Traveling during the holidays?

By Jannine Myers

Many of you have commenced training for the Okinawa City marathon and some of you, like myself, may find that due to holiday travel, your training will have to be interrupted. But don't despair, there are always things you can do to either stay on track with your training or at least make modifications to minimize fitness deterioration. Here are some steps that I have taken to ensure that I can get some of my training runs in while we're visiting my in-laws in Oklahoma at Christmas:

First of all, to give you some idea of what I am facing when we travel to Oklahoma next month, my in-laws live in a one-traffic light town with basically one main street that's considered the "business district." You have to understand too, that people in this town do NOT run. So whenever we have visited in the past, and my husband and I have ventured out to run through and arounds the skirts of the town (a whole 4.8 square miles), it's hard not to notice how people stop what they're doing and peer at us as if we're the freak circus show that's just arrived. For this, and other reasons, I've planned ahead and done some online research, something you can quite easily do too.

• The first thing I did was enter a google search for running groups in Shawnee - this is a substantially larger town, relatively close to where my in-laws live (about a 40 minute drive). I managed to find at least two organized running clubs and was able to establish contact with Meredith Hadley, a local runner from one of the clubs.

• After an initial response from Meredith, I proceeded to inform her that I recently started  training for a marathon in February, and that I was looking for company on one or two long runs while we were in Oklahoma. I also gave her some indication of my long run pace so that she could hopefully put me in touch with other compatibly-paced runners. As luck would have it, Meredith runs her long runs at a similar pace and is currently training with friends for the Arizona Rock 'n' Roll marathon in January; she was able to send me their long run training plans for December.

Meredith Hadley (second from left), with some of her running friends.
Meredith assured me that this was a " dress-up"  day!

• With my long runs potentially planned, the next step was figuring out how to meet up with these ladies who so warmly extended their acceptance for me to join them. I generally don't like driving in the States since I'm from New Zealand and a left-side driver, so if I can avoid having to drive I will! Fortunately for me, there is a place in Shawnee that my husband is never opposed to visiting, hence twisting his arm to be my early-morning driver was not difficult at all. Our dialog pretty much went like this: "Honey, would you drop me off in Shawnee for my long run meet-up, and wait for me at IHOP until I get done?" "Yep, no problem!" Long runs sorted!

• The next thing I needed to find out was what type of running apparel to pack. I sent another message to Meredith enquiring about the weather conditions and her recommendations on what to take with me. I can't say I was thrilled when her response was, "three layers on top, two layers on bottom, gloves, and a warm hat!" Still, I'd rather be prepared and know ahead of time what to expect. Oh, and she also mentioned that the only reason they'd cancel a run is if the roads were covered in ice! Those of you who know me are already feeling sorry for me, brrrrr!

• Now all I had left to do was fill in the extra training days, and as I mentioned above, running in the small town that my in-laws live in is a bit of a problem since I don't really enjoy being the center of attention. There is however, another town about a 20 minute drive away that's slightly larger (it has a Walmart at least), and one or two fitness centers! On mornings that I don't dare to brave the cold weather, or the unwanted attention of curious onlookers, I'm willing to settle for an indoor treadmill run. I'll just be sure not to wear my standard WOOT attire as I'm sure the cute skirt will also result in unwanted attention.

I think I'm set for our holiday trip and whether I'm able to fit in all or just a few of my training runs, the main point I want to get across to those of you who are also traveling, is that it's possible to continue training with a little bit of advance planning. And if for some reason, it really isn't possible to run, then just do the best you can to be as active as possible. Choose to walk whenever possible; if your family or whoever you are visiting has a dog for example, offer to walk the dog. Or try and schedule activities into your itinerary that require some type of physical exertion. But most importantly, have a GREAT time! Maintain a positive attitude and if it turns out that you are unable to run much at all, then tell yourself that an extended break from running gives your leg muscles the opportunity to fully recover and regenerate themselves.

No stressing ladies, it's all good!

It Pays To Train For Those Ultras

By Anna Boom

Alaska Ultramarathon - September 2011 Equinox 64k

You may wonder about the cooler temperatures of Alaska. Oh yes, it is quite chilly after the Okinawa summer. I trained with you all summer in the extreme heat, humidity and intense rays.

Arriving here on September 11th, I realized how under prepared I was for the cool. You know how hard it is to pack clothes for 50 degree when it is 89 degrees and 90% humidity. Until we had a chance to shop, I layered three tops and threw my sweatshirt on top and was still chilled.

After arriving in Fairbanks, we ran around doing important pre race things such as a hot stone massage and pedicure, Chinese food for lunch, and race bib pick up. We talked a bit with some other runners and read through the map. This year the ultra ran a new course that was 64Km. The new section was described as rooty and a bit of a climb. Pause for more foreshadowing...

The race course was intensely beautiful. All around Fairbanks, there are trails for every outdoor activity you can think of: running, biking, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, snow machining. Everywhere you look, you find birch trees that in mid September turn yellow with the fall season. Throw on the bright alaskan sunshine, which starts around 7AM and ends around 8:30PM and the whole path is a golden corridor.

On Saturday morning we got ourselves ready and headed down for the 8 AM start at 50 degrees. It is a combined marathon, marathon relay and ultra start and it was only around 1000 runners. What set each group of runners apart was the color of our bibs, marathon was pink, relay yellow and ultra blue.


The course was lovely, leading through gently rolling trails, nothing too extreme, yet. When we hit mile 8, right before we started climbing, my dad was waiting to cheer us all on. Having your own cheering section is a huge mental boost, isn't it?

At the top of Esther dome, I looked over all of Fairbanks all the way to the Alaskan mountain range, so far away. Breathtaking. You could see for hundreds of miles in every direction. The course took us back on trail that climbed and climbed. I had anticipated this climb as it has always been part of the race course. At the top, I caught wind of some awful odor (unfortunately not body odor) and down on my left was a rotting moose carcass that had seen better days a week or so ago.

This single track path, is an out and back so as we climbed, we saw the leaders running right by as we stepped off trail to let them fly by. Inspiring. Many runners would see my blue bib and yell, "Go Ultra!", which then became my mantra.

After we finished that portion of the course, it was mile 16 and we were presented with the next challenge, The Chute. It was very steep with large rocks and was complete quad crusher. At the bottom, we took a sharp left and came onto three miles of golden rolling trail. At the end of this was mile 19 and after a mile on unpaved road, the ultra (Go Ultra!) runners peeled off to the left while the marathoners and relay continued on to the end of the 26.2. So hard taking that left...

Soon, being undertrained for this race started to become more of a reality for me. My legs were feeling like cement logs and picking my feet over small trip hazards like roots and pebbles became a mental task I had to focus on constantly. If I let my mind wander in the least little bit, like about enjoying the beauty and serenity of the trail or what time it was, I would trip and stumble. One nice part of the race course was that every mile was marked. All I had to do was count one mile at a time til I saw 39.

Sure, just count to 39! Easy peasy!! Uh hunh, yah right.

The race ran back over the same part of the earlier trail until we got to the first drop bag area at mile 28. I grabbed a quick bite and moved onto the single track out and back. As I turned right, I looked ahead and almost broke down. In front of me the trail headed straight up for a mile plus. I said aloud, "you've got to be $h!tt!n me". For a moment I felt the wind knocked out of me but followed those in front of me and kept moving forward. I do not know how long it took me to complete this portion but mentally it took everything I had. As I came back out of the trail at mile 33, I dumped my pack into my drop bag and planned on finishing this race as soon as I could.

I had hoped the race would just finish on road. Instead I found myself looking down and yelling at myself to pick up my feet. I hit the last aid station at mile 37 manned by a few high school runners who happily told me the finish was just over two miles. Just two more miles. I replied that that was the worst news I had ever heard (drama much?!). My normal happy runner was nearly cramping, exhausted and wanted to be done, now. Two miles seemed undoable, as crazy as it sounds now.

I ran alone on the trail over the next two miles hoping I was going the right way. When you have run that far and are that completely pooped, seemingly easy tasks like following signs or easy directions are very challenging. Also, this thought remains at the back of your head that you don't want to face, what if I went the wrong way?

 

I kept running to the end of the trail, where we popped out back at the start line area. And there was my dad, Steph, Larry the Denali bus driver, who I had just met earlier in the week (at guess where- Denali!), and everyone they recruited cheering for me! It was what I needed to make a strong finish at 7 hours 40 something minutes seventh woman overall.

Go Ultra!!

WOOT - Women On Okinawa Trails

Post by Jannine Myers

Earlier this week Anna posted about our sister group, WOOP, also known as Women on Okinawa Pavement. In today's post, I want to touch base with you all and kind of "virtually" regroup so that we can be reminded of what WOOT (Women on Okinawa Trails) is about, and how running on trails and other non-paved courses can help improve your running and also take the monotony out of your every day pavement runs. Here's how:

• Regular running on hard surfaces, such as pavement, causes your feet and legs to endure an enormous amount of impact with each foot strike; trail running on the other hand is more forgiving on your body. Because of the softer surface, there is an increase in shock absorption and a consequent decrease in potential damage to the joints and tendons. Even if you're a die-hard pavement fan, you will benefit from getting off the road now and again and hitting the trails instead.

• Trail running is a GREAT way to get faster and stronger! You are challenging yourself in a different way when you're running up and down trails - the constant surge of hard effort as you're climbing, followed by easier downhill spurts easily simulates what runners call a "fartlek" workout i.e. a type of speedplay that stresses both the aerobic and anaerobic systems, a necessary part of training if you want to see gains in speed and strength.

• Remember my recent post about how to psychologically get in "the zone?" Well some athletes are convinced that running on trails opens up greater opportunity to do just that! When you're out running on trails, you don't have to worry so much about paying attention to traffic, noise, and other obstacles - instead you can run freely while letting your body and mind relax (this is of course, when you're not enjoying the social chit chat of your WOOT companions).

• Your health will also benefit from trail running in the sense that you're getting out of the mainstream path of traffic, and consequently AIR POLLUTION! One of the nice things about running beside trees instead of cars is that you're breathing in clean air as opposed to toxic car fumes.

 

• SCENERY - I think for me, one of the things I love about early morning WOOT runs, is stepping away from all forms of civilization and into a more natural environment with trees, water, and rocks around me, and then reaching a summit somewhere as the sun is rising. It's a much more tranquil and peaceful experience - a nice break from being surrounded by either lanes of traffic or shades of gray (concrete houses and buildings).

These are all reasons why running with WOOT is a great way to mix up your weekly running routine. But ultimately, the main concept behind WOOT and why it was formed in the first place, is that we aim to provide a safe, fun, and social environment for women of all running levels to come out and enjoy some quality time together!

WOOP - Women on Okinawa Pavement

Post by Anna Boom

By now, most of you, or all of you, have heard that we have a new running group for women called WOOP.

One of our lovely WOOT members, Sarah Pevehouse, sent me a message asking if she could start a new group to help her continue her solid marathon training, while enlisting the help of other women runners. She thought there would be others of you out there, looking for partners to run during the week, on road, with or without strollers, maybe running sprints, or an easy 6-10+ miler or hitting the hills. What a fabulous idea! Many of us are training for the next race: Naha Marathon, Honolulu Marathon, Okinawa Marathon, and having a running peer there to meet you at 0500 is the motivation she was looking for. Heck, it is the motivation many of us need, including myself.

Sarah started posting WOOP events early last month and had a good first turn out. Since then she and some other wonderful ladies who joined WOOP, have been posting more frequent events in various locations.

If you are nervous about not being able to keep up or not being able to handle hills or not being able to go the distance, do not fret! Seriously, our new running group, just like WOOT, is not about belittling or embarrassing any woman. Part of our group running style is support. We will push and encourage you to go farther and faster, in a gentle way (except for Ivette; she is a killer ;)), and you will surprise yourself with how well you will do.

I hear it every single week and feel it myself. Just recently, for example, I had an easy 6 miler on my training schedule, and decided to join WOOP to run with them. My tummy was acting up a bit (might have something to do with the NZ apple and half pound of cherries I ate for lunch yesterday...and the Acai Berry cleanse probably didn't help either, come to think of it :)). I was thinking, oh man, what if I am too slow, what if I can't hang on...I set my alarm and did it anyway.

And I am so glad I did. Not only did the run fly by, I got the chance to catch up with some of the women I love to chat with and see some faces I haven't for awhile. My tummy is still grumbling but I got my run done so it can gurgle all it wants! (Note to remember, avoid Acai Berry cleanse before any longer runs you have planned.)

You've heard of and hopefully tried, Trails, but Pavement opens the door up to weekday runs too. WOOP-on my lovely friends!!

See you out running soon :)

Post Race Blues

So you've all successfully trained for and completed the infamous Kinser Half marathon, and for some of you it was your first ever half marathon - well done! Having a goal and working towards it is often challenging but also equally exciting, and the greatest reward of course, is when you reach that goal and realize that all of your hard effort paid off! But what now? Where do you go from here, and what do you do with all of that built-up energy?

No doubt many of you are on a high right now, still reeling from the excitement and charged-up atmosphere of yesterday's event.

Just love Anna's enthusiasm and infectious smile

But some you may already be coming down off that high and thinking that you'll be quite content to go back to whatever it was you were doing before you started training. And the rest of you may find that you're spiralling further downwards into some type of mirky quandary that leaves you feeling sad and maybe even slightly depressed.

If that's you, don't worry! This is quite normal after a race, and can be easily remedied if you look at it from a positive perspective. Race day is over, and with it, all of those training runs you loved to complain about yet were quietly proud of. The empty feeling some of you might soon start to feel can best be filled with new goals; goals that are realistic and achiveable. They don't even have to be running goals; they can be academic, career-focused, hobby-related, or if you want to put your running shoes back on, then athletic. Or, they can be a combination of any of these.

If you're like me, I like to set goals that push me further in all areas of my life, and that's one of the things I most appreciate about running and racing. Every time I finish a race I feel compelled to start planning my next racing and training goal, but at the same time it forces me to consider other areas of my life that could benefit from change and progress.

Consistently setting new goals for yourself keeps you focused on moving forward rather than stagnating; it's hard to stay depressed when you are motivated by what you believe you can achieve. And if you doubt that you are capable of achieving goals, then just remind yourself of what you accomplished yesterday and you'll quickly realize how truly capable you are!

Looking forward to seeing even greater things from you ladies.

Kinser Half - final tips

By Jannine Myers

Following on from Anna's motivational words, I wanted to pass on just a few more tips that we were given in our coaching clinic last weekend. One of the questions we were asked by our instructor was, "How many of you think that the marathon challenge includes both physical, and mental strength?" Every hand in the classroom went up in answer to this question, and yet our instructor pointed out a valid observation: we all pay great attention to our physical training when preparing to run a marathon, but very few of us give any thought to psychological training. So here's a few tips that I hope might benefit you ladies if you're willing to try and apply them on race day:

Self-Control is key to a strong performance.  Learning to control your thoughts and emotions is difficult, especially if you're like me and tend to allow negative energy to start surfacing during the days leading up to race day.

In our coaching class, we were taught that there are several aspects of being able to perform well under a variety of stress-producing circumstances:

• being able to accept criticism
• not being afraid to fail
• maintaining composure under stress
• being able to perform to potential during competition

In order to do these things you need to be able to:

• control and channel your emotions
• focus your concentration
• bounce back from setbacks
• deal with negative thoughts (I'm working on this)

Ideally, you want to be able to run with the attitude of an optimist! An optimist will encounter any problems on race day with the view that they can rise above them, rather than be overcome by them. In other words, learn how to turn the obstacles into challenges, or in the words of  our instructors, "You can be a winner, or you can be a whiner!"

Do these look like the faces of winners, or the faces of whiners? Definitely winners!

Furthermore, the greatest potential for a best performance takes place in an atmosphere of positive energy. Top performances by successful athletes are often thought to have occurred because the athletes have perfomed in the zone. The zone is described as a state of mind where an athlete is able to feel completely relaxed and highly motivated. Check out the following characteristics of being in the zone:

• Relaxed - your mind is calm and your body is ready to go.
• Confident - you don't let a lapse in performance undermine your belief in your overall abilities; there is no fear because you have done the training and know that you're capable.
• Completely focused - you are oblivious to everything else going on around you, consumed by the moment.
• Effortless - your mind and body work together perfectly, making even the most grueling and demanding task seem achieveable.
• Automatic - there is no interference from your thoughts or emotions; if you think less you will achieve more.
• FUN - you feel a great sense of enjoyment!
• In control - you feel that you are in control of your emotions; your emotions do not control you!

I hope these final tips help to calm your nerves a little and perhaps even lead to a great performance. But just remember, no matter who crosses the line ahead of you or behind you, you are ALL winners!
Now go get yourselves in the zone and let that positive energy flow!

Kinser Half - it's almost here ladies.....

Post contributed by Anna Boom

Last thoughts before the big day...

Are you all ready for your race? Think of the days, weeks, months you've spent training for this day and it is almost here!

If you are like me and most folks, you feel a combination of excitement, anxiety, anticipation and fear of failure. Here are some suggestions for calming your nerves and help you prep the details that do matter:

1) Trust your training. If you've followed a solid training plan, even with a hiccup or two (like a cold or minor injury) along the way, you will be in physical shape to tackle your goal.

2) Don't stop running. At the last cycle of training is taper but this is not the time to quit training. Just like it is properly named, your big, hard, long weeks are tapering down to the finale, Your Race!!

3) Take those strong beautiful legs out for a spin. Following my previous comment, you've created this awesome, amazing animal; don't keep her caged up. Either two days before or the day before, do a little smooth speed work. A good example would be if you are running a half marathon, go out and run 2 X 800s on the track. Keep it at about 10Km race pace or slower. And keep in mind, this is not your race so don't run like it is, just yet.

4) Organize your race outfit a day or two early, including running shoes. You will be unhappy on race day morning if you spend all your energy looking for your favorite running skirt, only to find it in the dirty clothes pile.

5) Maintain perspective. We are all out there running together experiencing the same weather, feelings, and course. Not a single one of your family, friends, or WOOT sistas will care if your time is 11 minutes slower than what you wanted. Every single one of us has had a bad day and will continue to support and run with you!

6) Start and stay positive. The cheerleader in me gets annoying, I know, but running happy shows on your face, posture and demeanor. Be cheerful to those around you and they will return the good vibes. If you begin to feel any negative bugs crawl in your thoughts, do as Ivette says and squash it! Do not pay attention to that stinky stuff; you can do it. How do you know that you can? Go back to point #1.

Have a great day out there :)