Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Mike, 46 years old

How much do you run?
At least 4 times a week.

How long have you been a runner?
Most of my life. 38 years.

How did you start running?

Running in the Columbia Track Club in Missouri. 

My dad's friend at the university was trying to get a runner for an interesting relay where the collective age of the two runners need to be under 50. It was run on a track. He would run one lap, I would run one lap, and so on. My being only 10 years old was a big plus! 


We ran as a team three or four years in a row so I found each year that my times would improve.  I was proud to be able to contribute more to our performance as I got faster.


Best running experience

The 2009 Twin Cities Marathon was the perfect weather for a great performance, although it was not a good year to be a spectator. It was in 40s at the start with a cold drizzle. This was particularly remarkable because in 2008, although my training was just as successful, there isn't much you can do when it's 90 degrees on race day.  After the year before, it was particularly sweet since I was able to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It was exhilarating.

Unexpected benefit of running

After a run, I like to say "I have a free day." I'm free to eat and drink what I like, relax or not. I've taken care of my health in a tangible way and taking care of my happiness is what comes next. Running allows other indulgences.

Running-induced crazy story

I used to run 10k events in my teen age years.  Sometimes when I ran too fast (relative to my training--I never won anything),  I would get sick to my stomach.  No problem, I would detour a few yards into the ditch.  Heave, ho.  And I would be running again, feeling better!  It used to make my brother hysterical!!

Advice for new runners

Do lots of events, fun runs.  The energy of a crowd is so inspiring.  Not every run needs to be for a PR or all out.  Having events dot the calendar will help maintain motivation and break up the monotony of training.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Stephanie, 33 years old



How much do you run?
In my most recent marathon training, 35 - 40 miles week. Once I've recovered from Marine Corps, I'm hoping to move closer to 50 miles a week.

How long have you been a runner?
Since the summer of 2009.

How did you start running?
I joined Weight Watchers, thanks to a good friend's encouragement, in my late-20s.  That summer they had a 5k challenge that got me started. The goal was to run an August race.  We picked a really fun one that went over the Brooklyn Bridge and back again.  It was pouring rain that day and I had a blast!

We had a coach who showed me that running is not just running as fast and far as you can in order to loose weight. She showed me that there is a structure to it.


Having a race gave me a purpose.  I knew I needed to exercise in order to feel better about my body but that didn't motivate me from the same place.  That difference makes exercise fun.

Best running experience
What brings me out to go for a run is that I get to call the shots in my own training. That feeling propels my training. So much of life is about doing what other people want you to do. I am the one who decided to start down this path. I am the one who started running. I am the one who decided to run a marathon and did the work it took to complete it. Running is something that I do for myself so the pride taken in my running accomplishments has a special place.  

Unexpected benefit of running
I have to say it is the friendships I have made as well those I have deepened.   There is something to be said about the way a friendship is accelerated on the run.  When you go out for a two to three our run with someone you don't know well, you come back with a newfound knowledge of their entire life, hopes and dreams.  That is a pretty cool thing.  

Running-induced crazy story
I would definitely say the decision to run marathons.  I was pretty out of shape growing up.  I had good genes but was never rail thin like the 'popular' girls.  I 'danced' as part of various musical theatre productions (I wasn't coordinated at all) and rode horses, but I didn't play any sports.  So, to now, be training for my third marathon 16 years later, feels pretty crazy.  I can guarantee if you had asked 17 year old me if I would ever run anything, let alone a marathon, I would have laughed in your face.

Advice for new runners
Talk with other people who also started running later in life. They have been there and understand the process in a different way. People who ran high school track, or even just played sports and had to run as part of their conditioning training, don't approach the process in the same way.

Want to know more about Stephanie? 
Check out her blog. http://www.therunningcookie.com/ 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Shawnessy, 30 years old


How much do you run?
I've been running 6 days a week ranging from 6-21 miles for each run for the last number of months. However, I just completed the Chicago Marathon, so I'm currently taking about 2 weeks off of running. Once I start again this week, I'll run 4-6 days a week, averaging about 20-30 miles per week. This changes depending on what I'm training for throughout the year.

How long have you been a runner?
I've been running since I was a teenager, so about 16 years I think. As a kid I ran around with my brothers and sisters and we would race up our long driveway in the summer. In junior high, I became active in sports and as a freshman I joined the track team, where I sprinted through high school with my sisters.  

How did you start running?
I wanted to maintain fitness as I prepared for preseason field hockey back in high school, so would go for a run here and there during the summer. After playing junior high softball, my skills as a first baseman weren't as strong as I had hoped and I decided I was a better runner, so I joined the track team. I've been running consistently ever since.

Best running experience
I have so many great running experiences, but will try to narrow it down! Running at midnight for the Ragnar Relay. Seeing a moose during my first marathon. Breaking the 400m record in high school. Finishing a marathon. Exploring new places while running on my trips. I could go on, which is a good sign that running is an important and great part of my life.

Unexpected benefit of running
The amazing friends that I've made over the years. When I first started running it was at my very small high school and being on the track team wasn't super cool. But ever since running became mainstream, I've met some really great people over the years, and have also continued to share running with my sisters--we've been running together for over 15 years. Also, it's such a stress reliever. In college, I would get upset over an exam and would go for a hard run. Nowadays if I have a bad day at work, I just want to run it out. 

Running-induced crazy story
Again, there are just too many. Running a marathon (actually 6 of them). I know it's normal nowadays, but it's still kind of crazy. Seeing a moose during that first marathon. Good thing I just keep running. Running a half marathon in freezing temps that resulted in icicles (or sweat-cicles). Seeing nutty costumes and antics during races. And so much more...
 
Advice for new runners
Take it easy. Start with low mileage and go slow. Gradually build up and before you know it, you won't be able to stop.

Want to know more about Shawnessy?
Check out her blog. http://shawny-30-fun.blogspot.com/

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Lolline, 35 years old


How much do you run?
Probably average 20 miles a week. That's enough to make me feel good like I've met my goals but not so much that it gets in the way of other things I need to do.

How long have you been a runner?
Since 1993, my junior year of high school.

How did you start running?
As me and my friends started to worry about college applications, I decided to join the track team to have an extra curricular activity. 

I continued to run sporadically for general fitness until about 2008. When I decided to run a half marathon, I found a training program and made running a priority. 

Best running experience
I've had some great experiences racing but the freedom of movement is the best part of running even if that isn't a specific time or experience. It's that feeling that keeps me coming back to it. I like training hard and meeting my goals. The freedom of how it feels to just be outside pushing myself on my own, or taking it easy chatting through a run with a friend, that every day joy of running is the best experience. 

Of course, there are times when I don't want to go for a run at all and I'm not into it for awhile but there are other times when I get distressed thinking about how to fit a run into the day since I need one that badly. It's funny how you can't predict those mood swings around running but you know they'll come.

Unexpected benefit of running
Running has taught me to expect more for myself. It has taught me that I'm stronger then I think I am. It's taught me to live with discomfort in a tough workout or getting through a run on a day when the weather isn't cooperating. There is a lot of discomfort in life as a whole and you being able to sit with it and get through it leads to the next good thing. When you get to the other side, the discomfort is always worth it. 

Running-induced crazy story
At one 10k race, I saw this runner in her 60s wearing shorts who I've seen in several other races both before and since. She had poop all over one of her legs and didn't let it stop her, slow her down, or seem to bother herself nearly as much as it upset those of us who saw her that day. There are certain things that I will not run through. There are times I get sick of it. There are times when I need a break. Nothing is worth finishing a race once I've pooped myself. Maybe if she was wearing pants it would have felt differently.

Advice for new runners
Listen to your body and take it easy. Give yourself time to adjust to all the stresses of becoming a runner. If you have a pain or a tightness, don't run through it until you've gotten accustomed to what normal running discomfort feels like. It take awhile to be able to tell the difference. Following a training program to the letter instead of listening to your body causes injuries.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Les, 27 years old



How much do you run?
Probably 5 miles a week as one longer run or two shorter ones. Since running my 6th marathon last October, I take a few spin classes each week and lift kettle bells so I'm not running as much.

How long have you been a runner?
Since 2004. It was the winter of my freshman year of college and I found myself unprepared for the gloom of a winter in New England. 

How did you start running?
My college housemate, Emily, was a very talented member of the cross country team and just loves to run. I was getting into a funk with the cold weather and she convinced me to come out for a run. It just clicked for me. I ran at night and in the snow. You know how people talk about weight just melting off? I lost weight and it felt effortless. I felt strong, too.

Best running experience
Running through the middle of night in my first Ragnar Relay. I could barely see anything with my dim little headlamp, but the stars were clearly visible and seemed at points close enough to touch. It was just me for 7 miles, and all I could see in the distance was the blink blink blink of another runner's headlamp. I felt incredibly connected to this Earth. 

This run came at a time of enormous change and transition for me. I remember thinking about the road, and knowing that even if I was unable to see it, it was there. I found myself thinking about how that is true for all things, running and otherwise. The path, the journey, the road is always there, even if you can't always see it.

Unexpected benefit of running
Running (and exercise in general) is a healthy way to take your mind off tough things. 

I lived in Paris for a year and was surprised at how the experience of being in another country could often feel lonely and alienating.  Training for the marathon, running and lifting weights pretty much every day, was a healthy goal to work towards that made me feel better about some tougher parts of being in Paris. 

I joined a running club to help me get over a break up. Through the club, I  found my closest friends in New York and even my relationship. 

Now I am on the very long path to becoming a physician. Exercise helps keep me happy and focused.

Running-induced crazy story
In 2010, a group of friends did the Tough Mudder in some random part of Pennsylvania. This was a 7 mile race with several obstacles along the route, one of which included jumping into a lake. Some guy who clearly didn't know how to swim jumped in and was drowning. I was a life guard so I jumped in and pulled him to safety. I don't think the friends he was running with even realized what happened. 

Advice for new runners
Put on your headphones and just do it. The moment when that great song (for me, it's currently a remix of Call Me Maybe) comes on and you feel lighter than air...there's just nothing like it.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Natalie, 36 years old



How much do you run?
10 miles a week is normal when running is part of my crosstraining, but it shifts up to 15-20 miles a week when I'm training for an event.

How long have you been a runner?
Since 1998 when I decided to quit a college habit of smoking cigarettes.

How did you start running?
In my teens and early 20s I was more into music and art than athletics. Physical fitness was not part of my world.

After college, I was trying to figure out who I was. Who did I want to be? What did I identify with? Smoking didn't fit with my picture of who Natalie is on the inside. Perhaps I was a runner on the inside? My father was a duathlete so I knew the ability was within me. 

I joined a YMCA in New Jersey and started lifting weights. I also tied my shoes and went my first run ever. I ran as far and as fast as I could. I was out of breath. I was sweating. But it flipped a switch in me. I felt like something. Here was something that connected current me to future me.

Best running experience
I was on a few running-related mailing lists in New York City; one of them was The Running Center newsletter. There was an opening for an assistant running coach position in 2003 for a few evenings a week. I read the requirements and thought, "the hours don't conflict with my work schedule and I meet the requirements." A few interviews later, I was offered the job. 

One crisp late autumn night, I was at the peak of the Great Hill in Central Park with a stopwatch. Waiting for the first runner to crest the hill and give splits, this feeling of pure presence and, well -- being alive -- overwhelmed me. Then followed a wave of thoughts, led by, "I can't believe I get paid to do this." I saw firsthand that training to accomplish a goal in running also builds confidence in your ability to do better at anything else that is important to you. One-on-one as a coach, I was helping improve lives. Could I make this my life? 

Less than a year later, I passed my board certifications to become a personal trainer. 

Unexpected benefit of running
Through running, I've learned great lessons. When practiced artfully, it's a sport of patience, slow gains, and endless rewards. As with life in general, you can make bad decisions in running. It's easy to be too enthusiastic, thinking to yourself, "I don't care. I'll suffer the consequences." That's when you get injured when you run. It's heart-breaking.

Running-induced crazy story
When I moved from New Jersey to New York City, I was looking for social opportunities to meet new people. I saw that the New York Road Runners offered running classes and I thought it would be a great chance to go jogging with a few people. 

So I showed up to the first session of the 10-week class with Bob Glover (author of "The Competitive Runner's Handbook"), in his booming voice saying, "Today, we're doing One. Mile. Repeats." What? It was all speed work! What did I get myself in to? So I completed the whole program and ran a race a few weeks after, and discovered I was now super fast! It was the first realization of what speed training can do. Running felt easier after that.

Advice for new runners
Avoid putting pressure on yourself -- just be open and get started. Forget time and distance. Walk a bit. Run a but. Relax and keep it comfortable. From the first step of that first day, you are member of this open community. You are a Runner.