#womensrunning twitter chat!

Topic: New Years Mojo: Running, Getting in Shape, Weight loss, and Women’s Health!

Moderator:   @TRPrunner, Andrea Henry, PT

Guest Expert:

@KristaAustin, Krista Austin, Ph.D, Exercise Physiology & Sport Nutrition, CSCS, Physiologist – United States Olympic Committee, “Performance & Nutrition Coaching”

Guests:

@Tryn2bfit: (Colleen)  Lost 120# & finally living! First marathon 3:46 going after bq and training for ultras. Living w/celiac and RA. Proving motivation and hard work pay off.  http://www.thefitbee.com

@SuziStorm (Susan) I drink a lot beer. I’ve lost a lot of weight (101 lbs on @WeightWatchers) I run a bunch of miles  (I’m a marathoner!!). I am awesome #Believe  http://www.suzistorm.com

Sponsor: Nuun @MinistryofNuun

As a runner, a YMCA professional and a Sport Psychology consultant, I’m more than familiar with trials and tribulations of starting and maintaining an exercise routine. If you are one of the many who resolve to run more in 2012, here are five things you can do to enhance your chances of success.

1) Set a reachable goal.

Often times, we set goals that are big and daring (I’m going to run a marathon in July) without thinking through what it will take to reach that goal. While a large goal (i.e. marathon) can be motivational, make sure you understand what will be needed to reach that goal. Do you have enough time to train? Can I run 4-5 times a week? A better goal might be, “I’m going to run 4 times a week. The days I will run will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I will run 10 miles the first week and increase my mileage by 10% each week for the next three months.” Being realistic and as specific as possible will enable you to be more successful.

2) Write your goals down and share them.

Goals that are written down are better internalized than those that aren’t. A goal not written down, as they say, is just a wish. Own the goal by writing it down in a prominent location. Write your goal(s) on 3×5 cards and place those cards in places you will see them. The bathroom mirror, your car sun visor, etc. These constant reminders of your goal will help you keep focused on achieving them. Also, share your goals with others. Friends, family or strangers on the internet all can be helpful in keeping you accountable. Write a blog about your goals and tell your friends about the blog. Or, better yet, find a friend to train with to help keep you honest.

3) Choose goals that are measurable.

Saying, “I want to run more” is not the same as saying “I want to run increase my current weekly mileage from 15 miles to 25 miles a week by July 1, 2012.”

4) Identify challenges and work to eliminate them.

If your goal is to run a marathon in 2012, what would be the challenges to this goal? Maybe you need help from your spouse to watch the kids during your long runs or your work schedule makes it difficult to train. Whatever your challenges are, it’s important to identify them and then work to eliminate as many of those challenges as you can. Talking to family and friends to support your goal might
open up a level of support you didn’t know existed.

5) Don’t let small failures kill your goals.

It is rare when a training plan goes perfectly. Things happen. You get sick or your job gets busier or life just gets in the way. During times like these, it’s best to just acknowledge that life is willing this battle but be resolved that it won’t win the war. Instead of lamenting the demise of your plan, accept that this is a hiccup but you’ll be back to conquering those miles in no time.

-Matthew Henry, M.A. Sport Psychology

1. Prepare for the course: Know the course you are running. If possible, run the course or a run similar to the course before race day (minus some mileage if it is marathon length). The elevation and length of a course can be determined at some popular websites like: Map My Run or Walk Jog Run. Find out if the course has rolling hills, long flats and what the total elevation change is. You can then plan a course that is similar to the one you are running and prepare for the changes you will encounter before the big day. The course can also be mapped out on a treadmill, and while this won’t prepare you exactly for the race physically, you can practice parts of the race in the upcoming training weeks, to prepare yourself mentally in your strategy.

2. Pace yourself. You will be excited come race day. Your blood will be pumping and the adrenaline will be flowing. Make sure you do not start out too fast. Know what your pace times are and stick to them. Find your pace runner if you are running with a certain time group and stick with them. Make sure you know if mile markers will be present in the race and wear a watch. You will be able to rely on this for pacing as a backup if needed. Word to the wise: you will probably feel really good starting out (tapering for a race leaves you feeling fanstastic), but save it for the later miles. You will need it.

3. Know how to run the race. Flat portions should be run steady. Hills can be attacked. As you reach the crest of a hill, increase your cadence slightly and speed up a bit. Use the momentum of the crest of the hill to carry you over and down the other side, like a sling effect. Run the down hills with a slight lean back so body is close to level as you descend. Allow your legs to relax slightly to lessen impact on your quads, as your feet land.

4. As you get into the groove of running, pick a runner, distance or location to reach if you feel you are having difficulty keeping your pace. This will allow you to refocus mentally and set some smaller reachable goals, rather than focusing on the large task at hand. Pick a body group to focus on form for each portion of the race. (Head/eyes, arms, trunk, legs, foot landing). This will allow you to keep your form longer and maintain more efficiency. You will also stay more in tune to how your body is feeling overall.

5. Practice pre-race and race logistics (pre-race meal eating, race day clothes, water stop drinking, and race-fueling) in the weeks before the race. You will feel more confident knowing what your body can handle when race-day shows up. Local training groups provide a great opportunity to practice race day as they often set up mini-race conditions with water stops. And as you get to race day and near the finish line, use the crowd to motivate you the last couple miles. They can pull you in to what will hopefully be your best race yet.

Topic: Our favorite women’s races, charities/ causes they support, training and the and race bling we love!

*Guest Experts:

@realityrunning, Sara Johnson, an RRCA-certified running coach, running for more than 10 years, has a coaching business (Reality Running), mom of two, writes for the Dallas Running Examiner.  https://www.facebook.com/RealityRunning

@Libbyruns, Libby Jones , a runner, a race director (New Years Double), and a mom of 2. http://theactivejoe.blogspot.com

Sponsors:

@TheIronGirl – One entry to any of their races nationwide: Clearwater, FL , Columbia MD, Las Vegas NV, Altanta GA, Racine WI, Syracuse NY, Boulder CO, Seattle WA, Lake Tahoe CA, Bloomington MN, Del Mar CA, Scottsdale AZ, New Orleans LA

@NaturaStride: An awesome discount of 25% on items at their website for chat participants.*stocking stuffers to fuel for new years training and races!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I wrote a brief post a while back about barefoot running after taking a course at an APTA (American Physical Therapy Association) conference here.   After taking another PT course on it again, I’m revisiting the topic with some thoughts (as always, this is such a changing topic so updates are forthcoming):

1. Barefoot running definitely has been shown to slow the rate (or speed) of loading forces upon initial contact and into loading response (when most of the foot is touching down).  See the picture drawing below (I did not draw it BTW, just a quick reference from photobucket) showing the distinct impact peak in landing with shoes. If you have more time, here are excellent videos illustrating some of these concepts courtesy of Dr. Daniel E. Lieberman from Harvard University, who has written extensively on this topic and presented at our course.

2. There are still currently no studies that show a relationship between the peak force of landing and injury rate, although research is in progress.

3. Barefoot running and using zero-drop shoes (I’m assuming that this is synonymous with initial midfoot or forefoot landing and not heel contact first) is most likely a skill that needs to be learned by most runners, if they have worn shoes with any sort of heel.  This typically requires a specific strengthening program for the foot and a specific gradual training program.

4. There are studies that show that barefoot running will place less stress on the knee joint but place more stress on the achilles tendon and calf muscles.

5. (Just my opinion, no research) The last statement leads me to think that the forces are going to be dispersed somewhere through the body and ultimately it depends on a variety of factors (muscle strength, joint mobility and flexibility, muscle tone, biomechanical compensations, genetic factors needed to run endurance well etc…along with running form) that are ALL going to contribute whether each individual can run barefoot.

6. I am an interesting example of this.  I am a natural sprinter by genetics (100-maybe 800 m) who has also run distance for a number of years as well (cross country in high school and now road races). I also have very tight calves and run landing much more midfoot than the typical runner.  Ironically, I have tried “barefoot training” by using racing flats in races in Cross Country in high school (happen to run my fastest race when I did this) and by transitioning into my track spikes every spring (that will make for calves sore for sure).  I’ve been wanting to try an official transition to a minimal shoe for some time to see what it is like, but losing weight and having a baby has prevented me from officially trying it yet. That being said, I honestly don’t think my body will be able to handle running minimalist long term or exclusively because of my specific biomechanics, range of motion and muscle tone in my lower extremities.

6. (Opinion) I have got to think that the speed of the distance runner interplays into this, especially comparing an elite runner at the end of the race to an average weekend runner.  The faster the distance runner-the more the form changes to looking like that of sprinting.  I haven’t done or seen much research on this yet but am interested to see where this goes as elite runners continue to get faster.

8.  It is very interesting to know that while cadence increases and stride length decreases with proper barefoot training taking more steps does not appear to contribute to increased injury, as shown by the research.

7. While there are many people debating whether barefoot running is better or not, Physical Therapists are often not included in these debates.  This is surprising only because we are the only profession (besides possibly podiatry which does not focus on the trunk , pelvis, hips, spine and upper extremities)  that studies the gait cycle in our curriculum and treats the whole body consistently.  We have perhaps the greatest understanding of typical and atypical gait in walking and running and the education on how it pertains to injury development, how to best prevent it and the differences in how muscular and biomechanical factors in various individuals interplay.  The fact that we can do specific hands-on joint mobility and muscle tone testing and evaluation for comparison in various individuals is one area that I think will add great value to the subject vs. just viewing running form on a video and looking at basic flexibility and strength.

8.  There seems to be differences in or perhaps a lack of standard terminology when describing running gait terminology by some individuals.  This is not an attempt to “knock” any group, just that it does show that while some groups (ie. coaches for example) have great input on their experience, until they understand and have studied all of the specifics that go into gait, running, musculature, abnormalities etc., and know how to describe and compare specifics, there will always be pieces of the puzzle missing when discussing and debating the topic.

Related articles

• BLOG POST: Barefoot Running (trpfitness.wordpress.com)
• Barefoot Running Stress Fractures. A theory from @joemaller (barefeat.wordpress.com)

Topic: Running, Pregnancy, and Time Management for all!

*Guest Experts:

@TRPrunner, Andrea Henry, Physical Therapist, personal trainer, moderator

@KimTirapelle, Kim Tirapelle, RD, Registered Dietitian specializing in sports nutrition, wt management & MNT. Fresno State Athletics & TERRIO’s Sports RD. Media spokesperson and avid runner! Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD)

Sponsors:

For Two Fitness a “running for two” tank (value $45, winner must have a U.S. address)

Kim Tirapelle -sports nutrition assessment (via online and phone) ($85 value).

Runners know how to handle pain. But how do you determine what pain is normal and what is cause for alarm? Muscle soreness that eases as you run can be normal. However, pain you should be concerned about may have one or more of the following characteristics:

• Pain that does not subside within several hours after running.
• On a pain scale of 1-10 (10 being worse pain), pain that exceeds 3 while running.
• The onset of sharp pain.
• Pain that wakes you up at night.
• Persistent pain that worsens when you run.
• Pain that persists in the same area, every time you run.

A physical therapist can help determine the cause of the problem and recommend effective cross training exercises, identify when poor form may be contributing to your pain, and prescribe necessary changes in training to allow the body to repair itself.

*Resource from: The Physical Therapists Guide to Running, 2011, American Physical Therapy Association

Some of us are born runners and have it in our blood. And some of us get there through tougher circumstances like via  lifestyle changes and weight loss. I’ve been lucky to get to the start line of child birth twice. And like running, I trained and prepared for what might lie ahead not having a choice this time for what “race” I would run in, just happy to be entered and running.

In running, I’ve arrived on race day to run races in the rain and mud, icy-cold of snow and in perfect conditions where everything aligned perfectly. I have run feeling fantastic and Ive had days where despite how I trained, plans did not end as I’d hoped.

And the first time I ran in the race of childbirth, I was given a “race plan” and that went mostly as expected with twins and one baby transverse.  But I was left unprepared with how much my body had to recover and how little time I had to do it.

My second “race”, I trained for a marathon to be prepared and hoped for a fantastic finish. But as the race continued, I came to realize this race would be far longer than I had ever imagined or knew possible. And I met some quite perilous obstacles towards the end. I took some unexpected detours to make it to the finish line but arrived in my own allotted time safe, sound and healthy. Like race days that don’t go as planned, it is tough to accept that difficulties occurred and things happened that I could not have changed. I think those that get the opportunity to run the race they wanted should cherish it because everyone is given a different race plan. And those that didn’t should understand that some things are beyond all of our plans. And when we are able to get to the finish line? It is indescribable in a wondrous way. And we are lucky to have a new journey and race awaiting us.

Topic: How do runner chicks differ from the guys? And introductions to #womensrunning chat

*Guest Experts:

@TRPrunner, Andrea Henry, PT, moderator

@KristaAustin, Krista Austin, Ph.D, Exercise Physiology & Sport Nutrition ,CSCS, Physiologist – United States Olympic Committee, “Performance & Nutrition Coaching”

@KimTirapelle, Kim Tirapelle, RD, Registered Dietitian specializing in sports nutrition, wt management & MNT. Fresno State Athletics & TERRIO’s Sports RD. Media spokesperson and avid runner! Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD)

Sponsors: Luna Bar (box of LUNA Chocolate Dipped Coconut bars(15)!!!)

         Topic:  How do runner chicks differ from the guys? And introductions to #womensrunning chat

         On: October 20th from 6:00-7:00 PST (9:00-10:00 EST)

                            *3rd Thursdays of the month*

        (Practice run/chat: Saturday October 8th from 4-5 pm PST)

Sponsors:   Luna Bar  (box of LUNA Chocolate Dipped Coconut bars(15)!!!)

*Guest Experts:

@TRPrunner, Andrea Henry, PT, moderator

@KristaAustin, Krista Austin, Ph.D, Exercise Physiology & Sport Nutrition ,CSCS, Physiologist – United States Olympic Committee, “Performance & Nutrition Coaching”

@KimTirapelle, Kim Tirapelle, RD, Registered Dietitian specializing in sports nutrition, wt management & MNT. Fresno State Athletics & TERRIO’s Sports RD. Media spokesperson and avid runner!  Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD)

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I decided to start this because I felt that there were topics that we women runners have come up that are unique to us and I think we will have fun discussing them, sharing our experiences and learning from each other.  If we are lucky, we will also have some giveaways. There will be informational tweets to learn from and some fun questions thrown in.  I will also send out a short newsletter highlighting three runners blogs that week  (chosen based on the most interesting tweets) so we can get to know each other.  Most of all hopefully, I want to create a community where we can share our successes and have a good time.

Feel free to leave any comments below or drop me an email and let me know what you liked or would like to see. Thanks and hope to see you there at the practice run chat on Saturday October 8st from 4-5 pm PST and the first #womensrunning chat: October 20th from 6:00-7:00 PST (9:00-10:00 EST) for the real thing!

We Have some AWESOME Guest Experts and Sponsors lined up this year to do some fun “Giveaways!”

***COME READY to CHAT, LEARN  a bit and HAVE FUN!***