A question for daily journaling…
What is one kind thing you noticed someone else do today (to you or to others)?
Podcast Roundup 4: Training Tips for Sport and Life
Running Medicine: Core Training for Distance Runners: An interview with physical therapist and author Jay Dicharry about the key components of core training. Hint: It’s not crunches and planks.
Work, Play, Love: (Ep. 31) Weight Loss, Training for Distance, Family Play and Going Pro: I love this podcast by former pro-runner Lauren Fleshman and pro-triathlete Jesse Thomas. As the name suggests, they answer questions about topic of work (which for them includes sport, writing, events, and more), play, family, and relationships. This episode answers an important question about the idea of a “race weight,” as well as ideas for training to your strengths.
Purple Patch: The Art of Coaching and Being Coached: This is an incredible triathlete training group that I am always admiring. This episode lays out some things to think about when hiring a coach and while being coached. My values are strongly aligned with this team, so I couldn’t have said it all better myself.
Rogue Running: Interview with Kate Grace: Kate is an Olympian and a truly inspiring athlete. She talks in detail in this podcast about how she has adapted her training through injury and life changes, and gives a beautiful metaphor for the feeling of your hard work accumulating.
Pause for Reflection: Comfort
What is one thing that took you outside of your comfort zone today? Why do you think that felt uncomfortable for you?
Be careful not to judge yourself on this one. Everyone has things that make them uncomfortable, and that is a perfectly normal part of the human experience. Let yourself notice where your edges of comfort are without assigning value to what you “should” or “should not” feel comfortable with.
Hearty Trader Joes Salad
This is my go-to lunch recipe when I want something that’s quick to prepare ahead of time and is still hearty, filling, and nourishing.
Ingredients
Kale (wash, de-stem, and chop)
Cruciferous Crunch Slaw from Trader Joe’s
1/2 Avocado
Dry roasted slivered almonds
Golden Raisins
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Brown Rice or Quinoa
Chickpeas (rinsed)
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (or other root veg like beets, carrots, rutabaga)
Dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1-2 teaspoons each of balsamic vinegar and orange juice, pinch of salt
Instructions
Massage dressing into kale - this can be done the night before.
Add all toppings and put in the fridge to grab in the morning! Bring a little extra dressing in case you want that at lunch time.
Pause for Reflection: Well
What is one thing you did well today?
This could be something you did in your training, at work, in a friendship, with family, or however you’d like to interpret it.
Training for a Marathon Like a Triathlete
About two months ago, I realized I was doing something. I was hiding my real, big, scary dreams with smaller, safer dreams.
After running 3-4 days a week for about 9 months, I entered a trail 10K with a friend this fall - my first race since 2013! I had a blast and felt really strong, and I thought I wanted to train for a fast 5K next. I was coaching high school cross country and got to hop in a few 5k adult races at different meets - which I also loved doing. It felt great to be competitive again and feel that burn that only a race can bring.
But what I really wanted was to find my limit. Not in a reckless way, but in a curious way. Am I strong enough to train long again? Am I pursuing a goal that scares me?
I don’t think longer races are better or harder than shorter ones. I would love to work on my 5K PR, and I plan to. But at this time, I know I want something different. I want to reach for something that I’m not sure I can get. I know I can finish a 5K right now, but can I finish a marathon?
So around Christmas, I signed up for the Golden Gate Headlands Marathon. I love running on trails and I used to live in San Francisco, so I thought this would be a perfect race for that scary goal, to help me build my trail skills, and allow me to revisit an old beloved home.
With all the tenets of Tend Athletics in mind, I made myself a 3-month training plan with the radical (to some) idea of only running 3 days each week.
As I’ve said before, you can be a very strong runner without having to run every day. I know how much other sports can benefit your running, and for someone like me who is still within one year of returning from injury, I want to be especially cautious with the amount I run.
Here are my key sessions each week:
Swim
3 x 1-hr practices with a masters swim team
Strength
3 x 30 minute strength sessions tailored to my unique needs - strengthening my posterior chain, core, and shoulders
Run
1 “running workout” like a tempo, fartlek, progression run, or track workout
1 medium length run, usually on trails
1 long run, usually on trails
Bike
I bike to/from work a few days each week - a 25 minute ride each way
Recover
I stretch every day and roll out 3-5 days/week - focusing on my areas of need - lengthening my inner line, quads, calves, and chest
My fueling is very important to me and I notice drastic changes in my energy if I let it slip. I eat something before and immediately after every session - something that is mostly carbs with a little protein - usually a small homemade muffin, date bar, or a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter.
Like all plans, this one has already been adjusted as minor aches/pains have come up or as fun things in life are happening, and I’m sure it will continue to morph. When plans change, I remind myself to appreciate and enjoy the ability to train and to be smart enough to adjust - each day is an opportunity to learn something new about myself and I am grateful for all of these moments.
Podcast Roundup 3: Change is the Only Constant
Whether it be in sport, in work, in relationships, or in life … the only thing we can guarantee is that there will always be change.
RD Real Talk: When Sports Nutrition Meets Intuitive Eating: Heather Caplan and Kelly Jones talk about how athletes can blend the needs of sports nutrition with healthy and productive eating mindsets.
Running Rogue: Rewire Your Running with Jay Dicharry: An interview with renowned physiotherapist Jay Dicharry on how to optimize your body’s mechanics for running. Skip to 28 min for the start of the interview.
Real Talk Radio: Kate Swoboda on Fear, Perfectionism, and the Courage Habit: Host Nicole Antoinette and Kate talk about breaking down fear based habits in all areas of our lives. These podcast interviews are usually around 2 hours long, but don’t let that scare you! Nicole has a unique interviewing style and makes every conversation meaningful.
Real Talk Radio: Ellen Fondiler on Reinvention and Building a Meaningful Life and Career: Nicole and Ellen talk about ways to embrace life’s constant changes, particularly as it comes to careers.
Iron Women: Hormones Decoded with Dr. Stacy Sims: An interview with a doctor and author I love - Stacy Sims! She is leading the field in female-specific athletic science, and has really opened my eyes to specific ways we can support ourselves better as female athletes.
She’s Hungry: Intentionally Growing with Bounty and Minimalism: Host Cait Pearson talks to nutritionist and life coach Becca Shern about making scary changes and creating a lifestyle that works for you, even if it looks different from what you expected.
Pause for Reflection: Better
What is 1 thing you want to get better at this week? Write it down at the beginning of the week, and monitor your progress each day.
How did you get better at ____ today? What was hard about practicing this? What can you do to make it easier tomorrow?
You can choose anything to get better at - it doesn’t have to be related to athletics. Some ideas are ... Not hitting the snooze button, Interrupting others less, drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning, going screen-free 30 minutes before bed, asking for help once a day …
Podcast Roundup 2: Perception is Reality
In the past few weeks I've been getting out of my usual podcast box with recommendations from friends or suggestions from iTunes. Looking back at all these shows I realize they all touch on mindset and psychology - everything comes back to the way we see the world.
High Performance Mindset: Interview with Amber Selking: I was surprised by how much I liked this episode. Amber Selking is a sports psychologist who works with businesses and athletic teams, including the Notre Dame Football team. Her insights into sports psychology were incredibly enlightening and I felt they were applicable beyond sports to everyday life.
Liberated Body: Beyond Anatomy: Five leaders in human movement sciences share why they believe it is essential to move "beyond anatomy" and into our experiences with our own bodies. I can easily get sucked up in "learning more" and this podcast reminded me that holistic learning includes more than books read and workshops attended.
Trail Runner Nation: The Science of Nutrition: An interview with Tailwind Nutrition founder Dr. Art Zemach on nutrition before, during, and after exercise.
On Coaching: Ep. 26 On BS: Hosts Jonathon and Steve call this one a "rant" on some of their pet peeves that they dub "bull shit" in the coaching and fitness world - including the ideal of perfection, athlete fragility, training gurus, and the importance of a coach.
Mindful Strength: Marni Wasserman on Nutrition and Health: A discussion of different nutritional approaches and how your eating preferences may change over time.
Peak Performance: Interview with Mike Rooney: This was a reminder to me of the value of learning from other sports. All sports have so much in common, especially in the mental realm. This interview with a baseball coach talks about the importance of a "hand down" attitude (what can I give to my team?) instead of a "hand up" attitude (what can you give to me?).
Food as Medicine: Ep. 39 with Ryan Lee: A story of a man who challenged the advice of his doctors when diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and healed himself with lifestyle and diet changes. He shares ideas for living with stress in your own life, such as setting different places you work for different tasks.
Run to the Top: Greatest Hits of 2017: I've seen a few podcasts do a "greatest hits" episode and this is a great way to get a preview of a podcast as a new listener, looking back on snippets of several memorable episodes.
Natural MD Radio: Healing Menstrual Pain Naturally: Host Aviva Romm shares lots of interesting lifestyle and diet ideas that may change the way you experience menstrual pain.
Once a Runner, Now an Athlete
There were four consecutive years when I could not run.
In this time I saw every variation of health professional and entertained every treatment option you’ve ever heard of - physical therapists, foot specialists, podiatrists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, yoga instructors, Eastern medicine doctors, chiropractors, naturopaths .... you name it. We tried massage, strength and rehab exercises, Grastin, stim, PRP, wearing a boot, X-Rays, MRIs, dietary changes, shoe changes, cross training, prolotherapy, cortisone, herbal supplements, Gua Sha, ice/heat, cupping, myofascial release ... How was I still injured?
This all started one year after graduating from college, where I had been a DI cross country and track athlete, and brought with it not only daily physical pain but the emotional challenges of frustration, confusion, and losing what felt like the most integral part of my identity. For anyone who’s ever been injured, you know.
The Full Story
I grew up in what was once called “The Fastest Square Mile of Track and Field in the Nation.” My town - Bronxville, NY - was literally one square mile. And our women's XC/Track Coach - Jim Mitchell - is a High School Hall of Fame coach and phenomenal leader and mentor who has supported so many runners in being healthy and competitive 3-season runners. I am so grateful for falling into that program and being trained by such a thoughtful, skilled coach.
After running mostly 800s and 1500s in high school, in college I ran the 1500 in track and 6k in xc. I was almost always healthy, except for in my junior year when I broke my second metatarsal in a freak snowstorm in a XC race.
I recovered from that injury, and immediately after college I had the unforgettable opportunity to train for the NYC Marathon as part of Fred’s Team - the charity team for Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. I kept nagging pains in my plantar fascia and hamstring at bay throughout my training. There were days after long runs where walking was painful every step, but I ignored these pains and kept a laser focus on racing. It was such an honor to be a part of the Fred’s Team community and the whole marathon was a spectacular event.
I had so much fun in that race that I thought why not train for another?! So I signed up for the San Francisco Marathon the following June. In hindsight, I should have taken this time to care for the injuries that were coming up during my NYC Marathon training. Unsurprisingly, my plantar pain crept up into my achilles and I started to see a variety of PTs, massage therapists, and yoga teachers. I considered my last "real" run to have been in June 2014.
The achilles pain went away fairly quickly once I stopped running, but the pain in my right heel and arch stayed. While not running I dabbled in triathlon training (minus the running - which then doesn't really make it a triathlon), had short bouts of attempted returns to running, pulled a muscle along the PF of my other (left) foot, had X-rays and MRIs, spent a month in a boot, and kept going to all kinds of treatment.
My inability to run begrudgingly led me to other activities, that I have now come to love and I believe I am stronger for this new movement variety in my life. I came to enjoy biking, swimming, yoga, and strength training - for real. I completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training and I now have the joy of sharing the benefits of yoga for athletes with others. On the recommendation of a running friend (Hi Sophie!) I even started Crossfit, which I never thought I’d do. I found it was not a bunch of meat heads, and instead a group of normal and relatable people capitalizing on the benefits of strength training.
Slowly ... so slowly, I started to feel the pain in my feet fading. I started to wonder, “could I try to run?” I had such a deeply ingrained new identity as an “injured runner” and as “fragile” - the thought of running scared me. In February of 2018 I made myself a “return to running” plan that I’d like to share with you here. I had to balance my excitement at the possibilities ahead with my fears and doubts - and most importantly, remind myself I had nothing to lose by trying.
I can’t pinpoint one magic solution to my recovery - I think recovery rarely has one answer. What I do know for sure is I evolved from being just a runner to being an athlete. I believe there are a few key factors that helped me most, and these have become the core principles of my training beliefs:
My New Tenets for Healthy Running
1. Don’t Run (sometimes): Know the difference between soreness and pain - this takes a lot of trial and error. Once you know - don’t run on something that hurts! You may "lose" a few days or even weeks of running, but there are a lot of ways to become a better runner that don’t involve running. Which brings us to #2 ...
2. Vary Movement: I used to be a "run only" kind of runner, and I am now a big believer in being a well rounded athlete. I think the greatest benefits to variety are in minimizing your risk of injury and gaining an edge on your competition who may not have the complementary skills and strengths you gain from a varied movement diet. There have been countless Olympic runners who’ve had a great season off of lots of swimming or weight training or other forms of “cross-training.”
3. Strength Training: I always resisted anything but cardio, and I think this left my body underprepared for the work I was asking it to do. Runners need weight-bearing strength training - and this can come in many forms - such as Crossfit, Barre, boot camp, pilates, TRX, or working out at home ... it’s a non-negotiable!
4. A New Approach to “Rolling Out”: I have greatly evolved in my rolling practices. I used to looove grinding my foot into a golf ball. What I learned is that I was actually reigniting my injuries every time I did this. Self massage is an incredible tool for an athlete but must be executed with caution. Rolling an injured area on hard surfaces like golf or lacrosse balls damages those tissues more and activates our sympathetic nervous system - our “fight or flight” response. In this state, our bodies experience stress and cannot recover. When we roll on softer, squishier surfaces like tennis balls, soft foam rollers, or Yoga Tune Up balls, we activate our parasympathetic nervous system - entering our “rest and digest” state that supports recovery, builds muscle tissue, restores our hormone balance, and boosts immunity and digestion.
5. Foot Health: The most important thing about a shoe is that YOU feel good in it. There is no universal shoe knowledge that everyone can use. It’s more important to have a strong body than to have the “right” shoe. I have worn a variety of shoes the past few years, both running and in daily life. I think orthotics were the right choice when my injuries were acute and extremely tender. I then spent multiple years strengthening my feet and transitioning to shoes with a wide toe box and zero drop. I rotate through multiple pairs of shoes at a time to avoid an overuse issue from any one shoe style. If you want to learn more about wide toe box/zero drop footwear and strengthening your feet, I recommend the work of Dr. Ray McClanahan at NW Foot and Ankle and Katy Bowman, the author of "Whole Body Barefoot.”
My Return to Running Plan
I can say with total happiness that it is now January 2019 and I am running strong and grateful. Here you can see my 3-month return to running plan, and this document shares more tips I followed for things like warming up and practicing drills.
You’ll see that there are no mileage goals because when coming back after injury it’s more important to focus on time on your feet instead of mileage. All times are in minutes. One last note - this was my plan - but was not 100% what I did. I subbed some days with hikes, cross country skiing, barre, rest days or other activities based on travel and any opportunities that presented themselves. I love having a plan and I also know it’s important to let that plan be fluid.
I don’t share this as a “here you try it!” kind of plan - because I believe every plan must fit the individual it was made for - so if you are coming back from injury, please proceed with caution. I hope you can gain some insight into one way to return to running after injury, while knowing that there is no one way to be a strong and healthy runner.