Running Archives - Kate Dugan

On Falling In Love With Running… Again

February 23, 2017 by Kate 2 Comments

Today I went for my first run in a week. Runs have been sporadic lately. My aim was to incorporate lifting more into my routine this winter, and I have, but not as regularly as I’d planned. I have discovered that there’s just something about running… here’s a little more about why I love to run.

Yes, me, vociferous hater of running just said, “I love to run”. I still hate it sometimes, too. But here are a few reasons why I have come to love it…

Time to myself, all to myself

In the gym, where I lift, there are usually other people – they are also usually nice and polite, but try as I might I cannot make them disappear (haha, I kid, sort of). So running trumps lifting for me in this regard.

Also, I remember when I had my kids I became obsessed with finding the perfect jogging stroller. It made sense because I love getting two things done at once. Giving my kids the opportunity to be outside while I got in a workout seemed like a great idea. Soon I realized stroller running was not all that I’d imagined. Every few minutes someone needed something or someone dropped something or someone was kicking someone. And a few times someone would throw a tantrum when we were a few miles from home. I found myself full of anxiety, sprinting home. I hated stroller running.

After that, I worked more with my partner on designing a schedule that would enable regular runs for us both. And I learned that sometimes I don’t want to do it all – it is ok to occasionally hire a babysitter to go for a run. $20 is less than I’d pay to take a class in NYC anyway, and it is worth it for my sanity.

Thinking

I remember my boss telling me she does her best thinking in a nice hot shower, the longer the better. I think I do my best thinking on runs, the longer the better. Both situations are problematic in terms of recording and therefore remembering ones great ideas, but I usually retain 50% of my big ah-has. It’s not often in this day and age that I am away from my phone for such an extended time and free of distraction. Both of these things, I’ve discovered are necessities for creative thought, and running affords me them.

Plus, endorphins. I don’t know that the science says, but I’m convinced they prime me to explore a wacky idea more than I would normally.

Being outside

As I dropped the kiddos off at school, the sun was peeking out from a building to the east. The air was dense, but it looked as if the sun would break through and burn off the low clouds. Fifteen minutes later I was in my running gear and heading out, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden it was a grey and foggy day. I could smell fumes from the standing busses and exhaust from the big trucks. Something about it made me thing of my trips to China and India. Bad air quality, I suppose. Good thing I was heading for Central Park. Even in a city like Manhattan and even when it is filled with neighbors and tourists or rain and snow, there is something healing and rejuvenating about being amongst the trees and hills and ponds.

On the rare occasion that I travel, exploring a city via running is one of my favorite pastimes. You cover more ground than you would walking and you see more than you would driving. It’s perfect.

One thing I can control

I remember when I went back to work more than a year after having the twins. The idea that I could step away from my desk and get coffee at a time that I decided upon (so long as I didn’t have a meeting that interfered) without dragging two small humans along with me was powerful and freeing.

Still, even though I am long back to work, there’s so much I can’t control in a day – how a pitch I make at work will land, what small move will set off a toddler, the mood of my partner when he returns from work – the list goes on. Running, though, is in my control. Of course, some days we feel better than others and sometimes we are battling injuries, but for the most part, I decide how far, how fast and where to go. And the rest of the day I have something good to look back on.

Even if my day is crap, at least I moved my body and freed my mind.

These are the reasons why I love to run. Why do you?

The Gear You’ll Want to Keep Moving This Winter

December 7, 2016 by Kate 1 Comment

Last night I had plans to meet my cousin to run in Central Park. She’s a new runner so I was surprised that she was up for a run in 40 degree weather, but she’s tough and I always find it easier to get out the door when I’m meeting someone. I’m delighted to have a running buddy again! When it started raining I wasn’t surprised to receive a cancellation text. I pushed back a little, “come on… you know you’ll feel great afterwards,” and it became clear that the only thing standing in her way was proper cold / rainy weather running attire. Who can blame her for that?

She dug around and replied that she’d found something suitable. We were on. Fast-forward 45 minutes and I’m waiting for her at the edge of the park in the pouring rain. She messages apologizing for the delay – apparently she stepped in a puddle and had to change her sock. “Oh no, maybe this was a mistake,” I thought to myself.

Soon enough, I see someone of her stature dressed all in black running towards me. Only it couldn’t be her. This person was holding an umbrella. The figure came closer. It was her! “ok, I guess she’ll put it down and tuck it away when she gets into the park,” I thought. Nope, we proceeded to run 3 miles together in the cold rain. All the while, she was holding her umbrella out in front of her as a shield.

We passed a few runners on the loop and we even got one comment about her ingenuity. And, I assume carrying an umbrella while running takes serious stamina!

So, AV, this blog post is for you. The holidays are coming, maybe someone will gift you a few of these items. Fa La la la lah La la la lah…

Must haves:

Craft Base layer – this is my go-to piece. In fact, I wish I had at least 2 more. Layers are so important in cold weather. This one keeps me fairly dry, even when I’m sweating like a maniac (I’m a heavy sweater)
Outer shell – if the temp isn’t too cold (4o’s and dry), I’ll just wear a long sleeved technical tee over my base layer. Once it gets into the 30’s and lower, I’m all about the a thicker outer layer. This running hoodie is similar to what I wear regularly. For something a little heavier, check out the Nike Shield jacket.
Hat or headband if you’ve got a lot of hair, the Lululemon top knot toque is great! Really, any beanie made of technical fabric will do. The more it wicks away moisture, the better.
Gloves / mittens or a combo. I like the versatility of these gloves transform into mittens with a windproof layer for extra chilly runs.
Running tights – these are an upgrade from the version I’m wearing, but I’m a huge Brooks fan when it comes to tights. Nike, Asics & Under Armor have comparable pieces, just make sure you get tights that are made for cold-weather running (not the super thin ones).
Socks – usually I don’t like my socks to come above my ankles, but in the winter that can mean there’s an annoying gap between the bottom of my tights and my socks. Long leg problems, I guess, so I opt for a taller run sock. These are largely up to personal preference so you might have to try a few. If you’re vegan, just make sure they don’t contain wool (it’s pretty common).

**Note: I wear all black all the time, however, from a safety perspective, investing in some brightly colored pieces for running is smart. Do as I say, not as I do.

Nice to haves:

Rain Jacket / windbreaker – confession, I don’t own one of these. Most of the time, if I’m running in the rain, I just layer up if it’s cold and get a little wet. By the end of our little run last night, though, I was pretty chilly and wet so I’m beginning to rethink this. Maybe this will be my next investment piece…
Vest – these are great because they keep your core nice and warm, though I tend to use mine more while cycling. During running, usually my hands and feet are the most likely to freeze.
Head lamp or reflective gear – not usually needed if you’re doing most of your running in a lighted park, but some country-dwellers aren’t so lucky. Believe me, I’m envious of folks who live in the sticks for lots of reasons, but well-lit places to run in the winter is not one of them!
Phone / key storage – I like the SPI belt or the flip belt for storage on short runs, when I don’t need to wear a hydration belt

Definitely do not need:

Elite Brief – yeah, I’ll never be this fast.

Happy (& warm / dry) running!

2016 NYC Marathon and What’s Next

November 7, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

The marathon is always a great day in NYC. I love the nervous energy at the start, followed by excitement, and finally, glory. It is beyond compare. But this year, despite all of that, I had a rough race. I ran my slowest marathon ever, including my first, aka “the porta-potty hop of 2012” in Philly, where I stopped at every toilet there was after mile 12. Yeah, it was not fun, but this NYC was 2 minutes faster than my slog to the finish in 2016. Luckily, it wasn’t that way for everyone. I have many friends who did killed it yesterday! (Congrats, Guys!!)

Here’s my story:

As you may know, it took me several years to finally run the NYC marathon. I first registered in 2009 and failed to make it to the start that year and the following year due to nagging injuries. In 2011, I just started a stressful job that took over my life and left no time for training. I was ready to race in 2012, but the race was cancelled due to a hurricane. So I thought 2013 would be my year. Nope, a twin pregnancy kept me sidelined that year. Finally, in 2014 (with 7 month old twins), I made it to the start and ultimately the finish line of the NYC marathon. It was a great day and a challenging one. I fell in love with NYC and I finally got to experience the marathon.

This year, I plain, straight did not train enough. I ran 2-3 times a week, often missing my long runs. I got in one 20 milers and two 18 milers. All of my runs felt miserable by the end. I also got a slow start to training after Ironman. It took me several weeks, into October, to wrap my head around running for 3 hours and finally do it. You could say I was burnt out.

Of course, due to all of that, I expected a slow time for this year’s NYC marathon. I thought I could hold 10 minute miles and manage a slight fade, finishing around 4:25. Unfortunately for me, around mile 10 I knew that 10 minute miles were probably too fast. I started to feel tired and achy. By mile 16, which is demarcated by the Queensboro bridge connecting Queens to Manhattan, I was struggling. This is when, according to NYC marathon veterans (including the guy I shack up with), “the race begins” …

There was a chance that C+E would be waiting for me at mile 18, which is near our apartment. I kept it together until then, but when I didn’t see them, I got a little upset. My breathing quickened and then I got a cramp in my ribs. For the first time, I stopped to walk. You know when you start to walk, it is very hard to get back into the mode of running. My stomach had been feeling a little iffy for the last few miles and the relief of walking was immense. No more jostling. But still, it was probably a bad idea. My pace per mile dropped immensely after that point. I was dry heaving due to whatever was happening with my stomach. I switched from gels + endurolytes for fuel to Gatorade and water and wished hard for coke and ice. Ironman has ruined me!

The Bronx was a blur. When I entered Manhattan again, the sun was so bright, I couldn’t see a thing. Never was I so happy not to be wearing my name on my shirt. I tried to interact as little as possible with the crowd. And for the most part, they left me alone. I was walking now with an occasional run, which was more like a shuffle, thrown in until I felt like I might puke. I almost stopped once to try to throw up, but thought better of it. What if I didn’t get started again?

I saw Michael on 5^th Avenue and made it into Central Park. Finally, the finish line was in sight, but there was no joy in it. A little bit of relief, but overall… meh. My time? 4:40 something. I didn’t even check my watch. Instead, I joined the walking dead and shuffled my way out of the park. I even thought about skipping the finisher’s medal because I didn’t feel I really earned it.

Processing it all

Rationally, I understand why this happened, but I still needed to work through it emotionally. I fell into a deep sleep abruptly last night and then had a dream that I was running and people were yelling negative things at me from the sidelines. Then I tripped over a hose that was in my path, which resulted in me kicking my feet and waking up. I started to cry. Why is this %&*%# sport so difficult for me?

This is what happens when you don’t respect the marathon. As much as it sucked, and it did suck, I learned a valuable lesson out there yesterday. For me, the marathon has to be the main thing. Never again will I run a marathon as a “B” or “C” race. It will either be the main thing or I’ll sit it out and cheer on my friends. And I don’t plan to run one again until I feel I can commit the energy to it to run it in less than 4 hours. And for goodness sake, I need to figure out this nausea thing!!

It wasn’t all terrible, of course. I met a guy from Chicago who was making a comeback to the marathon after 10 years. It was his first NYC. We chatted away in our corral. I saw so many friends on the course and received such support from them. And Michael ran quite well, all things considered. I’m really proud of him. My OBGYN qualified for Boston in her first marathon since college. My tri coach ran his first marathon in a respectable time. An American woman, Molly Huddle, made the podium for the first time in 2010 in her marathon debut. Gwen Jorgenson, US Olympic champ in Rio, ran the race in a speedy 2:41. And so many other people I know had great times and made themselves proud.

Next Steps

Very tactically, I have some plans (of course!) 🙂

Make an appointment with a sports nutritionist to see if we can get to the bottom of my digestive issues. I’m going to come up with a plan so that I can try a few new things in training next time and see what “sticks” because this is not fun!
Take some time off. I’m going to take a week to recover from my long slog to 26.2 – woohooo!
Focus on strength training in the off-season. I think we can all agree that I’m not a natural marathoner. I didn’t hit the genetic lotto for this sport, but I do love making progress against myself. And there’s something about endurance sports that is appealing. There are so many lessons I’ve learned through the adversity I’ve created for myself in running. To make better progress and fall in love with endurance sports again, I plan to build some strength in my core, hips and butt. Lifting will also be a nice change of pace for me. I always feel so strong and powerful when I incorporate weight training into my routine. I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m giving myself the freedom to explore other forms of exercise this winter, too. I think that yoga could be really restorative. I might dabble in Pilates for core strength or get back to the pool.
In the spring, I may add in some running and slowly build my base for a fall marathon. It will depend on how I’m feeling and what inspires me.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear about your NYC marathon experience. I hope you were one of the runners who had a great day out there. Either way, congratulations on your finish!

Happy running.

The Benefit of Running at Different Effort Levels

March 19, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

After I started running, I became increasingly interested in running and performance… probably because performance was something that alluded me. I felt like no matter how much I ran I never got faster. And I wash people around me dramatically improving their times. I wondered, what was I doing wrong?

So, I decided to learn more about running by become an RRCA certified run coach. My immediate aim was to improve my own running, but I also thought that one day I could coach other athletes who were getting into running as adults. I felt like I could help them avoid the newbie runner mistakes that I had made.

The class is a two-day course that focuses mainly on long distance training (a.k.a. marathon). I found it especially helpful because we learned all about the different types of running and how those types of running stress your body in different ways, ultimately impacting performance. I left feeling like I had a toolkit of run types that I was ready to deploy. That’s how I hope you feel after reading the #itsrunthirty posts.

And the reason I was not improving too much in my running is simply because I was running the same easy pace day in and day out. It was comfortable. And it was what I knew. In the past I had a sneaking suspicion that I should be doing more ‘speed work’ but I had a really hard time pushing myself to do this alone. Other runners insist upon doing speed work every time they run. Some are obsessed with running long on a disproportionate number of runs. Each one of these tendencies has risks and is unlikely to lead to optimal performance.

Let’s explore the different types of running and what they can do for you in your training.

Measuring your Effort

There are a few ways to gauge effort, including pace, relative perceived exertion, and heart rate.

Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE) – You’re running on feel. Does it feel easy? Are you able to talk in complete sentences? Carry on a conversation? Sing a song? Yes? Then you’re likely running your easy pace.

Heart Rate Training – As the name suggests, you are monitoring your heart rate and intentionally staying in specific training zones for a specific purpose. If you’re training in this way you will likely hear a lot about zone 2, zone 3 and zone 4.

Until recently, I always trained based on RPE. I had a watch with a heart rate monitor, which I used occasionally, but I felt no need to switch to heart rate training because I thought RPE was working for me. When I did begin to use heart rate zones, I realized that what I thought was my easy pace was probably too fast, meaning my heart rate was likely too high and I wasn’t getting the full benefits of my workouts.

I’ve since converted to heart rate training.

Deciding which Method to Use

As yourself a few questions to determine which method is best for you. Do you have a watch that tracks heart rate or can you buy one? Are you able to capture heart rate data at an upcoming 5k race or 30 minute independent time trial? If yes to both of these, I’d give heart rate training a go simply because you’re getting better data.

Calculating your Training Zones

There are some sophisticated ways to pinpoint your training zones that may be of interest if budget is not a constraint and you have access to a testing facility. VO2 Max texting, for example, can tell you your training zones based on the maximum rate of oxygen consumption during incremental exercise.

But we can approximate zones pretty accurately by determining your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR). To do this, do a 30-minute time trial run. Make sure you wear your heart rate monitor. Run as if you were racing – the goal here is to run at the max effort you can sustain for 30 minutes. Click lap on your watch 10 minutes in so that we can capture your average heart rate for 20 minutes. That average is an approximation of your LTHR. From there, you can establish your run training zones using the table below (Source: Joel Friel).

Zone	% of LTHR
1	Less than 85%
2	85 to 89%
3	90 to 94%
4	95 to 99%
5	100% or more

We’ll talk about when and how much to train in these zones in the next few posts.

Rules of the Road: Principles of Running

March 18, 2016 by Kate Leave a Comment

There’s a one-mile race every September in NYC called the Fifth Avenue Mile. Michael runs it every year, and I love spectating this particular race because there are several heats that start throughout the morning and early afternoon. It attracts a high-profile Pro field. And it is fun to watch runners pushing hard for such a short distance, especially when you’re used to spectating longer events. My favorite heat, by far, is when the 80+ year olds take off. It’s so cool to see these runners still out there going for it. Some of them are pretty fast, too!

A few years ago, while spectating the Fifth Avenue Mile, I overheard a father telling his young son, who was probably 7 or 8 years old, “our family isn’t built to be fast over short distances (like the mile).” For some reason, this comment really hit me the wrong way. The truth is, what we know about running and our bodies is still in its infancy, and I think it is sad to close a door entirely, especially before the child tests his ability and interest in a particular sport.

I call what this father was expressing to his son, a “limiting belief”.

Despite my allergy to limiting beliefs, there are some commonly accepted principles that pertain to running. Of course, these may change as we learn more about physiology and running performance. And every person is different. Part of learning to run is learning what works for you. But for now, you should be aware of these as you become a runner.

Gradual Overload – it takes time for your body to adjust to running, which is why it is wise to build up your running distance slowly.
Specificity – The principle of specificity states that to improve at a particular exercise or skill, you should practice that exercise or skill. So, to improve at running you need to … you guessed it, run.
Diminishing Returns – I read once that, on average, runners tend to improve for their first 7 years of running and then they plateau. At the time, I was a new runner and this gave me hope. Now, I’m not so sure! Anyway, the point is that you are likely to see larger increases in performance (if you’re training the right way) when you first start running. Don’t be frustrated when these drop off. Running can still be rewarding even when you’re trying to improve your time by a few seconds rather than several minutes.
Reversibility – sadly, any adaptation that takes place as a result of training will be reversed when you stop training, meaning that you will lose fitness. So, keep running!