Running the Streets

A roundup of the stuff that keeps me running.

• I’m so behind on the CamelBak thing, but I just got my first one a few weeks ago! Excited. I’ve always wanted one, but the $60-ish price tag has kept me at bay, plus I don’t do as much trail running as I’d like, which is where I could see myself needing it most. My husband’s aunt’s husband Mark, a cyclist, heard my desire for a CamelBak at a family gathering recently and disappeared into the garage. He emerged with one he bought his wife just before she shattered her collarbone in a biking accident a couple of years back. It still had the tags and everything, and it’s a mean, bright yellow. I love it as much as I thought I would. I do have some complaints: It took a while to get used to hearing and feeling slosh-slosh-slosh as I ran. But eventually, I did. Also, in this crazy heat, one of the ways I stay upright is by pouring water on my head from a water bottle. With the CambelBak sucker-hose, I haven’t found a way to make that happen.

• Speaking of hydration, my hand-held water bottle. It’s so old that it’s about to bite the dust, y’all. I’d buy another one, but I’m in a quandary: The CamelBak holds the amount of water I need on a run, and the hand-held doesn’t. But I have to have to have to be able to deliver water to my head, which my hand-held does. But I sure as heck am not going to carry both. I haven’t figured out my preference on that yet.

• The RunKeeper app for my iPhone is pretty awesome. I used to want a Garmin GPS watch and (as usual) shied away because of the price of the one I wanted. Since I often like listening to music and podcasts when I run, I have my iPhone with me anyway, and an iPhone has GPS. The app calculates everything I need: distance, elevation, calories. Tracks my runs, my progress. You can check out my RunKeeper profile here, if you want. The last web-based run tracker I used was MapMyRun.com, which in retrospect, blows. I had to literally, like, map my runs myself, plotting out exactly what my route was or was going to be on an embedded Google map, just to get my mileage. Maybe they’ve improved it by now, though, I don’t know. Now all I have to remember to do is press “Start” when I’m starting and “Stop” when I’m done.

I mean, my gosh. I take a massive break from running, then decide to pick things back up as soon as the temperature does. Can’t accuse me of being a sensible planner.

And it hasn't even reached the high yet.

Or can you? The managing editor where I work, Advocate Magazines here in Dallas, is a beastly runner (see?). In fact, I want to be exactly like her when my running-self grows up. Whenever that happens.

Christina reminded me that as long as I take care of myself during these crazy summer runs, I’m going to see those gains when the temperature drops. Even though I’m running so incredibly slow and cutting back on distance, my body is very much at work.

You’d think I wouldn’t have a hard time with this topic; I wrote a story last summer about this very thing. With lots of “don’t be a baby; get out there and run, you sissy pants!” attitude, too. But I still need reminding: Slow, in this weather, is OK.

When I look at my  numbers from the past couple of months, I have to keep in mind that I’ve been running in sauna conditions. So, I’m giving myself grace and trusting that when the heat lifts, so will my numbers.

Hey, read more about running in the Texas heat over on Christina’s blog. Even Runner’s World is like WTH.

Here’s my Dallas Morning News story about exercising in the heat. This story from last year, July 2010, but I forgot to pimp it here. Some self-promoter I am. It’s hotter’n a son of a gun this summer, though, so the story is actually more relevant now than last year.

Don’t like reading? Cliff Notes version: If you can’t beat it, join it. Traditional reason that warns to stay indoors during extreme summer temps is a bunch of hoo-hah. Just be careful is all. I’d much rather be running in the super-hot than in the super-cold, any day. I am from Texas, after all, and while it’s hotter than normal this summer, we’re still no strangers to sweating around here.

I like the answer one expert gave a TV news head in an interview the other day. When asked what the difference is between the Texas heat today and the heat from, say, a hundred years ago, he replied, “We, um, have higher requirements today.” Today we need AC and iced tea for our delicate 21st century selves, haha.

The Dallas Morning News | Fitness | How to Acclimatize to the Heat

Been a long time! And it’s been a long year. Lots has happened in the life of Christy, and unfortunately, most of it has had nothing to do with running. Maybe I can share some of those things in a future post.

But as of May 7 I’m back in the saddle, and I’m mulling my previous inactivity so I can better understand how to stay consistent moving forward. I’ve let my lack of movement discourage me and even depress me at times, but I can’t afford that anymore. I’m done.

So, in no particular order, here’s what stands out as I look over my shoulder.

1. I need external motivation.
As much as I’d love to lace up and pop out of bed before the sun on nothing but sole gumption and discipline, I’m not that person. I need a cattle prod (“Omg, I’ve gained 10 pounds and can’t afford to gain any more”) or a shiny, sparkly object dangling in front of me (“Cool! I get a tan even on a 6:30 p.m. run!”). I love running for the sake of running, yes. But it simply isn’t enough to crack me out of my calcified state and put me back on the road or trail, at least not at first. I know this about myself, and I don’t beat myself up for it anymore. I simply seek out sources of external motivation now, harness them, and use them to my advantage.

2. Gear and technology matter to me.
I’d love to be an unencumbered runner who doesn’t care about carrying music or GPS or other “things” with me. But yep, I’m that runner. If I’m going to put in the effort and the miles, I want to know exactly how many miles I ran, what the elevation was that tortured me, how many calories I burned in the process. And I don’t want to have to manually map out my route before or after to find that out, either. I want to know I’m not going to crash and burn early because I relied too heavily on infrequent water fountains in the searing Texas heat, so you’re going to see a water bottle in my hand, and likely you’ll see a G2 packet sticking out of the little zippered pocket on the bottle’s hand-wrap as well. And yes, if I need that extra push, I want to know Gaga or Bun B are just a “play” button away from giving it to me.

In fact, I credit two pieces of gear that I discovered recently with getting my butt of the couch again. They were the external motivators that got me going, and I’m grateful to them. More on those in a near-future post.

3. Clothes matter to me.
Not necessarily the cuteness of the clothes, really. But having comfortable, functional and non-homely ensembles that I can quickly throw in a bag or throw on as soon as I come in from work is key. If I need a new sports bra or if my usual running shorts are too tight right now, those are barriers. Where I spend money is on good, hearty sports bras and quality shoes: Even though I didn’t pay for them, I can now vouch for the greatness of Nike Frees for both support and lightness. Under Armour makes great pullover bras that keep me still (as much as possible). The Nike running capris in this review were too big for me when I first got them, but now they fit perfectly. Sigh. But I can at least now vouch 100 percent that they’re comfortable, airy and supportive. I also found some gray and bright fluorescent yellow running shorts from Target: cheap, really comfortable, the cut is great, and they’re darn cute. I also bought a package of colored men’s Fruit of the Loom A-line undershirts (tank tops), trimmed the hem at the bottom since they’re super-long, and wear those over my sports bras. They’re cotton but they’re so airy and comfy that it doesn’t matter.

4. Route variety matters.
I started off in May walking and running around my neighborhood here in Deep Ellum (northeast of downtown Dallas). It was great, it was exciting, it was easy to just walk out of my door …. then it wasn’t. It got old real quick and I realized that I needed to branch out. I’m ADD when it comes to routes, and I know that now. And it’s ok. I simply make sure I don’t wear out the same old paths. If I think I’m going to see or experience something a little different from before, that gets me out the door more quickly.

5. Marriage can really wreck a routine. At least mine.
I married in my early 30s. That meant I had my solo routines down pat before I aligned myself with another (albeit wonderful) human being who had different solo routines. It became a clash of the solo routines. Part of my adjustment period was re-learning some solo routines and carving out a separate, solo mindset even though I was no longer solo. It was difficult. But now I’m no longer a newlywed, and I’m learning to compartmentalize better: No, the person I’ve aligned myself with doesn’t run. No, that doesn’t mean I have to stop running, or only run with the same frequency that he does (read: hardly ever). Yes, the two shall become one, but remember: There are still two people in the equation. Christy the individual didn’t go anywhere. She can still do the solo things she used to do (sans other men! Rimshot), even though it doesn’t feel that way. For some reason, that break from an enmeshed mentality has been difficult for me.

6. I must have grace with myself or not even do this.
Without getting into a bunch of navel-gazing on how harsh and critical I am with certain aspects of myself, I can be pretty unrealistic. I haven’t run or worked out much in a year, I’ve gained 10 pounds and it’s 100+ degrees outside; I can’t expect a 10-minute mile out of myself. I can’t expect myself to finish a run without stopping and walking some for now. My big goal has always been to be able to run around the 10-mile White Rock Lake loop. A few weeks ago I completed the loop, albeit with many walking breaks and one large sit-down break where I paused my GPS/timer altogether to rest for 10 minutes. I have to be happy that I completed it and slowly work toward straight-up running the loop. Slowly. As slow and as long as my body needs. My other goal is running __ miles per week — the __ needs to be realistic, not idealistic. That fill-in-the-blank is set at 10 miles a week for now. If I run three days a week, I make that goal. It makes me feel good, and I pat myself on the back. If I don’t make that goal? I’ll smile and tell myself “next week.” The Nazi Running Marm act I’ve given myself in the past hasn’t worked as well for me as I’d like to think. It’s ultimately sidelined me in the form of discouragement, and I see that now.

So, drinking a boatload of water all day long really does help my runs. Huh. (Literal runs, people. Not the, um, other kind).