is thought to be because it improves circulation to your brain! It also significantly increases the size of the hippocampus, which is the memory area of your brain!

2.     It makes you look younger by making your skin glow. This is actually true! Working out improves oxygen and blood flow to your skin and sweating gets rid of skin toxins! A win:win!

3.     It improves your sex life! Why do you think runners are so happy? Just kidding, but regular exercise has been shown to boost energy and feelings of attractiveness, which leads to increased sexual performance. I’m not going to explain this one in depth, but exercise decreases the need for the little blue pill lol!

4.     It will help you crave junk food less. Yes, you may be hungrier but you will crave junk food less due to a suppression of a hormone called ghrelin (not gremlin like the spell check thought!) which is thought to be responsible for pesky food cravings.

5.     It makes you happy! Yes, runners are happier! Physical activity improves overall mental health by the release of endorphins. These are chemicals that reduce pain perception while triggering positive emotions. Having a bad day? Go for a run!

6.     It decreases the risk for the two most common cancers: breast cancer and prostate cancer! The American Cancer Society relates regular exercise as one of the best ways to reduce cancer risks! Enough said!

7.     And contrary to some crazy studies that have recently been publicized, you will live longer! Regular exercise, defined as 150 minutes of brisk walking per week – 2.5 hours, per week, will increase your life expectancy by 3.5 to 4.5 years!

Have I made a good point that to get out of bed and run/walk/sweat doing anything every day is really a great idea?! So instead of asking me why I run, why don’t you join me!