Kate Dugan

Plant-Powered Endurance

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Keeping your body healthy during marathon season

October 19, 2016 by Kate 2 Comments

We are in the throes of marathon season. In the North East, the weather has shifted and it feels like autumn! Runners are either 1) feeling really good, 2) stressed that their mileage is not high enough and they are behind in their training, or 3) starting to feel a little beat up.

Often #2, stress about low mileage, leads to #3, over-training and injury. Runners worry that they’re behind and jump from running 25 miles a week to 40 and then “overuse” injuries pop up.

marathon-photoMy Story

This has certainly happened to me in the past. My first few years of running, I was plagued by overuse injuries. In speaking with runners regularly, I found that this is pretty common, especially if you’re coming into running without an athletic base.

I went from a relatively sedentary lifestyle, sitting at a desk for the bulk of 10 hours per day to marathon training in just over a year. My body seemed able to handle the training load for a half distance without any cross-training or strength training.  I just ran. At the time, I had no idea how to incorporate strength training into my running routine and I had no appreciation for the benefits of a strong core for running. I ran 5 days a week, usually at the exact same pace every time, only varying the distance on a given day.

Once my training plan started calling for longer runs (more than 12 or 13 miles), the wheels fell off. Ok, my legs didn’t literally fall off, but little injuries started popping up. For me, it was mostly hip and IT band related. The more I ran, the worse they got.

I still remember the first time I ran in Central Park. I was living in Baltimore at the time and I registered for Grete’s Gallop, a half marathon that went 2x around the hilly ~6.1 mile loop, with my boyfriend.  About half way through, my left hip started bothering me and I began walk-running. Afterwards, I told Michael (my new(ish) boyfriend, at the time) how much I hated Central Park. Haha, thank goodness my feelings changed.

I was eager to get to the bottom of this hip issue so I went to see a sports medicine doctor, who ordered a bunch of tests. They are all inconclusive. I had no broken bones. And then I went to a active release therapist. Finally, a hip doctor who detected a labral tear and suggested we either operate or I get a cortisone shot. This was a long hunt for the root cause, which spanned the better part of 2 years. Even after a diagnosis from the hip guy, my gut told me that small labral tears were not causing my issue.

After all of that, I was talking to another athlete who decisively said, “I bet your ass is weak.”

“Excuse me?”

Yeah, he explained. These injuries are pretty common in new runners and can usually be alleviated by cross-training or lifting to strengthen the glutes and hamstrings. In some cases, I see runners who have strength in these muscles, but they don’t know how to engage them when they run. Activation is the issue. Either way, cross-training can help solve the problem.

And sure enough, when I started my first tri season soon after, I could feel the back of my legs and my core developing. Swimming, biking, and running several times in one week left my legs feeling heavy, but the soreness I felt slowly became less intense as my body adjusted. And my hip issue was soon a distant memory.

What you can do

If you’re in this boat, you may have upped your mileage too quickly, which exacerbated a muscular imbalance that you have. If you think your pain is from an overuse injury, I have a few tips for you:

  1. Skip the doctor and go right to a Physical Therapist (PT). If you don’t already have someone you know and trust, choose one who works with endurance athletes. The PT can give you a number of exercises to do and sessions are sometimes covered by insurance! The thing is, you have to actually DO the exercises the PT prescribes so I always recommend going to the PT at least a few times to build the habit. Plus, you’ll often receive short massages so office visits can be worth the time and investment.
  2. Incorporate regular cross-training. For me, cycling has been a really great way to engage the back of my legs and butt. If you’re having trouble activating your posterior chain while doing these activities, imagine you’re squeezing a quarter in between your cheeks. Swimming is great for your core. If your injury is not preventing you from running, hill work is a great way to build muscle and activate your rear. cross-training can replace a couple of your easy-paced runs per week.
  3. Create your own strength regimen & incorporate it a few times a week. There are so many useful tools for this online. I like to see demos of new exercises to ensure I’m doing the correctly so I frequently use Runner’s World videos and other free online resources. Examples of moves that can help with common overuse injuries include, clam shells, monster walk, squats (double & single leg), lunges, plank & push-ups.

If you’re feeling a little worse for the wear, don’t wait, head straight into see your Physical Therapist. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Filed Under: Marathon Training Tagged With: Injury Prevention, Marathon Training, NYC Marathon

Fasting #ForTheAnimals

October 17, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

Two weeks ago, I fasted to honor and remember the 10 billion land animals who are slaughtered in the US each year. I posted on Facebook about it, which is the first time I’ve really put my feelings about animal rights out there broadly to my Facebook friends. Putting my views out there for the masses to consume with no control over how it is received has always scared me, however, this time, I did not feel as anxious as I would have predicted. I fundamentally do not believe in killing animals for our consumption, and I certainly cannot condone raising animals in the terrible conditions that we see on factory farms. So the message felt natural. And it was met with lots of support, for which I am incredibly appreciative.

Why stick up for farmed animals?

cow-in-fieldArguably, they represent the largest source of suffering in the world. When we raise land animals for food, they suffer their whole lives on factory farms where they are crowded, stressed, attacked (and worse). Their lives are short and miserable. As soon as they are large enough to slaughter, they are deprived of food and water for 24-72 hours and transported to a facility where they are (often brutally) killed. Heavy stuff, right? During the fast, I had a lot of time to reflect on the plight of these animals.

10 billion lives per year in the US alone…

So even if you don’t consider the environmental or the health consequences of consuming meat, the ethical case for avoiding animal products is quite strong.

But there’s good news!

pigletsEach one of us, every single day, 3x a day, makes choices that can end this suffering. This variety of suffering is actually quite easy to alleviate. It does require large-scale behavior change, but we don’t have to overthrow the government or influence policy makers. Each one of us has the power to change the situation.

Sometimes when I have a terrible day, I will reflect on it and think about how I was not responsible for any being’s suffering and immediately, I feel better. Sadly, I could not say that for the first 30 years of my life.

If you’re not a vegan, when you meet one, what’s the first thing you think of? Here are a few of my hypotheses:

  • Ugh, am I about to get lectured?
  • Is this person into hippie dippy voodoo magic?
  • Hmmm, I wonder if she wears deodorant…
  • I really shouldn’t eat animals. ugh, but meat tastes SO good. I don’t think I could ever eliminate it from my diet. What would I eat?

What did I miss? lol.

Truthfully, I had a lot of anxiety about going vegan. I thought about it for several years before actually eliminating eggs and dairy. I assumed it would be difficult. Certainly, I couldn’t live without cheese. What would I put in my coffee? And I would certainly miss eating eggs at brunch.

There is a steep learning curve, but as the movement grows, it is becoming easier to transition to a vegan lifestyle. There are tons of wonderful resources online. Plus, the vegan food of 20 years ago is not the vegan food of today. Come to NYC and I’ll take you on a vegan restaurant tour of the city if you’re skeptical! After the first month or so, I didn’t miss cheese. Soy, cashew and other non-dairy milks taste great in coffee. And, really, who has time for brunch?

But the main thing is that I feel really good about being vegan. I am leading a lifestyle that is deeply tied to my values. And that’s a pretty big deal.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so what does this mean for me?

If you’re also not feeling good about causing pain and suffering to animals (and really, deep down, who is?), there are so many things that you can do to reduce or eliminate animal products from your diet. For example, if the whole world adopted Meatless Monday, avoiding animal products on Mondays, there would, in essence, be 1 billion more vegans on the planet than there are today.

In addition to Meatless Monday, there is a vegan 4 lunch movement and a vegan until dinner movement. There’s also folks who are adopting a “plant forward” diet, which simply means they are reducing their consumption of animal products. The beauty of all of these options is that you can have a positive impact without flipping your diet on its head.

Of course, if you’re feeling bold (and amazing), you can cut straight to a vegetarian or vegan diet. I’ll be posting soon about some resources that can help you with that transition. You are awesome! Please share your journey with me & ask any questions that I might be able to help answer.

Fasting #ForTheAnimals

Back to my fast. I’ve never fasted before, ever. So this was new territory. By 3pm my energy level was low. Preparing lunch and dinner for the kids seemed a bit cruel. But aside from that, it wasn’t so bad. When I broke my fast (with vegan ice cream, of course), I thought a lot about how the animals I was fasting for would be getting slaughtered at this point in the process. I really didn’t enjoy my dessert much.

As I mentioned before, the support from my Facebook friends was overwhelming. It is worth reiterating because I think that despite our eating habits, the majority of us do really love and care for animals. We’ve just been conditioned to ignore and overlook the reality of the situation.

A friend has decided to try vegetarianism. Another went vegan for the day in support of my fast. And one of my good friends, who is pregnant right now, has decided to reduce her consumption of animal products after she has her baby. It’s really inspiring! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

lambP.S. If you’re in NYC, join our weekly Tuesday runs for Team Humane League. We are training to raise funds for The Humane League, an organization whose mission is to reduce animal suffering by inspiring change at all levels. Find out more from our Facebook page. #ForTheAnimals

Filed Under: Vegan Tagged With: Animal Rights, Team Humane League

The first 20 miler of fall marathon training

September 25, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

It’s the end of the weekend. This is my third consecutive weekend away. It FEELS SO GOOD TO BE HOME laying on my living room floor, wrapped in my softest blanket (that does smell a little like my dog), and sipping tea before bed.

Amazingly and unexpectedly, I ran 20 miles this morning!!

20 milers are par for the course in marathon training. So why was this one amazing and somewhat unexpected? Well, I have been really struggling with my motivation ever since Ironman. I felt slow when I ran and I just wasn’t into running for multiple hours on a Saturday or Sunday. Burnt out is probably one way to put it. My longest run to date was 13.4 miles, last weekend, before my friend’s wedding. It sucked, the running, not the wedding.

And then on Wednesday afternoon my throat started getting sore. Sure enough, it was a cold.

This weekend my travels took me to my parents’ house, which is in western MD. I arrived on Friday, attempted to work remotely and logged off at 3pm, which I did… for 3 hours. This cold was really not doing me any favors. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I felt terrible. I took a DayQuil and the situation improved slightly, but I decided to delay my run until the next day. This was risky because we needed to get on the road around noon so it meant running 20 miles, packing up the kiddos and getting on the road pretty fast.

When I set out this morning, I felt ok. I couldn’t make a bowel movement happen before I left, which is always risky when running outside of Central Park. Did you know there are 20 bathrooms in Central Park? Yup. Just one of the perks of being a NYer 😉

I knew getting in 20 would be tough so I decided to take it REALLY easy and make sure my pace stayed between a 10 and 11 minute mile. I was doing all of this on feel, of course, because I forgot my watch. Doh!

About 6 miles in and 3 miles from the nearest bathroom, I felt the urge to go. ugh. How long could I ignore this, I wondered. Turns out, just long enough not to pop a squat in someone’s front yard, but not long enough to make it to a proper toilet. Does a Kate shit in the woods? She did today, folks.

That was probably the low point of the run.

It’s always an adventure. And I always bring TP on my long runs, just in case.

From there, I kept my pace slow and steady. My dad was supposed to meet me somewhere between mile 12 and 16. He showed up just in time and we were able to run the last 4 miles together. It’s always nice running with my dad. He’s super tall and definitely does not have the build of an endurance runner, but he is always on a quest to improve (which I love & respect). It’s always interesting to hear what he’s tweaking. Turns out, he’s still working on increasing his cadence. I’m not sure I would have made it the last 4 if he hadn’t picked me up.

And I’m not sure I would have made it out the door at all had it not been for some major inspiration from my friends Danielle, Nicole & (of course) Michael, who kicked butt in the Berlin marathon earlier today.

So, should you increase your mileage abruptly like I did on a long run? Ideally not, but my instincts told me that my lack of running long was not due to inability, but rather due to a motivation issue. And I have enough experience, finally, to trust them.

Now that I’ve broken the long run barrier, let’s hope I can keep things in check for the next 6 weeks so that NYC isn’t a total bust.

“Just keep running. Just keep running. Just keep running.”

sep-24-2016-12-14-pmnikon-corporation-nikon-d503008x20001708320

Here’s a photo from one of our boat rides on the lake this weekend. Have I mentioned how amazing it was to have my parents look after C&E this week? Even though they don’t live nearby, I feel super grateful for the help our family provides.<3

Filed Under: Marathon Training

On Changing Up Your Fitness Routine

September 23, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

I’ve failed at most of my long runs lately, not because I can’t go the distance, but because I am bored AF. I thought after ironman training that I’d feel a little burnt out, but it turns out that I’m burnt to a crisp. I think it’s normal, but that doesn’t make it any easier or help me feel any better, if I’m being honest. Who wants to be “normal”? It’s a bad word in our household. I’m being serious. So, I’m changing it up a little by trying some different fitness classes in NYC through ClassPass.

ClassPassWhat is ClassPass?

I bought a $19 (discounted) month of ClassPass in the beginning of September. It’s a subscription-based app that gives you access to x number of fitness classes per month (x depends on your plan). Mine included 5 classes in one month for $19, which is usually $75.

If you’re someone who would prefer to take classes at a boutique fitness studio rather than having a gym membership, ClassPass enables you to do that at a bit of a discount. Here’s what it looks like in your browser. The app is well-designed and easy to use!

Pilates @ Ballet Academy East

So far, I’ve completed 3 classes, the most recent of which was a Pilates mat class at the Ballet Academy East, a few blocks from my apartment. Admittedly, I have tried Pilates before, but despite my own mother being a skilled Pilates instructor, I am very much a beginner.

The instructor was a 56-year-old former dancer who could still do the splits. I know because she was complaining about how tight her hamstrings were, but how she could still do a split, and proceeded to show us. I have never been able to do the splits. When I was 8 years old, I was close, but it’s only gone downhill from there. I guess I’m aging.

Two other students were in the class, both women, probably in their late 50s or early 60s. I came to find out that one of them would attend her actual workout later that day. This was some sort of warm-up, I guess. The other woman didn’t appear to be a dancer, but she’d clearly attended about 50 more Pilates classes than I had. So, yeah, this would be fun.

The class was challenging, but we soon established that my hamstrings were super tight and the instructor was really accommodating. Anyway, the point of this story is to tell you what I learned, which is 1) you are most certainly NOT too old to start a fitness routine, and 2) what makes our bodies effective in one sport (say running) does not necessarily translate to another (Pilates).

I walked out of there feeling about an inch taller and far more limber.

The Distance @ Mile High Run Club

The morning before, I took a treadmill running class at Mile High Run Club in the East Village. Despite not being much of a treadmill lover, I decided to take the class because Michael was teaching and the kids are with my parents this week (party!!).MHRC

Michael is one of the most creative people I know and his classes show it. There is a theme for every class – it’s a race, often a marathon or half marathon, but sometimes something shorter. So, after warming up, you spend time during the main set doing race-specific training, including hills, speed, tempo, etc. Then, you get a little bit of active recovery before you are dropped into a 5-minute race simulation. Michael ties it all together with music that relates to the theme, too.

Michael chose The Big 5 marathon in Johannesburg, South Africa for Wednesday’s class. I was pretty touched because he started mentioning things like, “runners run with the animals”, and “you have to work your way out of a valley or ‘rut’ just like in real life”. And I felt like he was talking to me. I mean, I am definitely the only animal-lover, who is currently working her way out of a rut, right? Lol. I’m kidding, but I did ask him later and he fessed up to choosing the race with me in mind. Yeah, he’s pretty cool. <3

I encourage you to try ClassPass, if you live in a city where it is offered! You can sign up here (they usually have good introductory deals)! I think it can be a great tool for when you’re feeling burnt out or just need to add some cross-training into your routine.

Also, if you aren’t receiving emails from me, you can sign up here. I’m in the midst of creating a vegan starter guide for athletes that I’d love to share with you!

xoxo,

Kate

Filed Under: Marathon Training, Strength Training Tagged With: ClassPass, Cross-training, Marathon Training

On Running and Creating “Our Story”

September 12, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

Front Porch. Totally underrated.

Front Porch of our AirBnB house. Porches are totally underrated.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a 2-Day fitness business retreat in Asheville, North Carolina, which I’m going to call the Portland of the east (never having been to Portland, mind you). Asheville is a great little town, though my instincts tell me I’d like the surrounding rural areas even better. During the retreat, I was surrounded by nearly 100 really fit and very motivated women, most of whom are in the midst of starting health and fitness-related business. I met personal trainers, body builders, nutritionists, stay at home moms, doctors and former food addicts.

It was so inspiring to be amongst “my people”! I feel truly blessed to have been able to attend. Thank you to Michael for holding down the fort at home (never easy).

I had some exciting insights during my time in Asheville:

Preach, Jill! <3

Preach, Jill! <3

  1. There are lots of people out there who want to help others improve their health, wellness and fitness! Yeah.
  2. Most of these helpers (aka Coaches) have struggled with the thing they’re trying to improve for their clients at some point in the past. And they’re passionate about what they’re doing for that reason.
  3. The internet is enabling us to interact in a million different ways and it is changing all of the time – it’s pretty cool to watch the way we communicate shape our behaviors (I, hater of selfies, almost took a video of myself on the way home from my run tonight for InstaStories – almost, but then I chickened out. haha. But I’m committing to doing one very soon).
  4. The stories we tell ourselves are incredibly powerful and often automatic, based on what we’ve been told until now, BUT they should be challenged.  As the creators of our own stories, we have the freedom, perhaps the obligation, to decide to tell ourselves a new story. Then, of course, we have to work our butts off to make the new story a reality. Thanks to Jade Teta, for his wisdom on this.

This last one, is especially powerful, and it’s also why running has been so great for me. It has helped prove to me that I have the ability to rewrite my story.

We develop a sense of what we are capable of (or what we should do) from our parents and our peers. This begins at birth and never really ends. Parents have certain expectations of their children and they assume certain limitations. It’s totally normal & necessary. But, at some point, the pen shifts from parent to child and we should question it all and redirect.

A few years ago, I ran by a father with his young son. They were spectating The 5th Ave mile, a one mile race down 5th Avenue in NYC that happens in early September each year. The father was tall and lanky. As the fastest runners came by, the father told his son that he and his son did not / would not have the proper build to be that fast, especially over even longer distances. I felt like a witnessed something unique and sort of abusive. I resisted the tiny urge to intervene and tell the dad to shush. The father obviously had a limiting belief, and in that moment, he may have transferred it to his son. If his son does start to believe he doesn’t have a body for running, he will likely never know if he could be a fast runner because he won’t even try it now.

My Story

If you asked me in 2007, my first flirtation with running, if I would ever run a marathon, I would have said, “not a chance” or “I could never…” and if you would have mentioned Ironman, I probably would have just laughed or said, “those people are crazy”.

In 2007 I couldn’t run a mile. I was working a desk job, sitting for most of the day. That’s when my cube-mate, Meredith and I, decided to start walking 2 miles to and from work a few days a week. We walked and talked. And I loved it. Moving felt good.

And then another colleague suggested we do a relay marathon that fall with two other co-workers. I dug in my heels – “I am not a runner! I’m really slow”, but finally I caved to peer pressure. I hadn’t run a mile since high school, which ended 7 years prior. I really hated running. But Meredith and I made a plan. We would slowly build up our mileage by running together after work. There was a 5k on 9/11 downtown that we could race before the big event as a “test” to see what a race was really like.

The woman who sat behind me was a runner. “How do you breathe?” and “what do you think about when you’re running?” were amongst the many questions I bombarded her with one afternoon. She looked at me for a minute and then told me that she never really paid much attention to any of it. Hmm, I guess I’d figure it out as I went, though I couldn’t imagine it would ever become as automatic as she made it seem.

Morning run around UNC Asheville Campus

Morning run around UNC Asheville Campus

Those days, the start of my running “career”, seem like ages ago. I love looking back at how far I’ve come. What I know now is that most of us, probably all of us, could run a marathon or complete and ironman, if we just decide to and take action towards those goals. To me, that’s the beauty of those events.

But, especially if we don’t know people who are competing in marathons and ironman triathlons, we don’t realize that we could it, too. It seems out of reach entirely. The same rule applies to many things – getting into an Ivy League college, becoming a CEO, living abroad, or starting a social revolution. We definitely have far more power than we know now. We just have to decide what we want and commit to taking action to get there

As you might imagine, I’m feeling full of energy after my time in Asheville!

And when I arrived home on Sunday, I was fortunate enough to attend a the NYC Kick-off for Team Humane League NYC, where I got to hang out with more of “my people”. It’s always wonderful to meet vegan athletes! We will be training every other Tuesday evening in Central Park. Please join us! (you don’t need to be vegetarian or vegan, just interested in helping farm animals and doing some running)

And, sign up here for weekly emails from moi about running & life.

Happy running,

Kate

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Motivation

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About Me

Kate Dugan

I help moms balance training and a vegan lifestyle with motherhood (& real life).

I am a recreational distance runner, ironman triathlete, mother of 3-year-old twins, and a vegan. As an adult, I developed a passion for endurance sports and healthy plant-based eating, both of which have dramatically improved my health and well-being. My blog is where I share my journey & what I’ve learned!

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RRCA Certified Run Coach

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I am not a licensed medical professional. All views expressed on this website are based on my own personal research and experiences. Please consult your doctor with any medical issues, or before beginning a training program.

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