10 Reasons Running Doesn’t Suck As Much As You Think

When Conny posted this article earlier today by Susan Lacke, I felt it my duty to share.  And without further ado I give you

10 Reasons Running Doesn’t Suck As Much As You Think

The word “running” used to conjure up painful and awkward memories of gym class. My middle-school gym teacher, Mrs. Morey, would stand her roly-poly body at the top of the hill behind our school, barking through a megaphone between bites of beef jerky at us red-faced kids as we ran circles around the track. According to her, running  was supposed to build character, or whatever it is they teach gym teachers to say in gym teacher school.

Needless to say, most of the gasping kids on the track were thinking the same thing: Character? <bleep> you. Choke on your jerky, fatty.

Your first experience with running was probably in gym class. And it’s quite possible it left the same rancid taste in your mouth, with little desire to ever run again. But no more! I hit the reset button on my attitude towards running, and for the last two years, have gone from hating running to loving it (most of the time). Running really doesn’t suck as much as you think. Here’s why:

1. Most races and fun runs are full of hot bodies in very little clothing. Let me repeat that: HOT PEOPLE. WEARING PRACTICALLY NOTHING. Wear sunglasses, and ogle with reckless abandon.
2. You can lose weight by drinking nothing but hot water with lemon. Or you can run for an hour, treat yourself to a cookie and still fit into your skinny jeans. One of these options makes you bitchy; the other makes you rad.
3. Take your iPod with you, and your runs suddenly become a safe place to indulge your love of boy-band music. With enough practice, you can even blend in a couple dance moves from ‘Bye Bye Bye’. Don’t lie: You’ve still got that routine memorized.
4. When your boss, your melodramatic friend and your nagging to-do list won’t leave you alone, calmly put on your running shoes and head out the door. They won’t follow you. It’s a safer alternative to storming out with both middle fingers in the air (though you can -and should- still do this in your head, just for spectacular effect).
5. You’ll discover lululemon pants are good for more than just buying tampons and Cheez-its at Target (I know, ladies. My world was rocked with that discovery, too.).
6. Running is the last place you have to “be a lady.” Sweat, snot and sneaking behind a bush to pee is not only liberating it’s fun, in that giggly-childish-naughty kind of way.
7. Getting a run in before happy hour means you get tipsy on half a glass of wine instead of your usual two. That’s not being a lush, that’s just sound economic planning.
8. Studies have shown that runners have better sex. Sex counts as a cross-training workout, which in turn makes you a better runner, which – hello! – leads to even better sex. Really, the whole thing is full of win-wins.
9. Girls are lucky; there’s an entire industry committed to making us look awesome while getting our sweat on. Workout clothes come in all sorts of cool colors and designs. Jockstraps, on the other hand, will always be ugly with questionable stains.
10. Non-runners will sit on the couch and call you crazy. Those folks, sadly, will never learn what their bodies are capable of. You, on the other hand, will die knowing you completely, totally, unabashedly used up the body that was loaned to you. That’s not crazy. That’s freakin’ awesome.

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Meet Susan Lacke

Sit and Slide?

Well Hello Winter

Some mornings were just meant for running…

…and then hot tubbing!

Viva Las Vegas: How We Rocked Our First Marathon

I recently came across this lost transcript of an interview that Conny and I did earlier this year.  And with exactly one month to go before the 2011 Las Vegas Rock N’ Roll Marathon, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate time to re-live and post our experience!

Anderson: What made you decide that you were going to run a marathon?

Conny: Keri did, of course. If she was training for a marathon on our Tuesday morning runs that essentially meant that I was training as well.

Keri: I have always known that I would run a marathon, just a matter of when (visions of Ironman dance in my head …one day). While having dinner with some good friends early in 2010 we started talking bucket list and I verbalized it – damn that second glass of wine!

Conny’s lesson: Choose your running partner carefully, you never know what she will talk you into.

Anderson: Why Vegas?

Conny: After running in San Francisco last year we decided that we would do a destination run every year.  Why Vegas? Are you kidding, why not? May as well make it fun! I had never been to Vegas and was itching to go.

Conny’s lesson: Vegas is a flat course. Hey, let’s not make it any harder than it needs to be.

Keri’s lesson: You know you are a runner when you plan your vacations around races.

Anderson: Tell me about your training

Keri: Giving up 4-5 hours on an already busy weekend wasn’t something that I was willing to do.  I take Tuesday mornings off, so why not do the training then?  After all, it was a run day anyway, but would I be able to talk my fabulous running partner Conny into training with me?  We had a solid ½ marathon base to start with (this is me convincing)… although she agreed to train with me, it wasn’t until the bitter end that she committed and registered for Vegas.

Conny: It never rained on Tuesday mornings when we marathon trained, it is a rule, not sure why, it just IS.

Keri: We trained predominantly on the trails as they are so much kinder, we also stacked our training, incorporating our Tuesday night run clinic as well as my Tuesday night spin class. Our training program was unconventional, but it worked.

Keri: Although our training was the same, fueling was another monster of its own.

Conny: This was the first time I planned to fuel during a race.  I decided I would try gels.  If you aren’t familiar with gels they are of thick liquid goo, think the inside of a Caramilk bar. I would use them on my training runs so my body (stomach) would become accustomed to them. Keri has always described consuming a gel pack as ‘choking it back’, makes it sound easy, right?

Keri: I am unable to “choke back” gels; most carb/electrolyte replacement drinks are too sweet and make me feel nauseous.  I am a princess.  Knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to get by on water alone, I chose cranberry Refresh and cranberry Cliff Shots, a lot of cranberry.  I had to start out with it very watered down, but by the end of my training I was able to drink it as recommended…who’s the princess now?

The Lesson: Experiment with fuel and hydration while you are training, NEVER try anything new on race day.

Anderson: Any special preparations for the trip?

Keri: Every race requires something new, socks, hat, its tradition. As a supporter and alumni Ambassador, my preference is always something from Lululemon.  When we ran San Francisco we all wore matching tank tops, Vegas would be no different.  The tank was selected during an in-store yoga class,I know that I am not supposed to be shopping while in triangle pose, I couldn’t help myself.

Keri: Turns out I didn’t just persuade Conny into running the marathon, Chris and Soraiya were also up for the challenge, and Conny’s husband Colin was going to rip up the ½ marathon.

Conny: We chose a hotel that was close to the start/finish line, the MGM Grand. It was so grand in fact that we managed to get lost daily in the maze of corridors, shops, slot machines and backgammon tables. It’s a good thing race courses are well marked.

Conny: If you are in Vegas and especially for the first time you want to have fun, right? Sunday was race day, so Friday was fun night, clubs and dancing.

Conny’s lesson: Choose your footwear carefully. It may not be the best idea to dance till 3:00am in high heels.

We had said we would stay off of our feet as much as possible before the run. Then we walked the strip, checked out Old Vegas, meandered through casinos and luxurious hotel lobbies

Keri’s lesson: Staying off your feet in Vegas is impossible.

Anderson: What was your race day running plan?

Conny: The goal for any first time marathoner is of course simple, to finish. But of course there is always a secret goal time you have in your head. The running strategy was simple. Pacing, don’t go out too fast and keep the pace steady. Stick to the 10-1 strategy of running ten minutes walking one throughout. Hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate: drink on every 1 minute walk break and at every water station and a gel pack every hour.

We dressed in layers. We wore long sleeve tops and gloves for the 7:00am start. By 8:00am it was warm enough for the top layer to come off and run in just our Lulu tanks. (Race organizers collect racers’ discarded clothing for charity.)

Keri: Run 10/1 for the entire race. Walk and drink at each of the water stations because I am unable to carry enough fluid in my pack.

• Eat ½ Cliff Shot every second set.
• Run a 10 minute mile, with the goal of finishing in 4 hours 22 minutes
• Finish the race in 24 sets – 4 hours 24 minutes.
• To make the noon last call at the MGD tent for my free beer and to see Bret Michaels play at the Finish Line Festival

The lesson: Check the weather online leading up to the run so that you have temperature appropriate running gear.

Anderson: Tell me about waking up in Vegas on race day.

Conny: Race day breakfast was a very (VERY) overpriced room service at 4:30am (way too early but all other times were booked up) of coffee and toast and fruit salad.

Conny’s lesson – Book your room service time early, when you check in.

Keri: Princesses are so much smarter!  I booked early and my race morning started at 4:55am.  Breakfast and coffee, which plays a key roll in my pre-race routine was delivered at 5:00am giving me ample time to successfully execute the most important part of the routine.  At 6:00am our group gathered in the hotel lobby and we were ready to rock and roll!

Conny: The start line was a sea of 28,000 people. There was the excess of the Vegas Strip, a run through wedding chapel, costumes, running Elvi, high school cheerleaders and spectators along the route shouting encouragement. Being a Rock and Roll Marathon, 23 rock bands were playing all along the route.

Keri: The ½ marathon route was an out and back along Las Vegas Blvd (the strip), the full included the ½ route plus 21.1km out and back through a very un-Vegas industrial warehouse area….BORING

Conny: It was the Anti-Vegas, from rhinestones and glitz to concrete!

Anderson: Tell me about your best moment and worst moments of the run.

Conny: I think that I smiled the entire first half of the race taking in the sites, the people and the energy.  My best moments on the run: seeing Keri at mile 15(that’s why we wear matching tanks) and running over to each other for a big sweaty hug of encouragement, of course crossing the finish line and having my friends there to hug. When I saw my husband I hugged him, and then the tears came. I did it!  I didn’t have a worst moment. The last 3 miles were hard work, very, very hard work, but I never doubted I would finish.

Keri: Apparently it sucks to be me.  Worst moment: The 23-mile marker:  At this point the 23-mile marker is on the left hand side of the road and the 25-mile mark is on the right hand side.  I knew that it was a 2-mile out and back, but there just seemed to be no end in sight, my body hurt, I was tired and feeling completely done.  All I wanted to do was walk but I had made it clear that I would only walk during scheduled walk breaks or through the water stations.  With 4 minutes until my next walk I pushed through, it was the toughest 4 minutes of my life.  That may sound so pathetic, it was only 4 minutes, but it was my wall and I hit it hard.

Second best moment: The 25-mile marker:  I saw my friend Tanya; she was on the other side of the road at the 23-mile marker.  We met in the middle of the road and hugged.  Hearing her say “you’re almost done”, that was all I needed to hear to get me through the next 1.1 mile. Best moment: The finish line: Colin waving me in, Bret Michaels singing me in to “Unskinny Bop” getting my medal, Chris and Soraiya jumping on me, getting the text from my family that they saw me cross on the online feed, seeing Conny come in, finding out that Soraiya qualified for Boston…such proud moments, I still tear up just thinking about it.

Anderson: Let’s talk celebration!

Keri: I am not sure if we walked or floated back to our hotel after the race. However we got back definitely helped ease our stiffness…sort of.

Conny: After a quick clean-up, it was time for some post race nourishment, power nap and then the celebrations began.

Keri: This marathon was more than just a run for me.  In June of 2009, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in my hands and feet and was told to change professions and stop running.  Yeah, right.  5 hours after finishing my marathon, I hobbled down the strip to Vince Neil Ink to pay tribute to my accomplishment.   Oh, it hurt, not as much as the run, but it hurt.

Conny: That evening we all met up for our celebratory dinner, which included many, many toasts to our success. I am quite sure we bored the non-runners in our group by reliving our glorious day, over and over and over. Colin decided he needed to complete his Vegas experience with a ride on the mechanical bull.

Colin’s Lesson – Alcohol and Bull Riding is not for amateurs, it is best left to the professionals.

Keri: The rest will remain an urban legend, what happens in Vegas, shall stay in Vegas.

Anderson: So what’s next?

Conny: I think a second marathon (It really wasn’t that bad). It was already in the works before we even left Vegas.

Keri:  Definitely some trail racing and we also have our eye on a summer adventure race Stay tuned!

Peer Pressure

Apparently if my friends told me to jump off a bridge…

I would!

How did you spend this misty first morning of October?

Post Run Dip

Boo-hoo the heat wave is over and summer running conditions have come to an abrupt end, and so has our post run swim in the lake.

Today we started a new post run tradition in Conny’s new HOT TUB!

I think I am going to enjoy fall running a little more this year.

Salutation Nation

Salutation Nation is an annual, international day of yoga hosted by Lululemon where people from all over the world gather to do yoga together at the same time (9-10am).  And yesterday we rolled out our mats and joined the Lululemon Coquitlam Centre community for their inaugural Salutation Nation led by the fabulous Andrew Colyn!

But what would Saturday morning be without a run?  Not Saturday.  We hit the road early and made our way to a place very near and dear to my heart, Rocky Point.  I got to ride shotgun with Smurfraiya for the journey and was educated almost immediately about the vulgarity of hamster music – shame on you! I also found out that the Jersey Shore theme song really is a song!  I hope that my Tommy is receiving copyrights.

The morning could not have been anymore lovely; the sun shone, the water was calm, lots of runners/hikers out, and all so well dressed! We ran an out and back to Old Orchard Park, nothing serious but enough to get our sweat on.

We made our way over to the Plaza at Coquitlam Centre, signed our lives away, secured a good spot for our mats, grabbed a complimentary coconut water (I have always wanted to try, but never have, turns out it’s not my thing) and ever so discreetly changed out of our sweaty running gear. It is never an easy task changing out of a sweaty sports bra into a dry sports bra, the dry one gets stuck half way up your back, there is always a lot of twisting and grunting, and that is in the privacy of a change room, try it in a car in the middle of a parking lot.

By the time we were on our mats, the sun was high in the sky it was hot!

This pose is called as Astavakrasana and as you can see from my positioning, it is absolutely not going to happen, but check out little miss Conny!

Thank you ladies, Lulu and Andrew for a wonderful morning. Namaste.

Salutation Nation Photography by Olga Kundilivski, Happy Moments

Eating On The Run

Nothing like a strategically placed water break to enjoy the scenery and indulge in the fruits of late summer!  Reason number 29 of why I run.

Tuesday

How can something hurt when you walk but not when you run? It seems to be a bit of a pattern for me lately…maybe it’s this whole aging thing, I don’t recommend it!

I met Conny bright and early this morning, left my aches and pains at the side of the road and ran one of the most fantastic loops of Hayward Lake to date. The sun was shining, the air was warm, the pace was right (except when running through the construction zone on the dam, it quickened to the point that I felt a little left behind), the trails were peaceful and the water was a degree or two above refreshing.

Ahhhhh, I love summer runs.

Today Was The Day

Summer thus far on the west coast has consisted of 3 days, 2 back to back a couple of weeks ago and last Sunday. But this morning the sun was out, the temperature was above 17 degrees and I decided that today was going to be the day.

Conny and I had made reference to this day on several occasions over the last few months, but because of the lake drawdown in June and the crappy weather in May, June and July, the remarks were really only wishful thinking. So when I arrived for our run this morning and waved my pretty pink towel at Conny, her grin was a bit hesitant but it was definitely there.

The plan was for an hour run, but today being the day (and also a work day for Conny, the poor thing), this changed everything. Our run plan was quickly amended to 25 minutes out and then back. For the second time this week I took one for the team and got the honour of breaking the spider webs (I hate the feeling of spider webs on my bare arm, I guess it’s better than in my mouth). I have a sneaky suspicion that this was all part of Conny’s plan because when we hit our turn back point, Conny took the lead…

The trail was fantastic; it really felt like summer, still a little mucky in spots, but dry for the most part and even starting to get a little overgrown. We skipped our last water break and blazed down to the floating bridge. I kid you not, before I even had chance to take my camelback off, Conny was already in! She let out a little yelp and said it was refreshing.

Conny’s and my entrance to the water completely differ, she is graceful and slips in without getting her hair wet, I on the other hand am not so graceful and need to be fully submerged. I was told that my dive today was pitiful. I hesitated once and nearly went in anyway and knowing full well that the water was refreshing, dove so shallow that it was more like a skim the top of the surface dive.

REFRESHING???? IT WAS FREAKING COLD! It was glacier water! I couldn’t catch my breath for a moment. She didn’t say it but the look on Conny’s face told me that she thought I was being a bit dramatic, whatever. At the risk of looking like a cold water wussy, I was out within a minute.

Not quite the beer commercial swim that I had in mind when I left my house this morning, but never the less the first swim of summer and the water can’t get any colder, right?

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