Variety of training helps create a well-rounded athlete
You don't really realize just how repetitive the motion of running is until you try doing something else. I had decided not to play soccer this summer or fall season because of a full schedule and the propensity of picking up odd injuries here and there but when I got the desperate text asking if I could please sub for a team that was going to be drastically short some placers I said yes, and on Thursday evening I pulled my soccer bag from the back of my closet and laced up the cleats.
A true running injury and supporting the local nonprofit First Pages
On Saturday in the middle of a 12 mile long run I suffered my first pure running injury. Sure, I've had aches and pains and black toenails and soreness before, but a true running injury? 15 years of running and it finally happened: I tripped on a sidewalk, went sprawling, and tore up my knee. Seven blood-soaked miles later I finally limped back to Fleet Feet at the end of my run.And while I might have had the misfortune of tearing up my knee on a run that morning, local kids had the good fortune of getting a nice big box of books donated for First Pages!
It can be tempting to run hard every time you go for a run, but really you shouldn't. Here's why.
10 miles can be an exhausting long run.I know this woman who has a son who, when he trains for a half marathon, goes all-out on every long run. He's young and full of energy and feels no fatigue throughout the training plan. For the rest of us though, we're not so lucky, and we have to train smart on the long run. While it can be tempting to run the weekly long run at race pace, it's actually smarter (especially for beginners) to take the long run at a nice, easy pace.
My favorite gear for transitional weather
I am not a leggings kinda person. I'll wear them for climbing and yoga, and that's it. Even when it's horribly cold I'm the person who lounges around in shorts and goes running in shorts. It's partly because it's never quite that cold in North Carolina to necessitate getting really bundled up, and partly because it's just not that comfortable to me - they ride up awkwardly, they cling in places I want a little more room, and they chafe on long runs.So the other day when I was browsing gear at one of my local running stores I picked up a pair of leggings to try on - mostly out of a little self-Schadenfreude (but also because of their crazy rad print). And - shocking! - they fit in all the right places! I couldn't believe it!
