Tag: Running

The Tutu Train’s A-Comin’

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I have always wanted to do a race wearing a tutu. I finally got my wish for the 2012 Cape to Gate 44-mile relay, which was held last Saturday, Febrary 25. Running in a tutu was every bit as awesome as I thought it would be–even more so because I had the opportunity to run with an entire tutu train of women. Last year, I ran this race as part of my Boston Marathon training, along with my sister-in-law Tracy and at the time, newly found friend, Carole (report from 2011 can be found here.) Because we were running 20-mile …

Sometimes it sucks

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Last Thursday, I fought through a 90 minute ride, with the final 10 minutes feeling like 100 minutes. I could feel the energy slipping away from my legs. I was so drained, I skipped my 15 minute transition run. Friday’s a new day, right? Wrong. I slogged through 3200 yards of swimming. On good days, I can swim 3200 yards to warm up for the rest of my workout. On this day, those same 3200 yards sent me to the couch for a 2-hour nap. And, then it was Saturday morning. Time for another long ride. Three hours. Sigh. I’m …

Neurokinetic Therapy, a.k.a. Voodoo Magic

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I arrived at Dr. Eric Nelson’s office for my usual appointment. Even though my leg has not shown signs of ITBS for several months, I still go for maintenance every two weeks in order to STAY healthy. When I showed up, Eric was excited. I was too because just a few days prior, I had completed a 75-minute run with mile splits that were as fast as I used to be before ITBS decided to overstay her welcome. I was better–or so I thought. I walked into the examination room, and he said, “Okay, we’re going to do something a …

The *other* 4 letter word: ITBS

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Okay, okay: technically ITBS is not a word. But, I can use a four letter word to describe how completely frustrating this condition is. In the past several weeks, I’ve talked with quite a few people on Twitter, Facebook and in the flesh about their trials with ITBS – otherwise known as iliotibial band syndrome. The sad fact is that if you are a runner, you are very likely to get at least a minor bout of ITBS at some point in your running career. In fact, ITBS is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain among runners. I had …

Balance your body to prevent (and recover from) injuries

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Most of us have some type of muscular imbalance–even if we don’t know it yet. Unfortunately, these imbalances usually make themselves known in the form of an injury. But, we can assess and address muscular imbalance before we find ourselves on the DL. If you are already dealing with an injury from a tough season, well, this post can help you too. During the USAT Level 1 coaching clinic that John and I attended in October, we heard quite a bit about muscular imbalances that are typical for runners and triathletes. And, a year of battling with ITBS has taught …

Because I say so: A different perspective of injury

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I’m a communication studies professor at Rowan University, and one of the key themes of all of the classes I teach is that communication shapes our understanding of reality. The way we talk about “things” is a meaning-making process. Before you start to think I’m a little crazy, let me clarify. I am not saying we are all plugged into the matrix, and nothing is “real”. (Although that could be true – how would we know ;)?) Objects, events, and people do exist. For example, when I crash on my bike, it will hurt, no matter how I choose to …

How can we fit it all in?

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If you are going to train for an endurance event, you need time. No shocker there, right? Preparation for distance events, such as marathons and triathlons, can require anywhere from 10 to 25 hours a week. With family, friends, work, household chores and so on, it is challenging to find that “extra” time for focused training. Even more daunting still are the hidden time costs that come from doing extra laundry, preparing food, traveling to races or group training sessions, ensuring proper recovery, and of course, blogging and logging training milestones. While I wrote about time management last year, an …

Extraordinary Moments

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Life offers precious few truly extraordinary moments. These opportunities are particularly limited if we do not seek them out.  We cannot wait for the extraordinary to come to us. We must make the extraordinary happen. But, it is hard work that brings with frightful challenges and frustrating barriers. Yet, meeting the challenge and overcoming the barriers lead to a reward so rich, so deeply fulfilling that I cannot help but seek these moments. Let’s face it: I’m an addict. Endurance sport is the fix. The challenges of training for and racing Ironman push me past my comfort zone and are …

Really running again

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With all the attention I’ve been giving to cycling for the past few months, some of you may have started to wonder if I should change the name of my blog to cycling a life. Hey, not so fast there, buddy. Let’s get something clear: if it wasn’t for running, there would be no reason to do triathlon, to punish myself on a bike, to slog through yards of swimming despite the fact that I am clearly NOT a fish. Running is, and always will be, my sport of choice. The swim and the bike are an elaborate warm up. …

Primal Freedom

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I looked over my left shoulder to make sure no one was coming up behind me. The path was clear. Then, I let ‘er rip–my snot rocket, that is. I’ve never been especially “ladylike”. Just ask my mother. Her groans of disgust have been audible since I was a little girl. “Oh, Maria!” She would exclaim, while rolling her eyes, at whatever un-ladylike activity I was currently engaging in. Even so, I’ve had some limits in my life. Yet, one by one, those limits are weakening–thanks to running and triathlon. For example, pre-endurance sport, I would blow my nose into …