LIFE'S RUNNING HACKS
It is brutal here on the east coast this winter. Abnormally low, way below freezing temperatures, with the wind chill factor the temperature often dips to minus 20 and more. The rise in the temperature just seems to bring rain and then it dips yet once again which just brings ice, ice and well more ice. Another snow storm is brewing and we are bracing ourselves. Not to mention that wind. Intense, slamming in your face and relentless. Howling and screeching 24 hours a day. Slamming onto the shore with gusto and bending trees to their max.
None of these factors make a runner happy. It is down right dangerous. So what is a runner to do? Well for starters get really excited because the Run Nova Scotia Race List is out today. That means you can sit with your calendar and plan your races and your season and well generally start getting your act together.
The next most important step is accepting the fact that you can not just run a marathon starting tomorrow with all that couch sitting. Realize that yes even a seasoned runner has to start from the beginning. First you must start by being grateful for a million different reasons. Even if your desired outcome is not going to be a reality. You are healthy and in pretty good shape from running last years races and spend a lot of time outdoors.
Then you just have to be incredibly patient and start slow. Yes slow, almost from the beginning, until you feel yourself gliding into your old running self.
I have been running for years now and I have gained so much from it mentally, physically and spiritually. When I first started, I struggled to complete a kilometre but I knew that figuring out how to run and get myself in physical shape would somehow change me and help me grow in ways that nothing else could.
Here are 10 life lessons I've learned from running:
Beginning is always the hardest part. Push yourself to keep going. It gets easier.
Consistency creates habits, and habits create the results to want to achieve.
If you want to get better, pain is unavoidable. Don't shy away from it.
If you don't get out of your comfort zone, you'll never achieve your goals.
People who do things better than you are your teachers, not your competition.
Often, thinking you can't go on any longer is a illusion. You often can.
Sometimes things don't go as planned. Accept it and move on.
When you're going uphill and you want to quit, don’t. Move slower if you have to, but keep going. You will get there.
Happiness shouldn’t be put on hold until you cross the finish line. Enjoy as much as you can along the way, even when the going gets tough.
Don’t let your desire for improvement rob you of pride in small victories!
RACE # 1 COMING UP
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2019
FROSTBITE 5 MILER
looping around First Lake
SACKVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA
IN SUPPORT OF BEACON HOUSE
Great tips and every time I hear about people like yourself getting out and running in these conditions it inspires me...I definitely have nothing to complain about.
Regards Vince
all you need is a really good spirit and a lots of things. Merino wool long johns and socks and then another base layer and then another layer. Good shoes that are warm and yaktrak for your shoes and a buff and a good hat and mittens and goggles. if you can move you can run. lol...it does work, but you have to be safe as well. Actually on a sunny day when the air is crisp and you run past snow capped trees and ice on the water it is beautiful. Winter running takes practice and you need to stay hydrated and not go to far incase of hyperthermia. Most Canadian runners love it. The main things are that you have to climatize your body just the same as in running in the heat. Thank you.
Nice to have these tips right now! We're getting a pretty good dose of winter (at least, compared to what we usually get) over here on Vancouver Island on the other side of the country!
Stay warm, and train well!
Yes, I have seen that. We are over here on the complete opposite side on St. Margaret's Bay, in Nova Scotia and we have had it all and more coming tomorrow. The worst has been the intense wind and cold and the ice. Yes thank you on the training. I really do need to start. Thinking I may purchase a bike for the basement. Need cardio really bad
My brother recently picked up an indoor bike trainer, and he has me mostly convinced to do the same. Probably the best "bang for your buck" training gear you can buy -- and I'm a big fan of working out at home when possible. (I could see if he's interested in putting together a post on how he built his sound-dampening platform and hooked up his sensors and whatnot)
Hope you manage to weather the storm over there! Excited to see some of your upcoming training.
We've shared your post to the front page of EXHAUST -- a new Steem front-end for athletes. We're implementing training volume trackers, weekly leaderboards (and prizes), and more cool stuff to come. If you wanna join the gang, feel free to check it out.
Let me know if you have any questions! I try to answer quickly :)
I have now started to follow Exhaust. Could you please explain this to me in layman's terms. lol.
You bet. I'll try to write up a bit of an explanation this afternoon. Essentially though, EXHAUST (the website at https://xhaust.me ) is intending to be a site like Strava or RunKeeper, where you can browse the site, and log a running / cycling / hiking / yoga activity -- and then see some stats regarding your training.
Exhaust is a 20% benefactor of all posts created through the site, and each Sunday at 10AM Pacific Time, @exhaust will distribute the liquid STEEM rewards earned from everyones posted activities, proportionally to all users, based on how much they ran/cycled/hiked/yoga'd.
We have a FAQ page set up here -- Hopefully it's not too out of doubt.
As I said, I'll try to toss something together later this afternoon showing you where the various pages and buttons are.
More features to come as we move forward.
Cheers!
thanks so much
most certainly will do. Thank you so much. I would surely be interested in the post on the sound dampening platform. Training is difficult here in the winter, as we live on the coast in a rural area. In Halifax you can often find paved trails that are plowed. But that is a 40 min drive at best and sometimes you just don't want to get in the car due to the road conditions of ice. So..yes I am looking for a bike as we speak. I figure I can do my own spin class somehow. Yes I hope we weather the storm too. We have all we need. Wood for the stove, water, propane for the BBQ candles and flashlights and some wine. Going to follow ExHaust now. Thank you so much.
I really love these tips and I really wish I could just get it on with. But I'm encouraged!
lol Edith I am glad you are encouraged at least. I won't say it is easy however, it does get easier. Even walking is incredibly helpful. There is a saying and it always falls true. Running is 90% mental.. Completely true. Happy day to you x
Yes you are right. Seeing you do it effortlessly makes me wish I could. Wishing is not just enough, it's time to get off my butts... Lols
oh my. somewhere the image is or has been distorted. Effortlessly only comes from hours and hours of running and year in and year out. I have not run since November so for me getting out there now is a huge effort. Almost like climbing Mt. Everest. IN a month of two it will become easier and by the summer is should be even easier. Effortless is really not the word, but to the outside viewer, yes it looks this way. But thank you. It is nice to have worldwide fans. xx
I'll take your word for it! And yes I'm one huge fan 🤗
Thank you and please follow along and you will get a tour of the places I run in. Much beauty to enjoy. xx
Wonderful day too Mommy.
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