Why do you run?

By Andrea Kaltenbaugh

Do you ever wonder about someone’s running story?  I love to hear running stories, how someone started running, how long they have been running.   Do they enjoy it?  Do they run to hang out with friends?  Maybe they had to take a hiatus from running due to an injury or illness, and are just getting back into it.  Do they do it so they can eat?  Come on ladies…I know I have heard this before…"I run so I can eat."  Are they running to train for a race, for a cause, or just so they can wear the cute new running skirt. The list goes on and on.

Running is something that has been in my life for a long time, at different levels of course, depending on the ages of my children, and my husband’s deployment/TDY schedule.    

I still remember the day that my husband and I drove to the local fitness store to buy a jogger stroller.  The year was 1997 and we were living in Spokane, WA.  We brought this monster jogger stroller home and the next day with my daughter on her bike, and my son in the jogger stroller, we set out.  Five minutes later, I said to my husband, “How long have we been running, I mean it has to be at least 20 minutes, because this is tough.”  Maybe that is where some of you are at right now.  Just started running, and you are discouraged, because you don’t feel like you can get past 5, 10 minutes, a mile. Or maybe you are running 3 to 4 miles in 30 minutes and you are struggling with your energy level. Increasing your mileage takes time and patience (a lot!).  It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen if you stick with it.  It reminds me of a quote I read on facebook, recently by John Bingham.  “The miracle isn’t that I finished the miracle is that I had the courage to start.”

How then, you ask, do I start?  Keep your running consistent and take baby steps, have a plan, set a goal like signing up for the next 5k. If you have the means to do so then hire a coach to get you started on a run plan. Focus on running a little farther each time you run.  Once you can successfully run a little farther, for example 2 miles without stopping, try running further.  Remember to give yourself at least a week before you add more mileage; adding too much mileage too soon, can cause injury.  Your body needs to adapt to a given mileage, before adding more.  Keep a running log; log your miles, how you felt that day, how much sleep you had, what you ate for breakfast that morning, what you hydrated with.  I love looking back over my running logs; it reminds me of how far I have come, or how I struggled with a particular run. 

Join a run group.  WOOT and WOOP are both great groups to belong to! Find a friend to start running with so you can hold each other accountable.  There have been a lot of early morning runs that I would have turned the alarm off, if I was not meeting a friend.  Choose a time of day that works best for you and get your family in on the run.  If you don’t have a jogger stroller, trade off baby-sitting with another Mom.  

I smile when I see ladies out running.  Yes, I smile when I see anyone out running, but maybe I am a little biased towards women runners, because I am one, and I know how busy we are with our careers, raising our children, volunteering, and holding down the home front while our husbands are deployed.   It makes my heart happy to know that with everything they have going on in their busy lives, they had the courage to start.   Why do you run?

About Andrea:

Andrea is one of our long-standing WOOT members, and also an RRCA certified running coach. I've had the privilege of running with Andrea on numerous training runs and in many races, and in the process I've been fortunate to learn many things from her.

Andrea started running when her kids were very young; she was determined to lose the weight that she had gained over the course of her pregnancies. She not only lost all of her excess weight, but she discovered, with the help of a running coach, that she had the ability to both improve as a runner, and also EXCEL as a runner! 

Under the guidance of her running coach, Andrea ran several sub 3:30 marathons (she has a 3:19 marathon PR!), and her half marathon and 10k times are equally impressive. But beyond the scope of race PRs and running goals, Andrea is just as happy running without any agenda, and even more so when she's able to run with friends.

Unfortunately, Andrea is not in a position to coach right now, but she is able to answer any running-related questions you might have - you can send her a private FB message if you wish to contact her.

Andrea Kaltenbaugh - running to the finish line at Risner to claim first place

Probiotics - might be helpful for runner's with tummy issues

By Anna Boom

Recently I came across an article about weight loss with probiotics.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/weightloss/probiotics-weight-loss

Have you heard of this? I had heard of it, in yogurt and live bacteria but wanted to know more.

  

lactobacillus

Renata, our lovely WOOT extraordinaire, brought up the topic on one of our runs together and my interest was peaked. She recommended taking them in a pill form. And whenever Renata tells me about her finds, e.g. acupuncture, collagen, probiotics, I am interested, because she is not only a strong runner, but gorgeous.

Coincidence brought probiotics back into my view as I read the article. I wanted to try them but didn't want to plunk down the bucks to order to wait for delivery over the holiday season. While walking the commissary vitamin section, I found one probiotic product with a memorable name, Colon Health. Oh grrreat. “Price check on aisle 3, COLON HEALTH, repeat, COLON HEALTH”.  I went ahead and bought them and started the same day.

What are they? Probiotics are live microorganisms, also called microflora and good bacteria, that help you digest your food. Not all bacteria are bad, as you know. These are the Glenda, the Good Digester kind.

What exactly do probiotics do? The bottle claims over 1.5 billion cells of 3 strains of good bacteria promoting digestive health. 1.5 billion bacteria! In each pill! That is a lot for the small capsule. From Mayo Clinic, here are a few of the possible benefits


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/probotics/AN00389

*Treat diarrhea, especially following treatment with certain antibiotics


*Prevent and treat vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infections

*Treat irritable bowel syndrome


*Speed treatment of certain intestinal infections


*Prevent or reduce the severity of colds and flu


Later that evening, I noticed less bloating after eating. And that was the sell for me. Regardless of the product name, I don't have colon issues but have found myself wishing for a flatter, less bloated feeling after eating certain foods.


Also this week, my 4 year old passed along a nasty bit of cold to me. I was feeling miserable Thursday afternoon and evening, but by Friday morning, all was well again. See the last bullet above.

It may not be the magic pill to instant bikini body, but what is?! A healthy lifestyle and a little Glenda the Good Digester Colon Health magic, may help you along your journey.

If you want to read more, check out the links in this update or do a quick search.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0905c.shtml

A Mothers Day Tribute

By Anna Boom

Acknowledging our mothers and all that they do for us!

How are you celebrating this day? Whether you are mom, mom-to-be, have one you love dearly or all of the above, take a moment this Sunday and say thanks!

I am thankful that I had a mom who ran. When I think back on my childhood, I can see her out running in her little addidas in the days before sports bras, running skirts or compression socks. She was my first role model and taught me what it was to be stay in shape and that it was important she had her time too. Being my mom didn't mean she wasn't Etsuko, too.

Running gave her an outlet to work out the days worries through sweat and exhaling.­­ She also liked the solo time, no demands except what she placed on herself. The feeling of achievemnt by completing at least one goal that day.

I was lucky enough to complete a few Naha and Okinawa marathons and a few half marathons with her before she passed away very unexpectedly in an accident. Although we never finished together, we still enjoyed talking about our training plans, buying new running shoes, eating that wonderful recovery meal and celebrating a job well done.

There are many days when I want to go back to a summer Okinawan day and tell her, "Thank you for everything." Does everything cover it?

Thanks for all the days of waking up early to make sure we were ready for the day. Thanks for taking care of yourself so that even when your mommy guilt started to creep in, you were able to stay balanced. Thanks for staying in shape so that you had the energy to give your undivided attention. Thank you for one of my important life lessons: that life is unexpected and wonderful and full of joy and tears.

Yes, I guess everything will do. Thanks Mom, I miss you <3 <3 <3

By Jannine Myers

Taking a Little Time out on Mothers Day - this post was dug up from out of the archives but it's just as relevant this year as it was last year.

A couple of years ago I remember setting out on an early morning run and being startled by a car that accidentally hit the curb just ahead of me. I was startled obviously by the car being so close to me, but I was further surprised when the left rear hubcap flew off the wheel, and the driver, completely oblivious to what had just happened, continued driving his car without stopping to collect his runaway hubcap.

Sometimes I think we mothers are so busy fulfilling the various roles we play throughout each day, that we too unknowingly lose parts of ourselves along the way. The types of parts I believe we are prone to losing are not necessarily tangible parts, but parts that sustain our energy and overall well-being; such things as rest, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and being good to ourselves.

Like the driver who was able to continue driving his car without a hubcap, we also are capable of getting things done when we're overtired and run-down, but wouldn't it be better to take a little time to give up our regular responsibilities and focus for just a moment on taking care of ourselves?

Take today to sit back and enjoy what Mother's day is all about - be selfish for a change and spend the day doing whatever it is that you want to do, and that includes choosing whether some of that time is spent with or without your family.

Wishing you all a restful and happy mother's day!

Boston Marathon 2012

Post by Anna Boom

On my plane trip to Boston, I put this on my list of things to do: write a follow up about the marathon on what the course and people were like, what was fun to do there beforehand, a good place to recover after the race.

On my plane trip from Boston, I did nothing but alternate between sleep and feeling sorry for myself. Yes, I DNF'd at Boston, THE Boston Marathon and it hurt my pride to tell all my family, friends, all of you at WOOT and WOOP.

So a few weeks of mental and physical recovery and I am finally writing about it.

First, the feeling around Boston during race week and weekend is exhilarating. Everywhere you go, the marathon buzz is around you. The locals are all kind (I hear this changes the day after the race) and encouraging. Runners are all around you also donning their spanking new BAA running jackets.

And there you are, part of the cool kids who qualified to run this thing. Pretty cool, indeed.

Second, weather plays an important factor in your race day performance. I did not stop to think that temperatures in the mid to high 80s would affect me. After all, we live here on Okinawa, a sub tropical island. Then I was reminded at mile 12, as I started feeling what 89 degrees feels like, that I had been training in 50-60 degree weather throughout our Okinawan fall and winter season for the past 5 months (thank you for reminding me, too, Cassie!).

As I looked around me, there at mile 12, I noticed we were all walking. It looked like mile 25, not 12. I had never seen anything like that before. Everyone was suffering, everyone had given up their goal pace or finish time and the race was not half way done, yet.

Too late in the game, I tried to change tactics to hit smaller goals. The finish line was too big and too far of an obstacle.  Number one was find my dad, somewhere out there cheering for me. Number two was the next water station. Luckily for all of us running, locals along the course offered hoses, sprinklers, ice, wet paper towels to help us contend with the heat. Even with all the water that was available I was parched and my lips had become very chapped. I was sipping at every chance but it was not enough.

Then I ran up to Wellesley College. Seeing all those girls out there cheering happily with their signs:

Kiss me, I'm a nerd. Kiss me, I'm a freshman. Kiss me, I'm the only guy out here, and my favorite: Wellesley loves Okinawa Runners!

Awesome and thanks, Bert!!

Third, in the end, it is just a race. Pavement, heat, thirst, bloated tummy, more miles and me all in a battle for who will win today. April 16 2012, it was not me. I saw a patch of shade under a shrub at mile 17 that I could not pass by. So I went and laid down. I had stopped sweating, was eternally thirsty but couldn't drink anymore and could not imagine running one more mile. Medical found me there soon after. Cue the vomiting, shakes and the dramatic attempt to keep going. Failing that attempt, I got a free ride to the medical tent.

One of  the many memories I have and cherish is laying horizontal and watching all the runners keep moving in what seemed slow motion to the finish. They were all amazing, dripping in sweat, in soggy clothes, socks and shoes, slogging it forward. Makes me smile thinking of our human capability. Okay, not mine at that moment, but all of yours.

Thank you for all the kind wishes and follow up support. I am humbled by you all!

2013 Boston trip? Anyone?

Running Doubles

Post by Anna Boom


You have 11 miles on your training schedule but due to life, your time has quickly dwindled down to 45 minutes. You have three choices: give up your run that day, run the fastest 11 miles of your life (ha!), or split your run into doubles.

Many mornings, just as this morning, I scrambled to get the kids prepped for school, get the mail together that had to be posted, charge the smart phone, throw the laundry in the wash and thought there is no way I have enough time to get my run in.

Instead of saying forget it, I split my run into two. This got me out the door for a relaxing 5 miles, which was endorphin inducing enough to put my mood back to friendly and lessened the mental pressure of “I'm missing my run!”.


Later in the day, I ran my double, 6 miles at a faster pace. Does this count as 11 miles, then? Absolutely! There are even benefits to running doubles, as mentioned in RW:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--13199-0,00.html

In this article, Ed Eyestone recommends twice a days to get faster, sooner. It gives you the benefit of running on tired legs on the second run and lets you get more miles in, which is the only way to become a better runner.


Even if this is not your goal, just getting out and doing something will help you mentally and physically. As we all know, getting out the door sometimes is the hardest part.


The only downside, double the laundry, adding to those wonderful chores. The upside, you will quickly get in great shape, both in body and spirit.

Reaping the Rewards of Training vs. Racing

Post by Jannine Myers

A couple of situations arose last week which inspired me to write this post. The first one was the unfortunate high temperature last Monday, which forced hundreds of Boston marathon runners to exit the race prematurely. The second had to do with yesterday's Kourijima half marathon here in Okinawa, which due to humid and rainy weather conditions, also turned out to be a tough race for those who attempted to run it.

Perhaps because I had a personal interest in these races (my coaching partner and good friend Anna Boom was a participant in the Boston marathon, and one of my running clients was a participant in the Kourijima half marathon), their experiences touched me in a way that made me want to convey a message that race results are not the "be all and end all" of who we are as runners!

Setting personal best records and achieving age-place wins should not equate to success or failure, or determine whether we should continue to train and run more races, or just give up and throw in the towel. On the contrary, race results should be treated as part of the overall prize package - with the prize package comprising of all the intrinsic rewards that are earned throughout the training process, such as endurance and speed gains, improved body composition and improved health, greater confidence and self-discipline, or any goal that has been worked towards and achieved. These are the things that are worth reflecting upon and using as measures of performance.

My client, for example, spent the past two months training for the Kourijima half marathon, and her hard work has paid off.  Her commitment to consistently following a progressively structured training plan without taking any short cuts has led to faster run times and greater endurance, and consequently an improved level of fitness and health. But more than that, my client has gone from being a relatively inexperienced runner with uncertain expectations, to being a stronger, more informed runner with a whole new level of confidence that is spilling over into all other areas of her life.

Would it make sense then to box up all of these positive outcomes and shelve them as obsolete because her race day goals were not met? Had the Kourijima half marathon course been less hilly, and held on a day with perfect weather conditions, I have no doubt that my client would have had a great race and set a new personal record. But that wasn't the case and even though my client accepts that she couldn't possibly have done any better than she did, given the conditions she encountered, there was still understandably some degree of disappointment.

My point is however, that while it's normal to feel defeated and discouraged, we should only allow those feelings to linger for a brief moment. Granted, I'll be the first to admit that on a bad race day, I might allow myself to wallow in self-pity a little longer than I should, but I'll try to take my own advice from now on and remember to focus instead on the previous months of training as a whole - if I can do that, then I can also learn to celebrate the training process and all of the small improvements made along the way. Better to do that than focus on the race results which can often lead to false disappointment.

In essence ladies, I recommend that we celebrate the progress we make as we continue to train, and view the races as simply opportunities to attempt to run a little faster or further than we would on a training run. Whether we succeed or fail at those attempts does not matter; what matters is that we tried, and that we can take comfort in the fact that we have come a long way since we first began training!

Kourijima Half Marathon - rain and wind didn't steal this couple's joy;
they finished and that's worth celebrating!

Identify Your Injury Threshold

Post by Jannine Myers

Is it possible that each runner has a definite "injury threshold" - in other words, a maximum number of miles that they can run each week before they run the risk of injuring themselves? Anna and I have discussed this on some of our runs together and we agree that this is probably the case for most runners.

Anna and I swapping thoughts and ideas on one of our runs

I became even more convinced of this after I trialed a couple of different training strategies last year. During my training for the 2011 Okinawa marathon, I suffered a number of injury setbacks due to the high volume of miles I was logging each week. In an attempt to avoid the same thing happening again, I decided to heavily reduce my training workload in preparation for the Portland marathon last October. I not only remained injury-free during my Portland training cycle, but I also managed to finish the marathon just two minutes slower than my Okinawa marathon time.

To further convince myself that running beyond a certain number of miles per week would most certainly predispose me to greater odds of injury, I decided to test our theory once more. In preparation for this year's Okinawa marathon, I followed an intense six-day-a-week training plan that had me averaging between fifty and sixty miles per week (with the Portland training plan, I followed a three-day-a-week training plan that peaked at around forty miles per week).

As I began to ramp up the mileage for this year's Okinawa marathon, I welcomed the endurance and speed gains that quickly resulted from the higher volume of training, but it wasn't long before the first signs of injury appeared. I began to have issues with my right calf muscle, my right hamstring, my right achilles tendon, and my right IT band. Fortunately each of these problem areas were not affected simultaneously, but as they each went through phases of stress and tearing, my training was obviously hindered.

When race day finally arrived, it really wasn't surprising when I hit the wall at around mile twenty one and was forced to run the remaining five miles with terrible cramping down the side of my right leg. Fortunately, my first twenty or so miles had been run at a fairly decent pace, so even though the pain I felt caused a significant reduction in pace, I still managed to finish the marathon just four minutes slower than last year.

In summary, I trained for three marathons, two of which entailed five and six day training weeks with an average weekly volume of 50 to 60 miles, and one of which entailed just three days of training a week with a weekly average of 30 to 35 miles. My times for each of the marathons were within a range of no more than a four minute difference, with my second best time resulting from the heavily reduced Portland training schedule.

I realize this is hardly enough conclusive evidence to support mine and Anna's theory, but many running experts do believe that most runners have an injury threshold. If this is true, then one of the keys to injury prevention would obviously be to stay below your injury threshold. Physical therapist and biomechanist Irene Davis, Ph.D., from the University of Delaware's Running Injury Clinic, says, "Your threshold could be at 10 miles a week, or 100, but once you exceed it, you get injured."

I believe that my injury threshold is probably at 40 to 45 miles per week. I also believe that my body handles the stresses of training much more efficiently when I run every other day and allow a day of recovery between runs. More trial and error will help me to know if my beliefs are valid, but for now, I'm opting to follow a "less is best" approach.

As for the rest of you ladies, until you learn what your injury threshold might be, follow the golden rule with training and build your weekly training mileage by no more than ten percent per week!