6 Tips for Running Through Humidity

Posted on by

11

HumidRunI went for an easy 5-mile run yesterday morning before work. I woke up at 6 a.m. threw on my running clothes I laid out the night before. Put my hair in a bun. Threw on my Nuun visor and headed out the door.

My apartment felt cool but with the first step out the door I was smacked in the face by a wall of damp moisture. Well, good morning to you too, humidity.

Humidity and I are not friends and we haven’t been for a long time. Before I was a runner, I hated humidity because it caused my hair to have a mind of its own and become curly beyond belief. Now that I’m a runner, well, every humid run feels like I’m breathing under water. Not to mention my allergies are also terrible this time of year, so there’s that.

Any runner will tell you there’s nothing you can do about the weather, that’s why we’re out there in the dead of winter running through snowstorms and getting our sweat on in the summer under the hot sun. We put up with the weather because we don’t really have any other option. (The treadmill is NOT an option- for me, at least.)

So, yesterday, as I turned the corner onto my street to end my 5-miler I thought, how the hell can I deal with this for the rest of the summer and not completely fail on all of my runs? Luckily I know some pretty weather-savvy runners and was able to get some tips. Here are the best ones:

  1. Slow down, speedy! – Just like you slow your pace in the winter when it’s snowing or icy out, slowing down in the summer when it’s extremely hot will help you finish your run strong. Remember how much faster you were in the spring after a winter of slow running? Same thing will happen in the fall. So, pull in the reins and be OK with taking it slow.
  2. Hydrate (and drink tons of Nuun!) – Hydration is key to running in the humidity. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, not only before and after your run but throughout the entire day. You can hydrate with water but also try to add in a sports drink or electrolyte-enhanced water (like Nuun) because since you’ll be sweating a ton, you need to replace the sodium in your body to absorb water.
  3. Run early or later – I personally prefer to run before work as opposed to after but by getting out the door in the morning or evening, you’re avoiding the warmest part of the day. I love going on lunch runs but on really hot days, feeling overheated just isn’t worth it to me. So, on those days, I’ll opt to go run before work.
  4. Do not wear cotton, I repeat, do not wear cotton – Humidity and heat make you sweat so try to wear moisture wicking clothes on your run to avoid chafing and overheating. I go by the as-little-clothes-as-possible-without-being-naked rule on hot runs so I have a lot of spandex and sports bras in the near future.
  5. Wear a visor or cap – I don’t know if this will really help but it seems to keep a little heat off of my head. I wear a visor on most of my runs to protect my skin and keep the sun out of my eyes but it can help to keep my face cool. One person even suggested soaking a run cap in cold water before heading out the door to lower body temps.
  6. Don’t worry! – I know I was upset looking at my splits from this morning’s 5-miler. I was slow and it felt hard. But I know I shouldn’t worry about it because with every change in seasons there’s a period of adjustment (unless you live in a season-less place like California, which, if so, I am envious). The body is an amazing thing and it will adjust and adapt to the change in temps. So don’t fret over lost fitness, the fitness is still there, it just needs to make some changes.

This is just a rough list and I’m still learning so please, please give me your suggestions! Have any tips for running in the humidity? Leave them in the comments section below or tweet at me at @FitHappyGirl.

The Runner’s Thank You

Posted on by

5

Running is a giftIn honor of National Etiquette Week I thought I’d share with you a little tradition we have at Runner’s World. In case you weren’t aware, we are very lucky to be able to go out for lunch runs every day. Almost everyone on staff leaves their respective desks at about 10 minutes of noon to head down to the locker rooms. Some choose to run solo, others run in one of two groups- the fast runners and the regular runners. We go on long runs, do speed workouts, tempos, trail runs, hill repeats, and especially, easy runs. Whatever the run, we do it and when everyone is back and showered you’ll hear two words before heading back to your desk, “thank you.”

One of my coworkers, Mark Remy, has written about the runner’s thank you on his blog on our website before. Being a relatively new runner myself, I’d never experienced the runner’s thank you before starting here at Runner’s World. This could be because before working here the majority of my runs were solo miles but when I would run with others, especially when we ran long runs or speed workouts, I think thank you was the farthest thing from my running buddy’s mind.

But when you break it down, being able to run is a privilege, a gift, and something to be extremely thankful for. I do like to run alone a lot of the time but there’s nothing more special than running with a supportive group. There are days when it’s tough to get out the door. Days when I think, Instead of doing that 7-mile lunch run, how about I break it up and run twice.  Days when I ask myself, am I really feeling lunchtime intervals today? But then I walk into that locker room and my coworkers are all game for whatever is on the run menu. I feed off of that kind of enthusiasm.

Even on days when I go for a run alone, once I’m back in the locker room I’m always asked how my run went and I ask my coworkers as well. Runners like to support each other. Think about how many times you’ve been out for a run, see another runner, and just give them a wave. It’s comforting. It’s supportive. It’s what makes the running community so special.

So this weekend, whether you go running with a group, a friend, solo, or pass by another runner, be sure to acknowledge the gift that is running and just say, “Thank you.”

{Monday Motivation} Get Lost

Posted on by

4

To me, one of the best parts of running is the places it can take you. Sometimes you map out your run before you head out but the best runs are the ones that are unplanned, on new terrain, in a new area. I’m sick of my typical routes that I’ve been running for the past few months while training for Big Sur. So my new plan is to have no plan at all. To simply, get lost. Happy running!

(source: Pinterest)

(source: Pinterest)

Post-Marathon Recovery for First-Timers

Posted on by

10

Before I begin, this post should really be titled, “Do As I Say, Not As I Do,” because I haven’t exactly followed my post-marathon recovery schedule to a T. But, that being said, I’ve made sure to follow the number one rule of not just recovery but training in general and that is listen to your body.

The two days following Big Sur left me in a state of pain I’ve never felt before. I live in a second floor apartment and when I got home from Big Sur I looked up at the stairs like they were Hurricane Point (round two). Little did I know, it was going down the stairs the next morning that would prove to be the hardest. (Pro tip: go down the stairs backwards, holding the railing. It’s easier on your quads and you don’t have to stare down the Everest below you.)

Finally, on Wednesday, three days after Big Sur, I was actually feeling pretty good. Not great, but a little farther away from death than the previous two days. I even thought about going out for a quick run but pulled back the reins and did some yoga instead.

On Thursday, I ran three glorious miles and actually felt surprisingly awesome. Then, on Friday, I ran again, this time a little bit longer. And then I accidently ran a progression run on Saturday finishing at 7:37 pace. Ooops. Again, do as I say not as I do.

Progression run

So Sunday I took a rest day and did some yoga and strength exercises instead. Now it’s Monday and I’m ready to get back into my 5-day-a-week running schedule. But it’s not going to look the same as my marathon training 5-day-a-week running schedule and it shouldn’t and yours shouldn’t either, first-timers.

As a first-time marathoner, navigating the post-marathon waters can be tough. You’re used to training really hard, running really long and forcing yourself to do challenging workouts. But you should view the few weeks following your marathon to be as important as any of the weeks during your pre-marathon training schedule. Messing up during these first few weeks following your 26.2 victory lap can lead to overtraining, burn out and worse, injury.

To make sure you recovery from your first marathon in a safe and healthy way, follow some of these tips:

  1. Listen to your body- This is especially important in the days immediately following the marathon. Don’t start running until your body tells you it is 100 percent ready. Even if you feel like enough time has passed and you can start up again, don’t do so if you have any lingering soreness or pain.
  2. Keep moving- That being said, it’s extremely important to keep moving in the days following a marathon. Go for a walk, do some yoga, spend a little time stretching. Whatever activity you choose try to keep those muscle moving to loosen up some of the lactic acid that build up during a marathon.
  3. Hydrate and fuel- The body burns an incredible amount of calories during a marathon so it’s extremely important to refuel in the one to two days following the marathon. Also, be sure to keep your body hydrated to avoid additional muscle soreness due to cramping.
  4. When you do run again, run easy- If you’re like me, you’re going to be super excited when you start to run again but slow down, Forest Gump. It might feel good to run your first run fast but you’ll pay for it the next day. Keep a very easy conversational pace on your first few runs out of the gate and don’t be afraid to walk a little.
  5. Get a massage- According to some of my seasoned marathoning friends, the best time to get a massage is 48 hours after the marathon. I didn’t get to test this theory but if you’re a fan of massages, I say go for it! However, be sure to go to a sports masseuse and let them know you just ran a marathon.
  6. Enjoy the downtime- After I crossed the finish line at Big Sur my first thought was, “I can’t wait to do that again!” Ok, I wasn’t ready to do it again right away but I am definitely planning my next 26.2 for the fall. However, I have at least two months of down time between training cycles so I want to enjoy it. My advice? Spend time with friends and family who you didn’t get to see when you were out for hours on the weekend doing your LSD runs.

I’m still navigating the post-marathon roads and am open to any and all advice! What do you do in the weeks following a marathon to recover?

{Monday Motivation} Finishing Only Stokes the Fire

Posted on by

8

It’s no surprise that running can be addicting. You can’t possibly pump your body full of that many endorphins and not expect to get addicted to it. Well, I recently found out marathoning is no different. From the moment I crossed the finish line at Big Sur just over a week ago, I haven’t stopped thinking about my next marathon- when will it be, where, how will I do, can I finally set a time goal? So, when I saw this graphic on Pinterest, I thought it was perfect for this week’s Monday Motivation. Happy running this week!

Finishing

I’m Running Hood to Coast with Nuun!

Posted on by

18

The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind with work, Big Sur and all the traveling in between that I never got the chance to properly announce that I’m running Hood to Coast this August with Nuun! (Jumps up and down screaming yayyy!!)

htc_300x300

Hold up a second, you don’t know what Hood to Coast is? Well let me fill you in. As Nuun writes on their own blog, Hood to Coast is the “mother of all relays.” This 200-mile long relay has runners start at the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and then, over the course of 36 different legs (each runner runs three legs) you finish on the sandy shores of the Pacific in Seaside, Oregon. Pretty epic, no doubt.

The best part of running Hood to Coast is the team aspect, or so I hear. And, according to friends who ran Hood to Coast with Nuun last year, the Nuun team is by far the best one out on the course (I’m not biased at all….). But seriously, I, along with 20 other women runners, will make up the Nuun team and take on Mt. Hood and have a lot of fun along the way.

Many thanks to Nuun for picking me to join their team, I couldn’t be more excited to run hydrated for an absurd amount of miles with these lovely ladies! Check out the rest of the team!

Have you ever run a relay? Any words of wisdom for Team Nuun?

10 Tips for Running the Big Sur International Marathon

Posted on by

9

Bixby BridgeIf you read my full recap of last weekend’s Big Sur International Marathon, you’ll know I had a lot to say. My recap was mainly a selfish means for me to be able to remember all the amazing things that happened race weekend. But to me, some of the best and most useful race recaps are ones that include tips for actually running the race. Whether these tips are something the runner did during the race that worked for them, or things their friends did that worked, it’s helpful to know a bit more about how to run the course than to just hear about how great it was for one particular runner.

So, that being said, now that a few days have passed, and I’ve been able to reflect on my own experience, I’ve come up with a list of 10 tips and lessons to help you run Big Sur, if you ever are so fortunate to get the chance. Some of these tips are things that I did during the race and others are things my friends did that really worked for them. But I think as a whole, this list is pretty solid and if I ever get to run Big Sur again, I’ll be taking advantage of these tips.

  1. Look behind you- Big Sur is considered one of the top destination marathons in the world and it’s no thanks to the breathtakingly beautiful views you’ll see while running along the “ragged edge of the western world” (a.k.a. Highway 1). While you should take total advantage to the views ahead of you, to your left and even to your right, please don’t forget to look behind you, especially when you summit a hill. Around mile 7 a course marshal rode by us on his bike and yelled, “Look behind you!” and let me tell you, the view was incredible!
  2. Bring a camera- I actually did not take pictures while running Big Sur but I’m almost a little sad I didn’t because it would have been amazing to capture some of the views I saw. Since it was my first marathon, I wanted to really focus on running the course and not have to stop to take photos but again, if I got to run Big Sur next year I would absolutely take pictures.
  3. Go watchless- Another tip I didn’t do personally but two of my friends ran the course without a watch and one of them set a huge PR. Due to the hills, Big Sur is a great course to run a negative split on (at least that’s what Jeff Dengate, the gear editor here at RW said). But I know many other runners who have run great races at Big Sur without a watch. I decided to run with my watch though because it was my first marathon and I wanted ALL that data!
  4. Listen to the sounds of the ocean, wind and footsteps- Big Sur is not a spectator-friendly course but it almost doesn’t matter because the ocean is your spectator for the majority of the course. The sounds of the waves, footsteps and the wind set the mood for a very tranquil, peaceful run. It’s really incredible how quiet it gets at some points during the 26.2 miles but I actually really liked it like that.
  5. Take the strawberries- For the love of all things that are delicious, take the strawberries at mile 23! You will not regret it. These strawberries were so unbelievably refreshing after 23 miles of Vanilla Bean Gu that I didn’t even care if they gave me GI issues for the last 3 miles (they didn’t by the way).
  6. Make friends with the other runners- I don’t know if this just happens at all marathons but there was a true sense of camaraderie among the runners on the course. I even made a running buddy during the last 7 miles and we crossed the finish line together. I think Big Sur lends itself to creating bonds among runners on the course because there aren’t many spectators. So, unless you plan to really take off at any point in the marathon, make friends with those running around you, odds are you’ll be with them for a few hours and they may be able to help you when you really need it.
  7. Talk to the locals- Roughly 4,500 runners ran Big Sur this year and as marathons go, that’s not huge. However, people fly in from all over the world to run this destination race. That’s cool and all but I talked to some of the Monterey County locals and they were some of the most interesting people I’ve met. There’s such a local, community sense to Big Sur with it’s traditions and history that really makes every marathoner feel special.
  8. Don’t worry about time- This is not going to be a PR course for everyone and you might as well throw your BQ aspirations out the door (although runners have and will continue to PR and BQ at Big Sur), so just enjoy it! Time is not a factor and the minute you stop worrying about it, the faster you can enjoy it. Need more convincing? My friend and coworker Megan did the Boston to Big Sur Challenge and ran Big Sur only three minutes slower than she ran Boston, two weeks beforehand. Her trick? No watch and no worry.
  9. For every uphill there’s a downhill- Sounds like common sense right? But this is something to look out for because with each hill you are graced with a downhill. Take those downhills too fast in an effort to bank time and you won’t be able to get up the next hill. The key to Big Sur is running the downhills slowly. The downhills give you a chance to catch your breathe but can do a number on your quads so take it easy and relax.
  10. Cherish that medal- The Big Sur medal is unlike other marathon medals because they are hand-crafted out of ceramic. Honestly, they’re just wicked cool and you earned it so wear it proud. I wore mine to the airport and the entire 6-hour plane ride home because when else are you going to be able to wear it?

Race Recap: Big Sur International Marathon 2013

Posted on by

43

I thought after two days passed I would know how to begin this race recap because I would have time to let the race ruminate but I’m still having trouble finding the words to describe just how incredible my first marathon was.

I know what I don’t want to do with this race recap and that is to give you a mile-by-mile breakdown of every moment on the course, because who really cares? Plus, I don’t think I can really remember what happened during each mile the moment it happened because honestly, I can’t remember some of the miles. Seriously, mile 19, I don’t know what happened to it.

What I do want to do is to try to express just how fantastic the Big Sur International Marathon was for me. It was an experience of a lifetime and I made every effort to soak in each moment of the weekend and the race. So instead of a typical race recap I’m going to give you highlights from the weekend.

  • The shakeout- On Saturday morning I went for a shakeout run led by the one and only Bart Yasso. The shakeout was with the Runner’s World Challenge, our marathon training program, and I was finally able to meet the runners I had been interacting with for the past few months. Bart led the shakeout run and took us to the beach. With the size of the group we had, it looked like a scene out of Chariots of Fire. A bunch of kayakers even cheered for us as we ran by.

shakeout

  • Strategy- Runner’s World hosted a race strategy session on Saturday afternoon where I learned some helpful tips about how to run the course the next morning. One of the best tips I got out of the session was to take the downhills easy. “Gentle, gentle, gentle should be your mantra on the downhills,” Jen, our special projects editor, said during the session and let me tell you, I repeated that mantra to myself on every single downhill the next day.
  • Ravioli (carbs, yum!)- Myself and the Runner’s World ladies (Megan, Caitlin, Laura and Lindsey) went to an Italian restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey called Café Fina to carb up before the big day. Our waiter was hysterical and I’m pretty sure he thought we were all crazy for running a marathon.
  • Driving the course- After dinner, Megan, Laura, Jeff and I hopped into Jeff’s white Mini and took a drive down Highway 1 to review the course (and take a ton of pictures). I was a bit hesitant about driving the course before racing it. I thought either I’d get really intimidated and become even more nervous than I already was, or I would feel more prepared and ready to go into the race knowing what lay ahead. Luckily for me, I came out of it the latter, feeling prepared and less intimidated than I felt by simply looking at the elevation chart. I took mental notes about where the hills were, when I needed to save my legs and when I should look around and take in all the views. (The answer for that last point is- look at the views all the time. The entire course is so unbelievably picturesque that it’s impossible not to appreciate every moment of it. )
Big Sur - 26 miles

Big Sur – 26 miles

  • Race day nerves- I must have had quite the nervous look on my face when I got to the hotel lobby for our 4:30 a.m. bus ride to the start, because people either steered clear of me or tried to console me somehow. Except when I told them it was my first marathon, many of them gave me a look of concern and said something along the lines of, “Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” That didn’t help.
Can you see the fear in my eyes?

Can you see the fear in my eyes?

  • Race game plan- I decided to hang back in Wave 2 and start with the 4:30 pacer. The rest of the RW ladies hung back with me so I had some support while we waited for the race to start. As I stood there, listening to the race announcer over the loud speaker, I was in my own head going over my race plan, deciding how I was going to run this, what my mantras were and what I was going to do if it got too hard.
  • Big Sur, Boston and doves- Big Sur has a unique partnership with the Boston Marathon in their Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge where runners run both marathons, less than two weeks apart. Because of the bombings at this year’s Boston Marathon, the B2B Challenge seemed even more special. A man from the B.A.A. served as the official race starter and they released white doves (something they always do) right before the bullhorn started the race.
We wore blue and yellow ribbons for Boston.

We wore blue and yellow ribbons for Boston.

  • And we’re off!- Before I knew it the bullhorn sounded again and it was time to go! The first four miles of Big Sur are a complete downhill and in the strategy session I learned I should take these first few miles extremely slow to save my quads for the hills that were to come. The only problem is a lot of people don’t know this and they take the first few miles hard and try to bank time. Not a good idea. So as I was taking it slow, other runners were passing me in waves. I didn’t get discouraged though because I knew I was on my way to running a smart race and it definitely paid off in the end.
  • Confidence boost- I got a bit of a rush around mile 5 or 6 (I can’t remember) and the Runner’s World truck went by with Bart, Amby Burfoot and Warren (Runner’s World brand manager) in it. They actually spotted me too and started beeping and yelling “GO HANNAH! LOOKING STRONG!” When Amby, the 1968 Boston Marathon winner, and Bart, the mayor of running, tell you you’re looking strong as you’re running a marathon, you can’t help but get a little confidence boost.
  • Along the course I saw- a whale (!), taiko drummers, the piano man, some pretty good bands, cows (moo!), and lots of happy volunteers!
  • Hurricane Point (dun, dun, dun…)- I had settled into a really slow and steady pace in preparation for Hurricane Point, the 2-mile stretch from mile 10 to 12 where the course ascends more than 500 feet. Everyone talks about Hurricane Point like it is Mt. Everest so of course I prepared as much as I possibly could by doing hill workouts and making my long runs pretty hilly. The taiko drummers were set up at the base of the incline at the mile 10 marker and that got me pumped to run up this infamous hill. The verdict? I’m glad I did all those hill workouts because honestly, I didn’t think Hurricane Point was that bad and I HATE hills. The incline is a gradual 6 percent ascent and it twists and turns so you never get a glimpse of the whole thing. Climbing for 2-miles is no easy task, don’t take this as me diminishing it, but for me it helped to not be able to see the entirety of the hill. I knew it ended around mile 12 so I just waited until I saw the mile marker and once I did I knew it was over.
  • For every uphill, there’s a downhill- Once I got up to Hurricane Point I was greeted with a long downhill, about a 9 percent elevation drop. This descent allowed me to catch my breathe but Jen’s mantra came back into my head, “Gentle, gentle, gentle.”
  • Bixby Bridge and we’re halfway there!- This downhill spits runners out onto the iconic Bixby Bridge at mile 13. I couldn’t believe I was already at mile 13 when I saw the bridge- I was halfway there! I saw the pianist and it was amazing how his melodies echoed throughout the entire area. I could hear him playing from across the bridge!
Running across the Bixby Bridge.

Running across the Bixby Bridge.

  • The weather and the wind- The weather was near perfect for the entire race. It was clear in the beginning but became slightly overcast. It also wasn’t too warm at any point during the race and I felt pretty comfortable. The one factor was the wind which was so strong at points, I felt like I was moving in slow motion.
  • Camaraderie and a new running friend- I met Sabrina around mile 20. We had been going back and forth, chasing each other for the last couple of miles and decided to support each other the rest of the way. I knew she would be a good running partner when I told her I couldn’t talk and she said, “I can’t either.” This was her second marathon and she was aiming for a PR. I told her it was my first and I was aiming to finish.
A shot of Sabrina and me nearing the finish.

A shot of Sabrina and me nearing the finish.

  • Carmel Highlands- We were about to enter the Carmel Highlands, arguably the hardest portion of Big Sur. The Highlands are the last few miles of the course and they include some steep hills and the canter of the road is hard on your legs. My running buddy, Sabrina, and I took these hills easy and willed each other up and over them. We stayed on pace, checked with each other at the water stops to see if we needed anything and kept trudging along. We stopped around mile 23 to get the fresh strawberries we had heard so much about (if you ever run Big Sur, do this! They are amazing) and continued along the route.
  • Mile 25 hill- At mile 25 an insult of a hill hits you like a slap in the face. Thank God Sabrina was with me here because at this point in the race, I just wanted to see the finish line and if I never saw a hill again it would be too soon.
  • 200 meters- When we hit mile 26 she said she was on pace for that PR and before we knew it, the yellow finish line was in sight. I started to get emotional and we both took all the energy we had left to finish the last 200 meters of the marathon. As we came barreling down to the finish line we grabbed hands and threw our arms into the sky and she said, “You’re going to be a marathoner!” We crossed the finish line in step with one another and she gave me a huge hug. She got her PR and I became a marathoner.

Finish line

Sabrina and I parted ways soon after crossing the finish but Megan was right there to capture my post-marathon reaction face and give me a huge hug. I got my medal, a hand-crafter ceramic medal with a leather necklace, and we headed over to the RW Challenge tent. The first person I wanted to find was Jen since she was the one who convinced me to train for the marathon in the first place. I went up to her and said, “Jen, I did it!” and she just gave me a hug and said, “Look at you, marathoner!”

I finished the marathon in 4:33:41 and came in 28th in my age group, not shabby for my first 26.2! I was so proud of the other RW ladies who cleaned up the rest of our age group category. The entire experience was more than I ever could have imagined it would be. I’m planning on writing another post in the coming days about what it really meant to me but I had to get all the memories down on paper before they left my mind. But honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever forget Big Sur.

The race director talked to me before the race and had told me, “You’re life will change when you cross that finish line.” After I finished he found me in the Challenge tent and asked, “So, was I right?” I smiled and said, “Absolutely.”