Take A Break Before You Break

Forced time off from running is not fun. One of the biggest mistakes runners make is only resting when their body rebels in the form of injury or illness. Instead, I recommend having planned periods of rest throughout the year to let your body reset and your mind recharge. Every 3-6 months, plan a goal race (or peak in training) that is followed by 2-4 weeks off from training. Everyone is different with how they handle training and resting, but to be honest, I literally go through running withdrawal during this time.  Even though I dislike breaks, after 16 years of training hard and resting hard, I have learned some tricks that help me enjoy these important weeks of recovery. 

Vacation!
If you’re like me, most of your traveling is for work or for racing. Planning a trip after your goal race or planned end-of-season gives you something to look forward to after all those months of training. When you don’t have to structure your vacation around getting in your run, there suddenly seems to be more hours in the day. This extra time (and extra energy) you have allows you to maximize your trip by staying up late, walking a million miles, and eating and drinking without fear of how your stomach will feel during your workout tomorrow. 

Activities!
I look forward to my break, but after two days of no running, I feel bored and antsy. Exploring alternative forms of exercise such as hiking, spin classes, swimming, rock climbing, and ElliptiGO/elliptical, are some of my favorite activities. Finding non-running outlets for your energy can help you enjoy your time off too.

Socializing!
When I am training, my life is structured without much time (or energy) to socialize. While on a break, plan more social activities. Try a new restaurant, order a drink (or two) and dessert. Enjoy happy hours, dinner parties, ice cream socials. Spend time having fun, dressing up, and being merry. (*Safely and responsibly at this time)

How long do I need to rest?
There are several factors to consider when you plan a break to determine how long you should refrain from running:

1-The length of your previous training block. If you have been training for more than 4 months, it is smart to take at least 2 weeks to recover.

2-The length of your final race. If you ran a half marathon or shorter, 2 weeks is probably adequate, but if you ran a marathon, you may need to take up to 4 weeks off.

3-The physical state of your body. If you have any injuries, you may need even longer than 4 weeks to fully heal. Don’t rush back to training before your body is ready.

4-The psychological state of your mind. If you feel drained and mentally exhausted, wait to run again until you miss training and are ready to get back to the grind. Don’t rush the rest period and enjoy your complete recovery.

Regardless of how long you take off, it is important to ease back into running after taking a break. Start with a few weeks of light, easy miles as your body adapts back to the training routine. Within 2-4 weeks you will feel like yourself again and will be ready to chase your next goal with a newly energized mind and body!

“Get Running”

NSG

2016 NYC Marathon

Monaco

Bike Tour of Barcelona

Amalfi Coast

FREE (1 month) Get Running Basic Run Plan

Try a FREE one month basic run plan. Coach Neely and Coach Katie help runners of all ages and abilities chase their goals.

The Get Running Basic Run Plan for those wanting to have consistency and progression with a structured training plan designed to build a strong base of aerobic fitness. (Keep the pace at a slow and controlled intensity so you can have the desired progression).

1-Run 1mile

2-Rest

3-Run 1.5miles

4-Rest

5-Run 2miles

6-Rest

7-Run 2.5miles

8-Rest

9-Run 3miles

10-Rest

11-Run 1.5miles

12-Rest

13-Run 2miles

14-Rest

15-Run 2.5miles

16-Rest

17-Run 3miles

18-Rest

19-Run 3.5miles

20-Rest

21-Run 2miles

22-Rest

23-Run 2.5miles

24-Rest

25-Run 3miles

26-Rest

27-Run 3.5miles

28-Rest

29-Run 4miles

30-Rest

31-Run 5miles

Let us know if you try it! We have never offered FREE coaching plans before so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Share with your friends too so you can keep each other accountable. For a more individualized and structured plan email me neelyruns@gmail.com

Get Running!

Coach Neely & Coach Katie

FREE (1 month) Get Running Walk/Run Plan

Coach Neely has helped runners of all abilities chase their goals since she started her coaching business in 2013.

The Get Running Walk/Run Program for anyone who wants to get into running with a progressive routine! Goal: Work up to 1 hour of exercise. (Keep the pace at a slow and controlled intensity so you can have the desired progression).

1-Walk 1minute / Run 1minute x10 for 20minutes total

2-Rest

3-Walk 1minute / Run 2minutes x8 for 24minutes total

4-Rest

5-Walk 1minute / Run 3minutes x7 for 28minutes total

6-Rest

7-Walk 1minute / Run 4minutes x6 for 28minutes total

8-Rest

9-Walk 1minute / Run 5minutes x5 for 30minutes total

10-Rest

11-Walk 1minute / Run 6minutes x5 for 36minutes total

12-Rest

13-Walk 1minute / Run 7minutes x4 for 32minutes total

14-Rest

15-Walk 1minute / Run 8minutes x4 for 36minutes total

16-Rest

17-Walk 1minute / Run 9minutes x3 for 30minutes total

18-Rest

19-Walk 1minute / Run 10minutes x3 for 33minutes total

20-Rest

21-Walk 1minute / Run 15minutes x2 for 32minutes total

22-Rest

23-Walk 1minute / Run 18minutes x2 for 38minutes total

24-Rest

25-Walk 1minute / Run 20minutes x2 for 42minutes total

26-Rest

27-Walk 1minute / Run 22minutes x2 for 46minutes total

28-Rest

29-Walk 1minute / Run 24minutes x2 for 50minutes total

30-Rest

31-Run 60minutes without stopping

Let us know if you try it! We have never offered FREE coaching plans before so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Share with your friends too so you can keep each other accountable. For a more individualized and structured plan email me neelyruns@gmail.com

Get Running!

Coach Neely & Coach Katie

Goal Setting for 2020

I’ve been thinking about goal setting, you know, since the year/decade is fresh and new. In college, I used to write down 10 goals at the beginning of each semester and then keep a journal to help track my progress and consistency with them. I definitely don’t have time for a written journal any more, but I still keep track of goals via a bullet journal-Thanks to Colleen Quigley for the idea! (Here’s a FREE Printable one for you to try!).

• I write down 1-3 big goals… OUTCOME goals such as:
  1-Qualify for the Olympic Trials. 2-Consistent Running for the year. 3-Get back to racing. (These can include anything that is important to you this year… run a PR, Age Group Win, Qualify for Boston, Run 10 miles Without Stopping, Do My First 5k… whatever is exciting and something that will get you out the door on hard days.)

• Then I print off the Bullet journal, and each month I write supporting goals/habits that I can strive for daily that help me reach that big outcome goal. These are called PROCESS goals.
  I usually have 3-10 going each month but they’re little attainable things. Here is what I did the month of December as I was preparing for the Houston Marathon.
  1-Bed by 9pm. 2-Take Vitamins. 3-Limited Dairy (I have developed a sensitivity to dairy since having Athens). 4-No Alcohol. 5-Core/Strength/Mobility work. 6-Recovery/Rolling/Stretching/Yoga. 7-Emphasis on Hydration. 8-Lay down for 30min per day. (These process goals can be anything that you think you need to incorporate most days into your routine to help your body be ready to meet the big outcome goal.)

Let me know if you try it! I am so excited to have a fresh start and a new outlook on training this year. 2019 did not go my way, but that’s ok. I am learning and adapting and having fun with running and that is what matters. Now let’s all Get Running towards those goals.

NSG

Flexibility is NOT my Middle Name...

Have you ever had to adjust your training due to sickness, injury, or weather? Maybe it’s just me, but I hate deviating from The Plan. Within the past few months, I have had all of these… which means lots of plan changing and trying to be flexible while still putting in the work towards my goals.

Sickness
Well, there are so many kinds of illnesses out there. I dealt with a head cold for a week. It was while we were traveling, so I was just worn out, not getting the rest I need, and stressed with mom-ing while not in our normal routine. I scratched a workout, cut some runs short, and slowed down the pace to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone. I didn’t cross train or strength train to conserve energy, and I tried to get to bed earlier. If you have a sickness that requires doc attention, medication, or are puking, then you will definitely want to be more conservative and take complete rest days to allow your body to focus on recovering. Be smart, don’t dig yourself into a hole, and then take a few days to ease back into training before you do any workouts or long runs.

Injury
I shared that my calf/shin was irritated. I’m in the process of doing some form changes, strengthening weaknesses, and trying to get in solid miles, workouts, and consistency with strength training in the gym. All while still carrying more weight than my body is used to. I ended up taking a week off from running in January, and did non-impact cross training and rehab work instead. This meant bike, pool, elliptigo/elliptical, lifting, strength training, dry needing, cupping, massage, graston, rolling, and of course, icing. In the past, I would have been so upset to miss out on those miles, but weather was awful, so that helped, and when I took 6mos off from running while pregnant, a week felt like nothing. My rule of thumb is that if something lingers longer than 3 days, it needs some extra attention! If you feel the onset of abnormal pain or soreness, I promise, change the plan and back off, take off, XT, rest and then get back out there once it’s past. Pushing through is rarely a good choice.

Weather
I have lived in the Boulder, Colorado area for over 4 years, and this was definitely the worst of our winters so far. The trails were very icy and closed for consecutive weeks, lots of sub 20 degree mornings, and for some reason it seemed to snow every weekend to add to the difficulty of long runs. As I write this, it is April 10 and we are in a Blizzard warning… but it was 77 degrees yesterday, so I can’t complain on that one. Moral of this story is to be flexible with your training when weather is hot, cold, icy, stormy etc. It is not worth risking your life, your health, or your soul to force something when the elements are against you. Adjust the days of your workouts by staying up to date on the Weather Channel app so you can be prepared ahead of time to make changes, take the runs inside, change up the workouts to be effort based vs pace based, slow down, or even take a rest day.

Here are some tips for adjusting the plan while traveling, adapting training to focus on effort vs pace, or as summer makes an appearance, how to train in the heat. Cheers to learning how to be more flexible to increase success and joy in the process of fitness.

Overnight Oats: A Guide To Pre-Made Breakfast

Yup, feeding yourself always comes second to feeding your ever hungry little munchkin… or walking the dog, or doing the laundry, or getting in a run, or rushing to shower before work… whatever it is that makes your mornings busy, overnight oats are easy to prep ahead of time to get you through those busy mornings.

BASE

• 1 jar

• 1/2 cup oats

• 1/2 cup milk or almond milk

• 1/4 cup greek yogurt

• mix-in of choice

MIX-INS

• 1 tablespoon each of pumpkin, maple syrup, and crushed pecans

• 1 banana, 1 tablespoon peanut butter

• 1 tablespoon honey, 1/4 cup blueberries (frozen, fresh, or dried)

• 1 scoop protein powder plus any fresh berries

• 1 teaspoon vanilla, raisins, sprinkle of cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup, walnuts, dried cranberries

• 1 tablespoon cacao powder, 1 tablespoon honey, crushed almonds, coconut flakes

Coaching: Combine all ingredients in the jar, shake, and store in fridge for up to 5 days.

The Science of Cold-Weather Running

Dan has a PhD is Exercise Physiology from Penn State University, a 2:26 marathon PR, and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Integrative Physiology of Aging Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder. He also happens to be a good friend of mine, and on long runs, he always has interesting scientific info to share as the miles fly by. He is no stranger to NeelyRuns.com as he wrote a guest blog called Train Hot Race Cool and now he is back with more insight on how climate affects running.

Cold temperatures are on the way for runners all over the country. While humans are very good at acclimating to hot weather (we increase our sweat rate and skin blood flow), we are relatively poor at acclimating to cold weather. Because of this, cold weather poses a unique challenge for runners. Here, I’ll tell you why the cold slows you down and what you can do about it.  

One way the cold temperatures can negatively influence your running performance is by decreasing muscle force production. Cold muscles contract with less force than warm muscles. The cold also changes the neural recruitment pattern of muscle fibers (basically, the brain changes the way it signals muscles to contract), which results in less efficient contractions and further reduces muscle force. This means you’ll have to increase your effort to maintain the same pace, which isn’t ideal for performance-oriented runners. How can you counteract this? First, do a dynamic warm-up (lunges, squats, clamshells, donkey kicks, etc.) indoors before going out and running in the cold; this will increase muscle temperature and blood flow. Second, wear running pants or tights when the temperature drops to near- or below-freezing levels. Sure, it might look tough to run in shorts when it is zero degrees out, but you don’t get a bonus in races for being a dumbass.

Another way the cold can affect your running is by changing metabolism. In the cold, your body uses fewer free fatty acids and more glycogen for energy. In long races, like the marathon, running out of glucose and glycogen results in hitting the wall. So, in cold weather you’re likely to hit the wall a few miles sooner than in warm weather. Be sure you start your run well fueled by eating plenty of carbs in the preceding 24 hours. Also, be sure you are fueling during any long run or race in the cold. Drinking too much cold liquid while running can lower your body temperature, so I recommend using gels or chews that can be carried with you and kept warm by your body heat (note: you’ll still need to drink enough to maintain hydration, however this will be much less than what is required when it’s hot outside).  

To summarize, in cold weather be sure you:

1.     Do a dynamic warm-up

2.     Dress in warm clothes

3.     Consume carbohydrates 

Do these three things and you’ll be ready to conquer to cold weather and your competition.

Cold weather fun fact: Ever wonder why you have to pee as soon as you go out in the cold? The cold causes vasoconstriction of the blood vessels in your periphery, which redistributes more blood to your core, including the kidneys. The increased blood flow to the kidneys increases urine production, which makes you pee.

Happy Running!

Guest Blog: Post-Workout Recovery: Why Every Endurance Athlete Should Take Magnesium

Luke is a fitness and health blogger at Ripped.me and a great fan of the gym and a healthy diet. He follows the trends in fitness, gym and healthy life and loves to share his knowledge through useful and informative articles.

Ask any avid runner or endurance athlete and they will tell you: post-workout recovery is just as important as working out. In fact, you could argue that the way you treat your body after a vigorous training session, especially as a distance runner, will not only set the stage for your next workout, but also determine whether or not you could encounter an injury down the road.

Keep in mind that sports injuries are cumulative, meaning that just because you haven’t sprained your ankle during your run doesn’t mean that your knees are not developing patellar tendonitis without any notable symptoms. This is why proper post-workout recovery is super important for every aspiring endurance athlete, and magnesium might just be the wonder mineral you need to keep your body fit and able for the challenges ahead.

Helps eliminate muscle spasms and cramping

Athletes hailing from all sports ranging in intensity, duration, and volume of training know all-too-well that one bad cramp can be a debilitating blow to their performance, if not their entire training week. Yes, when you’re training hard and when you’re running for the distance, your cramps tend to be a bit more severe than when you get off your butt after watching Netflix for three hours.

Needless to say, a cramp or muscle spasm is always better to prevent than treat, and magnesium can help you in both cases. In fact, magnesium is the key ingredient in relieving muscle cramps and spasms, and magnesium deficiency has been proven to increase the risk of muscle cramps in the lower body. As a runner, you cannot afford your lower body to suffer like this.

An essential nutrient in energy production

To keep things simple and to the point, glucose is your source of fuel the body uses for energy and it’s what keeps you going through the toughest of challenges. Now, given the fact that your needs to turn glycogen into glucose first, you need to understand that this process wouldn’t be possible without magnesium.

So much so, that magnesium deficiency or simply the lack of frequent intake will cause your energy levels to drop rapidly, and as a result, you will feel more fatigued, thus unable to complete your workout. And of course, if you try to push yourself under these conditions, you will risk injuring yourself. So just take ample amounts of magnesium prior to your next training session, and right after as well.

Improves muscle and CNS recovery

Out of all the health and performance benefits regular magnesium intake brings to the average athlete, improved muscle and CNS recovery has got to take the proverbial cake. However, keep in mind that because magnesium does have lower bioavailability (meaning how much you can actually consume from foods), supplementing with magnesium tablets is not only a healthy option but a prudent one for athletes looking to get all the benefits. (*not endorsed by Get Running or NeelyRuns)

When you supplement with magnesium, you can also tailor your nutrition around other crucial nutrients instead of trying to consume handfuls upon handfuls of pumpkin seeds. In any case, because magnesium is a potent anti-inflammatory agent, it’s excellent for reducing muscle and joint pain, CNS fatigue, and other post-workout inflammatory conditions that might hinder your next run.

Boosting explosive power and vertical movements

Every endurance athlete and professional player knows just how important it is to skim a second off your personal best, or increase your vertical jump by a centimeter or two – any little improvement can help you achieve better results. This is where magnesium comes in as a crucial element in force production and overall explosiveness from the ground.

By eating or supplementing with magnesium on a regular basis, you can not only ward off injuries and repair your body, but over time you can also add centimeters to your vertical, and if you’re a distance runner, improve your explosive speed to reach the finish line faster without fatiguing too early. Seeing as how there is no need to cycle magnesium, you can use it long-term to experience the cumulative benefits.

Helps you build lean muscle mass

Last but not least, building lean muscle mass should be one of your primary goals no matter if you’re a sprinter, a ninja warrior, or a bodybuilder. While you should build muscle according to your needs and aspirations, it will be crucial for your performance on the track to have as much functional mass as possible.

Remember, when combined with proper endurance training, the muscle can never be dead weight! Given the fact that your body’s insulin sensitivity increases with the amount of magnesium in your system, you can improve the fat-burning and muscle-building process while experience the aforementioned benefits as well.

Proper macronutrient and micronutrient intake is crucial for any athlete looking to become better at the sport and set higher goals for the near future. With that in mind, magnesium just might be the mineral that will help you take your fitness game to the next level and ensure a long and healthy career to boot.

If you're interested in submitting a guest blog, please email me neelyruns@gmail.com

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The Importance of Hydration Before and After Running: A Guest Blog

This guest blog is by Harper Reid, a freelance writer from Auckland, New Zealand who is passionate about healthy living and fitness. When she's not writing, you'll find her sweating it out in the gym, practicing yoga or checking out the latest fitness trends. You can find more of her work on her Tumblr.

Photo Credit: Alan Carrillo via Unsplash under License

We can all appreciate, in theory, how vital water is to our health and wellbeing – but do we know the specifics of how H2O interacts with exercise? If you’re a runner, keeping hydrated will prove an integral aspect of your active lifestyle – and here’s why.

It starts beforehand
Hydrating for exercise doesn’t start the moment you run out the door; rather, you should prep for a good workout far in advance by regularly drinking H2O. It’s especially important to keep tabs on your hydration during the warmer months, as hot conditions will put extra strain on your muscles and vital organs - most of all your heart - while running.

The good old urine test is a sure-fire way to check your internal water levels. The darker and yellower, the more water you need to fuel your body with. Aim to drink regularly through the day, and consume an extra half a liter of water a few hours before you set out for a long run.

Photo Credit: Maarten van den Heuval via Unsplash under License

 Running depletes your stores
When we’re dehydrated, the amount of water in our body decreases to the extent that we can lose up to 2% of our sum body weight. This loss of water wreaks havoc on our cardiovascular system, energy levels, and the efficacy of our muscle function. We tend to forget that our muscle cells are made up of 75% water, so it makes sense that if we’re losing fluid through sweat, we’ll feel weaker pretty quickly.

But don’t go too far in the other direction: too much fluid can be detrimental not only to your running performance (hello, water bloat!) but to your overall health. In the worst-case scenario, severe over-hydration can lead to hyponatremia, a condition that occurs when salt levels in the blood reach a life-threatening low.

Remembering to drink
Keeping hydrated isn’t a case of just remembering to drink when you’re bone thirsty. As a general rule, drink around 100ml of water every quarter of an hour that you exercise (this amount may need to be increased or decreased depending on your body size, the temperature outside, and the intensity or length of your run). If you need to set a watch alarm to remind you, then do so, and make things easier for yourself by investing in a hydration pack that you can easily pound the pavements with.

When doing an intense activity like running, you may want to switch out water for a sports drink with added carbohydrates and electrolytes. The kinds of chemicals and minerals contained within electrolytes (like sodium, potassium, and chloride) will replace the nutrients you lose by sweating, which will then help you to fend off the runner’s enemies – dizziness, leg cramps, and racing heartbeat. To DIY your own drink, mix a cup of water with a cup of orange juice and a pinch of salt – easy, effective, and tasty.

Photo Credit: Dominik Vanyi via Unsplash under License

The benefits of hydration
So: why is drinking water so important during, before, and after a run? Well, aside from keeping our bodies functioning at the cellular level, water can actually improve athletic performance. Studies have proven that running endurance and speed is enhanced significantly with proper hydration – we’re talking minutes off of your 10km time!

And since all that sweat loss can lead to very dry skin (something you’ll want to avoid if you suffer a skin condition like eczema), runners should keep in mind the benefits of hydration for skin health. Skin is an organ like any other, with skin cells mainly comprised of water. If you’ve been feeling a little dry around the edges lately, you may want to start taking hydration during exercise more seriously.

Adjusting for Effort

If you’re like me, splits are everything! I get very focused on hitting the exact paces prescribed, and if I don’t meet or exceed them, I feel like I failed. But this isn’t true and it doesn’t create the best environment for us to chase our goals! Why? Because effort in a workout will teach you effort on race day. And that is the best strategy for racing! Let’s explore what I mean and how this looks in training.

1-How do I know what my effort should be?

Your breathing rhythm! If you have followed me at all, you will know that breathing comes up a lot. (Here’s an article I wrote on breathing rhythm)  It’s simple, you can’t run for more than 20seconds if you’re not breathing. Learning to control your breathing will teach you what your breathing should feel like at different efforts. If you’re running easy, then your breathing should be very controlled. You should be able to hold a conversation without difficulty. For a moderate workout like a tempo run, you should be focused but controlled. Feeling like you could answer a question with a few sentences, but don’t want to maintain a conversation. With a hard effort, you should be able to only respond in short one or two word answers. When you apply these principles, you will be able to judge your effort better and thus get the most out of your workout and race.

2-Once I learn effort, how do I apply it to races?

Effort based training will help prepare you for races with hills, wind, turns, all the things that would impact your pace. It also helps in city races where GPS isn’t accurate. The only time splits can be 100% accurate and un-interrupted, is racing indoor track… How many indoor track races do you do? Probably none or not many. Learning this effort strategy will be so applicable for you!

3-Why breathing and not heart rate?

It’s one and the same. But with breathing, you don’t have to have a heart rate monitor, or be so focused on what the apparatus is saying. Instead, you run freely and more in-tune with your body, both mentally and physically.

If you practice this method, some days in training will be faster than you expect, and other days slower. You will work with your body instead of fighting it and this will help keep you healthier and able to keep working towards your goals! Let me know if you have specific questions, I am happy to share my advice! But for now, happy training and happy racing!

NSG