giving rise to action; staying fit and sane through running
I’ve never been a big fan of New Years resolutions. Most people look at them as an all or nothing proposition and give up on the whole thing when they misstep. It’s why gyms are so crowded in January and not as much so the rest of the year. The other issue is that we should be looking at establishing goals and creating good habits throughout the year, not just on the First of January. Read more
So, have you been working out? Or are you still struggling to get into a good routine? I will confess, I’ve been struggling. Not with sticking to my workout schedule; but rather sticking to my blogging schedule! Thankfully I started a workout routine just after Thanksgiving and it’s now a habit. It’s that with everything going on in our country and the world, I’ve found it a little difficult to sit down this week to write about training. It seems at times, trivial. I remembered however, that we need to workout to keep our stress levels manageable – regardless of where you stand on the issues.
So I don’t want to let you down if you’ve come here looking for motivation. If you haven’t gotten going yet, not to worry. Do not throw in the towel on your goals because you didn’t exactly stick to your New Year’s resolution. That’s what I hate about New Year’s Resolutions. Too often people feel it’s all or nothing. Every day is a new day, so if you haven’t started yet, you still can. If you have, good for you!
The best way to get into a routine, is to have a plan. Let’s start there. Creating and/or following a training plan provides easy to follow step by step instructions. You wouldn’t prepare a holiday meal without a menu and recipes, would you? You wouldn’t manage a big project at work without planning it out first either. You’d probably create a timeline, too. That’s exactly where to start with a training plan.
If you are new to running or getting back after a long break or injury, start slowly. For me, this is a building year. My ultimate goal is a Boston Marathon Qualifying Time at the NJ Marathon next year. This year, I have a spring goal race and a fall goal race. Both Half Marathons. So right now, I’m only looking at the spring goal. Your goal should be determined by your previous experience, current training/fitness level, how much time you have to dedicate to training, and how much time you have until the goal race. Will you have enough time for the appropriate amount of training? And a training rule worth sticking to is the 10% rule. Meaning that each week, you shouldn’t add more than 10% on to what you did last week.
Designing my training plan, I work backwards. Goal race is April 30. The 16-week training plan began the 2nd week in January. It involves a weekly long run designed to gradually build my endurance for the distance of my goal race, a speed session, and a “threshold” run or two (that’s a run of about 85-90% of max heart rate or “comfortably hard”), and a recovery (slower) run. I typically only run 4 days a week. And there is value in recovery and rest days! I also cross train – for me, swimming. I also try to working in a few sessions of Pilates, yoga and/or strength training each week. Maintaining core strength and flexibility is a key factor in preventing injuries, as is doing a solid warm-up at the beginning of each work-out and a stretching routine afterwards.
I’ve been running for over 20 years. I am a certified running coach and I’ve worked with a coach. I know what, in theory, works. I also know through years of trial and error what specifically works for me. So where do you, as a beginner or novice, go for a training plan for your specific goal race? If you are a beginner, you should look no further than a local “beginner to finisher” or “couch to 5k” program. First, as a beginner, I strongly urge you not to tackle a first race longer than a 5k. A beginner group will give you the organized plan, the benefits of having a coach, and the company of others. To find a group near you, Google “beginner run group” to see what comes up or leave a comment below and I will try to help. If you’re a walker who is new to running, you might find some helpful tips in this article, published recently on Sparkpeople.com, in which I am quoted: 9 Real-World Tips from Walkers Who Became Runners.
If you’ve already run your first race and are ready to work on increasing speed or distance, there are a ton of books out there, as well an abundance of online resources, including apps. Hal Higdon is probably one of the most popular and well respected (www.halhigdon.com). His training plans offer something for every distance and every level. Runner’s World (runnersworld.com) besides offering lots of useful information in their monthly publication also has training plans designed to meet a specific goal like weight loss, maintaining fitness, tackling a new distance or faster time. Lastly, (but of course not at all least of the options), hire a coach. A coach provides the accountability, and real-time feedback that you can’t get from a book, website or app. A coach can also make adjustments throughout your training based on how you are responding. To find a certified coach visit Road Runners Club of America or USA Track & Field websites.
Regardless of what plan you use, sticking to it builds discipline and focus…and certainly a sense of accomplishment, which will boost self-esteem. Exercising clears the head and relieves stress. I would add that getting outside for a run (rather than the treadmill all winter), if you can, is best. I have found lately that running on the treadmill at the gym in front of the morning news might elevate my heart rate a little too much.
Saddle River County Park, Dunkerhook Area, Paramus, New Jersey. January 2017.
Back in late November I was feeling really down. I just chalked it up to the time of year. It was just starting to get cold, the days were getting progressively shorter, and I was gearing up for another holiday season without a number of the people who had been around my table for so many holiday feasts of the past. So it was understandable. I was having trouble focusing at work, was neglecting my house, and didn’t feel like doing much of anything. Depression. And I felt stuck.
Yup. I’m a coach. I help clients get un-stuck all the time and was having trouble helping myself. I’m about as good at being my own coach as I am at French braiding my own hair. Thankfully I too have a coach. The first thing we talked about is how I felt over-whelmed by everything. That’s never a good place to be because collectively everything is more than you can handle. It needs to be broken down into manageable pieces. My coach asked me, what’s one thing that you want to take aim at?
She asked me about my running. I said I was running sporadically and that wasn’t it because trying to fit more runs into my schedule right then would just cause me more stress. I didn’t have the time I told her. So we agreed I’d aim at getting something accomplished at work. That would make me feel better, right? Well yeah, it did. Sort of. But a funny thing happened. The Monday after Thanksgiving, I signed up for a 6am Pilates class. I went to bed a little earlier the night before and resisted the urge to go back to bed when the alarm went off and made it to the class. The next day it wasn’t as hard to get up and I went to the gym to run on the treadmill. Getting up to run in the cold and dark was asking too much, but the treadmill was an okay compromise. Just a slow 3 miles. I ran 4 days that week and took two Pilates classes! By the the next week the endorphins were starting to kick in. Getting up wasn’t as much of a struggle and my mood was starting to elevate!
Never underestimate the power of endorphins! Suddenly I was looking at everything more positively. I was thinking clearer about everything. Just that simple mood boost helped change my perspective; made everything else feel more manageable. It wasn’t really the time of year, it was my lack of exercise! When I looked back at my training log and saw how long it had been since I was running consistently, it was no wonder I had been feeling the way I had. So if you need to take aim at something, start with exercise. Even just the American Heart Association’s recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise. Commit to walking a mile every morning before work. And that’s where you need to start if you want to run, whether you’re new to the sport or have been on the sidelines for a long time.
Starting an exercise plan is always hard at first. I’ve been getting up 6 days a week for over a month now to either run or do some sort of strength training or swimming (my go to cross training). It’s still hard. And as I work muscles that have been goofing off for months, I’m sore. If you’re feeling it, don’t give up! Focus on the good. Do you feel stronger? Are the endorphins helping to make you more awake and alive? Do you feel more focused? It takes a lot of discipline and drive at first, but then it starts to feel natural. It’s just getting over that hump.
I’m feeling pretty up! I’m ready for the new year ahead. I noticed that it’s not completely dark out when I leave work now, and this week in New Jersey the thermometer hit 65! This weekend’s schedule includes my first double digit long run since October. Thank god for endorphins! Are you feeling ’em?
Saddle River County Park, Glen Rock, New Jersey. January 2016.
There are bad habits and there are good habits. Our lives are filled with them. Our days are made up of them. And to figure out what we’re doing wrong, it’s always worth looking at our habits. New Year’s resolutions are about getting rid of bad habits or developing good ones. So let’s explore how habits work.
In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg explains, “habits can be ignored, changed, or replaced. But the reason the discovery of the habit loop is so important is that it reveals a basic truth: When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit—unless you find new routines—the pattern will unfold automatically.”*
Habitual routines are very helpful in getting us through our day, keeping us on schedule, basically without thinking about what we’re doing. Have you ever driven a familiar route almost on autopilot that you don’t even remember doing it? Most of the time we do not have to think about turning off lights and locking doors, or even the route we need to drive to work, because it has become a habit. But what do we do when some of our routine is filled with unhealthy or unproductive habits? Do you hit the snooze so many times that you miss a morning workout? Do you get engrossed in FaceBook in the middle of the work day that you’re not getting your work done? Has candy become your afternoon snack every day? Are you picking up takeout on your way home instead of cooking?
The “Habit Loop” that Duhigg discusses starts with a cue that triggers a craving. He writes, “Most of the time, these cravings emerge so gradually that we’re not really aware they exist, so we’re often blind to their influence. But as we associate cues with certain rewards, a subconscious craving emerges in our brains that starts the habit loop spinning. One researcher at Cornell, for instance, found how powerfully food and scent cravings can affect behavior when he noticed how Cinnabon stores were positioned inside shopping malls. Most food sellers locate their kiosks in food courts, but Cinnabon tries to locate their stores away from other food stalls. Why? Because Cinnabon executives want the smell of cinnamon rolls to waft down hallways and around corners uninterrupted, so that shoppers will start subconsciously craving a roll. By the time a consumer turns a corner and sees the Cinnabon store, that craving is a roaring monster inside his head and he’ll reach, unthinkingly, for his wallet. The habit loop is spinning because a sense of craving has emerged.”*
The craving leads to a routine (eating a cinnamon roll) which results in a reward (satisfying hunger with something very tasty). So when taking aim at a habit for your New Years resolution, keep this in mind. What’s the trigger and what’s the reward? Can the routine in the middle be replaced by something healthier or more positive? How do you go from hitting the “snooze 10 times” to getting up and going to the gym or getting out for a run? Focus on the reward. And understand that is takes a few weeks for a habit to emerge.
Duhigg explains, “to understand the power of cravings in creating habits, consider how exercise habits emerge. In 2002 researchers at New Mexico State University wanted to understand why people habitually exercise. They studied 266 individuals, most of whom worked out at least three times a week. What they found was that many of them had started running or lifting weights almost on a whim, or because they suddenly had free time or wanted to deal with unexpected stresses in their lives. However, the reason they continued—why it became a habit—was because of a specific reward they started to crave. In one group, 92 percent of people said they habitually exercised because it made them ‘feel good’—they grew to expect and crave the endorphins and other neurochemicals a workout provided. In another group, 67 percent of people said that working out gave them a sense of ‘accomplishment’—they had come to crave a regular sense of triumph from tracking their performances, and that self-reward was enough to make the physical activity into a habit.”*
In the later half of this year, I fell out of my running habit. When I was consulting, I was able to fit my workouts easily into a very flexible schedule, but going back to work full-time in April, left me with only the morning before work. And I had also developed a habit while consulting of going to bed later and sleeping later. It took me months to finally get back to a better – consistent – routine. And consistency is important. After 3 weeks of consciously forcing myself to bed earlier and out of bed in the morning as soon as the alarm goes off, I am almost able to do it without thinking. Almost.
What habits do you want to ignore, change or replace? What’s your New Year’s Resolution?
*Excerpts from: Duhigg, Charles. “The Power of Habit.” Random House, 2014-01-07. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright. Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itun.es/us/UH6NA.l
Mattawa, Illinois. December, 2016.
Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? I set goals that are flexible enough so they are not quickly abandoned as New Year’s Resolutions often are. I have new goals for myself this year professionally (this blog is part of that), personally (like a lot of you it has to do with eating healthier), and running, which for me is a whole separate category. More on that to come. But if you’re still looking for ways to fulfill your promise to yourself to get healthier this year, let’s talk about fundraising. Yes, fundraising!
The last race I ran in 2015 was the Reindeer Run in Franklin Lakes. It was a fundraiser for The Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament (the elementary school were I spent 9 years of my life from Kindergarten through the 8th grade). My first race of 2016 has already been completed – the Fair Lawn Sunrise Rotary’s First Day 5k. These local races give us such a great opportunity to get up and out and to do something healthy with family and friends. But these little races are also supporting the schools, civic organizations, and non-profits that make our communities a great place to live and work. To find a race near you start with USATF and look at the race calendar or link to your local chapter.
I feel fortunate that my hobby (passion?) provides a vehicle for fundraising for such important missions that impact so many lives. I feel even better when I can be intimately involved in these events. And I’ve been involved in the inception of several races, to planning, to event day management and staffing. It should come as no surprise that my professional career and my running life began and took shape simultaneously.
I was always an athlete, but I hated to run. As an adult I was constantly searching for my “grown-up sport.” I played a little tennis, tried golf and even joined a bowling league. It wasn’t until I decided to make a career change and enrolled in a certificate program that I also stumbled on the right new sport.
The certificate was in event marketing offered by NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. My first class was “Events Public Relations” taught by a woman who at the time also served as Vice President of Public Relations for New York Road Runners. Most of the materials she used in class were from the NYC Marathon. The competitor in me kept thinking “I could do that!” even though I doubt I could run a block at that point. Thankfully, one of the class’ guest speakers came to talk about the (then) Chemical Bank Corporate Challenge and helped me set a more realistic initial goal.
It was spring 1995 and I worked in a fairly dysfunctional sales office. When I heard about the great team-building benefits of the Corporate Challenge I thought it might be a good way to try running and put an end to office politics too! So, my first race. And I never looked back.
A year later I had my certificate in event marketing and 18 months after that I did the impossible. I finished the New York City Marathon. By then I was the special events director for Bergen County’s United Way and raised over $5000 for that organization through the marathon – I had successfully started my fundraising career and found a sport for grown- ups. They both became my passion. Running helps me stay focused and disciplined which obviously helps my work and I have found that raising money for a good cause is a real motivator when training for a marathon.
Every runner – and every person involved with non-profits from staff to volunteers – has a story about how they got started and what keeps them going – what’s yours?
Saddle River County Park, Paramus, NJ. January 2016.