She Said/She Said - Stay Motivated

Marie Foster (left) is running in the
Couch to Foot Pursuit program and
Sara Grassmeyer (right) is coaching her up!

The Foot Pursuit 5K is quickly approaching and our Couch to Foot Pursuit team is hard at work preparing for their first ever race! Sometimes runners can hit a wall, or the motivation will wane a little bit. In this week's She Said/She Said, our C2FP Coach Sara Grassmeyer talks to C2FP runner Marie Foster about staying motivated.

From: Sara Grassmeyer
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 9:33 AM
To: Marie Foster
Subject: C2FP

Marie-

What a weekend! Were you able to get your Saturday run in, despite the snowy morning? How is your body feeling?

Sara

From: Marie Foster
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 9:57 AM
To: Sara Grassmeyer
Subject: RE: C2FP

Sara,

I have to tell you that it was quite a relief to have C2FP cancelled because I went to Indianapolis with my family this weekend.  I originally felt bad about missing C2FP, but it turns out that I didn’t miss it at all!  Yay!  The only problem was that I knew that I was going to be gone, so I made myself run in the snow and wind on Friday.  I was soaked from head to toe and my nose felt like it was going to fall off, but I made it.

Surprisingly, I actually found time to do a little running at the hotel, but it was really difficult to run on the treadmill.  I was sweaty and bored so I only ran for a mile.  So, after that endeavor I decided that I’d rather run in the freezing cold, on the wet trails than on a treadmill. Do you think that’s normal?

This past week was pretty tough because of the Wednesday run.  I could not believe that I had to run for an hour with 5 minute intervals of running.  It felt horrible as I was running, but I ended up running 5.13 miles!  It made me feel so much better to know that I ran that far.

I noticed that today I have to run 7 minutes.  Any tips for me on the best way to handle this huge jump in distance?

Marie

From: Sara Grassmeyer
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 10:41 AM
To: Marie Foster
Subject: RE: C2FP

Hey, that’s great that you made adjustments to your training to compensate for your absence on Saturday. Great work. You are a champion for running on Friday afternoon, it was ugly out! Didn’t you feel great when you were done?

Oh, if you don’t know by now, I TOTALLY prefer running in the freezing cold than on a dreadmill. Ugh! The boredom! At least you got a mile in, that’s great! And if you were sweating, your body was feeling a challenge… good for you. I always take a running outfit or two when I travel because it’s just nice to have the workout option, just in case I find some spare time or to compensate for all of the restaurant food. If I stay in a hotel with a workout room, I often work in intervals. I will run on the treadmill for 10 minutes, total body weight-lifting circuit then repeat the whole interval 3x. This works well for me and definitely keeps me interested/challenged.

The purpose of the LONG Wednesday run was to show ya’ll how far you’ve come. Four weeks ago did you think you’d be able to run for an hour? No way. How about run for 4-5 miles? No way. BUT… you did it. I’m glad you are still being loyal to the program, it has definitely become more challenging.

Seven minutes is going to be very fun this week. I know this because you can do it. We only have five intervals… that’s achievable. If you find the seven minutes too much, take it down to 5-6 minute runs with a minute walk. Just make sure you are moving for 40 minutes. Record your distances… I use mapmyrun.com to go back and map out my path. I love to see how far I’ve gone and think that this is a great motivating tool. If you have an iPhone or Android (I think Android) you can download a mapmyrun app and this fancy little feature will track your distance, speed, pace and overall length. It’s fantastic, I love it and use it for most runs.

How are you motivating yourself/rewarding yourself for working so hard towards your goal?

Sara

From: Marie Foster
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 12:46 PM
To: Sara Grassmeyer
Subject: RE: C2FP

I did feel great when I was done, but not during the run.  J  I just kept pushing myself because I figured that I would be mad at myself if I didn’t just suck it up. Ha.

Thank you for giving me a routine next time I am staying in a hotel.  That will help me stay motivated and get a workout done.

So, I have to admit that I have been pretty bad about doing my cross training.  I have just been so relieved that I don’t have to run on the off days that I talk myself out of lifting weights or doing yoga.  Do you have any suggestions?  I know that I need to do it, and I feel bad that I haven’t been, but I just wish it were easier to be motivated to do it.  Can’t I just record your voice yelling at me to lift weights on my phone?

Marie

From: Sara Grassmeyer
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 1:34 PM
To: Marie Foster
Subject: RE: C2FP

Yes. I will yell at you on the phone. I can yell at you whenever you need me!

Let’s address your cross training confession. Why don’t you try this mini circuit workout as one of your cross training workouts? Do each of the moves 15x and try to cycle through the whole routine 3x. This is a BIG BANG FOR YOUR BUCK WORKOUT!

1.      Lunges/Bicep Curls - Walking lunges with bicep curls. Make sure the front knee is at a 90 degree angle, and that your bicep curl has integrity. What I mean by this is: The top of the weight should never touch your shoulder, but should come about an inch. On the lowering phase of the bicep curl, make sure you are going slow, that there’s just as much tension lowering as there is raising the weight.

2.      Squats/Shoulder Raises - With your feet shoulder width apart and medium weights in your hands, lower your bottom down so your knees are at 90 degrees. As you lower your bottom, raise the weights in front of your body. Maintain a slight bend in your elbow and do not raise the weights higher than your shoulders.

3.      Triceps/Back- Split your stance so that one foot is in front of the other. Hinge at your hips, put your left hand on your left thigh and pull a heavy weight like you are starting a lawnmower. Keep your elbow facing directly behind you and squeeze your shoulder blades. After 15 reps, keep the elbow raised in the air, bent at a 90 degree angle, kick your hand back so that you are lengthening your tricep. Repeat 15x, then switch sides.

4.      Plank- On your elbows or palms and toes or knees pull your belly button toward your spine and hold this position for 30 seconds, 45 seconds and 1-minute. Remember to breathe. Maintain a parallel position with your body and don’t let your hips sag or lift up. Level1: elbows and knees, Level 2: elbows and toes, Level 3: palms and toes.

In theory, cross training is supposed to mix up the monotony of running every day, strengthen different muscles, and give you a different approach to fitness. Cross training is a good way to try something new. ZUMBA is great cross training, so is kickboxing, walking, swimming, lifting weights and YOGA. Oh yoga. I swear yoga was designed by runners for runners. Working through the warrior poses opens your hips, strengthens your quads and hamstrings and forces you to stabilize your core. Try some yoga this week, maybe once the kids are asleep… it might be a good way to decompress?

Sara