How to Run

If you are anything like me you aren’t a fan of stretching. Ive grown to enjoy it more over time but still, not what I love spending my time doing. After all, runners want to run! The “sit and reach” exercise was always the crusher of my Presidential Physical Fitness Award dreams, throughout elementary school, despite easily achieving many of the other standards. I’m also certain that most of the injuries I’ve sustained over my career could be traced back to this error of laziness.

How to Start Running

I get asked this question all the time by people who are interested in beginning a running program. Some  of them are seeking a good way to shed a few pounds, some were athletes during their younger days and running was only a part of game day or a form of punishment. Others haven’t run more than a few steps since grade school. But what most of the folks who ask me how to start running all have in common is that they seem to be searching for “something”. That “something” is what the majority of runners have already discovered: a healthy way to disconnect and find balance.

Drink the Kool Aid

For more than 70 consecutive days it has been over 90 degrees in the low country of South Carolina. For anyone out there who thinks that 90 degrees feels like 90 degrees in this part of the country, you are wrong. Just walking outside resembles a health club sauna, minus the naked members of course. I am so ready for winter, even if its only 1 month long like the last. All of this focus on sticking to my training plan, dodging the heat as much as possible and strength training more has caused me to miss one of the most important parts of training. The ability to stay healthy by doing necessary maintenance exercises. I talk a big game to my clients about a specific warmup before runs and a core and hip strengthening routine for after. All the while I know how important it is but it is so easy to feel bomb proof while the going is good. 

It’s Hot

There are studies out there have compared the benefits of heat training to that of altitude training. While altitude training has been found to increase the body’s red blood cell count, training in extreme heat while slightly dehydrated can stimulate the body to produce more plasma. 

One Month, One Mile

So as I am patiently waiting for the start of my race I look down and notice that the soles of my shoes are melting off. The same happened with the backup pair! Granted it is in the upper 90s in South Carolina which usually means that it feels closer to 200 degrees and I have been standing on the track for over an hour. I traveled 4 hours from Bluffton to Greenville to race in the South Carolina Open and Masters Track Classic. I was already working with a handicap after that drive but a one hour delay didn’t help either. Needless to say I did not finish this race season the way I would have liked but it did however start with some promise.