Gender aside, I think that this is a very simple analogy we can all relate to.. As most of us know, Clark Kent is the alter ego of Superman. (Or is the other way around? We will let the comic fans debate that.) As Clark Kent, Superman tried to make himself to be an ordinary individual to blend in with the crowd, even though he was far from it. In order to distance himself from Superman, he adopted a largely passive and introverted personality, changed his voice and even walked with a slight slouch. BUT he always was Superman underneath, wearing his costume under his clothes. At a moment’s notice he could dash away saving the world. In other worlds, it wasn’t that hard to become Superman.
While we may not have super human powers, we all have the ability to be like Superman. In the list of participants I know many of you spend lots of hours volunteering your time to help others (Superman wasn’t paid). Others wouldn’t hesitate to stop whatever they were doing to help someone stranded on the side of the road (Superman was always available). At least a few of you have participated with My Team Triumph helping others fly down the road (Superman could fly). Many of you have children, which we know require our constant love, time and attention and more often than not, we would make huge sacrifices for without thinking twice (Superman was selfless). The point is that in reality it doesn’t take a lot to be a superhero.
What does any of this have to do with running or walking the Bellin Run? While there are a lot of us that have done many Bellin Runs and other races, perhaps this is your first one. Or maybe it is just the first one that you have done that others are noticing. Whether you are a novice or seasoned athlete, to many people you are like Superman. You have taken action, taken back your life and committed to bettering your health. Believe me, this is no easy task. Everyone has the same amount of time in the day. It’s up to you to use that time for good, for others and yourself. While we all need time to unwind (Even Superman has been quoted to say "I am Clark. I need to be Clark. I'd go crazy if I had to be Superman all the time!"), we can find ways to do that that are not detrimental to our health or life, and rather enhance it. At the end of the day, participating in the Bellin Run is an excellent way to let go of the passive side of us and move over to the active side. What may seem ordinary to us, may seem extraordinary to someone else. So don’t discount your journey, and don’t forget to pick up someone along the way.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
CROSS TRAINING
Last week I talked to you about what a week of running training might look like. Obviously that is very important to success of running or walking the Bellin Run and cardiovascular fitness. However very often runners neglect the other component of fitness, strength. Strength is a very important component of fitness for many reasons, only a couple being that having strong muscles can help prevent injuries and that strong healthy muscles burn additional calories. I am not talking about Arnold during his body building days, unless of course you are going for that look, I am just talking about incorporating a few strength building exercises into your fitness routine. The good news is that you already have the tools to complete all of these exercises. Just your body. The quantity and sets I will leave up to you, but here are some of the best in my opinion. To see demonstrations, type any of the exercises into You Tube.
1. Standard Push-up: With hands shoulder-width apart, keep the feet flexed at hip distance, and tighten the core. Bend the elbows until the chest reaches the ground, and then push back up (make sure to keep the elbows tucked close to the body).
2. Plank: Lie face down with forearms on the floor and hands clasped. Extend the legs behind the body and rise up on the toes. Keeping the back straight, tighten the core and hold the position for 30-60 seconds (or as long as you can hang).
3. Lunge: Stand with the hands on the hips and feet hip-width apart. Step the right leg forward and slowly lower your body until the right knee is close to or touching the floor and bent at least 90 degrees. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.
4. Squat: Stand with the feet parallel or turned out 15 degrees — whatever is most comfortable. Slowly start to crouch by bending the hips and knees until the thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Make sure the heels do not rise off the floor. Press through the heels to return to a standing position.
5. Flutter Kick: Start lying on your back with arms at your sides and palms facing down. With legs extended, lift the heels off the floor (about six inches). Make quick, small up-and-down pulses with the legs, while keeping the core engaged.
6. Crunch: Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor. With hands behind the head, place the chin down slightly and peel the head and shoulders off the mat while engaging the core. Continue curling up until the upper back is off the mat. Hold briefly, then lower the torso back toward the mat slowly. DO NOT PULL ON YOUR NECK!
7. Pull-Up: Grab an overhead bar, with your hands more than shoulder width apart. Lift your body until your chin is above the bar. Slowly let yourself down and repeat. If you can’t do a standard pull-up, you can use a chair to assist you.
8. Burpees: This one I love and hate all at the same time, but by far, one of the best full body exercises you can do. Start standing up, go into a low squat position and put your hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your legs back into push-up position, complete one pushup, pull your legs back to squat position and leap up back to standing position.
You can do these as its own work out, or incorporate them into your runs. For example, you can run a half or a full mile and then do 15 burpees, then continue on. Perhaps you might look funny to your neighbors or other passer bys, but in doing this you will see your overall fitness improve leaps and bounds. Again these are only a few, there are many others, as well as many variations of the above.
1. Standard Push-up: With hands shoulder-width apart, keep the feet flexed at hip distance, and tighten the core. Bend the elbows until the chest reaches the ground, and then push back up (make sure to keep the elbows tucked close to the body).
2. Plank: Lie face down with forearms on the floor and hands clasped. Extend the legs behind the body and rise up on the toes. Keeping the back straight, tighten the core and hold the position for 30-60 seconds (or as long as you can hang).
3. Lunge: Stand with the hands on the hips and feet hip-width apart. Step the right leg forward and slowly lower your body until the right knee is close to or touching the floor and bent at least 90 degrees. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.
4. Squat: Stand with the feet parallel or turned out 15 degrees — whatever is most comfortable. Slowly start to crouch by bending the hips and knees until the thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Make sure the heels do not rise off the floor. Press through the heels to return to a standing position.
5. Flutter Kick: Start lying on your back with arms at your sides and palms facing down. With legs extended, lift the heels off the floor (about six inches). Make quick, small up-and-down pulses with the legs, while keeping the core engaged.
6. Crunch: Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor. With hands behind the head, place the chin down slightly and peel the head and shoulders off the mat while engaging the core. Continue curling up until the upper back is off the mat. Hold briefly, then lower the torso back toward the mat slowly. DO NOT PULL ON YOUR NECK!
7. Pull-Up: Grab an overhead bar, with your hands more than shoulder width apart. Lift your body until your chin is above the bar. Slowly let yourself down and repeat. If you can’t do a standard pull-up, you can use a chair to assist you.
8. Burpees: This one I love and hate all at the same time, but by far, one of the best full body exercises you can do. Start standing up, go into a low squat position and put your hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your legs back into push-up position, complete one pushup, pull your legs back to squat position and leap up back to standing position.
You can do these as its own work out, or incorporate them into your runs. For example, you can run a half or a full mile and then do 15 burpees, then continue on. Perhaps you might look funny to your neighbors or other passer bys, but in doing this you will see your overall fitness improve leaps and bounds. Again these are only a few, there are many others, as well as many variations of the above.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Training
So we have been encouraging you to start training, but what does training really look like. I apologize in advance to the walkers, if this seems weighted a little more on the running side.
The Bellin Run Training schedule calls for 4 running sessions a week and 1 cross training session. If you look at the schedule you will notice that activity for each of the days is different. Right off the bat we should understand this to mean that each session should not be the same and that every time we hit the road or treadmill, we shouldn’t be going the same speed for the same distance. More importantly, not every training run should be at the pace at which you hope to run the Bellin at (you are training, not racing!).
This is how I would break out the four training sessions during the week if I were following the schedule:
1. Presumably early in the week this run should be a shorter run, Starting between 1 and 2 miles and probably peaking not more than 2.5 miles. This should be at a very easy pace, as much as 1.5-2 minutes above your race pace. Because this run is likely either Sunday or Monday after your long run for the week, this should be treated as a “recovery” session.
2. This is a medium distance run. As a rule of thumb for a 10K training program, you could say that this distance is 2/3rds of the distance of that week’s long run. So if your long run is 4.5 miles for the week, make this run about 3 miles. Run this one at race pace. You want to get your body used to running at your desired speed and learn what that feels like.
3. This can be 1 of 2 things depending on your goals.
a. The first option is that this is another medium distance run, but at a comfortable pace, not as slow as recovery run, but this doesn’t have to be at race pace either. This option is focused on conditioning and getting in the miles.
b. The second option is to do some sort of interval training. The goal here is to help increase your speed. Some people like to do this on the treadmill, because it is easy to control speeding up and slowing down and the distance, but it can also be done outside by using fixed distances like utility poles for example, or setting your GPS watch for interval training. Basically, after you have warmed up, for a certain distance or time, run at a speed that is faster than your race pace, followed by a period of “recovery”. As your conditioning gets better you can increase the distance of your hard interval compared to the recovery interval. Repeat this cycle until you have reached your desired total distance for the day. For a 10K, this workout, should peak at no more than 3-4 miles in total.
4. Finally you have your weekend long run. This is a medium pace, in other words, not a race pace, but not a slow recovery type pace either. This run is geared to getting your body to understand what it is like to cover the required distance. Look to the Bellin Run Training Plan for long run distances.
This is just one example of a typical week. You can find many other training plans online at websites like Runner’s World, or just by typing in 10K training plan into Google. Most importantly if you take nothing else away from this, just remember that every training session is not going to be “Great.” Some will make you feel like you are a world champion and some will leave you thinking “why did I ever sign up for this?” Just know that this is natural and everyone has good and bad workouts. Even more importantly than that is just to make sure you are listening to your body and if you need to take a step back, do just that. Make this an enjoyable experience and get in great shape while doing so!
Next week, the newsletter will focus on cross training.
The Bellin Run Training schedule calls for 4 running sessions a week and 1 cross training session. If you look at the schedule you will notice that activity for each of the days is different. Right off the bat we should understand this to mean that each session should not be the same and that every time we hit the road or treadmill, we shouldn’t be going the same speed for the same distance. More importantly, not every training run should be at the pace at which you hope to run the Bellin at (you are training, not racing!).
This is how I would break out the four training sessions during the week if I were following the schedule:
1. Presumably early in the week this run should be a shorter run, Starting between 1 and 2 miles and probably peaking not more than 2.5 miles. This should be at a very easy pace, as much as 1.5-2 minutes above your race pace. Because this run is likely either Sunday or Monday after your long run for the week, this should be treated as a “recovery” session.
2. This is a medium distance run. As a rule of thumb for a 10K training program, you could say that this distance is 2/3rds of the distance of that week’s long run. So if your long run is 4.5 miles for the week, make this run about 3 miles. Run this one at race pace. You want to get your body used to running at your desired speed and learn what that feels like.
3. This can be 1 of 2 things depending on your goals.
a. The first option is that this is another medium distance run, but at a comfortable pace, not as slow as recovery run, but this doesn’t have to be at race pace either. This option is focused on conditioning and getting in the miles.
b. The second option is to do some sort of interval training. The goal here is to help increase your speed. Some people like to do this on the treadmill, because it is easy to control speeding up and slowing down and the distance, but it can also be done outside by using fixed distances like utility poles for example, or setting your GPS watch for interval training. Basically, after you have warmed up, for a certain distance or time, run at a speed that is faster than your race pace, followed by a period of “recovery”. As your conditioning gets better you can increase the distance of your hard interval compared to the recovery interval. Repeat this cycle until you have reached your desired total distance for the day. For a 10K, this workout, should peak at no more than 3-4 miles in total.
4. Finally you have your weekend long run. This is a medium pace, in other words, not a race pace, but not a slow recovery type pace either. This run is geared to getting your body to understand what it is like to cover the required distance. Look to the Bellin Run Training Plan for long run distances.
This is just one example of a typical week. You can find many other training plans online at websites like Runner’s World, or just by typing in 10K training plan into Google. Most importantly if you take nothing else away from this, just remember that every training session is not going to be “Great.” Some will make you feel like you are a world champion and some will leave you thinking “why did I ever sign up for this?” Just know that this is natural and everyone has good and bad workouts. Even more importantly than that is just to make sure you are listening to your body and if you need to take a step back, do just that. Make this an enjoyable experience and get in great shape while doing so!
Next week, the newsletter will focus on cross training.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Who are they to tell you that you can’t?
In yesterday’s lunch and learn with My Team Triumph we heard from Joey Christensen. He was born 12 week prematurely and with CP (Cerebral Palsy). From an early age doctors told his parents that he would never even be able to sit up on his own, much less walk. He was born almost entirely deaf and relies on lip reading and sign language to understand other people. He has had so many surgeries that he literally said he lost count. Yet none of these things are what defines him. As a child he wanted to and did attend school. And while it took some time to adapt to the different stages, he made friends, was able to participate fully and earn his high school diploma. If you were there yesterday you saw that he walked into the room, under his own power and is even a participant in the Triumph Mile. After graduation from High School he has worked dozens of different jobs and 4 years ago he started his own not for profit, Handicapped From the Heart. Further he has become the Captain Advocate for My Team Triumph and does motivational speeches all over the area promoting the abilities, rather than the disabilities of certain individuals. The point is that he has faced some undoubtedly difficult circumstances, but rather than approaching them negatively, he wears one of the biggest smiles on his face I have ever seen. Attitude is a choice and attitude is contagious. He is also one of the most grateful person’s I have ever met. He is grateful to be alive, he is grateful for his family and friends, and he is grateful to be able to share his gift with others. There is a lesson in all of this for each one of us.
So what is standing between you and the finish line? Who is telling you that you are crazy or that you’ll never be able to do it? Are you going to let it or them stop you from achieving your goals. While the Bellin Run/Walk is a timed event, whether you are the first person or the absolute last person to cross the finish line, you have earned every step and everyone covers the same distance. So don’t let your speed or time be a factor. Don’t let the stereotypes of a perfect runners body get in your head. A runner is a runner is a runner. Don’t ever say, “well I am not a real runner.” If you are moving forward you are really running.
When it comes to achieving our health and fitness, educational, career, or family goals, the only person who is fully qualified to tell you can’t is you. But you don’t have to listen.
Have a great week, get out there, get moving and do it with a smile on your face just because you can.
If you would like more information on how to get involved with My Team Triumph and/or the Triumph Mile, please visit their website or contact me and I will send you in the right direction.
So what is standing between you and the finish line? Who is telling you that you are crazy or that you’ll never be able to do it? Are you going to let it or them stop you from achieving your goals. While the Bellin Run/Walk is a timed event, whether you are the first person or the absolute last person to cross the finish line, you have earned every step and everyone covers the same distance. So don’t let your speed or time be a factor. Don’t let the stereotypes of a perfect runners body get in your head. A runner is a runner is a runner. Don’t ever say, “well I am not a real runner.” If you are moving forward you are really running.
When it comes to achieving our health and fitness, educational, career, or family goals, the only person who is fully qualified to tell you can’t is you. But you don’t have to listen.
Have a great week, get out there, get moving and do it with a smile on your face just because you can.
If you would like more information on how to get involved with My Team Triumph and/or the Triumph Mile, please visit their website or contact me and I will send you in the right direction.
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