My Shirt Is Going To Blow Your Mind! (And Not Just Because It’s Cute)

18 May

Sporting the Reebok ZigTech Running Top pre-run. My muscles feel recovered already!

Woven into this seemingly ordinary Reebok top is some of the most scientifically advanced fiber in existence: Celliant.

Celliant is a blend of thirteen “optically responsive” natural minerals (yes, as in the stuff rocks are made of) that have been pulverized and manipulated until a fiber-like texture forms. The fiber is then woven into fabric, which can be used like any other fabric material to make clothing. Except this material is magic.

According to the company’s literature Celliant is able to “absorb and store the electromagnetic emissions from the human body and release them where they are reabsorbed into the skin and deep muscle tissue. In the deep muscle tissue they act as catalysts for natural, biological processes resulting in enhanced oxygen levels and more balanced body temperature during sleep, rest or physical activity.”

Say, what? In plain English: Your body is constantly producing energy, which escapes through your skin in the form of light that is invisible to the naked eye. When you wear this fabric, it bounces that light energy back at you, so that the energy can be reabsorbed. Once it’s reabsorbed, the energy improves your circulation and delivers more oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. And that boost in blood movement helps your muscles recover faster. (Sounds like legal blood doping to me!)

The idea that a fabric can affect your blood flow may seem like new age-y quack-science. But researchers at the University of Calgary Human Performance Laboratory have hard data* to back up these claims. They found that when a Celliant garment is worn during exercise, participants used less oxygen to accomplish the same amount of work. Showing that the body can be efficiently active for longer periods, without getting tired.

That little spring in my step is probably from all the extra oxygen.

In an attempt to conduct a test of my own, I put on this top before running my typical six-mile loop. Since I know my times from past runs (wearing any-old-tank-or-tee), I figured it would be easy to compare my time running in this shirt. The numbers really don’t say much: I ran an average 8:32 minutes per mile (typical), felt like stopping at a water fountain around mile 4 (per usual), and was pleased to be finishing when I neared my starting point (yep, that’s about right).

Clearly, more research needs to be done. And I should probably learn how to factor out variables, like weather and mood. But man, did I look good out there!

 

Are your workout clothes made of high-tech materials? Do you think they improve your performance? 

 

*The study was conducted on 12 subjects and is pending publication.

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Bear Mountain Half Marathon Recap: The Camera Loves Me!

10 May

Politely jockeying for position at the start of the race.

Have you ever been in one of those races where everything just goes right? The conditions are perfect. You’re solidly trained. The weather couldn’t be better. The course is a dream. Well, The North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon in Bear Mountain, NY wasn’t one of those races. But the photos of me participating in it would certainly lead one to believe otherwise. (What can I say? The camera loves me!) Still, I have to admit those smiles were 100% genuine. I loved this event!

The morning started out in a bit of a panic. Our GPS device sent us to the wrong address and we ended up on the wrong side of Bear Mountain. (All together now: “The bear went over the mountain, to see what he could see!”) Luckily, we planned to be at the start 45 minutes early, so we had time to correct the mistake. It took 22 minutes to drive west, find the right exit, and get to the parking lot—and I was an anxious mess.

The laid-back start line was nerve-soothing. Unlike road races where directors line you up in corrals based on your pace, this was a free for all. Runners casually milled about in a grassy area in front of an inflatable archway that demarcated the start/finish. Instead of feeling like we were about to embark on the toughest trail half marathon in the region, the atmosphere was as calm as backyard barbecue. Thank goodness—after the hectic drive, I couldn’t have handled a stressful line up.

Early miles were no indication of the intensity to come. I got into a decent mid-pack position within the first two miles, knowing that the trail would turn to single track soon and I wouldn’t be able to easily make passes after that. From there, the course wound around through the woods, progressively getting steeper, the ground changing from dry to muddy, and the terrain becoming increasingly treacherous. I was prepared for roots, rocks, and the occasional branch across the trail, but there were sections of this course that we were simply unable to “run.”

Lively conversation made the death-march climbs bearable. There’s an unwritten code among trail runners that if you can’t see the top of a hill, you stop running and walk up it instead. My signature is all over that imaginary document! Hiking up the inclines that make the Bear Mountain course a five-out-of-five for overall difficulty and a five-out-of-five for technical terrain, would have been daunting had I been alone. But chatting with the girls just behind me made the climbs fly by. (Have you ever seen people hiking with a pair of caged pet birds? One of these girls had! Hilarious!)

Minutes after taking a tumble—you can just make out the bruise beginning to form on my lower left quad.

Wiping out hurt, but I kept going. With a little less than three miles to the finish, the trail opened up and I found some speed. It felt good to pump my legs harder. But at that point I was mentally fatigued, and I wasn’t concentrating enough on where I was planting my feet.  I hit a rock in the center of the path and went flying, crashing hard onto my left side. Momentum and a slight decline caused me to roll forward, so I ultimately finished the fall on my back with my head pointing down the trail. I got back onto my feet a little dazed, and started moving forward immediately. A man in front slowed to make sure I was okay—I was, mostly. A guy behind clapped and shouted, “You’re doing great! Your pace has been even this entire time and you’re almost to the finish.” I shouted my thanks to both of them and went back to a slow jog.

Working the camera and crossing the finish line mats—all in a day’s work.

My heart soared when I heard the cheers at the finish line. “Finish strong with a smile,” is a mantra that I use during the last mile of every race. And it was especially helpful for this one. Half a mile from the finish my body was starting to realize that it was in pain—from the fall and from the intense workout that I’d just put it through. I came out of the woods onto a parking lot that stretched towards the grassy field where the journey began, and I started to sprint. I was done, and I was happy.

And I can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Have you ever fallen during a run? What helped you get back up?

 

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Guess Who’s Not Feeling Ready for Her Half Marathon Next Weekend?

27 Apr

My mind isn’t there yet, but at least my feet will look confident in The North Face Single Track Hayasa sneaks!

Surprise, it’s me. (Not really a big shock there, huh.) Between stressing out over work for the past month and coming down with a chest cold (gotta thank the boyfriend for that one—every time he gets on a plane he comes back with the sniffles!), I’m not feeling super confident going into what should be a taper week for the upcoming The North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon at Bear Mountain. But thinking back on every single significant race I’ve ever participated in, I’ve never felt ready.

The morning I toed the line in Hopkinton for the 2011 Boston Marathon, I was full of dread—I didn’t think I could handle the hills. Minutes before the gun went off for the 2010 Marine Corps Marathon I briefly considered crossing the barricades, finding my dad in the crowd, and telling him to drive me back home—I wasn’t sure if I had put in enough mileage. And in the first mile of the 2009 NYC Marathon I almost pulled over to throw up on the Verrazano Bridge—the anxiety over not being positive that I could complete 26.2 miles was making me nauseas.  I finished all of those marathons. Clearly, my body was ready and this is all mental.

Still, going into my first ever trail half-marathon presents new hurdles for my head. Did I run enough on actual trails to prepare my legs, ankles, feet, tendons, and muscles for the inconsistent terrain? Should I have practiced carrying my water bottle more? Was my training enough? Am I enough?

My mantra for this week leading up to the race: “Yes, I am enough.” I have no doubt that I will finish all 13.1 of those woodsy miles on Sunday 6 May. It just might not be pretty. And I might be sniffling on the way home.

What helps boost your pre-race confidence? Got any trail running tips? 

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Short Run, Long Story

1 Apr

The grass is a little greener on the west side

I took on a new full-time job a few weeks ago, and it’s been a huge shock to my system. No more sleeping until 8:45am and commuting from the bedroom to my computer in the kitchen. And I’ve had to say so long to my 3:00pm “coffee runs,” which involved me doing a loop in the park, finishing at Starbucks, and then walking home to check email again by 4:15pm. Yep, I’ve got a full on, 9-to-6 office gig with a traditional subway start and finish to call my very own these days.

I’ve managed to keep my training on track (got to be ready for The North Face Endurance Challenge Bear Mountain Half Marathon!), but all of my runs are starting to feel the same. My easy days and my hard days have all morphed into tempo runs—comfortably hard efforts that I rely on to help me deal with my new work-related stress. But while all that speed is great for unwinding my head, it’s made a tight, whiny mess out of my left calf.

Which brings me to yesterday, the final Saturday of March 2012. I thought a nice gentle run on the flat path along the west side of Manhattan would be just the thing to loosen up my leg muscles. It wasn’t. I spent more time pulling over to stretch than I did running, and after 35 minutes of stop-and-go effort I got frustrated and decided to pack it in.

I know that short, easy runs are good for your body from time to time. But part of me still thinks they’re pointless. In the back of my mind I’ve always thought that if I’m not running for at least an hour, I shouldn’t bother tying my shoes.

Still, yesterday did more good than I gave it credit for in the moment. All that stretching loosened up the knots in my calf and I was able to have a mental-stress-busting run today. I ran 7 pain-free miles at a comfortable pace, with a few surges tossed in for fun.

The moral of this long story: I need balance and I need to listen to my body (always tough for me). Sticking to a couple of hard runs per week and doing easy ones on the other days will continue to keep my mind and my muscles stress free.

Do you have trouble keeping an easy pace when you’re stressed, too? Do you wait for sore muscles to remind you to slow down?  

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You Heard It Here First: I’ve Got Weak Arms!

29 Feb

Big thanks to Carly Abel of TLCommunications for snapping this photo!

Earlier this month I spent a morning at Peak Performance pushing sleds, tossing medicine balls, and hanging from TRX straps. And I learned something really interesting about my body: I have weak arms.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, since most (ahem, all) of my fitness endeavors focus on my lower half—running, the once-a-week spin session.  Even the SurfSET class I tossed into the mix for fun a week ago was predominately squats and lunges (on a wiggly surf board, so my abs were engaged, too—but, still).

I like running. And I want to be a better runner. Should I even bother beefing up my bird-like biceps and triceps? The not-so-shocking answer is: “Yes!” says Dan Trink—he’s the hunky personal trainer, strength coach, and nutritional consultant for Peak Performance pictured here. “It’s fantastic for you to be passionate about your sport,” he’s quick to add, “but logging all those miles can lead to muscle imbalances and injury.”

I finished off my last two runs with push-ups and tricep dips on a park bench. Not bad, but I can do better. Dan wants me to supplement my running routine with an upper body weight-training program that will ultimately make me faster when I sprint towards a finish line. “It will help create a better running posture and give you forward propulsion,” he says.

Adding arm moves into my already hectic work-run-date schedule is going to be tough. But it will be worth it come race day. (Which, by the way, is May 6 for The North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon at Bear Mountain. Can I get a whoop-whoop?)

What’s your weakest body part? And what are you doing to whip it into shape?

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My Ego Is A Big Jerk!

7 Feb

This water bottle got all cozy with the milk and bananas because of my ego.

I could have (should have!) gone to a speed workout with AGTC this morning at 5:45am. But I didn’t. And I only have myself to blame.

I had every intention of making it happen. I went to bed early. I remembered to set the alarm—even double-checked it was for a.m., not p.m. But this morning when the clock started bleeping, a negative little voice in my head began to talk…

“You haven’t worked out like this in months,” it said as I climbed out of bed. “You’ll be slower than everyone else,” it whispered to me in the kitchen when I tossed a nuun tablet into my water bottle. “You’ll look stupid coming in last on every sprint,” it shouted while I pulled on a pair of running tights.

That nagging voice wore down my resolve, and sadly I gave in. I tossed my pants back into the closet, put the water bottle in the fridge, and climbed under the covers. And now, I’m annoyed.

Instead of working my butt off with a bunch of like-minded people this morning, I have to go for a run alone. I could have (should have!) had fun working with teammates to push myself harder. I could have (should have!) been done already. But no, I allowed my ego and its fears of looking stupid, being slow, and experiencing pain to prevent myself from doing that.

I’m challenging myself to ignore my ego for the rest of the week.

Do you have any good comebacks for the negative little voice in your head? Has your ego ever held you back?

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Look Ma, No Watch!

26 Jan

My running buddy took the morning off.

It’s not often that I hit the roads without a timepiece strapped to my wrist, so when I stepped onto my front stoop this morning and realized I wasn’t wearing a watch I was a bit surprised. Slightly panicked, actually. I stood on the bottom step of my building for a minute, debating whether or not to go back up the five flights and get it. In the end, I simply started moving.

Sure, sometimes I’ll go for a run and I won’t start the chronograph—I’ll just stop when my body tells me to. But I always know what time it is, and I can happily share that info with the world when asked. Which also means, I can always give a rough estimate of how long it takes me to run a certain distance. And I definitely play mind games with those numbers, factoring whether I’m getting faster or not pushing myself hard enough.

I have no idea what time it was when I reached the park, and even less of a clue as to what numbers were on the clock when I finished my 4-mile loop. But by the time I made it back up all of those stairs and into my apartment, I forgot all about checking. It’s like time stood still for me today, so that I could have an easy, number-free run and simply enjoy being outside. Thanks, Universe!

Do you know exactly how long all of your runs take? Do you ever leave your watch behind? 

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