Plan for Success

It’s been said that failure to plan is planning to fail.

I took some time yesterday to calendar all of my workouts between now and March 23, the day of my goal race.  While it requires some thought and careful attention to how the training cycles fit in with other family events I have already scheduled, I am one step closer to achieving my goal.  Seeing the workouts every day on my Google calendar keeps my training at the front of my mind.  Also, having thought through the entire arc of my training allows me to keep a more reasonable perspective when something (work, family, illness)  inevitably temporarily derails my plans.

Running coaching is one of the services I offer.  I enjoy working with people to get them ready for a target race; moreover, I educate them about how to train to peak on race day.  Drawing on my years of experience on a self-coached competitive running club and developing my own training plans, I combine different types of workouts to make sure my clients are well prepared for their race.  If you’re thinking of running the Capitol 10K, Congress Avenue Mile, or a destination summer marathon but you need a little guidance, let me help you meet your running goals.

If running isn’t your thing, know that working with a thoughtful, detailed personal trainer can help you meet your fitness goals.  One of the ways I differentiate my personal training services from others is that I develop both short-term and long-range workout plans for my clients.  Depending on the client’s needs and wants, I provide homework assignments between sessions and accountability via shared Google calendars.  Whether it’s for myself or for my clients, I’ve seen the benefits of planning pay off time and time again.  Let me know how I can help you plan to reach your fitness goals!

Good health and great happiness to you!

 

Year-In-Review

Before you set about the ritualistic task of making resolutions for the new year, I encourage you to spend some time in self-reflection regarding your successes and challenges of 2010. By grounding yourself in reality, you are more likely to make resolutions that are both meaningful and achievable.

What three accomplishments are you most proud of?
Are these goals that you set and met? Perhaps one of these accomplishments was an unexpected opportunity you took advantage of. Do these accomplishments reflect your personal life, family life, business life, or some intersection thereof? Think about how they made you feel and if they changed the way you live and/or work.

What three items are still on your to-do list?
I like to start my year by sewing up all of the cut out or half-completed outfits I started during the year. Doing so gives me a feeling of accomplishment, but it also lets me start with a clean slate. Although my sewing projects are just a hobby, the same principle applies to bigger items that affect family and/or work life. If you can identify those tasks or projects that just never seem to get done, you can either do them (and feel the exhilarating thrill of FINALLY getting it behind you) or decide that they’re just not that important to you. Either way, move on freely.

What happened to you in the past year that you had no control over?
Have you or your family been affected by sudden job loss, a major health issue, an unexpected move, or the death of an influential person in your life? Almost everyone experiences something during the year that is beyond their control, and tuning in to how you react to these events can give you a good perspective about how you handle challenges and change. Use this insight to gain confidence about how you can tackle a big project in the year to come.

Describe your year in one sentence.
The exercise of summarizing major events (and your feelings about them), accomplishments, and shortcomings can help you understand what you value. This summary–and the priorities it represents– can be your springboard for thinking about how you want to approach resolutions for next year.

Good health and great happiness to you.

Reflections on the Autumnal Equinox

Here it is, the great day in September where our day and night are of equal length. It’s a day of reflection for me, as I like to use the equinox to reflect on how I use my time.

For someone task-oriented, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can be (or have been) most efficent. I need to make sure, though, that effeciency isn’t the main motivation for my actions. Am I staying true to who I am and what I want to achieve? Have my actions throughout the summer led me to expect a rich harvest this fall? Whether this question is answered in a weight-loss goal, 5K race time, number of nutritious meals eaten together as a family, or some other way is immaterial. It’s power is in the way the question and answer reflects conscious positive action.

In addition to thinking about what I have done, I also find value in thinking about all of those things I thought I was going to do but just haven’t gotten around to yet. Are there tasks or even goals that I just need to let go of? What is bogging me down? How have my priorities shifted this summer? (For me? Oh, yes!) What can I do to create new goals better in line with my new priorities?

The answers to all of these questions can be used to set goals and lay out a plan of action for the autumn. For those of you who live in Austin or another hot climate, embrace the cooler weather of autumn and think about all of the wonderful outdoor activities that can be sprinkled into the next few months.

I think it’s valid not only to consider how we use our waking time but also to evaluate the quality of our resting time. Am I getting enough sleep? Is it quality sleep? Is there such a thing as quality sleep once you have children?

In all seriousness, the quality of one’s sleep and its link to overall health and wellness has been well documented. Create a bedtime ritual for yourself– just like you ensure your children have– if you find it easier to stay up late and do just-one-more-thing that cheats you out of some much needed sleep. You’ll likely reap benefits such as a strong immune system, quicker recovery from tough workouts, and a more patient temperament.

Good health and great happiness to you this autumn!

Wednesday Workout: Countdown Circuit

This is a super quick, super intense workout. Try it for ten minutes at a time, two or three times during the day.

The workout is a countdown, with reps decreasing by half for the next exercise. You simply do the circuit as many times as you can in ten minutes.

40 jumping jacks, 20 pelvic tilt crunches, 10 squats, 5 pushups

Make sure to write down how many circuits you completed in each ten-minute segment. Next time you do the workout, you have a goal to beat!

Race Recap: Congress Avenue Mile

I laced up my racing flats today for the first time in seven years. My husband and I have spent the last eight weeks training for the Congress Avenue Mile. Now, before you roll your eyes and think that the mile is an easy race, trust me that it is not.

I have enjoyed the rigor of track training– doing repeat intervals of short distances at very fast paces with short recovery periods. It is invigorating to feel your heart beating and be gasping for breath. As crazy as it sounds, I can get more tired doing intervals preparing for a mile than I do running for several hours preparing for a marathon. Our training efforts were ready to be put to the test.

The course began on the south steps of the Texas Capitol, pounding down the hill of the capitol grounds to Congress Avenue, where the course was a straight shot on a slight downhill to the far end of the Ann Richards bridge, home to Austin’s famous Mexican Freetail Bat Colony.

The morning was muggy with a decent breeze. Unfortunately, by the time my heat started the breeze had turned into a headwind. I lined up in the starting chute in about the fifth row, as I thought that my goal time of 6.15 placed me near, but not at, the front.

At the starting horn, I allowed myself to be pulled out with the lead pack. I should have known better than to try to hang with the top ten women, but the steep downhill and the excitement of the race took over. My first quarter-mile was exceptional, too bad the race was a full mile! It was unlikely under any circumstances that I’d be able to turn in the 5.40 mile for which I’d set the pace.

I hung on through three-quarters of a mile, still on pace to finish in 6.15. I was, however, out of gas. I felt the headwind pushing against me, felt my legs heavy as lead, and felt as if I was moving backwards. Despite the course being marked with 300, 200, and 100 meters to go, I’m pretty sure the last quarter-mile was longer than the first three-quarters. It wasn’t pretty!

I finished in 6.30, which was the upper limit of the time I said I’d feel contented with. Now that it’s over, I don’t feel particularly contented! I made a foolish, rookie mistake that in all my years of road-racing I’ve never done: go out too fast.

Oh, well. Lesson learned.

And should I forget it, my dear husband who turned in a fantastic 6.18 mile will certainly remind me.

Good health and happiness to you!

What’s Your Plan?

With Spring here, it’s a great time to think about setting some new fitness and wellness goals. Maybe you have a new year’s resolution (or three) that has fallen by the wayside; maybe you have a friend who has signed up for an event that sounds like a lot of fun; maybe you’d just like to get outside more while the weather is really nice.

Regardless of your goal, making a plan will help you achieve it. Just like goal-setting in any other part of your life, defining a fitness or wellness goal should be specific and achievable. Having mini-goals along the way can help by providing useful checkpoints along your journey. Finding someone else to work toward the goal with you can keep you motivated while also providing accountability. Most importantly, remind yourself daily why you chose the goal and the feeling you anticipate having upon reaching it.

After your decide on your goal, checkpoints, and accountability, think about how you are going to get there. What concrete steps do you need to take in order to reach your goal? Are these steps required daily or weekly? Is your timeline realistic? Get out your calendar and check! Do you need help or guidance from someone else so that you stay injury-free? Do you own the necessary equipment already, or must you purchase something new? These questions will help ensure that your goal is achievable.

By committing a fitness plan to paper (or pixels), you demonstrate a commitment to your goal. Although you should allow yourself the flexibility to deviate from the plan when necessary, having a plan anchors you should life interfere. Keeping a workout log is a great way to track your progress and provide feedback to yourself about how you feel about your workouts. Know that steady work toward your goal will be rewarded.

Good health and great happiness to you.

Talking to kids about exercise

That’s a page out of The Bear’s first grade journal. While my immediate reaction was to be proud of him for wanting to focus on being healthy this year, with more thought I became a bit worried. Part of my desire to raise my kids with an awareness of wellness was to take the pressure off of body image-related issues they may face later in life. But have I really gained anything if I’m raising a kid who is fitness obsessed, even for the right reasons?

It’s a tricky topic. Obviously, our home is filled with discussions of ‘healthy’ and ‘growing’ foods and encouragement to go outside and play. We hike together, play basketball, and swim together all summer. Along with my husband, it is our goal to have our kids *want* to exercise because they realize how good it makes them feel and how much fun it is.

Fortunately, there are some great programs to support our philosophy. Austin is home to the now nationwide Marathon Kids program. In this program, kids run the equivalent of a marathon (26.2 miles) over the course of several months. They are also encouraged to eat their fruits and vegetables in marathon amounts– five servings a day on 26.2 days of the month. They celebrate the first and final lap of their run in a big city-wide ceremony, complete with local celebrities and associated fanfare. As you can see, earning the Marathon Kids medal filled The Bear with pride:

I want to continue to think about this topic so we parents can better support our kids in their healthy endeavors. But I need your help!!

How do you talk to your kids about living well? Is it possible to over-emphasize this topic? What ways do you and your family integrate exercise into your together time? Are there other community events I should know about to help support growing healthy families?

I look forward to reading your ideas. Good health and great happiness to you.

Being Present

You may have noticed a lack of blogging on what most would think is a personal trainer’s sure-fire topic: New Year’s Resolutions. This is because I’m working hard every day, not just in January, at being present with what I am doing. This approach manifests itself in various ways as I try to live a fit life.

One way I was present with myself was by listening to an inner voice that told me I wasn’t yet done with my ultramarathon training. Despite being pleased with my achievement of running a 50K on trail in December, I knew that I could go faster. I really wanted to push myself, and by voicing that desire– and the belief that I was trained well enough to run much faster– my dad told me that there was a 50K in Dallas last Sunday.

Once again, I piled the family into the car and hit the road. On Sunday morning, my dad and I gathered with 10-12 other runners at White Rock Lake’s Big Thicket cabin to begin the Recover From The Holidays 50K. We set out with a plan to run for 5 minutes and walk for 2 minutes, and that’s what we stuck to (more or less) the entire way. Five hours and twenty-one minutes later, we finished. That’s 78 minutes faster than the 50K we did just three weeks before. Being present, listening to my thoughts, and acting on them really paid off!

Another way I’m being present in my fitness efforts is to realize that, just like in other parts of my life, when I look good, I feel good. I hadn’t been giving this too much credence lately, but when Michelle Rodriguez asked me to contribute to her Well-Styled blog, I was again confronted with that truism. I’m now committed to revamping my workout wardrobe to wear items that a) fit, b) are appropriate for the activity, and c) wouldn’t embarass my mother if she knew I was wearing them out of the house. If you’re in need of workout wear but don’t know where to start, Michelle is leading a guided field trip at Title Nine later this month. Look good, feel good, want to be healthier, take better care of yourself, look even better!

Many of my workouts are done with others, and I enjoy the social interactions I have while exercising. While I don’t want to eliminate those workouts completely, I want to return to doing a few workouts a week by myself. I want to enjoy the simplicity and primal nature of moving my body. I want to listen to my body as it works. I want to acknowledge my thoughts as I have them. I can do a better job of being present if I can focus only on myself.

I am also working to be present when I eat. No more eating in the car or while wandering around the house. I want to sit down, chew, and taste. I want to be grateful for the food I have available and the ways in which it nourishes my body. All too often, even when eating with the family, I’m too focused on other things to really be mindful of the food I’m consuming.

Being present is an ongoing challenge for me. But I believe it is a key to wellness, as it requires me to slow down and give thanks. Doing so can only be beneficial.

Good health and great happiness to you.

Shopoff Showoff 50K

I have always thought of my love of running as a great genetic blessing.

Two years ago, I had a conversation with my Uncle Tom as he was in the final stages of training for an ultramarathon. He mentioned that 2009 would be his 20th consecutive running of a 50K (31.07 miles) race in Huntsville State Park. Without being certain of what motivated me to do so, I told him that I would run that race with him. Perhaps I thought it would never come to pass, but that was foolish. When Shopoffs decided to do something, they do it. End of story.

My dad, Steve, had also run this race (or its 50 mile counterpart) many times in its nearly two-decade existence. He certainly would join Tom for the big anniversary run, so it seemed like a great opportunity to run a big event all together.

Then, last March, it was announced that the presenting sponsor of the race had financial issues, and the 2009 race– the 20th anniversary edition– would not be run. We spent several months talking about what we might do instead if no other sponsor picked up the race. By the end of the summer, we decided that we would put on our own race, using a certified course of out-and-backs and several relatively concentric trail loops, and forge ahead as planned.

(Shortly after we decided on our race date, another sponsor did come out with plans to hold an offical event. But the date for that event was bumped up a week from the traditional Second Saturday in December, and Tom and Dad had an already-booked ski trip for the new date.)

By the time December 12 arrived, we were ready to go. With various training strategies, all three of us were confident we could cover the distance; it was only a matter of pace and time that the day and course would determine. The weather was seemingly depressing– high 40s and heavy mist/light rain at the start. Running through the park meant that we’d be in shade for the whole day, so we opted for layers on top and tights on bottom. In the end, this was a good decision; the weather conditions varied little throughout the day.

What do people who are about to run 50K on wet, sloppy trails for seven hours look like?
My dad, Steve, age 62 11/12:

My uncle, Tom, age 58:

And, me:

We started off from the Nature Center slowly, which is the best way to begin most races, particularly an ultramarathon. By keeping the adrenaline in check and allowing the body to warm up well proved beneficial later in the day. After two short out-and-backs (and one wrong turn thanks to early run chattiness), we returned to our cars at the Nature Center and swapped out our bottles and packs. Our in-trunk aid station was well stocked and impressively efficient.

Because we had to carry all of our aid with us, we needed to be able to refill bottles at a place other than our start/finish line at the Nature Center. The most workable solution was to carry a gallon of water to a drop point that we would pass six times in the course of the run. Thanks to Dad for running the mile-and-a-half with the extra awkward weight. (The mountain biker who helped himself to the water before we even opened the jug thanks you, too, no doubt.)

By this point, roughly 1:15 into the run, we were well into a groove of running the flat and downhill sections and walking (purposefully and at a respectable clip) the uphills. The trail undulates and has a lot of exposed tree roots, stumps, and rocks. Footing is important with each and every step. And, yes, your neck gets sore from looking at the ground for hours on end.

The section along a fire road was a welcome break from the mental energy expenditure required on the real trail. Fortunately, the trail conditions were surprisingly good for the most part. The rain meant that the trail was well-packed and not dusty. But there wasn’t so much rain that there was caking mud. Several sections were plenty sloppy, but there was only one swampy area through which we had to wade gingerly.

We completed the first of the two long loops right on the pace that Tom projected. Back at the Nature Center everyone was feeling good, taking on Gu at regular intervals, and ducking behind trees for a pee break each hour. Even with the favorable temperature, staying hydrated is essential when running for so long. Although we weren’t sweating as much as we would have if the temperature were even five degrees warmer and there was no mist in the air, we had to make sure our muscles were getting plenty of fluids to prevent cramping. And the easily-digestable 100 calories of glucose from the hourly Gu ingestion was burned quickly given our effort. We restocked our packs and refilled our bottles quickly, then set off to repeat the long loop.

The goal of the second long loop was to finish it with enough energy to feel good for the final 10K. As such, we continued our walking and running as the terrain allowed. About halfway through the loop, both Tom and I noted hot spots on our heels. (And post-race evaluation confirmed gnarly blisters just above the heavily calloused heel ridge on all four feet.) Rather than focus on the short list of minor aches I had, I tried to spend more time looking up and enjoying some of the scenery when we popped out of heavily wooded areas.

We pressed on and finished the second long loop slightly ahead of projected pace. Our final stop by the Nature Center was incredibly efficient, as we all had a bit of horse-and-stable syndrome setting in. We grabbed a few Gu packets, dropped off empty bottles, and headed out. Only a 10K to go? Easy! Let’s go!

The first quarter-mile or so we stuck with our fast walking as we adjusted our gear. Then the next mile-and-a-quarter gave a good downhill stretch that we ran. It was the longest stretch of all-out running we’d done all day, and rather than being tiring it felt great. After a steep uphill climb we were able to run a bit more before stopping to top off our water bottles one more time. We took a new (to us) trail off of the fire road and into the woods. Although far less runnable than the fire road, it provided a lot of long hills that allowed different muscle groups to take turns. When we could, we ran hard. When we walked, we walked quickly. When we had huge mud puddles, we complained and trudged through them anyway.

At the turnaround and with 5K to go, we were well under projected pace. But we had gotten to the turnaround so quickly that we now had a chance to finish under 6:45. I still felt quite fresh physically, and the running so far had very little real cardiovascular challenge thanks to all the terrain-induced walking. So for the last 5K, we ran a higher percentage of the trail. For the first time all day, I was reminding myself to breathe rhythmically. I was also conscious that none of us had fallen all day, so I was putting extra mental effort into my foot placement. I certainly didn’t want to fall now! Tom was starting to have some cramping, but he dipped into his well of experience and hung in there. At the sight of the final boardwalk/bridge before the Nature Center finish line, we knew we’d done it. Not only had we finished in time to break 6:45, but we could get in under 6:40 as well.

As my dad and I crossed the finish line feeling strong, we looked at our watches. Six hours and thirty-nine minutes! Ah, the sweet accomplishment of a goal!

More importantly, it was time well spent with my dad and my uncle, running through a beautiful park, being grateful for our good health and great family.

Healthy Women Should Know About Healthy Woman

Last night, I was a guest of the fine women of Sullivan Physical Therapy at the Healthy Woman Anniversary Celebration. Healthy Woman is an outreach program of Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, and from what I saw at the brand new Cedar Park Center last night, they’re on a road to success.

The evening began in the concourse, with about fifty vendor booths set up for the mostly female crowd to browse. The booths represented the wide spectrum of products and services that contribute to women’s wellness: skin care products, jewelers, chiropractors, vitamin options, OB/GYNs, and many others. Some booths had demos, probably the most popular of which was Rachel Garman’s chair massage. There was an excited buzz all about the concourse.

The beautifully-presented dinner portion of the evening featured a fashion show followed by a keynote address by Linda Armstrong Kelly (aka Lance’s Mom.) Her story of being “a self-made Cinderella” emphasized the importance of persistence, hard work, setting goals, and being grateful for success. She also spoke about supporting Lance through his cancer treatments, reminding the crowd that it is each individual’s responsibility to advocate for her own health. It was a fitting way to finish an evening dedicated to women’s wellness needs.

It was both uplifting and reassuring to be in the company of 800+ other women who actively seek to live a life of wellness. I look forward to the next Healthy Woman event. What a fantastic resource they are for Central Texas women.