Your Help Required

Runners, Triathletes, Countrymen, Lend me your ear! I have awesome news: I’m going to graduate school in the fall in Tuscaloosa, Alabama of all places. I’m beyond excited, but what does this mean for my list of run-scuses? It means I have a time-frame. I have to find new trails, train up, and race by the first week of August. I have an inflexible deadline and no way to worm free. This is probably good practice for graduate school, along with instituting coffee as a form of liquid sleep.

So, back to my list:

1) I have persistent IT Band Syndrome

2) It’s too damn cold

3) I’m bored of running Seneca Creek/I don’t know other trails in the area

4) I’m not signed up for any races, so I don’t have a goal

Reviewing my run-scuses, I should be on #2, facing the cold but it’s nearly April and winter is all but done. So, I’m going to knock #2 out real quick and focus on 3 and 4.

To face those last bitter days of winter, I’m looking to film again for inspiration. And who are my role models, my fortitude when my fingers and toes feel numb? The brave crew of 4 men on the Jamaican bobsled team of Cool Runnings, who were actually based on a real Jamaican bobsled team that competed at the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary.

If a group of Caribbeans can compete in frigid Alberta, I can face a 40° day.

O.K., on to the last run-scuses on my list! And this is where I’m really relying on help from you guys: I need new places to run. I run Seneca Creek all the time, but I’ve gotta test out some new trails. And yes, I’ve tried running the loop backwards.

And related to exploring new trails, I need a goal race. I think I’d like to do a trail half marathon, but I’m open to suggestions. If anyone has a favorite race they want to recommend, I’d love to hear about it.

Readers, if you’re in the know, share your wisdom. Your two-cents is invaluable to me— no pun intended. Comment below with trails and races and help a fellow runner out. And if you’re susceptible to bribes, I’m an excellent baker!

Happy running,

Maggie

If Forest Gump Can Do It...

Hi folks, I’m back this week to eradicate another running excuse! Last week, my challenge was learning hip and glute strengthening exercises to manage my IT band pain. So I hit the gym with Melissa “The Gluteus Guru” Barber to work out a strengthening regimen for me.  Not only did she guide me through my work-out but she also took pictures to demonstrate what the exercises look like in action and so that I could get a jump on my fitness modeling career.

1)      Box Squats— If you can, use a box or a bench that puts you just below parallel when you squat. When you stand, contract the glutes to propel you up.

2)      Bulgarian Split Squats—I’d recommend using less weight on this one than you did on the box squats. In my case, the un-weighted bar bell was enough of a challenge, but hopefully with enough practice, that will change.

3)      Bar Bell Hip Thrusts—

Contract as you bridge up.

 I like this one. It makes me look really intense…like I really know my way around a weight room.

**To do the hip and glute abductors, not shown above because my face looked too ridiculous in the pictures to include them in a public forum, do the following: Put an exercise band around both ankles. Extend your non-standing leg to the side until you feel resistance and do 20 reps. Then extend the non-standing leg behind the body and do 20 reps. Repeat on the other leg. Do 4 sets on each leg. You’ll feel the burn with this one folks, so do it last!

O.K., Time to review my list:

1) I have persistent IT Band Syndrome

2) It’s too damn cold

3) I’m bored of running Seneca Creek/I don’t know other trails in the area

4) I’m not signed up for any races, so I don’t have a goal

Second on my list is the cold. If I’d been strategic about this, I would have listed this second one last. Then I could have avoided addressing the problem altogether because it would be mid-March by the time I got around to it. BUT I didn’t, so check out my next post where I’ll face my winter wimpiness and get out there in the cold!

I usually try to end my blog with a question, but I’m going to sign out on an inspirational note today:

Forrest Gump could run for three years, two months, fourteen days, sixteen hours, and cross the Mississippi 4 times and he’s not even real. Just think of what you can accomplish!

-Maggie

A Haiku for You!

Roses, chocolate, jewelry, dinner by candle light. These are the hallmarks of Valentine’s day, but they are material things and love cannot be bought!

Sonnets, sestinas, ballads and odes. Poetry is the language of love! Call me a sap, but what could be more romantic than a lyrical outpouring in a formulated structure?

Don’t believe me? Just try not to swoon:

How do I love thee, running? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight.

 

Ok, so maybe I didn’t write that, but I did test out my poetic inclinations and write a haiku just for you guys. Here it is:

Sunday, long run day

Think my nose hairs are frozen

…What I do for love

O.K., you’ve read my poem, now I want to read yours. I know you might be intimidated by my talents as a poet, so I’m offering an incentive. Whoever has the best running-themed haiku will win a $15 gift certificate and a free pair of Balega socks. Don’t you think that’s worth 17 syllables?

To refresh your memory, haikus are 3 line poems. The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7, and the third goes back to 5. If you comment below and follow those simple guidelines to bring out your inner poet, you could be the winner!

Can’t wait to read your responses.

-Maggie

Get Out of Hibernation Mode!

I have a confession to make:

For me, winter is a period profuse with excuse. In fact, I’d say excuses are the singular field in which my productivity increases. Basically, I go in to hibernation mode. And yet, here I am writing for a blog called Trampling Down Walls & Eradicating Excuses. I haven’t written an article in nearly a month because I haven’t been running as much as I would like to be, but that’s just another excuse, isn’t it?

And I know I’m not alone in this. There’s a wise adage that goes like this: “Excuses are like…” well, never mind. But the punchline is “Everbody has one.” So today I’m going to lay out all of the excuses I have not to run and week by week, I’m going to (do my best to) eradicate every single one of them.

1)      I have persistent IT Band Syndrome

2)      It’s too damn cold

3)      I’m bored of running Seneca Creek/I don’t know other trails in the area

4)      I’m not signed up for any races, so I don’t have a goal

At the top of my list is IT Band pain, which I’ve been struggling with since last March. I have the tools to work through the injury but I haven’t been consistent, especially with strengthening exercises. So, I asked our manager-in-training and resident glute/hip strengthening expert, Melissa to make me an idiot-proof work out plan. Here is what she came up with:

ü  Box Squats, 4 sets of 15

ü  Bulgarian Split Squats, 3 sets of 10

ü  Band Abductions & Kickbacks, 4 sets of 25

ü  Barbell Glute Raise/Hip Thrusts, 5 sets of 10

ü  Side Lunges, 3 sets of 12

I know what you’re thinking, Bulgarian Split Squats sound like a barbaric Ottoman torture technique. O.K., maybe that’s just what I’m thinking, but Melissa has assured me that with her guidance, in a few weeks, I will look exactly like this:

I bet Beyoncé never has IT Band problems.

Stay tuned for my next Blog update when I post pictures from my work-out sessions with Melissa and tackle my next excuse! Now it’s your turn. What are some of your excuses and how do you plan to work through them?

- Maggie

On the Road Again: How Runner's Prevent Injuries from Muscle Weaknesses

This week we welcome Allie Hayes, PT, DPT from Schrier Physical Therapy to our blog! 

As most of you know either by personal experience or by talking to your running counterparts, injuries in running are commonly experienced by both novices and professionals alike.  There are many components to maintaining an injury-free running career, but one of the most important preventative measures a runner can do is incorporate Functional Strength Training.  Functional Strength Training increases not only power (or strength) to muscles, but does it in a coordinated, three dimensional movement pattern (ie: running).

In my experience working with runners, it seems many of you use running as means of getting in shape.  However, have you ever thought of the need to get in shape to run?  Unfortunately many runners have not.  Novice runners often have muscle weaknesses and imbalances that get worse with running, especially in the first two weeks of a new program.  This leads to muscle strains that cause pain and eventually cause them to stop running all together.  On the other hand, seasoned or professional runners who may run 40, 50 and even 60 miles a week, may be doing their muscular system harm due to overuse of their muscles and tendons, and increasing the related weakness of the ‘non’ overuse muscles.  

A comm on area of imbalance and weakness are the in hip muscles.  The running motion primarily involves forward and backwards, or flexion and extension, of the legs.  This motion is referred to as saggital plane motion.  When working in the saggital plane your hip flexors and extensors do all of the work while the muscles on the sides of your hips, the hip abductors, get overlooked.  Hip muscles provide the pelvis with stability, an important aspect of running.  Without hip abductors functioning properly, your pelvis drops when your foot hits the ground at each step (see Fig B).  This excessive motion can cause poor running form and ultimately muscle imbalances. 

Fact:  Every time your foot hits the ground when running you have to support 5-8 times of your body weight.  A 150 pound person will be generating1200 pounds of weight on one leg.  The toll this would have with a person with weak hip muscles would be damaging.  Figure A shows a stable pelvis (not leaning too far one way or the other).  Figure B shows a pelvis that is no longer being controlled.  Moreover, the hip muscles on the right are so weak that they are unable to keep the pelvis level, thus causing the left side to dip down. 

Obviously, the runner in Figure B will have to deal with a lot of nagging injuries throughout his/her running career if they don’t start a functional strength training program.  Incorporating Functional Strength Training as well as a good core stability program into your routine two to three times a week is not only sound advice, but will keep you on the road and performing at your best.

To get started, begin to add some variety into your exercise running routine, such as a core stabilization program.  They are many programs our there so be sure to pick a program that fits your conditioning level.   To find out if you have muscle imbalances that could be affecting your running performance, one should be evaluated by a professional trained in Functional Strength Testing.  Finally, if you are currently experiencing pain, have pain during or after running, it is important to see a healthcare provider first before starting an exercise program. 

Good luck and I’ll see you on the road!

A big thank you to Allie Hayes, PT, DPT from Schrier Physical Therapy for writing this week's post! Please take a moment to check-out their website for further information about all of their services! http://www.schrierpt.com/ 

Rockin' the Nation's Capital!

It’s a bit belated, but happy New Year everyone and welcome to our new blog! 2013 is well-upon us and it is time for you to jumpstart your new year by making those resolutions come alive! And don’t forget – we at Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg are always available to help keep you motivated towards accomplishing all of your fitness and running related goals.

I am happy to be back writing for our new blog and to have the opportunity to resurrect a bit of my old K-files. For those of you who don’t know, the K-files were a way for me to express myself and discuss various running-related topics and other fun, fitness related things. Well, I’m back, along with fellow Fleet Feet-er, Maggie, with brand new posts and topics, and to help keep you up-to-date on all the latest Fleet Feet happenings!

Earlier this month, we began our 2013 Winter Warrior Half Marathon Training Program. The participants are gearing up for the 2^nd annual Rock-n-Roll USA Half Marathon on March 16^th. If you have not competed in a Rock-n-Roll Series Race Event, you are missing out on an incredible experience! It is the only event I can recall where there are live bands (at every mile!!) performing great songs to push you through each mile of the course. Many of our participants taking part in this program are return program runners – which is awesome to see!! They know how our programs are structured, and they come back for the fun and excitement of training with such an amazing group with great coaches (I just so happend to be one ;) ). Let me tell you something, this is how all of our programs are and we are always ready for new people to join us. I am excited for this upcoming season, so please be sure to wish any of our Winter Warriors good luck if you see them out on the trail or road!

Until next time…I’ll see you on the streets of Gaithersburg.

Take care,
Kanayo

Junk Food Martyr? Professional Napper? Travel Run Writer? | Our Inaugural Post!

Hello, friends of Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg. It is my great pleasure to be writing the inaugural post of our blog, Trampling Down Walls and Eradicating Excuses. We will be covering running and everything that goes along with it. And because, here at Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg, running is basically our life, we’ll be sharing our lives with you, too! (And if it’s me writing the blog, there will probably be something about food.) My name is Maggie and I’ll be writing posts, along with our Fleet Feet Sports’ Event/Race Coordinating Extraordinaire, Kanayo as well as some extra special guest bloggers.

Alright, here goes nothing!...

Sometimes I fantasize about my dream jobs. In my head is a growing list of professions that (as far as I know) don’t really exist. Mostly, they involve being paid large amounts of money to perform my favorite minimal-effort past times. For example: Professional Napper. This job would entail me testing out the world’s more comfortable mattresses and evaluating them for indicators of excellence, such as duration of undisturbed nap and bed-head resistance. Also, Junk Food Martyr. This is one of my personal favorites. This would involve me traveling to the homes of new dieters and eating all of the tempting food from their refrigerators and pantries.

During my recent holiday vacation to New Orleans, I came up with a new dream job: Travel Run Writer—a healthy departure from the laziness of my usual fantasies. On my second day in New Orleans, I went for a run to justify the beers, beignets and étouffées. I ran along the moonwalk with the wind blowing off of the Mississippi. I ran through the French Quarter where the brightly-colored Creole houses were decked out for Christmas. I ran through Faubourg Marginy where the brassy jazz of street musicians followed me for a mile, a live soundtrack. And by the time I got back to my hotel near Treme, I had planned half a dozen vacations centered on beautiful runs I’d like to go on.

So I asked my co-workers about their favorite destination runs and here is what they said:

Melissa liked the friendly cat calls from the crowds of Druid Hill during her Baltimore Marathon.

Kanayo said the Las Vegas Rock’n’Roll half was his favorite.

Robyn reminisced about her runs through the mall in Washington.

Joel loved his run through Audobon Park. That’s two for New Orleans!

And Pete took the cake with the Sea of Galilee where, ironically, the dairy cows reminded him of Wisconsin.

Now I want to hear from y’all. Where was your best, most beautiful or most exciting run? And where would your dream run happen? (Post your responses below...or via Facebook or Twitter!!)