Not Your Typical Running Playlist

 
I recently took off for a run without paying much attention to which playlist I selected on my phone. Normally I mindlessly pick the playlist called "Running." So very creative, I know! But this time I decided to pick a different playlist called "Random Favorites." This particular playlist gets changed up all the time depending on my mood. I had forgotten that I recently filled this list with smooth, jazzy, relaxing songs in preparation for a cross-country flight. I like to plug my headphones in and totally zone out in relaxation on the airplane and this playlist was filled with songs that you should be listening to while sipping wine or slow dancing.

When I began my run and John Legend started to play I didn't think anything of it because he finds his way to many of my different playlists. But when Sade came on next, followed by Michael Buble I knew something was wrong. I didn't want to stop running and fiddle with my phone. That's something I stopped doing after upgrading my broken Droid with my new iPhone and it's just so blissful to never have to stop my workouts to fight with my phone. So I decided to just suck it up and listen to my slow grooves during the run.

What I discovered amazed me. The whole run seemed easier. I guess I was just relaxed and mellowed out. The music really set the tone for an easy-"listening" run. I found that I don't really need the typical thumping hip hop to get my heart racing. The running does that all by itself. Why not just kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride?

Hitting that playlist was indeed an accident, but I have a feeling that I'll be selecting it again on purpose in the future. You should give it a try. You might be surprised at how it can effect your run.

First Race of the Season

Not that this was really a big accomplishment, but it got me started . . . and now I'm trying to determine how far I want to go. I've been having fleeting thoughts of training for the Hartford Half Marathon that will take place in October. I'm not really sure what is possessing me to want to run a half marathon. I've never been a runner and I'm not even sure I really like it. There's no doubt that if I had my choice between biking and running I would always choose biking. But I seem to have this persistent itch to set a goal for myself – a challenging goal.

I remember the first time I decided that I wanted to "ride a century." This is a right of passage of every biker - to pedal 100 miles in one day. The first time I did it, it seemed like such a big deal. I trained all season for this big accomplishment and completing that ride was one of the sweetest feelings of my life. Of course, since then I biked several Centuries and none of them ever gave me that same thrill. It's also funny how all Centuries that followed never felt like a big deal and after doing it once you have a new-found confidence that you could "just do it." I'm hoping for this same experience with running.

The biggest reason for wanting to run a half marathon is simply to give myself a goal to which I can work toward. Nothing thrills me more than increasing my weights or reps in the gym or my mileage on the road. Maybe I'm just a statistic junkie, but I live for this. And then, of course, there's that bittersweet feeling of crossing the finish line and accomplishing the goal that I set for myself.

I have yet to commit to registering for the half marathon, but I'm setting an intermediate goal of running a race every month. If I do decide to go for the big run I will log and post my training efforts.

Hydration on the Run

I'm not sure what took me so long to buy one of these gadgets. Perhaps I've been relying too heavily on my husband being the water mule, but it's time for me to be more self sufficient. I've tried other means of carrying a single water bottle. The first version held the bottle in a dead horizontal fashion, which was up surd because the bottle insisted on dripping water down the back of my leg. It was fired.

Then version 2 came out and it was clear that the bug was worked out. This version carried the bottle at a 45 degree angle which was a much smarter idea. The only problem with this was that it wasn't quite built for running and the bottle was cumbersome and bouncy. There was never a moment that I wasn't aware of it bouncing on my back. That one got fired too.

Maybe the third one is the charm. This time I bought a true running belt, called the Fuelbelt R2O Revenge Hydration Belt,  which includes two tiny bottles. At first I was convinced that the amount of water it holds wasn't worth wearing the belt, but to my surprise, the fluid capacity of both tiny bottles was ever so slightly less then my one big water bottle. You can also buy these belts with 4 bottle holders on them, but for the distances I do, and the amount I drink, I figured two would be sufficient.

I settled on this exact brand and belt for one reason, and amazingly it wasn't based on color. Of all the belts I shopped for (on Amazon) this was the only one that was offered in sizes. What a brilliant concept. I have discovered over the years that one-size-fits is never true. Ever! Nothing in this world can fit everyone properly. There isn't a single run when my phone-holder arm band isn't sliding down my arm frustrating me because I can't wrap the elastic band around my arm tight enough. Everything should come in sizes! So this belt is nice and small and fits snugly around my waist without a mile of excess belt material dragging on the ground. It even comes with a small pouch that would be good to hold keys, a few bucks, some band-aids and some lip balm. I'm wishing it was big enough to carry a phone to eliminate the arm band problem. So far it's working out nicely and I think it will do the trick nicely. . . until Summer rolls around and it gets to hot to have the belt around my waist.

More Running Relevations

Two important things happened last week. I broke my 2 mile limit barrier and registered for the Thanksgiving 5 mile race. I guess it was after I easily transitioned from 2 miles straight to 3 miles that I gained the necessary confidence to just do it. I registered for the race and that instantly gave me the motivation to see if I could indeed run 3 miles again. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe I just got lucky. Nope. I was able to do it 3 more times, quite easily. My biggest challenge was not being able to breathe (or swallow) due to a sinus infection, but hopefully that will be cleared up soon.

During my last two runs I realized a couple more important things about my new running style. I am always on the look out for soft spots to run on. Fortunately I live out in the middle of the woods where the roads are lined by pine trees. At this time of year there is a carpet of soft pine needles lining the very edges of the roads in many spots. I compare myself looking forward to the next patch of pine needles to seeking out the next spot of shade on a hot sunny road bike ride. In my head I'm always thinking, "It won't be long to the next blissful patch of pine needles."

Why is it that I love running on pine needles so much? Do they really provide that much cushion? Or is it that I run just a little bit different on them? I noticed that I do, indeed, run a little different on the needles. I pick my feet up a little bit more and place them back down even flatter. Imagine running across these needles and not wanting to disturb them. That is how I pick up my feet. As if I'm running through wet grass and don't want to get my sneakers too wet. It's just a slight adjustment, but it makes the running seem effortless. When I realized this I started to keep this form whether I was on the pine needles or not. It made a difference.

The second revelation was in the music I was listening too. Normally I have a playlist of fast upbeat tunes to keep me rocking. But given the fact that I never loaded or set up my new Droid properly I just have to take whatever music comes up. I never seem to have the time to set up new playlists. And during my last two runs rather slow music played. The tunes had sort of an R&B smooth jazzy feel. Made me imagine sipping wine and slow dancing. Not exactly the picture you want in your head while running, but strangely, it worked. Let's face it, I'm not sprinting during my run. I'm jogging at a nice even pace and the slow smooth music totally relaxed me and put me into an easy effortless rhythm. My breathing seemed to slow and I felt more calm and relaxed than my normal gangster hip hop music. I was amazed at the effect it had on my run. From now on I'm sticking to slow sultry tunes.

I Learned the Secret To Running

I can't believe it's taken me (an undisclosed amount of) years to finally learn how to run. I mean how difficult should it be really? It's something that tiny toddlers master right after walking. I always marveled at the fact that book (with lots of pages) can be written on the subject. I remember picking up "Running for Dummies" one day and flipping through it just to see what it could say for over 200 pages.

I know that there are several documents printed on how to train for long distance runs and that I always understood. There has to be a formula by which you follow in order to achieve marathon distances. But who knew that the very basics of how to put one foot in front of the other needed to be learned?

It wasn't until I had a nice dinner-time, small-talk chat with some friends that are runners that I came to the shocking conclusion that I never knew how to run. One of these friends is the kind of guy that regularly bikes 150 miles per day. So needless to say, talking to him never really inspires me. The man is just not human. And if he his, he certainly isn't wired like the rest of us. But it was talking to the woman who is my age and training for her first ever marathon that gave me inspiration. I had all sorts of questions for her, the biggest being, "When you first started running how long did you run?" The answer shocked me. She said she could only run for 5 minutes at a time last year. This peaked my interest.

I am a great two miler. With no training at all, at any time of the year I manage to maintain my fitness level to the point where I can easily throw on my sneakers and run two miles. However, I seem to have a mental block at that distance, my body shuts down, and I can't seem to break it. Why is it that I can bike non-stop all day without it phasing me, but I can't run more than 20 minutes? I always thought it was because I have a bad knee and know that anything more will just cause me pain.

So I dug deeper into this conversation and learned this little trick about how you place your foot when jogging. You should be placing your foot flat, or maybe even a little bit toward the ball of your foot. Fascinating. I never really thought about how I placed my foot. And your stride should be short rather than long. Given the length of my legs (long) I always thought I was doing myself a favor by taking big strides. Wrong. My friends told me to think of running as simply just picking up your feet. Your upper body should be as still as possible and when your foot hits the ground just concentrate on picking it back up. They told me stories about people with bad knees and all sorts of injuries are running without any issues because they know how to run with the proper technique. It made me curious enough to test out the theory.

And guess what? I've been running 2 - 3 times per week, effortlessly and with no knee pain. I never thought this could be possible (the no pain part). Now granted I haven't conquered many more than 2 miles, but I'm increasing my distance by 1 or 2 telephone poles per run. The best and most fascinating part of this test is that when I finish running I feel as though as have so much more in me AND my knee doesn't hurt. I still can't believe this is possible, but it's true. I'm so excited to have finally learned how to run and almost motivated enough to sign up for an upcoming 5 mile race.

My New Motivation to Run

No, it's not because I'm about to go on vacation where I'll be sporting a bathing suit most days. And no, I haven't lost my mind and agreed to run in another race. So why am I all jazzed to get home every day and run? Because it takes less time than any of my other workouts!

I finally completed my third straight season of P90X and I'm ecstatic over the thought of gaining one little half hour back into my evenings. My husband and I normally take a one hour hike with our dogs, but a few days ago we decided to lace up our running shoes and give trail running a try. I always love to test my post-P90X physical condition and not many things test it like running. So we gave it a try and to my delight, I enjoyed it. Well, minus my nasty allergy issues that I always struggle with. Aside from the throat restricting, the wheezing, and the feeling like I'm being strangled, I really enjoyed the run – so much so that we decided to run every night. I'm just loving the fact that our workout now takes 30 minutes instead of 60.

But I can't help to wonder what gives me more of a work out. Do you burn more calories walking at a brisk pace on varying elevations for one hour, or jogging that same distance in half the time? This really has me pondering. I have several unreliable heart rate monitors and it appears that I average a heart rate of about 125 when I'm hiking. I can't get a reading while I'm running so I may never find out the answer to this question. Does anybody out there have and use a reliable heart rate monitor that doesn't require a chest strap? I see many products that you wear on your belt, or on your wrist, and I just can't figure out how they work. I have a chest strap and that darn thing doesn't even work. Please, if you know of a good means of measuring heart rate and calories burned, please let me know.